Local Food Charities Need Help ASAP

Empty grocery shelves may be a hardship for those of us who were late stocking up on our milk, eggs and bread, but that’s a temporary inconvenience.  Power outages, while they might cause us a few chilly hours, aren’t likely to put us at real risk of hypothermia.  And losing internet and cable service might be a huge frustration, but they’re not going do us lasting harm.

For those without shelter, however, storms like the one we saw this weekend and the one we’ll see tonight pose a real threat.  Food, warm clothing and a place to stay become dire necessities.  And Washington’s charitable community steps up.

In weather like this, local soup kitchens and meal providers have to swing into overdrive to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for DC’s homeless population.  Shelters stay open twenty-four hours a day.  All of that extra demand takes a toll on the services of groups like Food & Friends and the DC Central Kitchen.

We’ve received notices from both groups looking for extra help to make sure they can provide everything possible to those in need, and we’re printing them here in the hope that you’ll be able to help.

FROM FOOD & FRIENDS:

On Thursday, February 11th, Food & Friends needs 20 volunteers to deliver meals, especially those with 4-wheel-drive vehicles.  Those without cars would be very much appreciated in the kitchen, and it would be great if they could come between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.  Volunteers may sign up to chenderson@foodandfriends.org.  This information is also available on our website at www.foodandfriends.org/winterstorm2010.  Without Food & Friends, our clients likely will not eat, so the help of the community is vital.  Meals may be picked up from Food & Friends (219 Riggs Road, NE/Washington, DC) between 10 a.m. and 12 am., we will provide detailed delivery directions, and routes should take no more than 3 hours.  For more information, prospective volunteers may call 202.841.5347.

FROM THE DC CENTRAL KITCHEN:

Volunteer Alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am writing to inform you that DC Central Kitchen will be OPEN for business on Tuesday through Friday regardless of any other closures that may be announced in the city.

If transportation does not prove dangerous for you, we hope to see you at the Kitchen so that you can help us make the meals. Here are directions to DCCK: http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/directions.php. We’re just a couple blocks from the Judiciary Square Metro (use the 4th Street exit).

Also, you are very welcome to bring friends, family members or roommates who are not signed up on our online system (all volunteers must be at least 12 years old). We’ve had a shortage of volunteers over the past few days because of the weather, so we have lots of extra prep work that we want to get to.

Carolyn Parham
202-234-0707  X 108
DC Central Kitchen
Volunteer Program Coordinator

If you work with any other volunteer or charitable organizations here in the Washington area and you’d like us to help get the word out about anything you’ve got going on, please feel free to contact us at capitalspice AT gmail DOT com.

 

Capital Spice Weekend Odds & Ends – SnoMageddon Claimed Our Internet Edition

Slurp your way through Tokyo’s ramen district.

Tim Carman get saddled with trying the latest cupcake spot in Alexandria. Woe is Tim. 

Put the south in your mouth with this biscuit pudding recipe.

Give some love back to DC’s favorite bartenders Gina Chersevani and Derek Brown by voting for them in the CocktailKingdom.com best bartender poll.

Super Bowl cupcakes!

Are kosher and halal meats healthier for you than “regular” meat?

Brunch and the City checks out brunch at Ben’s Next Door.

The Post walks us through Michael Landrum’s latest endeavors.

How did chefs in New Orleans and Indianapolis prep for the big day?

David Lebovitz goes truffle hunting in southwestern France, complete with a pig on a leash.

 

SnoTime for Barbecue – Postponing Meat Week’s Finale and Kicking Off Meat-Free Week

When it comes to barbecue, there are plenty of folks who think nothing of braving golf ball-sized hail and tornado warnings to turn out competition-quality smoked meats.

I am not one of those people…and I’m betting you’re not, either.

Nature has spoken – SnoMageddon (Keyser SnowZe?) is upon us, and the area will not be spared.  The tiny white objects of Washington’s crippling fear are already coming down.  Shelves that were emptied last night have been refilled and are being re-emptied as we speak.

So what does all this mean to Meat Week?  We’re no fools – we’re going to postpone tonight’s dinner at Branded ‘72 and tomorrow’s gathering for Mr. P’s Ribs and Fish.  Turns out, we couldn’t get together on Saturday if we wanted to.

I gave Mr. P a call to let him know that I was planning to postpone, and he assured me he had a similar plan.  “I didn’t even go out today,” he said.  “The man said there’s gonna be snow.”

We’re still trying to figure out when to plan our trips to make up days 6 and 7, but we’ll be sure to let everyone know.  One idea: wait until July and celebrate the six-month anniversary of Meat Week with a few more locations thrown in for good measure.

What to do between now and then?

If your week of barbecued indulgence has left you craving something fresh and green, you might consider attending some of the events of Meat-Free Week, taking place from Saturday to next Friday.  They’ve got some great locations on the agenda, including Restaurant Nora and Sticky Fingers Bakery.

As you might expect, Meat-Free Week is patterned directly after Meat Week.  And if you can get past the somewhat preachy opening paragraph, the write-up at DCVegan is a good read (and a direct response to one of our posts from last week).  Who knew – you CAN make friends with salad, after all!

We’re planning to hit up one or two of their events, and I’m definitely looking forward to meeting Amber McDonald to compliment her on the idea.

 

Meat Week Report: Rocklands and Red Hot & Blue (The Old Guard)

When planning the schedule for Meat Week, I had a few really tough choices to make.  In some cases, it was a question of how far afield people would be willing to go for the inaugural edition of Meat Week DC.  In other cases, the decision came down to what kind of impact a particular establishment has on the DC barbecue scene.

After opening Meat Week at Urban Bar-B-Que, one of the most widely praised among the newer ‘cue joints in the area, it was on to two of the veterans in the field.  Both Rocklands and Red Hot & Blue have been serving up smoked meats in Washington for more than twenty years.  In the process, they’ve expanded to several locations each around the DC area.  To me, they embody (in very different ways) the “all cues to all people” mindset that tries to serve up a taste of home to ‘cue lovers from all traditions.

So how do they stack up against some of the newcomers?  Check out some photos, some thoughts and a reminder about tonight’s big Pork Barrel BBQ event after the jump.

 

Eventide: New American Dining in an Old American Space

Clarendon, that wonderous yuppie village in NoVa, has been blessed with several new eateries in the last few years. Their luck tripled when Eventide opened bringing with it a cozy downstairs bar lounge, a delicious seasonal restaurant on the spacious second floor, and a wide open rooftop deck.

In the restaurant’s early days, Mike and I made short work of Eventide’s bar menu in their sleek, industrial space. While beer and wine are available on tap, the real fun is in the well-crafted cocktail list, topped with seasonal ingredients. Tipplers looking to warm up a winter evening may want to toss back The Westover, a potent concotion of Rittenhouse BiB Rye mixed with vanilla syrup, chartreuse Rinse, and topped with an orange peel. 

Down a hallway of eclectic mirrors, up the stairs, and behind heavy velvet curtains is Eventide’s soaring dining room. Chef Miles Vaden, who previously pleased Capitol Hill diners at Sonoma, toils in the kitchen to present diners with robust seasonal dishes. A dish of roasted oxtail in housemade ravioli was succulent and soothing for a dark night. The pasta, made with guajillo peppers, delivers a touch of kick along with a surpsingly golden tint. Meanwhile, a companion’s lamb loin housemade suasage with roasted brussel sprouts hit the perfect savory note.

Eventide
3165 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201

 

Meat Week Day 1 Recap: A Strong Start at Urban Bar-B-Que

I’m not going to lie.  When I showed up at Urban Bar-B-Que at 7 PM last night, I figured there was a 50-50 chance that I was going to be enjoying a plate of brisket all by myself and then heading home.  Such is the uncertainty that comes from putting something like Meat Week together.  It’s a feeling I hadn’t had since I stopped planning events as part of my job.

So I showed up with my Meat Week flags and my most recent copy of the KCBS Bull Sheet, ready to greet my fellow Meat Weekers…but I brought a book with me, just in case.

I’m more than a little pleased that the book turned out to be completely unnecessary.  Washington’s barbecue lovers turned out in force to kick off our inaugural Meat Week.  At one point, we had twenty-four people celebrating over plates brown paper-covered trays of ribs, pulled pork and brisket.

The team at Urban were the perfect hosts for our inaugural event.  I had given them a heads up that some undetermined number of people would be arriving to celebrate Meat Week.  Rather than ask “What the hell does that mean?” they actually looked into it and were ready to greet us when we arrived.  They reserved a few tables up front so we’d have a place to gather (we eventually overtook the entire restaurant), and then they stepped back and let Meat Week take its course as everyone ordered whatever they had a taste for.

More photos and details – as well as info on a Haiti relief event tomorrow night – after the jump.

 

Capital Spice Weekend Odds & Ends – Mad at Mad Men Edition

Congratulations to Oakland restaurant Commis, which received a coveted Michlelin star after being open only 4 months.

A community activist in PG county wants to limit the number of fast food establishments in the county.

Young and Hungry reveals its restaurant review winner!

What 5 kitchen skills are most important to a chef? I hope nunchuk skills makes the cut.

Penn Quarter Living notes that Pret a Manger is opening on the corner of 11^th and F.

Food & Wine magazine challenged DC-area sommeliers to a blind identification of… something besides wine.

And Now, Anacostia has a first-hand look at the new neighborhood coffee shop.

The Cupcake Avenger discovers a new gift for foodies.

The Mansion Mogul’s cup runneth over with…venison.  Actually this is a pretty sweet set up.

Pete Bakes makes a pizza with OO flour.

Girl Meets Food enjoys Zengo.

Horrors! Salvatore, Bryan Batt’s character on Mad Men will not return this season!  We may have to make a trip down to New Orleans to send some love (and some cash) his way at Hazelnut New Orleans, his chic home decor shop.

 

Sunday Night Sips in Snippets

PS7's Gina Chersevani with Alice Waters

If our math is correct, Alice Waters’ Sunday Night Suppers helped to raise more than $100,000 for the DC Central Kitchen and Martha’s Table for the second year in a row.  The 15 all-star dinner parties were limited to 20 guests each, and they featured some of Washington’s best and most established chefs.  But they weren’t the only way to help support these great causes this time around.

In an effort to engage the next generation of savvy and (hopefully) active foodies, Waters and company organized a pre-game called Sunday Night Sips.

Everything about this luxe cocktail reception was planned with a younger audience in mind, from the scaled-back price point to the collection of up-and-coming chefs whose dishes were featured to the high-end cocktails poured by three of DC’s finest craft bartenders.

We were invited to tag along and document the event, and we eagerly accepted.  What awaited us in hosts Greg Nelson and Jose Cunningham’s beautiful home was three floors of food and drink that were designed to impress.  Whether it was Will Artley’s BLT Gnocchi (a favorite we’ve ordered at Evening Star Cafe) or Owen Thompson’s Tequila Milk Punch, each taste packed a flavorful punch.

The evening in images (Who am I kidding? There are plenty of words, too) after the jump.

 

DC Meat Week: All the Juicy Details

Image by Mike Licht, www.notionscapital.com

One week ago, we announced the arrival of Meat Week to Washington, DC.  Since that time, we’ve been blown away by the amount of attention that this celebration of all things barbecue has received.  Not surprisingly, Tim Carman was the first to give us a shout-out over at the City Paper, but his nod seems to have triggered an avalanche of additional coverage: Zagat Buzz, UrbanDaddy, Brightest Young Things, DC MetroMix, Notions Capital…even Modern Domestic!

The word is clearly getting around: Meat Week is Real.  But we’ve gotten more than a few emails asking about the finer points of what this is all about.

And we’ve had A LOT of people asking about our Meat Week Special Sneak Preview of Pork Barrel BBQ on Wednesday night at Mango Mike’s in Alexandria.

All your questions answered – and the details on the Pork Barrel preview – after the jump.

 

Tasting Againn for the First Time

Can it be that just a few short years ago there wasn’t a single gastropub in all of Washington?  These days, the concept of high-quality food in a laid-back setting is cropping up all over town.  NOT that we’re complaining.

Gastropubs may be the best culinary trend to come out of the UK since cheddar cheese.  Even so, the first one of note here in Washington was Granville Moore’s, the “gastropub with a healthy Belgian fetish” on the H Street Corridor.  Not far behind was Commonwealth Gastropub, Chef Jamie Leeds’ homage to the original British article in Columbia Heights.  The newest addition to the genre, Againn, brings some welcome flavor downtown.

To the uninitiated, Againn may seem like more of the same.  Couple the popularity of the concept with a name that appears to be a misspelling of “again” and you’ve got a recipe for an easy joke.  But step inside for a bite and it’s easy to see that Againn is an original among its peers.

Just past the hostess stand, on your way to the bar, you’ll arrive at the raw bar.  Try to get by without drooling over some freshly shucked oysters.  Or settle in for the long haul with an aptly named Pint of Prawns (peeled shrimp served in a pint glass with lemon and Marie Rose sauce).  But don’t get too distracted…the ‘pub’ part of ‘gastropub’ still awaits.

We checked out Againn with some friends who appreciate a good pint – an arrangement I highly recommend.  Some highlights among our appetizers, entrees and desserts – and a chance for you to check out Againn for yourself – after the jump.