Photo by Rachel Tepper

777 I St. NW (202) 742-8550

Photo courtesy of PS 7's

When Tiffany Short applied for a job at the Black Cat, she wasn't even old enough to drink. The Texas transplant was a few weeks shy of her 21st birthday. The owners made her wait until she was officially legal before hiring her to flip burgers at the 14th Street NW club.

Over the course of the next decade, Short would pick up a host of other skills, from waiting tables to building wine lists to managing a bar, until she finally found her niche at PS 7's in Chinatown: She became one of the city's premier mixologists, known by sight for her platinum blond hair and colorful Harley-chick tats and by reputation for her cocktails like the beet-infused Bolshevik.

The Tiffany Short era in D.C. officially comes to a close on May 19, when she leaves to head back to Austin, her hometown. Her last day at the Gibson was April 21. "I've been in D.C. for a long time now," Short says. "I was ready for a change."

Austin also has one other selling point for Short: her family. "After a while, you kind of miss your family," she says.

As you might expect, Short plans to go out in style. Jackie Greenbaum has lured Short to her new Sidebar project for one final blowout. Short will be mixing drinks at the Silver Spring lounge on Wednesday through Saturday before leaving for Austin next week. She plans to create some special cocktails for the occasion and promises to leave her stamp on Sidebar with a few drinks to put on the bar's permanent menu.

She's also helping Greenbaum to train her new team at Sidebar.

"Having just opened, being a little overextended staff-wise...and wanting to train our staff in modern cocktail sensibilities, Tiffany's really going to help. She's not only bartending," Greenbaum says, "but she's bringing a lot of the cocktail history and training materials she's developed over the years and going to consult a little as we finish some design and equipment touches to the bar so that it is easier to work behind, given the labor intensive cocktails."

It seems only fitting that Short should work at one more joint before she leaves D.C. for good. Her resume is filled with stints at some of the best bars, clubs, and restaurants in the area. After the Black Cat, Short waited tables at Cafe Saint-Ex before moving to Restaurant Nora. Her big break came when she was hired to work at the esteemed Inn at Little Washington, where she performed every task imaginable. It was at the Inn where Short learned how to put together a wine list and make cocktails.

Her next job at PS 7's put her on the map. When chef/owner Peter Smith hired Short, she thought she'd be known mostly for her wine list. Instead, she became the latest darling on the mixologist scene. "I fell into it a little bit by accident," Short confesses.

Her skills behind the bar, however, made her a takeover target, and in November 2008, Short left PS 7's to be part of the opening team at the trendy U Street speakeasy, the Gibson. She was part of a talented group of bartenders at the Gibson, including Derek Brown, who created labor-intensive, hand-made cocktails using top-shelf and house-infused liquors. Together, the Gibson team carefully balanced a respect for classic cocktails with a desire to stretch the limits of the drinking experience.

Still, when I asked Short what legacy she would be leaving in D.C., she didn't hesitate. "The Bolshevik," Short says. "I'll forever be known for the beet cocktail."

Tonight officially kicks off winter D.C. Restaurant Week, which means that if you haven't already secured your reservations to the city's finest, priciest dining rooms, you're pretty much screwed.  Because, let's be honest, if you're not hitting the most expensive restaurants, you're not getting much bang for your buck during RW.

Once you start figuring in drinks, upcharges, gratuities, and that dessert course that you'd never order under normal circumstances, you don't always walk away from Restaurant Week, thinking, "My God! What a deal!" You think: "My God, what just hit me? Didn't I come in here looking to spend $35?"

With the idea that many of the best reservations have been snagged already, Y&H offers you the Ten Best Deals still out there for Restaurant Week. (Incidentally, I have focused on dinners only, since lunch tends to be a better deal all around; each of these ten recommendations had seats available by Monday afternoon.)

This list is after the jump.

• 701: This year's RW menu is a little more streamlined than last winter's version, but chef Adam Longworth has put together a quality list of appetizers and entrees, including plates of pork loin and salmon. Only Thursday evening is booked, a hostess tells me.
• Dino: Dean Gold does one of the best Restaurant Week programs in town. His whole menu is available, including the terrific duck beggar's purse, with only two upcharges on the entire thing. Even better: Wines over $50 a bottle are 33 percent off the entire month of January, which is how long Gold's RW runs as well. Reservations are still available, but you may have to accept a late seating on Thursday. Friday, or Saturday.
• Ristorante Tosca: You may have to elbow your way through a roomful of lobbyists (and who wouldn't like to elbow a lobbyist?), but chef Massimo Fabbri is putting his best food forward for RW, with only two upcharges. Reservations are available, though only late and early seatings on Friday and Saturday. Tosca is closed on Sunday.
  
• Johnny's Half Shell: Beard Award-winning chef Ann Cashion has fashioned a solid RW menu that features a few of the Shell's classic dishes, including the Maryland crabcake (only one per order) and New Orleans file gumbo.  Reservations are available all week.
• PS 7's: Some of Peter Smith's best plates are specials that seemingly appear out of nowhere — I'm thinking of his recent merguez sausage with buttery sourdough croutons — but this RW menu offers a chance to taste the chef's winter experiments with gastriques. Most of the prime seatings, between 7 and 8 p.m., are taken, but early and late tables are available.
• Kaz Sushi Bistro: It's unusual for a sushi house to stand out during RW, but I think chef Kaz Okochi has put together a winning four-course menu comprised of appetizers, sushi (upcharges for the pricey fish, of course), hand rolls, and desserts. Lots of good seats are still available.
• Firefly: Even though the braised delights of the "mini" pot roast come with a $6 upcharge, many of chef Danny Bortnick's other RW offerings carry no supplemental fees. Don't miss his salt-roasted baby beets, which put a new twist on the traditional winter dish. You may have to accept late or early seatings on Friday or Saturday, but the rest of the week is wide open.
• New Heights: You could argue that this isn't much of a deal, given that you can already get three courses for $38 any ol' day, but chef Logan Cox has expanded the options for RW, with only one upcharge. I think it's time I gave Cox another chance, don't you?  Seating is wide open here, even for the weekend.
• Farmers & Fishers (aka Agraria): Last year's face-lift at this Washington Harbor restaurant ushered in a more casual concept. So it only makes sense that for RW, Farmers & Fishers would expand the promotion to four courses for $35, which actually makes it a deal. Saturday looks like a tough get, but the rest of the dates are open.
• Vidalia: Jeffrey Buben's place generated some controversy last year during RW, but this year, the downtown institution is coming out strong, with one of the most well-composed menus for the week. There's a reason this place is almost booked. Only late seatings left on most days. Get 'em while you can!

Here's hoping your Restaurant Week experience is better than you (and definitely I) expect it to be. Please send me your RW experiences via e-mail when you're finished. I'll collect the best of them and put them on the Young & Hungry blog.

I'm not sure if it's residual relief, or just another excuse to party, that continues to fuel our fascination with Repeal Day, but 76 years later, we still celebrate that day when Americans could, once again, get shitfaced without breaking the law.

Parties are scheduled across the land tomorrow, including the black-tie Repeal Day Ball at PS 7's, hosted by the D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild.  The ball will feature cocktails from the area's best mixologists as well as food by chef Peter Smith, '30s-era music by the Red Hot Rhythm Chiefs, and special guests including bartending legend Dale Degroff. General admission tickets are $100 each; VIP tickets are $150. You can buy them here.

Y&H put the question to Derek Brown, the proud owner of a new watering hole and one of the prime movers behind the Craft Bartenders Guild: Why continue to celebrate Repeal Day so long after the fact?

His response via G-chat:

"Because, as [brother] Tom Brown says, without alcohol I wouldn't have a job, hobby or friends."

Fair enough, but I still think we ought to celebrate the 22nd Amendment instead, which may have prevented us from suffering another four years under a former drunk. That's an amendment whose impact feels much more immediate.

But back to the point: The Craft Bartenders Guild party isn't the only one around. Urbana off Dupont Circle is also celebrating Repeal Day with both drink specials  and chef Alex Bollinger's $33 prix-fixe menu. A press release offers more details:

An actual bathtub bar that will serve the Urbana Gin Fizz, available for $8. All of Urbana’s classic cocktails will also be available for $8, including:

• Classic Martini: ketel one or belvedere vodka, noilly prat dry vermouth, shaken or stirred
• Chapala: partida blanco, lillet blanc, orange juice, housemade grenadine, fresh lemon
• Sazerac: woodford reserve, lucid absinthe, peychaud’s and angostura bitters, simple syrup
• Dark and Stormy: gosling’s black seal rum, ten cane rum, ginger beer, fresh lemon
• Bensonhurst: maker’s mark, noilly prat dry vermouth, maraschino, cynar
• Bebbo: plymouth gin, honey, fresh lemon, orange juice

The first Urbana Gin Fizz or classic cocktail purchased by guests in 1920’s attire will be 25 cents. All drinks thereafter will be available for $8.

Music from the ‘roaring 20’s’ will be enjoyed throughout the evening.

Urbana Facebook fans can use a prohibition-era password (only available from the Facebook fan page) to receive an additional gift from the house. The Urbana Facebook fan page can be accessed at: www.facebook.com/urbana

$33 three-course tasting menu featuring items from Chef Bollinger’s late fall/early winter menu, with a selection of appetizer, entrée and dessert.

Photo by Sarah Deer via Flickr Creative Commons, Attribution License

The scene inside the Reagan Building

Blue Ridge's Barton Seaver was gunning for the title for the third straight year at the 2009 Capital Food Fight, held last night inside the Reagan Building. His competition included not only last year's finalist, Peter Smith from PS 7's, but also two Top Chef contestants (Mike Isabella from Zaytinya and Bryan Voltaggio from Volt) and one out-of-town ringer, celebrity chef Michael Mina of Bourbon Steak.

Seaver performed honorably but ultimately lost to Mina the Carpetbagger. But, hey, it's not about competition, right? It's a fundraiser for D.C. Central Kitchen, the non-profit with the master plan to attack homelessness and poverty.

Below the fold are more pictures from the event, courtesy of Reflections Photography. Used with permission.

Mike Isabella, stressin', during an early round challenge.

Michael Mina, the very picture of calm

Judge Carla Hall, giving somebody what for.

Chairman and host José Andrés, no mere figurehead at this event

Co-host Anthony Bourdain, looking bemused

Ris Lacoste, dreaming of her restaurant opening

Judge Eric Ripert raises an eyebrow over something

Barton Seaver, losing with grace and a man hug

Ripert and winner, Mina: Can we get someone local in here?

A professional, if not a genius, is someone who can who adapt to public criticism while still maintaining a sense of personal integrity. Chef Peter Smith is such a person. When diners found his opening day menu at PS 7’s too baffling to parse—a sort of build-your-own tasting menu, back when people still had money and thought they wanted to blow it on 10 courses—Smith quickly retreated and developed more approachable ways to showcase his talents. His latest menu, unveiled in late May, is without a doubt his best attempt yet to expand the dining experience without overwhelming anyone. The menu sports a section called “For the Table” that features sharable plates, from his signature petite hot dogs to his delicious flatbreads topped with duck confit and other juicy morsels. But the menu also disposes with the traditional appetizer course in favor of a two-pronged section of “Cool” and “Hot” bites, including scallop ceviche, “oxtail tots,” and foie-gras-studded braised short ribs in pastry. The beauty of this approach, of course, is that some of these bites are so enticing that you want to…well, build your own mini-tasting menu.

PS 7's, 777 I St. NW, (202) 742-8550

Suddenly, it seems that our region is awash with artisanal charcuterie makers. We've already told you about the stuff at Restaurant Eve, the cured meat plate at PS 7's, and the hand-crafted meats that Jamie Stachowski is peddling practically everywhere, even from the back of his 1988 Trooper. (Oh, by the way, Stachowski finally settled on a name for his product line, MeatCrafters, which sounds like a shop at the mall where they stuff your sausage in an hour. So to speak.)

Two more players have recently entered the cured meat market.

In February, Melissa McCart wrote about the Red Apron line of charcuterie being produced by Nathan Anda, former executive chef at Tallula and EatBar; his bacon, chorizo, hot dogs, and even beef jerky are currently available at Planet Wine in Alexandria, a property owned by Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the same parent company of Tallula, EatBar, Rustico, and the forthcoming Birch & Barley. Also look for Anda's products this spring at local farmers markets.

And just today, I got a press release announcing the opening of Robert Wiedmaier's new place, The Butcher’s Block, a Market by RW, at 1600 King St. in Old Town, next door to the Marcel's and Brasserie Beck chef's BRABO property. Here's the pertinent part of the release:

In addition to the charcuterie, pates, sausages and terrines, The Butcher’s Block, a Market by RW sells prime cuts of rib-eye, fillet, lamb tenderloin, veal chops, pork loin, rabbit and chicken. Chef Wiedmaier sources much of his meat from the region, and he offers braised lamb shank, pork and beef carbonnade that can be purchased with his signature sauces to be heated and served at home.

These places are not helping with my mission to cut down on red meat!

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

So don't fool yourselves that some of the city's finest restaurants—the very ones hyped by everyone for the past week—will have a spot for you and your guests. They won't. But you can still eat well. Below are three places, each well-regarded by critics and diners alike, that still have spots available for Tuesday night. (Or they did yesterday when I checked—sorry, I've been out of commission for 24 hours.)

• PS 7's has a number of seats available, which is great, because you'll have a chance to taste one of the most creative chefs working in town. Peter Smith has put together a special, multi-course tasting menu for the inauguration; it will include mini-Chicago hot dogs (much like the mini-dogs he already serves but with the standard Windy City condiments), Chicago thin-style pizza with spicy diablo sauce, Illinois pan-seared trout, and a slow-roasted pork loin with a sauce of ginger and crack seeds. Crack seed, for those who don't know (including me before I talked to Smith), is the name given to a variety of preserved fruits popular in Hawaii; Smith ate the snacks as a kid in Hawaii, where his Army father was stationed. 
• Vidalia was booked up for Inauguration Day, but things quickly changed when a bunch of diners got their hands on ball tickets, says chef R.J. Cooper. "We had a lot of large parties that have canceled within the last three days because they were celebrities or politicians that were invited to balls," he says. The only problem with trying to book a reservation at Vidalia is that you won't be able to reach the restaurant by car; the streets around the place will be closed, Cooper says. You'll need to take the Metro or the bus. It should be worth the hassle. Cooper has constructed a build-your-own inaugural tasting menu from a wide number of Vidalia dishes, including smoked Carolina mountain trout, a sweet onion crepe, Rhode Island skate wing, Wagyu short ribs, and rabbit saddle. But he's also put together a killer bar menu, available all day, that features chicken fried steak, a charcuterie board, a deep-dish "Obama Mama Pizza," and Cooper's very first ground-beef hamburger (on onion focaccia bread) at Vidalia. "It's food you like to eat when you're tipsy," he says.
• Ardeo, unlike the other restaurants in Ashok Bajaj's group such as the Oval Room or 701, has tables available on inauguration night. That has more to do with Ardeo's location in Cleveland Park, far away from the downtown crush, than with the quality of the cooking. Alex McWilliams was hired as chef last year, and from what I've tasted, he's well worth putting on your list for a visit. I'm tempted, in fact, to call McWilliams' wild striped bass with sunchoke puree and oil-cured olives the dish of the winter. Bajaj says that McWilliams will have a few surprises on the menu for Inauguration Day diners.

Photo by Charles Steck

This handy little compendium of ideas comes courtesy of ZagatBuzz, D.C. edition. Among other
tidbits, ZagatBuzz notes:

At Fyve in the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, DC will get a taste of Hawaii (poke, macadamia-crusted mahi-mahi) in à la carte offerings or as a $48 prix fixe from January 13th–20th; PS 7's is focusing on Illinois regional cuisine (who knew there was one?) in a four-course $65 prix fixe; and, finally, Asia Nine is rolling sushi with politics in mind, i.e., a lean, green Obama roll (filled with vegetables) and a Lame Duck roll (roasted duck, cucumber and soy nuggets).