amanda mcclements

Need some incentive to get you through work on Friday? D.C.'s newest doughnut purveyor, Fractured Prune , will be giving away free coffee and doughnuts on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. (There's also free Internet, but that part will stay free.) Saturday is the shop's official opening day with hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Ocean City, Md.-based chain distinguishes itself from the competition with its made-to-order, custom doughnuts. Choose your glaze (like honey, banana, chocolate, maple, cherry and mocha), some toppings (rainbow sprinkles, coconut and Oreo cookie, to name a few) and, as if you didn't already have enough sweetness, your sugar, including powdered, granulated and cinnamon. Fractured Prune 2153 P St. NW 202.822.0880

The prestigious James Beard Foundation wants to hear from you. Have a favorite local chef you think should be considered for a coveted James Beard award? Or a favorite restaurant you think deserves national attention? The foundation announced earlier this month that for the first time it would accept online nominations for the restaurant and chef awards. According to the foundation, "Anyone with an interest in and knowledge about American restaurants and chefs can register and complete the online nomination form." Click here to register to vote. The deadline for submitting nominations is Dec. 15. Categories are both national and regional in scope and include Outstanding Restaurant, Rising Star Chef of the Year, and Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic. Past winners from the D.C. area in the Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic category include Fabio Trabocchi of Maestro (2006), Ann Cashion of Cashion's Eat Place (2004) and José Andrés of Jaleo , Zaytinya , Café Atlantico and (soon-...

The ol' brain is feeling a little mushy after a long weekend away, so to ease back into this blog thing, I offer this semi-coherent collection of thoughts: First, I'll add my Thanksgiving culinary mishap to the universe's record of kitchen fouls: After ever so delicately pressing the makings of a graham cracker crust into a tart shell with a measuring cup (learned from watching TV!) and being awfully proud of the Martha-quality craftsmanship, I proceeded to dump the entire thing all into the oven. Of course this was after the crust had blind-baked for 10 minutes, so the pan was nice and skin-searing hot, leaving a burn on my wrist that looked suspiciously like I'd succumbed to a bout of teenage angst. Lesson learned: When using a tart pan with a removable bottom, stick that sucker on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven. (In case you're wondering, both the crust and I recovered, and the tart was a hit.) Speaking of random thoughts, you may (or may not) have ...

This week's Five Bites come from Mark Kuller, who will open Proof in Penn Quarter this spring. 1. Housemade sausage with broccoli rabe at Sette 2. The BLT at David Greggory 3. The spicy scallop rolls at McLean's Tachibana 4. Redwood Hill Farm's fresh chevre topped with McEvoy Ranch olive oil at Cowgirl Creamery 5. Carved roast pork and greens sandwich at Clyde's takeout in Chinatown Five Bites is a weekly opportunity for you to tell Metrocurean readers which dishes you're enjoying around town. E-mail five of your favorite dishes or drinks, and whether you'd like your name and a pic included (shameless blog plugs also welcome), to metrocurean@gmail.com.

With all the talk of what to cook come Thursday, I thought I'd reprint this post from last November devoted to one of my all-time favorite desserts: the banana brown butter tart from Herbsaint in New Orleans. The recipe is posted here . This post originally appeared Nov. 27, 2005: It was two years ago that I tasted what I still consider one of the best desserts I've ever had at Herbsaint , a delicious restaurant in New Orleans that managed to reopen shortly after Katrina. The banana brown butter tart, served at the restaurant with a drizzle of fleur de sel caramel sauce, isn't as strange or as banana-y as it sounds. Instead, the deep flavor of butter that has been browned permeates the sweetness of the bananas, creating a complex flavor that burned itself in my memory (and my family's). So you can imagine our delight when a friend produced a magazine tearsheet with the recipe, I think from Gourmet but I'm not positive. What a perfect alternative to the pumpkin an...

Metrocurean's first Five Bites submission comes from reader (and this feature's muse) Michele Late: 1. Paneer tikka with mango sauce at Naan and Beyond 2. Fried green tomatoes at Georgia Brown's 3. Mac and cheese at Oohhs & Aahhs 4. Bread and hummus at Moby Dick House of Kabob 5. Sweet peppers stuffed with goat cheese at Jaleo Five Bites is a weekly opportunity for you to tell Metrocurean readers which dishes you're enjoying around town. E-mail five of your favorite dishes or drinks, and whether you'd like your name and a pic included (shameless blog plugs also welcome), to metrocurean@gmail.com.

I often hear Washington wine fans bemoan the lack of wine bars in town. Oenophiles will have another spot to sip and swirl when Proof opens in Penn Quarter at 701 Eighth St. NW this spring. It's the brainchild of local lawyer Mark Kuller, who hopes to have the doors open in March. On the wine front, a state-of-the-art Enomatic serving system will offer measured pours, including a tasting-sized serving, of 16 white and 16 red wines. And my favorite part: a champagne trolley will greet diners when they sit down, carrying five sparkling wines on ice, at the ready to get your evening started. A reserve wine list will showcase some of Kuller's extensive personal collection. Fans of former Rasika sommelier Sebastian Zutant will be pleased to hear that he'll serve as the new restaurant's wine director. (I got to catch up with a tan and grape-covered Zutant in California last month, where he has been working at two wineries.) And Kuller has plucked chef Haidar Karoum of Asia ...

Georgetown's Dolcezza has issued a bold challenge : Order a latte weekdays from 7-10 a.m., and if it's not the best latte you've had in Georgetown, it's free. "We think there is a huge difference when one uses fresh roasted beans," the owners write on their Gelato-ology blog . "It is obviously not that simple, but the beans are a very good starting point. How big of a difference is there between a latte prepared on a super automatic machine by a barista who never touches the process and a hand crafted latte, prepared carefully using fresh roasted beans and finely frothed milk, per cup? You tell us." For the morning crowd, Dolcezza has also added fresh baked muffins (like wild blueberry and pumpkin apple) from The Bread Ovens at Quail Creek Farm in West Virginia and fresh squeezed orange juice. Dolcezza 1560 Wisconsin Ave. NW 202.333.4646

Meet acclaimed Italian chef Fabio Trabocchi on Tuesday night for a booksigning and Italian food tasting at The Curious Grape in Shirlington. The Maestro chef recently published a book, "Cucina of Le Marche - A Chef's Treasury of Recipes from Italy's Last Culinary Frontier," which celebrates the food from the region where he grew up. Sample traditonal Italian cuisine paired with wines from Le Marche at one of two sessions — 6 and 7 p.m. Each session will begin with a guided tasting and presentation and end with a booksigning and opportunity to chat with the chef. The event is free, but call 703-671-8700 to reserve a spot.

A while back I started an occasional feature (okay, so I did it once , but the intention was there) called "Five Bites," a recollection of the five best things I'd eaten or sipped on that week. Thanks to a suggestion from a reader, I'd like to turn Five Bites over to you. After all, you guys are a wealth of food knowledge. E-mail me your five favorite dishes or five dishes and drinks that caught your attention recently. Let me know whether you'd like your name and a picture included (at least a first name would be great). Send them to metrocurean@gmail.com. I'll feature one reader's submission in Five Bites each Friday, as long as you keep 'em coming. To break the ice, I'll start: 1. Palena café 's fantastic hot dog with house-cured kraut and potato salad 2. Garlic and Roquefort stuffed olives, wrapped in puff pastry and baked, at Ray's the Classics 3. Brussels sprouts with chanterelles and pistachios at Blue Duck Tavern 4. Red velvet cupca...

Next week is chock full of culinary happenings, including two worthwhile events raising money for good causes: Nov. 14 First up on Tuesday is Best Buddies Virginia's Life Is Sweet 2 Pastry Chef Showcase at the Four Seasons Hotel in D.C. Nearly 20 of the area's best pastry chefs will create, with help from their buddies, desserts for guests to sample. Champagne and wine will also be available. Click here for tickets and more details. The event benefits Best Buddies, which is dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing friendships and jobs. Tickets are $90. The event runs from 6:30-11 p.m. Nov. 15 The third annual Capital Food Fight will draw an all-star roster on Wednesday night, with author Anthony Bourdain (pictured), Food Network hosts Marc Silverstein and Dave Lieberman, and WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi heading up the event. Chef José Andrés started the event in 2004 as a fundraiser for DC Central Kitchen. This years's event takes p...

(Click the photo for a larger view.) It's a good time to be dining out in the Washington area, thanks to a cadre of up-and-coming talent. Meet the Washington area's culinary rising stars, annointed recently by StarChefs.com , an online culinary magazine. Pictured above, they are (front row, from left): Tony Conte of The Oval Room , sommelier Nadine Brown of Charlie Palmer Steak , Tony Chittum of Dish and Notti Bianche , pastry chef Heather Chittum of Dish and Notti Bianche, bar chef and sommelier Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve and PX , Bart Vandaele of Belga Café , Katsuya Fukushima of Café Atlantico , (back row) host chef Arnel Esposa of Palette , Eric Ziebold of CityZen , Barton Seaver of Café Saint Ex and Bar Pilar , pastry chef Hichem Lahreche of Kinkead’s (standing), pastry chef Tom Wellings of Maestro , RJ Cooper of Vidalia , Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve and Noriaki Yasutake of Perry’s . You can literally meet the rising stars Dec. 13 at the StarChefs Rising St...

A round-up of recent restaurant opening news: BLT Steak Chef Laurent Tourondel's BLT Steak is tentatively slated to open Nov. 13. The contemporary steakhouse will be located at 1625 I St. NW. Circa The Post.com's Going Out Gurus have the scoop on Circa , a new coffeeshop and restaurant expected to open at 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW in the former WrapWorks space. The Gurus report that Munehiro Mori, late of Asia Nora and Wolfgang Puck's Chinois , will serve as chef. A March opening is mentioned. Mandu Also from the Post, Tom Sietsema reports in his chat today that Mandu , the Korean restaurant replacing Mt. Everest (pictured) at 1805 18th St. NW, could open as early as Nov. 10. Check out this link for more details. Buzz Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the parent company of Evening Star Café , Vermilion , Tallula and Rustico , will open Buzz, a 35-seat bakery, coffee house and dessert lounge located at 901 Slaters Lane in Alexandria's Potomac Plaza. Pastry chef Lisa Scru...

I'm back on East Coast time now, but here's a look at a few other highlights of the Metrocurean Western tour: ZuZu This Spanish tapas joint in Napa was the perfect spot to hit the night before our French Laundry blowout. Dishes of white anchovies, sizzling prawns, serrano ham and roasted brussels sprouts, a few glasses of local wine and seats at the bar made for a light, no-fuss dinner. The Girl and the Fig We hit this popular restaurant just off Sonoma's town square for our post-French Laundry dinner (that would be the next day, not the same night). Intentions of eating light went out the window (why slow down now?) with a heaping bowl of steamed mussels with garlic, Herbsaint and leeks, a pile of crispy thin fries and a flat iron steak. The back patio is adorable, with flowering vines, glowing lights and heat lamps to chase away the evening chill. Bovolo We grabbed a boxed lunch at Bovolo, located in the Plaza Farms market in the charming town of Healdsburg. Offerings i...