Save some energy for the end of the week and the Washington, D.C. International Wine and Food Festival. I have vague memories of this event 2 years ago when it was held on Valentine's day (trust me, showing up for your date after you've been sipping wine all afternoon is NOT a good idea.) Following Meat-Week, vegans are taking the spotlight with meat-free week. I guess it's a good thing wine is totally vegan right ;-) FEBURARY 6I drank my first Pisco Sour at the Gran Bolivar Hotel in Lima during my honeymoon and have been a big fan of the frothy cocktail ever since. Yes, Pisco Sour day was February 4th but you can still celebrate today at The Passenger. Melanie Asher, founder of boutique ...
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Americana – Groundhog Day
In France, February 2 is known as La Chandeleur (Candlemas) and sometimes better known as Crêpe Day. One of our saying "À la Chandeleur, l'hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur" (on candlemas, winter stops or grows stronger) is surprisingly appropriate for the U.S. version of candlemas celebration: Groundhog Day. Based off a german tradition that crossed over when German settlers came to Pennsylvania, it uses a groundhog, rather than an igel (hedgehog) to predict the weather for the rest of winter. The first official groundhog day was celebrated in Punxsutawney, PA and now every February 2nd Americans tune in to see whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not. Today, he did not see his ...
D.C.’s The Sweet Lobby on Cupcake Wars
Don't forget to tune in to the Food Network at 10PM this Sunday after the SuperBowl to watch The Sweet Lobby's Winnette McIntosh Ambrose and her brother Timothy battle it out on Cupcake Wars! I have actually not had one of their cupcakes yet because I always get distracted by all the colorful macarons when I visit the cute Capitol Hill shop...Let's hope they can be as successful as Sticky Finger's Doron Petersan who recently won Cupcake Wars All Stars! I know I'll certainly be cheering for them all the way from Paris!! From D.C., fans of The Sweet Lobby can view the episode (and enjoy some sweet cupcakes!) at The Ugly Mug (723 8th Street SE), Elephant and Castle in Penn Quarter or ...
Ma Petite Liste – January 30-February 5
Eat Meat Repeat - it's meat week in the District! Local BBQ enthusiasts can gather at a different venue every night to celebrate smoky, slow cooked meat! MONDAY JANUARY 30 Photo credit: Paul USAIt's National Croissant Day! Croissants are not originally French though our boulangers made the Austrian Kipferl their own and a staple of viennoiserie (viennoiseries literally means "of Vienna"). Celebrate by starting the day with a regular or almond croissant at Paul and end it at Bayou Bakery for a cajun twist on pigs in a blanket, with smoked pork andouille sausages wrapped in a flaky, buttery, croissant. If you have more of a sweet tooth, try Mussel Bar's Chocolate Bread Pudding: the secret ...
Have your cake beer & eat it too!
Apparently, I didn't quite hit my sugary limit after I out every dessert at Birch & Barley last night, so I set out to Nellie's on U Street for to see two D.C. brands get hitched, and eat more sweets ;-) Chocolate City Brewery and Hello Cupcake's union is already blessed with a beautiful (and decadent) love child: a beer-ladden cupcake with bourbon buttercream frosting topped with a chocolate covered potato. If you missed the shot gun wedding Shot Gun Wedding last night, you can still grab a taste of this sweet union at Hello Cupcake. The boozy treat will be sold for $3.50 until February 15th. ...
A Whole Week Dedicated to Love (of Chocolate)
Since I'm allergic to chocolate, it looks like I might want to avoid Georgetown the week of February 13-19 aka D.C.'s first Week for Chocolate! D.C. Chocoholics (ie. pretty much everyone but me) will be treated to a 7 day chocolate extravaganza courtesy of SalesVote. For the entire week, participants will enjoy chocolate-inspired drinks, food and dessert specials offered by Georgetown merchants, when they purchase a Week For Chocolate deal Badge from SalesVote.com. This badge will serve as a ticket to obtain exclusive offerings from each participating business. Proceeds from badges will go to three local non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. Participants will utilize ...
Catch That Oscar Nominee – 2012 Edition
Every year I get Oscar fever and try to see as many nominated films as possible. Even the nominated in obscure categories like best make-up or animated short films! The great thing is between the day-long AMC Best Picture Showcase, netflix and all the great independent movie theaters here in the District, it's actually not that hard to catch a lot of the nominees. STILL (OR SOON) IN THEATERS:Hugo and The Artist lead the nominations with 11 and 10 nods respectively. Hugo in an American film set in France, The Artist a French film set in the USA... either way, France wins righ? Sort of? ;-)The Artist ~ All chauvinism aside, I don't think I can rave enough about Zee Artiste. It's a wonderful, ...
Chinese New Year Flashmob at CDG
I love this! Travelers heading from Paris to China today got a special treat to celebrate Chinese New Year at Terminal 2E of Charles de Gaulle airport. Now the flash mob in question doesn't have a lot to do with China and/or the year of the dragon, but it gets pretty boring waiting for your flight to board, so I'm sure passengers must have been glad to have the festive dance in question to distract them from their duty free shopping![youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-96eY5bRs?fs=1]Oh, and CDG, I'll be boarding a flight for the US on February 12th... anything fun planned for me?? ;-) ...
Le Huffington Post Version Française
Le Huffington Post launched in France today, under the editorial directorship of Anne Sinclair (before she was know as Strauss-Khan's wife, she was a famous journalist who hosted her own Sunday night news magazine.) After HuffPost UK, and Le HuffPo, there are plans for Die HuffPost in Germany and El HuffPost in Spain. In her first editorial, Madame Sinclair explained her vision for the site, a modest pebble in the information space, a contributor in the debate where unknown as well as established voices can exchange their views. I wish Le HuffPo, Anne Sinclair and her team the best and look forward to reading their contributions. ...
Ma Petite Liste – January 23-29
MONDAY JANUARY 23It's Chinese New Year, time to unleash the dragon!! There's a lot going on throughout the week, like the awesome Toki Underground pop-up with Chef Thang Le of Momofuku Noodle Bar and The Source's Scott Drewno (on the 24th and 25th respectively, Toki is actually closed for the New Year on Monday... but it doesn't matter, both nights sold out very fast.) You can still get your Chinese New Year/Scott Drewno on at Whole Foods P Street. The grocery store will have a dragon dance Monday as well as a cooking demonstration by Chef Drewno (both at 6:30PM). You can also take a more literal approach to the year of the dragon with a screening of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at the ...