Eating in New York: Rue 57 Brunch

Brunch at Rue 57 hit the spot. Corey tried the Hangover Breakfast and I got the Brasserie Benedict. Their variation of the eggs benedict with bernaise and crossaints was amazing!. The poached egg was perfectly done. Yum! It was open air so we got a nice breeze.

(212) 307-5656

Midtown West
60 W 57th St
New York, NY 10019

Washington D.C. Gluten-Free Cooking Spree 2009 opens Celiac Awareness Month!

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness and title sponsor Hyatt Regency Bethesda invites you to join us for the 2009 Washington DC Gluten-Free Cooking Spree, an event that joins together the medical and lifestyle aspects of celiac disease to increase education and awareness about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet.

Eating in New York

I'm never left hungry after a weekend in New York. We started out by heading to the East Village to check out Giano Restaurant. Giano is the Roman name of the two-faced Greek god Janus so their menue features both traditional and modern Italian dishes. We started off with an assortment of appetizers including the delicious Mozzarella di Bufala con verdure grigliate. I enjoyed the Gnocchetti di zucca gratinati that consists of pumpkin gnocchi in a creamy parmigiano sauce, baked with ricotta salata. It was so good. The wait staff is friendly and the wine list is nice. Fun and affordable prices. After that we headed to Bowery Bar for some drinks.

The next morning we checked out Rue 57 for brunch. That night we dined at Zarela. Before we headed back to DC, we got brunch at La Mangeoire on Sunday. They were all very satisfying!

Photo from Time Out New York

(212) 673-7200

East Village
126 E 7th St
New York, NY 10009
www.gianonyc.com

Capital Cooking expands into Arlington, VA!

Thanks to Ishu Krishna, Capital Cooking will begin airing in Arlington, Virginia on Comcast Channel 69 and Verizon Channel 38. With your help, our distribution will continue to grow. If your state isn't listed, email me at capitalcooking@gmail.com and I'll tell you how we can get it airing in your area soon. We are now reaching 26 U.S. cities as well as Australia and New Zealand!

Current Outreach

Comcast Channel 95 and RCN Channel 10 - DC
Comcast Channel 69 & Verizon Channel 38 – Arlington, Virginia
Cox Cable Channel 10 - Fairfax, Virginia
HCTV - Herndon, Virginia
Access Montgomery TV 21 - Maryland
KDHX Channel 21- St. Louis, Missouri
CAT3 TV - Columbia, Missouri
Windsor Community Television - Windsor, Connecticut
People TV Channel 24 - Atlanta, Georgia
MCAM Channel 23 - Manchester, New Hampshire
CCTV in Concord-Carlisle, Massachusetts
SCTV - Saugus, Massachusetts
The Peoples Channel 8 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Saco River Community Television - Hollis, Maine
TV2 Channel 2 - Manistee, Michigan
HPA-TV - Hibbing Minnesota
TBNK - Covington, Kentucky
WITC Channel 6 - New Richmond, Wisconsin
DATV - Dayton, Ohio
KCAT TV Channel 15 - Los Gatos, California
NCTV - Nevada City, California
Channel 20 - Gilroy, California
WCTV - Waterloo, Iowa
Philadelphia Community Access Coalition - Philadelphia
FLTV in Fair - Lawn, New Jersey
Aurora 8 - Aurora, Colorado
Triangle Television - New Zealand
Channel 31 Adelaide, Australia

Event: Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation

Saturday, April 25

The Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation is delighted to announce that Celebrity Chef Marc Vetri, owner of the eponymous Vetri in Philadelphia, James Beard Award recipient and Food and Wine “Ten Best New Chefs List” honoree, will make his debut with the Tour at the beautifully-appointed City Club in the heart of DC. Along with Host Executive Chef Reid Badger, Chef Marc will share his passion for simple, yet pronounced flavors inspired by his native Italy at the City Club. In addition to its wine pairing courses, the Tour will feature a selection of premium beer pairings at the dinner, provided by Stella Artois, Leffe and Hoegaarden. 7:00pm-10:00pm. $195 per person. 555 13th Street, NW Washington, DC 20004. For reservations and more information please call 720.201.1853.

Coming Soon: Capital Cooking Crazy for Cupcakes

Capital Cooking Crazy for Cupcakes: Cupcakes have become a national pastime, thanks in part to the now famous Magnolia Bakery. Everyone just cant get enough of this sweet goodness. Lauren will teach you how to make some fabulous cupcakes at home with the help of the owners from MallowDrama. Thank you for the camera work and editing by David Crosson, Corey Then and Nick Sparza.
The music for Capital Cooking was provided by:
Jazzy Blu
Dominic Taylor, Mark Matthews III, Roger Brown, Leslie Lee and Jackie Brown
www.thejazzyblu.com

Blog for the Bay

My very first episode of Capital Cooking started with the question, "What is D.C. Cuisine?" Many people answered, "Seafood or Crabs." I had never enjoyed a crab feast before moving to D.C. I've enjoyed my share of crab legs in the Midwest, but never blue crabs. My first experience eating blue crabs was at my condo building's social party crab feast in the summer of 2007. They brought in buckets of crabs for us to crack open. Eating blue crabs is a lot more work than eating crab legs and you don't get as much meat out of them, but it is a fun experience none the less. I went to another crab feast last summer on the Eastern Shore and enjoyed more blue crabs.

* The estimated population of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay has plummeted to 260 million in 2007 from 791 million in 1990.

* More than 4,400 jobs in Virginia and Maryland related to catching, packing and selling crabs have been lost between 1998 and 2006, a 40 percent dive costing the economy about $640 million.

* "Dead zones" that occur in the Bay each summer kill about 75,000 tons of bottom-dwelling clams, worms and other tiny aquatic life, or enough food to support some 60 million crabs.

* The EPA has admitted it will "miss" its 2010 deadline to remove the Bay from the national "dirty waters" list.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the Chesapeake Bay Foundation petition to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson urging the EPA to stop delaying Bay clean-up action: http://is.gd/tvht

* For more information, read the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's "State of the Bay" report: http://www.cbf.org/sotb2008

* Want to do more? Attend a GREEN DRINKS FOR THE BAY event Wednesday evening in one of 16 locations around the Bay: http://www.greendrinksforthebay.org/

* And become a fan of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chesapeake-Bay-Foundation/8914040942.

Thank you to hosts FoodieTots (http://foodietots.com) and The Arugula Files (http://arugulafiles.typepad.com).

Review: Filomena Ristorante

One of our favorite wedding gifts that we received was gift cards to DC restaurants. It was perfect because we were new to the city so it was a great way to check out lots of the local restaurants without spending so much money. We went to Filomena last April thanks to my friend Michelle and it was quite a treat. The decorations of Easter bunnies were overwhelming, but the food was excellent. I'm always a fan of Italian food, but Filomena makes some of the best pasta in town. You can watch the pasta mama from the window hand making the noodles. This Georgetown institution is known to be one of restaurants where Bill Clinton dined. One of the funnest parts of the meals is the bottomless bottles of amaretto and sambuca. This was an unexpected surprise.


Filomena
1063 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007

Capital Cooking Show Sponsors

Production costs add up and so does equipment and food for the shows. Capital Cooking is lucky enough to receive contributions from:
Le Creuset
Screwpull
Cutco
Alili
J.D. Gourmet
Links
Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish
Texas Sassy
1789
The Majestic Cafe
Matchbox
Ping by Charlie Chiang
Eat and Smile Foods
A Capital Cuisine
Mallow Drama
Etete Restaurant
Chez Hareg
Vinoteca
Fresh Farm Markets
Urbana
The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show

Thank you to all of our sponsors for your generous donations. Also, thank you to Linda Roth, Capital Cooking's new Director of Sponsorship.

If you are interested in sponsoring Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis please email us at: capitalcooking@gmail.com. Financial and in-kind contributions are accepted. Many thanks to all of our existing sponsors: We appreciate your support!!

Event: Grapes With the Apes

Tonight, head up to the Zoo and enjoy some wine!
April 16, 6-9 p.m.
Get tickets
Toast wildlife conservation with FONZ Young Professionals at the Zoo's wine-tasting event, Grapes with the Apes. Sample wines from a variety of wineries, listen to live music, and enjoy an exclusive opportunity to greet the baby gorilla in the Zoo's Great Ape House.
In light of the current economic climate, we've dropped Grapes With the Apes ticket prices. Your ticket includes:

• All wine sampling.
• A commemorative glass.
• Live musical entertainment by guitarist and vocalist Kenny Holmes.
• "Taste the Tannin: Wine and Zoo Nutrition," a fascinating talk by staff from the Zoo's Commissary about the health benefits of the tannins found in red wines and of similar compounds in the diets of animals at the Zoo.
• An opportunity to visit the Great Ape House after hours. Learn more about the great apes and the ongoing Zoo projects that support them. World-renowned scientists, including Marietta Dindo, Carla Estocsin, Chikako King and Lisa Stevens, will be on hand to answer questions and discuss their fascinating work with great apes.

Concessions will be available at the event. In addition, some wineries will be selling bottles of wine for guests to take home. So if you like one of the tastings, inquire about purchasing a bottle!

Review: Cashion's Eat Place

We finally made our way to Cashion's Eat Place which I've been dying to try for a while now. Overall it was a great dining experience. We enjoyed 2 bottles of the half-priced wines. We tried Chef John Manolatos' Veal Chop with Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi, Spring Ramps, and a Shiitake Mushroom Cream Sauce (This is huge and tasty!), the Halibut fillet with Spring Peas, Ramps, Pancetta, Lemon, and Veal Demiglace (Mild with delicious peas), the New Frontier Bison Strip Loin, spice rubbed, with Creamed Swiss Chard, fried Onion Rings, and our “J-1” Steak Sauce,(This was very good.) and the Mediterranean Bronzino fillet with Black Eyed Pea Salad, Gaetta Olives, Celery, and Fennel (This was our least favorite. It was very fishy.) Our waitress was knowledgeable and we had a perfect people-watching window seat. I'd like to come back again to try the brunch.

Cashion's Eat Place

1819 Columbia Road, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-797-1819

Congratulation to our Capital Cooking Guests RAMMY Finalists

Congrats to Majestic Cafe and Chef Shannon Overmiller who were featured on our American Classics episode. Congratulations to Chef Daniel Giusti and our sponsors of the 1789 episode.

Review: Dynasty Ethiopian

This week we decided to check out a local restaurant up the street called Dynasty. The food was actually not bad but they did have quite a few menu items that were unavailable. The people were very nice. We were basically the only people in the restaurant. The best part of the meal was watching the Ethiopian music videos that were playing above the bar. We ordered the meat combination for two and it was a ton of food. The honey wine wasn't very good and they were out of all of the Ethiopian beers. Over all it was decent Ethiopian food and it is worth checking out.

Fun Lounge and Drink Spot

Last week I mentioned the new restaurant and lounge that opened in my U Street neighborhood, Policy. I still haven't tried the food, but I did go there for drinks. The upstairs area is a swanky bar/lounge with funky chandeliers. I was there around 8 p.m. so I'm not sure if it is a club vibe later in the evening. They serve my favorite beer, Blue Moon, which is always a plus for me. The bartenders were nice and they provided quick service. One of them told me that they received over 600 applications due to the downturn in the economy. This is a great addition to the neighborhood.

Policy

(202) 731-7700

U Street/Shaw
1904 14th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20009
www.policydc.com

Cooking with the Quints: Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza

8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch salad dressing
1/2 cup buffalo sauce
1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon of Happy Hal’s Jalapeno relish

1 Can of Pillsbury Pizza Dough

Olive Oil

2 cups shredded meat from a fully cooked rotisserie chicken

Eatonville

Another new restaurant that will open in my building soon is Eatonville, a Southern-oriented restaurant that pays homage to Zora Neale Hurston. I've been looking through the windows and the art on the walls looks nice. The U Street Corridor is really expanding and it is a fun place to live. Andy Shallal also owns Busboys and Poets.   Eatonville has a cute patio for outdoor seating and some of the best fried green tomatoes in town.  I also LOVE the macaroni and cheese.  U Street is getting a bit overloaded with Southern style restaurants, but Eatonville is a nice addition. 

(202) 332-9672

U Street/Shaw
2121 14th St, NW
Washington, DC 20009
www.eatonvillerestaurant.com

New Restaurant: Policy

A new restaurant opened in my neighborhood, but I haven't had a chance to check it out. Come and join the visionary, Omar Miskinyar and Chef Brian Murphy, at the newest addition to hit The U Street corridor where you will experience first class dining, an upbeat tempo, and a hip, Inviting atmosphere. I saw the outside on Tuesday when I was walking home from B-Fit class when I noticed a fire. The lighting of Policy looked cool from the outside.

1904 14th Street NW, Washington DC

Google Map

Nearest Metro Stop

U Street/African-Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo

April Showtimes: CAPITAL COOKING WITH THE QUINTUPLETS

CAPITAL COOKING WITH THE QUINTUPLETS

Lauren DeSantis Helps Local Family of Quintuplets Take on a New Meal

Washington, D.C. - “Capital Cooking” host Lauren DeSantis features local Thompson quintuplets for her first filming since November, sponsored by the Links, Inc. with the help of Altomease Kennedy. The upcoming show features DeSantis teaching the quintuplets useful and delicious recipes that are kid friendly and easy for all ages.

The show will feature such recipes as spicy buffalo chicken pizza and a healthy fruit salad with honey yogurt sauce. The Thompsons and DeSantis hope the show helps teach other kids to help out in the kitchen.

Jacqueline Thompson gave birth to sextuplets in 1997 and now is a single mother raising quintuplets without the donations they once survived upon. The help of DeSantis provides the now teenagers with some valuable tips on how to create meals to help their mother at home.

Watch the “Capital Cooking with the Quintuplets” and enjoy the fun interaction between DeSantis and the Thompson family.

Capital Cooking is the first television show of its kind. A series exploring the culinary and cultural riches of our nation’s Capital and is hosted by Lauren DeSantis.

Capital Cooking highlights cooking traditions of regional cuisine from all areas of the country as well as international dishes. Throughout the series, DeSantis will incorporate entertaining tips into the shows, will cook with local chefs, and will demonstrate how to make recipes with ingredients that viewers can find at local grocery stores and farmers’ markets.

Visit www.captialcookingshow.com for more information on upcoming events and http://captialcookingshow.blogspot.com for daily updates.

Airing this month on Cox Cable Channel 10 in Fairfax:

Cooking with the Quintuplets: In 1997, Jacqueline Thompson gave birth to sextuplets, five of whom survived. The donations that helped make ends meet dropped off years ago. Now she’s a single mom. Join Lauren as she teaches the quints how to make their own lunches for school and other fun recipes for kids.

Time slot during the 4th week of the month, Mon@1130p, Thurs@930a, and Wed @4am.

Also, check out:

KDHX Charter Cable Channel 21 in St. Louis, Missouri

Every Wednesday at 1p.m.

A Rustic Roman Afternoon: Join Lauren and Chef Patricia Sanitate for delicious recipes of a typical weekday Roman meal including, Involtini alla Romana, Gnocchi al Forno, Insalata fine estate and Raspberry Tarts.

CATV 3 in Columbia, Missouri

A Rustic Roman Afternoon

Friday, April 3, 2009 5:00pm

Information for the other episodes airing this month can be found at the following stations:

Comcast Channel 95 and RCN Channel 10 - DC
Cox Cable Channel 10 - Fairfax, Virginia
HCTV - Herndon, Virginia
Access Montgomery TV 21 - Maryland
KDHX Channel 21- St. Louis, Missouri
Windsor Community Television - Windsor, Connecticut
People TV Channel 24 - Atlanta, Georgia
MCAM Channel 23 - Manchester, New Hampshire
CCTV in Concord-Carlisle, Massachusetts
The Peoples Channel 8 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Saco River Community Television - Hollis, Maine
TV2 Channel 2 - Manistee, Michigan
HPA-TV - Hibbing Minnesota
SCTV - Saugus, MA
TBNK - Covington, Kentucky
WITC Channel 6 - New Richmond, Wisconsin
DATV - Dayton, Ohio
KCAT TV Channel 15 - Los Gatos, California
NCTV - Nevada City, California
Channel 20 - Gilroy, California
WCTV - Waterloo, Iowa
Philadelphia Community Access Coalition - Philadelphia
FLTV in Fair - Lawn, New Jersey
CAT3 TV - Columbia, Missouri
Aurora 8 - Aurora, Colorado
Triangle Television - New Zealand
Adelaide, Australia
Channel 31 Adelaide

Photos by Alex Moore

POTLIKKER FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, April 18–6 to 9 p.m.
at Johnny’s Half Shell
programmed by the Southern Foodways Alliance
and underwritten by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey

EATS
· Potlikker Shots
· Woodfired Florida Hoecakes - Terrell Danley, Crème
· Delta Catfish Tamales — Ann Cashion, Johnny’s Half Shell
· Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken - Gillian Clark, Georgia Avenue Meeting House
· Heirloom Pigs in Handstitched Blankets - Jeffrey Buben, Vidalia
· Jack and Sweets Pie - David Guas, Damgoodsweet

MUSIC
· Jazz from the Jimmy Burrell Band

FILMS
Travel the South, state by state, dish by dish, with SFA produced and directed short films:
· ”Eat or We Both Starve,” Taylor Grocery, Taylor, Mississippi
· ”Feeding the Soul at Jones Valley Urban Farm,” Birmingham, Alabama
· ”Hot Chicken,” Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, Nashville, Tennessee
And take a look at D.C. foodways, courtesy of Nina Gilden Seavey’s, “A Short History of Sweet Potato Pie And How it Became a Flying Saucer”

BEVERAGES
· Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey

ADMISSION, by advance reservation, is a measly $40.

To register, click here to buy your tickets online now, or visit www.southernfoodways.com. Events sell out quickly, and early registration is encouraged. Tickets will not be available at the door.