Capital Spice

As I mentioned in our Meat Week introduction yesterday, we’re just days away from the start of this year’s festivities.  We’ll be starting things off at Urban Bar-B-Que in their new Norbeck Road location (which is their old Urban Burger location).  And as much as we loved kicking off the first two Meat Weeks at their other Rockville spot, they’re going all out to welcome us to the new space.

For starters, they’re tempting us with food – free sides to go with our ‘cue.  As they put it, “Come for the meat, stay for the sides!”  Urban is also offering a free commemorative gift to everyone who joins us on Sunday night at 6.

And the cherry on the sundae is Happy Hour bar pricing   Oh…did we forget to mention that this Urban puts the “bar” in “barbecue?”  Add that to the extra space and their best Southern Pride smoker (brought over from the Silver Spring location), and we’ve got every indication that this will be the best kick-off event yet.

Need some more to whet your appetite?  We asked our Captain, Jenelle Dennis, and our First Mate, David Gootzit, a couple of questions about Meat Week.  These are their answers…and just to be fair, we’ve answered them as well.

1) What is it about barbecue that appeals to you most?

JD: Obviously, the taste.  There’s nothing that can match the complexity of flavors that infuse into meat after a low and slow experience in a smoky environment.

DG: Real barbecue requires a committment to craftsmanship and an
investment of time that is absent from many of modern life’s
day-to-day activities.  Throwing something on a charcoal grill and
cooking it quickly can be fun and, if done right, even tasty.
However, the amount of sweat (both literal and proverbial) that goes
into real barbecue reflects an attitude that the cook cares. It’s a beautiful thing.

MB: There’s something really impressive about the way barbecue turns some of the toughest, least desirable cuts of meat into something so tender and tasty.  There’s a lot of skill that goes into getting it just right, and the combination of smoke, spice and richness results in a flavor that you can’t get any other way.

2) As a KCBS Certified Barbecue Judge, what do you look for in GOOD barbecue?

JD: The KCBS judging standards, but with a personal twist when I’m not in a judging environment.  Taste:  Has to appeal to me personally.  I tend to prefer the sweet and tangier flavors.  Texture:  Has to come of the bone easily, but not completely fall off (for ribs),  pull apart easily (for brisket).  Nothing turns me off more than tough or dry meat.  As far as appearance, I’m pretty forgiving.  But a nice bark on a rib really turns me on.

DG: The three criteria in a KCBS-sanctioned contest are appearance, taste and tenderness.  In a restaurant, the barbecue shouldn’t be arranged in too fussy a fashion. It’s barbecue, not haute cuisine. Without the right degree of smoke, it isn’t good barbecue. You can go overboard on smoke and miss the mark, but overall there’s a window with degrees of smokiness, and anything in that window is “good.” Tenderness is tricky for many cooks. In my experience, if you find a good smoke ring, you are much more likely to find a tender piece of
barbecue.  I look for barbecue that gives a little resistance to my teeth, but even that once it yields still provides a touch of chew. To paraphrase the Supreme Court – good barbecue is like pornography – you know it when you taste it.

MB: I want my barbecue to taste like meat, first and foremost.  The smoke is important, and I definitely like a good sauce, but I want to be able to taste the pork or the brisket as soon as I bite into it.  As far as texture, I just can’t stand dried out barbecue.  I know that restaurants have to prepare their meat in advance to be able to handle crowds, but the way a place rests it ‘cue before serving can make all the difference.  I’m pretty forgiving in terms of appearance, but a nice crusty exterior always makes me smile.

3) How would you describe Meat Week to someone who has never heard of it before (and isn’t necessarily a barbecue junkie)?

JD: A gathering of energetic, friendly and hungry people with a love of BBQ or an interest in learning about BBQ.

DG: It’s a week of meat, what else do you need to know?    Seriously - I would say we’ve identified eight of the best barbecue restaurants in the DC-VA-MD metro area and all eight places are working to put their best foot forward for anyone who wants to stop by.

MB: It’s a low-key, week-long celebration of barbecue and you can attend as many or as few nights as you’d like.  I’m with Jim Shahin on the name, though.  If it were “Barbecue Week” people would know exactly what we were talking about as soon as we said it – Meat Week conjures up images of steak.

4) What’s the best barbecue you’ve ever had outside the DC area ?

JD: The best BBQ I’ve had is in competition.  I always think there are strong competitors in Pickin’ in the Panhandle and Smoketoberfest.

DG: It’s a tie between Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, Texas and Cooper’s BBQ in Lano, Texas. Both were incredible experiences and I’ll consider myself fortunate in life if I ever get to return to either.

MB: To me, the best barbecue in the country is in Kansas City.  And the best barbecue in Kansas City is at Oklahoma Joe’s (the original location, at the gas station).  Even Anthony Bourdain has acknowledged its superiority!

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With that, we wish you a happy Meat Week and we hope to see you at one or more of our celebrations.  Look for the big red-and-white banner with our new DC flag-inspired logo and the crowd of smiling faces smeared with sauce.

And when you’ve finished with Meat Week, think about participating in DC Meat Free Week.  Also in their third year (they started in direct response to our inaugural Meat Week), they’ve put together a terrific lineup of meat-free menus to enjoy all over town from Monday, February 6th through Monday, February 13th.  They’ve convinced ten of the best local food trucks to offer special deals on vegan and vegetarian menu items on Wednesday, the 8th, and they’ve even got a book signing with John Schlimm, the Tipsy Vegan, on Thursday at Meridian Pint.

Trust us – after a full week of barbecue your body will thank  you for some down time.

Can you imagine a Super Bowl watch party that doesn’t involve massive quantities of beef, pork or chicken?  Crazy talk, I know.  But if you make it through eight days of Meat Week, you may not just imagine it…you might actively crave it.

For the third year in a row, Washington will be celebrating “the holiday that time forgot” with a tour-de-carnivore that will highlight some of the best barbecue the area has to offer.  Beginning at Urban Bar-B-Que’s newest location on Sunday night and ending at long-time favorite Rocklands the following Sunday, we’re taking it to the next level for this year’s Meat Week.  We’ve got so much new talent on the DC barbecue scene, we just had to add an eighth day (finally bringing us in line with the national organizers’ recommendation).  And with one of those shiny new logos that plays off the DC flag, you know we’re ready.

If you’ve been following along from the beginning, you know that we started DC’s Meat Week chapter after an introduction to the event by the Washington City Paper’s Tim Carman.  I’m pleased to report that our Meat Week team from last year is back together again this year, with Jenelle Dennis (aka Babeque) as our Captain and David Gootzit as First Mate.  Both are KCBS-Certified Barbecue Judges, and they’re quick to extol the virtues of crisp bark and a well-defined smoke ring in quality ‘cue.  I asked each a few key questions about Meat Week and will be posting their answers tomorrow.

As befits a celebration of the best of the area’s barbecue offerings, we’ll be returning to several of our most popular venues from last year.  In addition to the two I mentioned above, we’ll be hitting up the PORC crew for a second response-requested buffet at Wilson’s in Shaw) and Mr. P’s Ribs and Fish for another round of parking lot barbecue.

We’re also proud to finally be able to visit the guys from Pork Barrel BBQ in their own space after two consecutive Meat Weeks featuring “coming soon” sneak peeks.  They’re rolling out the red carpet, with a Meat Week sampler special and the first official taste of their new Carolina Vinegar sauce.  It’s been a long time coming, but good barbecue is all about taking the time to get it right.

The rest of our Meat Week slots this year are given over to ‘cue joints that didn’t exist when Meat Week 2011 rolled around:

Hill Country’s DC outpost has been winning rave reviews since they opened, and their all-you-can-eat Monday night special seemed like the perfect way to welcome them to the lineup.  As it turns out, this Monday Hill Country offers a chance to do some good with your meal: they’re holding a charity concert to benefit the victims of the recent Texas wildfires.  Tickets are $20 and the restaurant is also donating 20% of their food and beverage sales for the night to the relief efforts, as well.  If you’re thinking about coming out Monday night, please consider making a donation.

Smoke & Barrel knows how to draw a crowd with their combination of barbecue and beverages (most notably bourbon).  Due to their limited size – at least until expansion is complete – they’re participating in Meat Week with a reservations-required.  That’s the good news.  The bad news?  Reservations are already completely booked.  If you’re not already on board, you’ll have to check them out another night.

Finally, Memphis Barbeque in Crystal City is doing its namesake city proud, smoking everything from pork to salmon (not to mention a few sides) in a massive sit-down space on 23rd Street.  What better way to celebrate the Friday night of Meat Week?  We had the privilege of taking a First Look when they were ready to open.

The official website features the schedule, addresses and special offers that will be available each night.  While you’re on the site, take a look around at some of the photos from last year and check out the Meat Week Hype that we’ve created for this year, too.  Like that flag logo?  You’re in luck – t-shirts will be available for sale each night (just find the Captain or First Mates).

Except where noted above, all events are come-as-you-are and everyone is free to order whatever they please.

Neighborhood and community.

Since July of 1997, Evening Star Cafe has been an integral part of both for the residents of Del Ray.  It has been the site of first dates, proposals and countless other milestones in their lives.  So you can understand the level of interest caused by the restaurant’s recent remodel, and the pressure on the Neighborhood Restaurant Group to get it right.

The wait ends tonight at 5:30, when new chef Jim Jeffords and his team throw open the doors to welcome the neighborhood back for the first time.  Although there are plenty of changes to ooh and aah over, the regulars will be pleased to see that it’s still the same old Evening Star at heart.  And the fact that they can now make reservations throughout the evening via OpenTable will likely be a welcome addition, as well.

We stopped by yesterday for a quick look around and a chat with the staff.  Details, including some work-in-progress photos and a few new menu items to whet your appetite, after the jump. (more…)

If you thought the winter months meant the DC food truck scene would be heading into hibernation, you were sorely mistaken.  It’s not just the unexpected warm weather that’s keeping Washington’s rolling restaurateurs in the news.  We wanted to let you know about two items of note this week – one of them especially interesting if you’re a government employee and you’re hungry tomorrow.

First, we’ve seen several members of the DC Food Truck Association posting about a toy drive that the association is undertaking to benefit My Sister’s Place.  Participating trucks are accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys every day from now until December 15th.  The toys will be given to children staying at the shelter during the holidays.

My Sister’s Place has been serving victims of domestic violence in the Washington area with emergency shelter for more than 30 years.  They have since expanded their services to include transitional housing assistance, counseling, and a program for immigrants victims of domestic violence, as well.  They have helped more than 1,100 families in need.

Want to know if your lunch destination will be accepting toys on behalf of My Sister’s Place?  Your safest bet is to tweet them and ask – they’ll likely welcome the chance to remind their followers that they’re helping. But chances are they will be participating…the DC Food Truck Association lists more than 20 members on their website, and a quick search for the #DCFTA hashtag on Twitter turned up tweets from TastyKabob, AZNEats, Rolling Ficelle, PORC, the Cheesecake Truck, DC Empanadas and Cajunators asking customers to bring toys.

Second, we’ve got some good news for you if you work in the public sector.  GovLoop, the social network that connects more than 50,000 federal, state and local government employees and provides insight into issues like federal benefits open season, is celebrating their 50,000th member (in just three years).  That means free food for you, if you’re a government employee.

GovLoop has partnered with CapMac and BBQ Bus to provide free lunches for the first 500 public sector employees who show proof of employment tomorrow (Thursday, December 8th).  Your freebies await as follows:

-200 free lunches from CapMac at Federal Triangle, with your choice of classic macaroni and cheese with a drink or goat cheese macaroni and cheese with a drink

-300 free lunches from BBQ Bus at L’Enfant Plaza, featuring your choice of a pulled pork sandwich with chips and a drink or three bean vegetarian chili with a drink

Both trucks will open for service at 11:30 and will be serving until all of the giveaways have been claimed or until 1:30, whichever comes first.  To claim your free lunch, bring a government ID, business card or some other proof of employment.  And don’t forget – this isn’t just limited to federal employees, so state and local workers can take advantage of these deals, too.

Watch Twitter for each truck’s exact location, and definitely plan to be early.  The only thing longer than a food truck line is a food truck line waiting for free food!

Brace yourselves.  We just need a minute to totally lose our cool:

WE GOT TO HANG OUT WITH TOP CHEF STEPHANIE IZARD!

Ah, much better.  If you’ve read Capital Spice before now, you know we’re kind of huge Top Chef fans.  And our first big interview was with Chef Spike Mendelsohn as he prepared to open Good Stuff Eatery, so we’re especially partial to Season 4 (Top Chef Chicago).  So when we were given the chance to attend a dinner prepared by Spike and Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard, we jumped at it.

The dinner, which took place on Wednesday, November 16th, was part of Chef Izard’s tour promoting her new cookbook, Girl in the Kitchen.  Rather than subject herself and her fans to a series of low-key bookstore signing events, Izard has partnered with local chefs in cities across the country to put on special dinner events benefiting Share Our Strength.  The “Goat Tour” (the name is a nod to her year-old, critically acclaimed Girl and the Goat restaurant) has the look and feel of a concert tour, right down to the t-shirts worn by Izard and her team featuring a map and a list of dates on the back.  With everyone from Jimmy Fallon to the Wall Street Journal calling chefs “rock stars,” it’s only fitting.

A four-course pizza feast with a pair of fun chefs after the jump. (more…)

In September of 2009, we reached out to a couple of guys named Heath and Brett whose locally-made barbecue sauce had earned them a chance to appear on ABC’s Shark Tank.  Since then, we’ve worked with the Pork Barrel BBQ team to participate in two DC Meat Weeks, each time offering attendees a taste of what they could expect at the “soon-to-open” restaurant in Del Ray.  And they’ve been more than a little busy themselves, winning the Perdue National Chicken Championship and taking the title of Grand Champion at the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle in June.

But the wait ends tonight.

Pork Barrel BBQ officially opens its doors at 5 PM, and when we took a look around this weekend the restaurant gave every indication of being worth the wait.  As Heath Hall put it, “This is barbecue.  We wanted to make sure everything was just right.  You can’t rush good barbecue, no matter how much you might want to.”  With five smoked meats and more than half a dozen sides on offer, that meant a lot of testing and retesting of recipes while the restaurant space was finished to everyone’s satisfaction.

All the dirty details on the smoker, the sides and the space after the jump. (more…)

Just a quick note while we’re confirming and contacting the winners of our BONMi Giveaway…

In case you haven’t heard, today is the fifth and final Truckeroo food truck gathering in the Bullpen down near Nationals Park.  They’re calling it Truckerboo in honor of Halloween, and you’re invited to Trick or Eat from now until midnight.  There will be live music, more than twenty-five food trucks, costume contests with cash prizes and unseasonably cold weather.

Participating trucks this time around include:

AZN Eats
Surfside Truck
BBQ Bus
Big Cheese
Cajunators
CapMac
Curbside Cupcakes
Dangerous Pies DC
DC Empanadas
DC Slices
Eat Wonky
El Floridano
Fojol Bros
Halal Gyro
Hula Girl
Orange Cow
PORC
Pleasant Pops
Red Hook Lobster
Sang on Wheels
Sauca
SweetBites
TaKorean
Tasty Kabob
Yellow Vendor
Basil Thyme

Check out the website for a great aggregated page with all the participants’ Twitter feeds and additional information about the event.

Ever wonder how Truckeroo came about?  It’s a joint venture of Georgetown Events and the DC Food Truck Association.  We’ll be bringing you more information about both organizations – and what the future holds for Truckeroo – in a regular feature that we’ll be rolling out soon.  Keep an eye out for “Food Truck Fridays” here at Capital Spice!

Workday lunch.  Sandwiches and salads.  Ho-hum, right?

For our friends near Farragut Square, there’s a new option that’s likely to make you rethink that assessment.  And for everyone else…they’re Metro accessible!

Welcome BONMi, a quick-service shop offering up sandwiches, salads, and summer rolls with flavors inspired by those of traditional Vietnamese banh mi.  A trip to Vietnam convinced Lynne Jacoby and her partners that the satisfying street food could be the next big thing, and then they took it one step further.  They kept the flavors the same but upgraded their offerings to incorporate modern prep techniques and presentations to appeal to health-conscious diners.

We had a chance to take a look around BONMi late last week as they were putting the finishing touches on the interior, and then we were back there at lunchtime today to taste one of the first sandwiches to come off their cafeteria-style prep line.  What we saw (and tasted) has us hungry for more.  And if it does the same to you, we’ve got TEN FREE LUNCHES to give away to Capital Spice readers.

Join us after the jump a look at the interior and the food as well as details on how you can win one of the ten free lunches. (more…)

First, the good news.  Congratulations to Jessica, who won $10 worth of veggie treats at this weekend’s DC VegFest!  We selected her comment using Random.org’s integer generator to select a number between 1 and 43 (the number of comments we received by the deadline).  We’re hoping Jessica will come back after the festival and let us know what she spent the VegFest bucks on!

Now on to the bad news.  On Wednesday, Bravo announced the lineup for Season Nine of Top Chef.  Set throughout the Lone Star State, it is fittingly called “Top Chef: Texas.”  Normally, this would be the time when we here at Capital Spice would get all excited about rooting for another local chef.  After all, we’ve had a string of talented representatives stretching all the way back to Top Chef: Chicago in Season 4:

Chicago: Spike Mendelsohn
New York: Carla Hall
Vegas: Mike Isabella, Bryan Voltaggio
DC: Tamesha Warren
All-Stars: Spike, Carla and Mike, with Isabella going all the way to the finale

We’ve also had contestants in both seasons of Top Chef: Just Desserts – Heather Chittum in Season 1 and Matthew Peterson, who is still competing in Season 2.

All this to say, Washington has certainly been well-represented within the franchise over the past few years.  Until now.  And it’s worse than you think.

This time, Bravo’s press release didn’t just announce the finalists who will be competing for the title of Top Chef.  Instead, they announced a total of 29 “hopefuls” who will be pared down to 16 for the statewide competition.  So we didn’t just miss out on having at least one local representative among the 16 cheftestants…we missed out on even having one among the 29 aspiring cheftestants!

To be fair, Washington isn’t the only culinary destination without a hometown chef to root for: Philadelphia, Las Vegas and San Francisco were similarly shut out.  In all, 18 of the 29 chefs who will appear in the season premiere on November 2nd hail from four cities: Chicago (6, including 2 from the SAME RESTAURANT), New York/Brooklyn (4), Los Angeles (4)  and Seattle (4).

Because we’ve worked with the folks at Bravo to interview so many of the previous competitors, we reached out to ask about lack of geographic diversity among this season’s cast.  A spokesperson for Bravo told us location “simply isn’t a factor” when determining who the cheftestants will be.  “We don’t pick our chefs based on where they cook,” they went on to say.  “These twenty-nine chefs are the best of everyone we saw.”

That made us wonder about where Bravo and Magical Elves (Top Chef’s production company) went looking for chefs for Season 9.  We found this seemingly official image from Harlem World back in March announcing casting dates across the country.  Open calls were held in Chicago, New York, LA and Seattle…but they were also held in Philadelphia and Las Vegas.

So what do you think?  Were DC chefs passed over for this season of Top Chef?  Or did our top talent take a pass on this season’s auditions?

Here at Capital Spice, we’re big fans of the concept of “eat and let eat.”  The fact that we helped bring Meat Week to Washington doesn’t mean we’re anti-vegetable.  So we were excited to hear about DC VegFest, a free opportunity for everyone from themost stringent vegan to the most confirmed carnivore to experience some of Washington’s best vegetarian options in one place.

DC VegFest will take place this Saturday, September 24th, from 11AM to 6 PM at George Washington University’s University Yard.  They’re gathering more than 70 exhibitors, including food vendors, retail outlets and non-profits to show just how good veg-friendly living can be.  They’ve also put together an impressive line-up of special guest speakers, including vegan chef and author Isa Chandra Moskowitz, NBC4 anchor Wendy Rieger, and Humane Society President and CEO Wayne Pacelle.

We were especially impressed by the list of food vendors who will be selling their vegetarian and vegan-friendly products at the festival.  They include obvious local favorites like Bread & Brew, Amsterdam Falafel Shop and Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats, but there are fifteen more ways to satisfy your hunger.  Check out Cafe Green, Vegan Treats Bakery, Burrito Bandits, Saveur India, Bakeshop, Nourish Market, Mojo Juice, Curry Mantra, Dama Ethiopian and Pastry, Sweet & Natural, Everlasting Life Cafe or Sunflower.  Or check out two of the hottest (and most fun) trucks on the mobile food scene – the Fojol Brothers will be on site with their offerings from Benethiopia and Merlindia!

And that’s where things get good for you.  To help spread the word about DC VegFest, the organizers – including the Vegetarian Society of DC and Compassion Over Killing – arranged a media preview event last week.  We couldn’t make it to the event, but they were good enough to send us a package with information and a number of giveaways that included $10 in DC VegFest bucks that are valid at any of the food stands listed above.

We want to give these VegFest bucks to YOU.  You’ll be able to sample $10 worth of veg-friendly fare for free – couple that with the free admission and you’re looking at a great way to spend a Saturday that works with any budget.  All we ask is that you take a moment to answer one simple question:

What’s the best vegan or vegetarian dish you’ve ever eaten?

Share your tastiest meatless meal in the comments section and you’ll be entered to win $10 in VegFest bucks.  You can enter between now and 11:59 PM on Wednesday, September 21st.  We’ll pick a winner at random and contact you Thursday to arrange pickup.

With so many delicious dining options (we can vouch for at least four of them), it’s going to be difficult to choose just what to use the VegFest bucks on.  We hope you’ll plan to stop by DC VegFest this Saturday, whatever your personal diet.  It’s a great introduction to the robust DC vegetarian scene and a welcome reminder that meatless eating can be delicious no matter how often you do it.