Image: Gunnar Smoliansky, Sodermalm, Stockholm (1956).
For the dining world the news of the week was the news of the world, as the pandemic threatens a large number of businesses and is a huge blow to those in the service industry. On our website, by pure coincidence, we posted reviews of two places that do take-out. There were no changes to the recommended restaurant list for D.C. this week. Read on for the week that was.
Reviews:
Booeymonger – the decades-long run of this mainstay is well-deserved. Mock if you want, we all crave its sandwiches from time to time.
Stachowski’s Market – the excellent butcher shop sells Augean sandwiches. Don’t let the hugeness distract from their quality.
News:
As noted above, the biggest news is the impact of the COVID-19 virus. The Union Square restaurants (Maialino Mare locally) and Momofuku restaurants are shutting down for the time being. Many others are adjusting hours and menus. Some surprising places like Rose’s Luxury, Bad Saint and Reverie are ramping up to-go orders. We suggest, if possible you throw a few buck the way of your favorite establishments and service industry folks. This could be brutal.
Last week we learned Chef Patrick Cockrell is taking over at Brasserie Liberté. Cockrell came from Mintwood Place and they have announced – per Tom’s chat – that Harper McClure will be taking over there. Tom reports: SPEAKING OF MINTWOOD PLACE, the Adams Morgan restaurant has tapped a new chef, Harper McClure. A familiar name to local diners, he was briefly at Pembroke in Dupont Circle (“not the right fit”) but better-known for his time at Le Diplomate, where he served as chef de cuisine, and before that, Brabo in Old Town and the late Vidalia in Washington.
Jonathan Allen II takes over as head chef at Cork.
Around the Blogs:
Sabrina Medora interviews Rose Previte at Un-Plated. Considering the glow of success around Previte it is interesting to hear her talk about how difficult it was.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen of Inside Hook talks to the guy behind the new Silver Lyan cocktail bar in Penn Quarter.
Finally, in an ongoing series, we point out out-of-date Zagat entries. This week for Little Sesame which Zagat says is a “white-brick-walled counter serve located in the basement of Dupont Circle’s DGS Delicatessen.” Note that DGS is out of business and Little Sesame is no longer underground.
Eventually this will pass and we can go back to encouraging everyone to dine out and enjoy the great restaurants and bars D.C. has. Until then, be safe and start making a list of your favorite places that you will go to as soon as you can.
If you are social distancing, teleworking or otherwise bored, we encourage you to go down the rabbit hole of our dining guide listings and reviews. There is also a four post analysis of the Washingtonian Top 100 to pass the time (HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE).
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