
1205 U Street, NW
Time to recognize The Saloon’s awesomeness once again – 20th school! Amazing.


1205 U Street, NW
Time to recognize The Saloon’s awesomeness once again – 20th school! Amazing.


3rd and Florida Ave, NW
I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek and taste Monday night but wait till you see the spectacular photos of how the space turned out (here are the before photos I took back in April 2015) by Farrah Skeiky. Here’s taste of the first floor but lots more photos after the jump:

Photo by Farrah Skeiky
But first the facts and the menu:
“ANXO is a nickname for Basajaun, the mythological creature that taught the Basques ironworking, sheepherding and agricultural practices before disappearing back into the woods. Similar to the Sasquatch, Yeti, Bigfoot, and other “men of the woods”, ANXO is a bridge between the natural world, from which it came, and the modern world it helped create.
Opening date: W ednesday, July 13th, 5PM
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday: 5:00PM 12:00AM F riday & Saturday: 5:00PM 1:00AM
Monday Closed
Kitchen closes one hour earlier
Owners: Sam Fitz, Rachel Fitz, Cooper Sheehan, Tim Prendergast, and Alex & Sara Vallcorba
ANXO Cidery & Pintxos Bar aims to reinvigorate interest in traditional cider, one of the MidAtlantic’s oldest drinks. A focus on close relationships with local and international cidermakers is central to the ANXO mission, and will enable ANXO to maintain an unparalleled and highly curated selection of cider. ANXO will produce its own cider onpremises and at a second DC location opening this winter. Natural fermentation in oak barrels and a focus on heirloom apple varieties native to the MidAtlantic will lead to a limited product that is notably different from the vast offerings ANXO will present from around the world.
ANXO will honor the Basque culinary traditions of honesty, simplicity, and quality by showcasing local producers’ best efforts. The menu will feature pintxos (Basque small bites made to be eaten with cider) as well as larger dishes meant for sharing. In addition to serving housemade cider, ANXO will have an ambitious beverage program featuring more than 20 ciders on draft poured through a custombuilt draft system designed to showcase cider as the producers intended. The extensive beverage program will have an additional 16 draft lines dedicated to beer and cocktails, as well as a tightly focused wine program highlighting the lesserknown wines of the Basque Country and surrounding areas.”

apples out front of course

and a great patio



no joke

3d printed awesomeness

Lots more photos of the amazing renovation inside after the jump. (more…)

801 Florida Ave, NW
Aptly named 801 looks ready to roll:
“Join us for our soft opening weekend this week! We will be open Thursday at 5pm. Stop by and say hello to the 801 family.”

3632 Georgia Avenue, NW
From an email:
“We will be celebrating tonight from 5-7 with folks from Alagash Brewing and Calvert Brewing company and running specials like…
$1 Beer and Lite Beer 5-7pm
$1 JP Wiser Whisky 5-7pm
All Star Game afterwords
We will also be live streaming the west coast Phish show Saturday night in extended birthday party fun.”

From an email:
“Dalmore Single Malt Scotch Tasting
this Thursday, July 7th, @ 7:30 PM
led by Single Malt Specialist Neyah White
at Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar
featuring Dalmore 12 Year, Dalmore 15 Year, Dalmore 18 Year, & Dalmore Cigar Malt
tickets are only $7”

1104 H Street, NE

3319 Connecticut Ave, NW
From Nanny’s:
“Beer & Whiskey, A Perfect Union:
On Thursday July 7th we’re helping Maryland based Evolution Craft Brewing Company joins forces with California based Sonoma County Distilling Co. to offer the best damn bi-coastal boilermaker you’ve ever had. Starting at 5pm $8 will get you a four ounce pour of any of the 5 Evoultion beers on tap including Pine’Hop’le IPA, Lot 6. Double IPA, 608 Belgian Amber, Summer Session and Exile Red paired with a 1 ounce pour of any of the 5 Sonoma Co. whiskeys which include the No. 1 & No 2 West of Kentucky Bourbons, Sonoma Rye, Cherry Rye and 2nd Chance Wheat. Representatives from both companies will be on hand to talk shop and craft and hand out some swag. Brian Gaffney will also be belting out tunes on stage starting at 9pm. So come out to raise your glass and join our toast as we celebrate craftmanship from coast to coast!”

1841 7th Street, NW
Fortunately this is promising kitsch. Brown killed Christmas (in a good way) at Mockingbird Hill – let’s see if he can own Summer at Southern Efficiency.
From a press release:
“Derek Brown’s Southern Efficiency is Spending the Summer at Camp Iwannawhiskey!
It’s hard to deny just how satisfying a dram is fireside, which is why for leading spirits expert and bartender Derek Brown, whiskey and camping go hand in hand. In honor of summer camp, Brown’s award-winning whiskey bar Southern Efficiency is inviting guests to take a nostalgic visit to Camp Iwannawhiskey this summer via its all new camp-inspired menu.
Southern Efficiency bar manager Paul Taylor and his team have crafted nine new cocktails appropriate for both the barstool and the campfire log, using ingredients like grapefruit-ginger cordial and toasted marshmallow syrup. The new adult summer camp-themed menu includes cocktails such as “Wet Hot American Sazerac” made with rye, pineau des charentes, dark rum, pineapple gomme syrup, Peychaud’s bitters and absinthe, and “Parents Weekend,” a mix of bourbon, Strega, coffee liqueur, cane sugar, lemon and egg whites.
“We love deriving ingredients and flavors from disparate places, whether that’s something we taste — a spirit or ingredient, or a memory,” Taylor says of the creative new whiskey-forward offerings. “This menu combines both and adds an element of whimsy to whiskey.”
Southern Efficiency’s Camp Iwannawhiskey cocktails are $12 each and will be available through September.”
Full menu after the jump. (more…)

11th and Park Road, NW
From an email:
“Time flies! We can hardly believe it, but next Friday, July 1 marks six years of serving American craft beer to the thirsty masses here at Meridian Pint!
To celebrate, we’re tapping a special draft list. Included will be offerings from the local breweries we’ve grown alongside as well as a number of rare and limited release from near and far.
Chef Francisco Ferrufino is designing a retro food menu for the evening, complete with favorite dishes past and present! Including: fried pickled vegetables, double cut pork chop, porter-braised short ribs, curry deviled eggs, and eggplant lentil curry!
Included on the draft menu will be a list of iconic local offerings that our customers are surely familiar with: (more…)

From an email:
“Located across the street from The Hecht Warehouse at 2002 Fenwick Street, Big Chief will have two bars downstairs, and one on the rooftop. There is also a 1970s Airstream on the rooftop that will soon be open and available to be rented out for small parties.
Doors open at 8 PM tonight with live music by Brass Connection and two DJs. Friday there will be a free crawfish boil and a DJ at night. Saturday there will be live music all day with a cookout at 12 PM on the rooftop. Every Monday at 8 PM Big Chief is going to host “Motown On Mondays”, where DJs will play Motown originals and remixes all night.”

2002 Fenwick Street, NE. courtesy Big Chief

Photos by Bobby Spero
From an email:
“Derek Brown’s new Columbia Room (124 Blagden Alley NW) ushers in summer with a new seasonal cocktail menu inspired by Central and South American flavors, cultures and countries, including traditional Latin American beverages and spirits from El Salvador, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and more.
Columbia Room Summer 2016 menu (PDF)
The new menu items launch Tuesday, June 28 in the Tasting Room, Spirits Library and Punch Garden, and are inspired by the heritage, lives and travels of Columbia Room staff — from kitchen cooks to bar assistants to Drink Company CEO Angie Fetherston, who is Ecuadorian. (more…)