1. Upscale: Pan roasted duck breast, served with summer beans, hakurei turnips, and black garlic duck jus, at Eventide, $27; 3165 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, (703) 276-3165
2. Mid-range: Alligator and crawfish sliders at the Cajun Experience, $12; 1825 18th St. NW, (202) 670-4416
3. Dive: Crab dog (pictured), served with cheese puffs, at The Pug, $7; 1234 H St. NE, (202) 388-8554

Photo by Chris Shott

The general manager and bar manager at Eventide have left the Clarendon restaurant citing differences in how the bar and rooftop have been "going in a different direction." TBD notes how Eventide's highly acclaimed restaurant has stood out from the rest of Clarendon where "the preference in the neighborhood seems to be for huge sports bars with deep discounts." [DonRocks, TBD]

The Benethiopia food truck is going on hiatus until mid-February. [WaPo]

The former chef at Bezu in Potomac has bought out Rock Creek in Bethesda and wants to talk with the new owners of the Brickskeller who had wanted to name the reborn Brick as Rock Creek. [Potomac Patch, TBD]

Need an injection of Iron Chef chatter? Capitol Spice chats with three of the local competitors "vying for our slavish loyalty," Spike Mendelsohn, Carla Hall, and Mike Isabella. [Capitol Spice]

Not that I was actively looking for it, but I finally found Eventide’s weakness: its brunch menu, into which chef Miles Vaden has injected a little whimsy and sophistication in an attempt to shake up that most predictable of services. The dish I’m thinking about specifically is the BPLT, the standard three-ingredient sandwich but with an added layer of starchy fried plantains. The bite is, by far, the driest, dullest thing that has ever passed my lips at Eventide. I point this out not to embarrass Vaden but to prove that even brilliant young chefs miss the mark on occasion. Fortunately, Vaden doesn’t miss it often at this Clarendon eatery, whose imaginative New American menus have helped turn a once conservative dining neighborhood into a culinary destination.

3165 N. Wilson Blvd., Arlington (703) 276-3165

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington hosts the annual RAMMY Awards on Sunday at the Marriott Wardman Park, and the question foremost on Y&H's mind is this: How will Inox's recent closing affect the ceremony, if at all?

If you haven't heard, the celebrated, triple-chef-threat Inox closed this weekend. Chef Jon Mathieson shared the bad news with WaPo's Tom Sietsema late on Friday night.

Inox, as I'm sure many of you know, is nominated in the New Restaurant of the Year category, along with Bibiana, Birch & Barley, Bourbon Steak, and Eventide. Mathieson himself is also nominated in the Rising Culinary Star of the Year category, along with chefs Mike Isabella from Zaytinya, Shannon Overmiller from The Majestic, Liam LaCivita from Liberty Tavern, and Nicholas Stefanelli from Bibiana.

"This is the first time that this has happened in recent memory," e-mailed Lynne Breaux, president of RAMW. She was referring to nominees who are no longer in business.

I had so many questions running around my head, I didn't know where to begin. Would Inox and Mathieson still compete in their categories? Would the RAMMYs officially acknowledge the restaurant's demise on stage? Would the winners in those two categories (assuming Inox and Mathieson can compete and assuming they don't win) feel like these were hollow victories now that Inox and Mathieson are not currently on the scene? (I was imagining how, say, Robert Downey Jr. would have felt had he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2009 over the late Heath Ledger.)

Well, Breaux clarified my thinking with two quick acknowledgments:  Inox and Mathieson can indeed still win the awards in their respective categories, and the voting is already tabulated.

Inox, in other words, may be the first restaurant to win an award after it has already closed. And Mathieson may be the first chef to win the Rising Culinary Star award and not be currently employed.  How much would that suck?

Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, owner of the nominated Bibiana, acknowledged the difficulty of the situation. But he adds: "I think every restaurant that is nominated is a good restaurant...We're all superior in our own ways. Whoever wins would be good."

Photo courtesy of Inox

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 favorites.

Compare this year's semi-finalists to last year's, and you'll see the D.C. area had a couple more nominees in 2010. The local nominees are listed after the jump.

OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR

• Ashok Bajaj, owner of 701, Ardeo, Bardeo, Bibiana Osteria-Entoteca, The Bombay Club, The Oval Room, and Rasika.

OUTSTANDING CHEF

• José Andrés, minibar

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT

• Vidalia

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR

• Johnny Monis, Komi

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

• Eventide
• J & G Steakhouse
• Trummer’s on Main in Clifton

OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF

• Amanda Cook, CityZen

OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE

• Restaurant Eve

OUTSTANDING WINE AND SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL

• Derek Brown, The Passenger

OUTSTANDING SERVICE

• Marcel's

BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC

• Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve
• Tony Conte, The Oval Room
• Melissa Close Hart, Palladio at Barboursville Vineyards in Barboursville
• Peter Pastan, Obelisk
• Vikram Sunderam, Rasika
• Bryan Voltaggio, Volt in Frederick
• Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore

There was just one problem: The guide wasn't supposed to go live yet.

"[T]he page listing my 50 favorites went online, inadvertently, and was taken down when it was brought to our attention," Sietsema e-mails Y&H this afternoon. The Post food critic didn't know how long the guide was live.

That wasn't the only hiccup, either. The guide wasn't complete yet.

"Some of the star ratings had to be tweaked (put in by hand or some such; it's a technical/design issue). Since I never saw what went live, I'm not sure if that was my final FINAL list," Sietsema emails.

In other words, Pressley might want to wait before boasting that Eventide was given a half-star upgrade from Sietsema's original review last year. It's not yet clear whether Eventide will have three stars when the guide really hits the Web.

It goes live, Sietsema notes, late Thursday afternoon.

UPDATE, 6:59 P.M.: Pressley left a message on my Facebook account that he had taken down the links to the premature Dining Guide posting on both his Facebook page and Eventide's Twitter feed.

Here at Y&H Central, we've received plenty of static about noisy restaurants from readers and even more readers. But so far the hospitality industry has been quiet on the subject.

Until this morning, when I got a note via facebook from the general manager at Eventide, a top 50 performer in this year's Young & Hungry Dining Guide. Dave Pressley has plenty to say on the subject (some of it self-serving, but hey, can you blame the guy?). He gave me permission to rerun it here:

Read what you wrote about noise in restaurants...it's very true and most guests can't stand it, but a lot of restaurant owners have known for YEARS that loud noise generally ends up in faster turning tables because they can't get lost in conversation. Guests eat their meals and then leave to have a conversation somewhere else.

"Have a nice night folks...and a party of four, sir?"

We knew this fact going into designing Eventide and doing the opposite has worked so far in the fact that we are staying busy, especially in this economy. No, we're not serving as many people as we are capable of serving on any given night, but the ones who dine with us generally always compliment us on the noise level and the ease in which they can carry a conversation...except for the drunk lady the other night who begged us to "crank the music" because she could hear other people's voices over the music. Yeah, you guessed it...she was wearing a tiara too and it was her birthday. Gah.

The end result in that we are being rewarded with multiple visits and a slew of regulars that would otherwise just go to any restaurant for dinner. They aren't going anywhere though–they're dining with us so they can hear themselves talk and enjoy their meal in a calming environment.

We ARE definitely finding it a bit of an issue with lingering tables that won't leave in a timely manner so we can be more punctual with seating our post-7:30 reservations, but as long as they're coming in the building, it's a problem that I can deal with.

Photo by Daquella Manera via Flickr Creative Commons

A meaty homage to Michel Richard?

One by one, we’re running through the 50 restaurants that made the cut on this year’s Young & Hungry Dining Guide. If you have visited the day’s featured restaurant, let us know what you think. If you’re planning to visit for the first time, tell us about your meal when you return.

Unlike some fine-dining restaurants that aim for the conspicuous-consumption set, Eventide has carved out a different niche for itself: It’s Arlington’s eccentric foodie destination. Eventide combines Komi’s OCD-like attention to detail with the chic intensity of the Source’s downstairs lounge. What’s more, chef Miles Vaden strikes me as a toque who will never be satisfied with his work. His menu reads (and tastes) like a man who pushes things about as far as you can in the typically conservative Clarendon dining scene. His bison carpaccio already assumes an air of Michel Richard; like a red-meat version of Richard’s famous “Mosaic,” Vaden plates thin circles of crimson-bright bison meat on a square of white china so that the dish looks like some monochromatic Pop-Art piece. The appetizer’s flavors and textures, however, are altogether original—the crunch of citrus-marinated jicama, the bite of ancho-chocolate mole, the salty umami of Parmesan, the plodding meatiness of the bison. While not as jaw-dropping as the carpaccio, other dishes on Vaden’s menu display enough invention and technique to justify any wild-eyed optimism you may have about this restaurant. Hell, even the upstairs dining room at Eventide, a former meeting hall for the Odd Fellows fraternal organization, strikes an odd, engaging tone. The ceiling is high, and the walls have an exposed, terra-cotta austerity about them. The long elegant drapes and the intimidating emptiness all around you—above your head and between the widely spaced tables—complete the image: You feel like you’re dining in some cool medieval castle.

Eventide, 3165 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, (703) 276-3165

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Here's the city-by-city breakdown of the other 49 spots:

• Chicago: Four restaurants
• New York City: Nine
• San Francisco: Eight
• Houston: Four
• Seattle: Seven

• Atlanta: One
• Atlantic City, N.J.: One
• Boston: One
• Cambridge, Mass.: One
• Dallas: One
• Glendale, Calif.: One
• Las Vegas: One
• Los Angeles: One (Gee, guess which one?)
• Miami: One
• Minneapolis: One
• Napa Valley: One
• New Orleans: One
• Oakland: One
• Peoria Heights, Ill.: One
• Philadelphia: One
• Portland, Ore.: One
• Raleigh, N.C.: One

Now, I'm still quite puzzled by the metro area's performance on this survey. Regardless of what you think about Founding Farmers — and Tom Sietsema doesn't think much — you have to wonder how T+L's editors overlooked far superior newbies in the area.

How, for instance, did Inox not make the list? Or Eventide? Or even Ray's Hell Burger, for chrissakes. That has to be one of the most celebrated burger joints in America.

Hey, Travel + Leisure, pick up a phone and call me next time. I'll be happy to point you in better directions.

• The Taste of Wheaton on Sunday is a great opportunity to sample some of the best ethnic eats in the D.C. region. This year, the festival will not only feature bites from a few of Y&H's favorite restaurants — like Nava Thai and Max's Kosher Cafe — but also an Ethnic Food and Wine Tasting Pavilion boasting dishes from Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Carla Hall, the near-miss Top Chef whose catering company is located in Wheaton, will also be on hand for the event.
• That same day, you can also wander over to Taste of Arlington. While the city doesn't have a culinary identity as distinctive as Wheaton's, Arlington has enjoyed a higher profile lately, thanks to such additions as Liberty Tavern and Eventide, which have gone a long way to rinsing out the chalky aftertaste of those big-box chain restaurants that dominate Clarendon. Sadly, Eventide doesn't look to be a player in this year's event, but there are plenty of other tasty options, including Jackson's Roasting and Carving Co., Yaku, Cafe Pizzaiolo, and Me Jana.

More festival news after the jump.

• The Fiesta Asia Street Fair — call me crazy, but doesn't that name strike you as a multi-culti mess? — takes place on Saturday on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 6th streets NW. The day-long event will feature cooking demos, ranging from Cambodian to Vietnamese cuisines.
• Finally, there's the Saint Sophia Greek Festival all weekend long at the Greek Orthodox cathedral at 36th Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW. I have just five words to share with you: whole lambs roasted on spits!