Capital Spice

SPOILER ALERT

If you have not yet watched last night’s season finale of Top Chef All-Stars, you probably won’t want to read this interview just yet.  We spoke with Washington’s own Chef Mike Isabella, chef-owner of the forthcoming Graffiato, for the third time this season just a few minutes ago.  And yes, we talk about how he did in the finale last night.

With that disclaimer out of the way, join us after the jump for the conversation.

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No spoilers in this post, but just wanted to give everyone a heads up that we’ll be posting our one-on-one interview with Top Chef Finalist Mike Isabella today at noon.  We’ll be discussing the Blais versus Isabella finale, what Chef Isabella is most proud of about his time in the Bahamas, and some more details about Graffiato (we hear there are lasers involved!).

See you back here soon.

We’ve owned the fact that we’re pretty green when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine.  Sure, we can pho with the best of them, and we’re no slouches when it comes to enjoying banh mi, but sit-down Vietnamese is still something we’re learning as we go.  If a recent visit to Present is any indication, this is going to be a delicious education.

Present had been on our radar for quite some time in light of Tom Sietsema and Tim Carman’s glowing reviews, but somehow it never quite broke through from our “some day” list to attain “gotta try it” status.  Credit those group-buying sites for once again prompting us to shuffle our dining priorities: were it not for that discount we probably still wouldn’t have visited.  It also allowed us to try more dishes than we otherwise might have, another big win.

When we arrived at Present, I made a mental note to give A LOT of credit to the reviewers who tracked down this hidden gem.  A nondescript storefront in one of the countless strip malls that line Arlington Boulevard, Present doesn’t exactly shout “culinary destination.”  Even so, we walked through the front door ready for a good meal.

A lot has been written about the beautiful, descriptive dish names, but we were soon in over our heads.  Should we try the Smokey Petal, the Pilgrim on the Beach, or the Gregarious Lemongrass Chicken?  We wanted a meal that represented some of the best of what Present had to order, so we turned to the expert: we asked our server.

Her recommendations and the feast that followed after the jump.

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An expanding chain of burger restaurants might be enough for some guys (I can think of five), but Mark Bucher is getting ready to go beyond BGR in Cleveland Park.  Medium Rare, his new prix-fixe steak bistro, opens for dinner at 5 on Monday, and we had a chance to take a look as they were putting on the finishing touches and training staff on the finer points of cafe latte.  We even saw some of Washington’s best-known chefs stopping by to wish the newcomer well.

But most exciting of all was the advance look at the menus (“fresh from the printer today”) that confirmed what other sites have been reporting for some time now: a full dinner of bread, salad, steak and fries for a mere $19.50. At that price saving room for dessert seems like a really good idea, and Medium Rare is happy to oblige with one of five sweet options.

We’ve got some interior shots and a copy of the menu – not that you need to take any time with it before you visit – after the jump.

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It’s that time of year again.  The Oscars have come and gone.  The NCAA tournament is far enough advanced to know that our bracket has been well and truly busted.  But excitement is in the air for Washington area restaurants.

Whether by coincidence or coordination, the James Beard Foundation and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) seem to announce the finalists for their annual awards within days of each other year after year.  This year, those announcements came Monday and yesterday, respectively.  Both have been trumpeted on the Twitters, and at least a few of the individual nom-nom-nominations have garnered additional attention for local favorites.

The Beard Foundation doesn’t like to keep their nominees waiting too long.  The winners of their media awards will be announced in a New York ceremony on Friday, May 6th, with the Chef and Restaurant awards taking place at Lincoln Center on Monday, May 9th.  As for the RAMMY winners, they’ll have to wait until RAMW’s “Carnevale da Cuisine” gala on Sunday, June 26th.

As in previous years, four RAMMYs will be decided entirely by popular vote.  Ballots will be included in the April 28th edition of the Washington City Paper, or you will be able to vote online at RAMW’s website.  Those awards include Voter’s Favorite Restaurant, Neighborhood Gathering Place, Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene and Power Spot of the Year, so make sure to show some love for your favorite nominees.

Check out all of the local nominees for both sets of awards after the jump. (more…)

I passed the storefront countless times: heading to CVS, picking up my dry cleaning, depositing a check.  Each time, I found myself staring in the window and wondering what was going on behind the brown paper.  I found out last week, and as of Monday Pound Coffee’s new location is officially open.  And not a moment too soon, it turns out.

Pound the Hill, as they’re calling their new digs, was meant to be the second space for one of NOMA’s earliest arrivals.  The plan was to keep the original open, get the new space up and running, and maybe even look ahead to another location when the time was right.  On Monday, Eater DC reported that the NOMA shop was closing for good, the victim of a landlord dispute and fortunate timing.

We stopped by to take a First Look around the Capitol Hill space just over a week ago, and the reports of early crowds come as no surprise.  The coffee has always been a hit – Pound is the only coffee shop on the East Coast carrying Kickap00 Coffee, Roast Magazine’s 2010 Roaster of the Year and purveyor of “organic, fair trade, artisan-roasted,” and their Nutella latte has a rabid following.  Couple that with the welcoming space we found when we visited and you’ve got the makings of a new neighborhood destination.

We’ve got more pictures, an overview of what visitors can expect, and some big news for Hill staffers after the jump.

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When I got back to my office with the beef for this month’s Charcutepalooza challenge, several of my coworkers lit up with big smiles.  You see, I work with a decent number of Texans, and brisket is the meat of choice in traditional Texas barbecue.  They envisioned a succulent, peppery masterpiece bathed in post oak smoke overnight.  You can imagine the way their faces fell when they learned that the brisket would be bathed in salty, seasoned water instead.

“You’re going to do what with a perfectly good brisket?” was the question.

I could have seen it coming.  I should have seen it coming.  Of course March’s challenge would be corned beef…St. Patrick’s Day is one of the few holidays that is actively associated with a specific dish and it just so happens to be cured meat.

There’s just one problem.  We’re not exactly fans of boiled dinners, stews or braises that involve cooking meat until it loses all trace of its muscular past here at Capital Spice.  Add steamed cabbage and overcooked potatoes and you’ve lost us completely.  So what’s an aspiring charcutiere to do?

I could have fallen back on the Apprentice Challenge, brining a chicken or some pork chops, but it would have felt like a cop-out.  We’ve been singing the praises of brining for years now, and we know from experience the transformative effect it can have on roasted chicken.  We’ve even brined a turkey for our Fakesgiving dinner.

I knew I had to go for the Charcutiere Challenge this time around.  I wanted to anyway, as I’m eager to embrace Charcutepalooza as fully as possible and I’d like to think I’m ready for the varsity team when it comes to curing.  That’s why Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s introductory post was such a lifesaver.

In her description of her get-together with friends, she describes what might be one of the best party games ever: a head-to-head competition between a classic Reuben sandwich and a Baltimore special known as the Cloak and Dagger.  That’s when it clicked for me: I didn’t have to serve my corned beef hot as part of an Irish meal, I could slice it thinly and serve it deli-style.  I could even use the opportunity to introduce our friends to a largely unknown New Jersey treat.

Go ahead and make your jokes about what that might be, then rejoin the group for the process and the results after the jump. (more…)

It’s a simple fact that one of the key ingredients in good barbecue is time.  The best pitmasters can slow-smoke a brisket for hours on end and then pull it off at just the right moment to maximize taste and tenderness.  So it stands to reason that the folks behind Washington’s newest ‘cue joint would take their time to make sure everything was done just right.

For those of us who’ve been eagerly awaiting Hill Country Barbecue Market’s opening, knowing this hasn’t made it any easier.  Thankfully, the wait is over.  If you smelled smoke in Penn Quarter this weekend, that’s because Hill Country threw open its doors on Saturday night.  This Washington offshoot of one of New York’s most popular barbecue restaurants is finally ready to go.

It’s not hyperbole to say that Hill Country represents a whole new way of looking at barbecue for Washingtonians.  This is not a lowest-common-denominator, give everyone a little taste of what they like best kind of place – it’s Texan through and through.  Executive Chef Elizabeth Karmel may hail from North Carolina, but she’s unapologetic in her Texan approach to ‘cue, eschewing sauces and mops in favor of a dry rub that includes salt, pepper and “enough cayenne to turn it pink” and serves to emphasize the flavors of the meat itself.  They don’t even offer barbecue sauce on the table (though they do offer an “If You’ve Gotta Have It” sauce).  Just ordering your meal may take some getting used to, as Hill Country utilizes a “meal ticket” to track your purchases as you move from counter to counter and build your plate.

We had a chance to take a first look around Hill Country on Friday, and we’ve got some photos to help you navigate the ordering system before you pay a visit.  Check them out after the jump. (more…)

Photo credit: Bravo

We have to give credit where credit is due.  The chefs who came back for this All-Star season of Top Chef have given us lots of reasons to root for them.  And the quality of this season has done a lot to wash the bad taste of Season 7 (filmed here in Washington) out of fans’ mouths.

By the end of tonight’s episode, we’ll be down to four remaining chefs.  And if bringing an extra chef along to the finale in the Bahamas means we get one additional week of sunny skies and killer cooking, we’re all for that.

Yesterday, we shared our interview with Mike Isabella as we head into the finals.  Today, we’ve got our pick for fan favorite, Carla Hall.  There’s something about the way Carla seems to root for everyone to succeed that is endearing and rare on competition shows like Top Chef.  Watching her fall short of her own expectations – especially when working with “her flavors” and cuisines – is heartbreaking.  But we’re not telling you anything you haven’t already seen for yourself.

We talked to Carla about her deceptively strong performance so far, her involvement with local causes, and some of the things she’s got in the works:

Capital Spice: You’ve really come out swinging this season!  Three Elimination Challenge wins, three big prizes.  How does it feel so far?
Carla Hall: It’s great, but I really don’t know when Matthew [her husband] and I are going to get a chance to take all those trips.

CS: Beyond the trips, you seemed really excited to win Jimmy Fallon’s challenge.  Are you that big a fan of his?
CH: There were two things going on there.  I’m definitely a fan of Jimmy’s, and it was so much fun to be on his show.  He really is just like you’d expect him to be.  But I’ve got a personal connection to chicken pot pie as well: that’s the first thing I ever tried to cook for myself back when I was modeling and going back and forth to Paris.

CS: So this was a recipe you’ve made before?
CH: It was, though I’ve never tried to make the upper crust by forming them around cookware like I did.  I’m glad it worked out!

More of Carla’s projects in the works after the jump.

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Image by Bravo

When the list of competitors for this All-Star season of Top Chef was announced, we were excited to see Washington represented by three of the most memorable characters from their respective seasons.  As the season has gone on, we’ve been cheering ever more enthusiastically as two of our three local cheftestants demonstrated that they have what it takes to go the distance (or at least as far as the Bahamas).  Our chefs now represent 40% of the Final Five, and the smart money is on at least one of them making it into the Top Three.

We got a chance to chat with both of our local chefs after last week’s episode, and what we heard from Mike Isabella and Carla Hall made us even more excited for what is yet to come – both on the show and in their local endeavors.  Check out our interview with Mike today, and then join us tomorrow for our chat with Carla before watching the first of the finale episodes tomorrow night.

Capital Spice: Congratulations on making it all the way to the finals, Chef.  You’ve been a solid competitor throughout the season.
Mike Isabella: Thanks.  It was definitely tough competition to get there.

CS: Let’s talk about your new restaurant, Graffiato, first.  How’s everything going?
MI: It’s going good.  We’re still under construction, putting in the duct work, the heaters, the framing.  Next week we’ll be laying the pipes for the water and gas.  I’d say we’re looking at a later spring opening at this point.

CS: Being in the middle of all of this construction, it must have been hard to travel and stay focused for the finale episodes as a result.
MI: Actually, I was really focused.  I have a great team working with me on Graffiato, including a lot of chefs and staff who are coming over with me.  That freed me up and allowed me to focus [on Top Chef] again.

After the jump, we talk Quickfire wins – both satisfying and controversial – and find out who Isabella thinks went home before their time. (more…)