Short ribs and baby octopus may dominate many menus in the city, but that doesn't mean local chefs can't find love in an acorn squash. In our ongoing series, Chefs Veg Out, we'll prove D.C.’s chefs can play with more than just meat.

• Name: Hilary Henderson
• Title: Sous chef
• Restaurant: The Source
• Cooking Since: 5 years. I always really, really enjoyed cooking. My mother always said I should go to culinary school if you don't know what to do when you get older.
• Random Fact: I love to paint. Any time I have a little bit of free time I make a mess: oil on canvass and totally abstract. I just like to put the brush on the canvass. (Check out Hilary's flickr page.)
• Favorite Vegetable: Whatever is in season. I love sweet corn with little chanterelles in the summer. Just cut corn off the cob, season it perfectly with just a little salt, a little pepper and a little sugar if it's not sweet enough. Keep it simple.
• Least Favorite Vegetable: Tomato, when they're out of season in the middle of winter they're disgusting, mealy and you don't get any sweetness. I always thought I hated tomatoes but it was because I never really had a good tomato. [The first time I liked a tomato] I think it was at a farmers' market and I met someone that grew his own. He was just so passionate. And I was like, "Oh my god, I can't believe I ever hated these."
• Memorable Meatless Dish: I did an externship at the Greenbrier and Michael Voltaggio opened  a new restaurant, Hemisphere [at the resort] and had a vegetarian seven-course tasting menu that was so unbelievable I will never forget it. There was a sweet corn dish but it was more like a corn puree. And there were these suspended lentils, like little spheres. I have no idea how they are made but they are descended in a broth.
• Best Vegetable Dish at The Source: Our vegetable sushi is probably the best I ever had. It has pickled cabbage, yamagobo, cucumber and avocado. It's kinda sweet and salty. It's everything you'd want in a vegetarian dish.
• Quick and Dirty Meatless Idea: I like paneer. It's super quick and super simple and just add any fresh vegetable [to make it a meal]. Use a gallon of whole milk, half a gallon of buttermilk and bring it up until curds and whey separate. Strain it in cheese cloth, then press it between two plates with something heavy on top and leave it in the fridge over night. The next day cut it into cubes, saute in ghee with garam masala, salt, maybe a little sugar.

Photo Courtesy of Hilary Henderson

When I saw this posted on the Voltaggio Brothers' Web site, I figured it would be some overly geeked-out video in which the studious bros futz with thermal immersion circulators and chambered vacuum sealers. Little did I know that Michael Voltaggio, the unhappy winner of Top Chef, would be employing a microwave.

Even better is the surprising result of Voltaggio's sous vide veggies in the microwave. Most TV chefs, I suspect, would have asked for a second take. Not Michael Voltaggio. He just let it all hang, which is what I love about this vid. Especially the moment when he sort of/kind of says:

"Oh shit...that's what you don't want to happen," he says. "This one actually exploded, which means it's done."

Who knows. In the meantime, Bryan Voltaggio explained the details of the brothers' online video series, which launches this month on their Web site:

Michael and I shot a bunch of great videos with our friends at EQAL. The videos will focus on our favorite ingredients, techniques, and gadgets. Top Chef was a fantastic opportunity to get ourselves recognized as chefs, but it is not a perfect venue to show off what we love about cooking. Being forced to cook something in 20 minutes with bizarre ingredients is fun, but not what we normally do in our restaurants. These videos will give you a better sense about our culinary point of view and passion for cooking.

We will be posting videos around once a week starting the first week of January. Please make sure to let us know what you would like to see in the videos.

It would be great if you could post photos, videos, or stories of your Christmas dinner. Upload them to your profile page and flag them as cool. We'll try to post some on the site next week.



Pasta Mia is either the most authentic outpost of Italian cooking in D.C. or the most overrated. Opinions diverged dramatically over the red-sauce house, which is no doubt part of the reason why hundreds and hundreds of you were attracted to Y&H's take-down of the Adams Morgan institution.

The item was, by far, the most read piece on the blog this week. It even managed to attract more readers than a certain light beer whose name will not be mentioned. (*)

Here are this week's most-popular posts:

1. Spot Check: Pasta Mia
2. D.C. Dish Hall of Fame Update: Who's Really Deserving?
3. Why Did 'Top Chef' Feel Like a Movie Script Featuring the Voltaggio Brothers?
4. Thanks for the Memories and Meals: D.C.'s Shuttered Restaurants (*)
5. Relax: Wine Enthusiast's Top 25 Beer List Is Just a Good List of Good Beers

* A certain light-drinking beer was, once again, a Top 5 item, but we’ve stopped counting it.

God knows I respect the Voltaggio brothers' talent, not to mention the willingness of at least one of the siblings to extract himself from a safe, high-profile kitchen position to try something riskier,  like opening his own restaurant.

Which is part of the reason why I could never figure out why Bryan and Michael Voltaggio were on season six of Top Chef to begin with. Neither needed the career boost, and neither really seemed the type to go work for a celebrity chef.

I mean, both of them have already done their tours of duty with celebrity chefs: Bryan worked for years with Charlie Palmer in New York, Las Vegas, and D.C. Michael earned four stars from the Los Angeles Times as chef at The Bazaar by Jose Andres. Bryan has since opened his own place, VOLT, in Frederick, while Michael has gone to the Dining Room at the Langham in Pasadena, Calif., which has earned a Michelin star.

I was thinking about these facts as the brothers stood before the judges' table during this year's finale of Top Chef. The Voltaggios were the last two chefs standing, a pair of prodigiously talented brothers who played up their sibling rivalry all season — hell, before the season even. For the final episode, Top Chef producers went one step further: They flew in the mothers of the final three contestants, mostly, I figured, so that we could watch the drama of Mom Voltaggio trying to console one son while congratulating the other.

At some point in this melodrama about which Voltaggio brother would top the other, I had a vague sense of un-ease, which finally coalesced into this thought today: This conclusion feels like the work of a screenwriter as much as the product of a TV reality series. I couldn't escape the feeling that the whole season had been scripted to reach this very concluding moment between two siblings who have been snipping at each other since childhood.

I'm sure I'm wrong about that. But I'm also sure about one thing: Top Chef has pretty much lost all its charm.

Mmm, dinner is served.

News is breaking faster than Y&H can keep up with it, which means that it's time to get all HuffPo and do a little link aggregation. Let's get right to it:

• WaPo's Tom Sietsema breaks the news about Michael Landrum's latest projects, Ray's the Glass, a Personal Wine Bar with Mark Slater (why does this sound like a late-night talk show?), and Ray's the Game, a burger joint featuring game meats.
• For those who thought the gourmet cupcake craze was an attempt to fetishize our childhood tastes, consider this Washington Business Journal report from Missy Frederick, who tells us that the Cereal Bowl will be opening in Cleveland Park. Yep, it's a place that peddles Fruity Pebbles, Froot Loops (which the place can't even spell correctly on its Web site), Lucky Charms and the like.  This better not affect Palena's ability to expand.

• As they head into Wednesday night's finale, Top Chef producers are milking the Voltaggio brothers'  long-time sibling rivalry for every last drop of drama. And Y&H's buds over at Capital Spice are milking the drama of the finale by organizing a contest to convince Top Chef producers to bring the franchise to the District. The person who submits the best D.C. challenge to Capital Spice wins a prize package.
• ReadysetDC has photos of the newly opened Cork Market on the increasingly fashionable 14th Street corridor. Y&H stopped by the market this weekend and liked the rustic, brick-and-wood vibe of the place. He also liked the bacon egg salad!
• WaPo's Jane Black takes a look at Founding Farmers' sustainable food and sourcing claims and finds them wanting.
• Finally, Metrocurean gives us some insight on the homey menu that Ris Lacoste rolls out tonight with the long-awaited opening of RIS in the West End.

Photo by Zanastardust via Flickr Creative Commons, Attribution License

Mike Isabella withstood charges of misogyny, but he couldn't stand up to Natalie Portman's palate during last night's vegetarian challenge. He was told to pack his knives and go, officially ending the Zaytinya chef's run on the reality show.

But at least his departure gave Isabella an excuse to dish about the show, which he did today during a Q&A with WaPo readers. The highlights:

Vienna, Va.: Do you feel that you were presented fairly on the show? Were there aspects of your personality that didn't make the final cut, but that you wish had?

Mike Isabella: In certain things, yeah of course. The show is only so long, it's more of a competition. There's a lot of things I would have liked to come out, but didn't, but it happens.

How fast do the challenges happen?: It's difficult to tell from the TV show, but how often are the challenges coming at you? Are they every day? And do you get a chance to take a break or recover (or just catch up on sleep)?

Mike Isabella: Challenges are almost every single day. We don't get much recovery time at all. We don't get much sleep. The stronger ones survive. It's a tough competition regardless. There's no layover time. Not at all.

Arlington, Va.: So, you think no girl can top you as a cook? A chef? What makes you so sure?

Mike Isabella: That was a joke. I don't know why people take everything so seriously. I make a lot of jokes. I don't claim to be better than everybody else, but I try to win every day and be better every day myself.

I was raised in a broken family by my mother and my sister so I have plenty of respect for women. It was sarcastic. I'm friends with Jen also.

Washington, DC: Hi Mike.

Carla Hall (TC5-NY) once said (referring to Stefan's edit), "If you say it, they can play it." You were portrayed as cocky and sexist. Were your comments cut in out of context? Do you feel that you received a fair edit?

Mike Isabella: Um, you know, you say it, they play it, that's exactly right. Cocky? I can deal with that. Sexist? Not one bit. Not oooone bit.

Washington, D.C.: I'm sorry to see you go. Here is my question: How much is the Michael/Bryan rivalry played up by producers? Did this go on when the camera's weren't rolling? Thanks!

Mike Isabella: It was played up by producers. They're brothers. They love each other. There's some rivalry, but of course they're going to produce it because it's marketable.

Stone Ridge, Va.: Who would you rather have dinner with – Padma or Tom? Bryan or Michael?

Mike Isabella: Tom without a doubt. Tom's a chef. We relate. Padma — pbbbbtt — I wouldn't go out to dinner if she was buying. Just joking!

That's a tough one. I'd probably say Mike because he's on the west coast and I don't see him as much. They're both great people.

You can read the full Q&A here.

Bryan Voltaggio is so gonna bury bro Michael

The first thing I wanted to know from Bryan Voltaggio is why. Why did the former executive chef at Charlie Palmer Steak and the current chef/owner of his own restaurant, VOLT, in Frederick feel the need to appear on Season 6 of Top Chef? He, of all people, doesn't seem to need the career bump that comes from allowing Bravo to manipulate the crap out of a chef's public image. I mean, he's not Carla Hall.

It seems Voltaggio has his motivations, and it concerns a certain younger brother, Michael Voltaggio, the chef de cuisine at the Bazaar by José Andrés.

"There's always been a bit of sibling rivalry between us," Bryan Voltaggio tells Y&H. "We wanted to prove who's the best."

This fraternal competition has been a part of the brothers' lives since growing up together in Frederick — whether in school, sports, or, now, cooking. Bryan Voltaggio calls it a "friendly thing" between two close family members, but he also admits that the rivalry has its benefits.

"It makes us push harder with our careers because it sets the bar high," says the 33-year-old Voltaggio, two-plus years older than Michael. "We have someone to one up."

That's when the thought strikes me: Oh, I get it. The producers of Top Chef picked these guys just to play up their lifelong sibling rivalry. So I asked Bryan Voltaggio if he thought that's why the producers selected them.

That's when a publicist for Top Chef comes on the line to say, in no uncertain terms, that Voltaggio can't speak for the producers. Nor could he say whether he bested his brother in the competition, which debuts on Aug. 26 on Bravo.

Voltaggio, of course, could comment on something based far more on day-to-day reality than any manipulated controversy on a reality TV program: His brother's four-star review from the Los Angeles Times. A four-star review, I should note, that Michael Voltaggio earned right out of the box. VOLT, by contrast, stands at two and a half stars from the Washington Post.

Does Voltaggio have any feelings about his brother's perfect score?

"It was a very proud moment...He did a fantastic job," Voltaggio says genuinely. "It's obviously something I'd like to achieve....He's obviously raised the bar."

Mike Isabella from Zaytinya: Top Chef material

When Mike Isabella got the call to appear on Season 6 of Top Chef, the Zaytinya chef apparently didn't want to do it. It took a little urging from THINKfoodGROUP's big daddy, José Andrés, before the chef decided to pack his knives and go onto the show. So says Andrés, who has a little experience with food TV himself.

"I said, 'You have to do it,'" Andrés told Y&H this afternoon. "I said, 'I want you to do it.'"

And so Isabella is one of 17 contestants who will appear on Season 6, which debuts on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Las Vegas. Isabella is not the only D.C. area toque to compete this season. VOLT chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio is also a contestant, as is Voltaggio's brother, Michael, who's chef de cuisine at the Bazaar by José Andrés in Los Angeles. Whew, it's getting rather incestuous in here.

The good news for Andrés is that Season 6 is already in the can; filming, he says, took place last month. Isabella, who just earned a nod on Young & Hungry's 2009 Dining Guide, took some vacation time to compete on the program.  Andrés had more than enough chef power to cover for Isabella during his nearly three-week absence.

"My restaurants are good at not making any one person important, in that losing any one person brings the system down," Andrés tells me. "I have a big bench of amazing chefs supporting the playing team." By that, Andrés means chefs such as THINKfoodGROUP's Ruben Garcia and Katsuya Fukushima were available to oversee the Zaytinya kitchen, while the sous chefs ran it in Isabella's absence.

The big question, though, is this: Will Top Chef fame go to Isabella's head, like it does to many former contestants,  so that he wants to open his own restaurant? In other words, will Andrés lose his toque?

"I doubt I'm going to lose him," Andrés says. "I want to believe that he wants to stay, because Zaytinya is a good place for him."

So is Isabella back in the kitchen already?

"Yes," Andrés says, "he's back in the kitchen."

By the way, Andrés tells Y&H that he was approached about competing on Bravo's latest, Top Chef Masters. But that he turned them down. He says he's more interested in using TV to promote Spanish cooking than to merely entertain.

Photo courtesy of Zaytinya