Sette Osteria Opens Tuesday in Logan
Sette Osteria, which has a restaurant a 1666 Connecticut Ave. NW, will open a second location at 1634 14th St. NW in Logan Circle at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. It is in the space formerly occupied by M Café Bar, which closed in January and was also owned by Iraklis Karabassis of IK Retail Group.
“We are thrilled to be opening Sette Osteria on 14th Street,” said Karabassis in a press release. Karabassis also created Café Milano and the former Crepizza in Georgetown and the former Famoso Italian restaurant in Chevy Chase. “We decided to expand the brand to 14th street because of the highly dynamic and diverse neighborhood. This area is comprised of families and residents who desire simple and delicious food, in a warm and rustic set up paired with extraordinary service.”
Executive chef Nicola Sanna, who was born in Italy, will serve an Italian menu similar to the original Sette’s, with house-made pastas cooked in a wood-burning oven, antipasti, seafood and meat entrees. The dishes cover the classics, such crispy calamari and beef carpaccio, veal piccata and spaghetti with clams. There will also be gluten-free items, as well as a kid’s menu with mini pizza and chicken tenders. Menu items range in price from $8 to $28.
The bar will serve an extensive list of Italian wines by the glass and Italian-inspired cocktails. The beer selection will include some Italian classics and six beers on draft along with craft beers. Wines and beers range from $6-$12 by the glass and $25-$75 by the bottle.
Karabassis is working with an Italian architect/interior designer to create a cozy cool meets classic row-house dining atmosphere with a palette of wood, steal and warm glass that will envelop the dining room with exposed beams and a polished dark floor. Iron and crystal mixed with distressed metals and a few historic artifacts will pepper the space. A steel and wood staircase will lead to the private dining room, which will feature a wall of windows, corrugated metal, and rich upholstery creating an industrial feel with cozy semi private booths.
The 72-seat dining room and 45-seat patio debut with a 50 percent discount on Tuesday starting at 7 p.m. After Tuesday, the restaurant will serve dinner from 5-11 p.m. daily. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and brunch from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends. Happy hour will be from 5-8 p.m. nightly and all night on Sunday and Monday.
All Set Restaurant & Bar to open in Silver Spring on Tuesday
All Set Restaurant & Bar, 8630 Fenton St., Silver Spring in the Montgomery Center, on Tuesday, Apr. 14 at 11:30 a.m.
“The phrase ‘All set’ is frequently heard throughout the New England region to indicate one is ‘good to go’ and nothing more is needed,” explained co-owner Jennifer Meltzer, who previously worked at BLT Steak, The Capital Grille, Founding Farmers and Del Frisco’s Grille. “Our goal at All Set is to treat our community and guests to an exceptionally satisfying dining experience which far exceeds our guests’ expectations.”
The 4,730–square foot New England-inspired restaurant seats 125 in the dining room, 15 at the bar, which features a raw seafood display, and 24 on the outdoor patio. There’s also a private dining room.
StreetSense designed the interior, which features a navy and white color scheme and rope-themed accents, including chandeliers and room dividers.
The menu, from co-owner and chef Edward Reavis, formerly of District Commons/Burger Tap & Shake, Tico, Cru Oyster Bar in Nantucket and The Capital Grille, will feature seafood with highlights including a crispy-skin rockfish, crab cakes, a fried oyster burger and a full raw bar with seasonal oysters, littleneck clams, chilled shrimp, lobster and crab. Other dishes include butternut squash risotto and braised short ribs. Entrees range from $18-$37, while seafood such as oysters and lobster rolls are market priced. A family clam bake with littlenecks, mussels, shrimp, lobster, kielbasa and corn on the cob will be offered Sunday nights for $35 per person.
The bar will serve classic and modern cocktails, alongside select wines, craft beers and ciders, all with an emphasis on coastal New England. The bar will also feature handpicked spirits and liqueurs with house-made juice blends and syrups.
All Set will serve lunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m weekdays and dinner from 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturda and 5-9 p.m. Sunday. Happy hour will be from 3-6 p.m. daily and the raw bar and bar menu will be available between lunch and dinner. Brunch will be added later.
Veloce pops up at Pizzeria Paradiso in Dupont Saturday
Pizzeria Paradiso’s chef and owner Ruth Gresser will open her fast-casual Neapolitan-style brick oven pizza place, Veloce — the Italian word for “speed” — at 1828 L St. NW later this spring. But from 9 a.m.-noon today, Apr. 11, she’ll be giving diners a preview of Veloce’s breakfast pizza at the Dupont location of Pizzeria Paradiso, 2003 P St. NW.
On Saturday, the menu will include two individual-sized pies: The Pig with scrambled eggs, Applewood smoked bacon, roasted mushrooms, red onions and Italian cheeses; and The Flag with scrambled eggs, mozzarella, roasted cherry tomatoes and Italian cheeses. There will also be an egg, vegetable and spicy garlic pesto calzone and a smoked salmon “pocket” with herbed mascarpone, capers, red onions and cherry tomatoes. All the dishes will be $5 and includes an espresso or drip coffee from Compass Coffee.
When Veloce opens in its permanent space, diners can choose a house pizza or build their own with a choice of white, whole wheat, mixed grains and seeds or gluten-free crusts. The personal pizzas will cook in about two minutes in gas-fired ovens, as opposed to Pizzeria Paradiso’s wood-fired ovens. It will also serve calzones, sandwiches and salads.
The restaurant will seat 30, including those planned on an outside patio.
Redwood Restaurant launches a la carte brunch
Redwood Restaurant, 2171 Bethesda Lane, Bethesda, has replaced its buffet brunch with a new a la carte brunch menu. Brunch is served from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday and from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday.
Executive chef Randy Mosteller rolled out a wide selection of new brunch dishes made with locally sourced, farm-fresh ingredients including an array of small plates to share, like a smoked fish plate with salmon, house cured trout, sieved egg, capers two ways, dill cream cheese and bagel chips; mini funnel cakes with powdered sugar and maple syrup; and yellowfin tuna tostadas with avocado puree, cucumber, puffed rice noodle and tamari.
Entrees include crème brûlée French toast with maple syrup, apples and whipped cream; a breakfast crepe with scrambled eggs, home fries, cheddar cheese, sour cream and pico de gallo; corned beef hash with sunny side up eggs, home fries and hollandaise; and fish tacos with salmon al pastor, avocado, pico de gallo, creamy cabbage, jasmine rice and black beans in flour tortillas. Redwood’s brunch menu also features several burgers, such as the breakfast burger, which is sandwiched between a house-made biscuit and features either a local beef or veggie patty with fried egg, hot sauce hollandaise and home fries, and the house-made white bean-wild mushroom “burger” on a brioche bun with lettuce tomato, pickles and fries or salad.
The beverage menu includes four unique Bloodies, all featuring the new house-made Bloody Mary mix. For $8 each, options include the classic Mary with an Old Bay spice rim; the Mexican Michelada with a chili-lime rim; Caesar, which throws clam juice into the mix; and aquavit-based Hamlet with dill and lemon. Guests can enjoy bottomless flutes of mimosas for $15 a person, or try a seasonal mimosa, currently featuring blood orange puree and cherry limeade with vanilla vodka, cherry Heering, lime and prosecco.
Cuba Libre celebrates National Empanada Day
Wednesday was National Empanada Day and Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar, 801 Ninth St. NW, is celebrating with all month with two special empanadas. Through Sunday, an empanadas de cerezas with goat cheese, sour cherries, toasted pistachio and sweet cherry mostarda is available, and from Apr. 13-21, the Total Eclipse Lobster Empanada with a black corn shell, Maine lobster and coral butter served with a mango escabeche salad and passion fruit-citrus mojo will be served. The specials are priced at $7.50 and $9 respectively, and are available during lunch and dinner.
Also, Cuba Libre will host a cooking class from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Priced at $65 per person, 20 guests can learn to make Cuba Libre’s signature Mama Amelia’s empanadas as well as the Total Eclipse Lobster Empanada. New executive chef Matt Zagorski will share the rich history of Cuban cuisine while teaching the art of creating homemade empanadas. Participants will enjoy a variety of empanadas, along with signature tapas dishes and a complimentary cocktail while they experience the unique hands-on cooking experience.
Tickets for the empanada class can be purchased online.
Spring vegetables return to ShopHouse
ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, with locations in Dupont, Chinatown, Georgetown and Union Station in D.C. as well as Bethesda and North Bethesda in Maryland, has brought back two seasonal spring vegetable favorites: kale with chilies and vinegar replaces collard greens, and eggplant with Thai basil and garlic replaces parsnips.
Sourced locally whenever possible, the vegetables are cooked quickly in a hot wok and tossed with fresh Thai chilies before being added to a ShopHouse bowl.
A bowl starts with jasmine or brown rice, chilled rice noodles or salad. Diners then choose grilled chicken satay, grilled steak laab, pork and chick meatballs or tofu and add one of the new spring veggies, charred corn or green beans, add tamarind vinaigrette, green curry, spicy red curry or peanut sauce and garnishes such as herbed slaw, pickled vegetables or green papaya slaw. Finally, top it off with toasted rice, crispy garlic, crushed peanuts or Thai chilies.
El Centro D.F., Masa 14 to host patio parties
El Centro D.F., 1819 14th St. NW and 1218 Wisconsin Ave. NW, and Masa 14, 1825 14th St. NW, will host separate patio parties to kick-off the spring season.
Guests will be the first to sample new additions to the restaurants’ food and cocktail menus and can vote on their favorite menu items showcased that evening. Both restaurants will announce the winner via social media three days following the events; guests can redeem that menu item on the house with purchase of another entrée during their next visit.
Both El Centro D.F. locations will be hosting patio kick-off parties on Tuesday from 6-9 p.m.. New dishes include the duck tlayuda Mexican pizzas; BBQ shrimp skewers; lamb tacos; plantain empanadas, as well as a beef cheek flautas. El Centro’s patio parties are $25 per person and include two drink tickets and light appetizers throughout the evening. Guests will enjoy happy hour drink specials throughout the three-hour event, including $5 bottled beers such as Dos XX Lager, Dos XX Ambar, Tecate and Corona Light, house red and white wine, new tequila infusions such as pineapple and serrano, and watermelon, as well as signature cocktails such as the El Centro margarita with house-made strawberry and mango puree and spiked watermelon agua fresca.
The patio parties are limited to 75 guests at each location and reservations can be made online here for 14th Street or here for Georgetown.
Masa 14 will hold its patio party from 6-9 p.m. on Apr. 21. New spring dishes include a spicy tuna roll; pork and beef meatballs; seared diver scallops; pork okonomiyaki; and the Japanese vegetable pancake.
The event is priced at $25 per person and is limited to 75 guests. Tickets are available here. Guests will receive two drink tickets light appetizers along with happy hour drink specials including bottles and cans of Corona, Corona Light and Tecate, house red and white wine by the glass, and signature cocktails for $5 each during the event. Happy hour cocktails include the Margarita Tradicional with Sauza Blue, simple syrup and fresh lime juice; Mojito Tradicional with Castillo rum, lime, mint and simple syrup; and strawberry lemonade with vodka, fresh strawberry puree and lemon juice.
Mango Tree to celebrate Thai New Year
Mango Tree, 929 H St. NW in CityCenterDC, will celebrate Thai New Year, traditionally called the Songkran Festival, with dinner specials Apr. 13-15.
Songkran, or Thai New Year, is a Buddhist festival and the kingdom’s most important public holiday. Songkran, Sanskrit for “astrological passage,” is a time for Thais to visit their local temple to pray and to wash their Buddha icons. Buddhist statues on house shrines are also cleaned. This cleansing ritual is to bring luck and prosperity for the coming year. Additionally, adults, children, locals and visitors take to the streets to celebrate with lively water fights and throwing talc. The traditional water pouring is meant as a symbol of washing away all of their sins and the wrong doings.
Special appetizers include khao tang na tang, crispy rice crackers and romaine lettuce with pork and a coconut dip; pla salmon, salmon marinated in lime juice with red chili, shallot, spring onion and cilantro; and kalam savoy, roasted Brussels sprouts with chili cashew nuts and coconut sauce. Entrees include pla pow, marinated blue catfish wrapped in a banana leaf with Thai herb salad and a spicy lime sauce; gae yang, cilantro, garlic and pepper marinated lamb cutlets with Thai warm potato salad, tamarind and a dry chili sauce; and choo chee tow hoo, crispy soft tofu with red curry sauce and kaffir lime leaf.
New Year specials are available exclusively during dinner and are priced from $8 to $30.
Michael Schlow to open The Riggsby this summer
James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schlow, who owns Tico restaurant along 14th Street NW, will open his second area restaurant. The Riggsby will open in the remodeled Carlyle Suites Hotel, 1731 New Hampshire Ave. NW in Dupont Circle, this summer.
It is named for Riggs Place and in homage to the former Riggs Bank. The space was designed by Brian Miller of Edit Lab at StreetSense and will feature an open kitchen, wood tables, leather booths, brass finishes and whimsical décor that includes a custom designed wallpaper incorporating original artwork from Schlow’s wife, mixed media artist Adrienne Schlow.
The bar and lounge area will seat 40, while the dining room seats 75 and also has a private dining space for 10.
The menu includes American dishes with European influences for breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. The bar will have an emphasis on classic, hand crafted cocktails, bar snacks and an extensive wine by the glass program.
Philippe Reininger, who was most recently executive chef at J&G Steakhouse in the W Hotel, will oversee the kitchen and Daniel Lobsenz, who most recently oversaw front of house operations and managed the wine programs for both Roofer’s Union and BLT Steak, will be the general manager.
More information as it becomes available.
Provision No. 14 adds executive chef, chef de cuisine
Provision No. 14, slated to open at 2100 14th St. NW in late April in the former Diego space, announced it culinary team led by executive chef James Duke and chef de cuisine John Leavitt.
The pair were the opening chefs at H Street’s Driftwood Kitchen. The duo, both trained at L’Academie de Cuisine, became friends a decade ago working front-of-house with Great American Restaurants.
Duke, who was born and raised in Northern Virginia and lives in Shirlington with his girlfriend and their dog, has spent his entire career in the D.C. area. He has worked at Great American Restaurants (Carlyle, Mike’s American Grill, Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food), 1789 Restaurant and the now-closed Tallula.
Leavitt, who moved often with his Marine father, has worked in restaurants in Chicago, Cleveland, Seattle and D.C. including front of house at Carlyle, cooking at 2941 and purchasing for Farmers Restaurant Group. He lives in D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood.
Last October, the two opened Driftwood Kitchen on H Street NE and oversaw the kitchen there.
They have begun planning Provision No. 14’s modern American seasonal scratch menu, which will change every few weeks. The menu will include several family-style platters served on wood planks that feed two to four people. The menu will include an extensive house-made pasta selection, whole fish and miso-glazed lamb ribs.
Among the dishes to look for is pork pata, a Filipino dish made from a whole pork leg that is braised, hung to dry for a day then deep-fried. The result: an umami-laden piece of meat that is moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. Also, melon and ham with sweet summer melon and Iberico ham that are vacuum-compressed to form a salty-sweet combination and served with micro-greens.
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.