The "Carnivore" pie at Open City

Rumor du jour: Cava Mezze could be coming to Columbia Heights [Prince of Petworth]

José Andrés' new D.C. food truck, Pepe, will serve six kinds of flautas and one kind of sangria: the non-alcoholic kind. [Eater DC]

Looking for someone to blame for the demise of Capital City Diner? Look no farther than scandal-scarred politico Harry Thomas Jr., who helped Denny's move in nearby. [We Love DC]

All sorts of pop-ups are, um, popping up: Graffiato's Mike Isabella is doing one next month to test recipes for his new Mexican eatery Bandolero. Former Evening Star Café chef Will Artley is also doing one this week, located next door to Del Ray's Pork Barrel BBQ. [WaPo, PR Web]

Uncle Chip's owner Shannon Boyle doesn't just run the bakery and cafe on North Capitol Street—she also owns the building. [WaPo]

Cleanse yourself of the 7 deadly sins with salvation in a cocktail glass at Church & State [Urban Daddy]

She was referring to the Georgetown sustainable seafood spot that has  remained closed since a fire over the summer. Contacted by ES, Isabella denied the rumor. Sort of: "No, no, that was misinterpreted. I don’t have anything signed. It was a miscommunication.” He more firmly rejected the rumored kind of restaurant: “I wouldn’t do a Spanish/Mexican concept."

Earlier this fall, Isabella dished to Y&H contributor Stefanie Gans about his wish to open a new pizzeria different from Graffiato, possibly on H Street NE, then later downplayed the whole idea. His camp called it a "half-baked rumor"—albeit one that he started himself.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Ritz Plaza Hotel

Details are still coming in, but a reliable source tells Y&H that José Andrés will soon announce plans to the local media to open a second The Bazaar by José Andrés on South Beach in Miami. The restaurant, which earned four stars when it debuted in Los Angeles, will be located in the historic Ritz Plaza Hotel, which the real estate development firm sbe will transform into the luxury SLS South Beach.

The property, located next to the Atlantic Ocean, is expected to open in the spring of 2012.

As culinary director for SLS, Andrés and his creative team from THINKfoodGROUP will again work with designer Philippe Starck to "create a new take on The Bazaar byJosé Andrés for this Miami location," a source tells me. The team is "also responsible for all the food and beverage of the hotel, including in room dining, catering and pool menus," the source adds.

The news comes not long after Andrés announced plans to open two restaurants in Las Vegas, including a luxury resort version of his ground-breaking Jaleo concept.

Y&H got his hands on a copy of the draft press release about the new SLS South Beach. You can read it after the jump.

(Los Angeles, CA) – August XX, 2010 – Leading luxury hospitality, real estate development and lifestyle company, sbe, has advanced its commitment to the Ritz Plaza Hotel in South Miami Beach, Florida. sbe additionally announced its development and programming plans for the historic asset, which will open as the second location of its renowned, award-winning SLS Hotels brand as the 142-room SLS South Beach in Spring 2012.

The development will transform South Beach’s iconic Ritz Plaza Hotel into a best-in-class hospitality and food and beverage destination, bringing together an unparalleled team of creative and operational talent. Joining Nazarian and sbe in the creative development of the SLS South Beach are exclusive collaborators including designer Philippe Starck, culinary director Chef José Andrés and Chef Katsuya Uechi.

“In developing the SLS Hotels brand, we re-examined and re-thought every possible aspect of luxury hospitality and teamed with the best minds in the industry to deliver a premier experience with an unwavering commitment to absolute innovation, intuitive guest service and the highest quality,” said Nazarian. “Situated across 17th Street from the Delano against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ritz Plaza site is the best piece of undeveloped real estate in South Beach and provides a perfect extension for the SLS Hotels brand.”

The SLS South Beach will deliver guests a unique luxury hospitality platform that combines the unparalleled design ingenuity of Philippe Starck, the world-renowned culinary brilliance of Chef José Andrés, including the second location of the award-winning Bazaar by José Andrés brand, the incomparable artistry of Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi, the unrivaled relaxation and pampering of Ciel Spa and the unmistakable exclusivity and vibrancy of Hyde Lounge. “I could not be more excited to come to Miami with my partners at SLS,” says Andrés. “It is an amazing city, full of life, and full of friends.”

Originally built in 1939 under renowned South Beach architect L. Murray Dixon, the SLS South Beach features a rooftop architectural design depicting a lantern reaching to the sky and is the tallest art deco structure in South Beach. Starck’s design for the hotel will feature a stunning surrealistic feel highlighted by a white-on-white palate with limited accents from carpeting, stone or artwork. Perfectly suited for a luxurious yet vibrant beach experience, the project will mark Starck’s successful return to South Beach where his 1995-designed Delano remains the market standard.

“SLS in Los Angeles is a full boiling bucket of energy made of life, vision, creativity, intelligence, fertile surprises, love, tenderness and sexiness, but also great food and wine. It is called a modern miracle. But who said that miracles happen only on the west coast? The new SLS South Beach shall be another huge bucket of sparkling energy, but with sea, sun and sand. The perfect miracle?” added Philippe Starck.

Previously operated with 132 rooms, sbe’s development of the SLS South Beach will be highlighted by the construction of 10 new luxury pool-side bungalow suites. In addition to bungalows, pools, decks and cabanas, the new construction will also mark the fourth location of sbe’s Hyde Lounge brand. Dubbed Hyde Beach,  the venue will feature 8,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor lounge amenities emptying onto the sand just steps from the Atlantic Ocean. Joining sbe’s existing Hyde Lounge Sunset, Hyde Lounge Staples Center and Hyde Lounge Mammoth Mountain in delivering true nightlife innovation, Hyde Beach will provide an unprecedented new experience to the vibrant South Beach market modeled after the best beach-side destinations of the Mediterranean Riviera. The venue will also feature sbe Restaurant and Nightlife Group’s best in class service and VIP guest relations.

The SLS South Beach experience will be further enhanced by sbe’s exclusive collaboration with renowned culinary innovator José Andrés, who will serve as overall creative director of food and beverage for the hotel.

In the gifted hands of Chef Andrés, SLS guests will be treated to revolutionary culinary experiences across the hotel’s lobby, bars, and expansive pool deck, as well as in-room dining and events. In addition, the SLS South Beach will mark the second location of The Bazaar by José Andrés. A true fête extraordinaire, the Bazaar concept, created with Starck, first debuted to unprecedented critical and guest acclaim at the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills in October 2008. At The Bazaar by José Andrés South Beach, Andres re-imagines the experience with influences from local flavors while still featuring a heady array of pioneering culinary and lounge concepts. The restaurant will also deliver more traditional breakfast and lunch amenities to guests.

Joining The Bazaar, the SLS South Beach will feature the fifth location of sbe’s Katsuya brand in partnership with Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi. Located in the hotel’s historic ballroom, Katsuya South Beach will deliver guests a masterpiece of design sensuality, beauty and soulfulness – a space where form complements function and the spirit that is Katsuya shines through. Under Chef Uechi the Katsuya concept, “mise en scène” by Starck, has completely revolutionized the Japanese culinary experience for Los Angeles diners by combining traditional Japanese techniques and ingredients with the sensibilities of the American and global palate. Similarly, Katsuya South Beach will elevate the landscape for Japanese dining experiences in Miami.

I have no idea when José Andrés' real birth date is, but I know they're celebrating the Spanish chef's 40th tonight at an undisclosed location, kind of like Dick Cheney might , only with actual friends involved in this case.

In a weird case of synchronicity, a City Paper employee met today with a publicist for the National Gallery of Art, who told him how Jaleo, the flagship in Andrés' restaurant empire, got its name.  The CP employee asked me if I knew the inspiration for Jaleo's name. I had to admit I didn't.

The publicist said that Andrés was visiting the National Gallery nearly 17 years ago when he came across the above painting by John Singer Sargent. Its name?

El Jaleo.

On this page on the John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery, where we nicked the electronic painting above, there's a brief essay on El Jaleo. It reads, in part:

I just viewed a video called American Visions: the Gilded Age, done for PBS in 1997 written and narrated by Robert Hughes. In it he talks about El Jaleo. He says it means the spontaneous clapping and shouting that comes like an "Olay!" at the apex of a performance.

So what we're seeing is the zenith of the dance, at the height of its energy. The man with his head tilted back is shouting. You can see the dancer's foot, with her firm heel solidly stomped to the ground in a resounding clap against the hard floor[1]. The passion of the dress being controlled, flipped, the audience baited, played to like a matador's cape with the stoic aloofness of a tease. The room is focused except for the musicians strumming hard their infectious intensity with cadence clipped in staccato beats that mirrors her quick and sudden movements sending her shawl flailing. The collective hands of the audience clap in point/counter-point to the sharp patterned stomp of her heels. The sensual energy is contagious and Sargent draws you into his dark room giving it a low light splashing the shadows high and playing like shadow puppets against the wall in almost a dreamlike feeling. It's base. It's primal. It's gloriously beautiful.

The cross-cultural symbolism of Andrés' apparent choice cannot be overlooked: An American painter interpreting a famous Spanish dance. I could see how that painting, aside from its beauty, would appeal to a young Spanish chef as he was about to interpret his country's famous cuisine for American diners.

Despite its portmanteau name that dredges up images of those foot-fetish Georgetown boutiques, Cheesetique is, without a doubt, my favorite cheese shop in the area (not to mention a two-time Best of D.C. winner). The staff here is sort of the anti-Ray Bowers, the chronically cranky cheesemonger who runs Bowers Fancy Dairy Products in the Eastern Market; Cheesetique employees are polite and knowledgeable while still projecting an appropriate amount of artisan-shop quirkiness. Even better, I never get the sense they're trying to gouge me.

Case in point: Cheesetique's price for iberico de bellota. The shop sells the hard-to-find cured Spanish hams for $99 a pound. Contrast that with the price I paid recently at the noisy, no-frills, baby-stroller choked Eastern Market, where the seemingly kindly man behind the counter at Canales Deli charged me $150 a pound for the same meat, a 50 percent increase over the stuff at Cheesetique.

Now, I sampled the bellota at Cheesetique just to make sure they weren't passing off inferior ham for the real deal. While the shaved meat was far saltier than the stuff I sampled from Canales, it did have the same depth of flavor — an intense buttery nuttiness, with an undercurrent of grass and earth, that characterizes this prized jamon.

As I savored each bite of bellota at Cheesetique, I couldn't help but have the words of antonio buzzing through my head: I felt like a chump who was played by the counterman at Canales, sort of like the mark at a Texas Hold-'Em table who doesn't realize he's a mark.

Once Canales opens up tomorrow, Y&H will be burning up its phone lines, looking for some sort of explanation on how the deli gets off charging $51 more a pound than a competitor just across the District line. Keep it right here.

Dufresne, Andrés, and Colman: foaming over Spanish avant-garde cooking

Chefs Wylie Dufresne and José Andrés took to the stage last night at the National Museum of American History and said that, despite all the hype and hero-worship around him, Ferran Adrià is indeed the man responsible for the foams, spherifications, and other elements of modern avant-garde cooking.

Well, I should clarify: Andrés said that, but Dufresne didn't disagree.

The Adrià coronation was part of an hour-long discussion, presented by the Spain-USA Foundation and hosted by writer Colman Andrews, designed to dissect Spanish "vanguard cuisine" and its influence on U.S. chefs. Despite its academic bent, the discussion had some moments of levity, even insight.

One of those highlights came when Andrés, the man behind the minibar and The Bazaar, was trying explain his deconstructed New England clam chowder to a packed audience. "What's the problem with clam chowder?" the chef asked, by way of introduction to the dish.

"Nothing," Dufresne shot back. The chef, I should note, is from the New England area.

Andrés quickly backpedaled, saying that, of course, "We all love traditional cooking," but that the one problem with clam chowder is its chewy, rubbery clams. He "fixed" the problem by making a mousse of clam water for his dish.

Andrés got a chance to out-quip Dufresne a few minutes later, when the wd~50 chef was trying to convince the audience that avant-garde cooking wasn't, you know, evil. "People think we're taking out the soul of food in the Lower East Side, wearing lab coats and electrocuting bunnies," Dufresne started out.

"Sometimes, we are," Andrés joked. The audience roared.

The most interesting quote of the night, though, may have come from Dufresne, who said, American experimental chefs "haven't been encouraged by the press to cook this way." He said that the Spanish press has been much more open to Adrià's approaches, which has made Spain a friendlier environment in which to incubate new ideas and techniques.

That, I thought, is a very compelling notion. Could a too critical, too traditional food press be holding back culinary experimentation in this country? It's a topic for further discussion, I think.