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.

Read More “Scenes from the 2009 Capital Food Fight” »

Bryan Voltaggio is so gonna bury bro Michael

The first thing I wanted to know from Bryan Voltaggio is why. Why did the former executive chef at Charlie Palmer Steak and the current chef/owner of his own restaurant, VOLT, in Frederick feel the need to appear on Season 6 of Top Chef? He, of all people, doesn’t seem to need the career bump that comes from allowing Bravo to manipulate the crap out of a chef’s public image. I mean, he’s not Carla Hall.

It seems Voltaggio has his motivations, and it concerns a certain younger brother, Michael Voltaggio, the chef de cuisine at the Bazaar by José Andrés.

“There’s always been a bit of sibling rivalry between us,” Bryan Voltaggio tells Y&H. “We wanted to prove who’s the best.”

Read More “The New Spin for Next Season’s ‘Top Chef’: Sibling Rivalry!” »

Mike Isabella from Zaytinya: Top Chef material

When Mike Isabella got the call to appear on Season 6 of Top Chef, the Zaytinya chef apparently didn’t want to do it. It took a little urging from THINKfoodGROUP’s big daddy, José Andrés, before the chef decided to pack his knives and go onto the show. So says Andrés, who has a little experience with food TV himself.

“I said, ‘You have to do it,’” Andrés told Y&H this afternoon. “I said, ‘I want you to do it.’”

And so Isabella is one of 17 contestants who will appear on Season 6, which debuts on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Las Vegas. Isabella is not the only D.C. area toque to compete this season. VOLT chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio is also a contestant, as is Voltaggio’s brother, Michael, who’s chef de cuisine at the Bazaar by José Andrés in Los Angeles. Whew, it’s getting rather incestuous in here.

Read More “Jose Andres Thinks His Zaytinya Chef Will Stick Around After ‘Top Chef’ Appearance” »

The editors (aka, the Meat Grinders) are busy putting the final touches on this year’s Best of D.C. issue, even though all the picks have already been made, including a large number in the Food & Drink section. Personally, if you ask me, too much emphasis is placed on the Best Restaurant category.

Seriously, do any of you expect to be surprised by the winner of that category? Far more interesting to me is the Best New Restaurant pick. Despite the crappy economy, our market saw a wealth of new eateries open in the past year. Below the jump is a list of the restaurants under consideration for the honor. Which one do you think deserves top billing?

Read More “Best of D.C.: Which New Restaurant Deserves Top Honors?” »

The James Beard Foundation has released its massive list of semi-finalists [PDF] in the restaurant and chef categories, and the D.C. area has plenty of contenders. So far, at least.

It’s a bit early to get too pump over this list, which was whittled down from more than 15,000 entries. At present, many of the categories boast 20 or more semi-finalists, but by March 23, each will be pared down to five. The winners will be honored on May 4 at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

With that said, D.C. was well represented among the semi-finalists. Young & Hungry sends out a hearty congratulations for those local chefs and restaurants that made the cut. They include:

Read More “Beard Semi-Finalists Just Announced: D.C. Is Well Represented” »