THE LATEST DISH

Four! No, I really mean it!  

By Linda Roth Conte

APRIL 2008

Tee Up at the 3rd Annual Com Passion Golf Tournament and bring on the Passion Benefiting Children’s National Medical Center, Monday, April 28. Passion Food Hospitality, operators of DC Coast, Ceiba, TenPenh and Acadiana restaurants, will host the 3rd Annual Com Passion Golf Tournament to benefit Children’s National Medical Center, a top pediatric institution located in Washington, DC. Each year, the funds raised have increased due to the “passion” of people helping children with severe needs. At last year’s benefit, partners of Passion Food Hospitality, Gus DiMillo, David Wizenberg, and Jeff Tunks, presented a $37,000 check to the board of Children’s National Medical Center, which treats more than 360,000 patients each year. Bring on the passion – Monday, April 28, at Cross Creek Golf Club, 12806 Bay Hill Drive, Beltsville, MD 20705, for an 11 am Putting Contest and the Tournament at 1 pm.

The National Gallery of Art’s Garden Café: Fontainebleau, is offering an extra special menu through May 18. How about this: Patrick Orange of La Chaumiere restaurant in Georgetown prepares Boeuf Bourguignonne; Jean-Claude Le Lan of Le Refuge restaurant in Alexandria prepares the Chocolate Mousse; Scott Chambers of La Ferme restaurant in Chevy Chase prepres the Crab Rémoulade; and David Rogers of the Garden Café: Fontainebleau prepares the Potato Leek Soup.

The Two Best Seats in the House

Earlier this year, the arrival of Italian-born Stefanio Frigerio (formerly Maestro’s No. 2 toque) at Mio lit up the gastronomic radar screen, as he’s known for respecting ingredients, striving for seasonality and making good use of animal parts. Beginning March 11, foodies can sit at the two-person “chef’s table” – a pair of seats at the counter that face the open kitchen and offer a full view of the cooks in action – where they’ll be served a five-to-seven-course tasting menu created at Frigerio’s whim. He’ll ask about allergies and food phobias – but after that, it’s all up to him.

Dishes will showcase the freshest products, says Frigerio, like the pork being produced for the restaurant by a local farmer. He expects to turn out updated tour-de-force dishes like beef Rossini (filets sautéed with foie gras and truffle sauce) that can’t be prepared for a crowd. And he hopes that people will be inspired to try new things because they get to watch them being made (reservations for two can be made for 6 and 8:30 PM; $100 per person, not including wine, tax or tip; 202-955-0075).

Top Toques Pay Tribute to a Great Lady

When Jacqueline Rodier passed away in 2006, the DC culinary world lost a valued mentor. And so on April 15, DC chef-restaurateurs Jeffrey Buben, Yannick Cam, Roberto Donna, Brian McBride, Michel Richard and Robert Wiedmaier paid homage to the grande dame whose legendary bistros, Jacqueline’s and Auberge Jacqueline, profoundly influenced the local culinary scene. In honor of Rodier, the chefs prepared a reception and a sumptuous five-course dinner with fine wines at the Park Hyatt to benefit a cooking scholarship in her memory. If you would care to contribute to the fund call 301-439-2252.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art presents this year’s the ARTini cocktail competition to celebrate the return of “The American Art Evolution: A History Through Art” exhibition.  Fifteen DC area restaurants are participating in the ARTini competition, vying for the title of most artistic martini. On Tuesday, April 22 there will be a tasting of two of the competitors: Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert’s “Sargent Pepper’s Tango,” (celebrating artist John Singer Sargent) at 6:30pm; and the “Mao Tao” at M Bar at the Renaissance M Street Hotel (honoring Andy Warhol’s modern portrait of Chairman Mao) at 7:30pm. Visit all the participating restaurants, sample the “ARTinis” and vote online for your favorite at www.washingtoncitypaper.com/artini. The winning “ARTini” will be revealed on April 30 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, presented by the 1869 Society. 

Children’s Day of Taste: From the Garden to the Table. The Smithsonian Associates and the American Institute of Wine and Food present a day filled with fun and discovery in Penn Quarter for adults and children ages 7 through 13.  Notable Washington-area chef, and corporate chef of Rock Creek Restaurant in Bethesda, Ris Lacoste will help children learn about healthy foods, the dining experience, seasonal products, sustainability and cooking. Lessons start at Clyde’s of Gallery Place followed by the Cowgirl Creamery to learn about different cheeses, followed by Poste Moderne Brasserie where executive chef Rob Wieland displays the restaurant’s organic garden and offers tastings made with his fresh produce.  It’s scheduled for Saturday May 3 and again on May 10, from 9:30am to 12:30pm. The cost is $138 for adult/child pair SA Members and $184 for adult/child pair of non-members. To purchase tickets, call 202-633-3030 or visit www.residentassociates.org .

I had the veal chop ($36) a 14-ounce chop that had been dredged in breadcrumbs of some sort and slightly overcooked for my taste. The others found it full of flavor, tender and delicious (they’d each had a cocktail and were guzzling expensive but very good wine like Roman soldiers). I ordered a side of potato Gnocchi (I did this for you, our readers). They appeared in a pile, covered with Parmesan cheese, and looked like gnocchi but tasted like mashed potatoes. As one guest commented, “they don’t taste like real gnocchi.”

April flowers bring...May wine dinners. Morton’s the steakhouse of Reston, Virginia will be having a Duckhorn Wine dinner on Friday, May 9. The reception and dinner will feature lavish wines from the Napa Valley’s Duckhorn Vineyards as well as Morton’s signature cuisine. The five-course meal begins at 6:30pm. The price is $175 per person. Reservations can be made online www.mortons.com or call 703-796-0128.

Speaking of wine dinners...Once again Bordeaux vineyard owners descend upon Washington for Heart’s Delight’s 9th annual wine auction and dinner to benefit the American Heart Association. Friday, May 9 is the legendary Vintner’s Dinner at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Tickets are $1000 per person.  Saturday, May 10 is the Grand Bordeaux Tasting & Auction at the Omni Shoreham hotel. Tickets range from $50 for seminars to $250 for the reception to $500 for the tastings, reception and auction. For tickets and more information contact Heidi.Arnold@heart.org or 703-248-1720.

Chef Morou’s Farrah Olivia restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria will feature a four-course Opera & Broadway dinner on Tuesday, April 29 and Tuesday, May 13.  Soprano Diane Abel and tenor Joseph Haughton are featured performers for these dinners. The $60 dinner and entertainment does not include wine pairings.

Linda Roth Conte is president of Linda Roth Associates, LLC (LRA) specializing in marketing, promotions and publicity. web site at www.lindarothpr.com