amanda mcclements

Stephanie Hulbert (at right), "an avid Metrocurean reader" and caterer/event coordinator at Avalon Caterers , serves up today's Five Bites. 1. Hommus and fresh pita from Zaytinya 2. Prosciutto white pizza from Matchbox 3. Filete con hongos (grilled filet mignon covered with a wild mushroom-tequila cream sauce) from Rosa Mexicano (and of course, the tableside guacamole!) 4. Scrambled eggs with wild mushrooms, bacon and potato cubes from Belga Café 5. Chicken panang from Kanlaya Five Bites is a weekly opportunity for Metrocurean readers to share the dishes and drinks they're enjoying around town. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com.

The top chefs just keep on flocking to DC. The Post 's Tom Sietsema officially confirms one of the hottest foodie rumors to sweep through town this year. According to today's Dish , superstar French chef Alain Ducasse will open Adour at the newly revamped St. Regis this fall. Ducasse, at left, opened the first Adour in Manhattan's St. Regis earlier this year. In other celeb chef hotel news, Todd English is confirmed for a new restaurant in the recently opened Donovan House on Thomas Circle. The new hotel is part of stylish Thompson Hotels . Washingtonian has a rendering of the new restaurant space. For more hotel restaurant gossip, check out this Metrocurean post from February (which now has a few blanks filled in).

One of my favorite local nonprofit organizations, Brainfood , does an amazing job teaching life skills to DC high school students through cooking and food. The group operates two kitchens, one in Columbia Heights, one in Penn Quarter, where students gather for classes during the school year and summer. You can help support this great organization when Brainfood hosts its second annual Grill-Off at the Decatur House Museum on Thursday, June 12 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Event-goers will enjoy dinner, a wine tasting, signature cocktails and a silent auction with offerings from some of the city's top restaurants. Leon Harris of ABC 7 will MC the event. During the Grill-Off, teams consisting of community members, a Brainfood student and a chef from a local restaurant — including Teddy Folkman, chef and owner of Granville Moore’s , and Bryan Moscatello, executive chef of Zola — will have an hour to create two dishes using a surprise pantry of ingredients. A panel of local chefs, food writ...

Metrocurean reader Cara Garfield offers today's serving of Five Bites. 1. Tuna tartare sliders from PS 7's 2. House brined olives from Komi 3. Pulled pork and smoked tomato cream nachos from Merkado 4. Hand cut BDT triple fries, fried in duck fat, from Blue Duck Tavern (pictured above) 5. Panang chicken bun from Bangkok Joe's Five Bites is a weekly opportunity for Metrocurean readers to share the dishes and drinks they're enjoying around town. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. (Photo by Erik Johnson, Park Hyatt Washington .)

I like pecan pie just fine. But I'm not a fan of the gelatinous binding that corn syrup creates in most traditional versions. So it was with great enthusiasm that I stuck my fork into the buttermilk pecan pie I picked up at the 14th and U Farmers Market last Saturday. The confection's creator, Aisha Wilson Bond, uses a delicious buttermilk custard as the base for the pecan pie. Bond sells bread pudding, pies and breads made from old family recipes at the market, which runs Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in front of the Reeves building. Look for her NanBon sign. I was hoping to snag some of her strawberry bread, made with local fruit, but the early birds cleaned her out. Maybe this weekend ... (Metrocurean photo.)

Top Chef fans, get your Tivos tuned in. DC's own José Andrés will appear as a guest judge on tonight's episode. The show, featuring the popular restaurant wars challenge, airs at 10 p.m. on Bravo. "Like any television show, Top Chef is about entertaining the audience, but at a deeper level, it is so much more, especially for the chefs competing," Andrés said in a release. "It is not about winning for them. It is about pride and pushing themselves to the limit.” Give 'em hell, José. (Photo from joseandres.com .)

A new sign outside 1515 14th St. reads: "Welcome to our neighborhood. Let me be the first of many to say how very excited I am that Paolo Sacco and Massimo Fabbri (of Tosca restaurant) are coming to the Logan area! ... Please hurry, I'm hungry giorgio furioso" That welcome is aimed at Posto , a casual Italian trattoria from Tosca owner Sacco and Tosca chef Fabbri that will fill the space vacated by Viridian . Furioso co-owned Viridian and owns the gorgeous, historic building, also home to several art galleries. A spokesperson for the restaurant tells Metrocurean that Posto is tentatively slated for an early August opening. Fabbri is planning a menu of simple Northern Italian dishes, featuring locally grown vegetables and area-raised meat and fish, and pizzas fired in a custom wood-burning oven. To second Furioso's request, hurry, I'm hungry, too.

Metrocurean reader Annie Lewis (at left) offers up today's collection of bites. 1. Truffled frites at Poste 2. Quattro formaggi and salami pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso 3. Bavette de kobe et sauce vin rouge at Montsouris 4. Brunette (chocolate hazelnut spread) on whole wheat bread at Le Pain Quotidien 5. Coffee Oreo ice cream at Gifford's Let Metrocurean readers know which dishes you're enjoying around town by e-mailing five of your favorite dishes or drinks and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com.

It's Thursday, which means the perfect after-work detour is the Penn Quarter FreshFarm Market . I went hunting for dinner there last week and picked up a delicious lemon tart (above) from Quail Creek Farm . The market runs from 3 to 7 p.m. on Eighth St. NW between D and E streets. And now that market season is in full swing, be sure to check out the Post's handy map , which plots out area farmers markets by day.

After the drama of Murky Coffee 's tax troubles and eviction comes some good news for Capitol Hill coffee fans. The City Paper 's City Desk blog reports that former Murky Coffee manager Ryan Jensen is taking over the space and opening Peregrine Espresso . Jensen tells City Desk he hopes to have the place open by the end of summer. (Metrocurean photo.)

All of a sudden, you can't swing a six-pack without hitting a story praising the merits of beer and food pairings. The June issue of Food & Wine pits beer against wine in a food-pairing smackdown with lots of great recipes. Chow examines beer and cheese pairings, and locally, Melissa McCart reports on the same in May's DC magazine. McCart highlights two noteworthy beer-pairing proponents, CityZen sommelier Andy Myers and Rustico beer director Greg Engert, as well as beer and cheese matches at Brasserie Beck and Zaytinya . To learn more about the potential harmony between beer and food, check out this weekend's Savor : An American Craft Beer and Food Experience. The reception-style event, held May 16 and 17 at DC's Mellon Auditorium, will offers samples of more than 35 sweet and savory appetizers and 96 craft beers from 48 breweries. Also on the schedule are talks given by brewers, journalists and chefs who have helped advance the American craft beer revo...

Allan, author of CellarBlog , offers five favorite dishes from DC wine bars with accompanying wine. 1. Venison, bison and tuna sliders with Tamari Malbec Reserve at Vinoteca 2. Lasagnette al ragu with Miramonte Syrage at Dino 3. Lamb tenderloins with Couly-Dutheil Cabernet Franc at Bardeo 4. Salmon in potato crust, fresh grapes and ouzo grape sauce paired with Olivier Schlatter Pouilly Fume at Bistrot Lepic 5. "The cheese flights at just about any wine bar are a great way to explore different types of cheese with a glass of whatever the happy hour special is," Allan says. Let Metrocurean readers know which dishes you're enjoying around town by e-mailing five of your favorite dishes or drinks and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com.

Thanks to Blogger in draft 's new feature that allows bloggers to schedule posts in the future ('bout time), I was able to stay blissfully away from my computer for two whole weeks during our island wedding and honeymoon, without you even knowing it. So what did I miss? Lots of openings, for starters. Corduroy reopened in its new rowhouse at 1122 9th St. NW, and Tackle Box is now open in Georgetown. From chef Richard Sandoval, the creator of Zengo , comes La Sandia in the Tysons Corner Center. In hotel dining, the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City welcomed Fyve , headed by Roberto Donna protégé Amy Brandwein, and Cure Bar and Bistro opened in the Grand Hyatt. Check out more details on Metrocurean's updated Newly Opened list . What else? Where have you been eating? What's been good? Talk to me.

Today's set of bites comes from McLean Robbins, writer of DC Modern Luxury's Hot List . (Metrocurean writes for DC magazine.) 1. Mussels and frites at Brasserie Beck 2. Chocolate pate at Jordan's in Ellicott City 3. Prickly pear margarita at Oyamel 4. Petite crispy organic chicken with pancetta, herbs and lemon at Morrison Clark Restaurant 5. Wonton tacos with ahi tuna at Zengo (at right) Let Metrocurean readers know which dishes you're enjoying around town by e-mailing five of your favorite dishes or drinks and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. (Photo from Zengo's web site .)