Dolcezza Opens Sunday in CityCenterDC
Dolcezza will officially open its newest location on Sunday, Apr. 17, at 904 Palmer Alley NW in CityCenterDC. It is located across Ninth Street from Cuba Libre.
As part of its grand opening, visitors will receive a free mini-cone of gelato on Sunday from 2-5 p.m.
The newest and largest location will debut a new way to enjoy coffee by harnessing high-pressure nitrogen to create a smooth, creamy iced coffee. Dolcezza’s nitro coffee infuses nitrogen using a special patented-membrane at the point-of-sale using cold-brewed Stumptown single origin beans. Priced at $5.50 per cup, Dolcezza’s nitrogen coffee program will offer fans their favorite cup of coffee with added flavor, elevated caffeine and a smoother taste.
The CityCenterDC location will also be the first in the DMV to sell and stock Stumptown cold brew coffee and milk.
The 1,200-square-foot space has a 10-foot-long communal table that can accommodate 10 guests, as well as a standing bar for 10 that runs along Ninth Street.
The store will be open from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight on Friday, 8 a.m.-midnight on Saturday and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. on Sunday.
Belga Café to serve Chimay beer dinner
Belga Café is teaming up with Chimay Brewery for its monthly beer dinner on Tuesday, Apr. 21, at 6:30 p.m.
Chef Bart Vandaele’s Chimay beer and cheese inspired menu begins with a Chimay Cinq Cent draft. The starter is salad of Chimay “A La Premiere” cheese with green, white and young celery served with Chimay Doree draft and young asparagus tips, spring peas, morels, garlic shoots and pickled spring onions in spring snow of aged Chimay served with Chimay Premiere. The main course is The Big Chimay Cheeseburger with Zee cheese fries served with Chimay Grand Reserve. Dessert is chocolate cheesecake made with Affinee bleu cheese, Belgian chocolate and aged port served with Chimay Belgian coffee.
The price is $59 per person.
Nage Bistro debuts 6 new spring cocktails
Nage Bistro, 1600 Rhode Island Ave. NW, will unveil six new spring cocktails on Wednesday, Apr. 22. Each is made with a different variety of fresh fruit juice and seasonal ingredients, and all are named for precious and semi-precious stones.
The new handcrafted cocktails include the Stormy Garnet made with house-infused strawberry, basil and black peppercorn vodka, ginger beer and cranberry juice served on the rocks; the Cucumber Zirconia with gin, lime juice, cucumber, cilantro, agave nectar and chilies; the Sapphire with Spray vodka, blueberry reduction, muddled blueberries, sugar and vanilla bean, garnished with a blueberry and cheddar skewer; the Smokey Topaz, a barrel aged Manhattan aged 30 days in-house and garnished with house smoked cherries; the Jasper Moon with bourbon, St. Germain, lemon juice, simple syrup and mint topped with sparkling wine; and the Ruby Slipper, a fresh watermelon juice martini.
The new spring cocktails are priced at $10-$12 each. Nage is also serving a white peach sangria for spring and summer, which will be priced at $8 a glass and $18 a pitcher.
Daikaya re-introduces 2 cold ramen dishes for summer
Daikaya, 705 6th St. NW, has brought back two cold ramen dishes for summer. The cold dishes are available only at the 90-seat upstairs izakaya and priced at $14.
The first dish is the Hiyashi ramen (Hiyashi Chuka), which is commonly served in ramen shops across Japan through season. The Hiyashi ramen is made with boiled and chilled to order noodles, citrus soy vinaigrette, cucumber, simmered bamboo, leeks, blanched bean sprouts tossed in sesame oil and sesame, wood ear mushrooms, shredded cabbage, roasted pork slices, corn, cherry tomatoes, ramen egg, nori and carrots.
The zesty Hiyashi spicy sesame ramen is made with boiled and chilled to order noodles, spicy sesame vinaigrette, simmered bamboo, leeks, blanched bean sprouts tossed in sesame oil and sesame, wood ear mushrooms, shredded cabbage, roasted pork slices, corn, cherry tomato, ramen egg, nori and carrots.
Granite City brewpub opens May 6 at National Harbor
Granite City Food and Brewery will open its 34th restaurant at 200 American Way in National Harbor on May 6. The company also owns Cadillac Ranch in National Harbor.
The 10,881 square foot restaurant will seat approximately 260 in the dining room, 27 at the bar and 64 in the private dining room. It will also feature an outdoor patio with seating for 20-30 people. The space features an open kitchen and an on-site brewery with dark wood and granite accents. The restaurant will also feature family restrooms, purse hooks and USB and electrical outlets underneath the bar.
The National Harbor location has a newly expanded menu along with Granite City favorites, said executive chef Andy Rosenberg. Signature dishes include ponzu salmon, braised bison short ribs, a pulled pork waffle sandwich, burgers, flatbreads, salads, steaks and more, as well as a seasonal menu sourced from local food producers.
The brew-pub’s handcrafted beers are also available in growlers. The patented brewing process, known as Fermentus Interruptus, makes replicating the same great taste simple and efficient throughout all Granite City Food & Brewery restaurants. Signature brews include The Duke pale ale; The Bennie, a German altbier; The Northern, an American golden ale; The Broad Axe, an oatmeal stout, and Batch 1000 double IPA. Seasonal brews are also created onsite throughout the year and include the Blueberrian, a blueberry lager, in May; Gold Fever, a Belgian strong ale in June; Lazy Lake, a kolsch in July; the Alabaster, a Belgian wit, in August; the Oktoberfest, a marzen, in September; the Bley Eyed Brunette, a bourbon brown ale, in October; the Zug Zwang, a vanilla porter, in Novermber; and Freezer Burn, a winter warmer, in December.
Diners who visit the National Harbor location on opening day will receive a free Brew Rewards membership, which allows patrons to collect points on all food and tap beer purchases. Brew Rewards points can be redeemed for discounts.
Granite City will be open 8-11 a.m. daily for breakfast. The full menu will be served from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday.
Neyla Mediterranean Bistro moving to Reston Town Center
Neyla Mediterranean Bistro, which had been located in Georgetown for more than 15 years, will open in early May at 11898 Market St. in Reston Town Center.
The new location will be bigger, bringing a chic bar and lounge, and modern bistro menu to the area. It will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. The new 160-seat eastern Mediterranean restaurant will feature a large assortment of small plates for tasting and sharing with cocktails and regional wines as well as many of its traditional iconic favorites.
Chef Eric von Gehren has been tapped as the executive chef. Von Gehren originally came to Neyla’s owner, Capital Restaurant Concepts, in 1987 and helped open many of its restaurants including Paolo’s Ristorante and Georgia Brown’s. He left CRC in 1992 to become the vice president and corporate chef of Levy Restaurants in Chicago, opening and overseeing many restaurants including the now Michelin starred Spiaggia. He then moved to the Eastern Mediterranean to help CRC founder Bechara Nammour open more than 10 restaurants in Lebanon. Most recently von Gehren served as the chef at the Fat Canary in Williamsburg, Va.
Souheil Moussadik, Neyla’s general manager in Georgetown, will manage the new restaurant in Reston. Souheil is a founder of Penn Quarter’s Co Co. Sala and most recently director of operations for Oya.
The menu will include traditional Mediterranean dishes such as chicken shawarma and veal kebabs cooked over a charcoal grill. Small plates will include roasted eggplant, Circassian chicken and Armenian sausage, as well as traditional dips such as baba ghanoush, hummus and lebne served with house-made pita cooked in a wood-fired brick oven. The oven will also produce such favorites as caprese flatbreads and a Turkish pita flatbread with spicy soujouk sausage, kasseri cheese and olive oil. Other dishes will include grilled halloumi cheese spaghetti, braised lamb shank and fried calamari. Dishes for the entire table include salt-crusted branzino; slow roasted lamb shoulder and a Lebanese couscous.
Starters and small plates on the opening menu are priced from $5-$9, and dishes for the table are priced from $38-$42.
D.C. architect and designer Olivia Demetriou of Haptsak and Demetriou is designing the interior, which will combine a crisp look with a bit of weathered character. Its bar will be a mixture of dark blue tapestry wall coverings and whitewash strie millwork. Decorative screens and beaded curtains will hang throughout the restaurant. In nice weather, the dining room will open to a large outdoor patio, which will feature dark wicker furniture.
Neyla will be open from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Pennsylvania 6 to open in late May
Pennsylvania 6, a 265-seat contemporary American restaurant from the owners of City Tap House in Penn Quarter and Harrington’s Pub & Kitchen and Public House at National Harbor, is slated to open in late May across from Franklin Square at 1350 I St. NW where Tuscana West had been. Pennsylvania 6 currently has restaurants in Philadelphia and New York City.
Pennsylvania 6 from Philadelphia-based Public House Investments will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.
The regional American menu will include dishes such as foie gras mousse apple cider gelee with pickled shallots, pommery mustard; Hawaiian spear fish with avocado, ginger, hearts of palm, citrus and ceviche sauce; wild Burgundy snails with Logan Turnpike grits, charred scallions, Benton’s ham and parmesan cream; roasted bone marrow with garlic herb crust served with red onion jam; lobster roll with celery, green onion and mayonnaise served on a buttered roll with duck fat fries; lamb tenderloin roulade with Yukon gold potato puree, arugula pesto, zucchini and lamb sauce; and monkfish osso buco with maitake mushrooms, carrots, baby Tokyo turnips and truffle jus. Steaks and chops will also be available along with fresh local oysters, top neck clams, shrimp and crab cocktail, lobster and crudo available at the six-seat raw bar.
The bar program will include classic mixology incorporating fresh, local, seasonal ingredients found in the house-made syrups and mixers. Each drink will come with its own history and origin. One of the featured cocktails is the Grapes of Wrath, made from a combination of bourbon, muddled grapefruit, brandied grapes, house grapefruit liquor and aromatic bitters. Cocktails will be priced from $12 to $16 each. There will also be 14 craft beers available on draft and over 100 international wines.
Designer Maggie O’Neill of SwatchRoom is redoing the interior to create a “modern day supper club and bistro.” It will feature a 70-foot bar with Carrera marble and oak panels. Communal tables will surround the bar along with booths made for two and an elevated 22-seat lounge with working fireplace. Black and white striped fabric will hang from the ceiling along with custom milk glass chandeliers. The oak-paneled dining room will feature black lacquered millwork, patinaed mirrors and art to complement the dramatic deep red floor and rich upholstery.
Pennsylvania 6 will be open from 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-midnight on Friday, 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Weekend brunch will begin at a later date and will be served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
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.