The Ontario Table

Archive for DC

Ris and her Julia Child Memoires

Blog, DC, farm fresh food, farmer, food, local crops, lynn ogryzloLeave a comment

IMG_4956Doris Lacoste or “Ris” as her friends call her is owner and chef of her own restaurant in the Georgetown neighbourhood of Washington, DC. Ris culinary journey to Paris and back (USA) has been serendipitously entwined with culinary icon, Julia Child.

With a degree in French, Ris set off for Paris to perfect her language. She landed a job as a secretary at La Varenne in exchange for a degree in French cooking. She stayed in Paris for a few years. It was a great job that put her up front and centre with Paris’ top chefs and it was here she first met Julia Child.

They’re paths would cross again and again in Massachusets when Ris returned and again in Nantucket. When Ris moved to Washington, started the DC chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food (AIW&F). It was Julia’s organization and when Ris sat on the national board, she found herself working Julia again. So when it was Julia’s 80th birthday, Ris jumped at the chance to work with her. She prepared Julia’s birthday party on her 80th birthday, 90th birthday and 100th birthday.

It was during her 90th birthday party when Ris recorded a documentary called “Cooking for Julia”. Julia child died 2 years later (2004) but Ris went on to plan a huge 100th birthday celebration. Julia’s family attended and it was at RIS Restorante. “I still have Julia on speed dial” says Ris who fears she may need to buy a new phone soon. “I would call Julia and ask her for her favourite foods and she would say veal, asparagus, oysters and chocolate almond cake. That is exactly what I would make”. Julia’s birthday is August 15 and now at RIS Restaurant August is the month to celebrate Julia Child with her favourite dishes. Last year they did a Battle of the Burgers – Julia’s Burger against Ris’ Burger. This year she’s not sure what she’ll do but for sure it will include some Levitra Online of Julia’s favourite foods.

IMG_4969Ris and I went to the Smithsonian Institute’s National History Museum where Julia’s kitchen is on display. Everything in that kitchen was exactly as it was the day Julia died. Ris remembers being in that kitchen in Massachusetts and she shares some of her more intimate stories. Ris is melancholy at this place she rarely visits.

Julia’s kitchen is at the entrance of the Food in America exhibit. We walk around and took a look at all of the food wisdom of the ages. As much as I loathe processed and fast food, the museum explains how many of the convenience, processed foods were invented to fill a need at the time. While those needs no longer exist today, the processed food industry is stronger today than ever before based on opportunity and greed.

IMG_5003Ris and I are kindred spirits. We both come from large families that loved us with food. We both shop at the farmers market, we insist on knowing the farmers we buy from and we both cook from scratch. We both lament that more people and chefs don’t do the same but then again, it is a real skill to pack all that delicious foraging into a busy day. But for us, it just makes the busy day worth while.

IMG_4949So what is her cooking like and what did I have? Ris has a super light touch and a healthy slant to her cuisine. I will always remember the Scallop Margarita with its light, bright flavours and the Miso Salmon Tartare with its crisp, warm elements on an uber light body. Food that makes you feel so much better for eating it. I would eat here every day if I lived in Washington and who wouldn’t want to eat the food from the amazing chef who cooked for Julia Child. Julia aside, Ris Lacoste is quickly becoming a culinary icon of her own.

IMG_4952

Click here for more pictures of RIS.

Ris, 2275 L Street, NW, Washington, DC, www.risdc.com

Washington DC Food Tour

Blog, cuisine, DC, farm fresh food, food, local food, lynn ogryzlo, WashingtonLeave a comment

IMG_5044.1What Chris Pitt knows about the food and culture of Washington, DC’s neighbourhoods is nothing short of amazing. Chris is Director of Outreach and Development of Food Tour Corporation, and they run DC Metro Food Tours. These are free food tours of Washington, DC (they work for tips). I took his tour that ran in the Capital Hill neighbourhood and it was fabulous! Highly recommend it when you’re in Washington. Here are some highlights.

First we start off with a bit of must-know trivia about Washington, DC and I’m glad we did. Washington is an incredibly easy city to get around, like someone actually designed the perfect city with people in mind! The city is a simple grid with numbered streets running vertically and letters of the alphabet running horizontally. Diagonally are streets named after the states. To make sure all the streets have names, the city is divided into four quadrants (NW, NE, SW, + SR) with Capital Hill being the axis point. This means the same address exists in each of the four quadrants, so the quadrant suffix is really important. For example, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW is the address for the White House, but 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NE is the address for McDonald’s!

You really need to know which quadrant you’re in! What happens when they run out of letters of the alphabet? Well, this is really interesting too. They name streets with one syllable, like Brad. Then further out, they name streets with two syllables, like Adam. Further out are the three syllable names like Broderick. So when someone gives you their address, you know how far away from the downtown core they live, by syllables! It’s brilliant!

Chris tells stories of the Capital Hill neighbourhood complete with bits of juicy scandal. In between restaurants we walk the neighbourhood and he talks of houses, people Stendra Online and history. In between, we eat. We walk past the army barracks and the band is practicing outside – fantastic!

In between the captivating stories, we eat. Here is the run down of restaurants.

IMG_5056.1Zest is an American Bistro and our first stop. We sit down to a dish of Seared Duck Breast with Edamame Cous Cous and Cherry Compote. It’s cherry blossom season and cherry dishes appear on restaurant menus all over the city.

IMG_5086We walk by Ted’s Bulletin, a small eaterie and bakery where the front window is a display kitchen where they make their iconic pop-tarts! The first time we walk by, they are rolling out the pop-tart dough. The second time we walk by, they have spread out some kind of red fruit filling and the third time we walk by, they have spread out the chocolate filling and are starting to fold them over for the oven. They are tempting, but we are already eating so much!

IMG_5069.1Las Placitas is our second stop. This Salvadoran restaurant puts out platters of delicious ethnic dishes and we feast. To wash it down they serve up Cherry Margaritas in celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival. It’s all fantastic fare.

IMG_5076.1Another walk through a different part of the neighbourhood and we finish off at Lavagna Ristorante, an Italian farm to table eaterie. Here we’re served up a fantastic dish of pesto rigatoni with in-house made fennel sausages. They finish us off with a dessert of Mascarpone Cream and Sweet Washington Cherries.

People who take this tour are foodies who want to experience something deliciously new. We all commune around the same table, break bread, make new friends and learn interesting facts that make us richer. It’s a great experience and one to do again and again.

Click here for more pictures of the Capital Hill food tour.

www.FoodTourCorp.com

Marcel’s, an experience to die for

Blog, cuisine, DC, farm fresh food, farmer, food, High-end Cuisine, local crops, local food, lynn ogryzloLeave a comment

0J3A3613.1Washington, DC is nothing if not rife with politics. When we asked permission to take photographs it was no surprise to get this answer, “as long as no one complains. After all, this is DC and most often there are people dining here with someone they shouldn’t to be seen with.” In fact, at Marcel’s on Pennsylvania Ave NW, there is a small circular room that is made more secretive with a curtain that encloses the entire table. “It was Petraeus’s table table,” we’re told with a giggle.

Marcel’s is one of Washington’s high-end restaurants that focuses on finding the best food from farmers around them. Inside the décor is stunning, it was a French farmhouse movie set when it was purchased and turned into a restaurant. Diners relax in a soft, romantic ambience with arched ceilings reminiscent of a European cathedral.

Service is classically traditional. When you get up from your seat, someone immediately runs over, folds your napkin and strategically repositions it. This hasn’t happened to Jon and I since we dined at Maze, Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant in London, England. The dining experience starts with a glass of French champagne – how royal are we feeling now?

0J3A3628.1Head Captain is Jonathan Crayne. Jonathan is the quintessential, European-style waiter with class. He’s what everyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant should aspire to be like. Jonathan opened Windows on the World and watched it close on 9/11. After 6 months of making sense of it all, Jonathan set his sights on Marcel’s in Washington, DC and has been here ever since. So what is a classical waitor? Jonathan can make tableside steak tartare, Caesar salads and flambéed cherries jubilee. He has an equal talent at making diners feel special, and pampered; like they are the most important person in the world.

The menu at Marcel’s is long with dozens of dishes. The concept here is that you pick 4 courses, 5, 6 or even 7 courses. The dishes are listed in order of light, fresh flavours and as you go down the list the flavours gradually get richer and more robust. Jonathan explains the dishes are small, tasting portions but this is really code for non-American portions. Our dishes come and they’re the perfect size. This is classic French Belgium cuisine by chef and owner Robert Wiedmaier.

0J3A3619.1With our champagne, we’re served the chefs amuse bouche, a lobster flan with truffled cream, fresh Scandanivian shrimp and caviar. It’s super rich, uber light and is a beautiful match to the champagne.

At the table across from us is Jayson Pahlmeyer of Pahlmeyer Winery of Napa, California. Jonathan gives us a sip of the 1991 wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. It still has big, strong bones and a blockbuster body – wow!

0J3A3641.1Marcel’s is the kind of restaurant where people come to celebrate special occasions and significant life milestones. People splurge for the privilege to savour the over the top dishes that Wiedmaier is famous for. Others come for the privilege of being seen and some come for the discretion of not being seen.

The cuisine is unlike any I’ve ever tasted. The accompaniments on the plate are equally if not more exciting than the main attraction on the plate. The first course was the Salmon Tartare with Yuzu and Wasabi Crème Fraiche with Smoked Bacon Crumble, Quail Egg and Sesame Tuile and the Pan Seared Diver Scallop with Bamboo Rice, Coconut Cream and Pineapple Chips.

0J3A3669.1Second course was the Chesakpak Rockfish with Pineapple Pico de Gallo, Pork Belly and Coconut Cream and the La Belle Farm Duck Breast with Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Roasted Baby New Potatoes and Duck Jus.

For dessert was a celebration of Washington’s Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a double chocolate fudge soufflé with rich cherry ice cream, burgundy crème anglese and candied cherry blossoms – oh yum!

0J3A3568Ok, so how to sum up Marcel’s? In the movie, The Big Night, after the fantastic meal, one of the diners stood up and screamed, “This was so good, I think I have to kill myself”. So Marcel’s comes with a warning. The dinner experience is so freakin’ fabulous, the rest of life will simply seem so dull – but don’t kill yourself, just plan on coming back time and time again

Click here for more pictures of Marcel’s.

Marcel’s, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC. www.marcelsdc.com

DC Coast Delicious

Blog, cuisine, culinary tourism, DC, food, lynn ogryzlo, The Ontario Table, WashingtonLeave a comment

0J3A3467I’m in Washington, DC for a food press trip and eating gourmet morning, noon and night. I’ve eaten at fine dining opulent restaurants and casual, I’ve had Oprah Winfrey’s chef cook for me and gone out with a colleague of Julia Childs. It’s been a great feast of the senses in a city I’ve fallen head over heals in love with.

Jon and I waked into this beautiful restaurant and came face to face with a sea of black suits. Apparently Newt Gingrich has an office right upstairs along with many powerful lobbyists so you never know who you’re going to see here.

0J3A3473Owner, Chef Jeff Tunks is from Louisiana and brings his Louisiana-style cuisine to DC with some fantastic Gulf coast ingredients. We had his Fluke Bouillabaisse. It’s a deconstructed bouillabaisse with crispy mussels, saffron butter, large shrimp with what can only be described as Louisiana spices on them.

Chef de Cuisine Matt Kuhn is from South Carolina and brings his style of cuisine with dishes like the “Pork Dip” Po’ Boy. It play australian pokies online was an amazingly sloppy sandwich with flavour dripping everywhere. It has braised pork, Benton’s Country Ham (yes, they buy from trusted sources and promote their choices) with house pickled banana peppers for a smooth heat and sweet potato aioli for dipping – delic!

0J3A3490DC Coast has a great menu with incredibly reasonable prices. No one lingers casually over food here, they’re serious, efficient – in and out yet incredibly demanding. The house made bread is hot, warm and yeasty tasting. The texture is moist and chewy – gotta love a restaurant with great bread!

Dessert was a delicious Pistachio Creme Brûlée.

0J3A3511The restaurant has a dining balcony. Giant mirrors are angled on the walls downstairs so the balcony diners can catch the action in the main dining room. When you go, ask to dine on the main level, although having a view to the action below isn’t as bad either. If all restaurants are like this in DC, I’d love to live here. Click here for more pics!

DC Coast, 1401 K Street NW, Washington, DC. www.dccoast.com

rvn_polyon_theme rvn_polyon_theme_tv_1_3 rvn_polyon_theme_fwv_2_1