Logan Circle

14th and Q St, NW

About a month ago we spoke with owner Stephen Starr and couldn’t wait to taste their bread (among other items.) The wait is over! Le Diplomate soft opened in Logan Circle over the weekend.

From a press release:

From Sunday 4/7 – Sunday 4/14, Le Diplomate will soft open to the public, serving its full menu for dinner and Saturday & Sunday brunch, and will offer a 10% discount off of food as the restaurant fine-tunes and prepares for opening. The restaurant will officially open on April 15th. Dinner hours are 5pm-10pm, Sunday – Tuesday, 5pm-11pm Wednesday & Thursday and 5pm – Midnight, Friday and Saturdays. Brunch hours are Saturday and Sundays from 11am – 3pm.

See more photos of the inside after the jump, plus a reminder of how the space looked back in 2010. (more…)

1324 14th Street, NW

B Too’s opening got a bit delayed from their anticipated winter opening but they look like they’re getting close now. This is the new Belgian restaurant from the owner of Belga Cafe on Barracks Row.

You like the new signage?

Quite a change from the old downtown lock sign:

2008

1612 14th Street, NW

From a press release:

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace will kick off crawfish season with one of their popular Crawfish Boils on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Guests will enjoy Louisiana crawfish, whole-roasted, sustainably raised suckling pig, cornbread, peel and eat shrimp, house-made Andouille sausage, and a selection of Southern inspired sides and desserts from pastry chef Carri-Anne Hamer. Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Company beers will complement the food for the duration of each two-hour seating. Pearl Dive Chef James Huff, who has cooked in popular New Orleans kitchens Delmonico and Stella, will prepare the select grade crawfish from Crawley, Louisiana with potatoes and corn, and season them with the signature Cajun “Slap Ya Mama” seasoning. All dishes will be served family style. Tickets can be purchased for $65 per person exclusive of tax and gratuity here. All ticket purchases include all you can drink Abita Amber and all the boil you can eat for two hours.

Saturday, April 6, 2013 with two seatings from 12 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

14th and Q Street, NW

@Starrrestaurants tweets the good news:

“We are taking dinner reservations at #LeDiplomate in DC starting April 12th! Give us a call between 10am and 6pm to book: 202.332.3333”

We learned some more details about Le Diplomate in early March.

Stephen Starr

A few weeks ago I noted the progress at Le Diplomate coming to the former laundry at the corner of 14th and Q St, NW in Logan Circle. At that time they were hoping for a mid-March opening but after having a peek a couple days ago, I’d say an April opening is probably more likely. Of course, after hearing about the plans – the earlier they open the better! In addition to getting a look at the progress the space:

I was also lucky enough to have a chat with owner Stephen Starr (pictured above.) But first a peek at the terrace on Q street:

While I’m loving the copper on the outside – you can tell that the inside is gonna be amazing as well:

Ok back to Mr. Starr. He was kind enough to share a few details about his plans for Le Diplomate. While Le Diplomate is inspired by Parc in Philadelphia, Starr tells me that Le Diplomate will have a far more intimate feel. He hopes for the restaurant to be a true neighborhood go to spot. Since Le Diplomate will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner – he imagines neighbors could stop by 3-4 times a week.

From the files of “I did not know that” before becoming a restauranteur, Mr. Starr was a concert promoter and would regularly come to the DC area. As far back as 1995 he knew he wanted to open a spot in DC but things just “kept growing in Philly”. A few years ago he was intensively looking for space in DC but was mostly steered towards modern glass office buildings which wasn’t his style. Fortunately, on one of those trips he happened to drive by the vacant laundry at 14th and Q Streets and thought it would make for the perfect location for a restaurant. At that time the space was unavailable so a DC project was delayed until a couple years later when he got the call that the space was now free. And so here we are surrounded by construction with the restaurant really starting to come together.

Continues after the jump. (more…)