Image: Buster Keaton and Dorothy Sebastian for Spite Marriage, 1929. Photo by Ruth Harriet Louise.

If you are looking for canaries in the coal mine of the D.C. dining scene, this week had more than a few dead canaries.  But there were also signs of hope and some things that are strange.  Let’s start with hope.

Hopeful signs:

Several places re-opened or opened for sit-down dining including:

Tosca – re-opened

Ris – opened up sit-down service

Primrose – opened up its “Wine Garden”

Mola – added sidewalk dining

Cork – added sidewalk dining

Pearl Dive – added sidewalk dining

Teaism (Dupont) – opened for take-out

Tiger Fork and Columbia Room (w/ Your Only Friend food) took over Blagden Alley for outdoor seating.

Thip Khao – opened for sidewalk dining

Brothers & Sisters – The lobby of the Line is now doing business as an all-day Japanese cafe called Cafe Spoken.

Tail Up Goat/Reveler’s Hour – Opened a wine shop in the Reveler’s Hour space during the day.

Others that are not in our dining guide but are notable:

Coconut Club, L’Annexe, and several places at Union Market have access to a large seating area.

A few new places announced they are opening, including:

Pearl’s Bagels by the Convention Center

Nineteen-Fourteen – A Vietnamese spot in the old Dino’s Grotto with a life-size street train on the ground floor.  Not sure why they did not call it Street Train.

There is a Ghost Food Hall coming to Glover Park.

Sad:

Chef Kwame Onwuachi has left Kith/Kin.  Like Kevin Tien leaving Emilie’s it is not clear how the place will adapt – if at all – without its guiding spirit.  There is a financial motivation to not change the name, but it does seem like there is an opportunity to eventually find another talented young chef and let them shine.

Capitol Hill mainstay Tortilla Coast said they will almost certainly shutdown.  Other recent closed for good places include B Too on 14th.

People continue to have difficulty not losing their shit.

Strange:

A Vegas-based outpost called Diablo’s Cantina is moving into National Harbor.

A Jackie O themed place is coming to Navy Yard.

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We have 300 restaurants in D.C. listed in our dining guide, which means we have more places listed and more up-to-date information than any other guide for Washington.  You can search by LIST or MAP.  Just saying, it might be useful.

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Stay home if you can.  Wear a mask.  Tip Big!  Don’t throw baklava.