Mama Knows Best

“You should feel like you're in an Asian restaurant in Paris,” Aulie tells us. She has loved all things French for as long as she can remember. Her curries build layers of flavor using French technique, and you'll also find fun hybrids like an irresistible brisket banh mi on a buttery croissant. What you won't find on the menu are bloated Georgetown prices. That tasty banh mi weighs in at $9. Find Mama Rouge in the former Bangkok Joe's space on the Georgetown Waterfront. 

DC was treated to a visit by Mario Batali Sunday. Unfortunately, it wasn't to open a restaurant (yet!), but he did have some strong words about how DC food has caught up to New York. Mario (right) was in town celebrating his new cookbook America Farm to Table with co-author Jim Webster of the Washington Post (center). They participated in a moderated Q & A session over lunch at Zaytinya along with New Morning Farm's Jim Crawford (left). The biggest takeaway? “Luxury isn't about expensive food—it's about using ingredients that can't be found anywhere else,” he tells us. “Local is the gold standard.”

Mario also prefers food that has a story behind it, like his recipe for Ajo Blanco. The chilled soup is an almond-based cousin of Spanish gazpacho. Its origin is the North African influence in the south of Spain. “When you taste a dish that has history, eating becomes an intellectual experience,” Mario says. At the lunch, the menu was comprised of Zaytinya Chef Michael Costa's greatest hits combined with a few bites from Mario like his Swiss chard spanakopita (pictured). The $95 meal included a signed copy of the cookbook and perhaps a new perspective on eating local.

Feast your eyes on the dish that got Kyoo Eom the exec chef job at Poste Moderne Brasserie: asparagus wrapped halibut with pomme rosti, sauce Ventienne, and trout caviar. It's a real looker, and just one example of the refined technique Kyoo (pronounced like the letter Q) brings with him. He's amped up several of Poste's signature dishes too—like adding tender, four-hour braised short rib to French onion soup.

Poste scored Kyoo from 2941 Restaurant where he spent five years. He's also worked at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne and Café Boulud, where he trained under Chef Andrew Carmellini. But the South Korean native hasn't always been in the kitchen; he served in Korea's military before moving to America to pursue culinary school.

Urbana got a lot of love after its renovation that made the bar the star. But there's more to the sexy design refresh, including a new menu that leans on fish and pasta. This whole dorade is a new dish from Executive Chef Ethan McKee. It's adorned with lemon-blasted rainbow chard, cipollini onions, fennel purée, and hazelnut brown butter. He also added a briny squid ink bucatini with all the jewels of the sea. Like Ethan's pasta? You can now swing by Urbana on your way home to pick up perfectly dried pasta to bring home to impress someone for $6.

Ethan returned from an inspiring trip to Italy this week, where he tells us he pretty much bathed in white truffles. He also stopped at salumi and cheese shops—he's pictured here with wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano in, where else, Parma! Another enlightening stop was the Slow Food USA “Salone del Gusto” festival in Turin, where he saw demos by three star Michelin chefs. “Everything there is so simple; we overcomplicate things here,” he tells us.