Neighborhood Eats: The Cocktail Edition

• February 7th 2013

by Rebecca Cooper

This week’s Neighborhood Eats — which will be one of this author’s last — is heavy on the liquid courage. A number of new exciting bar and cocktail concepts are opening soon or have been announced for the area in the past week. Here are those details, as well as more of the latest restaurant news.

Opening…soon: Jose Andrés’ next project, barmini, is slated to be a veritable playground for cocktail lovers at 855 E Street NW. The reservations-only bar adjacent to Andres’ minibar will serve a menu of roughly 100 cocktails, many of which are made using some of the molecular gastronomy techniques deployed at the 16-seat, fixed-menu restaurant. Prices for cocktails will range from $14 to $20 and bar snacks will run from $5 to $16. Barmini will start taking reservations on February 15.

Beuchert’s Saloon, the throwback Capitol Hill bar at 623 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, is within “days” of opening, according to its Facebook page. With giant buffalo heads, antique chandeliers and a long bar in the space that’s rumored to have been a speakeasy of the same name during Prohibition, Beuchert’s is sure to become a quick hit. There will be beer and prosecco on tap, classic cocktails, and a menu of chef-driven snacks that include marrow bones, lobster and a bananas foster twinkie.

Opening…eventually: Fans of Derek Brown’s cocktails are getting excited for his next project, Mockingbird Hill, set to open this spring in Shaw, The Washington Post reports. The Spanish-tinged bar will feature a lot of sherry and include a light bar menu heavy on the jamon, Brown tells Tom Sietsema. The small spot at 1843 7th Street NW will have room for about 40 people, and be meant for small snacks and drinks rather than the full dining experience.

Don’t feel left out, beer lovers. You may have something new to check out in the area in the foreseeable future once the planned Crooked Run Brewery gets off the ground in Loudoun County. Proprietor Jake Endres has been prepping the brewery in downtown Leesburg for more than a year and is now sourcing funds on Kickstarter to get the project going. He plans to do fresh-hopped American ales, abbey style Belgians and experimental sour ales, among others, according to the fundraising site.

Now, for the non-drinking news: Former Kushi co-owner Yoshihisa Ota is opening up his own place in Bethesda, and it will be called Yuzu, after the Japanese citrus fruit, Bethesda Magazine reports. Like Kushi, the menu will include robata (Japanese grilled items) and sushi. Guests will be able to sit around the robata grills or at a small, separate sushi counter. Ota is hoping to open the restaurant at 7345-B Wisconsin Avenue by April.

Open: Tash, a new Barracks Row restaurant that soft-opened last week, features Turkish and Persian cuisine in a polished setting at 524 8th Street SE. The saffron-heavy menu includes lamb, beef and chicken off the in-house charcoal grill, as well as appetizers such as hummus, baba ghanoush, olive dip and grilled eggplants (mirza).

Open…temporarily: Neighborhood Restaurant Group will be hosting another pop-up of its forthcoming fried chicken and doughnuts concept, GBD Chicken & Doughnuts, on February 15 and February 22 at sister restaurant Birch & Barley at 1337 14th Street NW. Stop by after 11 a.m. to grab a takeout meal of fried chicken, sauces and a sour cream biscuit for $8, or a box of four signature doughnuts for $8. The full-time, brick-and-mortar GBD is set to open in March.

Events: If you love tacos and free events, then the National Museum of American History is where you need to be on Saturday afternoon as two taco-tastic cookbook authors discuss the history of Mexican food in America and how it’s become so wildly popular. A number of Mexican food trucks are expected to corral outside the museum afterwards — although that part of the afternoon won’t be gratis.

Sunday is the kickoff event for Taste of the Nation, which is also being billed as Taste of the Market at Union Market. Offerings will include oysters from Rappahannock Oyster Company, wines from Cordial wines, and other bites from Taste of the Nation participating restaurants. Proceeds from the event will go to Share our Strength and the ‘No Kid Hungry’ campaign. Tickets are $45.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/neighborhood_eats_the_cocktail_edition/6626.