Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Spirits in Black tonight!



Courtesy of the Washington Post:
You won’t find Bryan Tetorakis behind the bar at Rogue 24 tonight. Instead, at around 10 p.m., he’ll be crafting cocktails with an edge at American Ice Company for Spirits in Black, a boozy, wink-and-nod tribute to heavy metal, replete with atonals, growling vocals, awesome hair and headbanging.
 American Ice Company is a great venue, and Bryan certainly knows what he's doing behind the bar, so this would be a great event to go to if you're in to cocktails.

Small Plates: 06.13.12


New food truck Wassub bringing you very large Korean inspired subs. [Washingtonian]

There's a Pret a Manger coming to 14th and New York Avenue. [Young & Hungry]

In addition to mini-golf, the Building Museum will have Hill Country BBQ. [PoP]

Looks like Kangaroo Boxing Club is opening June 19th. Fastest DC opening ever! [New Columbia Heights]

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pancetta Peppers and Eggs

Photo by Amber De Grace on flickr.
Normally, we go out to brunch on the weekend. (Protip: go to Mintwood Place.) But this weekend, we felt like we needed showers after our strength training class, and so we bought some eggs and pancetta, and I raided the pantry. I was looking for a bag of dried Guajillo peppers, but apparently I used them up the last time I made adobo sauce. I did have some Arbol peppers, however, so I got three of those soaking while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I chopped up a shallot and a couple of plum tomatoes, and grabbed a bit of fresh thyme, mint, and rosemary. I also whipped the eggs with a bit of milk, and I was ready to go.

I let the shallots stew in a tablespoon of butter for a good twenty minutes before adding the peppers (deseeded), the herbs, and a handful of pancetta. Once those had cooked for a while, I took out the herbs, chopped them, and added them back in, along with the eggs. One of the tricks to scrambled eggs is to just let them sit for a while without stirring them. It helps keep them quite creamy. After they had mostly set, I stirred them up and let them finish. Some queso or feta would have been great to add at this point, but since we did not have any, I went without. The second trick to scrambled eggs is to remove them from heat just before they're quite done. I don't do so well at this, usually removing them a little early. But since they keep cooking after you plate them, it's important to make sure they don't overcook.

They turned out well. I was a bit nervous about the peppers, as I'm not used to working with peppers that are that hot. Three, deseeded, seemed to be a good number to give the finish eggs a medium to hot level of spiciness. I'm not sure the mint added much, but both the thyme and the rosemary gave the dish a bit of depth, while the tomato helped keep it fairly light. Definitely a keeper.

Small Plates: 06.12.12

Toki Underground
The Blaguard has a good beer selection, but did you know it has Korean style bar food? [Young & Hungry]

Sue Drabkin, from Inn at Perry Cabin, is the new pastry chef at Ris. [We Love DC]

Wise Guy NY Pizza is coming to 4th and H NW, promises authenticity. [PoP]

9 tips on drinking and dining this summer. They had me at crab boil. [Washingtonian]

Monday, June 11, 2012

Small Plates: 06.11.12


The Kangaroo Boxing Club, from the purveyors of PORC, is set to open June 19. [WaPo]

The Columbia Room made the short list for Best American Bar in the Spirited Awards. [Washingtonian]

Table, the new restaurant from Frederik de Pue coming to Shaw, will have a room deck. [PoP]

Three-level Italian restaurant coming to 14th St will have a gastropub and live music. [Eater]

Friday, June 8, 2012

Small Plates: 06.08.12


DGS Deli, coming to Dupont, promises they'll open in less than 40 years. Hopefully Z Burger can do the same. [PoP]

El Chucho may have margaritas on tap, but Bandolero got there first. [Young & Hungry]

Speaking of El Chucho, Andrew has pictures. It opens June 17. [New Columbia Heights]

The people behind Lincoln bring you Teddy & the Bully Bar, plans a 'crop' of them [Eater]

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Small Plates 06.07.12


Garden State, an outdoor restaurant with games and 'picnic food fare' coming to Shaw. [Young & Hungry]

The new taqueria in the old Italiano Cafe space will be called 'Tacos el Chilango' [PoP]

Find out how to make your own Mai Tais. Don't forget Orgeat! [Serious Eats]

Salvatore Ferro moves from Clyde's of Georgetown to Hamilton. [Washingtonian]