In the Kitchen: August 2010

The first "social media" outlets were the local restaurants were people would gather regularly to share stories, catch up on old friends, meet new friends, and establish lifelong relationships. before we had Facebook and Twitter, we had the local drive in and coffee shop. In Washington and all along the I-95 corridor, Hot Shoppes was that place. Not being from the Washington area, it has amazed me how many native Washingtonians have such vivid memories of their experiences at Hot Shoppes. Long married couples who had their first date there, skipped school to meet there, or worked their first job in one of the iconic drive-ins. J Willard Marriott created such an amazing destination, long before the concept of destination restaurants became in vogue.

The last Hot Shoppes closed in December 1999. Facebook started in August 2005. Social media is now online and Hot Shoppes has its own fanpage on Facebook. "Friends of The Mighty Mo and Hot Shoppes" is a group page with now over 1,000 members, all with amazing stories of their personal memories of their times spent at Hot Shoppes. These memories always include the Mighty Mo. A simple burger-triple split bun, two patties, lettuce, cheese, and of course the Mighty Mo Sauce. Eerily similar to another iconic burger, the Mighty Mo was served at Hot Shoppes since the 1940's, and named after the WWII battleship Missouri, the Mighty Mo. Now, some 60 years later, the Mighty Mo lives on...on the pages of Facebook.

You can still find the Mighty Mo in some of our hotels such as the Key Bridge Marriott, just across the river from the first Hot Shoppes.

Make your own Mo by adding the classic Mighty Mo sauce:

Mighty Mo Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup chili sauce

1 1/2 tsp A-1 sauce

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 drops Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup chopped fine pickles

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl combine the ketchup, chili sauce, A-1 sauce, Worcestershire sauce and

tabasco sauce.

2. Add the chopped pickles.

3. Add the mayonnaise and stir until well blended.

What's on YOUR plate today?

The Courtyard Bistro has to be the fastest growing restaurant concept in the US. In three short years the concept has grown from a single hotel in Fairfax, Virginia to now nearly 160 nationwide, with a lot more opening every month. Building a concept of this size so quickly requires a great deal of attention by a team dedicated to the single idea of bringing life to the fabulous new lobby. Built around a core of quick breakfasts, refreshing salads, great sandwiches and shareable appetizers to pair with the pretty impressive bar, our menu development takes a great deal of time in our development kitchen. Countless taste panels, recipe fine tuning, and more tasting. That's fine, but it can't just be chefs tasting the food.