Declare Independence from Cooking
With the Fourth of the July approaching on Friday, there will be celebrations across the DMV. From fireworks on the Mall to picnics in backyards, food will play a big part in our patriotic parties. But who wants to spend time in a hot kitchen cooking? Here are some festive offerings from area restaurants.
701 Restaurant
Just blocks from the National Mall, 701 Restaurant’s outdoor patio located at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW next to the Navy Memorial fountain will be celebrating with a barbecue from 4-9 p.m. Executive Chef Benjamin Lambert will be serving an a la carte menu with starter snacks such as green eggs and ham, crispy chicken wings with mustard miso glaze, grilled romaine salad with herb emulsion and parmesan, and pimento cheese Ritz crackers, which are priced from $4-$8. Hot off the grill items include the 701 Burger, pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and moppin sauce, grilled half chicken with peri peri sauce and a beef hot dog Chicago style, ranging in price from $8-$15. House-made sides include Mexican grilled corn with cotija, lime and cilantro; potato salad; coleslaw; and cornbread priced from $4-$8. Wines will be available by the glass and bottle, along with beers and summer cocktails for the outdoor festivities on the patio. The restaurant’s dining room will also be open Independence Day from 4-10 p.m.
Burger, Tap & Shake
Burger, Tap & Shake, 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Foggy Bottom, will be shaking up a chilly summer treat throughout July with its patriotic red, white & blue milkshake. Made with creamy house-churned vanilla ice cream, blueberry purée and crushed raspberries, this star-spangled concoction is the perfect treat to grab on your way to the fireworks.
Ceiba
Just a short walk from the National Mall, the Latin-inspired Ceiba, 701 14th St. NW, will be staying open late on July 4 for the hungry masses of firework spectators with flavorful fare inspired by extensive South and Central American sojourns, and icy cocktails made from fresh-pressed juice and sugarcane. Toast America in Latin-American style with a patriotic red strawberry margarita de casa with Cuervo tradicional silver, Patron Citronage and house sugar or enjoy a cool respite from the summer heat with the Ceiba Breeze made with strawberry, mango, passion fruit, lemon and an effervescent pop of ginger ale.
City Tap House
City Tap House, 901 9th Street NW, is celebrating with a BeerBQ Brewery Battle on the Fourth. The restaurant’s culinary team will go head-to-head against representatives from 3 Stars Brewing Co. and Evolution Craft Brewing Co. in a cookoff from noon-5 p.m. For $10, guests can enjoy barbecue favorites prepared by brewery representatives along with City Tap House’s house-made sides including potato salad, coleslaw and watermelon. Guests can cast their vote for their favorite barbecue, and a winner will be named at 5 p.m. The bar’s beer lines will serve 10 drafts from 3 Stars and 10 from Evolution $5 each along with $5 John Daly’s all day. There will also be a cornhole tournament on the restaurant’s outdoor patio throughout the afternoon. There is no cost to enter, but teams are asked to register by Thursday by contacting Liz Gartzke at egartzke@publichouseusa.com. The winner of the single elimination tournament will receive a City Tap House gift certificate.
Commissary
Serving brunch including the Benedicts normally only available on Saturday & Sundays, Commissary, 1443 P St. NW, will be open from 9 a.m.=4 p.m. World Cup drink specials will be available, with a New Belgium Brewing beer served in specialty glassware that drinkers get to keep. They will also serve $5 Capirinhas specials and international bar snacks and Brazilian tapas specials starting at 11 a.m.
Grillfish
Grillfish, 1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, will serve brunch from 11 a.m.-4 p.m, with specials that will run all weekend including $1 local oysters on the half shell, and specials on soft shell crabs, crab cakes and lobsters. There will be $5 American drafts and $7 beach-inspired cocktails.
The Heights
The Heights, 3115 14th St. NW in Columbia Heights, is serving a menu of $9 red, white and blue boozy floats all day. It will open for brunch at 9:00 am with happy hour from 3-7 p.m. Floats include Rosie the Riveter (red) with vodka, Domain de Canton ginger liqueur, juice, sparkling rose and hibiscus-ginger sorbet; the Lady Liberty (white): with gin, St Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, sparkling wine and elderflower sorbet; and Uncle Sam (blue) with rum, lemon juice, ginger ale and blueberry granite. For the kids, there will be $6 classic root beer floats made with Sprecher root beer and vanilla ice cream.
Jack Rose Dining Saloon
Jack Rose Dining Saloon‘s picturesque terrace at 2007 18th St. NW will be open to catch the fireworks. On top of the view, the restaurant will be hosting two patriotic beer-centric parties in honor of Independence Day. On July 3, it will host the Wetter Hotter SAMerican Summer party with Samuel Adams and beer snowcones starting at noon. Ten of Samuel Adams’ best summer beers are taking over the taps and will cost $4 from noon-5 p.m. and $6 from 5-7:30 p.m., while Sam Adams canned beers are $3 from noon-5pm and $5 from 5-7:30 p.m. To help you beat the heat, cocktail master Trevor Frye will be serving up boozy beer snow cones for $4. On July 4 the rooftop terrace will host AmeriCAN Drink-Dependence Day with Flying Dog Brewery. They’ll have cans of Snake Dog IPA and Easy IPA at $4 from noon-5 p.m. and $5 from 5 p.m. until the fireworks end, $5-$6 drafts and other food and drink specials all day.
The Jefferson
For Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 was an especially good day. Now, 238 years later, The Jefferson hotel, 1200 16th St. NW, is serving up a “Jefferson Mobile Meal” to take along the short stroll to the National Mall to gaze at the city’s dazzling firework display. For $35 per person, the meal includes a chef’s choice sandwich, gourmet potato chips, pasta salad, a red, white and blue sugar cookie, a fruit cup and water. To cool off, scoop up a red, white and blue rocket popsicle on your way out.
Policy
Policy Restaurant and Lounge, 1904 14th St. NW, will kick of Independence Day weekend with happy hour all night long on Thursday featuring a $5 food menu and drink specials. Friday and Saturday will feature a special patriotic menu. This menu will showcase specialty items like pulled pork sliders accompanied with a house made sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, creamy coleslaw and topped with a bread and butter pickle; a deviled egg trio loaded with toppings like candied bacon and pimento cheese and chives. The menu will also feature some of Policy’s house favorites like brisket sliders with a sunny side up quail egg and fried chicken drizzled with honey, as well as all-beef hot dogs with fun and interesting toppings.
Shake Shack
In honor of America’s birthday, all Shake Shack locations in D.C. except Nationals Stadium are dishing up the Shack Corn Dog made with a Vienna all-beef hot dog dipped in Shack-made corn batter, cooked golden brown and served with Rick’s Picks sweet corn relish for $4.50 and Blueberry Pie Oh My Concrete, vanilla frozen custard blended with a slice of Shack-made blueberry pie for $4.25 for a single or $6.50 for a double. Both specials are available from July 3-6 in Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter and Union Station. Shake Shack is pouring Shack X, a brand-new IPA recipe created exclusively for Shake Shack’s 10th anniversary by Brooklyn Brewery that boasts a hearty reddish-copper hue with hints of caramel and roasted malt. Cost is $5.25 for a 16 ounce glass.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.