|
|
Jordan Wright
June 16, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Fat Tony (Ed Dixon), Nick Cutter (Doug Carpenter) and Gino (Christopher Bloch) sing “Who Put the Mob In” in “Cloak and Dagger,”Photo by Margot Schulman. If you want to be cast in a major part, or nail half a dozen roles in the same production…and if you want the music to be heavy on the romance, comedy and pathos…maybe you should just write your own damn material which is exactly what Helen Hayes Award Winner Ed Dixon did. He set out to create the perfect platform for his talents, penning the book, music and lyrics to Cloak and Dagger or The Case of the Golden Venus, now having its world premiere at Signature Theatre. In his madcap homage to 1950’s film noir, Dixon wrote himself into over a dozen separate roles, giving Director Eric Schaeffer one hot hit. The energetic four-person cast is listed as Man One, Man Two, Nick and Helena, but there are countless reincarnations by Man One played by Dixon, and Man Two, played by Helen Hayes Award Winner, Christopher Bloch.
The story: Nick Cutter is a private dick on the downswing. Holed up in a shabby one-desk office in Manhattan, his world is tanking when in walks sexy, sharp-tongued firecracker, Helena Troy. (All puns intended by the playwright throughout.) Helena is being chased by gangsters-with-gats led by her goombah fiancé, Fattoni, a deese-dems-and-dose lowlife in pursuit of a purloined solid gold Venus statue. Can the adoring Nick save her from The Mob and solve the mystery of the statue? Not before combing every nook and cranny of New York, from Chinatown and Little Italy to Canal Street and 42nd Street, and every hellhole in between. “Follow the stench – cheap cologne and despair,” the frowzy landlady advises Nick as she tries to woo him in the tune “A Real Woman”.
 Nick Cutter (Doug Carpenter, center) and Pinsky’s Chorus Girls sing “Shake Your Maracas” – Photo by Margot Schulman. “You may be onto to something,” Nick acknowledges. “I’d like to be!” she retorts with a wink. When he worries Helena might already be a corpse, she suggests, “I’m sure she’s alright unless she fell in holy water in direct sunlight.” The gags come fast and furious and in a wealth of different accents. You gotta keep up.
Doug Carpenter, an appealing and handsome lead actor with a matchless voice to boot, is Nick Cutter. Some of the most moving numbers in the show are his – “The Worst of Times” and “The Best of Times”, the two opening numbers, and “Love Is” which comes after he’s fallen head over heels for Helena. Another terrific song is “Opium” sung with Man One, Man Two, Nick and Helena. It could easily spring Cole Porter from his grave dripping with envy. Erin Driscoll is Helena. Though her petite frame is somewhat overshadowed by the big galoots, she makes up for it as a belter who can sell a tune to a flock of nightingales…and does.
 Helena Troy (Erin Driscoll) strikes a seductive pose in “Cloak and Dagger,” – Photo by Margot Schulman. Behind a simple set of three doors, Bloch and Dixon weave in and out donning umpteen crazy costumes and emerging totally transformed in record breaking time. It’s a bonanza of double entendres, men in drag (Dixon does a potty-mouth Mae West), and some vaudeville-style hoofing (in “An Agent”, Bloch conjures Jimmy Durante and dances to “Hava Nagila”).
As important as the jokes are, the music is even more critical. And one way to gauge the value of a musical is not just by the score, but also by the lyrics. Would a singer choose any of these songs for a nightclub or cabaret act? Well, yes! Dixon has given songsters catchy tunes, creative lyrics and romantic ballads to choose from. There are nineteen numbers played by four musicians that trick us into thinking they’re an orchestra. Twenty-two year old Jordon Ross Weinhold, one year out of grad school, did the orchestrations and he is a veritable whiz kid.
It’s a clever detective story done in burlesque. What’s not to like?
Through July 6th 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.
Video Credit on Preview Video is James Gardiner and Justin Chiet
Jordan Wright
June 16, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Bernie Engel as Roy Hubley escorts Elynia Betts as Mimsey Hubley to her wedding – photo credit to Matthew Randall Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite is a series of three vignettes set in Room 719 at New York’s famed Plaza Hotel. For this production Director Shawn g. Byers has chosen to represent three different eras throughout the hotel’s hundred-year history changing decors for each period. To set the mood and showcase the hotel’s glorious past, vintage photos of celebrities living it up in the hotel’s famed Palm Court and Oak Room are projected across the stage while music of the era plays in the background. It opens with the lovely lilting voice of songstress Alicia Keyes.
It is 2007 and Karen Nash (Amy Solo) greets her workaholic husband. Though he doesn’t recall, it is their anniversary and she has excitedly booked the same room where they honeymooned. Though they don’t even agree on that. “We’re some lousy couple,” he concedes.
 Amy Solo and Jack Stein as wife and husband Karen and Sam Nash celebrate their wedding anniversary at the Plaza Hotel – photo credit to Matthew Randall. Preoccupied with her age and weight, she has become a doormat to her svelte husband, Sam (Jack B. Stein), pardoning his insults and ignoring his foibles while they bicker and flatter with equal measure. Enter the sexy secretary, Jean McCormack played by Michelle Sumner. She drops by with “important” papers for Sam to sign, but with a suggestive tossing of her locks lets us know what’s up between them.
 Michelle Sumner as Jean McCormack and Jack Stein as Sam Nash – photo credit to Matthew Randall. If you think this is a clone of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, you may not know Simon, a playwright fond of exploiting everyday human frailties with a massive dose of one-liners, sarcasm and slapstick more akin to the Marx Brothers and their style of physical comedy.
The second act takes place in the 1960’s. Photos of the Beatles, the Rat Pack and that most celebrated of all couples from the jet setter days Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, blaze across the stage. Slick Hollywood producer, Jesse Kiplinger (Richard Isaacs), tries to reignite a high school romance with 30-something Muriel Tate (Shelagh Roberts). Fueled by multiple vodka stingers and Muriel’s single-minded fascination with gossip about Jesse’s movie star cronies, an elaborate cat-and-mouse game ensues with the Lotharian Jesse trying every trick in the book to stop Muriel from leaving.
 Richard Isaacs as Jesse Kiplinger romances Shelagh Roberts as Muriel Tate – photo credit to Matthew Randall The final act references suite 719 at the turn of the 20th century – the hotel’s centennial. The very Victorian Norma Hubley (Anne Paine West) and husband Roy (Bernard Engel) have booked the Plaza’s Grand Ballroom for a posh wedding for their daughter, Mimsey (Elynia Betts). But the young woman has locked herself in the suite’s bathroom with a fierce case of wedding jitters. “Think about my life,” Norma pleads to her daughter through the keyhole. “Your father will kill me!”
 Anne Paine West as Norma Hubley and Bernie Engel as Roy Hubley explains their daughter’s wedding day jitters to fiancée Bordon Eisler played by Erblin Nushi – photo credit to Matthew Randall. In the film version Walter Matthau played all three male leads, and you will see echoes of his bumbling everyman style in Roy Hubley, whose approach to Mimsey vacillates between sweet talking to pounding down the door.
Set Designer Marian Holmes along with Set Dresser Larry Grey nail the changing décor of Suite 719, complementing the vintage “mod” fashions designed by Heather Norcross and Ashley Adams Amidon.
The entire ensemble gives solid performances throughout, delivering a tidily crafted version of the long-running Broadway show.
Through July 5th 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
June 9, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 James Waterston as Elyot, Jeremy Webb as Victor, Bianca Amato as Amanda and
Autumn Hurlbert as Sibyl Photo by Scott Suchman Noël Coward’s deliciously wicked Private Lives has got us in a tizzy. Is it scrumptiously witty or delightfully snarky? No matter. This heady romp of delicious vitriol is considered Coward’s best. It’s a doorknob-high glimpse into the lives of the very rich and not-so-well divorced…and we do enjoy a bit of schadenfreude through the keyhole now and again. Don’t we?
Sibyl and Elyot are honeymooners. Ditto for Amanda and Victor. Elyot and Amanda are exes whose marriage went up in funereal flames. By coincidence the couples share an adjoining terrace in a chic hotel somewhere in the south of France. When exes, Amanda and Elyot, espy one another across a boxwood planter, they go all monkey’s uncle. The question is, can their romance reignite? After some sparring and reminiscing, Amanda trills an old tune to Elyot. As they both begin to soften their stances, she merrily quips, “It’s strange how potent cheap music is,” one of Coward’s most recognizable lines.
 Bianca Amato as Amanda and James Waterston as Elyot in the Shakespeare Theatre
Photo by Scott Suchman Bianca Amato as Amanda leaves no small emotion un-exploited in this hilarious verbal sword fight. Her jaw-dropped double take upon discovering Elyot and her solo Rumba in red silk Chinese pajamas, are captivating. James Waterston as her ex, Elyot, matches her parry for parry and thrust for thrust in this comedy of clever insults. He even does a respectable turn on the piano. Kudos to Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen for the 1930’s musical selections and period arrangements, as well as the terrific lighting.
Coward saw the patterns of “emotional baggage” before the term was coined, and exploits the concept here as each couple transfers their fears and prejudices on their new relationships. He cannily intuited the futility of the snake that eats its own tail, ouroboros, while reveling in the high society that exalted it. As Amanda succinctly philosophizes, “Very few people are completely normal in their private lives.” Coward would know. He lived both sides of it.
 : James Waterston as Elyot and Autumn Hurlbert as Sibyl. Photo by Scott Suchman. The very petite Autumn Hurlbert plays Sibyl, rendering the character as crafty and manipulating a ditzy blonde as can be conjured up. But Elyot is suspicious of his new wife’s machinations and threatens to cut off her head if they don’t leave the hotel and the impending spousal confrontations. Ditto for Amanda v. Victor who duke it out before the marriage is consummated.
When the honeymooners square off in Act One, with Sybil and Victor refusing to leave, insults fly like raptors in sight of prey. That it is all fueled by cocktails and passion, gaiety and madness, is what makes being a fly on the wall so doggone alluring. And don’t we adore seeing the privileged get their comeuppance? Even the French housekeeper, played smartly by Jane Ridley, gets her digs in. “Idiotes!” she sneers at their absurdities.
 Autumn Hurlbert as Sibyl and Jane Ridley as Louise. Photo by Scott Suchman. Victor is played by the screamingly funny Jeremy Webb. Webb perfectly captures the scrappy, moon-eyed, cuckolded husband, whom Elyot describes as “all fuss and fume”, to a tee. He’s the perfect foil to the fabulously flippant Elyot, who tells him, “I think I’m cleverer than you are, but that’s not saying a lot!”
The high jinks and sophisticated repartee are backgrounded by the breathtaking sets of Allen Moyer, whose depiction of a grand hotel, and later Amanda’s bespoke Paris apartment, quite literally left the audience gasping (and applauding) in appreciation.
A rollickingly spiffy jaunt not to be missed.
Through July 13th at the Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information contact the Box Office at 202 547-1122 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org.
Jordan Wright
June 4, 2014
all photo credit to Jordan Wright
 Pastry Chef Joseluis Flores You may have noted that I only occasionally report on desserts. Often they can be so cloyingly sweet, targeted to a juvenile palate, or just something to bump up the check total. And unless there is a designated Pastry Chef on board, I find that this is too often the case.
Joseluis Flores, Richard Sandoval’s Pastry Chef and Executive Chef for Kitchen Operations, does not fit into any of the aforementioned categories. He is an astounding and accomplished chef who has been recognized by Star Chefs as a “Rising Star”. As Pastry Chef for Toro Toro he has created two desserts that I would get on a red-eye for. Thankfully I do not have to. His “Cortadito Bar” and the dreamy “Deconstructed Key Lime Pie” are on the I Street restaurant’s printed menu. Recently I spoke with Flores about his work and inspirations.
Whisk & Quill – What was your first dessert or memory of something sweet?
Joseluis Flores – I’d say the orange pound cake my grandma made. As the only boy in the family I learned from her. As kids we’d all gather around and she taught us how.
W&Q – What was the first desert you made?
JF– The orange pound cake certainly, and a chocolate pound cake too. We usually ate these cakes once a month on a Sunday and not necessarily for a special occasion.
 Deconstructed Key Lime Pie W&Q – Can you talk about how you came up with the Deconstructed Key Lime pie? I loved it. It is beautiful and unpretentious as well as delicious. Something you want to dig in to, not stand back from.
JF– Italian meringue a rich key lime custard and garnished with complementary flavors without missing the essence of the idea. I think people overthink desserts. They try to put too much stuff in it. Sometimes the simplest thing is the most challenging.
 Cortadita Bar – another of Joseluis Flores’ divine desserts W&Q – What about your lavish Cordadita Bar?
JF – It’s a takeoff on the Cuban coffee that’s an espresso with a dash of milk.
W&Q – What kind of chocolate do you prefer?
JF – I use many different kinds, but for that dessert I use Valrhona 64% chocolate. It’s a combination of white and dark chocolate and a lot of coffee and milk in the mousse. The base is a smooth and silky almond and hazelnut cake, a typical French genoise.
W&Q – Who are your greatest professional influences?
JF – I’d have to say Jacques Torres and Francois Payard, and from elBulli, Ferran Adria, and his brother, Albert Adria, whom I met once at a Star Chef event in New York.
W&Q – What is your favorite dessert?
JF – I like everything chocolate! I like a simple chocolate mousse with raspberries. For myself, believe it or not, I like hot apple pie with chocolate ice cream on top. Sometimes I make apple empanadas in the restaurant using pie dough and eat it with cinnamon and vanilla-flavored chocolate ice cream that I make with Abuelita using some smoked ancho chiles.
W&Q – What types of sugar do you use?
JF – I use granulated white sugar and a lot of brown sugar too, both dark and light, for cookie dough. I use agave for marinating fruits and make a flan with piloncillo. Also I like agave syrup with spices for making my churros. Occasionally I use sugar from beets or dates.
W&Q – What do you think is the next trend in desserts?
JF – Wow! That’s difficult to say. But I think a lot of the pastry chefs are going back to the basics, not so much molecular gastronomy. Everything has its time. A lot of the chefs give us the trend of the food. But some of the desserts have become very expensive to create and not everybody can afford that. A lot of restaurants are using more basic ingredients. So many restaurants try to overdo, and just don’t decorate the plates right. Not everyone can play with the more molecular techniques.
I make one dessert that is served only in Miami and New York. It is a Mexican cream cheese mousse with a cream cheese crust and cookie crumbs and French preserves with strawberries and raspberries. We use the same ingredients to decorate the plate. I try not to go beyond or crazy. You can just take one ingredient and transform it with out losing its integrity.
W&Q – How do you get all your ideas?
JF – The company we have now with Richard [Sandoval], affords me a lot of opportunities to be creative. It also lets me explore flavors and ingredients from around the world to create new Latin and Asian flavors. With so many combinations at hand, I can always create something new.
W&Q – Can you describe the differences in Latin-inspired desserts?
JF – People often ask me, “What’s a Latin dessert, a Peruvian dessert, a Mexican dessert?” If you look back in history there was no sugar in America. It was honey and vanilla. We didn’t have these things until the mix of cultures. For example in Argentina alfajores is a cookie made of corn starch and sugar that they are very proud of. Those desserts came from the Old World, places like Arabia and Dubai – – and the kind of sugars they use. We have to mix the Latin flavors somehow – – otherwise we end up with nothing.
For example some fruits came from America. Pineapple, that’s now used all over the world, was once for the very rich. All these flavors like guava and mamey, they came from Latin America and were brought to Europe.
When I was writing my first book [Dulce: Desserts in the Latin-American Tradition 2010] I did a lot of research about baking ingredients. For example the vanilla bean was brought from Mexico to Spain and then spread around the world. Then, look at who are the masters of chocolate – – Switzerland and France. Chocolate was brought to Europe from the Americas.
W&Q – What’s next for you?
JF – This September I will be at a Star Chefs competition in New York City. There are usually 20 different pastry chefs from around the country. I really like to do this because a lot of the money goes to the students. Plus it keeps me in shape. The last time I went I had to train for two weeks! I like to see people from the industry and all the latest technology so I can have a knowledge of what’s in the marketplace. Like a lot of other pastry chefs, I like the PacoJet [ice cream machine] a lot and also all the different Silpat pans and molds that allow me to create different shapes.
W&Q – Is there another book we can look forward to?
JF – Actually, I am working on another book. The last one took me a couple of years to develop, compile and test the recipes, so I imagine this one will too. I like to put all my memories in it.
This interview was conducted, condensed and edited by Jordan Wright.
Jordan Wright
May 26, 2014
all photo credit to Jordan Wright
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
Taberna del Alabardero Celebrates 25 Years, Toro Toro Opens, New Farmers Market Opens in Mosaic District, Cassatt/Degas Exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, Great Taste of Tyson’s, and “Fed Up” Makes the Case Against Sugar
Twenty-Five Years and Counting
 25th Anniversary at Taberna del Alabardero Taberna del Alabardero has been a favorite destination of mine since working in the Aviation and Aerospace industry back in the 90’s. As the point person for staging small yet high-level events, I arranged several dinners in their beautiful private dining rooms a few blocks from the White House. These were exquisitely prepared meals that showcased regionally authentic dishes. Seafood paellas, slow-braised oxtail and roast suckling pig, a specialty of Segovia, can still be found on the menu. On a few evenings our guests were honored with an appearance by His Excellency, the Spanish Ambassador.
As a chic watering hole for royals there is hardly another spot in town to rival it. From princes to kings and pop stars to diplomats, all have been taken by its elegant charms and authentic Spanish cuisine prepared by Executive Chef Javier Romero and his talented team.
Have I mentioned the impeccable service? It’s like dining in a luxury hotel in Europe in decades past or a favorite café where you know everyone at the bar. In summer, tables are set up along the street and sharing tapas and pintxos, letting paper-thin slices of jamon de Iberico melt in your mouth, and downing pitchers of Sangria flavored with summer fruits can be just as pleasing.
 Father Luis de Lezama with author Joan Nathan Now in its 25th year founder Father Luis de Lezama, the man responsible for bringing the restaurant to Washington, DC, came to town to celebrate and to tell the story of the restaurant that almost didn’t open.
It was the 1980’s when de Lezama arrived in Washington looking for the perfect location to launch his restaurant. He had a vision to educate young men from impoverished families in Spain by teaching them the culinary arts. The priest was sent under the auspices and goodwill of the Spanish Government who seemed eager to underwrite his “American adventure”.
After securing the lease on a location on 18th Street, the National Bank of Spain, who had promised to underwrite the plan, backed out leaving de Lezama to fend for himself and somehow find new funds to bankroll his vision.
With little money, a high-rent lease to cover and dozens of eager trainees awaiting their journey and jobs in America, he was forced to eat dollar meals in a nearby shelter while pondering his fate from a cheap room at the YMCA.
Fifteen years earlier he had successfully opened the first Taberna del Alabardero in Madrid and the training school he had dreamed of was going strong. But now he was faced with more than just an embarrassment. It would be a devastating blow to the students. He decided to present his dilemma to the building’s landlord, Oliver Carr. Carr liked the idea immediately, backing the restaurant project and assuring the future for the young men back in Spain.
As de Lezama explains, “The most important value of Taberna del Alabardero is to preserve the Spanish gastronomy essence. There is no need of mixtures or “techno-emotional” cooking to present an actual cuisine. The gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce) have to taste like they taste as do merluza en salsa verde (hake in green sauce), calamares en su tinta (calamari cooked in their own ink). They do not need any masking.”
 Seafood Paella Today the business group that de Lezama conceived has more than 700 employees, a foundation, three catering schools and renowned restaurants in Madrid, Marbella, Seville and Washington, DC.
Taberna hosts monthly wine dinners and special tastings, and has recently announced new catering services. Visit http://www.alabardero.com.
Toro Toro – Sandoval Opens His First DC Fine Dining Restaurant
 Toro Toro For international chef and restaurateur, Richard Sandoval, opening a fine dining establishment in DC was something he’d long planned to accomplish. Last month he opened the sleek, chic Toro Toro. His DC area restaurants now total five along with Ambar, El Centro, Masa 14 and Zengo, plus the nearby, La Sandia in Tyson’s Corner – – bringing his worldwide empire to 31 restaurants with such far-flung outposts as Dubai, Serbia, Qatar and Mexico.
I have now enjoyed Toro Toro on two separate occasions. My first experience was last month the day after they began service with a soft opening, and again when His Excellency Eduardo Medina-Mora, Ambassador from Mexico, was present for the ribbon cutting a few weeks later.
Richard Sandoval with His Excellency Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora and wife, Laura Perez Medina-Mora
I have always found Sandoval’s dishes to be exotic combinations of Latin-Pan Asian flavors. His deft hand shows a beautifully balanced command of complex and intriguing spices. And I must confess I have a soft spot for the seafood seviches served in his other restaurants.
But Toro Toro takes its cue from Brazilian churrasco, and I was disappointed by the inconsistency of the flame-cooked meats. We went for “The Rodizio Experience”, a menu selection that must be ordered by the entire table. It includes all you can eat of five cuts of meat, plus chorizo sausage and prawns. Though the chorizo and filet were blameless, the steaks, chicken and lamb chops had suffered mightily from under- or over-cooking. Some were so rare they resisted cutting. A rare filet is a godsend, but a too-rare lamb chop that necessitates using a seesaw slicing motion to dislodge a morsel, is not eater friendly. And, alas, some of the meats were flat out overdone. Clearly the kitchen needs practice with its new equipment. And perhaps it was entirely unfair of me to have gone in so soon. (A few weeks later Sandoval told me they were having trouble getting the flame-broiler adjusted.) However there are other churrascarias in town that have this meat-on-a-sword thing down pat and Toro Toro’s kitchen will have to step up their game to compete.
 Seared Seafood Seviche at Toro Toro As expected both seviches were carefully prepared, though the Seared Seafood Seviche, a concoction of prawns, calamari, scallops, ginger, leche de tigre and aji amarillo, was an appetizer that soared, as did the Cachapas, duck carnitas on corn pancakes with Oaxaca cheese and tomato jam. Simple but perfect. Having just watched Anthony Bourdain’s Oaxacan food adventure on CNN’s “Parts Unknown”, I’d give my eyeteeth to experience more of this ancient and complex cuisine.
Here’s the best of it. The service is sophisticated and attentive. A Catena Zapata “Vista Flores” (Malbec 2009) at $8.00 by the glass is a steal, there’s a Euro-style nightclub with DJ downstairs, and Pastry Chef Joseluis Flores’ desserts are beyond divine. They are swoon-worthy. (Look for next week’s interview with Flores.)
 The downstairs bar at Toro Toro Mosaic Central Farm Market Opens in Fairfax
In addition to founding Bethesda Central Farm Market and Pike Central Farm Market in Rockville, pioneer, innovator and co-founder of MeatCrafters, Mitch Berliner, has branched out into Virginia territory with the help of wife, Debra Moser, opening a third market in Fairfax’s new Mosaic District.
The Sunday morning market features over 30 farmers and artisanal food products and will be open until October. Each week a “Cook’s Corner” will feature local chefs who will demonstrate how to use some of the fresh fruits and veggies sold at the market. A series of cooking classes are also offered at $25.00 p.p. with all proceeds going to Manna Food Center.
 Mosaic Central Farm Market in Fairfax On June 7th Chef Lynn Foster will teach students how to prepare Chilled Asparagus Soup with Pea Shoot Garnish, Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad with Baby Greens Slaw, Hoppin’ John Salad and Fresh Berries with Balsamic Sabayon. Students will enjoy eating all of these delicious dishes.
Foster, who was the chef/owner of Garrett Park Café for twelve years, has worked at the Tabard Inn, Great Sage and Laboratorio at Galileo with Roberto Donna. She has taught at L’Academie de Cuisine, Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table, and is currently a partner at Alchemy Caterers with Top Chef alum and co-host on ABC’s The Chew, Carla Hall.
Sign up at www.centralfarmmarkets.com where you’ll also find a list of vendors and farmers.
Cassatt and Degas Share the Spotlight at The National Gallery of Art
Anyone can twist my arm to visit the National Gallery of Art where I like to luxuriate beside the Garden Café’s fountain indulging in second helpings of Coq au Vin, Camembert and Chocolate Mousse. With thoughts of Degas and Cassatt whirling in my head, the buffet is even more appealing now. Michel Richard is the café’s consulting chef this year and who better to design the perfect French dejeuner menu to pair with these two artists’ work?
Though both Impressionists shunned the rendering of foodstuffs in favor of horses and ballerinas for him, and women and children for her, it’s because I think of these artists as quintessentially French that I automatically think of food. I’m sure you get my drift.
Still I look for the lost lines and the de rigeur painterly red. I scavenge the scumbled backgrounds and the artists’ change of heart in shifting the image’s placement. I look for clues and reasons, choices made and choices denied.
While scanning the provenance I take note of the medium employed and listen in to everyone’s comments from docent to tourist. I attempt to put it all in context within the period and the artist’s challenges while I read the panels that tell of Degas’ influence on Cassatt and vice versa. An older man, a younger woman. Platonic, we’re told. Who’s to say? A bottle of Sparkling Burgundy is only $31.50 at the café. You’ll want to ponder these things at your leisure before taking in the evocative Andrew Wyeth exhibition around the corner.
Degas/Cassatt runs through October 5th. Andrew Wyeth: Looking Out, Looking In through November 30th. Visit www.NGA.gov for more information.
The Great Tastes of Tysons
This weekend The Great Tastes of Tysons will be held at the Lerner Town Square beside the Tysons II Mall from 12pm to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.
More than just a tasting, this tent-covered festival will bring together celebrity chefs, artisanal craftsmen, culinary pioneers, music and family entertainment, as well as international wines and spirits.
 Great Tastes of Tysons Over 150 wines, spirits and beers will be featured along with local and regional favorites. Guests will be able to sample all of the varieties on-site including special gin, scotch and rum tastings.
On the Cooking Stage on Saturday look for Todd Gray of Equinox, Bart Vandaele of Belga Café and B Too; Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery and Bearnaise, and Joe Yonan, editor of the Washington Post Food Section.
 Food writer Joe Yonan Sunday’s line up of superchefs includes Jonah Kim of Pabu Izakaya, Scott Drewno of The Source by Wolfgang Puck, and Michael Friedman of The Red Hen will be doing demos while Victor Albisu of Del Campo and Taco Bambo will be kick off the grilling South American style. Enjoy a live taping on Saturday at 1pm of the radio show “Foodie and Beast” with hosts Nycci and David Nellis.
 Scott Drewno, Executive Chef, The Source By Wolfgang Puck Headlining the live music are Looking for Lester, Sean Grace, David Back and the Texas Chainsaw Horns. For information visit www.tastetysons.com or call 1-800 830-3976.
“Fed Up” Opens and a Little Known Secret About Senator Cory Booker
 Evening at the US Capital Visitors Center The press screening for the new movie Fed Up was held in the US Capitol’s Visitor’s Center Theatre and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker was holding forth about the film’s topic – – that too many hidden sources of sugar, in all its deleterious forms, are the cause of obesity in America.
While this riveting documentary sets out to prove it with a dazzling array of scientific facts, it’s the story about four obese teens struggling to lose weight that pulls at the heartstrings. It even gets in a little dig at First Lady Michelle Obama for not standing up to the big corporations that sell these foods as school lunches – – something she forcefully addressed this week in a letter to the Washington Post when speaking about the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
 Fed Up panel Laurie David (l), Stephanie Soechtig (c), Michael Jacobson (r) Executive Producer Laurie David (Oscar-winning Producer of An Inconvenient Truth), Director Stephanie Soechtig, and Executive Director Michael Jacobson from the Center for Science in the Public Interest were on hand to hear Booker speak. Co-Producer Katie Couric was not in attendance.
 Senator Cory Booker introduces the film Booker spoke passionately about the film. He told the audience how important it was to understand how sugar can affect our health. But why? He admitted he once weighed 300 lbs. There was a gasp. He went on. This was something close to his heart and even closer to his waistline.
Did you know one soda a day increases a child’s chance of obesity by 60%? Visit this site for a wealth of facts about the dangers of too much sugar in our diets. http://fedupmovie.com
Jordan Wright
May 20, 2014
Delicious! A First Novel from Ruth Reichl
When seasoned food writer and four-time James Beard Award-winner Ruth Reichl debuts her first novel (two more are planned), foodies everywhere sit up and take notice. The former restaurant critic, first at the LA Times – – later a six-year stint at the New York Times, is better known for bestselling memoirs like Comfort Me with Apples, Tender at the Bone and Garlic and Sapphires, books that seamlessly blended essays with recipes. In Delicious! (Random House 2014) she proves she can cook up a tale as eloquently as penning a review.
Reichl’s keen insight and food knowledge lend authenticity to a storyabout an aspiring young writer who leaves her family for an entry-level job at a bespoke food magazine that soon after goes belly up. Though she claims her characters evolved on their own, “Over time, all the characters claimed their own territories, refusing to do the things I wanted them to do, taking on their own strong voices”, Reichl’s ten years as Editor-in-Chief of the much beloved, and sorely missed, Gourmet magazine, inform their motivations through every twist and turn. Oh, the parallels!
This light-hearted mystery will intrigue the reader with its ethno-botanical references, intriguing anagrams and culinary clues. Did you know that NYU’s Fales Library had eclipsed Radcliffe’s as America’s largest collection of antique cookbooks? Just one of the little known facts where Reichl reveals her insider’s savvy on epicurean esoterica.
The story is filled with the adventures Billie Breslin and her discovery of a trove of wartime letters between the mysterious Lulu and James Beard. Yes! Reichl has channeled the august James Beard who offers his kindness and wisdom to the budding journalist. Other colorful characters are drawn from Reichl’s vast experience with food emporia and her years in the New York publishing world. When Breslin takes a weekend job at a Greenwich Village cheese shop, you’ll swear you’re on Bleeker Street buying mozzarella di bufala at Murray’s Cheese.
Reichl will be speaking and signing Delicious! at DC’s Politics and Prose on May 29th.
Spring Things
Getting a fresh start on the season once meant foraging for whatever wild edibles popped out of the ground. That means spring sprouters like ramps, violets, redbud flowers, tulip petals (not wild but certainly edible especially when stuffed with herbed goat cheese), mint, the tender shoots of the greenbriar, young dandelion leaves and the lovely morels and chanterelles found in leaf-strewn woods. If you live near a stream, or even a roadside culvert, chances are you’ve already found watercress for your salads and tossing in a few shards of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano to finish it off.
If you are city-bound and need a jumpstart to your diet, or just want to amp up your workout performance, pick up one of these cookbooks.
Can a Vegan Be a High Performance Athlete?
Canadian Brendan Brazier’s fourth in his series of health-minded books, the Thrive Energy Cookbook (Perseus Books 2014) is perfect for those in high performance training who may be on a plant-based diet or even for those looking for meatless options. As a former Ironman competitor and two-time Canadian Ultra-Marathon Champion, this high-intensity athlete doesn’t sacrifice taste to get the results he wants. As Head of Nutrition for the Garmin-Sharp Pro Cycling Team and creator of Vega, a fantastic award-winning line of whole food nutritional products, he’s expected to please picky athletes. Celeb clients Hugh Jackman, MLB All Star Brian Roberts, and Olympic Gold Medal triathlete Simon Whitfield, follow this regime for optimum performance.
The book has 150 plant-based recipes, a pantry list of must haves, and tons of colorful photos. Okay, what fruit or veggie isn’t colorful? Brazier leaves out yeast, wheat, meat, dairy and refined sugars, but doesn’t neglect desserts, smoothies or power-packed veggie shots. This was one of the hardest books to choose a recipe from, since they are all quite original and delicious. But here’s one that should make your summer a whole lot cooler.
Super-Fruit Sangria from Brendan Brazier’s Thrive Energy Cookbook
Serves 1 – Makes 2 ¼ cups (550 mL) – Gluten Free, Super Nutrient-Dense – Prep Time: 5 minutes – Special Equipment: high-speed blender
- 4 or 5 fresh or frozen strawberries
- 10 fresh or frozen raspberries
- ½ cup (125 mL) fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) chopped pineapple
- 2 fresh mint leaves
- Zest of ½ orange
- Zest of ½ lemon
- Zest of ½ lime
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) pomegranate juice
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) acai berry juice
- 6 tbsp (90 mL) coconut water
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) agave nectar or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) pure vanilla extract
- About 2 cups (500 mL) ice cubes
In a blender, combine all the ingredients except the ice. Add ice to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the liquid line. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. If using frozen fruit, use less ice.
Cha-Cha-Chia: Not Just for Growing Green Hair on Clay Critters
Superfoods for Life, Chia by Lauri Boone (Fair Winds Press 2014) is a 75-recipe book jam-packed with doable ideas for using chia seeds in your daily diet. High in fiber, protein, minerals and essential fatty acids (They’re the good kind!), this tiny seed is cropping up everywhere these days – – in kombucha drinks, crackers, cereal and baked goods. And it’s no wonder. Known as an inflammation fighter and natural source of potent omega-3 fatty acids along with other nutrients, chia seeds can boost stamina, aid in weight loss and improve digestion. Le Pain Quotidian serves it up in puddings and Boone offers a few tasty options for making yours at home including a no-cook one for chocolate lovers.
Boone gets her street cred as a Registered Dietician, raw food instructor and writer for One Green Planet, Self and Oxygen Magazine. She has appeared on CNN, BBC Radio and NPR and blogs regularly about a holistic approach to health and wellness. And we’re all paying more attention to that!
Here’s an easy recipe from Boone’s cookbook.
Lemon, Coconut & Chocolate Chia Bark
This is an incredibly simple and decadent sweet treat combining smooth and creamy dark chocolate with crunchy chia seeds, dried coconut, and lemon zest. I like to use dark chocolate chips, which have a higher percentage of heart-healthy cacao than other varieties, but feel free to use your favorite chip, including nondairy chocolate chips or carob chips.
- 1 bag (9 ounces, or 255 g) dark chocolate chips
- 1⁄2 cup (43 g) shredded dried coconut
- 1⁄4 cup (50 g) chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) lemon zest
- Pinch of sea salt
- Melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and creamy.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the dried coconut, chia seeds, and lemon zest.
- Spread the thick mixture into an even layer on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Freeze until hard, about 30 minutes.
- Break into bite-size chunks. Store in an airtight container.
- Yield: About 24 pieces
Probiotics Rule
It may seem that an entire book on yogurt may be overkill. But I assure you it is not. Sonia Uvezian knowledge of the tasty dairy product originates with her upbringing in Armenia and Lebanon, both of which incorporate yogurt in their daily diet.
In The Book of Yogurt – An International Collection of Recipes (HarperCollins) she has compiled both old and new recipes using yogurt. I especially like her Chilled Cherry Soup for summer and Ghivetch, a Rumanian veggie casserole that uses 12 vegetables plus grapes and greengage plums. Though the book has been out for a while, I thought it would add to the health-consciousness of this scribble.
Off the Beaten Track with Fred Sauceman
Fred Sauceman’s Buttermilk and Bible Burgers: More Stories from the Kitchens of Appalachia (Mercer University Press 2014) is the latest for author, NPR radio broadcaster and college professor whose celebration of the American South is legendary. I’ve already seen most of his documentaries, “Red Hot Dog Digest”, “Mountain Mojo: A Cuban Pig Roast in East Tennessee”, “Beans All the Way: A Story of Pintos and Persistence”, “Smoke in the Holler: The Saucy Story of Ridgewood Barbecue” and “Ramps & Ruritans: Tales of the Revered and Reeking Leek of Flag Pond, Tennessee”. The titles say it all.
The 57-year-old’s love for the rural, most especially the backwoods and backstory of Appalachian foodways, is infectious – like riding down a dusty road in the cab of an old pickup listening to a country boy spin stories. Just hearing him honor the food culture and traditions of South is as satisfying as seeing a curl of smoke rise up off a rack of ribs at a roadhouse.
A native of Greenville, Tennessee, Sauceman is Senior Writer and Associate professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University. He’s also known for his radio appearances on “Inside Appalachia”, a radio program produced on West Virginia Public Broadcasting, daily newscasts on WETS-FM/HD and “Food With Fred” which appears monthly on WJHL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Johnson City, TN. He is also a regular contributor to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum of New Orleans where he writes for the museum’s magazine Okra. His three-volume book series entitled “The Place Setting” Timeless Tastes of the Mountain South, From Bright Hope to Frog Level”, was also published by Mercer Press.
Recently I interviewed Sauceman by phone in anticipation of the release of his latest book.
Whisk and Quill – How many years have you been teaching and chronicling the food ways of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky?
Fred Sauceman – I’ve been writing about food-related topics since the mid-1990s and taught American Literature courses in the past. In 2005 I began offering a first-of-its-kind course entitled “The Foodways of Appalachia”, which has become the most popular course in Appalachian Studies at ETSU.
W&Q – What are your other writing outlets?
Sauceman – There are a number of publications I write for, among them the Johnson City Press where I have a monthly food column, “Potluck”, as well as the “Flavors” page for Blue Ridge Country Magazine.
W&Q – What is your connection to the Southern Foodways Alliance?
Sauceman – In 2010 edited the organization’s book “Cornbread Nation 5: The Best of Southern Food Writing”, and created the book Home and Away: A University Brings Food to the Table” in 2000. In 2010 I was one of the authors of “The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook”.
W&Q – How many years have you been in radio?
Sauceman – I started in radio when I was 15 with a rock and roll program on Saturday and Sunday nights. Later I became a country music DJ while working on my degrees. I also worked in television news with the ABC affiliate in Kingsport, TN.
W&Q – How can people order your DVDs?
Sauceman – Through the university at www.ETSUstore.com.
W&Q – What’s your favorite BBQ joint?
Sauceman – The Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, Tennessee.
Easy Peasy Cooking for Diabetics
Robyn Webb’s The Smart Shopper Diabetes Cookbook offers real time strategies for making stress-free meals. Designed with the harried home chef in mind, the book sources ingredients from the deli counter, freezer, salad bar and supermarket shelves to put a healthy meal on the table in no time flat. It comes with the stamp of approval from the American Diabetes Association.
As an author, nutritionist and Food Editor of Diabetes Forecast, Robyn already has fifteen cookbooks under her belt and is a two-time award winning author of The Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook. She has also appeared on Martha Stewart Radio, Food Network, Discovery Channel, CNN, ABC, CBS, ESPN and more, and as a local food writer her work has been highlighted in the Washington Post along with a ton of national magazines.
A resident of the DC Metro area, she conducts cooking classes, speaks to groups on nutrition, and even caters special events keeping in mind those with diabetes, pre-diabetes and heart conditions.
Here’s a recipe for the perfect cold summer side dish. Or serve it hot with melted goat cheese on top. I might try it as a main course with a fresh green salad and a bowl of Robyn’s Ginger Honeydew Soup to start.
 Ratatouille recipe  
|