If you venture into the legendary Annie's Paramount Steak House, arguably the central hub of 17th Street, and are fortunate enough to be seated in Mano's terrain, and you opt for a steak (as you should), the boisterous, lovingly warm waiter will, with gentle, expert finesse, cut a tiny bit off the end and feed it to you. A taste for your approval. Think of Mano as a beef sommelier.

Of course, I wholeheartedly approved of the ribeye I ordered on a recent Friday night -- and, in fact, had to stop Mano from eagerly slicing up the entire sizzling 12 ounce slab, just so I could get a photograph of it intact.

For over 30 years, I've had a love affair with the steaks at Annie's -- owner Paul Katinas and company were serving Angus beef before it became the de facto, something you could purchase in your local supermarket. The beef at Annie's is top notch prime, culled from a small group of family-owned ranchers. The steaks, dry-aged and hand-cut on the premises, are the epitome of thick, juicy, melt-in-your mouth succulence. Anyone who orders their beef here anything other than at least medium-rare is missing the point. You want your steak at Annie's to have that alluring, juicy red center. If you're the type who goes for well-done, order one of their non-beef signature dishes instead. This is a steakhouse where the meat should be respected not abused by fire.

I'm pretty much a creature of habit at specific restaurants. And at Annie's I'll generally start with a wedge salad, which here, is elegantly presented -- a trio of iceberg wedges, slathered with a creamy bleu cheese dressing spiked with tangy crumbles and drizzled with crisp smokey bacon. They sometimes forgo the tomato at Annie's, which is just as well, as the tomatoes out there right now are of the mealy hothouse variety.

My ribeye came with a side of fresh, crisp green beans sauteed with red and yellow peppers, and a perfectly baked potato. I was treating myself to a bit of well-deserved culinary decadence, so I begged Mano for an extra scoop of sour cream. Because to me a baked potato isn't a baked potato unless the cream outweighs the starch.

As I had no drinks or dessert, my meal came to a reasonable $37. Frankly, I call that a bargain.

Annie's Paramount Steakhouse is located at 1609 17th St. NW. Call 202-232-0395 or email reservations@anniesdc.com.

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Chef Levani Kechkhuashvili of Washington, D.C.'s Chef Driven shows us how to make Shrimp, Bacon and Asparagus Risotto.

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For Chef Driven’s schedule, follow the truck online at chefdrivendc.com, or on Twitter @chefdrivendc.

Video: Aram Vartian - Producer: Randy Shulman

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It's a roast chicken guys and it's my first post because it's easy and, vegetarians aside, it's the damn dish everyone wants to perfect, serve, and eat. 

Oh. Who am I?! Why I am I HERE!?

I'm Joe. A former journalist turned public relations executive who just likes cooking at home for myself and friends. I'm no one. Honestly. Still, I do have some food cred: I co-founded with my friend Luke the food blog, "The Passion Fruits." And I'm not this Joe. He is, however, my father's cousin. 

Oh. Right. Chicken...

My recipe is a cross-bred dog of recipes I've used over the years. It's part Zuni Cafe chicken, part Marcella Hazan, part Alice Waters, part dear friend Clementina Russo, and part Joe. It's largely foolproof because you can season it with whatever the hell you like. I often chop up a whole head of garlic, grab several handfuls of thyme leaves, marjoram, fresh parsley. Slather and shove this garlicky delightfulness all over the bird, underneath the skin, in the cavity... Use whatever seasonings you like. Just a few rules to keep in mind:

1. Make sure it's "really good chicken" -- I hate going THE Ina Garten route here with this advice but she's right. Get a quality bird.

2. Season it with salt and pepper 1-3 days in advance of cooking -- this is a tip from the Zuni Cafe kitchen, long-known in San Francisco for their amazing roast chicken. It extracts moisture from the bird and then reabsorbs it, making for chicken that is plump and moist. A tiny fistful of salt, a smaller handful of ground black pepper will suffice when seasoning a 3 to 4 pound bird. Be certain to season the cavity.

3. "Uh, Lemon..." -- Marcella, thank you! Take a whole lemon, prong it 20 times with a fork and shove it into the cavity of the bird. Do this and magic happens. 

4. Waters Waters Everywhere! Here's Alice Waters' technique -- Cook the bird in a small roasting pan at 400 degrees 20 minutes breast side up, 20 minutes breast side down, 20 minutes breast side back up. It is done when you slash the legs and the juices runneth cleareth.

5. When the chicken is done, remove it from the pan let it rest on a cutting board. Place the pan on a medium-lit burner. Take three bunches of your favorite greens (kale, escarole, collards) wash, chop up and saute them in the pan you roasted the chicken in. A pinch of salt and a grind or two of pepper. Be certain to scrape up all the browned goodness from the pan as you saute the greens. 

6. Place the greens on platter, cut the chicken up, and place atop the greens. Serve.

And this meal is done. Share with me your seasonings and favorite greens!

Roast Chicken

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3-4 pound chicken
• 1 head of garlic
• Several handfuls of herbs (whatever you like)
• 1 lemon, pronged 20 times with a fork
• 3 bunches of dark, leafy greens (Lacinato kale, collard greens) roughly cut.

- Season chicken with salt and pepper 1-3 days in advance of cooking. Cover loosely and refrigerate; 

- One hour before cooking, remove from the fridge. Let the chicken come to room temperature. Season with garlic, herbs, and lemon. Place chicken breast side up in a roasting pan with olive oil

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn breast side down, and cook for another 20 minutes. Then back breast side up and roast until done, about 20 minutes more. Let it rest on a cutting board for 10-20 minutes. 

- Five minutes before you are ready to cut the chicken, saute the greens on a medium-lit burner in the roasting pan. 

- Greens, when still bright green, go onto a platter. Cut the chicken up and mound it on top of the greens. Eat 

Follow Joe on Twitter at @CacciatoreCrea

Photos: Nathan Lavoie 

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Chef Dimos Kolouas of Washington, D.C.'s Tel'Veh Wine Bar & Cafe, shows us how to make his Sea Bass Plaki (Casserole).

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Tel'Veh is located at 401 Massachusetts Avenue NW in Washington. Visit telvehdc.com or call 202-758-2929 for hours, reservations or more information.

Video: Aram Vartian - Producer: Randy Shulman

Head Chef Michael Costa, of Washington, D.C.'s Zaytinya, shows us how to make his classic Garides me Anitho (shrimp with dill), a simple and bright Greek seafood dish with the freshness of dill, further enhanced with lemon, shallot, garlic and mustard.

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Zaytinya is located at 701 9th St. NW in Washington, D.C. Visit zatinya.com or call 202-638-0800 for hours, reservations or more information.

Video: Aram Vartian - Producer: Randy Shulman.

Chef Ciji Wagner of Washington, D.C.'s Drafting Table restaurant shows us how to make a delicious duck ragout and pappardelle.

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Drafting Table is located at 1529 14th St. NW in Washington, D.C. Visit draftingtabledc.com or call 202-621-7475 for hours, reservations or more information.

Video: Aram Vartian - Producer: Randy Shulman

Chef Leo Morales of Washington, D.C.'s L'Enfant Cafe shows us how to make an easy pan-seared trout with eggplant ratatouille.

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L'Enfant Cafe is located at 2000 18th St. NW in Washington. Visit lenfantcafe.com or call 202-319-1800 for hours, reservations or more information.

Video: Aram Vartian - Producer: Randy Shulman

Grillfish's chef, Felipe Milanes, demonstrates the best way to make pappardelle from scratch in this special Foodwise Master Class.

See the full Shrimp & Pappardelle video and recipe here.

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Video and Editing by Aram Vartian
Produced by Randy Shulman

Grillfish is located at 1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW in Washington, D.C. Visit grillfishdc.com or call 202-331-7319 for hours, reservations and more information.

Video and Editing by Aram Vartian
Produced by Randy Shulman

Mayfair & Pine is located at 2218 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Washington, D.C. Visit mayfairandpine.com or call 202-333-2090 for hours, reservations and more information.