FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2007 

DC DISH: WHAT'S NEW ON THE RESTAURANT SCENE

Now Open:

• Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck opened The Source at the Newseum complex last week - his first fine dining restaurant in DC. On the restaurant's lower level, diners will enjoy a casual menu served in a "bar and grill" setting. Puck's fine dining cuisine will be showcased on the upper level.
  
• After a nearly two-month hiatus, power dining staple The Palm Washington, DC reopened its doors in September to reveal the results of its makeover and its newly enlarged bar. The upscale steakhouse now features a glass-enclosed veranda and folding glass walls along with an enlarged bar, three new 'Power Booths', 26 additional seats and a complete kitchen upgrade.
  
• Also in DC's West End neighborhood, Chef Greggory Hill closed his namesake restaurant, David Greggory, to make way for a new dining concept. The restaurant will reopen this fall as Hudson, a showplace for sustainable and locally-procured ingredients. Chef Kyle Schroeder, a protégé of Timothy Dean, is crafting fresh, seasonal menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as weekend brunch. It's located at 21st and M Streets NW.
  
• Alison Swope, who won acclaim for her Mexican delicacies at Andale, returned to the DC dining scene with a new venture, Restaurant K by Alison Swope. For the new concept, she's teamed up with McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants to create a menu of modern American favorites. The restaurant is located in DC's West End neighborhood.
  
• From Joe Englert and partners Adam Manson and Getinet Bantayehu (current owners of The Capital Lounge), Veritas Wine Bar made its debut north of Dupont Circle in September, offering more than 60 varieties of wine by the glass, along with wine flights, cheeses, cured meats, pates and caviar.
  
• Plum Blossom (1915 18th St. NW, 202-232-8881), billing itself as a as a sushi restaurant, wine bar and café, recently opened in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Executive Chef and owner Lance Hanan serves up sushi and Asian fusion dishes in small and large plates.
  
• Adding Latin flavor to the city, Sabores invites guests to choose from an assortment of tapas, incredibly tasty when washed down with house-made sangria and Spanish wines. The brand-new Cleveland Park neighborhood eatery has a relaxed atmosphere and features wood and glass garage doors that open right onto the street.

Coming Soon:

• Eric Ripert's first DC venture is also preparing to open this fall. The chic 120-seat eatery, Westend Bistro, is currently under development at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. The restaurant is slated to open Nov. 1 with Leonardo Marino, a former sous chef at Le Bernadin, at the helm, serving a seafood-centric menu.
  
• Splash (2222 18th St. NW) will dive into Adams Morgan this fall, featuring a daiquiri bar and a menu of chicken wings, chicken sandwiches, burgers, shrimp baskets and cheese fries served during dinner and late night.
  
• Entrepreneur brothers Aleks and Lambros Duni are putting the finishing touches on Veranda Restaurant for its October debut. This small, family-owned Logan Circle neighborhood restaurant features a menu of Greek and Italian dishes.
  
• James A. McGlade will open Black Fox Lounge near Dupont Circle at 1723 Connecticut Ave. NW. Slated for a spring 2008 opening, the new spot will feature classic and original cocktails, premium wines from luxury wineries around the world and savory hors d'oeuvres in a casual, relaxed setting.
  
• Chef Barton Seaver of Georgetown seafood hotspot Hook has plans to expand by transforming an adjoining restaurant space into a casual seafood eatery. Slated to open next spring as Tackle Box, (3245 M St. NW), the restaurant calls to mind a New England lobster shack, where guests can dig into sustainable fried clams and peel 'n eat shrimp.
  
• Downtown's popular wood-fired pizza bistro Matchbox will open a second DC location in Barracks Row next spring. The restaurant will keep the same vintage look and menu as its current Chinatown location, serving up wood-fired pizzas and mini-burgers, but will add outdoor seating and weekend brunch.
  
• Star Restaurant Group, which operates popular hotspots Zola and Indigo Landing, is adding a new restaurant to its collection. Star President Dan Mesches recently announced plans for a new 10,000 sq.-ft. Italian restaurant to open in fall 2008 in the landmark Woodward Building at 15th and H Streets, NW. The 175-seat restaurant, yet to be named, will serve a wide range of Italian fare developed by Star Restaurant Group's Executive Chef Bryan Moscatello.

Poste Brasserie Takes New Steps to Go Green
Many of DC's top restaurants have eco-friendly practices in place, and Poste Moderne Brasserie has stood at the forefront of sustainability. The contemporary American dining spot now offers an eco-alternative to bottled water, using the AquaHealth system where water is filtered on-site and poured into reusable, elegant swing-top glass bottles to eliminate potential environmental hazard of plastic bottles. Guests can enjoy clean, fresh water, sparkling or still, priced at $5 per bottle. Executive Chef Robert Weland draws ingredients from his on-site garden of seasonal herbs, vegetables and greens, which are grown and harvested for immediate use in Poste's dishes.

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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. Destinationdc.com.