Y&H typically doesn't engage in speculation when it comes to matters of kitchen personnel, but I had to find out if the Beard-nominated pastry chef, Amanda Cook, was leaving CityZen after a source forwarded this job listing from Craigslist. The open position? "Pastry Chef — CityZen." I caught CityZen chef Eric Ziebold just as he was [...]
Just call Derek Brown, left, Mr. Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Y&H is a behind on this (hey, if you want excuses, I got a million of 'em!), but I wanted to offer my congratulations to the local semi-finalists for this year's James Beard Awards. It's an impressive list, one filled with many of Y&H's [...]
The D.C. Dish Hall of Fame leaderboard remains virtually unchanged after a week of voting, save for the flip-flop of the ninth and tenth place dishes. After a strong surge last week, Horace & Dickie's fried whiting moves up a notch into ninth place. But I have to say, I think the list is still [...]
The Margherita at 2Amys: Does it make the cut? Earlier this week, I was noshing on the roast chicken at Palena Cafe, reveling once again in Frank Ruta's ability to add and coax flavors from this generous, succulent portion of breast, wing, and leg meat. That's when the thought struck me: This is, hands-down, one [...]
Ruta emerged from Palena's kitchen, pictured with Maddy Beckwith So how unique was last night's opening reception for Sou'Wester? So unique that Frank Ruta showed up. In all the years Y&H has been covering the dining scene in D.C., I've never seen the semi-reclusive Palena chef and owner at an industry event. I barely recognized [...]
When last we checked in with Eric Ziebold — to hear him defend the name of his latest project, South by Southwest, which is actually a restaurant, not an excuse to get drunk in Austin — the esteemed chef said the Southern-minded operation would open in early summer. Scratch that. During a phone conversation yesterday, [...]
This morning, I got into a small online argument with a fellow D.C. gastronome (can I just pause here and say that I hate almost all the words used to describe a food lover; they all carry the connotation that you can't tie your shoes without the help of a sommelier or bus boy) who disagreed [...]
Allow me to tell you about some of the restaurants that didn't make this year's Young & Hungry guide to the 50 Best Restaurants in D.C. Michel Richard Citronelle, for one. Komi didn’t, either, no matter how many times some New Yorker wants to tell me what a genius Johnny Monis is. I sent other [...]
Silent Treatment: Loic Feillet knows how to take criticism Loic Feillet is, without question, one of the area's most skilled bakers. The owner of Panorama Baking Co. in Alexandria has, over the years, sold bread to some of the finest restaurants in the District, including both CityZen and Citronelle. But when Feillet took part in [...]
Imagine Y&H's surprise when, just two hours after posting this item, chef Eric Ziebold was on the phone defending the decision to rename Cafe MoZU and identify it by the restaurant's location within the District. Ziebold was not at all defensive. He even agreed with my basic premise: that MoZU's new name, South by Southwest, [...]
