Gone are the formal service, fancy flowers, and velvet-accented, aubergine decor of Cafe 15 in the Hotel Sofitel Lafayette Square. In early February, the restaurant got a makeover, a new menu, and a new name—Ici Urban Bistro—in an attempt to instill a more relaxed vibe and jump on Washington’s booming bistro trend.

Amanda Cook and Rachael Harriman of CityZen.

What: The third annual Women Chefs Turn Up the Heat! event to benefit the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.

Where: The Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C.

When: Tuesday, February 26, 6:30 to 9:30 PM

Who: A great representation of women from local restaurant kitchens—chefs, pastry chefs, line cooks, and restaurateurs all took part. The crowd was mostly female, and some women brought their daughters as dates.

Ah, lunch. Lunch is your time. If you’re lucky enough not to be stuck in a suburban office park, you get an hour (if that) to cast off the iron shackles of the office chair and walk freely about the streets of downtown DC.

Your choice of lunch spot is critically important to the quality of your day—and don’t think we don’t know it. To help you get the most out of your hour, we’re rating DC’s downtown lunch options on factors such as speed, cost, stress level, and likeliness to inspire office jealousy.

What are your favorite quickie lunch spots? Let us know in the comments.  

Citronelle's Michel Richard likes to unwind at Bistro Lepic. Photograph by Matthew Worden.

Michel Richard, chef/owner of Citronelle (Latham Hotel, 3000 M St., NW; 202-625-2150) in Georgetown, certainly has been keeping busy. Last year he opened his casual DC bistro, Central Michel Richard (1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-626-0015), home to the $29 lobster burger. Now he’s christened a second Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch in Northern California.

Condé Nast Traveler caught up with the always-ready-with-a-quip chef in its March 2008 issue and asked him to name his favorite dining spots in various locales, including Washington. Richard told the cutting-edge travel magazine that he thrills to the boudin at Robert Weidmaier’s Marcel’s in DC’s West End and the cold pig’s-trotter salad at Georgetown’s Bistro Lepic. He also talked up Eric Ripert’s seafood temple Le Bernardin in New York and Gordon Ramsay’s eateries in London. Richard might soon pal around DC with these high-profile chefs. Ripert was consulting chef for the downtown-DC Ritz-Carlton’s Westend Bistro, and The Washingtonian’s Todd Kliman has reported that Ramsay will be taking over the kitchen at Maestro in the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner.
 

Pittsburgh’s PNC Park has Primanti Brothers’ famous beef sandwiches. Baltimore’s Camden Yards has Boog’s barbecue. And now, finally, the Nats’ new stadium will step up to the culinary plate, offering more than flaccid hotdogs and sodden chicken tenders. When the ballpark opens March 29, there will be plenty of familiar local eats on offer. Here’s a sampling of what to expect.

Argentinian pizza proprietor Gonzalo Di Laudo takes a break with his dog, Walter.

Gonzalo Di Laudo was bartending at his uncle’s restaurant, Divino Lounge, when he hatched a plan for a pizza place serving the grilled pies of his native Buenos Aires. He partnered with Divino’s owners and opened Pizza Zero (4925 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda; 240-497-0751) on a Bethesda side street last spring.

Di Laudo moved from Argentina to this area five years ago, and now lives in Silver Spring with his wife, Carla. Soon there will be a new little face in Pizza Zero’s family-friendly dining room—the Di Laudos are expecting their first child in March.

Before the dinner rush, Di Laudo talked with us about some of his food favorites, from American breakfasts to Argentinian meat extravaganzas.
 

Fresh from signing on to Jim Jarmusch’s next film, anything-he-does-is-cool actor Bill Murray noshed on a lamb burger and red wine at Penn Quarter wine bar Proof.

Joe Pantoliano spent a recent happy hour at Zola in Penn Quarter. The only thing the Sopranos actor OD’d on was caffeine—he sipped Diet Coke and an espresso.