FOODSERVICE MONTHLY'S Sauce on the Side

Ambassador Fernandez Introduces Chilean Cuisine in Celebration at Ceiba

foto: Gus Dimillo, Pilar Rodriguez, Ambassador Mariano Fernandez, Jeff Tunks

I had a chance today to taste a preview of the menu being served as a special this week at Ceiba in Washington. Joining media and friends of the restaurant were co-hosts Gus DiMillo of Ceiba and Chilean Ambassador to the US Mariano Fernandez. Noted Chilean chef Pilar Rodriguez worked with executive chef Jeff Tunks and beverage manager Scott Clime to create the food and wine pairings that will be offered the rest of this week in the dining room as a prix fixe special for ($37 for the four-courses or $49 for wine pairings with the meal). Pilar told the group at the beginning that her mission was to keep the flavors distinct and the pairings complementary to make dishes that were naturals together.

My favorite was the seared scallop served with a pebre verde ... a chilled accompaniment that appeared to have cilantro, garlic, salt, chile and lime. The dish was bright with the acid of the pebre and a fresh perfectly cooked scallop. The sauvignon blanc from Haras de Pirque in the Maipo Valley is an unoaked delight on the palate ... crisp with a mineral feel, the wine is undaunted by the citric lime in the pebre. Before we finished we had tasted Umo honey from Southern Chile, sea salt from Cahuil in the O'Higgins region, lucuma (orange fleshed fruit), and carica, a cooked, preserved in a syrup Chilean papaya.

Jackson 20 With a Little Help from Kristina

People who know me know I can be overwhelmed with a great service experience. And a great experience doesn't mean it has to be someone who knows more about the food than the chef or that they can wait on six tables at once or that they can be a step ahead of my every wish. The ones I remember have a genuine sense of niceness about them ... service from a nice person in a nice place. That happened tonight at dinner at Jackson 20 in the newly refurbished Hotel Monaco in Alexandria. Our server was so pleasant, so helpful and just downright nice. I was stunned when I asked her a question about the buttermilk fried chicken and she told me it was a favorite since the chicken was so moist on the inside. That's not what threw me for a loop ... it's that after ordering, I asked if she was from the South. She told me where she was from and I couldn't understand her ... she had to repeat it to me three times as I tried to hear the name of a state or city ... she was telling me Bulgaria. "Oh, well you could be from southern Bulgaria" is all I could say. Kristina Ivanova (sorry about the quality of the foto, I wasn't expecting to take a picture so all I had was my iPhone) speaks spectacular English and has been here maybe 18 months. Is it national pride that we are a nation that only speaks English? It's a shame we aren't at least speaking Spanish, but that's another story.

Kristina is here for five years while she goes to school ... but another kicker is that she won the green card in a country lottery. I don't know any other details but a lottery? ... Wow!

Back to the dinner ... Jackson 20 is a pleasant, reasonably priced (say, not hotel pricing, but reasonable local dollars) and very Southern in concept. Cocktails are exceptional ... but it is the wine list that will blow you away for its generous consumer friendly pricing. Twenty wines at $20 with Virginia wines from Barboursville and Lake Anna included. When my wife told me they had Gruet sparkling from New Mexico on the list for $20 ... I said it must be half-bottles. Wrong, we're talking 750 ml.

The side dishes are mighty nice and I had to laugh when I saw my wife eating the Gouda scalloped potatoes and wilted spinach out from under a very nice ribeye steak. They were gone first and then she started on the beef. The sides were exceptional.

Jackson 20 is worth a visit and if you want to embarrass a nice person, ask for Kristina ... her brother and father come tomorrow to visit and she can probably tell you about that ... in perfect English of course.

a rose is a rose is a rosé

With a play on the famous Gertrude Stein quote, the statement "a rose is a rose is a rosé" is false. If you don't understand, then you made the same mistake I did a couple of weeks ago when Dave McIntyre, wine writer for Washingtonian sent me a note about my garden/springtime post. I was so into the the garden mode that when he told me in the same e-mail that the 2007 rosés were in, I thought he was telling me that his roses were blooming. I sent back a note expressing my amazement since I knew Acqua's roses were weeks away from blooms. I got one of the LOL returns from Dave asking me to read his note a little closer. Oh, rosé the wonderful pink wines from Provence. Oops, that is an acute accent on the e.

Well, Dave has written nice things about rosés and I'm sure we will hear soon about the 2007 vintage.

But I can report for certain that at our house the first 2008 roses have appeared (as you can see from the foto) and it looks like it's going to be a another good year.

The Virginia Gold Cup Runneth Over

I don't consider myself a horsey person ... maybe that's because I've never been on a horse. But a trip to The Plains at Great Meadow in Va. the first Saturday of every May for the Virginia Gold Cup has become another lifestyle ritual of spring. It could be the beautiful country grounds, the pageantry of spring hats, the spectacular tailgating that I help judge and photograph, magnificent horses ... did I mention the mint juleps -- especially those made at the Vella party spot along the rail in the Paddock Parking (that's the Vella ladies in the foto). And the Hemingway cigar from the cigar dude Alvaro Rodriguez was a nice touch. Blogger Sarah Meyer Walsh (see foto) is The District Domestic and she didn't look quite so domestic in her stunning vintage dress, boa and of course the hat to bring it all together (that's about the extent of my fashion critique, but I do know Sarah had it all together). And did I mention that the Vellas make the best mint julep.

Yes, there were horses running and jumping and jockeys riding and falling. Ah, spring and mint juleps ... and The Virginia Gold Cup.

Maryland Restaurants Celebrate 'Stars of the Industry'

On a night that the restaurant industry of Maryland took a brief time out to celebrate its "stars of the industry," the annual gala at Martin's West in Baltimore was highlighted by the induction of the late Marcia Harris into the Maryland Hospitality Hall of Honor as the single honoree for 2008. Marcia and her boundless enthusiasm received one more heartfelt standing ovation as the announcement was made.

With a forward step toward the future that Marcia Harris would have expected, the 800 attendees were introduced to the new president CEO Paul Hartgen, who will leave the Nevada Restaurant Association and begin his tenure in Maryland June 30.

The awards were then announced with precision and fanfare as the evening showcased the stars of the entire state.

And the names in the envelopes were all met with applause and appreciation:

McCormick Cornerstone Award
Potomac Pizza
New York J&P Pizza, The Greene Turtle

The Brice & Shirley Phillips Lifetime Industry Achievement Award
John Paterakis Sr., H&S Bakery

Maryland Favorite New Restaurant
The Oceanaire Seafood Room

Favorite Bar & Tavern
Seacrets Bar & Grill, Ocean City

Favorite Restaurant
Da Mimmo Finest Italian Cuisine

Favorite Caterer
Martin's Caterers

Favorite Wine & Beverage Program
Jordan's Steakhouse

Pastry Chef of the Year
Duff Goldman, Charm CIty Cakes

Chef of the Year
Gary Leach. Ocean City Convention Center, Centerplate

MHEF ProStart Teacher of the Year
Elaine Heilman, Howard County Applications and Research Lab

MHEF ProStart Student of the Year/Mimmo Cricchio Memorial Scholarship
Ryan Meliker

Erikka Hayes Foundation Scholarship
David Cox

The Schellhase Award
Paula Kreuzburg

Marcia S. Harris Legacy Fund Scholarship Recipient
Edson Miranda, $5,000

Allied Member of the Year
Phillips Foods, Scott Miller

Restaurateur of the Year
Fred Rosenthal. Jasper's American Grille

You can find a set of photographs that can be downloaded in our FOTO GALLERY that you can reach by clicking HERE.

The foto: l-r Lynn Martins, Chairman RAM, Marshall Weston, Interim President CEO, RAM; Fred Rosenthal, Restaurateur of the Year; Paula Kreuzburg, The Schellhase Award; Paul Hartgen, President CEO, RAM starting June 30; Mary Ann and Mimmo Jr. Cricchio, Favorite Restaurant of the Year.

The Hummingbirds Arrive

It was dusk Friday evening and I spotted the first male Ruby Throated Hummingbird at the feeder. And this evening I was out a little earlier to shoot a foto of the first guy back from Mexico as he was enjoying a little sugary nourishment. Now it's official, Spring has Sprung. For more info on hummingbirds and their travel plans, eating and mating habits, you can check out hummingbirds.net If you click on the fotos, you will see him a little clearer.

Gaylord Celebrates Official Opening

The Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center held its official opening ceremonies today in the atrium of the $865 million facility. The Gaylord National is the largest combined hotel and convention center on the Eastern Seaboard. It houses 2,000 guest rooms, including 110 suites, and 470,000 square feet of meeting, convention and exhibit space.

Gaylord CEO Colin Reed, hotel general manager Sheldon Suga, Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson and Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown were joined by too many to count politicians praising and shaking each other's hands and then congratulating themselves. National Harbor developer Milt Peterson accepted his share of kudos although he was jokingly (we think) prevented from speaking to keep the program length manageable.

Then with a bang, a short blast of fireworks and a squirt of the fountain, the ribbon split and the hotel was officially declared open.

Chipotle Opens in My Hood

It was the best kind of event to cover ... one that was a mile from my house ... and one that wasn't even a press event, but the usual Chipotle neighborhood welcome. In order to say hello to its new neighbors, they held a fundraiser tonight, to benefit the Charles H. Flowers High School Athletic Department in Bowie. A $5 donation got you a big, gourmet burrito, or order of tacos, a bowl or a salad, along with crispy tortilla chips and salsa and guacamole. All proceeds, yes 100%, went right to the school’s various sports teams' programs.

I've been a big fan of Chipotle for a long time now ... how can you miss with good food, served quickly in a quick serve environment that works. I can remember meeting Bill Niman (he's one of the fine pork producers for Chipotle) and Steven Els, the chef founder who has made a credo of selling Food With Integrity at the opening of the Dupont Circle store. Here you have an owner committed to doing it right and suppliers who are actually food people, not commodity pushers.

Most people you see in a Chipotle don't read the massive positive press clippings, understand fully the green commitments in the way they build out their locations. Most miss the highly entertaining Web site that is more like a visit to Facebook than to a corporate portal in cyberspace. If you like dogs, go here. If you believe in pentapping go here.

Onward. While I've tasted many other items, I always get the carnitas bowl and tonight I made my first adjustment from the norm, I had pinto beans instead of black beans. I was happy ... but the ordering will slow down as I will have to think now ... black beans or pinto or maybe black beans. That's the other thing I like about Chipotle is that the line moves fast. Good food coming at you fast ... OK, so I'm taking a break from the Slow Food people for a moment ... relax. I will eat slowly and savor each bite.

In the foto that's regional director, Phil Petrilli -- until I just looked at his card, I didn't realize he has the while Northeast Region. Well, he can be a tough interview ... he would much rather be helping out and talking to happy customers. That's OK, it gave me time to enjoy my carnitas bowl.

In case you're in my hood, this Chipotle is at 10201 Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy, Bowie, Md.

'Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day' with the NRA and McCormick & Schmick's

Mel Krupin at the McCormick & Schmick's on K St. in DC is still leading the hospitality charge at the door of the power saloon/dining room. It made perfectly good sense for the Dawn Sweeney, president CEO of the National Restaurant Association to show up with her son and 17 other parents and children from their nearby offices. It's the annual "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" program that goes beyond the average practice of “shadowing” an adult. The theme is “Making Choices for a Better World.”

Sweeney couldn't have made a better choice than to expose the kids to a working restaurant (with lunch included) and a tour from the master of "working the door." The 79-year-old Krupin has made the choice to keep on leading the way in power hospitality in the nation's capital. Before lunch today, he gave the kids a tour of the restaurant from the host desk with all the reservation/seating equipment to the lounge area (for when they are a little older) to the raw bar, dessert and salad station and then into the kitchen with a view of the prep and cooking lines.

Mr. Krupin did the obligatory "Washington waltz" at the end ... he handed out his business card. He told the kids that a call to him could get them a table when it might seem impossible ... and that's a good thing, but that it "would not be free." That's the business part of the show-biz of hospitality.

[In the foto Dawn Sweeney is on the left and Mel Krupin -- well you know who he is. All of the pictures are in the Foto Gallery ... just click here.]

FOOD WINE DRINK 22

Over dinner last night at Vermilion, I told Jeff Dufour (Washington Examiner columnist and co-correspondent for "Yeas and Nays") about our Food Wine Drink iMixes. It didn't take long for Jeff to get ten of his favorites together. It's a good one!