Last night, the Marriott Wardman Park was awash in “black tie and bling”—the specified dress code for this year’s Rammy Awards gala. Put on by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, these awards honor the region’s chefs and restaurants in numerous categories. Nominated chefs were the evening’s rock stars, arriving dressed to impress with entourages of family, staff, and publicists. Read on for the best and worst moments of the sparkly affair.

DC's Butterfield 9 is closing after eight years, according to a source close to the restaurant, who adds: "Most likely [today] there'll be padlocks on the door."

This marks the second shuttering of a big-name restaurant in a week; Colorado Kitchen served its last brunch this weekend. Both made The Washingtonian's 100 Best Restaurants list this past January.

Asked whether chef Michael Harr, who attempted to buy out the restaurant's ownership group a couple of years ago, would assume control of the restaurant as chef-owner, the source replies: "It's not a possibility."

•It’s been an eventful week in restaurant news. First, Restaurant K by Alison Swope in downtown DC closed its doors after just ten months of business. McCormick & Schmick's, which owns the spot, blamed the tough economy, saying that they'll "reallocate its resources to our core McCormick & Schmick’s branded establishments" (which include a McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant a block away). As for veteran chef Swope, the current plan is for her to join the group's culinary development team.
    The K Street restaurant always had an easier time filling the bar with tie-loosening lawyers and lobbyists than the cavernous dining room. And for good reason—the prickly pear margaritas were tart and strong, and the happy hour menu was cheap and tasty. Still, we'll miss the Southwestern-accented breakfasts (where else are we going to get a huevos motulenos fix?) and Swope's terrific braised pork shank with lemon popovers. 

Laloo's goat's milk ice creams and yogurts are tasty and smooth.

DC’s muggy summers usually send those craving frozen treats to DC’s frosty standbys: Thomas Sweet’s for fro-yo in Georgetown, Giffords Ice Cream, and Rita’s Water Ice. But if you're looking for a new dairy option, scoop up LaLoo’s goat’s milk ice cream, which recently became available at select Balducci’s and Whole Foods.

The goats who roam 350 acres of hillside at LaLoo’s farm in Sonoma County, California give their milk not to make cheese, but ice cream, which is then paired with imaginative flavorings and packaged in colorful, flowered pints.

Rumplemint is full of curls of dark chocolate imported from Zurich and fresh mint from LaLoo’s organic garden. Molasses Tipsycake also uses real-deal ingredients: organic blackstrap molasses, whole oats, and raisins. LaLoo’s latest addition, not yet spotted in any area stores—although a LaLoo spokesperson says they’ve started shipping it to the region—is frozen yogurt. The yogurt comes in such varieties as Brownie and Clyde, made with chunks of “no-pudge” fudge brownies; Forestberry, a raspberry-blackberry flavor; and Cajeta de Leche, with Mexican caramel and Texas toffee.  

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival kicks off this week. Visitors looking to explore diverse cultures might be tempted to watch Bhutanese dancing or meet a NASA astronaut, but catch a whiff of 16-hour smoked brisket and you’ll likely follow it over to the Texas food and wine activities just behind the Smithsonian Castle.

That’s where Louis McMillan of McMillan’s Bar-B-Q in Fannin, Texas—one of five visiting chefs—will exhibit hardcore Texas-style barbecue. He’ll give down-home demonstrations every hour for the two weeks of the festival—today through June 29 and July 2 to 6.
 

Le Gaulois, the traditional French restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria is trying to breathe some life into its second floor with the opening of Bar Baudelaire.

The 64-seat space—with exposed brick, dark wood-beamed ceilings, and a slick granite bar—is sexier than the lower half of the restaurant. Bottles of wine sit horizontally in glass cases that double as partitions between the bar and the dining area.

Chef Tom Meyer, whose skills were honed by Jean-Louis Palladin at Pesce, will oversee the trendy small-plates menu, and veteran wine director Ted Wynot will keep stock of the largely Francophile wines.

Colorado Kitchen, chef Gillian Clark's cozy, quirky restaurant in DC's Brightwood, is closing after seven years.

"It's a-coming," says Clark. "The final day is coming. . . . People should make their plans soon. We've had a great seven years and had a really great time. We're not a one-trick pony. . . . My brain has more restaurant concepts in it than Colorado Kitchen."

The reason for the shutdown? "In order for Colorado Kitchen to continue," Clark says, "I need people to come in here and cook"—a real problem, says the chef, given that the kitchen is only 300 square feet.