June 27: Celebrating Current and Future Snail of Approval Winners!

To mark the opening of our next round of Snail of Approval nominations, Slow Food DC hosted a happy hour at Snail of Approval winning Urbana Dining & Drinks at the Hotel Palomar on June 27.  Urbana's Executive Chef Ethan McKee is an active supporter of the Slow Food philosophy, keeping a 1,000-square-foot garden on the hotel’s roof as well as a beehive! All produce from the rooftop garden is used for Urbana’s dishes or by the Hotel Palomar for events.Slow Food board members and supporters were able to sample the fruits of that  garden labor when Chef Ethan generously brought out several pizzas laden with veggies and herbs, as well as beautiful arancini stuffed with rapini sourced from Chef’s rooftop garden.Chef Ethan also partners with Snail of Approval winner FRESHFARM’s Foodprints program, teaching cooking classes to elementary school students at nearby Francis Stevens Elementary. As recently as April, Chef Ethan and the Francis Stevens third grade class harvested spinach grown by the students and made beautiful spring ravioli. Urbana’s dedication to sustainable practices and food education are a few of the reasons why Urbana has been a Snail of Approval winner since 2016. And now we need your help to identify other businesses that also practice and/or support the Slow Food philosophy of good, clean, and fair food! Snail of Approval nominations are now open through September 30. Anyone can nominate a food or beverage provider serving the National Capital Region that supports good, clean, and fair food in our area. You can find more information about our award criteria on our website, along with a full list of previous Snail of Approval winners.Our sincere thanks to Chef Ethan and the entire Urbana team for their hospitality and continued commitment to the Slow Food philosophy. Now we’re looking forward to hearing from all of you, about who you think should become Snail-approved in 2018!