THE GAZETTE
Page B-8
Wednesday, January 29, 2014 o
Seoul Food reinvents the truck stop, Korean cuisine, in Wheaton If you have never dabbled in Korean cuisine, Seoul Food, located in the ancillary dining space at the Exxon at Georgia Avenue and University Boulevard in Wheaton is the best place to give it a go. While bipimbap is traditionally a time-consuming and at times off-putting production in most Korean
SEOUL FOOD n 2514 University Blvd. West n Silver Spring, MD 20902 n seoulfooddc@gmail.com n 571-236-4750 n seoulfooddc.com
DINING REVIEW BY BRIAN PATTERSON eateries, at Seoul Food, the dish is simplified to suit the hungry grab-and-go palate that is in the mood for something new yet nourishing and approachable. Here, sticky rice is topped with baby spinach, carrots, daikon and red radish, a sunny side-up egg (produced by cage-free chickens) and your choice of bulgogi marinated protein such as grass fed beef, spicy pork, local chicken, or grilled tofu. It is all made with reverence as well as alacrity. While the hot-pink truck with the fiery kimchee has been plying their wares on the road in Northern Virginia since 2011, Seoul Food parked itself into more stationary digs in Wheaton in June of 2013, redefining the meaning of a “truckstop.” Anna is the Korean influence, with a significant artistic and
n Restaurant hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 5-8 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday n Closed Sunday n Closed Monday (open only for truck) n Truck: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at Courthouse; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at Rosslyn; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Ballston
culinary background, and her partner and husband J.P Goree grew up as a hunter, fisherman and conservationist along the shores of the Great Lakes. Besides being an entrepreneurial couple, they are clearly good cooks. She is the extroverted front of the house type, and he is the quiet keeper of the kitchen. A 1998 graduate of L’Academie de Cuisine’s professional pastry pro-
CLOWNING
featuring a blend of clowning and acrobatics. “Daniele Finzi Pasca [the show’s creator] created this incredible poetic circus that was more about the theater of it and the imagery created in it,” Mandell said. “At that point, I was like, ‘That’s what I love.’” There was also the influence of the Taschen book, “The History of the Circus,” and circus posters and images, plus the urging from company members to do a circusthemed show. “Impossible!” unites the on stage and offstage worlds of the circus through classic circus acts performed in unconventional ways. “There are poetic uses of circus skills,” Mandell said “Like somebody changes a light bulb on stilts ... We capture the essence of what the circus does in terms of surprise and excitement and danger through acting.” Set in the Depression era, “Impossible!” aims to lift the spirits of its audience. “The idea is that when times are tough and you have nothing, you have to kind of pick yourself up and make and invent things,” Mandell said. “It’s relevant to our
GREEN
Continued from Page B-5 no matter what education or background you have,” Green said. “That’s what music is meant to do … it’s meant to touch everybody. That was my goal with The Green Project.” Green said the desire to meld classical and contemporary sounds was first born during an internship with a Top 40 radio station. “An artist that shall remain nameless came to the station and they wanted me to stand in the elevator to make sure the doors were open when they got on,” Green said. “I said, on that day, ‘I’m more than this.’” Green went on to earn her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a graduate degree from The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins and is now working on her doctorate at the University
gram, Anna’s desserts are made from scratch and crafted out of wholesome ingredients, designed to taste great and appeal to the sweet tooth. Dessert specials change frequently — pumpkin whoopee pie was a fall highlight. Leery of kimchee? This is not the
IMPOSSIBLE!
Continued from Page B-5
n When: 8 p.m. weeknights, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 31 to Feb. 9 n Where: Round House Theatre, 4545 EastWest Highway, Bethesda n Tickets: $15-25 n For information: 240-641-1100, roundhousetheatre.org
current economic crisis today and needing to come up with ways to stay inspired when our resources are limited ... It’s sort of the idea of creating a circus when you don’t have those skills.” Among the “Impossible!” cast is Karen Hansen who provides the show’s music as Shorty McHansen. Her character pushes a cart which houses a mini-organ and a collection of other instruments. The performers will sing a cappella. Hansen has worked with Happenstance since 2009. Though she lives in Vermont, she travels to Maryland often to collaborate with Mandell and Jaster. “When I’m up in Vermont, I’m usually
of Maryland. Since 2009, Chelsey Green and The Green Project have been touring the world and shattering the perception of the classical music scene. “I want to erase all stereotypes of typical acoustic classical instruments,” Green said. “I want people to know the violin is capable of doing anything.” Beyond challenging stereotypes about classical music, Green hopes her work speaks to pushing the limits in general. “The bigger message there is that anything you want to do, you can make happen because it’s your voice,” Green said. “If [you] do it with focus and integrity, you have limitless possibilities … I want to show people that you can have fun and still do something well.” It’s a message Green said she hopes to communicate through her educational outreach in the Washington, D.C., area with students ranging from pre-K to adulthood.
J.P. GOREE
Pork bulgogi at Seoul Food in Wheaton.
vintage stuff buried in jars that smells weirder than it tastes. Anna makes hers by hand several times a week, and it is spicy, pickled cabbaggy goodness. She will adjust the spiciness of your serving to your taste. Better yet, Seoul Food will cook that great kimchee low and slow
researching and composing for shows,” Hansen said. With no real knowledge of circus music, Hansen did an in-depth investigation to prepare the “Impossible!” score. “I didn’t know that much about circus music so it was really fun to dig stuff up,” she said. “There are a lot of marches and gallops. A lot of waltzes and the band was usually brass or woodwind ... Not predictable as you might think.” Because of the show’s Depression-era setting, Hansen added that the “Impossible!” music is not the upbeat, typical circus music you may expect to hear. Some instruments won’t be used in the show at all because of old circus traditions. “There’s a lot of [lore] around the circus and superstition,” Hansen said. “Like the harmonica is considered bad luck so we couldn’t use that.” While “Impossible!” is a circus-themed show, Mandell said as with any Happenstance production, the heart of the “Impossible!” lies in its sense of imagination. “We decided to focus on what is the magic of the circus,” Mandell said. “What are the things that make us love the circus?” chedgepeth@gazette.net
“What I try to do with outreach, is show young students from pre-K all the way to high school the discipline of learning an instrument,” Green said. “It helps set you up for success for anything you ever want to go into.” The Green Project features musicians Ignatius Perry Jr. on keyboard and piano, Lorenzo Johnson on keyboard and organ, Kevin Power Jr. on electric bass and Spyda Wheatley on drum. Saturday night’s show will showcase a mix of original songs and covers, including a special Green Project arrangement of John Legend’s “Ordinary People.” The band will head into the recording studio in February to work on their next album, due out in April. When selecting songs to cover, Green said she takes a few things into consideration. First is whether the piece will translate well through instrumental music. And second is the signifi-
cance behind the song. “We try to work with covers that have a special meaning,” Green said. “I try to find melodies and find harmonies that would support a story … I want the listener to engage in their own story as much as I want the listener to engage in my story.” Once the songs have been selected, Green said the last step is putting that “Green Project twist” on it. Unlike the artist for whom she held the elevator, Green’s first priority is not herself, but her audience. “I do my best to use that power for good and really influence or have a connection with people. That’s the most powerful thing we can do,” Green said. “To have someone come up to you after the performance and say, ‘I don’t really like violin but what you did tonight is amazing,’ that’s what I strive for.” chedgepeth@gazette.net
to caramelize it, bringing out another depth of bittersweet flavor, and then use it as a garnish on their Korean Superbowl — sticky rice topped with your choice of house protein, jalapeno and serrano relish, scallion, queso fresco, cheddar and Korean salsa roja; however, it’s best showcased in their Kimchi Tofu Bowl. When mobile, their menu is abbreviated, serving up to three customers a minute. When serving out of their Wheaton kitchen, the food is no less rapid, but the menu is a little more expansive, including a brunch menu of maki rolls, crepes with seared butternut squash, scallion pancakes and whole-wheat dumpling soup. Rather than dumbing down their menu for kids, they offer a mildly seasoned bipimbap as well as straight-up chicken and cheese quesadillas. While the dining room is three steps away from the gas station and convenience store cashier, the kitchen space has its own kitschy identity. Bring your eclectic taste in rock ’n’ roll because they are playing everything from The Clash to Johnny Cash. Stay and have fun playing board games. Don’t come to Seoul Food seeking cornbread, collard greens and pork barbecue, as some errant walk-in customers assume; it’s not that kind of soul food. It is however, Seoul-ful.
KOLL
Continued from Page B-5 Koll, who has appeared on “Conan” and also Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham,” will perform his brand of comedy at VisArts in Rockville on Feb. 7. In 2009, he performed at the Bentzen Ball comedy festival in Washington, D.C., and he has also performed at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, the SXSW festival, ComedyFest Vancouver, The Bridgetown Comedy Festival and SF SketchFest. While he currently resides in New York City, Koll grew up in California. During his college years at San Jose State University, he studied photography and illustration, did some animation and posted humorous videos online while YouTube was taking off. Some of his early heroes were comedians such as Andy Kaufman, Bill Hicks, Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy. By his mid-20s, he knew he wanted to do standup comedy. “I wound up doing nothing else,” said Koll, who lived in the Bay area as a teenager and then moved to San Francisco, where he lived for eight years. “You’re anchored to time and place where you start,” he said about fellow San Francisco comedians. “It’s like school. We all have a little bit of each other’s sensibility.” In the early years, he said he was “anarchic, pushing the envelope, and I was a little bit of a clown, too.” “I like picking things that have happened to me, but then I’ll also veer off into something I’ve imagined,” he said. “Today I’m a little more straightforward, but I’ll also do something a little more absurd than usual — I’m getting toward finding a balance,” he said. Sometimes described as someone who does “alt” com-
Cool Cow Comedy presents
ALEX KOLL n When: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 n Where: VisArts, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville n Tickets: $15 n For information: coolcowcomedy.com
edy, Koll explained the term. “There was an ’80s boom in comedy, and then it collapsed on itself,” he said. “It got oversaturated, and the wave broke. “It had gotten bland and awful. It was terrible but people were getting by,” he said. “It got too big.” As an alternative, comedians headed away from the mainstream to work in coffee shops and rock venues. The four big topics in mainstream comedy are food, relationships, men and women and race, Koll said. Alternative comedy tackles the same topics but “it’s more involved, honest and informed when taking on these things.” Koll said New York “is one of the most amazing towns for, specifically, standup. ... You can work constantly here.” The fans, he said, are a little different than those in California. “It’s even more immediate — you interact more with the audiences,” he said. Working in New York can also be humbling, he said. Although he’s been working 10 years as a comedian, he said he still runs the risk of “walking out there and not making a single person laugh.” But Koll said he enjoys taking risks “more and more.” “I’m comfortable on stage, and I like being up there,” he said. vterhune@gazette.net
IN THE ARTS DANCES Carpe Diem Contra Dance, Feb. 13, Caller: Ann Fallon, Music by Gary Wright and Leah Weiss with Ahren Buchheister, 7-7:30 p.m. contradance workshops, 7:30-10 p.m. Contras & Squares, second Thursdays, Great Hall, Silver Spring Civics Center, One Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, $10 for general admission, $8 for members, $5 for students, www.carpediemarts.com. Hollywood Ballroom, Jan. 29, Ballroom Bash from 8:30–10:30 p.m. ($16); Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Tea Dance from 12:30-3:30 p.m. ($6); Jan. 31, drop-in lessons from 7:30-9 p.m., West Coast Swing Dancing with Dance Jam Productions at 9 p.m. ($15); Feb. 1, Ballroom Bash, lessons from 6-8:30 p.m., open social practice dance from 8:30 p.m. to midnight ($25 for classes and dance, $16 for classes only, $16 for dance only); Feb. 2, free Samba lessons at 7 p.m., Social Ballroom dance at 8 p.m. ($16); Feb. 5, International Ballroom and Latin Night, classes from 7:30-8:30 p.m., open social practice dance from 8:30-10:30 p.m. ($15 for classes and dance, $10 for classes only, $10 for dance only), 2126 Industrial Highway, Silver Spring, 301-326-1181,
www.hollywoodballroomdc.com
Glen Echo Park is at 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Blues, Capital Blues: Thurs-
days, 8:15 p.m. beginner lesson, 9-11:30 p.m. dancing to DJs, Glen Echo Park’s Spanish Ballroom Annex, $8, www.capitalblues.org. Contra, Jan. 31, Rebecca Lay and Sharktones, 7:30 p.m. lesson, 8:30 p.m. dance, Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $10, www.fridaynightdance.org. Contra & Square, Feb. 2, Rebecca Lay and the Sharktones, 7:30 p.m., Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $12 for general, $9 for members, $5 for students, www.fsgw.org. English Country, Jan. 29, Caller: Stephanie Smith, 8 p.m., Glen Echo Town Hall (upstairs), www. fsgw.org. Swing, Feb. 8, Red Dress Ball with the Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra, lesson at 8 p.m., dancing at 9 p.m., Glen Echo Park, $15, www.flyingfeet.org. Waltz, Feb. 2, Karen Collins and the Backroads Band, 2:45-3:30 p.m. lesson, 3:30-6 p.m., dance, $10, www.waltztimedances.org.
MUSIC & DANCE Arts Barn, Singer Songwriter
Concert Series, Slaid Cleaves with Tony Denikos, Feb. 22, 3 p.m. workshops at the Arts Barn or Kentlands Mansion, 7:30 p.m. concerts at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6394, www. gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn. Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Peter Fields and Rob
Holmes — A Tribute to Charlie Byrd & Stan Getz, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29; Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam, 8 p.m. Jan. 30; Spectrum, 8 p.m. Jan. 31, call for prices, 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. 240-330-4500, www. bethesdabluesjazz.com.
BlackRock Center for the Arts, Chelsey Green and The Green Project, 8 p.m. Feb. 1; call for tickets, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown. 301-528-2260, www. blackrockcenter.org.
Institute of Musical Traditions — Rockville, Claire Lynch
Band, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, call for prices, www.imtfolk.org. Marilyn J. Praisner Library, The Schrodinger’s Jazz Cats, piano, alto saxophone and flute, 7 p.m. Jan. 30, 14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, 240-773-9460. Strathmore, Christie Dashi-
ell, jazz vocalist, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29; Bill Cosby, 8 p.m. Jan. 30-31; AIR Alumni: John Kocur, jazz saxophone, 11 a.m. Jan. 31, call for venue, Locations: Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda; Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, 301-581-5100, www.strathmore.org.
ON STAGE Adventure Theatre, “Miss Nelson is Missing,” to March 9, call for prices, times, Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, 301-634-2270, www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org. Arts Barn, Comedy and Magic Society, 8 p.m. Jan. 31; “A Little Night Music,” Feb. 7-23, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, 301-258-6394, www.gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn. Imagination Stage, “Rumpelstiltskin,” Feb. 5 to March 16, call for prices, times, Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, www. imaginationstage.org Olney Theatre Center, “How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying,” Jan. 29 to Feb. 23; call for prices, times, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, 301-924-3400, www.olneytheatre.org.
The Puppet Co., “Tales of Beatrix Potter,” To Feb. 9; Tiny Tots @ 10, select Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, call for shows and show times, Puppet Co. Playhouse, Glen Echo Park’s North Arcade Building, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., $5, 301-6345380, www.thepuppetco.org. Round House Theatre, Bethesda, “Seminar,” Feb. 5 to March 4, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. 240-644-1100, www. roundhousetheatre.org. Round House Theatre, Silver Spring, “Impossible! A Happenstance Circus,” Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, call for show times, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, $15 for general admission, $10 for subscribers, patrons 30 and younger and seniors, 244-6441100, www.roundhousetheatre.org. Silver Spring Stage, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” To Feb. 1, Woodmoor Shopping Center, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, see website for show times, www.ssstage.org. The Writer’s Center, David O. Stewart and Manil Suri, 2 p.m. Feb. 2, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, 301-654-8664, www.writer.org.
VISUAL ART Adah Rose Gallery, “Residue,”
Sharon Butler, Michael Callaghan, Steven Charles, J.D. Hastings and Toni Tiller, to Feb. 9, 3766 Howard Ave., Kensington, 301-922-0162, www.adahrosegallery.com Gallery B, “New Works on Paper,” to Feb. 1, gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E. www.bethesda.org. Glenview Mansion, Gordana Gerskovic, experimental photography, Feb. 2-21, opening reception from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Rockville Civic Center Park, 503 Edmonston Drive, Rockville. www. rockvillemd.gov. VisArts, Ryan Rakhshan: “SLOW,” ongoing, secondfloor lobby and VisArts rooftop; Inna Alesina: “Test Kitchen for Change,” to Feb. 9, opening reception from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 24, Common Ground Gallery, 155 Gibbs St., Rockville, 301-315-8200, www. visartsatrockville.org. Washington Printmakers Gallery, “Fourth Annual Excellence in Printmaking Exhibition,” Jan. 29 to Feb. 23, opening reception and awards from 1-4 p.m. Feb. 1, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, second floor, 8230 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, www. washingtonprintmakers.com.