I dug into my first round of farm share strawberries last night, but if you’re not signed up or prefer to have someone else do the preparations you could get on over to Food Matters on Saturday for their Strawberry Festival. “Join us for free samples of strawberry desserts, strawberry-inspired menu items, and strawberry cocktails.”

My darling girlfriend and I went to Food Matters about three weeks ago after they were mentioned in an update mail I got from Local Harvest. She’s good about indulging my Michael Pollan disciple leanings and the promise of good food that is concerned with connecting eaters with origins was enough to interest both of us. Although it’s metro inaccessible and oddly located - just head East from Landmark Mall and turn at the eerily similar townhouses - the experience was not a disappointment.

My dearheart’s amish chicken - named for the origin, not its garb or way of life - was superb and had the subtle but recognizable taste of non-commercial foul. My pasta carbonara was similarly delicious. We sat at the bar and I was delighted to indulge in their Bell’s Oberon on draft, a fact that might be enough to get our Mr Bridge there all by itself.

The decor is on the edge of odd, reflecting the fact that this is a place with some identity issues - they have some cafeteria-type premade food in a walk-up case, as well as some farm fresh items such as eggs, as well as a sit-down restaurant area as well as a sizable bar. On the other hand, the layout includes an open plan kitchen which allows you to stand and watch the goings-ons without being in the middle of a bunch of your fellow eaters. As a bit of a cook voyeur I found this to be a great feature and if it bugged the people working they didn’t give any sign of it.

If you’re an Arlington-ite and possessed of a car I’d say this is a place worth a visit. We’ll be back.

Last night the Washington Capitals signed Alex Ovechkin to a whopping 13 year, $124 million contract., the richest in D.C. sports history. The contract also a remarkable leap of faith by Caps owner Ted Leonsis (2006 Q&A) in not only Ovechkin, but Washington fans and the NHL in general.

On Frozen Blog led the way with yesterday’s coverage, collaborating with Sovietsky Sports (Google warns “This site may harm your computer.” but I think it is okay) to break the news. Details about how it happened are now available. Good work guys!

All cities have their different flavors of movie theaters. The nice ones, the not so nice ones, the old ones, the new ones, the one that shows “artsy fartsy” movies, the one that shows blockbusters, the one with the giant screen, the one with the dollhouse sized screens. Here’s my breakdown of the theaters in DC:
Read more

You may not be a vegetarian, but I am. One thing I’ve noticed is that there aren’t a lot of really spicy veggie dishes in the DC area. For some reason people associate vegetarian with bland, and it doesn’t have to be that way (especially because, if you think about it, hot peppers are a vegetable). Since one of my recent entries was the “Hottest Dish in DC”, I thought I’d do a little research and find the “Hottest Vegetarian Dish in DC.”

I’m finally ready to make a recommendation. I’ve come to the conclusion that the “Spicy Roasted Tofu with Basil” dish at Bangkok 54 (2919 Columbia pike, Arlington, VA 22204 (right near the Arlington Cinema and Draft House) is the hottest vegetarian dish in the DC area. I’m pretty sure it’s actually wheat gluten and not tofu, but it’ll make you sweat. So if you are looking for a meal that is only cruel to your tastebuds, give it a try!

Tables

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

One of my favorite places to take friends when they’re passing through town is the Boulevard Woodgrill. Now, full disclosure, I’m their web guy, and a friend of the management, but I’ve been a regular fixture there for about four years off and on. The food’s great, the prices are really reasonable, and the atmosphere is classy, but separate from the formality of downtown DC. On a nice Spring night, dinner on the sidewalk there is a small slice of heaven. When Managing Partner Ryan Duncan told me that he was opening up a new spot in Old Town Alexandria, I wondered if they could duplicate some of that feeling across town; turns out, they’ve done one better.

Overwood opens today, marking the fourth restaurant in the group, and bringing that stylish feel to Old Town’s antique brick. Overwood’s open interior and exposed brick and wood give the place a warm feeling. It’s not a new restaurant, it’s the same great place you’ve been coming to for years. You feel right at home as soon as you’re in the front door. Their wet bar features an incredible array of draft beers (including new-to-DC Bell’s, as well as old standby Victory’s HopDevil and Allagash White) and a great wine list.

The staff was still getting the kinks out on our visit to their Mock Service last Saturday night, but the kitchen seemed to be hitting on all cylinders, as chef Boubker Errami (formerly of Faccia Luna) produced some absolutely delicious food. I had the center-cut pork chops on potatoes with gingered black beans, and Tiff had a cut-with-a-fork lamb shank with mirepoix. Their new signature dessert, the Elvis Pie, is a big slice of a peanut butter/banana pie that has to be eaten to be believed. I hold no responsibility for any hip-shaking you may feel necessary after eating it, though.

Its location off King St, about two blocks from the Torpedo Factory makes Overwood feels like it’s already a part of the community, meshing well with the cute townhouses and offices that are part of Old Town. It feels like a neighborhood place, something homey and dependable, even though they’re just barely open. Be sure to check out their amazing panini sandwiches at lunch, or their Rockfish or Lamb Shank or Lasagna at dinner.

Overwood
220 North Lee Street
Alexandria VA
www.theoverwood.com

Last night at the 2007 Washington Post Blogger Summit (aka “Blogging Unplugged”.. where was Eric Clapton and his guitar?), the minds behind Washingtonpost.com and their advertising arm (WPNI) revealed their “skunkworks” project of a “Local Blog Directory”. As of all the sections of the get-together, this one generated the most lively discussion among attendees and the WaPo.com staff.

Read more

Did the Redskins play yesterday? Judging from their web site I don’t think they did but other than that I would have no clue. You see, I am not a Redskins fan. Or a football fan or a baseball fan. I think sports are a nice diversion, even fun to play and watch but to me that’s all it is - a diversion, not anything important or even terribly interesting.

This attitude has gotten me some strange looks down here when I say, “No, I didn’t watch the game,” or, “I thought the World Series happened weeks ago.” This all much better than the trouble I used to get into during my brief stay in Massachusetts when I admitted not caring any more about the Red Sox than the Yankees or not being interested in the Patriots and their latest draft choice. This is a fighting issue up there. Down here it’s just cause for disapproving looks.

Who cares? I always thought. More than that, I have to wonder what it means to support the home team. Is my geography the ultimate arbiter of which teams I should support? If so, doesn’t that remove the fundamental and necessary emotional component of what loyalty should really mean? To me it’s all just plain silly and meaningless.

When you get down to it, all sports are equal in their ability to help us drink beer together and talk about spirals, running games, scores and statistics. And beer while cheering for the Redskins is just as intoxicating as beer while cheering for the Cowboys.

As a Washingtonian and casual Caps fan, I find it hard to get excited about playing teams from cities like Raleigh-Durham, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay and even Atlanta, the other members of the NHL Southeast division. None of those towns, aside from possibly Atlanta, come anywhere close to being a peer city along the lines of New York, Philly and Boston. I’m not the only one who feels this way — it has been a topic of Caps blogs lately and in the Ted Leonsis interview. Thankfully, Caps blogger J.P. of Japers Rink has teamed up with bloggers from other SE division teams to help stoke the fires of the divisional “rivalries” that leave some of us unmoved.

Southeast Shootout (or “SeSo,” for short) aims to bring attention to the passionate fans, the great hockey being played and the phenomenal hockey players plying their wares south of the Mason-Dixon line by combining well-reasoned analysis, humor and a healthy dose of trash talking in a user-friendly forum - non-traditional hockey thoughts from non-traditional hockey markets, if you will. Think of this site as your connection to everything Southeast Division - like the Hartsfield Airport of internet hockey coverage, without the long lines and delays.

Short of realignment, this sounds good to me.

Previously: Blogging your Nation’s Capitals

In a Metroblogging DC interview earlier this month, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis talked about reaching out the blogosphere as a way to overcome what he percieves as a lack of coverage from the MSM.

We have to find alternative means to promote our team and our players and I have great faith in people who blog. If they are blogging they are not doing it for a living, they are doing it out of passion and love and we are going to be the most blog friendly team and I hope the NHL becomes the most blog friendly league because it is a way to pay back these people on their passions and it also a way to get the good word out. That I am doing this interview with you is a good example. You blog, you care, so you deserve time and respect.

With that in mind here is a look at a number of Caps blogs.
Read more

Ted Leonsis bought the Washington Capitals hockey team in 1999 and immediately brought a new perspective to professional sports ownership. The AOL executive made himself accessible to his fanbase by answering personal emails from fans and writing the “Owner’s Corner” column on washingtoncaps.com. Recently, he began blogging as well.

Recently, Mr. Leonsis took the time to answer some questions for Metroblogging DC. The Caps begin their season tonight, in New York against the Rangers. Their home opener is this Saturday with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes coming to town.

Metroblogging DC: We are coming into year 2 of the post-CBA era and the Alex Ovechkin era, both of which must be very exciting to you. Why don’t you talk about how the new CBA helps the Capitals in Year 2.

Ted Leonsis: I think we shouldn’t focus on Collective Bargaining Agreements. I think that the league went through a very tough gut check into trying to make for a business model that could be fairer to all 30 teams and would also inject more competitiveness into the league. I think we are rapidly getting to that point where like the NFL and the NBA — no one really knows what their team is spending but feel comfortable that each team has a shot to make the playoffs and win a championship. You do not have that in baseball. In baseball you still have teams that spend 200 million and teams that spend 20 million and in the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL you have more parity, if you will, regardless of market size of if a team owns their own TV network. That is what we were desperate for in our league and we have that and on top of that we have new rules. I think last night was very instructive — the Caps played the Flyers and in the old days the Flyers were bigger tougher and had a higher payroll. And now the payrolls are pretty much comprable…maybe #10 million difference, but the emphasis is on speed, the emphasis is young legs and skill and you want a league where the stars are allowed to shine and where people want to see great offensive skills allowed to prosper and I think that is what we are starting to see. The new CBA, the new rules are making for a more exciting NHL and I think we have built and organization and a team that was designed for the new rules and the new model and I am very optimistic about where we are headed as a franchise.
Read more