With blizzard 2.0 on the way, it’s time to start making good use of all this snow. My grandmother used to drizzle maple syrup on a bed of icy flakes, so it’d harden and we could eat it like candy. Then there are the more grown-up ways to dress it up, such as whiskey slushies or the cream-vanilla-and-sugar-based recipe a reader sent into Todd Kliman’s chat earlier today. So we want to know: How do you take your snow?
Only five days left until the Colts take on the Saints in the Super Bowl—and watching the big game is as much about the wings, pizza, and burgers as it is about the football, right? The pub grub is what we’re excited about anyway. We want to know what sports bar you think has the best food. Where should we arrive early to stake out seats closest to the kitchen, er, TV?
To prepare for out-of-town visitors, a reader wrote into Todd Kliman’s chat today to ask which restaurants he thinks would “scream DC” for her guests. Kliman suggested visiting the types of places that are rare in other cities (i.e., Etete, Four Sisters, Ben’s Chili Bowl), and his personal choice was Central because “there’s nothing like it anywhere else.” What restaurant do you think best shows off our city?
Washington's winter Restaurant Week—when you can get a three-course lunch for $20.10 and dinner for $35.10—ended Sunday, and we want to hear about your experiences. Did you score at a restaurant that offered its entire menu and treated you like royalty? Did you encounter surly service and just a few choices per course? Was it a good deal?
Give us your Restaurant Week reports in the comments.
The pesky cold snap that’s plagued us for weeks doesn’t seem to be going anywhere—but that just means we have more excuses to be drinking hot toddies, hot chocolate, and hot soup. But we need ideas: Where do you go for a warming beverage, cocktail, or meal when it’s bitterly cold out? Let us know in the comments!
What foods or types of restaurants do you want to see more of in Washington? What is our area missing? We'll start: bakery doughnuts and a great reuben sandwich.
Every December, magazines, restaurant consultants, and bloggers try to predict the year’s upcoming food trends. If their predictions are right, you’re bound to see more meatballs and lamb belly, which is poised to replace the ubiquitous pork belly. Putting those forecasts aside, what do you hope to see more of in Washington? What is the area missing? Let us know in the comments!
Againn (1099 New York Ave., NW; 202-639-9830) bills itself as a “contemporary gastropub,” a place to find great Scotch, traditional British pub cuisine, and more Scotch. Just a few weeks old, Againn has personalized Scotch lockers, where connoisseurs can store bottles of their most prized labels. What do diners think of the restaurant on a cold Thursday night? Find out on this week’s feedback.
Who needs a stinkin’ significant other anyway? Here’s a list of parties where all the single ladies (and gentlemen) can party this Valentine’s Day weekend—and where you might even find your next soulmate.
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Though Ann Limpert graduated from Connecticut College with a degree in art history and creative writing, she spent most of her time in New England debating the merits of warm, buttery lobster rolls vs. cold, mayo-y ones. She spent two years covering the internet for Entertainment Weekly magazine (highlights include interviewing the Beastie Boys and dancing to "Livin' la Vida Loca" with Penn Jillette), then left to hone her kitchen skills at the Institute of Culinary Education. She has worked as a cook at several New York restaurants, researched and edited cookbooks, and now writes about food and restaurants for the Washingtonian.
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Kate Nerenberg
Kate Nerenberg started as an editorial intern at The Washingtonian in January 2008 and became an assistant editor in September 2008. A native of West Hartford, Connecticut, she spent the first half of her writing life as a sports reporter, and was the editor of the athletics section for the newspaper and student-run magazine while at Middlebury College. A joint Spanish and Art History major, Kate graduated in 2005 and took off on a year-long journey around the world. After tasting everything from fried crickets to lavish Turkish breakfasts, she realized she wanted to devote herself to writing about food, a lifelong passion. She lives with three roommates just east of Logan Circle in a house that's often filled with the smell of sauteed garlic, warm banana bread, or fried bacon and eggs.
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Rina Rapuano
Rina Rapuano's English degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond put her on the path to becoming a managing editor of a weekly business magazine; a freelance copy editor; and assistant managing news editor—and later the lifestyles editor—at a weekly paper in Maryland. But she realized her true calling when her descriptions of meals to friends and colleagues always seemed to end with the same statement: “You're making me hungry.” Frankly, it was making Rina hungry, too. She chucked her day job in 2006 to become a full-time freelance writer focusing mainly on food, and now works as assistant food and wine editor at The Washingtonian.
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