Jordan Wright
November 2009
 Ayrshire proprietor Sandy Lerner talks turkey for CBS - photo credit Jordan Wright I returned to Ayrshire Farm in Upperville sooner than I could have imagined. An infusion of farm life soothes the spirit and inspires the chef and I accepted the invitation with delight to join in a turkey tasting sponsored by Ayrshire Farm, The American Livestock Conservancy, Humane Farm Animal Care, Slow Foods USA and Chef’s Collaborative. The surprise guests were the CBS News crew there to document the experience for “The Early Show”.
 Judging begins in earnest - photo credit Jordan Wright This time the judges were Anya Fernald, Founder and Director of Live Culture Co., who works with food producers on sustainable food projects in over 30 countries; Lisa Brefere, Founder and CEO of GigaChef and recent recipient of the American Culinary Federation’s Presidential Medallion for outstanding dedication to the culinary profession; Ed Matthews, Chef/Owner of One Block West whose eclectic seasonal cuisine in Winchester, VA features products from local farms; and Christopher Edwards Executive Chef of Patomack Farm Restaurant in Lovettsville. VA. Edwards brings his culinary experience from under the wing of Ferran Adria who taught him to forage the hillsides of Spain for wild herbs, fruits and other ingredients for his guests at what is considered the “World’s Greatest Restaurant”, elBulli.
The day’s event featured nine heritage breeds. They were as follows: Chocolate, once common in the antebellum South; Narragansett, known in 17th C Rhode Island; Black, known in England and Spain since the 16th C; Bourbon Red, first bred in Kentucky by Mr. J. F. Barbee in 1909; Midget White, a more recent hybrid developed at the University of Massachusetts; Standard Bronze, in America since the 18th C; Royal Palm, a stunning bird bred in Lake Worth, FL in the 1920’s; Slate, another 19th C hybrid; and the White Holland, a white-feathered variety that is one of the rarest and most difficult ancestries to trace.
 Heritage turkeys at Ayrshire Farm - photo credit Jordan Wright Anya Fernald told me how she feels about how Ayrshire Farm is changing the industry model. “Ayrshire is an incredibly inspirational model for a fully vertically integrated farm. I think that Sandy Lerner’s vision is amazingly ahead of its time. Heritage breeds can literally stand on their own two legs, unlike most of our modern raised breeds, and don’t need the same level of inputs, like hormones, antibiotics and chemicals that conventional livestock systems do.”
These are not the steroid-breasted birds with big-as-a-baby’s-leg thighs that consumers have come to expect. Rather they are more favorably compared with wild game. Less familiar to the American palate than to the European connoisseur, they have an elegant and deeper flavor finish.
Panorama at the Peak restaurant in Berkley Springs, West Virginia began using Ayrshire Farm’s turkey for their popular turkey croquettes that they serve over local apple cranberry compote.
Owner Patti Miller tells me, “We have been serving Ayrshire Farm heritage turkey year-round for the past two years. Our guests are crazy about it. “ She adds, “The difference between their heritage bird and a commercial counterpart is nothing short of amazing.”
 Chef Robert Townsend with Thanksgiving turkey at Ayrshire - photo credit Jordan Wright The day began in the farm’s kitchens where Executive Chef Rob Townsend prepared the birds, along with his assistants. Numbered toothpicks were placed beside prepared samples of the different turkey breeds, votes were cast and favorites were selected. The winner was the Royal Palm turkey, with the Midget White and Chocolate coming in third place. Personally I preferred the Bourbon Red for flavor, texture and appearance.
Three varieties of certified organic, certified pasture raised and certified humane raised turkeys are now available from Ayrshire Farm for the holidays, Midget White, Bourbon Red and Bronze. If you decide to try one of these birds over the holiday season, please do let me know which breed you decided upon and how your family enjoyed its unique flavor.
 Turkey Croquettes from Panorama at the Peak, Berkeley Springs, WV
Panorama at the Peak, Berkeley Springs, WV
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 cups chicken or turkey stock
2 farm-fresh egg yolks
3/4 cup half & half
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
2 large leeks finely chopped
4 cups finely diced turkey. (Ayrshire Bourbon Red Turkeys both white & dark meat)
fine bread crumbs
olive oil for frying
Melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth.
Add turkey stock, stirring slowly and constantly to keep smooth, until
sauce is thick. Remove from heat.
Mix beaten egg yolks into cream. Add egg mixture, stirring into
butter and stock mixture, until smooth.
Stir in diced turkey, leeks and celery. Mix well.
Place over double boiler on high heat and cook about 20 minutes,
stirring occasionally.
Refrigerate until well cooled…at least 2 1/2 hours or overnight.
Form mixture into 2 oz balls and roll in breadcrumbs.
Cover bottom of saute pan with oil. Heat oil over medium high heat.
Place croquettes in pan and press with spatula. Saute both sides
until golden brown.
Place browned croquettes on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven, 10 to 15
minutes.
Apple Cranberry Compote
5 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup apple cider
1 cup cranberry juice
Sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
Cook all ingredients together just until apples are softened but not
mushy.
If necessary, thicken with cornstarch and water slurry.
Serve warm under croquettes.
Recipes provided by Executive Chef, Scott Collinash
www.AyrshireFarm.com
www.HomeFarmStore.com
www.slowfoodusa.com
www.LiveCultureCo.com
www.GigaChef.com
www.OneBlockWest.com
www.patomackfarm.com
www.PanoramaAtThePeak.com
For comments or questions on this story contact [email protected] or visit www.whiskandquill.com
Jordan Wright
The Georgetowner/Downtowner
October 2009
 Ayrshire Farm Manor House - photo credit Ayrshire Farm I recently received an intriguing invitation to judge a beef tasting competition at the magnificent Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA. Participating would be the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Humane Animal Care, Slow Foods USA, Chefs Collaborative and dozens of cattle ranchers, who brought their heirloom beef for the tasting, would be in attendance. It was all to be held at Ayrshire Farm, a picture perfect farm that is a working model for the sustainable breeding and natural raising of farm animals.
Ayrshire Farm, which prides itself on raising rare and endangered breeds on 800 rolling acres that most pigs, cows, turkeys and chickens could only dream of, is owned by Sandy Lerner, the co-founder of Cisco Systems, the networking systems giant. They employ strict organic farming methods and their livestock and vegetables are raised without hormones, pesticides or antibiotics. In 2004 they became the first farm in Virginia to meet Certified Humane Raised and Handled standards.
Although the trip fell on the same days as our tenth anniversary plans, we hoped to combine the two events. We were invited to overnight in the manor house a country mile from the two spots we wanted to revisit…the church where we wed, and Welbourne, a neighboring estate where our wedding party had stayed and celebrated on that memorable weekend.
So on a sparkling fall day with a suitcase full of nuptial reveries and a palate for beef, we set off from Alexandria to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to experience Ayrshire Farm as guests in this private home and connoisseurs of beef.
On our first evening we were hosted at the Hunter’s Head tavern in the town of Upperville. The pub serves delicious organic steaks, pork and chicken from the farm and authentic British pub fare like “bangers and mash” and “bubble and squeak”, and a not-to-be-missed dessert called sticky toffee pudding. Executive Chef Rob Townsend oversees the tavern, the Home Farm Store in Middleburg, a posh catering division called Home Farm Catering, and the myriad of events hosted by Ayrshire Farm and Lerner herself.
 Calico companions at Ayrshire Farm- photo credit Roy Wright We returned to the fieldstone manor under a starry sky and tumbled into an antique silk-draped bed with two affectionate calico cats as our companions…nuzzling and purring us to sleep. (The walls of the manor are covered with venerable American and English oil paintings of horses and other animals. A small hand crafted leather book placed bedside told the provenance of the charming feline portraiture in our bedroom.)
 Heritage cattle at Ayrshire Farm The following morning we toured the farm along with some of the ranchers and their spouses and viewed the pristine conditions under which the livestock are kept. We walked across fields where the endangered 13th century breed of Ancient White Park cattle and Scottish Highlands and Holsteins grazed contentedly, down lanes with hoop houses that held late-season tomatoes, past row upon row of newly planted winter vegetables, barns housing massive Shire horses and filled with antique carriages. The turkeys were as curious to see us as we them and they ratcheted up their barnyard cacophony as we went by. On another lane we saw mountains of rich, natural compost that any gardener would give their eyeteeth for, thirteen different breeds of chickens and some rare breed 19th century Gloucester Old Spot hogs with their suckling piglets. And a partridge in a pear…well, not really.
 The judges deliberate - from left - Jordan Wright, Akiko Katayama and Nora Poullion - photo credit Roy Wright Back at the manor the tasting was set out and I met my fellow judges. Nora Poullion, a pioneer and champion of environmentally conscious cuisine in our area and who helped develop our area’s earliest farmers markets (In 1999 her eponymous Washington, DC, Restaurant Nora, became the first certified organic restaurant in America.) and Akiko Katayama, the pretty and petite judge from Food Network’s “Iron Chef America”. Katayama is a Japanese food writer and expert on the Japanese and American beef industries. She writes for 17 different outlets in her native Japan.
Selected New York strip steaks were prepared identically and small pieces were threaded onto skewers and placed in warming trays for the tasting. There was keen anticipation in the air as everyone filed into the grand dining hall. We judges went first, filling our plates with the secret numbered samples and retiring to the conservatory to deliberate on the beef’s merits or inadequacies based on flavor and texture. Most of the beef proffered was grass-fed, though Ayrshire Farm prefers to finish off the feeding cycle with grain for the last few months.
Some beef was too lean or earthy tasting, some chewy and some lacking tenderness. It was an interesting exercise but my hands down favorite was breed number three on my list of ten entrants. We returned with our findings to learn the name of the winner.
 Ayrshire Farm heritage Bronze turkey - photo credit Ayrshire Farm Visiting ranchers, who had sampled their own, as well as their competitors’ product, computed their findings. When the tally was in Ayrshire Farm’s Ancient White Park and Highland beef came out the over-all winners.
After a simple but lovely lunch beneath the portico and amidst late-flowering roses we enjoyed the fading light and conversation with our fellow guests. It was an uplifting experience to be in the company of these enlightened farmers who respect animals and how they are raised for our consumption. I met fellow concerned chefs who source local and organic food, humane butchers who sell only organically raised meats and poultry and founders and preservers of the sustainable food movement. And so it was with a renewed regard for the dedicated guardians of our food supply that we trotted down the road in celebration of our tenth year anniversary and our hope for the future of the American farm.
Ayrshire Farm has three breeds of heritage turkeys pre-brined and ready for Thanksgiving, Midget Whites, Bronzes and Bourbon Reds. You can pick them up at the Home Farm Store at the light in Middleburg or
online at the address below.
www.homefarmstore.com
www.huntersheadtavern.com
For Home Farm Catering contact: Rob Townsend
www.ayrshirefarm.com
www.certifiedhumane.org
www.slowfoodusa.org
For questions or comments on this article contact Jordan Wright or visit www.whiskandquill.com
Jordan Wright
October 2009
Whisk and Quill and Local Kicks
 Alexandria Councilman Krupicka fields question for the panel - Photo by Jordan Wright Flavor, the region’s premier food magazine promoting local, sustainable farming and artisanal food, in conjunction with Alexandria Councilman Rob Krupicka and local restauranteurs  Heather Stouffer founder of Mom Made Organics - Photo by Jordan Wright hosted an evening of food, film and friends at the George Washington Masonic Memorial last night. Guests were greeted at the door with nibbles from Brabo, Artfully Chocolate, Food Matters, Toigo Farms, Cheesetique, KiwiKuisine, Mom Made Foods, Buzz, Grape + Bean, Evening Star and Alexandria’s farmers markets to benefit ALIVE’s local food bank program.
It was also a chance to view Ana Sophia Joanes 2009 eco-documentary, “Fresh” which has received so many film festival “Official Selection” designations it’s off the charts. The film features Joel Salatin, author and farmer; Michael Pollan, food writer extraordinaire; Milwaukee’s Will Allen, a strapping former basketball player turned urban farmer; George Ball, who turned his family’s supermarket into a vehicle for the theme Buy Fresh Buy Local; Diana Endicott, who organized the local farmers of Kansas City with the Good Natured Family Farms co-op; and an assortment of farmers who have turned their backs on agri-business for the health of their animals, their farms, their customers and their planet.  Flavor Magazine's Editor, Melissa Harris - Photo by Jordan Wright  Apple turnovers from Food Matters in Alexandria's West End - Photo by Jordan Wright After the showing Krupicka announced Alexandria’s recent “Eco-City” award from the Virginia Sustainable Building Network, and invited the audience to meet the panel.
The panel consisted of Melissa Harris, editor of Flavor Magazine; Dr. Ruby Lathon, Nutrition Policy Manager at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and heads up the Healthy School Lunch Campaign; Tom Przystawik chef/owner of Food Matters who runs a local CSA from his restaurant; Bernie Prince, co-founder and co-director of FRESHFARM Markets a non-profit that operates nine producer-only farmers markets in the Metro area, its latest across from the White House; award winning Chef Robert Wiedmaier of Brabo, Marcel’s and Brasserie Beck; and Joel Salatin, the owner of Polyface Farm in Swoope, VA.
The evening’s big draw was Salatin, recently recognized by the Heinz Family Foundation for his innovative work in sustainable agriculture and his challenge of traditional methods of agro-business with its pervasive chemical and hormone  Alexandria's Farmers Market fall harvest basket - Photo by Jordan Wright usage and mega-farming practices. His provocative, polysyllabic responses explored the issues with humor and hope for the future. As a pioneer in sustainable farming he is both knowledgeable and deeply committed to “healing” the industry “from its shallowness of spirit and shallowness of sacredness” in its treatment of the land and the animals. “We need to start with our plates,” he suggests in a clear rebuke to big-ag’s motto of “fatter, faster, bigger, cheaper”. His Polyface Farm is living proof it can be profitably achieved.
 Cheesetique's assortment of artisanal cheeses - Photo by Jordan Wright Dr. Lathon of PCRM, whose Healthy School Lunch program focuses on adding fruits and vegetables to kids’ meals, reminded us that with the rate of obesity tripling over the past few decades we need to be more vigilant of our children’s diets. Her “Shrek Smoothies” made by the kids at one local school is one example of getting them excited about eating green.
“Unhealthy kids equals unhealthy adults and puts a strain on our nation’s healthcare system,” she warned. However with the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act awaiting congressional approval, there is new hope for nutritious meals in our schools.
 Smoked salmon in cucumber cups from Brabo Restaurant - Photo by Jordan Wright Bernie Prince, who described her markets as “producer-only”, spoke of the success of their FoodPrints project that teaches local students how to plant vegetable gardens in their schools and she highlighted the work of Wholesome Wave, an organization that has allowed seniors and needy families to use food stamps and vouchers at area FRESHFARM Markets.
Both chefs Wiedmaier and Przystawik encouraged their fellow chefs to buy local, prepare dishes from scratch and change their menus with the seasons so as not to contribute to the nation’s whopping 20% of all fuel costs to transport food around the country.
Coming off the heels of DC’s recent Green Festival it was one more chance to get your green groove on.
For information contact:
www.polyfacefarms.com
www.flavormags.com
www.pcrm.org
www.cheesetique.com
www.mommadefoods.com
www.kiwikuisine.com
www.braborestaurant.com
www.ackccocoabar.com
www.foodmattersva.com
www.grapeandbean.com ,
www.eveningstarcafe.com
www.buzzonslaters.com
www.localharvest.org/farmersmarkets
For questions and comments contact [email protected]
Launch of Jose Andres Catering with Ridgewells
Jordan Wright
Whisk and Quill
October 2009
This week saw the launch of Jose Andres Catering with Ridgewells.  Getting the party started - photo credit Jordan Wright No sooner had the genius entrepreneur Andres, who can’t seem to rest on his laurels,  Jose shares his thoughts on food - photo credit Jordan Wright opened his wildly successful Bazaar Restaurant in LA, when he plunged into his newest venture. Andres, of PBS’s successful Made in Spain series, who has broken new ground in dining in Washington DC with Mini Bar by Jose Andres, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Café Atlantico and Jaleo, now offers his divine food to Ridgewells’ clientele.
The setting for this reveal was the stunning Georgian home of THINKFOODGROUP’s owner Rob Wilder, who cleared out all but the Directoire settees and Louis XVI chairs to accommodate the guests. “EAT DRINK DREAM” was the theme and its slogan illuminated the home’s facade at this posh affair, where a myriad of savory canapés like fattoush with sumac-cured salmon and cotton candy foie gras accentuated the theme featuring a varied Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine from Andres’ repertoire of traditional and avant garde flavors.
Under a pavilion three chefs stirred a giant paella pan nearly seven feet in diameter steaming and burbling with shrimp and clam paella. While indoor stations of salt-crusted red snapper with skordalia and parsley sauce and the world’s most tender lamb with rosemary jus and ladolemono, were served by Ridgewells’ staff.  Scallops with citrus and guajillo chili oil - photo credit to Jordan Wright Poolside found heavenly scallop crudo cradled in its own shell with guajillo chili oil and mixed citrus salsa vying for attention with sweet Kumamoto oysters on green olive puree touched by lemon.
Swirling servers with tiny pretty food tempted guests who wandered through the elegant silver-draped rooms sampling delicacies. Carved out cherry tomatoes speared with pipettes filled with a mousse of mozzarella that shot into one’s mouth like a pollinating spore…so very interactive…clear glass espresso cups contained delicate whipped potatoes sitting atop black caviar. Yet another plate was adorned with jicama pouches filled with tuna ceviche and flavored with coconut and ginger.
 A perfect evening - photo credit to Jordan Wright Drinks too, were part of the fun. Mojitos topped with clouds of mint-flavored cotton candy and Sangria Rojo that was ladled from a fruit-filled apothecary jar. Sweet saffron jellies showed the playful, elegant, taken-to-the-nth-degree nature of Andres’ presentations. Washington hostesses will be in seventh heaven…at last able to bring this extravagant cuisine to their homes and charitable events.
In the hope-to-see-you-there category: Next month Andres will join his friend and mentor Ferran Adria, to teach a course at Harvard University. Adria, acclaimed chef of what has been billed as “the world’s greatest restaurant”, elBulli in Roses, Spain, lectured there in 2008.  Fruits, flowers and veggie decorations at Jose Andres/Ridgewells launch event - photo credit to Jordan Wright The two compatriots, invited by Harvard’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, will teach on the science of molecular cooking, an avant-garde concept of preparing food credited to Adria and practiced and promoted by the two chefs.
 Mojito clouds - photo credit Jordan Wright Later that evening I chatted with Andres about his LA experience. “There is a food cart phenomenon called “Kogi” that serves Korean BBQ on tacos”, Andres informed me. “You have to go on Twitter to find out where they’ll be that day. They change their location a couple times a day and hundreds of people show up to make the scene. It’s incredible.”
I wondered if this would become his next inspiration. Would there be “tapas-on-wheels”? It’s anybody’s guess. I’ll keep my quill sharpened.
The Del Ray BBQ Boys Celebrate Their New Restaurant (and a food writer inadvertently becomes part of the story)
Jordan Wright
Whisk and Quill
October 2009
 Investor Mango Mike and wife Donna with their Pork Barrel BBQ bus - photo by Jordan Wright
I arrived early on Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray last week. Brett Thompson and Heath Hall, creators and owners of Pork Barrel BBQ were setting up the tables, pitching the tent and catching up with old friends and supporters in anticipation of the day’s groundbreaking ceremony for their new restaurant venture. In July I wrote about the “Del Ray BBQ Boys”, as I had nicknamed them, for localkicks.com after meeting them and sampling their delicious wares at National Harbor’s Food and Wine Festival. NBC News Washington had picked up my story and it had skyrocketed to tens of thousands more “eyes” on it.
Thompson walked over and said, “This restaurant is all because of you and your story about us. We want to thank you.”
Stunned, I stammered, “What are you talking about?”
“Well, “Mango” Mike read your story on us,” he revealed. (“Mango” Mike, of the eponymous restaurant on Duke Street.) “He googled it up and that’s how he found out about us and offered to back us in this restaurant.”  cut the ribbon with Mayor Bill Euille (center) - Photo Credit Jordan Wright Of course it was also because back in September they had appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank series and considerably more people had come to know them and their story as former Hill staffers and Virginia-based entrepreneurs.
I looked around at their dream come true. On hand were Alexandria’s Mayor, Bill Euille, Vice Mayor, Kerry Donnelly, Councilman Frank Fannon and Linda and Steve Hubbard, dressed in their UPS chocolate brown and gold uniforms, who own the fulfillment center, where over 1,000 bottles and jars of Pork Barrel BBQ’s fabulous sauce and rub are shipped to eager customers around the country. Everyone came ready to cheer on the boys. Restaurant backers “Mango” Mike and Bill Blackburn, arriving in their massive gold touring bus, were doing the meet-and-greet, while pork smokers wafted waves of heavenly barbecue aroma over the crowd of supporters who milled around with neighborhood business owners and Del Ray’s artsy crowd.
 Breaking ground in Del Ray with ABC's Shark Hunt film crew - photo by Jordan Wright A couple of local newspaper publishers doing their own event coverage added to the eclectic local crowd along with a “P-O-R-K” fan club made up of four skinny half-naked pig-snouted students from Bishop Ireton High School, all eager to be in on the celebration and tasting. It was the usual set up for a groundbreaking. Golden shovels and giant scissors gleamed in the warm September sun.
But one thing was different…stunningly noticeably different…from any other ribbon cutting in any other town in North America, or the world for that matter.
Because, for this small groundbreaking ceremony for two nice guys in business for less than a year, taking place in a small suburb of Alexandria, Virginia across from the local farmers market held on Saturday mornings in a dentist’s parking lot, Hollywood was on site to cover it. Big time!
ABC’s Shark Tank film crew had shown up full tilt with cameraman, soundman and microphones to record the event for a later show in the boys continuing success saga; and invitees, who knew about the planned coverage in advance, were checking out the action…playing it cool for the cameras.
 Pork Barrel BBQ Fan Club chows down - Photo Credit Jordan Wright After all the picture-taking and filming died down lunch was served on the “lot” and I again tasted Bret and Heath’s barbeque pork that they coat with olive oil, massage with their secret rub and smoke for 13 hours. I savored it. I gave it time to process the deep and complex flavors. I palate-checked. I concluded. If they recreate this in their new restaurant, poised to open in Spring 2010, the tiny village of Del Ray will be on America’s food trail map forever. For, dear readers, this is the best barbeque I have ever tasted…smoky, juicy, tender and sweet. Pork nirvana. I can hardly wait till spring!
If you can hardly wait, you can order their products at www.porkbarrelbbq.com.
By Jordan Wright
Published – LocalKicks.com
September 2, 2009
 Photo by Jordan Wright/Local Kicks Our first stop was Teddy’s Barbeque, where all the meats are hickory smoked. Pulled pork, pulled chicken and beef brisket sandwiches compete with “The Rough Rider Rib,” a monster beef short rib prepared in true Carolina style…brined for 12 hours and then slow-smoked for another 12 hours.
Today’s ballparks have become strike zones with batting and pitching cages, food destinations, Build-A-Bear Workshops, sports arenas, PlayStation pavilions and baseball venues all in one.
Did I mention baseball? Yes, they have that too.
If you haven’t been to a game lately I highly recommend it. Sports fan or not, you’ll be a convert by the time the game’s over. It’s great for a family (very unlike the rowdy and often R-rated crowds at a football game) or whiling away an evening with a date.
I had a chance to sample the food at Nationals Park last week and it was a real eye opener. Professional chefs are creating some wonderful and imaginative stadium food…so delicious that people are showing up at the ticket office and buying the cheap seats ($5), just to get into the park, for some of this mouth-wateringly smokin’ food.
 Photo by Jordan Wright/Local Kicks In earnest we approached the foot-long Crab Louie. At $18 a pop it may seem a little pricey until you realize that it’s all lump crabmeat. If you’re accustomed to the greasy $7 slices of pizza at FedEx Field, you are in for a complete overhaul of your sports venue mindset.
Unlike FedEx Field, which has private high-end ticket holder restaurants within the stadium for their club seat and sky-box patrons only, Nationals Park has fabulous choices for food all over the stadium. Most of these spots even have a direct view of the game with outdoor awning-covered seating or indoor and air-conditioned with a sight line enjoyed through sliding glass panels.
While FedEx offers in-seat service for their pricey club seat ticket holders, Nationals Park encourages all its guests to walk around and enjoy the game from a number of different viewing areas and to eat your way around the park. With so much to choose from it’s great fun to get there early and eat at your leisure.
Since it is necessary to have kid approval for ballpark food, my grandson, Jacob, a perpetually hungry 11 year-old, was recruited for the sake of this review.
Our first stop was Teddy’s Barbeque, where all the meats are hickory smoked. Pulled pork, pulled chicken and beef brisket sandwiches compete with “The Rough Rider Rib,” a monster beef short rib prepared in true Carolina style…brined for 12 hours and then slow-smoked for another 12 hours. I am challenging all readers to let me know if they have ever had better anywhere.
Did I mention the smoked corn on the husk, baked beans, slaw and potato salad sides? We are just getting started here.
In earnest we approached the foot-long Crab Louie. At $18 a pop it may seem a little pricey until you realize that it’s all lump crabmeat (Try making this at home. I priced a pound of lump at $33 today!), and four people could share this for a lovely lunch. Comes with extra crispy Old Bay seasoned french fries too.
Next we tried a Cuban sandwich that fit right into my “foodcation” concept. Skip the flight to Miami and cab to Calle Ocho, you can enjoy a “medianoche” right here.
We continued our street fair approach to dining with a stop at a recent addition, The Kosher Grill. Along with kosher hot dogs it features falafel, knishes and Middle Eastern shwarma. Are you still with me?
If you’re wistful for the annual summer Feast of San Gennaro, now in its 90th year, in New York City’s Little Italy (the sentiment always floods over me at this time of year), you couldn’t do better than to have the Italian Sausage sandwich here. It is one of my all-time favorites and they hit it out of the park…fennel-infused sausage, sautéed red peppers and onions, soft Italian roll and all.
 Photo by Jordan Wright/Local Kicks Did I mention the smoked corn on the husk, baked beans, slaw and potato salad sides? We are just getting started here.
In case you thought ballpark food was all hotdogs and peanuts, at this hip stadium they have healthy snack alternatives like veggie burgers, shrimp burgers, boxes of carrot and celery sticks, fresh fruit bowls, fruit smoothies and more. Makes a parent feel almost nutritionally religious taking the little ones to see a game.
Here you’ll find so many different locations to pause, eat, drink and watch the game you needn’t sit in your seat at all and some fans never do. At the Red Porch, a restaurant open to all ticket holders, they carry beer on tap from around the country…like Dogfish from Delaware, Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout from Michigan and Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber from Maryland to mention a few.
With different food from the rest of the park, this sit-down menu has everything from Bacon Blue Cheese Burgers and Quesadillas to Chinese Chicken Salad and Jerk Chicken Wings.
Not to miss dessert our adventure took us onward to two DC faves, Gifford’s Ice Cream and Edy’s Grand Ice Cream stands for a sweet treat. We both loved the park’s, made in Italy and shipped over fresh, Italian gelati. “One mocha chocolate chip, one strawberry, please.” Later we kept our cool with frozen lemonade. It just couldn’t get any better.
Kid verdict: a lot of lip-smacking, barbeque sauce finger licking, more than a few “Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” responses, juicy-cool refreshing fruit snack smiles and a big thumbs up for all the food.
By the way, the Nats crushed their opponents that day…9-2.
Email the writer at [email protected]
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