That '70s Show: Watergate Still Spawns Thirst, Appetites . . .
What Did You Know & When Did You Know It?: Or has it yet to dawn?
A third-rate
burglary gone sour more than 30 years ago may seem a mite stale. Yet on this
very anniversary week of the famed June 23 smoking-gun tape, reeking of Oval Office
collusion (and more recently stoked by
revelations identifying a retired FBI honcho as the legendary Deep Throat), the saga
of Watergate continues to whet appetites.
In
Washington, D.C. at the corner of M and 22nd streets, The
Ritz-Carlton Lobby Bar slakes thirst with its Deep Throat cocktail,
co-created by Ian McPhee, assistant food and beverage director, and former
colleague Colleen Evans, a PR pro. Ingredients for The Ritz-Carlton's Deep Throat potion
include Creme de Cocao, vodka and cream, with a little secret in the mix
-- A Hershey's chocolate kiss. McPhee tells DiningGuide newsletter that "you
don't see it until you're halfway through the drink -- or until you get to the
bottom of it ... because at The Ritz-Carlton, we don't kiss and tell."
Watergate fare is far meatier at
Arlington's Key Bridge Marriott, where Tom Sears, director of restaurants, tells
DGnewsletter that “our guests and staff have been having fun with all this renewed
interest in the Watergate era.” Scandal buffs may recall that in April, 1972
(before the famed June 17 break-in), White House aide Alexander Butterfield used the Key
Bridge Marriott parking lot to hand off $350,000 in cash – in $50 and $100 bills
from a Nixon campaign “reserve fund” -- to Leonard Lilly, who was to make
deliveries upon direction. Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward later met Deep
Throat at an underground garage (believed the one next door) to hash
over progress in digging up the dirt.
To that end, the Key Bridge
Marriott’s casual Allie's American Grille has unveiled its timely Top
Secret menu for lunch and dinner: Featured are both Presidential Meatloaf ($12.95),
from Pat Nixon’s own recipe (a favorite of the disgraced president), served with mashed potatoes and veggies, and the
Cloak & Dagger ($9.75), a sandwich of corned beef and Swiss cheese on grilled
rye, with fries and slaw.
The meatloaf recipe (Epicurean Blueprint
Below) was once
so popular that it was printed on White House stationery for mailing on request,
and Marriott's Sears reports that Executive Chef Todd Schofield
has "taken great care to ensure we are following the recipe as Mrs. Nixon
intended.”
From South of the Border:
It's High Time for Tortas . . .
Move
Over Italian Paninis and Vietnamese Banh Mi: Trendspotters at Nation’s Restaurant News
report restaurateurs and chefs all over are going more
global for sandwiches, with the torta – an unfussy Mexican street staple --
making inroads across America. With ingredients stuffed between sliced
roll halves, tortas hold almost any combo, from lettuce and tomato
to pork marinated in a chile paste and lime rub. Zocalo, in New York’s Grand Central Terminal
dining concourse, now sells between 80 and
100 tortas daily, and its gm, Marco Andrade, tells NRN that tortas are “as popular in Mexico as hamburgers are here.” Oona Settembre,
Dallas-based corporate chef for Dave & Buster’s, predicts we'll see "a
lot of tortas pop up on menus simply because of the ‘wow’ factor.” No matter
what the filling, Mexican eateries lean toward using either a bolillo (a soft
oval with crusty exterior) or a telera (larger, rounder with a midline crease or
two). Kelly Mullarney, corporate chef for Fransmart, owner of Tacuba Cantina
Mexicana, tells NRN that the roll needs enough texture to hold up, be
soft enough to bite, and large enough to “encapsulate all of the ingredients."
After spreading with butter or mayo and toasting on a griddle, one half often
gets a coating of refried beans, the other some mashed avocado and a dollop of
Mexican sour cream before grilling. California chain La Torta Mexican Deli touts 35 torta varieties including the Hawaiiana, filled
with grilled chicken, ham, grilled onions and bell peppers, mozzarella and
pineapple. Atlanta’s Pangaea touts three variations on teleras – pork,
grilled chicken, and braised beef.
Rosa Mexicano,
in New York, Washington, D.C., and soon in Atlanta, serves lunch tortas, including a roasted chicken, ham, bacon and mild Chihuahua cheese on ciabatta or a Kaiser roll. Plated with crispy sweet potato fries, it sells for
$11.50. Tacuba Cantina Mexicana in Alexandria, Va., also does lunch tortas — a
Cubana, a chicken/chorizo torta, and others filled with stewed chicken tinga, beef barbacoa or pork carnitas.
Most popular: The chicken/chorizo,
for $7.25. All are served with yucca fries.
So Very, Very $$$ Nice, All That Miami Spice . . .
Campo Viejo Joins Miami Spice:
For the fourth consecutive year,
Miami Spice
Restaurant Month tantalizes
prospective diners in August (and September), this time with a new presenting
sponsor, Campo Viejo Rioja Wines,
owned by Allied
Domecq Wines USA. “We’re thrilled that Campo Viejo has signed
on,” says William Talbert, top man at the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors
Bureau. Kate McManus, Campo Viejo senior marketing
manager, adds “like Miami, Spanish wines are 'en fuego'! It makes perfect
sense for Campo Viejo to support the efforts of Miami's top chefs and
restaurants through Miami Spice." The campaign stars special $20.05
lunches and three-course $30.05 dinners, sans tax and tip, at 50
top restaurants. Participating culinary hotspots include the Dining Channel’s
Chef Allen’s, and dozens of others including Atrio at the new
Conrad Miami, 1200 at the Biltmore, A Fish Called Avalon, Bal
HarbourBistro, Emeril’s Miami Beach, Purple Dolphin,
Red Fish Grill, The River Oyster Bar, Shula’s Steak House,
and Smith & Wollensky. And to fight hunger with Miami Spice, American Express is forking
out 10 cents to United Way for each American Express Card purchase. For details,
visit
Miami Spice. Campo Viejo wines include a vintage dated
Crianza, (about $9.99); a Reserva (about $12.99) and Gran Reserva
(about $24.99). For info, visit:
Campo Viejo.
Chef Allen's Tropical Mediterranean Tutorial . . .
Let Allen Susser Show You How:
Starting today and running Thursdays through July
14 are Chef Allen Susser’s Tropical Mediterranean Cooking Classes at his
Dining Channel restaurant,
Chef Allen’s, in Aventura, Florida. Here’s opportunity
to learn techniques influenced from the south of France, Spain and Italy.
Classes start at 10 a.m. on June 30 (Costa Brava with Roasted Striped Bass),
July 7 (Amalfi Coast with Pan Roasted Diver Sea Scallops), and July 14 (Morocco
with Charmoula Grilled Squid), followed by lunch at noon. Price: $90 per session, limited to no more than
12 per class. To book, call Nicole at
(305)
935-2900, ext.12, or e-mail
Nicole@chefallens.com.
Starry,
Starry Summer Nights at Mark's . . .
Prix Fixe on South
Beach & Las Olas:
Relief from summer doldrums comes
with Mark’s Summer Nights menu at two of Chef Mark Militello’s award-winning
outposts. Through August at Mark’s South Beach
on Miami Beach
and Mark’s Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, the prix fixe menu,
changing weekly, features four courses at $40 per person, sans tax and gratuity.
Hours are 7 to 11 p.m. each evening except Saturdays. Selected wines by the glass are priced
at a happy-hour-inspiring $4. Once seated, you’ll encounter an amuse bouche, followed by appetizer, main course and dessert.
To reserve, call Mark’s Las Olas, (954)
463-1000,
or Mark’s South Beach, (305)
604-9050.
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