New Eateries, Home-Brew Kits for White House Beer

Get caught up with the food scene in Montgomery County and adjacent Washington, DC, neighborhoods with "1 Meat, 3 Sides." This week, new restaurants take center plate:

One Meat:

Chef Geoff’s is coming to Rockville, and will occupy the former home of Houston’s and the short-lived , at 12256 Rockville Pike.

"The restaurant group opened its first location in 2000 and has since made a name—that of owner Geoff Tracy—serving contemporary American cuisine in a casual atmosphere. The new Rockville location will open on Sept. 12, Tracy announced on his website," . 

Tracy  in July 2011. Last month,  cited a Zagat report that the opening was imminent. 

Three Sides:

Potomac’s —The Grilled Oyster Company—opened on Wednesday, Sept. 5, in the Cabin John Shopping Center. 

The restaurant serves dishes such as grilled oyster, fish, crab, mussels and Old Bay fries. Washingtonian posted a tentative lunch menu on its website. 

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Kits to home-brew the Obama White House's signature beers—Honey Ale and Honey Porter—are available now through Northern Brewer, The Huffington Post reported.

Northern Brewer offers descriptions of both beers on its website, describing the Honey Ale as "built on a big foundation of malt with strong tones of biscuit and toffee" that plays up the "fruity, caramel aspects of English malt and yeast." Honey is added late in the process. The Honey Porter is a darker brew with "generous applications of sweet caramel and toasty Munich malts." The "moderate bitterness" is tempered with a pound of honey."

"Included in the kits are fermentable malt extracts, specialty grains to steep in the brew for extra flavor, a pound of honey, two or three varieties of hop pellets, yeast and priming sugar. They also come with detailed instructions that take consumers through the entire six-week process," The Huffington Post added.

The recipes were published earlier this month on the White House blog, which stated that:

As far as we know the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds. George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson made wine but there's no evidence that any beer has been brewed in the White House. (Although we do know there was some drinking during prohibition…)

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Vegetarians and vegans, take note: The Source, Wolfgang Puck's high-end restaurant at the Newseum in Washington, DC, now makes its own tofu.

Executive Chef Scott Drewno began making his own "spice- and herb-infused version of the soy-milk staple" about two months ago, Washington City Paper reported.

To make the tofu, Drewno boils house-made soy milk, then adds a coagulant. The resulting clumps are placed into a mold, then pressed. “It’s really creamy and subtly nutty and has a lot of the great properties like cheese does,” Drewno says. Some of The Source’s tofu items are on the menu, while others can only be ordered if you’re in the know.

Read more about the tofu dishes (some of which are made with meat) on the City Paper's website.