This episode of Munchies takes Aziz Ansari, Michael Rapaport, Ethan Suplee and Zach McGowan to Los Angeles’ Animal restaurant, the brainchild of chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. A 15-passenger van filled to capacity with the city’s finest stars tours the city’s moveable feast of Korean BBQ, vinegar chicken, cabeza tacos, ginger ale and caramel-drenched doughnuts.

Munchies takes you behind the scenes of some of the country’s top kitchens, featuring interviews with chefs about local food and culture.

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http://www.vbs.tv/watch/munchies/animal

What started as a movement to rethink the way Americans mass-produce and mass-consume food seems to be inspiring an even closer-to-home slow movement. For years we’ve all been buzzing over the vast internet’s triumph over quaint print media. Meanwhile, multitasking was made easier with the help of 43 folders, women’s magazines, as shrill as ever, insist we can do it all (so long as we organize it correctly) and Apple trumpets in on a daily basis yeah, there’s an app for that.

via coolhunting.net

Fashion, of course, is one of those consumption-driven industries (perhaps more like the food industry than any other) that requires a constant fount of new material and ideas. Take the random appearance, for instance of a new “pre-fall” season — as if three collections per year, plus whatever pop-up/collab/capsule collection designers are required to churn out, isn’t work enough. And on the other side of the looking glass, bloggers and internet celebrities skip the whole career-building process, occupying front rows with the old dogs who’ve worked decades to be there.

Is it just me or does the whole thing feel really 1990s in a hyper-competent, democratized, tech-bubble kind of way?  It feels like the fast food and the fast fashion and the internet wunderkinds and the meaningless parade of information down an RSS feed is beginning to buckle. We’re finding more value in local produce than big business bulk, handmade and vintage items over fast-fashion replicas and an artfully considered opinion over a newcomer’s musings.

courtesy jeremyscott.com

We were all really psyched about H&M, for instance, because the looks we craved were suddenly affordable — until we began to suffer from bulging closet syndrome. Value did not valuable make. Like the local farmers markets popping up all the time (and which are notoriously expensive), sites like Etsy.com, which sells only handmade and vintage wares, are also flourishing.

Ultimately, the meaninglessness inherent in the fast was the straw that broke (or will break) the camel’s back. In this month’s GOOD Magazine, themed the Slow Issue, Jamais Cascio says that “recognizing that humans can’t compete with the processing speed of computerized systems, the slow movement is a catalyst for rules that support greater reflection and consideration.” As people we happen to be endowed with a unique ability to reflect, consider, deliberate and opine. There’s no reason we should force ourselves to be second-rate computers.

It doesn’t seem like I’m alone here either. The recent Allstate commercials (yeah, lame I know, but I do get moved by commercials now and again) claim this recession may have made us great. I would claim (well, hope) it made us slow. The commercial shows images of growing backyard produce, refinishing a chair, sewing a garment, biking to work. I’m not sure if it was financial ruin or one too many 4-star Yelp restaurants that turned out to be shitty, but I’m excited that right now, this year, we’re going to start doing things the old fashioned way.

courtesy nytimes.com

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To see more from Zinzi Edmundson, visit: http://evilmonito.com/author/zinzi/

For many in the Washington Metropolitan Area who have dined at local Chinese restaurants in the area, an assortment of dishes served in metal steamers is usually pushed to the table by a server on Sunday afternoon during brunch. Often times, patrons were puzzled from what was handpicked from the cart and placed in the middle of the table. If you’re looking for a new way of having dim sum, Ping Pong provides a different experience by serving up hot and steamy dim sum seven days a week.

The UK based restaurant also provides a different experience, where a printed list of the menu is placed on the table for patrons to mark off selections of hand-made dim sum (similar to a sushi menu). I recommend starting off with one of Ping Pong’s flowering jasmine tea that blossoms after hot water is poured and moving on to steamed and fried dishes to share. The first dish ordered was the Smoked duck and orange salad, a small serving of mixed greens dressed lightly with lemon and soy dressing with thin slices of smoked duck.

Within a few minutes of making our dim sum selections, the server brought bamboo baskets full of delectable treats to the table. The bite-sized servings came out in bamboo baskets, with four pieces of steamed and fried dishes. The baskets are excellent for sustaining the heat, flavor and texture of dim sum. My favorite steamed dishes are the Crabmeat & prawn dumpling, prawn Har gau and the Spicy pork dumpling. The Prawn toast, flavored with garlic and coriander and sesame seeds, was an excellent dish from the fried menu. We ended the meal with Lemon chicken that was served with a delicious chili, honey and lemon sauce.

Ping Pong’s menu features soups, baked, steamed, griddled and fried dim sum. Signature dishes, salads, desserts, tea and herbal infusions are also offered. We skipped out on dessert and ordered signature cocktails (try the Ping Pong and/or Kumquat Mojito).

The set menu is great for an introduction to dim sum. The décor and ambiance for intimate gatherings is excellent at the bar or seated section. The restaurant also features seating in front of the open kitchen and group seating at the bar area. As stated previously, if you’re looking for a non-traditional dim sum experience in a modern day setting, this is a great place to start your indulgence in dim sum. In a few weeks, a special menu for happy hour and discounted dim sum will be unveiled.

It’s not the typical Chinese mom and pop dim sum restaurant but certainly worth checking out for anyone who is open to trying something different in the District.

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Ping Pong Dim Sum
900 7th Street NW
FOOD MENU – DRINK MENU

Cross-posted on ReadysetDC.

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To see more from Allicia, visit: http://evilmonito.com/author/atek/

Machine Project recently celebrated the holidays in that time-honored Machine way by submerging food in boiling oil and frying till, laced with artery-clogging cholesterol. This year’s “Fry B-Q” was expanded with the addition of the “Freeze-B-Q” where liquid nitrogen was poured over things such as blended fruit. The nitrogen froze them instantly, resulting in frozen delicacies such as marshmallow pops and ice cream shots.

2009 was a year of firsts for Machine as it continued to evolve.  Due to its popularity, for the first time, they decided to limit the event to members only (Machine’s membership, however, starts at a paltry five dollars.).

Another first was the “Freeze-B-Q,” introduced at Machine’s 4th of July celebrations. Two familiar faces manned the “freeze” table, Jeff and Cindy. And if you’ve been to previous Machine events, you probably remember them serving up everything from noodles to pancakes (The duo’s first event was the opening of the Forest installation built inside Machine’s Echo Park location.).

Mark Allen mans the table at the first Freeze-B-Q in July 2009.

Christy and Sara who were responsible for the Forest installation were also responsible for the ornamental archway under which an electric guitarist sounded out the hour during “Machine’s take over of LACMA“ in 2008. In 2009 a book about the historic event was released. For those who could not afford the hard copy, a free down-loadable PDF file was offered. As far as I know, this was the first time Machine has had a book published about their happenings.

 The Forest, by Christy McCaffrey and Sara Newey.

The Machine/ LACMA relationship continued thorough out the year of 2009 with several long time artists doing stints at the museum. From Robin Sukhadia, who did a talk on the history of Bollywood film scores (Machine’s first resident artist) to Emily Lacey, who is currently doing residency which continues through January 31st. Emily opened with her residency with the piece, Temples of the Mind, on the same day that the Machine book launch was held atop the historic LACMA West building (formerly Macy’s department store). Temples of Mind was performed in LACMA’s Japanese Pavilion, and consisted of wholly improvised sounds that were strung together to create a haunting effect.

Pictures from Machine’s takeover of LACMA in 2008. (Photos courtesy of Machine Project)

Emily Lacey performs Temple of the Mind. Photo by Marianne Williams.

Perhaps the biggest first was the “Machine Project Benefit” that took place at Coco’s Variety Store. The event echoed the LACMA event in that it compressed a few months worth of projects into one day (or a few hours in the case of the Benefit). Guests got to try their hand at stealing laser-protected art, wager on slime mold races, pan for gold, make smores, get fake Getty Museum IDs, and other Machine wackiness.

Pictures from Machine Project’s Benefit, 2009. (Photos courtesy of Machine Project.)

The year-end “Fry-B-Q” was a fitting end to an eventful year. While four fryers were busy frying up whatever people brought in (such as chocolate covered bacon), Jeff and Cindy were mixing-up ice cream shots.  They started with lots of Bourbon, milk, chocolate syrup and bananas. Then poured on the magic liquid nitrogen and…Voila!  We had spiked ice cream! Serve in shot-sized cups and it is guaranteed to turn your mild-mannered “Fry-B-Q” into a major dance party. Fueled by ice cream shots and beer brewed specifically for Machine Project, the event end time came and went and even though the nitrogen had run out and the Freeze-B-Q table had closed up shop (which meant no more ice-cream shots) people weren’t leaving.

Pictures from the 2009, Fry-B-Q. (Photos courtesy of Machine Project.)

The fryers became the scene of liquid fat based experiments. What do you think would happen if we fried an egg? It’ll explode – go for it!

And what does the New Year hold for Machine? 2009 showed a marked increase in projects and events a trend which no doubt will continue in 2010. Collaboration with other art institutions around town continues unabated with this year seeing the addition of the Hammer museum in Westwood (or as Mark Allen, founder of Machine Project, likes to call it – Machine West) to the list.  

As Mark, stated in his interview in the New York Times, “…It’s like we have this home theater that produces plays there, but we are also developing this ability to take shows on the road.” In this tough economic climate, collaboration seems to be in everyone’s interest. And as art institutions come together, helping each other survive, they in the process end up adding new and interesting dimensions to themselves. So far, the huge Fungi Fest has been the first of Machine’s projects at the Hammer with Mark also being a part of a workshop at the Hammer on developing your own art space which takes place this Saturday.

And after that…it remains to be seen what’s in store.

Fungi Fest 2010 in Echo Park
Machine Projects – Los Angeles, CA
1/16 – 1/23/10

With eight to twelve inches of rain in Southern California’s  forecast, now is the time to brush up on your mushroom identification skills.  Mushroom hunting is one of my favorite hobbies.  Gourmet mushrooms are pricey and finding a bag full of Chanterelles is liking finding delicious gold nuggets.  Just make sure you have a competent mycologist properly identify them for you.  There is a  real art to finding mushrooms.  They blend in with the leaves on the ground.  They can be right in front of you, but you won’t see them.  Then all of a sudden you find one and another, and then the entire hillside is covered with them.  Chanterelles are a safe specimen to start with.  With the gold color, veins, and fruity smell it only takes a little experience before you can comfortably cook them up without any concerns.  Watch out for ticks and poison oak and just keep looking beneath the oak trees in the leaves.

Come out to Machine Projects innovative, interactive experience with our fungi friends.  Audience members can watch strange mushroom monster flicks, taste mushroom-flavored ice cream and there will even be some slime mold racing!

Saturday January 16th, 8pm – At Machine Project
Mushroom collecting tutorial, screening of mushroom-themed short films, mushroom flavored gelato from Scoops, chanterelle schnapps, slime mold racing and more!

Monday January 18th, 7:30pm – At the Museum of Natural History
Meeting of the Los Angeles Mycological Society, all are welcome.

http://www.lamushrooms.org/

Thursday January 21st, 6-9pm At the Hammer Museum
Ask a mycologist, mushroom dancing, special mystery guest, mushroom-themed short films and more!

Saturday January 23rd, 8pm (mushroom walk in the morning) – At Machine Project
Guided mushroom walk (time and place to be announced), mushroom ID session, special mystery guest, harvesting and cooking of oyster mushrooms, mushroom music.

LOCATION:
1200 D North Alvarado
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-483-8761

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For more on Machine Projects, visit: http://machineproject.com

For more on this event: http://theguide.latimes.com/los-angeles-county/events-and-festivals/fungifest-2010-event

Technology has certainly influenced our lives in ways beyond traditional communication methods. Social networking is no longer for just friends and families to stay in touch with one another but also a great tool for connecting local businesses to their customers. With the rise of new media, many entrepreneurs have started to use online social networking websites like Twitter or Facebook to engage with their market.

Last year, street food in major cities across the country experienced a new way to dine out in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco as well as Washington. In DC, food vendors have been located in the bustling intersection of famous buildings, monuments and museums along the National Mall by serving half-smokes, egg rolls, pizza, ice cream to tacos and more. Food trucks became transit around the District in 2007 and the trend of tweeting food trucks emerged on the Internet last year.

A phenomenon took place in California during 2008 within the street food scene. Roy Choi of Los Angeles started Kogi, the infamous Korean and Mexican fusion food truck, in late 2008. With the use of Twitter and 140 characters, Kogi’s Twitter followers were instantly updated on the truck’s location during lunch and late night hours. Kogi’s popularity also launched new business opportunities for others outside L.A.’s food scene to other cities.

On the Fly started in 2007 to offer a supplementary menu for the locals and tourists alike with vegetarian dishes as well as popular snacks. By teaming up with local businesses to serve up empanadas (from Julia’s Empanadas), burgers, vegetarian tacos and other dishes made from local ingredients, On the Fly became an instant hit. It was something new and refreshing to DC Foodies. On the Fly has also tweeted their menu options and locations. 2009 paved way for more food trucks in the District, including Sweetflow Mobile from Sweetgreen. Offering fro-yo and healthy salads on the go, Sweetflow Mobile has been trucking around town to DC’s partygoers and lunch crowds. Both On the Fly and Sweetflow Mobile are on Twitter with live updates.

Following the Fojol Brothers

The Fojol Brothers

Photo Source: Kevin H.

In December, they made a special visit to Long View Gallery for ReadysetDC’s “For the Love of DC” launch party, a partnership with local businesses that offered attendees an art installation by local artists, an open bar provided by Modern Liquors (local liquor store), Marvin (local restaurant and bar) and music entertainment by DC’s very own Tittsworth, spoken words and music by Bullfight Academy and performances by DC bands Laughing Man and Tennis System. Twitter followers were alerted that the food truck will be posted at a specific intersection on December 10, revealing that the Fojol Brothers will be making a special appearance at “For the Love of DC.” With the combination of local participants, the Fojol Brother’s involvement was the perfect treat to top off the night. By the end of the evening, DC Twitter users sought out the launch party to get a bite of Chicken Curry or Spinach & Cheese with basmati rice.

With more cupcakeries opening shop in the District, Sam Whitfield along with business partner Kristi Cunningham, debuted Curbside Cupcakes in late 2009 with tasteful delights in flavors that include chocolate, red velvet, vanilla and delicious toppings. Like the others, Curbside Cupcake launched their business by marketing on Facebook and Twitter. The latest addition to traveling food trucks is DC Slices, who announced on Twitter that they will be “DC’s first mobile pizza kitchen! Baking up fun and Thin Crust pizza on the go” yesterday. With four food trucks in the District, DC Slices will be the next food truck to feed the masses in February.

Tweeting to DC’s hungry residents is just the beginning in Washington, as I suspect that more creative concepts will come our way in the near future. #dcfoodtrucks

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To see more from Allicia, visit: http://evilmonito.com/author/atek/

Celebrate the New Year with Fine Wine and Tacos
Silverlake Wine – Silverlake, CA
2/3/10

Join Silverlake Wine to ring in the new year with the first Sunday Tasting of 2010 (Twenty Ten). Featured wines are all from Argentina and the food is courtesy of one of the best mobile taco trucks in LA, TACOZONE.   The coveted truck can usually be found at its normal location in front of the Von’s on Alvarado @ Montana in Echo Park.

Reservations required 323.662.9024 $20 per person. Tasting starts promptly at 3pm.

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For more info, visit: http://www.silverlakewine.com/

The Bloggomist: Today’s Dish/Yesterday’s Spam
Lifestyle Opinion

I wasn’t expecting “Risotto With Squid Ink and Ricotta” to pop up when I typed in Christmas + news into a Yahoo! search engine. Maybe I should have used Google, I don’t know. Regardless – this little pearl popped up as the first on the list of featured holiday recipes from the New York Times.

At first I scoffed. “Squid Ink Risotto” has sort of a silly, magical ring to it, bringing to mind Harry Potter rather than Pete Wells, or any of the newspaper’s other exalted Dining editors.

As I read down the list of delectables, the Squid Ink dish stuck out sorely amongst the other holiday cuisine featured – classic dishes just dripping with holiday spirit, such as Louisiana Gingerbread, Moroccan Leg of Lamb (reminds me of Nativity), Glazed Holiday Ham, and simply put, Eggnog.

Then my own snobby, unreasonable, Eurocentric hypocrisy struck me. Who am I to judge Squid Ink and what constitutes a real Christmas recipe? My own family never followed any discernable Christmas food traditions, at least not in any Anglo-Saxon sense. We never had ham, or turkey, or … whatever it is you’re “supposed” to eat on Christmas.

But we did have duck. Juicy, fatty, uniquely-Chinese duck. Usually pot-luck style at the house of some seemingly random Auntie/Uncle.  Stir fry took the place of potatoes, and glass noodles and onion pancake stood in for biscuits and rolls. Instead of Christmas cookies, we would usually enjoy my mother’s famed almond letters pastry, which I just learned is apparently some Michigan woman’s Christmas tradition as well.

And squid ink, apparently, is not that exotic. Foodies are familiar with it, and you can actually purchase jars of it if you’re crazy. Also, allegedly, Filipinos are no stranger to squid ink.

“It comes out when you cook the squid,” my boyfriend said. “Duh.”

Hello Kitty Menorah

So there you go. Holiday stereotypes dismissed, Asian stereotypes re: weird food reaffirmed. And lastly, this week’s best site – www.urlesque.com

Spreading the holiday cheer, Urlesque.com (“Exposing bits of the web”) generally links and compiles content from other sites into one convenient forum. They have a fantastic collection of holiday content, including:

(1) Sketchy Santas

(2) The 27 Craziest Menorahs

(3) Weird Christmas Trees

(4) Top 5 Videos of Non-Traditional Christmas Songs

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To see more from Jennifer Chen, visit: http://evilmonito.com/author/jennifer/

Some women, when they crave, fantasize about sweets. Hot fudge sundaes, red velvet cupcakes, chocolate-covered anything and everything… but me? I want none of it. My hankerings typically run to the spice. If I can get that heat fried? Nice. Now if you can make it a chicken wing, oh, baby. You just might persuade me to do something I’d not in my right mind.

If you’ve lived in Los Angeles long enough, you’re familiar with Koreatown’s OB Bear, a place of dubious upholstery and tobacco smoke infused into its wood walls. OB’s 양념 닭 날개/yang nyum dalk nal gae/spicy-sauced chicken wings are a fabled thing, a vivid preparation everyone and her mother knows about — it actually was my mom who introduced this sticky icky of dishes to me many years ago — and finding a drummette equal to OB’s in sheer unctuousness and brazen disregard for morning-after BTS* is a difficult thing.

But what’s great about that rendition is also what’s not: it’s only available after dark; it’s not one-diner friendly; it’s near impossible to order without succumbing to the pressure to “Add a beer [or three] to that?” This also means that getting my OB-wing fix requires planning and, usually, a designated driver. So what’s a girl to do when she’s got to have some combination of crisp and hot and hot and fowl for lunch or an early dinner? Enter the House of Joy.

House of Joy, otherwise known as Jin Heung Gak, is a Korean-style Chinese restaurant that has been in business since 1984. Tucked into the far corner of a strip mall on N. Pacific Ave. across the street from HK Market, House of Joy offers an impressive, cost-effective lunch menu available on weekdays from 11:30 – 3:00 p.m. While locals drop in at all business hours to get jja-jang myun (noodles with black bean sauce) or jjam-ppong (spicy seafood soup noodles), my devotion to the Peking chicken won’t deign to consider other options. For $9 and change — which includes tax and a 20% tip — the lunch special provides soup (neither briny nor bland); fried or steamed rice; a cream cheese rangoon and an eggroll (think double-robusto length and girth); and 9 — count ‘em, nine – meaty drummettes and winglets in all their spicy-sweet, crispy-crunch, all-over-your-fingers-and-teeth-sticky gallinaceousness.

Plenty of people, Koreans included, get all kinds of weirded-out by a person’s dining alone, so I enter the House knowing I’ll get quizzical/pitying/sometimes even smug looks when I order sans escort. But it honestly doesn’t bother me. Because when that plate comes out and those wings all orange in their peppery flame land before me, there is Joy in the House. And it resides in the Peking.For hours, menu, and directions, visit: http://houseofjoychinese.com/default.aspx

*BTS: Send me a message or post your question if you’ve a burning curiosity about this. (Trust me. It’s better to learn after you’ve read the article.)

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For more by E. Tae Cha, visit: www.evilmonito.com/author/elaine.

Graffiti Gone Global
Art Basel Miami Beach – Miami, FL
12/4 to 12/6/09

Graffiti Gone Global, presented by SUSHISAMBA, will take place December 4 to 6, during Art Basel Miami Beach. Curated by James and Karla Murray, authors of best-selling titles Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, Miami Graffiti, Broken Windows and Burning New York, the exhibition will feature a selection of work from today’s top street artists. This groundbreaking exhibition, set to take place in a 4,000 square-foot venue in the Midtown Arts District, will be the largest of its kind in Miami.

Exhibiting artists include: 131 Projects (Argentina), Aiko Nakagawa (Japan), Armogedon 2057 (Armenia), Billi Kid (Colombia), Crome (Miami), Cycle (NYC), David Cooper (NYC), Doze Green (NYC), Ewok One 5MH (NYC), Flip (Brazil), Ghost aka Cousin Frank (NYC), Jana Joana (Brazil), Lady Pink (Ecuador), Nina (Brazil), Shiro (Japan), Smael (Brazil), Sofia Maldonado (Puerto Rico), Suiko (Japan) and Vitché (Brazil).

Reaching beyond the typical white walls of an art fair, SUSHISAMBA has commissioned Miami-based architect HOX (Douglas Hoekzema) to design a sprawling, Brazilian-inspired favela structure for Graffiti Gone Global. HOX’s exhibition design consists of interlocking components of wood and steel that may be detached and sold as separate units, some of which will bear a signature graffiti piece. In addition, custom furniture designed by the several of the participating artists will be available for purchase. Shimon Bokovza, concept developer of SUSHISAMBA restaurants, Sugarcane Lounge and Graffiti Gone Global, along with partners Danielle Billera and Matt Johnson, has consistently demonstrated his support for street artists. In addition to producing and underwriting previous exhibitions such as GINZATROPICALIA, he has commissioned site-specific street art in SUSHISAMBA restaurants throughout the country. The recently opened Sugarcane Lounge in Las Vegas, NV features work from Graffiti Gone Global’s Brazilian artist “FLIP” Felipe Yung.

About James & Karla Murray
For the last 15 years, married authors and photographers, James and Karla Murray have been documenting the streets of New York and Miami, publishing three best-selling books on the graffiti scene, Miami Graffiti (Prestel Publishing 2009), Broken Windows (Gingko Press 2002) and Burning New York (Gingko Press 2006). Faithfully documenting the generations-old stores and shops of New York’s neighborhoods resulted in their critically acclaimed book, STORE FRONT: The Disappearing Face of New York released by Gingko Press in 2009. Their photographs and articles have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Stern, Mass Appeal, and Time Out New York. James and Karla Murray were also the subjects of numerous documentary programs, “Around Town with Cat Greenleaf” on WNBC TV in May 2009, “NY Style” and “NY Streets” on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) in April 2009 and February 2007.

About SUSHISAMBA
SUSHISAMBA offers inventive fare that unites bold Brazilian flavors, precise Japanese technique and traditional Peruvian culinary traditions on one plate. In addition to the Las Vegas debut, SUSHISAMBA has outposts in New York, Chicago, Miami and Tel Aviv.

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http://graffitigoneglobal.blogspot.com/

For nearly a decade, Tierra Miguel Farm has been growing organic fruits and vegetables in Pauma Valley, one of the last pristine agricultural valleys in California. TMF’s many programs are designed to provide stewardship of this precious farmland as well as to create positive change to the human and environmental health of our immediate community.

Since their founding on February 14, 2000, more than 30,000 children and adults have participated in their programs. Their mission is to inform and educate on the value of local sustainable agricultural practices and to demonstrate these practices on our 85-acre working produce farm. They aim to strengthen the connection between people and the source of their food. With ecological sustainability and human health in mind, they choose to be CCOF certified organic and to use Bio-Dynamic agricultural preparations that restore harmony to the farm, heal the earth, and improve the nutritive quality of produce.

Image courtesy of Fravit.net, licensed under Creative Commons.

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To learn more about Tierra Miguel Foundation, go here.

Ben Ali, founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl, passed away a few weeks ago.  Lines have stretched out the door of the Ali family’s business as the DC community has gathered to honor Ben’s legacy. For many of us in DC, Ben’s Chili Bowl goes far beyond the half-smokes, shakes and chili served in Washington’s historical U Street corridor (the intersection of 14th and U Streets).  Having survived gentrification and culture clashes, the Ali family’s business became a cultural institution since the 1950s.

Photo Source: TallRobert via Flickr

At 1213 U Street NW, Ben along with his wife, Virginia, began construction at an old silent movie theater. The Alis opened their business in DC’s “Black Broadway” in 1958 and attracted many performers, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Duke Ellington, Bill Cosby and Nat King Cole. They operated a business during the days of segregated Washington when most establishments were white-only. Decades later, the business would go on to operate as a late night hot spot by becoming a crossway of blacks, whites, punk rockers in the ‘80s, gay couples, government workers, residents from Virginia and Maryland suburbs. In 2009, Ben’s Chili Bowl became a destination for DC tourism after Mayor Fenty and President Obama had lunch in January.

Photo Source: Travlr

It’s hard to imagine that 41 years ago, this area ignited into fire and riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968. Many businesses became vacant after the riots but a little hope remained in U Street as Ben’s Chili Bowl operated to serve the homeless, firefighters and activists who worked to restore the damage. Having survived the riot of ‘68, Ben’s Chili Bowl was the only operating business in U Street.  The Ali family would go on to become a model for black-owned business in DC.

Mary Battiata of the Washington Post wrote,

And what a world. Top hats and satin slip-dresses and silver screens and jazz. Look! There’s Cab Calloway. Look! It’s Pearl Bailey. Streetcars and speakeasies. Langston Hughes wrote poetry here. Duke Ellington grew up and played. It was the place to be in black Washington from 1920 until the ’60s. Handsome buildings built with black capital, designed by black architects and made by black hands. Nobel Peace Prize winners rubbing shoulders with milliners rubbing shoulders with professors and dishwashers and shoeshine men and schoolteachers and government clerks.

Photo Source: AP Photo

Fifty years after Dr. King’s death, the U Street area would also become the location to celebrate the election of President Obama. After President Obama was declared the 44th President and first African-American President, DC residents flooded U Street to celebrate the occasion. This was also one of the first neighborhoods that DC Mayor Adrian Fenty took the President to during his first week in Washington. Since then, the line has become larger for an opportunity to have the infamous chili and half-smoke.

Although developers of new resident spaces and businesses are on a quest to transform the neighborhood, Ben’s original half-smokes and chili have always remained the same to serve the hungry for more than half a century. Ben’s Chili Bowl is recognized for being an important staple of DC’s culture and history, a place that is only found in DC and unique to the locals. It goes beyond the half-smokes to us in the nation’s capital.

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For more by Allicia, visit http://evilmonito.com/author/Atek/

The difficulty of finding the tiny spot was ultimately worth it. Over the next few months, Soy Café’s lemongrass chicken and freshly pickled vegetables were the only thing I’d eat between bread (and believe me: when you teach, sandwich discrimination’s no joke). Viet’s delicately jicama-crunched spring rolls had me pretty sprung, too. Other menu items definitely looked very promising, but as anyone who knows me well will confirm, I can’t handle much more than a half-serving of any dish at one sitting. And there was this thing, something elusive about Soy Café that made it wrong to take leftovers home. Was it its almost hidden location? its actual spatial economy? its pensiveness, borne of thoughtfully, quietly handmade food? Perhaps it was that Wong Kar Wai-esque temporality of mundane activity (assisted, in no small part, by the In the Mood for Love OST oft played from portable stereo) so very singular that imagining resumption or replication of the experience elsewhere, in either time or space, was a sort of affront….?

Whatever it was, it made even the notion of a doggy bag a grave offense. For this reason – and because I actually loved to eat there alone – I contented myself with VSC’s nevertheless splendid banh mi and stiff Vietnamese iced coffee. Because, I’m not joking, that was all my damnable stomach could manage. More than once I’d glanced furtively, longingly at others’ generous bowls. I coveted my neighbours’ rice (-noodles, that is); and I confess, unabashed, that I did so on very many, ungodly occasions.

Viet Soy Café ended up shutting its doors by the end of 2007, when its proprietor and loyal clientele moved, a few miles away, to Atwater Village. Viet Noodle Bar, Soy Café’s arguably chic-er and certainly more capacious sibling, has a different feel from its elder/smaller. The majority of its seating is communal, and one of its mostly-white walls is lined with all manner of tasteful used books. Its menu has also expanded to include some beef along with its standard soy, chicken, and fish. But what’s stayed the same is what’s key for me, and one particular dish – the soyskin noodle – has drawn me back to Viet Noodle Bar at least once every week for the last month.

As I’m loath to kill your appetite with overwrought description of the dish’s components, suffice it to say that these ingredients:
- custom-ordered, fresh from-rice (not dried from-rice flour) bun
- savoury fried soyskin
- warm stewed tomato
- juicy chunked shiitake
- oil-crisped spring onion
- roughly chopped cilantro
come together to form a most satisfying, satiating meal that I’ll wager you’ll like more with every serving.

When you sample this, do yourself the great favour of going solo: a dish like this – pillowy, chewy, earthy, crispy and fresh, subtle yet substantive and unassumingly good – deserves full attention. Allot ample time, too. Eat without haste. Consider bites more consciously than you would a semolina pasta or brothy noodle. Arranged mouthsful enjoyed unhurriedly will taste deeper than those shoveled into your maw — this isn’t pretension, folks, it’s due respect for simple ingredients — and since these noodles won’t blow up Stay-Puft steez if you take your time, resist rushing and slow yo’ roll. If eating alone is neither customary nor completely comfortable for you, pull down something uncomplicated from the shelf so you can maintain a focus on the food. That one Dan Brown book should expect a half-eye/mind, and Trondheim probably wouldn’t mind your just looking at his pictures.

Before I left my last visit, Viet asked, “Do you take chicken?” and added, with characteristic aplomb, that his O.G. Northern-style pho ga (chicken pho; his done with organic bird) had made Bon Appetit’s nationwide list of “Top Ten Asian Noodles”. The Polite Girl in me smiled, “Yes, yes… I’ll definitely try it…”; the Contrarian within intoned, “Away from the bandwagon!” While I’m fairly certain the Curious will sometime win that argument and celebrate with poultry reward, I’m even surer I’ll choose the soyskin at least nine more times before I go for the ga. It’s really that good.

For hours and directions, visit: http://www.vietnoodlebar.com/

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For more from E. Tae Cha, visit: www.evilmonito.com/author/elaine

To style a fashion editorial or an advertisement, it takes an entire team to produce an effective and more importantly, engaging pictorial. There are many details that go into these projects and often enough, the consumer, reader or viewer is not aware of how industrious these ventures can be. From make-up and wardrobe to set design and product placement, a certain sensibility and work ethic is commanded.

From what I can remember, I was always fascinated with how photographs came to life and narrated a story. Whether it was a fashion spread, a home interior piece, or a celebrity portrait, it was intriguing (and still is) how a blank canvas could be sculpted into an illustration. At times, inanimate objects become the focus and the model becomes void as ornaments synchronize and weave together. For those of you interested in getting to know who these amazing designers and stylists are,  Judy Inc. provides clients with a roster of artists who specialize in a variety of work, ranging from roomset and prop design to food/tabeltop decor. Purview for yourself – I am sure you will be impressed.

Kurt Salt

Risa Knight                                                                    Kah Li

Kert Salt

Hadrien

Deborah Ferguson

Midori

Ryan Jennings                                                                Ashley Denton

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For more info and illustrations, visit Judy Inc. here