Jeff Faile

Drink Suggestions for Thanksgiving

by Chad on November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving is all about tradition, and my family’s tradition is to drink, eat, and play scrabble to celebrate the holiday. Well I can’t stand Scrabble, so I do most of the cooking and drinking. Every year we like to try a new cocktail while we are preparing dinner. I reached out to our favorite mixologist Jeff Faile of Fiola for a special Thanksgiving cocktail. He suggested a seasonal concoction of apples, cinnamon, and ginger. So last night I dumped out the contents of my sugar jar and started infusing Old Overholt Whiskey with apples & cinnamon. I love infused Whiskey’s and I am sure that the cocktail will be a huge hit.

 

We can’t just drink liquor on Thanksgiving so I swung by Port City Brewery last night to pick up a growler of Port City Porter. If you’re heading out of town stop by Port City Brewery tonight or one of the 180 local retailers (Arrowine, Whole Foods, Adega Wine Cellars, Total Wine, etc.) that carry their beers and show up at Thanksgiving with some local beer in hand. Their beers are well balanced and very easy to drink. I haven’t tried one of their brews that I haven’t liked. Port City is offering tours “Beer Friday” and throughout the weekend. It is probably the best entertainment you can get in the D.C. Area for $5.

 

When it comes to wine for Thanksgiving I would suggest something lighter. A rose, a sparkling white such as Cava or Prosecco, a grenache and/or a Pinot Noir. If you’re having a fancy Thanksgiving try adding a little St. Germain Liqueur to your guest’s sparkling wine for something different. I’m going to head to my favorite local wine shop and put myself in their hands this afternoon. I’ll tweet my selections, so make sure to follow @eatdrinkmore on Twitter.

 

 

Thanksgiving Cocktail – Jeff Faile of Fiola DC
1.5 oz of apple/cinnamon rye whiskey
1 oz lemon juice
.5 oz Domaine de Canton
.5 oz honey syrup
For rye infusion, take 3 honeycrisp (or any apple for that matter) and quarter them (removing core, stems, etc) and 4 to 5 sticks of cinnamon and place in a glass jar. Add a 750 ml bottle of rye whiskey (Old Overholt works great), and let sit for a couple of days.
For the honey syrup, add equal parts clover honey and hot water and stir until honey is dissolved. The water I use is usually around 200 degrees.
Garnish with apple slices.

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Fiola

by Chad on April 27, 2011

Chick Pea Fritters

Note: Britt’s comments in italics

I couldn’t resist heading over to Fiola as soon as it opened.  I love Italian food, Fabio is an amazing chef and Jeff Faile is one of the best mixologists I have come across in DC, add in the 10% discount during the soft opening and it was a no brainer. Britt and her husband joined Ilyssa and I for dinner, and while I don’t think it’s fair to give a full review based on a soft opening, we’ll give our first impressions.

The restaurant is a little hard to find, the address says Pennsylvania, but you actually enter the restaurant off of Indiana. Valet parking is available for $8.00. As we walked in to Fiola, located in Penn Quarter, we passed their soon to be open outdoor patio, which will be a great spot to enjoy a few cocktails outside. Fiola was designed by the same team that designed the interior of Proof. It is a beautiful restaurant with a variety of textures, sleek, highly polished wood, stack stone walls, and super cool light fixtures.

Our evening began with several cocktails expertly prepared by Jeff Faile, former mixologist at Palena. We love Jeff, so we’re a bit biased, but his drinks are really delicious, and he is a walking encyclopedia of cocktails. I usually ask Jeff to surprise me, and I am never disappointed. I had a stiff bourbon cocktail, and Britt ordered a Yolanda – I’m still not entirely sure what this was made with it was delicious and purple!

In true EatMore DrinkMore fashion, we ordered and drank way too much and really enjoyed our meal. The meal began with butter rolls, which were essentially crossaints –  really, really good croissants. I am a croissant snob, I can’t stand the croissants they serve at Starbucks. Who orders those things? They’re awful. Anyway, as I peeled open the croissant, hot steam was released and their flaky interior was exposed. Upon first bite, I knew it was one of the best rolls I have ever had. I couldn’t fathom why you would even need to dip it in the olive oil and seasoning on the table. Dip a butter roll into a plate of olive oil? That seems a bit over the top, it was, and it was delicious. BLT Steak has popovers that keep you coming you back, Fiola is no different. If I had to judge the popover at BLT and the butter roll at Fiola head to head, (that would be the greatest night ever) I think Fiola would win.

We ordered Burrata, Chick Pea Fritters, Razor Clams, and Speck Salad as appetizers and first courses. The burrata was creamy and delicious and worth a try if you’ve never had it. The chick pea fritters were fried but not heavy or greasy at all. I would definitely recommend getting the chick pea fritters. They were one of the highlights of the meal. I adored the razor clams drizzled with olive oil, ginger and citrus accompanied by grilled slices of bread.

The lobster ravioli tasted great and seems to be what Fabio is famous for. If you’re not familiar with this signature dish from Maestro, you may feel that it doesn’t really fit into the menu. The lobster was infused with ginger and wrapped in wonton wrappers, the dish was delicious but certainly had a decidedly Asian spin on it. If you ordered this dish in an Asian influenced restaurant you would be thrilled, if you’re looking for a typical Lobster Ravioli, you’re not going to find it here. If you find yourself missing the days of Maestro, then go ahead and order the Lobster Ravioli, that pleasure will set you back a stiff $30.  I went with the braised short ribs, which were unbelievable tender, and it was by far one of the most attractive plates of short ribs, I have ever been served (see picture below).

The lasagna, another signature dish, had five thin layers of home-made pasta and ground meat.  Unlike your traditional lasagne,this did not have red sauce, but it was a savory delight. I would highly recommend ordering this dish.  We also ordered the beef short rib and the meat literally fell off the bone and the I PACCHERI a Neapolitan maccheroni, tomato-braised oxtail, “Vaccinara” Style. Both meat dishes were hearty stick to your ribs style Italian but nothing felt overwhelming heavy which I think is the sign of a true Italian master.

We’re thrilled that Fiola has joined the DC dining scene and we’re excited to see what they have in store.

Fiola
601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004
202.628.2888
Fiola on Urbanspoon

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DC Chef News: Fiola, Rogue 24, and Art & Soul

by Chad on March 3, 2011

Lots of chefs seem to be moving around these days. In Tom Sietsema’s online chat today, he announced the new powerhouse team that will be running Fabio Trabocchi’s Fiola, which is slated for an April 5th opening. is now open- checkout our review here.

We’re extremely excited about our very own Jeff Faile (EM DM guest blogger & Bar Manager of Palena) who will be serve as the Bar Manager of Fabio’s new Italian Restaurant that is taking over the old Le Paradou space.

  • Miles Vaden – Eventide – Executive Chef
  • Federico Galeotti General Manager from Villa Pacri NY
  • Adrian Reynolds Pizzeria Mozza LA  Wine Director
  • Megan Scott Central DC Restaurant Manager
  • Justus Frank Eventide Chef de Cuisine
  • Jeff Faile Palena Bar Manager
  • Jason Gehring, the former pastry chef at Charleston

Miles Vaden & Justus Frank, hail from Eventide (check out our review here), rated as “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Association. Let’s see if Fiola can make it a repeat.
Another good friend of EatMore DrinkMore,  Chris Ford, the acclaimed pastry chef from Trummer’s on Main is moving on. Chris was honored last year as a Rising Star Pastry Chef by StarChefs. He is also a talented blogger and photographer, check out his blog - Butter, Love & Hardwork.

The Washington Post recently announced that Chris Ford will now be the pastry chef at R.J. Cooper’s Rogue 24. The restaurant is slated for a mid to late spring opening.

Last but not least, former executive chef of Againn (Ah-Gwen), Wes Morton will be heading up the kitchen at Art & Soul on Capitol Hill.

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Thanksgiving Cocktails by Jeff Faile of Palena

by Guest Contributor on November 17, 2010

Jeff Faile is the bar manager/mixologist at Palena in Cleveland Park. You can find him behind the bar every weekend, various week days, trying to keep up his own blog at A Life Behind Bars, and on twitter @Drink_shaker

November is here. Trees are shedding their leaves, football is in full swing, and the holidays are right around the corner. It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is a mere couple of weeks away. There will be more food than you can eat, and sometimes, there will be more family than you can deal with. The resolution to both? Alcohol!

Sure, there’s always wine around with dinner and a beer or two while you watch the Lions lose their annual nationally televised embarrassment, but this year why not try a different spin for your libations? While you partake in the seasonal flavors already offered in the festivities, take advantage of those flavors to enhance your drinks. Apples, pumpkins, anise, cinnamon, cardamom, etc.  scream Fall and give you a chance to not only satisfy the need for a delicious drink with your turkey and stuffing, but they also give you a fantastic way to make that annoying uncle a bit more tolerable.

When coming up for drinks at Palena this time of year, I try to incorporate seasonal flavors whenever possible. Calvados is a perfect fall ingredient. It is a brandy distilled from apple cider which is used as the base spirit for my drink called the Panier de Pommes. Take 1.5 oz of Calvados, 1 oz of Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur (also brandy based), 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice, and 1/4 oz honey syrup. Shake well for 20-30 seconds and double strain (use the standard Hawthorne strainer and pour into a tea strainer to capture ice shards) into a chilled martini glass with a brown sugar coated rim.

While many feel gin is a spring or summer drink, there is a lovely new gin out of Oregon by Ransom Spirits called Small’s Gin which is great this time of year. Instead of having the traditionally juniper forward flavor, Small’s intentionally or not has cardamom as the star of its flavor profile. I use this as the base for a drink a friend of mine has dubbed Linus’ Blanket. I take full advantage of working for one of the top Chefs and kitchen staffs around with this one. They make a beautiful pressed pumpkin juice steeped with the aforementioned Fall spices. Take 1.5 oz of Small’s Gin, 1.5 oz of pumpkin juice, .5 oz of Cardamaro Amaro, and a couple of dashes of Fee’s Brothers Lemon Bitters. Shake and double strain, and you have a drink that will help digest the extra helpings of dinner you just devoured!

The best part about this time of year is the variety of choices you have in front of you. It makes for an endless amount of flavor combinations. Just like wine, cocktails can enhance a meal especially when flavors roll together seamlessly. Whatever you decide to drink with Mom’s turkey this year, above all remember it is a time to celebrate. Enjoy the food, enjoy the drinks, and enjoy the family…ok, maybe not the weird uncle. Who invited him anyway? Until next time, cheers!

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