FOOD: Bertrand Chemel’s Falls Church Farmer’s Market Demonstration

BY Kathleen Nixon
October 2, 2011
Falls Church Times Staff

Saturday morning was cold and rainy – like the rest of the month has been. Chef Bertrand Chemel and his team showed up at the Falls Church Farmers Market looking at the skies and the early morning crowd wondering what the demonstration was going to be like and if they should have made the effort to come out this morning. Within a few moments of setting up, a crowd started to form and from then on Bertrand Chemel spoke for two hours straight showing the very eager crowd how to smoke Savoy cabbage, create blue cheese marshmallows, roll out butternut squash ravioli and how to warm body and spirit with great local and seasonal food on such a dreary morning.

At times throughout the morning rain pelted the onlookers, many crowded around with their umbrellas, but Bertrand just kept on demonstrating and talking to the crowd, answering questions and showing the Farmers Market customers how easy these difficult looking recipes could be. While many people protested not wanting to try beets, several takers of the skewers of roasted beet and blue cheese marshmallow with pistachio were blown away with the sweet taste of the roasted beets. As Bertrand smoked the Savoy cabbage over the fruit wood chips the aroma brought more folks over to the demonstration area.  His team of Dylan and Kelsey boiled up the ravioli and created the roasted beet salad skewers. They were also besieged with eager questions on cooking preparations.

 

Watch the Chef smoking the savoy cabbage. Video from Kathleen Nixon.

Bertrand was in his element – interacting with customers who want to know more about local food. He rolled out pasta, stuff the pillows with butternut squash filling and voila! Ravioli! He showcased how to roast beets on a bed of kosher salt so they won’t burn and how to easily rub off the skins so they wouldn’t stain your hands. The team provided more than 800 tastings of ravioli and beet salad and once done they headed back to 2941 to prepare for the lunch crowd of 200.

 

A rave review of the Chef’s presentation. Video from Kathleen Nixon.

FOOD: Bertrand Chemel 2941

By Kathleen Nixon

September 30, 2011

Falls Church Times Staff

 

Bertrand Chemel Executive Chef of 2941 will be the featured chef at tomorrow Falls Church Farmers Market Chef demonstration. Today he shares a little of his background and his love of preparing foods with fresh local and seasonal foods.

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 was born in Montlucon about 80 miles north of Lyon. I grew up around farms. My parents always bought meat chicken, duck, pork, veal, and beef directly from farms. The only cans we used were my mom’s preserved vegetables, homemade pate, and jam. I had two grandmothers, one likes to cook only pastry and the other one only savory. At the age of 14 during summer break, I was looking for a summer job and my grandmother recommended me to her neighbor who was the baker in town. After two summers cleaning dishes and helping making pie and other small pastries, I decided to pursue culinary school.

After four years of culinary, I travelled to Megeve at the border of Switzerland and worked with this incredible chef, Michel Gaudin for about three years. He sent me to the South of France to work at the La Bastide Saint Anthoine a two-star Michelin restaurant. After two years Michel Gaudin asked me if I would like to travel and my first reaction was to go to New York City. He contacted Daniel Boulud and got me a job. I like to say that I have two mentors, one in France and one in New York. Daniel taught me a lot about how to run a restaurant, pleasing guests, working hard and respecting your employees.

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

2941 offers one of the most beautiful locations in DC and Northern Virginia. We serve innovative French American cuisine, using local and fresh ingredients. I always like to know where and how our animals were raised, who has the best berries around town, or who has the best lettuce at the market. Using produce and meats from farmers can be a challenge since restaurants use big quantities but that’s also the reason why I like to work with them.  They only giving you their best quality produce and it challenges us to be creative with our menu. At 2941, we change our tasting menu every week so we can feature the best produce and meats on any given week from seafood and meat to vegetables and fruits.

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

Tree and Leaf farm, Douglas Whipple from Whipple farms, Westmoreland farm for fruits and berries. In the summer, I like to go to the Falls Church Farmers Market and see what I can bring back to the restaurant.

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

People want to know more about the produce they eating. If it’s organic, wild or farmed raised, they have more questions about where their food comes from.

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

Since I grew up around farmers, my grandfather was a farmer, I always ate farm fresh eggs, meat and poultry. My father had a year-round farm as well. When I worked at Café Boulud, I was always excited to go to the farmers market and buy vegetables, feta cheese and heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs and everything else from local farms.

Here I use the Mclean Farmers Market and Falls Church one because I live close to them. And my bigger purveyors always carry fresh produce from Virginia farms.

What ingredients has been the most challenging to work with?

This year it was the tomatoes in the late summer. Because it was very hot, then dry and then we had so many storms, the quality of the tomatoes changed.

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

I believe that if I’m proud of the ingredients and produce we’re using to create our menus, our guests will taste the difference. For example, in the summer until late fall, my cooks and I have our own herb garden at the restaurant to create cocktails or essences for our menu.

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

Wild mushrooms, ramps and beef

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

This is my second year.

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

I like to meet the shoppers and introduce 2941 restaurant to them. I like showing them new and creative recipes that they can do at home. It’s good to see the parents who come with their kids.  Everything starts when you are young and I believe introducing our kids to the farmers market is a big step to healthy lifestyle for them.

What will you be preparing for your demonstration?

We will be preparing two dishes that feature seasonal items. The first is butternut squash ravioli, sage brown butter, with smoked Savoy cabbage, and the second will be beet salad, slowly baked Gala apple glazed in apple cider, blue cheese marshmallow with walnut vinaigrette.

 

 

FOOD: Dinner at Ray’s the Steaks

By Ra Chan

September 23, 2011

Special to Falls Church Times

On our way home, my husband, and I were trying to figure out dinner plans; after throwing out a few ideas, he wanted to take me to one of our favorite places for an impromptu date night. We’ve been a fan of Ray’s the Steaks since they were at their old location next to Hell Burger. What really attracts me to the new location is that they now take reservations and the space is much larger. In all actually, we’ve never had a tough time getting a table; we tend to get their before the peak of the dinner rush.

So after getting to our table and ordering a glass of wine, it was time to make that all important decision — which cut of beef did we want for dinner? I’ve never had a bad steak here, so I knew without a doubt, whatever we decided to go with, it would still be an amazing dinner.

I started off with the Caesar salad and got the crab bisque. I’m normally not a fan of bisque, I prefer more texture to my soup. But this one was outstanding with an amazing amount of lump crab meat! The soup was so creamy with the delicate sweetness of concentrated crab and just a hint of ground pepper.

I ordered the El Diablo steak, cooked medium with a side of the spicy piranha sauce. This steak was a top sirloin, grilled in a spicy sauce and topped with roasted garlic and sautéed onions. The garlic just melted over the steak; I even found myself spreading the garlic over the steak like butter! The sirloin was cooked to perfection. I normally love the piranha sauce, which is a spicier version of chimichurri sauce, but I didn’t really need this sauce since the spicy sauce that coated the steak gave it the perfect amount of flavor and seasoning.

My husband got the steak Bertolucci – NY strip served with roasted bone marrow, and served in a roasted garlic and red wine reduction sauce. The sauce really complimented the intense beef flavor and the bone marrow provided that extra punch, with its very smooth, creamy and buttery consistency.

This was definitely another successful meal at Ray’s. I love this place for so many reasons – the amazing cuts of beef, the completely reasonable prices, and the complimentary creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. I feel like I’m dining at a 5 star establishment and getting the best beef available, but I don’t feel out of place walking in with jeans and flip flops. As we lingered at dinner over a cup of coffee and some peanut butter truffles, I couldn’t help but just sit back and go over the meal in my head again. It was delicious and I relished every bite.

2300 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201

http://raysthesteaks.com/

703-841-7297

FOOD: World Fare- A Street Food Festival

BY Kathleen Nixon

September 23, 2011

Falls Church Times Staff

Want to enjoy International Food and Support a Good Cause? Join Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) as they present their annual World Fare: A Street Food Festival on Sunday October 2nd from 5pm – 8pm at Willow Restaurant. Stroll through the “World Fare” and enjoy fabulous street fare menu items while meeting the region’s top women chefs, sommeliers, farmers, bee keepers, cheese makers, food truck operators and more. You can sample beer, wine and craft cocktails from the best women brewers, wine makers and mixologists from our area. Nycci Nellis from WTOP’s Foodie and the Beast, and TheListAreYouOnIt.com and auctioneer, Carla Hall, Top Chef Finalist and co-host of ABC’s new show “The Chew” will be your hosts and emcees.

Stroll through the “World Fare” and enjoy fabulous street fare menu items including: Tamales de Camaron: Shrimp Tamales Spiedini Misti: Grilled Quail Sausage, Red Onion and Apple, SabaKalua Pork in Hawaiian Salt and Banana Leaves with Sticky Rice and Mac SaladDal wada( Fried Lentil Croquets)Oysters on the Half Shell with Ginger Sake Mignonette Farmstead Cheese Amuse-GueulesGrilled Octopus, Yogurt and Feta Pita Pockets Assorted Wood-Fired Oven Pizzas Lemongrass Chicken Skewers on a Green Papaya SaladRice Paper Shrimp Spring Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce Crab and Lancaster County Corn FrittersRillettes, Pates and Chicken Liver Mousse with Breads, Crostinis, Cornichons, Pickled Onions, Housemade Mostarda Organic Pulled Pork BBQ with Healthy Slaw on a Sweet Potato Biscuit Masala Chai (Spiced Tea)Sweet and Savory Cookie Collection Caramel Corn Almond Fig Tartlets with Balsamic Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Sundaes Pineapple Orange Ginger Sorbet and more!

Willow Restaurant
4301 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

Sunday, October 2, 2011
5:00 to 8:00 PM

Tickets: $65 per person in advance, $75 per person at the door
(ticket prices are inclusive of all food & beverage)

To purchase tickets http://www.womenchefs.org/cde.cfm?event=360142%20

FOOD: A Little Taste of Vietnam at Saigon Saigon

 

By RA CHAN
September 2, 2011
Special to Falls Church Times

We were out and about strolling through Pentagon Row and decided to stop into Saigon Saigon for dinner. It just caught our attention, and as you may know, I’m a huge fan of Southeast Asian cuisine. I also remember my mother in law telling me that her friend runs this place; so those were 2 pretty solid reasons to give this place a try. Stepping inside, the decoration and the restaurant space were very modern and casual. The exposed ceiling beams, dim lighting and dark wood furniture gave the place a very warm, yet foreign feel. I was hoping that we could sit outside on their patio for dinner, but the weather was a little too muggy. Looking over the menu, I found it very odd that the cuisine was a mix of Vietnamese and Thai. I’m sure the two do complement each other, but it still struck me as odd to see papaya salad listed near spring rolls!

We decided to start with the sampler appetizer platter – crispy fried spring rolls, garden roll, chicken satay and lemongrass skewered beef. The fried spring roll was what I would have expected, a nice meaty filling and a super crispy coating. I thought it needed a little bit more salt and pepper though, as it was kind of mild in flavor. The garden roll was average and nothing out of the ordinary, but the peanut dipping sauce was actually made with peanuts. The sauce even went really well with the chicken satay. The lemongrass beef was good, but again, very mild in flavor. I could get a hint of the lemongrass and herbs, but it wasn’t very strong. I was hoping I could get some fish sauce for dipping.

I ordered hu tieu – roast pork and shrimp with egg noodle soup – for my entrée. When it first came out, the soup was an odd red color. It took me a few minutes to realize it was just the bbq coating from the pork that tinted the broth. I loved that the egg noodles were cooked just right and there was a good helping of watercress in the soup, which also happens to be my favorite vegetable. The broth itself was definitely how I remember hu tieu should taste. It was a very light and aromatic. The minced onions sprinkled throughout the soup did a good job of replicating the fried garlic I’m so used to with this dish. The only other item missing were the crispy fried pieces of fat. But all in all, it was a very solid dish, one that I was happy to devour.

My husband ordered the chicken and mixed vegetables sautéed with a spicy garlic sauce, it was served with a side of steamed broccoli and white rice. It reminded me more of a Thai dish though. And with each bite of chicken and broccoli, your mouth exploded with garlic, but in a good way. After having the appetizers and my hu tieu, it was a definite flavor explosion that I wasn’t prepared for. I would have preferred the dish to be a little spicier though, but other than that, it was good.

We were comparing our thoughts after dinner and my husband and I both agreed that this place wasn’t truly authentic, and couldn’t compare with dishes we get at Eden Center, but was still definitely good for a novice. The flavors that we love were still there, just subdued. This would actually be a great place for someone who wants to try Vietnamese cuisine for the first time; you get to sample the flavors without being overpowered by nuc mam (fish sauce) or garlic.

Saigon Saigon

1101 S. Joyce St.

(703) 412-0822

http://www.saigonsaigonpentagonrow.com/

Sunday 8/14: Famous Dave’s Free Food

In preparation for Grand Opening later this month, Famous Dave’s is offering a free rib tasting this Sunday, August 14th from 12pm – 2pm in the parking lot outside their future location in the Broaddale Shopping Center. Famous Dave’s is also supporting the Vote to make the Falls Church Farmers Market the Best Farmers Market in the country. You can post your vote’s for the Falls Church Farmers Market during the free rib tasting. Free food and making Falls Church Farmers Market Famous – what a great way to spend a Sunday!

FOOD: Sichuan Style Hot Pot at Mala Tang

BY Ra Chan

August 12, 2011

Special to Falls Church Times

About a week ago, my Twitter feed was going crazy with all tweets from my fellow bloggers and foodies about this place, Mala Tang. My husband had also mentioned to me a while ago about this new hot pot style place that he thought I would like. I love eating hot pot style; one of my favorite Cambodian dishes is cooked in a hot pot. So of course, it’s been on the back of my mind to finally try.

So what is the deal with this Sichuan place? The plates are supposed to mimic Chinese style street food. You know, whenever you watch the travel channel and someone is strolling through the streets of China that are just bustling with various street vendors; all you see are mouthwatering skewers, pots of boiling soup and freshly made noodles. Mala Tang tries to recreate that experience with various plates that tantalize all the senses, but minus the noise and congestion.

Walking into the restaurant for dinner, I was very impressed with how big the dining space was. The dark wood furniture gives the place a definite “Asian” feel. As soon as we sat down, the waitress explained the protocol for ordering and even gave us recommendations for appetizers. Each diner is given their own small hot pot and you can choose from two broths, traditional or vegetarian. After that, you can choose your level of spiciness – mild, mala or extra mala. We were adventurous and ordered the mala and extra mala. Then you choose your variety of proteins and vegetables to eat fondue style.

To start, we got the recommendations, the Dan Dan noodles and Zhong dumplings.

The Dan Dan noodles came out first and our waitress gave it a quick stir tableside to coat the noodles. It was small plate of delicious rice noodles, greens and ground pork. It was amazing. The flavors were so new to me. It was so savory and just a hint of spiciness. It was a great way to get my mouth ready for what was to come.

Next up were the Zhong dumplings. The presentation was gorgeous! I wasn’t a fan of the dumplings though. I felt that the wrapper was too thick and not enough filling. The sauce was delicious though, perfectly spicy.

After all our dishes were taken away, the waitress came by with some little sauce dishes. She then proceeded to make a dipping sauce for us; it was a combination of soy sauce, sesame oil and hot pepper. It was delicious. I’m thinking of making that as my go to dipping sauce at home now.

Next, she brought out our broths for the hot pot, mala and extra mala (super extra spicy). We got to sample each. The mala broth reminded me a lot of bun bo hue (Vietnamese spicy noodles), but with more lemongrass. The spicy level was perfect, it was definitely spicy, but not overpowering; and I loved the combinations of garlic and ginger. The extra mala on the other hand, was another level of spicy. It was good, but I couldn’t get over the amount of heat. I would only be using that broth sparingly.

So our spread was shrimp, lobster balls, sirloin and watercress. From what I could tell, everything looked really fresh. The watercress was amazingly crisp and the perfect vegetable to simmer in the hot pot. We just cooked things as we ate them. I didn’t want to thicken the broth with everything at once. And it proved to be a perfect leisurely dinner. We took our time with cooking the items and savoring the flavors. The proteins were great with the sesame/soy dipping sauce.

I’m happy to report that this was another successful dinner outing. I loved the vibe at Mala Tang, it definitely looks like a new hot spot. And to entice more customers, they have a great happy hour special. I will definitely be coming back!

Mala Tang

3434 Washington Blvd.

Arlington, VA 22201

(703) 243-2381

www.mala-tang.com

FOOD: Free Famous Food for FIRSTFriday

BY Kathleen Nixon

August 5, 2011

Falls Church Times Staff

The long awaited opening of Famous Dave’s Barbeque is just weeks away but just in time for First Friday, Famous Dave’s is making some of its famous ribs available for Free during this month’s First Friday events.  Famous Dave’s has been renovating the former Original House of Pancakes in the Broaddale shopping center to accommodate its on-premise real pit smokers where the BBQ will be slow-smoked for up to 10 hours over smoldering hickory wood.

For this month’s FIRSTFriday events, Wilbur the Pig (Famous Dave’s mascot) and Famous Dave’s FAMOUS staff will be hosting a sampling of the Famous Dave’s award-winning ribs at two free rib-tasting events. Ribs can be sampled during the FIRSTfriday event at 111 Park Ave. on August 5^th starting at 6:00 PM and in then again in the  parking lot of the coming-soon Falls Church Famous Dave’s location at 370 W. Broad Street on August 6^th at 12:00 PM.

For those who don’t know the chain of Famous Dave’s, it was founded by Dave Anderson, just a “guy” with a passion for BBQ. Dave launched a 25-year cross-country trek to find the best regional BBQ recipes in the country before opening the first Famous Dave’s in Hayward, WI in 1994.  The company owns and franchises 183 restaurants in 37 states.  Famous Dave’s has won over 500 national and regional awards for everything from best ribs to best Bar-B-Que sauce, including the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 Great American Rib Cook-Off in Cleveland and the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 National Capital Barbecue Battle in Washington, D.C., for the sixth year in a row.

There will be other free tastings later in the month, along with promotions and a grand opening ceremony, so if you don’t get your free famous food this weekend, keep an eye out for other free famous food later!

Famous Dave’s will also be launching a promotion to involve local City of Falls Church residents to determine what makes Falls Church “Famous”. So put on your thinking caps for “famous” ideas! Of course, I will saying it is our award winning Falls Church Farmers Market!

 

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