American Indulgence: Farmers Fishers Bakers Georgetown
Food photography by Nile Mansky Farmers Fishers Bakers (FFB) is the newest Georgetown waterfront restaurant designed for you to truly gorge the way America has always intended. It is the pinnacle of American abundance with large portions, a vast beer/cocktail … Continue reading
Dr. Kirylo’s Bastard Cold Elixir (Achoo!)
Dear Friends, If you have yet to contract the Bastard Cold, I highly recommend you begin wearing plastic gloves and a face mask now. For those of you (like me) who “never get sick” but have fatefully caught it, there … Continue reading
D.C. – How to eat your way through Sunday
You may not know my favorite color or where I was last night, but one thing you do know about me is that I love Washington D.C. Our nation’s capital is the melting pot and pulsating heart of our country, … Continue reading
Volt Restaurant: Hold onto your hat
To all who travel not for food, read this. There comes a time when one wants to hunt to eat. Jump into the car, big sunglasses, ADORE the change of seasons, then find a killer restaurant. * * * You’ve … Continue reading
British Pub-licity: North London’s The Flask
The Flask is of the many gems folded between the windy streets of Highgate Village. On the menu mulled wine and a Sunday’s roast gathers quite a crowd on resting day, and whenever I have the opportunity to visit, … Continue reading
Seasons for Imagination: A Brunch
In the film adaptation of the novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” by Roald Dahl, actor Gene Wilder opens the door for a group of lucky odds and ends to explore a land of endless, edible gems. And as the … Continue reading
Burn it off D.C. Love, Melissa “Ballet Barre @EpicYogaDC”
The Bare Naked Critic will show you how to put on the pounds, but Melissa reports on the best ways around Washington to take them off. *** Difficulty: Easy, Tough, Killer (mostly easy with a few tough moments) Where: Epic Yoga in … Continue reading
A COCHON 555 Challenge in D.C. – 5 Chefs, 5 Pigs, 5 Winemakers 4/22
4th Annual Touring Culinary Competition and Tasting Event Celebrates COCHON 555: A PIG FEAST & COOK-OFF @LiaisonCapHill in D.C. It’s hard to PASSOVER this event. Luckily our Jewish holiday is through by the time a unique traveling culinary competish snorts its … Continue reading
Burn it off D.C. Love, Melissa “Pilates @StudioBodyLogic”
The Bare Naked Critic will show you how to put on the pounds, but Melissa reports on the best ways around Washington to take them off. *** Difficulty: Easy, Tough, Killer (the more advanced you get, the tougher the workout … Continue reading
Burn it off D.C. Love, Melissa “LA Boxing”
The Bare Naked Critic will show you how to put on the pounds, but Melissa reports on the best ways around Washington to take them off. *** Difficulty: Easy, Tough, Killer (dripping sweat, wanting to collapse) Where: LA Boxing in … Continue reading
FEASTLY: Dining with strangers in D.C.
Bork! Bork! Bork! Co-founders Danny Harris and Noah Karesh, of D.C.’s web start-up, Feastly, stand up for two principles these days: (1) Dining together and (2) Talking to strangers. They took the importance of these principles, plus a dash of what we … Continue reading
See Amiee Watts on the runway- Fashion for Paws 4/14
The BNC loves animals and fashion and, well, Amiee Watts. HEAR HER OUT … Dear fellow animal lover, I am excited and honored to accept an invitation to raise funds as a Model in the Fashion for Paws® (F4P) Runway … Continue reading
Burn it off D.C. Love, Melissa “Free Yoga @lululemon”
The Bare Naked Critic will show you how to put on the pounds, but Melissa reports on the best ways around Washington to take them off. *** Free Yoga @lululemon in Georgetown Difficulty: Easy, Tough, Killer (more easy than tough, … Continue reading
Three New York Bites: Lobsters Lamb & Wives
New York City is a never ending whirlwind of excitement and anxiety for food nerds. The options are ENDLESS and therefore so are the decisions. This may cause you stress in figuring out where to grab a bite. Clearly you’ll … Continue reading
Burn it off D.C. Love, Melissa “Xtend Barre @FuelPilates”
The Bare Naked Critic will show you how to put on the pounds, but Melissa reports on the best ways around Washington to take them off. *** Xtend Barre @FuelPilates in Georgetown Difficulty: Easy, Tough, Killer (Definitely toggles between tough … Continue reading
So far in Santiago … The BNC does Chile.
D.C. –> Miami –> Santiago (journey a total of 16 hours) Travelers: Michael Bianchi, Jarod Powell, Kelsy Nakamatsu & The BNC Our stay begins at the Grand Hyatt in Santiago where Dahl-esque elevators travel high above the city skyline allowing for … Continue reading
A D.C. Exit Interview – with Jocelyn Weiss
As D.C. loses another creative genius to that old whore, New York City, we celebrate the times past between our streets. Why is she leaving, you ask? Read her official excuses here … You are. A photographer/epidemiologist. For a long … Continue reading
Eat Me D.C. – with Cafe Milano’s Franco Nuschese (plus scans from the past)
Franco Nuschese, 50, custom suit, designer glasses, warm smile. He sits at his desk in his office above Cafe Milano in Georgetown reviewing finances and chatting with his publicist, Jan. He is calm, approachable and chooses tea instead of coffee. … Continue reading
From the Files of Douglas McKenzie: UNCF
By Douglas McKenzie Who is Douglas McKenzie? Well, he’s our guide to unassured behavior. I love a newcomer to Washington. There’s something exciting about the new kid on the block that hasn’t yet developed an elevator speech, liver of … Continue reading
Eat me Eataly. Come to D.C.
Oy, the agony of rumors. I’m a total prosciutt, too. But I have so many ideas, I burst at the seams. Oh Eataly, how can I tempt thee to D.C. ? And most importantly, where would you go? Eater … Continue reading
SO PHO SO GOOD: A unique D.C. after-hours experience Thursdays
BNC Photo: Jocelyn Weiss/ D.C. guess what? The party never has to stop. SO PHO SO GOOD is a unique D.C. afterhours experience combining the soulful aromas and flavors of eastern noodle soup and the seductive sounds of deep electronic … Continue reading
New Year’s Eve: A Rogue Cocktail Party featuring DJ Adrian Loving
EVENT SOLD OUT Want a taste? Ring in 2012 at Rogue 24, by far one of D.C.’s sexiest restaurants, and party with James Beard award-winning chef R.J. Cooper and his team as they wow you with a round-up of the best dishes … Continue reading
Christmas Cookies? BNC Recommends: The Sweet Life Bakery
There are endless ways to get your Christmas cookie fix, but my theory is if you don’t GO Jersey you may as well GO home. Stephen Wilson and Jill McClennen, owners of The Sweet Life Bakery in Vineland, N.J. are … Continue reading
Enter to Win: A date with me, Scoutmob & 2 Hot Female Foodies
To WIN. It’s easy. To dine intimately with well-trained foodies? A nightmare. (kidding!) An EXPERIENCE. The Ultimate Question: Who would you dine with at your dream dinner party? (My answer: Anthony Bourdain. Why? Because he’d know within … Continue reading
There Are Heroes Amongst Us: Occupy D.C. Eats
Having witnessed the Occupy D.C. movement only on television and the occasional downtown drive-by spy, I felt it necessary to visit the steadfast soldiers of the 99% in order to ask them a very important question: What are you eating? … Continue reading
Cooking & Fooking: ScoutMobbed
Dear BNC, What is the protocol of using a pre-purchased coupon while on a date? Very often, when there is a deal I like on ScoutMob or Living Social, I’ll grab it. Last night when the check arrived, I pulled … Continue reading
December Chocolate Decadence at the Ritz: Eat your heart out. No, really.
The Aztecs called it “the food of gods” and researchers from around the world have labeled it a one of a kind sugary pleasure. Not only has chocolate been linked to happiness, increased sexual desire and, if you eat enough … Continue reading
DishCrawl to Take On Adams Morgan: Dec 14th
The launch of DishCrawl in the District was an enormous success. On November 8th, 53 D.C. food-nerds trolled the streets of Penn Quarter in search of delicious quick eats and a little food-nerd camaraderie. And now the demand for more … Continue reading
Chef Scott Drewno is The Source for Modern Chinese in the District
Chef Scott Drewno is the man behind Wolfgang Puck’s The Source, adjacent to the Newseum in Penn Quarter. On the surface, Chef Drewno is the epitome of the all-American man: 6 feet 5 inches, handsome, happily married to his high … Continue reading
DC Eater Awards: Andrés snags Chef of the Year & Toki is HOT
So what does Chef José Andrés do when he’s reached the top? Um, stay there. News travelled fast from yesterday’s Eater Awards in NYC when Señor Presidente Andrés and rising star Chef Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground both took … Continue reading
This Season: Give the Gift of Cooking
You make eggs and bacon for your lover in the morning. Impressive. Yet, what happens when the blizzards roll in and you are stuck indoors with your snuggle buddy for days? How will you impress them then? Certainly not … Continue reading
My Butcher: The sweet smell of meat & ammonia
A life without pork belly and sweetbreads, is really no life at all. Have we finally come full circle? Oh, how fascinating. Yet, here’s my question: Is “back to the basics” becoming a trend or are people finally recognizing the … Continue reading
Sa-weet Potato Soup
Damn baby, it’s cold outside! Yes, the winter chill has certainly hit the neighborhood. It’s just about that time to find a snuggle buddy and make some soup. Here’s an excellent way to slurp your vegetables and fill your … Continue reading
José Andrés for President?
Anyone who succeeds in creating a Chinese-Mexcican restaurant might as well. Matt Goulding, gets intimate details of José Andrés’ plans to stay on top of his game, feed Haiti and get political. With a little splash commentary from Bourdain: here … Continue reading
New York Lighter: DishCrawl comes to the District
When I lived in Rome, I avoided pub crawls like the plague. Yet, when I heard Dishcrawl was arriving to D.C., the idea caught my attention. Just another example of how our city is blossoming like a cherry thanks to … Continue reading
The Perfect Pick-me-up: Tiramisu
Don’t worry, we all need a pick-me-up sometimes. Think light, creamy, cookie filled, caffeine ridden, boozy, mouth-watering cake. Yes, please! Whip up this dessert, invite some friends over and I guarantee your blues will turn to “oohs.” The only downfall … Continue reading
Fennel Forward
Did you know by slicing fennel into your salad you are nourishing your body with a hearty dose of Vitamin C, fiber and potassium? Sweet, bulbous fennel is now in season and plentiful everywhere. Add fennel to your next crudité … Continue reading
Eli Lehrer, How Dare You.
Dear Eli, I believe in indulgence. I believe in art. I believe in food as art. I believe our nation’s capital is worthy of such culinary adventures as molecular gastronomy. And, Eli, I believe you are full of crap. Not … Continue reading
Nostalgia in NYC: Another Farewell by Sifton
As you may have figured out by now, Sam Sifton, former restaurant critic for the New York Times, is one of my favorite food writers. I like him for his unique turn of phrase, witty vocabulary and great taste. Following … Continue reading
Cooking & Fooking: Curator of Love
Dear BNC, Where do I mix business and pleasure? I am smitten with this little honey from a work project we recently completed together. She’s classy, has a sparkling personality and her style is impressive. Plus, I think she is … Continue reading
Cooking & Fooking: Wine Always Helps
Dear BNC, I have been on two dates with a super smart and good looking man. Both times we went out to dinner and both times he has dropped me off at home without even a kiss. We talk almost … Continue reading
Fig-a-liscious Crostini
(Caution: Drool alert.) If you ever see figs at your local grocery store or farmer’s market—Grab them, please! It doesn’t matter that you’ve never used them or, hell, even tasted them before. Just listen to me and buy them. Figs … Continue reading
Eat Me D.C. – with Graffiato’s Chef Mike Isabella
Chef Mike Isabella gave me 15 minutes of his time to (1) prove that he’s not the chauvinist “tool” blogs say he is and (2) convince me that prosecco from a tap is not trashy. By 6:30 PM on a … Continue reading
Eat Me D.C. – with Toki Underground’s Chef Erik Bruner-Yang
Apron on and in the confines of Toki Underground, Chef Erik Bruner-Yang shares his take on chef-driven restaurants, his vision for the future of H Street, plus reveals who “Toki” really is. Ariell Kirylo: If you could be anywhere else … Continue reading
On the Rogue with Chef R.J. Cooper III
Photos by: Maria Bryk Kerouac once wrote, “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved.” Yet, what Jack failed to scribble onto his snarky scroll … Continue reading
Toki Has a Character
First thing first: You walk upstairs to get to Toki Underground. This could be found a bit confusing and certainly uncomfortable for the archetypical fine diner, but Toki, like Wonderland, is an Alice-esque culinary adventure. Toki lends itself as a … Continue reading
Great Italian Elegance in a Low-Lit Hotel Lobby
Obelisk should not be confused with your fixed menu, avant-garde, molecular wonderland where Foie gras meets cotton candy. Obelisk is a culinary journey exploring flavors of seasonal Italian cooking with an elegance many Americans have not yet experienced. Obelisk is … Continue reading
Una Marea of Compliments
Sitting outside at a Café Metro on the corner of 51st and Lex, wiping the blasts of city dust from my eye and inhaling the occasion smell of public restrooms, I think back on my late Saturday night meal. A … Continue reading
Napoleon Bistro: Short and Obscure
Perched on Columbia Road above Adam’s Morgan sits Napoleon Bistro & Lounge, sister to Bonaparte Café in Georgetown. Overlooking the squalor that many under-aged kids call a “great Saturday night,” Napoleon suffers to no inferiority complex. The interior design breaks … Continue reading
Fall Back and Relax: Pumpkin Pie Martini
So, you are perfectly capable of putting away two-thirds of a pie but don’t like the stigma attached to the sound of your spoon scraping the bottom of the pan. I totally get it. And I can help. This Fall … Continue reading
El Raspberry Chupacabra
Inspired from D.C.’s own mixologist Justin Young, this punch is no myth. Use this recipe for your next event. Ingredients 1 (46 ounce) can of cranberry juice 1 (6 ounce) can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate 3 cans of Redbull, … Continue reading
Cook like a damn whore: Spaghetti Puttanesca
This recipe is one of the sexiest. Mostly all of the ingredients are aphrodisiacs and if you like spicy, you can’t go wrong. It’s easy to throw together and it takes very little time to prepare. Go on, cook like … Continue reading
In Your Olive Oily Face, Italy.
When I was a debating whether or not Northern California was my future, one of the things I took into consideration was the landscape and agriculture. I bet you don’t believe me. Driving through Sonoma and Napa Valley one afternoon … Continue reading
Pork Carnitas de Maria
Carnitas are a great excuse to get the band the back together for some Mexican food. Serve with a variety of spiced salsas, some blackbeans and corn tortillas. When Maria made these at my party a few months ago, they … Continue reading
Three Great Reasons to Eat Roadkill
Eat locally Be not wasteful Live the ever trendy anti-consumerist lifestyle known as “freeganism” Jonathan McGowan, a British taxidermist, gives a whole new meaning to “street food.” I should be disgusted by a bloke who prefers roadkill to meat sold … Continue reading
BNC Exclusive: Fisherman’s Dinner Series Westend Bistro
Fishermen’s Dinner Series at Westend Bistro Wednesday, November 16 at 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 14 at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 11 at 7 p.m. Chef de Cuisine Joe Palma of Westend Bistro believes in degustation served with education. In the … Continue reading
I wish I thought of that: Cupcake Edition
You know the feeling you get when you see something you wish you thought of? (For me, it’s an unpleasant sensation similar to a heart palpitation.) I just can’t get enough of the creativity behind these cupcakes. I at least … Continue reading
California Says Au Revoir Foie Gras
In 2004, The Governator signed a law to ban sale of the enlarged and wondrous duck liver otherwise known as foie gras. Now the time to obey is quickly approaching. Come July 2012, it’s au revoir foie gras! Needless to … Continue reading
Mischa Barton: So MEATY!
I admit, I really respect Tyler Shields’ work. Anyone who can capture beauty in the twisted and sick has my vote of creative genius. Yet, when even the most brilliant people put very little effort into something, I’m happy to … Continue reading
Another One Bites the Duck? Ciao Sam Sifton.
Caro Sam, SO Per Se was a perfect last meal and, in terms of self-reflection, it brought you full circle. Thank you for sharing with us. I will miss your snarky comments and your turn of phrase. Don’t go too … Continue reading
Tom Sietsema’s Bitching 2011 Fall Dining Guide
Oh, Tom You’ll Never be a Regular! Tom Sietsema master of the shadows, creator of discussion, our nation’s capital food critic. How we all find joy in loving and hating thee. I wanted to share your bitching 2011 Fall Dining … Continue reading
“THE sauce will not behave”
Ever wonder who makes the commercials for chain restaurants? You’ve seen the spitting and twisting lemons dance upon bouncy fried chicken. It’s magnific! These geniuses are able to make the most revolting food in our country look sexy and irresistible. … Continue reading
Chefs Feed Puts Famous Chefs’ Recommendations for What and Where to Eat on Your iPhone
Top Chefs going mobile. New and FREE app, Chefs Feed, to provide recommendations at your touch. Find out where Momofuku’s David Chang, Le Bernardin’s Eric Ripert, and Barbuto’s Jonathon Waxman suggest you feed. Read full article here
Virginia is For Lovers as well as Chefs
If you can’t bring the farm to the chef, bring the chef to the farm. Or better, let them gather like the fleet of Hell’s Kitchen Angels and let them ride themselves to the farm. This was the idea for … Continue reading
Lavender Moon Towels
Get sweaty! In the summer months there is nothing more refreshing than a crisp Lavender Moon Towel. With a fun crowd, friendly ambiance and the right DJ, getting your guests to dance is simple. Do them a favor, pass these … Continue reading