Venerable downtown lunch counter C.F. Folks has a new chef—Georget Vetsch, the opening chef at Circle Bistro and a veteran of Etrusco and the Oval Room. Aside from turning out crabcake sandwiches and daily international-themed specials, he’s considering adding something entirely new to the menu: dinner.

Local cousins Khoa Nguyen, events coordinator at Vidalia, and Denise Nguyen were the first pair to leave chef/terror Marco Pierre White’s new NBC kitchen reality show, The Chopping Block. But they weren’t booted off. The duo left on their own accord, on account of the backstabbing, the drama, and perhaps White telling Khoa to “put his balls on the table.” But will they be back? Vidalia chef R.J. Cooper hints that that might be the case.

First Lady Michelle Obama made a lunchtime appearance and served meals at the Foggy Bottom soup kitchen Miriam’s Kitchen. She made the case for eating—and for serving the poor—locally grown, nonprocessed foods. But she also admitted to a weak spot for fast food. Obama recently took her staff to lunch at Five Guys.


Despite living in the land of motorcades and Secret Service, some Washingtonians (or maybe Four Seasons tourists) are way too easily impressed. The crowd at Bourbon Steak actually broke out in applause at the sight of . . . Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas? We guess they haven’t seen No Reservations.



The Atlantic has launched a new food section. Besides the pieces by Alinea chef Grant Achatz and Atlantic food writer Corby Kummer, you’ll find the musings of DC’s own Derek Brown. His first post takes aim at all the guys he sees in bars employing lame pickup lines and awkward introductions. His solution? Have your bartender play wingman and help you make a lady’s acquaintance. So next time you’re at the Gibson, he’s your guy.