Neighborhood Eats: Spike Moves To Steak, Izakaya Seki Opening, Citronelle Closed For Now

• July 19th 2012

by Rebecca Cooper

After a brief hiatus to dig into what the recent swath of restaurant closings means for the city’s dining scene, Neighborhood Eats is back this week and full of the latest dining news, including a new spot from one of the city’s favorite Top Chefs.

Opening…eventually: Spike Mendelsohn, the former cheftestant and current brains behind Good Stuff Eatery and We the Pizza, will annex another piece of the same Capitol Hill block for a new steak frites restaurant, reports the Washington Business Journal. The restaurant, to be named Bearnaise, will pull from Mendelsohn’s experience working in France, a Spike spokesperson tells WBJ. No word yet on when the 3,000 square foot space planned for 313 Pennsylvania Avenue SE will open.

The owners of Seasonal Pantry and the popular Sundevich sandwich shop in Shaw will open a bar called A&D in the space adjacent to the Pantry, owners confirmed to Eater DC. The space at 1314 9th Street NW will offer cold food and bar snacks, along with drinks, including some signature cocktails.

Speaking of Shaw, folks there finally have a light at the end of their Mandalay tunnel. The Silver Spring Burmese restaurant which announced its expansion to the neighborhood nearly three years ago is set to open in October, Washington City Paper reports. The three-floor restaurant at 1501 9th Street NW will pare down the Maryland location’s gargantuan menu somewhat, the owner tells CP, but will include many of the dishes that have made it a favorite in Silver Spring.

Opening…soon: Izakaya Seki, the new Japanese tavern-style restaurant going in at 1117 V Street NW, is nearly ready to open, and they’re urging the neighborhood to keep an eye out for their red lantern to be lit, which will signal opening day. The menu will include hot and cold versions of the Japanese small plates, as well as a large complement of Japanese beers, sakes and shochus.

In beer news, 3 Stars Brewing Company is getting ready to open the doors of its Takoma DC brewery in the next few weeks. The first beers on tap when the brewery opens in August will be a farmhouse saison, an imperial brown ale, and a porter. The brewery plans to be open for tours and to fill growlers on Saturdays, as well as some weekdays.

Open: H Street pizza joint H & Pizza opened July 13 at 1118 H Street NE, a few months after it changed its name and said it was aiming for a June 1 opening. The wood-fired pizzas are all made to order, and come with house-made sauce and mozzarella made fresh daily.

Closed…for now: Water damage from recent storms brought bad news for Michel Richard’s Citronelle — the restaurant, along with the Latham Hotel it resides in, will be closed for up to six months, according to Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema’s Twitter feed. The La Madeleine location in the hotel will also be closed during repairs.

Closed…for good: The DC location of The Cajun Experience has closed for good. The restaurant apparently posted the news on its Facebook page this week, although that page has since been taken down. The restaurant at 1825 18th Street NW, which served up Louisiana-style crawfish boils and other cajun favorites, had been open for less than two years.

Events: It may actually cool down enough this weekend to enjoy some good old rooftop drinking; if you’d like to combine that with your love of butchering meat, then head over to the P Street Whole Foods for their rooftop party and Best Butchery Contest. The store’s meat experts will compete in feats of knife-wielding strength while live bands play and local beers are served. Tickets are $20 and the event benefits the DC Central Kitchen.

Rum drinkers might want to head over to Cuba Libre tonight in order to celebrate National Daiquiri day (as well as Ernest “Papa” Hemmingway’s 113th Birthday.) From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., the restaurant is offering $5 daiquiris and other drinks made from recipes from Hemmingways’ favorite Cuban restaurant, El Floridita. There’s also a $39, three-course prix fixe menu honoring the author’s favorite restaurant available all week.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/neighborhood_eats_spike_moves_on_to_steak_izakaya_seki_opening_citronelle/5791.