Chinatown

13th and E Street, NW

From a press release:

“Boss Shepherd’s will serve farm-to-table American classics when it opens its doors on July 21. Guests at the new Penn Quarter restaurant will have a variety of authentic, fresh dishes to choose from. Executive Chef Jeremy Waybright boasts diverse lunch and dinner menus that highlight years of classic southern cooking experience.

[Check out a sneak peek at the menu here: Boss Shepherd’s Menu (PDF)]

“Having cooked all over the south, I am thrilled for people to experience my fresh takes on familiar comfort dishes,” said Chef Waybright. “By combining locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients with bold and exciting flavors, the menu screams American-made.” The restaurant draws inspiration and ingredients from a slew of local farms such as Path Valley Farms, Tuscarora Co-op, Lancaster Farms Fresh, The Fresh Link, Red Barn Berkshires, Northern Neck Fruit & Vegetable, Horst Farms and Next Step Produce.

Instilled with Chef Waybright’s southern inspiration, the menu boasts fresh takes on time-honored, rustic classics that can please the palate of any guest. Chef Waybright’s use of farm-to-table ingredients is evident in innovative starters such as the Maine blue mussels with sausage, cider beer, vermouth and pickled chili, or delectable bone marrow served with herbs, pickled egg, breakfast radish and toast. Ensuring that there’s something for everyone, the restaurant presents the Hamburg, a scrumptious, classic burger comprised of Virginia grass-fed beef, sweet onion and cheddar cheese on a brioche bun. For a dish permeated with flavor that truly features the main ingredient, patrons might choose the pastrami salmon sandwich, accompanied with pickled onion, baby lettuce and dill cream, atop a poppy seed bun. Of course, guests looking for classic country flavor will find the familiar in the fried chicken entrée, served with butter-poached radish, smoked egg yolk, hot sauce and a biscuit, or the Carolina trout with Meyer lemon, capers, brown butter and Wade’s Mill white grits. Boss Shepherd’s will also offer universal classics such as steak dishes and crab cakes.

Offering a diverse beverage selection, the restaurant’s back bar will feature two 5-gallon barrels of A. Smith Bowman reserve whiskey as well as the renowned Catoctin Creek roundhouse rye (92 proof). The beer selection emphasizes local breweries’ concoctions such as Port City’s oyster stout and DC Brau’s golden ale, as well as specialties from Flying Dog Brewery and Atlas Brew Works. Alongside the whiskey and beer programs, Boss Shepherd’s offers an extensive wine list of 35 American and international wines by the glass pour.

Boss Shepherd’s will be open 11am daily for lunch and dinner service Mondays – Fridays, and at 4pm for dinner service only on Saturdays.”

Lots more photos after the jump. (more…)

700 6th Street, NW

More movement for Penn Commons coming to Chinatown – their Facebook page says:

“Hello DC! We are now hiring for all front-of-the-house positions! Stop in at 700 6th Street between 11-7 Mon-Friday to apply, Saturday Noon-4!”

We previously learned:

“Opening is slated for late summer. The restaurant and bar will be similar to the group’s already successful District Commons restaurant at 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Chef Jeff Tunks, David Wizenberg and Gus DiMillo are the partners behind Passion Food Hospitality. They opened their first restaurant, DC Coast, in 1998 and have expanded their style of American eateries to include such restaurants as Acadiana, Burger Tap, & Shake, Ceiba, and PassionFish.”

A peek in the window, at an obviously very early stage, looks promising:

800 F Street, NW

nopa opened up in the former Zola space just north of pennsylvania avenue back in May 2013. Their website says:

“nopa Kitchen+Bar, a new 160-seat American brasserie in the heart of Penn Quarter. This is the award-winning restaurateur’s eighth restaurant in the nation’s Capitol and it serves American fare with French and Asian influences. The name represents nopa’s location just north of Pennsylvania Avenue and it welcomes guests for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. The restaurant offers lively dining in the main dining room, and also offers quieter dining options and several private dining rooms.

Greg McCarty is the executive chef for nopa Kitchen+Bar. A graduate of The George Brown Chef School in Toronto, Canada, McCarty’s culinary career began in the New York City kitchen of Jean Georges. He cooked under Chef Vongerichten for six years, working his way up from line cook to executive sous chef of Dune in the Bahamas. In 2005, McCarty returned to Manhattan to open Nobu 57. McCarty worked with renowned restaurateur Drew Nieporent on various restaurant projects, and has also managed his own consulting business, before accepting his new position in Washington.

Ashok Bajaj worked with James Beard Foundation’s award-nominated restaurant designer Martin Vahtra of Projects Design Associates of New York to create nopa. Its striking interior is light-filled, and sports a rustic industrial style. The décor features whitewashed exposed brick, rough sawn wood paneling, steel accents and metal task lighting. These strong elements contrast dramatically with the plush fabric on the red banquettes and camel leather arm chairs, which provide comfortable seating around sleek wooden bistro tables.”

You can see their menus here.

Any fans?