SATURDAY 4/28: Farmers Market Chef Demo with Tracy O’Grady

On Saturday April 28, the Farmers Market Chef demonstration will feature Willow Restaurant’s Tracy O’Grady creating a seasonal favorite with the produce in the market.  This time Tracy will be doing Asparagus Crepes with Ricotta Mousse and Sauteed Strawberries.  As with all Falls Church Farmers Market Demonstrations, recipes and tasting will be available from 9am to 11am at 300 Park Avenue in Falls Church City.  Recipes also can be found at http://www.fallschurchfarmersmarketchef.com/

FOOD: Crawfish Dinner at Eden Center

By RA CHAN
March 9, 2012
Special to the Falls Church Times

Sometimes it’s hard when a craving hits me and our area really isn’t known for that type of cuisine. I love crawfish (also commonly known as crayfish and crawdads). There’s just something so decadent yet filling about getting my hands dirty while devouring those succulent little crustaceans that resemble mini-lobsters!

There is a chain-type restaurant that opened up near the Zoo that I’ve been to a few times. But on this particular cold night, I wasn’t in the mood to trek into the city. After doing my due diligence and looking on Yelp, we happened to find Seaside Crab House right in Eden Center, down the street from my house! There were a variety of mixed reviews, but for the most part, it seemed like a winner to me.

Upon first impression, this place looked a little on the sketchy side. It’s an outdoor tent that’s set up right in front of the tiny restaurant. And just a warning, this is not a place to impress a date. The décor is very random and odd and they use paper plates and cups. But looks aside, I was still determined to get my craving for crawfish satiated!

We started out with an order of their crab fried rice. I was impressed with the huge and plentiful chunks of crab meat. The fried rice was a little on the bland side, but there was a small sauce bowl of soy sauce and chili peppers, so that added the instant flavor boost I needed.

We also got 5 pounds of crawfish. For about $10/lb, I couldn’t resist. It came out steaming hot in a bag full of garlic and hot chili peppers. And since it was a Vietnamese establishment, they served the crawfish with a sauce dish filled with lime juice and salt/pepper, the best sauce to accompany any seafood in my book!

The crawfish themselves were all decently sized and juicy as ever. The spicy garlic sauce was perfect. All in all, it was a pretty decent meal. I think if my craving for crawfish comes back again, I know where I will be dining!

Seaside Crab House
6799 Wilson Blvd, Suite 5
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 241-2722

http://seaside-crabhouse.com/

FOOD: Sushi Nami

By KATHLEEN NIXON
February 24, 2012

Sometimes you never know where or when you will find next favorite eating venue. My new favorite spot is in one of the most unlikely places: the lobby of the Westin Tysons Corner on Leesburg Pike at the intersection of Route 7 and the Beltway. Thankfully it is before the Beltway for those of us in the City of Falls Church.

A few years ago, the Westin General Manager wanted to find a way to multi-purpose a high trafficked area in their lobby that wasn’t being used at night: the Starbucks stand. Many other restaurants in our area have found ways to create different revenue streams in the same space, such as Willow’s Nosh Bistro, but the Westin was way ahead of the curve on this one. The Westin felt that sushi would be a good offering for its many frequent hotel guests and the space was perfect to showcase sushi. At the same time, a young sushi chef named Sung Shin had just finished an apprenticeship in Baltimore learning both traditional and fusion sushi. Sushi Nami was born.

Sushi Nami made an appearance at the Falls Church Farmers Market Chef demonstration in the fall of 2010 just after they opened. Nothing like trial by fire for Sung, who was told shortly after he started that “he would be going out into the community to do sushi”. Sung delighted the farmers market chef participants with multiple vegetarian options including a yam and cream cheese, spicy basil cucumber roll and an avocado roll.

Sung says he feels very fortunate that his teachers were not only very forthcoming with sharing with him traditional sushi but also very inspirational in being innovative and creative. Traditionally sushi chefs keep their trade secrets very close to their chests and do not share their knowledge with young chefs. Sung not only learned traditional sushi, but how to experiment and be creative. I see this each time I happen by Sushi Nami. Like many great chefs, Sung knows his audience and remembers his customers’ tastes. It is wonderful to have a quick conversation with Sung as I am ordering and deciding the key ingredients that will be the mainstay of my meal. From there, Sung’s creativity and imaginations take over and I salivate with anticipation of what he will produce. Each time I am astounded at the manipulation of standard sushi ingredients under the influence of such creative and innovative mind to showcase delicacies I would have never dreamed of.

The creations for my most recent visit included: Salmon, spicy tuna with Japanese radish, marinated squash and sweet tofu; shrimp, cream cheese, cucumber topped with smoked salmon drizzled with eel sauce and spicy mayo sauce.  My husband’s  selections included spicy tuna with Japanese radish and spicy mayo topped with salmon; spicy yellow tuna chopped and combined with roe, sesame oil and hot oil topped with avocado; spicy tuna pocket with wasabi, rice, eel sauce, pickled radish. The spicy tuna pocket was a delightful treat taking a twist on the traditional maki roll.

Most times I will stop off on my way back from Tysons Corner to pick up an order to go. Other times I will order a Sapporo and sit in the Bluefire Lounge which is the hotel’s lobby bar and restaurant. While the ambiance is nothing special at the Bluefire Lounge but the sushi more than makes up for it.

Sushi Nami
Monday – Friday 4pm to 10pm
Westin Tysons Corner
7801 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22043
(703) 893-1340

FOOD: Potato Latkes from Argia’s Adam Roth

By Kathleen Nixon

Falls Church Times Staff

December 23, 2011

Our final installment of local chef’s favorite holiday recipes comes from Adam Roth, co-owner of Argia’s with Aimee Suyehiro and co-owner of Red, White and Bleu with his brother James Roth.  Adam mentioned one evening that his favorite traditional holiday meal was with potato latkes.  “As a kid, they would smell up the whole house, so you knew presents were coming,” shares Adam.  His recipe is a take-off on his Mom’s latke recipe. “Latkes (or potato pancakes) are traditionally served during the Hanukkah holiday celebration commemorating the “miracle” where one day’s amount of oil in the Holy Temple burned and lasted for eight days. This is why we eat things fried in oil,” says Adam.

Latkes
1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes peeled
1/4 cup finely chopped white onions or shallots
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons flour (or more) or matzo meal (during Passover)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

In a food processor grate the potatoes or if by hand use the largest grate holes. Place grated potatoes in a seive to drain excess liquid over a bowl. Let mixture drain for 15 minutes. Pour off liquid from the bowl but leave the white potato starch that settles in the bottom of the bowl.

To that starch add onions, eggs, flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper. Return drained potatoes to this mixture and toss to combine.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking pan with paper towels. When you are ready to eat, in a large skillet heat 1/4 inch of oil over medium high heat until hot.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of potato mixture and cook for 3 to 4 minutes a side; latkes should be golden and crisp on both sides. Eat right away or keep warm in oven.

Serve with applesauce or sour cream, chopped chives or cottage cheese mixed with sour cream.

Argia’s

124 North Washington Street

Falls Church, VA 22046

(703) 534-1033

www.Argias.com

 

FOOD: My Favorite Things – Local Chef’s Holiday Recipes

Today we share a holiday recipe and memory from Chris Nye, the Executive Chef from Pizzeria Orso.  Chris frequents the Falls Church Farmers Market each week to gain inspiration for his weekly featured menu and to maintain his wonderful connection with our local farming community.

Chris shared that he made this dish for his wife in our small apartment when we were living in Manhattan during a cold November. She loved it so much that we ate the leftovers for the next few days. It goes great with a fried egg. Read more

Rustico’s Fall Salad

By Kathleen Nixon
November 18, 2011
Falls Church Times Staff

As the leaves are turning their vibrant colors, we start to miss some of the colorful salads that enticed us during the summer months.  We still have many wonderful ingredients available to make salads to complement any meal we just have to bring a little imagination to them. Some of the best ingredients for fall salads include apples which are plentiful this time of year and will be so until early winter.  Steve Mannino of Rustico created this wonderful fall salad which is great for any meal or your special Thanksgiving meal next week.

Rustico’s Fall Chopped Salad

Serves: 4

Dressing Ingredients:

2 cups apple cider, reduced to 1 cup

1/3 cup apple cider vinaigrette

2 oz honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Juice of half a lemon

1 T whole grain mustard

1 cup canola oil

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except oil in a blender and mix on high for 30 seconds

2. Put blender on low speed and slowly add oil until dressing is creamy in texture

3. Remove and store dressing in an air tight container for a week

Salad Ingredients:

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped into 1/8 inch wide strips

1 red apple, small diced then put in water with lemon juice

1 green apple, small dice then put in water with lemon juice

12 leaves fresh parsley, chopped into fine strips

1 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

3 leaves fresh sage, cut into thin strips

½ cup carrots, shredded

¼ cup red onion, small dice

1 cup granola plus 1/4c for garnish

¼ cup celery leaves

Directions:

1. Toss together all salad the ingredients (except for 1/4c of granola and celery leaves) in a large bowl.
2. Just before serving combine salad ingredients with dressing and serve immediately
3. Divide salad among 4 bowls and garnish with granola and celery leaves

You can also add smoked turkey, grilled chicken, steak or even salmon to turn this salad into a full meal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Liberty Tavern’s Liam LaCivita

BY Kathleen Nixon

October 28, 2011

Falls Church Times Staff

Liam LaCivita, Executive Chef at Liberty Tavern is our next Falls Church Farmers Market Chef. His demonstration is tomorrow, Saturday, October 29th from 9am to 11am. (The demonstration is now rescheduled for Saturday, November 5th)  Liam shares with us some of his background and philosophy on local cuisine.

Tell our readers a little about your background? Why did you get into cooking? Who inspired you? What have been some of your challenges as your career has advanced? What is new on the horizon for you?

I am half Irish and half Italian.  A lot of the food that I do is based on those two cultures.  I got into cooking primarily because I found it as another way of using my creativity in a more immediate way.  Food has always been an integral part of my life, through the traveling I did with my family and of course the food in my family has always been the center of attention. Some of my challenges in my career is constantly staying ahead of the curve, that being a chef is not all about cooking.  That is what I like most about being a chef, is that it is constantly evolving.  One minute your human resources, next minute a line cook, next minute a plumber…hahaha!

Tell us a little about your restaurant, your staff and how you incorporate local producers into your restaurant purchasing?

The Liberty Tavern is an American Regional restaurant that focuses on the use of seasonal and local ingredients.  We never opened the The Liberty Tavern specifically as that, to me it has always been common sense to use local and seasonal foods in my cooking.  That must be the Italian in me.

You work with many of the local producers? Who do you work with?

Dragon Creek, Polyface Farms, Trickling Springs Creamery, Jenkins orchards, Tuscarora organic Co-op and The Fresh Link. The last two are co-ops that bring small farmers products to the restaurants.

As a customer, what changes have you seen in the local food landscape?

I have seen many changes in the local food scene, hell just the fact that people are starting to understand a tomato doesn’t taste very good in February is a big change.

When did you start using local ingredients in creating your menu and recipes?

I have been using local ingredients probably since 1995/1996.  But specifically around 1997/98 when I was sous chef at 21 Federal in Nantucket where the local natural resources and farms dictated what I wanted to serve.  Everything was seasonal, it just made sense.

What ingredients has been the most challenging to work with?

No ingredient is really challenging.  Though if foraging for mushrooms, it is always interesting the proper way to cook mushrooms that I have never seen before.

Do you think your customers understand and appreciate your incorporation of local food into your menus?

I truly believe our customers appreciate and understand the food we serve and the use of local ingredients.  I know that because they tell me themselves.  That I appreciate.

What local ingredients are not yet available to the local economy that you would like to incorporate into your menu?

There are a lot of foraged local ingredients that don’t make it to the local economy. I would like for that to start changing.

How long have you been part of the Farmers Market Chef series?

This is my third or fourth year I believe.

What do you like best about the Farmers Market Chef series? Any challenges or surprises?

I love the sense of community at the Falls Church Farmers Market.  I like that it is almost a social event as well as a shopping experience.

What will you be preparing for your demonstration?

A medley of crostinis with housemade goat ricotta with Liberty Tavern bacon, caramelized farmers market apples, local greens; Wild mushrooms, truffled honey, sea salt and thyme; and roasted brussels sprout leaves with lemon marinade.

Due to the weather, we have rescheduled the Farmers Market Demonstration for Saturday, November 5th.

Dine Out for Farms Week

BY Kathleen Nixon

October 21, 2011

Falls Church Times Staff

As the harvest is in full swing, it is time for the second annual Dine Out for Farms™ week. A national program supports saving farms and farmland by dining at participating restaurants through October 23^rd. This celebration of food, farmers and the land needed to grow it was created to educate diners about the importance of farms while raising money to save farmland.

According to the Trust, each year we lose land the size of Delaware to asphalt and buildings that was once productive farmland. Once this productive land is lost to development, it cannot be brought back and along with it the ability for America to produce its own food.

Each week we see our local farmers at the Falls Church Farmers Market, but we don’t realize the challenges that they face providing our food. Every day, more family farmers are facing economic difficulties making it a challenge for them to stay on their land. Uncertain economic conditions, federal regulations and the urban sprawl test the most committed farm families. We are also facing a shortage of young people or new farmers who are ready to continue America’s farming tradition. Today, almost 60 percent of farmers are 55 or older.

This year, Dine Out for Farms restaurants are participating in several ways: offering a special dish, contributing a percentage of sales during the week or making a straight donation to help save farms.  By patronizing any one of the restaurants during Dine Out for Farms™ week, we can show that we care about protecting America’s farmland and the delicious food that it provides by dining at one of these participating restaurants.

There are many restaurants in our area that are participating in this national program including many right here in our community such as Open Kitchen, Clyde’s and Silver Diner.  You can stay locally or head on out to the lovely countryside and dine at the Restaurant at Patowmack Farms – one of my personal favorites.

To view a list of participating restaurants, visit www.farmland.org/dineout-locate. Or you can make a reservation through Open Table the Official Reservation Partner

Silver Diner
VA/MD
www.silverdiner.com

Clyde’s of Reston
Reston, VA
www.clydes.com

The Grille at Morrison House
Alexandria, VA
www.thegrillealexandria.com

Maple Ave Restaurant
Vienna, VA
www.mapleaverestaurant.com

Open Kitchen
Falls Church, VA
www.openkitchen-dcmetro.com

The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm
Lovettsville, VA
www.patowmackfarm.com

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