amanda mcclements

I've been growing concerned with a new designation creeping into my going-out lexicon that to me indicates a.) I'm becoming antisocial, b.) I ain't getting any younger, c.) D.C. needs more cool hangouts to disperse the crowds, or d.) all of the above. I keep finding myself saying that a bar is great but "only on a weeknight." Someone asked me about Bar Pilar the other day. I said, "I love it...on a weeknight." On weekends, the narrow space can become a bottle neck and moving anywhere away from your seat (if you get one) can be a challenge. "What do you think of Local 16 ?" asked another friend. Same deal: grab a seat at the dark, moody bar on a weeknight and it's great. Come on the weekend, and it'll be you and every stiletto-clad 20-something waiting in line to get in and become a human pinball. Chi Cha ? Same thing. And while we're at it, let's just throw the entirety of Adams Morgan into this category. Don't get me wrong...

Washingtonian just posted an entertaining Olympic journal by Phyllis Richman, chronicling chef Roberto Donna's whirlwind trip back home to Turin. The piece touches on Donna's chance meeting in a cheese shop with a Washington Post reporter who was supposed to be tracking the chef down. You really have to watch the video , in which Donna has to ask the reporter, "You know who I am? I'm Roberto Donna from Galileo ." Hilarious...

The parades have started and the beads are flying as New Orleans tries to recapture its partying spirit just six months after Katrina. To help get your own Mardi Gras revelry in full swing, the Going Out Gurus put together a great list of ways to celebrate, my personal favorite being the po'boy at Johnny's Half Shell (it's damn good). In addition, Acadiana is featuring Mardi Gras specials through Tuesday, and on the 28th, beads and masks will be on hand to help you channel the bon temps. Also, look out for the silver bean in your calas, the deep fried rice fritters Acadiana will be serving for dessert on Mardi Gras. Six lucky bean-finding souls will be crowned kings and queens at lunch and dinner. And on Fat Tuesday at Chef Geoff's (both locations), lunch and dinner specials will include seafood gumbo, jambalaya and oyster po’boys. Of course you could always stay in and play host with these recipes for classic New Orleans cocktails. And it's not too late to ord...

Word comes from Galileo that chef Roberto Donna will attempt to redeem himself on Food Network's Iron Chef America on May 7. The Italian chef got a rematch with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, after an embarrassing showing nearly a year ago in which he became the first competitor to not finish all five dishes. Like last time, Galileo is planning a viewing party (details to come). Unlike last time, let's hope Donna gets down to business and kicks some butt. (Not to say watching him throw flour and goof off last time wasn't entertaining...) Speaking of Iron Chef, anyone know the date for Morou's upcoming appearance ?

There's something delightfully futuristic about plucking your dinner off a conveyor belt. The first time I encountered conveyor-belt dining at YO! Sushi in London, I remember thinking that this is what people back in the 1950s must have envisioned when they thought about restaurants of the future. London-based chef Miguel Choy is bringing a modification of that Japanese "kaiten" dining concept to Farragut Square sometime this spring with Wasabi . The space is still under construction, but people were working inside (always a good sign) when I stopped by Monday. "The food will be healthy and modern," Choy told Metrocurean via e-mail. "It will be based on traditional Japanese cuisine, but will introduce western flavours, particularly those from Latin-America." (No groaning from the peanut gallery!) The chef also said that by merging conveyor-belt delivery with an upscale environment, his London restaurants have been successful. "This allows custom...

What people are talking about locally ... ... La Colline closes its doors , and the rumor mill swirls over whether Johnny's Half Shell will pull up its Dupont roots and make the move to the Hill. ... ... Another Valentine's Day come and gone. Did you stay in? Eat out? How was it? Were you treated like an amateur? ... ... Ray's the Steaks ' "improprietor" Michael Landrum rants about customers on donrockwell.com and makes it into Friday's Reliable Source . ... ... and nationally ... ... New York Times food critic Frank Bruni gets a blog and goes to Hooters .

BLT Steak 1625 I St. NW Coming in August, this outpost of chef Laurent Tourondel's New York-based BLT restaurants will combine the feel of a traditional steakhouse with a stylish and modern design. The menu features a variety of meats paired with a choice of sauces. Like the Web site says, you can "indulge in a Peppercorn Sauce with your Kobe Flat Iron Steak one night, return the next and try it with Horseradish, M. D’ Butter, or Béarnaise." There's also poultry and fish for the non-red meat eaters. "Washington, D.C., is a logical market for us to expand into," said Jimmy Haber, managing partner of BLT Management, in a release. "The customer base is sophisticated and discerning and understands the value of quality and accessibility when going out to eat." Why thank you, Mr. Haber. Blue Duck Tavern 1201 24th St. NW As part of the Park Hyatt Hotel's $24 million redesign, which is slated for an April unveil, a new restaurant with a new vibe will...

I'm a sucker for creative cocktails, and I'm ever so pleased that more restaurants are starting to treat the bar as another frontier in the culinary experience. And the new Rasika is one of the latest to craft a drink menu so enticing you'll be sending out a happy hour email before you can say "inappropriate use of company time." Bartender Gina Chersevani has created some cool new cocktails with creative preparations. Toying with the concept of the standard gin and tonic is the Old Raj ($10). The tonic is frozen into ice cubes and infused with anise and then slowly melted in the glass by Cadenhead's Old Raj Gin. The thought of the Frappétini ($10), made with "frapped" espresso, cardamom, cinnamon and chili and layered with Kahlua, Bailey's and vodka, almost had me leaving my desk and heading straight to Rasika. Pulling in bitters, which are enjoying a resurgence in popularity and appreciation of late, the Grape and Grain ($9) mixes the herbal sp...

Today's Roll Call has a nice story on the closing and history of La Colline , including details about the man who has held the picket line outside the restaurant for the past six years. The story confirms that a group of investors has purchased the French restaurant, with plans for a three month renovation. The investors seem to be holding their cards close as there's no public word yet on what the restaurant will become. However, Roll Call did manage to make the connection to Johnny's Half Shell , which was originally rumored to be moving in. The story names lobbyist Joel Wood, who is a partial owner of several local restaurants including Johnny’s Half Shell and Red, Hot and Blue, as a member of the group of investors. The only other glimpse into the future we get is a statement from a La Colline owner that he expects the new place to "lean 'toward seafood,' " according to the Roll Call story. Hmm ... seafood. I know a place in Dupont that has great se...

Juicy weeks in restaurant gossip just don't come along often enough, but we occasionally have a flurry of activity worthy of Page Six-style treatment. And being a journalist blogger, I never like to report things I haven't confirmed myself, but sometimes you have to trust your sources. SO ... here goes some reports from the rumor mill: You could call it an overthrow on Capitol Hill, just not the political kind. Not one, but two Hill establishments are apparently going under. A rumor about La Colline closing has been swirling around for months now, which they denied in a November phone inquiry. However, several sources today report that an announcement was made to employees that the restaurant has been bought and will close next week for several months of renovations. Johnny's Half Shell was the name of the buyer in the original rumor (if there is such a thing) but that's completely unconfirmed. Meanwhile, just around the corner, sources say it appeared that The Flyin...

You can tie food into just about any topic if you try hard enough, but with the Olympics being hosted in the Piedmont region of Italy—known for its wines, cheese and chocolate—the connection is really a no-brainer. Getting into the sporting spirit is The Curious Grape in Shirlington. The shop is hosting a series of wine and cheese tastings featuring the products of Piedmont. You'll get a chance to award the wines with gold, silver and bronze medals, and the featured wines will be available at a 10 percent discount during the tastings. The wine tasting schedule is as follows: Saturday, Feb. 11, 1 to 4 p.m. – Dolcetto Thursday, Feb. 16, 6 to 8 p.m. – Moscato Saturday, Feb. 18, 1 to 4 p.m. – Barbera Thursday, Feb. 23, 6 to 8 p.m. – Barbaresco Saturday, Feb. 25, 1 to 4 p.m. – Barolo On Feb. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m., stop by for a demonstration of Alpine fondue using Italian cheeses, paired with Italian wines from the region. And, finally, on Feb. 21 from 6 to 8 p.m., the shop's managin...

The attractive space in the basement of Georgetown's Pizzeria Paradiso once seemed to be suffering from an identity crisis, with most patrons only seeing it on a trip to the bathroom. But no more. Unveiled Monday as Birreria Paradiso , the new bar is already receiving rave reviews. Washingtonpost.com's Fritz Hahn has declared it his new favorite beer bar, and members on donrockwell.com seem smitten as well. The bar offers a 16 draft line-up, heavy on Belgian beers, and about 80 more choices by the bottle. Bonus: There's a fireplace.

This post feels a little bit like being in elementary school when you'd share some cookies with your friend, sparking a minor uprising, and prompting the teacher to look down her nose and ask, "Did you bring enough to share with everyone?" Well, I did not bring enough to share. I was a guest at a birthday party Saturday night with some terrifically moist cupcakes--chocolate with peanut butter cream filling and vanilla with Grand Marnier filling, both topped with fluffy pink and blue icing. Unfortunately for D.C., Josh Short, Zola and Red Sage 's former pastry chef and baker of the cupcakes in question, left the District to open the From Scratch Baking Co. in Charlottesville last September. Fortunately for the party-goers, he was also a guest and came armed with trays full of the delicious confections. The bakery in Charlottesville offers gourmet takeout and baked goods made with local ingredients. If you happened to need a hundred or so cupcakes, the bakery could d...

In an impressively quick makeover, the space once occupied by Julia's Empanadas on U Street has been transformed into the sleek restaurant extension of Simply Home . The narrow Thai restaurant, which connects to the retail space next door, offers lounge seating in the front, a full service bar crowned by a giant plasma TV and a long row of tables against one wall. The original take-out operation is still available, but now there's a separate dining room menu . For more background, check out this post from September. (Photo from simplyhomedc.com .)

Congratulations to the Reliable Source for uncovering the identity of the Segway man . 61-year-old John Barrett attributes his creative use of his Segway to a leg injury, which makes the whole incident somewhat forgivable. We can all go back to tsking other manners-challenged restaurant-goers, like the Crackberry addicts and cell phone morons.

It's less than two weeks until Valentine's Day, and you're probably in one of three camps: you're eyes are already twinkling with expectations of the perfect, romantic evening; you're already rolling your eyes, feeling nauseous and proclaiming your hatred of googly-eyed couples; or you're jaded and don't really care how people celebrate the Hallmark holiday. For the first group, I feel an obligation to report on various restaurant deals because, the "amateur night" label aside, some places do some pretty cool stuff. (Note that because V-Day falls on Tuesday, some restaurant deals are for the previous weekend.) For the latter two groups, just jump to the last paragraph. Poste Brasserie (202.783.6060) is taking the decadent route with a $75 per person caviar and chocolate menu, available only on Saturday, Feb. 11. Choose from courses including hamachi with osetra caviar, celery root salad with sturgeon roe and venison loin with bitter chocolate s...

OK, so Clarendon's not getting a real opium den, but the second location of Tandoori Nights , which will open Feb. 15 at 2800 Clarendon Blvd., will have a bar dubbed the Opium Den, where small plates of Indian street food and cocktails will be served. The spin-off of the Gaithersburg Indian restaurant will feature contemporary Indian cooking. On the menu: potatoes stuffed with cheese and simmered with spices; grilled whole leg of lamb marinated in a garlic chili paste, ginger and spices; fish cooked Bombay style in a light tomato curry sauce served with tomatoes and onions; and for dessert, milk balls with cardamom served in rose-flavored sugar syrup, and rice pudding with nuts, saffron and dried fruits. Owner Anil Miglani's wife, Shivani, will oversee the kitchen and is creating a signature cocktail list, including the Night's Margatini made with blue agave patron silver tequila, Cointreau, fresh lemon and lime, and the Mango-Rita made with gold tequila, triple sec and ma...