A NEW RESTAURANT, wine bar and lounge on L Street NW hopes to take diners around the world with "international tapas." The Reserve, which opened a month ago, is the brainchild of owner Moe Hamdan, who worked as a promoter in D.C. for years.
"I recently got married and had a little boy," he says. "I got tired of not being able to have a place to take my wife out and have dinner, a cocktail and relax."
He also wanted something with a lounge feel.
"In Los Angeles, New York, Miami, lounges are more a sit down, have conversations with friends over food and stay for drinks kind of thing," he says. "Here, every place describes itself as a lounge, but it isn't that."
Frederik De Pue, a chef from Belgium who also runs 42 Degrees Catering Services, is helming the kitchen. "I've reworked classics and have a number of vegetarian options," De Pue says. "The entire menu will change seasonally, but I'll keep a couple classic dishes."
Continue Reading "Make a Reservation for Cool: The Reserve" »
NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT GROUP co-owner Michael Babin believed that Washingtonians needed more places to sample the ever-growing array of craft beers, without any more ubiquitous flat-screen TVs, dingy lighting, chicken fingers or frites. So he and his partners dreamed up such a place — a pair of them, actually.
This new, two-part endeavor opened last week in the former Dakota Cowgirl space in Logan Circle. The ground floor houses the fine-dining Birch & Barley (exposed brick, bamboo floors, earthy hues), while the upstairs offers a hip bar and lounge, ChurchKey (D.C.'s longest bar, decadent accents). Both floors will feature executive chef Kyle Bailey's contemporary American cuisine and beer director Greg Engert's formidable beer list: 500 bottled brews, 50 drafts and five cask-conditioned ales.
Continue Reading "Why So Serious?: Sexy New Two-in-One Craft Beer Hot Spots" »
WE HAVE TO ADMIT, it was a little bit shocking. Even in our fair and security-minded city, we'd never been asked to go through a metal detector at a farmers market before. And are those snipers perched atop a farm truck? We were excited for the opening of a White House Farmers Market, but this was definitely not organic as usual.
But it turns out that the intense security is only present today — and it makes sense, since Michelle Obama and Adrian Fenty were on hand to talk about the importance of local food. We're going to predict that you won't have to wait in lines or get patted down next week.
You'll see the same vendors here that you see at every other farmers market in D.C. — they're all run by the FreshFarm collective, after all. Try the Keswick Creamery chocolate pudding and the bread for the Ovens at Quail Creek Farm, then go crazy with the produce before peaches go out of season and our lives are cold and dark once more.
» White House Farmers Market, Vermont Ave. and I Street NW; Thursdays through Oct. 29, 3 p.m.-7 p.m.; 202-362-8889. (McPherson Square)
Photo by James M. Thresher/The Washington Post
IF YOU'RE SEARCHING for tasty Korean food, the logical place to go would be Koreatown.
For more than a decade, Annandale in Northern Virginia maintained a stronghold on local Seoul food (sorry, we had to go there). But with Korean food gaining popularity, restaurants have appeared throughout other parts of NoVa and D.C. The range in style of these eateries caters to a range of patrons. Whether you grew up with Mom or Dad pickling baechu (napa cabbage) or you're completely new to Korean fare, something is bound to strike your fancy.
Our kimchi trail begins in Annandale at the 24-hour Korean barbecue joint Ye Chon. Whether it's noon or 3 a.m., this place is always full of hungry customers and fantastic fragrances. The kalbi, beef short ribs, is soaked in a sweet, smokey marinade and grilled right on your table. The finger-licking-good beef is lean, making for the perfect texture — you can chew freely without worrying about unnervingly bulbous chunks of fat in your teeth.
Continue Reading "Trip on the Korean Side: Korean Restaurants Attract Spice-Craving Diners" »
THIS WEEK: Documentary films might offer a glimpse at the squalid living conditions of children in some developing countries, but an exhibit at the National Press Club presents their struggles as tangible reality. "The Power to Play: From Trash to Treasure" features individual toys created by children out of the only materials available to them. Their work is unfailingly creative, often beautiful and always heart-rending.
» National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW; through Aug. 28, free; 202-662-7500. (Metro Center)
Photo courtesy ChildFund
SATURDAY: It's been two months since Remy Munasifi unleashed his rhymin' send-up of the tiny-dog-walking, Starbucks-laden 'hood that is Arlington, Va. Remember?
If you haven't run into him on the Metro already, now's your chance to meet the star of "Arlington: The Rap." D.C. Impulse is hosting a Saturday soiree at K Street Lounge in the 28-year-old's honor — aptly titled the "Go Remy Party." Doors open at 10 p.m., and it's free drinks for gals until midnight. There won't be a live performance of the Arlington anthem, but the video will be played on a projector. We also hear a DJ might just try to do a dance remix of Munasifi's rhymes.
So pop by and celebrate the "Clizz Dizzle." But please, no brown flip-flops.
» K Street Lounge, 1301 K St. NW; Sat., Aug. 8, 10 p.m., free for men until midnight, free for women until 1 a.m., $20 after; RSVP to Impulsenights.com. (McPherson Square)
» School of Starbucks: Read our Q&A with Remy Munasifi.
Photo courtesy Remy Munasifi
EVERYBODY KNOWS by now that Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Cambridge police officer James Crowley and President Barack Obama are planning to share a beer at the White House on Thursday, in what is perhaps the most over-reported male bonding session in recent memory. You know when and where it will happen, and you probably know that Obama will drink a Budweiser.
But if the president, Gates and Crowley wanted to take their meeting away from that picnic table and outside the White House walls, they might try these nearby, low-key locales. And hey, next time you need to patch things up — say, because you arrested your friend accidentally when he wasn't doing anything, or just because you need someplace to talk and share a brew — you can try them too.
» R.F.D. (810 7th St. NW; 202-289-2030, lovethebeer.com)
This place is a cavern. It's so big that no matter how many people come, it never feels full. You may have to talk quietly to keep your voice from echoing — so don't come here if you're imparting top-secret information — but the beer selection is spectacular and the location is unbeatable for Metro-takers. Of course, Obama's Secret Service men would have to circle for days before they could find a parking spot.
» Brasserie Beck (1101 K St. NW; 202-408-1717, beckdc.com)
A mecca for Belgian beer lovers, this bistro might tempt Obama to try something a little more extravagant than a Bud. The servers are cheerful and discreet, and the prez and his pals can sit outside. Although they might get interrupted by shrieking Obamamaniacs, so perhaps they'd better stick with the more private indoor seating.
Continue Reading "The Audacity of Hops: Bars for Long, Serious Talks Over Beer" »
MONDAY: Ever wanted to learn to dance the salsa? Well here's your chance. Every Monday night Lima Restaurant and Lounge will be hosting free beginner and intermediate salsa lessons taught by D.C. salsa guru Earl Rush.
Part of a five-week summer series, these lessons will take you from dance floor klutz to rico suave come summer's end. Though the series is progressive, participants can join at any point during the summer. Feeling a little timid on the dance floor? There is a no-cover open bar for ladies from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. to help loosen the nerves. After the lessons are over, a Latin inspired DJ takes over to let you show off your new skills.
» Lima Restaurant and Lounge, 1401 K St. NW; Mondays, 9 p.m.-10:30 p.m., free; 202-789-2800. (McPherson Square)
Written by Express' Brian Austin
Photo by J. Carrier
SATURDAY: Air in tires? Check. Helmet? Check. Spandex biking shorts...?
Ditch the shorts. This Saturday scores of bicyclists will be leaving the lycra at home and pedaling in their birthday suits as they participate in the 4th annual World Naked Bike Ride.
Part of a grass roots movement to raise oil-dependency awareness, the worldwide event will take place in the District at 4 p.m. sharp at the Vermont Avenue side of the White House. The band of flesh baring pedal pushers will then take a casual one mile spin around the city, hitting such sites as the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument.
How can one ride through the streets of D.C. nude you ask? Well according to the 1986 court case Duvallon v. District of Columbia, as long as your bare essentials are covered there's no foul. So men grab your tube socks and women put on your pasties, get some fresh air and good clean aerobic exercise this Saturday. Just be careful not to get any thing pinched in your spokes.
» Vermont Avenue Side of the White House; Sat., June 13, 4 p.m., free. worldnakedbikeride.com
Written by Express' Brian Austin
Photo Courtesy Olaf Kraak/AFP/Getty Images
SATURDAY: Just when you thought all the "Mr. Blank Goes to Washington" puns had been made, get ready for those pranksters at Planet Washington to give the trope a twist. On Saturday, the satirists (and Washington insiders) present "Mr. Obama Goes to Washington: The First 100 Daze," in which music, parody and political and social satire bring D.C.-ites up to speed on the current administration. Scruffy? Yeah. Dead-on? Definitely.
» Westin Hotel, 1400 M St. NW; Sat., 8 p.m., $20. (McPherson Square)
Written by Express' Arion Berger
Photo by Ron Sachs/Getty Images
Addison Road