Capital Spice

Each year, the release of Washingtonian’s annual 100 Best Restaurants issue is a reminder of just how many worthwhile ways there are to avoid cooking at home in DC.  We’re still in awe of From Komi to Marvin’s attempt to work her way through the entirety of the 2009 list in a year (she’s got until February 8th to finish, and we’re definitely rooting for her). Here at Capital Spice, on the other hand, we tend to measure ourselves against the list over the course of our dining careers – as opposed to one season – and we try to check off a few more of the ‘bests’ each year.

We’ve only been writing here since 2008, but our Washington restaurant experiences go back quite a bit further than that (more than a decade for Mike).  As a result, there are a number of perennial favorites on the list that we haven’t talked about.  We don’t feel comfortable writing about a restaurant we haven’t visited in years; even if we could describe the meal with perfect recall, there are too many things that could have changed since our experience.

But that leaves us with that classic dilemma that every diner faces each time they go out to eat: Do you go back to a place where you had a positive experience, or do you spend your dining dollars trying something new and exciting?

For Elizabeth’s birthday this year, I decided to take her to Corduroy, one of those restaurants that had always stuck with us as a memorable dining experience.  It was a gamble; even though Chef Tom Power* is widely praised for his creativity and his steady hand with updated classics, you just don’t hear enough about it to keep Corduroy at the top of the “must visit” list.  But I had it all planned out – first we’d do dinner on 9th Street, then we’d head over to a show in the Warehouse Theatre and cap off the evening with libations at The Passenger.

And then came SnOMG.  The Snowpocalypse socked us in and kept us from Corduroy (though the intrepid staff actually braved the weather to show up and put on a dinner service for braver souls than us).  The best laid plans…

Once we did get to the restaurant later in the week, Chef Power wasted no time showing us why Corduroy was a very good choice, indeed. (more…)

On the eve of President Obama’s inauguration last year, top chefs, writers and artists from all over America descended on Washington to put on Art. Food. Hope. They served up a dozen amazing meals, inspired numerous conversations about what the new administration could do to show its commitment to sustainable agriculture, healthy food culture, and solutions to hunger.  Needless to say, the dinners were completely sold out, and they raised more than $100,000 for local charities like Martha’s Table and the DC Central Kitchen.  As luck would have it, we here at Capital Spice were even lucky enough to be at the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market that Sunday morning when Alice Waters and several other participating chefs stopped by to pick up some ingredients.

Ris Lacoste, Barton Seaver and Alice Waters with representatives from FreshFarm Markets, Martha's Table and DC Central Kitchen

They figured it worked so well last time, why not try it again this year?  In the same spirit as last year’s event, Jose Andres, Alice Waters and more than two dozen local and national chefs will be working to put on 15 dinners on Sunday, January 24th.  To make it even more interesting, this year they’ve added a “Sunday Night Sips” cocktail reception to precede the “Sunday Night Suppers.”

With seating at each dinner limited to 20 guests, intimate doesn’t even begin to describe this.  These are basically command performances by most of Washington’s most celebrated chefs, with a handful of imports from as far away as San Francisco thrown in for good measure.  Four courses and conversation, with the goal of continuing all of the positive impact that came out of last year.

Have dinner plans for Sunday, the 24th yet?  Check out the list of participating chefs after the jump and get some more information on how you can get involved. (more…)

Happy Saturday! Sorry for the monthlong silence. This December we were hit with the triple whammy of the holidays, moving into a new house, and Elizabeth finishing up her first trimester (read: she slept. A lot.). But we’re back! We have a load of recipes and restaurant reviews stored up we can’t wait to share with you.

But now, on with the odds and ends…

Chef Wylie Dufresne of wd~50 and frequent Top Chef judge discusses creativity with cooking.  

Endless Simmer chronicles the latest cooking gadgets worthy of a CES showing. 
 
Prince of Petworth gears up for their own farmers market. 
 
Borderstan reports on developments with AC/KC and a new HomeMade Pizza Store opening on 14th Street.  

DC Striving laments the lack of great food delivery options in DC.  
 
Ever thought about making sushi at home? 
 
Are there more backyard chicken coops in DC than we thought?
  
The IFA tries out Hungarian dumplings. 
 
The Bitten Word is very excited about a new crispy potato roast recipe.