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Whitmore Farm on NYSD, a Celebration of Spring

On New York Social Diary today we visit Whitmore Farm in Emmitsburg, MD., to celebrate spring, adorable baby animals, good food and friendship. The little piglets above were a week old when they posed (sort of) for my camera. Whitmore is a wonderful day-trip from DC, to meet the farmers, Will and Kent, visit the animals, and return home with a cooler of good eats. They also sell baby chicks, should you want to start your own backyard egg farm. 

Garden&Gun's Julia Reed Coming To The Q&A Cafe (@TudorPlace) TOMORROW

Garden & Gun columnist Julia Reed has a new book, Julia Reed's South, and we will sit and discuss on The Q&A Cafe on Thursday, May 26. This show will be taped at Tudor Place Mansion -- as we did last May with chef Patrick O'Connell. It will be a sumptuous luncheon event under the tent on the lawn. The ticket prices are $30 for members, $40 for non-members, or 2 tickets for $70. The book will be for sale. Seating begins at 11:45, and the interview will start at 12:15. Street parking is generally available. Click here to buy tickets.

ALSO NOTE: Coming on Fri June 3 is Kate Andersen Brower and her New York Times bestseller, First Women  a look at modern First Ladies but also what if a man is the next boss of the White House East Wing?  This one is back at The George Town Club. Call them directly for a seat: 202-333-9330. Lunch is included for prix fix of $35. Seating at 11:30, program at noon. More info here. 

This is an encore appearance for Julia at The Q&A Cafe. Here's when she was on the show in June 2014:

 

Also, check out last year's Tudor Place event with O'Connell:

 

The Georgetown Capella Hotel Apparently Soon To Be A Rosewood Hotel

THE FAMOUS CAPELLA ROOFTOP

For more than a week I've been hearing that the Capella Hotel in Georgetown was sold to one of the leading international hotel groups, Rosewood. I heard the staff had been told, and that chef Frank Ruta had been told his restaurant, The Grill, would remain in place with the new ownership. When I heard all this again on Tuesday I put up a "rumor du jour" tweet and a mention on Facebook.

THE CAPELLA IN WINTER 

Almost immediately I got a DM from the Capella's marketing office, asking me to take down the tweet, but not denying what it said. Wait until Monday, I was told, which is a sort of soft confirmation. Capella said my tweet could tank the not-yet-finished deal. My experience as a business owner is that you don't tell the staff about a change of ownership until the contracts are signed. I replied, "can I quote you saying the rumor is not true?" I did not receive an answer.

Adding some weight to the rumor is that Rosewood has wanted to be in Washington for years. Back in the day they owned (or had a lease) on the land adjacent to the Washington Harbour complex. For whatever reason, their planned hotel got scrapped and the land ended up in the hands of developer Alan Novak, who built the Swedish Embassy and a next door office building with penthouse apartments. 

Rosewood owns/manages some of the finest hotels in the world, including a New York favorite, The Carlyle, and also some others I know and respect: the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, the Lanesborough in London, Little Dix Bay in the Virgin Islands, The Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, Jumby Bay off Antigua, Tucker's Point in Bermuda, the Miramar in Santa Barbara, the Crillon in Paris. There are others I know by reputation in Asia and Europe. The point is: what a win for Georgetown if this rumor is true. 

The seller, Capella owner Bruce Bradley, might do this now: buy The Georgetown Inn. It has so much potential, a great location in Georgetown at N and Wisconsin, and is ready for its makeover. He certainly got the job done with the Capella, which previously was an office building. The Georgetown Inn always had an attractive front. I'm told by developers that the nightmare is the plumbing; a huge overhaul required to get the rooms right. In the works is a re-do of the Latham, after it got sold by one developer to another. Basically, exciting times for the hotel side of Georgetown. 

Again, as I said at the top, this is a rumor. I've heard it a few times and that made it worth mentioning. If it turns out to be not true, we'll follow up. 

UPDATE: Thursday the Washington Business Journal essentially confirmed the sale. 

Recent Q&A Cafe: Diane Rehm, Bob Woodward, Weymouth & Williams, Ron Kessler, Derek Brown, Wednesday Martin, Daniel Boulud, Patrick O'Connell, Thom Loverro & Kevin Sheehan

If you missed them in person or on TV, here are recent episodes of The Q&A Cafe, now on YouTube: