Today, Proprietors Michael Friedman, Mike O’Malley and Sebastian Zutant open their first restaurant venture together, The Red Hen, located at 1822 1st Street, NW in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, DC.
The Red Hen features Italian-influenced American cuisine. Making the most of mid-Atlantic ingredients, Chef Friedman’s menu relies predominantly on components cooked in a stone hearth featuring a Grillworks custom wood-fired grill. A focal point of the restaurant’s open kitchen, the hearth is not only used in traditional ways – smoking and grilling meats and vegetables – but is also used to explore modern ideas through traditional cooking applications: roasting vanilla beans and making gelato with the pods; slow-roasting ricotta to give the cheese a slightly smoky flavor; and utilizing burning embers in oil to create a smoked aioli.
Sebastian Zutant, most recently the wine director at Proof, is responsible for the beverage program at The Red Hen. Wines, beer and cocktails are all value-driven and eclectic in nature, with a focus on Italian-made wines and spirits. The concise, seasonally driven cocktail list will change frequently, offering drinks priced under $10 that incorporate wines and spirits in unique ways, including the Piedmontese-influenced Urs, made with Campari, Gruner Veltliner and moscato grappa, and Bring out your dead, made with rum, sloe gin, Sercial Madeira, Dolin sweet vermouth and lemon juice. Zutant plans to keep a majority of the 100-bottle wine list under $60, with about 5-10 wines offered by the glass nightly.
Partner Mike O’Malley is leading the restaurant operations, serving as general manager of the 60-seat restaurant. Lauren Winter and Brian Miller of Edit are responsible for the design of the 2,400 square foot space, which boasts an open floor plan and 13-foot ceilings. Natural light, entering from the bay windows, gives way to rich neutral tones, including the painted and aged wood floors throughout the room. The kitchen is open, featuring exposed shelves to hold firewood used for the wood-burning grill. Winter and Miller designed and fabricated the rustic tables and chairs from reclaimed Nicaraguan wood, along with the bar stools, which surround an orange, embossed leather bar.
The Red Hen is located in the historic Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, DC. In the late 19th century, Bloomingdale was a mix of residential and commercial undertakings including one of the city’s two flour mills, country estates, orchards and busy transportation routes. In recent years, the area has seen a resurgence of artistic and cultural venues, restaurants and community gathering places.
The Red Hen is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with brunch to follow shortly after opening. The hours of operation are Tuesday and Wednesday from 5-10 PM, Thursday through Saturday from 5-11 PM and Sunday from 5-9:30 PM. For reservations and more information, please visit the website at www.theredhendc.com or call 202-525-3021.
