District Kitchen recently opened in early Jan. in the former Jandara space at 2606 Connecticut Ave. NW. You can see their menu here. Anyone check them out yet? Any must order items?
Restaurants
Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour
Back on Jan. 27th I shared the sad news that Capital City Diner was closing at 1250 Bladensberg Rd, NE. Now the diner is up for sale on ebay with a starting price of $20,000:
Authentic Vintage Diner – Complete & in Great Condition w/ Equipment
Looking for a great opportunity to start your own restaurant? Want a piece of true, authentic Americana? Here’s your chance…
…this is the real deal- an authentic modular diner built in 1947 by the Paterson Vehicle Company, model Silk City Diner. Recently closed and located in Washington, DC.
The diner originally served the town of Avoca, NY for approximately 60 years before being moved to the nation’s capital. In Washington, DC, the city recently recruited a national chain breakfast restaurant to open nearby, resulting in decreased sales and we unfortunately couldn’t keep the diner going. While we’ve tried to find a local buyer to take it over, it’s been a challenge, so we’re putting this up on eBay.
We’d like to sell this to someone interested in preseving the diner, and it can be moved to anywhere you desire (we have the contact information for a reputable diner mover). It’s in great shape, and we ran all new electric and plumbing before we opened 2 years ago. We just closed in January, so we’re also including all of our fixtures, equipment, etc.
The diner measures approximately 14′ x 40′, and we added a small 8×16 addition on the back for two restrooms and storage. The diner seats 36- 5 booths (4 each) and 16 stools. More seating may be available with a different configuration (tables/chairs instead of booths), and we added an outdoor patio at this location to increase capacity.
Looks like there is one bid.
14th and W St, NW
Back in Nov. 2011 I shared some very sweet scutttlebutt saying that Graffiato Chef Mike Isabella would be bringing a new Greek restaurant to the new project going up at 14th and W St, NW. Turns out the scuttlebutt was accurate – and more.
From a press release:
Top Chef All-Stars Runner-Up, Mike Isabella announces plans to open two new restaurants at a 7,000 square foot space at 1326 W St. NW in early 2013. Kapnos, Greek for smoke, is the Greek restaurant Chef Isabella has been conceptualizing for years. Next door he will open G, a sister restaurant to Graffiato serving sandwiches by day and a four-course tasting menu in the evening.
“I’ve been cooking Greek food for a large part of my career, so opening my own place was only a matter of time. With Kapnos, I want to bring something totally unique to DC; daily whole animal spit-roasting is a side of Greek cuisine that no one else is doing in this city,” said Chef/Owner, Mike Isabella. “G is a sister to Graffiato, but the menu will be more traditional Italian – a place to get a meatball hero for lunch and a four-course dinner.”
Kapnos
Chef Isabella will draw inspiration from Northern Greece to create a menu of spreads, breads, phyllo pies, vegetables and other small plates, including his signature wood-grilled octopus. Dinner will culminate with the choice of carvings from whole animals that have been spit-roasted all day, including lamb, goat, duck, chicken, and suckling pig.Two wood-fire grills with five rotating spits each and a small wood oven for flat breads will service the 150-seat restaurant. A marble chef’s table situated in front of the spits will offer up to 10 guests an the opportunity to pre-order a whole spit-roasted animal for their party. Kapnos will be open for dinner seven nights a week and weekend brunch. The wine list will offer an extensive selection from Greece and other European countries.
Chef Isabella has named George Pagonis chef de cuisine and his brother, Nicholas Pagonis general manager. Nicholas is currently a manager at Graffiato and George formerly worked under Chef Isabella as a sous chef at Zaytinya. The brothers are first generation Greek American. Taha Ismail, who currently oversees the cocktail program at Graffiato, will also serve as head mixologist for Kapnos.
G
Chef Isabella will tap Graffiato sous chef, Elliot Drew to serve as executive sous chef at G. The 45-seat space next to Kapnos will offer traditional Italian sandwiches, soups and salads for lunch seven days a week. Chicken parmesan, veal cutlet, sausage with peppers, and meatballs are some of the sandwich fillers Chef Isabella plans to serve by day.By night, G will offer a four-course tasting menu for $40. Dinner will include a pre-set menu of antipasti, pasta, choice of meat or fish and dessert. The kitchen will accommodate dietary needs, but no a la carte menu will be available.
In addition to building the Kapnos and G teams from current and previous colleagues, Chef Isabella has brought on Steve Uhr as director of operations. Beginning April 1, Uhr will oversee all current and future restaurant projects for Chef Isabella.
“We have worked together at Think Food Group in Washington, D.C. and at Starr Restaurant Organization in Philadelphia. Steve is a talented manager; he has opened some of the best restaurants in the country and I wanted him back on my team to help grow my restaurants,” said Chef Isabella.
Previously, Uhr was the general manager for Atlantic Grill in Atlantic City. Prior to that appointment, he held general manager positions at several Washington, D.C. restaurants, including J&G Steakhouse, Blue Duck Tavern and Zaytinya. Uhr has also worked with renowned chefs Wolfgang Puck, José Andrés, Masaharu Morimoto, and Marcus Samuelsson.
|
Their Website says:
Welcome to Cause Bar and Restaurant, where giving has never been so easy. Cause is a bar like you’ve never seen before. We like to call it a PhilanthroPub.
Here is how it works:
Step 1: You come to Cause; eat, drink, and be merry
Step 2: Cause pays its staff, covers all operating costs
Step 3: Cause takes ALL of the remaining profits, and gives them to pre-vetted nonprofit organizations
Starting in April, come in, have a good time, all for a good Cause!
You can find more background info about the charitable aspect here. You can see their food menu here and you’ll soon be able to see the drink menu here. The executive chef is Adam Stein formerly of Queen Vic.
Like the idea of a Philanthropub?
3706 Macomb St, NW
Hawthorne Market recently opened at 3706 Macomb St, NW. You’ll soon be able to make reservations for Sunday brunch on their website. The first brunch will be March 25th.
Here’s a peek at the menu:
|
3313 11th St, NW at Lamont
A couple of weeks ago we learned that the new taqueria coming 11th and Lamont St, NW would be called El Chucho’s Cocina Superior. Late last week, Gordon Banks, was kind enough to invite me on an early tour of the space. Gordon is a full time partner of El Chucho’s with Jackie Greenbaum. Previously Gordon was a manager at Quarry House and Side Bar in Silver Spring.
At first glance it doesn’t look like much construction has been completed:
But significant projects like the plumbing and reinforcing the ceiling to support the roof deck have been completed:
In the first photo above note the big window which will roll back and offer and indoor outdoor bar like some may have seen at Pearl Dive in Logan Circle. Inside (around 850 square feet) will seat about 36 people. There will also be a few patio seats out front but the main outdoor area will be on the roof deck.
The roof deck will seat around 40 people. And I’m loving the view in the distance of the tops of row houses on Lamont:
Gordon is hoping for a May opening. At that time you’ll see a menu influences by LA Street food, Mexico and Santa Fe. Chef Diana Davila-Boldin’s family is from Mexico and she has studied in Oaxaca. Most of the food options will be under $10.
But there will also be a serious drink menu including lots of tequilas and mezcals. One of my favorite features will be the $5 margaritas on draft that will flow whenever they’re open. For those who don’t like alcohol there will be Mexican coca cola as well as other homemade sodas.
Sweet!
Shaw’s Tavern opened under new management a few weeks ago (still waiting on their liquor license) and the early word on twitter is that the food is really good. Anyone check them out yet? You can see their menus here. For the fans, any must order items?
Shaw’s Tavern is located at 520 Florida Ave, NW.
Back in June 2011 we learned that a new cafe and wine bar called TEL’VEH was coming to 401 Massachusetts Ave NW:
“New Tavern. European Café with wine bar. Breakfast and lunch with bakery. Small plates during dinner and wine bar, no dancing. Seating capacity is 75. Summer Garden capacity is 40. Total Occupancy Load is 115.”
I was starting to get nervous but I recently spotted some good news – looks like they’re starting to get some bones:
|
1901 L Street, NW
Washington Business Journal shares the healthy news that Sweetgreen and another spot called Energy Kitchen have signed leases at 1901 L St, NW:
“Sweetgreen is known for its salads and use of local produce, while Energy Kitchen is a healthy eating franchise relatively new to the D.C. market. Both should open by year’s end.”
I stopped by last week and a former tenant, Fresh Meal, has closed but the Asian Bistro next door was still open. I asked them if they were closing too and they said they hadn’t heard anything. I’ll update when Sweetgreen and Energy Kitchen get closer to opening.
Healthy eating the new cupcakes…?
Signs for “Healthy Eating” have gone up at the corner of 7th and D St, NW in Penn Quarter. A permit posted on the front door lists the name as Protein Bar. More when they get closer to opening this summer.
