Tom Wolfe is not pleased with your rebuilding efforts

Today is the one-year anniversary of the fire that ripped through Eastern Market, the District’s premier farmer’s market. DCist reflects on reconstruction delays affecting the Market, while City Paper’s Jason Cherkis says “I’ll hit Whole Foods instead. Thanks, though.” Last year, the Voice ran a cover story on Eastern Market after the fire.

All this talk about Eastern Market can’t convince me it’d be too much of a hassle to get groceries from there instead of at Safeway.

-Will Sommer, Blog Editor. Picture by Emily Voigtlander. 

Tackle Box, a Maine-inspired seafood restaurant, opened yesterday on M Street. The sister restaurant to Hook, a high-end seafood shrine, Tackle Box promises the same quality and fresh seafood caught by local purveyors, but with a backyard feel. Although Hook’s just next door, the two restaurants could not look more different. Instead of slick modern furniture, fine glassware, and walls adorned with art, at Tackle Box, you’ll find picnic tables, chalkboard walls, and a huge US flag from 1870. Think beach without sand in your toes.

Fortunately, the price difference between Hook and Tackle Box is just as big. At Tackle Box, go for “The Maine Meal”: it comes with a choice of 6 different seafood entrees that come fried, baked, or grilled, two sides, and one of five sauces, for only $13.

The usual suspects are all at Tackle Box—lobster, tilapia, shrimp, clams, calamari—but what I’m most looking forward to are the fried oysters and the hush puppies. Plus, all the sauces sound delicious, from cilantro lime vinaigrette, salsa verde, and roasted garlic and lemon aioli, where can you go wrong? Executive Chef Barton Seaver will no doubt bring high brow to the low brow without making students sacrifice a cash cow.

Tackle Box is located at 3245 M Street.

-Vivian Chen, Assistant Leisure Editor

And the winner is … D.C. Schools!  Man, they just can’t seem to catch a break.  First the school closings, now this.

For those who haven’t been obsessively following the B.W., in response to Chipotle’s free burrito day on Monday, Qdoba extended their half-price Mondays to Wednesday as well, which, if I’m doing my math right, cuts the profits of this fundraiser in half.  I guess DCPS just have to wait until next year for a makeover (because there’s no way we’re asking the for a bail-out).

When the new Qdoba at M and 33rd began offering half-price entrées to Georgetown students on Mondays, I knew it was only a matter of time before the Chipotle down the street would be forced to respond. But week after week went by and as Qdoba got busier and busier each Monday, Chipotle seemed to be acting under the premise that if they ignored this little annoyance, it would go away.

Well, not anymore. According to the employee who answered the phone when I called Chipotle to confirm earlier this evening, Chipotle will be giving out free burritos to Georgetown students and faculty all day tomorrow. In other words, it is so on.

Far from merely firing a warning shot across Qdoba’s bow, Chipotle seems to be looking to reassert its dominance in a big way. I’m not sure how the Burrito War is going to end—if these promotions will die out once the two restaurants reach a state of equilibrium or if there really isn’t room for the two of them on M St.—but nothing but good can come from such cutthroat competition. With the ball squarely in Qdoba’s court, I can’t wait to find out what’s coming next. Until then, I’ll see you all at Chipotle tomorrow.

Update 3/21 2:52 pm:  Is there anything better than a free Chipotle burrito?  How about a free Chipotle burrito along with a $5 Qdoba gift card?  That’s right, Qdoba has stationed an employee handing out free gift cards on the corner of 33rd and M, presumably to deter people from making it further down the block to the competition.  He gave me a card as I was walking to Chipotle and a dirty look as I was walking back with my Chipotle bag.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user greefus groinks

For those looking to get their hallucinations on, the recently reopened Dixie Liquor is hosting an absinthe demonstration/tasting tomorrow from 4-7 p.m. As far as I can tell, or at least according to the New York Times, the absinthe they’ll be serving, Lucid, sounds pretty legit. The makers of Lucid managed to get around the U.S.’s ban on absinthe by omitting thujone, a chemical in modern absinthe, the Times says, which Lucid’s absinthe chemist claims wasn’t even a big part of old-school absinthe. From the Times:

Mr. Breaux knew that removing thujone entirely might harm the taste. “I had to get a handle on the whole thujone issue without compromising the character and the flavor of the drink,” he said. To accomplish this, Mr. Breaux blended the grand wormwood with green anise and sweet fennel from Europe, instead of using more-affordable imports from East Asia. Using herbs from Europe, absinthe’s native continent, he said, gives the drink an earthier essence.

Mr. Breaux also had to keep the American palate in mind while developing Lucid. “In the U.S., anise is a sort of a strange flavor,” he said. “We don’t get a lot of exposure to it.” So Mr. Breaux made sure that Lucid had a slightly cleaner, crisper taste than its European peers.

I’m not much for the flavor of anise, but if I were (and if I were 21), I’d probably be hitting this up tomorrow. Hallucinations aside, Lucid is 62% alcohol, so if you do end up going, watch out for yourself.

Photo courtesy www.drinklucid.com

Georgetown has most culinary niches covered: cafés (see Milano and Bonaparte), a crêpe joint (see Snap) and the usual greasy gentrified Chinese food (see Kitchen #1), but one niche that hasn’t really been covered adequately is the newest ultra hip tradition—the cupcake place. Fortunately, that void in our stomachs has been filled by Georgetown Cupcake. A miniscule yet picturesque place on Potomac Street right across from Quick Pita, Georgetown Cupcake is noticeable from a distance, as most of its customers are waiting outside in the cold, unable to glimpse the smallest treat.

The walls are lined with gleaming coffee appliances, reflecting the light from the window to the glass divide separating the people from the cupcakes and back out the window again. On the wall is a pastel Warhol-esque cupcake portrait with painted pink and blue frosting just begging you to lick it.

The main attraction (the list of the day’s cupcakes) is right by the door. There are the usuals: vanilla squared (vanilla icing on a vanilla cupcake), chocolate squared (chocolate icing on a chocolate cupcake) and a delectable yet terrifying chocolate cubed (chocolate icing, chocolate cupcake, and chocolate sprinkles). They also offer lemon blossom, chocolate mint, key lime pie, and bubble gum, among other fruit inspired flavors. The cupcakes come in at $2.75 each (cheaper than Baked and Wired’s $4 over-sugared concoctions), although half a dozen, perfect for splitting among friends, is only $15 and comes in an adorable pink cardboard box.

My philosophy with new restaurants is to always go for the classics before the adventurous, because if they can’t master the basics, there’s no hope in attempting the complex. Immediately, my sweet tooth went for the red velvet, the ultimate test in pairing the rich flavors of the cake with a subtle enough icing. To my delight, it was perfectly executed. The cake was soft and fluffy, avoiding the all too common density of an uneven batter, while maintaining the palatial intricacies and a hint of nuttiness. The icing flavor was cream cheese (as it should be), managing cream cheese’s tanginess and avoiding its heaviness. The proportion of icing to cake was also superb; the icing wasn’t threatening to take over the cake in flavor or in size and had the right consistency. In short, it was a delectable treat and disappeared within moments.

My only recommendation, Hoyas, is to get there early. When I went (3 pm), they weren’t due to close for another four hours, yet they were selling out of cupcakes left and right. Apparently they had to close early on their opening day for the same reason. So go early, bring a coat, and don’t expect to be able to eat once you get inside. There’s only one four person table inside, and odds are, someone else has already snagged it. But grab a cupcake on your way to shopping on M or on the way back from lunch, and I promise you won’t regret it.

Georgetown Cupcake is located at 1209 Potomac St NW. For this holiday weekend, their hours are Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 12am-5pm, Monday- Closed. Their normal hours are Tue-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat and Sun 11am-9pm.

Photo by Sam Sweeney, Blog Editor

Starting tomorrow through Sunday the 20th, Georgetown students will be able to enjoy some of D.C.’s finest restaurants without having to pay the equivalent of 3 cases of Coors Lite. You’ll be able to get a three course lunch for $20.08 (Get it? 2008?) and a three course dinner for $30.08.

Over 100 restaurants around D.C. are participating (you can see the whole list here). Among the highlights around Georgetown: 1789, which lets you choose your dinner off the full menu with a $10 surcharge for rack of lamb and Wagyu beef, Mie N Yu with special menus for brunch, lunch, and dinner, and Hook, which is offering lunch only.

To get the scoop from the blogosphere on which restaurants to hit up and which to avoid, check out D.C. Foodie or Chowhound. Bon appetite!

Update: I just called 1789 to make a reservation and they’re full for the entire week. However, they’re extending their restaurant week through the 27th and still have a few openings. I’d call soon though—the earliest I could get on Thursday was 9:30.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user edseloh.

After an appropriate bereavement period for the late Chu’s Cafe, I decided to check out the new restaurant in the old Chu’s location, Tuscany Café. After waiting for half an hour for someone else’s food and having to haggle with the staff to get it switched — “No, miss, you ordered a veggie wrap” — my meatball sub was cold and the meatballs themselves were suspiciously stringy. Nothing could have measured up to an order of crispy beef with steamed dumplings, but Tuscany Café would have been a disappointment even without Chu’s legacy to live up to. If you’re looking for lunch or dinner on Prospect, stick to Booey’s or Bangkok.

Tuscany Café is located at 3261 Prospect Street. Their meatball sub costs $6.45 and is served with potato chips.

- Anna Bank, Managing Editor

God forbid we have a blog and not venture to link into the sprawling monstrosity that is Nick Denton’s world. Anyways, “Gridskipper” has published a not-so-bad guide to D.C.’s best pupusas, “El Salvador’s greatest export after MS-13 and Efren Ramirez.” I’ve never had a pupusa—apparently a corn meal patty stuffed with melted cheese and other goodies—myself, despite my love for D.C.’s Salvadorian influences. I’m just dedicated to Julia’s Empanadas, which are tasty and great, even—perhaps especially—at 2 a.m. But now I’m going to broaden my taste, and I suggest y’all do, too. And if you have any other ideas for fine D.C. foodstuffs the rest of us haven’t chowed down on yet, feel free to let us know in the comments.

— Tim Fernholz, Editor in Chief
Flickr photo from user Tofu666

Georgetown got a middling rating on environmental sustainability, but at least we’re doing one thing right: cafeteria food? PETA has added Georgetown to its list of the most vegetarian friendly colleges. The school’s also been entered in the voting to decide the most vegetarian friendly college of them all. And it’s all because of those sinister tofu cubes:

Some smart dishes featured on campus include vegan wild-mushroom and barley ragout, tofu stir-fry with orange-ginger sauce, and vegan rosemary polenta with broccoli rabe.

To be sure, the seasoned fries are delicious. But how many of those can you eat before you back gain the weight you became a vegetarian to lose?

Via Degenerate and Collegiate, who writes for the Voice and is less thrilled about Leo’s than PETA is.
-Will Sommer, blog editor