Young & Hungry Dining Guide by the Day: Black’s Bar and Kitchen

Tim Carman — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:01:42 +0000

For a while there, Jeff and Barbara Black had a revolving door in the kitchen of their flagship operation in Bethesda. During one 15-month stretch, Black’s Bar and Kitchen had four different chefs leading the back of the house. The chaos officially ended last summer, when Jeff promoted Quanta Robinson, a veteran Black Restaurant Group cook, into the head chef position at Black’s. Over the past year, Robinson has stabilized the kitchen and grounded it again in the solid, seafood-heavy American cuisine that has made this cozy restaurant one of my favorite neighborhood haunts, not just in Bethesda but anywhere in the metro area. Fewer things make me happier than sitting at the bar here, slurping down premium bivalves from Black’s superb oyster program, a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc at the ready. If dipping into Robinson’s large bowl of chicken and seafood gumbo, at once smoky and sweet, is a mixed blessing these days, well, it’s not her fault. Those Gulf shrimp buried within her dark stew just make me think of less palatable things.

7750 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda (301) 652-5525

Screw the Boys’ Club Mentality at Restaurants. Buy a WCR Calendar.

Tim Carman — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:42:33 +0000

As a general rule, the Young & Hungry blog is not here to plug every damn product that comes down the pike, but we'll make an exception for the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs 2009 calendar, which you can purchase for $12 over at WCR's Web site. It's a great holiday gift, blah, blah, blah.

The national organization's mission is "to promote and enhance the education, advancement and connection of women in the culinary industry," which says way more about the industry, I think, than about WCR. I mean, we're nearly eight full years into the 21st century, and women still need a specialty group to promote their interests inside the kitchen? The French influence, she is still strong in the restaurant world, oui?

The calendar is D.C.-centric, even though the organization is national. The local chefs, restaurateurs and sommeliers who appear in the calendar include Melanie Parker (Equinox), Ris Lacoste (ris and Rock Creek), Amy Brandwein (Fyve), Barbara Black (Addie's Restaurant, Black Market Bistro, Black's Bar & Kitchen, and BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant), Beverly Bates (ici Urban Bistro at Sofitel Hotel), Nora Pouillon (Nora), Ruth Gresser (Pizzeria Paradiso), Jamie Leeds (CommonWealth Gastropub and Hank's Oyster Bar), Heather Chittum (Hook), and Tracy O'Grady (Willow Restaurant). So do some of their recipes.

"The D.C. calendar is the first one that WCR has ever done!" e-mails Rachael Siefert, a publicist for the project. "The idea came from the D.C. chapter of WCR...and WCR is hoping to take it to other cities in the future."

Young & Hungry » Barbara Black

Young & Hungry Dining Guide by the Day: Black’s Bar and Kitchen

Screw the Boys’ Club Mentality at Restaurants. Buy a WCR Calendar.