This week it's all about Top Chef. Then Crisp and Juicy is coming to DC, Bibiana is getting set to open, German Beer Haus on H, Megadeath coffee, men cooking, barbecued dog, the REAL Swedish Chef, more food carts and Food Shark.
First, Top Chef:
Top Chef debuts tonight, and you should all be terribly excited because D.C. is repping hard this season. Mike Isabella from Zaytinya; Bryan Voltaggio, formerly of Charlie Palmer Steak and now chef/owner at VOLT in Frederick, Md.; his brother Michael Voltaggio (also from Frederick) who opened Jose Andres' The Bazaar in Los Angeles. We've also got some B'More love represented in the super-fun-awesome looking Jessie Sandlin, executive chef at Abacrombie Fine Foods.
Keep an eye out (no pun intended) for Mike Isabella's new hand tattoo. He got an evil eye on his right hand before the show to protect him from bad spririts. May it serve him well. And if you're wondering, Susan from Jinx Proof does all his work. BYT cares about these things.
If you want more info, the kids at Capital Spice have Q&As with Mike Isabella, Bryan Voltaggio and Jessie Sandlin over at their site.
And then after Top Chef... It's the Top Chef Masters Finale. Rick Bayless, Michael Chiarello and Hubert Keller will face off at the Getty Villa. They will serve four courses which basically tells their autobiography, you can read about them here. I like Hubert Keller for the win.
And now the round up:
- So stoked! Crisp and Juicy is coming to Tenleytown. 1/4 chicken dark with green sauce and fried yucca with yellow please.
- Bibiana, coming to 1100 New York Ave in Sept, sounds awesome. 440 bottles of wine, and a chef who comes from Maestro and Laboratorio del Galileo.
- A German Beer Haus is coming to H Street. Wursts and weiners!
- I never knew Megadeath's Dave Mustaine had a coffee brand, and now I never will. He's shutting Black Gold coffee down.
- A positive effect of the influence of celebrity chefs, men are spending more time in the kitchen.
- The lede will suffice: "Animal lovers in New Zealand want to make it illegal for people to eat their pets, after a Tongan family killed and barbequed their pet dog."
- Lars Kuprik Backman believes he was the inspiration that he was the inspiration for Jim Henson's Swedish Chef. His quote: "Yes, I'm sure it's me. I used to look exactly like that." See for yourself. Question: Is he knifing eggs?
- There are some new food trucks in town, including the Spy Diner, a new cart from Zola and DC Central Kitchen. There's also a Naan and Kabob truck in Arlington. Here's a more complete list.
- Speaking of food trucks, I want to go to Marfa Texas and eat falafel from Food Shark. You will too after watching this.
And that's it for me for a few weeks. I'll be in New England doing New England things like driving like an asshole, drinking beers on the dock and eating fried whole-belly clams until I'm sick.
God loves a cheerful giver.
Hey Alex - do you know the difference between whole-belly clams and clam strips? (no, it's not just that they pull off the bellys). It's interesting. I researched it after being up on the Vineyard eating the tasty fuckers.
cannot wait to write top chef recaps again
also-hubert keller will win, i want rick bayless to be my dad's best friend and michael chiarello can die for all i care.
Nice tip Michael. Looked it up. So the strips are cut up Cohogs, versus just a whole sweet clam. I will say I like stuffed Cohogs. In terms of my clams, I've just always preferred the whole belly, to the strip. It's more satisfying, flavorful and fun to eat. More like a fried oyster,
best ever alex. street food! crisp and juicy! german beer garden!
That Beer Garden needs to open pronto.
team bayless all the way
Crisp & Juicy in DC...Hells yesssss.
Alex, Crisp and Juice doesn't have "green sauce."
They did when I lived behind it.
no they didn't.
they've got 'hot' which is sort of pink and 'medium' which is yellow.
best sauces in the world.
Marc - you're wrong. I love you, which is why I am enjoying this.
Here is their menu. You'll see pictures of green sauce all over it. http://www.crispjuicy.com/menu.pdf
It's basically a chimichuri sauce and is called the "Mild Garlic." You can get it with chicken, but it's also served on the steak sandwich and grilled chorizo.
Don't step to the girl who chose an apartment based on the fact that I could see Crisp & Juicy.
Kisses.
I loved the food shark videoclip!
And tell me, how do assholes drive in New England?