D.C.'s Culinary History

What did restaurant menus in Washington D.C. look like when Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House? How different from today was a night out on the town in 1963? The Kojo Nnamdi Show is tracing D.C.'s culinary history and asking how local food culture has reflected national and global trends in politics and society.

  • How has restaurant decor and design evolved over the years?
  • When did ethnic cuisines gain popularity?
  • How have gender roles in restaurants changed through the decades?

Like most favorite meals, we think this series will be at its best if it reflects a shared experience. We want to hear your stories about what the D.C. area had to offer when you were growing up, first moved here, or went on your first date in the city. What topics would you like us to explore throughout the series? Do you have photographs of old menus or unique matchbooks? Share your stories and photos by emailing kojo@wamu.org or via twitter @kojoshow.

How Washington Became a Food City: Chef Jean-Louis Palladin opened "Jean-Louis at the Watergate" in 1979, emphasizing unique ingredients and embracing the challenge to fuse American and French culinary styles to create new dishes. When Palladin died in 2001, many luminaries in the food world, including chefs like Eric Ripert, mourned the loss of their former mentor. Great Chefs Television filmed Palladin cooking celery soup at the Watergate:

Web extras

Recent Shows

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-10-17/skirt-steak-landscape-female-chefs

"Skirt Steak:" The Landscape For Female Chefs

Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 at 12:06 p.m.
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What the kitchen looks like to female chefs who've broken down barriers and aspiring cooks who want to follow in their footsteps.

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-09-19/dos-and-donts-business-lunch

"Dos And Don'ts" Of The Business Lunch

Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012 at 12:22 p.m.
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How to impress your client at the table, what foods to avoid and who should pay when you're doing business over lunch. We talk to an etiquette expert and the manager of a D.C. power lunch bistro.

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-07-28/how-washington-became-food-city

How Washington Became a "Food City"

Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010 at 12:21 p.m.
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We examine how an influx of immigrants and the arrival of the District's first celebrity chef began to change the city's culinary DNA.

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-06-23/tracing-dcs-culinary-history

Tracing D.C.'s Culinary History

Wednesday, Jun 23, 2010 at 1:06 p.m.
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We begin a new series exploring how D.C.'s past influences today's food culture, with a look at nightlife in the 1950s and 60s.

The Kojo Nnamdi Show is produced by member-supported WAMU 88.5 in Washington DC.