THE LATEST DISH

Restaurants Are Open!

New & opened: The Point, opened by Greg Casten of Profish, at 2100 2nd Street, SW near Audi Field, where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers converge. Chef Benjamin Lambert masterfully orchestrates the menu. What a sunset view at the 140-seat outdoor patio (280 seats indoors)…Richard Sandoval’s latest venture, dLeña Wood-Fire Mexican Cocina & Mezcaleria, at 476 K Street NW with executive chef Carlos Camacho at the helm…Truluck’s Ocean’s Finest Seafood & Crab at 700 K Street, NW across from the DC Convention Center, with Chef Laurence Cohen leading the kitchen. …Dauphine’s with Chef Kristen Essig bringing her New Orleans delicious flair to Midtown Center at 1100 15th Street, NW….the latest from Jose Andres: Spanish Diner at 7271 Woodmont Ave in Bethesda, where Jaleo was…. Luca Giovannini, Cesar Varela (both beverage gurus from Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants) and Noe Landini, are the powers behind a high-end cocktail bar, Donahue, at 1338 Wisconsin Ave., NW in Georgetown where Smith Point used to be.

Re-opened: Georgetown’s Green Almond Pantry, a café and market, emerges like a phoenix from the fire with an expanded menu and increased seating at its 3210 Grace Street, NW site with Chef/ owner Cagla Onal at the helm… Art & Soul restaurant within the Yotel (formerly Liaison Hotel) on Capitol Hill re-opened with a new chef, Danny Chavez, serving weekday lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.

Mike Friedman, with partners Colin McDonough, Gareth Croke and Mike O’Malley, plan to open Aventino restaurant and AP Pizza Shop at 4747 Bethesda Ave, where JBG Smith is headquartered. Aventino will be a full-service, 120-seat, Italian restaurant focused on Roman-style cuisine featuring dishes from Rome’s Jewish ghetto. It’s named after Aventine Hill, which is where Rome’s Jewish community had been based. AP Pizza Ship will be a casual takeout-centric version of All-Purpose. A 2022 opening is targeted.

Quick Hits: Harvest Tide Steakhouse, a Lewes, DE operation led by chef/owner Danio Somoza, will open where Acqua al 2 was on 8th Street SE on Capitol Hill. He plans to turn the former upstairs speakeasy, into a new concept as well…. Compass Coffee at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center is now a La Colombe… Robert Maher plans to open Maison Cheryl in Clarendon at 2900 Wilson Boulevard , in Q3 2021…. Chef Jeremiah Langhorne and business partner Alex Zink plan to open Petite Cerise (“little cherry”), an all-day, Frenchinspired restaurant in Q4 2021 at 7th and L Streets, NW in Shaw…. Glory Days Grill sports-themed restaurant chain celebrates its 25th anniversary.

New York-based Drive Shack, which operates indoor-outdoor golf driving ranges similar to Topgolf, will open a mini-golf concept called Puttery at 800 F Street, NW in Penn Quarter where the Spy Museum was. The 20,000-sq-ft space will include an upscale food and beverage menu, which will include several bars and lounges, and music. Puttery will include three 9-hole golf courses with electronic auto-scoring technology. A Q3 opening is slated.

Taqueria Xochi, on U Street NW, plans to open a second location in Adams Morgan on 18th Street, NW. It will include outdoor seating (that I can see from my window). The plan is to offer a wider range of sweets from chef-owner Teresa Padilla, a trained pastry chef. The timing is perfect for an heladería, or ice cream parlor, and a market offering fresh tortillas, salsas, and Mexican ingredients.

Silver Diner will open in DC next to Nationals Park at Half and N Streets, SE by Q2 2022. Plans include an outdoor terrace and an upstairs Bar Silver, offering drinks and small plates. Silver Diner, the company, operates Silver — its upscale version of Silver Diner — in DC’s Cathedral Heights neighborhood in NW.

Linda Roth is Founder & CEO of Linda Roth Associates (LRA), a DC-based public relations & marketing firm that specializes in the foodservice and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR #LindaRothPR or www.lindarothpr.com.