• The food-magazine world lost its queen on Monday, when Condé Nast announced it was closing Gourmet, which has been in print since 1940. For weeks, we’d heard rumors that the media giant was going to shut down a number of its titles, but the news about Gourmet was a shock to many. Its October issue was dedicated to restaurants, and editors asked Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema where he’d spend $1,000. Among his picks were Jaleo, Et Voila!, and Obelisk. Gourmet will put out its final issue next month.
• Yesterday, 82-year-old Ben Ali, best known as the mastermind behind the iconic U Street, Northwest, landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl, passed away yesterday. The restaurant, famous for its chili dogs and cheese fries, opened in 1958. Ali’s sons, Kamal and Nizam, run the DC landmark.
• More wine on the way: Prince of Petworth reports that Justin Abad and John Manolatos, two of the three Cashion’s Eat Place owners, found a spot for a wine-and-gourmet-foods shop in DC’s Adams Morgan and hope to be open before the holidays. Then a Metrocurean reader wrote in about Twisted Vines Bottleshop & Bistro, a wine store and small-plates restaurant to open by November in Arlington.
• Ris Lacoste, the former 1789 executive chef, told Tom Sietsema yesterday that she’s looking at a November opening for her restaurant—to be called Ris—which has been in the works for three years. The 170-seater is at 23rd and L streets, Northwest.
Follow the Best Bites Bloggers on Twitter at twitter.com/bestbitesblog
More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder
