As Waldorf salads, tableside-carving, and retro cocktails like the Moscow Mule are back in vogue, now comes word that the Jockey Club–aka the Milano of the ‘60s and ‘70s–may get resurrected too. Rumor has it that the clubby, continental dining room, once favored by both visiting celebrities (Frank Sinatra, Andy Warhol) and DC’s social establishment (it was Nancy Reagan’s preferred lunch spot) will reopen in what’s now the Westin Embassy Row by the end of the year…
…Cloud, restaurateur Savino Racine’s Dupont Circle lounge best known for its king-sized beds and its pajama brunches, closed this past February in the wake of a nasty stabbing on its primely located premises. We were holding out hope for another cheffy brasserie or at least a wine bar, but it’s reportedly becoming–yawn–an Irish pub…
…Last year, Kliman Online reported that regaled Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert was mulling opening a restaurant in DC. The Frenchman, who once worked as a sous chef at Jean-Louis in the Watergate, recently closed a deal to take over the dining room at the downtown Ritz-Carlton (he’ll deploy one of his Le Bernardin sous chefs to man the stoves). And in case you were wondering which neighborhood that’s in exactly, they’ve just revealed the restaurant’s name: West End…
…And also in the West End, the owner of Felix is taking over David Greggory this fall, and refashioning it as an “American brasserie” called Hudson. But don’t mourn the loss of homemade pigs-n-blankets and all-bacon dinners just yet. The plan is to keep DG’s porcine-obsessed Greggory Hill on as chef…
…Over at Serious Eats, they’ve spent the week making recipes from Citronelle /Central chef (and recent James Beard award winner) Michel Richard’s stunner of a cookbook, Happy in the Kitchen. You’ll find the recipes for Very French Fries (double-fried and dusted in fleur de sel), braised carrots, thyme-glazed baby back ribs, and Neo-Chicken Salad, which includes boquerones, capers, and ginger. And if you don’t already own it, they’re giving away five copies to commenters…
…Trans fats are already banished in New York and Philly, and starting in 2008, Montgomery County will phase them out too (which makes them the first county in the country to do so). What does that mean? Come January, “oils, shortenings and margarines with artificial trans fats that are used for frying or in spreads” are verboten in restaurants. In 2009, the ban will expand to include oils for deep-frying, plus all other trans fats in restaurants and places selling baked goods made in the county. A number of chains (Wendy’s, Au Bon Pain, Panera, Marriott hotels) have already gotten rid of oils with trans fats.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
