Foodie and the Beast – Jan. 9, 2022

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.

On today’s show:
• The Watermark Hotel at Tysons is one of the latest and greatest additions to the DC area’s top-tier hospitality offerings. It is also the home of the Wren restaurant. Joining us are Wren’s executive chef, Yo Matsuzaki, and Luis Mantilla, the Watermark’s beverage hospitality director;

• Everyone loves to have options … and that’s what the upcoming, RAMW Winter Restaurant Week, starting Jan. 17, is all about. Even considering COVID restrictions, it’s gonna be a real taste treat. Alex Levin, an award-winning pastry chef and director of strategic business initiatives and pastry programs for the Schlow Restaurant Group, joins us to chat about Restaurant Week overall and what the Schlow Group has waiting for you that week;
• Do you believe in magic – or at least the special magic of botanicals? Deb Schaffer, the founder of Enchanted Botanicals, believes in the power of everyday magic, and she creates products to help people bring more magic and meaning to their own lives. We get our spiritual year in order and you’re coming along for the ride;
• When it opened in February 2020 just as the pandemic hit, the Daikaya Group’s Japanese-Italian restaurant, Tonari, introduced D.C. to a really cool concept – Japanese-influenced (wafu) pastas and pizza. While COVID presented it with many business challenges, the restaurant is up and running again, and Chef Daisuke (Dice-K) Utagawa joins us to talk about Tonari’s indomitable survival spirit and the true meaning of wafu as a culinary influence.