Hi Lawn Puts 50-Ft. Dome on Union Market

Next month, Hi-Lawn, 1309 Fifth St. NE, will unveil a 50-foot spherical tent “gastro-gallery under the stars” on top of Union Market.

Hi Lawn on top of Union Market will unveil a 50-foot dome that will include a 90-minute show projected 360 degrees around the walls and roof of the dome with cocktails and Alpine-inspired food. (Photo: Hi Lawn)

Part show, part dining and drinking experience, The Dome will launch with a time ticketed activation Snowglow – a European winter-inspired pop-up featuring state-of-the-art overhead projection paired with cocktail presentations and Alpine-inspired food.

Snowglow will take diners on an immersive 90-minute journey of winter landscapes and northern lights, projected above and 360 degrees around the walls of the dome. The show features the Northern lights, snow-filled landscapes, star-lit skies and embers of a fire, amidst rustic architecture reminiscent of Swiss alpine villages

The dome is heated and designed with a wintry forest-meets-chic après ski aesthetic. For Snowglow, the 60-seat dome will be outfitted with more than a dozen secluded dining alcoves for guests to eat, drink and take in the overhead show.

Greenery and trees will evoke the feel of a winter forest landscape, accented by warm wood tones and cozy tartan textiles, plus an interactive winter ski lift backdrop for visitors to capture photos. The illuminated exterior resembles a snow globe atop the vibrant market below, lit from the inside with falling snow projections.

Cocktails are inspired by the Alpine regions of Europe. Diners will find a tableside martini service, bottled walnut Manhattans, candy-garnished Grasshoppers and an assortment of hot drinks, such as a toasted marshmallow whipped cream-topped spiked and spiced hot chocolate, and a soothing honey schnapps-spiked hot tea tonic.

To pair with the drinks, there will be an a la carte menu of shareable small plates from Chef Nathan Beauchamp featuring European-inspired comfort foods. Dishes will include fondue raclette, lobster bisque and seasonal smørrebrød, along with a filet-for-two. For dessert, expect sweet fondues and homemade truffles.

Tickets are $35/person, which includes entry, a reserved table, the show and a welcome liquid amuse. Food and drinks will be sold a la carte.

The Dome will be open Wednesday through Sunday from mid-December through February. The 90-minute seatings will be at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday; 4, 6, 8 and 10 p.m. on Friday; 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 p.m. on Saturday; and 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Crowds lineup outside Call Your Mother’s deli in Georgetown. (Photo: Dreamstime)

Call Your Mother Wins Fight to Stay in Georgetown

Call Your Mother deli in Georgetown won a fight with neighbors to keep its neighborhood bagel shop open at 3428 O St. NW.

The fan favorite has drawn lots of people. But neighbors say it is a nuisance, posing hygiene and safety concerns because some customers eat bagels on their stoops and leave trash behind. There have also been complaints about customers spilling onto sidewalks and hogging tables at a nearby coffee shop.

The bagel shop opened inside an old florist shop in 2020 after a battle with neighbors. The complaints were eventually taken to court and D.C. zoning officials acknowledged earlier this year they had erred in the process of allowing Call Your Mother to operate as a food establishment. Therefore, the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment instructed the shop to apply for a special exception. A June hearing aired plenty of anger and support for the shop.

Last Wednesday by a vote of 4-1, BZA officials sided with Call Your Mother, saying the business has made improvements to crowd management and trash disposal. The business won approval to continue operating as a corner store, a rarity on the corner of 35th and O Streets NW, which is mostly full of rowhouses near Georgetown University.

One of the conditions requires Call Your Mother to have a point of contact for future community complaints. Other conditions include weekly pest control visits, daily trash collection, signs asking customers to eat off-site and more. The self-described “Jew-ish” deli already has an employee on stoop patrol asking customers to move.

“To the extent that the community is torn, it’s because it is an attractive neighborhood amenity,” board member Carl Blake said before voting in favor. “But it’s also a distracting and disruptive neighborhood amenity.”

The bright pink building recently traded hands. An LLC paid $1.7 million in cash for the two-story building, the Washington Business Journal reported last week.

“We are excited for a new owner who is committed to keeping us there for the long haul,” Call Your Mother co-owner Andrew Dana said.

But some neighbors said they will appeal the decision.

Cane’s new hakka-spiced pork ribs served with garlic-culantro sauce and pickled peppers with a side of coconut rice.
(Photo: Scott Suchman)

Cane Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Updated Space

Cane, the Trinidadian and Tobagonian street food restaurant at 403 H St. NW, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a refreshed space and menu. From today through Sunday, diners will receive free current rolls with their meal.

The redesigned space features elements and materials found in Trinidadian homes including macrame, rattan cane webbing and vintage copper art work. Woven macrame wall hangings line the walls and cane rattan partitions, a nod to the restaurant’s name, create cozy booth seating and harken back to classic Trinidadian furniture design. The bar area features new counter height two-top booths, creating a comfortable space for diners to enjoy Cane’s staple and new cocktails. Bay window seating facing H Street features a custom copper table designed to patina over time. The bathroom has new custom wallpaper featuring the Scarlet Ibis, Trinidad’s national bird.

The new lunch menu includes dhalpuri roti filled with beef, chicken, shrimp or vegetables ($15-$22); Trini beef or eggplant hand pies ($9 and $7); and curried shrimp rice bowls ($22). New dinner dishes include shrimp wonton appetizers ($13); hakka-spiced pork ribs ($21) served with garlic-culantro sauce and pickled peppers with a side of coconut rice; omnivore and herbivore tiffin boxes ($26-$32) an assortment of curries and chutneys served with paratha roti; pelau ($10), a peas and rice dish viewed by Trinidadians as the ultimate comfort food; and currant rolls ($8) filled with sweet and lightly spiced currants.

New cocktails include the Trinidadian Sour ($17) with Angostura bitters, almond orgeat, bourbon, honey and citrus; and the Cane mai-tai ($18) made with pineapple tea syrup, almond orgeat, El Dorado 5 year, cognac, triple sec and lime. Another new addition, the 20th Century ($15) showcases Black-owned spirits from the African diaspora featuring Bayab Orange & Marula South African gin, Tempus Fugit creme de cacao, Tempus Fugit Kina vermouth and lemon.

Cane is open from 2-8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Soon, reservations will be accepted through Open
Table.

Joy on the Ave, a Christmas pop-up bar in Del Ray, opens Friday. (Photo: Del Ray Pop-Up Bar/Facebook)

Christmas-Themed Pop-Up Bar Returns to Del Ray

Joy on the Avenue is returning for its third year to the Del Ray Pop-Up Bar, 2312 Mount Vernon Ave. in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.

The festively decorated pop-up bar opens Friday. The pop-up rotates themes seasonally, and just shut down after Halloween.

Owner Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group said there will be a refreshed menu and holiday decorations. It will be open until the first week in January, when it will wrap with the annual Festivus party.

Lulu’s Winegarden is decorated for Christmas. (Photo: Lulu’s Winegarden)

Lulu’s Decks the Halls, Adds Winter Food & Drinks

Beginning Friday, Lulu’s Winegarden, 1940 11th St. NW, will transform into Lulu’s Wine(ter)garden – its second annual wintry holiday pop-up

Diners will find festive décor throughout the restaurant, spirited and hot cocktails, new winter dishes, holiday wine boxes and more through early January.

Inspired by the owners’ desert hometowns and family traditions, the wine garden will be decked out with a festive Southwestern holiday atmosphere, with fiery chimineas, illuminated luminarias, cactus Christmas trees, hundreds of hanging ornaments and metal stars, plus glowing lanterns, pine garlands, twinkling lights, wreaths, tinsel and an arched entryway for photo ops.

The back garden patio with its retractable roof awning will be heated for the winter for outdoor dining. Seating nooks have woven blankets and plush pillows, along with dozens of standing heat lamps and live fire, keeping guests warm.

Chef Cable Smith has a new winter menu, featuring soups such as a New Mexico-meets-Texas style tortilla soup and an ancho lime tomato soup, plus a crispy Brussels sprouts salad with roasted delicata squash, roasted apples, candied pecans and pepitas, and crispy shallots tossed with a roasted apple/miso dressing finished with a hefty grating of nutty mimolette cheese.

Wintery drinks include gingerbread cookie-topped espresso martinis, a bourbon-spiked nog-chata hybrid, a seasonal apple cider margarita-esque Chimayo, mesquite honey hot toddies and more, all served in festively-shaped glassware.

People looking for a hostess gift for the wine lover or looking to stock up on wines for holiday dinners can purchase holiday wine boxes. The three-bottle packs, which start at $75, have fun seasonal movie themes like “It’s a Wine-derful Life” and “Christmas Vine-cation,” featuring unique wines from small producers from across the globe.

Lulu’s is open from 5-11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday, noon-midnight Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday.

Fudruckers is returning to Chinatown, replacing Tom’s Watch Bar and Circa before that beside the Metro entrance. (Photo: PoPville)

Fuddruckers Replaces Tom’s Watch Bar in Chinatown

In late September, we told you that Fuddruckers is returning to it former location in Downtown Silver Spring at 819 Ellsworth Drive, as well as to D.C.’s Chinatown. The Chinatown location closed in November 2017.

However, its former Chinatown space at Seventh and F Street NW is now a Capital One Café. Now comes word that Fuddruckers will move into 781 Seventh St. NW, the former home of Tom’s Watch Bar and Circa and Zengo before that.

The liquor license placard posted in the window says Fuddruckers will be a full-service restaurant with seating for 140, a carry-out and delivery endorsement and an entertainment endorsement. Hours will be 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.