Friday Roundup

Superstar

If you ever wanted to see what Gordon Ramsey would say about your perfect Mac n’ cheese, here’s your chance.  MasterChef Season 3 is casting in Washington, DC on November 12 at Trinity Washington University from 10 am til 6 pm.  JKGF was able to snag some VIP access for our readers who go to the casting call.  Anyone I send over will get a VIP ticket that allows you to skip the long line and show them your stuff leaving you the rest of the day to daydream about what you would do with that $250K grand prize. Email me @ johnna@johnnaknowsgoodfood.com with your name and email to be added to the list of VIP’s.

Celebrate

PAUL’s Bakery & Café is slated to open in Georgetown during the week of November 7.  The restaurant will open its doors in the space once belonging to the historic City Tavern @1078 Wisconsin Avenue, NW.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood Chef Gresser & Me

Pizzeria Paradiso turns 20 and I was there to witness it.  Recently, I had the opportunity to toss a pizza pie in the air with Chef/Owner Ruth Gresser (*Awesome #1), taste the new anniversary pizza (*Awesome #2) and take my very own “Johnna” pizza home (*Awesome #3).  Since Pizzeria Paradiso is one of my top five pizzerias in the area, I was absolutely delighted to celebrate with the restaurant while feasting on their Atomica, Genovese, Napoletana and 20^th Anniversary slices.  The Napoletana is my fave with the perfect amount of anchovies to evade a salt bath.  The 20^th Anniversary pie comes in second with buffalo mozzarella, speck, pine nuts, parsley, roasted garlic pesto and roasted red peppers making the cut.  The party doesn’t stop here; however, the restaurant is keeping this celebratory from November 7-13.  From $20 all you can eat Pizza & Beer on that Wednesday to the 20¢ toppings on Thursday; the restaurant is making it a special week for everyone involved.   

The Knock Out Abuse (KOA) against women will celebrate 18 years at its annual fundraiser on Thursday, November 10, 2011.  WUSA9’s Andrea Roane will emcee the event that will honor The Honorable Anthony G. Brown, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. Individual tickets are $500 and are tax deductible.  You can purchase tickets here.

Catch Me If You Can

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

This week I had the pleasure of visiting Againn again (*love putting those two words together).  This time instead of spending all my time feeding my face, I learned how to drink and appreciate a taste of Johnnie Walker Blue, Black, Gold and Red.  Complimented with the crispiest pork belly outside the Carolinas and finished with a stout ice cream on top a toffee pudding cake, Johnnie Walker may be my new winter drink.  Now that I know how to properly take in the heat, I can understand the reason scotch and whiskey drinkers stay in their zone and avoid hangovers. Cheers!

October is Virginia Wine Month, who knew?! I love it.  In addition to being one of my favorite months of the year because almost everyone is taking on some sort of breast cancer awareness cause, it is now my favorite drinking month in the District.  With Virginia taking the lead as one of the nations top wine producers, it was fascinating to see all of the wineries popping up in this region.  Who would have thought Virginia would go neck and neck with Napa Valley?? Since I do not have to take a trip cross country to get my authentic grape fix, in a few weeks I will join some of the areas top food bloggers, writers and the like for a journey to wine country. 

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

For now, it was good to see Boxwood Winery and Barboursville Vineyards at the celebration of Virginia Wine Month.

Giveaways

There are currently TWO giveaways going on JKGF.  One gets you $20 in takeout via Seamless and the other gets you full off pasta via Buitoni.  Good luck!

Tags: food, giveaways, johnnie walker, MasterChef, news, openings, pizzeria paradiso, restaurants, virginia wine country, washington dc

Category: Announcements, Food.Fun.Stuff., Washington D.C.