Jordan Wright
September 4th, 2012
Special to www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com, www.broadwaystars.com, and www.localkicks.com
 Bistro Vivant’s daily specials – photo credit Jordan Wright Destination McLean, Virginia
With umpteen restaurants opening in the DC Metro area of late one might be reluctant to venture to the outlying burbs. But I assure you this 25-minute hop from the center of town to this destination restaurant is worth the drive. Tooling up the GW parkway and basking in the seasonal panorama is part of the adventure. You might stop along the way at Roosevelt Island and stroll the paths on a crisp fall day or catch a stay-in-your-car view from a Potomac River overlook. Peer down the cliffs and you might spot a Great Blue Heron eyeing his supper or catch a glimpse of Georgetown University’s scullers rowing to the cadence of the coxswain’s call.
Bistro Vivantis the perfect and rare combination of delicious food, knowledgeable service and charming ambiance. That it is housed in a former BBQ joint in a lackluster strip mall is quickly forgotten as soon as you enter. Here’s a place that gets the details right and has a well-heeled clientele who appreciates the effort.
 Bistro Vivant’s Co-owner and sommelier Aykan Demiroglu – photo credit Jordan Wright Owned by Domenico Cornacchia, who is also the Executive Chef, and Aykan Demiroglu, the four month-old bistro is reminiscent of a Montparnassian retreat orchestrated by Toulouse-Lautrec himself. At the end of the long granite-topped bar sits an ice-filled silver bowl where bottles of champagne await and mason jars of fresh fruit and vegetable garnishes stand single file. Bottles of wine are stacked to the ceiling and bentwood stools cozy up to high-top tables alongside the 22-seat bar.
The sunny space succeeds with a refreshing absence of pretense. Dark wood accents, creamy walls and a tiled floor convey a no-nonsense we-are-all-about-the-food-and-wine message, leaving the distinct sense that no trendy restaurant designer had a hand in the décor. Rather it feels effortless and familiar – as if Paris were your usual stomping ground. Open and airy with windows lining the room, the focus is a giant blackboard scribbled with the day’s specials, an ever-changing selection of classic French bistro “soul” food.
 Escargots en cocotte – photo credit Jordan Wright  Poached lobster with two sauces – photo credit Jordan Wright  New Zealand cockles with chorizo – photo credit Jordan Wright
On a recent evening Demiroglu sprinted from bar to dining room in this lively place checking on patrons’ dishes and pouring wines. “Here try this one,” he says, offering a Pouilly Fumé. “I think this will go best with your lobster. Not to your taste? Okay, try this. It’s from a very small French winery, no one else carries it in the US,” the Turkish-born sommelier urges, pouring an estate grown Chablis, this one right on point.
Bistro Vivant’s wine program is exceptional for any restaurant. Wines are offered by the bottle, carafe, half carafe and glass and are ninety percent French sourced. “We seek out small boutique wineries in France,” he beamed, “They’re just not found in area restaurants or stores.” Daily menu specials suggest pairings but Demiroglu seems happy to accommodate individual tastes.
Each Sunday he haunts the Dupont Circle Market to select produce from local farmers and twice a week much of the restaurant’s seafood is flown in from the Mediterranean. Briny New Zealand cockles, spiked with chorizo and bathed in a light saffron broth, are spicy and delicious as are the shelled escargot served en cocotte in a sauce of butter, wine, roasted garlic cloves and herbs. Swoon-worthy is the whole poached lobster with fava beans, baby fennel and heirloom tomatoes atop two dazzling sauces – one of carrot ginger, the other a basil pistou.
Recently a posh burger has joined the ranks. Eponymously called the Pat LaFrieda Burger, after the New York butcher to renowned chefs such as Mario Batali, Danny Meyer and Laurent Tourondel, the custom made seven-ounce patty is made from Black Angus beef, chopped not ground, and boasts two parts chuck, one part brisket and one part boneless short ribs. The juicy wonder comes with Niçoise olive tapenade, grilled tomatoes, vinegar-spiked grilled onions and aged Comté cheese on a brioche bun.
Reservations are highly recommended. On the weeknight we dined several disappointed diners had to be turned away. Call 703 356-1700 and visit www.BistroVivant.com for further information.
 Southern Skillet Vinegars Praise For Fruity Wine Vinegars
I’ve been trying to compartmentalize. Work some/play some segments dictated by weather and deadlines. At home healthful meals are prepared quickly with ingredients able to last a few days between catch-as-catch-can shopping. With heirloom tomatoes at their juiciest and pickling cucumbers at their crunchiest, a nutritious meal can be ready in a jiff. Just add some crumbled goat feta, radish slices, drizzle with EVOO and lightly sprinkle Satsuma Wine Vinegar from Southern Skillet over all. Fresh greens or arugula form a green nest packed with vitamins and chlorophyll. Pack in some protein with cooked chicken, seared scallops, shrimp, lobster (if you’re feeling flush) or a lightly boiled egg. Fresh herbs from the windowsill are quickly snipped in.
I discovered these delicate vinegars earlier this year at the Fancy Food Show and have been slipping in a dash or two in lieu of lemon juice. If you like white wine or champagne vinegar you will love these for their subtle flavorings and adaptability.
The Alabama-based company also makes five other wine vinegars. Red and White Muscadine, Sugar Cane, Tomato and Blueberry. The Sugar Cane Wine Vinegar goes nicely with bacon-wrapped quail; the Blueberry lends itself to enhancing fruits and the White Muscadine cheers up a béarnaise sauce. Try the Tomato to add a unique dimension to andouille gumbo and tomato gravy. You get the idea.
Here’s a recipe using the Tomato Wine Vinegar from Southern Skillet Chef Amos Watts of Jax Fish House in Denver. It even uses our local Rappahannock River Oysters!
Gazpacho Mignonette
3 tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1/3 red onion
3 cloves garlic
4 sprigs cilantro
1 sprig basil
1 bottle Southern Skillet Tomato Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
Puree all ingredients in a blender and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Strain through fine cheesecloth or a coffee filter.
Then add ¼ cup chopped shallots
1 Tbsp. coarsely crushed pepper
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Use on top of freshly shucked Rappahanock oysters or as a sauce for fish or steak.
These unique vinegars haven’t hit the stores yet, but you can find them on Amazon.
Jordan Wright
August 16, 2012
Special to www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com, www.broadwaystars.com, and www.localkicks.com
 Occidental Grill and Seafood Executive Chef Rodney Scruggs. Photo by Jordan Wright. The Occidental, Forever Young
In the shadow of the White House a special watering hole welcomes celebrities, power brokers and out-of-towners in equal measure. The Occidental Grill and Seafood situated beside the Willard Hotel continues its reputation as a swank establishment where legions of notable devotees have long gathered to drink, dine, swap State secrets, and make policy. That it continues to attract both the well-heeled and influential for over one hundred years is a tribute to its reverence for fine food and superb service. But what’s more impressive is, though it boasts a clientele of famous politicians and a roster of international scene-stealers, The Occidental has kept pace with the contemporary food scene. It’s one DC spot that doesn’t rest on its considerably august laurels but continues to forge ahead with innovative American cuisine.
Executive Chef Rodney Scruggs has been steering the kitchen’s progress over the past seven years buying locally as much as he can and delivering the kind of elegant dishes his guests expect. Oysters hail from War Shore Oysters and sustainable seafood is delivered six days a week from Prime Seafood. On a recent visit he beamed like a proud papa over a tray of biodynamically-raised heirloom tomatoes from Virginia’s Whipple Farms and patiently explained how Molly Visosky’s famers co-op, The Fresh Link a system that links farms, food artisans and farmers markets, provides the restaurant with the best local produce farmers have to offer on any given week. The spectacular steaks the Occidental is known for are from Rosetta Farms in Baltimore County who supply Scruggs with top quality naturally raised meat.
 Matt Baker. Photo courtesy of The Washington Loyalist The recent hire of Chef de Cuisine Matt Baker ups the game with his edgy twist to food styling and concept. Also new is Mixologist/Sommelier Jo-Jo Valenzuelawho is quite literally stirring things up with craft sodas and artisanal cocktails, plucking sprigs from the hotel’s herb garden and hunting down exotic spices, to create infused liquors and bring a fresh creative approach to the overall program.
 Lobster roll with fennel at the Occidental. Photo by Jordan Wright. Last week over Maryland lump crab cakes, yellow fin tuna burgers and lobster rolls with fresh fennel, and pleasantly ensconced beneath hundreds of framed photographs of the restaurant’s legendary clientele, tales of the town were swapped with a convivial group that included Metropolitan Opera star Alessandra Marc, über-defense lawyer and former DC Baseball Commissioner, Marc Tuohey III, National Theatre’s Executive Director Tom Lee, and Sean Graystone who currently oversees the restoration of the magnificent Temple of the Scottish Rite one of DC’s most iconic historic buildings.
As we talked our indoor table looked out over the pretty patio with its royal blue umbrellas and cast iron jardinères and window boxes spilling over with herbs and bright pink flowers reminiscent of a sidewalk café along the Champs Élysées. You could almost sense the city’s original designer, Pierre L’Enfant, smiling down in approval, his vision realized and still very much alive.
Summer is Peachy Keen at Station 4
The sleek interior of Station 4 is a fitting stage for the playful cuisine of Executive Chef Orlando Amaro. Decor is a mix of campy chic and studied casualness with lipstick red button tuck leather banquettes, honey-toned pearlized leather chairs and shaded chandeliers. The space is large and lively, with a bar that runs the length of the room and the tables are well spaced, affording easy conversation. On summer evenings opt for the outdoor patio separated from the street by a pathway lined with rosebushes and shaded by white umbrellas.
 Executive Chef Orlando Amaro of Station 4. Photo by Jordan Wright In honor of National Peach Month Amaro has embraced the summer fruit, giving it a supporting role in any number of dishes. Raw oysters become a cradle for a sweet tart peach mignonette; watercress is the underlying base for a piquant salad with blue cheese and pecans toasted with oregano and cayenne; and seared foie gras meets lightly charred peaches. Of particular note recently was an appetizer of watermelon topped with lump crabmeat, halved yellow grape tomatoes and speckles of dehydrated Kalamata olives – an alluring partner to a glass of Schramsberg Brut Rosé.
 Appetizer of watermelon topped with crab at Station 4. Photo by Jordan Wright. Most conveniently Station 4 is located across the street from the Waterfront Metro Station, next door to Arena Stage, and walking distance from Nationals Park making it a terrific gathering place before or after a boffo show or a winning season Nationals game. Check with the restaurant for Nats ticket promos.
Piaf Would Love This Place
 Chicken with mushrooms and summer vegetables at Bistrot Lafayette. Photo by Jordan Wright. Along Old Town Alexandria’s well-trodden King Street is where you’ll find Bistrot Lafayette. A cozy intimate restaurant – a little shabby, a little chic – just how the legendary French chanteuse would prefer. Last week a memorable soupe du jour was cream of spinach served with a dollop of fresh goat cheese and a ribbon of olive oil laced with fresh herbs. Expect to find classics like steamed mussels in white wine as well as roast leg of lamb and duck confit. When the weather turns chilly try the beef bourguignon with a cabernet sauce, or a silken foie gras from Hudson Valley served with pears poached in a soupçon of lemon, honey and five spices.
Every weekend best friends and owners Isabelle Zorro and Marie Sinclair throw a party in their quaint two-story brownstone. Aprés dinner those in the know head upstairs on Friday and Saturday nights to carouse with fellow songsters and Francophiles where live piano accompaniment is in full swing until the last drink is served.
Throughout the steamy month of August Bistrot Lafayette will celebrate their 10thAnniversary with champagne (Mais pourquoi pas, chéri?) offering guests a complimentary glass of French bubbly with each entrée and a full bottle for a table of four.
 Cream of Spinach soup at Bistrot Lafayette. Photo by Jordan Wright. Zorro sends out, “A big thank you to our loyal clientele who have supported us for the past ten years, with many more great times to come!” To that end they are offering another special extending past Restaurant Week. Lunch is $20 for two courses or $25 for three sans the champers. And Mondays are far from blue with half price on all bottles of wine during dinner hours.
Vive la France!
Jordan Wright
August 7, 2012
Special to Washington Life
 Top Chef Master Marcus Samuelsson at the Howard Theatre, Washington, DC – photo credit Jordan Wright A child is seated on the grass in the Land of the Midnight Sun, his attention drawn downward by a clump of flowers. They are everywhere stretching across the rolling hillside as far as the eye can see, but he is focused on collecting specific elements for a simple bouquet clutched in his tiny left hand. A striped knit cap is pulled down tightly over his head. He is five. He appears curious and self-assured, methodical and intense, traits he evidences in no small measure to this day. The scene is from a black and white photograph out of Marcus Samuelsson’s latest book, “Yes, Chef”, an autobiographical journey that opens with his earliest memories of his adoption from his native Ethiopia. 3,700 miles as the crow flies, to Sweden.
Marcus Samuelsson’s ascendancy to Top Chef Master is no fluke. Hard work, numerous television appearances and a slew of cookbooks have shown a bright light on his skills and restaurants. His unique path to a life in professional kitchens began when he was cut from his small town of Göteborg’s soccer club because of his slight frame. “I sometimes think of myself more as a failed soccer player than an accomplished chef,” he admits.
For a while he knocked around a few local restaurants until landing in Switzerland where he trained under the old European hierarchical system where Larousse Gastronomique and Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire were the bibles of French cooking. There he was put to the test in a brutally exhaustive regime fraught with demeaning work, withering insults from head chefs and inhumane hours. The system offered internships to Michelin-starred restaurants where the treatment of young chefs was equally as intense. Samuelsson not only survived, unlike many of his peers, but thrived, learning the intricacies and pitfalls of the business from the inside out and perfecting a disciplined mind that would rival that of an Eastern mystic.
Over the years and throughout his travels Samuelsson kept a diary of his food experiences carefully recording the regional dishes he learned to prepare and daydreaming about how he would do them differently when the time came to open his own restaurant – a time that would come when he could at last merge international flavors with traditional cuisine. That day came in 2011 with the opening of Red Rooster in New York’s Harlem where he has put down roots in the city he has come to call his own.
 Ambessa Teas Last month I sat down with him in the newly restored Howard Theatre in Washington, DC where he has created the venue’s current menu and where he was preparing to discuss and sign his latest book along with an onstage cooking demo. He kindly brewed me a cup of Choco Nut Blend from his new line of Ambessa specialty teas he has created this year for Harney and Sons.
Jordan Wright – You say in your book that a jazz musician looks for a new kind of perfect as going “deep in the shed”. Does that apply to you?
Marcus Samuelsson – Yes! Well, sometimes. For me perfection can be different things. When I started cooking French food we were serving only about two percent of the population. Now I find perfection in berbere [an Ethiopian spice mix] and the countryside of Ethiopia where I’ve found the smells and flavors that I didn’t know how to value earlier in my life. Perfection can mean different things at different times in your life.
JW – You mention in your book wanting to hang out with Keith Haring and Madonna. Who would you like to hang out with now that you haven’t yet met?
MS – It’s been planned for me to cook for Nelson Mandela and that would be really nice. It just hasn’t worked out yet.
JW – Who are the chefs that you most admire today?
MS – My grandmother, who was not a professional but got me going, Charlie Trotter who embraced me early in my career, and I love what Alice Waters has contributed to American cooking. Also I look up to Daniel Boulud and the so many of the unknown chefs who are not yet recognized for their craft.
JW – Are you working with any new ingredients?
MS – Well, not new. I love discovering the ancient Ethiopian foods and presenting them to a non-Ethiopian crowd. It’s fun to treat things a little bit differently like using the chili-like berbere with chocolate or on popcorn.
JW – Who’s been the greatest influence in your life?
MS – My mom and my dad who always gave me guidance. My grandmother giving love and cooking, my parents for my schooling, and my Ethiopian mother who gave me the ultimate sacrifice by making sure we [Samuelsson’s sister was adopted into the same family] would survive.
JW – Your book has a powerful message to future chefs that they should be tough, detailed and methodical. Do you think artistry ever trumps hard work?
MS – Cooking is a great craft because it’s a balance between craftsmanship, traditions, storytelling, artistry, finance and marketing. It’s all of those things.
JW – Do you believe that people have an innate talent for cooking?
MS – I’m a firm believer that you have to work on your talent constantly. I’m always traveling and asking myself questions. Talent will get you in the room, but it’s not going to help if you don’t have a good work ethic and curiosity. It’s evolution, evolution, evolution!
JW – Was the White House State Dinner for the Prime Minister of India hosted by the Obamas one of the highlights of your career?
MS – Absolutely! It was a huge honor to be a part of the team on such a big day where so much of the cooking came down to care as well as research.
JW – Let’s talk about your experience on Top Chef Masters.
MS – I learned so much from being with Susan Feniger and Jonathan Waxman, friends that I so much admire, American chefs that came from California and were part of a cuisine revolution that we didn’t have in Europe. What’s great about the show was sitting around before the filming and listening to how they started in a truck back in the 70’s with no money. It was very inspirational. I remember moments that were not caught on tape like when my back went out and Susur Lee was giving me a massage because I could not move. There was such a camaraderie there that you cannot describe.
JW – Do you want to talk about the menu you’ve created for tonight?
MS – It’s really a fun menu. I will celebrate Sweden with its gravlax, go into Harlem with the fried chicken, and then there’s a hash that features Ethiopian flavors, finishing with the chocolate pancake with roasted cherries and blueberries. It’s comfort food and all the things that speak home to me. I’m really excited to be here in the historic Howard Theatre and to witness the resurgence of the neighborhood.
This interview was conducted, condensed and edited by Jordan Wright.
Jordan Wright
July 20, 2012
Special to www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com, www.broadwaystars.com, and www.localkicks.com
Love Thy Neighbor and Their Beer
 Let the tasting begin – photo credit Jordan Wright What’s more local than partnering with your neighbor? For the food trucks that visit Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company, producer and neighbor Logan’s Sausage lends kitchen space close by the Wheeler Avenue brewery. Fun fact: From 5 till 8pm on alternate Friday or Saturday nights The Big Cheese and Borinquen Lunch Box food trucks join the party at the brewery. Try the Puerto Rican style Churrasco Steak Sandwich or Cuban Sandwich from Borinquen, or the Cherry Glen Chevre with lemon fig jam from The Big Cheese who sources all their cheeses from the Cowgirl Creamery.
The monster storm that knocked out power to over a million people in our area earlier this month caught many local businesses off guard. At Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company power was out for five days, compromising the process of some of the precision controlled beers. But from disaster comes a story to warm the cockles of your eager brewhearts.
Founder Bill Butcher along with Head Brewmaster Jonathan Reeves had been in the process of making the last batch of Downright Pilsner when the storm hit. “From lemons you’ve got to make lemonade,” Butcher told me. I think he meant that in a beer way. So while the vats’ temps had soared, fermenting the batch at a higher temperature than intended, they did a little research and found a style of beer called ‘California Common’ or ‘Steam Beer’ that ferments nicely at the higher temps. This happy accident will be called “Derecho Common” in deference to the type of storm that brewed it. Also called a ‘one-off’ or ‘shadow beer’, Port City will carry it along with the four other brews they are known for – Optimal Wit, a Belgian style Witbier; Essential Pale Ale, a golden beer with a fruity hop aroma; Monumental IPA, a balance between hoppy bitterness and rich malty goodness; and Porter, displaying a roasted coffee/dark chocolate character.
 Spice mix for the Optimal Wit at Port City Brewing Company – photo credit Jordan Wright As for their drowned out July 1st “Pint Party” to celebrate the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control board’s new law finally allowing breweries to serve on premises, neighbors provided the borrowed electricity for the bands and lights a few days later.
In the meantime they’ve put their shoulders to the vats seven days a week for the past three weeks to get back on track after losing three weeks off their production schedule from the storm’s aftermath. (No worries. If you drop by all your faves are there on tap or for sale.)
During a recent tour I learned a great deal about the craft beer process, a quantum leap from the massive operation I beheld at the Guinness Storehouse last spring in Dublin. For example they use a Robot Coupe to blend the coriander, orange peel and Grains of Paradise – an exotic combination of African peppers used in the Optimal Wit. And that Reeves developed a machine called the ‘hop cannon’ to dry hop the beer while it rests in fermenting tanks. In addition their beers are all date stamped and leftover grain stored in the silo in the parking lot goes to a farm in Virginia for cattle feed. Oh, and they use the freshest local War Shore Oysters to make their Revival Stout a process that adds the oysters and their liquor to the briny brew during the boil and steep the shells in the brewing water to add mineral content.
This location is a busy spot both days and evenings with fans arriving regularly to refill growlers and enjoy tastings. Butcher has had to add a second tasting bar, proudly telling me, “It’s a very thirsty market!” Indeed!
For tours and hours visit www.portcitybrewing.com. Or Go to PCBC’s Twitter, Facebook or website to keep current on daily events.
Celeb Chef Joins the Equinox Team
 Ellen Gray (center) with Executive Chef Karen Nicolas (left) and Pastry Chef Brandi Etinger (right) – photo credit Jordan Wright Equinox’s Executive Chef Karen Nicolas could get lost behind a dough machine. The petite chef with the gleaming brown eyes may be small in stature but her ingredient-driven cuisine is now writ large on the culinary stage. At a summer casual party, replete with a live band, the much-adored Todd and Ellen Gray introduced Nicolas and her cuisine to the city’s food writers with the oft-hinted at but now formal announcement that she has been chosen Food & Wine’s Best New Chef of 2012. Nicolas who is Filipino as is White House Chef Cristeta Comerford (Is this a trend?) has been keeping the secret since the magazine informed her last November. Try keeping that under your toque.
Nicolas served up some scrumptious bites straight from her “Ode to Summer” menu. Here are a few of the items on this season’s four-course or six-course menu that offers the option of wine pairing.
Heirloom Summer Melons compressed in anise hyssop with cubanelle peppers, formaggio capra and cucumber water; Sea Salt Cured King Salmon with apricot, fennel crema, Minus 8 Ice Wine; Corn Flour Tagliatelle with Maine Lobster Velouté, summer squash and sorrel. I could go on, but I’m delicately drooling on my keyboard as I write this. I don’t usually mention the prices but in this case I note that they are astonishingly gentle – the four-course at $40 the six at $60. Add on for the wine pairings.
When I asked Nicolas if she had a signature dish she appeared to ponder the question. “Not yet,” she mused. Maybe diners will choose one for her.
I urge you to taste her imaginative dishes for yourself and weigh in when you find your favorite. Gray has always been out in front when it came to buying fresh and local and still is. We’ll happily afford a pass to the Maine lobstah and Alaskan King salmon.
In Just Under the Wire Saturday’s Party and Femivore Award Winners
 Eat Local First Farm-to-Street party on V Street – photo courtesy of Think Local First In another celebration of local farmers and restaurateurs the Eat Local First’s Farm-to-Street Saturday party is the last of a week’s worth of local food, beer, drinks and artisans events at the 1300 V Street, NW outdoor location. Think Local First’s Executive Director Stacey Price and her dynamic team have been partying with the community for the past seven days and have one last event to offer this Saturday from 1 till 7pm. With 40 vendors and 4 bands there’ll be plenty to enjoy. Admission is $15.00 and includes four drink or food tickets.
The organization sponsored a Femivore award with a dinner at RIS. The top finalists and a $1,000.00 award were Lauren Biel and Sarah Bernardi of DC Greenswhose mission is to focus on DC college students, putting them to work in school gardens throughout the city mentoring younger students to grow their own produce to “connect communities to healthy food.”
 Femivore Award – photo courtesy of Think Local First Tied for runners-up with a $500.00 award provided by Mitch Berliner of Essential Farm Markets were Kathryn Warnes and Lisa Jordan with their Taste of Place program to expand culinary tourism in Washington D.C. The women seek to “help you experience the taste of place with hand-on farm-to-table culinary adventures, exploring local food in urban and rural environments.”
Allison Sosna with PINE and MicroGreens also came in as runner up with her innovative business model combining her experience as a restauranteur with a desire to contribute to community outreach. Sosna hopes to, “bridge the gap between food access, food knowledge, and the joy of cooking.” Her fast casual resto PINE sources locally and uses its resources to fund MicroGreens, a program to teach children to cook on a food stamp budget. Berliner generously provided an equal reward to both.
Well-deserved and enterprising programs coupled with thoughtful recognition for their selfless efforts. Now that’s what we call Olympian!
Jordan Wright
June 20, 2012
Special to www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com, www.broadwaystars.com, and www.localkicks.com
With over 180,000 products from 80 countries and regions on display at this week’s Fancy Food Show in DC, even a veteran show-goer needs a game plan before navigating the packed convention floor. Armed with the show’s diagram I hit the cavernous souk-like space like a laser-guided missile.
I like talking with the startups, entrepreneurs who are just getting their feet wet in the marketplace. Most are looking for East Coast distributors for products already found in stores on the West Coast. Scads of delicacies captured my eye and palate. Here’s a first look at a few I swooned over.
Calamondin Café
 Calamondin Cafe’s cakes and coulis – photo credit Jordan Wright Laurie Gutstein, MD presides over 1,000 calamondin trees on Pine Island, an area close by Ft. Myers along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Better known as a region for palm tree growers along with vegetable, mango and lychee farms, Gutstein’s family farm sits in the community of Bokeelia close to Matlacha, a quaint fishing village, evocative of “Old Florida”.
The plant’s history in this country began in 1899 when American botanist and plant explorer David Fairchild, brought back some seeds after an expedition to Panama. Along with his benefactor Barbour Lathrop they introduced citrofortunella microcarpa to South Florida. Floridians took to planting the prolific tree in their backyards making desserts and preserves from the golf-ball sized fruit. The glossy leaved plant produces an orange-hued fruit with a thin rind and near-zero pith, packing a lot of juice for its miniature size.
By the mid-20th century, when a destructive fruit fly began besieging the trees and the arrival of modern foods turned many home cooks from the kitchen, its culinary use went the way of the butter churner. That is until a few years ago when Gutstein unearthed a recipe from an old family friend and started tinkering with different formulas to create teacakes glazed with the sweetened fruit whose unique flavor profile, rather like a cross between a kumquat and a tangerine, has a wow factor of ten. Now you can order her moist calamondin-drenched cakes in three sizes or have your own jar of sunshine with her calamondin coulis. www.calamondincafe.com.
SeaSnax
 SeaSnax Chef Roscoe Moon – photo credit Jordan Wright Kale chips have been gaining a lot of traction lately but seaweed’s luster is on the rise thanks to a recent tout from TV’s Dr. Oz who featured SeaSnax in a recent episode. These crispy roasted seaweed snacks from Korea are nutritious and addictive, and converts will like that they’re non-GMO, gluten free, with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Did I mention all the vitamins and minerals seaweed contains? Nine flavors from Spicy Chipotle and Toasty Onion to Classic Olive and Wasabi, it comes in full-size sheets or nifty grab-and-go packs. Visit www.seasnax.comto find a store near you.
 Types of seaweed used in SeaSnax – photo credit Jordan Wright Living Tree Community Foods
 Nut butters from Living Tree Community Foods – photo credit Jordan Wright Founder and president of Living Tree Community Foods, Jesse Schwartz is a former professor and amateur botanist. During the 1970’s he spent much of his time roaming California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, the Sierra foothills and Mendocino County collecting rare heirloom varieties of apples. Through a process of grafting he brought many of these old time apples back from extinction. Schwartz first started by making and selling almond butter, eventually growing his business to 25 different nut and seed butters along with olive oils, chocolate, bee pollen and many other “alive” products – all are unheated and organic.
At the show were samples of Almond, Pistachio, Walnut and Hazelnut Cloud – each one smooth textured and distinctive. One of their latest products and certainly one of the company’s most intriguing, is Berkeley Buzz Butter, made with chocolate, acai berries, ginger, rosemary, cinnamon and honey and a whole host of other organic ingredients. Visit www.livingtreecommunity.com for recipes and to order by mail.
Bovetti Chocolates
Last year I discovered an amazing product from the Italian company Bovetti, an artisan chocolatier whose elegantly made chocolates rise above so many competitors. After misplacing their product materials and unable to recall the company’s name, I deliberately sought them out again this year. The company produces an outstanding range of over 140 different chocolate bars all from fair trade chocolate. Some have spices added such as Sichuan pepper, espelette chili, ginger, cardamom or fennel. The fruity ones add candied apricots, cherries, and bananas. And some feature flowers like violets, rose petals and jasmine. My favorite is their line of Aperitif Chocolats, tiny seeds of fennel, aniseed, rosemary and pink peppercorns individually enrobed with white or dark chocolate creating miniature spheres that explode with flavor. Find them at www.bovetti.com.
DC’s BuddhaFest Inspires
 Congressman Tim Ryan (Ohio) at BuddhaFest – photo credit Jordan Wright DC’s BuddhaFest last weekend was a blissed out affair designed to put you in touch with your inner self. Aren’t we all seeking that elusive state? The Pink Line Project hosted the festival at the Spectrum Theatre in Rosslyn where Friday night’s speaker, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan (D), spoke to the rapt audience with a discussion of his new book, “A Mindful Nation”. The former quarterback cut a dashing figure as he expounded on the country’s “quiet revolution”. His programs on “mindfulness” have recorded an impressive success rate in major universities, corporations, prisons and high schools. But he seemed most proud of its successful teaching to returning vets suffering from PTSD. Sharing the stage with Ryan was Tara Brach, author, psychologist and founder of the DC Buddhist Fellowship along with her husband, yoga instructor Jonathan Foust. A screening of the award-winning and inspirational documentary Buddha’s Lost Children closed the evening.
 Tara Brach at BuddhaFest – photo credit Jordan Wright Ode to the Grape
 Lemongrass shrimp at The Curious Grape – photo credit Jordan Wright At The Curious Grape in Arlington’s Shirlington Village I found myself snug in a suéded banquette basking in the sunny glow of a restaurant with a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. The former wine and cheese shop has moved around the corner from their former home and added a restaurant. The stylish new digs have a relaxed modern flair with honeyed wood floors and ebony-hued tables and chairs. A vineyard inspired mural soars over the black granite topped bar – a great spot within a short walk to Signature Theatre and the local arthouse movie theatre. Driving home the grape décor is the purple room-length banquette with accenting purple napkins.
Wine, Dine and Shop is the resto’s tag line. The shop section features coffees, chocolates, and artisanal products while over 300 well-chosen wines are cradled in cherry wood rows of racks. Over 25 varieties of chocolates including Vosges Haut-Chocolat, organic Taza, the ultra elegant Amedei from Tuscany and Askinosie, rated “The South’s Best Chocolate” by Southern Living Magazine. The La Salamandra Dulce de Leche, with or without chocolate is an indulgent drizzle over vanilla ice cream. There are olive oils too. L’Estornell an organic 100% arbequiña olive oil from Spain being one of my faves. I also spied Vincotto fig vinegar and Revolution Tea, and coffees from roasters Novo Coffee of Colorado and Lexington Coffeevia the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. A case of international cheeses for take home stands beside the café’s extensive espresso and pastry bar.
 The espresso bar and shop at The Curious Grape – photo credit Jordan Wright The restaurant wants to share its not inconsiderable knowledge of wines. Co-owner Suzanne McGrath, a certified wine educator and her partner, Katie Park, hold frequent seminars highlighting regions from Spain to Oregon. The night we visited wine consultant Cheryl Hauser was conducting one of the weekly Thursday night wine tastings in the private glassed-in dining room.
The menu itself is designed to assist by guiding the diner to suggested wines for the most optimal pairing for its seasonally inspired dishes. Thirty wines are available by the glass or half glass and most of the dishes can be ordered in half or full portions. An alluring prospect for those of us who prefer a different wine with every course and look to sample a variety of dishes. In addition there are more beers, both by bottle and draft, local and imported, than I could possibly describe here. Suffice it to say the full or half drafts would make for an evening of adventurous tasting.
Straight out of the gate the food was creative and memorable. Executive Chef Eric McKamey, who at the tender age of 28 has worked in some of Washington’s finest kitchens including PassionFish, Local 16, Proof under Haidar Karoum, Central under Michel Richard, CityZen under Eric Ziebold, Palena under Frank Ruta and the now-shuttered 2941 under Jonathan Krinn,has a firm grasp on flavor, technique and presentation.
 Baby artichokes starter at The Curious Grape – photo credit Jordan Wright We sampled a silken yellow tail with preserved lemon and a piquant radish salad before moving on to baby artichokes with spring garlic and breadcrumb topping. A daily special was fresh tuna salad over tart fried green tomatoes paired nicely with a Michael Shaps Viognier from Virginia Wineworks. Another winning dish was lightly charred head-on lemongrass shrimp complemented by roasted peanuts and Thai basil and nestled cozily over rice noodles bathed in cucumber tamarind vinaigrette.
 Pan seared sea scallops – photo credit Jordan Entrees beckoned. Red wine braised lamb shoulder falling off the bone proved meltingly rich and tender. Pan-roasted sea scallops partnered up with firm textured black rice, baby bok choy and a delicate plum wine beurre blanc and was a neat foil for “Le Orme”, a 2009 Barbera from Michele Chiarlo.
Desserts were a grand hoorah to the restaurant’s house-made pastries – a charming tuile cup filled with lemon mousse perched on a puddle of lavender blueberry preserves, and a dark chocolate pot de crème with caramelized hazelnuts and chocolate batons.
There are four types of three-cheese platters broken up into categories according to types of wines. Our “White Wine Cheese Selection” included white Stilton with apricot, Gruyère de Compté and Beehive Teahive from Utah. And thanks to the menu’s guidance we opted to pair it with a Vajra moscato and a Douro Valley Croft ruby port. Clearly both chef and sommelier have created a most harmonious union!
Highly recommended.
Jordan Wright
June 4th, 2012
Special to www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com, www.broadwaystars.com, and www.localkicks.com
Crystal City Gets Good Stuff
 Spike's opening of Good Stuff Eatery in Crystal City - photo credit Jordan Wright A klieg-lit opening for Spike Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery in Crystal City brought out family, friends and TV crews earlier this month. Bravo’s film crew has been trailing Spike for his upcoming show Life After Top Chef – and apparently his guests too. An all-who-enter-within waiver was tacked to the wall outside the front door, warning guests they might make the final cut. Wannabes and the rest of us were undeterred, especially from inhaling his juicy burgers, cups of fiery hot chili and sweet potato fries. Champagne and beer made the rounds but were bested by those addictive Toasted Marshmallow milkshakes. P.S. The ultra-rich shakes get their creaminess from the addition of a daily house-made custard. I know. I asked… in the interest of my readers of course.
 The posted release at Good Stuff Eatery - photo credit Jordan Wright  An assortment of burger sliders at Good Stuff Eatery - photo credit Jordan Wright Spike has come a long and much-televised way from burger-flipping pool parties at the Rubell family’s Capitol Skyline Hotel (Remember the giant rubber duckies in the pool?) when the film crew from MTV”s Real World was shooting the young and restless and he was the ever-gracious host. Did I mention how telegenically cute he is? What’s next from the celeb chef? Could be another Good Stuff Eatery opening on M Street in Georgetown later this year.
La Forchetta is Roberto Donna’s New Playground
 Maestro Donna slicing salumi at La Forchetta - photo credit Jordan Wright When it became known that Roberto Donna, cookbook author, restaurateur and James Beard Award-winning chef, would be cooking again after years of legal and financial hurdles, including the shuttering of his short-lived Galileo III experiment, gourmands began salivating for his signature Italian cuisine. La Forchetta, which shares patio space with Chef Geoff’s in the nicely wooded neighborhood of Wesley Heights close by American University, is Donna’s new laboratory. Owner Hakan Ilhanwho was aware of Donna’s woes as well as his talents has hired him to cook, not handle the finances. Crisis averted.
 Pizza maker at La Forchetta - photo credit Jordan Wright  Patio at La Forchetta - photo credit Jordan Wright The tangerine-accented resto features a square-shaped bar surrounding a large brick oven for wood-fired pizzas. Should be cozy in winter. For now a cheery patio was the draw and most diners were outdoors the night we dined. We tried Donna’s signature risotto with truffles, spinach pizza, rockfish with pesto and Swiss chard, a dish of house made veal and pork sausages over polenta, and papardelle with ragu.
It took awhile to get our cocktails, which arrived at the same time as the food followed by the wine several courses later. A request to debone the fish didn’t pan out as hoped and in the darkening room I gave up plucking out the bones myself and put it aside. Also disappointing were the house made sausages – unexpectedly dry and without the hoped for juiciness to ooze into and flavor the polenta. Thankfully the pasta was up to Donna’s standards – light and tender – and served with wild boar ragu that had clearly benefitted from the low and slow cooking the sauce demands.
 Pasta with wild boar ragu at La Forchetta - photo credit Jordan Wright The pizza was a puzzlement. It comes uncut – a not well thought out decision. For the diner, who may not have in mind dividing their own pie without the benefit of a pizza cutter and work surface, it was flat-out annoying trying to cut a pizza with a steak knife while it slid around a small glass plate. As for its execution, instead of a mound of arugula the small pie sported a few leaves, sparse cheese, little sauce (though it was tasty), and a wide-edged underdone toppingless crust. We gazed wistfully at our neighbor’s salumi platter and wished we had ordered it with a bottle of chianti and a plate of pasta.
Would we return? Yes, now armed with foreknowledge. Sit outside on a balmy evening, order drinks, wait till you’ve finished those before ordering food, and stick to the simplest preparations. Note well: We saw the maestro hard at work shaving meats, not slaving over a hot oven.
Isabella Goes South of the Border
 Top Chefs Jen Carroll with Mike Isabella at the opening of his new restaurant Bandelero - photo credit Jordan Wright Mike Isabella has the Georgetown bar scene figured out. Cheek-to-jowl with the Modern and Rhino Bar and across from J. Paul’s, Isabella’s newest outpost after Graffiato is Bandolero, a low-key high intensity No Country For Old Men Mexican hangout, which is primed to go head to head with those well-known watering holes. The former Top Chef from Season 6 and 2010 Top Chef All-Stars had a totally rockin’ opening and former Top Chef fellow contestant, Jen Carroll, was there to cheer him on.
 The scene at Bandelero - photo credit Jordan Wright To keep up with the fast pace of a hot bar, Isabella has put some pre-made designer margaritas on tap. The “El Bandolero Margarita” and “El Mata Amigos” cocktails (“Mata” can mean bushy hair, a grove or the mastic tree? Clarification needed here.) flowed freely at the press opening last week. Currently the bar features over 65 tequilas and a dozen mezcals to choose from. Assistant General Manager, Ryan Jones, told me they’ll soon be off to Mexico in search of some obscure small-batch tequilas to ratchet up the inventory.
The décor, an intriguing hybrid of Mexican bordello meets medieval dungeon, is Elvis on black velvet dark with colonial era brick walls. But forget about the cave mood lighting, (Jones told me the lights were turned up for the event.) and order some food. You won’t be disappointed.
Start with orange infused pumpkin seed spread with jalapenos or chunky guacamole made with salsa roja and served with masa chips and chicarrones. On to Taquitos and Tostados. I couldn’t get enough of the Maryland blue crab tacos with coconut, red chili and purple potatoes – and I’m still craving the tuna, ginger and sweet potato. Fabuloso! And though I delighted in the mahi mahi taco, I noted there’s one made with lobster to try another time. A perfect balance of smoky and spicy was revealed in tacos of suckling pig, apple and habanero mustard, and succulent pork cheek flautas to dip in queso anejo.
In any case Isabella knows the basics of Mexican cooking from his early days on the line. “I used to cook in a Mexican restaurant in New Jersey,” he told me. As for his reinvention of Mexican street food he says, “It’s Mexican with a twist!” Viva la révolution!
Frenchify Me
 PAUL opens 3rd Bakery in Heart of DC at 1000 Conn Ave NW on Mon June 4, 2012 - Photo credit to Jason Colston Paul Bakery opened another of their traditional boulangerie cafés, this one in a stunner of a building on Connecticut Avenue near Dupont Circle. Now you can get your café au lait and croissant or sack of macaronson your way to work. Working lunch in the conference room during déjeuner? Impress your K Street clientele with crépes and tartes for lunch.
 B B forever Brigitte Bardot is coming to Washington! Well, virtually anyway. The photo exhibit “BB Forever – Brigitte Bardot, The Legend” features France’s most alluring sex kitten and opens June 21st through September at the Sofitel Washington. Concurrently the hotel will offer a special ”French Icon” package, which includes luxury accommodations, daily breakfast for two in iCi Urban Bistro, and dessert for two in Le Bar. It’s the first time an exhibit about the iconic movie star and animal advocate will appear in North America. Sofitel has also created a special collector’s edition catalogue for the exhibit that includes rare photos, accompanied by commentary and anecdotes by journalist and author Henry-Jean Servat, as well as an editorial by the legend herself.
New Chef New Menu at Alexandria’s Morrison House
 Artichoke puree with truffles served in a mason jar with artichoke chips at The Grille at Morrison House - photo credit Jordan Wright Brian McPherson, former executive sous chef at Poste is now heading up the kitchens at The Grille at Morrison House, the tony boutique hotel in Alexandria’s Old Town. McPherson recently crossed the Potomac where he worked as executive sous chef under Rob Weland for the past five years.
The Grille has a well-known piano bar scene on Thursday nights and cast members as well as talented local songsters from the area drop by to trill show tunes and light opera for guests.
 Olive oil cake with strawberries and basil ice cream at The Grille at Morrison House - photo credit Jordan Wright  Radicchio, curly endive, walnut salad with Cashel blue cheese at The Grille at Morrison House - photo credit Jordan Wright McPherson is already doing great things with both upscale and foraged ingredients and at last week’s spring-inspired dinner there was no exception. Opt for the clubby Grill Room (the formal dining room desperately needs a makeover) and start with the artichoke paté with black truffles, marinated artichoke hearts and artichoke chips. Follow with English pea pistou with hedgehog mushrooms and pea shoots or asparagus and nettle soup with crème fraîche, radishes, asparagus tips and ramps. Take it from me, it was like grandmere’s potager. Rosy lamb filets served with a bordelaise jus are rich and meaty, and a salad of radicchio, curly endive, pecans and Cashel Bleu cheese is one I’ll try to recreate at home.
But the pièce de résistance for me was the most heavenly bouillabaisse I’ve ever eaten outside of Marseille. Served with a proper rouille sur baguette and floating in saffron broth were tender pieces of lobster, halibut, mussels and scallops. Formidable!
For dessert we shared McPherson’s insouciant nod to strawberry shortcake with lightly macerated strawberries over a delicate olive oil cake with a rose-infused sauce and basil ice cream on the side, as well as raspberry panna cotta with fresh raspberries and sorbet made from the juice of the same.
If you aren’t up for ditties from the Washington Opera’s off-duty supernumeraries, skip Thursdays – otherwise book a table as fast as you can.
Wolfgang Puck Expands His Empire to National Harbor
 Tablescape with the Wilson Bridge beyond at the Sunset Room at National Harbor - photo credit Jordan Wright The swank press opening of Puck’s new catering space at National Harbor was an event worthy of the innovator himself. A breathtaking view of the Potomac River coupled with Puck’s stylish cuisine and artisanal cocktails gives this event space an advantage unlike many others in the area. We dined on fresh ravioli, soft shell crab sliders, warm asparagus soup, those legendary pizzas (prosciutto and arugula was the clear winner for me) and Korean short ribs served with half a dozen toppings from scallions to house made kimchee.
 Soft shell crab sliders at the Sunset Room - photo credit Jordan Wright  Korean Beef at Wolfgang Puck's Sunset Room Puck installed a brand new state-of-the-art kitchen in the unused space and trained his staff to reflect the same high standards one comes to expect at his DC resto, The Source, which also has a successful catering division in the Newseum.
Sleek and chic is the dynamic. Oscar-worthy cuisine is the result. The Sunset Room at National Harbor promises to be a premiere destination for conventions, weddings and other social occasions. With a capacity to host private events of up to 2,000 guests and do it in elegant innovative style, Puck’s mantra of “Eat! Love! Live!” translates into LA style parties for the East Coast.
 The view from Wolfgang Puck's Sunset Room at National Harbor - photo credit Jordan Wright
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