The Latest DishMarch 13, 2013

With a new Georgetown hotel comes a new restaurant ? with a familiar theme ? steakhouse. The new luxury **Capella Hotel** on 31st Street in Georgetown will open the **Grill Room**, featuring hand-cut meats and seafood. They have hired Swedish chef **Jakob Esko**, to run the restaurant and its bar, also with its own name, the **Rye Bar**. The restaurant will be open for lunch as well as dinner. They plan to open it in April.

And speaking of Georgetown, the **Graham Georgetown**, formerly the Hotel Monticello on Thomas Jefferson Street, which never had a restaurant, will open with two restaurants. **The Alex**, on the lower level, will offer breakfast and dinner. The rooftop Observatory will serve dinner and weekend brunch. April will be busy in Georgetown, as the Graham plans to be open at that time as well.

**Sanjeev Tuli** quietly opened **Malgudi**, a southern Indian restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park, just below his flagship Heritage India. Their bread is made with rice. There are more vegetarian dishes. It?s spicy?but black Pepper spicy, and southern Indian drink a pungent coffee more than tea.

**Quick Hits:** Finally, a Maryland location for **Sweetgreen** — on Georgia Avenue where Living Ruff pet store used to be ? and right near Discovery headquarters, so lunch time just got better. A summer opening is planned. Near to Maryland but still in D.C. **Soupergirl** is expanding her operations ? into the space next door. That means the kitchen can expand. Address remains the same — 314 Carroll St., NW. **Bryan Voltaggio?s Lunch Box** will open at Chevy Chase Pavilion, joining his other more upscale restaurant, Range. A Q3 2013 opening is planned. **Gourmet Pizza** plans to open on 415 8th Street, SE, on Barracks Row offering customized pizzas. No delivery service. A spring opening is planned.

**Chef Update:** **Chef Ravi Narayanan** is the executive chef at Heritage Management?s new concept, **Crossroads**, at 1901 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. He will also oversee the menu at Heritage India, also opening at that location by the end of this month. Previously, Ravi served as executive chef of Relais Chateaux USA, and worked at the luxury Hotel Oberoi in New Delhi. **Jacob Hunter** is the new executive chef at **Matchbox** in Merrifield, located in the Mosaic District. He played an integral role in the opening of matchbox Food Group?s Ted?s Bulletin and DC-3. Before matchbox, Jacob was executive chef at McCormick and Schmick?s. **Bistro Vivant** in McLean named **Ed Hardy** as chef de cuisine. Most recently he was chef de cuisine in NYC for Marcus Samuelsson?s American Table Bar & Caf? in Lincoln Center. **Anthony Pilla** formerly of Seventh Hill Pizza and Acqua al 2 is now at Urbana at Hotel Palomar Dupont Circle, taking over the pizza helm.

**Greg McCarty** has been named executive chef of NoPa Kitchen + Bar, a part of Ashok Bajaj?s Knightsbridge restaurant empire. The American brasserie will be located at 800 F St., NW. McCarty worked for Jean Georges Vongerichten for six years and opened Nobu 57 in NYC. An April opening is planned. It?s a busy April.

*Linda Roth Conte is president of Linda Roth Associates, Inc. (LRA), specializing in making creative connections through media relations, marketing initiatives, community outreach and special events for the hospitality industry. Contact Linda at 703-417-2700 or [linda@lindarothpr.com](mailto:linda@lindarothpr.com) or visit her web site at [www.lindarothpr.com](http://www.lindarothpr.com)*