Rounding up the roundups: 5. WaPo's "Best and Worst Dishes of 2011." I totally agree with Yonan on El Centro D.F. Worst. Tacos. Ever. 4. Washingtonian's "Top 10 Dining-World Dramas of 2011," complete with a gracious nod to Y&H. Hey, thanks for the plug! 3. HuffPo's top 6 suburban Chinese spots (and two in D.C.) [...]

Was Tamesha played by Angelo? I'm sorry, but I had to take a break from Top Chef D.C. for awhile. I can only take so much "reality" TV beofre my head feels like it's shrinking to the size of a jelly bean, ready to be eaten by the first self-starving former runway model hosting one [...]

Meshelle Armstrong has been on the warpath about Todd Kliman's recent opinion column for The Daily Beast on the "locavore wine hypocrisy." It's a provocative piece, full of writerly angst about how, for many restaurants, the "buy local" philosophy stops at the local vineyard's front door. Kliman singles out Restaurant Eve, where Armstrong and her [...]

The mood over this season's Top Chef is turning dark. The critics are claiming the cheftestants (still can't stomach that word) are inferior to previous seasons. Hell, they can't even make a pie. The media have their say: Joe Yonan and Bonnie Benwick over at WaPo, ahem, knead-le the chefs over their pies: "If you [...]

If there was any theme to Wednesday night's episode of Top Chef D.C., it had to be this: Assistant White House chef Sam Kass is a total, to-die-for hunk, more than deserving of his spot on People magazine's list of the 100 most beautiful people. Serious Eats found Kass good enough to eat: "This week [...]

File this under: There's no accounting for taste. Some view the "pickleback," a shot of Jameson chased by a shot of pickle juice, as the end of Western civilization. Or at least the end of their pickle juice supply at the bar. Respected 8407 chef/owner Pedro Matamoros views the one-two punch to the gut as [...]

Last week was not one that Y&H will reflect upon fondly. No, it has nothing to do with the lackluster debut of Top Chef D.C. It had everything to do with item No. 2 below. The subject of item No. 2 was always No. 1 on our list. Here were your favorite five reads from [...]

You've already seen my thoughts on the debut episode of Top Chef D.C. Let's find out what others had to say about Tom and Padma's trip to the District. Joe Yonan at WaPo notes that the reality TV program has an unusual sense of "reality." TV Guide loved the debut and called the D.C. episode [...]

In 2008, a year in which she was fighting for her Ward 7 seat, D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander took a heaping amount of credit for bringing Ray's the Steaks at East River to her district, even though it's not exactly clear what she did directly to help a restaurateur who may be losing money [...]

Late yesterday, the Washingtonian's Todd Kliman sent out a Tweet heard 'round the world — or at least 'round the D.C. dining community. He wrote: Inox in Tysons will be closing tomorrow, according to a trusted source. Kliman floated a similar rumor back in February, which Inox chef/owner Jon Mathieson quickly shot down. It didn't [...]