|
|
Jordan Wright
October 6, 2015
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
The Hay Adams Teleports a Transylvanian Experience for the Ultimate in Halloween Luxury and A Kids Cultural Extravaganza Comes to Town
 Hay Adams Hotel – Washington, DC Swap your crypt for the ultimate in All Hallows Eve luxury with a night or two at the Hay Adams, which transforms itself, and its staff, for the spook fest. This year “The Transylvania Suite” awaits those who like their haunting to be in the posh category. Designer Barbara Hamilton of the Ociana Group will fiendishly decorate the swank suite, complete with all the trappings of a gentrified haunted house.
Those brave enough to take the plunge will be treated to a spirited welcome amenity from Pastry Chef Josh Short, tricked out with blood-curdling cocktails and delivered to the Halloween lair where a frighteningly outfitted butler will escort you to the skull-adorned suite. There you’ll find a gift collection of old and new horror film DVDs, along with more eye-popping surprises.
A three-course dinner paired with wines and a spidery-inspired dessert served in the suite’s dining room, awaits. Before retiring to your canopy bed embellished with cobwebs, a diabolically concocted turn-down surprise will be on your embroidered custom-designed Italian linen pillows. The following morning awake to a lavish breakfast in bed highlighted by a spicy “Bloody Scary” to complete the morning feast.
This luxurious suite overlooks Lafayette Park and the White House, setting the stage for a wickedly decadent evening. For those addicted to this spooky holiday, The Hay-Adams Halloween package affords a unique chance to enjoy the legendary elegance of this historic hotel while experiencing a number of creative twists all evening. This Halloween experience is priced at $2,995 per night (excluding tax and gratuity). The suite is available Friday, October 30th and Saturday, the 31st. For reservations and more information call 202 638.6600 or visit their website at www.hayadams.com.
Kids Euro Festival Comes to Metro DC
 KEF Production Art Over two dozen embassies will be participating in the Kids Euro Festival in the DC Metro area between October 24th and November 8th. And more than 125 events are free! All these family-friendly European-themed cultural events feature professional performance artists at school performances and in partner venues, film screenings, and library activities, as well as artist workshops, performances for hospitalized children. There will be a full day of activities for children with special needs, and professional development opportunities for teachers. This unique collaboration between the European Union and the United States hopes to transform the capital region into an action-packed cultural adventure for young people, their families, and their teachers.
Calling it “A Trip to Europe Without a Passport” this exciting festival, now in its 8th year, is the largest children’s performing arts festival of its kind in America. Designed for children ages two through twelve and their families, Kids Euro Festival unites the 28 embassies of the European Union (EU) and more than 20 local and national cultural institutions.
“The festival continues to offer children and their families a unique opportunity to experience some of Europe’s best performers right here in Washington, D.C.,” said David O’Sullivan, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States. “As a joint cultural diplomacy initiative of the European Union embassies in the nation’s capital, it is also a wonderful celebration of European cultural diversity. It is my hope that every child and parent that participates in this Festival will have a lasting fond memory of their European cultural experience.”
Susan Carmel Lehrman, the Vice-President of the European-American Cultural Foundation (E-ACF), said, “Culture is a powerful force for bringing together people, families, and nations. As the organizer of Kids Euro Festival, the E-ACF knows that the arts are more than just entertainment — they are a way to share cultures, create understanding, and unite people from around the world.”
Expect to see theater, puppets, music, magic, dance, films, stories, and more to stimulate creative imaginations and invite artistic exploration.
Participating in Kids Euro Festival are the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Partners and venues include the American Film Institute; Alliance Française DC; Capital Fringe; Children’s Inn at NIH; DC Arts & Humanities Education Collaborative; DC Public Library System; District of Columbia Public Schools; Dupont Festival; GALA Hispanic Theatre; Harmony Hall/Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission; Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital; Hillwood Estate Museum & Gardens; Imagination Stage; KEEN Greater DC; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; KID Museum at Davis Library; Library of Congress; Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center; National Gallery of Art; Prince George’s County Center for Visual and Performing Arts; Shakespeare Theatre Company; Sitar Arts Center; Strathmore; and Washington Performing Arts.
Kids Euro Festival is made possible by the generous support of Susan Carmel Lehrman, TV5 USA, Dr. Gregory A. and JaLynn Prince/Madison House Autism Foundation, Holiday Inn Georgetown, and Washington Parent Magazine, and the assistance of the European-American Cultural Foundation (E-ACF) in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.
While all of the performances are free, some require reservations, which can be made at the Kids Euro Festival website: www.kidseurofestival.org.
Jordan Wright
October 5, 2015
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Kathy Gordon as Alice, Vato Tsikurishvili as Caterpillar. Photo by Johnny Shryock Alice is very, very, very unhappy. She has had to surrender her favorite playthings to a recently hired cruel-hearted governess, Ms. Prickett (Renata Veberyte Loman, later seen in the role of the Queen), who eats her tarts, insists she recite poetry and insults her intelligence. In this dark telling, and merging, of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Director Paata Tsikurishvili takes us down the rabbit hole to a fantasy world unlike any other. After all, this is Synetic Theater. Did you expect a fairy tale? Lloyd Rose’s script adaption, divided into twelve parts, keeps the madcap charm yet affords little room for niceties.
 Renata Veberyte Loman as Queen of Hearts, Justin J. Bell as King with Ensemble. Photo by Johnny Shryock. This is an upside down world this growing-up thing – fraught with danger, nonsensical creatures and twisted logic – and Alice (Kathy Gordon) intends to sort it all out and in the process teach Wonderland’s inhabitants a few lessons in commonsense. Setting out she finds her toys have morphed into the Cheshire Cat (Alex Mills) and the White Rabbit (Tori Bertocci) who lead her into an evermore phantasmagorical dimension filled with shrouded creatures of the night who feed her cakes to change her size in order to enter a tiny portal to the realm of the Queen of Hearts.
 Alex Mills as Cheshire Cat, Kathy Gordon as Alice, Tori Bertocci as White Rabbit. Photo by Johnny Shryock Eventually Alice arrives at the tea party where she meets up with the Mad Hatter (Dallas Tolentino), Doormouse (Zana Gankhuyag, who graces us later as the Lobster) and the March Hare (Justin J. Bell, who does double-duty as King). “It’s always tea time,” they riddle her pop-locking to electronika and calliope in this carnival-like atmosphere.
 Dallas Tolentino as Mad Hatter, Kathy Gordon as Alice, Justin J. Bell as March Hare. Photo by Johnny Shryock Costume Designer Kendra Rai does not disappoint. Well known to Synetic fans and the Helen Hayes Awards committee (who bestowed upon her the 2015 Outstanding Costume Design Award for her work on last season’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, thus besting herself for her other two noms for Beauty and the Beast and Twelfth Night), she has outdone herself with eye-popping creations.
 Zana Gankhuyag as Doormouse, Alex Mills as Cheshire Cat, Dallas Tolentino as Mad Hatter, Justin J. Bell as March Hare. Photo by Johnny Shryock. The Queen’s Guard, as you’ll recall, are playing cards that dash about looking for heads to chop off, as per Her Majesty’s whims. But it’s Tweedle Dee (Augustin Beall) and Tweedle Dum (Thomas Beheler) as punk rockers that nearly steal the show reciting the Jabberwocky, “Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogroves, And the mome raths outgrabe,” finishing with a high-five. I’ll admit it is one of my favorite bits of nonsense poetry and I was totally captivated by this odd duo in leather jackets and spiky mohawks reciting Carroll’s famous 19th century verse.
 Dallas Tolentino as Mad Hatter. Photo by Johnny Shryock. Humpty Dumpty (Vato Tsikurishvili) makes a brief appearance before his precipitous fall, confounding Alice with the pronouncement, “When I use a word it means what I choose it to be. You can’t let words have the last word.” But it’s the Queen’s appearance at the garden party, replete with towering red pompadour and black and white patent leather dress plumped up with paniers, that truly blows our minds. “Off with their heads!” she familiarly commands as she neatly tucks a croquet ball into a wicket.
 Alex Mills as Cheshire Cat. Photo by Johnny Shryock. Resident Choreographer, Irina Tsikurishvili, works her magic, filling the stage with phenomenal dancers, most especially Mills who in one scene as the Cheshire Cat toying with a mouse, undulates, contorts and twists his lithe body into unimaginable feline positions, bending in half to lick his leg and slinking on to one of Scenic Designer Daniel Pinha’s giant arcing scaffolds to avoid discovery.
Highly recommended.
Through November 8th at Synetic Theater, 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington in Crystal City. For tickets and information call 866 811-4111 or visit www.synetictheater.org.
Jordan Wright
October 2, 2015
Ankara in Dupont Circle; Ambar at Barracks Row; Bibiana Welcomes a New Chef; Mason Social Pleases the Southern Palate
Ankara is the New Turk on the Block
 (left-to-right) The patio at Ankara – How they make your Turkish tea Sorry to report we missed out on September’s Turkish Heritage Month. Maybe you did too. No need to fret. Here’s where you can get your fix. Ankara is located on a quiet block in the center of DC’s upscale Golden Triangle neighborhood. It’s a family-run restaurant with a pretty patio for dining al fresco. Opened this spring by the Aslanturk family who hail from Ankara, it celebrates food from the heart of Turkey – both traditional and nicely tweaked.
 (left-to-right) Havuc Tarama – a spread of carrots, yoghurt and garlic – Kopoglu – sautéed eggplant with yoghurt garlic sauce There are plenty of cold and hot mezzes to choose from like Sigara Borgei (feta and herbs folded into crispy phyllo), Karides Guvec (baked shrimp in tomato and garlic sauce) and Midye Tavasi (fried mussels in walnut tarator sauce). Kebabs of all description are rendered smoky from the wood-fired oven as are the salmon and branzino, both delicately rendered. Be sure to try the pide – a Turkish flatbread version of pizza.
 (left-to-right) Icli Kofte and Boregi stuffed with feta cheese and herbs – Ali Nazik – slow-cooked lamb on smoked puréed eggplant. A specialty of the Gaziantep region. A newly launched brunch is lavish and delicious in the tradition of kahvalti – Turkish breakbast. To begin there is a broad selection of savory and sweet items including honey, cheeses, olives, fresh fruit jams, labne, and more with lamb stuffed flatbreads and salads. Try the portakal salatasi – a refreshing salad with oranges, mint, pomegranate and red onions. Dessert doesn’t disappoint either. Don’t miss the best baklava in town or, on a lighter note, apricots stuffed with crème and sprinkled with pistachios. Afiyet olsun!
Ankara is at 1320 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. www.AnkaraDC.net
Ambar Redux
Ambar is not a hot spot for romantic dining. Rather it’s a gather-round-the-table with friends and family kind of place – best for eating in a group of no less than four. All the better to try the many flavors of the region, which is the way they eat at home – at least that’s what Executive Chef Ivan Zivkovic would like you to know.
 Rustic meets contemporary at Ambar There is so much to love about this Barracks Row restaurant with its Balkan food both hearty and grandma-earthy as well as its nicely chosen Bulgarian wines. While on a trip to the area in CNN’s No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain proclaimed the Bibich R6 Riserva was his favorite wine there. The peppery zin-style wine is on the menu here along with a selection of the country’s sought after fruit-based rakias whose origins date back to the XI century.
 (left-to-right) A selection of Balkan spreads – Charcuterie platter of housemade meats, cheeses and pickled vegetables – Signature dessert – Forest Gnocchi Be sure to order a basket of the knockout housemade breads called somun (the fried sourdough is heavenly) with a selection of spreads. You can’t go wrong with any one of them – from the familiar hummus and ajvar (red pepper and eggplant spread) to the lesser known smoked trout and urnebes (made with aged cow’s cheese, ajvar and chili flakes). To die for! We particularly loved a salad of organic cabbage, carrot, radish and red cabbage called Fresh From the Garden and all of the housemade sausages.
A great way to experience all Ambar has to offer, go for The Unlimited Brunch or Bottomless Balkan dinner. www.AmbarRestaurant.com
The Changing of the Guard at Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca
Recent hire, Executive Chef Jake Addeo, is putting his imprimateur on Bibiana’s menu. With a clear vision of lightening up its authentic Italian fare. A three-course dinner he created reflected summer’s bounty and showed the direction he intends to take the restaurant in future.
 Bibiana’s Executive Chef Jake Addeo Celebrating its six years in Penn Quarter, the stunning restaurant has some new fall offerings during Happy Hour – especially its bargain priced cocktails and wines priced a $7.01, and bar snacks in the sleek lounge.
 (left-to-right) Fluke crudo with pickled watermelon rind and pink peppercorns – Sockeye Salmon with salmon skin cracklings. Try the Cure Royale, made with Prosecco, Lillet Blanc and blackberry liqueur; Old Fashioned made with McKenna 10-year old bourbon and Angostura bitters, and the Moscow Mule made with Sobieski vodka, ginger beer and lime. Look for a la carte bar snacks such as the Carrot Funnel Cake with Stracchino cheese and gooseberries; Calamari with charred poblano remoulade and smoked paprika; Sesame Hummus with miso, black sesame and grilled pita bread, and Duck Confit Steam Buns with cherry puree and butternut squash. www.BibianaDC.com
Mason Social is a Welcome Addition to Old Town Alexandria
Earlier this year a nifty restaurant opened in a derelict old spot in the Parker-Gray neighborhood just off the hubbub of King Street. And local childhood pals Chad and his brother Justin Sparrow (Chad’s the partner with the culinary school education), Larry Watson and Teddy Kim have given the place an air of timeless charm.
Old brick walls, decorated with vintage photographs of the city’s 19th century Belle Pre Bottling Company, blend with wood tables and metal chairs in a spare but cozy ambiance. Mason jar lights dangle from plumbing pipes and a large mural features scenes of the factory that once sat across the street.
Joseph Lennon is the Executive Chef of this Southern influenced menu. Lennon has worked at the nearby Vermillion under Anthony Chittum, Urbana under noted chef John Critchley, and most recently at the Four Seasons Hotel’s Bourbon Steak. Though it fancies itself ‘Modern American’, a term much slung around to describe a mélange of comfort foods, there is a firm nod to the South – as in B&B’s Louisiana BBQ chicken, fried green tomatoes and braised kale. Beef marrow hamburgers made with beef sourced from from Roseda Farms, share the menu with more refined offerings at dinner.
 (left-to-right) Dinosaur Kale Salad with tatsoi, country bacon, roasted tomato and feta – Lobster Chowder – Pork Belly and cabbage slaw Tony Burke oversees the beverage program and it is ambitious. His original cocktails and bespoke punches help fuel the bar’s popularity. Try the Brose Punch made with bourbon, blueberry black tea and, mint and lemon. Local breweries like Dogfish of Delaware, Duclaw and Flying Dog of Baltimore, and Fair Winds of Lorton, VA are represented and rotated by season along with Alexandria’s Port City beers. Craft cocktails are seasonal too. www.Mason-Social.com
Photo credit – Jordan Wright
Jordan Wright
September 29, 2015
Special to The Alexandria Times
As part of this fall’s ongoing Women’s Voices Theater Festival featuring over 50 world premiere productions of plays by female playwrights, MetroStage Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin presents Uprising, a musical telling of the true story of noted abolitionist Osborne “Ossie” Perry Anderson. Set against the backdrop of a free black community during Secession Era America, it reflects a time of grave uncertainty, even for freed African Americans, who remain in fear of being kidnapped for bounty, taken south and sold again.
 (right to left) Cynthia D. Barker as Sal and Anthony Manough as Ossie – Photo credit: Chris Banks Ossie (Anthony Manough), on the run as the lone black survivor of John Brown’s ill-fated raid on Harper’s Ferry, encounters Sal (Cynthia D. Barker), a freed slave who picks cotton to support a child she has taken in. Ossie begs Sal not to turn him in, but she has plans for the future and is conflicted. Together they represent two diametrically opposing choices for African Americans of their day – – insurrection or keeping within the established racial system in an attempt to improve their lot. Sal chooses to work for meager wages on the plantation in the hopes of building a school for her adopted son, Freddie (Jeremiah Hasty), while Ossie is determined to crush the backbone of slavery by convincing others to join his movement.
 Little Freddie, played by Jeremiah Hasty – Photo credit: Chris Banks The musical opens with the melancholy strains of Tuneman’s blues guitar setting the tone for the conflicts to come. Conditions are relatively good for the men and women on this plantation just north of the Mason-Dixon line and their paternalistic boss, Whistle (Peter Boyer), often rewards them with bonuses.
When Sal finds Ossie in the field hungry and cold, she rejects his advances, refusing to feed him or offer shelter, afraid to jeopardize her freedom. But Ossie persists and Sal is fascinated by his surprising eloquence, his ability to read and his courtly manners. “Words,” he tells her, “I’ve seen them heal a man.” “Kill em too!” insists Sal who proves an equally verbal sparring partner to Ossie’s progressive views.
When Whistle learns of the insurrection and of Ossie’s escape, he becomes a cruel master, “I’m appalled at the lawlessness,” he barks, threatening them with reduced pay. If they find the fugitive, they must turn him in. When Ossie tries to convince the others to “Liberate your souls!” and join the movement, Bo-Jack (Djob Lyons), who’s hidden his love for Sal, and Ossie get into a brawl and all their lives become endangered.
 (left to right) Cynthia D. Barker,Peter Boyer, Doug Brown, Cynthia D. Barker, Jeremiah Hasty, Anthony Manough, Enoch King – Photo credit Chris Banks Musical interstices composed by Theodis Ealey and directed by William Knowles, are soulful and uplifting, filled with the emotionally stirring strains of gospel, spirituals and plantation work chants and blended by this cast’s exquisite voices.
Brilliantly directed by Thomas W. Jones II who has cast an impressive ensemble to present this powerful tale – – Manough, Barker, Lyons, Doug Brown as Charlie, Naomi LaVette as Lottie; David Cole as Tuneman, the strolling minstrel, and the captivating Jeremiah Hasty making his stage debut as Sal’s boy, Freddie. (Expect the inimitable Roz White to resume the roles of Lottie and Miss Ellen May, and Enoch King to return as Bo-Jack as they end their roles in a national touring company and rejoin the cast.)
Costume Designer, Janine Sunday, captures the period perfectly with subtle colors that blend seamlessly with Set/Projection Designer Robbie Hayes grainy-filtered backdrops of life in the Deep South.
Highly recommended.
At MetroStage through October 25th – 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314. For tickets and information visit www.metrostage.org.
Jordan Wright
September 8, 2015
Special to The Alexandria Times
 (left to right) Natalie Fox as Daisy Coates, Tom Flatt as Vernon Volker (in the back in green), Kat Sanchez as Susannah Huntsmen, Ted Culler as Richfield Hawksley, and Abigail Ropp as Mary Pierre (on knees). Photos by Matthew Randall, Allrand Photography Laughing Stock is Charles Morey’s comic love story to summer stock and the actors and crews that make up these “little families”. For those who have ever attended a production in a barn turned theater, volunteered to work backstage or were talented enough to perform at their local playhouse, this comedy is sure to spark fond memories. Shawn g. Byers does a handy job of directing this paean to seasonal theatre – – an incestuous platform where summer romances bloom, show biz careers are launched and lifelong friendships are formed – – or not.
 (left to right) Michael Dobbyn as Jack Morris, Kat Sanchez as Susannah Huntsmen, and Richard Isaacs as Henry Mills. Photos by Matthew Randall, Allrand Photography The setting for our story is a 200-year old cow barn where the Director, Gordon (Lars Klores) and his Casting Director Susannah (Kat Sanchez) are getting ready for auditions for their 82nd season and the cast-to-be is introduced in a series of hilarious vignettes referencing their experience or lack thereof: Mary (Abigail Ropp), an ingénue who seduces the Director for the part; Vernon (Tom Flatt), an aging fop with a long list of theatre credits; Richfield (Ted Culler), a seasoned actor who consistently bobbles his lines; Jack (Michael Dobbyn), the handsome, romantic lead who’s passing the summer before starting law school; Daisy (Natalie Fox), who brings along her mystic sensibilities; and Tyler (Will MacLeod), a cheery lad who is bent on pursuing Mary. Together they neatly represent your garden-variety summer stock actors.
 (left to right) Tom Flatt as Vernon Volker, Ted Culler as Richfield Hawksley, Michael Dobbyn as Jack Morris, Abigail Ropp as Mary Pierre. Photos by Matthew Randall, Allrand Photography Gordon’s struggling little troupe is under the thumb of Barbara DeMartineau, a financial backer who insists he mount a production of The Sound of Music. But Gordon has his season planned for King Lear, Dracule (a ghoulish mystery based on Dracula which he himself has penned) and the farcical Charley’s Aunt, and he tries to dissuade Barbara from her conditions of support while sweet-talking her into mailing in her annual check.
 (left to right) Will MacLeod as Tyler Taylor, Abigail Ropp as Mary Pierre, Michael Dobbyn as Jack Morris. Photos by Matthew Randall, Allrand Photography As for management, the theater’s tiny budget is controlled by Craig (Larry Grey), an endearing martinet who is the Office Supply Overlord and whose chief concerns are the disappearance of script marking pencils and an ancient Coke machine. Sarah (Melissa Dunlap) is Gordon’s love interest and the troupe’s Stage Manager, and Henry (Richard Isaacs) is the harried Set Designer.
 (left to right) Lars Klores as Gordon Page, Michael Dobbyn as Jack Morris, Kat Sanchez as Susannah Huntsmen, Ted Culler as Richfield Hawksley, and Will MacLeod as Tyler Taylor. Photos by Matthew Randall, Allrand Photography This comedy is certain to resonate with anyone who has ever taken an acting class, performed in even the smallest production, or known anyone that has. You’ll revel in the egotism, melodrama and backstage antics. In one hilarious bit, Susannah, who is directing their production of Charley’s Aunt, gets the cast to pretend to be animals, a well-known acting exercise that draws on physical realization. “Stay within your bubble,” she exhorts the odd collection of orangutans, gazelles and wildebeests. In another she absurdly insists the lead character in Charley’s Aunt is experiencing a modern-day gender crisis because he sports a skirt. Vernon declares the playhouse to be “the Dachau of summer theatres”. But, as Sarah insists, “it’s just another playhouse season.”
When at last the hinted-at audience takes its seats in the steamy, dung-filled barn, we view the plays in fast-forward sequence. Slapstick ensues in spades as we witness the whatever-can-go-wrong-will-go-wrong production of the three plays. Actors bump into each other, exits and entrances are bolluxed up, lines are muffed, props go missing, sound effects go haywire, fog machines misfire and actors miss their cues. Kudos to the actual Stage Managers, Charles Dragonette and Margaret Evans-Joyce for getting things exquisitely discombobulated.
Tons of fun for anyone who loves theatre and the absurd.
Through September 26th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com
Jordan Wright
September 2015
Falling in Love with Peru All Over Again: Seven Signs the Culinary Trend is Here to Stay with Ocopa, the Peruvian Brothers and China Chilcano – Et Voila! Hides in Plain Sight – Elizabeth’s Gone Raw: Elegant Vegan Dining – Mosaic District Adds Gourmet-To-Go Spot with Mom & Pop’s – Blackwall Hitch Sails Into Old Town
Follow the Signs to Peru
 Machu Picchu Peru is floating around in the ethosphere of my mind. And though it’s been a dog’s age (use your seven times multiplication tables here) since I have visited, I still have haunting memories of its power and mystique. The lure for many seekers is the cosmic center of Machu Picchu, and it was for me too. So in 1972 I took the train from Cuzco to the summit where I became inexplicably drawn to its highest peak, Mt. Huayna Picchu. This craggy peak, seen in the distance of most postcard images of Machu Picchu, lured me like a siren and I scrambled along on a foot-wide path to get to the top – a mission better undertaken by a seasoned mountain climber or sure-footed llama. When the fog closed in and barely three feet in front of me was visible, I tried to turn back. Suffice it to say, I am here to tell the tale. The rest is forgettable as there were a handful of local leaves involved in this ridiculous stunt.
Back in Lima I had a more memorable experience at a restaurant, then notable as one of the world’s finest. I doubt it’s there now. This was the early 70’s. I want to say it was The Golden Door, in Spanish of course, but it’s been too long and I was a college student crisscrossing South America with my mother.
The restaurant was housed in a grand Colonial-era building and boasted a lavishly appointed dining room. Gentlemen arrived in three-piece suits and ladies sported silk dresses and matching hats some even wore kid gloves. Tables were set with amber-hued goblets and linens were the color of summer wheat. Three waiters attended each table and dishes arrived under silver domes. I remember vividly the sunlight pouring in from heavily draped Palladian windows and the sense that my mother was fulfilling a dream in this elegant watering hole.
From the ethereal to the earthly, we left the capitol and the leaf vendors and flew to Iquitos, a dirty town that skirts the headwaters of the Amazon. Along with a trio of journalists from Paris-Match we climbed aboard a palm-thatched ferry that churned up mud as we chugged along the river as gasoline fumes wafted up from a rickety motor. After awhile a small dock came into view and we continued our journey via a series of dugout canoes crossing small streams and hiking overland on slippery, vine-draped islets. It was the rainy season and invisible, stinging insects slowed our progress (I am purposefully leaving out all talk of snakes).
After several hours we reached a cluster of mud huts and a local tribe with ink black hair and broad coffee-colored faces, painted bright red from the juice of local berries, came out of the brush to greet us. A few tribal dances were performed and gifts were exchanged. Nowadays these encounters are well organized for tourists, but I imagine the bugs and mud still prevail. For me, it was an early and fascinating introduction to Peru’s culture and cuisine.
Here’s why I feel the compass needle is currently pointing toward Peru.
 Peruvian artisans at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival
- In a break from past programs that featured several countries and select U. S. states, this year the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival chose a single country – Peru – and featured its customs, cuisine, dance and indigenous culture.
- The National Museum of the American Indian has opened the intriguing “The Great Inka Road” exhibition. See June’s column for more info.
 Peruvian Ambassador Luis Miguel Castilla introduces the fashion designers on the catwalk – The latest fashions are presented at the Peruvian Embassy – The crush at the Peruvian Embassy’s bash
- A few days before the Folk Life Festival kicked off, Peruvian Ambassador Luis Miguel Castilla threw a posh party at the residence featuring Peru’s internationally known fashion designers, complete with catwalk, DJ and unique creations from the country’s youngest designers, students at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.
Delicious Peruvian cuisine and cocktails pleased the guests – – traditional asado from Del Campo, snacks from the Peruvian Brothers, pisco cocktails made from La Diablada pisco from Machu Pisco, tejas and chocotejas from Helena Chocolatier, tacos from Taco Bamba; and delectable seviches and potato dishes from P.A.C.H.A., the Peruvian American Chefs Association. Tidbit: There are over 3,800 types of potatoes grown in Peru.
 Chef Miguel Garcia of the Peruvian American Chefs Association – Gorgeous nibbles from P.A.C.H.A.
- Recently we embarked on a six-course journey into the tastes of Peru at Ocopa in DC where Lima-born chef Carlos Delgado pairs pisco-centric cocktails and South American wines to each course. Delgado, who has cooked at Boveda and The Caucus Room Brasserie, prepares the dishes in full view of the countertop stools for a riveting evening of food and entertainment.
 (left to right) Ocopa’s Shigoku oyster with leche de tigre espuma – Carrots with kiwicha – Salmon tiradito Delgado, who sports a colorful tattoo of asparagus on his forearm (he says it reminds him that all asparagus grown in Peru is exported, and so is he), loves the informality of his tasting nights, and he encourages questions about his dishes and the unusual chifa ingredients which are a blend of Chinese and Peruvian cuisines.
 Ocopa Chef/Owner Carlos Delgado We watch as he employs a wide range of techniques, from foams and slow braising to the char of a fiery, coal-fired grill. And when the menu lists ingredients like yuzu, leche de tigre, rocoto, kiwicha, huacho and olluquito, there are bound to be questions, not least of all the meaning of the restaurant’s name. We ask. Ocopa is a traditional sauce prepared with milk, peppers and black mint.
 (left to right) Smoked Rabbit – Squash Blossom with salchicha de huacho with squash and corn cake – Lobster chifera with mushroom wonton After dinner there’s an all-weather patio with retractable roof and a 12-seat tiki bar in back. It’s the closest you’ll feel to sitting in a street bar in Lima.
 Ocopa’s back room Be sure to try one of his Peruvian ice creams. Delgado is one of the masterminds behind the CreamCycle gourmet ice cream sandwich bicycles. Ocopa is at 1324 H Street, NE, Washington, DC. For information about the tasting nights and the Saturday and Sunday brunch menus visit www.OcopaDC.com.
 Andean Quinoa
- Most quinoa is grown in the Andes Mountains of Peru and quinoa is being incorporated into everything from cereal to frozen foods. The United Nations named 2013 the Year of Quinoa. NASA plans to take the super-food into space and global import has increased 18-fold in the past decade.
- Earlier this year über chef, José Andrés, opened China Chilcano a restaurant that also embraces chifa, the mix of Cantonese and Peruvian ingredients that form the cuisine of both cultures including Japanese and Criollo flavors.
 Stuffed Avocado from the Peruvian Brothers
- Launched in 2013 the Peruvian Brothers Food Truck, created by Giuseppe Lanzone and Mario Lanzone, has been voted “Best Food Truck” by many local publications and they were the featured food at the Folk Life Festival. But you don’t need to go by me – the lines snake around the block every day. Follow their locations on Twitter @PeruBrothers.Stuffed Avocado from the Peruvian Brothers
I rest my case…
Et Voila! – A Neighborhood Favorite
 The friendly dining room at Et Voila! Stroll along a tree-lined street in the Palisades neighborhood to a cluster of outdoor umbrellas to arrive at Et Voila! – – a neighborhood staple of Belgian French bistro fare that has been providing Francophiles with moules, steak frites, foie gras and a distinguished selection of wines, Belgian beers and aperitifs.
As tiny as it is, the MacArthur Boulevard restaurant has its own Pastry Chef, Alex Malaise, who brings whimsy to the ever-evolving dessert menu. Recently I enjoyed his Pineapple Shortcake – a marvel of orange blossom syrup-soaked brioche swooped with orange blossom crème diplomate. Gilding the lily was a foam of advocaat liqueur, a single tuile and house made vanilla ice cream. Malaise also takes on Oeufs a la Neige, commonly known as Floating Island, a complex French dessert involving soft meringues atop crème Anglaise. Drizzled with melted caramel sauce it’s a labor-intensive treat my Danish grandmother made for special occasions.
 (left to right) Moules Frites at Et Voila! – Steak Frites – Pineapple dessert This summer he has turned his attention to popsicles made with fresh fruit and juices. Although flavors fluctuate with the season, some of the earlier choices have been Raspberry & Blueberry with sorbet almond milk and popping candy (remember Pop Rocks?), Pineapple & Coconut with passion fruit glaze and shredded coconut, and Chocolate Nutella with crushed hazelnut from the Piemonte region. Stroll in and try one. www.EtVoilaDC.com
Raw Food Dining is Decidedly Upscale at Elizabeth’s
Climb the broad steps of this stunning L Street townhouse, smack dab in the middle of downtown DC, and you enter a realm of calm and elegance – – a world where the service is superb, the décor as chic as Marjorie Merriwether Post’s Hillwood, and the food is raw and vegan. Phil Heyser, a certified sommelier oversees the impressive wine and cocktail program which includes dreaming up delicious concoctions of raw juices mixed with fine spirits.
I came upon the place a few weeks earlier at a press luncheon for the Viceroy Bali, an exclusive Thai resort hotel and spa overlooking the Valley of Kings in central Bali. The hotel had sent its Executive Chef Nic Vanderbeeken to showcase his exotic cuisine to a few select journalists with a four-course meal that began with the country’s national dish, Sop Bobor, a soup of spinach and young coconut and ended with a parfait made with the native calamansi fruit.
 Yellow Watermelon Soup at Elizabeth’s Gone Raw Friday dinners The dining room, is a vast two-level space adorned with large porcelain vases set in niches, old tapestries, oil portraits and gold ormolu mirrors lit with bronze sconces and crystal chandeliers. A heavenly midnight blue ceiling contrasts with salmon-hued walls to cast a romantic glow over the entire room. Start with cocktails at the onyx bar on the first floor.
 Elizabeth’s onyx bar – dining room On Friday evenings the bespoke room converts into a reservations-only restaurant. Owner and caterer, Elizabeth Petty of The Catering Company of Washington is passionate about organic, particularly raw-vegan – – a concept that got a lot of traction from the late chef Charlie Trotter in his 2003 cookbook, Raw. Admittedly the concept doesn’t appeal to everyone (I’d prefer to see carpaccio and seviche included in a raw menu), but the delicate and very creative handling of the ingredients here is inspiring. Here’s the menu from the evening I dined there. Note Heyser’s distinguished wine pairings.
AMUSE – Parsnip & Chamomile Flan – rosemary crisp
2014 Alphonse Mellot “La Moussiére” Rose, Sancerre, France
STARTER – Yellow Watermelon Soup – French vanilla butter pear, cashew yogurt, lemon zest, honeydew melon
2013 Red Tail Ridge Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
APPETIZER – Black Seaweed Caviar – red wine cracker, coconut crème, black garlic sauce, horseradish ginger, green apple foam
2007 Gramona “Imperial” Gran Reserva, Penedes, Spain
INTERMEZZO – Red Pepper Sorbet with a drizzle of black cardamom oil
ENTRÉE – Turmeric Saffron Risotto – green pea-mint purée, truffle crème, jasmine candy baby beets
2011 Carrick “Unravelled” Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand
SWEET – Bing Cherry Curd – chocolate marquise, meyer lemon crème, strawberry sauce
2006 Hall Merlot, Napa Valley, California
Reservations only. 202 347-8040.
Mom & Pop’s at the Mosaic District
 Kids frolic in the fountains outside Mom & Pop’s – photo credit Julie Jakopic A new spot in Fairfax’s Mosaic District is Mom & Pop’s. It’s the latest venture from Robb Duncan and his wife, Violeta Edelman, co-owners of Dolcezza Gelato & Coffee. This snazzy fast casual spot nestled beside Strawberry Park, has joined forces with a variety of local DC artisans like Nathan Anda of Red Apron Butchery, to offer sandwiches and tasty snacks including Dolcezza’s seasonal gelato and push pops. Stumptown roasts the coffee and morning pastries are by, Paisley Fig at Room 11 in Columbia Heights.
As Robb explains, “The name Mom & Pop resonates with us on many levels. First, we are mom and pop at home with our two little girls, and we have always been a mom and pop to all the folks who come and work with us at Dolcezza. Second, the term ‘mom and pop’ has this homemade, family business feel to it, which obviously jives with us.”
Popular sandwiches are the Grilled Cheese with Red Apron’s spicy smoked pimento cheese; or the Smoked Chicken Salad with cranberries, celery, smoked mayo, sour cream, onions and parsley. The Roast Beef has Calabrian aioli, arugula and pickled fennel. Several quiches will rotate according to the season.
If you’re going to the Angelika Theatre, a stone’s throw away, you might drop by for a quick snack before or after the show. Try marinated olives, sundried Tomatoes, or marinated artichokes paired with smoked almonds and Spanish chorizo. Choose from local sodas or a limited selection of beer, wine, and Prosecco, all available on tap.
Blackwall Hitch Sails Into Old Town
 Be sure to check out the Sunday Jazz Brunch at Blackwall Hitch – Overlooking the main dining area The dreary food court along Old Town Alexandria’s waterfront has been replaced with a spectacularly designed space that takes in a sweeping view of the Potomac River. The chic nautical design of Blackwall Hitch has seriously ramped up the style factor in stuffy Old Town. This gorgeous restaurant with its five bars, lounge area, private dining spaces and front and rear outdoor dining introduces a new gold standard for lower King Street.
Turquoise goblets, antique chairs and black leather sofas combine with rustic wood accents and a soaring iron stairway that takes you up to the second level and the Crow’s Nest bar. And when the weather turns chilly you can cozy up to the outdoor fire pit.
 Antipasto Chopped Salad at Blackwall Hitch I’ve eaten there three times and I have to give the food a mixed review. The higher priced entrees did not impress, nor did the desserts, a raw dough apple dumpling made with flaky pastry and served with vanilla ice cream was disappointing, but the casual food was spot on, if a bit spare with the portions. Stick to salads, the antipasto salad was delicious, though not terribly creative; burgers, big and juicy with the best sweet potato fries ever; and a ceviche, tingling with citrus and fresh seafood and served in an avocado. Michael Wagner is the Executive Chef, a Culinary Institute of America grad who gained experience in fine dining and large restaurants which will will prove crucial for serving the 315-seat space with outdoor seating for 105.
Still I loved the place and plan on returning for the cocktails, freshly shucked oysters, the view, the live music, and a casual bite or two.
Photo credit: Jordan Wright
|
