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As many of you know Linda Roth has been writing on the Washington dining scene in Foodservice Monthly since we began in 2002 ... and for me before that at Restaurant Digest (now in the defunct arena). Her column is still the most read in the magazine ... no matter how hard I try to jazz my Sauce on the Side. And for good reason ... juicy tidbits like this excerpt from the January issue that goes to press next week. You can read the whole column in advance here ... The Latest Dish.
"Chef Geoff Tracy has quietly added another restaurant to his empire, in Hyattsville, Md.. He opened Hank’s Tavern & Eats (www.hankseats.com) in the University Town Center
near Prince George’s County Mall on America Blvd.. And yes, in popular
chef tradition, it is named after one of his 18-month-old old twins.
Henry works better as a “tavern” name than the other twin, Grace. He
was convinced by a good customer, who also happens to be the CEO of the
town center project, to take over the restaurant space that was
originally supposed to be a W.O.W. (World of Wings). It’s a one-year
management contract with the option to buy it or walk away. Although
the project was underway, Geoff had enough time to change the décor to
include 1970’s lava lamps and bubble walls, and 20 high-def TV screens
(there is a big bar). He designed a casual menu – heavy on the
sandwiches, burgers, salad and apps. It’s the same for lunch and
dinner. Steve Greehan (Kaz Sushi Bistro alumnus) was hired as general manager of this 175-seat restaurant."
Thanks Linda for the news. It's another winner for those of us who live in PG County ...
Hey, things are OK ... busy with the holiday stuff as well as editing the January issue of Foodservice Monthly so it can go to press before Christmas. So let's get to some "food wine drink" music that I can listen to while working today. One of my favorite writers is Kelly DiNardo ... she can tackle with panache and skill virtually any topic including the today world of burlesque. Check out her blog, The Candy Pitch, for the latest in "Tasty Burlesque Tidbits and Delectable Striptease Confections."
The Candy Pitch has a regular series "The Candy Gram" where Kelly asks the same revealing questions of burlesque's various performers. She asks a question about the three favorite songs to perform to ... and of course there are some songs that fit my iMix theme here. So for #30 in my series, here are songs from the burly girlies -- complete with a link to their Candy Pitch interview.
Bambi Galore: Bubbles in the Wine
Ophelia Flame: Tequila ... She says she is dressed as a tequila bottle w/undulating body worm.
Sauci Calla Hora: The Lemon Song
Darla DeVine: Candy Girl
Kimberlee Rose: Coconut Woman
Bonbon Vivant: Candy
Ravenna Blade: Keep on Churnin' Til the Butter Comes
Angie Pontani: Take Me Out to the Ballgame ... would be worth having another box of crackerjacks and staying to the 7th inning stretch to see this
Trixie Little: Tiny Bubbles
Miss Delirium Tremens: Dance of the Sugar Rum Cherry
Enjoy!
Central Michel Richard hosted today their annual Sweet Hope, Dessert for Toys benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It was a time of toys for admission, children, parents and grandparents, Christmas songs with plenty of delicious Central sweets and good cheer. It was a time of giving and caring. I couldn't think of a better way to spend this Saturday afternoon.
foto: Eunice Mazloom with daughters Amelia and Adele
I sit on the Board of the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation ... we serve as the preferred source of
Education, Training, Resources and Research for Maryland's Hospitality and Tourism industry. RAMEF works to improve the hospitality industry through education. The mission is accomplished through our support of high school ProStart programs, scholarships, workforce training in food safety and as a resource to the industry.
Each year as our major fundraiser, we raffle a luxury car by selling 325 tickets at $300 for the drawing at the annual industry awards gala in March. This year considering the economy, the Board anticipated that sales might prove to be a tad difficult. Under the direction of chairman Linda Eby of PFG Carroll County Foods and the inspiration of Board member Henry Pertman from MICROS, an idea exploded as to how to make the raffle more relevant and indeed a value driven investment in the Foundation. Not only does the raffle ticket buyer have an opportunity to win an Audi A3, but each ticket comes with 12 $25 gift certificates to Association member restaurants. Marshall Weston, executive vice president for RAMEF, and Mary Kuhn, director of administration, coordinated the recruiting of the certificate restaurants ... and got it all together two weeks.
Yes, buy a raffle ticket and you get an equal value of gift certificates. That's $300 in certificates. I don't know of any other fundraisers that make that value offer. You can use them yourself or as stocking stuffers, gifts for the mailman and newspaper person or to strangers on the street.
Twelve smart restaurateurs have made the contribution in a time when it is smart to take aggressive positive moves rather than sit back and moan about the economy -- proactive moves are going to be the smart decision.
If you would like a ticket contact me at michael@foodservicemonthly.com ... you see the person that sells the winning ticket can win $1,000. In the past there has been one car winner only, but this year there will be a second prize of $10,000 and a third prize for $5,000.
The twelve winning Maryland restaurants contributing certificates are:
Eggspectations
DaMimmo
Jordan’s Steakhouse
Eddie Dopkin’s Restaurants
Phillips Seafood
Red Brick Station
Maggie’s
Seibel’s
Clyde’s
AIDA Bistro
Giovanni’s
Open Door Café
Thanks ... and don't forget to send me a note and tell me how many certificates you want for the Holidays.
