Bloomingdale's Red Hen and Big Bear Cafe Featured in Zagat

15 Spicy New Dishes Around DC

By Rina Rapuano | July 7, 2015

Tuna Agua Chile at Big Bear Cafe

 DC may not have hit its full heat-wave potential yet this summer, but we all know the oppressive wall of hot air is lurking, waiting to pounce. And since some say the best way to stay cool is to spice up your food, here are more than a dozen dishes that pack their own heat:

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Fried Cauliflower “Sicilian Style” at Red Hen

For this new side, chef Mike Friedman flash-fries cauliflower and tosses it with a rich sauce made of anchovies, garlic and fresh Fresno chiles, among other things. The whole dish is topped with Pecorino Romano and toasted bread crumbs ($8).
1822 First St. NW; 202-525-3021

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Tuna Agua Chile at Big Bear Cafe

Chef Quinten Frye dresses raw, cubed Hawaiian tuna with housemade chile water that pulls heat and flavor from herbs, cucumber, habanero and lime juice for this new addition to the dinner menu ($13; pictured above). It’s garnished with avocado and crispy amaranth.
1700 First St. NW; 202-643-9222


 

Sunday Afternoon $4 Happy Hour! Today at Big Bear Cafe (4pm-6pm)

$4 Summer Sangrias on the Patio!

 

After the Bloomingdale Farmers' Market today we'll be serving a summer sangria made from the fruit of our very own Reid's Orchard along with tallboy Radlers, Tallboy Stiegls and our happy hour menu.

All Items $4!

 from 4-6pm

___________________________________

HAPPY HOUR MENU

BAR

Reid's Orchard Sangria - $4

Stiegl Lager Tall Boy - $4

Stiegl Radler - $4

House Red/White Wine - $4

All Food - $4

FOOD

Mussels - $4

Grilled Cheese - $4

Sliders - $4

Market Greens Salad - $4 

Hope to see you soon!

meet-and-greet tonight at Big Bear Cafe for DC Council At-Large candidate Peter Shapiro

‏See this tweet to the Twitter #Ward5 hashtag:

@blackmanhelpingReply – “#Ward5 come out and meet @petershapiro at the Big Bear from 4pm tonight...red train to the Wilson Building #Dcision12 #DC”

WashCycle: sharrows being painted on R Street NW

See this post from WashCycle:

Looks like the intersection of 1st & R Street NW adjacent to Big Bear Cafe.

Sharrows being painted on R St NW

Florida Avenue Park ribbon-cutting -- Saturday, 02-25-2012

From Geovani Bonilla, President, Bates Area Civic Association:

Join Mayor Vincent C. Gray,
DPR,
5C ANC,
The Bates Area Civic Association and residents

Saturday, February 25th at 10am
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Florida Avenue Park (Florida and First St. NW)

Join our Community in a celebration and efforts to make the Florida Avenue Park a Community Park .

See the new play grounds, renovations and learn about the Bates Area Civic Association and Friends of The Park`s plans to bring more activities to this beautiful park.

Join Us Make This a Community and Family Affair.

Enjoy snacks from local businesses:
- Uncle Chips Cookies and Coffee
- Big Bear Café

Geovani A. Bonilla, President
Bates Area Civic Association

Armageddon Alert: Big Bear Cafe applies for later hours

From the Young and Hungry column of the Washington City Paper (stale news from yesterday):

Big Bear Cafe Applies For Later Hours
Posted by Chris Shott on Feb. 8, 2012 at 4:51 pm
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2012/02/08/big-bear-cafe-applies-for-later-hours/

Last call doesn`t come quite late enough for the operators of Big Bear Cafe.

The trailblazing Bloomingdale coffee shop and restaurant is asking city regulators to let it stay open into the wee hours like other D.C. hotspots. Big Bear currently closes at 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. The restaurant now wants to extend service until 1 a.m. all week long. It`s also asking permission to let patrons hang out on its patio later into the evening, as well. Right now, customers carousing al fresco-style have to take it inside at 9 p.m. weekdays, 10 p.m. weekends.

The restaurant is asking to extend outside service until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends.

What will the neighbors think? Residents weren`t entirely thrilled with Big Bear`s plans for evening hours and alcohol service in the first place. The District`s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board was scheduled to review Big Bear`s application for later hours on Wednesday.

Spotlight: Bloomingdale / Eckington / NoMa

See this blurb passed along by the folks at the NoMa BID:

Spotlight: Bloomingdale / Eckington / NoMa
City Chic Real Estate January 19, 2012

http://www.citychicrealestate.com/home/dc-commentary/life-in-dc/spotlight-bloomingdale-eckington-noma

The Bloomingdale Farmers` Market, Big Bear Cafe, Rustik Tavern, Boundary Stone and Bacio Pizza are all mentioned.

Sligo Creek Stompers performing at Big Bear Cafe tonight

See this short message from Big Bear Cafe's Laura:

Tonight, the Sligo Creek Stompers are performing at Big Bear at 8:30. They are a local bluegrass band with a really down-home, friendly sound. The show is free of charge and there will be plenty to eat and drink!

www.sligocreekstompers.com

dinner and a movie -- family-style dinner at Big Bear Cafe - Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012

Hello Hello!

For our family dinner this Sunday, January 1st, we will be serving a spaghetti carbonara followed by pork shoulder braised in white wine, garlic and rosemary, served with an endive/escarole salad with grainy mustard vinaigrette.

The dinner will accompany the screening of a short film about pork butchery in the United States, and the work of a small family meatsmith outside of Seattle, WA where our resident chef on research leave, Andrew Plotsky, is now in training.

It is a beautiful film. Clementina is preparing a beautiful meal.

We hope you can come to celebrate the first evening of the new year.

Contact me to reserve a seat.

It is a family-style communal dinner with limited seats, so let me know asap.

Stuart
studavenport @ gmail.com

have you tried the Big Bear Cafe Sunday dinner series ?

From Stu Davenport:

We have started our winter Sunday dinner series, and if people would like to join or learn more about the weekly menu they can read about it here:

http://bigbearcafe-dc.com/2011/11/sunday-family-dinner-116/

Big Bear Cafe: Sunday family-style farmers` market dinner series -- starting this Sunday, 11/06/2011

From Stu Davenport:

Sunday Family-Style Farmers` Market Dinner Series

Starting Sunday evening, Nov. 6th at the Big Bear Café, 7pm.

Come join us for a family-style farmers` market dinner series starting Sunday evening Nov 6th.

Sit down by candlelight at our communal table & enjoy fresh bread, an assortment of Cowgirl and Keswick cheeses, & a three-course meal with greens, vegetables, fruits, & meats all available from the local farms of the Sunday Bloomingdale Farmers` Market!

We have limited space, so please RSVP per person with bigbearcafe.events @ gmail.com , though we hope to have room for you if you decide to drop in last-minute! Dinner will be at market price. 37.

We look forward to dining with you.

Big Bear Cafe dinner menus, Oct. 24 - 28, 2011

Here is this week's dinner menu.

Today is officially "Food Day" which is a part of a nationwide campaign to push for healthy, affordable, accessible food. This month we will be hosting a range of events surrounding Food Day, starting today, where at 4pm KCDC will be showing a short film that focuses on bringing attention to the wide range of food-related issues in the United States, from local food access to animal welfare to public health and community nutrition.

We also have something of a dinner theater this Friday, 10/29 with DC Improv Comedy.

Hope you all can make it.

Dinner Menu, Oct. 24th to Oct. 28th

Monday, Marketfresh - October 24th.
I. Lentil stew with white Russian kale and a poached egg, shaved parmigiano. $10
II. Broccoli, butternut, & ricotta frittata. Roots down (!) slaw. $12
Red wine caramel apple pie!
-
Twosday, Tuesday.
I. Turkey and vegetable stew with carnival squash and mustard greens. $10
II. Sweet potato & gruyere croquettes. Hearty greens salad with apples and toasted walnuts, honey mustard vinaigrette. $12
-
Threesday, Wednesday, Woeless.

For the CSPI:
i. Bitter greens salad with fennel and orange.
ii. Pollo alla Cacciatora. Cime di rapa (slow braised broccoli rabe with garlic chips), rustic Italian bread and a selection of Cowgirl Creamery cheeses.
iii. Baked apples with walnuts, raisins and maple glaze, dollop of sweet and sour lazy cream.
For all!
Earthy vegetable and grain stew: purple top turnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, collard greens, brown rice & toasted cashews.
-
Foursday, Thursday.

I. Red wine braised beef roast. Polenta, escarole with whole garlic.
II. Pepper and mozzarella frittata. Green leaves salad with sherry vinaigrette

Big Bear Cafe dinner menus for tonight, tomorrow night

See this message from Big Bear Cafe's Stu Davenport:

Below is Clementina's dinner menu for the next couple of days at the Big Bear Cafe.
You can see more of what is available at our website at bigbearcafe-dc.com .

Thanks!

Dinner Menu October 12th, 13th

Wednesday, Oct. 12th
I. Pul' n' Vin': Chicken and wine stew with long grain rice. Bitter greens salad with fennel and orange, balsamic vinaigrette. $14
II. Potato and mushroom croquettes with butter and wine-braised Hakurei turnips and sauteed tat soi. $12

Thursday, Oct. 13th
I. Pan fried cod in white wine sauce with potatoes, sauteed kale with yellow eye beans. $12
II. Butternut squash soup, you don't even know. Salad of Napa cabbage, spinach, and apples with white balsamic vinaigrette. $10

Dessert: caramel buttercreamdream cake.

countdown: 6 days -- Bloomingdale House Tour, Art Show and Reception

see this announcement from Bertha Holliday, Bloomingdale Civic Association House Tour Committee coordinator:

COUNT DOWN: 6 DAYS

At This Very Moment …

9 Bloomingdale Homeowners
&
More Than 15 Bloomingdale Artists

Are Eagerly Preparing For Your Attendance!

BUY TICKETS FOR THE
Saturday, October 15, 2011
BLOOMINGDALE HOUSE TOUR,
ART SHOW & RECEPTION

It will be FRESH…..
It will be FIERCE…
It will be FABULOUS…
(and it also WILL BE FUN!)

Tickets Available at
http://housetour.bloomingdaledc.com
Big Bear Café
Cookies Corner Deli
Windows Café

Clementina Russo's dinner menus for this week at Big Bear Cafe

See this message from Big Bear`s Clementina Russo:

Monday - 10/03/2011

I. Pork shoulder braised in apple cider with apples, red onions and potatoes. Turnips and turnip greens braised in butter and white wine. $13
II. Peasant's Purse: sauteed Swiss chard with an egg over easy and crumbled feta, served with rustic Italian bread. $11

Tuesday - 10/04/2011
I. Lamb chops in red wine jus. Marinated kale salad. $14
II. Fried eggplant and sweet pepper stew atop Israeli couscous, dollop of black pepper ricotta. $12

HoboHumpdayWednesday - 10/05/2011
I. Soup! Winter squash soup with savoy cabbage and Borlotti beans. $12
II. Salad! Curly and Belgian endive, with shallots, toasted walnuts, poached egg, mustard vinaigrette. $10
Rustic Italian bread and Cowgirl Creamery cheese for both menus.

Thursday, with a Bang - 10/06/2011
I. Seared blue marlin steaks with olive oil and lemon juice, sauteed kale. $12
II. Pasta agghiu ogghiu. Leafy green salad with lemon dressing. $10

dinner menus for Big Bear Cafe 09/19 -09/22/2011

See this message from Clementina Russo of Big Bear Café:

9/19 Market Fresh Monday - Eggs and Greens, 2 Ways.

I. Stewed white Russian kale with onions, egg over easy. Pan-fried red sweet potatoes. $10
II. Butternut squash and ricotta frittata. Belgian endive, fennel, apple, and celeriac salad with whole grain mustard vinaigrette. $12

Early apple tart.

9/20 Tuesday

I. Eggplant, sweet pepper, and tomato stew under a poached egg. Pan-fried carnival squash. $11
II. Pork chops with brown butter and sage. Sauteed rainbow chard. $12

Baked apples with maple syrup, walnuts, and raisins.

9/21 Wednesday

I. Soup and salad - summer into fall sweet vegetables soup with bitter greens salad. $12
II. Tacchino (turkey) Marsala. Braised escarole with whole garlic, rosemary potatoes. $16

Dessert to be determined

9/22 Eve of the Equinox Thursday

I. End of Summer: Zucchini and cuccuzze (yellow squash) in salmoriglio (a condiment sauce of olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and parsley). Spinach, mozzarella and cherry tomato salad. $9
II. Into Fall: Sguazeto - Friulian lamb stew, served with polenta and sauteed broccoli with currants and pine nuts. $16

Dessert to be determined

Big Bear Cafe dinner menu - week of Sept. 12

See this message from Stu Davenport:

Big Bear Cafe Dinner Menu
week of sept. 12th

Monday:
I. Braised chicken with sweet peppers. Sauteed beet greens and fregola sarda. $16
II. Fennel and ricotta frittata. Escarole and romaine salad with lemon dressing. $10

Tuesday:
I. Leg of goat braised with spices, chickpeas, apricots and prunes. Eggplant stew and couscous. $16
II. Mushroom & feta cutlets. Beet, celeriac and fennel slaw with yogurt dressing. $10

Wednesday:
I. Seared wild salmon fillet with wine-braised beluga lentils. Sauteed white Russian kale. $18
II. Peasant`s Purse: Sauteed rainbow chard and potatoes under an over-easy egg and crumbled feta. $9

Thursday:
I. Yellowfin tuna ``a la plancha``, cherry tomatoes and whole coriander. Griddled eggplants. $18
II. Soup! Roman beans, buttercup squash and Dino kale, whole poached egg. $10

Stu: Les Petits Chanteurs returning to Bloomingdale this week

See this message from Stuart Davenport:

I want to let people know that Les Petits Chanteurs are returning to Bloomingdale this week, and they will be performing at the Art Museum of the Americas at the OAS building this Friday at 1pm.

See the flier attached.

Les Petits Chanteurs are the Haitian choral singers and classical musicians who performed in Bloomingdale two years ago at St. George`s Church, the Bloomingdale Farmers Market, and the Big Bear Cafe during the annual neighborhood pig roast (bi-annual??).

They are now touring the eastern United States as they perform and raise funds to rebuild their school and music hall in Port Au Prince.

They come into DC on Thursday, Sept. 8th and will be having a BBQ at the Big Bear Cafe from 3:30pm-8pm. They then head to the National Cathedral to prepare for their tour (and practice for their performance at OAS on Friday).

For all neighbors who offered housing, helped with the BBQ, and came to hear them sing years ago - come say hello at the BBC! Or the OAS building on friday.

-Stuart

is Bloomingdale "more than Big Bear"?

A neighbor passed along this link:

http://socialstudiesdc.com/2011/08/dc-stereotype-map/

You will see that the Bloomingdale area is stereotyped with the label "more than just big bear."

What do YOU think ?

Update: Lydia DePillis over at the Housing Complex column at the Washington City Paper has posted a brief blurb on this new DC neighborhood map:

Pick Your Stereotype!
Posted by Lydia DePillis on Aug. 17, 2011 at 1:26 pm
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/08/17/pick-your-stereotype/

LivingSocial`s D.C.-centric blog, SocialStudiesDC, has put together a map of District stereotypes:

Reprinted with permission from the LivingSocial people.

You might say it`s ignorant and myopic. Of course, that`s the point.

And hey, Big Bear Cafe, you`ve made yourself into even more of a stereotype than you realize!

For a more nuanced read on the District`s social geography, take a gander at our neighborhood guide (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/neighborhoods/ ) from 2008. It`s a little outdated—most people don`t think of Rock Creek Park in terms of Gary Condit anymore, for example—but largely still holds true.

Diton: NCMS Art + Music Walk - grand finale featuring pig roast, craft beers, Flamenco music, pizza-eating contest

See this message from Rustik Tavern`s Diton Pashaj:

Join us this Saturday, August 6th between 12 pm and 6pm for the Third Annual Art Walk in DC`s North Capital Neighborhoods of Bloomingdale, Eckington and Truxton Circle. Featuring ``Pop-up`` art installations that will be in front lawns throughout the month of August, an Artist Village with unique crafts for sale, various venues with live music and much more, this year`s Art Walk is not to be missed. Sponsored by North Capital Main Street and the Pinkline Project, the mission is to bring the community together in an event for all ages to enjoy.

Some call it Block Party, some call it Grand Finale -- oh heck, call it whatever you want -- but we are closing the unit block of T Street NW for some lively music, a Pig Roast and craft brews. A 250 pound pig will be slowly smoked for 24 hours and served alongside roasted chicken, sausage, grilled vegetables and more in an all-inclusive buffet for $15 starting at 4pm. Great Lakes and Heavy Seas Breweries will represent with their awesome craft-brews on site with pints available for $5. A selection of red and white wines will be available for $5 a glass as well.

Come for the food and drink, stay for the entertainment. On stage there will be a lively Rumba Flamenco Band with dancer. In between sets, we`ll host a Pizza Eating Contest during which representation from Big Bear Cafe, Rustik Tavern, Boundary Stone, Solly`s Tavern and soon to open in Petworth, DC Reynolds Bar, will be in fierce competition to put down the most pizzas in our allotted time-span. Come support your local providers of food and drink as they put their skills to the test. And the best part of this, the Prince of Petworth himself will be hosting the contest wearing his ``Prince``ly attire. Oh yeah, we ordered the cape and crown. Maybe we can convince him to scarf down some pizzas as well.

If all this doesn`t sound like fun to you, we don`t know what does.

You can call this Just Another Random Day in Bloomingdale.

When: Saturday, August 6th
Art Walk 12-4 pm
Grand Finale or ``Block Party`` 4 - 6:30 pm

What: Art Walk featuring pop up art installations in lawns throughout the neighborhoods
Artist Village with unique crafts for sale
Live Music in front of Big Bear Cafe, Window`s Cafe and The Firehouse
Grand Finale in front of Rustik Tavern featuring a Pig Roast, Craft Beers, Flamenco music

...and Pizza Eating Contest