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Jordan Wright
April 15, 2015
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
 Le Menu Did you know the French drink more rosé than white wine? Quelle surprise! At a private tasting at Daniel Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen + Bar at City Center DC earlier this month I learned a great deal about the blush-colored wine the French adore and we find intriguing. On this sunny spring day our education was to be accompanied by a delectable four-course luncheon, designed to pair with the eleven wines we would taste. Swirl, sniff, swish, and spit was decidedly not the plan, not when DBGB Executive Chef, Ed Scarpone and Pastry Chef, Celia Lewis, were about to spoil us rotten with a menu to dovetail these selections.
Scarpone showed how rosé pairs well with flavors other than French dishes, in this case showcasing the more robust of these wines with the exotic influences of Asia and Morocco. And Lewis demonstrated how the sweetness of cassis-hued rosés marry well with chocolates and sugar-dusted madeleines.
 Maryland crab with coconut and champagne mango – Grilled chicken with couscous and spicy yoghurt – Grilled kale with sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, pickled water chestnut and buttermilk dressing For starters, heave mightily to the dustbin all memories of Lancers or Mateus – – once the only rosés available on our wine-starved Eastern shores. These fizzy blush wines from Portugal tasting like soda pop. How ever did we survive such an ignoble introduction to rosé? Those were dark days indeed. Today our wine shops are filled with a veritable panoply of French rosés revealing finesse, charm and sophistication…and they are becoming madly popular. Consumption of these little gems has doubled in the last twenty years.
 A basket of warm Madeleines – Petit fours – macarons, marshmallows and gold leaf truffles In Provence four sub-AOCs, or terroir appellations, have been recognized, and more are expected to be added. You can trace these regions (where rosé accounts for 88% of all wine production), from the mountains of Aix-en-Provence in southwestern France then south to the ports of Marseilles and Toulon, and down along the Mediterranean coast to the Riviera turning up along the eastern coastline to the millionaire’s playground of Cannes and St. Tropez.
Because the climate is drier in the mountains and more humid by the coast, there are distinctive variables in the wines that define their unique profiles. Limestone and limestone-clay soils impart a notable minerality, and the fierce seasonal winds of Le Mistral offer further dimension. Notwithstanding the climate, terroir and wide-ranging elevations of this vast region, there is also the crafting of the wine’s personality expressed by each winemaker who can draw from more than a dozen varieties of grapes used to make it. Nearly all of them are estate-grown.
Founded in 1999 the Center for Rosé Research in Vidauban has created its “Provence Rosé Color Scale” to better define its varying shades. This color reference chart depicts the diversity of liquid color gradations that categorize rosés under the official names of Red Currant, Peach, Grapefruit, Melon, Mango and Tangerine. It helps to express the shades that range from pale pink to peach to ruby hued.
I will not go further into the complexities of taste of the different rosés, nor how they are made. That discussion is for the serious oenophiles or future winemakers out there who already know far more than I. This is meant as an inspirational primer – – an introduction to its delights. I will go so far as to say I chose a favorite amongst all the offerings – – the Chateau Saint Maur Cru Classe L’Excellance Rosé. It is a prestigious wine, refined and delicate, with overtones of melon and rose petals conjuring up visions of heaping bowls of bouillabaisse or platters of fruits de mer. I’m already dreaming of fields of lavender and thyme, the truffles of Périgord, and a mess of langoustines. You should too.
For more detailed information visit www.CentreduRosé.fr
Photo credit – Jordan Wright
Jordan Wright
April 13, 2015
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
 Edward Gero as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in The Originalist. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. The controversial Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, comes to life in the hilariously acerbic The Originalist at Arena Stage. The much-acclaimed world premiere has just been extended for the second time and will continue until May 3rd resuming again on May 19th and running through May 31st. I give you this latest news upfront so that you can grab your tickets now. This is a can’t miss tour de force starring consummate actor Ed Gero as Scalia supported by Kerry Warren as Cat, Scalia’s liberal law clerk, and Harlan Work as Brad, Cat’s opposite, a young member of The Federalist Society and Scalia’s Sycophant-in-Chief.
 (L to R) Edward Gero as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Harlan Work as Brad and Kerry Warren as Cat in The Originalist. Photo by C. Stanley Photograph As the Court’s notably right-wing curmudgeon, Scalia has won friends in many circles with his humor and charm (you can’t be all bad and still have über liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a ‘bestie’), and John Strand (Arena Stage’s Resident Playwright) takes full advantage of that dichotomy, bringing it to life through historical quotes overlaid with the playwright’s imaginings of how Scalia crafts his opinions. It is one of the most thrilling pieces of theatre I have ever seen.
Strand uses the impending and long-awaited Supreme Court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as the centerpiece for the characters’ legal arguments, using the device to pit Scalia’s philosophies against Cat’s vehement opposition. It’s tremendously irresistible to anyone interested in law, the Justices, or the Court’s nation-altering decisions. (I sat next to a female attorney who had taken Scalia’s Contract Law class at the University of Chicago and proclaimed him feisty, yet humorous, even back then.)
 (L to R) Kerry Warren as Cat and Edward Gero as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in The Originalist. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. Accompanied by interstices of grandiose operatic arias (Scalia is a known opera buff), he delivers arguments and pronouncements like bullets on a battlefield, but so does his verbal sparring partner, Cat, an equally combative Harvard Law grad determined to change his mind. “I dissent!” is the most oft repeated line from the man who once had acting aspirations. He later confesses, “The court is my theatre. I am not an ideologue. I am an originalist!” In explaining his reason for hiring her he reveals, “Every now and then I like to have a liberal around. It reminds of how right I am.” Cat, who views the court as a “fantasy palace”, is determined to change his dogmatic ways. She seeks his heart, while he wants her soul. “You’re stuck alone in your bunker. Your constitution is just a shield you hide behind,” she parries, defining his brand of government a “monsterocracy”.
Gero is magnificent. His comedic timing and arrogant swagger are nothing less than breathtaking and perfectly counterbalanced by the supremely talented Kerry Warren. So riveting is their sparring on gun rights, gay marriage and the constitution, that if there was one soul in the audience who didn’t hear the proverbial pin drop, it didn’t. (Speaking of sparring, boxing terms are used so frequently I wondered if it they’re something the Justice is known for.)
 The set of The Originalist designed by Misha Kachman in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The Originalist runs March 6-April 26, 2015. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. Setting the tone and highlighting the majesty and gravity of the Court and its private chambers, Lighting Designer Colin K. Bills gives us two massive crystal chandeliers in order to appropriately frame the pronouncements from Scalia’s Kingly Court of Conservatism. Set Designer Mischa Kachman adds floor-to-ceiling red velvet drapes trimmed with golden tassels: lest you forget the import of where you are.
Highly recommended.
See above for new dates. Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.
Jordan Wright
April 7, 2015
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
A small farm high up in the Tyrolean mountains gave Nora Poullion her first taste of organic foods. While their father tended to his business in Vienna during World War II, Nora, her mother and two older sisters were safely ensconced in a rudimentary chalet where they lived with a farmer and his wife who baked bread from their own wheat, grew their own vegetables, milked the cows for butter and cheese, and gathered mushrooms from the forest. They were joined there by two old family friends – – Jewish refugees fleeing from the Nazis. These were the experiences that informed the direction of her life.
In her poignant memoir Poullion allows us into her private world before she was recognized as an American culinary pioneer through her commitment to local, sustainable and organic food. The book takes us along on her journeys throughout Europe and later in the U.S. at a time that parallels the rise of the organic Food Movement. When food was becoming ever more distant and chefs were buying from huge wholesale suppliers, Nora began to cultivate relationships with local farmers – – something I learned firsthand when I interviewed her seven years ago at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market where she still shops each week for Restaurant Nora, the first certified organic restaurant in the United States.
A few weeks ago we reconnected for the launch of her new book, My Organic Life: How a Pioneering Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today (Alfred A. Knopf – April 2015) written with Laura Fraser. As in her book Poullion spoke candidly over lunch about her early experiences in America. “I was astonished when I came to this country. Everything was packaged in plastic and there was no culture around food. Back then Pepperidge Farm was the gourmet bread!” You can well imagine how far removed this was to someone whose upbringing reflected the care and attention given to food in Europe. Remembering her first impressions she added, “I noticed how unhealthy people were. They just went to the doctor to get a pill!”
 Hearts of Palm Salad with pineapple carpaccio, mâche, pistachios and yuzu vinaigrette In the book Poullion recalls her arrival in Washington, DC in 1965 with her journalist husband, Pierre. As a young woman and newlywed she didn’t know how to cook. So charged with hosting his many ex-pat friends who excelled at cooking and entertaining, she turned to James Beard’s cookbooks for inspiration. By 1972 she had achieved such a stellar reputation for her French cooking and catering, that she began giving cooking classes. “Ralph Nader was my first student,” she recalled.
Area residents who have followed her career will remember her first restaurant inside the Tabard Inn, a small B&B in Dupont Circle. “I was stunned when twenty people came in!” she said of her first lunch service. One year later, after a stint flipping burgers in a local joint (No one can say she hasn’t paid her dues!), she and partner, Steven Damato, and his brother, Tom, opened Restaurant Nora. Later the trio enjoyed an eight-year run with City Café before turning it into the since shuttered Asia Nora.
 Sake Glazed Black Codwith ginger miso emulsion, bok choy, shiitakes, snow peas and crispy yams On this sunny afternoon she was seated beside her close friend of many years, Diane Rehm, the beloved NPR broadcaster. Rehm is one of the many notables – – from Jimmy Carter to the Obamas – – who have regularly patronized the restaurant.
Before our delicious lunch came to a close I begged (Yes, I really did beg!) for the recipe for the scrumptious dessert she served. It was a fabulous cake she planned to bake for Jacques Pepin’s upcoming 80th birthday tribute. Behold I give you Nora’s grandmother’s recipe for Austrian Chocolate Almond Cake. What I won’t do for my dear readers…
 Austrian Chocolate Almond Cake AUSTRIAN CHOCOLATE ALMOND CAKE WITH LIGHT WHIPPED CREAM
- 1 ½ cups almonds
- 4 ounces unsalted butter
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- ¾ cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cub breadcrumbs
- 6 egg whites
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread the almonds onto a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until fragrant and toasted. Let the nuts cool. Coarsely chop the almonds.
- Butter an 8-inch spring-form pan with one teaspoon of butter and dust with some of the breadcrumbs.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Combine the butter, sugar, and cooled, melted chocolate in the bowl of a mixer and beat until the batter changes to a lighter color and becomes creamy, about three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice while beating.
- Add the yolks, one at a time, and continue beating. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the ground almonds and breadcrumbs.
- Beat egg whites* (see tips below) until soft but not stiff. Stir a third of the beaten whites into the batter, blending thoroughly. Gently fold in remaining whites, working quickly and carefully to incorporate all the whites without deflating the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 50 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The center of the cake can still be soft.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cake rack. Let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze. Serves 12.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
For one 8-inch cake
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 3 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ounce of room temperature milk chocolate for garnish
- Melt semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Add the butter and stir until blended and smooth. Remove the glaze from the heat and allow it to cool and thicken to the consistency of thick cream.
- Brush the cake to remove any loose crumbs, and place both the cake and the cooling rack on a sheet pan to catch the chocolate glaze. Slowly pour a pool of chocolate glaze onto the center of the cake. Working from the center out, use a long metal spatula to spread the glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
- For a smoother look, you can glaze the cake a second time. Scoop the excess glaze from the sheet pan and reheat it in a small double boiler. Pour it through a sieve, if necessary to remove any cake crumbs, and cool it slightly to thicken a bit. Pour the glaze again onto the center of the cake and allow it to spread without using a spatula.
- With a vegetable peeler, shave off some curls of the milk chocolate and sprinkle them on top of the cake. Allow the glaze to set for 2 hours at room temperature or at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
LIGHT WHIPPED CREAM
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon superfine or confectioners’ sugar
- Fresh mint for garnish
- Whip the egg white until it holds its shape. Whip the cream in a separate bowl until it forms soft peaks, then add the sugar. Continue to whip the cream until it forms soft peaks again. Fold the egg whites into the cream.
- Assembly: Cut 4 pieces of the cake and put one piece on each of four dessert plates, garnish with a dollop of the light whipped cream and a sprig of mint.
Nora’s commentary
This is my grandmother’s recipe for a traditional Austrian cake, called Rehrueken. The name means “venison saddle” because the cake is usually baked in a long, half-roll pan to imitate a saddle of venison.
No matter what you do, this cake never fails. Under-baked, it tastes like a brownie. The original Viennese recipe uses almonds, but sometimes I make an Italian version, substituting pine nuts and serving it with an Amaretto cream or ice cream. I have made an American version using pecans and a bourbon whipped cream or ice cream.
The simple glaze always works, and my customers and family love it. Our neighbor in Vienna, the daughter of a famous restaurant owner, gave me this glaze recipe.
You can flavor the whipped cream with any kind of liqueur or with a few drops of pure vanilla, honey, rosewater or a pinch of cinnamon.
*Nora’s Tips
It is important not to over-beat the egg whites. Whip them just until they keep their shape. If over-beaten, they are difficult to fold in thoroughly and over-beaten eggs can cause the cake to rise too high, crack, and fall as it cools.
Jordan Wright
April 4, 2015
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
 Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie from Butter Baked Goods As the owner of the pink-and-pistachio colored bespoke bakery Butter Baked Goods in Vancouver, Canada, Rosie Daykin is realizing her dream. After ditching a successful career as an interior designer, Rosie returned to her lifelong passion turning her pretty cabbage rose-wallpapered bakery café into a worldwide business enterprise. In her first cookbook, Butter Baked Goods – Nostalgic Recipes from a Neighborhood Bakery (Alfred A. Knopf 2015), Rosie shares secrets of some of her most irresistible delicacies dividing chapters into breakfast indulgences, pies, classic cakes, muffins, cookies, bars, brownies and cupcakes. There are recipes for butter creams and frostings, and even her coveted recipe for Butter’s famous gourmet marshmallows found at over 300 retailers across North America.
What I loved about this book is Janis Nicolay’s soft focus photographs of dozens of Rosie’s simple homemade desserts like Sticks and Stones Cookies, Chocolate Nutella High-Top Cupcakes, Bumbleberry Pie and Butterscotch Maple Pecan Scones.
Just in time for spring, we’ve giving you her recipe for Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie. Happy baking!
As Rosie describes it, “This recipe came to me from my dear friend Margie. We became fast friends the day our family moved onto the block. You couldn’t ask for a better neighbor, and when I found out she was a keen baker I knew she was one for keeps! I think this may be my all-time favorite pie. The combination of sour cream, rhubarb and crumb topping is so good, it should be illegal.”
SOUR CREAM RHUBARB PIE
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla, then add to the flour mixture.
- Place the rhubarb in the prepared pie shell. Pour the egg and flour mixture evenly over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumb topping and mix with a fork until crumbly.
- Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the crumb topping over the top. Return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven again and allow the pie to cool slightly before slicing.
Ingredients
- 1 Butter’s All Butter Pastry single crust pie (page 192)
- 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
Crumb Topping
- 1⁄3 cup sugar
- 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⁄4 cup butter, softened
MAKES: 1 pie, about 8 to 10 slices
YOU WILL NEED: (9-inch) pie dish
“Margie has frozen this baked pie. She tells me that once it is defrosted and warmed slightly in a 200°F oven, you would never know it had ever been frozen.”
Jordan Wright
April 3, 2015
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
Peter Chang and Gen Lee Open Their Fifth Restaurant
 Joan Nathan with Kaz Oguchi (left) and Gen Lee Joan Nathan was holding court at the best table in the house during ‘friends and family’ night at Chang’s latest Virginia outpost, the eponymously titled, Peter Chang’s Arlington, where a breathtaking 17-course dinner was served family style.
 Daisy Tofu Soup – Stir-fried Beef with Chili Peppers The Sips & Suppers gang, hot off their successful fundraising dinners, had the party in full swing by the time I arrived. Cindy and Colin Uckert, one of many couples who played host to local chefs and guests in January, were at our table of twelve. (See my January interview with Gen Lee on Whisk and Quill – – https://whiskandquill.com/no-longer-runaway-chef-peter-chang-appear-sips-suppers)
 At Peter Chang’s – Pork Dumplings – Cumin Lamb Chops I will not regale you with every tasty dish, though each one was memorable in its own way. Suffice it to say it was a true Sichuan cuisine banquet fueled by lively food and wine chatter from those in the know.
My prediction? Lines around the block. Look for Chang’s fine dining Chinese restaurant to open in Rockville this April.
For reservations and information visit www.PeterChangArlington.com.
Mango Tree is Just Ripe for the Picking
After my interview with Richard Sandoval last December my antennae were way up anxiously awaiting the opening of his new spot in the very glam CityCenterDC on H Street. Sandoval has the Midas touch when it comes to combining exotic flavors and creating trends and Mango Tree is no exception. This latest jewel in his culinary crown is the twelfth Mango Tree, with others spread out across the globe from London to Bangkok and Dubai.
The sleek concept restaurant is decorated with saffron-hued banquettes, lots of dark wood, and both an upstairs and downstairs bar. I was pleased to note that they are at last open for lunch service, albeit with a smaller menu. Some of the dishes are already getting quite a buzz.
This Spring Mango Tree has gotten on board with other U.S. chefs on the serious issue of worldwide seafood sustainability. Did you know that a whopping 20% of all fish caught are thrown overboard as U.S. fishermen pursue higher-priced target fish? As you might imagine, some of these survive and some do not.
So to address the issue chefs are buying up by-catch fish and dreaming up super delicious dishes. Right here in the Chesapeake Bay the wild Blue Catfish is considered the greatest environmental threat to our native species, consuming everything in their path. We applaud Mango Tree’s chefs who are lightly batter-frying the delicate white-fleshed Blue Catfish and serving it up with an Asian-influenced sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy! It’s for the environment.
 (l-r) Mango Tree’s Shrimp Salad – Sweet and Sour Wild Blue Catfish – Lobster Pad Thai at Mango Tree Just in – – brunch service will begin April 4th and continue to be offered both Saturdays and Sundays from 11am till 3pm.
British-born Chef de Cuisine Paul Kennedy has crafted a menu combining traditional English breakfast fare with the traditional Thai flavors of savory, sweet, sour and spice. Here’s what to expect.
Appetizers include – – Green Papaya Salad, poached shrimp, cherry tomatoes, long beans, chili-lime and a Sriracha cocktail sauce; Street-Style Pork-in-A-Bag, grilled marinated pork skewers with Thai sticky rice and a sweet tamarind sauce.
Entrées are just as enticing – – Mango Tree Eggs Benedict, toasted English muffin, poached egg and hash browns, served with a choice of grilled salmon, Kaffir lime hollandaise and sautéed spinach or braised beef cheeks with green curry hollandaise and sautéed spinach or sautéed spinach, with Kaffir lime hollandaise and shallots; Salmon Scrambled Eggs with hash browns and crispy fried bread; Thai-English Breakfast, inspired by the traditional English breakfast Chef Kennedy grew up eating; made with Northern-style Thai sausage, crispy bacon, two wok fried eggs, hash browns, grilled Portobello mushroom, grilled tomato and fried bread; Oven-Baked Blueberry French Toast with whipped cream and blueberry compote; Bacon, Bourbon and Apple Pancakes with hash browns and maple syrup; or Mango Tree Waffles, with a choice of maple syrup, crispy bacon and whipped cream or strawberry and Thai basil compote and whipped cream or fresh fruit in ginger & mint syrup. Dishes are a la carte.
 Fresh fruits at Mango Tree – Coconut Sticky Rice with Coconut Gelato and Ginger Syrup The new brunch menu continues to reel us in with cocktails such as the Traditional Mimosa; Mary in the Mango Tree with Mekhong and house-made bloody Mary mix; Mango Mimosa with Champagne and fresh mango purée; Lychee Bellini with Champagne and fresh lychees; The Spirited Thai with Mekhong, fresh lime, lychee and pineapple, and the Thai Tea-ni with Thai tea infused vodka with star anise and evaporated milk.
Have I got your attention? For reservations and information for Mango Tree at CityCenterDC call 202 408-8100 or visit www.MangoTreeDC.com.
The Daily Dish – A Neighborhood Favorite in Silver Spring
Last month a lavish 5-course luncheon was prepared for twelve of food writers at The Daily Dish. How I wish you were there as we gobbled up lump crab cakes with remoulade, duck confit on endive with smoked bacon and roast grapes, house-cured gravlax with crème fraiche and wild mushroom soup. And those were just the appetizers which we washed down with either Blood Orange Margaritas or Elderflower Caipiroskas with a sprig of rosemary. There is nothing delicate about a horde of foodies with an appetite for good food and a penchant for fine wines that were gratefully served with each course.
 Lump crab cakes with remoulade, duck confit on endive with smoked bacon and roast grapes, house-cured gravlax with crème fraiche — Salad of roast beets on arugula paired perfectly with goat cheese, fennel and oranges A salad of roast beets on arugula paired perfectly with goat cheese, fennel and oranges comprised our second course followed by purple sweet potato gnocchi and diver scallops with pancetta and a Spanish romesco sauce. As we segued into beef short ribs with baby carrots and a savory bread pudding of mushrooms, bacon, pea shoots and smoked Gouda. There were three types of desserts to swoon over, but I can only recall the vegan chocolate cake with berry wine sauce. What do you expect after seven different wines were poured?
 Diver scallops with pancetta and a Spanish romesco sauce — Beef short ribs with baby carrots I don’t know how the chef and his small staff can handle such volume in the teensy open kitchen, but they have one of the most extensive menus I’ve ever seen. Their brunch menu reveals dozens of dishes – – ditto for lunch and dinner – – while a hearth oven cranks out pizzas all day and night. More on that later…
 Vegan chocolate cake with berry wine sauce With a heartwarming dedication to sustainably raised seafood and a keen eye for purchasing produce and meats from small farms and Amish suppliers, owners, Zena Polin and Jerry Hollinger have developed a reputation for quality comfort food. Hollinger is the executive chef in their mutual enterprise and Polin handles selecting the wines, over thirty are available by the glass or bottle with a rotating “Reserve” list of special wines. At our lunch I enjoyed a surprisingly memorable sauvignon blanc 2012 Bodegas Carrau from Uruguay, another from Portugal, two from France, one each from California and Oregon and, I’m happy to say one from Virginia, Nebbiolo Ice Wine from Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville.
 Blood Orange Margarita Polin also enjoys dreaming up specialty cocktails. A particular favorite of mine is Pimm’s Cup. The perfect summer refresher, we love it for sipping between chukkas at a polo match. That it is served here, is a wonderment.
Another of the restaurant’s offerings is the Bloody Mary bar, here each drink is concocted according to the guest’s exact specifications. Choose a vodka and a rim frosting, next add your own juice, tomato or V8, then make it as mild or hot as you like with spices, horseradish and the like, popping in a smoked bacon stirrer or poached shrimp topper. What a way to brave the day!
Opened 2009 the duo have a faithful neighborhood following. With dishes changing every night according to Hollinger’s whim and what’s in season, locals and their families often dine here more than once a week. For those short of time, there’s “Dough to Go”, a kit containing dough, sauce and cheese for making your own pizza. I took one home, followed the instructions and felt like a pro.
For more info or to make reservations visit www.thedailydish.com.
A Singularly Smashing Night at the Embassy of Spain
 Ambassador Ramon Gil-Casares (center) at the Embassy of Spain’s lavish buffet As reported in late March, I planned to attend a supper and talk at the Foxhall Road Embassy of Spain. After some delectable hors d’oeuvres and wine, Ramon Martinez, Executive Chef of Jose Andres’ noted restaurant, Jaleo, presented an illuminating power point presentation on the evolution of Spanish gastronomy, noting the connections between the two continents and crediting America for green peppers and tomatoes.
He gave credit to Spain for inventing hot chocolate mentioning, “The Americas discovered cacao, but we are the ones that put sugar in it.” On a more conciliatory note he demurred, “It’s all about collaboration.”
 The embassy sets a pretty table – Desserts on the patio at the embassy Ambassador Ramon Gil-Casares then invited the attendees to follow him downstairs where the Embassy’s Executive Chef, Rive Perez, had prepared a spectacular traditional Spanish dinner where tables were set with white linens on a candlelit patio. If you’ve been following my peregrinations lately you couldn’t be faulted for thinking that Spain has had a firm hand in feeding me every week. Or so it seems.
A Chance Meeting with the Prime Minister of Ireland
 Prime Minister of Ireland Enda Kenny with Fionnaula Kelly and Daniel O’Connell’s manager, Trini Hughes (center) After spending a frigid morning covering the British Royals at Mount Vernon the day after St. Patrick’s Day, I met up with a colleague for a late lunch of corned beef and cabbage at Daniel O’Connell’s in Old Town Alexandria, when who should be at the next table of the near-empty restaurant but Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Enda Kenny and his wife, Fionnuala Kenny.
 Jordan Wright with the Prime Minister of Ireland Kenny We sent a message through our waiter and the Kennys immediately came to our table. We had just left the future King of England and ten miles away we were chatting it up with the Irish Prime Minister. I’m still delirious from it all.
 Corned beef and cabbage at Daniel O’Connell’s Photo credit: Jordan Wright
Jordan Wright
March 30, 2015
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Joshua Morgan (Steven), Natascia Diaz (Adrienne), Alex Brightman (Jonah), and
Jessica Hershberg (Charlie) in Soon at Signature Theatre. Photo by Teresa Wood. The world is ending and Charlie (Jessica Hershberg) is obsessed by the lurid headlines. Listening to broadcasts of the President’s speech declaring the planet’s demise, she becomes consumed by Wolf Blitzer. “His voice reminds me of my father’s,” she admits. Her dwindling stash of peanut butter explains her inability to rise up from the imagined safety of her sofa to venture out into the world to replenish it and she holes up in her tawdry East Village apartment while indulging in the schadenfreude of CNN’s apocalyptic reports of the devastating effects of climate change. Agoraphobic, depressive, defeatist and snide, she’s hardly anyone’s idea of a heroine.
Her sometime boyfriend, Jonah (Alex Brightman) can’t lure her outdoors and neither can her mother, Adrienne (Natascia Diaz), nor her roomie, Steven (Joshua Morgan). “I’m busy acknowledging the inevitable,” she moans, forgoing her dreams of starting a neighborhood bakery. And as she stays put in her apartment with her pet goldfish, Herschel, life goes on around her while the others appear and disappear both in the present and from the beyond.
 Alex Brightman (Jonah) and Jessica Hershberg (Charlie) in Soon at Signature
Theatre. Photo by Teresa Wood. In Soon a compact musical with book, music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire, the four intersecting lives are highlighted through some pretty quirky tunes. “Peanut Butter” and “Bar Mitzvah for the First Jewish Fish” are two of the eleven numbers that express the mood of the characters.
Director Matthew Gardiner, who last year brought us the brilliant Sunday in the Park with George, has assembled a capable cast of top-drawer talent to push this musical to the next level. In particular Natascia Diaz, who we raved about in last year’s The Three Penny Opera, and Joshua Morgan, whose performance as the campy gay roommate electrifies the stage and provides necessary comic relief.
Also of note are the production values enhanced by the work of Projection Designer, Matthew Haber, who splashes across the walls the gloom-and-doom newsreels of the world’s natural disasters; and Dan Conway whose set design, replete with crime prevention bars on the apartment, reflect Charlie’s self-imposed, emotional prison.
 Jessica Hershberg (Charlie) in Soon at Signature Theatre. Photo by Teresa Wood My only complaint is with the story. It is overly challenging to drum up empathy for Charlie, even when we discover that she has contracted a disease through her own mother. She is heartless and dismissive to Jonah, who begs for her affections. “Everything I ever wanted never happened,” she whines. Who puts up with that? Well, the long-suffering Jonah, the man who gives her a goldfish in hopes that it will bond him to her forever, does. Even in a particularly tender moment when he tells her that his parents have offered to pay for her medical care, she blows him off.
By the time we get to the fairytale ending and Charlie has caved to Jonah’s unfathomable love, it is of little satisfaction to watch them picnicking while the world ends to the strains of the number, “Make Love”. Think post-apocalyptic sci-fi romance. Millennials will thrill to the futility and despair.
Through April 26th in the ARK Theatre at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.signature-theatre.org.
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