I don't really need a reason to drink wine on a regular weeknight, but if you do, here's one for you: it's Spring Wine Fling!!! During this week-long (March 23-29, 2015) celebration of wine programs across the Washington, D.C. region, participating bars and restaurants are offering special flights, tastings and/or parings of seasonal wines. Last night, I sat down at Boss Sheperd's, in part because I had never been and I figured it was a good excuse, to check out their spring wine fling offering. For $15, you can order a flight of three wines, sparkling, white, red or a mix from either category. I opted for the mix, though if you go, I recommend the sparkling wine flight that includes my ...
Restaurants
Ici Urban Bistro Joins Thousands of Restaurants Across the World to Celebrate Goût de France
This Thursday, March 19, some 1,300 chefs will cook up special dinners at restaurants and embassies in 150 countries across all five continents for a worldwide celebration of French cuisine and gastronomy. Under the patronage of France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius and famed Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, "Goût de France / Good France" was inspired by Auguste Escoffier’s Dîners d’Épicure (Epicurean Diners), in which one menu was served to as many guests as possible worldwide in one day. This time, however, the chefs have some creative freedom to come up with their own menus, though they must adhere to a strict traditional degustation format and serve, in this order, a French ...
DC’s Crumbs and Whiskers off to a Great Start
I've been making the cat café rounds lately. Last November, I visited both Café des Chats locations in Paris. More recently, I swung by Meow Parlour in New York City, and enjoyed a Hello Kitty themed macaron while hanging out with a bunch of adoptable cats. So, obviously, while I have my own BFF (Best Furry Friend) already, I'm thrilled that there's a plan to bring a cat café concept to the D.C. area. And apparently, I'm not the only one. Last Sunday, some 50 people showed up at Penn Social for the launch of Crumbs & Whiskers' kickstarter campaign. A campaign which, by the way, reached its goal within 24 hours and has already surpassed its stretch goal (update: it's currently at ...
Gaia Mural & Art Intervention at the W Hotel
We had a blast Friday night celebrating the unveiling of a new indoor mural by street artist Gaia at Pinea, the new(ish) restaurant that replaced J&G Steakhouse at the luxury hotel W Washington D.C. To go along Chef Barry Koslow's southern Mediterranean menu, the mural was inspired by a sculpture of Cesar Augustus and also features birds, a leitmotiv in Gaia's work. I personally love the mural and thinks it not only livens up Pinea's dining room but also really works with what I expect a restaurant at a W Hotel to look like. Wondering where you may have seen Gaia's works before? The 27 years old Baltimore-based street ...
G’Eclair to Bring Trendy French Pastry to Adams Morgan
In 2009, I met my mom, aunt, grandmother and cousins in Djerba, Tunisia for a relaxing Mediterranean family vacation (you can read more about that trip here). I had to leave before everyone else because well, I'm the only one who lives in a country that doesn't have 6-weeks of paid vacation days a year (grrr USA!) but did meet up with my dad in Paris for a quick 24 hours before flying back to D.C. My dad and I both have a mad sweet tooth and truly appreciate fine desserts, so these 24 hours turned into quite the pâtisseries marathon. And it was good timing: Éclair Week was in full swing at Fauchon, leading me to rediscover a forgotten childhood favourite. Fast forward to today. Saying ...
Sweet! There’s a New Menu at The Grill Room
Wednesday night, I headed off to the Capella Hotel in Georgetown to celebrate its new chef Frank Ruta, and the new menu he designed for its restaurant The Grill Room. I must confess, I never ate at Palena, the Cleveland Park establishment Chef Ruta headed before it closed last year. I also never attended one of his famed Bread Feast supper club dinner at Mark Furstenberg's Bread Furst . And yet, I have an awesome memory of Chef Ruta, one that doesn't involve his food directly. Instead, it involves a panel on which he sat at the National Archives a few years back. A panel of former White House chefs. The soft spoken Chef Ruta sat between former White House Executive Chef Pierre Chambrin and ...
Chinese Food & a (French) Movie On Erev Christmas
Are Chinese diner and a movie part of your Christmas traditions? If the answer is yes (or oui) and you want to add a little something French to your Erev Christmas, look no further than the Washington DC Jewish Community Center on 16th street. They will be screening It Happened in Saint-Tropez, a French comedy of manners featuring the stunning (and now age appropriate Bond girl) Monica Bellucci. The screening will be preceded by some traditional Chinese food starting at 6:30PM. Speaking of "traditional Jewish Christmas food," the night before (12/23) you can also swing by DGS Delicatessen, which will be hosting its second "Jewish Christmas" Chinese banquet, with guest chefs Erik Bruner ...
Postcard from France: Visiting the Louvre-Lens
Lens, a small town in northern France, boasts a football stadium with a capacity larger than its population, but doesn't have a movie theater. A former mining strong hold, its main touristic and cultural attractions used to be world war I cemeteries and Europe's tallest slag heaps (known by their formal French name of base et terrils jumeaux du 11/19.) That all changed in 2012. That year, one of the world's most famous museums, the Louvre, opened an outpost in Lens, attracting some 900,000 visitors its first year of operation. While that's barely anything compared to the 8 million visitors that go through the Parisian museum each year, that's still very impressive. Lens is easily ...
A Taste of Olney’s Taste Gastropub
Discovering new restaurants and meeting new people who appreciate food as much as a do as two of the main reasons I keep blogging. Last week, I headed to Olney, Maryland for a private tasting at Taste Gastropub, an unassuming restaurant in a strip mall some 18 miles outside of my comfort zone, I mean, outside of downtown DC ;-) I'm definitely glad I ventured out. Lunch with my bestie Cecile, fellow DC Spotter Aparna, Lisa of #PushPlayEat, Jessica of The Dining Traveler, Carlis of Spicy Candy DC (who helped coordinate the event) and Lori of Been There Eaten That was delightful. The wine selection, expertly chosen by chef and sommelier Danny Lledo didn't hurt either! Let's chat about the ...
4 Delicious Reasons to Visit Mosaic District
Being car-less, and quite frankly, living in the city as well, I don't get out to the Mosaic District very often. And that's too bad since Merrifield's upscale shopping and dining complex has a lot to offer, from exciting restaurant concepts to the fabulous Angelika movie theater and one of the cleanest Target you'll ever visit. So when the PR folks with Edens invited me to a fun, progressive dinner-type event I jumped at the opportunity to try out 4 new restaurants and hopped on the silver line. A quick free shuttle ride from Dunn Loring later, I met up with other local bloggers over crab nachos and margaritas at our first stop: Cyclone Anaya's. The Texas transplant just celebrated its ...