A foodie is defined as "a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food." Recently, we believe that the term "foodie" has taken on a definition of "food snob" or a certain assumed level of elitism, which is easy to understand because people can be just as emotional and opinionated about food as they are about politics or religion. We're looking to change that stereotype with this web site and open the foodie world up to everyone who loves food, regardless of ingredient or cost.
D.C. Foodies is a place where people can read about our adventures in dining in the D.C. metro region. This web site provides information about anything and everything food related in the Washington, DC metro area and beyond. Here you'll find information about restaurants, food or wine events, wine reviews, cheese, cooking and recipes, farmers' markets, and the list grows every day.
Are you interested in writing for DCFoodies.com? We're always looking for writers for all sorts of topics related to food including cooking, baking, shopping, wine, dining/restaurant reviews, desserts, buzz, etc. If so, please email a writing sample to [email protected] or send us examples of writing you've done on other web sites in the past -- even a list of posts on Chowhound, DR.com, or E-Gullet.
D.C. Foodies is...
Jason Storch
Founder and Editor
Jason started D.C. Foodies, D.C.'s first food blog, back in 2004 because he needed a hobby outside of his real job to keep him from going out of his mind. It's original purpose of D.C. Foodies was to detail Jason's dining experiences at restaurants and describe them from a value conscious, foodie perspective, but since then it's grown into much more.
To quote Jason from the original about page, "I'm not always right and I'll never claim to be. But everyone's opinion is valid, no matter how little experience they have in the culinary world." Jason has never attended any cooking school or taken a class on food or animal sciences. His full-time job has NOTHING to do with food (except that he eats out most of the time for lunch). When he goes to a place of fine dining like Citronelle or Komi, he has to look up half the terms on the menu which explains why the most-used book in his library is The New Food Lover's Companion, a book of definitions of food, drink and culinary terms.
But, every time he visits a restaurant, he strives to learn something and try something new. He obsessively tries to educate himself about new food and drink terms and trends and with all the eating out he does, he's gained volumes of insight on restaurants and how to compare them.
Amy Storch
Editor
When Amy isn't writing for her own blog (perhaps you've heard of it), she manages to find time to to edit here at D.C. Foodies. Amy's favorite foods include, Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese, Trader Joe's Frozen Meatballs, Frito Lay Nacho Cheese dip, and cauliflower panna cotta at Komi. Yeah, that's not quite what most people expect from a foodie web site, but sometimes guilty pleasures are the things that you hate to eat the most.
Past Columnists
Saskia Chanoine
Saskia is a Washington D.C. area native, but her interest in cooking grew while she was
living in Paris, France. There were so many delicious restaurants to try, and so many
different pastries, desserts and sauces to taste while she lived there. She wanted to be able re-create the dishes in her kitchen even if she was no longer in France, so she took a few cooking lessons at
Le Cordon Bleu. She has had the opportunity to travel extensively, and throughout her
adventures she has always made a point to try the local beer and dishes of the destination. Some of her favorite foods are Mexican tostadas, chips and guacamole, French macarons and macaroni and cheese.
Natasha Shulinina
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Natasha moved to DC in 2006 to further her career in finance and to soak up the international character of the nation’s capital. Prior to that, for a number of years she worked in the specialty food and wine industry, and had the incredible fortune to take cooking and wine tasting classes from chefs and sommeliers from all over the country.
Despite the fact that her day job is very far removed from the food & wine world, she is happiest in her natural state which involves her nibbling on something tasty, or sitting with her eyes closed and her nose halfway in the wine glass… she is a real sucker for aromatics. Natasha takes every opportunity to drag her obliging husband on food & wine adventures around DC, NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Provence, Puglia, Crete, Japan, etc. Like the main character from Steven Brust’s novel “Dzur”, she is fond of saying, “I am a decent cook. I am an outstanding eater”.
In her spare time she enjoys yoga, Argentine tango, and writing for her own blog, “Come Due Maiali / Like Two Pigs, her journal of food & wine exploration.
Robert Rutledge
Rob grew up near Poughkeepsie, NY but moved to Washington, DC about 7 years ago to attend The George Washington University. While studying there, he began his career at The Wine Specialist just north of Foggy Bottom. Starting as a beer stock boy the day before his 21st birthday, he now works as a store manager buying wines from all around the world. Rob enjoys the interplay of wine and food, and thus tries to pair the two in interesting ways at home and on the town. Of course, he's always on the look-out for wines that stand on their own as well; he also has a deep and abiding love of sake, whisky and beer.
Drew Long
A native of Tampa, Fla., Drew left his beloved city for Washington, D.C., in 1998. A three-year stint in North Carolina resulted in a politics column that transitioned into a monthly food column when he returned to the nation’s capital in the fall of 2007. The Tar Heel state also instilled in him a love of pork barbecue (low and slow) and a taste for vinegary Eastern Carolina barbecue sauce. Drew’s day job doesn’t have anything to do with cooking, but it does make him look forward to spending his downtime grilling for friends and family. When he’s not grilling on the patio or cooking in his too tiny Capitol Hill kitchen, Drew pursues his love of craft beer, checks out D.C.'s bar and restaurant scene with his wife, and manages his own blog, eatanddrinkitall.blogspot.com.
Drew has been grilling and barbecuing since he learned campfire cooking techniques as a Boy Scout (foil wrapped root vegetables tossed in the fire). But from slow smoked pork butts, to fish, fowl and beast on the grill, Drew has yet to discover the limits of cookin' in the great outdoors.
Mike Bober
A native of New Jersey, Mike Bober has lived in Washington, DC for more than a decade. He graduated from Georgetown with a degree in International Politics that he hasn't quite gotten around to using, and he currently serves as the Executive Director of a Political Action Committee. Mike is a Certified Barbecue Judge on the Kansas City Barbecue Society circuit and has hosted annual events on Capitol Hill bringing together smoked pork, ribs and brisket from nine of the best barbecue restaurants across the country. A former demo chef at Trader Joe's in Old Town, Mike's tenure there allowed him to indulge his creative foodie side on someone else's dime, creating a series of "Mike's Minute Meals" recipes that proved quite popular with customers. He loves to cook at home with his wife, Elizabeth, and is a fan of fresh produce from the various farmers' markets throughout the District. Mike is an avid reader of foodie books, loves red wines (especially old vine Zinfandels) and strong cheese, and is always eager to try a new restaurant. He also has his own blog, Capital Spice, where he and Elizabeth write about their experiences cooking, eating and drinking their way through the nation's capital.
Ramona Padovano
Ramona lives in VA with her husband, Frank and their three dogs. She's always been passionate about food and cooking, beginning when her mother taught her how to make classic Polish dishes during her childhood in Philadelphia. While she still does cook Polish dishes, she finds herself frequenting many of the area farmers markets and delving into cooking food from different countries and cultures. Constantly searching for the best of seasonal and perennial produce, she enjoys building relationships with the market vendors. She and her husband also enjoy the vibrant ethnic food scene here in DC and Northern Virginia. She hopes to inspire with recipes, stories, and reviews here at D.C. Foodies and on her own blog, The Houndstooth Gourmet.
Sara Tenenbaum
Sara is a native of the Washington DC Metro Area (specifically Chevy Chase, Maryland, and she don't take no guff about it) who briefly left for colder climates (and college) up north and quickly returned to the humid haven of her youth. She currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland and has recently resolved several of her Bush-induced moral and ethical dilemmas by making a commitment to buy and eat as local as possible. Her new forays into the area's farmers markets have inspired her anew to become a great cook, and she hopes she will (with the help of several cookbooks and a Food Network addiction). When she's not working, cooking, or writing about cooking, she spends her time playing guitar and piano, writing about American culture, working on her book (which she's convinced she'll never finish) and drinking lots of classic cocktails that she is getting gradually better at making. She is an ethnic food and travel addict, and, quite honestly, would prefer to be in another country right now. She hopes you understand.
Taresa Schmidt
Taresa grew up in Delaware. Contrary to it’s portrayal in Wayne's World, the First State provided ample opportunity for having fun and eating food…and making her own food…which is fun! Between weekends spent catching crabs and clams on her dad's boat and weeknights spent learning to cook in her mother's kitchen, Taresa's affinity for home made meals grew into an obsession. And until she can convince herself to quit her day job and go to culinary school, she commits to writing her column for DC Foodies and her own blog, www.cookandbook.blogspot.com. When Taresa isn't experimenting in the kitchen, she's dragging her husband, Gregg, to farmer's markets, restaurants and book stores. Her favorite meals include egg-in-a-hole (made by her grandfather on childhood sick days), Maryland blue claw crabs (served on her parents picnic table) and Ten Penh's Chinese Style Smoked Lobster (which she ate the night she got engaged).