Burger at Central

Glittarazzi has named its Top 5 burger joints in the District as follows: Shake Shack ("long lines with a big, juicy payoff"), Good Stuff Eatery ("takes the classic sandwich to a new level"), Bobby's Burger Palace ("lines have been up to an hour long"), BGR: The Burger Joint ("'one burger you have to try before you die'.... [w]e tried and loved"), and Central by Michel Richard ("a French twist of the classic American dish").

WaPo critic Tom Sietsema would probably disagree with at least one of those picks. How bout you?

Photo by Chris Shott

Dining To Distraction:

NIMBYs Watch Would-Be Hip Strip Newbie: In Columbia Heights, some neighbors are concerned about the parking, noise, late-night crowds, and your usual garden-variety development issues. [PoP]

New York vs. D.C., Part ?: The Feast went to New York to compare how D.C.'s iteration of the tasty burger peddler Shake Shack stacks up to the Big Apple original. Rachel Tepper concentrates on comparing the food, which, of course, makes perfect sense. But there's an aesthetic argument that should be made, too. And Y&H would have to say that the aesthetics of the original, verdant Madison Square Park location beats D.C.'s location on the concrete-dominant corner of Connecticut Avenue and 18th Street NW. [The Feast]

Favorite Places: If you ask Mike Isabella what his favorite restaurants in D.C. are, here's his answer: "Top restaurant is the Source. You've gotta get the dumplings. Central for the fried chicken. And Toki Underground. I love ramen noodle soup." [Washingtonian]

Photo by Arnold Gatilao/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

But...Belga Café? That's a new one. The "little bit of Brussels" on Barracks Row oddly kicks off a recent USA Today travel article on the hottest power lunch spots in cities across the country:

"I love Belga, because it combines excellent food, a varied menu, great service and nice ambience[sic] for a quiet discussion," says [Anne] Seymour, who works as a national crime victim advocate. "It's located on historic Barracks Row, so lunch is always followed by a quick historic tour, which my dining companions seem to really enjoy.

To be fair, the Belga bit is the opening anecdote into a list of power lunch hot spots compiled by Zagat Survey at USA Today's request. The actual list of D.C. power lunch spots, according to Zagat: Central Michel Richard, Charlie Palmer, Monocle, Tosca, and Prime Rib. Belga is nowhere on the list.

Could it be that the power lunch there is so powerful that only the truly powerful know about it?

Photo by dennis and aimee jonez/Creative Commons Attribution License

Fargione has made good on his word — to a point. He has just signed a letter of intent to open ELISIR at 427 11th St. NW in the same building at Central Michel Richard and Ten Penh. As promised Fargione will offer two different tasting menus — one with eight courses and another with 12-14 courses — but he'll also provide a la carte options for dinner as well as a $15 bistro lunch.

The restaurant concept expanded and developed "because of the area, and it's developed because of the economy," Fargione tells Y&H. "I had to be completely honest with myself, with what I can and can't do."

The chef says he never wants to dictate to his customers.  He says he doesn't believe in the philosophy: "You eat the way I want or you don't eat...I don't think that's a good way to do business these days."

ELISIR, which is Italian for "elixir," will be located in the space currently occupied by Via Cucina, which will vacate the spot soon. Fargione has hired the design and architecture firm, Grupo 7, to completely renovate the old space. It will be transformed into a 90-seat restaurant with a semi-open kitchen, a bar, a private dining room, and a wine cellar. Both the bar and private dining room will offer an additional 20-25 seats. The kitchen, incidentally, will also become something of a showcase for diners who want to watch the chef and his team work; it will feature HD cameras focused on work stations with feeds going to screens placed above the bar.

Fargione's long-time companion, Julia Saah, who operates her own money management company, will run the financial side of ELISIR, the chef says. Fargione noted, with admirable understatement, that some chefs aren't always so good with managing the financial side of restaurants.

The chef expects to re-introduce a number of modern Italian dishes that he made famous at Teatro, including his smoked branzino carpaccio and his tomato popsicles. He also wants to keep the prices down, or at least down for a restaurant devoted, in large part, to tasting menus. His eight-course menu will run about $75 per person, while the larger, 12-14 course menu will be around $100.

Fargione hopes to have ELISIR open by March of next year.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

The Five Guys burger in all its unfiltered glory

We're down to the wire on the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame contest. You have only until Friday to cast your vote.

As you likely know by now, the top five dishes will be part of the hall's inaugural class, with more plates to be inducted in the years to come. As it stands, the leaderboard remains virtually the same from last week's, although the falafel from Amsterdam is quietly challenging the half-smoke from Ben's for the top spot. The Falafelshop is probably gaming the system, but, hell, that's the problem with public online contests.

Just as troubling: As the contest winds down, Y&H has been revisiting some of the leading dishes (see, ahem, the above photo) in preparation for writing a recap about this madness. During my visits, I've found myself confronted by some tough questions, such as:

Do we really want the current iteration of the Five Guys burger to serve as D.C.'s calling card? Does a restaurant's longevity automatically make its food worthy of Hall of Fame status?

It's not like we can go back on our promise to induct the winners, although one Y&H reader, Rob, suggested that very idea to me:

I would vote to remove 5 Guys from the list. The chain is not local anymore, even though they started out that way. Should we have McDonalds on the list then?

To be fair, the site of the original McDonald'sin San Bernardino, Calif., has been turned into a museum, which goes way beyond a simple online Hall of Fame vote, but I get your point, Rob. I'd be curious on what the rest of you think. Chime in via e-mail and let me know your thoughts.

Meanwhile, here's the leaderboard:

1. Half-smoke with chili at Ben's Chili Bowl, 399 votes
2. Falafel at Amsterdam Falafelshop, 349
3. Hamburger at Five Guys, 223
4. Peruvian chicken at El Pollo Rico, 161
5. Margherita pizza at 2Amys, 148
6. Burger from Ray's Hell Burger, 125
7. Salty oat cookie at Teaism, 124
8. Pho at Pho 75, 115
9. Palak chaat at Rasika, 112
10. Fried whiting at Horace & Dickie's, 104
11. Atomica pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso, 87
12. Chicken croquetas at Jaleo, 83
13. Cowboy-cut bone-in ribeye at Ray's the Steaks, 71
14. Spit-roasted goat at Komi, 65
15. Lobster burger at Central Michel Richard, 60

Only four more days to go, so get votingif you want to see that leaderboard flip.

With only three weeks of voting left in the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame, the leaderboard remains virtually unchanged from last week's, save for a little jockeying at the bottom and 2Amys' suddenly move into a fourth-place tie with the falafel sandwich at Amsterdam.

Remember, only the top five dishes will be part of the Hall's inaugural class. So if you don't like the looks of the list below, get voting.

1. Half-smoke with chili at Ben's Chili Bowl, 334 votes
2. Hamburger at Five Guys, 157
3. Peruvian chicken at El Pollo Rico, 128
4. Margherita pizza at 2Amys, 115
5. Falafel at Amsterdam Falafelshop, 115
6. Burger from Ray's Hell Burger, 99
7. Salty oat cookie at Teaism, 98
8. Palak chaat at Rasika, 89
9. Pho at Pho 75, 88
10. Fried whiting at Horace & Dickie's, 83

The interesting thing is, several high-end dishes are holding their breath just below the surface of the Top 10 list. Check it out:

11. Atomica pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso, 58

12. Lobster burger at Central Michel Richard, 46

13. Cowboy-cut bone-in ribeye at Ray's the Steaks, 45

14. Shrimp and grits at Vidalia, 41

15. Spit-roasted goat at Komi, 41

With a coordinated campaign, any one of these dishes could easily sneak into the rarefied air of the Top 5. So what are you waiting for? Start canvassing for votes!

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Bibiana has hired Douglas Hernandez, pastry chef at Central Michel Richard, to handle the desserts at the forthcoming downtown osteria/enoteca from Ashok Bajaj. Bibiana will have its "soft" opening on Monday, Sept. 7.

Hernandez has been with Central for more than two years, says Mel Davis, spokesperson for the celebrity chef. At Central, Hernandez has been in charge of executing Richard's justly famous dessert menu, whether his clever, crunchy take on the Kit Kat bar or the chef's luxe version of a banana split.

At Bibiana, Hernendez is expected to have complete creative control of the dessert menu. "He's going to be reinventing classic Italian desserts, from Tuscany to Sicily," notes Davis, who briefly spoke with Hernendez this afternoon.

Hernendez told Davis several times, she says, that he may return to the Michel Richard family one day.

Trust me, I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m just trying to be realistic. Do you really need me—or anyone else for that matter—to tell you to eat at these places? I might as well tell you to wear clothes when you go outside.

Photograph of Palena's Frank Ruta by Darrow Montgomery