FOODSERVICE MONTHLY'S Sauce on the Side

The Willard Room Gets the Westermann Makeover

Herve Houdre, the dynamic general manager of the Willard InterContinental Hotel, hosted a small dinner last night in The Willard Room. The room is the most dramatic setting for dinner in the city ... and its last gentle refurbishing appears to have brightened the room and increase its "welcoming" quotient. Houdre's vision for a more casual dining room in Cafe du Parc has been a charming success with legendary three Michelin star chef Antoine Westermann guiding the culinary direction. He has been brought in once again ... this time to retool The Willard Room.

First looks and tastes feel pretty good. It's hard to not fall in love with the sauteed frog legs meuniere, one of Westermann's specialties. But the star of the evening was the wonderful execution of a Venison Pithivier (in a flaky pastry crust and baked as a round savory pie) by the talented chef du cuisine Nicolas Legret (pictured). Westermann's schedule did not allow him to be in DC for the dinner. The crust was perfection in flavor and tenderness -- and covered a cut of tender local venison with foie gras and black truffles.

There was even a measure of lively conversation about the use of the word Amuse-Gueule or as we most often see here Amuse Bouche. I'll leave it to you to amuse yourself with the link. I was busy enjoying the best sauvignon blanc I've had in a long, long time: 2004 Pouilly Fume, Didier Dagueneau. Sommelier Caterina Abbruzzetti (a Londoner, no matter what image her name may bring) dazzled with her selection of wines including a 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, Tardieu Laurent that had power, fruit and a long finish.

The dessert had an ice cream made with tonga beans. And we ended the evening with flaming dishes coming at us from all directions: crepe suzette, bananas foster and the like ... a fiery end to a dinner that proves there's still a culinary life at The Willard Room. Herve Houdre showed me he's committed to keep the passion burning.

Bet You Can't Guess ...

OK, tell me where the largest ballroom in Northern Virginia is going to be located. We're talking a real ballroom not an open field at some Civil War battle site or a museum ... a place with a chef and a service staff will do.

I would have guessed maybe Lansdowne Resort. Wrong. What about Westfields Marriott. Wrong.

Has anyone been to the The National Conference Center in Lansdowne ... let me give you a hint: most people know it as Xerox U. The Aramark Harrison division that heads up their conference centers runs the NCC ... and they are building the National Ballroom that can handle up to 1,800 guests. The new social facility will be called West Belmont Place. Not like a convention hotel, West Belmont can seek the business of weddings, balls and farewell dinners.

Chef Craig Mason prepared a tasting lunch for potential customers and the press. Stars were a Pacific Halibut with a lemon dill butter sauce and a blue cheese crusted filet. Our table raved about the triple chocolate Charlotte.

West Belmont Place
18980 Upper Belmont Place
Lansdowne Va.
703-724-6245

FOOD WINE DRINK 05

Finally, here are this week's tunes ... work and then DC traffic got in the way today ... in all this glorious rain that no one should dare complain about. I am starting to need some real help now ... I think I have maybe two more weeks of songs and then I may be running low. Also today, a persona at a luncheon made a request for something classical, although I guess that's not the same as me calling Sugar Water by Cibo Matto "classic."

Hudson Opens in DC's West End

Alan Popovsky's Hudson has opened as a retro-chic (add your own definition) breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant that also serves as a night club ... and yes, it's open for brunch on the weekends. The only thing left is to fill in the hours between 2 and 7 a.m. and just make it an all night retro-chic diner. Last night we saw the place full of snappy-chic people eating and drinking free food and wine. Now that the registers are open for business, Alan is donating a portion of his first month's proceeds to Susie Kay's Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund. Checking out the coolness of it all on opening night with Alan and Susie was the always chic Lynne Breaux (on the right), president of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.

Hudson is located at 2030 M Street NW and is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and Saturday and Sunday brunch Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m. to midnight. For reservations or further information call 202-872-8700 or visit www.hudson-dc.com

Wildfire Needs Your Help ... No Volunteers Please

Would you like to work for these guys at Wildfire? Chef Steven Lukis, partner Howard Katz and GM Aaron Mervis promise to finish construction before they open in mid-December in the Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va.

Lettuce Entertain You is bringing their long anticipated Chicago concept to town in the same mall where Maggiano's became an overnight success years ago ... and with neighbors like Legal Sea Foods, Lebanese Taverna, the Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's., Wildfire adds a missing component to the fare mix in the mall.

Their signature dishes include Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut, Wildfire Chopped Salad, Horseradish Crusted Filet Mignon, Roasted Prime Rib of Beef -- you're supposed to be thinking 1940's dinner club ... I'm thinking dinner. The kitchen is an open exhibition model ... and the ovens and rotisserie are wood fired witha gas assist.

Hey, they are looking for all positions ... and if you go let them know where you heard about it ... remember this is a test of this space as a medium for help wanted.

Wildfire is Looking for:

BARTENDERS
HOSTS
SERVERS

To interview and apply in person, visit the interviewing center at Tysons Galleria at the Third Floor Management Office

MONDAY - FRIDAY
10 AM – 12 PM OR 1 PM - 5 PM

Questions? Call Ronnie at 703-749-8590
LEYE155@leye.com

www.wildfirerestaurant.com
www.leye.com

Lettuce Entertain You is an equal opportunity employer.

Tailgating at Gold Cup: Not a Barbecue In Sight

Twice a year at Great Meadow, tailgaters at the Gold Cup races dust off the stuffed foxes, shine the crystal and in the fall round up a few pumpkins. You will find in the FOTO GALLERY examples of entertaining with gusto and style ... and entertaining with gusto and well let's say more gusto. At Saturday's 70th running of The International Gold Cup, Kathryn Sandhoff's North Rail gathering took top honors from the judges that included Sarah Meyer Walsh, The District Domestic, Alyson Browett, personal chef, and Bonnie Benwick from the Food page of The Washington Post ... yours truly served as the photographer.

While judges were tasting the foods, I found the "gin bucket" of the Sandhoff party. At the time the group's beverage specialist Kathryn Cornelius from DC, was pouring me a cup of the most refreshing drink I found on the grounds ... she calls it an Apple Cobble Party Punch. The recipe is at the end. While I'm sipping on the bourbon based libation, I saw a bucket of ice and floating lemons and limes. Jenny Cahill owned up to being the creator of this gin (any gin will do) and Fresca based refreshment with the turkey basters tucked in the liquid. I suspect that she majored in tailgating at Penn State. After Jenny, with her assistant/fiance Jason Shoemaker, demonstrated the technique -- I quickly learned to coat the inside of my mouth with this adult beverage.

You couldn't help but love the tailgate of Sharon Galzarano and Richard -- with a bright yellow Mercedes and the Red Chevy Blazer truck ... and Richard's obligatory and most requested macaroni salad. Sharon showed off her hand written signs for the foods and the purple stemware picked up colors in her dress. Of course Richard's polo shirt had to match the car. Remember you can see all of this in the FOTO GALLERY.

St. Supery was not to be outdone with their luxury lineup for the day ... Donna Creese, Mid-Atlantic manager for the winery had the magnums of the winery's red wine Meritage Elu on the buffet table. With a past career stop at the Inn at Little Washington, Creese's food display looked like a fine dining experience -- including the photographed orzo and shrimp salad.

I even have some race pictures set against the backdrop of Pignut Mountain ... on a spectacular Saturday at Great Meadows.

Kathryn Cornelius shares her Apple Cobbler Party Punch with Sauce on the Side fans:

Apple Cobbler Party Punch:

1 gallon container of Trader Joe's Organic Apple Juice
1/2 bottle of Trader Joe's Sparkling Apple Cider
3/4 bottle of Maker's Mark (750ml)
2/3 bottle of Laird's Apple Jack (750ml)
1- 2 liter bottle Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale 
2 red apples, sliced
2 green apples, sliced
10-12 dashes of ground cinnamon (*this is essential! really makes the taste)

As with most party punches, this is a make to taste creation ... taste test it til you get it to the way you like it ... write down your favorite proportions and then serve with ice in a punch cup or rocks glass.

FOOD WINE DRINK 04

I'm glad you're liking the tunes each week. And I appreciate the help finding some favorites I've missed so far. Tom Meyer from Clyde's reminded me about Little Feat's Rad Gumbo.

When looking for a version of Jambalaya to use, it was surprising to find that almost everyone had recorded it. When the Carpenters popped up with their own copy ... it was time to go back to the original Hank Williams ... search over! You may not know Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs by name, but the tune will be instantly recognized. And it's hard now not to be a big fan of Cibo Matto (long defunct) ... Know Your Chicken and Artichoke are classic.

I Drink Alone has that fabulous line ... "when I drink alone ... I prefer to be by myself." Ditto

Now to the tunes.

Madison Freedom Award Winner Christopher Gardner

Every now and then I'm invited to an event that doesn't exactly match my work profile -- and that's how I measure most of my opportunities to be in the streets -- what can I do with this for Foodservice Monthly. I went quite honestly to see my friends Ellen Gale, director of public relations for The Madison Hotel, and Jayne Wise, senior editor for National Geographic Traveler. Then at the reception I met two really nice Fiji water on premise managers for Washington: Lisa Kurts and Deanna Yokoro. I was just doing my job ... and they had provided the water for the evening.

Then it happened ... the evening became one of those special events. JC Hayward dazzled as the emcee for the Loews Hotels' Madison Freedom Award. Jonathan Tisch, legendary hotelier who serves as the chairman and CEO for Loews Hotel and Keith Taylor, president and executive director of Modest Needs Foundation reached our hearts with messages of compassion and giving. Kirk Whalum tore up the stage with his solo saxophone set.

But the world slowed down for a moment as the Madison Freedom Award recipient Christopher Gardner took the staqe. Garnder is the owner of Christopher Gardner International Holdings ... but you're more likely to recognize him when Will Smith is mentioned in the same sentence. It's Gardner's autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, that provided the story for the movie of the same name starring Smith and his son Jaden. His is a story of overcoming homelessness while raising his son and the path his life has taken to reach a stage of success, power and wealth. In person, Gardner commands the moment ... he is a man of strength, passion and words. He can talk homelessness because he has lived it. He tells us 12 percent (and in some places as high as 30 percent) of homeless people work. Work is not always the complete answer when the pay cannot guarantee you a place to live. Chris Gardner is a man of action and conviction -- if you can't be motivated to find a place somewhere in your life to do some good ... to help someone who needs help ... well then you should reexamine your life and its priorities. That's what I think. As I was leaving, the world came back up to speed ... I better do something soon.

Ricky Moore Leaves Agraria for 'CHEFpreneurship'

Laurie White rejoins Foodservice Monthly as our Contributing Editor ... she will once again report on the landscape of the ever changing foodservice scene in the Mid-Atlantic ... right now we're all working with a giant dry-erase board trying to keep up with the chef/management changes. Laurie spoke today with the ex-chef of Agraria in Georgetown fresh from his Iron Chef America challenge:

Ricky Moore has worked in some of the finest kitchens in Washington, including Galileo, Vidalia, Equinox and Lespinasse. He's moving on again, this time from Agraria, the K Street spot that sources its products from family farms. Sunday was his last day on the job, so we caught up with him to see what initiated this change and see if he was ready to share where he might be headed next.

Moore says his move was "nothing but positive" and "inspired by 'CHEFpreneurship'. Where I am at in my career it is time to step into that arena."

It's too soon to tell whether his recent experience on Iron Chef inspired him to branch out. Moore traveled with the crew from Agraria to New York in September to compete on Iron Chef, for an episode that hasn't hit the airwaves yet.

"It was a BLAST! The Food Network treats the Challenger well," he says. "I am waiting for them to let me know when the show will air. That's all I can comment on at this time."

He also didn't have any specifics for us about his new "chefpreneurial" ventures yet, but - quite appropriately for a chef - says he does have some "exciting opportunities simmering at the moment. I shall reveal the information as it matures."

We'll be impatiently waiting to see what he's got up his chef’s sleeve.

- Laurie White

Jarad Slipp Joins Fiamma Team

Add another local hospitality dude to the Fiamma team for Fabio Trabocchi ... Jarad Slipp (from Nectar and numerous other restaurants in his portfolio) is the restaurant director at the red hot dining spot in NYC ... the buzz continues. Get me a scorecard ... are we getting any draft choices?