DC Restaurants Celebrate Earth Day

Posted on by Sacha Cohen
Tallula courtesy of Powers & Crewe

Dine deliciously and celebrate Earth Day with special events, menus, and offers from local area restaurants:

Sustainable Dinner at Tallula
Tallula will celebrate Earth Day with a special four-course dinner showcasing locally grown produce, humanely raised meats, and sustainable seafood.

Bev Eggleston, founder of EcoFriendly Foods and leading proponent of ethical farming, as well as Drew Koslow, biologist, clean water advocate, and brother of Executive Chef Barry Koslow, will also attend the dinner. The dinner will start at 7PM on Thursday, April 22nd in the restaurant’s intimate wine shop.

Priced at $85 per person including wine pairings (excluding tax and gratuity) the Earth Day dinner will feature dishes such as Bison Carpaccio, sourced from New Frontier Bison in Madison, VA, and a Pork Trio from EcoFriendly Farms. The dinner will also include dishes using local, sustainable seafood, such as Virginia Clams and Striped Bass and local Virginia wines.

Eco-Friendly Cocktails at JW Marriott
As an extension of Earth Day’s celebration, the JW Marriott Washington is creating a special menu of refreshing eco-cocktails and organic summer white wines by the glass to help raise awareness for preserving the rainforests.

The special beverage menu will be available at Bar 1331 beginning on Monday, April 19 and served throughout the summer.  Cocktails, including “Strawberry Fields” (muddled fresh strawberries, basil leaves, simple syrup), are $12.00 and organic wines by the glass start at $9.00.  Thirty percent of the proceeds from the new beverages will be donated toward the protection and preservation of 1.4 million acres of endangered rainforest in the Amazon, called the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve.

Sweetlife Festival
Sweetgreen‘s free outdoor music festival, Saturday, April 24 from 3–9 PM (behind its Dupont Circle location), will raise money for Farm To School, an organization committed to connecting schools with local farms. Live performances will feature Hot Chip performing a DJ set, U.S. Royalty, The Love Language, Phil Ade, Will Eastman, DJ Grant Shapiro and more. Limited complementary tickets are available via the Sweetgreen beginning on April 9, with donations requested.

Mixt Greens Offers Tote with Green Goodies
The first 150 customers who visit one of Mixt Greens three DC locations on Thursday, April 22nd, will receive a complimentary tote bag filled with goodies including recipes from Chef/Co-Founder Andrew Swallow’s upcoming cookbook, Mixt Salads, and packets of herb seeds to plant at home.

Green Hours
The official Earth Day 2010 Sustainable Feast DC initiative encourages restaurants across the DC area to highlight the responsible decisions they make when buying and serving local or organic, sustainable foods. Participating restaurants include Bread & Brew, Pitango Gelato, Busboys & Poets, and more.

Earth Day Menu at Restaurant Nora
Restaurant Nora will be featuring an Earth Day tasting menu that includes seasonal spring vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, and spinach as well as seasonal cocktails. On April 20th and 21st, the restaurant will be donate $1 from each seasonal cocktail to Earth Day Network.

Earth Day-a-Palooza: April’s Best Green Events

Posted on by Sacha Cohen


April 6

Social Media & Green Marketing Panel

Learn how to use social media to drive growth for sustainable products. This lively panel discussion will be moderated by Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones and will take place from 5:30-6:30 followed by a cocktail reception at Helix Lounge featuring drink and food specials.

Panelists include Adam Shake, Jennifer Kaplan, Diane MacEachern, Lynn Miller, and Sacha Cohen.

RSVP to this FREE event!

April 7

Organic Wine Tasting & Local Treats [SOLD OUT!]

The Eco Luxe Life, grassfed media, and GoingGreenDC.net present an organic wine tasting at Weygandt Wines from 6:30-8. The event will also feature local and sustainable treats from Dino, Divine Chocolate, and Firefly Farm. Part of the proceeds will go to the DC Farm to School Network.

RSVP/Tickets ($15 in advance/$20 at the door)

April 17

The Green Rush

Live Green invites you to an action-packed, fun-filled scavenger hunt adventure from 2:30-5:30 where you race against the clock to explore DC’s most eco-friendly spots. The Green Rush will kick-off at the Green in the Circle Festival in Dupont Circle with entertainment, speakers, and lots of green exhibitors.

Details:

Start: Dupont Circle’s Green in the Circle Festival; Registration open from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

End: The Reef, after party and awards from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Registration: $25 per person, $20 for Live Green members and includes admission to after party and free give-aways during the Green Rush. Register online.

April 22

Green Hours

All three Busboys & Poets locations will be hosting Green Hours on Earth Day 2010, April 22nd, from 5PM to midnight. Stop by to celebrate Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary with special eco-cocktails (delicious and environmentally-friendly!) featuring sustainable spirits from VeeV and Leopold Bros.

2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

4251 South Campbell Ave, Arlington, VA 22206

1025 5th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

More “Green Hours”

April 25th

Climate Rally on the National Mall

Earth Day Network and partner organizations will organize a massive climate rally on The National Mall to demand Congress enacts climate and clean energy legislation in 2010.

When: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

Where: National Mall

7 Local Organic Cocktails

Posted on by Sacha Cohen
organic martini

The always inventive mixologists at several chic DC-area hotel bars are shaking things up with cocktails that feature organic spirits, homemade fruit purees, and locally grown veggies and herbs. Here are our top picks:

1. Juniper at The Fairmont Hotel serves five “Going Green” organic cocktails featuring herbs from the hotel’s courtyard garden and regionally grown fruits. “Feeling Blue,” for example, is made with Blue Coat Organic Gin, courtyard grown cilantro, Virginia blueberries, housemade simple syrup, and club soda. There are also several cocktails made with honey harvested from the Italian honey bees that make the hotel’s rooftop their home such as the Bee-tini made with Belvedere Pomrancza vodka and honey mixed with fresh grapefruit juice, mint, and grenadine.

2. The mixologists at Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons make many of their own bitters, tinctures, and syrups and grow their own herbs. The cleverly named “Not Tonight” features additive-free Hangar One mandarin blossom vodka, velvet falernum (a sugar cane-based liqueur), orgeat, fresh lime, whiskey barrel-aged bitters, and a chipotle tincture

3. Stop by Zentan at the Donovan House for an organic version of a Margarita.”The Scarborough Affair” is made with organic sage-infused Herradura Reposado tequila, house-made thyme agave nectar, house-made sweet and sour mix, fresh lime juice, St. Germain elderflower liquor, and garnished with a fresh spring of rosemary.

4. Start brunch off right with an organic Bloody Mary from Entyse at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner. This tasty version is made with Square One Organic Vodka, organic Bloody Mary mix (made from organic, locally grown tomatoes), Tabasco, Worcestershire, a pinch of organic black pepper, and garnished with organic celery, lime, and green bean. All of the cocktails at Entsye are made with ingredients from local and organic farms.

5. The Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt offers martinis that can be made with Square One Organic Vodka and your choice of a pearl onion, olive, caper berry or lemon twist garnish.

6. Keep the wolves at bay with the “Little Red Riding Hood” cocktail at the Quill bar in the historic Jefferson hotel. This glorious concoction features house-made hibiscus-pomegranate-infused vodka, Cointreau, Galliano, cranberry juice, and molecular yogurt-vanilla foam.

7. With arguably one of the best views in town, POV at the recently opened W Hotel has an artfully crafted cocktail menu courtesy of Sasha Petraske of NYC’s Milk & Honey.  The all-natural libations change with the seasons and are made with fresh fruit and vegetables.

Sustainable Happy Hours

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

We love the idea of  supporting local restaurants that offer tasty sustainable cuisine and cheap happy hour deals. Here are our top picks:

CommonWealth Gastropub
It’s bloody cold out. Shake off the icicles and get yourself over to the happy hour (4-7) at CommonWealth which includes a selection of local beer, 1/2 price selections of wine, and 1/2 off grassfed burgers (Wednesdays) that are out of this world. For a complete rundown of what’s available, check out the review written by our friends over at Sustainable in the City.

Dino
A menu planned around weekly finds at the Dupont Farmer’s Market and meats and seafood from all natural and sustainable sources. Those are just a few reasons to love Dino in Cleveland Park. Want more? How about an amazing happy hour from 5:30-7 (Sunday-Fridays) featuring free antipasti and 25% off drinks. Oh, and bartender Scott is a master mixologist and will help you find the perfect glass to accompany your meal.

Poste Brasserie
We’ve written about Poste’s sustainable practices before. This time, we’re all about the deal. Next time you find yourself killing time before an event at the Verizon Center, stop by from 4 to 7 (Monday-Friday) and enjoy $5 glasses of red and white wine, $5 beer, and truffled frites for just $5.

Radius Pizza
This Mount Pleasant eatery was recently bought by former Poste Brasserie employees Todd and Nicole Wiss. Although they still serve pizza, the menu now focuses on local and organic ingredients and more upscale fare. Happy hour is 5-7 and on Wednesdays you get a free bottle of vino with the purchase of a large pizza and appetizer or two entrees and an appetizer.

Redwood
Tucked away in Bethesda Row, Redwood serves a seasonal menu that showcases the best mid-Atlantic ingredients. Meats, cheeses, produce, and seafood are naturally-raised, organic, or sustainable whenever possible and are sourced from local growers. A thoughtful wine list features some organic wines and small production vintners who practice sustainable viticulture. Belly up to the 75-seat white-marble bar and treat yourself to $4-$5 food and drink specials Monday – Friday from 4 to 7:00pm.

What did we miss? Feel free to post your favorite sustainable happy hour spots in the comments section.

Localize It

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Back in the day, you had your “local”–the restaurant or bar right around the corner where you were a regular and everyone knew your name. The Daily Dish in Silver Spring is just such a place.

Housed in the same space as the former Red Dog Cafe, the Daily Dish combines comfort food (think addictive mac & cheese, fresh home-made bread, wood-oven fired pizza) with a commitment to using local ingredients.

“The Daily Dish reflects our passion for food,” says co-owner Zena Polin. “As a neighborhood restaurant, we really believe in serving delicious food made with quality ingredients. We like to serve comfort food with a twist — food that is seasonally inspired and locally sourced, whenever possible.”

Starters include baked local goat cheese with roasted tomato sauce and focaccia, homemade soups, and salads. For dinner, you can tuck into a tender brined organic roast chicken served with green beans and mashed sweet potatoes or salmon made to order and served with creamy polenta and vegetables.

Owners Polin and Jerry Hollinger bring many years of restaurant and catering experience to the venture and have tapped Chef Michael Chretien, formerly of Rock Creek Mazza restaurant, to head up the kitchen. The Daily Dish sources produce from local farmers and the Takoma Park Farmer’s Market, grains from the Silver Spring Co-Op, fair trade coffee from Silver Spring-based Clear Mountain Coffee, ice-cream from Moorenko’s, and sausages from Let’s Meat on the Avenue in Del Ray. They are also looking into getting meat and poultry from Polyface Farms.

The wine list, carefully selected by Polin for both affordability and quality, includes three organic wines (Torrontes, Malbec, and Tempranillo) from the Santa Julia vineyard in Argentina as well as several offerings from Charlottesville’s Kluge Estate.

On Sundays, don’t miss the “Make Your Own” Bloody Mary Bar, house-cured gravalax, or challah French toast. To kick the recession blues, try three-course $30 Thursdays or half-price wine Tuesdays. Who knows–with great food and deals like these, you, too, may become a regular.

The Daily Dish is located at 8301 A Grubb Road, 301.588.6300, and is open seven days a week.