Former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier worked under five presidents--from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush--and though his new memoir, All the Presidents' Pastries, is mostly an ego-stroking celebration of his culinary ingenuity, there are some fun anecdotes in between.

I interviewed Mesnier--who now teaches at L'Academie de Cuisine--a couple years ago and he's a wickedly funny natural storyteller, so it's worth dropping in on his reading tonight at Olsson's in Penn Quarter. You can ask him about President Clinton's myriad food allergies, Amy Carter's after-school cookie-baking, or Barbara Bush's military-like eating rules for everyone in her family. But to really get him going, ask what it was like working for Nancy Reagan. 

Roland Mesnier is at the Olsson's Lansburgh (418 Seventh St., NW) Wednesday, February 28 at 7 PM. Free.  

This just in: Barton Seaver, the chef at Cafe St.-Ex and Bar Pilar, is leaving behind 14th St. for Georgetown.

Sometime in "mid-to-late April," Seaver will become the chef at a new place called Hook, on M St. The restaurant takes over the space that belonged to Cilantro.

Hook thought it had hooked Bryan Voltaggio, the chef at Capitol Hill's Charlie Palmer Steak, but Voltaggio backed out of the project a couple of weeks ago (and scored a nice little promotion from boss Palmer). Seaver leapt at the chance to bring his commitment to sustainability and local markets to a larger stage. "I couldn't be more excited," the young chef told me this afternoon.

The menu for the 155-seat restaurant will feature eight or ten preparations of fish and seafood nightly, as well as a regular selection of crudo (the Italian term for raw fish), including fresh, housecured anchovies. Seaver will also be offering housemade charcuterie ("That's the sexy part of cooking"), and, eventually, homemade breads. (The breads will be baked next door, in the space that currently belongs to Georgetown Bagelry; it's about to be transformed into an upmarket eat-in specialty store).

Joining Seaver in the new venture is pastry chef Heather Chittum, who has previously made sweets for Notti Bianche and Citronelle.

Seaver wants a low-key, companionable vibe for the new place, and hopes to back that promise by keeping entree prices in the low 20s and offering a good many bottles of wine (all of which he'll be choosing) for $60 and under.

Georgetown, he says, is "a destination, but it's very much a neighborhood."

He ought to know: His parents live only blocks away from the new restaurant. "I fully expect them," he says, "to saunter down to dinner as much as they can."

Relaxing at the Linden Vineyard.

Rappahannock County’s biggest claim-to-fame is the illustrious Inn at Little Washington--the ultra-luxurious restaurant and inn that anchors the tiny town of Washington, Virginia (population 160). But there's been plenty written about that. On a recent weekend trip to this idyllic setting just 65 miles from “big” Washington, I discovered some other great spots nearby for food, wine, and fun.

Fondue is the perfect combination of warmth and comfort--not to mention a good excuse to stay inside. With snow shoveling season comes melting cheese season, and as a big fan of cheese, Cowgirl Creamery has assembled paper bag fondue kits which rotate weekly.

For $17.50, each one-pound kit contains three cheeses traditionally enjoyed in the Alps, along with a recipe for adding crushed garlic and wine. The white lab-coated cheese scientists have removed rinds and cubed and bagged each variety (each kit serves four).
 

PS 7's chef-owner Peter Smith loves fish. And not just the kind you cook. An avid diver since his teens (Bora Bora is his top dive destination),  Smith wanted to surround himself with reminders of the deep blue at work. Hence the undulating indigo wall that is the central design motif in the dining room and the whimsical fish bowls in the restrooms. 

Smith has a 100-gallon salt water reef tank at home, but that wasn't practical at PS 7's. But even the low-tech fishbowls take some fancy footwork. Most of the time the 30 goldfish hang out in a tank with a pump, filter, and climate control in the restaurant's office. Come show time —  lunch and dinner — the fish come out to play. They're transferred to the restroom fish bowls — two in each bathroom each with four or five fish — an instant mood lifter, for anyone who happens by. When the restaurant closes, they're returned to the office tank for the night. And we thought the chef was the star of the show.

For more on PS7's, here's my review from the February issue.