For the next week, Blue Duck Tavern, located at 24th and M Streets NW in the Park Hyatt Washington, is serving the BDT snow cone on its rotating list of seasonal desserts. Created by executive pastry chef Naomi Gallego, the snow cones are made with house-made syrups using fresh, local fruits and spices, as well as hand-picked herbs from the restaurant’s garden.

Blue Duck Tavern will be serving snow cones during lunch for the next seven days. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

The syrups are then poured over freshly shaved ice. Three flavors will be available daily as the market selection. Rotating flavors include strawberries and cream; BDT apple pie and cream; creamsicle; root beer float; ginger raspberry rhubarb; peach toasted almond; cherry lime and garden lemon balm; Arnold Palmer; and piña colada.

Snow cones are $7 each and available now through June 27 only from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. during lunch.

Masseria cocktail house pops-up at Union Market

Nick Stefenelli, former executive chef at Bibiana Osteria Enoteca and owner of the forthcoming Masseria at 1340 Fourth St. NE outside Union Market slated to open in July, has taken over “Suburbia,” Gina Chersevani’s customized mobile Sirstream bar. Chersevani owns Buffalo
& Bergen in Union Market.

Masseria will take over Buffalo & Bergen’s Suburbia Airstream trailer. (Photos: Urban Living)

Stefenelli has been planning a little whiskey business with the help of his head bartender Julien-Pierre Bourgon. The two will host a 3-day house party pop-up, on three consecutive Wednesdays, starting June 17, showcasing the summery spirits and cocktails for the opening of Masseria.

The pop-up will preview the restaurants bar program with four beers on tap, four frozen drinks, punch del Giorno and a specialty draft cocktail.

The Airstream is located at Sixth Street and Neal Place NE. The pop-up will be open from 4-10 p.m. on June 17, June 24 and July 1.

Lupo Verde introduces summer cocktails

The Ramona at Lupo Verde is made with tequila, mezcal, Don Ciccio Mandarinetto, lemon juice, watermelon and blueberries. (Photo: Lupo Verde)

Lupo Verde, 1401 T St. NW, has unveiled summer cocktails made with the fruits and flavors of the season. The cocktails, served on the patio or inside, are designed to help patrons chill out as temperatures rise.

The new cocktails include the Alexis made with bourbon, nocino, amaro delle sirene and orange bitters; the Stregone with singani, pear williams, lemon juice, blueberry and tonic; the Amore with pisco, hibiscus liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white; the Rickey Italiano with gin, fennel, lime juice, suze, soda and thyme; the Peppino with gin, limoncello, lemon juice, peychaud’s and prosecco; and the Principessa with blood peach puree, grapefruit bitters and prosecco. Others include the Piccolina made with fresh raspberry, prickly pear, spicebush shrub, bitters and prosecco; the A’Malafemmina with mezcal, aperol, prickly pear, grapefruit and basil; the Fragolino with tequila, mezcal, mandarin liqueur, strawberry puree, bitters; the Bella Mora with vodka, sloe gin, fennel liqueur, blackberry puree, lemon, tonic; the Toto with vodka, mandarin, cocchi americano, lemon and basil. The cocktails are priced from $12-$14.

Et Viola adds popsicles to summer dessert menu

Et Voila!, 5120 MacArthur Blvd. NW in the Palisades neighborhood, is offering seasonal, house-made popsicles made with fresh fruits and juices. Created by pastry chef Alex Malaise, the treats will be featured on the restaurant’s dessert menu during lunch and dinner through Labor Day.

Et Viola’s pineapple and coconut popsicle with passion glaze and shredded coconut. (Photo: Et Viola!)

Flavors of the frozen treats will change every two weeks based on what’s fresh and in season. The rotating list of flavors include pineapple and coconut with passion glaze and shredded coconut; raspberry and blueberry with sorbet almond milk and popping candy, and chocolate Nutella with crushed hazelnut. The popsicles are $6 each.

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.

Two area chefs moved into the semi-finals in the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Mid-Atlantic nominations. Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria and Vikram Sunderam of Rasika in the District were the only two of 19 area chefs and restaurants to move on in the competition.

Chefs Cathel Armstrong of Restaurant Eve (left) and Vikram Sunderam of Rasika. (Photos: Star Chefs and Gourmet India)

Also still in the running in the category are Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen and Cindy Wolf of Charleston, both in Baltimore. The final chef still in the running is Brad Spence of Amis in Philadelphia. Last year, Johnny Monis of Komi in D.C. brought home the title.

Also receiving nominations were the Taste section of the Washingtonian magazine and from The Washington Post Eli Saslow of for his “Food Stamps” article, Tamar Haspel for her Unearthed food column and Monica Hesse for her comedy article “Gwyneth Paltrow: We Love to Hate Her, But We’ll Buy Her Cookbook Anyway.”

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 2 in New York City. The James Beard Awards Gala will be held on May 5.

Toro Toro steakhouse to open Mar. 31

Toro Toro, chef/owner Richard Sandoval’s new 12,400 square-foot Pan Latin steakhouse at 1300 I St. NW will opening on Mar. 31.

Toro Toro, Richard Sandoval’s Pan Latin steakhous, opens Mar. 31. (Photo: Washington Business Journal)

Chef de cuisine Stephen Hertzel, formerly of Sandovals El Centro D.F., will oversee Toro Toro’s kitchen. He will prepare a variety of hot and cold small plates along with a selection of steaks. The menu will also note where meat and seasonal ingredients are sourced with an emphasis on supporting local and regional farms. Prices will range from $4-$16 for small plates, salads and sandwiches and $26-$45 for steak entrées. It will also offer a $25 weekday lunch buffet.

Small plates will showcase South and Central American ingredients and include swordfish dip with smoked swordfish, aioli, cilantro, pickled chiles and tomato served with corn chips; seared seafood ceviche with prawns, calamari, scallops, milk, ginger, aji Amarillo, leche de tigre and sweet potatoes; a tiradito of roasted beets with pickled onion, orange, pistachios, goat cheese and pomegranate; a lomo saltado empanada with beef tenderloin, oyster sauce, tomato, onion and guacamole sauce; Spanish ham croquettes with Chinese mustard, chipotle chili aioli and emmental cheese; and short rib coca flatbread with Manchego cheese, horseradish and arugula.

A variety of steaks and Pan Latin specialty dishes include Elysian Fields Pennsylvania rack of lamb; dry-aged Langenfelder Farms pork rib chop; Marcho Farms veal porterhouse; Chilean sea bass with shrimp, scallops, calamari, cau cau sauce and mint leaves; spicy miso salmon with aji chiles, red miso, grilled asparagus and pea shoot salad, as well as arroz con mariscos a la norteña, prawns, calamari, scallops, cilantro puree, pumpkin, salsa criolla and aji mirasol.

Toro Toro will offer two small plates per person, and free-flowing meats carved tableside with side dishes for $79 per person. The meat will include Brazilian-style picanha Steak, prime rib eye steak, beef tenderloin, Australian lamb chop, achiote marinated chicken thigh and prawns.

The beverage program will feature handcrafted cocktails made with ultra-premium Latin spirits, including two barrel-aged drinks, the Buena Vida and the Manhattan de Toro, along with a collection of 130 wines from around the world and 35 wines by the glass.

Toro Toro will open with lunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and dinner service from 5-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5-midnight Friday-Saturday. The first floor bar/lounge will be open for late night dancing from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Friday-Saturday.

Bombay Curry Co. to reopen in Del Rey

Bombay Curry Co., which closed in 2011 due to renovations of the Calvert Building at 3110 Mount Vernon Ave., Arlington will reopen by April at 2607 Mount Vernon Ave., according to owner Balraj Bahsin.

The Bombay Curry Co. will reopen up the street from its former location by April. (Photo: Balraj Bahsin)

“We decided that because we had served the neighborhood and gotten to know the people in the neighborhood for 18 years or so, it might be prudent to continue that relationship” said Bahsin, who came to the United States from New Delhi in 1986 and also owns Delhi Club in Clarendon, told Northern Virginia Magazine. “We could have opened elsewhere, but we thought it might work better in the area.”

The restaurant is finishing up remodeling and awaiting final inspections and its new sign. The menu will stay the same, although Bahsin is considering adding new items later this year. While most of the staff will be new with the re-opening, Sebastian Gonsalvez, who has been with the restaurant since 1997, will again work in the kitchen. While Bombay Curry Co. was closed, Gonsalvez cooked at a small restaurant in Maryland.

Las Placitas opening second location on upper 14th Street NW

Las Placitas will open its second location on upper 14th Street NW. (Photo: Popville)

Las Placitas, which currently has a restaurant on Barracks Row, is opening another spot at 4724 14th St. NW next to Ruff n Ready Furnishings at 14th and Decatur Streets NW.

The restaurant will serve Latin American food and has applied for a liquor license. It will feature karaoke and occasional bands. A dance floor will be in the back, which is 150 square feet. The restaurant will seat 75 including 20 seats on the rooftop patio.
 
 
 

Union Social to open in NoMa in fall

Reese Gardner and his Wooden Nickel Bar Co. will open a train station/bus terminal themed restaurant, Union Social, in NoMa in October.

Garner currently owns Copperwood Tavern, Irish Whiskey Public House, Wilson Tavern and Mighty Pint. The new restaurant and bar will be modeled after Union Station. Maggie O’Neill, who decorated Copperwood Tavern with a rustic Appalachian theme and gave Irish Whiskey Public House barrel walls and exposed-brick whiskey cubbies, will decorate the space. At Union Social, subway tile, marble, steel and cement elements will fill the 5,600-square-foot space. Architects Studio 3877 will build out the space.

Diners will be able to eat inside or outside on a tree-lined patio. The menu will be similar to the theme at Copperwood Tavern. Chef Alan Javery is developing a farm-to-table menu for Union Social with small plates and family-style dishes big enough to share. Javery, who studied at the French Culinary Institute and runs the kitchen at Copperwood Tavern, will be promoted to corporate brand chef for Wooden Nickel’s restaurants.

DC-3 begins hot dog home delivery

Starting this week, you can enjoy DC-3 hot dogs and sides from the comfort of home or without leaving your office.

The hot dog shop at 423 8th St. SE, will now deliver orders of at least $15 between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Just place your order over the phone, pay by credit card and wait for your hot dogs to arrive. The delivery area is limited to a one mile radius of the restaurant on Barracks Row. The area goes as far north as Lincoln Park and as far south as the Navy Yard and Nationals Park between Potomac Avenue and The Capitol.

DC-3, part of the Matchbox Food Group, serves a variety of specialty dogs inspired by the regions that make them famous such as the Philly cheesesteak style all-beef dog with cheese whiz and sautéed onions; the classic Chicago 7 topped with yellow mustard, tomato, dill pickle, neon relish, raw onions and celery; or the Cincinnati Coney with shredded cheddar, onions and mustard. Any hot dog, chips and fountain soda costs $7.89. The restaurant also serves fried Oreos, cotton candy and fried pickles.

Pier 7/Channel Inn closing at end of March

Pier 7 restaurant will close in the wake of the Southwest Waterfront’s redevelopment. (Photo: eventseeker.com)

With the contruction of The Wharf and other redevelopment underway at the Southwest Waterfront, Pier 7 Restaurant and the Channel Inn are closing after more than 40 years. The seafood restaurant at 650 Water St. SW was known for live jazz. Their last day will be Mar. 31.

Much hasn’t changed inside Pier 7 since it opened in 1973. Ship replicas, antique maps, maritime photographs and working steam engine are part of the decor. All of the restaurants contents, including its its 70s era decor, will be on view at the restaurant on April 18 from noon-4 p.m. The auction will begin to close on April 21, according to Rasmus Auctions, which is administering the sale.

West End progressive dinner kicks off in April

Beginning Apr. 2, four West End restaurants are joining forces for a progressive dinner series, West End Wednesday, every Wednesday evening. Guests will walk between Blue Duck Tavern, Marcel’s, Ris and Westend Bistro beginning at 6:30 p.m. to sample dishes from each eateries’ chefs, sommeliers and mixologists.

The dinners can accommodate 12 people, who will dine together at a communal table within each of the four restaurants. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time at http://www.giftrocker.com/westendwednesdays/ for $100 per person. Each restaurant will serve diners a specialty small plates that will include an hors d’oeurve, a seafood appetizer, a meat selection and a dessert. The gourmet experience includes pairings of wine, beer or specialty cocktails at each stop, and guests will be escorted to each location by one of the hosting restaurant staff members.

The inaugural dinner will begin at Marcel’s, move on to Ris, then Westend Bistro and finish at Blue Duck Tavern. Both the restaurant lineup and menu will change monthly.

Dancing Crab closed for renovation

The Dancing Crab at 4611 Wisconsin Ave. in Tenlytown, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, is getting a major facelift. While they’ve already fixed up the patio, the inside is now getting a complete redo too. Work started in late November so expect significant changes since they aren’t re-opening until late summer 2014.

Et Viola! names new pastry chef

Alex Malaise is the new pastry chef for Et Viola!, the Belgian/French bistro 5120 MacArthur Blvd. NW. Chef Malaise is from Liege, Belgium and has cooked in several Michelin two- and three-star restaurants in Europe before coming to D.C.

Alex Malaise is the new pastry chef at Et Voila! (Photo: Culinaria)

Malaise began his culinary career in 1995, serving under the tutelage of Brussels chef Pierre Wynants at Michelin three-star Comme Chez Soi. He next worked at Michelin two-star L’Ecailler du Palais Royal in Lausanne, Switzerland and then at Michelin two-star La Villa Lorraine. Malaise went on to serve as chef at the well-known Maison Felix in Brussels which earned a 15/20 rating from Galut & Millau. Then in 2005, Malaise opened his own restaurant in Brussels, Les Flaneries Gourmandes. Galut & Millau gave his restaurant the Dessert of the Year Award in 2012, as well as a prestigious15/20 rating.

El Voila!’s new dessert selections include a blood orange tart with frangipane pistachio and orange zest ice cream; a croquette of apple with honey ice cream; and a poached pear in krick beer gratin with a white cheese and meyer lemon foam. The menu will also feature some of Malaise’s specials such as a banana and ganache macaroon and coconut crème caramel.

White House chef leaves for New York

White House executive pastry chef Bill Yosses is leaving in June to move to New York to teach children and adults about eating better, the New York Times reported this week. Yosses has served Presidents Bush and Obama since 2007.

Bill Yosses (right), who is stepping down as the White House pastry chef, described the offerings for an upcoming formal dinner to Michelle Obama and culinary students in 2009. (Pool photo by Kevin Dietsch)

Yosses — dubbed “The Crustmaster” by President Barack Obama for his pie skills — told the Times he is hoping to put together “a group and foundation of like-minded creative people” to promote delicious food as healthy food. He offered no other details, but said it would be devoted to food literacy from the bottom up.

Yosses, 60, he is moving to to New York to be with his husband, Charlie Jandusay Fabella Jr., a teacher. The two married in Washington in 2011, but “for the 11 years my husband and I have known each other, we have lived in different cities,” he told the Times.

During his years there, he has created the annual gingerbread version of the White House at Christmas. Last year, it was placed on a full-size fireplace made entirely of springerle cookies, the traditional anise-flavored treats eaten at Christmas in Bavaria and Austria. It took about 120 to create the display.

“Though I am incredibly sad to see Bill Yosses go, I am also so grateful to him for his outstanding work, not just as the White House pastry chef producing the most delectable creations for everything from birthday celebrations to state visits, but also as a key partner helping us get the White House Kitchen Garden off the ground and building a healthier future for our next generation,” first lady Michelle Obama said in a statement.