While the blossoms at the Tidal Basin have come and gone, other, later blooming trees around town are still putting on a show. Even my chokecherry tree is looking especially good this year.
My Chokecherry Tree
And the Cherry Blossom Festival here in the Nation’s Capital still has many events scheduled. See the official website (https://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/) for a full listing. I’m looking forward to the Parade and the Sakura Matsuri next Saturday.
There was a swell event held to kick off the beginning of the festivities. It began when the Mayor arrived on a cherry-pink bus, the culmination of a barnstorming tour of East Coast cities meant to raise the profile of The Most Incredibly Pink Tourist Attraction You Ever Saw (not the official motto).
Cheery Cherry BusHoopla for the Mayor
There were short speeches by dignitaries including Mayor Bowser; Diana Mayhew, President and CEO of the National Cherry Blossom Festival; and Koichi Ai, from the Embassy of Japan. Then the Big Reveal was presented by Jeff Reinbold, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. He was assisted by a troupe of terrifically enthusiastic dancers known as Dance For Life, from Delaware. The dates had to be adjusted slightly because of the unusually warm weather, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.
Her Honor
Diana Mayhew
Park Ranger Reinbold
The Blooming Dates Revealed
As a food writer, I was most impressed by the breakfast spread provided by the Conrad Washington, DC Hotel. The cupcakes, yogurt parfaits, fruit, and agua fresca, all in shades of the color of the day, were as delicious as they were attractive.
Cherry Colored Breakfast
And Coffee, of Course
The Cheery Agua Fresca
In the hallway, the dancers were posing in frames. On my way out, I passed them posing in front of the hotel sign in a very photogenic arrangement.
Pretty as Pictures!And In Front of the Hotel
Am I ever ready for the winter to be gone? Spring It On!
Well, as far as I’m concerned, the Olney Theater has been going about the advance publicity for A Nice Indian Boy the wrong way. Right up until last week (a few days before it opened), it was all about romantic comedy, inclusivity, and Indian wedding dancing.
And it is! But then they sent along a video to the mailing list of two actors eating samosas laced with hot sauce, and guess what? There’s lots of food and cooking involved, too. So of course I had to see and review it!
I was not disappointed. Even before the action begins, as the audience is finding their seats, cooking is happening on stage. As the aromas penetrate the Mulitz-Gudelsky stage (Olney’s black-box theater), the mood is set for exotic yet familiar attitudes and situations. The south Indian family faces the universal emotions involved in reconciling with a seemingly-unfit addition and a possibly disastrous subtraction. But I mentioned it’s a comedy, remember? So it all works out in the end. And the cast really gets a work-out in the end, as well.
Naveen (Carol Mazhuvancheril) and Keshav (Noah Israel) meet cute at the Hindu temple. Naveen’s parents are still getting used to having a gay son, so his new relationship might be seen as a test of their traditional attitudes towards a new addition to the family – but there’s an even further complication: Keshav, although raised by Indian parents and culturally assimilated (he speaks fluent Marathi), was adopted as a child. His dirty-blond hair and white skin make him a hard sell to Naveen’s folks, especially his father, Archit (Abhimanyu Katyal). But! They both love to cook! It could even be said that cooking is Archit’s love language.
Abhimanyu Katyal as Archit and Lynette Rathnam as Megha in “A Nice Indian Boy” at Olney Theatre Center. Photo credit: Ryan Maxwell Photography
Much tsoris and angst (all of it funny, some of it poignant) ensue as Archit and Megha (Lynette Rathnam) struggle with the gay coupling and their daughter Arundhathi’s (Jessica Jain) possible uncoupling from her conventional but unhappy marriage. The funny lines and thought-provoking ones fly at a pace that keeps us amused and thinking. The faintest hint of cultural appropriation, with echoes of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and wistful longing for unfulfilled aspirations, keep the action grounded.
Abhimanyu Katyal (Archit), and Noah Israel (Keshav) in “A Nice Indian Boy” at Olney Theatre Center. Photo credit: Ryan Maxwell Photography
Visual surprises abound, with clever staging tricks expanding the tight (almost claustrophobic) sets. The best gag is the refrigerator door which opens to reveal a Hindu temple – this works on several levels, subtly reinforcing the food:nurture:spirituality axis.
The pivotal scene of conciliation between Archit and Keshav comes over dinner preparation, with Keshav convincing Archit to try some new variations on the old traditional recipes. We can see Archit’s mind stretching to accept new variations on old living and loving arrangements, as well.
And then! The dancing! Need I mention the Best Song Oscar for the wedding dance scene in RRR? There may have only been five dancers, but the energy was proportionally equivalent. A wonderful finale to a wonderfully entertaining play.
A Nice Indian Boy plays at Olney Theatre Center through April 9. Olneytheatre.org
Ahh, theme postings! I was going to include the bagels in an Odd Things article until the nice folks at Taylor Strategies offered to send me some samples of Guinness to write about, to which of course I said, “sure!” So:
Party in a Box
Obviously St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal for Guinness. I will not deny that it’s not only my favorite beer, but stout is the only style of beer I truly enjoy drinking. I didn’t expect to open the box to an explosion of green streamers and a strange little plastic cube that lights up green in addition to a Guinness glass and actual beer, but I’ll take it!
Erin Go Glow
Cube, Unlit
And After a Few Drinks
That green glow you see in the glass is actually the green cube, lit. It flashes in two speeds as well as stays on steadily until you press the button again. And raises many questions concerning its function and the level of taste of the Taylor folks, namely:
Am I supposed to put this in my beer? Will it turn the beer green?? If it does, will it flash hallucinogenically to convince everyone who sees it that they have had enough??? I’m getting a little punchy even thinking about it.
(I’m not going to. There’s no indication either way about whether it’s waterproof. I’m not taking any chances with my Guinness.)
There are two cans each of real Guinness and the new alcohol-free version. I intend to use the latter in shandys. The former I will drink straight or use in cooking. Stay tuned for a further report.
And now a rant:
Can There Be a Worse Cliché?
Erin Go Blech
Green Bagels. I swear. In Giant Food in Olney. In the next basket, Irish soda bread (actually passably edible). In the next basket, challah???
So as previously mentioned, the Barrel Aged Beer Event happened on February 11, brought to us by the good folks at the Olney Civic Fund.
The Grillmarx truck had their barbeque grill set up outside the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd at 5 p.m. and snacks were available inside, but the main event was the variety of beer and wine on offer.
Although one brewery had to cancel at the last minute and another only brought cans, there was still plenty on offer for an evening of expansive sampling. The variety of local beers being pulled seemed sufficient for anyone to get a good impression of the bounty of the county.
Crowded and Convivial
And there was a surprise: our very own District 14 Senator Craig Zucker pulling drafts for Waredaca. Very low-key: “Just doing friends a favor.”
Senator Craig Zucker (in White Collar) and Friends
I was familiar with (or at least had heard the name of) all the breweries represented, except for one: Landmade Farm Brewery, represented by Carlos, the farmer himself. He told me that most of the ingredients for the beer were raised by him, on the farm near Poolesville. Although I didn’t taste his offerings, any brewery that names its beers after their pets can’t be bad.
Farmer Carlos of Landmade Farm Brewery
Dawn from the Olney Winery was pouring samples. She assured me that the winery tasting room in Ashton was forging ahead in their drive to open soon. I’ll be waiting!
Dawn Dispensing Olney Wine
A table in the back provided a retail opportunity to take home your favorites in cans and bottles. Much brewery-related merch was raffled off to serve as souvenirs for some lucky participants.
Like It? Take It Home!
Music by the groups Marsh Lovers and Double Felix supplied a lively soundtrack for the event. There were 125 advance tickets sold out of the maximum of 150, and at least 10 walk-ins had appeared by the time I left at about 6 p.m., so the event must be deemed a rousing success. Next year, bigger and better? But a larger space will be a must!
In both time and space (to my house, that is). After months of little progress in finishing out their new space in Ashton, construction is once again full steam ahead. The Olney Winery is planning for an opening this Spring. When I talked to Ed Jarboe, one of the owners, last month, he was shooting for March.
I’ve been familiar with the winery since they opened ten years ago. Although they closed their original tasting room in Olney, they continue to make and bottle wines at their facility in Beltsville and sell them in stores and at events and festivals around the area. The full experience will soon be available once again at their new tasting room in Ashton.
There will be trivia nights, live music, private events (with a dedicated space), and fresh-baked pizza produced in a very impressive Italian oven imported from Naples. Also: a weekly yappy hour on the new patio. The “wine-making experience,” continuing from their first days, will allow everyone to mix their own ferments, then bottle the result using their personalized private label.
Their commitment to supporting local businesses is revealed in their sourcing of ingredients for their food offerings; an agreement with Lone Oak Brewery to provide beer; and one unique piece of furniture: a table from an old local mill, donated by Nichols Contracting (they used it as a conference table), a reminder of the first industrial development of Montgomery County.
Ed Shows Off the Table
The Short Side of the Table
And the Long Side
The latest news about the opening date will be available on their website and facebook page, which also has some photos of the work in progress.
The Olney Civic Fund, the folks who bring us Olney Days in April, are planning a fundraiser this Saturday evening. The Barrel Aged Beer Event will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 11, at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.
Each ticket will allow you to taste beer from eight local breweries. The GrillMarx food truck will be there, as well as small bites available for purchase. And there will be music! Marsh Lovers and Double Felix will perform.
These are the breweries expected:
The Brookeville Beer Farm
Elder Pine Brewing & Blending Company
Lone Oak Farm Brewing Company
Waredaca Brewing Company
Saints Row Brewing Company
True Respite Brewing Company
Landmade Farm Brewery
Denizens Brewing Company
And finally, for you non-beer lovers, wine will be provided by the Olney Winery (soon to open their new tasting room in Ashton).
This fundraiser will benefit Olney HELP, another fine local organization. Tickets are $35.00 in advance or $50.00 at the door. Purchase advance tickets at their website.
The nice folks at Taylor Strategies, the PR firm for Guinness in the US, sent me samples of two variations on the theme.
Old Fashioned Inspired Ale
Bourbon-barrel aged and finished with fruit flavors, this ale was inspired by the cocktail of the same name. I admit that, if challenged, I couldn’t come close to guessing that it was meant to recall that taste, but it doesn’t really need to reference any other drink to be a perfectly agreeable mouthful.
It presents as lighter in color than the classic stout, with a distinct cherry-red cast, and a good traditional head. Both of us tasting it agreed that it was a worthy addition to the Guinness family. I had had initial thoughts about using it in a ham glaze or a Guinness cake, but it was too tasty for that. We drank it all straight, with dinner.
It’s definitely something to look forward to when the nights start getting longer each year. I hope they are planning to bring it, or something close to it, back each holiday season.
Old Fashioned Inspired Ale: The Unboxing Picture
Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught
And just in time for Dry January (celebrating another vibe altogether): Guinness 0. An alcohol-free version of an icon is a little more fraught, and deserves a more nuanced consideration. Our samples came with a suggested recipe for a Black Velvet Mocktail (Guinness 0 and non-alcoholic sparkling wine). We tried it straight first, of course, then mixed with some leftover bubbly and also half-and-half with fizzy lemonade, for the favorite drink of my youth, a shandy.
Tasting G0 straight, the two of us had divergent opinions. We agreed that its appearance was indistinguishable from the classic pour, with dark, thick body and high head (what the nitro capsule in the can is for!) We also agreed that the mouth-feel recalled the classic product well.
Although Taster 1 enjoyed the taste when initially poured, they felt it became insipid upon standing. The BV was too sweet, but the shandy was very good.
Taster 2 was more negative towards the straight pour: oversimplified, with no nuance or complexity, especially missing the chocolate and coffee notes expected in the classic brew. They disliked the shandy, but very much did like the BV. No accounting for tastes!
Guinness 0 would be a great choice for a nondrinker out for a night with drinking friends. If I had to swear off alcohol for a time or forever, I would be grateful for the option, especially in the form of a shandy. But I hope I will be excused for hoping that that day never comes.
You don’t have to go far to find strange things these days – just browse your local main-line supermarket. I’m used to finding exotic ingredients and quirky imported products in ethnic markets, but here are three surprising things found in my local Harris Teeter and Giant Food.
Not-So-Southern Fried
For Thanksgiving, anyone with the death wish urge to deep-fry a Thanksgiving turkey had to look no further than the Olney Harris Teeter. Gallon containers of peanut oil were stacked in the aisle, complete with instructions printed on the sides. In case you thought that it was just the opportunity to score a lifetime supply.
Stock Up Now!
Helpful Directions
Stuff-Stuff With Heavy
Also in a celebratory mood, HT is offering frozen terduckens. I admit to being tempted by these. For years I listened to the Thanksgiving special on PBS which featured a clutch of famous chefs showing up for dinner, each bringing their specialties. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard it, and several of the chefs (Julia Child, Paul Prudhomme) are no longer with us, alas.
Chef Paul brought the terducken. He described it as a Cajun specialty. A chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey, each deboned, and the whole roasted. He made it sound scrumptious, but it has to be tricky to get the timing just right, avoiding dried-out meat (too long) and a health hazard (too short), not to mention deboning three fowl, both finicking and messy.
But now! Through the miracle of modern technology, you can buy a ready-made construction for only $37.99! This version uses the breasts only, which I guess makes the architecture easier, but could lead to an even greater drying-out hazard. This situation has been presumably circumvented by including a center core of sausage. Ingenious. I might have sprung for it, but the price was too high for my frugal soul.
Would Chef Paul Be Proud? Or Mortified?
The Paws That Refreshes
And speaking of frugal, Giant now carries packages of chicken feet. These are run-of-the-mill for any well-stocked Asian or kosher market. To see them in Giant is interesting, but what puts the icing on the cake is the name bestowed upon them by the packaging: CHICKEN PAWS. Excuse me? Does Giant think shoppers will look at the package and say, “Oh, my! I simply must feed my family this brand-new part of the chicken tonight! They’re so tired of all the breasts and drumsticks after all these years! Who knew chickens had paws!?”??!!
Keep Your Paws To Yourself!
(Sorry about all the punctuation. I couldn’t help it.) But then Giant goes and sobers up by stamping the price label with the cold hard truth. Chicken feet. Chicken paw stock; chicken foot stock. I guess it’s up to the consumer to decide: reality or fantasy?
Come to that, all three of these odd things have the element of fantasy to them. I don’t expect to deep-fry a turkey or debone three fowls to stuff them inside each other, but I might think about doing those things. I will not, however, in my wildest dreams, call chicken feet “paws.” And nobody else should, either.
Review: The Tempest and Related Comestibles at Round House Theatre
The magic of Round House’s current production goes far beyond the mere conjuring of a vasty storm at sea by a master of the very elements. No, this Tempest keeps the viewers amazed and amused by a constant stream of stage magic, harmonizing songs and fabulous acrobatics, all seamlessly integrated into the original text of the play. And all this is enhanced after perhaps indulging in some well-curated victuals.
Ever since Round House’s renovation added a café to its lobby, it has developed food and drink programs which complement each current production. For The Tempest, the Fourth Wall Bar & Café offers choices ranging from the Mediterranean (Prospero is Duke of Milan) to England (well, duh, Shakespeare). A tasting menu, served and described to us by Food and Beverage Manager Frank Manganello, gave us the chance to try several of the dishes and drinks.
Frank Manganello Pours for Us
We tried a dish of olives (meant to be a drink nibble, nothing special), Seasonal Roasted Vegetables, Kale and Chickpea Soup, and Beef Wellington. We finished with chocolate chip cookies, a fresh-baked staple of the café, no matter the current production!
Olives and Roasted Vegetables
Kale and Chickpea Soup and Beef Wellington
The best of these was the Tuscan-style soup. It had just the right proportion of kale and chickpeas, nicely seasoned. The Beef Wellington, which is classically prepared with beef fillet topped with duxelles and/or pate, and wrapped in puff pastry, lacked the fillet. It could have benefitted by an accompanying sauce.
The special drinks developed for The Tempest showed more touches of magic than the food. Tempest in a Teapot, composed of Beefeater gin, Pierre Ferrand curaçao, earl grey tea, lemon, and vanilla, was served in a fine china teapot, smoke pouring from its spout. It came with a delicate teacup for decanting. Mr. Manganello explained that the inspiration derived from London fog as well as Tuscan magic.
Holy Smoking Teapot! My Tablemate, Alessandra, Records for Her Instagram, @TastesoftheUnion
The tip-off for the prestidigitation involved in the Sleight of Hand (Tito’s vodka, butterfly pea flower, lemon, simple syrup) was the butterfly pea flower. I was aware that it changes color with a change of pH level, and so it did. It arrived blue. Adding the cloudy white contents of a small pitcher resulted in a mauvy-pink concoction. Both these drinks were very tasty, as well as entertaining.
Sleight of Hand Starts out Blue
And Turns Pink
Served with the cookies, my favorite tipple of the night was revealed to be “Card Trick” Ale. Here’s how it’s described by Round House’s website:
Dessert and Bespoke Ale
We’re pleased to announce a special collaboration with our friends at Astro Lab Brewing, who helped us create a truly magical brew for this show: “CARD TRICK” Ale, a delightful black IPA double dry hopped with El Dorado, Centennial, and Mosaic. Drink up, it’s a limited time offering. Cheers!
Would the drinks menu upstage the play? Assuredly not! The production mixed the charm of Shakespeare’s text with Teller’s captivating stage magic, a fabulous interpretation of the “monster” Caliban by Pilobolus, and the music of Tom Waits.
I would not have imagined that the classic stage illusions of the Twister Box and the Levitating Lady, among others, would work as well as they do here. Combined with the amazing card skills of Nate Dendy’s Ariel, the isle’s ambient “sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not,” are brought vividly to the stage.
Eric Hissom (Prospero) and Nate Dendy (Ariel) in The Tempest at Round House Theatre. Photo by Scott Suchman. Nate Dendy (Ariel), Megan Graves (Miranda), and Eric Hissom (Prospero) in The Tempest at Round House Theatre. Photo by Scott Suchman.
Music is provided by a 4-person band on the upper level. Vocals and percussion (including sound effects!) realize Shakespeare’s intentions for a production filled with music. The Tom Waits songs don’t mimic Elizabethan airs, but are fine replacements for them.
The cast of The Tempest at Round House Theatre. Photo by Scott Suchman.
Ryan Sellers (Caliban) and Hassiem Muhammad (Caliban) in The Tempest at Round House Theatre. Photo by Scott Suchman.
The acrobatic movements of the “monstrous” Caliban (Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers), courtesy of Pilobolus, never fail to mesmerize. In fact, if I have one criticism of this production, it’s that at times, there’s too much action on stage to follow all of it. I watched in constant fear of missing something.
Never mind. Go see it! And get a drink before the show!
In November the Embassy of Italy’s Istituto Italiano di Cultura – Washington celebrated the Week of Italian Food in America. That week also, coincidentally, saw the opening of the Carpaccio exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. To both events I say, Buon Appetito!
Lovely Baking
On behalf of the Istituto, I was invited to attend a Baking Masterclass taught by an Italian chef, Rita Monastero. Chef Rita has appeared on Italian television, written 11 cookbooks (alas, none in English, although one has been translated into Turkish), and has taught in-person classes throughout Italy and in Bangkok. She is known as LovelyCheffa, which might lose something in translation.
Most of the students in the class were the lucky winners of a lottery conducted on social media, so I was not the only one taking many pictures, intending to post a record online! But we did have to put down the camera (me) and phones (everybody else) because the class was hands-on with the dough.
Chef Rita started by demonstrating how to mix dough by making a well for the wet ingredients in the pile of flour on the table and attacking it with your hands until something forms that can be kneaded and left to rise. Although I understand that this is a traditional European technique, I usually opt for a bowl and sometimes even a dough hook when I bake. Chef didn’t disagree. “I usually use a machine at home,” she admitted. But she was good at it!
Chef Rita Demonstrates Mixing Dough
Recording Layering the Meat
The first project was a loaf of Semi-sweet Plaited Bread, filled with deli meat and cheese. Chef made one, with help from some of the students, but since it has two rises and bakes for one hour, the finished product was produced by the magic oven just before class was over. No one minded.
Chef Braids the Bread
Slicing the Finished Loaf
We also made Pumpkin Roman Buns, and got to practice a roll-up-and-tuck technique which promised to counteract the density of adding in mashed pumpkin. Since the class buns didn’t have time to rise, we once again had to take it on trust that ours would have turned out as perfect as Chef Rita’s precooked ones did.
Rolling and Folding Rolls
Rolling Lesson
Like This?
My Rolls with the Recipe
The last lesson was one we all enjoyed, not least because we all got to take home the finished product: Grissini, or Italian Breadsticks. We mixed a very simple dough and practiced fashioning sticks of varying thicknesses and lengths. Names on the baking paper ensured that the batches were not mixed up. Mine were delicious, if I say so myself.
Well, Not Bad for a First Try
At the end of the lesson, we indulged in a final round of recording the photogenic products. Then we ate those products for lunch.
Finished Photogenic Products
And Lovely But Disappointing
The National Gallery of Art opened a new exhibit: Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice. Now I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression; I didn’t expect the pictures to be all about food, even though, when I hear “carpaccio” (and I think I’m not alone in this), what comes to mind is the dish of shaved raw meat dressed with vinaigrette.
This exhibit is rather a collection of the paintings of the appetizer’s namesake. The legend holds that Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy, invented the dish in 1963 to honor a patron who was ordered by her doctor to eat uncooked meat. The name came from the red pigments of the dresses in an exhibition of Carpaccio paintings near the restaurant.
Why was I disappointed? Because search though I might, I could find nary a reference to food or cooking in any of these fabulously sumptuous pictures. Full of detail as they were (and they were! Many of them reward the prolonged gaze), they were sadly bereft of pictures including my particular obsession. In only the very first example of Carpaccio’s work, at the entrance to the exhibit, did I notice any activity related to food gathering. Admittedly, that one was terrific – a group of gentlemen in boats on the lagoon, fishing with egrets.
The Gentlemen Fish While the Ladies Pose
I had to be satisfied for the rest of the exhibit with marveling at the paintings for themselves: St. George spearing the dragon, St Augustine in his study, a portrait of a fine young knight in armor half German and half Italian, according to our tour guide, Gretchen Hirschauer, curator of Italian and Spanish painting.
St George and the Unlucky DragonSt. Augustine and Curator HirschauerDragon Lives! As Wall Decoration
This exhibit of work by a Renaissance master not very well-known outside of Venice will be on view until February, 2023. Go see it, and don’t ask, “Where’s the beef?”
