Tag Archives: restaurant openings

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Mayfair & Pine Opens in Glover Park

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Mayfair & Pine Opening
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

DC has Top Chef alums Mike Isabella, Carla Hall and Spike Mendelsohn. And now Emily Sprissler is joining the ranks.

The Top Chef season 2 alum opened her own restaurant, Mayfair & Pine last Friday. You’ll find a British influence at the self-described “family-friendly gastropub” in Glover Park in dishes like fish & chips, shepherd’s pie and beef wellington nibbles. A long, dark wood bar makes the space feel even more intimate.

Mayfair & Pine is located at 2218 Wisconsin Avenue, NW and is open Tuesday through Sunday.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Chef Emily Sprissler of Mayfair & Pine
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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RJ Cooper’s Rogue 24 Opens July 27

Photo courtesy of
‘The Proper Way to Use a Knife’
courtesy of ‘Sprezzatura Images’

The long-talked-about and much anticipated Rogue 24 by RJ Cooper is slated to open on July 27. The 52-seat restaurant near the convention center will feature a theatrical open kitchen in the middle of the dining room, and will offer either a 16-course or 24-course menu. And while there’s no bar, per se, for you to wait at when the restaurant is undoubtedly packed when it first opens, there is a 14-seat “salon” where you can order cocktails and tastings a la carte.

“Rogue 24 is both a studio and stage for dedicated culinarians and sommeliers to have an immediate impact on guests with their knowledge and commitment to excellence,” said chef and owner RJ Cooper in a media release. “For guests seeking an intimate dining experience, we’ve turned the traditional restaurant inside out and brought the kitchen to the guests. Each table is a chef’s table, and each course is carefully constructed to build upon the flavors of the previous course, guiding the taste buds on an unexpected journey.”

Not only is the restaurant owned and led by RJ Cooper, former Chef de Cuisine at Vidalia and 2007 James Beard Foundation award recipient for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic, but Cooper is bringing a team of all-stars to the restaurant as well. Derek Brown of the Columbia Room will be in charge of the cocktail and mixology program, and Matthew Carroll, who was previously the wine director at 2941 and the sommelier at the Inn at Little Washington, will serve as the GM and sommelier. Not a shabby lineup at all, eh?

You can start making reservations on July 14, and note that you’ll need to give your credit card to hold a reservation. My advice is to get your dialing fingers ready since I’m betting reservations will be snatched up quickly…

Adventures, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Burgers, Wings & Beer; Georgetown’s latest additions

Photo courtesy of
‘Ted’s spicy wings’
courtesy of ‘rick’

This week two new restaurants open along Georgetown’s posh M Street and hope to fill some of the gaps within the neighborhoods food scene.

Opening on Thursday, the long time M Street Italian staple, News Cafe, re-brands and revamps its menu as Thunder Burger & Bar. According to Vox Populi’s exclusive interview with Thunder Burger & Bar’s GM Ryan Clarke, the establishment will offer “a fully rounded-out menu, but 95% of the focus will be on the burger.” Clarke hopes to differentiate the eatery from the  plethora of DC burger places by bringing “quality burgers back to a sit-down restaurant with a sit-down experience.” Not quite sure this is a winning strategy, especially with all the other nearby restaurants that offer fantastic burgers (J. Paul’s, Clyde’s, Martin’s, Rugby, etc.) but it will definitely be an improvement from News Cafe.

Further down the road at 3291 M Street, Georgetown Wing Co. has a soft opening this week, which features (not surprisingly) wings. The restaurant has a fantastic beer selection, because what goes better with wings than beer, and they’ll feature $1.50 Miller Lites and $3 Sam Adams Seasonal and Sierra Nevada bottles. According to their twitter profile, for Friday’s World Cup kick off, they’ll be expanding their menu to include Crêpe bunch, mimosa & draft specials. Nom.

Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed
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Blue Ridge Opens Today

blue ridge logo

Good news for Glover Park residents, as they’ve all got a new eat place in the ‘hood as of today. Blue Ridge, which seats 185 guests inside and in its unique rear garden and deck, is housed in a carefully restored century-old row house in Glover Park, and will showcase a menu that embraces seasonal, sustainable, and locally sourced ingredients from the Mid-Atlantic. Blue Ridge will offer guests lunch and dinner daily, with weekend brunch both Saturday and Sunday. (Three cheers for SATURDAY brunch, love it.)

“Barton’s approach to the Blue Ridge menu – straightforward, unfussy, and ingredient-driven – fits perfectly with the mission of creating a restaurant that could have existed 100 years ago,” says Owner and Managing Partner Eli Hengst. “There are no ‘essences’ or superfluous explorations on the Blue Ridge menu, just honest food and cocktails rooted in American tradition with a simple, rustic design as the canvas for good food and conversation.”

Uniquely down home in both food and decor, Blue Ridge is a welcome addition to the DC dining scene. The dining room incorporates reclaimed church pews, as well as custom dining and farm tables made by Ken Hoffman, a local vendor at the historic Eastern Market in Washington, DC. I’ll have a first look for you soon, I’m sure, but until then, let me know what you think in the comments.