Refusing to Make a Mark

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faced a question before the formal start of his Tuesday stake-out with reporters about a matter on the minds of many of his fellow Kentuckians.

A reporter asked McConnell for his thoughts on Maker’s Mark reducing the proof of its standard bourbon. McConnell offered a laugh but declined to answer, instead noting, “we’re having a tasting tonight” for the State of the Union, which he called “the longest day — every year.”

Maker’s Mark is diluting the alcohol content of its bourbon to meet increased demand.
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How to Survive the SOTU: The Ultimate Guide

With President Barack Obama set to take over the public airwaves in just a few short hours, now might be a good time to figure out how best to entertain yourself tonight. We’ve pulled together options for five major constituencies:

SOTU for the Cynics

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Eat Your Heart Out, SOTU

Rumor has it not everyone in D.C. will be locked within the House chamber or glued to C-SPAN for President Barack Obama’s latest State of the Union address Tuesday night.

While this town does get its jollies from political pageantry, the rest of the free world will (rightfully) be engaging in the pre-Lenten bacchanal known as Mardi Gras.

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Yo! Sushi Treats Interns This Weekend

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

Yo! Sushi is cutting the oft-forgotten cog of the congressional machine a break this weekend, offering current interns a 25 percent discount on its signature, conveyor belt-delivered cuisine.

“Just bring your word ID and you’ll be fine,” a Yo! Sushi spokeswoman said of the “Welcome Weekend Discount” promotion.

The deal applies to any and all food items — we dug the takoyaki and rainbow roll — which typically range from $2.50 to $6 a pop (individual servings are color-coded for easy identification), but it does not cover beverages. Offer good Saturday and Sunday.

Barracks Row to Become Giant Cooking Class

Imagine yourself whipping up a batch of  Cava Mezze’s  tzatziki on your kitchen counter, simmering Zest Bistro’s carbonara sauce on your stove top, and popping a Spring Mill Bread almond tart from your oven.

Culinary novices can learn to re-create their favorite Barracks Row menu items on Feb. 17, when Eighth Street Southeast is transformed into a cooking school campus.

Chefs, sommeliers and beer experts will be leading 21 classes over the course of the day, with ticket prices for each lesson ranging from $15 to $30. Classes offer a spectrum of expertise, including rolling sushi with the masters of Old Siam, curing meat with Lavagna’s charcuterie experts or swirling frosting flowers with the pastry chefs of Hello Cupcake.

Students won’t leave class hungry — the professionals at Senart’s Oyster and Chop House will let you eat all the oysters you can shuck, and Ambar’s chefs will offer a post-class Serbian feast with beer.

Space is filling up quickly, with Belga Café’s guide to Belgian cooking, Matchbox’s pizza-making course and Banana Café’s Latin cooking class already full.

Registration is available online at cecrawl2013.eventbrite.com.

Chaffetz, Heitkamp Duel on Congressional Dinner Stage

Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who was misidentified in the program for the Washington Press Club Foundation Congressional Dinner as being from New Mexico, drew belly laughs Wednesday night after throwing colleagues under the bus, but still trailed newcomer Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., as funniest pol. Full story

House Committee Breaks Bruschetta

Between 45 and 55 members of the House Financial Services Committee attended a members-only dinner Monday at Capitol Hill’s Lavagna on Barracks Row, a rare sign of bipartisan bonhomie.

Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, reportedly paid 54 percent of the roughly $5,000 tab, while ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., paid 46 percent — a division reflecting the panel’s party composition.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., tweeted during the meal that the Financial Services Committee was “breaking bread together” at an Italian restaurant. “Dems and Republicans side by side,” Himes tweeted.
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Rating Congress’ Super Bowl Food and Booze Bets

Super Bowl XLVII is nigh, which explains why silly food bets have been flying around the Capitol all week.

SPOILER ALERT: Although we are still some 50-odd hours away from kickoff, late night host Jimmy Fallon’s prognosticating pooches have already awarded Sunday’s championship game to Charm City:

(Something tells us the NFL/sports-entertainment complex will go through with the contest anyway.)

The only constant in all the friendly wagers brokered by bicoastal lawmakers is Maryland crab cakes — a sublime bartering chip, as anyone who’s hoisted a forkful of delectable, pan-seared jumbo lump crustacean to their lips whilst hanging amid Baltimore’s charms can attest. Full story

Ford Revs Up Omnivorous Outreach

Michelin has gotten plenty of miles out of its make-or-break restaurant guides. Pirelli carved out a niche for itself with risqué pinup calendars.

Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday night raced to add sustainable dining to its portfolio by wooing the press with a “Fusion Meets Fusion” feast at The Source.

The auto giant, in town for the Washington Auto Show (Feb. 1-10), offered to take assorted scribes — the invite list ranged from the Detroit Free Press to local food bloggers Bitches Who Brunch — for a spin through the tastiest elements of its flagship hybrid vehicle.

While Ford’s marketing team dreamed up the unconventional exhibition, the task of actually translating the featured manufacturing materials — think: soybeans, wheat straw, coconuts and dandelions  — into edible talking points fell to award-winning toque Scott Drewno.

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

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Quigley: Time to Make the Doughnuts

“I’m not easily impressed with politicians,” Norm Dinkel, owner of Chicago’s Dinkel’s Bakery, told HOH. But as for Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., who spent a day making doughnuts and decorating cakes for Dinkel, well, “He is a very nice man.”

“It was just a nice experience” to have Quigley work at the shop, the gruff baker said.

As part of his constituent outreach, Quigley goes into the district and works odd jobs for those businesses willing to put up with a congressman. This week, Dinkel’s Bakery, established in 1922 and run by Norm for 50 years, got the full Quigley service.
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‘Gang of Two’ Tackles The Varsity

Having dedicated Monday morning to instructing University of Georgia students about the importance of leadership and public service, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., did the next best thing anyone can do while visiting Athens: grab lunch at The Varsity.

The chainlet of historic drive-ins has fed visitors a steady diet of marvelously sloppy chili dogs, custom burgers, sugary beverages (sweet tea, frothy shakes and Coca-Cola products, natch) and mouthwatering desserts for eight decades (and counting).

Though planted in Chambliss’ political backyard, congressional aides said Warner, who lived in Atlanta — home of The Varsity’s largest location — before his life in public office, suggested the fast-food pit stop.

“My boss says he ordered two chili dogs, onion rings, fried peach pie and a Varsity orange. He didn’t say whether or not it was served with a defibrillator,” a Warner aide quipped.

A Chambliss aide said the Georgia senator opted for a slaw dog, a chili dog, onion rings and chocolate milk this time around but typically favors a “through the garden” burger (meat with lettuce, tomato and mayo).

Sink Your Teeth Into Fourth Annual Meat Week

Team HOH is a mostly carnivorous bunch, which is why the return of DC Meat Week, now in its fourth year, has our stomachs already grumbling.

The epic celebration of slowly cooked carcasses stretches a whopping eight days (Jan. 27 to Feb. 3), kicking off with a visit to long-standing Meat Week participants Urban Bar-B-Que (four years running) and culminating with a trip to Mr. P’s (ditto) on Super Bowl Sunday.

In between, barbecue lovers will be treated to all-you-can-eat barbecue buffets (Hill Country Barbecue, Jan. 28), prix fixe gourmet meals (Epic Smokehouse, Jan. 29) and exclusive brunches (Kangaroo Boxing Club, Feb. 2; this event is sold out).
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Union Market’s Pre-Super Bowl Blitz

A number of Union Market vendors hope to take a bite out of Super Bowl party planning by serving up a slew of DIY entertaining tips Jan. 27.

In addition to hosting a live broadcast of dining maven Nycci Nellis’ weekly “Foodie and the Beast” radio show, Union Market patrons who pop in from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. will be able to learn Super Bowl table arranging from Salt & Sundry owner Amanda McClements and get burger and hot dog tips from Harvey’s Market, as well as game day drink-making ideas from Buffalo & Bergen founder and award-winning mixologist Gina Chersevani.

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Generous Bourbon Pours Highlight Bluegrass Ball

You cannot have a Kentucky ball without great bourbon — and perhaps, a moving invocation.

With all due respect to Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and House members from Kentucky of both parties, the highlight of Saturday evening’s Kentucky Bluegrass Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel was the selection of bourbons, with seven different stands set up by distillers with about 20 different varieties being offered during a reception before the beginning of the formal festivities.

While we at HOH might have personal favorites, Kentucky politicians knew better than to engage on that question. Full story

Astro Doughnuts Starts Friday Off Right

Washington: We have liftoff.

Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken started inauguration weekend off right Friday morning, setting up a pop-up location at Chinatown Coffee Co. for the express purpose of getting 300 of its sugary confections into the hands of early morning Washingtonians.

Katie Smith/CQ Roll Call

Among the selections, as HOH lead feed writer Warren Rojas has reported,were the “Obama Then,” a chocolate-glazed doughnut drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with Maldon smoked sea salt, as well as the “Obama Now,” a honey-glazed oatmeal raisin doughnut topped with crumbled granola.

Other bits of deliciousness awaiting the purchaser of the Astro Doughnut variety pack pictured above were the Twink-nut, a cream-filled, sponge-cake homage to the late Hostess Twinkie; the Creme Brulee, a vanilla custard, bruleed vanilla glaze cake; the Peanut Butter & Jelly, a strawberry jelly doughnut with peanut butter glaze, and the Brooklyn Blackout, a devil’s food cake with chocolate glaze and cookie crumbs.

Any one of these taste-bud ticklers is enough to satisfy a sweet-tooth craving and start a morning off right, especially with a nice black cup of Chinatown Coffee’s joe. But the winner for this HOH writer was the Twink-nut. Maybe it’s the relatively light touch of this cake. Maybe it’s Gen X nostalgia. Whatever. It came out as the favorite. Runner-up goes to the “Obama Now,” the oatmeal-cream-pie-like dessert. This was a surprise, given HOH’s natural skepticism about the “Let’s Move” fitness thing.

We are quick to note that the other four doughnuts are no slouches. The Peanut Butter & Jelly, in particular, manages to be juicy and hold it all together at the same time.

And the best news? Astro will bring back the pop-up Saturday morning at Chinatown Coffee at 10 a.m., and will open its own brick-and-mortar location later this month at 1308 G St. NW. Ah, sugar.

Jason Dick/CQ Roll Call