 Jose Andres - Garden Café Espana at National Gallery of Art Ah, the pleasures of Spain in the summer. The art, the beauty, the splendor. The Prado, the Alhambra, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, shopping, touring, lunch with a pitcher of sangria lingered over with friends and family. How we wish we could be there! How we wish the economy hadn’t tanked and we could renew our acquaintance with Picasso, Dali, Miro, El Greco and Luis Melendez. Who you ask? None other than the great 18th-century Spanish still-life master whose works are currently featured in a comprehensive special exhibit, “Luis Melendez: Master of the Spanish Still Life” at the National Gallery of Art’s east wing.
All these iconic Spanish artists and more can be viewed this summer in the Gallery at yet another show in the Gallery’s west wing, “The Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain.” Spectacular armor from the Spanish Crown, on loan from The Royal Armory in Madrid, accompanies portraits of Spain’s greatest rulers sporting the same armor. The pantheon of artists represented in this exhibition, include: Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Diego Velazquez and Alonso Sanchez Coello.
But I wanted particularly to delve into Melendez’s rich oils, a paean to the foods of Spain, that were commissioned by Emperor Charles V to represent the terroir, the seasons and the four elements of Earth, Wind, Fire and Air. These food “portraits,” with their luscious figs evocative of fecundity, and plump grapes conjuring Spain’s great wines, triumph summer’s harvest, and beckon the viewer to sample its culinary bounty.
Continue reading DINING – Garden Café Espana at National Gallery of Art
 The National River Roll at Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine at the Gaylord National Hotel. By Jordan Wright
When you spend your days and nights pursuing taste and flavor delivered by a panoply of chefs, you are at the mercy of many hands preparing many dishes.
Sometimes the dishes are simple, a nicely done roast chicken or shrimp dumplings; some just dreadful or unfortunate, an overdone Wagyu beef filet or a withered salad.
Food critics, girded with a “glass half-full” mentality, are forever on the hunt for that consummate experience of brilliant food, superb service and dazzling or, not to be underrated, comfortable ambiance.
My dinner at Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center became that rare and successful combination of all three elements intrinsic to a great dining experience. An experience so satisfying, that if it hadn’t been for the tiniest glitch, I would have nothing to compare it with. I’ll get to the glitch later.
A spectacularly lush tropical garden beckons you into Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine. Walk across a copper-lamp lit wooden bridge over a rushing stream to the wide open entryway and you will need to make your first decision…whether to dine beside the babbling waters overlooking the courtyard or enter the cool, dark and handsome interior. Continue reading Gaylord’s Moon Bay Serves up Modern Maki with an Eye on Perfection of the Palate
The locally sourced food bandwagon has chef converts then and now. But at
By Jordan Wright
There was a long line for a table outside Founding Farmers on a recent Thursday evening.
It seems the in-and-out economy hasn’t afflicted the success of this eco-friendly watering hole. A restaurant so green they recently received the first DC restaurant-recognized LEED Gold Certification in a ceremony attended by no less prominent a group than Mayor Fenty, the US Business Council, their next-door neighbors, the IMF, and White House representatives from the Office of Green Initiatives.
A policy of recycling, sustainable and reclaimed materials, and energy-conscious practices has drawn kudos from the environmentally minded and sourcing food from more than 40,000 farmers, with whom they have a direct relationship has brought the best food to the table. Charging a little bit more than the average dinner tab hasn’t deterred diners.
The locally sourced food bandwagon has chef converts then and now. But at Founding Farmers they don’t just talk the talk they walk the walk. Against a backdrop of fluffy cloud sculptures and flocks of birds, shelves hold rows of pickled vegetables.
Customers sit at walnut-slab farm-style tables and you can feel a force of nature and newness at work here, from the staff to the chef to the bar. The enthusiasm is palpable and persuasive. Heard from our table were diners awed by dishes like the 17 Vegetable Salad. Sharing appears to be the order of the day. Continue reading Founding Farmers Opens As An Eco-Friendly Watering Hole
 Chef Massimo De Francesca photo by Darko Zagar By Jordan Wright
Massimo De Francesca had just been appointed the new and very promising executive chef at Domaso Resturant in the Hotel Palomar in Rosslyn, VA in the winter of 2008. At a Virginia-centric wine dinner held in the stunning Italian-modern restaurant, I sampled the young chef’s cuisine. I was impressed then, but thought I’d give him time to settle in and find his niche before I would write a serious review of his efforts.
A picture-perfect summery salad with cubes of yellow and red watermelon, pea tendrils and red radish dots arrived. A Wisconsin goat cheese dressing pulled the ensemble together nicely. But there were missed opportunities. Virginia has some of the best artisanal goat cheese around. Caromont Farms comes to mind, or Iron Rod from the Piedmont Valley, both near Charlottesville. The watermelon might have been injected with an herb-flavored pinot grigio infusion, mint or tarragon perhaps, to amp up the flavor until it can stand on its own by mid-July. Continue reading Domaso Trattoria La Dolce Vita Overlooking Georgetown
 Courtesy photo A Turin native of the Piedmont region, Teatro Goldoni's Chef Enzo Fargione has been honing his gastronomic skills here since 1986. By Jordan Wright
If you have a taste for the theatrical then you will marvel at the drama and wizardry at Teatro Goldoni. For there is a force of culinary nature at work here…and it is no illusion.
In the glamorous dining room yards of shimmering drapes and painted harlequin panels reminiscent of Arlecchino, the jester in the Italian Commedia dell’Arte, frame a collection of Venetian masks that echo of carnivale on The Grand Canal. It’s not surprising celebrities flock to and feel at home on this luxurious stage.
Perhaps you have chosen the coveted Chef’s Table, accompanied by your friends. It’s an adventure worth sharing. For who will believe you later when you reveal the gastronomic wonders of this meal.
Let us imagine that we have our very own sorcerer to create this magic. We’ll call him Enzo, Il Divo, and he is our chef on this memorable evening. And since every sorcerer must have his apprentice, Aziz Sajid, the headwaiter, will perform as his most capable assistant to guide us on our journey.
In truth, this Turin native of the Piedmont region, Enzo Fargione has been honing his gastronomic skills in this country since 1986. As a teenager he came to the States under the aegis of legendary chef and restauranteur, Roberto Donna, where, in less than a year, he went from sous chef to head chef of Donna’s three-star Galileo Restaurant. They were later to become partners in the famed Il Radicchio. But if you follow the careers of our top Washington chefs you already know this. Link to the whole article
By Jordan Wright
Mr. President, your table awaits you… Madame Secretary, welcome back…
This hallowed dining place, catty-corner to the appropriately named, Freedom Plaza, and adjacent to the historic Willard Hotel, has hosted presidents and their cabinet members since its’ opening in 1906 and is just a short stroll from the White House.
One cannot describe this revered watering hole without first mentioning the unique décor. Hundreds of elegantly framed photographs of Senators, Presidents, dignitaries, governors, athletes, Members of Congress and celebrity patrons, from JFK and Buffalo Bill Cody to Jackie Robinson and General Colin Powell, cover the two-story high walls of this space.
Stunning coffered-wood paneling lines the entry, which features the (to be officially unveiled next week) new Obama presidential portrait, and gives the feel of an elite private club. A sweeping, “see-and-be-seen” bar, extending across the back wall, affirms the restaurant’s Washington power scene reputation. Link to the whole article
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