amanda mcclements

John Snedden, founder of Rocklands Barbeque & Grilling Company , offers today's Chef Five Bites. He opened the first Rocklands in 1990 on Wisconsin Avenue, where the smoky barbecue scent still perfumes the air. Snedden now operates four Rocklands in the DC area. 1. Roasted squab at Obelisk 2. Soft shell crab at Sushiko 3. Pizza at Vace 4. Shrimp and grits at Johnny’s Half Shell 5. Pork belly at Brasserie Beck 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

Capitol Hill's Cafe 8 Today's selections are from Five Bites repeat offender Marie Fritz, who lives east of the river "so Capitol Hill is my dining and going out 'hood." 1. Penne with pulled Amish chicken and a fun red wine at Sonoma 2. Cheese pide and red lentil soup at Cafe 8 3. Vegetable "ravioli" with beets from Belga Cafe 4. Decaf latte from Peregrine Espresso 5. A flute of Prosecco with Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur at Wisdom Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and now DC's top chefs — to share all the delicious things they've been eating and drinking. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. Stay tuned at noon for Five Bites from Rocklands founder John Snedden.

Thanks to all who entered to win a McCormick & Schmick's $10 gift card . The great news is the restaurant is awarding not one but two certificates. Random.org says lucky commenters No. 3 and No. 21 are the winners. So Elyssa and Karly, please email your mailing addresses to Metrocurean at metrocurean AT gmail.com to claim your free lunch!

What: This pork-tastic event, with stops in multiple cities, comes to DC this weekend. Five DC chefs will each prepare an entire heritage breed hog, provided by Bev Eggleston from EcoFriendly Foods. Guests and professional judges will determine a winner based on creative, classic preparation and overall best flavor. The winner will be crowned the “Prince of Porc.” In addition, five family-owned wineries will showcase their wines. Cochon 555 promotes heritage pigs and breed diversity. Who: Competing chefs are Brian McBride of Blue Duck Tavern , RJ Cooper of Vidalia , Nicholas Stefanelli of Mio , Jamie Leeds of Commonwealth and Hank's Oyster Bar , and John Manolatos of Cashion's Eat Place , plus VIP chef Vaughn Skaggs of Market Salamander . Featured wineries are Miner Family Vineyards, Patz & Hall, Arcadian Winery, Pax Winery and Bonny Doon Vineyards. When: Sunday, May 31, 5 p.m. Where: Mandarin Oriental, 1330 Maryland Ave. SW Cost: $125 per person. For tickets or more...

Behold, the sinfully decadent 9:30 Club cupcake. Metrocurean photos It was a year in the making but oh, was it worth it. After working with Buzz pastry chef Josh Short since about a year ago to create just the right recipe, the 9:30 Club will unveil a signature cupcake this weekend, appropriately enough during two sold-out Cake shows. (All concert-goers will get a cupcake coupon to use then or before Aug. 31.) One of these sweet treats just showed up at my door, and holy chocolate — it's moist devil's food cake filled with vanilla buttercream, topped with chocolate frosting ... but wait there's more, and then dipped in chocolate ganache and adorned with the 9:30 logo. "Our goal was nothing short of becoming famous for cupcakes and, oh yes, you can see a band while you eat one,” said 9:30 Club owner Seth Hurwitz in a release. After this weekend's giveaway, the cupcakes will be available for purchase at the 9:30 Club's coffee bar and food area. You can also ge...

Check out my go at the fabulous Cookthink Questionnaire , where you'll learn all kinds of things about me, like my most favorite food word and what I'd put on heaven's menu. And thanks to Cookthink for asking!

Choices from McCormick & Schmick's $10 menu McCormick & Schmick's is offering 10 lunch items for $10 or less, and the restaurant wants to buy one of you lucky readers lunch ! Leave a comment below, and I'll randomly select a winner who will receive a $10 gift card. That'll cover one of the 10 specially priced lunch items like a beer-battered cod sandwich, salmon penne with wild mushrooms, hazelnuts and sherry cream, or Oregon Bay shrimp and angel hair pasta. The menu varies at each location. DC's two McCormick’s & Schmick’s are located at 1652 K St. NW and 901 F St. NW, and there's an M&S Grill with the same deals at 600 13th St. NW.

Here's another chance to put your food obsession to good work. The 19th annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction will bring together more than 50 chefs on Monday, June 1 at the Hilton Washington to raise funds for Food & Friends . Guests will sample food prepared by some of the region’s brightest culinary stars, including Patrick O'Connell of The Inn at Little Washington , Geoff Tracy of Chef Geoff's , Jamie Leeds of Hank’s Oyster Bar , K.N. Vinod of Indique , and RJ Cooper of Vidalia . A live auction will feature packages ranging from travel opportunities in Hawaii and Lake Tahoe to a cooking class with Patrick O'Connell to dinner for six at home cooked by Granville Moore's chef Teddy Folkman, a contestant on the "Next Food Network Star." Tickets ($225 for individuals), tables and sponsorships for Chef’s Best are available for purchase here . Doors open at 6:30 pm for the silent auction and tasting event, with live auction bidding starting around 8:...

The future home of Cork Market Just up the street from their popular Cork Wine Bar , Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts will expand their business this fall with Cork Market , a wine and gourmet food shop. Construction will start next week at 1805 14th St. NW, a building the husband-and-wife team just purchased. They hope to open by September or October. Both longtime residents of the neighborhood, Pitts and Gross hope to channel the feel of a country store with personal service, order tracking to help customers remember favorite wines, take-home tasting notes and local delivery. "We're not building a hoity-toity gourmet shop," Gross says. Adds Pitts: "This is our neighborhood market." The shop will offer all of the wines available on Cork's European list — with the same bin numbers if you've memorized your favorites — as well as some New World wines. Pricing will probably start around $10 at the low end. "If you're looking for that vintage wine, it...

Photo by Cris Molina Vatche Benguian, chef de cuisine at the Kennedy Center's Roof Terrace Restaurant , has been in the DC dining scene since 1978. He has worked at such restaurants as Les Halles , Blue Duck Tavern and La Colline . Here are his five bites. 1. Crispy skate wing à la Jacqueline with garlic and spinach at Brassiere Beck 2. Duck fat fries at Blue Duck Tavern 3. Charcuterie plate at Central 4. Classic Spanish custard with "espuma" of Catalan cream and oranges at Jaleo 5. Wood-grilled Mediterranean sardines at BlackSalt 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

Today's pre-holiday weekend bites are from Laura Krantz. 1. Carne asada at El Sol 2. Chicken soup from Chix 3. Valentine roll at Momiji 4. The Sakura cocktail at Firefly 5. Red velvet cupcake at Baked & Wired Alert! The Five Bites reserve is getting low! This is your place to share all the delicious things you've been eating and drinking with other Metrocurean readers. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. Stay tuned at noon for Five Bites from chef Vatche Benguian of the Roof Terrace Restaurant .

Soldiers participated in a different kind of boot camp this week at CulinAerie. Photos by Melissa McCart Melissa McCart of Counter Intelligence goes behind the kitchen line to see what's cooking around DC. "What would you like for your last meal?" It’s not some kind of foodie fantasy question . It's Susan Watterson's request of eight soldiers from a US Army Special Forces unit based in Fort Bragg, NC, for their final day of boot camp. Culinary boot camp. Watterson, co-owner of CulinAerie in downtown DC, has been leading an intensive culinary training session for Army cooks for the past two weeks. All eight cooks, whose ages range from 22 to 42, will be deployed to Afghanistan in July. Each of them have been before; some as many as seven times since 2001. Watterson worked with Master Sergeant Arthur Vernon and Staff Sergeant Hunter Blankenship for months to set up a program to hone the skills for these cooks who make meals for 600 to 800 people a day in 12-...

photo from M.V. Jantzen's flickr photostream Sticking around town this weekend? On Monday from noon to 4 p.m., head over to Café Saint-Ex for a Memorial Day Chili Cook-Off. All proceeds will benefit Ross Elementary School 's cafeteria. Contestants will put their chili up against Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar 's culinary best. (I'll be there stuffing my face with chili as one of the judges choosing the cook-off winner.) For guests, a $5 donation gets you a cup of chili of your choice and Peroni drink specials. For the kiddies, there'll be a lemonade stand and face painting, both for a $2 donation. The restaurant will also raffle off two AC Milan-Chelsea soccer tickets in Baltimore (food, drinks and round trip transportation included) for a $5 donation. Saint-Ex will be also be open for lunch service.

Oceanaire is betting on a projection that 2010 will be the beginning of the end of the economic recession with a special wine deal. Each week, the seafood restaurant is featuring one white and one red bottle of wine for $20.10. The restaurant has also introduced a new bar menu offering affordable plates like crab cake sliders, fried calamari and spicy tuna tartare.

Cows graze at Mount Vernon Farm, the site of a summer solstice dinner. What: You've heard of farm-to-table dining, but taking the table to the actual farm is catching on, as well. This summer solstice farm dinner, located at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains, will be prepared by chef Cathal Armstrong (at right) of Restaurant Eve using ingredients from Rappahannock farmers. Artisan wines from the area will be paired with the meal. Guests will spend the evening mingling with the chef, the farmers and winemakers. Who: The dinner is sponsored by Gourmet Rappahannock Food & Wine Consortium in partnership with the Rappahannock County Office of Tourism , the Piedmont Environmental Council and Flavor Magazine . Net proceeds will benefit the Rappahannock County Farmland Preservation Program. When: June 20. Cocktails will be served at 5:30 p.m. on the lawn of the Miller family farmhouse followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. on a nearby knoll. Where: The historic Mount Vernon Farm , ...

This weekend, Metrocurean headed to pastry chef David Guas ' house for a sample of the sweets that will be served at his forthcoming Bayou Bakery , located at 3211 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington. Here's a peek at what's in store, in photos: Guas pours strawberry syrup over freshly shaved ice from a snoball machine. Snoballs are just one of the traditional New Orleans sweets that Guas, a native of the Crescent City, plans to offer. He'll open the Bayou Bakery this summer (late June is the current prediction) with Liberty Tavern owners Stephen Fedorchak and Brian Normile. Guas is making his own syrups for the snoballs, but he'll also use a few classic New Orleans flavors, like the almondy Wedding Cake. The Southern Snow machine will be a fixture in the new bakery. It churns out fluffy ice that's then doused with syrups and sweetened condensed milk. Guas rolls out dough for his apple and cherry hand pies. The single-serving pies are stuffed with fruit — like the nutm...

This melamine tray is one of the quirky finds on the new home decor sale site One Kings Lane Bargain hunters, take note. I've been trying to break myself of that oh-so-flawed mentality that if something's on sale, I "saved" money. But all bets were off when I saw the irresistible deals on One Kings Lane , a new site that offers deep discounts (up to 70 percent off) on high-end home furnishings and accessories during private sales. John Robshaw napkins and table runners A friend recently invited me to join the site — one of a crop of new invite-only private sale clubs . Members get emails alerting them of daily sales that last 72 hours. So far I've scored some gorgeous napkins and a table runner (above) from one of my favorite designers, John Robshaw , and the fun melamine tray ($19) from Laura & Corrado at the top of this post. Kind of perfect for serving aperitifs. Previous sales have featured Henckels knives, Vera Wang Wedgwood crystal, and Alora Ambiance...

Victor Albisu, chef de cuisine at BLT Steak , was born and raised in Northern Virginia. Before taking over the kitchen at Laurent Tourondel's BLT, Albisu cooked at numerous area restaurants, including Ceiba , Marcel's and the Tabard Inn . Here are his Five Bites. 1. Colletti's Smokehouse burger and marshmallow milkshake at Good Stuff Eatery 2. The charcuterie board with extra mustard at Proof 3. Black rice at Taberna del Alabardero 4. Half chicken with fries and extra spicy sauce at El Pollo Rico 5. Pork belly dumplings at The Source 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

Steamed crabs at Jimmy Cantler's With summer rapidly approaching, finding a quick escape from the city is a top priority. One of my favorites is a day trip to Annapolis for sailing and steamed crabs. For today's Five Bites, Bryer Davis offers up selections from Annapolis. 1. Metropolitan roll at Tsunami 2. Famous original margarita at The Mexican Cafe 3. Steamed crabs at Cantler's 4. Asian slaw at Yin Yankee Cafe 5. Chocolate peanut butter ice cream at Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and now DC's top chefs — to share all the delicious things they've been eating and drinking. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. Stay tuned at noon for Five Bites from Victor Albisu, chef at BLT Steak .

Melissa McCart of Counter Intelligence goes behind the kitchen line to see what's cooking at DC-area restaurants. Rustico 's Frank Morales is busy. In addition to continuing work on DC's Birch and Barley , the beer-centric restaurant set to open this fall on 14th Street, the chef has been baking rustic hearth breads with beer as a key ingredient. And one of his creations goes on sale Friday morning at a sort of bread speakeasy. Starting tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., Morales will start selling "speakeasy bread" — specifically an Achel 8 Degrees Trappist Trippel sourdough — at Rustico's side door, Monday through Friday until they run out. Look for a sign that will indicate where to knock for a boule — $3 apiece, cash only, exact change, please. Why is baking bread in house becoming so popular for restaurants? "It's a natural during an economic downturn," Morales says. "To break bread. Put bread on the table. People gravitate to it. It's inexpe...

A new Japanese Izakaya-style restaurant is slated to open this fall at 645 465 K St. NW in the City Vista building (at right). Kushi Restaurant will serve sushi, regional Japanese food and Kushiyaki — skewers of meat, seafood, poultry and vegetables grilled over open flames. An open kitchen will feature grills for the Kushiyaki and a robata fire pit for grilling whole fish and large cuts of meats. Behind the 4,000-square-foot restaurant, slated for an October opening, are Darren Lee Norris and Ari Kushimoto Norris, a husband-and-wife team. He was most recently executive chef of Ridgewells caterers in Bethesda; she's a former AOL art director and is heading up the restaurant's design. Leading the sushi bar will be Yoshihisa Ota, chef and owner of Ginza Gakyu in Tokyo. Rounding out the Kushi team of partners is long-time Ridgewells sous chef Peter Laufer, who will be opening chef de cuisine and local artist Thom Flynn as beverage service director.

This just in from Kimpton's Hotel Palomar in Arlington: The hotel's restaurant Domaso is scaling back and will no longer be open for lunch and dinner on weekends. Meanwhile, Domasoteca , the wine shop on the hotel's ground floor, will close May 30. That means the shop is clearing out its inventory at deep discounts: 20 percent off all bottles, 30 percent off mixed half cases, and 40 percent off mixed full cases. Domaso's new operating schedule includes breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room Monday through Friday, with only breakfast service and bar dining on weekends. A statement from the hotel details a few other changes: "Based on the increasing success of its lounge and in response to clientele for a more casual dining experience, the lunch and dinner menus will be updated significantly, and the bar will serve an expanded selection of signature cocktails and lounge menu items. While the restaurant will remain modern Italian in concept, the menus wi...

Andy Shallal's new Southern restaurant Eatonville opens tonight at 14th and V streets, just across from sibling Busboys and Poets . A preview of the menu, inspired by the staff’s trips to namesake Eatonville, Fla. and New Orleans, includes oyster po' boys with spicy remoulade, fried fish of the day with jalapeno cheddar grits, and sides like braised collard greens, sweet potato and turkey andouille sausage hash, and lima bean succotash. The restaurant, named for Zora Neale Hurston's hometown, also has a 65-seat patio. For more coverage, Prince of Petworth has photos and the GOG Blog and Daily Candy have more details. In Penn Quarter, Cedar restaurant is preparing to open at 822 E St. NW. The Washington Business Journal has more details .

The city's pastry chefs put on quite a show last night at Sweet Charity , an annual sugar-filled event that raises funds for the Heart of America Foundation’s Books from the Heart program, which provides books for disadvantaged children. The chocolate fashion show (slideshow above) featured outfits made from candy and chocolate and left the catwalk littered with bits of sugar-coated debris. I particularly liked Brasserie Beck 's candy-fringed flapper dress (top photo), inspired by "The Great Gatsby."

click image to zoom As we wring ourselves out from the deluge of late April, those showers, as promised, have given way to May flowers, inspiring this edition of Savory Style. 1. An unconventional take on measuring cups that's pretty enough to leave on the counter. Florist measuring cups , Anthropologie, $36 2. Hand-painted with 22k gold detailing, these vibrant canape plates scream "hear comes the sun." New Arcadia sunflower canape plates , Vivre.com, four for $87.50 3. Who knew a bug catcher could be so cute. Trap unwanted visitors in this chic little decanter with a little sugar water. Glass bug catcher , Smith and Hawken, $19 (ships in July) 4. From small to large, these bowls would be perfect for nuts, popcorn and salad. Nested flower bowls , MoMa Store, $60 5. This petite serving dish is just the right size for dipping sauces. I might use it to hold kosher salt near the stove, too. Flower dish , Crate and Barrel, $1.95 Savory Style is a new occasional weekend featu...

This week's Chef Five Bites are from Jonathan Krinn (left) and Jon Mathieson, the co-chef/co-owner duo behind the three-month-old Inox in Tysons Corner. Their butter poached lobster with braised short rib ravioli would be on my Five Bites list right now. 1. Egg white sandwich on an everything bagel from Tysons Bagel Market (Mathieson) 2. Braised ox tongue with breakfast radish at Restaurant Eve 's bistro (Mathieson) 3. Pancakes at the Tastee Diner in Bethesda (Krinn) 4. Chestnut soup at Palena (Krinn) 5. Parsnip crepe at CityZen (Mathieson) Previous Chef Five Bites: Cathal Armstrong , Dani Arana , David Guas , Josh Short , Michel Richard , Haidar Karoum , Ryan Morgan , Shannon Overmiller , Anthony Chittum

The dining room at Cashion's This edition of Five Bites is brought to you by Ashley, a blogger with an ambitious goal of eating at all of Washingtonian 's 100 Best Restaurants in one year. Her blog, From Komi to Marvin , chronicles her meals (she's already crossed off 25 of 'em), and here's her list of bites. 1. Baby octopus with Hawaiian blue prawns at Cashion's Eat Place 2. Pan-seared artichokes with bacon, thyme and red onions at BlackSalt 3. King salmon crudo at Hook 4. Duck bolognese at Mendocino Grille 5. Roasted suckling pig for two at Komi Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and now DC's top chefs — to share all the delicious things they've been eating and drinking. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. Stay tuned at noon for Five Bites from Inox chefs Jon Mathieson and Jonathan Krinn.

Melissa McCart of Counter Intelligence goes behind the kitchen line to see what's cooking at DC-area restaurants. A few hours before dinner service, Haidar Karoum is washing 10 pounds of ramps he's using for the World Cocktail Day dinner at Proof on May 11. As I head into the kitchen, their pungent scent greets me before I see them, dozens of flat green leaves and white bulbs stacked in a bowl. Karoum is prepping to make ramp kimchee, a spin-off of the Korean spicy cabbage condiment. It’s no surprise that he’s interested in kimchee. When I interviewed him for a piece in The Washington Post about H Mart , Karoum said he stopped by his local Asian market for kimchee tastings featuring dozens of renditions on weekends. Proof, the host of DC's World Cocktail Week celebration for the second year in a row, will feature five dishes inspired by different regions around the world, paired with cocktails from some of the city’s most creative bartenders. The kimchee that Karoum is ...

Teddy Folkman, chef of Granville Moore's and a finalist on Food Network's "Next Food Network Star," is participating in Brainfood's Grill-Off June 11 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 third annual Grill-Off at the Decatur House Museum on Thursday, June 11 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. I'll be there for the second year as a judge. Event-goers will enjoy food, cocktails and wine tastings. Leon Harris of ABC 7 will MC the event. During the Grill-Off, teams consisting of community members, Brainfood students and a chef from a local restaurant — including Teddy Folkman, chef and co-owner of Granville Moore’s and a finalist on Food Net...

The bar at Poste Penn Quarter's Poste Modern Brasserie is now offering a three-course "power lunch" menu for $20.09 during the week. There are two choices for each course, including a grilled chicken cobb salad with country ham, quail eggs, blue cheese, avocado and scallions or a grilled panini baguette with duck ham, melted Taleggio cheese, roasted maitake mushrooms and chickweed salad as entree options. For more restaurant deals, click here .

President Barack Obama's reputation as a foodie has been solidified this week with visits to Citronelle and Ray's Hell Burger , but it seems people are so eager to spot Obama dining out that they may be seeing things. The Washington Post 's Marc Fisher tells the tale of a tall restaurant tale that swept around Bethesda this weekend about an alleged Obama visit to Hard Times Cafe . Seems the story started to unravel when Reliable Source columnist Amy Argetsinger tried to verify it. Looks like Ben's Chili Bowl remains Obama's chili go-to ... for now.

This post originally appeared on Metrocurean in February 2006, but I thought it's time to revisit the topic after seeing a comment by Creative DC 's Amanda on places you only go in the off-hours. My opinions are a little outdated on specific spots, but hopefully we can generate some fresh ideas in the comments. 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.) DC 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 da...

It's five o'clock on Cinco de Mayo, and here's mixologist Eben Freeman of Tailor restaurant in New York City to show you how to prepare a variation on the classic margarita. Recipe here .

If you're a fan of the fast, salad-centric style of food at Chop't and Sweetgreen , you'll want to be on the lookout for Freshii , a Canada-based chain that's heading to DC. The restaurant offers a menu of build-your-own salads, burritos, wraps, rice bowls, soups and frozen yogurt. The concept was born in Toronto in 2005, and there are now 13 locations in Chicago and Toronto. Restaurant industry professional Andrew Nelson has signed a franchise deal to open five Freshii restaurants in the DC area. He aims to open the first by early 2010. Check out the online menu , which tallies up your nutritional info as you choose ingredients. Thanks to a reader for the tip!

Savory sauces from chef Stefano Frigerio's new Copper Pot Food Co., available at six area farmers markets If you haven't gotten in the habit of hitting up your local farmers market, you have no excuse! Especially after a few more open for the season this weekend. The 14th and U Farmers Market (Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) kicks off for the season Saturday, as does the H Street NE FreshFarm Market (Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon). Local foodies are already drooling over one market newcomer — the Copper Pot Food Company , which debuts at the 14th and U market tomorrow. Chef Stefano Frigerio, whose kitchen time includes stints as executive chef at Mio and sous chef at Maestro , created the new artisanal food company to turn surplus produce from local farms into jams, like white peach and prosecco, and savory sauces, including smoky bacon and parmesan. He'll also sell handmade pastas, oils and vinegars. Here are the markets where you can find Copper Pot products. Last year at ...

Anthony Chittum, executive chef at Vermilion , offers up today's Chef Five Bites. The Maryland native worked as chef Todd Gray's chef de cuisine at Equinox before taking over the kitchen at Notti Bianche and then Vermilion. He's now a Rising Star Chef of the Year nominee for the Rammys and a leading proponent of seasonal and local cuisine. This summer, he'll cook for two big farm dinners; find details here . 1. Dragon roll at Momo Sushi 2. Chiangmai chili pork at Duangrat's 3. Lobster roll at Hank's Oyster Bar in Old Town 4. Ginger salad at Spices 5. Nathan Anda's Red Apron Butchery hot dog ... "Chicago style" Previous Chef Five Bites: Cathal Armstrong , Dani Arana , David Guas , Josh Short , Michel Richard , Haidar Karoum , Ryan Morgan , Shannon Overmiller

Sheila Laderberg, one of the owners of Punk's Backyard Grill in Annapolis, sends in her list of bites. That's her on the right with a goat at Great Country Farms , whose CSA she participated in last summer. "Great seasonal produce delivered to my Alexandria home weekly for 10 weeks. I would definitely recommend it!" 1. Cod and chips with Marie Rose sauce and a draught Guinness at Eamonn's 2. Roasted chicken at Palena 's cafe 3. Seafood hot pot at Viet Bistro in the Eden Center 4. Cuban sandwich at Breadline 5. Red plastic lunchroom tray full of steamy crabs at Harris Crab House on Kent Island Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and now DC's top chefs — to share all the delicious things they've been eating and drinking. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. Stay tuned at noon for Five Bites from Vermilion's executive chef Anthony Chittum.