The Year in Food 2010

By KATHLEEN NIXON
Falls Church Times Staff

December 31, 2010

It’s interesting. My “plan” was to share food traditions from around the world that coincide with New Year’s. My co-editor, Ilene Smith, had a delightful story about her time in Thailand where she was consistently soaked with water on New Year’s Day by the locals to signify “cleansing.” I was going to share a not so delightful story of my New Year’s Eve feast celebrated in Denmark that included lots of strange seafood dishes including cod ovaries. But then I realized that the 2010 Year in Food locally has been just as delightful and interesting. Being a locavore foodie, I went with the local food story — and what a year it has been!

We said “goodbye” to Jimmy Scarano, who bravely forged into becoming a foodie writer and set a standard of weekly food articles that has been hard to keep up with, but we are trying! Not that we are trying to fill his shoes, we just wear slightly different ones — sandals, high heels, and barefoot — but we have kept his standard of providing food establishments or “joints” that would be of interest to those living in the City of Falls Church. My deep thanks to Ilene Smith for taking on this challenge.

I was not a total newbie to the Falls Church Times food scene, having contributed a few articles about the Farmers Market and local food, but writing about food can be an all-consuming endeavor, and we soon learned that we needed a few more friends to help us out. Annette Hennessey’s Pizza Wars for those busy school nights, and Kathy Washa’s meal plans for Mother’s Day along with a few special contributions over the year has kept our food writing as vibrant as the local food scene.

Our restaurant landscape has grown, which is surprising in this economy. La Caraquena was celebrated locally and nationally including a Food Network segment, Mad Fox Brewing and Pizzeria Orso opened up and show no signs of slowing down, and just outside the City limits La Cote d’Or opened up La Marche’.

I have to say that our Farmers Market was rocking this year! The winter storms proved difficult for our stalwart winter vendors, but many made the trek to provide goods like hot chocolate as well as vegetables, meat, and dairy.  The market saw an expansion in diversity, including dairy and sausage, which makes good business sense that is also good for our environmental and personal health. In its first year in the American Farmland Trust’s national competition Falls Church Farmers Market was recognized as one of the best in the country.

What will 2011 bring to the Falls Church Times food scene? We will bring you more food articles about our local food landscape including visits to local farm producers, highlights of the 10 Farmers Market Chef series, and reviews of the local restaurant landscape ( but maybe also a few road trips!). We also want to know what you would like to see, as ours is not the only palate to be satisfied.

Happy New Year!