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VIDA Fitness' Penthouse Pool and Lounge is accepting membership applications for its U Street rooftop, 60-foot heated pool. Check out a variety of poolside lounge options, amenities, and services. Click here. In our perpetual quest to bring you the human side of culinary movers and shakers, we visited Restaurant Eve chef Cathal Armstrong and Founding Farmers' mastermind Dan Simons.  You probably already know that Cathal hails from Dublin, Ireland—especially if you've ever struck up a conversation with him, as a wisp of an accent still remains. But what else is up with Restaurant Eve's award-winning chef? 1. He has more than just a green thumb in the garden. He's practically the Jolly Green Giant. He took us behind Restaurant Eve to snoop on his vivacious garden filled with night jasmine, African blue basil, lemon verbena, cauliflower, dinosaur kale, peaches, plums, and so much more.  Dan Simons is principal at Vucurevich Simons Advisory Group (VSAG). If this doesn't ring any bells, we're willing to bet you've dined at Founding Farmers or Farmers Fishers Bakers. Dan spearheaded the development of these iconic area restaurants, and we caught up with him at the Potomac, MD location. |
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Former FBI Agent Opens First Restaurant After service as an officer in the US Army, Kaiser Gill (right) found a career with the FBI in the Counterterrorism Division in New York. He had a few other stops, including at a startup medical services company, before deciding to trade in desk jobs for his dream of opening Noelia Italian Kitchen in the former Finemondo space.  Kaiser's vision for Noelia is a place for couples to come for a modern Italian dinner followed by dancing, as he says the city is devoid of this nightlife option. But to be clear, we're not talking about 20-somethings dropping it like it's hot after bowls of piping hot pasta. “We'll be playing '90s music, jazz, and other things that make people happy,” he tells us. There will also be a projector on the wall playing silent movies or Cirque du Soleil.  His chef selection was a long time in the making. Kaiser was a regular at Extra Virgin before it closed in Shirlington. “One day when I open my own restaurant, I'll make you head chef,” he told Carmen Gianna Piazza, a Northern Italian woman who once owned her own restaurant in Italy and who has made stops at Café Milano and Sette Osteria. Kaiser and Carmen have grown close and plan to take both of their families to Italy together in February. The restaurant opens Monday. |
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Hallelujahs and Hash Browns |
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 Something special goes down in Shaw every Sunday: Gospel Brunch. Ticket holders file in to The Howard Theatre starting at 11:30am to load up on a brunch buffet of fried chicken, French toast, peach cobbler, biscuits and gravy and more dishes designed to “fill the hole in your soul.” We visited on Father's Day along with 150 other people, including many young families. |
 Come 1:00pm, the Harlem Gospel Choir takes the stage with booming voices and uplifting songs that spur the audience to clap and join in. This is no ordinary gospel choir. They've performed for Presidents Obama and Carter, two popes, and Nelson Mandela, and have sung alongside stars like Diana Ross and Bono. Tickets to Gospel Brunch are $35 in advance and $45 the day of the show. |
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Mas Sushi at Masa 14Back before 14th Street was a dining mecca, Richard Sandoval dared to open Masa 14 in 2009. They've been cranking out cocktails and Latin-Asian small plates ever since. Recently, there have been big changes including new Chef de Cuisine Felipe Milanes, whom we snapped serving some of his new dishes. They range from spicy tuna nachos to “Foie Jitas,” which are like the ones you used to get at Chili's but with foie gras and guava crema. Masa 14 also launched a sushi menu including the “Rainbow Tropico Roll” with tuna, hamachi, salmon, avocado and mango-papaya salsa. Wondering why the rice is so perfect? Don't forget that Kaz Okochi has a hand in the recipes. |
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Gluten Free Pasta That Could Fool Giada |
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 A number of people have chosen to stop consuming gluten for one reason or another. Restaurants, like Urbana in Dupont Circle, are wisely catching on. Executive chef Ethan McKee's (pictured) menu is almost entirely gluten free, including gluten-free versions of pasta and pizza. Ethan plays with chickpea and rice flour along with thickeners like potato starch to produce gluten-free Italian classics that are well disguised. |
 Pasta dishes, like this bucatini, have a fighting chance in a blind taste test. Those dying to try these gluten-free creations have to wait a bit, however. Urbana will be closing for a five-week, $600,000 refresh focusing on its bar area starting July 1. In the meantime, head to their sister Kimpton restaurant, Firefly. There, executive chef Todd Wiss offers gluten-free brunch, lunch, dinner and dessert menus. |
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Last Night in LA-medium.JPG) Your publisher tried Michael Voltaggio's Ink on Melrose in West Hollywood. Here we snapped the hamachi, served with whipped olive, grapefruit-soy, coriander, and pine nuts.  Here's the fried chicken oatmeal, with sunny side up egg, peas, and lemon.  And here's the lollipop kale, with crème fraîche, pig ears, and togarashi. We passed on this one. |
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What Are Your Kids
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