Artistry with an Edge: Meet some of the capital’s most inventive food and wine experts.
Raise a glass (and a chair) to Ashok Bajaj (seated), who "feeds the in-crowd" at seven of Washington's top restaurants. Left to right: executive chefs Adam Longworth (701 Restaurant), Tony Conte (The Oval Room), Nilesh Singhvi (The Bombay Club), Vikram Sunderam (Rasika) Nicholas Stefanelli (Bibiana), and Alex McWilliams (Ardeo and Bardeo) (Photo by James R. Brantley).
One night in the kitchen with Executive Chef Enzo Fargione.
By Chris Silva
Executive Chef Enzo Fargione
The chef’s table at TEATRO GOLDONI (1909 K St. N.W.) comfortably seats six and is situated with unobstructed views of the kitchen allowing patrons to watch executive chef Enzo Fargione do what he does best – create innovative Italian dishes. Fargione, who came to Teatro Goldoni in late Spring 2008, describes his creations as “personalized Italian cuisine.” He typically serves eight courses at the chef’s table, although he can go to as many as 16 if the party is up to it. There are also a lot of surprises in between.
For our dinner, my guest and I were first served a salty and sweet amuse bouche along with niçoise (potato and cold tuna salad) wrapped in a gold-leaf foil drizzled with tomato oil. It literally melted on my tongue. The second course was lighter and included organic summer tomato and roasted eggplant terrine sprinkled with a reduction of balsamic vinegar and accompanied by a side of basil gelatin.
These six organic trailblazers have taken the Washington culinary scene by storm. And here’s what they have to say about it.
Photos by Douglas Sonders
Makeup by Carola Myers
Photographed at the U.S. National Arboretum
Carla Hall, Barton Seaver, Cathal Armstrong, Todd Gray, Robert Weland and Christian Homes at the National Arboretum. (Photo by Doug Sonders)
Dining out in Washington can be thrilling – if you can get a reservation.
by Ann Mah
Sourcing a table reservation at Wolfgang Puck's "The Source" should be done a week in advance. Other popular tables can take over a month to book.
With a new proliferation of hot tables, Washington’s restaurant scene is suddenly buzz-worthy. But along with the great food comes long waits – sometimes it takes weeks, or even months, to get a table. Recently, I tried to reserve at some of the city’s most popular restaurants, discovering policies that ranged from inconvenient to downright draconian.
My request was simple: A table for two, on a Friday or Saturday evening at around 8pm. The shortest wait was at The Source (575 Pennsylvania Ave. NW), which offered an easy, efficient reservation policy as well as a wait of only one week. If only all my experiences were this easy.
These eight 40 and under chefs are the next generation of the Washington dining, and they have the scene sizzling.
By Ann Mah
Barton Seaver
Ah, professional cooking. “It’s a young person’s game,” chef, author and culinary adventurer Anthony Bourdain has said. “Young pigeons and old chefs – you just don’t see them.”
Indeed, despite this town’s predilection for age over beauty, a flock of talented young chefs has descended upon the capital, making it one of the country’s hottest dining scenes. We sat down with eight of the city’s top chefs – all under the age of forty – to discuss success at a young age, what it takes to create good food, and the perils and positives of those intensely hot, blood-boilingly stressful, and amazingly sublime fourteen-hour days.
“D.C. isn’t as stringent and crazy a dining town as New York,” says Barton Seaver, executive chef and partner at Hook (3241 M St. NW). “Young chefs are given a chance to make some headlines.” Seaver, 28, has certainly attracted the spotlight with his chic Georgetown fish restaurant, which serves responsibly sourced seafood and local products. “The way Americans eat is changing. It’s a new form of environmentalism,” he says. “Young chefs are most adept at bringing about that change.”
Where do you find all the latest buzz on the Capital dining scene? Right here in The Dish.
by Ann Mah
Westend new addition, Hudson.
Washington’s dining scene may specialize in the formal (read: stuffy), but the Beltway’s best bites aren’t all served on starched tablecloths. This month we share our newest dining discoveries, discuss what’s hot (Chef Eric Ripert, anyone?) and what’s downright delicious (our latest addiction: Hudson’s Pomegranate Caiparinha).
Did someone mention Eric Ripert? Excuse us while we hyperventilate. The silver-haired, three-star Michelin dreamboat, er, we mean chef, has landed in the capital to open Westend Bistro at the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown (1190 22nd St. NW). Headed up by chef de cuisine Leonardo Marino (formerly of NYC’s Le Bernadin) the menu features casual Franco-American fare (think raw oysters, fish burgers with fennel and saffron aioli, and skate in brown butter sauce). We’re already drooling – over the food.
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