Pastry chef Chris Ford, standing on the left, is out at Rogue 24. Photograph by Kyle Gustafson
Several chef shuffles made headlines this week. The Washington Post‘s Tom Sietsema tweeted that Rogue 24 pastry chef Chris Ford has left the restaurant. Eater followed up with Ford, who stressed that the split was amicable: “It’s just not a good fit. . . . That’s the industry. People just don’t mesh.” Cooper declined to comment on Ford’s departure, or on who will fill his role creating the desserts for the 16 and 24-course prix fixe menus.
The Washington Post also reports on chef Ron Tanaka’s departure from the nearly four-year-old wine bar Cork. There’s no word on where Tanaka—an alum of CityZen and Citronelle— is headed next or who will take over as chef. “We didn’t want him to go,” owner Diane Gross said. “We love Ron.”
And finally, Young & Hungry has the news that Granville Moore’s sous chef Mike Lunsford is taking the head chef position at the Big Board, the soon-to-open H Street, Northeast burger joint. UrbanDaddy nabbed a copy of the menu. The restaurant is slated to open in early October.
Jeff Tunks opened his much-anticipated Burger, Tap & Shake this week, and the Post‘s Bonnie Benwick got in early to check out all its new gadgetry. Eater also takes a look inside the casual diner, which adjoins District Commons, the more formal part of the operation set to soft-open tonight. Check back with us Monday, when we’ll have coverage of both.
Exciting news for Georgetowners: local sausage-maker Jamie Stachowski will open a shop in the neighborhood. The Washington Business Journal reports that the chef—who has been selling his charcuterie at farmers markets and to local restaurants—will take over the old Griffin Market space (1425 28th St., NW).
We got a peek inside Smoke & Barrel in Adams Morgan, the latest addition to the growing barbecue scene. The 60-seat pub housed on the street level of Asylum features a craft beer menu designed by Meridian Pint’s Sam Fitz, plenty of bourbon, and a former Memphis chef turning out ribs, pulled pork, and bacon crème brûlée.
Looking for the Jockey Club? Missy Frederick at the Washington Business Journal writes that the restaurant has a new name and chef. The formal dining room inside the Fairfax at Embassy Row is now called 2100 Prime, and chef Mark Timms has taken the helm.
Sabor’a Street co-owners Jorge Pimentel and Christine Sarapu are pulling their taco-and-arepa truck off the streets. There was hope that it might return in the spring, but Food Truck Fiesta posted the sad news that the truck, dubbed “Lola,” is up for sale.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
