Floral Headpieces, Long Speeches, Nellie's Trivia and More from the 2013 Rammy Awards

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The 2013 Rammy Awards took place last night. There were no faux controversies about bloggers this year, but there was plenty of floral attire, off-topic political roasting and more. Here are the winners; read on for Hangover Observations.

1) Stop the presses: Chef Geoff Tracy was spotted without a baseball cap. The restaurateur, sporting a bowtie instead, was on hand to give Clyde's of Georgetown an award for 50 years in business. Damn.

2) Speaking of Clyde's, you better not mistake it for an English pub. Chairman Sally Davidson explained that the restaurant's tagline, "An American Bar," was put in place because everyone was assuming that restaurant was the kind of place that serves fish and chips.

3) The Rammys decided to go all Oscars and play walk-off music every time a speech went a little long. They started this with lifetime achievement winner Linda Lee, a longtime Chinatown restaurateur who spoke about the changes the neighborhood has gone through, and the opportunities America has given her.

4) Presenter Tom Sherwood continued his tradition of making off-topic and slightly off-color jokes about D.C. politicians. On former council member Michael Brown: "He's just like a soda machine; he takes cash easily."

5) The evening's theme was "Restaurants in Bloom," which meant the evening's volunteers wore Renaissance Faire-esque floral headdresses, and several attendees wore dresses with floral prints to mark the occasion.

6) Fun fact from the acceptance speech from Nellie's, the winner for Neighborhood Gathering Place. The restaurant is named for owner Douglas Schantz's great grandmother. Though she may have not been into the concept of a "straight-friendly" sports bar, Schantz said, he added, "I think she'd be proud because we won the Rammy."

7) Oh, 14th Street; how it has changed. Bar Pilar's Jonathan Fain, accepting the Hottest Bar Scene award: "I remember when there were hookers on the corner...we weathered through." Similarly, owner Mike Benson, talking about the restaurant's construction: "We had pimps coming in being like, 'What's going on here?'"

8) In the genuinely moved category: Rising Culinary Star Scott Harlan of Green Pig Bistro and Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, who were both slightly choked up during their acceptance speeches. "What an honor," Bajaj said after the ceremony. Also excited: Room 11, which took home an underdog win for Best Mixology Program. "It's definitely humbling — but it's awesome," said general manager Jess Woods.

9) Neighborhood Restaurant Group pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac made more than 700 doughnuts for the reception. She said this morning on Twitter that she didn't even get one.

10) After the awards, the participants danced to live music and sampled cuisine sponsored by a number of countries, including Peru and Chile. Keeping it simple: Mexico, who put out a make-your-own nacho bar and a make-your-own tequila sunrise station, which of course led to attendees bringing back entire bottles of tequila to their tables.

11) The after party was at Estadio, winner for Upscale Casual restaurant, where attendees attempted to drink out of the restaurant's famous porrons, with varying degrees of success.
· Ashok Bajaj, Fabio Trabocchi Win Big at the Rammys [-EDC-]
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