It’s a partnership that brings together those with the records and those with the recipes. Over brunch Monday at the National Archives, Archivist of the United States David Ferriero and James Beard Award-winning chef and local restaurateur Jose Andres got together to announce that they were joining forces.
“At first it may seem like an odd combination, our conservators especially frown on our precious records getting too close to food,” Ferriero explained. “But there’s good reason that the record keeper and the tavern keeper have come together to sit at the same table.”
That tasty reason was the announcement that Andres was opening a pop up restaurant to accompany the National Archives’ exhibit “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?,” which looks at the government’s influence on the way Americans eat. The America Eats Tavern will be housed where Andres’ Cafe Atlantico is situated now (Cafe Atlantico will be getting new digs) and will open July 4.
Andres, whose D.C. restaurants explore Spanish, Mexican and Turkish cuisine, was excited to take a stab at something purely American. “To me to open an American restaurant is almost a dream,” Andres said. “Because all of my life I had tried to understand what America is through cooking and through food,” he continued, referencing his immigrant roots. The menu will feature some forgotten dishes, like burgoo and oysters Rockefeller, and as well some favorites, with that goal that American cooking be viewed as more sophisticated than just hot dogs and burgers. “And I love hot dogs and burgers,” Andres gushed.
Proceeds from the eatery will be donated to the Foundation for the National Archives. “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” debuts on June 10. Both the restaurant and the exhibit will be open through January 2012.
