Foodie and the Beast – Nov. 13, 2022

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.

On today’s show:

• If we say “French desserts,” you probably think “fancy.” And if we say “baking French cakes,” you probably say, “I can’t pull that off.” Not true. Aleksandra Crapanzano is the James Beard–winning writer and dessert columnist for The Wall Street Journal and she has a cookbook out, “Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes,” that’s going to help you make gateau Breton and lots of other French specialties with the greatest of ease;

• In Spanish, “el cielo” means “heaven” – and El Cielo at La Cosecha in the Union Market District is pretty close to that. Its central offering is “The Experience” – a tasting menu featuring Colombian cuisine. It also has a kick-ass cocktail program headed by lead bartender Andres Carrasco and bar manager Orlando Galleguillos;
• IT’S BAAAACK!!! D.C. Cocktail Week, presented by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, returns as a week-long celebration of the area’s mixology culture from Monday, Nov. 28 through Sunday, Dec. 4. Julia Fletcher, co-owner of Bo & Ivy Distillers, is in with the details;

• Chef Norbert Roesch is assistant director of dining at The Seneca, a vibrant assisted living and memory care community in Rockville with a salon and spa, a wellness center, billiards, educational programming, and more. It also has four restaurants — and a bar! Sounds more like a cruise ship experience. Chef Norbert is in to tell us how it all works.