amanda mcclements

All the juicy stuff you may have missed from the Twitterverse ... follow Metrocurean on Twitter here . He said, he said, he said: Tim ( http://bit.ly/l258O ), Tom ( http://bit.ly/1FDx6r ) and WBJ ( http://bit.ly/Li55 ) on Adams Morgan Hell Burger . Newly revamped Jefferson Hotel will unveil Plume restaurant w chef Damon Gordon, Quill bar, and the Greenhouse (brkfast and lunch) Aug. 31. Dupont's Pizzeria Paradiso , which moved to 2003 P St this weekend, was humming along like they'd been there all along ystrday afternoon. NY chef Kyle Bailey will head Birch & Barley / ChurchKey -> RT @ timcarman Get all the details on the new toque at Y&H. http://bit.ly/AyPGm New Aroma Market on U St. will start carrying local milk in glass bottles this week (I think Trickling Springs but don't quote me on that.) RT @ bestbitesblog Eola — taking over Mark&Orlandos — to open 9/12. www.eoladc.com Tom Sietsema gets Top Chef-testant Mike Isabella to respond to sexist comm...

Chef Geoff Tracy with his wife, Norah O'Donnell, MSNBC's chief Washington correspondent After graduating from Georgetown in 1995, Geoff Tracy headed to the Culinary Institute of America to pursue a career as a chef. Upon graduating and before he'd turned 30, Tracy had opened two Chef Geoff's in DC. Since then, he's added to his portfolio Lia's in Chevy Chase, Hank’s Tavern & Eats in Hyattsville, and Chef Geoff’s Tysons Corner , which opened this summer. Here are his Five Bites. 1. Chicken madness sub at Wisemiller's 2. Beef brisket sandwich at Rocklands 3. Crunchy shrimp nori roll at SushiKo 4. Santa Brigida pizza at 2 Amys 5. Pepperoni pizza at Regina Pizzeria in Boston's North End 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 St...

Metrocurean reader Jenny Cross sends in today's bites. 1. Fava bean agnolotti at Vidalia (pictured above) 2. Sea scallops with mushroom porridge at Corduroy 3. Blackened fish tacos at McCormick & Schmick's 4. Crab bisque and key lime pie at Ray's the Steaks 5. Bloody Mary with house-infused pepper vodka at Founding Farmers Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and 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.com. Stay tuned later today for Five Bites from chef Geoff Tracy.

Listen, I know you gotta plug your shows, but come on, Bravo, I'm trying to watch Top Chef here and it appears as though some housewives are running loose across my screen ... And they really like Bryan Voltaggio. Even Tom got the facial treatment.

Urbana's now shucking $1 oysters during happy hour. Since I shorted you on a deal last week, I'm giving you a double dose to make up for it. First up, Kinkead's has a new bar lunch menu offering a sandwich and soup combo for $12. Get a cup of chowder or soup of the day with a crispy cod sandwich with marinated summer tomatoes, cucumber and tartar sauce; grilled chicken sandwich with pancetta, tomatoes, arugula and pesto mayonnaise; roast pork Cuban sandwich with ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, lettuce and tomato; or crispy oyster po-boy with shredded lettuce, hot peppers and remoulade. Get it at the restaurant’s bar daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. At Urbana , a new raw bar is dishing up a daily selection of oysters, sweet Georgia prawns and whole Maine lobster. Hit it during the restaurant's two happy hours — daily from 5 to 7 p.m. and again Monday through Thursday from 10 to 11 p.m. — and oysters are $1 each. They're regularly $2 each or $16 per doze...

In case you haven't heard already, Hello Cupcake is giving away free cupcakes today. The shop is celebrating its 1st birthday. The goods are one per person, while supplies last. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The way CityZen chef Eric Ziebold describes a sou’wester — a "quick change in direction and the burst of new energy" brought on by winds hailing from the southwest — pretty much sums up how different his new restaurant of the same name will be from the elegant CityZen. And for that matter, the Mandarin Oriental 's Cafe MoZu , which Sou'Wester is replacing in September at 1330 Maryland Ave. SW. Forget tasting menus and Asian motifs. To get your mouth watering on this Monday morning, here's a peek at what will be on Sou'Wester's homey Southern-inspired menu: blackened bluefish with Cajun rice, fried chicken with coleslaw, chicken and dumplings, sautéed perch with Old Bay chowder, poached egg with creamed grits and sweetbreads (um, yum) and sides like beer-battered onion rings, hush puppies with honey butter and tater tots. Ziebold is leveraging the talent at CityZen for the new venture. His chef de cuisine Rachael Harriman will head the kitchen, past...

All the juicy stuff you may have missed from the Twitterverse ... follow Metrocurean on Twitter here . The Mandarin and chef Eric Ziebold ditched the South by Southwest name in favor of Sou'Wester for the resto replacing MoZu . Coming in Sept. RT @ timcarman Black Restaurant Group has plans to open another place in the District. http://bit.ly/xAFd2 RT @ wcp Toque Café coming to 6th & R Streets NW: http://ccca-online.org/node/69 (via @ imgoph ) Chix has $10 bottles of wine ($10!) Fri & Sats, 8-10 pm. Argentine pinot, malbec, Chilean sauv blanc. www.chixdc.com RT @ bestbitesblog Ray's the Heat (Benning Rd) is almost ready, says Landrum: http://tinyurl.com/lbjoxo Need a nearby Aug getaway? Check out Virginia's 40 Off travel deals, like 4th night free at Goodstone, cabins, more: http://bit.ly/Lm9d3

Top Chef contestants Mike Isabella and Bryan Voltaggio Bravo's "Top Chef" Season 6 premiered Wednesday night with contestants Mike Isabella, executive chef of Zaytinya , and Bryan Voltaggio, executive chef and partner at Volt in Frederick. They're both still in the game, and they've both let Metrocurean in on five of their favorite dishes in the DC area. First up, Isabella reports on what he likes to eat when he's not on the clock: 1. Dragon's breath “liquid nitrogen popcorn” at Minibar by José Andrés 2. Roast pork and preserved egg congee at Full Kee 3. General Tso’s wings at The Source 4. Cheese burger at Five Guys 5. Red velvet cupcake at Georgetown Cupcake And, now, Voltaggio's turn: 1. Any of the fresh baked goods at the Baughman's Lane farmers market in Frederick, Md., on Saturday mornings from Cakes for Cause . My son particularly likes the lemon ginger scone. Sort of Saturday morning tradition 2. Pizza Anatra at Urbana . Chef Alex Bolling...

Dana Ellyn's self portrait Since I've admired her work through a gallery window before, it's a treat to have local artist Dana Ellyn offer her Five Bites today. Ellyn left a corporate job in 2002 to paint full time. Check out her WaPo interview about her presidential paintings here . Ellyn's list is vegetarian, "which in DC is quite limiting. So many restaurants offer little choice for us veggies," she writes. "But, I've found my favorite dishes and favorite places and I'm happy to revisit them over and over." 1. Fire and smoke pizza at Matchbox 2. Palak chaat at Rasika 3. Tempeh panini at Busboys & Poets 4. Shepherd's pie at Vegetate 5. Turkish coffee chocolate cake at Zaytinya Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and 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...

Bourbon Steak executive chef David Varley shows off his kitchen garden. After serving up a tasty lunch at Bourbon Steak last week, chef David Varley led a group of writers out behind the Four Seasons hotel, along the C&O canal where a few ducks bobbed around, to his tiered kitchen garden. He waded through the knee-high plants, pinching off leaves for us to smell and taste. Among his herb and vegetable crop, there were fiery red Thai chiles, bushy lemongrass, curry leaves, cilantro, lemon basil and fragrant celery-scented lovage, which Varley likes with potatoes. The chef also has plans to add a garden to the roof of the hotel. Varley is among a growing group of green-thumbed city chefs. Despite their urban limitations, DC area cooks are carving out any plot of dirt they can find to cultivate fresh ingredients for their kitchens. Rows of tomatoes grow in Poste's courtyard garden. Chef Rob Weland of Poste Moderne Brasserie , which boasts one of DC's most spacious outdoor pa...

As August wanes and the temperature settles itself in the sticky 90s, we're officially in the dog days of summer. Scott Palmer, beverage director of Dino (pictured by his home bar, above), has a few drinks to help you beat the heat and break out of your gin and tonic rut. (If you do stick with the G&T, Palmer says up the ante with premium ingredients like Distillery No. 209 gin with notes of citrus and cardamom, Fever Tree All-Natural Tonic and maybe even a little Fever Tree Bitter Lemon.) Here, Palmer shares some recipes and thoughts on his favorite summer drinks: "A favorite of mine in the summer is sparkling wine, either on its own or made into a sparkling cocktail. I tend to go off the beaten path and venture outside of the 'Champagne box.' I look to Prosecco from Italy’s Veneto region or Cava from Spain’s Catalan region. One of my favorites on my current cocktail list is the Settantacinque Italiano, or Italian 75 (a spin on the classic French 75). It’s a si...

On a trip to Iceland last year, I had the pleasure of meeting with Orri Vigfússon , chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund . (That's him in the brown jacket, standing on the bank of a river in Reykjavik.) His fund pays fishermen not to catch the overfished Atlantic salmon. On my way out of the meeting, Vigfússon handed me Charles Clover's book " The End of the Line ." I started reading it on the plane on my way home and couldn't put it down. It's a rather eye-opening look at how our appetite for seafood is depleting the ocean's stocks. That book inspired the new documentary of the same name, now playing in DC at Landmark's E Street Cinema . And check out the useful widget they've rolled out to promote the movie and help you figure out what to eat for dinner:

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 ...

Planet Wine 's Farm Table , which seats up to 14 people in the intimate wine shop, serves seasonal dishes like the ricotta gnocchi above Mary Cunningham, who writes The Arugula Files , offers today's round o' bites. (Also, check out her interview with Washingtonian .) 1. Kalamata olive bread from Atwater's Bakery at the Dupont FreshFarm Market 2. Feta de Provence from Keswick Creamery at the Dupont FreshFarm Market 3. Alcachofas salteadas al Pedro Ximenez y virutas de foie (sauteéd artichokes with Pedro Ximenez and foie gras shavings) from Taberna del Alabardero 4. Mushroom burger at Eventide 5. Ricotta gnocchi with spring pea ragout, baby carrots and mint pesto at Planet Wine 's Farm Table 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...

Mid City's decor pays homage to the building's auto garage history. photos by Guillaume Bernardeau Back in March, Metrocurean told you that plans were under way for a new 14th Street coffee shop. After a few delays, the wait for caffeination will end on Saturday when Mid City Caffé officially opens its doors. The shop, located at 1626 14th St. NW above Miss Pixie's, seats about 35, and there will also be some sidewalk seating down below. They'll be serving Counter Culture Coffee , made fresh by either french press or pour over brewing method. There will also be espresso drinks, bagels, pastries, cookies, chocolates and sweets like sweet potato spice cake with cream cheese frosting. And free Wi-Fi. (Phew.) Mid City Caffe will be open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In case you haven't heard, summer's Restaurant Week is coming up Aug. 24-30. But would you be terribly angry if I told you I just want to stick my head in the sand and ignore it? I've already written all there is to say over the years, like tips for getting the most out of it in 2005, polling your opinion on it in 2007, and rounding up the places that extend the deal over and over again. I'm ... um ... over it. In the name of responsible blogging and because I do think it's a great promo to get people to dine out and support the restaurant scene, here's my obligatory post, rounding up posts from others who have more motivation. They'll take good care of you: • Washingtonian has a huge list of specific menu offerings, and they'll keep updating it: " Summer Restaurant Week: What's on the Menu ." • DC Foodies does its usual round-up of menu offerings and extensions here . And check back for updates. • For you visual learners, Capital Spic...

Nunavut wild Arctic char has found its way into a few DC restaurants. photos courtesy of CleanFish About mid-way through a decadent procession of 21 small courses at Volt 's Table 21 a few weeks ago, a small square of vibrant pink fish, perched atop ruby quinoa, summer squash, chorizo and sherry vinaigrette, landed in front of me. The gently cooked flesh, with a flavor more subtle than salmon, was firm and blissfully buttery. Chef Bryan Voltaggio, who was cooking just 10 or so feet from the chef's table, explained that the wild Arctic char on our plates came from a remote northern region of Canada, where the fishing season only runs about eight weeks, when the ice breaks, and lasts until early September. The Inuit people there have been fishing the waters for more than two thousand years. The wild char they catch are now making their way from the far-flung Nunavut region into the US market thanks to CleanFish , a San Francisco-based company that won an Eco-Ocean Award from Foo...

click image to zoom Did you catch Taylor Gourmet featured in the September issue of Dwell magazine? The story highlights the rustic industrial look of the renovated building on H Street NE that houses not only the Italian deli but also owners Casey Patten and David Mazza. They built nearly identical apartments on the two floors over the market. (Later this year, they're planning to open a second Taylor in the CityVista building at Fifth and K Streets NW.) Check out the salvaged materials and resourceful design in the slideshow here . Savory Style was inspired by Patten and Mazza's industrial chic aesthetic with this round-up. 1. The French company Tolix has been making these galvanized steel chairs since the 1930s, but they still have a modern urban edge. Tolix cafe chair , Pottery Barn, $225 (also at Sundance , $245) 2. A cluster of light bulbs makes an eye-catching fixture inside Taylor. Try it out with a few of these colorful pendants. Light bulb pendant , Design With...

Dennis Marron wanted a new surfboard, so at age 15, he took his first job in a restaurant washing dishes to pay for it. In the years since, the New Jersey native graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, headed West to cook in San Francisco and Minneapolis, and returned to the East Coast where he landed in the kitchen at Bistro Bis . Kimpton Hotels tapped him as executive chef of The Grille at Morrison House, and earlier this year he also took over the kitchen at the Hotel Monaco's Jackson 20 . 1. Bologna, egg and cheese from the Blue and White . "And the fried chicken leg sandwich (bone in of course). All the food is super cheap and delicious — just get there before 11 a.m. if you want breakfast and try the coffee with cream and sugar, super sweet but one of a kind delicious." 2. Carnitas tacos at Burrito Grill 3. Cheese steak, green peppers and onions, American cheese and hot peppers at Al’s Steak House 4. Steak tartar from Bistro Bis 5. Al...

Erin White, co-owner of Mindy's Catering , lives in Del Ray with her husband and two young children. She offers five bites in Del Ray that you can get with kids in tow. 1. Tandoori chicken wings at Bombay Curry Company 2. Pupusas and margarita(s) at Los Tios 3. Cheese board and wine flight at Cheesetique (at right) 4. Maple walnut custard at the Dairy Godmother 5. Filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce at Del Merei Grille 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 later today for Five Bites from chef Dennis Marron of Jackson 20 and The Grille at Morrison House.

Lest you fear that the foodie obsession with bacon could be so fickle as to fade or do something rash like jump a shark , I submit for your consideration Buzz 's cupcake of the month. Yes, that is a bacon garnish perched on top. Oh, and the frosting crowning pastry chef Josh Short's devil's food chocolate cake is peanut butter bacon. It's available through August at Buzz for $2.75.

The Source is dishing out quite possibly the best Asian food in the city, and while the prices can't compare to your neighborhood delivery joint, the restaurant's new Chinese banquet-style menu is a steal in the world of fine dining. The menu, priced at $45 per person, features nine courses — four appetizers, four entrées and dessert — all served family style. And the lucky number nine (following the Chinese banquet tradition of serving a lucky number of dishes) is really just a baseline. Don't be surprised if you get to taste a few more dishes on top of that. At a media tasting last night, chef Scott Drewno served up a decadent spread that included stir-fried lamb in lettuce cups (I'm making these next time I entertain), scallop and shrimp sui mai with lobster-uni emulsion, Singapore-style street noodles with beef short ribs, chow fun noodles, whole fried sea bass and more. I loved the variety of flavors, platter after platter, bowl after bowl, that we got to sample w...

Chef Morou Ouattara tweeted that the site for his soon-to-open restaurant Kora, pictured above, is now live. photo from korarestaurant.com All the juicy stuff you may have missed on the Twitterverse ... follow Metrocurean on Twitter here . RT @goingoutgurus Nicaro Reopens: Same Name, Very Different Place: http://bit.ly/ENzCK I'm pro deep frying at home and I'm definitely making this soon: RT @nytimesdining Bitten: Frying Squid http://bit.ly/9RZPj Yay! RT @nytimesfood Oysters Are on the Rebound in the Chesapeake Bay: http://bit.ly/x83tj Clinton Terry of PX took the judge's rickey award at Bourbon tonight for a delicious twist w ginger beer, opal basil, lemon bitters. Jill Zimorski of Cafe Atlantico won the people's choice for a refreshing rickey featuring jicama-lime soda, strawberry water and gin. RT @TopShelfWBJ : Carmine's confirmed. Shooting for Feb. 2010. Story up in a few. [ Story here .] Kora 's Italian menu looks delicious and huge! RT @Morou ...

Nothing like kicking off the week with a sea of cocktails! To culminate DC's second annual Rickey Month, come out to Bourbon in Adams Morgan tonight, 6:30 to 11 p.m., to sip fresh riffs on the rickey , created by the city's best bartenders. I'll be there as a judge, along with chef Katsuya Fukushima of ThinkFoodGroup , Fritz Hahn of The Washington Post , Elba Giron of We Shoot Cocktails , and “American Bartender of the Year” Jim Meehan of Manhattan's PDT . Local drinkers have been busy voting for their favorite rickey, and the winner of the people’s choice will be revealed this evening. The judge’s award will go to a second winner. Check out the contenders on Metromix here . (The cocktail was reportedly born in the late 1800s at Shoomaker's Bar off Pennsylvania Avenue and named for "Colonel Joe" Rickey.) There's a $10 door charge, which includes one classic gin or bourbon rickey , and you can sample the contestants' versions at cash bars. Compe...

Why yes, I did find a food connection on that super cool Art Car parked on 14th Street Saturday. I spotted this cow chart amid the thousands of carefully jumbled coins and brass items attached to the "California Fantasy Van." (Click the photos for a larger view.) The van, with the musical instrument-adorned sidekick "Pico de Gallo" right behind it, were turning heads on Saturday at 14th and R streets. Read more about Art Cars here .