When I first heard, via this NBC Washington report, that former Top Chef contestant Richard Blais was going to open a burger joint in D.C., I immediately thought: God, it’s come to this. Chefs are following Spike Mendelsohn’s lead.

But then I looked further into Blais’ concept at Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta, the hamburger joint with the pretentious name and the cool concept. The operation combines Blais’ affection for molecular gastronomy with the foodstuff that Washingtonians seem to love more than even Wimpy does.

The molecular gastronomy side of Flip seems, for the most part, limited to the milkshake section of the menu (PDF), where the creamy drinks are flash frozen with liquid nitrogen and come in oddball flavors such as Krispy Kreme and (I kid you not) foie gras. Here’s what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Meridith Ford wrote in her (I kid you not) four-star review of Flip:

Read More “Former Top Chef Contestant Blais to Open Flip Burger in D.C.” »

The D.C. Dish Hall of Fame leaderboard remains virtually unchanged after a week of voting, save for the flip-flop of the ninth and tenth place dishes. After a strong surge last week, Horace & Dickie’s  fried whiting moves up a notch into ninth place.

But I have to say, I think the list is still missing some great dishes. Plates like Frank Ruta’s roast chicken and Michel Richard’s lobster burger are nowhere to be seen, meaning they will not, at present, be part of the inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame. A shame that would be, to paraphase a certain elderly sage.

A comment we received this morning, I think, sums up the feelings of a number of voters, who seem to view this contest as an exercise in classism, not a genuine search for D.C.’s finest plates:

like most things in DC, the options show extreme class stratification. I’d love to know the percentage of DC residents who’ve enjoyed the CityZen Parker House Rolls or Komi’s spit roasted goat.

I understand that more people can afford to eat at Ben’s Chili Bowl over CityZen. But I don’t think you should hold that against a great side like Eric Ziebold’s Parker House rolls. It deserves a place among the city’s best as much as the chili half-smoke. Well, almost as much.

So, c’mon, let’s try to put our prole resentments aside and vote for the best, regardless of price.  You can vote here.

The leaderboard:

Read More “D.C. Dish Hall of Fame Leaderboard: Same As It Ever Was” »

Y&H has been promoting the pleasures of fried whiting for years. It’s truly one of the District’s under-appreciated plates, which is why I was happy to see the whiting at Horace & Dickie’s enter this week’s leaderboard for the D.C Dish Hall of Fame.

Granted, the dish still doesn’t have enough votes to enter the Hall. It needs to be among the top five to earn that honor. But regardless, I’m glad to see it get some love. Maybe you’d like to give it more affection? Vote here.

Speaking of which, the falafel sandwich at Amsterdam Falafelshop also made a strong move last week, adding nearly 30 votes to its total despite the owners’, ahem, questionable behavior at the Strathmore. I credit the uptick to a groundswell of vegan/vegetarian voters, who were no doubt spurred by some online petition. How do I know this?

Because Y&H received a number of e-mails like this one from avalon345:

“Not enough vegetarian/vegan choices! Looks like 1950s fare…”

Yeah, sure. Where were you eating palak chaat, pho, and Peruvian chicken in the ’50s, avalon345?

The current leaderboard after the jump:

Read More “Horace & Dickie’s Enters the Leaderboard in D.C. Hall of Fame Voting” »

Voting is just a couple of weeks old for the inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame, but already a pattern has emerged: Fast foods are dominating the competition.

That’s hardly surprising, of course. On a daily basis, you know that people order about 500 more half smokes at Ben’s Chili Bowl than, say, order Frank Ruta’s roast chicken at Palena Cafe. But just because the odds are stacked against your favorite dish, that’s no excuse to sit back and let the fast foods run away with this.

Start pressing your friends to vote for your favorite dish. The voting doesn’t end until Dec. 11, when we will induct the top 5 into Washington City Paper’s inaugural D.C. Dish Hall of Fame.

Take a look at the current leaders:

Read More “Fast Foods Take the Lead in D.C. Dish Hall of Fame Voting” »

 Michael Landrum, the man who put the meat into the Ray’s mini-empire, has never been shy about telling the world about the superiority of his beef.  The New York Times‘ investigation of the commercial ground-beef industry gave him another chance to do more of the same.

Landrum responded to three of the four questions posed by Y&H in the wake of the investigation. I asked Landrum — and BGR’s Mark Bucher before him — to try to alleviate public fears by explaining the differences between commercial ground beef and their ground beef.

Y&H: What was your overall impression of the Times‘ piece and what do you think it will mean for ground beef and burger sales in the future?

Landrum: Didn’t see the piece, so I can’t comment on question 1.  Read More “Michael Landrum Makes His Case for Gourmet Burgers in the Face of the Times’ Investigation” »

Y&H does some side work for Askmen.com, but this week he took a break and asked Michael Landrum to step in and recommend a few manly places for the site’s D.C. readership. Obviously, that was too humdrum a task for Landrum. He went ahead and wrote an essay about “how to be a man in a restaurant.” It involves tipping generously. Very generously.

Sample lines from Landrum:  “Tip to the point beyond fear and, like a roller coaster ride, be prepared for an experience more exhilarating and rewarding than you could have previously imagined or hoped for. Do not make the mistake of tipping what you think the person deserves; instead, tip based on the man you want to be — and you will be taken for that man. Remember, though, that the equation works both ways. There are many things that reveal the difference between a man and a punk — and being cheap will always make you a punk.”

You can imagine the shitstorm this has started over at Askmen.com. Let me quote just a few of the comments Landrum’s essay has generated:

Read More “Michael Landrum Pisses Off Askmen Readers with His Strategies on Tipping” »

In the September/October issue of Imbibe, the editors selected their 99 favorite beers in different categories, such as seasonals or beers to drink with a burger. In “Imbibe Vs. Beerspotter,” Y&H’s Beerspotter takes each list to task.

The editors of Imbibe write that their ideal burger beers “complement, rather than overwhelm” the flavors of their burger. I suppose that’s fine if you’re writing from Portland, Ore. — the dry, hoppy Victory Prima Pils does cut through unctuous beef fat like, um, a knife through unctuous beef fat. But in D.C., where our chain burgers are Five Guys and our boutique patties are presidential, we want our beers to punch their weight.

I want my burger juicy in the middle and charred on the outside, and I want a Stone Smoked Porter to go with it. Its bittersweet chocolate flavors give it a hefty body, while a dose of smoked malt puts grill marks on your pint glass. Nonsmokers should try Duck Rabbit Schwarzbier, a black lager that swaps the smoke for chewier flavors in the form of toasted coffee. Samuel Adams Black Lager would do in a pinch, too.
Read More “Imbibe Vs. Beerspotter: Beers to Drink With a Burger” »

This blog has gone to Hell, and readers are taking Select 55 with it. For Christ’s sake, people, can we get over this Budweiser post, which tops the list for the third straight week?

The most-read items for the week:

1. Budweiser Launches Select 55, Light Beer Arms Race Gets Absurd
2. Not So Fast: There’s No Deal for a Ray’s Hell Burger in Adams Morgan
3. No Hell Burger for Adams Morgan, but a Ray’s the Steaks for NE
4. Did Vidalia Use “Inferior” Ingredients During Restaurant Week?
5. Drool List: Pizzeria Paradiso at Dupont Circle
   

Adams Morgan may have to wait — as in forever — for a Ray’s Hell Burger, but Northeast D.C. will have to drum their fingers only ’til this fall for the debut of Ray’s the Steaks at East River, says owner Michael Landrum.

When WaPo first announced RTS@ER, it was known as Ray’s the Heat, but Landrum decided to change the name as a sort of official notice to the neighborhood, which restaurateurs have historically neglected like an ugly stepchild. The name-change, Landrum says, is “a signal to that community that they’re getting my A property.”

Read More “No Hell Burger for Adams Morgan, but a Ray’s the Steaks for NE” »

Beer and controversy, controversy and beer. They are the backbone of the Young & Hungry blog. Here’s what you’ve been reading this  week:

1. Budweiser Launches Select 55, Light Beer Arms Race Gets Absurd
2. WTF: Makoto Is Once Again the Top-Rated Restaurant in the Annual Zagat Guide
3. Not So Fast: There’s No Deal for a Ray’s Hell Burger in Adams Morgan
4. Birch & Barley Hires NYC Chef to Replace Frank Morales
5. Woes Continue for Cap City Diner’s Owners