116 Rhode Island Ave, NW
Thanks to all who emailed and tweeted us about Boundary Stone’s expansion in Bloomingdale. The placard out front says:
“Requesting to expand occupancy load inside the premises to 94 and to expand Sidewalk Cafe seating capacity to 48 seats.”
Slash Run [201 Upshur Street, NW] “will have more hair metal than your average bar but we are music lovers of all genres and there is something for everyone in there.”
What’s the early word for those who’ve stopped by?
Here’s the jukebox: (more…)
2631 Connecticut Ave, NW
From Burton Heiss, CEO, Nando’s PERi-PERi USA via email:
“Earlier this year, the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment granted Nando’s permission to open a new restaurant in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington. The BZA ruled that Nando’s would “enhance the vitality of the street and provide a variety of healthy food choices at reasonable prices.” The local Advisory Neighborhood Commission also welcomed Nando’s to the neighborhood, and nearly 150 Woodley Park residents and business owners signed a petition supporting Nando’s plans. We were excited and ready to go.
But while authorizing Nando’s to open, the BZA ruled that Nando’s would have to reapply in five years for permission to continue operating. The Board ruled that it wanted to see in five years whether there were “adverse impacts” of adding another restaurant to the Connecticut Avenue strip. Nando’s asked for a reconsideration of the Board’s decision and requested a longer term, but the Board stood by its decision.
As a result, Nando’s is disappointed to announce that it won’t be opening in Woodley Park. While we appreciate the professionalism of the Zoning Board, Nando’s can’t move forward under those restrictive terms. Nando’s was prepared to create good-paying local jobs and construct a beautiful new restaurant in Woodley Park, filling it with original and contemporary South African art. But we couldn’t risk a seven-figure investment if, in just a few years, we might be told we no longer could operate in Woodley Park. The BZA gave Nando’s only five years, and started the clock ticking as of February 10, 2015. That would mean that, after construction, Nando’s might only have had four years before it had to reapply, an unacceptable risk on our multi-million-dollar investment.
Nando’s remains grateful to our Woodley Park fans for their overwhelming support. We built our U.S. headquarters in Washington in 2008 and remain committed to the District. We will continue to grow in Washington. In the meantime, we hope our customers will come and enjoy our spicy PERi-PERi flavors at our nearby Tenleytown restaurant and at our other DC locations.”
From a press release:
“Greg Engert, Beer Director for Neighborhood Restaurant Group, announces the opening of The Sovereign, a bar and bistro located at 1206 Wisconsin Ave NW (at the end of the alley at M St. NW & Wisconsin Ave. NW) in Georgetown later this Fall. The two-story bar and bistro will be comprised of an 84-seat first floor dining room and 47-seat bar on the second floor. Known for his award-winning beer lists at Birch & Barley, ChurchKey, Rustico and more, Greg Engert is now curating and creating a Belgian beer list unlike any other at The Sovereign alongside a menu of classic Belgian cuisine from Executive Chef Peter Smith.
The Sovereign will showcase the widest array of drafts and bottles from the very best Belgian brewers. With 50 drafts and 200+ bottles, the beer program will feature the work of Belgian brewers who embody the standards, techniques, and innovative spirit that underpins the fabled Belgian brewing culture.
Just as The Sovereign will be championing brewers that use simple, true recipes and let technique and patience yield complex flavors, so will the menu feature rustic ingredient-driven dishes of Belgian cuisine, which draws from French, German and Dutch cooking traditions. Executive Chef Peter Smith of PS7 and Vidalia has developed the menu –which will be available throughout the restaurant and bar– by combining his French training with experience gained while traveling through Belgium with Engert.
While dishes will change with the seasons and use local ingredients, Smith has also worked to source key products like domestically farmed, bottom harvested Dutch-style mussels. Diners will also find traditional small bites (such as Saucisse Ardennaise, anchovies and pickled onion, or gruyere with caraway seeds, a range of Flammkuchen or Tartes Flambé, and a variety of braises and stews such as Lapin a la Kriek or Rabbit in Cherry Beer.
The Sovereign is committed to celebrating the brewers –many of them little known and rarely found in the US –who are sustaining and evolving the brewing traditions and culture that created Belgium’s reputation as a beer mecca. An expansive breadth of selections will illuminate the flavor-driven, craft-brewed complexity that is the trademark of the best Belgian beers. Selections in constant rotation will include: (more…)
A reader reports:
“I noticed Old Engine 12 in Bloomingdale has some changes. The employees are no longer required to wear the goofy out of place uniforms. The uniforms have been replaced with standard DCFD shirts you see DC paramedics wearing. Also, there is ANOTHER relaunch event (they did the same thing when the bar first opened). Every time I jog by there it looks pretty empty and I don’t see anyone in the second floor bar.”
Anyone go last night?
1626 North Capitol Street, NW
3607 Georgia Ave, NW courtesy EatsPlace
Ed. Note: I’m also hearing that folks are starting to see serious progress at the Filipino Restaurant, Bad Saint on 11th Street.
From an email:
“After a super popular pop-up at the Washington DC food incubator EatsPlace, Kalye is back! Kalye’s Filipino street food will be at the EatsPlace every Thursday, Friday, Saturday from August 7 through January 2016. To complete his visionary team and develop the original concept, Chef Red Garcia has brought Chef Paolo Eleazar to the kitchen. Kalye means street, and Garcia and Eleazar are bringing street food from the Philippines to Washington DC. Enjoy authentic Filipino food like pork belly barbeque, sisig (grilled and charred pork meat), crispy pata (braised and then deep fried pork), sizzling mushrooms, and chicken inasal (spice marinated crispy grilled wings).
Dinner will be served thurs/fri/sat from 5:30 – 10:00 PM, and the EatsPlace bar, The Drinkubator, will be open late and serve, among other drinks, Red Horse, San Miguel Light and holla-holla, our version of the shave ice dessert. Walk-ins are welcome, and no reservations. Catering is available because who doesn’t need sisig at their shindig? EatsPlace is located at 3607 Georgia Avenue NW, a block south of the Petworth metro.
Check out Kalye’s menu (more…)
1214 U Street, NW
Yesterday we shared some scuttlebutt that Ulah Bistro on U Street was closing after 7 years on Tuesday, July 28th. A reader confirms:
“I had reservations for a large party there on August 2nd! I emailed them and received confirmation that they are indeed closing. They said: Unfortunately Ulah Bistro will not be open on August 2nd. I apologize for any inconvenience it might cause. We have got these news recently and whoever took the reservation most likely was not aware of what’s happening.”
A commenter adds:
“Confirmed today with one of the managers-it’s been sold. Last day is Tuesday [the 28th]. Boo.”
3303 Georgia Ave, NW
Interesting tidbit from the recently opened Joselyn Restaurant‘s liquor license placard:
“New Restaurant serving Italian and Latin cuisine. Offering Latin dance lessons. Entertainment Endorsement. Total Occupancy Load of 68.”
1214 U Street, NW
A reader hears:
“Yesterday I heard some scuttlebutt that Ulah Bistro on U Street was closing after 7 years on Tuesday, July 28th.”
Anyone else hear this?
1376 Park Road, NW
Back in May we learned that Shanghai Tokyo would be coming to Columbia Heights this summer. Looks like opening day is coming soon – now hiring and tempting us with a big sushi sign:
Check out their College Park menu here: ShanghaiTokyo_menu (PDF)
