Happy opening day, GBD Chicken and Doughnuts! GBD is the latest from one of our favorite bakers, Tiffany MacIsaac, also of Buzz Bakery and her husband Kyle Bailey, chef at the popular Birch & Barley. Happy (organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free) fried chicken and delicious doughnuts — maybe not the healthiest of meals, but perfect for the occasional indulgence. My college years were fueled by California’s famed Donut Man, and my hometown spawned the most delicious doughnut on earth — so I’m delighted that the doughnut craze has finally reached DC. (And that the GBD crew spell doughnut properly, at least outside of Twitter where you’ll find them at @GBDchixndonuts.)

The younger foodie tot and I sampled the chicken and doughnuts at a pre-opening pop-up. Here’s her review:

GBDchixndonuts pop-up from Colleen | GlassBottle on Vimeo.

That tres leches rivals my favorite from NYC’s Doughnut Plant, so I’m thrilled to be able to get my fix without commuting to the Lower East Side.

Find GBD — which stands for golden, brown delicious — in Dupont Circle, 1323 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

The holidays are approaching — time to brush up on manners with a special pre-holiday “Tea with Mrs. B” this Sunday, November 11, at The Fairfax at Embassy Row. In this two-hour event, Mrs. B will offer holiday etiquette advice, while The Fairfax’s Chef Ferrier will share healthy holiday eating suggestions. There will be a full kid-friendly tea service and even a photographer on hand for family photos while everyone is dressed in their fancy tea attire.

We had such a fun time at a “Tea with Mrs. B” event at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria last year. If you can’t make it to Sunday’s event, the Morrison will also host holiday story time teas on November 17 (Thanksgiving) and December 15 (Christmas/Hanukkah). Visit Mrs. B’s website for additional details.

Holiday Etiquette and Tea Party for the Entire Family
with Mrs. B
Sunday, November 11, 2012
1:00-3:00pm
Fairfax at Embassy Row
2100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Adults: $49 per person; Children: $29 per person
Purchase tickets online here or call 202-736-1459.

We’re long time fans of MOM’s Organic Market, but moving away from the Alexandria location has made it harder to visit — until now. MOM’s has opened it’s newest Virginia location in Merrifield. (Technically it’s in Fairfax but just outside Falls Church.) Merrifield is the site of the coming-soon Mosaic District shopping center which will also have a Red Apron Butcher (yay!) and Target (for those less organic needs). The ninth store in the local MOM’s family, the Merrifield store is holding it’s grand opening celebration this weekend, Friday 9/14 through Sunday 9/16, with lots of great samples and kids activities. The littlest foodie tot and I got a sneak peek today.

It may have helped that it was lunchtime, but the tot walked through the aisles exclaiming, “Purple milk? I LOVE purple milk. Bread? I LOVE bread. Cheese? I LOVE cheese,” and so on. (We also took home two free loaves of Spring Mill bread — a locally-baked favorite.)

After we finished shopping, we shared a beet burger and blueberry muffin from the Naked Lunch counter. (They’ll have kombucha on tap, if you’re into that sort of thing.) If you’re local, you’ll want to head on down and check it out!

MOM’s Organic Market – Merrifield
8298 Glass Alley
Fairfax, Va.
momsorganicmarket.com

The newest exhibit at our National Zoo opens to the public at noon tomorrow, Saturday, September 1. After lengthy renovations, the American Trail, home to North American river otters, beavers, the bald eagle, wolves and the beloved seal and sea lions, reopens with additional viewing areas, environmentally-friendly site design and water conservation features.

Of course, my interests in the new exhibit tend to the fishy side… specifically, the new Seal Rock Cafe and its sustainable seafood options. I visited this week for a preview and chatted with chef Tom Ramsey. With new food provider Sodexo, the Zoo has significantly upgraded its food offerings this summer. The American Trail’s cafe offers local and certified sustainable seafood, including a lobster roll, shrimp roll, or Hawaiian poke salad. The fish in the poke salad will change according to what’s available. (And tofu can be substituted in any dish.) It’s fresh, tasty and all served in stylish bamboo dishes.

The exhibit leads you down a quiet, shady canyon towards the seal and sea lion pools. The new viewing area gives you above and below water viewing opportunities. Lastly, the new exhibit features a tide pool splash pad — so the kids can splash around while you’re chowing down on that lobster roll. Fun!

A cold and steady drizzle didn’t deter the foodie tots from seeking out more delicious eats around town this weekend. This time, it was the Summer Picnic Spectacular at the coming-soon Union Market in Northeast DC.

We love this project, from development firm EDENS, for many reasons. Modeled after foodie meccas like the San Francisco Ferry Building, it’s bringing retail back to one of the earliest market sites in Washington. It’s gathering some of our favorite local producers and brands (Trickling Springs Creamery, Rappahannock River Oysters, Peregrine Espresso, to name a few) in one beautiful location. It will have a cheese shop. And on this wet weekend, it provided good eats, drinks and fun for the whole family. And it warmed this mama’s heart to see so many other foodie tots in attendance. It’s truly a delicious time to be a kid or an adult in Washington.

Click the slide show to see the foodie tots favorites, including fried pickles, corn salad, churros, ice cream worthy of a salute, and more.

Free picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Union Market opens September 8.
1309 5th Street NE
Washington, DC
www.unionmarketdc.com

Disclaimer: Headline is a shameless rip-off of nod to the Washington City Paper’s Young & Hungry blog. Give me a call if you want to branch out to the younger and hungrier audience.