Chef Five Bites: Dean Gold

Dean Gold, owner and chef of Cleveland Park's Dino, traveled extensively in Italy as a wine and specialty foods buyer for Whole Foods in his previous job. After recovering from a heart attack ("the most momentous day" of his life) and bypass surgery, Gold headed to Italy with his wife, Kay, to soak up the good life — it was on that trip in 2002 that the idea to open a restaurant was born. The couple opened Dino in July 2005. Here are his Five Bites.

1. Sweetbreads on the butcher board at CommonWealth (and the head cheese is no slouch either!)

2. Ridiculously simple plates of roasted veggies from Bar Pilar. We had the Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes in winter, but anything they do like this is danged good!

3. Fish filet with sour cabbage and cellophane noodle — a sprightly hot soup with a perfect balance of hot, sour and fishy — from Joe's Noodle House

4. #14 baby octopus and pork belly chul pan with fried rice from Honey Pig Gooldaegee. Fiery hot, this dish gives you two treats: pork belly and octopus stew with veggies in a thick red sauce that will clean your sinuses followed by the addition of rice, more sliced veggies and lots of nori seaweed, which is fried until there are nicely burnt bits to crunch on. Only ask for the hot sauce to be added a second time, to the rice, if you are in severe need of endorphins.

5. Soondae soup at Gamasot. Soondae is Korean blood sausage, a very rich and heavy affair. Here you get it in very spicy soup loaded with greens and other veggies (and a great spice mix scattered on top) as well as one of the banchan where it comes plain with a dish of salt for dipping.

Previous Chef Five Bites: Cathal Armstrong, Dani Arana, David Guas, Josh Short, Michel Richard, Haidar Karoum, Ryan Morgan, Shannon Overmiller, Anthony Chittum, Jonathan Krinn & Jon Mathieson, Victor Albisu, Vatche Benguian, John Snedden, Nicholas Stefanelli, Travis Olson, Brian Robinson, Cliff Wharton, Alex Bollinger, Massimo Fabbri, Daniel Bortnick, Rob Weland, Olivier Perret, Dennis Marron

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