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 The National River Roll at Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine at the Gaylord National Hotel. By Jordan Wright
When you spend your days and nights pursuing taste and flavor delivered by a panoply of chefs, you are at the mercy of many hands preparing many dishes.
Sometimes the dishes are simple, a nicely done roast chicken or shrimp dumplings; some just dreadful or unfortunate, an overdone Wagyu beef filet or a withered salad.
Food critics, girded with a “glass half-full” mentality, are forever on the hunt for that consummate experience of brilliant food, superb service and dazzling or, not to be underrated, comfortable ambiance.
My dinner at Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center became that rare and successful combination of all three elements intrinsic to a great dining experience. An experience so satisfying, that if it hadn’t been for the tiniest glitch, I would have nothing to compare it with. I’ll get to the glitch later.
A spectacularly lush tropical garden beckons you into Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine. Walk across a copper-lamp lit wooden bridge over a rushing stream to the wide open entryway and you will need to make your first decision…whether to dine beside the babbling waters overlooking the courtyard or enter the cool, dark and handsome interior. Continue reading Gaylord’s Moon Bay Serves up Modern Maki with an Eye on Perfection of the Palate
The locally sourced food bandwagon has chef converts then and now. But at
By Jordan Wright
There was a long line for a table outside Founding Farmers on a recent Thursday evening.
It seems the in-and-out economy hasn’t afflicted the success of this eco-friendly watering hole. A restaurant so green they recently received the first DC restaurant-recognized LEED Gold Certification in a ceremony attended by no less prominent a group than Mayor Fenty, the US Business Council, their next-door neighbors, the IMF, and White House representatives from the Office of Green Initiatives.
A policy of recycling, sustainable and reclaimed materials, and energy-conscious practices has drawn kudos from the environmentally minded and sourcing food from more than 40,000 farmers, with whom they have a direct relationship has brought the best food to the table. Charging a little bit more than the average dinner tab hasn’t deterred diners.
The locally sourced food bandwagon has chef converts then and now. But at Founding Farmers they don’t just talk the talk they walk the walk. Against a backdrop of fluffy cloud sculptures and flocks of birds, shelves hold rows of pickled vegetables.
Customers sit at walnut-slab farm-style tables and you can feel a force of nature and newness at work here, from the staff to the chef to the bar. The enthusiasm is palpable and persuasive. Heard from our table were diners awed by dishes like the 17 Vegetable Salad. Sharing appears to be the order of the day. Continue reading Founding Farmers Opens As An Eco-Friendly Watering Hole
By Jordan Wright
February 25, 2009
I caught up with “Top Chef” finalist Carla Hall at CulinAirie’s FoodWorks Kitchen on 14th Street, minutes after the finale of Bravo’s hit show. She was swarmed with local devotees, who, despite her runner-up result, adore their down-to-earth “homegirl”.
“You totally won!”, “You were great!”, “You came out the best!” “We love you Carla!” were the typical buzzbites surrounding their culinary heroine’s impressive performance. She took it all in graciously and with refreshing charm.
Many of her fellow chefs and food industry leaders from the DC chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, who count her as one of theirs, feted her as though she were royalty. And really it was her night. After weeks of intense battling she was reaping the well-deserved kudos. Continue reading Carla Hall former TOP CHEF Contestant
 Chef Massimo De Francesca photo by Darko Zagar By Jordan Wright
Massimo De Francesca had just been appointed the new and very promising executive chef at Domaso Resturant in the Hotel Palomar in Rosslyn, VA in the winter of 2008. At a Virginia-centric wine dinner held in the stunning Italian-modern restaurant, I sampled the young chef’s cuisine. I was impressed then, but thought I’d give him time to settle in and find his niche before I would write a serious review of his efforts.
A picture-perfect summery salad with cubes of yellow and red watermelon, pea tendrils and red radish dots arrived. A Wisconsin goat cheese dressing pulled the ensemble together nicely. But there were missed opportunities. Virginia has some of the best artisanal goat cheese around. Caromont Farms comes to mind, or Iron Rod from the Piedmont Valley, both near Charlottesville. The watermelon might have been injected with an herb-flavored pinot grigio infusion, mint or tarragon perhaps, to amp up the flavor until it can stand on its own by mid-July. Continue reading Domaso Trattoria La Dolce Vita Overlooking Georgetown
By Jordan Wright
Every chef has his or her trade secrets…special ingredients, little known sources, on-line products, techniques, tools and tricks.
Here’s one of mine. I buy my biscuits at Brenner’s Bakery.
 Country Ham Biscuits If you’re a Southerner, biscuits are an important part of your daily life. They sop up red eye gravy and the juice from beans and barbeque. They are de rigeur with fried eggs and sawmill gravy.
And ohmygod, you had better make an extra batch because they are morphed into yet another course…dessert. Slathered with butter and drizzled with Karo syrup, molasses or sorghum and eaten by the plateful. That’s real Southern style. But most of y’all already knew that.
There is no excuse, even for a transplant such as myself (in my case raised in Manhattan but with roots south of the Mason-Dixon line). Southerners are required to serve biscuits when they entertain their friends and relatives.
Though many of my clients regularly dine on truffles and fois gras, they know as sure as the stars shine above, that they will be serving ham biscuits at their next social event…and that means receptions, steeplechase races, hunt breakfasts and sit-down Sunday suppers. Southern hosts and hostesses do like to entertain. In some parts they still invite the mailman in for a cup and piece of cake in the mornings. Continue reading From Gravy Biscuits to Mexican Wedding Cookies,Brenner’s Bakery Slathers on the Southern Style
April 2010
 Paul Scott Goodman in Son of a Stand Up Comedian - Photo credit: Chris Mueller Paul Scott Goodman’s edgy solo show opened at MetroStage last night. Set in 1980’s Manhattan counter-culture, it is a time capsule itinerary of a hip rocker’s life…a soul-baring, self-analytical musical voyage with the Scottish-born Goodman at the helm. At turns sarcastic and heart-warming, the monologue-set-to-music is Goodman’s chance to bat back at the travesties, injustices and sheer bad luck that befell his early musical career.
While he rails at mega Broadway productions, “Broadway is dead!”, and a failed fling as a catering waiter who joined the party and then was given the bum’s rush (he expresses surprise at this), there is no doubt that Goodman, an inspired and award-winning songwriter, accomplished guitarist and tale-spinner, puts forth raw energy in this semi-autobiographical piece.
Tender memories of meeting his wife, Miriam Gordon, the show’s collaborator, conversations with his stand-up Jewish comedian father and an unexpected sidelining off the Forest Hills “N” train to make a “mikvah” with strangers during the birth of his first child; save the show from total self-absorption. It remains to be seen if it will translate outside the New York City, Woody Allen brand of one-therapist-per-resident culture. But in the end it is Goodman’s sanguine, Scottish-accented, musical introspection that keeps the audience humming and toe-tapping along with him.
www.metrostage.org
For comments or queries on this article contact Jordan@WhiskandQuill.com.
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