Easter Sunday arrives this weekend. What would Jesus do? Brunch, of course. An estimated 33 million Americans are expected to dine out on Sunday, according to the National Restaurant Association; 29 percent of them plan to attend brunch. The prophet himself would probably show up in sandals, but these places might actually require shoes: José [...]

Red Hook Lobster Pound truck: street food makes the Dining Guide WaPo's Tom Sietsema released his 2010 Dining Guide online yesterday, and in between other tasks, I've been combing through it to understand how the critic views the current restaurant scene. Before I get to the nuggets that I've mined, though, I should note what [...]

Note: It looks like I would have won that bet after all. Isabella announced his departure from Zaytinya earlier this summer. When Mike Isabella appeared on Top Chef last season, I was ready to wager vast sums of money (well, as vast as they get in the alt-paper biz) that the Zaytinya chef would pack [...]

You've been Spiked. Y&H Nation couldn't get enough of Spike Mendelsohn last week. The news that Herr Burgermeister was close to opening his We, The Pizza enticed hundreds of you to read more about his Big Apple pie plans — and to re-read about his past troubles with a Capitol Hill landlord. Take a look [...]

With a turn on Top Chef and a nice run under one of the country's most famous chefs, Mike Isabella was just waiting for the right moment to leave his comfortable perch at Zaytinya. That moment will be August 7, when Isabella cooks his last meal at José Andrés' raucous Penn Quarter restaurant. The chef [...]

The news is true. Mike Isabella, head chef at Zaytinya and a former Top Chef contestant, is leaving the José Andrés operation to open his own place. He will remain at the Penn Quarter restaurant until August 7 when he'll start preparing for his own eatery. "José has given me so much opportunity," Isabella told [...]

Maybe Y&H was right after all? I don't have official confirmation yet from the THINKfoodGROUP folks, but a source from the fabulously named blog, Lancelot Sturgeon, sent me a link to this nifty piece of sleuthing. It appears Zaytinya is looking for a new head chef, even though Mike Isabella is still listed in that [...]

José Andrés will be the first to acknowledge that his part in the nationwide Dine Out for the Gulf Coast fundraiser amounts to, essentially, a "little gesture." Four of his Penn Quarter restaurants in the THINKfoodGROUP — Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, and Cafe Atlantico —will donate the proceeds from a selected dish that is, according to [...]

Y&H is no Reliable Source, but even this food scribe is occasionally thrown a scrap of gossip about all the Top Chef shenanigans going on in the District. Like yesterday, a source told me that some white-jacket types were seen cooking in the building across the street from NPR's headquarters at 635 Massachusetts Ave. NW. [...]

Andrew Zimmern, your host for all foods bizarre, has a short Q&A with former Hook chef de cuisine Joshua Whigham, who was recently anointed to lead the kitchen at the four-star performer, The Bazaar by José Andrés. Among other questions, Zimmern asked Whigham how the D.C. food scene differs from L.A.'s. Whigham's answer is essentially [...]