Comerford and Flay get fresh (veggies) in the White House garden.

Jeesh, speaking of predictions, Y&H should have guessed this would happen as soon as the White House broke ground on its kitchen garden in March: Iron Chef America has trotted out three of its, ahem, heaviest hitters to cook a meal from ingredients plucked from the hugely symbolic garden.

The special two-hour episode of Iron Chef America, dubbed with a stunning lack of subtlety, Super Chef Battle, features Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, who take on Bobby Flay and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford in the competition.

The episode has already been filmed, and according to The New York Times‘ account, First Lady Michelle Obama laid out the ground rules to the teams (they had to cook five dishes using ingredients from the White House kitchen garden) and put in a good plug for her Healthy Kids Initiative.

The show will air on Sunday, Jan. 3, on the Food Network.

Not surprisingly, the air date is politically tinged. So says Y&H’s virtual friend, Obama Foodorama, who writes:

Read More “Should Have Seen This Coming: ‘Iron Chef’ Visits White House for ‘Kitchen Garden’ Challenge” »

The First Lady has been the topic of foodie chatter on two fronts this week — first for her stop at Gramercy Tavern on Thursday, followed shortly thereafter with the launch of the “Michelle Melt” at Good Stuff Eatery.

Let’s see what the media had to say on these and other urgent foodie matters:

• Eater has the pics and Obama Foodorama has the insider deets on Michelle Obama’s lunch at Gramercy.
• The AP has the story on Spike Mendelsohn’s healthy new “Michelle Melt,” which categorically did not include any assist from assistant White House chef Sam Kass.
• Michael Birchenall breaks the news that Yannick Cam will soon be back on the dining scene.
• Thrillist has the details on the opening date of Mark Furstenberg’s G Street Food.
• The Washingtonian has learned who will take over the Olives space.
• Yours truly had the news on Taylor Gourmet II’s pending opening.
• Y&H also covered the opening of Eric Ziebold’s latest, Sou’Wester.

Y&H had a hard time extracting himself from the office by the start of the FreshFarms Market by the White House yesterday, so I missed all the politico-celebrity speech-making. Fortunately, there were only, say, a thousand other journalist covering that angle. So I focused on, you know, the food. It’s a farmers market after all, even if it’s one as much about symbolism as produce.

Check out Y&H’s photos after the jump.

Read More “Yep, That’s Right, More Photos from the White House Farmers Market” »

The traffic is outrageous on Vermont Ave. during rush hour!

No one needs to tell you, least of all Y&H, that in this blog-eat-blog, 24-hour news-cycle world everyone is required to have an opinion. But, really, shouldn’t everyone wait until the object under criticism has actually opened?

I’m speaking about the new FreshFarm Market by the White House, which the busy non-profit opens today with guest appearances from First Lady Michelle Obama, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  Last month, Mother Jones was first out of the block in predicting dark things about the market:

[I]f this idea becomes reality, the Obamas should be careful to make it a sustainable market for local farmers rather than a kitschy tourist attraction bogged down by pins and t-shirts that say “Yes We Can Farm” and “Change We Can Grow In.” But let’s face it, due to the massive security detail the market would require and the overwhelming draw for Washingtonians and tourists alike, the latter is more likely.

(Just for the record, Capital Spice has an excellent run-down of the vendors, none of which appear to be hawking pins and t-shirts.)

WTOP continued the early hand-wringing with a story about potential rush-hour traffic snarls:

Read More “White House Farmers Market Draws Criticism Before Its Opening” »

There’s no mistaking that Young & Hungry readers love their beer. They love it in a glass. They love it in a growler. And they love it in print. The single most-read item of the week — by a wide, wide margin — was Beerspotter Orr Shtuhl’s post on the inaugural D.C. Beer Week.

I predict it will remain a popular post for awhile, too. Because Shtuhl’s constantly updating it as new information arises. Keep it bookmarked.

Here’s what Y&H readers liked this week:

1. Another D.C. Beer Week? Yes, Please.
2. Strip Club Food: Not as Nasty as You’d Think
3. Spike Mendelsohn Evicted from His Capitol Hill Rental House (A surprise returnee to the list, likely due to the First Lady’s recent visit to Good Stuff Eatery.)
4. Birch & Barley Should Tap Its First Keg in September
5. Is the ‘Times’ Saying Anonymity Doesn’t Matter Anymore in a Dining Critic?
   

If Spike Mendelsohn had ever wondered whether his recent run-in with the law had put him in dutch with Michelle Obama, a documented fan of his burgers, then the First Lady answered it today when she revisited Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill.

Obama Foodorama, Eddie Gehman Kohan’s indefatigable blog, reported that the First Lady made a return appearance to Good Stuff today, along with daughters Sasha and Malia and some White House staffers. It was Michelle Obama’s first public tasting of Good Stuff burgers since news broke in late May that Mendelsohn, along with business partner/roommate Mike Colletti, had been evicted from a Capitol Hill property for failure to pay more than $8,000 in rent and penalties.

The First Lady had previously hit up Good Stuff in early May, shortly before the eviction.

But perhaps Mendelsohn’s moves to make restitution were enough for the First Lady? Or maybe Michelle Obama feels some loyalty to Good Stuff because, as Obama Foodorama reported, Mendelsohn has been keeping the President stuffed with a steady supply of burgers?

Noted Ob Fo:

Read More “Spike Mendelsohn Is Still on the First Lady’s A-List Despite His Recent Legal Woes” »

Most folks saw the Beer Summit as a chance to talk race relations in America. The readers of Y&H saw it as a chance to bash the participants for their lousy taste in brew.

Orr Shtuhl’s post on the suds summit was the runaway hit of the week, but his follow-up on Obama’s disastrous taste in light quaffs just barely missed the cut, which makes me think Y&H readers have some deep-seated desire to push the president around.

The rest of the week’s hits:

1. Obama’s Beer Meeting: Let the Lobbying Begin!
2. Strip Club Food: Not as Nasty as You’d Think
3. Chinatown Coffee Co. Opened for Business Today
4. Follow That Cheese: Whole Foods Burrata Not Made in House After All
5. Michelle Obama and Company Dined at The Majestic on Thursday

Photo by √oxéfx via Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License

This just in  from Meshelle Armstrong, wife of chef Cathal and distributor of vital information for all the Armstrong-led restaurants in Old Town: First Lady Michelle Obama, her mother Marian Robinson, and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, celebrated a birthday last night at The Majestic.

Writes Armstrong via e-mail:

Tonight, Mrs. Obama, her mother, beautiful daughters and friends had dinner at The Majestic.

They were celebrating a birthday.

Chef Shannon Overmiller prepared and cooked their dinner while Cathal expedited the food for the evening.

Cars were triple parked on King Street, the glass windows at the facade of the historic building was pressed with faces and all clamoring to gain entry.

Read More “Michelle Obama and Company Dined at The Majestic on Thursday” »

The question of the week — Have we stopped caring about the Obamas‘ restaurant visits? — has apparently been answered. That would be a big  “no.” A Y&H item on that question was the most-read blog post this week, barely topping another item about Frank Morales‘ surprising departure from Rustico.

Without further ado…

1. Have We  Stopped Caring About the Obamas’ Restaurant Visits Already?
2. Frank Morales Has Left Rustico Behind, But Not Beer-Friendly Food
3. Y&H Went Whole Hog at Poste’s Pig Roast
4. Homemade Twinkies at Wagshal’s Deli
   
5. Whole Foods Burrata: As Good As the Real Thing?

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

So Michelle Obama and the First Family’s defacto White House chef, Sam Kass, dined at Oyamel last week, and you know what? The local media didn’t Tweet their fingers to a pulp to report every last chip slathered with salsa that crossed the First Lady’s lips.

Eddie Gehman Kohan, the indefatigable blogger who covers all things Obama and food at (what else?) Obama Foodorama, thinks she knows why:

Read More “Have We Stopped Caring About the Obamas’ Restaurant Visits Already?” »