This Sunday night, small plates king Jose Andres battles it out with Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America. He's the fourth DC toque to take on the speed-cooking challenge (Bebo Trattoria's Roberto Donna lost to Masaharu Morimoto, then beat him in a rematch; former White House chef Walter Scheib won against Cat Cora; and Farrah Olivia's Morou Ouattara made a valiant effort in Battle: Frozen Peas, but didn't best Flay). In a Food Network interview, Andres says his ideal secret ingredient would be lobster, and his ideal judge would be Ferran Adria (he'll have to settle for Jeffrey Steingarten). The show will air at 9 PM on the Food Network, but all of the fast-talking Spaniard’s biggest fans will be watching from the sold-out viewing party that begins at 8 PM at the Crystal City Jaleo…
…The Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off this weekend, which means that for better or worse, local chefs are going crazy with the sours and bings. So you’ll see shad roe with sweet and sour cherries (1789), miso duck with cherry gyoza and cherry cola barbecue sauce (Mie N Yu), and a five-course all-cherry tasting menu that kicks off with sour cherry veloute, cherry blossom-infused honey candy and seared foie gras (PS7’s)…
…Now that 21P has closed, who will snap up its valuable liquor license? They’re hard-to-get in the West Dupont Circle neighborhood, which only allows 30 at a time. City Paper reports that Pizzeria Paradiso's Ruth Gresser wants it so she can expand her P Street location, while Palena chef/owner Frank Ruta eyed it for his restaurant’s potential transfer to the Blaine Mansion…
…The Nationals’ first game at RFK Stadium is this Monday night. Besides the 13,000 hotdogs food service company Aramark expects to serve, you can also nosh on barbecue from Red, Hot & Blue and Capital Q, chili from Hard Times Cafe, and margaritas from Cantina Marina. We’re flatout ignoring the veggie spring rolls and fruit cups.
…Madam’s Organ proprietor Bill Duggan bought up the wrought-iron balconies that were on the facade of the defunct Blackie’s House of Beef, and now he wants to renovate his Adams Morgan bar and install them. But while the historical preservation office is cool with the busty redhead in the Organ’s famous mural, they're giving Duggan a hard time about the balconies…
…Meanwhile, an Arizona restaurateur has schlepped the original Blackie's bar across the country and restored it, though he refuses to get rid of the wadded chewing gum stuck underneath (“It could be Kennedy’s”). It's now installed in his gym-themed bar and grill…
…Nora Pouillon has broken her foot. No biggie, says the organics-loving chef behind Restaurant Nora and Asia Nora: “I’m not anywhere in the kitchen anymore anyway.”…
…After seven years, chef Pedro Matamoros is leaving the Tabard Inn. He’s hoping to open his own restaurant and is scouting locations…
…The shuttered Arena Rotisserie in Penn Quarter was slinging the usual breasts and thighs, and on it’s second floor, full-body massages (thanks to Wonkette for the tip)…
…The new iteration of Old Town’s Majestic Cafe–now it’s just called the Majestic–will open in early May (if all goes as planned). And since it’s owned by the Restaurant Eve team, mixologist Todd Thrasher is doing the drinks. Besides sidecars and mint juleps, he’s planning on serving NeHi ginger ale and a slushy of the day. And yes, they say, the towering layer cakes will live on.
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.
