FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 12, 2009

DC Dish
What’s New on the DC Dining Scene

Summer Restaurant Week
This summer, DC locals and visitors alike are gearing up for a biannual DC foodie favorite, Restaurant Week. During the week of Aug. 24-30, nearly 200 of DC’s finest restaurants offer three-course, fixed-price meals priced at $20.09 for lunch and $35.09 for dinner. Participating restaurants include Adour, Alain Ducasse’s restaurant located inside the St. Regis Washington, D.C.; Georgia Brown’s, the southern restaurant where First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden had their first DC “ladies lunch”; 2009 RAMMY Award winner Rasika (voted Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year) and more. For more information and reservations, visit www.restaurantweekdc.org.

In-house Dining
Executive Chef Damon Gordon, whose résumé includes Alain Ducasse’s Mix in New York City, will oversee the kitchen at Plume in the newly renovated Jefferson Hotel, scheduled to open in August. Plume offers a cozy and discreet dining environment enhanced by private nooks, corner tables and a welcoming fireplace under a vintage, 1923 vaulted skylight, and Gordon’s menu will include dishes including steak tartar, chilled tomato consommé and hot passion fruit soufflé. The hotel will also house Quill, an elegant lounge focusing on classic cocktails.

The cuisine of highly-acclaimed Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten recently descended upon the nation’s capital with the July opening of J&G Steakhouse (515 15th St. NW) inside the new W Hotel. The restaurant offers a worldly collection of steakhouse classics against the backdrop of sweeping views of the White House Gardens and Washington Monument. Phillippe Reininger is at the helm as Chef de Cuisine at the restaurant, where steaks are dry-aged for 21 days. The W Hotel also offers a cozy wine bar beneath the restaurant, and at rooftop bar POV, guests can sample an impressive artisanal cocktail and beverage menu by Sasha Petraske (founder and owner of cocktail culture icon Milk & Honey in Manhattan and London) against the backdrop of one of the best city views in town.

General Updates
Featuring a seasonal and locally-sourced menu, Blue Ridge (2340 Wisconsin Ave. NW) recently opened in DC’s blooming Glover Park neighborhood. The menu features mid-Atlantic cuisine with products from the Blue Ridge, a region that reaches from the northern edge of Georgia to the Southern tip of Pennsylvania. Guests can anticipate simple plates and presentations, local artisan cheeses and house-cured meats from throughout the region. The “earthy” space offers an outdoor patio and fish pond, antique Oak bar that seats 14, and refurbished church pews in the dining area.

A favorite DC establishment is once again welcoming visitors. In June, businesses and food vendors who had been displaced by a 2007 fire moved back into the fully-restored and renovated historic Eastern Market (225 7th St. SE). Several food stands have already found a home in the new building, including Micha’s Sorbet, Bigg Poppa Kettle Korn, and Mique’s Magnificent Mini Donuts, and additional food and beverage vendors are being added.

Dupont Circle newcomer Bistro Bistro B (1727 Connecticut Ave, NW), selling French staples such as pâté de foie gras, crispy duck a l'orange and escargot (mostly for less than $20), opened its doors in June. The 277-seat restaurant offers a moderately priced menu as well as happy hour specials.

A new Latin-Asian restaurant (brain-child of Kaz Sushi Bistro’s chef Kaz Okochi and Zengo’s Richard Sandoval) is set to open in September near Logan Circle. Masa 14 (1825 14th St. NW) will feature small plates, small prices and specialty cocktails alongside a 40-seat bar and sleek interior of wood, stone and brick. 

Owners of the two popular Matchbox restaurants, known for their pizzas and mini-burgers, are introducing another concept to their eatery repertoire with Ted’s Bulletin (505 8th St. SE), which will serve comfort foods like lasagna and meatloaf alongside classic cocktails. Expected to open early 2010, Ted’s Bulletin will also have a “shake-tender” on hand to produce hand-crafted milkshakes and malts.

Ashok Bajaj, famous for DC-area American and Indian restaurants Rasika, 701, Oval Room, Bombay Club and Ardeo/Bardeo, is opting for a new taste – Italian – in his next venture. Tentatively scheduled to open in September, Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca (1100 New York Ave. NW) will be Bajaj’s seventh restaurant in the District and will be housed in the space vacated by Ristorante Luigino.

Social (14th St. and Meridian Pl. NW), a new restaurant and bar in the flourishing Columbia Heights neighborhood, opened in late July.  Part restaurant, bar, lounge, and great room, the restaurant’s partners hope the identity crisis will make this the perfect venue for any occasion.  Shareable menu items will be featured in three different sizes, allowing for mix and match ordering.  The eclectic menu features a broad range of options, including a “Bloody Mary” menu for brunch-goers, featuring Italian, Mexican, Jamaican, Asian and Kosher Mary’s.  Social will open seven nights a week and Sundays for brunch.

Nearby, new wine bar Room 11 (3234 11th St. NW) recently joined the neighborhood. The rustic tasting room offers a wide variety of international wines ranging from $6-$12 per glass. Cheese, charcuterie, market salads, pressed sandwiches and Spanish-influenced bocadillos round out the menu.

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About Destination DC: Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of more than 1,000 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. Washington.org/pressroom