Styrofoam Ban Looms, Birch & Barley Loses Chef de Cuisine, More Intel

Who made that plate?

A recent (pricey) trend in D.C. restaurants: custom-made tableware. WaPo looks at the rise of companies like Cloud Terre. [WaPo]

The critics

Here's what Northern Virginia Magazine Stefanie Gans was excited about in 2015 outside of the restaurant world. Since maternity leave occupied much of her time, she has tips on streaming choices and favorite cheeses she enjoyed while at home. [NoVa Mag]

No more foam

Are you ready, D.C. fast food purveyors? The city's new styrofoam ban takes effect Friday.

Saying goodbye

Here's a nice post from Birch & Barley chef Kyle Bailey, saying goodbye to his exiting chef de cuisine Erik Rollings. He gets a cleaver for the road.

Hard to say goodbye to chef de cuisine @erikrollings after five and a half years at @birchbarleydc Enjoy the giant cleaver and good luck in all you do. We're always here for you. #chefdecuisine #saygoodbyetoyesterday #beardcrew #cleaver #sergefromsystemofadown #perpetualbeastmode

A photo posted by @chefkylebailey (@chefkylebailey) on Dec 29, 2015 at 9:04pm PST