TOPLEFT: LYNNESLADKY/CORBIS
CLRECOMMENDS
FOOD&DRINK
TASTINGNOTES
THISSEASON
bringsa slewof new
andgiftablewhisky introductions
suitable for themostdiscerning
palates. Twoof our favorites in-
clude
THEMACALLANRARECASK
(
$300,www.themacallan
.com
), anonagedstatementwhisky
that’s43percent alcohol byvolume
andhandcrafted frommostly
first-fill Spanish sherry-seasoned
oakcasks, and
THEDALMORE25
(
$1,000,www.thedalmore
.com
) singlemalt,whichwas
released in theUnitedKingdom
last year andhasnow found itsway
across thepond. And that journey
wasnothingcompared to theone
it embarksuponbefore reaching
one’sglass: Firstmatured inAmeri-
canwhite-oakcasks, thendivided
into25-year-oldpalomino fino
sherrybuttsand 1980 first-fill bour-
boncasks, the twoare latermarried
intobourbonbarrelsbeforebeing
transferred into tawnyportpipes
fromPortugal.—
RIMA
SUQI
SittingDownwith
DanielBoulud
N
.LasVegas.Lon-
don.Singapore… .Achiev-
ingtoast-of-the-townchef
status inanyoneof these
places, letaloneculinaryhot
spots likeMiami,Toronto
andMontreal, isatoothsome
enough feat.Claimingthat
status inallaforementioned
towns isadistinctionreserved
foroneDanielBoulud.
Duringhis30-plusyears in
theUnitedStates, the famed
Frenchchef, restaurateur,
authorandTVpersonality,
renowned forhissoulful, con-
temporaryapproachtoFrench
cooking(withsomewhimsical
nodstoAmericantraditions),
hasreceived justaboutevery
toptoquenod fromJames
Beardand friends.Creator
ofmorethan15restaurants
aroundtheglobe,Boulud’s
Michelintwo-star,NewYork
flagship,Daniel,hasbeen
short-listedasoneof thetop10
restaurants intheworldbythe
InternationalHeraldTribune
.
Sowhereexactlydoesatop
globe-trottinggastronomego
fromhere?
ToWashington,D.C.Specifi-
cally, tothenewCityCenterDC,
wherethechef’ssecond
DBGB
KITCHENANDBAR
(
www
.dbgb.com/dc
)hasopened;
andtoBoston,homeof the lat-
est
BARBOULUD
boulud.com/boston
),on
thegroundfloorof theManda-
rinOriental.
“Fromaculinarystandpoint,
thesearetwotownswith in-
credible localandnational tal-
ent,”saysBoulud,whotraces
his longcareer intheU.S.back
toD.C.,wherehefirst livedand
workedasayoungchef inhis
20s. “Forme, there’salways
beenanemotionalattachment
toWashington,acitythatgave
metheopportunitytodecide
whereIwantedtocook forthe
restofmy life— inAmerica.”
Equalpartsbrasserieand
bistro,DBGBpaystributeto
Statesidecomfortstaples like
burgers,sausagesandsundaes
—but“withsomeFrenchDNA.”
TheD.C.menualso includes
someBouludBeltway-isms, like
TheCrabbie—ahouse-ground
beefpattytoppedwithMary-
landcrab,Boston lettuceand
OldBaytartarsauce.
Similarly,Boston’sBar
Boulud, aFrenchbistroand
winebar, taps into local tastes
withseasonaldishes like
HomarddeGloucester,which
consistsofEnglishtea-smoked
Gloucester lobster, savoycab-
bageandmarblepotatoes.
“I lovetocookcomfort food
andtoteaseourcustomers
withourownspecial takeon
it,”saysBoulud,whoalsonotes
oneofhis favoritechallenges in
thekitchen: “takingsomething
verycommercial—andmaking
itvery,verygood.”
—§ ¨©ª ©ª
Fromaculinary
standpoint, these
are two townswith
incredible local
andnational
talent
.
DBGBKitchenandBar
andBarBoulud (right)
WINTER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
26
