3226 11th St, NW

We’ve noted the tremendous changes on 11th St, NW in Columbia Heights. Nearly all the changes have been incredible improvements to the neighborhood. Throughout these changes there has always been one constant – El Rinconcito Deportivo. This is the first change that brings me no joy to share.

El Rinconcito Deportivo has been located at 3226 11th St, NW (between Wonderland, Bloombars and Room 11) for sixteen years. It is run by one of the nicest and most hardworking people you will ever meet – Maria Nunez. I spoke with Maria yesterday and learned that the building is selling and the restaurant will be closing one day in November. It is possible that the new owners will decide to rent her the space but that is not likely. So for fans of the Deportivo – make sure to show Maria some love over the next few weeks.



14th and W St, NW

Sweetgreen continues their expansion plans (with more coming.) Next up – 1331 W Street, NW.

From Sweetgreen:

Details:

The new Sweetgreen is in the same building as the new YMCA
2,030 square feet, ground floor location with outdoor space
The restaurant’s facade will face west, opposite the CVS
This new Sweetgreen location will also have a juice window selling Sweetpress
Opening is slated for 1st quarter of 2013



3415 11th Street, NW

It was back in Feb. 2011 that we first heard about a new venture from the Tryst/Diner/Open City folks coming to the broken down building at 11th and Monroe St, NW. It was well worth the wait.

Here are the opening hours:

Though The Coupe is a 24-hour community gathering place, we will operate on a limited schedule for soft opening (see below).
Thursday, October 4th 5pm-2am
Friday, October 5th 7am-3am
Saturday, October 6th 7am-3am
Sunday, October 7th 8am-2am
Monday, October 8th 8am-11pm

Starting Tuesday, October 9th at 5 p.m. The Coupe, on the corner of 11th and Monroe in Columbia Heights, will have its lights on 24/7.

I went to a preview party last night and thought the place looked phenomenal. Great addition to a great street. Here’s some photos I took earlier in the day:

More photos after the jump. (more…)



4237 Wisconsin Ave, NW

Cava Grill opens in the former Ayzen/Chanya Thai restaurant space in Tenleytown. Get a free lunch for the grand opening on Thursday, and donate to Micro Greens DC. I stopped in for photos on Monday and was amazed at how great the place turned out.

From a press release:

To celebrate the opening of its newest location, Cava Grill will offer Tenleytown customers a free pita, bowl, salad, or minis and a fountain drink from 11am – 1:30pm on Thursday, October 4th. Local beverage company, Honest Tea will be on hand with free samples of their organic drinks. Through the Free Lunch Day, voluntary donations will be accepted and go directly to Micro Greens DC. Founded by American University Graduate and Chef Allison Sosna, Micro Greens DC teaches underprivileged kids to cook affordable, healthy meals based on a SNAP budget.

The new grill is conveniently located at 4237 Wisconsin Ave in northwest Washington DC. Cava Grill provides a quick healthy option for residents, area office workers, students of American University and local schools.

Located at 4237 Wisconsin Ave, the 2,400 sq. ft. Tenleytown location includes a large deck for outdoor seating and will serve beer and wine once the existing liquor license transfer is complete. Xenohristos, along with partners Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Moshovitis, and Brett Schulman plan to continue expanding Cava Grill, opening several outlets in the Washington, D.C., metro area, as appropriate locations become available.

The new space looks amazing. I particularly like the open wood beams:

And the outdoor patio looks like it’ll be fantastic:



Photo by PoPville flickr user JoshBassettPhotography

From a press release:

The North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) and The Farm, the restaurant management company behind Founding Farmers, announce the arrival of Farmers Fishers Bakers, which will open in early November in Georgetown at The Washington Harbour.

The Menu

The American menu at Farmers Fishers Bakers offers an extensive and diverse selection offarmer, fisher and baker centric dishes for lunch, dinner, brunch, as well as a ‘Farmhouse Sushi’ bar. Developed by Corporate Executive Chef Joe Goetze and Executive Chef Lisa Marie Frantz, the regionally inspired menu is designed for an ‘unstructured,’ farmhouse style, eat-what-you-want-at-your-pace dining experience, where sharing is encouraged.

Drawing on a range of rustic and modern flavor profiles and cooking techniques, highlights include thin and thick crust pizzas, fresh seafood entrees, big, crusty bread sandwiches and burgers, plancha-grilled meats and bountiful salads and sides. All breads, pastas, dough, tortillas, sauces, marinades, ice creams, and more are made in house fresh daily, and Pastry Chef Carrie Jenkins has created adessert menu with pies, churros, cakes, and seasonal ice creams made around the clock in the open pastry studio.

The Larder (open pantry) occupies a large section of the bar area, with three long farmhouse tables for up to 12 guests each, and shelves filled with pickled and canned seasonal produce, jams, jellies and preserves, sauces, chutneys and other scratch-made components used in many menu items.

The Sushi Bar

Led by Sushi Chef Thomas Park who worked under 2011 James Beard award winning Chef TysonCole at Uchi in Austin, TX, the sushi program blends farmhouse ingredients with the flavors and Asian cultural traditions of sushi making. Open for eveningservice, the reservations-only, 8-seat sushi bar offers top-quality nigiri,handcrafted rolls, and one-of-a-kind seafood charcuterie style plates with accompanying sauces that requires no soy sauce or wasabi. All fresh fish selections respect sustainability and seasonality, collected from abundant sources.

The Mixology Program

Farmers Fishers Bakers’ mixology program spotlights high quality spirits, house made syrups, and fresh ingredients, with a focus on classic and reinterpreted tiki style cocktails and beer cocktails. Created by award-winning Chief Mixologist & Beverage Director Jon Arroyo, the mix-and-match design of the cocktails menu encourages guests to customize their spirit of choice into the perfectdrink. The tiki menu features vintage and contemporary variations, including Arroyo’s signature tiki punchbowl cocktails for sharing.

There are also blended/frozen drinks, classic pre-prohibition cocktails, and 24 rotational craft beers on draught, with a list of beer selections displayed on a large screen monitor in the bar. For the non-imbibing guest, an extensivelist of non-alcoholic beverages and “Farmacy” sodas, phosphates and egg creams, inspired by vintage drugstore fountains.

The Space

The approximately 9,800 square foot waterfront space seats close to 290 guests,divided between the main dining room (150), bar area (25), sushi bar (8), patio (70), and larder/pantry area (36). An expansive outdoor patio with fire pits and heaters offers great year-round outdoor dining and views of the fountain/ice rink on the plaza, and the Potomac River.


Embers Grill opens today near Georgetown Law School and Irish Times at 80 F St, NW. The menu was still being finalized when I stopped by but there will be lots of grill items, naturally, plus falafel and other interesting lunch options. They’ll be open Mon. – Sat. 7am to 5pm.



2047 9th St, NW

Back in early Aug. we got a pre-preview of the Satellite Room coming to the space behind the 9:30 club. At the time we learned they’d be offering burgers, tacos and adult milkshakes – have a look at the adult milkshakes:

Boozy Shakes $10

Vincent Vega (Vanilla with Bulleit Bourbon)
Lucy Ricardo (Chocolate with Johnny Walker Black)
Sammy & Kim (Black & White with Smirnoff Vodka)
Norm Peterson (Malted with Murphy’s Irish Stout)
Linus van Pelt (Peanut Butter with George Dickel No. 12 Tennessee Whiskey)
Archie Leach (Strawberry with Tanqueray London Dry Gin)
A.C. Slater (Avocado with Jose Cuervo Traditional Reposado Tequila)
Patsy Stone (Pineapple, Coconut, Orange, Nutmeg with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum)
Latka Gravas (Espresso Hazelnut with Hennessy VS)
Frank Costello (Chocolate Mint with Bushmills Irish Whiskey)

*All shakes can be made without alcohol for $5

Stay tuned – opening very soon!


Thanks to a reader for spotting this new crepe option coming to Union Station. Crepe Lena is located in the lower level food court on the same side where the Burger King is coming.


View More Stories