School opens in many school districts today. Labor Day is just two weeks away. Summer is winding down, but that means the August restaurant lull is about to end. We’re still awaiting word on just when Momofuku and Milk Bar will open in CityCenterDC, but here is a list of 12 other anticipated fall restaurant openings in the DMV – many are which are headed to the Shaw neighborhood of northwest D.C., which is the current hot neighborhood.

Daikaya Partners Katsuya Fukushima (l to r), Yama Jewayna and Daisuke Utagawa in front of the future home of Bantam King in Chiintown. (Photo: Farrah Seiky)

Bantam King

Daisuke Utagawa, Yama Jewayni and chef Katsuya Fuushima, the trio behind Daikaya ramen bar and izakaya, will open Bantam King around the corner in the former Burger King at 700 Fifth St. NW in Chinatown. The new restaurant will specialize in chicken ramen and Japanese fried chicken. A more recent phenomenon, chicken ramen is made with a lighter chicken broth instead of the mix of pork, chicken and beef used at Daikaya. The name is a small homage to the previous tenant and the small bantam chicken that have a reputation for particularly good soup. The inside will still have Burger King’s bones – think fast-food-style booth and trays. The trio is also planning a second Daikaya location in Shaw in late 2015 or early 2016.

Convivial

Saied Azaili and chef Cedric Maupillier of Mintwood Place plan to open Convivial in Shaw’s City Market at O, 801 O St. NW, early this fall. The 150-seat upscale, casual American café will feature a garden patio. It will meld American and French cuisines often in the form of small plates and operate at a slightly lower price point then Mintwood.

Andrew Zink (left) and Jeremiah Langhorn will open The Dabney in Blagdon Alley. (Photo: The Dabney/Facebook)

The Dabney

Chef Jeremiah Langhorne, formerly of McCrady’s in Charleston, S.C., and business partner Alex Zink will open their much-anticipated restaurant, The Dabney at 122 Blagden Alley NW. The 70 seat restaurant will have a giant wood-burning hearth and a semi-enclosed courtyard. The restaurant bears and old family sur name. The food with be farm-to-table with as many of the ingredients as possible from the Mid-Atlantic. Some may even be foraged by the partners themselves.

Fare Well

Doron Petersan, who owns Sticky Fingers vegan bakery in Columbia Heights and is a two-time winner of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, will open Fare Well at 406 H St. NE. The bakery, bistro and bar will feature an expanded bread program, a grab-and-go lunch counter, bakery case, full bar program and classic diner-style service and seating. It will serve a wide array of baked savories, vegan American comfort classic and Mediterranean fare. There will also be some of Sticky Fingers’ favorites along with scones, Danishes, croissants and pies.

Chef Rob Rubba will lead Hazel at the Atlantic Plumbing development near the 9:30 Club. (Photo: Hazel/Faceebook)

Hazel

Neighborhood Restaurant Group — the folks behind Birch & Barley, Bluejacket, ChurchKey, Red Apron and others — will open Hazel at 808 V St. NW in the Atlantic Plumbing development, 2112 8th St. NW near the 9:30 Club. The 38-seat restaurant will serve a progressive American menu from executive chef Rob Rubba, formerly of Tallula. There will also be a 38-seat patio and a 16-seat bar connected to the patio. NRG will also The Sovereign, a Belgian bar and bistro in Georgetown at 1206 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana

Former Oval Room chef Tony Conte will open his first solo venture, Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana at 12207 Darnestown Rd., Gaithersburg near his home sometime around Labor Day. Conte’s father emigrated from a town near Naples. The casual 40-seat pizzeria will have a 900-degree wood-burning oven and feature seasonal, locally sourced dishes, wood-roasted fish and meat dishes, shaved vegetable salads, oven-baked polentas and Italian wines. Since leaving the Oval Room, Conte has spent time in California earing the Verace Pizza Napoletana certification, a degree of authenticity awarded by the Italian organization established to protect Naples’ signature dish. Inferno will be the only VPN-certified pizzeria in Maryland.

L’Hommage Bistro Francais will open in September in Mount Vernon Triange. (Photo: Rebecca Cooper/WBJ)

L’Hommage Bistro Francais

Restaurateur Hakan Ilhan, owner of Alba Osteria, is set to open L’Hommage Bistro Francaisat 450 K St. NW in Mount Vernon Triangle in early September. The 176-seat French bistro and boulangerie will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Executive chef Joshua Laban Perkins, formerly of the Globe and Eric Ripert’s Brasserie Le Coze, both in Atlanta, will prepare classic French dishes from steak frites to mussels. The boulangerie will prepare fresh breads and pastries in-house daily. It will offer more than 200 French wines.

The Shaw Bijou

Chef Kwame Onwuachi of New York, colleague Greg Vakiner, building owner Kelly Gorsuch and business consultant Glenn Paik will open The Shaw Bijou in a row house at 1544 Ninth St. NW sometime about the end of November. The 25-year-old chef formerly worked at New York restaurants Eleven Madison Park and Per Se. The 32-seat fine-dining restaurant will serve a 15-18 course tasting menu with dishes including a Japanese Wagyu beef program house-made charcuterie, some table-side preparations and dishes inspired by his Nigerian heritage and childhood in the Bronx. There will also be a second-floor, 50-seat, members-only bar that serves rare liquors. It will be open Tuesday through Saturday.

San Francisco-based Tadich Grill will open a restaurant along Pennslvania Avenue. (Rendering: Tadich Grill)

Tadich Grill

Tadich Grill, the San Francisco-based restaurant that claims to be the third oldest continuously operating restaurant in the county, will open a D.C. outpost at 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 102. Expected to open Sept. 18, it will feature prime seafood and meats grilled over mesquite. Unlike the original, the D.C. location will take reservations.

Texas Jacks Barbecue

Partners Steve Roberts and Paul Capetanakis plan to open Texas Jacks Barbecue at 2761 Washington Bldv., Arlington, in the former Tallula/EatBar space sometime next month. The 145-seat restaurant and bar will serve dishes such as brisket, beef short ribs, pulled pork and sausages as well as weekly specials such as jerked goat and beef cheeks. Executive chef Matt Lang, who won Food Networks 2011 Best in Smoke show, formerly worked at Fette Sau in New York and Hill Country in D.C. (Note: The website is not active yet.)

Tim Ma will open his first D.C. restaurant. (Photo: Water & Wall)

Tim Ma’s New Restaurant

Formerly reported to be named Freehand, Chef Tim Ma of Maple Ave and Water & Wall in Virginia will open his first D.C. restaurant. He dropped the name after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the Sydell Group which owns a chain of hotels called Freehand in Miami, Chicago and soon, Los Angeles. The as-of-yet unnamed French-Asian bistro will be located in The Shay, 1924 Eighth St. NW in Shaw. Ma is teaming with chef Nyi Nyi Myint of the Tim Ma Restaurant Group with a tentative opening date in November. Ma will also open Chase the Submarine, a sandwich and butcher shop named for his son, at 132 Church St., Vienna, in October.

Yona

Chef Jonah Kim, formerly of Pabu in Baltimore, and Mike Isabella will open Yona, a Japanese noodle bar at 4000 Wilson Blvd. in Ballston – in the same building as Isabella’s Kapnos Taverna and Pepita. In addition to ramen, thre will also be Asian small plates such as steamed duck buns, crispy Brussels sprouts with Kewpie mayo, kimchi and Korean-style fried chicken wings.

Centrolina, 974 Palmer Alley in CityCenterDC, the new osteria and mercato from chef Amy Brandwein, formerly of Alba Osteria and the shuttered Casa Nonna, opened its market on Tuesday and will open the restaurant for lunch on June 1 and dinner on June 5.

Centrolina’s market opened in CityCenterDC on Tuesday. The restaurant will open June 1. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Centrolina’s market shelves are stocked with items Brandwein uses in her kitchen including organic and local produce in season, imported Italian meats and cheeses, antipasta, Italian artisanal dry pasta, eggs and other dairy products. There will also be house-made pasta, sauces, jams, pesto, breads and pastries. Many of the products can’t be found anywhere else in the DMV. There will also be staples such as marinated anchovies, crackers, mostarda, oils, vinegars and more. Wine and craft beer will also be available.

The market also includes an espresso bar that serving Vigilante Coffee and bambolonis, Italian doughnuts, along with house-made quiches, scones and other pastries in the mornings. Later in the day, there are paninis, antipasta, salads and pastries. In the evenings, the coffee counter will become a five-seat mini-cocktail bar for guests to enjoy a drink while waiting for their table.

The market’s coffee bar (clockwise from top left), fresh pasta case, produce and cheese case. (Photos: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

“I am thrilled to bring everything that I love about Italy to CityCenter,” Brandwein said in a press release. “Centrolina is about creating an experience for diners where they can enjoy a chef-driven Italian meal and then stroll into the market to purchase my house-made pasta, sauces, local bread and imported Italian treats. Stocking a seasonal market and making it accessible to everyday shoppers is a real challenge, and I can’t wait to put on that grocers apron.”

When the restaurant opens, there will be seating for 48 in the dining room, 16 at the bar and 32 on the patio. The menu will feature a frequently-rotating-selection of about 15 dishes.

Centrolina’s opening menu includes a salad of roasted beets and carrots (clockwise from top left), pappardelle with morels and asparagus, chitarra pasta with wheat berries and nasturium, and chocolate mousse with hazelnut cremeaux and caramelized Piedmont hazelnuts. (Photos: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

The opening menu includes antipasti ranging in price from $12-$15 including carota with roasted, fried and pickled carrots, lemon, yogurt and turmeric, fried smelts and octopus suffocate with potato confit, cotechinata and celery salad. A lenga dishes, ranging from $24-$36 and cooked in the kitchen’s terra cotta-clad, wood-fired oven, include fritto misto made with fried lamb, chicken, sausage, vegetables, amaretti cookie, mstarda and lemon, young chicken and chard squid.

Pastas, handmade daily in house, include chiancarelle – a small orecchiette — with sheep’s milk ricotta, runny egg and ramp pesto, buckwheat pasta with chick pea and parsley and pappardelle with lamb ragu, watercress and pecorino ramano. Pastas are priced from $18-$26. Sides, priced at $9, include grilled swish chard and rasins, roasted asparagus and wood-roasted mushrooms with farro, peas and pea shoots.

The restaurant’s bar (clockwise from top left), dining room, bar and market and kitchen. (Photos: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

D.C.-based architecture/design firm CORE designed Centrolina’s look with a neutral color palette of white, cream, grey and blond-wood tones with punches of turquoise, terracotta and fuchsia. Smooth, white metal finishes join white-painted brick, leather, light wood, marble and polished concrete to create an easy Californian aesthetic. The food will be served on hand thrown, wood fired pottery dishes designed and created by New York potter Jane Herold.

Centrolina’s market is open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant will be open for lunch from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, dinner from 5-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday and brunch from 10:30 a.m-2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

2014 was a year of openings and closings in the DMV food scene. Old favorites closed, new endeavors didn’t pan out and new restaurants replaced them. And even though 2012 and 2013 saw a flurry of new restaurants, there was no slowdown in 2014.

The openings

Lupo Verde, a rustic Italian restaurant, opened at 1401 T St. NW in February after several delays. Owned by restauranteur Med Lalou and managing partner Antonio Matarazzo, it features small plates, house-made charcuteries, breads, pasta and antipasti along with 50 cheeses and house-made pizzas and cured meats.

Chef Richard Sandoval’s Toro Toro opens at Franklin Square in April. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Chef Richard Sandoval opened another restaurant in the city in April. Toro Toro, a Pan Latin steakhouse, opened at 1300 I St. NW. Meat is the centerpiece of the menu.

In June, José Andrés opened his America Eats Tavern at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean. The space formerly housed Michel Richard’s Michel and Maestro from Fabio Trabbochi. America Eats, originally a pop up in Penn Quarter in conjunction with a National Archives exhibit, features American cuisine such as chicken pot pie, she-crab soup, and hush puppies and Virginia hams. It also has an all-American décor with “We the People…” painted on the wall above the open kitchen and flags everywhere.

Boss Shepherd’s opened in July at 1299 Pennsylvania Ave NW next to the Warner Theater with a Southern menu. Also, Chaplin’s Restaurant & Bar, an Asian-inspired restaurant from brothers Ari and Micah Wilder, opened at 1501 9th St. NW in Shaw, and GRK Fresh Greek restaurant opened at 1140 19th St. NW in Dupont. The second location for the chain serves fresh, casual Greek food like gyros, tzatziki sauces, seasoned fries and Agean salad all made in house. It also sells fresh and frozen imported Greek yogurt.

Brookland Pint from the owner of Meridian Pint, opened in August at 716 Monroe St. NE across from Catholic University in the new Monroe Street Market. The bar has 24 beers on tap and the menu features locally grown and harvested foods, many of which are gluten-free or vegan.

Chuy’s Tex-Mex opened in Fairfax in September and at the new Springfield Town Center (above) in October. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Chuy’s the quirky Tex-Mex restaurant from Austin, Texas, opened its first DMV location at 11219 Lee Highway, Fairfax in September followed by a second location at the new Springfield Town Center in October. The restaurant features all fresh-made dishes with fresh food delivered six days a week. The freezer is smaller than an average home refrigerator. The biggest opening was also in September with DBGB Kitchen and Bar, chef Daniel Boulud’s casual French American restaurant, opening mid-September at 931 H St. NW in CityCenterDC. There was a red carpet, live band, VIPs, celebrities and a Washington Monument carved out of ice. But so far, it hasn’t lived up to the fanfare or steep prices.

October saw DC Harvest open at 517 H St. NE. Chef Arthur Ringle serves a hyper-local seasonal modern American menu with most of the ingredients coming from within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Second State, the Pennsylvania themed restaurant, also opened in September at 1831 M. St. NW in the former Mighty Pint space. It caused an uproar when it initially tried to add a $1 upcharge for artisanal ice.

City Perch by James Beard winner and former Wolfgang Puck pastry chef Sherry Yard and former Occidental Grill chef de cuisine Matt Baker opened in late-November at the iPic Theater in the new Pike & Rose Development in North Bethesda. This was probably the most disappointing new restaurant. The highlight of the menu for the Washington Post’s Tom Siestema was the $10 bread board. He only gave the pricey restaurant one star. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it on 2015’s review in the closed column.

In early December, chef Seng Luangrath opened Thip Khao in Columbia Heights. The first Laotian restaurant in the city, opened at 3462 14th St. NW in the former Thaitanic II space

The closings

Palena in Cleveland Park closed in April. (Photo: DC Outlook)

Last year also saw several closings. The most mourned closing was Cleveland Park’s Palena, which closed in April after 13 years. It was evicted for unpaid rent. But fans of chef Frank Ruta won’t have to wait much longer. He’s been hired to take over The Grill Room and Rye Bar at the Capella hotel in Georgetown.

J&G Steakhouse in the W Hotel closed in June, less than a year after it remodeled. It was in the hotel five years. J&G was replaced by Pinea from chef Barry Kaslow, formerly the chef at DGS Delicatessen, featuring Mediterranean cuisine.

August, saw the rum bar Hugo and Chadwick’s both close.

Probably the shortest lived restaurant of 2014 was Fredrik de Pue’s Menu MBK in Penn Quarter. It opened early in 2014 then closed in October, less than nine months later. De Pue’s investors forced the closure when they weren’t receiving as much return on investment as they had expected. The building had previously housed de Pue’s short-lived seafood restaurant, Aqua.

CityZen at the Mandrin Oriental hotel shuttered in mid-December when chef Eric Ziebold left to open his own restaurant., Kinship, in Mount Vernon Triangle in September.

Duffy’s on U Street and Murphy’s of D.C. both closed in November followed by The Passenger and Summer’s Restaurant in Arlington at the end of the year. And though technically not 2014, the Jan. 3, 2015 closings of Lima Lounge and Fujimar Restaurant had been announced. The 10-year lease ended and some of the lounges events will move to The Park on 14th and Barcode and Lima may reopen elsewhere.

Coming in 2015

Jose Andres’ China Chicano, a Peruvian restaurant, is scheduled to open in Penn Quarter in January 2015. (Photo: Popville)

Several new eateries are on the horizon. First out of the gate in the new year is José Andrés, who will open his contemporary Peruvian restaurant, China Chilcano, at 418 7th St. NW in Penn Quarter in January and his vegetable-centric Beefsteak at 22nd and I Streets NW on the GW campus in February.

Nick Pimentel of Room 11 and Genevieve Villamorea will open Bad Saint, a Filipino restaurant at 3226 11th St. NW in Columbia Heights in early 2015.

The spring will see former Bibiana chef Nicholas Stefanelli open Masseria, his own Italian restaurant with southern influcences. at 1344 4th St. NE. Also, chef Jonah Kim, formerly of Baltimore’s shuttered Pabu, will also open Yona, a noodle bar and small plates eatery, at 4000 Wilson Blvd. in in Ballston this spring. Also, chef Amy Brandwein, formerly executive chef at Roberto Donna’s Alba Osteria, will open Centralina at 974 Palmer Alley in CityCenterDC. It will be part Italian restaurant and part market.

Mintwood Place will get a larger sister at 801 O St. NW in Shaw when chef Cedric Maupillier and co-owner Saied Azali open Convivial sometime in last spring or early summer. By day, it will be a more casual hangout and by night it will serve a French-American menu with an emphasis on vegetables and small plates.

Chala, which sells its vegetarian tacos at local farmers markets, will open a brick and mortar shop at 3207 Grace St. NW in Georgetown in June.

David Chang’s Momofuku will open in CityCenterDC this summer. Momofuku Milk Bar, headed by pastry chef and fellow northern Virginia native Christina Tosi, will join the restaurant at CityCenterDC. Also, Virginia native Jeremiah Langhorne comes to D.C. from the renowned McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston, S.C., to open The Dabney at 1222 9th St. NW this summer. It will center around a wood-fire hearth and focus on ingredients from the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The Columbia Room, formerly in The Passenger, will reopen in Blagden Alley above The Dabney at the end of 2015

After 10 years at CityZen, chef Eric Ziebold and his wife Celia Laurent Ziebold will open Kinship at 1015 7th St. NW in Mount Vernon Triangle in September.

Chef Amy Brandwein will open Centrolina, a 4,075-square-foot Italian market and restaurant at 974 Palmer Alley in CityCenterDC next spring. Centrolina, Brandwein’s first solo restaurant, will be open daily for lunch and dinner.

Chef Amy Brandwein will open Centrolina in CityCenter DC in the spring. (Photo: Amy Brandwein)

Brandwein was chef de cuisine at Alba Osteria in Mount Vernon Triangle. Prior to joining Alba Osteria, she launched her own consulting company, Chef AmyB, and served as executive chef at Casa Nonna. Previously she served as executive chef at Galileo, Laboratorio, Osteria del Galileo and the Galileo Grill. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.

The restaurant will have a 52-seat dining room, 12-seat bar and 32-seat patio. The market will offer a selection of imported Italian specialty items along with meat, fish and produce from local farms, a selection of house-made items and a coffee program.

“Centrolina is directly inspired by a specific type of shopping and dining establishment that I have come to love on my travels through Italy,” said Brandwein in a press release. “From major cities to small country villages, you can find small, combined markets and restaurants, where a huge part of the charm comes from a blurred line between the dining room and the market. I remember enjoying a meal and watching the chef walk from the kitchen to the market to get a scoop of pomodorini for burrata. The magic was in the proximity to both the materials in the market and the craftsmanship of the chef. We’re going to capture that at Centrolina. It’s not going to just be an Italian dining experience or just an Italian shopping experience; it’s going to be a chef-minded Italian food experience.”

Centrolina will feature a frequently-rotating menu of regional Italian with about 15 dishes. The menu will showcase regional dishes depending on the season and what is in the market. Market availability will be the guiding principal of the menu. The market will reflect Brandwein’s own experiences with Italian cooking and the products and produce she loves and uses.

The beverage program will feature an all-Italian wine list that combines imported Italian greats with the best of Virginia, a beer selection that skews local and a short list of classic Italian cocktails given a contemporary twist.

The market will stock imported cheeses and specialty items beside local produce, meat and seafood. Grocery items will include dried pasta from Italy as well as Centrolina’s fresh-made pasta, accompanied by up to a dozen house-made sauces. Italian specialty items will include anchovies, olives, capers, vinegar, olive oil and sweets. Wine and craft beer will also be sold.

The market will include a barista-serviced coffee counter as well as grab-and go lunch offerings like sandwiches, pasta, meatballs and salads.

Brandwein is working with D.C.-based architecture/design firm CORE to create Centrolina’s look. The mainly neutral color palette combines white, cream, grey and blond-wood tones with punches of turquoise, terracotta and fuchsia. Smooth, white metal finishes will join white-painted brick, leather, light wood and polished concrete to create a light and easy Californian aesthetic.

The quick-stop counter and coffee bar will be the first thing customers see when they walk into the market. As they browse the fresh and prepared-food displays, they will find the restaurant and bar space nestled behind. Restaurant guests, with views of fresh market produce, an open kitchen and terracotta-clad pizza oven, will be immersed in the cooking experience as they dine.

Jack Rose to unveil fall menu on Monday

Jack Rose Dining Saloon, 2007 18th St. NW, will unveil executive chef Russell Jones’ new menu at a “Friends of the Saloon” fall dinner menu preview on Nov. 3 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Jack Rose Dining Saloon will debut its new fall menu on Monday. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

The preview will include a four-course meal along with cocktail and whiskey pairings, specials on popular Southern bites and more. Guests will be served a seasonal fall tasting menu, featuring an amuse, appetizer, salad, main course and dessert for $25. The menu will include new fall creations such as fall root vegetables with baby greens and truffle vinaigrette; shrimp and crab perlou, a hearty jambalaya-style Low Country dish filled with stone crab, shrimp and housemade sausage over dirty rice; grilled venison loin with ratte potatoes and shallot jam; and to finish, pumpkin ginger pie with vanilla ice cream.

Guests also have the choice to add a beverage pairing for only $20, which will include a punch, glass of wine, new fall menu and whiskey.

Snack specials will include paprika and lime-spiced fried chicken skins; smoked whiskey wings glazed with honey, habanero and Old Crow bourbon; fried chicken and Yakitori-glazed liver and onions; clam dip with homemade potato “ruffles” and more.

The restaurant will also offer its a la carte fall menu, featuring seasonal new dishes like Manchester Farm quail with foie gras stuffing, bread pudding and pomegranate molasses; oxtail and bone marrow with marrow beans, parsley salad and a homemade buttermilk biscuit; and the beer brined Amish chicken with pumpkin, spaghetti squash, pumpkin seeds and chicken jus.

Rosa Mexicano celebrates Day of the Dead

Rosa Mexicano is celebrating the Day of the Dead, the traditional Mexican holiday, honoring the dearly departed, with special menu items through Nov. 2.

Rosa Mexicano’s guacamole de otoño with pomegranate and toasted pumpkin seeds. (Photo: Rosa Mexicano)

Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a long-standing Mexican custom where families honor their passed love ones with food, drink, decorations and gifts. Rosa Mexicano’s special menu, which is available during dinner only, will celebrate the spirit of the holiday.

The special menu items include guacamole de otoño with pomegranate and toasted pumpkin seeds; enchiladas de mole poblano, two tortillas filled with shredded chicken and topped with mole sauce, onions and queso fresco; buñuelos rellenos, deep-fried vanilla ice cream coated in cinnamon buñuelo crust and served with whipped cream and guajillo-raspberry sauce; and the flor de mezcal cocktail, made with Del Maguey Vida mezcal, agave, orange and lime with a chile de árbol and guajillo chile-salted rim ad garnished with a traditional marigold for Day of the Dead.

Rosa Mexicano has three locations in the DMV: 575 7th St. NW in Chinatown; 5225 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Chevy Chase; and 153 Waterfront St. at National Harbor.

Daikaya celebrates Godzilla’s birthday

Daikaya izakaya, 705 6th St. NW, is celebrating Godzilla’s official birthday on Nov. 3. The restaurant will feature Godzilla-inspired dishes and three specialty cocktails from Nov. 3-Nov 9. Also, on Nov. 3, guests will be able to watch the film beginning at 6 p.m., and it will loop throughout the evening until closing at 10 PM.

Daikaya will celebrate Godzilla’s birthday on Monday. (Photo: Epicurian)

Executive chef Katsuya Fukushima’s monster birthday dishes are Gozira Karaage with marinated alligator lightly tossed in potato starch, deep fried and served with a fiery dipping sauce for $9; Bambi meets Godzilla “Tsukune” with grilled elk and pork meatballs dipped in yakitori sauce for $5, and Godzilla’s Pretty Cool, a fire-breathing soft serve Snickers ice cream with Snickers pieces, doused with Japanese whiskey and flamed for $4.

For the perfect pairing, new beverage director Jamie MacBain has created three cocktails for the birthday celebration: King of the Monsters with Nishi Yoshida “kintaro” shochu, Cocchi Americano and Chinese five spice bitters served on a large ice cube with a grapefruit twist; Alpha Predator made with Nikka Taketsuru 12 year old whisky, Cruzan black strap rum, Pierre Ferrand dry curacao and chocolate bitters served up with and orange twist; and the Monster Zero-One with Choya Umeshu, Palo Cortado, Kiku Masamune taru sake and coriander bitters served up with a plum. Cocktails are $11 each.

Et Voila! hosts wine dinner with wines from Chablis

Et Voila!, 5120 MacArthur Blvd. NW in Palisades, will host a culinary journey to Northern-Central France to sample wines from the historic wine-producing town of Chablis starting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4. Guests can enjoy the light, dry Chablis wines celebrated for their minerality and crisp acidity.

Et Voila! hosts a Chablis wine dinner on Nov. 4. (Photo: Shawn Keeley)

Priced at $79.95 per person, the menu will consist of four-courses prepared by executive chef/owner Claudio Pirollo and pastry chef Alex Malaise, which will be paired with a sampling of France’s finest Chablis.

Chablis, located in Burgundy, is a historic wine-producing town in northern-central France. Chablis wines are made from the Chardonnay and classified into four levels of quality starting from Chablis Grand Cru, which is the highest quality, Chablis Premier Cru, Chablis and Petit Chablis, which is the least prestigious. Chablis are known for their light, dry white wines as well as their minerality and crisp acidity. Unlike most wines produced in Burgundy, Chablis wines are usually entirely free of any oak influence, which produce drier and fresher wines, rather than more weighty and richly flavored typical of Burgundian white wines, which are barrel fermented.

The menu includes a mises en bouche paired with Saint Bris-le-Vineux Sauvignon. The first course is duck foie gras au sel paired with Chablis Sainte Claire. The second course is grilled marinated tuna with smoked tuna sauce and grilled vegetables paired with Premier Cru Cote de Lechet. The third course is Guinea hen ballotine with porcini mushrooms, artichoke and a mushroom sauce paired with Grand Cru Les Clos. The final course is pumpkin gateau basque with sour cream sorbet.

For reservations, call 202- 237-2300.

Blue Duck Tavern hires cheese specialist Sophie Slesinger

Sophie Slesinger has been hired as the cheese specialist for Blue Duck Tavern and Blue Duck Lounge.

Sophie Slesinger is Blue Duck Tavern’s new cheese specialist. (Photo: Zagat)

A native Washingtonian and second generation Sicilian, Slesinger has been nationally recognized for her knowledge and creativity with cheese. Her appointment falls perfectly as October is “American Cheese Month.” Each evening Blue Duck Lounge features a nightly cheese presentation display showcasing artisanal cheeses and charcuterie sold by the ounce. Slesinger will prepare customized cheese plates paired with house made seasonal chutney and jams.

Slesinger graduated from Emory University in Atlanta with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and worked for a season on a farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore before moving to New York. Here she began learning the art of cheese working as the program director at Saxelby Cheese, under cheesemonger Anne Saxelby from 2011-2013. Slesinger was named to the “30-Under-30: New York City’s Food and World Up-And-Comers” list by Zagat in the summer of 2013. In December 2013, Slesinger accepted the position as the cheesemonger at GCDC grilled cheese restaurant in Washington. She selected the restaurant’s featured cheeses, crafted the evening menu and developed a weekly program focused exclusively on cheese education until accepting her new appointment.

“Cheeses are seasonal,” explains Slesinger. “Guests visiting Blue Duck Lounge this fall will be experience American farmstead cheeses, including alpine varieties with complex flavors, and bigger format cheeses that are matured to reach their ripeness.”

New artisan cheeses that have been added to the fall menu include Harbison, a soft-ripened cow’s milk cheese with a rustic, bloomy rind from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont; Cabra La Mancha, a washed rind goat’s-milk cheese from Firefly Farm in Maryland; Ewe’s Blue, a semi-firm Roquefort-style cheese made using fresh sheep’s milk from Old Chatham Sheepherding Co. in New York; and Humble Pie, a mixed-milk cheese, combining the milk of East Friesian sheep and cow’s milk, lightly washed with brine and aged to peak ripeness from Woodcock Farm in Vermont. The artisan American cheeses are available nightly from 5:30-10:30 p.m. All cheese is served with bread and garnished to compliment the specific character.

Brothers reunite in the kitchen at Sushiko

Brothers and executive chefs Piter Tjan and Handry Tjan recently reunited to lead the kitchen and sushi bar at Sushiko, 5455 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase.

Brothers and chefs Handry (left) and Piter Tjan at Sushiko in Chevy Chase. (Photo: Bethesda Magazine)

Formerly, Pieter Tjan was named Sushiko’s head chef in 2008, and Handry Tjan served as his sous chef, before they went their separate ways to expand their knowledge of Japanese food and culture. In 2010, Piter moved to Austin, Texas to work under James Beard Award-winning chef Tyson Cole at Uchi, while in 2011, Handry left Sushiko to work on the opening efforts of Thai Pavilion at National Harbor. They are now back working together with a goal of bringing Sushiko to the next level with a new menu of traditional and innovative Japanese dishes.

The brothers will showcase a prix fixe, three-course lunch special for $23.50 available daily from noon-3 p.m. The first course invites diners to select from the choices of miso soup, mussel soup or a seaweed salad. The second course offers a choice of a shrimp tempura appetizer or salmon ceviche. For the third course, guests will have a choice of a 10 piece sushi assortment with four pieces of nigiri and a choice of maki: California roll; spicy tuna roll; salmon and avocado roll; crunchy shrimp rolls; cucumber avocado rolls or chicken teriyaki with tomato salad.

It’s Halloween and there will be parties galore tonight in the DMV. Most bars and clubs will be having spooky specials to celebrate All Hallows Eve. Then on Saturday, you can take your jack-o’-lanterns to Ellicott City and chuck them from a catapult or start your holiday shopping at the Czech Christmas Market. There are other events too if you haven’t had your fill of Halloween candy yet.

This weekend, Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow and Green line trains will operate every 20 minutes, rather than every 12 minutes. Red Line trains will operate every 15 minutes with trains running every 8-10 minutes between Van Ness and NoMa-Gallaudet from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Daylight Saving Time will end at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. At that time, clocks will “fall back” to 1 a.m. giving partiers and extra hour.

Have a haunting good time this Halloween weekend. (Photo: BPC Block Party)

Fall Festival

Folks at a concert on Woodrow Wilson Plaza at the Reagan Building. (Photo: About.com)

Embrace the season of pumpkins, crisp air and brightly colored leaves with an afternoon of fall fun. Catch autumn in full swing at the Fall Festival with harvest-themed activities including face painting, a hay bale maze, hot cider, the last Capital Harvest farmer’s market of the year, Washington Humane Society’s pet adoption van featuring dogs dressed up in costume and creative pumpkin displays you can vote for “Best Decorated Pumpkin.”

Oct. 31 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza of the Ronald Regan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!

Fear at the Freer

A scene from Ringu. (Photo: Photofest)

Costumes are encouraged as the Freer hosts its first ever Halloween event Fear at the Freer. If you forget your outfit, the gallery will offer free replica masks of ominous objects from its collection. After looking at art from 5-7 p.m., settle in for a free screening of Ringu, the Japanese film that inspired The Ring.

Oct. 31 staring at 5 p.m. at the Freer Gallery of Art, Jefferson Drive and 12th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
 
 
 

Boo-Rito

At Chipotle’s annual Boorito fundraiser, you can get a burrito or other food for $3. (Graphic: Chipotle)

Come to Chipotle dressed in costume after 5 p.m. during Boorito and you’ll score a $3 burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos. Take a photo of yourself in costume at Chipotle, then upload it to Twitter or Instagram with #chipotlebooritocontest and you could wine one of three $2,500 grand prices for Best Group Costume, Scariest Costume and Most Creative Costume or five runner-up prizes in each category of Chipotle Catering for 20. Proceeds up to $1 million will benefit the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.

Oct. 31 from 5 p.m.-closing at area Chipotle restaurants. Come in costume and get $3 burrito, bowl, salad or tacos.
 
 

Night of the Bicycling Dead

Bike from Bicycle Space to Bardo Brewpub in costume for a zombie party. (Photo: Maxresdefault)

Get into costume and join a group of cyclists for Night of the Bicycling Dead, a Halloween bike ride that kicks off near Bicycle Space’s Mount Vernon Square shop and ends at Bardo Brewpub for a zombie party.

Oct. 31 starting at 7:30 p.m. at Bicycle Space, 1019 Seventh St. NW. Admission is FREE, but register here.
 
 

Tim Burton: Melancholy, Mirth and Magic, Part I

The Corpse Bride by Tim Burton will be shown during the AFI Silver Theater’s Tim Burton film festival. (Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment)

Tim Burton has directed some stinkers (Dark Shadows and Alice in Wonderland, but his successes far outnumber his failures. The AFI Silver is starting its Tim Burton film festival, appropriately enough, on Halloween. A second part is coming in 2015. The lineup includes Sleepy Hallow, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood and Corpse Bride, which will be screened with two shorts: Vincent and Frankenweenie, the latter of which eventually inspired a feature adaption also being screened.

Oct. 31-Nov. 6 at various time at AFI Silver, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for seniors, $9 for matinees and $7 for children.

Pumpkin Chucking

Chuck your jack-o-lanterns at Clark’s Elioak Farm this weekend. (Photo: Clarkland Farm)

Don’t let those jack-o’-lanterns go to waste once Halloween is over. Take them to Clark’s Elioak Farm in Ellicott City for a good old fashioned pumpkin chucking. You supply the pumpkins, they’ll provide the chucker – by which we mean the catapult that sends pumpkins flying all over the farm. It’ll be cathartic for those ready to say farewell to pumpkin spice season.

Nov. 1 and 2 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at Clark’s Elioak Farm, 10500 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, Md. Admission is FREE!.
 
 

Czech Christmas Market

Get a jump on your Christmas shopping at the Embassy of the Czech Republic. (Photo: Embassy of the Czech Republic)

Now that Halloween is over, it’s time to start your Christmas shopping. The Embassy of the Czech Republic is holding a special Czech Christmas Market featuring hand blown glass ornaments, handcrafted glass, Christmas cookies and mulled wine. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., Vit Horejs of the Czechoslovak-American Theater will perform the puppet show Czech and Slovak Tale for Strings. Proceds go to the Czech and Solvak School of Sokol Washington, which offers children language and grammar instruction, and lessons in history, traditions, music and folklore.

Nov. 1 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Embassy of the Czech Republic, 3900 Spring of Freedom St. NW. Admission is FREE!

Denizens brewery tour

Denizens Brewing Co. will hold tours Saturday and Sunday. (Photo: Adam S. Lowe)

Denizens Brewing Co. starts offering tours this weekend, with 10-person sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. Each tour lasts an hour and ends with a tasting of five Denizens beers.

Saturdays and Sundays at 1, 2:30, 4 and 5:30 p.m. at Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring. Admission is $10.
 
 
 
 

Celebrate fall at OurCity’s K Street farm. (Photo: OurCity)

K Street Farm Festival

At the K Street Farm Festival, OurCity will celebrate the fall harvest and connect the community to healthy food grown in the nation’s capital. The event will feature culinary demonstrations by Alba Osteria, herb garden tours, a pig roast by EcoFriendly Foods and live music by Sol Roots Trio and choirs from the Southern Baptist Church.

Nov. 1 from 1-5 p.m. at OurCity’s K Street Farm, 111 K St. NW. Admission is FREE!
 
 
 

Dog parade and costume contest

Bardo’s Brewpub will host a dog parade and costume contest. (Photo: Bardo)

Humans and leashed dogs will parade up Bladensburg Road to Mount Olivet Cemetery, where beer lovers can hunt for the graves of some of Washington’s 19th century brewers. Then, the party returns to Bardo beer garden, where are contest will reward the best dog costume and the best owner-pet combo costume.

Nov. 1 starting at 3 p.m. at Bardo, 1200 Bladensburg Road. Admission is FREE!
 
 
 

Yards Park will be turned into a grave yard on Saturday. (Graphic: Yards Park)

Grave Yards

The Yards will be transformed into a stylishly spooky playground Grave Yards celebrating Day of the Dead. Live music, roaming street performers, fortune tellers and face painters will create a mystical environment for guests, who can pass the evening listening to lively mariachi bands, kicking back in the beer garden and touring a celebrity “graveyard,” where they can pay their respects to the likes of Elvis. There will be contortionists, escape artists, and a fortune telling station.

Nov. 1 from 6-10 p.m. at The Yards Park, 300 Tingey St. SE. Admission is FREE!
 
 

Daylight Savings Time ends

Daylight savings time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday when clocks “fall back” to 1 a.m. Partiers get an extra hour of drinking at the bars and clubs. Remember to set your clocks back an hour when you go to bed, or you’ll be an hour early for brunch on Sunday morning.

Sunday Sushi School

Learn to make hand rolls and inside/out rolls at Masa 14. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Roll into Sunday Sushi School with Chef Kaz Okochi and the culinary team at Masa 14 to learn how to make hand rolls with crunchy shrimp or spicy tuna and inside/out rolls featuring salmon or spicy salmon along with vegetables like avocados, cucumbers and scallions. The sushi school will take place on the first Sunday evening of each month through the end of the year. Once the sushi lesson is completed, guests will return to their table to enjoy the fruits of their labor in the dining room and can order a la carte from restaurant’s full menu as well.

Nov. 2 from 6-9 p.m. at Masa 14, 1825 14th St. NW. Cost is $15 or $21 with the Nihonsakari Extra Dry Cup sake paring. Reservations are recommended by calling l 202-328-1414.