“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.”
–Benjamin Franklin
I’m not quite as much of a wine drinker as I used to be. Vintage Virginia used to be firmly scheduled each year, but when I got rid of my car and other friends with cars moved away, it wasn’t quite as easy to make it out to VA to attend. This year a last-minute invite in response to my need for a day trip appeared out of nowhere and Vintage Virginia …

Just over a week ago, I was fortunate enough to meet one of my food idols. I’d already planned to make it a “food excursion day” with some friends, grabbing a bite on the Hill and heading up to Bethesda to check out a tea shop when we saw that Hill’s Kitchen was hosting Sara Moulton for a cooking demonstration and book signing. You never saw plans change so fast!

In past years Starbucks has often offered specials on iced drinks in the afternoon when the warmer months arrive. To help introduce their new “however you want it” Frappuccino campaign, they’re offering the beverages for half-price at participating Starbucks between 3 and 5 pm until this Friday:

Feel like getting a head start on happiness? You can create your own favorite Frappuccino® blended beverage right here. Share it with your friends and invite them to meet you. Starbucks is celebrating Happy Hour from now until May 16.
Looks …

5 Chefs, 5 Pigs, 5 Winemakers, one cause: to raise awareness for heritage breeds and family owned farms. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you may wish to look away now…

I don’t really have the words to describe it. Some people call the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner the Nerd Prom, well Cochon 555 is the Pork Prom, no doubt about it. Pork based dishes, desserts and drinks, some amazing wineries, a demonstration where Butcher Ryan Farr completely… butchered a 216-pound pig. I was …

Per a press release from the Capitol Riverfront BID, a new market is on the way this May!
The new Capitol Riverfront Market, offering fresh produce and locally prepared foods, will open Thursday, May 6th and operate from 3 pm to 7 pm weekly through November at the intersection of New Jersey Ave., SE & M St., SE, adjacent to the Navy Yard Metro (New Jersey Ave exit). Entrance to the market is on M St., SE.
Every Thursday, the Capitol Riverfront will transform …

In addition to the usual $10.40 offers that surface around 4/15 a.k.a. Tax Day, there are a few places in the DC area where you get free stuff tomorrow.

Since it’s part of most people’s morning commute, this is an easy one from Starbucks. As part of the Big Picture movement, on April 15th, bring a reusable travel mug into your local Starbucks and get a free brewed coffee. It looks like the offer is valid all day, so it’s good for your morning cuppa or …

Eventually places will realize that April 1 is more than just the beginning of a prime Spring month and catch on to the natural skepticism surrounding April Fools Day, but until then Urbana’s taking advantage of it…

Urbana Restaurant and Wine Bar (2121 P Street NW, in the Hotel Palomar) presents their “Only Fools Fall In Love” lunch giveaway for the first 300 customers starting at 11:30 on April 1st. The free bagged lunch includes their new pulled pork parmesan sandwich made with braised pork shoulder, bolognese sauce, …

If you’re a Starbucks addict like me, you know that tomorrow morning, Tuesday March 23rd is Free Pastry Day at Starbucks. Get a free pastry with the purchase of a beverage.
The free pastry coupon is available here at their blog. You can print out the coupon or show them the coupon on a mobile device. They’ll stop redeeming the offer at 10:30 am–just in time for the morning coffee stop or that 10am coffee break.
I had to stop getting pastries at Starbucks when …

It’s that time again! The DC Food Bloggers are bringing their yummy wares to you for a bake sale. All the proceeds from this bake sale will go towards Doctors Without Borders’ relief efforts in Haiti.

We will be selling our wares on Sunday, March 28th from 9-11am on the patio at Zorba’s Cafe. It’s just two blocks north of the Dupont Circle metro exit (Q St) and one block north of the Dupont Circle Farmers’ Market.
The market opens at 10, so …

I don’t often blog about cooking tips or techniques because most of the dishes I make don’t require any special kitchen moves to get the job done. Most of the time, people aren’t standing over your shoulder as you cook, and depending on what you make no one will ever know how adept or clumsy you are. That said, I am now an extremely dangerous man with a chef’s knife.
Olga Berman of Mango & Tomato taught an amazing knife skills class this weekend for …