A few weeks back, Y&H questioned Mark Bucher, founder of BGR: The Burger Joint and Medium Rare, about his involvement in the new Meatballs restaurant in Penn Quarter. Bucher denied any official involvement—despite records filed with the District's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration identifying him as the 100-percent owner of the business. Bucher claimed he was [...]
Finding animal brains, limbs and tongues on menus has become a fairly normal occurrence in Washington. Dupont's Eola offers a special tasting menu of offal and Bar Pilar fries pig ears into crispy strips. Nose-to-tail dining has switched from adventure eating to a moral crusade, allowing thoughtful omnivores to rationalize the killing of an animal by eating every [...]
It's been a banner summer for the Rickey. After finally earning the official distinction as D.C.'s native cocktail with much fanfare in July, the local libation is the subject of some intense competition on Monday night, as area mixologists unveil their most creative takes on the drink in pursuit of "Best Rickey 2011" honors. Finalists [...]
Zagat’s updated "2012 Washington, DC/Baltimore Restaurants Survey," is officially released on Wednesday. In it, you'll find D.C.'s most popular restaurants listed as follows: Zaytinya, 2 Amys, Central, Citronelle, Inn at Little Washington. And the city's top rated places for food: Marcel’s (29 out of 30 points), Inn at Little Washington (29) Komi (29), CityZen (28), [...]
Ashok Bajaj, the D.C. restaurateur who owns 701, Bibiana, Ardeo + Bardeo, Bombay Club, Oval Room, and Rasika, is known for his nightly circuit of his businesses, checking in on his dining rooms, chefs, general managers, and loyal customers. With a valet stand at each of his restaurants, he doesn't really need to worry about [...]
The first Young & Hungry column I wrote, almost five years ago, was a review of Miss Saigon in Georgetown. I was auditioning for the job of food columnist for Washington City Paper, and these were my marching orders in December 2005: critique a Vietnamese restaurant that no one cared about. I was puzzled, but [...]
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 [...]
As you might remember, Y&H last year made something of a fuss about Makoto's strange stranglehold on the top spots in the annual Zagat Guide, which really isn't so annual after all. Well, the new 2011 Washington D.C./Baltimore survey just hit the streets today, and guess what? Makoto is nowhere to be found among the [...]
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 [...]
It seemed a hope beyond comprehension for D.C. to spawn two quality Indian outlets on the same street within a matter of months. I mean, we already had the instant-hit Masala Art in Tenleytown. Could Washingtonians find another one just a few blocks north on Wisconsin at Cafe of India? Alas, Cafe of India, despite its elegant [...]
