Expected Improvement: Washingtonian checked out Ashok Bajaj's remade Ardeo + Bardeo but left "with mixed feelings." But "we anticipate that Ardeo + Bardeo will hit its stride soon enough. Bajaj rarely settles for anything less than perfection." [Washingtonian]

Word Wars: Do you hate the word "foodie?" It really bugs one of Tom Sietsema's chat participants. The food critic, meanwhile, really hates the word "veggie." "Yuck. It grates on my eyes and ears." But what do grated eyes and ears look and taste like? [WaPo]

Sad: In Arlington, the county has canceled its sorta fake trout fishing season. [ARLNow]

Photo by Flickr user ashleigh290 using an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

Tom Sietsema weighed in on the new Ardeo + Bardeo in Cleveland Park in this weekend's Post Magazine and says it has "polish and promise." Owner Ashok Bajaj combined the formerly separate dining and bar spaces into one restaurant and moved Nate Garyantes, the former executive sous chef at Minibar, into the kitchen. And Sietsema likes what he sees, and tastes. Going through his review, Young & Hungry can verify a couple points.

That bresaola with "horseradish-spiked potato salad," as Sietsema calls it, is indeed very good. It's creamy, made with fingerling potatoes diced very fine. The chicken soup is excellent, too. "The deep bowl of tender chicken, hominy, sliced avocado and green chili broth pulsing with head is both beautiful and very comforting," Sietsema writes. I happened to try it on a cold, blustery evening, and I could have had a pot of it. As spring sets in, it should make a nice transition, as it's a light and refreshing way to kick off a meal.

While the separate spaces appealed to me, Bajaj's revamped space is now one of the loveliest spots in Cleveland Park. (Washingtonians who like local icons should appreciate that the Waffle Shop's neon sign has made its way into a wall mural.) It's a renovation that feels more of a natural evolution of the space than the reworked interior of Palena up the street. Bajaj is a pro at allowing his restaurants to evolve gracefully over time.

Photo by Andrew Lightman courtesy Heather Freeman PR

His circuit will be soon be shifting toward the West End. While it hasn't been a secret that Bajaj has been working to add a new restaurant to his collection, we now know it will be a familiar face. As Tom Sietsema reports, D.C. will get a second Rasika, a 5,900-square foot space in the 22 West condo building at New Hampshire Avenue and M Street NW. But Bajaj is about a year away from opening it.

Photo by Michael J. Colella courtesy Heather Freeman PR

The latest in restaurant openings, closings, and highly unstable target dates.

Coming Soon:

• Tynan Coffee & Tea is just weeks away from opening its new location at 1275 First St. NE. A sign in the window has already proclaimed itself as the place with "the best happy hour in NoMa." (Prince of Petworth)
• Arlington will soon be getting its first Sweetgreen, which will open in November right next door to the new Rustico in Ballston. (TBD)
• CapMac DC, a pasta truck with serious gourmet cred, is set to hit our streets in November. (Metrocurean)
• Uptown Deli, a self-proclaimed "Real New York Deli," is headed to Bethesda. Its Twitter feed claims the place is looking for cashiers, too.
• Merzi, a new-style Indian joint promising tandoori chicken done on a rotisserie (!), is coming to Penn Quarter.
• The brick-and-mortar version of District Taco may be opening up as soon as next week at its Lee Highway location. (ARLnow)

• News from Twitter is that food truck, DC Empanadas, will start rolling out this week in the District — with plans to extend into Maryland. (TBD)
• The owners behind the popular Foggy Bottom eatery, Founding Farmers, and its sister operation, Farmers & Fishers, are planning to open a new restaurant in Potomac. (Bethesda magazine)
• Beer and wings specialist, Buffalo Wild Wings, will open up a location in Crystal City as early as December at the corner of 23rd Street and Crystal Drive. (ARLnow)
• Chicago-style hot dogs are on their way to U Street as ChiDogO’s gets set to open. (Prince of Petworth)
• Our bread and pastry options may soon improve. Paul, a bakery that can trace its roots back more than 100 years to France, is opening a location on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. (Metrocurean)
• Ba Bay on Capitol Hill is slowly turning into a reunion hall for former Vidalia staffers. Look for the Vietnamese street-food eatery to open next month.
• Christine Sarapu and chef/husband Jorge Pimentel are launching a new Latin-inspired food truck, Sabor’a Street, which is coming to town in early November. (WeLoveDC)
• Former Vidalia chef R.J. Cooper is working on a place of his own, Rogue 24, an all tasting-menu restaurant in Mount Vernon Square.
• Pastry chef David Guas will give Washingtonians a taste of the Big Easy with his planned Bayou Bakery.
• Restaurant Eve's chef Cathal Armstrong is planning to get into the pub business with Virtue Feed & Grain. (WaPo)
• Hadiyah Cafe at 3118 Georgia Ave. NW is set to become Ma Ma’s Southern Cuisine, featuring hearty and healthy southern cooking and quiet jazz. (Prince of Petworth)
• Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj has plans to combine his Cleveland Park restaurant, Ardeo, with his next-door wine bar, Bardeo, early this November. (TBD)
• Former Maestro chef Fabio Trabocchi is coming back to town to open his own place, Fiola. (WaPo)
• Michael Landrum has plans to spread more meat love. (The Triangle Blog)
• Chef Jeff Black will be opening up the Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and a bar upstairs called Black Jack at 1612 14th St. NW. (Prince of Petworth)
• Middle Eastern restaurant Javan is on its way out to make room for Kabob Bazaar at 7710 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. (Bethesda magazine)
• Prince of Petworth speculates that a Z Burger may be soon opening at the Tivoli Theatre in Columbia Heights. (Prince of Petworth)
• Neighborhood pet shop Chateau Animaux at 524 8th St. SE will close its doors and two District chains, Moby Dick House of Kabob and Nooshi, will occupy its space. (ANC Norm)
• Penn Quarter is set to introduce two new restaurants. St. Louis-based pizzeria, District of Pi, will take over one of the final retail spots at 914 F St. NW and former Top Chefer Mike Isabella will launch his new place, Graffiato.
• A hip new deli called Annie and Teddy’s is coming to the corner of Potomac and Pennsylvania SE. (Prince of Petworth)

Openings:

• Michel in Tysons Corner
• Rustico in Ballston
• P.J. Clarke’s in downtown D.C.
• Red Toque Cafe in Shaw
• Muncheez Mania in Georgetown
• Galileo III in downtown D.C.
• Dalchinni in Dupont Circle
• Rivers at the Watergate across from the Kennedy Center
• Cuba Libre in Chinatown/Penn Quarter
• District 2 Bar & Grill on Wisconsin Avenue NW

Closings:

• Iron Gate Restaurant at 1734 N St. NW is set to close on Oct. 31. (Prince of Petworth)
• Bobby's Crab Cakes in Rockville.

Photo by Joe Flood (Joe in DC) via Flickr/Creative Commons  Attribution 2.0

This news has been reported in many other places, but Esquire finally posted the 20 Best New Restaurants feature online, where we can read what John Mariani had to say about Bibiana, Ashok Bajaj's sleek new Italian operation.

Bibiana is the lone representative from the District, and like last year's D.C. pick (and the two locals from the 2007 list), the eatery was/is handled by the same public relations team, which makes me think Mariani isn't doing much legwork in each city before making his selections. But at least this year's Washington representative hasn't generated the same controversy as Mariani's decision to pick Barton Seaver as chef of the year in 2009.

Interestingly enough, Bibiana didn't make Tom Sietsema's Dining Guide for 2010, nor mine (although I do really dig chef Nicholas Stefanelli's grilled sardines). Bibiana also couldn't fare any better than 99th place on the Washingtonian's Best 100 Restaurants list for 2010.

Nonetheless, Mariani marches ahead. Here's what he had to say about Bibiana:

There was a time when the idea of an Indian restaurateur opening a true Italian ristorante — in Washington, D. C., of all places — seemed about as likely as Stuart Smalley getting elected to the Senate. Even if that restaurateur were the great Ashok Bajaj, proprietor of power haunts the Oval Room and Rasika, one of America's finest Indian restaurants. But now we have Senator Al Franken, and — thanks to Bajaj's ambition, the wider availability of great Italian ingredients, and an ascendant chef named Nicholas Stefanelli — we have Bibiana. Stefanelli has worked at Galileo in D. C. and at Fiamma in New York, and his food has helped make Bibiana the best Italian restaurant to open in the capital in years, as true to tradition as it is stylish on its own. The secret to all good cooking is care, and that's what Stefanelli delivers, whether in the form of grilled Mediterranean sardines or cavatelli grano arso (burned grain) with fennel sausage, broccoli rabe, and chile. And the prices are fair, which allows the lobbyists to splurge a little on the highly splurgable wine list.

Y&H Nation, what do you think of the place?

The latest in restaurant openings, closings, and highly unstable target dates.

Coming Soon:

• Chicago-style hot dogs are on their way to U Street as ChiDogO's gets set to open. (Prince of Petworth)
• After more than a year of speculation and rumor-mongering, Michel Richard is set to open his French-American bistro, Michel, in the former Maestro space at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons. Accomplished chef Levi Mezick will lead the kitchen.
• Our bread and pastry options may soon improve. Paul, a bakery that can trace its roots back more than 100 years to France, is opening a location on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. (Metrocurean)
• Ba Bay on Capitol Hill is slowly turning into a reunion hall for former Vidalia staffers. Look for the Vietnamese street-food eatery to open next month.
• Christine Sarapu and chef/husband Jorge Pimentel are launching a new Latin-inspired food truck, Sabor’a Street, which is coming to town in early November. (WeLoveDC)
• Former Vidalia chef R.J. Cooper is working on a place of his own, Rogue 24, an all tasting-menu restaurant in Mount Vernon Square.
• Pastry chef David Guas will give Washingtonians a taste of the Big Easy with his planned Bayou Bakery.
• Restaurant Eve's chef Cathal Armstrong is planning to get into the pub business with Virtue Feed & Grain. (WaPo)

• Hadiyah Cafe at 3118 Georgia Ave. NW is set to become Ma Ma’s Southern Cuisine, featuring hearty and healthy southern cooking and quiet jazz. (Prince of Petworth)
• Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj has plans to combine his Cleveland Park restaurant Ardeo with his next-door wine bar Bardeo early this November. (TBD)
• Former Maestro chef Fabio Trabocchi is coming back to town to open his own place, Fiola. (WaPo)
• Michael Landrum has plans to spread more meat love. (The Triangle Blog)
• Chef Jeff Black will be opening up the Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and a bar upstairs called Black Jack at 1612 14th St. NW. (Prince of Petworth)
• Middle Eastern restaurant Javan is on its way out to make room for Kabob Bazaar at 7710 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. (Bethesda magazine)
• Prince of Petworth speculates that a Z Burger may be soon opening at the Tivoli Theatre in Columbia Heights. (Prince of Petworth)
• Neighborhood pet shop Chateau Animaux at 524 8th St. SE will close its doors and two District chains, Moby Dick House of Kabob and Nooshi, will occupy its space. (ANC Norm)
• Penn Quarter is set to introduce two new restaurants. St. Louis-based pizzeria, District of Pi, will take over one of the final retail spots at 914 F St. NW and former Top Chefer Mike Isabella will launch his new place, Graffiato.
• A hip new deli called Annie and Teddy’s is coming to the corner of Potomac and Pennsylvania SE. (Prince of Petworth)

Openings:

• P.J. Clarke's in downtown D.C.
• Ozzie’s Corner Italian in Fairfax
• Red Toque Cafe in Shaw
• Muncheez Mania in Georgetown
• Galileo III in downtown D.C.
• Dalchinni in Dupont Circle
• Rivers at the Watergate across from the Kennedy Center
• Rustik Tavern in Bloomingdale
• Cuba Libre in Chinatown/Penn Quarter
• District 2 Bar & Grill on Wisconsin Avenue NW

Closings:

• Iron Gate Restaurant at 1734 N St. NW is set to close on Oct. 31. (Prince of Petworth)
• Rogue States at 1300 Connecticut Ave. NW officially closed last week after being declared a "nuisance" by Judge John M. Mott.

Photo by Bill Roehl via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Scary: Iron Gate will close on Halloween

The latest in restaurant openings, closings, and highly unstable target dates.

Coming Soon:

• After more than a year of speculation and rumor-mongering, Michel Richard is set to open his French-American bistro, Michel, in the former Maestro space at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons. Accomplished chef Levi Mezick will lead the kitchen.
• Our bread and pastry options may soon improve. Paul, a bakery that can trace its roots back more than 100 years to France, is opening a location on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. (Metrocurean)
• Ba Bay on Capitol Hill is slowly turning into a reunion hall for former Vidalia staffers. Look for the Vietnamese street-food eatery to open next month.
• Christine Sarapu and chef/husband Jorge Pimentel are launching a new Latin-inspired food truck, Sabor'a Street, which is coming to town in early November. (WeLoveDC)
• Former Vidalia chef R.J. Cooper is working on a place of his own, Rogue 24, an all tasting-menu restaurant in Mount Vernon Square.
• Hadiyah Cafe at 3118 Georgia Ave. NW is set to become Ma Ma’s Southern Cuisine, featuring hearty and healthy southern cooking and quiet jazz. (Prince of Petworth)
• Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj has plans to combine his Cleveland Park restaurant Ardeo with his next-door wine bar Bardeo early this November. (TBD)
• Former Maestro chef Fabio Trabocchi is coming back to town to open his own place, Fiola. (WaPo)
• Muncheez Mania is a small, brightly colored, highly conceptualized sandwich shop in Georgetown (whose name sounds like some second-tier Broadway musical). It's the brainchild of David Nammour, who's calling his freshly made sandwiches, “muncheez." (BrightestYoungThings)
• Michael Landrum has plans to spread more meat love. (The Triangle Blog)
• Chef Jeff Black will be opening up the Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and a bar upstairs called Black Jack at 1612 14th St. NW. (Prince of Petworth)
• Middle Eastern restaurant Javan is on its way out to make room for Kabob Bazaar at 7710 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. (Bethesda magazine)
• Neighborhood pet shop Chateau Animaux at 524 8th St. SE will close its doors and two District chains, Moby Dick House of Kabob and Nooshi, will occupy its space. (ANC Norm)
• Penn Quarter is set to introduce two new restaurants. St. Louis-based pizzeria, District of Pi, will take over one of the final retail spots at 914 F St. NW and former Top Chefer Mike Isabella will launch his new place, Graffiato.
• A hip new deli called Annie and Teddy's is coming to the corner of Potomac and Pennsylvania SE. (Prince of Petworth)

Openings:

• Ozzie's Corner Italian in Fairfax
• Galileo III in downtown D.C.
• Rivers at the Watergate across from the Kennedy Center
• Rustik Tavern in Bloomingdale
• Casa Nonna in Dupont Circle
• Teak Wood in Logan Circle
• American Tap Room in Bethesda
• Cuba Libre in Chinatown/Penn Quarter
• District 2 Bar & Grill on Wisconsin Avenue NW

Closings:

• Iron Gate Restaurant at 1734 N St. NW is set to close on Oct. 31. (Prince of Petworth)

Photo courtesy of Prince of Petworth

Hey, the Redskins squeaked one out yesterday so there's no need to play Monday morning (or afternoon) quarterback. In lieu of this week's Dan Snyder sucks-a-thon, let's get straight to the food news.

• A bold new deli, Annie and Teddy's, is set to open on the corner of Potomac and Pennsylvania SE. (Prince of Petworth)
• Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj is planning to combine his Cleveland Park restaurant Ardeo with his next-door wine bar Bardeo this November. (TBD)
• Tom Sietsema passes along the good news: Former Maestro chef Fabio Trabocchi is coming back to town to open his own place. (WaPo)
• Meet the metro area's rising star chefs. At least according to "the magazine for culinary insiders." (StarChefs.com)

• Can't get enough Mad Men? Bourbon Steak is hosting a viewing event for the show's Oct. 17 season finale. If that's not enough to entice you, how 'bout playing dress-up? (WeLoveDC)

• The  folks over at Firefly simply do not want you to go thirsty. They have just announced an awesome new "beat the clock" happy hour starting at 4 p.m. on weekdays with drink specials as low as a buck and appetizers as low as $5. (Examiner)
• Michael Landrum is spreading more meat love. (The Triangle Blog)
• Howyoudoin? Adam Kubin wants to know how you eat your Sicilian pizza. (Serious Eats)
• Husband and wife team, Christine Sarapu and chef Jorge Pimentel, are launching a new Latin-inspired food truck, Sabor'a Street, coming to town in early November. (WeLoveDC)
• Alejandra Owens gives us a rundown of where to get your favorite fall comfort foods and a few recipes to kick it at home. (Borderstan)
• As the temperatures start to drop, one glossy has your guide to eating chili in NoVa and the District. (Northern Virginia magazine)
• According to a new study, a great way to conserve energy is by saving food. Now that's something green you can get behind! (Clean Technica)

Photo courtesy of myownstyle1234 via Flickr Creative Commons

Would somebody please give Vikram Sunderam a James Beard Award already? The Rasika chef has figured out a way to weave street food into an upscale Indian menu, introduced Subcontinental tasting menus with wine pairings, and generally created a whole culture around the once humble home cooking of India. How much more does the guy need to do?

633 D St. NW (202) 637-1222

Photo by methTICALman via Flickr Creative Commons, Attribution License

Tony Conte

It wouldn’t have been hard to include every one of Ashok Bajaj’s seven restaurants on this list. Not that I would ever do that. I mean, I’ve never been very fond of ball hogs, if you’ll allow me to use such a crude metaphor in reference to one of the most refined restaurateurs in town. But the Oval Room continues to be Bajaj’s standout, and here’s why: chef Tony Conte. His mind seems to be orbiting alone in another sphere, far removed from the work of mere mortals with cutting boards and circulators. Let me tell you about one of Conte’s latest creations, a white-asparagus soup. No big deal, eh? Just one more chef squeezing seasonal ingredients for a spring menu? Well, yes and no. Conte’s soup isn’t just an expression of spring; it’s an experience. His delicate liquid conceals treasures of great rarity: miniature ravioli packed with explosive bursts of Meyer lemon, which shoot tart juice right through that creamy wall of white asparagus. It’s a bold dish in that there are moments of utter imbalance as those ravioli break open, but that imbalance is also its genius. The soup has an impudence that’s hard to find in the increasingly jaded gastronomic playground known as fine dining.

800 Connecticut Ave. NW (202) 463-8700

Photo courtesy of the Oval Room