Waterfront Market Closes in Old Town
Alexandria Restaurant Partners – the group behind the newly opened Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap, Virtue Feed & Grain and the Majestic Café as well as Shirlington’s upcoming Palette 22 — has bought a majority stake in The Waterfront Market & Café, 7 King St., Alexandria, from founder Jody Manor, who also owns Bittersweet Bakery & Café in Old Town. The 3,900 square-foot restaurant closed Tuesday and is scheduled to reopen as in May following the $2 million-plus renovation as a yet-to-be-named casual seafood restaurant with an expanded kitchen and a full service bar.
“ARP is excited to partner with Jody Manor on this project,” said ARP managing partner David Clapp. “Jody was an early believer in the potential of the waterfront to be a vibrant gathering place. Now with more public space coming soon, the potential is even greater. We look forward to creating another unique, fun concept for locals and tourists to enjoy the waterfront on King Street.”
The 125-seat quick-serve café and market, steps away from the historic Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria Waterfront Parks and the City Marina, opened in November 2013 and served snacks, salads, flatbreads, sandwiches, sushi and beer via counter service along with groceries in the market area.
The new restaurant reportedly will have 222 seats inside and along the waterfront. It will also take over Khalsa Jewelers, which will close after the holidays, next door to expand to 4,900 square feet. It will also have a 25-seat bar, as well as a raw bar.
“This is a work in progress and the name has not been chosen, but we can confirm we plan to create a seafood-focused dining destination, with a raw bar element that will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch,” Clapp said. “Craft beers and seafood are a natural pairing and we’ll celebrate our waterfront heritage with a collection of signature rum-based cocktails and frozen drinks.”
Zengo unveils new Culinary Tour menu
Zengo, 781 Seventh St. NW, is offering a new “Culinary Tour” menu inspired by owner Richard Sandoval’s recent tour of Hong Kong, Tokyo and Thailand. The special dishes are available through Jan. 31 during dinner.
Chef de cuisine Jason Streiff has created dishes that showcase the story of Asia’s distinct flavors. Dishes are marked with a “新,” the Chinese character meaning “new” noting that they are exclusive and available for a limited time.
The “Culinary Tour” menu includes sushi and crudo bar items such as Thai seafood ceviche with shrimp, calamari, scallop, chili flake and lime; grouper ceviche with uni, leche de tigre, radish and cilantro; scallop tiradito with sesame, lime, Serrano, ume and tequila ponzu; and tuna tartar tostada with avocado, wonton, radish and ponzu. Soups and salads include Korean seafood soup with silken tofu, shrimp, calamari, scallop, chili broth and lime; tuna alad with avocado, watermelon, tomato, mixed greens, daikon and a lemon-wasabi vinaigrette; and sea vegetable salad with wakame, green apple, celery, sea-bean, sesame and pickled ginger vinaigrette.
Appetizers and dim sum include a broiled callop with mushroom dashi, masago and sambal; blistered shishito peppers with bonito flakes and a soy-mirin glaze; slow cooked pork ribs with roast garlic chipotle glaze and a spicy cucumber pickle; pork and foie gras shumai dumplings with plantains and XO black vinegar; and the bulgogi ribeye tacos served in a corn tortilla with cucumber kimchi and sesame. Entrees include Shanghai strip steak with broccolini, and caramelized shallot-soy taro fries served with lemon aioli; lemongrass adobo chicken, a half semi boneless chicken with garlic rice served with an heirloom tomato salad; tempura whole fish, chef’s daily selection served with spicy cucumber, bean sprouts, pickled vegetables and a black bean sweet and sour sauce.
Choices from the wok section of the menu include short rib Udon noodle with XO, Thai basil, long bean and a drunken noodle broth; bibimbap with pork belly, soft egg, gochujang, pickled vegetables and sticky rice; and chili crab “Hong Kong” noodles, crispy noodles with sugar snap peas, asparagus, egg and spicy curry. Prices range from $6 to $29.
Ankara introduces new emerging, indigenous wine list
Turkish wines are experiencing a renaissance, and Ankara, 1320 19th St. NW, has introduced a new wine list with an emphasis on lesser-known indigenous grape varietals and wines of the region. The new wine list emphasizes Turkish wines as well as wines from Greece, Georgia and Italy.
Grape varietals found solely in Turkey such as Emir, Narince, Kalecik Karasi, Boğazkere and Öküzgözü are a few of the lesser-known varietals found on the list. Ankara partnered with sommelier Andrew Stover to create the curated list.
“Many of the Turkish wines on the new list are indigenous grape varietals that are unknown to most guests, but offer comparative flavors to some of the internationally known grape varieties with which they are familiar,” Stover said. “So the list is organized by flavor profile and includes short flavor descriptions for each wine to make it easy to understand the wines.”
In a nod to the viticulture of the Mid-Atlantic region, the list also includes selections from local winemakers.
To encourage guests to explore these new wines and varietals, all wines by the bottle are half price on Monday’s and a selection of wines by the glass are available during happy hour from 5-7 p.m. Monday through Friday for $5. Happy hour drink prices are also available from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
Bourbon Steak offers s’mores for dessert
Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons Georgetown, 2800 Pennylvania Ave. NW, is serving a smoked s’mores dessert.
Served in a bell-jar-shaped cloche, executive chef Joe Palma’s version arrives cloaked in a plume of smoke from a smoldering ember off a wood-burning grill with mostly every component made in-house from the hazelnut graham streusel to the marshmallows and toasted marshmallow ice cream. In lieu of Hershey’s, Palma uses Valrhona’s caramel & milk chocolate.
America Eats Tavern hosts oyster festival
We’ve received late word (Nov. 11) from Noelle Lindsay of Baltz & Co., Jose Andres’ PR representative, that America Eats Tavern in the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean, is hosting its inaugural oyster festival from Nov. 1-30.
To celebrate Virginia oysters, chef Nate Waugaman has prepared a tasting menu including oyster stew with sherry, trout roe, wilted green onion, oyster crackers and lemon butter air paired with Barren Ridge, Chardonnay, VA 2013; oyster sliders served with Nashville hot chicken-style, house-made Parker House rolls and bread and butter pickles paired with Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout; peanut crusted oysters with wild blueberry-onion jam and ham air paired with Chateau Grand Traverse, Gamay Noir, Old Mission Peninsula, MI 2013; and oyster and sweetbread ‘pie,’ crspy fried sweetbreads, warmed oysters, potato espuma and tarragon oil paired with Tablas Creek, Rhone Blend Patelin de Tablas, Paso Robles, CA 2013.
The restaurant will also have complimentary tastings throughout the festival, spotlighting Virginia’s beer and wine distributors including Lindera Farms Vinegar, Tablas Creek Vineyards, War Shore Oysters and Victory Brewing Co.
Logan Tavern raises fund for Syrian refugees
Logan Tavern, 1423 P St. NW, is holding a fundraiser to support the International Rescue Committee’s work to aid refugees fleeing Syria from 4-10:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16.
Since 2012, the civil war in Syria has displaced over 4 million people. As the conflict drags on, the human rights and humanitarian crises that millions of Syrians face has worsened.
All of the money raised will be donated to the IRC, an international NGO that provides aid and resources to Syrian refugees arriving in Europe and the Middle East. The IRC will also be helping to resettle refugees arriving in the U.S. within the next 6-8 months
The night begins with happy hour from 4-7 p.m. in Logan Tavern’s Red Room, where all proceeds of featured happy hour drinks and appetizers will be donated. From 5-10:30 p.m., 15 percent of all dinner sales will be donated. A raffle will be held at 6:30 p.m. where diners can bid on a romantic dinner at The Pig, bottomless brunch at Commissary and other swag from the neighborhood with 100% of the winning bids donated.
Le Beajolais Nouveau arrives at Central
Central, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, joins the worldwide celebration of the end of the grape harvest and the first bottling of the Beaujolais Nouveau. The nouveau vintage of Beaujolais, the only wine famous for the gamay grape, is traditionally uncorked on the third Thursday in November, and Central will keep the party going from Nov. 19-23.
Central will offer the Domaine Dupeuble Beaujolais Nouveau 2015, which after a five-day fermentation settles with cool breezes from an open window for months before being bottled unfined, unfiltered and unsulfured. It then ships from France by plane in mid-November and will be available for $11 per glass or $42 per bottle. As a companion piece to the Nouveau, the restaurant will also offer Francois Mikulski, Passetoutgrains, Bourgogne 2012, a blend of pinot noir and gamay grapes. The two grapes come from different plots of Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire and Bourgogne Rouge. It will be available for $52 per bottle only.
A three-course, prix fixe menu created specifically to pair with the wines will be available for $55 per person. The featured meal begins with cheese puffs (gougeres) to munch on before the first course of escargot Fricasse; followed by filet mignon with syrah-shallot sauce and winter vegetables, and a seasonal apple-cranberry cobbler for dessert.
Third annual Bacon & Bourbon Festival set for Thursday
The third annual Bacon & Bourbon Festival will be held in the North Hall of Eastern Market, 225 Seventh St. SE, from 7-10 p.m. on Nov. 19.
Guests will enjoy unlimited tastings of 30 whiskies, beer and bacon, and be able to take home their glass. Distilleries from across the globe will be pouring at this year’s festival, including Tap Whisky, Filibuster, Whistle Pig, Spicebox, Four Roses Bourbon and many more! Sonoma County Distilling Co. will introduce its West of Kentucky bourbon as well as pouring its award-winning Sonoma Rye and the Second Chance Wheat whiskey. Purcellville’s Catoctin Creek will pour a maple-finished cask-proof Roundstone Rye, and Pennsylvania-based Dad’s Hat will introduce its first straight rye made in over 25 years. Only produced in extremely limited quantities, this will be the first time the pre-prohibition 2-year rye is available outside of Pennsylvania. Palm and Schöfferhofer beers will be available for a break between the stronger brown liquid.
Restaurants serving sweet and savory bacon dishes include 1905, Barrel, Smokehouse Live, Jack Rose Dining Saloon, GBD and more. The band Dry Mill Road will entertain with its “NewGrass” blend of old, new and traditional.
Tickets are $80 for general admission and $120 for VIP with an extra hour from 6-7 p.m.
Old Ebbitt Grill hosts 21st annual Oyster Riot
The Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th St. NW, will hold its 21st annual Oyster Riot from 7-10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, and from 1-4 p.m. and 7-10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. Tickets are $140 and only 20 tickets are available for each session.
Always held the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving, nearly 1,000 people each night devour tens of thousands of oysters while enjoying the gold medal winners of the International Wines for Oysters competition.
Tickets are available online. Saturday afternoon ticket are old out, but there is a waiting list. Only a few tickets remain for Saturday evening.
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.