D.C.’s Eric Adjepong to Compete on Top Chef
D.C. chef Eric Adjepong, 31, of Pinch & Plate, a mobile dinner party service that he runs with his wife Janell, will compete on Top Chef Kentucky filmed in Louisville that premiers on Bravo at 9 p.m. on Dec. 6.
Eric Adjepong of Pinch & Plate catering in D.C. will compete on season 16 of Top Chef. (Photo: Bravo)
Adjepong, a first-generation Ghanaian who grew up in New York City and cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants after Johnson & Wales culinary school, helped open former Top Chef contestant Kwama Onwuachi’s Kith/Kin at The Wharf. He has also competed on Food Network’s Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay.
Last week, People magazine named Adjepong, along with chefs Johnny Spero, 32, of Reverie in Georgetown and Kevin Tien, 31, of Hitmitsu in Petworth to its annual Sexiest Chef Alive list in the issue that will hit newsstands in November.
Spero will appear on Netflix’s new cooking competition show The Final Table, which begins streaming on Nov. 20. Tien was a contestant on Iron Chef Gauntlet.
The three local chefs join seven others vying for the title. No women are included on the list. You can vote for your favorite by tweeting @people and @peoplefood with hashtag #sexiestchef. The winner will be announced in an hour-long Food Network special at 8 p.m. on Nov. 1.
Top of the Gate celebrates Halloween
Beginning Oct. 22, the Top of the Gate rooftop bar and lounge at The Watergate Hotel, 2650 Virginia Ave. NW, is decked out in fall décor including haystacks, gourds, wagon wheels, seasonal plants and scarecrows.
The Top of the Gate ooftop bar and lounge at the Watergate Hote is decked out for Halloween. (Photo: Watergate Hotel)
Among the Halloween decorations are custom-made pumpkins by Alex Wer, also known as The Pumpkin Geek. Take photos with some of your iconic favorites in pumpkin form such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn and Richard Nixon, most noted for the Watergate Scandal.
Diners can enjoy a fall-inspired menu with apple cider doughnuts, apple cocktails and the chef’s take on apple pie. And through Halloween, the bar and lounge has partnered with Beetlejuice the Musical, now playing at the Warner Theatre, on Beetlejuice-inspired cocktails available at the Top of the Gate and the hotel’s Kingbird restaurant. Ranging from $15-$17, the cocktails feature seasonal ingredients such as lychee-blueberry eyeballs, squid ink, elderflower and rosemary-honey cordial.
Finally, on Oct. 31, the hotel will host its annual Halloween costume party at Top of the Gate. Guests who attend wearing a costume will enjoy a complimentary glass of bubbly and 360-degree views of the Potomac River, Capitol and Washington Monument. Tickets are $20. To reserve a table or lounge space, email reservations@thewatergatehotel.com. All reservations have a $50 per person food and beverage minimum. Ticket count towards the minimum.
Mirabelle adds game dishes, seasonal cocktails
Mirabelle, 900 16th St. NW, is ushering in fall with the addition of game dishes and new cocktails to its seasonal menu.
Mirabelle’s new autum berry duck. (Photo: Jordan Hammes)
The fall dishes include stuffed quail with mustard greens, sesame, pioppini, bacon-cashew bark and chestnut bisque; autumn berry duck with seared breast and leg confit, sunchoke, cassis, blueberry and hibiscus; fallen leaves on venison with seared loin, braised venison and beluga lentil ragout, blackberry and crisp “leaves;” and duet of Aegean lamb loin and belly with cherry mastic, yogurt mahlab and “moussaka” brunoise. Prices range from $35-$38.
The two new seasonal cocktails include Pomme et Poire with Poire Williams Eau-de-Vie, Eric Bordelet sparkling apple cider, lemon juice, simple syrup and angostura bitters; and Cherry Pop similar to an adult cherry cola with Wheatley vodka, Cherry Heering liqueur and Averna carbonated on draft. They are priced $14 and $15.
Ambar Clarendon unveils new seasonal cocktails
Ambar Clarendon, 2901 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, has introduced new fall cocktails in the main dining room and on the 50-seat heated sidewalk terrace.
The new seasonal Balkan Club cocktail at Ambar Clarendon. (Photo: Ambar)
Each of the six libations, available until Dec. 21, is made with a different seasonal ingredient such as pomegranate, cranberry and fall spices. The new cocktails include the Mandarin Smash made with vodka, lime juice, cinnamon syrup and pomegranate juice garnished with mandarin wedges and mint; the Greyhound with gin, grapefruit juice, lime juice and agave-infused rosemary garnished with a dehydrated lime wheel; the Manhattan No. 2, with rye whiskey, Carpano Antica vermouth, six-spice syrup and habanero bitters garnished with rosemary; the Balkan Club with apple rakija, lime juice, simple syrup, raspberries and egg whites garnished with hibiscus powder; the Cosmo Flip with vodka, muddled grapes, mint syrup, lime juice and cranberry juice; and the Painkiller with bourbon, honey-infused simple syrup, lime juice, cayenne-ginger tea and chocolate-infused coconut water garnished with a lime wheel and red pepper.
Bastille hosts French libation wine dinner
Bastille, 606 N. Fayette St., Alexandria, will serve a five-course $85 prix fixe menu pairing some of the most popular varietals of France at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 24.
Bastille hosts a five-course French wine dinner at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. (Photo: Bastille/Facebook)
The meal begins with an amuse bouche of Chateau Trians, Provence Rose, that will be followed by jumbo shrimp with eggplant, tomato paired with Brézène, Cote du Rhone, Domaine Lombard 2017. The second course is gnocchi with Forrest mushroom, lardons, cipoline, tomato and carrots paired with Haute Cotes de Beaunes, La Combotte 2015. The entrée is braised lamb shoulder in a red wine sauce with roasted root vegetables paired with Chateauneuf du Pape, Château Gigognan 2014, followed by Brillat Savarin cheese, apple and hazelnut paired with Bulliat Cremant NV. Dessert will be petits fours.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.
