Restaurant: Ripple (Washington, D.C.)

[Update: Ripple has closed.]

Still reeling from the recent closure of Palena, it's easy to forget that there are still lots of other great places to eat in Cleveland Park. One place in particular, Ripple, may be the heir-apparent to the title of Cleveland Park's best restaurant. We paid it a visit recently to judge whether its worthy.

When Ripple first opened in 2010, it was billed as wine bar. Having since gone through a couple chef changes, it's known today as a farm-to-table restaurant and home to one of the city's hottest young chefs, Marjorie Meek-Bradley (a semifinalist this year for the James Beard Award for best chef mid-Atlantic). We hadn't yet sampled Ripple since Meek-Bradley took the helm last year, so we were eager to try her much-buzzed cooking.

Arugula soup (top) and beet salad.

The food at Ripple remains quite good, better I think than when we first visited several years ago.

Ripple's dedication to fresh seasonal ingredients is immediately apparent in our opening salvo of cocktails. I opt for a gibson, whose ingredients the menu says includes ramp brine--ramps being the wild leek available for a limited time in the spring that certain food lovers go nuts for. Chris springs for a Cytrus Hystrix, a sweet-and-sour concoction of kaffir lime-infused vodka ("citrus hystrix" is another term for kaffir lime), elderflower and cardamom-ginger soda. With dinner, we each had a glass of wine from Ripple's extensive by-the-glass list, a varied and interesting assortment that hearkens back to Ripple's roots as a wine bar.

My first course was the chilled arugula soup thickened with Greek yogurt. Trout roe provided little briney-salty bursts. Chris's beet salad was also satisfying, especially the dates wrapped in guanciale, a type of Italian cured meat similar to bacon.

Roasted halibut (top) and glazed pork shoulder.

Our entrees were also very good. I sprang for the roasted halibut, served with seasonal accompaniments of ramps, fava beans, chanterelle mushrooms and fingerling potatoes. Chris's glazed pork shoulder was tender and flavorful, served alongside path valley beans and roasted cauliflower with chermoula, an African herb and spice mixture.

For dessert, when I saw the twix mousse pie, I had to see how Ripple translated a popular brand of candy into an upscale dessert. Rather effectively it turns out, the chewy "twix," although not as crunchy as their namesake, were a nice texture contrast to the silky chocolate mousse. Tangy buttermilk sherbet was a welcome choice over the more usual vanilla.

Twix mousse pie

If there's a downside to Ripple, it's the cost. When the bill comes, there's a bit of sticker shock. I felt this way the first time we ate here and again when we visited recently. I'm no neophyte when it comes to restaurant prices--I've written extensively about restaurants in D.C. and New York where eating out is not exactly a bargain exercise. I may not be looking for a cheap dinner, but I am looking for value. And for some reason, Ripple doesn't quite balance the value equation in my opinion. I think that, as good as it is, there's not a "wow" factor, like a signature dish that I can't wait to come back and have again or something so unique that I can't get anywhere else. I felt similarly about Table, another farm-to-table restaurant that served us good food, but nothing truly remarkable.

That said, there is a lot to like here. Ripple offers a varied, seasonal menu in an inviting space with friendly and attentive service. It doesn't make up for the loss of Palena; there's a hole in Cleveland Park that will likely never be filled. But it's nice to see that there is still a reason why fresh food lovers should venture to this neck of the woods.

Ripple, 3417 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (Cleveland Park). (202) 244-7995. Reservations: Open Table.

The Feed: May 28, 2014

It's National Hamburger Day. Whether upscale, fast and simple or homemade, burgers almost always hit the spot. Pictured is the delicious version offered by Buck's Fishing and Camping in Washington, D.C. Read below about Europe's burgeoning upscale burger scene and one food writer's journey from wildly gourmet back to simple-is-best burgers.

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

Washington Post: “Noma Chef Daniel Giusti Keeps the World's Top Restaurant Running,” by Tim Carman.
Noma is once again the world’s top restaurant. And minding the kitchen there these days is American Daniel Giusti, formerly an executive chef at D.C.’s 1789. Carman’s profile of the chef de cuisine at the acclaimed Danish restaurant reveals the amazing level of detail that goes into the food served there.

Eater: “Dispatches from Dirt Candy: Amanda Cohen on 'Overpriced' Food and the Looming Cost Crisis,” by Eater Staff/Amanda Cohen
People complain some restaurants are too expensive, me included (tomorrow’s restaurant post will be an example). Cohen breaks down why certain restaurants, particularly smaller ones like hers, are so expensive and cautions diners to expect prices to rise as restaurants become increasingly required to provide benefits to their workers.

CNN Eatocracy: “Why Sprouts Can Make You Sick,” by Kat Kinsman.
Is it just me, or have sprouts fallen out of favor? I remember they used to be a plentiful salad bar item a couple decades ago, but now I rarely see them. Perhaps that just as well, as they are apparently susceptible to harboring bacteria that cause food-borne illness. Kinsman includes this scary statistic: "since 1996, there have been at least 30 reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with different types of raw and, yes, lightly cooked sprouts."

Wall Street Journal: “Europe’s Gastro Burger Scene,” by Evan Rail.
It’s no secret that burgers are popular in Europe. There are, after all, thousands of McDonald’s locations there. But what may come as a surprise is that upscale burgers—ones served at places claiming to be “gastropubs”—are in style now there too, often with local flourishes like aged parmigiano-reggiano in Italy or Heumilchkäse cheese in Germany.

Food & Wine: “The Secret Ingredient in the Perfect Burger Is…,” by Daniel Duane.
Speaking of upscale burgers, sometimes, they miss the mark. Sure, Duane has tried them with sriracha, kimchi and fish flakes, but his story about how he swung back to the fast-food-style burger is an engaging read on why sometimes simple is best. Online, you can read about his take on the KronnerBurger, while in the magazine, you can read the fully story of his journey to gourmet burgers (much to his daughter’s chagrin) and back.

Food & Wine: “Cocktails for Grilling.”
Looking for something to sip while you cook out? Food & Wine offers a slideshow of tasty options like the Tom Terrific made with IPA and old tom gin and the Descanso Beach Smash with rye and Aperol.

New York Times: “What Are You Drinking?” by Rosie Schapp.
If you're still not finding your summer drink of choice, the Times has provided this handy interactive tool to mix you a custom cocktail! Choose your style, spirit and setting and voila...Schapp (virtually) hands you one of 27 possible drinks.

New York Times: “Blaring the Horn for Food Trucks,” by David Sax.
When it comes to local ordinances, food trucks sometimes face an uphill climb. Enter Matt Geller, a food truck advocate who has formed a national association to represent the interests of this segment of entrepreneurial chefs offering delicious quick eats like fusion tacos, gyro salads and Ethiopian vegetable platters (to name a few tasty food truck lunch items I enjoy regularly).

Food Ease: “Kiwano-Maca Banana Ice Cream”
I’d never heard about Kiwano until Food Ease told me about it Monday night during the weekly Foodie Chats Twitter chat. It’s an amazing-looking fruit from Africa. Food Ease turned it into a simple frozen banana treat. Would love to give this fruit a spin.

Food 52: “Your Questions for Molly Wizenberg + Her Rice Noodle Salad,” by Marian Bull.
Molly Wizenberg, whose latest memoir Delancey was just published, dropped by Food 52 to answer readers’ questions and make a noodle salad, the same one it so happens that the Washington Post featured a few weeks ago.

Smoky Tuna (Noodle) Casserole

"So what is this?" asks Chris, as I set down our dinner plates.

"It's smoky tuna...oh $#!t...I forgot the noodles."

Has this happened to you? It happens to the best of everyone. You work long and hard on a dish only to discover--when it's too late--that a star ingredient has been left out.

Sometimes the damage is irreparable, like when you forget to add the cup of sugar to your dessert and it tastes savory in an off-putting way. In those cases, you just need to start over.

In the case of this tuna noodle casserole, the disaster was quickly fixed. I'd already cooked the noodles the day before. I'd just forgotten to add them to the casserole before baking it ("this is awfully soupy," I was thinking when I dished it up, still not registering that the noodles' absence was the reason). I heated the noodles a couple minutes in the microwave, dumped the casserole into a large bowl, and mixed everything together. Voila. The lovely crumb topping was lost amid the rest of the ingredients, but the dish still tasted like it should and was thusly salvaged.

Giving you an example of a kitchen rescue wasn't the original purpose of this recipe. Instead, I was trying to come up with a more flavorful version of a classic but rather bland dish. Many versions are made with cream of mushroom soup and a noted lack of seasonings. I wanted my casserole to have better texture and flavor.

Velouté flavored with thyme sprigs.

I leaned pretty heavily on a recipe from Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe, which uses velouté instead of cream of mushroom soup as the casserole's binding. Velouté is one of the five classic "mother" sauces of French cooking, so called because the sauces are the foundations for making other sauces. Velouté is simply a roux (butter and flour) with a light stock and seasoning. In this regard, it's very similar to béchamel, which is made with milk instead of stock (see it in action in bolognese lasagna and macaroni and cheese). In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child includes a single recipe covering both sauces, noting that the stock and milk are interchangeable to make velouté or béchamel respectively.

Here's where I went wrong: there should be noodles stirred in at this point.

In addition to improving the dish's texture, I wanted to add more flavor. For all-around zip, I added a little Dijon mustard, a touch of cayenne pepper for spice and a few capers for their sour brininess. Since this is the beginning of summer grilling season, I also wanted to add a good layer of smoke, which I achieved by using smoked gouda in the sauce and smoked paprika for the bread crumb topping. Certainly this would work nicely in your backyard barbecue spread.

Despite the lack of noodles, it still looked good coming out of the oven.

Smoky Tuna Noodle Casserole
Adapted from Tuna Noodle Casserole, The New Best Recipe by The Editors of Cook's Illustrated

Crumb topping:
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (to make fresh bread crumbs, pulse torn chunks of crustless bread in a food processor until they are the desired size)
Pinch of salt
2 tsp. smoked paprika

Casserole:
1 lb pasta, small shape like conchigliette (shells) or elbow macaroni
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large (or two smaller) sweet onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
12 oz. cremini mushrooms
Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. (half stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves plus a few sprigs of fresh thyme
4 oz. (about 1 cup) shredded smoked gouda cheese
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
10 oz. albacore tuna, from pouches or cans
1 tbsp. capers
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen thawed)

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. Make the crumb topping: melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the bread crumbs, season with salt and smoked paprika, and stir to coat the crumbs with butter. Cook, stirring occasionally until the crumbs are lightly toasted. Set aside.

3. Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.

4. Heat olive oil a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are lightly browned, another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as you cook. Remove vegetables from pan and set aside.

5. Turn heat down to medium. Melt butter in skillet, then whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add the chicken broth until fully incorporated. Add the fresh thyme and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add the shredded cheese by handfuls and whisk to combine each addition as the cheese melts into the sauce. Once all of the cheese is added, keep whisking until smooth. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard and fresh lemon juice.

6. Add the cooked pasta, tuna, capers and peas to the sauce and stir until the ingredients are evenly combined. Transfer to a 9 X 13 baking dish. Smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the cooked bread crumbs evenly on top. Bake in the oven until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Simple Grilled Salmon

Happy Memorial Day. Is it summer? Not officially until June 21--25 days from now. But unofficially, Memorial Day kicks off summer and thus summer grilling season. All week, I'll be looking at various ways to incorporate good smoky flavor into food and drink, most of which won't require a grill, since I don't have regular access to one.

When I do get a chance to grill, I like to keep it simple, and there's nothing simpler than grilled salmon. With good, wild salmon, little needs to be done besides grilling it to add a little smoke and bring out its fresh flavor. A squirt of fresh lemon is a nice touch, as is fresh chopped herbs.

Simple Grilled Salmon

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 lb. fresh salmon fillets (cut into two pieces for easier handling)
Olive oil
Sesoning salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 lemon

1. Prepare hot coals for direct-heat grilling. Heat grill. Brush salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt (or plain salt) and pepper, to taste.

2. Place salmon fillets skin-side down on the hot grill, cover, and grill for 5 minutes. Remove lid and, using a metal grilling spatula, turn fillets over. Replace cover and grill for another 3-5 minutes (3 minutes will be a bit pinker; 5 minutes will be well-done).

3. Cut off the skin and serve on a platter with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Bourbon-Ginger Glazed Chicken

Inspired by the bourbon-ginger chicken wings we enjoyed from the Asia Nine station at the Food & Friends Chef's Best event I wrote about last week, I made these simple chicken thighs served over white rice.

This dish comes together pretty quickly, since boneless-skinless chicken thighs cook much faster than their bone-in/skin-on counterparts. I had considered searing the thighs and then finishing them in the oven, but they cooked just fine on the stove, allowing the sauce to thicken as they finished.

Bourbon-Ginger Glazed Chicken

1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless-skinless chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch of ginger, minced
1 or 2 pinches of red chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp. bourbon
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 heaping tbsp. light brown sugar
1 bunch of scallions (about 8), white and light green parts chopped separate from dark green parts
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cooked rice (see recipe for Perfect White Rice)

1. Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced almonds and toast, tossing occasionally until browned. Set aside.

2. Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add the chicken thighs and cook until browned on both sides (flipping over after the first side is browed), about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. Lower heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger and chili pepper flakes. Stir to combine with the chicken and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add the bourbon, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and white and light green scallions. Season with pepper and stir, continuing to cook over medium heat, until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear when cut into) and the sauce has thickened. Serve over white rice topped with toasted almond slices and chopped dark green scallions.

Spring Waldorf Salad

Last year, I offered a smoky take on the classic Waldorf Salad, a good way to make the warm-weather staple into a winter dish. This year, I'm steering it toward a brighter course idea for the fresh flavors of spring.

The tweaks are actually pretty minimal. Tangier (and lower calorie) Greek yogurt stands in for the mayonnaise, while lemon juice and fresh mint contribute their sunny notes. Otherwise this is pretty typical Waldorf salad with chicken, celery, apples, walnuts or raisins (you may use halved grapes instead if you like).

Spring Waldorf Salad

2 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 lb. chicken breast cutlets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pink lady apple, cored and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 scallions, diced
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
zest of 1 lemon
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 cups baby arugula leaves

1. Heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper and add to hot pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping over halfway, until lightly browned and cooked through. Allow to cool, transfer to a cutting board and chop into pieces about 1/2 to 1 inch wide.

2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, apple, celery, scallions, walnuts and raisins. Whisk together yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and mint. Add dressing to ingredients in bowl and toss to combine. Serve in individual servings over arugula leaves.

The Feed: May 21, 2014

Margarita and guacamole lovers rejoice: the lime shortage appears to be at an end as recounted in NPR's story below.

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

Washington Post: “Smoke Signals: Smoke: Why We Love It, for Cooking and Eating,” by Jim Shahin.
The Washington Post Food section’s annual summer grilling issue is today. Shahin’s centerpiece story seeks to explain the allure of smoked food, which, some reason is evolutionary—we’re wired to love it. Just reading his opening description of the short ribs he was smoking made me salivate (and I booked reservations for Saturday night at a local restaurant known for its grilled food).

Washington Post: “Smoke in Cocktails: Complicated, but Worth It,” by M. Carrie Allan.
Allan puts a cocktail spin on the Post’s grilling issue by talking smoky cocktails. She confers with J.P. Caceres and chef Victor Albisu of Del Campo, who really know their stuff when it comes to smoke, including the smoky lemonade they serve that I (and Allan too apparently) love. But then she smartly offers a good home mixology alternative: smoky ingredients like mezcal and Islay Scotch. The Maguey and Mango cocktail, which features both, sounds quite tasty.

New York Times: “More Than a Cherry on Top,” by Florence Fabricant.
Fabricant puts the spotlight on maraschino liqueur, the old-school liqueur made from marasca cherries that’s a staple in a lot of classic drinks (the Last Word, for example). I didn’t realize there were brands besides Luxardo available.

Lucky Peach: “All You Can Eatonomics,” by Bourree Lam.
All-You-Can- Eat (AYCE as they say) buffets were how my smart grandmother fed my picky-eating child self. I remember the cinnamon rolls, macaroni & cheese, soft-serve ice cream and fried chicken breading (yes, only the breading). Lam profiles how such buffets turn a profit, examining the simple country variety to the upscale Vegas buffets. Also worth checking out is Naomi Harris’s article on suburban swingers clubs and their AYCE buffets—her article gives a new meaning to strip mall.

NPR: “With Cartels On The Run, Mexican Lime Farmers Keep More Of The Green,” by Carrie Kahn.
Good news! The price of limes is finally coming down, as supply is returning to normal as other Mexican crops besides those hit with bad weather are bearing their fruit. As an added bonus, the Mexican drug cartels reportedly squeezing the farmers and keeping prices high are on the run as well.

Get in My Mouf: “Sophisticated Chicken Wings,” by Evan Shaw.
Chicken wings aren’t something I give much thought too, but Shaw has, in this witty and engaging piece for his blog, Get in My Mouf, that argues for elevating wings above appetizer/sports-watching fare into something more sophisticated (but still eaten with your hands, of course). The photos, courtesy of his wife, are stunning too. Always love finding another great D.C.-area food blog.

Wall Street Journal: “The BLT Variations,” by Matthew Kronsberg.
Playing on tangy tomatoes, smoky-salty bacon and vegetal lettuce, Kronsberg offers various riffs on the classic B.L.T. sandwich, such as the APE (arugula, pepper and eggplant).

Imbibe: “Ginger Spice,” by Tracy Howard.
I recently left a supermarket empty-handed when I wanted ginger beer. Perhaps I should follow Howard’s lead and make my own. It doesn’t sound that hard. You don’t need any fancy soda-making equipment, since the yeast fermentation is what makes it bubble, no carbonation. One way or another I need to get some soon to try the Kentucky Buck, one of the Imbibe’s 10 “new classic” cocktails.

New York Post: “How Restaurant Culture Changed the Way We Eat,” by Cindy R. Lobel.
Lobel offers a compact history of restaurant culture in New York from the sixpenny eating houses of the mid 1800s to the cronut craze of today.