Steve Klc

Choco and mlpc--what role do you feel your local newspaper food media plays in not educating the public or raising awareness in your city? Is the media somewhat complicit and complacent as certain chefs and the dining public at large? Rosie--I believe that's what mlpc and chocokitty are referring to.

Tom Sietsema--who I think does as good a job as any critic nationally save for Steve Shaw--dropped an interesting tidbit in his weekly online chat: "I just heard a rumor, from a Very Reliable Source, that A Hot Shot Chef with Tons of National Honors is tired of DC and thinking of relocating to New York. It would be a shame if it's true, but..." I've written on eGullet that I think one of the problems with DC is that very few of our best--or best-known--chefs could cook in NYC and make an impact...that, effort aside, our best high-end restaurants don't stack up in terms of creativity and interest when compared with the best in other elite food cities...that we have a core group of celebrity chefs taking it relatively easy, cooking here precisely because of the lack of competition, lack of awareness and discriminating palate of our conservative diners, and that these chefs have been cooking like they were indeed tired of DC for some time now. Historically complicit in this, I feel, have been our local restaurant critics in puffing up the value of these local celebrity chefs out of proportion to their actual efforts and product when considered nationally. Leaving this minority hypothesis aside for the moment--I was wondering who you thought might merit inclusion on the list of DC's "hot shot chefs with tons of national honors?" Help me define the list of candidates Tom might be talking about--are they older? younger? French? Who here might have the skillset, media-savvy, culinary pedigree or culinary concept that NYC doesn't already have in abundance? Is there even one female chef--in this overtly female-chef-friendly food city--who might qualify as a "hot shot chef with tons of national honors?" Then let's speculate how they'd do in NYC. It's undoubtedly a redefining, courageous moment for someone if true. Obviously, Michel Richard of Citronelle and his rotund ego cut a renowned swath across DC dining and he has the reputation for doing the most creative, most sophisticated cooking--but he failed once in NYC when LeNotre landed on our shores decades ago--do you think he has the energy left and might be eager to return? Do you think the fact that Thomas Keller is opening a restaurant in NYC could be a contributing factor? Who else might Sietsema be hinting about?

Sorry I can't be any help B. I'm a verdant green, half-sour Kosher pickle guy myself and spit out bread and butter pickles if I pick up any by mistake.

V--did you drive all the way home afterward? If so, is that something you and/or your friends find yourself doing easily--the drive up to Napa for dinner and then drive back to Oakland? Was the restaurant and patio packed when you were there? Can you compare it to any other places there that you have eaten at recently--especially others that you might describe as having a "good experience" at or an "outstanding" one at?

Russ--what do you grind your Josuma with? did you go Rocky with your Sylvia? and is your normal habit to freeze those extra pounds of coffee? does Josuma have different blends or roasts for espresso and do you have a favorite "blend"? and the most salient question (for me) in light of some previous posts--do you notice a difference in taste or performance as you dig into your cache of frozen beans? do you find you have to change your grinder setting, weight or tamp at all--which might indicate freezing does have a performance effect vs. freshly roasted (if not a detectable taste difference.) And Holly--I lived with La Colombe for a while recently and am very happy with the Corsica blend, it's at least the equal of Graffeo dark roast. I found I didn't appreciate their light, sweet Nizzi blend as much. (They have 4 styles available on their website--a decaf and a blend/roast in between the Corsica and the Nizzi, which I did not test.) What I also find interesting is the "French connection" between the chefs you mentioned and La Colombe--both principals of the coffee business have some French ties. I wonder which blends are preferred by the chefs? For you non-espresso folks, I have not tried either with the press yet.

Bilmo--a resounding no, no, no with regard to the mesclun and other luscious greens at Princeton. In fact, since they opened they've improved with a far greater selection of microgreens and specialized baby and exotic lettuces. Of course, I don't live near or shop there often, but just stop in every month or two while we drive back from NY to DC. Chefette and I have done that for two years or so, so I do have visits over time under my belt. Greens have improved, they bring in as much or more variety of Melissa's hard to find and exotic fruits, they're adding certified organics and they have more square footage devoted to higher quality produce than any supermarket that I have ever seen. The Princeton store has improved tremendously in many areas since it opened--a self-contained Kosher unit the most significant stride forward on a large scale, things like the hummus bar on a small scale--while at the same time it is only natural that seasonal quality and sourcing on certain products fluctuates. I am, however, in no position to comment on other NJ Wegman's--never been--nor am I in a position to comment on any local competition to the Princeton Wegman's--never been to any. My evaluations are against the best supermarkets NY, DC and NoCal/San Francisco has to offer, like Whole Foods and Draegers etc.

This poster wouldn't agree, but of course I'm speaking solely as one poster among many and not as a moderator/coordinator. Buying bread, making bread, appreciating bread, using bread machines etc. are all different topics. Until critical mass reaches such a point, I guess there's no harm in collecting links in a Bread Thread until our search engine meets user demands. But we don't have an all-consuming chocolate thread--because the subject is so vast. Tempering chocolate instructions, visits to Jacques Torres' new chocolate shop, the differences between Pierre Herme's chocolate varieties in Paris versus those produced by Wegmans, how to bake a liquid center chocolate cake--all belong on separate threads. Feed the bread thread biga or start your own little pockets of bubbling interest. Thank you for a wonderful, touching report JD. I'm glad it is here as a headliner, and so are the bread machine fairies, Panasonic and otherwise.

Too bad some guilty pleasures are just awful. Those sheetpan pizzas are to pizza what Hershey's chocolate is to chocolate. If I had a dollar for every time some local said about Ledo's "but you have to go to the original" I'd be a richer man.

Degustation--thanks for these links and those on the other thread. I enjoyed following them.

I never ate there. It never made my cut. That said, realize the review is very old. 1997 is a lifetime ago in chef/restaurant years. Also, alot of local (Napa) chefs and foodies have had their, shall we say, problems, with Michael Bauer and his awareness of and commitment to the Napa food scene. Go in with an open mind and report back!

Cabrales--quite to the contrary, your hesitant yet revealing comments about Bouley and the rest of this thread has only made me want to go more. And I want to go sooner rather than later, to see "Bouley Lite" or the Bouley with growth, experiences and world travels under his belt for myself before he closes or morphs again. Consistency should be a prominent feature of every restaurant at every price point--not just great restaurants--and while I disagree with the deference you and others seem to show toward presumed or expected "great" destination restaurants--I do appreciate that you are able to share what you can. For me, a full report chronicling one visit has value; anything less just serves to perpetuate the romantic sense that annointed restaurants at the top deserve some sort of special consideration. They don't. Most diners will only go once.

Welcome Terrie--I hope you share more about Rockville and whether there is anything worth eating there. As a result of this thread, we went to Two Amy's the other night. Very interesting place amidst a weird scene--a shitty liquour store, hair salon, florist, bad coffee bar, very elderly ladies walking the streets, resident DINKS and yuppies, babies, college students, teens, tourists (from the cathedral) boy that Macomb block has changed since I moved out to Virginia from Glover Park a few years ago. It is now a pocket of dining. Of course the underwhelming Cactus Cantina was still packed by people who have obviously never been to Rio Grande or who can't tell the vast difference between the two. There's a FlatTop Grill across the street which took over a few buildings (Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, I've only been to the Arlington location which is excellent and perhaps the best option in our area for mixed groups I'm aware of--vegetarians and omnivores) Cafe Deluxe around the corner and Two Amy's. Lots of young people trying to look fashionably above the scene with their rayon shirts and cocktails. Pizza was certified authentic (D.O.C.) in a certain narrow Italian style of impossibly thin crust with nicely textured, interesting thicker crust edges which Slow Food would undoubtedly approve of. Very skimpy undercooked toppings, little cheese. Lots of servers and runners, all very young, all enjoying the company of each other and somehow managing to pay pretty good attention to the diners. Lots of cheap Italian wine as if cheap Italian wine were good--or a value. I ordered a Moretti and wished I ordered a Pilsner Urquell. Fantastic dessert--and I never say this about desserts in DC--a very clean, very simple panna cotta of cream with berries. An appropriately jiggly demisphere surrounded by macerated berries on an oval white plate. I'm surprised. I liked the deep fried codfish balls (three per serving) much better than the deep fried rice/cheese balls (five per serving) though our droll, diffident waiter said the meatballs were the best app. I'd go back, it is just more expensive enough than it should be to keep the riff raff out. Go early--before 6:45PM on a weekday. Next time I'll sit out on the back patio or in the golden back dining room with the irritating dangly lights. More ambience than the main black and white tiled bathroom of a front dining room.

Billy--since it has never been in the US before it's hard to comment meaningfully. In past years, only my winemaker and wine marketing friends made the trip--and yes, they loved it. But it is more a trade thing than a foodie event. Lots of industry networking, importers doing deals, under-appreciated wineries trying to win medals and get some publicity, etc. I wasn't aware Slow Food glommed onto the 2001 event until I followed Lizziee's link--thanks for that. Trying to make headway in NYC from a global brand and event planning perspective seems a smart move, though the French sometimes have a funny way of handling things when they come to the US. Website says producers and exporters exhibit--importers and distributors are not allowed to. Interesting. I suspect alot more American media, chefs, sommeliers and restaurateurs will attend. I didn't answer you immediately because I didn't feel I could give you what you wanted. sorry. I felt bad no one answered. I have been to many trade events at the Javits Center and it is without charm. Again, the real action is in the networking and dinners around town. what's your connection to the industry?

Choco--have you ever eaten at Tribute? Is it deservedly "much-praised" and would it stand up alongside restaurants with comparable aims in elite food cities?

Thank you cabrales for weighing in on the "co-chef" issue--and like you, I'd assign little significance to a father-son-daughter arrangement, though I'm sure it has some other interest. No, in the very competitive world of higher-end cooking--and it doesn't get more competitive than in NY--it seems rare, if ever, that experience, age, egos and the media allow something like this to occur. Usually it is clearly a paternalistic executive chef/chef-de-cuisine setup or the cute husband/wife chef and pastry/baker type. There seems to be talent and generosity co-existing in this little restaurant, though, and it does my heart good to see both recognized. I plan to visit soon as well. In my experience, at the elite level the truly talented chefs and pastry chefs have no trouble whatsoever co-existing and sharing and collaborating--it is lesser or immature chefs that grab the spotlight, forgetting how lucky they are to be where they are or who has gone before.

I have not ever done it Jaybee. I suspect that it adds just another layer of complexity to an already complex inter-relationship that many people do not understand. I tend to seek out specialists and artisinal producers passionate about their craft for products like this--be it bread, marzipan, cheese or coffee. It is complicated enough for me to figure out what to do with excellent roasted coffee from one of these producers that I view home-roasting coffee kind of like roasting and grinding your own cacao beans into chocolate. I, too, would appreciate reports of those who have crossed that divide into home roasting.

Does anyone know if there is precedent for this--"co-chefs" each nominated for the same award or achieving comparable recognition at the same time? I don't know why, but I find this aspect more appealing and intriguing than anything else.

Liza, thanks for reporting back on your baby steps. Keep those Gruner veltliner reports coming.

Damian, no, Geppetto's is long gone, for some time now. And my entirely personal opinion of "chains" is that I evaluate them independently, based on what is on the plate. Some chains are taking steps in the right direction, admirable directions, even. Individual Bertucci's may do a fine job and operate under caring management with attentive service; some may not.

They wouldn't lose half their subscribers, Steingarten would lose the opportunity to leverage his content by repackaging the essays into a book. It's an old school, not new media thing.

Watch what you say Jaymes. For as you read through this board you will find so many posts by Suvir that are breathtaking in their scope, seriousness and true generosity of spirit that you may be left breathless, in a good way, if you read too many of them too quickly. Make sure you have a paper bag handy in case you hyperventilate.

In college and just after I ate Armands from 1978 or so until just about 1986. It was easy to take an even 30's bus up Wisconsin Ave and they served pitchers of beer. I never said I liked it. After a long dry spell we now occasionally get an Armands deep dish as an absolute last resort if you twist my arm and it is merely culinarily acceptable, no more, no less. When I was in college I much preferred Gepetto's to Armand's (unsure of actual spelling--might have been Geppetto's) on M Street below Wisconsin Ave. toward the old Biograph. This is for historical purposes only and was, of course, before Georgetown imploded upon itself and became the social and culinary wasteland it currently is. Damian--you mentioned my nod for best pizza--Pizzeria Paradiso. It was excellent when it opened and has stood the test of time. I have not been to Two Amy's yet, since I live in Virginia and we Virginians venture across the bridges only when absolutely necessary. I will make it soon, as we have a new friend who lives on Wisconsin near the Cathedral. Have you been? Just in second is Faccia Luna--but only in the Glover Park/Wisconsin Ave. location. Of course neither of these rivals the best of the coal-fired NY Style pizzas in Brooklyn and Manhattan--though you never seem to get the DC food and restaurant critics to say so. Shame on them. Our best pizza is not as good as NY pizza. It's not a secret. We actually go to Bertucci's more often than all of these combined, for a variety of factors, and find their pizza more than acceptable for our area. I posted this elsewhere, but my favorite of the local "NY Style" pizzas--not the coal-fired type with great thin crisp black crusts--but the typical NY Style big flat slice--is at Luciano's in Tysons--upper level near Lord & Taylor.

which kind of pizza?

So you've been editing Food for over two years and you still love your job. How fulfilling is it to contribute your voice as a writer? I'm thinking especially of your Mother's Day piece "Searching for Lillian: You Can Learn a Lot About a Woman From the Recipes She Collects." Do you expect to write more and do you harbor any tinge of regret at editing for so much of your career to date and not writing more openly, under your own byline? Link to "Lillian" here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...7-2002May7.html

Jeanne--did you happen to have that amuse of a very lightly cooked quail egg in toast, on a spoon, with a pinch of sea salt by Jose Andres? That might interest Cabrales!