By Jordan Wright
March 2009
A quick jaunt to Richmond this past weekend to meet our Virginia vintners and witness the Governor’s gold medal awards ceremony, delivered more than expected…so much more! New wineries medaled along with those who have been winning and garnering attention for years.
The three-day event featured a blind wine tasting with importer and famed wine critic and Bartholomew Broadbent who chose a Virginia wine to be compared with an import. Broadbent, named by Decanter Magazine as one of the “fifty most influential people in the wine world…the faces to watch in the new millennium”, was a most erudite host who guided the guests at this Sit-Down Reserve Tasting as they were asked to distinguish between the pair of wines and name their preference. After 12 wines were tasted the votes were equally split, proving that Virginia wines can and do stand up to the best from around the world, including those he selected from Germany, New Zealand, France and Portugal. Continue reading VIRGINIA WINE EXPO
photo by Roy Wright/Local Kicks The rough-hewn Steve Gatward opened his butcher shop "Let's Meat on The Avenue" in Del Ray a year ago. Born an Englishman, he migrated to Australia where he lived for 25 years, becoming well versed in the culture, and picking up a bit of charming Aussie twang.
By Jordan Wright
It’s been less than a year since Steve Gatward opened his butcher shop on Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray.
The rough-hewn Gatward took the circuitous route to get to our shores. Born an Englishman he migrated to the land Down Under where he lived for 25 years, becoming well versed in the culture. It seems that there he picked up a bit of charming Aussie twang.
I had heard that his shop “Let’s Meat on the Avenue” had kangaroo meat and, inspired by the recent balmy weather, I thought it might be fun to throw some “on the barbie”
It was late afternoon and golden shafts of sunlight filtered into the sparkling shop beaming down on an old wooden cutting block where lay the largest oven-browned dog bones I had ever seen. Alexandria is one of the ten top dog friendly cities in the country and to our beloved canines coming here must be like making the Hajj for pilgrims.
Shelves of gourmet spices, grill sauces and accompaniments were martialed together waiting to be paired up with your choice of meat. The rosy loins and chops were aligned side-by-side awaiting a sheet of crisp white butcher paper before the rush home for supper’s preparation. More
 THE VIRGINIA WINE COUNTRY: Last weekend in Richmond, new Virginia wineries medaled along with those who have been winning and garnering attention for years. By Jordan Wright
A quick jaunt to Richmond this past weekend to meet our Virginia vintners and witness the Governor’s Gold Medal awards ceremony, delivered more than expected. New wineries medaled along with those who have been winning and garnering attention for years.
The three-day event featured a blind wine tasting with importer and famed wine critic and Bartholomew Broadbent who chose a Virginia wine to be compared with an import.
Broadbent, named by Decanter Magazine as one of the “50 Most Influential People in the Wine World…the Faces to Watch in the New Millennium,” was a most erudite host who guided the guests at this sit-down reserve tasting as they were asked to distinguish between the pair of wines and name their preference.
After 12 wines were tasted the votes were equally split, proving that Virginia wines can and do stand up to the best from around the world, including those he selected from Germany, New Zealand, France and Portugal.
Later that evening at The SunTrust Governor’s Cup Grand Tasting and industry awards ceremony, a ticketed group enjoyed their special reserve wine tastings with heavy hors d’oeuvres from area restaurants, including a delicious offering of Braised Brisket with Three-Cheese Anson Mills Grits and Wine-braised Red Cabbage from the posh Jefferson Hotel’s TJ’s Restaurant nearby. Link to the whole article
By Jordan Wright
For those of you who remember the Dixie Pig, a former Alexandria high temple to Southern Fried Cuisine, you will know where to find Vaso’s Kitchen. The only commercial establishment in an otherwise laid-back neighborhood, the madcap neon pig still prances over the rooftop, a testament to the City’s love of historic preservation.
The three year-old restaurant, housed in a cute clapboard cottage, comfortably seats 60, with additional bar and summer patio seating. Its menu pays tribute to chef/owner Vaso’s Greek heritage with a nod to other regional Mediterranean cuisines. Vaso, who worked for Mike’s Italian Restaurant in the Mount Vernon area for 25 years, knows the operations of a restaurant, from kitchen to service, and spoils her mostly local clientele like a mother hen nurturing her brood. (Big reveal here…she is sister to Denise Papaloizou, who with her husband, Chris, own Alexandria’s top Greek restaurant, Taverna Cretekou in the heart of Old Town.) Continue reading VASO’S KITCHEN
 President Barack Obama at his Inaugural luncheon Tuesday By Jordan Wright
President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Luncheon for approximately 200 guests was held Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall after the swearing-in.
The inventive dishes, created by Alexandria-based Design Cuisine as a tribute to Abraham Lincoln’s favorite foods, were paired with American wines and American-sourced food products.
First course was Seafood Stew prepared with lobster, scallop and shrimp with a crisp pastry lid. It was paired with a 2007 Duckhorn Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc from the Napa Valley region.
It was followed by a “Brace of American Birds,” duck and pheasant from Wisconsin’s MacFarlane Pheasants farm, served with a sour cherry chutney and whipped molasses sweet potatoes…a nod to Obama’s affection for Sweet Potato Pie. It was delightfully paired with a 2005 Goldeneye Pinot Noir also from California.
The piece de resistance, and who can resist dessert, was an Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake with Glace Cream which was highlighted by a Korbel Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvee” from the spectacular Russian River Valley.
The bottle featured a commemorative neck label featuring the Inaugural Seal.
How many bottles were taken home as souvenirs is anyone’s guess.
Below is the recipe for the Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney. Do try this at home!
Continue reading Alexandria caterer prepares Obama’s Swearing-in luncheon
 The Bavarian Alps
Dec 11,2008
By Jordan Wright
When I imagine my menu for Christmas dinner in Alexandria I conjure up visions of half-timbered houses and quaint villages in the legendary Black Forest of Germany.
Silhouetted against the Bavarian Alps towering evergreens cast their deep blue shadows and the amber lights from cottage windows form haloes across the crisp snow. Curls of smoke rise up from rosy brick chimneys and waft the scent of smoldering coal and pine resin. The fantasy continues…
A little girl, clad in her ruffled lace blouse and dirndl, sweetly hums “O Tannenbaum” or “Stille Nacht”, and helps her “grosmutter” prepare the traditional marzipan stollen. Together they await the visit of the “tomte” or “kobold”, the Christmas gnome who, ancient legend has it, will arrive on this evening for his bowl of porridge. These are the images that inspire my culinary Christmas.
I have no German heritage as far as I know, but that has never dampened my spirits for the holiday dinner I prepare for friends and family each Christmas eve. Here in my home in Virginia it might be 50 degrees and raining, a far cry from the swirling snows of Deutschland, but still I invoke the same dear scene.
 Bavarian Santa Decoration
The old French marquetry table is laid with my grandmother’s Royal Copenhagen china. The annual mystery posited. Why ever did she have so many plates and no soup bowls? There is an assortment of crystal goblets…red with a clear base, clear with a green base and all clear…in a semi-circle, the old mismatched monogrammed silver and embroidered linen napery.
Miniature silver bee skeps hold place cards, which everyone switches up to suit their seating preference, and long tapers reflect off a myriad of crystal facets, spinning light onto the guests. Branches of pine and Nandina berries tumble from vases, and a pair of silver pheasants anchors the tablescape. Everything is in its proper place under the warm glow of the chandelier.
Tantalizing aromas begin to waft though the house as guests cozy up in front of the fire with steaming mugs of Gluhwein, or a Riesling Sekt Brut if the weather is unseasonably warm, and an assortment of herring, salmon and smoked mackerel canapés with apple horseradish and chervil if it can be found. In the kitchen I ladle out the soup and take the roast from the oven. “Dinner is served!” a call that is eagerly awaited.
A selection of German wines has been decided upon. For the first course a Kabinett or Silvaner pairs nicely with our soup, in which little spaetzle float in the clear dill-spiked veal broth. Carefully pacing ourselves, we will linger over the warm liquid, in anticipation of our long-dreamed-of Bavarian feast. Continue reading A Bavarian Christmas Dinner
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