Jaunted - Tag: New DC Restaurants

Washington: Sushi With A Twist

BS — 2009-01-13T12:30:47-05:00

Inauguration party people looking for DC's newest hot spot may want to check out Sei, a trendy little sushi lounge that opened just off the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route on Monday.

From the owners of popular Asian fusion eatery Oya, Sei has a standard sushi-and-sake menu along with some out-there twists like a Caesar roll (romaine, crunchy tofu, anchovies and Caesar dressing) and a fish-and-chips roll (flounder, malt vinegar, wasabi tartar and fries). French fries in sushi! Count us in. Meanwhile, those tired of the whole avant garde sushi trend can snack on Asian pork tacos or sake-cured cod.

The 50-seat restaurant is looking appropriately chic for its Penn Quarter locale, with gold leaf, mellow amber lighting and white ostrich damask classing the place up.

We know high-end sushi in a lounge-y setting isn't exactly breaking news for the DC dining scene (see Caf� Asia, Geisha, and a bunch of others), but the chefs at Sei hail from Adams Morgan standby Perry's, so this one arrives with some street cred.

Related Stories:
· Sei [Official Site]
· Sei Opens Today [metrocurean]
· New DC Restaurants coverage [Official Sites]

[Photo: Sei]

Washington: New DC Restaurant: Adour

BS — 2008-10-31T12:00:05-05:00

While everyone else is in the mood for cheap eats these days, DC is said to be recession-proof, since everyone there works for the federal government or one of the political parties, and none of those are going out of business anytime soon. (Well, the Republicans might be on the verge.)

For now, DC politicos of all stripes are still enjoying their power lunches and dinners, so they're pretty excited to finally get a restaurant from culinary powerhouse Alain Ducasse. The French cooking idol behind New York's Adour and 21 other restaurants around the world recently opened a second outpost of Adour at the St. Regis Hotel on K Street.

The restaurant is as opulent as you might expect, with a David Rockwell-designed interior complete with stainless steel wine vaults. Ducasse's signature French cuisine doesn’t do any new tricks here, but the duck- and seafood-heavy menu of $40-plus entrees should keep DC's expense accounts busy.

Related Stories:
· Adour [Official Site]
· About That New Eiffel Tower Restaurant [Jaunted]
· New DC Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Adour]

Washington, DC: New DC Restaurant: Founding Farmers

BS — 2008-09-19T12:00:30-05:00

The Capital has a new temple of organic-local-sustainable-seasonal eating: Founding Farmers restaurant, which opened this week on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Chef Graham Duncan's restaurant was designed to meet LEED green standards, and the food celebrates local farmers and considers carbon footprints at every turn.

Washington, DC: New DC Restaurant: Nando's Peri-Peri

BS — 2008-08-28T12:30:18-05:00

Fast food restaurants usually start in America and then make their slow, unhealthy crawl across the globe, so it's nice to see the rare occurrence of an international chain encroaching on these shores. Nando's Peri-Peri is South Africa's most popular chain restaurant--well, after KFC and McDonald's--and recently opened its first stateside branch in DC's Gallery Place neighborhood.

The namesake Portuguese-East African peri-peri sauce is made from a spicy red chili and can be found on tables throughout South Africa and Mozambique; it's smothered on grilled chicken here. The menu has been Americanized just a bit, with additions like a steak sandwich and a portobello wrap, but the browned spicy chicken is certifiably how they do it in SA.

Need another reason to pass by this crowded neighborhood's other fast food options? Nando's has Portuguese beer, and wine by the glass and bottle.

Related Stories:
· Nando's Peri-Peri [Official Site]
· New DC Restaurant: Commonwealth Gastropub [Jaunted]
· Washington, DC Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Nando's]

Washington, DC: New DC Restaurant: Commonwealth Gastropub

BS — 2008-08-21T10:30:14-05:00

Northwest DC's Columbia Heights--which only two years ago was a dead zone for restaurants, save a scattering of Salvadoran holes-in-the-wall--is suddenly the District's hottest new spot for eats. New restaurants in the neighborhood include comfort food spot The Heights, hipster bar and grill Red Derby, brick oven pizzeria Red Rocks and Latino tapas restaurant Rumbero's.