Nevin Martell

Plate’s Chef Shuffles for the Week of Feb. 24

2012-02-24T17:36:17Z

Adour just got pummeled with another high-profile departure. Executive Chef Didier Elena—a 20-year vet of the Ducasse empire—has left both the flagship and the restaurant group. Ryan Skeen jumped ship yet again, this time from Pera Soho after just two months; the owner cited “disparate operations and culinary styles that made a continued association untenable to both parties.” La Fonda de Sol named Christopher DeLuna (Naples 45) its new executive chef and Michael Toscano (Manzo) is now a chef-partner at Gabriel Stulman’s Perla.

Two Italian concepts—Hopeland and Doppio Senso—are set to open next week. Other upcoming openings include vegan chainlet The Blossom Café, Ramen Yebisu, Maruko Sushi & Tea, and Thai noodle spot Zoob Zib. Top Chef Dale Talde (Talde) is taking over the Aunt Suzie’s space to create an Americana-styled bar with a casual menu; no opening date is set. In the Trump SoHo Hotel, Koi will replace Quattro Gastronomia Italiana; look for an opening by summer. Ravi Derossi plans to open Desnuda Cevicheria in Brooklyn this summer with a menu from Peter Gevrekis and Dominic Martinez.

Pan-Latino Nuela will close on April 1 for a full rehab. Masten Lake shuttered a mere seven months after opening. We’re sorry to report that nightclub impresario Steven Greenberg (230 Fifth) passed away after a long battle with lymphoma.

Continue reading this week’s Chef Shuffles over on Plate‘s website now.

Photo of Adour’s Didier Elena.

Kernel Wisdom: Spices and skillet skills make popcorn the star of your Academy Awards bash

2012-02-24T15:06:16Z

There is an element of unpredictability to the Oscars. Will Billy Crystal fill out a tux as well as James Franco? If Meryl Streep wins, will Rooney Mara take her down with a golf club? Can a silent movie dominate a ceremony where people can’t stop talking? Still, there is one guarantee: The night will go long. That’s why we’d recommend serving up a few bowls of homemade gourmet popcorn before the epic telecast begins.

For a top pop, start with killer kernels. Corporate chef Joe Goetze at Founding Farmers (1924 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; 202-822-8783) uses so-called “mushroom” popcorn in his restaurant’s rotating menu of popcorn flavors (salt and vinegar; barbecue spice; ranch). The kernels puff up to twice the size of your average Orville Redenbacher ones. The bigger, more toothsome variety is sold at gourmet supermarkets such as Wegmans and Whole Foods, or online at sites such as Popcorncounty.com.

To make the best bowl of corn, use a flat-bottomed pan or skillet with a tight-fitting lid (sorry, microwave!). Woks and other curved cookware don’t work well, because the kernels clump together at the bottom and heat doesn’t distribute evenly.

Finish reading this article on the Express website now.

Photo by DawnVGilmorePhotography on Flickr

Gourmet sloppy Joes for a second taste of childhood

2012-02-23T13:26:05Z

I haven’t eaten a sloppy Joe since I was 9 years old, when they were an easy way for my mother to make a kid-friendly meal that appealed to my carnivorous father. Everyone at the table could customize their sandwich as they pleased. A blanket of shredded sharp cheddar, a scattering of diced onions and a few bread and butter pickles was how I rolled back then. But somehow the sloppy Joe fell out of our dinnertime rotation, probably because mom was trying to cut back on red meat.

The sloppy Joe is not a dish I’ve ever ordered in a restaurant, either. Why pay for something so simple that’s usually marked up so much? Lately though, several chefs have started to put their spin on the sloppy Joe. Would their versions be tasty and heartwarming reminders of my childhood or just creative ways to gouge a guy looking for a heartwarming reminder of his childhood?

My first step down memory lane was at BLT Steak, where executive chef Victor Albisu is offering the VP ($24), also known as the Sloppy Joe Biden. This is definitely not like the one mom used to make, since Albisu uses ground Kobe beef. Everything else in his recipe is pretty much the same: tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar and bell pepper. The sauce has a thicker consistency so it doesn’t drip off the bun, and the flavors are spot-on. I won’t make a habit of enjoying a $24 sloppy Joe, but this one is worth the splurge.

Finish reading this article on the Washington Post‘s All You Can Eat blog now.

All I Wanna Do Is Rock

2012-02-20T23:03:31Z

In high school, I was convinced that I was born to rock. In 9th grade, I shaved what little hair I had on my chest into a peach fuzz pleasure trail extending down from my bellybutton – just like Poison’s Brett Michaels. The next year, I bought a pair of black jeans covered with skulls and roses – perfect for a wannabe Axl Rose. As a senior, my dreams of ruling the Billboard charts took a huge leap when I began fronting Grundle – a grunge covers band.

Unfortunately, when our version of Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box” didn’t even earn us an honorable mention at the high school talent show, I learned that I couldn’t really sing. I already knew that I was too lazy to learn an instrument – the bass had been too boring and the guitar required too many lessons – so it looked like rock stardom would never be mine.

I went off to Vassar where I realized that being in college is kind of like being in a band, since you pretend like you’re there to do great things, but all you really want to do is drink too much, experiment with drugs, and try to sleep with girls. I also discovered that there was a whole industry built around rock ‘n’ roll, where you didn’t have to be musically inclined in the slightest.

So, I weaseled an internship at Atlantic Records, which was home to some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll and R&B acts of all time: Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin, AC/DC and Ray Charles. When I graduated in 1997, I scored a job there as an executive assistant in the new media department. The rock ‘n’ roll dream was within my reach again.

A lot had changed at the label – the big acts were then Matchbox 20, Jewel, Kid Rock and Sugar Ray. One band that had been huge wasn’t so huge any more – Hootie and the Blowfish. It may seem hard to believe now, but just a few years earlier, they were the biggest band in the world after their debut – Cracked Rear View – sold over 16 million copies.

Oh, how quickly things change. By the time I was working at Atlantic, Hootie had gone from being the cash cows that earned everyone insane bonuses to a what-the-fuck-were-we-thinking musical embarrassment.

Right before Hootie’s third album was released, they announced to the Atlantic staff that they were going to throw a huge bash to celebrate, but with a twist. It was billed as the “If you can fire someone, you can’t come to my party” party. This meant that you had to be the lowest of the low to attend. Basically, us plebs were the only people that Hootie felt that they could influence to help them promote their new album, so they were going to woo us as best they could. I didn’t care that I was the lowest of the low, I was getting paid to party with Hootie. Rock on!

Finish reading this story on the Fawlt website now.

Polaroid by Garland Gallaspy.

Inside Rogue Sessions: John Currence

2012-02-20T23:11:52Z

John Currence calls himself the Big Bad Chef, which makes him sound like a fairy tale villain. Though the three little piggies – and any other tasty livestock that get in his way – have good reason to worry, Currence really only wants to blow away peoples’ preconceptions of Southern cooking. Since opening City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi in 1992, he has earned a stream of accolades – including a James Beard Award – for his soulful and artful exploration of cuisine rooted below the Mason-Dixon Line.

For my sixth Rogue Session, I enjoyed all of Currence’s courses, as well as some new dishes that the still-absent-but-always-working Cooper debuted. Fantastically epic, it nonetheless flew by. A table full of charming conversationalists and eight drink pairings can do that.

1^st course

Poulet rouge/rillettes/pickled peach

Before anyone takes a single bite, cheftender Bryan Tetorakis opens the proceedings by putting down a small bottle and a shot glass in front of each of us. This non-alcoholic aperitif is his take on the Boilermaker, so you pour the lemon- and maple-infused barley water into the glass then take it down in a single gulp. At the end, you’re rewarded with a whiskey-scented sphere that pops with a gush. This is followed by a fried square of heritage breed French chicken offset by a sweet and vinegary pickled peach compote that runs down the center like an orange mohawk.

***2^nd course

Celery velouté/Georgia pecan/bourbon dates

The first of several pleasant surprises of the evening. The nuts add a pleasant textural contrast, while the bourbon-soaked dates add a spot of sweetness. In the end though, it’s the flavor of the celery – usually so understated – that makes this dish a winner and sends us all to the bottom of our bowls with a clatter of spoons on porcelain.

3^rd course

Oyster/lemon/spinach/absinthe/bacon

Hemingway used to binge on a cocktail called Death in the Afternoon, made with half champagne and half absinthe. Tonight we’re drinking the Broken Vow, which has a little sparkling wine, absinthe-related green chartreuse, orange syrup and gin. It goes down well with the single Rappahannock Barcat oyster dressed up with absinthe-soaked spinach and tiny bits of bacon.

Finish reading this bite-by-bite recap on CityEats’ Plate blog now.

Review: Brett Anderson – Black Rainbows

2012-02-19T14:41:47Z

Since releasing his eponymous solo debut in 2007, Suede frontman Brett Anderson has plotted an increasingly odd path. Turning at times to cinematic scores, folk tunes and classical symphonies for ideas, his albums have gotten progressively farther away from the influences that helped make Suede the best anti-Britpop band of the ’90s. Thankfully, his fourth outing, Black Rainbows, finds him once again turning to his two biggest heroes: Bowie and Morrissey. The result is his best and most kinetic solo album yet. “Crash About to Happen” crackles with a delicate energy that recalls a Dog Man Star–era B-side. Poetic couplets like “ashtray eyes” and “antiseptic skies” litter “Brittle Heart,” showing off his considerable lyrical prowess. And “Thin Men Dancing” shakes and swaggers with the kind of shameless bravado that’s been missing since Head Music. Welcome back, Brett, we were afraid that you had gone off the deep end for good.

Rating: 87%

This review originally appeared in Filter magazine.

Washington Restaurants with the Coolest Restrooms

2012-02-17T03:00:18Z

It’s not unusual for restaurants to spend a lot of time designing eye-catching open kitchens, but now many places are devoting resources to another space: the bathroom. Here are seven we think are special.
Current Sushi. The unisex stalls at this Dupont Circle lounge are see-through before you step inside, but close the door and the glass-paned walls become opaque with steam. Finally, the privacy you need to play Hanging With Friends and check your e-mail.

The Duplex Diner. Calling all Madonna fans. Montages of the Material Girl cover the walls around the cool commodes at this Adams Morgan restaurant/bar—from the “Vogue” era to the “Erotica” phase and beyond.

Finish reading this article on the Washingtonian website now.

Photograph courtesy of Scott Suchman.

Plate’s Chef Shuffles for the week of Feb. 17

2012-02-19T14:47:31Z

Former Le Bernardin Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis announced he will become the creative director of the Institute of Culinary Education in March. Robert Aita is leaving Fiore to start his own restaurant – possibly called Aita – which should open in three to four months in the old Speakeasy space. Ricky King is now the executive chef of both Hundred Acres and Five Points. A second location of Roberto Santibañez’s Fonda opened, as did Buddha Beer Bar, Brabant Belgian Brasserie, the Spanish-Chinese El Paraiso, Yunnan-focused Chinese restaurant Lotus Blue Restaurant Bar, pasta palace Vucciria, grilled cheese shop Say Cheese and California-based Wahoo’s Fish Taco.

Blue Bottle gourmet coffee is set to open its latest location this weekend. Michael Toscano (Manzo) is on board as a chef-partner at Gabriel Stulman’s Perla, which is currently slated for a mid-March opening. Vegetarian virtuoso Candle Café will open a sister spot – Candle Café West – which has its sights set on April for a debut. San Francisco’s Mission Chinese Food will open a New York location this spring. This summer, Sag Harbor’s Sen will open a local location with Wayne Nish (Nish) in the kitchen.

Finish reading this week’s Chef Shuffles on Plate‘s website now.

Photo of Roberto Santibañez, Fonda