Chef Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery and Bernaise and Vinoda Basnayake of Kabin opened their new speakeasy July 8 on the second floor of 1337 Connecticut Ave. NW in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.

The Sheppard, a new speakeasy by Spike Mendelsohn and Vinoda Basnayake, is marked only by an illuminated green light when it is open.
(Photo: The Sheppard)

The Sheppard is named for Sen. Morris Sheppard, a Texas teetotaler known as the father of Prohibition who authored The Sheppard Bone-Dry Act of 1917 banning alcohol in the District. Like many speakeasies of the era, The Sheppard’s only marking feature is a green light on the exterior of the building that will be illuminated when open. Upon entering the lobby, guests will be escorted to an elevator that opens directly into the 35-seat space.

The décor embraces a cocktail lounge setting with a bar that seats 12, a few booth draped in red velvet curtains, dim lighting, banquettes, chandeliers and photos from D.C.’s prohibition era including one of Sheppard.

The drink list was designed by mixologist Jack Caminos. He came up about 14 rotating cocktails including modernist concoctions and punches that are priced from $12 to $18. Some of the opening drinks include The Cigar, made with mezcal, rye whiskey and ; the Huître, a foam cocktail designed to ; and the BCBG, described as an “unaged Armagnac cocktail that resembles a mildly fruity version of a Manhattan served in a sphere of ice.” Mini bottle service is offered after 11 p.m.

Mendelsohn has created a sparse bar snacks menu featuring items such as Sriracha deviled eggs with caviar confetti, ibérico ham and a cheese plate. Key lime pie in a jar is offered for dessert.

The Sheppard is open from 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m.-3 a.m. Friday and Saturday 5 p.m.-3 a.m. It does not accept reservations and has a no photo policy, so no selfies allowed.

Bastille restaurant celebrates French revolution

On July 13, Bastille Restaurant and Wine Bar located at 1201 N. Royal Street in Old Town Alexandria will serve a special three-course $39 prix fixe menu from 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. in honor of Bastille Day, France’s revolution. Items are also available separately a la carte.

Bastille restaurant in Old Town will serve a special Bastille Day dinner on Sunday. (Photo: Rick McNees)

The first course includes choices such as beignets of shrimp, corn and basil served with rouille aioli; gazpacho with basil and olive oil; fresh burrata cheese and compressed melons with pistachios and olive oil; warm goat cheese cromesqui and baby arugula with local peaches and pecans; Nicoise salad with green beans, tomatoes, peppers, olives, anchovies, hard boiled egg and preserved lemon anchovy vinaigrette; and a charcuterie plate of the day.

Entrees include moules tangier served with pommes frites; mussels with harissa-ras el hanout broth with peppers, eggplants, onions and fennel; Amish chicken infused with rosemary, garlic, lemon and herbs with sea salt roasted fingerling potatoes, green beans, corn and tomatoes; Hudson Valley duck confit with grilled local peaches, herb and sea salt roasted fingerling potatoes, and a honey lavender sauce; a Virginia grass-fed beef burger topped with duck confit, foie gras, onion marmalade, roasted garlic aioli, lettuce and tomato served with pommes frites; or risotto of organic carnarolli rice with corn, roasted garlic and basil.

Desserts include Valrhona chocolate pot de crème with blueberry compote and Chantilly cream; a lemon tart with lemon curd, meringue crisps and local raspberries; vanilla bean crème brûlée with Madagascar vanilla bean infused custard; citrus cantaloupe panacotta with compressed cantaloupe, yogurt sorbet and almond crumble; or peach melba almond profiteroles with peach ice cream, peach compote, raspberry coulis.

The full menu is available here.

Quill restaurant cooks up old-fashioned Sunday suppers

The Quill restaurant at The Jefferson, DC, 1200 16th St. NW, is serving up old-fashioned prix fixe Sunday suppers with favorites from your mother’s chicken to freshly baked apple pie.

The Quill restaurant at The Jefferson DC hotel is serving up homestyle Sunday Suppers. (Photo: Shayla Martin)

Sunday suppers mean family meals around a large table, sharing comfort food. From 5-10 p.m. each Sunday, the Quill will serve its three-course dinners with one glass of for $35. The menu has included an heirloom tomato salad with grilled ciabatta, cucumber, red onion and a white wine vinegar dressing, quiche lorraine and a crispy soft shell crab with spicy avocado mousse, cucumber and cherry salad. Enjoy a crispy funnel cake with strawberries and whipped cream or maybe key lime pie for dessert.

The menu will change weekly and be based on seasonal availability. Call 202-448-2300 to find out what is on this week’s menu.

Et Voila! celebrates Belgian National Day

Et Voila!, 5120 MacArthur Blvd. NW in Georgtown, will celebrate Belgian National Day commemorating the day Leopold I took the constitutional oath as the first king of Belgian.

Et Voila! celebrates Belgian National Day with a week long special menu. (Photo: Shawn Keeley)

From July 14-21, executive chef and owner Claudio Pirollo will be serving a three-course, prix fixe menu paired with Belgian beers for $39.95.

The menu begins with mussel casserole paired with Hoegaarden Original White Ale followed by guinea hen served with braised endive and ricotta gnocchi sauce diable paired with Gouden Carolus Classic. For dessert, dinners will be served newly appointed pastry chef Alex Malaise’s trio of chocolate, gianduja tart, chocolate speculoos ice cream and chocolate beignet paired with Lindemans Framboise Lambic.

The special menu wil be served from 5-9:30 p.m. Monday and from 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Silver Spring’s Urban Butcher launches happy hour

Urban Butcher, a restaurant, butcher shop and meat cellar located at 8226 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, added a happy hour on July 2.

Daily happy hour at the Urban Butcher features the happy hour meat cellar board for $15. (Photo: Po Chi Fung Photography)

“Summer brings warm weather and a spirit of celebration,” said chef and owner Raynold Mendizabal. “With our daily and extended weekend happy hour, we hope to provide the community with a place to enjoy good company and good times — on a regular basis.”

Happy Hour — served at the bar, upcoming patio and communal table — will run from 5-7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Happy hour specialty cocktails priced at $5 each include white sangria, the Dirty Gibson, a lavender margarita and Boulevardier. Also, there will be $5 select wines by the glass and $5 rotating draft beer. The menu includes items such as beef empanadas and chimichurri ($4), butcher’s meatballs and melted provolone ($7), smoked bluefish rillette ($5), charred country bread with house pancetta ($9) and the happy hour meat cellar board with one cured mean, one sausage, one salami, one cheese and one paté chosen by the chef ($15).

There will also be $10 sandwiches served with fries that include prosciutto cotto and provolone, thick-cut house pastrami, hickory bourbon pulled pork BBQ and smoked mozzarella and the Butcher’s Burger made will all prime local brisket ground daily.

Marcel’s offers kids’ menu before Lion King at Kennedy Center

Chef Robert Wiedmaier’s white-tablecloth restaurant Marcel’s, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, is serving its first pre-theater children’s menu from 5-7 p.m. through Aug. 17 before the curtain rises for the six-time Tony Award-winning smash Broadway hit Disney’s The Lion King at The Kennedy Center.

Marcel’s will serve a pre-theater menu for kids. (Photo: Cuisinivity)

Children 12 and under can be king for a night while enjoying the $36 pre-theater menu. You won’t find Pumbaa and Timon’s bug buffet, but children can enjoy an array of cub-friendly dishes with entrée selections such as house-made grilled cheese sliders with tomato dipping sauce, crispy chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce or a petite filet mignon with French fries. For dessert, the little theatergoing guests can enjoy vanilla ice cream with chocolate “mud” sauce before raising a glass to “Hakuna Matata” with a “cubtail” tropical fruit punch.

After feasting like Simba, complimentary on-site ground transportation will get you and the whole pride past the stampede and to The Kennedy Center before curtain call.

Samuel Kim is 1789 Resturant’s new executive chef

Samuel Kim is the new executive chef at Clyde’s Restaurant Group’s historic 1789 Restaurant located at 1226 36th St. NW in Georgetown.

Samuel Kim is 1789 Restaurants new executive chef. (Photo: 1789 Restaurant)

Kim most recently served as the executive sous chef at Colicchio and Sons, a position he held since October 2011. Colicchio and Sons earned the 2013 Trip Advisor award for Top Restaurant in the USA and Number Two in the World during his tenure. His appointment at 1789 Restaurant brings him full circle as he began his culinary career in 2004, when he convinced Ris Lacoste to hire him at 1789.

“We are thrilled to have Samuel back with us at 1789,” said Tom Meyer, president of Clyde’s Restaurant Group, in a press release. “He has a well-grounded approach to modern contemporary cooking which fits perfectly at 1789.”

Kim’s first career was in finance. He earned a BS in finance the University of Maryland, then moved to New York to work on the commodities desk with an investment bank. However, the culinary field was his true passion, and he found his place in the kitchen at 1789 Restaurant as chef de partie rotisseur. He was later promoted to work on the opening culinary team as a sous chef at Clyde’s Gallery Place in 2005. In August 2007, he returned to New York City to accept a position at The Modern, where he worked for three years before joining Tom Colicchio’s Craft Restaurant Group at the Chelsea restaurant, Colicchio and Sons. While working in New York City, Kim also spent time working in other prestigious kitchens including Per Se and Jean George.

St. Patrick’s Day is Monday and that means corned beef and cabbage or shepherd’s pie and green beer at many of the DMV’s Irish restaurants and pubs with many others getting into the spirit too. You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy the festivities. Many celebrated all weekend, but we’ve compiled a list of Monday’s St. Paddy’s Day festivities.

Green beer will flow Monday at many area restaurants and pubs for St. Patrick’s Day. (Photo: coupons.com)

Bar Pilar, 1833 14th St. NW, has corned lamb tongue and cabbage sliders for $7 and green eggs and ham deviled eggs with lard replacing the mayonnaise in the yolk mixture then turned green (with magic and leprechaun dreams, according to a press release) then topped with bacon for $2.

Café Saint Ex, 1847 14th St. NW, is offering twice baked potato shepherd’s pie for $6, braised lamb and Guinness stew for $8, Great Lakes Irish ale for $6 and Jameson shots for $6.

The Irish Whisky Public House, 1207 19th St. NW, will at 8 a.m. and serve $5 breakfast sandwiches and $5 Irish coffees until 10 a.m. so you can get an Irish start to your workday. There will be a patio party all day with Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks, Miller Lite, Jameson and Baileys.

The Dubliner, 4 F St. NW, opens at 10 a.m. with music starting at 11 a.m. on two stages and going all day long. Musicians include John McGrath, Morris Minor and Jimmy Raferty & Paddy Halligan.

Duffy’s Irish Pub, 2106 Vermont Ave. NW, opens at 11 a.m. with a $5 cover charge. There will be free T-shirts while they last. Green beer will be flowing with green Jello shooters, bagpipers, and performances by the Caukin School of Irish Dance. There will be $5 Guinness from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. with Irish tunes on the juke box all day long.

Fado Irish Pub, 808 7th St. NW in Chinatown, has been celebrating since the beginning of the month, but on St. Paddy’s Day, you can get breakfast and a pint beginning at 8 a.m. The band 40 Thieves will perform at 1 p.m. and Lloyd Dobbler Effect at 8 p.m. A $10 cover charge starts at 2 p.m. Admission is 21+ all day long.

Flannigan’s Harp & Fiddle, 4844 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, opens at 11 a.m. with Kevin James performing, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and the 19th Street Band from 4 p.m.-closing. The menu features corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips, lamb stew, shepherd pie, steak and Guinness pie, and Irish whiskey chicken.

McFadden’s Restaurant and Lounge, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave., is kegs and eggs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with $3 beers, mimosas and Irish coffees; and $8 yards of beer all day long. There’s no cover charge with college I.D.

Murphy’s Irish Pub, 713 King St., Alexandria, opens at 9 a.m. with live music starting at 10 a.m. Musicians include Pat Carroll, Rocky, and Ronan and the Ravers. Irish dancing by the Boyle School of Irish Dance at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

O’Faláin’s, 20921 Davenport Dr. Sterling, will be serving kegs and eggs from 8-10 a.m. and live music from 11 a.m.-midnight.

The Old Brogue, 706C Walker Rd., Great Falls, will open at 10 a.m. with Snuggery’s Irish Concerts, which include lunch or dinner featuring Pennywhistle from County Donegal, Ireland, at 11:15 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. ($35), 3:45 and 6 p.m. ($40) or after 8 p.m. ($45). Traditional Irish beers will be at all three bars with live entertainment by Ted Garber from 1:30-5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.-last call. No one under 21. $10 cover charge includes an official 2014 button.

Carolina Kitchen opens in D.C.

The Carolina Kitchen opened its first restaurant in the District at 2350 Washington Place NE on Thursday. The 6,000 square-foot restaurant will serve authentic Southern comfort food for lunch and dinner in the new Rhode Island Row, a mixed-use development located just steps from the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood metro station.

Chef and owner Lance London’s menu is inspired by his grandmother Ma Pearl’s recipes. This location features a custom glass oyster bar.

Appetizers include southern fried lobster tail hand-breaded, golden fried and served with dipping sauce; crab claws steamed and seasoned, served with warm butter; fried green tomatoes and pan fried asparagus hand-breaded with parmesean cheese and country fried served with spicy Creole dipping sauce; Old Bay, grilled Guinness BBQ, grilled jerk, spicy fried and spicy Thai chili Rocky Mount wings.

Ma Pearl’s specialties include Creole grilled salmon with a New Orleans-style cream sauce with lump crabmeat and shrimp served with garlic mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and collard greens; grilled baby back ribs basted with Carolina Kitchen’s BBQ sauce and served with baked beans, coleslaw and Cajun fries; southern fried red snapper served with collard greens and potato salad; and smothered chicken served over rice covered in grandma’s gravy with blackeyed peas and southern style green beans. Home-style meals include jerk chicken with rice; mom’s meatloaf; blackened catfish; shrimp and grits, and mama’s chicken stew with rice.

On the dessert menu, you’ll find southern classics such as banana pudding with fresh bananas topped with whipped cream and wafers; granny’s sweet potato pie; and a sweet potato milkshake.

The Carolina Kitchen is open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-midnight.

Dolcezza’s gelato factory opens to the public next Friday

Dolcezza’s new gelato factory and coffee lab at 550 Penn St. NE, a block north of Union Market, opens to the public on Mar. 21.

The 4,000 square-foot facility began producing all of the local chain’s gelato and sorbetto in December, when it relocated from the original Georgetown factory. Now, guests can visit the factory to get fresh-churned, untempered gelato and sorbetto, with five or six flavors being produced daily. Owner Robb Duncan will also debut three new flavors: Thai coconut milk with chocolate chili crumble, Singing Dog vanilla with rosemary brown sugar and Valrhona chocolate with housemade peanut butter topped with salted Hubs Virginia peanuts and whipped cream.

The open house will be from noon-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-7 p.m. on Sunday. Free tours will be offered from 2-4 p.m. each day (and daily thereafter). Pre-packaged pints, normally $10.50, will be half off.

The factory has a 20-person bar where you can enjoy your gelato while watching the production process or sip a seasonal Stumptown Coffee from the coffee lab.

Dolcezza will also open a sixth gelato shop at 14th and P Streets NW in the former Mid City Deli. Taylor Gourmet was going to open something there, but has decided to sublet to Dolcezza. The new location will have a to-go window and a new sundae bar. Look for it to have an apothecary theme, which was the original use of the building, and to open in mid-May.

Bastille serves up Bordeaux wine dinner

Chefs Christophe and Michelle Poteaux of Bastille, 1201 N. Royal St. in Old Town Alexandria, will serve a five-course dinner featuring the Bordeaux wines of Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg on Mar. 27 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The dinner is $129 ($59 without the wine pairings) plus tax and gratuity.

The von Neipperg family owns and manages the winery, which is comprised of eight separate Bordeaux vineyards.

The menu begins with an aperitif of an amuse bouche with a Lillet spritzer followed by sea scallops with lobster reduction and cream of Jerusalem artichokes paired with Clos Marsalette, Pessac Leognan Blanc, 2010; housemade moullard duck charcuterie: prosciutto, rillettes, confit gizzards with Clos Marsalette, Pessac Leognan Rouge, 2008; grass-fed Angus strip loin “au poivre” and cauliflower gratin paired with Chateau d’Aiguilhe, Cotes de Castillon, 2005; and roasted Merino lamb rack, jus naturel, canelini beans and sunchoke ragout with Clos L’Oratoire, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005. For dessert, a honey bavarois with stewed spiced apricots and pistachio will be paired with Chateau Guiraud, Sauternes 2010.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 703-519-3776 or on the website.

Box lunches for the cure

Bearnaise, Chef Spike Mendelshon’s French bistro at 313 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, has teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure against breast cancer to offer free box lunches on Apr. 2.

Anyone who registers for the 25th annual Global Race for the Cure scheduled for May 10 on the National Mall between now and Mar. 26 and use the code SPIKE will receive a free box lunch from Bearnaise and $5 off race registration.

The box lunches will include Le Parisian with French ham, creamy Brie and cornichons on a fresh baguette or Le Provence with roasted vegetables, goat cheese and a balsamic glaze on a fresh baguette. Both are served with salade maison, handcut French chips and sweet pink macaroons. Lunches can be picked up Apr. 2 between 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Beer vs. wine smack-down

Like Ali and Frazier, beer and wine lovers have been going head-to-head forever and a day. Now, Breaux Vineyards will take on Flying Dog Brewery at The Daily Dish, 8301 Grubb Road, Silver Spring, at 6 p.m. on Mar. 25, and you can be the judge.

Chef Jerry Hollinger has created a menu to pair with either libation chosen by Zena Polin at the $65, four round dinner with giveaways and special surprises from the champion.

Round 1 features Bloodline Blood Orange IPA Ale vs. rosé paired with seared diver scallop topped with candied blood orange, Jerusalem artichoke and celery root soup shooter and smoked capon on sweet potato chip topped with feta and red onion relish. Round 2 includes appetizers of sea bass ceviche and Belgian endive, beet chips paired with El Dorado Single Hop Imperial IPA vs. Jolie Blond Seyval Blanc with a time out of wild boar chili, flageolet beans, shiitake mushrooms, garlic chives, poblano peppers and red onion habanero dill cream with Mango Habanero IPA vs. Jennifer’s Jambalaya.

Round 3 brings lamb osso bucco braised in roasted coffee beans, anise and green tomatoes over wheat berries, charred onion and kale with roasted turnip, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts with merlot lamb jus reduction paired with Kujo Imperial Coffee Stoudt vs. Equation X Merlot. The final round ends with banana strawberry flambé over vanilla bean ice cream with Vineyard Blonde vs. Chère Marie Vidal Blanc (made with Vidal Blanc grape juice from Breaux Vineyard).

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 301-588-6300 or on online.

G to serve sandwiches at Nationals Stadium

G, Chef Mike Isabella’s sandwich shop at 2201 14th St. NW, will be selling four of its top-selling sandwiches — the chicken parm, the Italian hero, the meatless roasted cauliflower and Drewno, a housemade kielbasa sandwich — along with a rotating “sandwich of the homestand” at National’s baseball games this year. Also on the menu will be lamb chili and peanut brittle.

The stand will be located on the main concourse in right field near the first base gate behind Section 136.

G joins other local favorites including Ben’s Chili Bowl, Hard Times Café, Shake Shack and others.

Doukénie Winery wins awards

Purcellville’s Doukénie Winery won nine awards and medals recently. Doukénie received two silver medals for their 2010 Dionysus and 2011 Chardonnay from the Virginia Wineries Association, along with five bronze medals, as part of the 2014 Governor’s Cup.

The Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Buying Guide rated Doukénie’s 2012 Viognier “85” and the 2011 Chardonnay “86” points and they will be included in the April issue. The buying guide includes wine ratings and reviews of new releases and selected older wines evaluated by the magazine’s editors and other tasters.

“More and more winemakers in Virginia are releasing exciting wines that come with finesse and a sense of regional identity. Not only are winemakers releasing high-quality standards like Viognier and Bordeaux-style red blends, but they are also successfully crafting wines from more eccentric grapes like Pinotage and Nebbiolo,” said Andrew Hoover, a reviewer for Wine Enthusiast magazine and one of the judges at the Virginia Governor’s Cup.

Doukénie’s 2011 Sauvignon Blac won a silver in the 2013 Grand Harvest Awards from Vinyard & Winery magazine and bronzes for its 2011 Chardonnay and 2012 Pinot Grigio.

The winery’s 2012 Pinot Grigio and 2012 Sauvignon Blanc won silver medals in the Winemaker’s Challenge, an international wine competition.