Corcoran.canfield

701 8th Street, SE

Thanks to Michael for reporting: “Spring Mill Bakery at 8th & G SE has posted a sign that it will be closing at the end of the month (other locations will remain open). Although I haven’t seen it in writing anywhere, scuttlebutt on the street is that Call Your Mother will take over the space.”

Spring Mill opened here back in 2011. In September of last year we learned that the uber popular Call Your Mother was planning on opening up a location on Capitol Hill (after Georgetown opens.) Update: EaterDC now confirms the Call Your Mother part!!

After growing up on the East Coast, Emily Grosvenor, the voice behind the indie perfuming blog Pioneer Perfume, moved to the charming and ever-fragrant state of Oregon. Four years ago, she and her husband settled in McMinnville, a town with rolling topography and a humble population of just over 30,000, which is also the capital of Oregon’s wine country within the Willamette Valley.

A self-confessed “super-sniffer” and professional magazine writer for Sunset, The Atlantic and Salon, Emily loves McMinnville’s balance of charming, small-town community and urban amenities, which boasts everything from gourmet chocolatiers, to wineries, to an aviation museum and plenty of tourist attractions and restaurants that are a feast for the eyes, ears and stomach. Today, she’s joining us to share all of her most coveted places in her tiny town. –Sabrina

Photography by Charles A. Hillestad

EAT

If you’re from out-of-state, your introduction to Oregon pinot noir might be in the form of R. Stuart & Co. Winery’s Big Fire pinot noir. Visit the charming R. Stuart & Co. Wine Bar on 3rd Street for a lesson in terroir, and try its other standout wines, including the stunning Autograph. R. Stuart. It’s also a winery that hosts amazing food events, so be sure to check their event schedule.

Thistle, a tiny farm-to-table restaurant with big clout, lures diners from as far away as Texas for its innovative take on early 20th-century cookery. The chefs source all of their ingredients from within 35 miles and list a new menu every night on the restaurant’s chalkboard.

With a menu offering modern, gentle but miraculous tweaks on traditional French cuisine, and a hostess and owner who used to run New York’s Tavern on the Green, Bistro Maison might have the most gracious hospitality you’ll receive in wine country. Sip, enjoy, and crack some hazelnuts at the end of your meal.

For years, Nick’s Italian Café was the only place to grab a bite between Portland and the Oregon Coast. Now, it’s a James Beard Award winner. Eric Ferguson and Carmen Peirano (Nick’s daughter) are the second generation to run Nick’s, and they have enlivened its menu with seasonal, wood-fired pizza, a hopping back-room bar, and delicate old-world Italian cuisine. No time for a sit-down meal? Stop for munchies at their next-door deli, Peirano & Daughters.

You might think that a town of 33,000 people isn’t the best place to pick up some authentic Thai food, but you’d be wrong. Thai Country Restaurant puts most big-city Thai to shame.

The Bitter Monk, a new craft beer and tap room, resides at the corner where McMinnville’s Thursday afternoon summer farmers’ market gets going. Grab one of their 16 domestic and imported brews on tap and catch a seat outside to watch the action.

Get your Stumptown coffee fix at Community Plate, a breakfast and lunch spot which is a favorite of the locals. Don’t be surprised if a farmer comes in with milk from his own cow for the barista to draw up his morning latte.

La Rambla brings a taste of Spain to Oregon with inventive tapas made from local ingredients and fun cocktails. If you have time, wait the 45 minutes and get the paella.

The unassuming decor of Pura Vida Cocina belies the genius truth: Fresh ingredients in Latin-American fusion. Think fried avocado, sauteed plantains, pork belly tacos and your newest obsession.

SHOP

Rag & Bone/Mid Mod is a tiny vintage store that specializes in all American-made vintage such as old Pendleton sweaters, mid-century modern furniture, 1950s house dresses and wool jackets. Go to try on a floor-length corduroy jacket, but don’t be surprised if you come home with a vintage Boy Scout uniform instead.

Third Street Books has an excellent cookbook and DIY section, as well as a very good YA shelf and kids’ area. It has the best selection of handmade and letterpress cards in town and often has cards from the local letterpress studio, Type A Press, in stock.

Boersma’s is a must for all crafters and people who like eye candy. It stocks the latest fabrics, holds classes, and displays a seasonal array of stunning quilts, both modern and traditional.

Take some pinot-filled truffles home from Honest Chocolates, which stocks a variety of chocolates created specifically for pairing with wine.

La Bella Casa is a great stop if you crave local artisan products like handmade children’s clothing, wheel-thrown pottery, jewelry, floral arrangements and unique women’s clothing. Through the back and to the right you’ll find Cupcake Couture, which stocks trendy clothes in bright colors.

STAY

Come in May to experience something truly out-of-this-world – the McMinnville UFO Festival, hosted by the Hotel Oregon. The hotel is a McMenamin property – it has been lovingly restored and artfully adorned by regional hospitality mavens the McMenamin brothers, who know how to bring out the best historic features of old buildings. Head to the rooftop lounge for a view of the city’s historic 3rd Street and a glimpse of the Coastal Range to the West.

To experience the downtown in all its glory, head to Third Street Flats, which rents apartments right on 3rd Street: Independent living in stylish accommodations.

SEE

Lots of small towns have a main drag, but McMinnville’s Historic 3rd Street wins awards. As many as 25 restaurants, 12 wineries, tree-lined streets and cute boutiques galore make it the best possible strolling haven in autumn.

Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum has a striking array of aircraft, including the enormous Spruce Goose, a wooden airplane prototype produced by Howard Hughes’ aircraft company. Along with the space museum next door, it’s the kind of celebration of American innovation in engineering and flight that might actually make you shed a few.

While not an official place, the so-called Pinot Quarter, or the area between Alpine Street and 5th Street, is a neighborhood where all good things go to ferment. You’ll find The Grain Station Brew Works, Oregon’s first community-supported brewery, which holds court in a renovated barn. If beer’s not your thing – and how can it not be so close to Beervana? – head next door for a pour-over at Flag & Wire Coffee, which will ruin you for all other lattes, forever. Try some small-batch pinot at Dominio IV Wines, partake of Italian-style reds at nearby Remy Wines, or go to the source of the pinot revolution at The Eyrie Vineyards, whose founder, David Lett, planted the first pinot noir grapes in Oregon.

In episode one of The Road To The Winter Classic, EPIX brought us into the luxury apartment of Caps forwards Tom Wilson and Michael Latta. It was the best segment of the night– probably because their apartment wasn’t so luxurious as we might have thought.

Not-Liev Schreiber described the design of Wilson and Latta’s bachelor pad as somewhere between “minimalist and utilitarian.” If your ping pong table is also your dinner table, that’s pretty accurate.

“I roast him on it a lot,” Wilson joked.

Wilson and Latta took the cameras into their lavish kitchen.

“Not much going on here,” Latta states with pride, as his roommate opened the refrigerator.

“Lats went to Costco and we got the best ketchup deal in the entire world,” Wilson says. “Three for one. It was a steal.”

Then they sat down on the couch, turned on their digital fireplace, and waxed poetic.

“It’s a really, really nice apartment but we don’t have really nice things,” Wilson said. “We’re young. It’s fun to be young for a while. You don’t want to grow up too fast.”

A1 quote.

Not-Liev Schreiber mentioned that despite Wilson’s age, he plays with some pretty big names on the first line: Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.

“They’re really great guys and they’ve been in Washington forever to kind of show us the ropes,” Wilson said. “Anytime guys are going after them, I try to step in and help them out. Have that team toughness, you know?

“Lats and I have kind of an inside joke that no one touches Backy. No one touches our dad.”

Latta laughed then added, “We call [Backy] papa.”

That might explain why Willy Baby is always in the thick of those post-whistle scrums.

I love the mustaches. (Photos: @a0gr8)

In amazing Caps-related holiday news, Russians Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dmitry Orlov have decided to dress up as The Three Musketeers for Halloween. I’m sure this is because they’ve all been inspired by the brilliant Alexandre Dumas novel and not because this was the easiest trio-themed costume they could find at their local Party City.

There must be a Caps party tonight because Brooks Laich and his beautiful girlfriend Julianne Hough dressed up as Austin Powers and Felicity Shagwell.

Photo: @juliannehough

Liam O’Brien, Tom Wilson, Michael Latta, and Joel Ward dressed up as characters from the movie Dodgeball.

Photo: @tom_wilso

Ovechkin’s friend Gus also dressed up as an Angry Bird.

Photo: @a0gr8

The Caps wives and girlfriends are all in costume too!

Via Sheena D. (Photo: @avv91)

I love this team.

Photo: Ronald Martinez

During the 2012 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals sent a B-level prospect to the Dallas Stars for Mike Ribeiro. The then 33-year-old Ribs played one season for the Caps as the team’s second-line center. His overall possession numbers were disappointing, but hey, he collected power-play points like coins in Super Mario.

George McPhee offered Ribeiro a contract extension at the trade deadline that year. Ribeiro did not agree to the deal, so McPhee traded Filip Forsberg for a top six-depth in Martin Erat, and Ribeiro walked away for nothing on the first day of free agency before signing a ridiculous five-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Meanwhile, that B-level prospect that the Caps gave up was Cody Eakin, who has become quite a player in Dallas.

Eakin finished the season as the Stars second-line center, notching 16 goals and 19 assists in 81 games. He also drove play, finishing with a 51.2 shot-attempt percentage. If Eakin were on the Capitals, he would have been the team’s third best possession player according to extraskater.com.

In the playoffs, Eakin has scored two big goals. In game four, he scored on a beautiful individual play, taking the puck hard to the net.

In game six, Eakin scored five-hole on a one-timer from the middle of the ice on a Stars power play. That was kind of wordy. My bad.

And though he made a bad read on Anaheim’s game-tying goal in game six, Eakin was on the ice taking the important face-offs for Dallas with the series on the line.

I’m not one to cry over spilled milk, but we should appreciate where we are two years later. This is the exact moment when I believe the Capitals began overestimating who they were as a team.

Instead of committing to a partial rebuild and recommitting to its youth, McPhee went all-in on this deal– trading for an aging veteran with declining possession– and giving up some of the team’s prospect forward depth. And just like Alex Semin before him, McPhee didn’t flip Ribeiro at the trade deadline when he knew he wouldn’t re-sign.

If you add in the Perreault and Forsberg deals, the Caps gave away precious players that would be going into their primes in the next several years, to load up on veterans who were not in the right times in their careers to help the team “win now.”

The Capitals did not win– barely qualifying for the playoffs last season– and not doing so this year. It suggests some more painful times are ahead, while we watch our prospects succeed elsewhere.

The two-wheeled vehicle has come an awful long way.

We're inching toward spring, so our thoughts naturally turn to all the things we haven't been able to do for the past few months. Like: biking! Oh man, biking is so great. And so is this little animated history of the bicycle's design, created by Danish firm Visual Artwork.

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Ovechkin’s 2014 bracket. (Photo: @Ovi8)

Last year Alex Ovechkin filled out an NCAA tournament bracket. It was — what’s the word? Creative?

In an anxious explosion of arrows and circles, Ovi picked Kentucky and Alabama to meet in the title game. I’m sure there were reasons. Or not. Who knows? It’s Ovi.

Ovechkin’s 2012 bracket.

After the intense scrutiny on Ovi’s 2012 bracket, Monumental Network smartly cashed in with a segment of their own on Monday. (By the way, I would love to hear what the players thought of the earthquake.)

Gone was the crumpled up paper. Gone was the nonsensical arrows and circles. Instead Mike Vogel and Alex Ovechkin spoke for nearly 10 minutes and filled out a huge, pristine, laminated bracket.

Ovi’s personality still shined through. I direct to Ovi’s reaction when the wonderfully follicled Vogs told him that he’d win a billion dollars if he got every selection right. I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen now. I like seeing him play hockey and stuff.

The star of the video, I believe, was Ovi’s abbreviations for the schools (and the burritos thing). Apparently VIR is going to win it all after beating LOU in the title game. And, you guys, Ovi is confident FLO is coming out of the first round.

Anyways, check out the video and enjoy. Ovi, you so crazy.

Also, please read Dan Steinberg’s post on this same topic. It is way better than mine.

Photo: Aftonbladet

One of our most read articles during the Sochi Olympics had nothing to do with hockey, which I guess at this point is business as usual. The day RMNB readers saw photos of Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson biking around Sochi in their suits, apparently a few ovaries exploded. Certainly, lulz were shared by all.

Hey, guess what, you guys. Since I love you, Friend of the blog Magnus Cadelin and I plundered the darkest corners of the Swedish interweb to find you more photos – and *gasp* – a GIF too!

It doesn’t disappoint.

GIF

Moar Photos

Photos: Aftonbladet

Video

Psssst. Buy the shirt!

Behold! The Swedes on Bikes RMNB t-shirt. Store link: http://t.co/obiOQv5NIo | Design: pic.twitter.com/AwkCaC35Vp

— RMNB (@russianmachine) February 24, 2014

Jason Chimera is 6′ 3″. Joe Beninati is not. To get the two in the same frame for a pregame interview required some assistance.

I sympathize; this is what school dances were like for me in 7th grade.

Photo by DuvallSpx

Washingtonian's writers had the tough job of sampling 14 versions of fried chicken around town and critiquing them. Standout versions came from Pearl Dive, Levi's Port Cafe, BonChon, Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken and, well, Popeye's. [Washingtonian]

It’s becoming a tradition — one that I truly enjoy. When the Caps win in overtime, Mathieu Perreault freaks out like a 5-year-old who has inhaled one of those giant pixie stick straws and starts flailing around erratically. Perry started the celebration thing after a shootout win over Winnipeg, and he did it again after the Caps beat the Islanders. When Eric Fehr scored in OT to give Washington a win in their final game of the regular season, Perreault delivered.

Yes. (GIF by welshhockeyfan)

Photo credit: Patrick McDermott

Over the past few weeks, Matt Hendricks has been invisible on the scoresheet. He hasn’t scored a goal since March 3rd and hasn’t tallied a point since March 22nd. That’s why tonight, when The Wagon scored his fifth goal of the year, he danced like a four-year old who just learned how to use the potty.

GIFs by welshhockeyfan

After getting shoved out of the zone, Hendricks hustled back into the play and bumped into some people along the boards. After taking possession of the puck near the net, Hendy found his centering pass (to no one) bounce off Ondrej Pavelec’s pads and in. It was ugly and clumsy, but that’s Hendy rolls. Cue the dirty dancing.

I guess Hendricks and Jay Beagle should drink protein shakes before the game everyday.

Thanks to John Stannard for sending us the video.

The Capitals win in the shootout. The Capitals take first in the division. The tiny French Canadian freaks out on the bench. Everything is right in the world. (If that ain’t loading, check out Danny’s vine)

Thanks to pckhdsthghts

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
– George Bernard Shaw

As an only child, I have always attached enormous significance to holidays.  Without siblings or extended family to help create a festive mood, I tend to go a bit overboard.  If one Christmas tree is good, wouldn’t two be amazing?  And why have only one pie at Thanksgiving when I can make two – or even three?  But Easter, well, as an adult, Easter has always stumped me.

Leaving religion out of it for a minute, this is really the only holiday that is purely for children.  As adults, we share presents at Christmas, on Halloween we give out candy and dress for parties, on St. Patrick’s Day we raise a glass.  But Easter.  All that egg coloring, and hiding, and hunting.  All those jelly beans and bunnies and baskets.  Oh my.

The older I got, the more I felt a certain childhood longing every time Easter came around.  I wanted to go on egg hunts and dress up for Easter brunch. I dreamed of excelsior-filled baskets brimming with bunny bevy.  But, as an adult, you sort of have to play it cool at Easter.  Easter is for the little ones.

When my son finally came along, it was a mind-blowing, life-altering experience. Any parent will tell you that a kid changes everything.  What they don’t tell you is this – when you have a child, holidays rock.  I now have carte blanche to decorate with abandon no matter what the time of year.  Our holiday “tree” has a special place in the living room where it stands ready for the seasonal switcheroo. Right now, not surprisingly, it’s decked out in hanging eggs.  (You’re wondering about Cinco de Mayo?  Got it covered – a blow-up cactus (no jokes please) and mini-piñatas.  Olé!)   With my son here, I can act like Martha Stewart on steroids all in the name of being a “good mother”.

Have I taken it too far?  Maybe.  Does my kid appreciate it?  Probably not.  But the truth is, it’s fun — and fun is something that is often forgotten in the midst of adult worries and woes.  And I suddenly realized that the sense of “childhood longing” I was feeling was really just a desire to inject a bit more fun into my life.  Instead of all work, I just wanted a little bit of play.

Even with all the perks of adulthood, do we ever really want to grow up?  I don’t think so.  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons for today’s obscene commercialization of holidays.  Sure it’s gone too far, but, subliminally, it’s tacit permission to not only embrace the celebration hook line and sinker, but to do it like the kids we all used to be.

Which brings me to… punch.  At 12 Bottle Bar, we are obviously big fans of the stuff.  We’ve done more than fifteen posts devoted to various “punches”– from the brunch stalwart Brandy Milk Punch to the pirate favorites Bumbo and Grog to our own non-alcoholic Halloween tipple, the Poison Apple.   Punch is great for a party, encourages socializing over the bowl, and isn’t as alcoholic as a cocktail.  It’s also history in a glass, being the “original” mixed drink long before the cocktail and its brethren came on the scene.

Like all drinks, punch was of its time, a drink that invited long hours lingering over a communal bowl.  As David Wondrich says in his definitive Punch, “It’s not Punch if there’s nobody to drink it.”  But, times changed, people got busy, and standing over the punch bowl looked more like loitering than socializing.  The single-serving punch begat the cocktail and the rest is history.  Folks could now shoot down their booze with efficiency. The allure of punch was lost until recently when bartenders and cocktail mavens came back to their senses and realized that punch is overflowing in merits, the most important of which is – fun.

It’s the “fun” part that concerns me today.  Who among us doesn’t have a childhood punch memory?  Perhaps it’s the “fruit juicy red” flavor of Hawaiian Punch with its appalling 5% fruit juice.  Or, maybe Kool-Aid on a hot summer day.  Or, perhaps you were the wild child who spiked the prom punch bowl.  Whatever your moment, if it’s about punch, it’s got to be good.

For me, it’s those fizzy sherbet concoctions that seemed to be reserved only for birthday parties and holidays.  My favorite was lime sherbet with 7UP, the sherbet bubbling up as the soda hit it, creating that  perfect combination of citrus and sugar.

Historically, the latter potion really isn’t so far removed from some of the original punch recipes.  Switch out the 7UP for Champagne and you’ve essentially got a Champagne Punch.  And the classic Punch à la Romaine combines citrus juices with frothed egg whites, freezing them to create a sherbet-like component to the mix.

So here we are with Easter fast approaching and the need to booze it up.  We wanted to create an Easter punch that combined the best of both worlds – the indulgence of youth (fizzy sorbet) and the privilege of adulthood (boozy goodness).  And we wanted something a bit unorthodox, not just the standard “punch in a cup” recipe, but rather a palate cleanser that could lead us to dessert.   Our Easter Sorbet Punch — a combination of gin, pineapple juice, and mint syrup in frozen form nestled in a pool of Champagne — is something of a deconstruction, but one that works.  Should you be so inclined, a non-alcoholic version requires substituting 7UP or ginger ale for the champagne and, of course, leaving the gin out of the sorbet.

The result, we think, is a wonderful marriage of Easter flavors. But more than that, it satisfies our inner child, the need to be playful even when the weight of adult life intrudes.  This Easter, why not, make some punch and channel your inner Peter Pan?  And, if you think you’re just too sophisticated for this tipple, think again.  As Casey Stengel said, “the trick is growing up without growing old.”

Gin-Pineapple-Sorbet

1 cup Water
1 cup Pineapple Juice, strained
1 cup Rich Mint Syrup (see below)
6 oz Dry Gin
Yellow food coloring

Non-Alcoholic Sorbet

Rich Mint Syrup
Cover a handful of fresh mint leaves with rich (2 parts sugar, 1 part water) simple syrup.  Leave to stand, covered, overnight.  Remove leaves.