Lamb Jam 2011

There is nothing I can add to the reviews below except to say that IF there is a living social, groupon, blah blah blah deal to go to this, and you DON’T buy a ticket, you are a fool! And I will be more then happy to eat your portion! I’ve never been more full in my life… like…ill…I had to go lay on my side for the rest of the day! Next year (because…remember…I’m eating your portion) I think I’ll have a tasting buddy and we will share each dish, there buy halving my own ingestion levels and leaving more room for wine (I didn’t even get a buzz… tooooo mmmuuucchhhhh llllaaaaammmmbbbb)!!!

At 14 I became a vegetarian, and for the next 15 years was entirely meat-​free. But three years ago, my body revolted and my doctor agreed with it. Cranky, tired, and listless, I decided to add seafood back into my diet.
Well, *that* was a slippery slope. Once fleshy protein was reintroduced, the body revolted further and demanded true, meaty meat. So a year ago — grudgingly at first — I chose to go all «ethical flexitarian» and start eating real meat again if I could be sure it was free-​range, certified humane, hormone/​antibiotic-​free, organic, etc. etc. etc. A whole new world (re)opened as husband and I bought Italian sausages, ground bison, and pork loin at local farmers markets and independent butchers. And many other dining options revealed themselves as more and more restaurants debuted this kind of meat on their menus. (It’s hard for me to come out like this on Unilocal — be gentle.)

Well, recently — along with husband, Moms, and Pops (the boys being two of the most ardent lamb fans I know) — I went a bit rogue, attending the inaugural Lamb Jam DC at the Ritz-​Carlton. Boy, was this an awesome experience. I felt like a guest at one of those «Top Chef» elimination challenge events, sampling bites prepared by some of the country’s most talented chefs… who had to prep everything inside a moving helicopter. Without utensils. Blindfolded.
Other Unilocalers have covered the Lamb Jam dishes in excellent detail, so I’ll spare you a repeat. To someone who hasn’t eaten much meat in her lifetime, most of it tasted pretty darn good. Somewhere around number 11 of the 19 dishes offered, I thought I’d have to throw in the towel from lamb fatigue. But I powered through and managed to sample everything. Go big or go home, right? I went big and then had to be rolled home in a lamb stew-​por.
Adding to the enjoyment of this event for me was the fact that Lamb Jam, sponsored by American Lamb, celebrates local, largely pasture-​raised lamb from independent farmers. In the five cities Lamb Jam is touring this year — Boston, DC, San Francisco, Seattle, and NYC — the lamb is provided by nearby farms partnered with American Lamb. Locavore dining is a philosophy I can get behind.
Suggestions for an even more impressive event in the future? A couple minor ones:
— Maybe it’s because I’m a born-​again-​meat-​virgin, but I found it difficult to eat several of the dishes without a knife. Large rolls of lamb roulade or slices of loin, for example, were tough to figure out, and I ended up gnawing primordially at those dishes. Unnerving for a former full-​on veg-​head.
— I shudder to think just how much trash was generated overall. I understand why disposable plates and utensils were used. I just wonder if there’s a better alternative, like compostable cutlery.
Overall, this was a supremely fun event at a bargain of a price. Lamb Jam, thank you*, ma’am.
*No, really: thanks to all the lambs who gave their lives in the name of culinary excellence. The best chefs in DC did your little souls reverent justice. Baaaaaa.

I have a love/​hate relationship with festivals. I love the fun and the atmosphere of festivals, but I desperately hate the huge crowds, long lines, loud and unruly kids and the surly vendors
It was my husband’s birthday weekend. He had work functions on his actual birthday, so I tried to find something cool to do to make up for it. When I first heard about Lamb Jam, I was worried — would it fail like every other food and wine festival I’ve gone to? With huge long lines, lukewarm bites and horrible wines that does nothing to complement the food being served? But my husband worships at the shrine of all things lamby, so I decided to take a chance… fortune favors the brave after all!
It was an unmitigated success!
To start with, it’s indoors, which was already a huge plus (since the day looked like it was going to rain). The ballroom which it was held was not overly crowded — we never had to stand in line for anything, for more then a few minutes. With 19 vendors, we were so full (perhaps «pre-​gaming» with dimsum was a poor tactical move) that we could barely waddle back to some of our favorites. The atmosphere was great, and the set up of the room was very condusive the the flow, with the chefs along the perimeter and the wine vendors at the center. The wines presented were all robust enough to complement the lamb dishes beautifully, and there was more then enough food — only a few vendors ran out of food by the time we got there (and we showed up 30 minutes late, and then stopped to watch the lamb butchering demo for 20 minutes).
Awesome awesome awesome event! If only all food and wine festivals was run as efficently and flawlessly as this!
Already looking forward to Lamb Jam 2012!

This was an excellently managed event. Not too crowded and plenty of food and wine for all participants throughout the duration of the event. Overall, the local participating chefs were outstanding in their craft.
My favorite standouts were:
BLT Steak — beautiful blend of spices and flavors with a perfectly delectable lamb. And managed to retain most of the gamey flavors. My favorite.
Jackson 20 — savory, delicious, also well prepared lamb.
Zaytinya — perfect lamb on top of a delicious eggplant purée.
701 — the vinaigrette complemented and lamb tartare nicely
Lebanese Taberna — classic lamb tartare.
Four Seasons — love the ghost chili on the lamb tamale. They couldn’t believe I was piling so much of it on the tamale.
Usually I prefer my lamb a bit on the gamey side and most of the chefs here managed to either cook out that taste or masked it. I guess that’s more appealing to the masses. Still, it was an unmitigated successful event.

Even if you paid the full price of admission ($ 50), this event was well worth it. So much food that I didn’t even get to sample all 19 offerings. Literally there was no room in my stomach despite how good everything looked. Plus, I ducked out of the ballroom to snag one of the Georgetown Cupcakes early on while there were still plenty left, which took up crucial stomach real estate.
The standouts for me were the perfectly springlike plates from Restaurant Nora which paired lamb with fiddlehead ferns and chive flowers, and the Bibiana lamb with raviolis, charred eggplant, and ramps. All the samples were carefully plated – I was extremely impressed by their attention to detail – so it felt more like you were doing a stand up walk around tasting menu rather than trying to snatch some food at a street fair. However, there were a few dishes that were unwieldy or just impossible to eat while trying to balance a full wine glass. Trying to unwrap a tamale with one hand is just asking for spillage. Trying to cut a large piece of chewy lamb with a plastic fork can only end in failure. While there was a good crowd at the event, there was rarely much of a wait at each station. Arriving at the beginning is a good idea though as the restaurants seemed to be winding down around 2 hours in.
Besides the lamb tastings, there was a cheese station, a butcher demo station, freebie giveaway table including lamb rub, reusable shopping bags, and lip balm, beer tastings, Washington state wines, and Foggy Ridge hard cider to try. The Foggy Ridge ciders were light and refreshing, and as a big hard cider fan, I’m really hoping more liquor stores and restaurants will start carrying it around DC.
Overall a very well organized event that I’d look forward to going to again. Next time, I’d probably try to resist the cupcakes and stick to the lamb.

I just love a good party. A party with lamb — even better; add a little wine, how could you not have a good time? The first showing of the Lamb Jam in DC was a huge success. It wasn’t overcrowded and there was plenty of food and drink to go around. There were absolutely numerous outstanding dishes, but for me the #1 dish goes to Chef Nick Stefanelli (Bibiana) and his Lamb Shoulder Confit with charred Eggplant and lamb ravioli with ramps. The eggplant had such a wonderful smoky flavor and the lamb tender and succulent.
My next three favorites and for me were:
Chef Michael Costa’s (Zatinya) Hunkar Begendi — a Turkish lamb stew over top eggplant purée. The lamb was so tender and the «broth» of the stew in the eggplant… so good. This eggplant was almost like eating hummus.
Chef Clayton Miller (Trummers on Main) — lamb shoulder, rhubarb, spinach, laurel leaf crumble and red wine. To me the winning component of this dish was the laurel leaf crumble. I’ve never had it before and it added a wonderful crunch to the dish that no one else had.
Chef Ed With (701) — The man never ceases to amaze me with what he puts out at these events. I love that he always has something that I’ve never had. Chef Wit had a Trio of lamb loin paired with flying dog beer. His trio consisted of liverwurst, pepper crusted lamb and a tartare. Of the three I absolutely loved the pepper-​crusted lamb, though honestly the tartare had wonderful flavor as well. The only one that didn’t work for me was the liverwurst. Using beer just made all of the pieces have their own unique flavor.
The «hottest» dish was from Chef Adam Sobel (Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons) — Love tamales — I’ve never had a lamb tamale before; nor have I ever tried ghost chili. I probably won’t be trying too much of that anytime soon. The tamale was perfect — not dry like they can sometimes get.
Unlike many other events, this event was very spacious. The food was located in a circle with wine offerings in the middle. Speaking of wines — this event showcased numerous Washington wines. For me it is always nice to try other varieties from different parts of the world. I had a couple of favorites. From Smasne Cellars there was a 2007 Old Vine Cabernet and the 2007 Robert O Smasne Reserve, Red Bordeaux Blend. Both were bold and wonderful to drink. I would gladly add them to the wine collection.
Can’t wait till next year to do it all over again!

My fellow Unilocalers have thoroughly and accurately recapped the First Annual DC Lamb Jam; however, if given the forum to give an opinion… I usually will. Here’s mine…
The «If I Were A Judge This Would’ve Been the Best in Show»:
Bibiana…Chef Stefanelli hit all the right notes with his Lamb Shoulder Confit with Charred Eggplant, Lamb Ravioli and Ramps. The highlight for the dish was the sublime charred eggplant which brought back fond memories of eating baba ghannouj during my travels in the Middle East.
The «A Bridge Too Far» (tie):
Trummers’s on Main and 701. Chefs Miller and Witt provided the boldest dishes of the day and really challenged the crowd to go along for the ride. Personally, I love it when chefs swing for the fences and attempt to do something far different than what they’d probably do in their restaurants! Chef Miller’s Lamb Shoulder with Rhubarb, Spinach purée, Laurel Leaf Crumbles and Red Wine looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book! It was striking with contrasting flavors and textures. The laurel leaf crumble set the dish apart. Chef Witt’s Trio of Lamb Loin (a tartare, pepper-​crusted lamb, and lamb liverwurst) paired with Flying Dog Beer were adventurous and showed off the versatility of the lamb. The tartare was the best of the raw lamb dishes served in the competition. The pepper-​crusted lamb was peppery but not overwhelmingly so. I heard several negative comments about the liverwurst, but I liked it.
The Inexplicable:
BLT…Chef Albisu’s Braised Lamb Shank with Merguez Paella and Charred Ramp Gremolata was a great sounding dish, but fell short during execution. The piece of lamb I received was cooked/​burnt to a jerky-​like consistency. The paella was dry and crunchy… perhaps by design… but coupled with the dried meat made for a double dose of dryness. The merguez sausage was flavorful. It was a huge surprise to me that it won the People’s Choice Award. Apparently, the rest of the crowd must’ve gotten the good stuff and I got the dregs!
The «What a Shame»:
Westend Bistro… Chef Palma’s Braised Lamb Shoulder with Horseradish Grits and Butter Bean Ragu was another dish that held great promise! I love grits and I love horseradish. Sadly, the entire dish seemed to be devoid of the expected flavors. The lamb seemed boiled to the point of blandness. The grits had the right consistency but lacked a noticeable presence of horseradish. The butter bean ragu? Boiled butter beans. This was a dish I wanted to love and just couldn’t.
The Lamb Jam was an amazing success and a huge bargain considering the price of admission, the amount of high quality and delicious food, the excellent Washington State wines (the Smasne Cellars’ Cabernet Sauvignons were amazing!), and the opportunity to try a Georgetown Cupcake without having to wait in a long line to get one! I can’t wait for the Second Annual DC Lamb Jam!

Lamb Jam was an unmitigated success. Considering that one got to sample approximately seventeen different preparations of lamb as well as wine tastings from a number of Washington state-​based wineries all at an incredibly reasonable price point (no more than $ 50) during a three hour time span, I can’t really see why one would give it any less than five full brightly shining red Unilocal stars.
Unlike the thoughtless spacing at the recent Cochon 555 event, Lamb Jam used a grand ballroom for their event with small circles in the front for wine tasting and a large rectangle across the borders of the ballroom to house all the different food vendors. The result is that one was able to easily access the preparations without annoying wait times. As mentioned by Antonio M., I also thought that the educational aspects of each preparation were thoroughly described by the different vendors. Another aspect that added to Lamb Jam’s appeal was that it was almost entirely gluten free (hats off to the chef’s for taking food allergies into consideration) and most of the chefs were able to spontaneously adjust their dishes in the few instances where it was an issue.
While Cochon 555 certainly had more celebrity chef appeal (The Source, Volt, etc.), there were precious few restaurants that actually participated (five). Here, you got over three times more preparations at one third of the price.
Probably the best aspect of Lamb Jam (or really any food event for that matter) is sampling the incredible range of preparations. I had everything from braised lamb tamales dabbed with ghost chili sauce to lamb tartare to green salads with lamb and bacon accents. I certainly was not disappointed with this event from that perspective.
For those who want to navigate their first steps into the world of unabashed food nerdiness, this would be my suggested DC baby step. As someone who has been to a number of these events, I have to say that I am floored that Lamb Jam was an inaugural event. If it continues to evolve from this first step, it very well might hold a spot on my annual calendar. I’d strongly recommend to anyone interested in food regardless of their budget. This event is worth your time.

Well I guess I learned my lesson not to create a business listing and upload 100+ photos at 6AM for an event that Antonio or Fenny attend, FTR snipers! All kidding aside, this was an astounding event considering it’s their first year and the total cost is about ¹⁄₃ of what Cochon 555 asked (which was a massive headache of a failure in its first DC iteration, in my opinion). For just $ 50 (or $ 35 if you waited til the end to purchase and got the discount tickets), you were treated to unlimited samplings from close to 20 of DC’s most well known restaurants (although there were some noticeable no-​shows), along with unlimited wine pours all from quality Washington State wineries, and several towers worth of Georgetown Cupcakes treats. There were also butchering demonstrations courtesy of Wagshal’s and giveaway bags full of goodies like meat rubs, chapstick, and lamb jerky.
The event itself was broken into several categories, featuring awards for Best Loin, Shoulder, Leg, and Shank, as well as a Best in Show, and People’s Choice award. Apparently all of the judging was done before the event actually started, so chefs were just getting into preparing tasting plates when we arrived just after the 2PM start time. I stopped by Elle’s place on the way to pick her up since she overslept, and I have to admit it was a real lifesaver to have someone help me carry around the loads of stuff they threw at you here while still trying to document (
) everything with my camera. I also lost 3 wine glasses by setting them down for just a second and turning to talk, and wound up drinking out of a paper cup for half the day, which they for some reason never bothered to touch. I was tempted to speak to the management of the Ritz-​Carlton after one employee was overtly harassing Ruth and Elle when I got up to refill our water, but I never found anyone who looked important enough to speak to, and I was too exhausted/​full at the end to go searching.
As for the actual plates themselves, I think it’s easiest to break them down into a few categories, Good/​Memorable, Insignificant/​Forgettable, and Just Not Very Good:
The «Memorable» items we tasted:
— Bibiana: Lamb Shoulder Confit, w/​Charred Eggplant, Lamb Ravioli & Ramps
— Bastille: Tajine of Lamb Shoulder
— Trummer’s on Main: Lamb Shoulder w/​Rhubarb, Spinach, Laurel Leaf Crumble & Red Wine (this was my favorite preparation of the lamb all day)
— Urbana: Slow-​cooked Lamb Leg w/​Preserved Lemon, Dried Herbs & Flowers, Rosemary-​scented Gypsey Peppers & Cipolini Onion
— Againn: Smoked Lamb Sausage w/​Chickpeas, Minted Yoghurt & Harissa-​Lamb Marrow Jus (the sausage was delicious and the chickpeas were cooked perfectly)
— Zaytinya: Hunkar Begeni — Braised Lamb Shanks w/​Eggplant Kefalograviera Purée (my actual favorite dish overall of the day, but heavily because of the purée rather than the lamb)
— The Grille at Morrison House: Lamb Shank Crepinette w/​Rosemary Lamb Demi (looooved the tenderness of the meat here)
— 701: Trio of American Lamb Loin w/​Flying Dog Beers (2 out of the 3 were very nice, didn’t care for the morel mushroom version)
— Café Atlantico: Pickled Strawberries w/​Black Olive Lamb, Pistachio Crusted, w/​Snap Peas (the black olive sauce was fantastic, and the strawberry was a wonderful compliment and new flavor pairing for me, lamb was also cooked beautifully)
The «Forgettable» dishes came from:
— 1789: Lamb Shoulder Terrine w/​a Salad of White Turnips, Anchovies & Red Chili (they ran out of the chili for the tasters, and the anchovy was a really awkward pairing, but the terrine itself was done nicely)
— Restaurant Nora: Porcini-​Salt Crusted Organic Leg of Lamb w/​Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi, Fava Beans, Lamb’s Quarters, Fiddlehead Ferns, Spring Garlic Jus (I think this was just a case of too much going on and nothing being very solid itself)
— Eatwell DC (the group who does Logan Tavern, Grillfish, etc): Tajine of Lamb Leg w/​Preserved Lemons and Green Olives (decent but compared to the other tajine not nearly as good)
— Bourbon Steak: Braised Lamb Shank Tamale (loved the sauces, especially ghost chili, but the presentation was a mess, and very mealy)
— Galileo III: roasted Loin of Lamb w/​Spring Herb Salad & Balsamic Vinegar
— Vidalia: Lamb Loin stuffed w/​Lamb Sweetbreads, Black Garlic, Charred Bulb Onions, Strawberry Rhubarb Mostarda
— Occidental: Lamb Roulade stuffed w/​Mint/​Cherry Pesto w/​Caramelized Orange Cauliflower Purée & Mint Gelee
Lastly, those I didn’t care for at all:
— BLT Steak: Braised Lamb Shank w/​Merguez Paella & Charred Ramp Gremolata (this won the PC Award, and sounded fantastic, but our pieces were so tough they were almost inedible)
— Lebanese Taverna: Habra Nayeh, basically lamb tartare (lacked a lot of actual lamb flavor, big disappointment)
— Westend Bistro: Braised Lamb Shoulder w/​Horseradish Grits & Butter Bean Rag (lamb was cooked poorly, and dish tasted like nothing really)

Holy Lamb Meat Batman!
This was definitely a 5-​star experience that I’ll happily do again next year!
If you love lamb, this was the event for you. The lamb offerings were fantastic with a ballroom filled with tasty dishes. The four corners of the Lamb Jam ballroom had huge signs denoting the part of the lamb that each restaurant was offering:
— Loin
— Shank
— Leg
— Shoulder
I can happily report that I found some of the most amazingly tasty lamb dishes in each of the above sections. If memory serves right, here are some of my favorite dishes from each of the above areas.
— Loin:
The plate I ate which blew me away was the loin medallion offered up by Vidalia. The meat was tender and the accompanying sauce was phenomenal.
— Shoulder:
Bibiana’s offering with the ravioli, lamb shoulder confit, ramps and charred eggplant was my favorite of the Shoulder offerings.
— Leg:
Restaurant Nora’s Salt crusted leg of lamb with sheep’s milk Ricotta, Fava beans, Lamb quarters and fiddle head ferns. Who knew you could eat ferns? This dish was well thought out and very tasty!
— Shank:
Zaytinya’s Braised lamb shank with an eggplant purée that made me dance like Balky on «Perfect Stranger». I think that this was my FAVORITE of all the Lamb Jam dishes. I love love loved this dish!!!
One of my highlights was the large table full of Georgetown Cupcakes treats. Midway through the Lamb Jam, I need a carb break and downed 2 cupcakes. They were tasty and good, but still not THE best cupcakes.
After snapping up a few pix and trying one more cupcakes, I headed back inside for some more lamb fun.
BTW, the wineries at the event were great! One in particular had some great wine and were very friendly (i.e. generous pours) with their vino. Their name escapes me but I’ll update this review later.
Also great seeing many of my fellow DC Unilocalers. Loved seeing you all there and hopefully I didn’t have anything caught in my teeth when I said hello.
Oh…still stuffed this morning and I don’t think I’ll be able to eat red meat for at least a few days. But you know what?
I’d happily do it all over again and truly wish that Lamb Jam comes back again next year to our fine city. It was a well organized event with a ton of great food and drinks.
BTW, I ate EVERY SINGLE lamb dish offering! Boo-​ya for the fat boy! This is reason that by 4pm I was ready to leave as a massive food coma was about to overtake me. Sadly I didn’t get to see who won the People’s Choice award for the best lamb. Someone, PM me the winner!
Great job to the organizers of the DC Lamb Jam! If the world doesn’t end in 2012, I’d LOVE to come back to next year’s Lamb Jam! :-)