"washington dc" news and stories

Take a French baguette. This is the line that leads to a lot of amazingly good, easy eating. A skinny toasted loaf can be topped with pretty much any combination of ingredients you please. At Washington, D.C.'s Leopold's Kafe & Konditorei, a baguette might be scattered with fresh favas and peas that have been tossed in a vinaigrette, along with some shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

Experiment with crostini, bruschetta...or just call it plain old toasted bread. Try Kitchen Daily recipes for a tomato-basil combo, or a crostini with gorgonzola.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Tropical flavors play a big part in pastry chef Tiffany Macisaac's repertoire (she's a native of Hawaii), and she shared her recipe for this coconut curry sorbet with blogger UlteriorPicture back when she was cooking at Manhattan restaurant Cru. The refreshing coconut-milk and cardamom-inflected sorbet would be as at home in the southern India state of Kerala as it is at Washington, D.C., restaurant Birch & Barley, which Macisaac now owns with her husband, executive chef Kyle Bailey. When she's not whipping up wild sorbets, we hear Macisaac also makes a killer Meyer lemon meringue pie.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot of having photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

By Josie Swindler

The Hungry Bride has been sated. She was married last Saturday in a simple and beautiful ceremony on the grounds of an estate in Washington D.C., the city in which she and her handsome groom, Jon, fell in love years ago. In addition to being Sarah's co-worker (visit me at ShelterPop.com for home decor ideas!), I was lucky enough to be one of her bridesmaids.

On the day of the long-awaited event, Sarah was as calm, cool and collected as ever and in true food-editor form, she remembered to eat breakfast. The details were thoughtfully chosen and worked together seamlessly. The girls' bouquets even had fragrant herbs like rosemary tucked inside!

After the simple ceremony, guests sipped on lemonade and sangria and waited a bit impatiently for what we knew would be one of the best meals we had had in quite a while. We all knew that baked chicken with droopy carrots and dried-out fondant-covered wedding cake wouldn't be on Sarah's menu. Instead, we were treated to lamb chops, macaroni and cheese, dim sum, s'mores and even cookies and milk.

Click through the gallery of pictures after the jump for pictures of the spread and the beautiful bride.

Photo: Alicia Griffin/flickr

Ben Ali, the founder of Washington D.C.'s historic Ben's Chili Bowl, has died at the age of 82.

Ali founded the landmark eatery on U Street with his wife, Virginia, during the Eisenhower administration, and it's become a hangout for presidents -- President Obama visited on Jan. 10 -- and entertainers -- Bill Cosby, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. Cosby was the only person to get a free meal at Ben's until Obama's election, when Ben's put up this sign in the window: "Who eats free at Ben's: _Bill Cosby _The Obama Family," the Associated Press reports.

The restaurant is renowned for its chili "half smokes" -- beef sausages larger than the average hot dog that are smothered in chili -- as well as its bowls of chili. The James Beard Foundation named Ben's Chili Bowl an "American Classic" in 2004. And the menu, Gourmet.com notes, isn't for the faint of heart. "Our chili will make a dog bark," it begins.

Eastern Market Photo: ngolebiewski/Flickr

Attention, residents of the nation's capital: After two long years of waiting, Washington, D.C.'s historic Eastern Market re-opened this morning.

The Capitol Hill market, which had been in continuous operation since it opened 1873, closed in 2007 after a devastating fire. Home to many farmers and a wide range of culinary delights that included everything from buckwheat blueberry pancakes (known in local parlance as "bluebucks") and cured meats to pumpkin ravioli and crab cakes, the market was the shining jewel in its neighborhood's crown.

While the fire that closed the market was a blow to a historical site, it also presented what some considered a long overdue opportunity for improvement.

Learn more about the opening party and $22 million renovation after the jump.