Georgetown

From a press release:

Today, Unum, located at 2917 M St. NW in Georgetown, opens to the public, serving dinner seven nights a week. Owners and husband and wife Phillip Blane and Laura Schiller plan to begin serving Saturday and Sunday brunch in this former Mendocino Grille location within the next few weeks.

The intimate and contemporary 50-seat neighborhood restaurant offers new American cuisine in a warm and dynamic space that also includes a 12-seat bar. Blane, who serves as Executive Chef, has created a menu that marries his East Coast cooking experiences with his international travels, so guests can expect to find dishes such as Indian spiced lamb shank with cauliflower, raisins, cashews and cilantro-mint chutney and desserts such as Ricotta beignets with cardamom blueberry sauce. Appetizers are priced $8-12 and entrees $14-$24. The complete dinner menu is included below.

Unum also serves a special bar menu with soups, salads and snacks, such as Cod and chorizo tater tots, creamy truffle mac and cheese, an Unum burger, and a selection of cheese and charcuterie.

Unum offers more than a dozen wines by the glass, as well as a 60+ bottle list, and a rotating selection of craft beer and cocktails. The wine list has a strong focus on California wines as well as labels from old and new world wine regions, with an emphasis on value selections in the $30 to $60 price range.

Unum is located at 2917 M St. NW, Washington DC. For reservations or more information, please call 202-621-6959 or visit the website at www.unumdc.com

2917 M St. NW is the former Mendocino Grill space.

Menu after the jump. (more…)

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From a press release:

This January, owners and husband and wife team Phillip Blane and Laura Schiller plan to open their first restaurant, Unum, in Georgetown at 2917 M St. NW in the former Mendocino Grille location. The intimate and contemporary 50-seat neighborhood restaurant will offer new American cuisine in a warm and dynamic space that also includes a 12-seat bar.

Blane will also serve as Executive Chef of Unum, creating a menu that marries his East Coast cooking experiences with his international travels. After growing up in New York City and London, Blane spent a decade in healthcare administration before following his passion to become a full-time chef. Having worked as the opening Chef at The Charlotte Hotel and Restaurant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, as well as most recently as Sous Chef at Equinox restaurant under Chef Todd Gray, Chef Blane is looking forward to offering guests at Unum a range of approachable dishes with a contemporary spin.

To that end, guests will enjoy smaller plates such as Grilled quail with sautéed greens, pistachio nuts and a date sauce and a Four onion soup with slow roasted Spanish onions, crispy shallots, caramelized Cipollinis and fresh chives. Larger plates will include Smoked duck breast served with rainbow Swiss chard and pomegranate sauce; Rosemary gnocchi with oyster mushrooms, butternut squash, cranberries and truffle butter; and Indian spiced lamb shank with cauliflower, raisins, cashews and cilantro-mint chutney. Desserts will include Ricotta beignets with cardamom blueberry sauce and Winter citrus custard with candied kumquats and grapefruit sorbet. Appetizers are priced $8-12 and entrees $14-$24.

Blane will also serve a special bar menu with soups, salads and snacks, such as Cod and chorizo tater tots, creamy truffle mac and cheese, an Unum burger, and a selection of cheese and charcuterie.

Unum will soon offer brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with items like Belgian Waffles with seasonal fruit compote topped with frozen vanilla yogurt, and an Eggs Benedict on potato-caper cakes with smoked salmon & salmon-roe hollandaise.

Unum will offer more than a dozen wines by the glass, as well as a 60+ bottle list, and a rotating selection of craft beer and cocktails. The wine list has a strong focus on California wines as well as labels from old and new world wine regions, with an emphasis on value selections in the $30 to $60 price range.

Unum is located at 2917 M St. NW, Washington DC. For reservations or more information, please call 202-621-6959 or visit the website at www.unumdc.com

From a press release:

The architecture and design team at Bethesda, MD-based Streetsense has been selected to design the 5,000 square foot interior of Bandolero, Chef Mike Isabella’s new modern Mexican small-plates concept set to open in Georgetown (3241 M Street, NW in Washington, D.C.) in early 2012.

Mike Isabella, a former Top Chef contestant who opened the wildly popular Italian-inspired Graffiato restaurant in Washington’s Chinatown district in June of this year, was tapped by restaurateur Jonathan Umbel to bring his creative vision to the Georgetown location formerly known as Hook. Hook and its sister restaurant, Tackle Box, have been closed since last summer due to a fire. Isabella and Umbel are working closely with Streetsense, which also is designing new interiors graphics for Tackle Box restaurants in Georgetown and Cleveland Park.

The partners are teaming with Streetsense designers Rhena Saar and Sumaya Kaufman to create a “Day-of-the-Dead” interior, incorporating cemetery gates, tequila crates, reclaimed wood, mismatched furniture, and creative lighting schemes that provide a candlelit glow. Dining spaces on two levels will feature a chef’s table with views into the kitchen and a communal table overlooking M Street. Like Georgetown itself after sunset, Bandolero will be “dark, crowded, hip, high-energy, and fun, with amazing food and drinks.”

“My vision for Bandolero is a high-energy, high-volume restaurant to match the bustling vibe of the Georgetown neighborhood and feed the late-night appetite of its college students, said Isabella. “The menu will change frequently with my twist on classic Mexican dishes and a large cocktail menu.” The Bandolero menu will feature salsas, guacamoles, ceviches, tacos, vegetables, and “carbons,” some with untraditional fillings such as duck and goat meat.