Johnna Knows Good Food

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Food.Fun.Stuff: Mixed Up


Mixed up news:

>Sticky situation for Founding Farmers. Looks like the restaurant was promoting a "farm-to-table" menu dedicated to American farmers. The WP (*Translation: Washington Post) food reporter, Jane Black, found large companies actually supply the restaurant's chicken and beef and that not all of the small farms listed on the menu supplied the restaurant (*ouch Founding Farmers.). Black continues the research into the challenges facing restaurants that boasts sustainable food and whether it is possible to live up to this standard when smaller family farms can not produce as much as larger suppliers. The price however rises with the use of smaller farms which raises the price for diners who want to "eat green" but do not want a hike in the price. Kind of a catch 22...but Founding Farmers what's going on?? More info here.

>The last time we had a carrot cake to run home and talk about it was ironically @ The Palm which is generally known for its steaks and seafood. The carrot cake wasn't the best we've had but it was stacked sooo high we were mesmerized for a minute. The Source is going for the gold on this one by offering a 15-layer carrot cake (*a slice is pictured above) this holiday season for purchase. Executive Chef Scott Drewno's moist, spiced cake w/ cream cheese filling will be made-to-order and made Sietsema's "Ten Sweet Endings" list in the WP Dining Guide 2009.

The Money: Small (4-8 ppl)=$30, Medium (10-12 ppl)=$60 and Large (12-20 ppl)=$90
Orders?: Call (202) 637-6100 or email sourcecakes@wolfgangpuck.com

>Giveaway courtesy Capital Spice: DC food bloggers, Capital Spice, have a new giveaway going on featuring a prize package to include Top Chef Season 5 on DVD and the new Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook.

What you need to do to for a chance to win? Each entrant must post a suggestion for a Top Chef Elimination Challenge that would highlight something uniquely Washington, whether it's a location, an ingredient, an event or a possible guest judge.

The When: The contest is going on now until Wednesday night @ 10 pm (December 9, 2009) which is the start of the Top Chef finale. The winner will be announced on Thursday.

>We are very familiar with the owner of Z Burger, Peter Tabibian. He is one of our favorite restaurant owners in the area and we were excited to see the WP columnist, Tom Heath highlight his accomplishments. His story is inspiring: Fleeing Iran in 1982 with his family, his first business began as selling candy bars for $1, working @ Burger King taking the trash out and washing dishes...and now the owner of multiple establishments. Shall we say a happy ending?! More of his story here.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous Julius Smith said...

Congrats Peter T., owner of Z-burger. He is a great guy and I wish him nothing but continued success.

December 8, 2009 at 12:50 PM  
Anonymous Jennifer Motruk Loy said...

Hello Johnna,

Jennifer from Founding Farmers here - you know what great fans of our blog we are, so we are more than happy to give you the full story! There is a lot of information that wasn't shared in the Washington Post, and would be great for you and your readers to see.

Please visit http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/ - the response starts on the home page - and thanks for the forum. There's a LOT of chatter out there, which can only be good for everyone to learn more about sustainable agriculture and how we remain dedicated to being the Greenest Restaurant in DC.

Cheers,
Jennifer
Director of Marketing

December 9, 2009 at 3:00 PM  
Blogger Johnna Knows Good Food: Yum Yum, Gimme Some! said...

Thanks Jennifer! Like always there are two sides to every story. I really like Founding Farmers and am glad to see this.

December 9, 2009 at 5:01 PM  

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