Author Archive: Tonija
What You Think You Know About Servers…But Don’t!
The other day I was talking to my mom as we waited at Pete’s A Pizza for the guy to bring us out the slices we had ordered and she started rustling through her purse looking for some money. I asked her what she was doing and she replied that she was going to tip [...]
Confessions of a Hostess, Part 1
This past Friday I had a rare evening out with some of my fellow Zomppa’s. We met at a trendy little restaurant in the U St. corridor of Washington, DC called Marvin. It is named after Marvin Gaye who spent a period of time in Belgium and thus it serves a fusion of Belgian and [...]
Out of Office: Auto-Reply 2
I, too, am on vacation! I am on vacation from work, from the 24 hour news cycle, from Facebook (sort of), and I am on vacation from cooking for myself OR the KIDS!! Woohoo! I am enjoying myself on the beach, enjoying eating out and because there are a bunch of us here I’m enjoying [...]
A Maternal Vice
I’m about to divulge top secret information. I have managed to keep this a secret from my children thus far and hope to continue to do so for quite some time. At some point I assume they will catch on, but in the meantime I will enjoy my parental rights to eat ICE CREAM for [...]
The Last House on W. Chew Ave.
Family, friends and food…it doesn’t really get better than that! I had the pleasure of enjoying time with all three of them over Memorial Day weekend as my dear friends from college, Naomi and Freya (btw that’s Macalester College…holla’) traveled from New York City and Minnesota respectfully to see me and the fam. It was [...]
Colombian History with a Side of Fish
In February I had the good fortune of having to travel to Colombia 0n business. I am always down for a trip and as I had never been to Colombia I was eager to see what awaited me there. My division at Phelps Stokes (the NGO I work for), Programs for Latin America and [...]
2: Countdown to Zomppa Y2 – Tonija
Counting down 2 days to our one-year celebration of Zomppa on May 3. Here is Tonija, another veteran of Zomppa.com?!!!! What is your favorite food movie or book? The very first thing that came to my mind was the book Aphrodite by Isabel Allende. If you do not know anything about this book you MUST read [...]
Best Little Eater You Ever Saw
There are two kind of kids, those that eat…and mine! Our daughter is 3 1/2 and her diet consists mainly of rice, grapes, and oatmeal…my one year old son won’t eat anything that comes out of a baby food jar/container…and he sees ‘em coming a mile away. Now, my husband and I consider ourselves to be [...]
Life In/After the Restaurant Business
Is there life after the restaurant business? Does one have a life when they are IN the restaurant business? I spent about 10 of my wild and carefree years in DC’s restaurant scene. I knew Jose Andres BEFORE he was JOSE ANDRES! I started as a hostess at the downtown (and at the time the [...]
