Dishes We Dug

Dishes We Didn't: Corona-battered fish 'n' chips, made "with real Corona" at Grand Central. (May taste better than actually drinking that Corona!)

Best Acceptance Speech at the James Beard Awards: "I had money on [Grist.com's Tom] Philpott. That's all I have to say."—former Young & Hungry columnist Tim Carman, winner in the best food-related columns/commentary category

Photo by Chris Shott

As I was walking back to the office after my first Red Hook Lobster Pound truck experience in Adams Morgan — more on that later — I noticed that Cashion's Eat Place was closed for the evening. More than closed, in fact. Chairs were upturned and resting on tables, while workers were doing something inside.

I poked my head in the door and asked the woman on the far side of the dining room if I could take a picture. She asked who I was. I stupidly uttered, "a blog," as if my entire existence had been boiled down to this microscopic bit of real estate on the 'net. (Hmm, come to think of it...)

Anyway, she said Cashion's was closed essentially for cosmetic renovations. The owners are redoing the floors, repainting the walls, that sort of stuff. The neighborhood operation, founded in 1995 by Beard winner Ann Cashion before she sold it 12 years later to her sous chef John Manolatos, will reopen for business on Tuesday, August 31.

So says the window sign, a picture of which is below the jump.

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

UPDATED: 5:13 p.m. 8/9/2010

R.J. Cooper, the chef who won a James Beard award in 2007 while helming the Vidalia kitchen, has abruptly left the downtown restaurant. Cooper confirmed his departure this afternoon but declined to provide further details.

Cooper did say that he would try to resurrect his celebrated "24" tasting menu elsewhere while he prepares to open his own restaurant, Pigtails, a reference to his twin daughters and his love of pork products. He's close to signing a deal on a neighborhood location away from downtown.

The Detroit native has been at Vidalia since 2004, after working at New Heights and Toka Cafe. In a 2006 interview with StarChefs.com, Cooper said that he considered Vidalia and Bistro Bis owner Jeffrey Buben a mentor.

"Jeffrey Buben taught me about running a business, corporate structure, and keeping systems in place — things that make you successful," Cooper said.

Buben could not immediately be reached for comment.

Despite all that intelligence at the table, none of us knew how to pronounce the name of the place: "E-space"? "E-spahase"? Or my personal favorite (coined by WaPo's food editor Joe Yonan): "E-spa-che," as if the place sold both gazpacho and ceviche.

Regardless, we were all there to find out the 2010 winners of the James Beard Foundation Media and Book Awards.  Oh, and to nosh on a multi-course meal that was better than any of us had a right to expect, given the large catering demands placed on the kitchen. (Of course, when the courses are created by Gerald Hirigoyen, John Besh, Suzanne Goin, and Karen DeMasco, you're not exactly dealing with U.S. Foodservice, are you?)

Food aside, one of the biggest upsets of the evening — perhaps second only to Colman Andrews and Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl losing out to Edible Brooklyn's Rachel Wharton for food-related column — was the Kojo Nnamdi Show beating The Splendid Table in the audio Webcast or radio show category. Given that the former show is local (and largely devoted to politics when not chewing over food), and the latter national, I thought Kojo didn't stand a chance. Shows you how much I know.

I was very pleased for Kojo, even more so when producer Brendan Sweeney, in accepting the award for the no-show Nnamdi, noted that the Beard medal says as much about D.C.'s food scene as it does about the Kojo Nnamdi Show. Or something along those lines. You have to remember, I was about three glasses of wine in at this point.

The Beard Foundation also gave the Washington Post more love. For the second year in row, the Post's food section, under editor Yonan, won a Beard award, beating out both the Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle's food sections for the honor. In accepting the medal, Yonan noted the difficulties of continuing to put out quality food sections in the time of shrinking budgets and newspaper readerships. He said that for every subscriber lost, the Post needs to pick up another 100 online readers. Or something like that. Remember the wine-drinking factor here.

Yonan then finished his remarks on an ironic note. He said he was reading a story online that very day that ended with a short editor's note at the bottom. It said that this is a more complete version of the story that appeared in print. I suspect the bloggers in the room didn't get the point.

The other D.C. winner was Chefs A' Field, the PBS series that is now in its fourth season. The show is produced by Warner Hanson Television, which was founded in Washington D.C. by Heidi Hanson and Chris Warner in 2000 and has already racked up multiple Beard awards in its brief existence. Chefs A' Field bested some heavy hitters, including The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network and PBS's Gourmet’s Adventures with Ruth. As in Ruth Reichl.

The hard-luck loser for the evening — at least in my eyes — was David Guas, whose excellent DamGoodSweet lost out to James Peterson's Baking in the dessert and baking cookbook category. At least yours truly had good company for those who came home empty-handed. I lost to Jared Jacang Maher's excellent "A Hunger to Help" in the newspaper feature writing category about restaurants and/or chefs.

Here's the full list of winners from last night's cookbook and media awards. Tonight, it's the chefs' turn. The Beard Awards for restaurants and chefs will be passed out at the Lincoln Center.

Have some opinions about the Beard Awards or any other subject? Pass them along.

Blymire representin' with the Wienermobile

Y&H has made no secret of his affection for Carol Blymire's Alinea at Home blog, in which the self-described "single chick in a broke-ass kitchen with no culinary training" cooks her way through one of the most complicated cookbooks on earth. For fun, no less.

I'm not the only one who has taken a liking to Blymire's style. The James Beard Foundation recently came calling. The Takoma Park resident is scheduled to live blog the Beard Awards ceremony on Monday night. Blymire took a few minutes to answer a handful of questions about her upcoming turn in the JBF spotlight.

Young &  Hungry: How did you get the gig?

Carol Blymire: I got an e-mail a few weeks ago from one of the lovely ladies at the James Beard Foundation who reads my blog and who hoped I'd be able to contribute my own unique perspective on the awards ceremony. I nearly fell out of my chair, because it was so out of the blue and such an honor to be asked. I can't wait to do it. It'll be great to be in the presence of some of the people I admire most in this world. Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz are presenting, so I'm excited to see them again, along with so many others who inspire cooks and writers like me to do what we do.

Y&H: Will you be interviewing people or just offering your insights and opinions?

CB: I'll be interviewing people as well as offering my observations, thoughts, and insights on nominees, winners, and the general goings-on that night. The Foundation will have their web site editors in the press room checking out the content (they're smart, these Beard Foundation people), so I'm excited to see how it will all come together. I just hope they let me talk about how hot I think David Chang is. 'Cause that won't get old at all.

Y&H: Will you feel the need to assume an institutional JBF voice?

CB: The great thing about this is that they've asked me to contribute based on who I am and how I write, not because they wanted a ghostwriter. I'm sure there will be editorial standards I'll need to adhere to, but that's fine with me. I mean, I was really pushing to Glee-i-fy my participation by doing all my updates via reworked '80s song-and-dance numbers with all the chef winners doing backup vocals and dramatic arm gestures, but I guess I'll just be writing. In my own, slightly edited, non-jazz hands voice.

Y&H: Are you already thinking of clever things to say about the celebrity chefs?

CB: Let's just say I've been doing my research and I'll be the nerd with the notecards. Hmmmmm... what rhymes with Cathal.....?

Y&H: Do you plan to do such a bang-up job that they will nominate you in the blog category next year?

CB: Actually, I'm hoping I can get nominated on the merits of my own blog, Alinea at Home, next year. I mean, Alinea was just named the best restaurant in the U.S., my food truck April Fool's Day post pissed off a record number of people who actually showed up for the food truck's arrival in their city, and for a single chick in a broke-ass kitchen with no culinary training to be able to pull off avant-garde cooking is something I'm pretty damn proud of. So, I'm planning to up the number of dishes I do from the book over the next few months, and increase the number of fart jokes I incorporate into each post. I'll be a shoo-in.

Y&H: What does one wear at a gala while live blogging?

CB: The people at Asprey and Garrard haven't returned my calls, so I guess the tiara is out. Bugger! I'm thinking: black dress, hot shoes, smoky eyeliner, and my laptop. Unless the good folks at Apple wanna send me an iPad to use for the gig. (Call me, Steve Jobs! xoxo) But hey, wait a minute... thanks a lot for making me have a bit of a fashion panic, because I wasn't even thinking about that until you asked. Thanks a lot. What are YOU wearing, Carman? Huh? [Ed: Carman plans to rent something from the Snoop line.]

Y&H: Do you plan to root for particular people (as in your D.C. buds) or keep an objective voice?

CB: I don't think it's any secret that I'm rooting for Alinea in the Outstanding Service category. And, Bibou in Philadelphia (Best New Restaurant) has a great story — those guys started that place with something like $30,000 and a dream. When I look at the entire nominee list, it's just so amazing to see so many deserving chefs from every region and every discipline. But here's the thing: I've lived in this city nearly 25 years and absolutely love how the food scene has evolved in that time. I'm proud of our DC nominees, and hope I can hug Amanda Cook in the winner's circle because she is amazing at what she does and so deserves this nomination. It'd be great to see Johnny Monis (Rising Star) and Jose Andres (Outstanding Chef) with medals around their necks, too. And, to have three DC folks in the Mid-Atlantic Best Chef category is fantastic. I'd be thrilled if Cathal [Armstrong of Restaurant Eve], Bryan [Voltaggio of Volt], or Peter [Pastan of Obelisk] brought home the prize. And, while I'm not live-blogging the media and book awards the night before, it can't go without saying that I'm pulling for The Washington Post, Kojo, and you, as well as Ad Hoc at Home and the Momofuku cookbook.

Photo by Catherine Gelera

Don't worry, I'm not here to toot my own horn. I'm here instead to point out a potentially troubling trend: The recurrence of the same names over and over again in the restaurant and chef categories.

For example, chef/owner Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve was nominated for the fourth consecutive year in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category. Chef/owner Johnny Monis of Komi was awarded a nomination for the third straight year in the Rising Star Chef category. Likewise, José Andrés was nominated for a third straight year in the Outstanding Chef category.

Let me hasten to add that all of these chefs deserve recognition. They are, without question, among the best in their field. But here's the part that troubles me when I stew over it: Their running nods give off the impression that the chefs will be nominated until they win.

This is a tough call. The best chefs deserve to be given a Beard nomination, but when the same ones get nominated, year after year, it starts to make me think the nominating committees are either stuck in a rut or too nervous to go beyond the usual suspects. Besides, does a master chef like Armstrong really want to win an award after four straight noms? Doesn't that strike you, on some level, as finally wearing the judges down?

Armstrong deserves to win on his own merit — and likely will, if selected this year. But I'm beginning to wonder if nominees should be limited to, say, two consecutive years and then be forced to sit out a year before receiving another nod. It's a thought. I'd love to get your opinions on the subject. E-mail them to me when you get a second.

By the way, here is the full list of nominees. My reservations about the process does not diminish my respect for the nominees. I send out hearty congratulations to all the D.C. area nominees, including Joe Yonan, Jane Black, and Bonnie Benwick at the Washington Post; pastry chef and cookbook author David Guas; chefs Peter Pastan (Obelisk), José Andrés (minibar), Johnny Monis, Cathal Armstrong, and Bryan Voltaggio (Volt); Kojo Nnamdi and team at WAMU, and pastry chef Amanda Cook at CityZen.

Closer to home: The nominees for the 2010 RAMMY Awards will be announced tomorrow at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown D.C. Y&H has seen an embargoed list of the nominees, and while there may not be many surprises, there are a few new features for this year's ceremonies.

We've already told you about the RAMMYs' long overdue format change, the result of much public bitching, but the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington has also added a long overdue category this year: beverage/mixology program.

Finally, there's one more change: The public will be able to vote for its favorite restaurant via an online poll on the Washington City Paper site. In previous years, the public had to send in a ballot pulled from WaPo's Sunday magazine. This year's WCP poll will be available online starting in late April. The public winner will receive its own RAMMY award.

The RAMMY awards gala will take place on Sunday, June 6, at the Marriott Wardman Park.

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

RAMMY

Gone is the multi-course, sit-down dinner in which the wait staff and clattering plates competed with the award presenters on stage. Gone is the multi-hour ceremony that pushed the boundaries of patience and taste. And gone is cavernous banquet hall with the anemic air-conditioning system.

Instead, this year's RAMMYs will be presented in "a theatre-style seated ceremony," with a separate reception-style dinner in the ballroom afterward. Which means, of course, that you can split after the ceremonies and eat some decent food elsewhere, if you'd like.

So, really, why the change in format after 28 years of doing it one way?

“Because we can," says Lynne Breaux, president of the RAMW, "we have never before had the logistical wherewithal that we have this year at the Marriott Wardman Park."

Plus, Breaux notes, the change in format puts the RAMMYs in line with other ceremonies, including the widely acknowledged granddaddy of all hospitality awards, the James Beard Awards.

The theme for this year's RAMMYs is, "We'll Always Have...Restaurants," a nod to Bogart's famous line in Casablanca...and, perhaps, a fervent hope from owners trying to ride out the damn recession.

Tickets to the RAMMYS can be purchased by calling (202) 331-5990 or by e-mail at rammys@ramw.org.

Bajaj tells GQ a few of his rules for navigating the political waters in this town:

• Know Your Client. "You can feel the temperature of the person," he says. Last winter, with our economy teetering, that meant giving Geithner the privacy of a corner table when he dined alone at the Bombay Club but seating the more sociable Bernanke "in the thick of things" when he took his wife to dinner at the Oval Room.

• Keep Lunch Quick. It's an endangered meal in a city crowded with workaholics. So Bajaj has a simple directive for his staff: "Get the check on the table in fifty-nine minutes."
• Be Loyal. Political fortunes change like the weather, but Bajaj treats his best customers the same, no matter their status. "Just because they're out of grace for now, it doesn't mean they always will be."

It's been quite a year for Bajaj. First, his Rasika chef Vikram Sunderam was nominated for a James Beard Award. Bajaj himself was a semi-finalist in the Beard's Outstanding Restaurateur category (and finished second in CP's Best Restaurateur category). In September, the owner debuted his seventh restaurant in D.C., Bibiana, his first Italian eatery, and just today, he learned that Rasika will earn four stars from Tom Sietsema's next Dining Guide, due out Thursday.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery