The sleuths over at BrightestYoungThings have conjured up a list of noteworthy foodie mentions for the DC area.More than a few have me excited...especially the arrival of Maoz, a falafel chain that may just give Amsterdam Falafel a run for its money.Food News Dangerously Delicious Pies is taking orders for Thanksgiving! Details here on Capital Spice.Falafel downtown! Starting today that dream can come true. Maoz Vegetarian, an Amsterdam chain, will be serving up meat-free food starting today ... Read Full Story

Not so very long ago, I was taken to a rather unassuming corner of 14th and U Street. I was led to an industrial-looking door which opened into a nondescript hallway guarded by a lone and rather shrimpy bouncer. My immediate thought: "Oh, crap." I was on a date, and this did not look good.Fortunately for all parties involved, this somewhat frightening entrance was my gateway to The Gibson, a swank lounge rife with throwback charm. A quick knock on an interior door, and we were whisked int... Read Full Story

This is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen went to Antarctica to capture images of leopard seals. He got more than he bargained for, but not in the way you might think.(via Gizmodo) Read Full Story

Let's face it: cookbooks are so passé.As an online journalist on the cutting edge of culture, I've forgone traditional cookbooks in lieu of a more cyber approach: food blogs!One of my favorites, Not Eating Out in New York, posted last Friday a recipe so intriguing I couldn't pass it up: sweet potato gnocchi with arugula.The process looked too easy not to try. And easy it was, just incredibly time consuming. The entire dish took me close to three hours to prepare.However, I'd absolutely try ... Read Full Story

My latest adventures have taken me into the transitioning neighborhood of Columbia Heights, an area home to both the illustrious and the iffy.There's plenty of good and bad to go around here. Only in Columbia Heights can this happen a block from a brand spanking new Best Buy. It's a tragedy that has shaken the community and is yet another stumbling block on Columbia Height's road to gentrification.On a lighter note, Wonderland Ballroom goes in the plus column. It's an eclectic bastion for ... Read Full Story

Originally posted on JTA.org:MEMPHIS (JTA) -- Southern food, a deep fried country cuisine eponymous with bacon fat and crawfish, is hardly something one would expect to find on a kosher plate. But a Jewish day school here is hoping to change this perception with "Simply Southern: With a Dash of Kosher Soul," a new cookbook chronicling the history and recipes of Southern kosher cooking. Four-and-a-half years ago, the Margolin Hebrew Academy initiated a project that aimed to collect kosher rec... Read Full Story

Ah, civic duty. As I write this, I find myself seated in the waiting room of an area judicial center awaiting my jury duty selection.What charge could possibly be more American? And yet, I seem to have misplaced my sense of patriotism this morning. This, erm, great American duty is certainly what it's cracked up to be -- a friggin' pain in the ass.It's an interesting thing to be essentially trapped in a large, crowded and somewhat tepid room filled with a motley group of pensive would-be j... Read Full Story

If food is the currency of love, then L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg is the World Bank of loving goodness.That's a convoluted metaphor if I ever heard one, but stay with me on this.I visited L'Academie de Cuisine last week for a group cooking lesson called 'Moroccan Delights' on the wonders of Moorish cuisine. Don't know the difference between a sauté and a simmer? The academy has got your back.The menu was fairly straightforward: a dish with chicken simmered in prunes, almonds and s... Read Full Story

Thirsty Washingtonians, take heed! The Pumpernickel has discovered the best gosh darn Happy Hour this side of the Potomac.Chef Geoff's Downtown restaurant near Federal Triangle is an oasis in a city of often mundane and incongruously named Happy Hours.Unlike other Happy Hour menus, there's a lot of variety at Chef Geoff's. Long necks go for $2.95 and Estrella wines for $5.95, but the real boozy draw is the $7.95 Super Mug, a drink not for the faint of heart. These gargantuan glasses of cold... Read Full Story

Zac Efron took to Capitol Hill yesterday to lobby for more funding for the arts in public schools.Efron, along with actress Claire Danes and director Richard Linklater, met with White House officials including Kal Penn, the former Hollywood star who now serves as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.According to The Hill:Efron's films reportedly have been screened at the White House, but Danes joked that "Michelle didn't let them play sick today." Earlier this yea... Read Full Story