Food & Wine

Sallie Lewis • April 23, 2015

On March 3, Ari Gejdenson of Mindful Restaurant Group unveiled his newest venture: Sotto on 14th Street NW. The space is home to a harmonious blend of live jazz, wine, craft cocktails and American cuisine with a smoky finish. Sotto, ‘below’ in Italian, is appropriately located underneath Ghibellina, another of Gejdenson’s popular dining destinations.

The jazz and blues cultural center HR-57 was the former tenant of the building, before moving to H Street four years ago. As a tribute to the building’s past, Sotto has live jazz and blues Tuesday through Saturday, featuring a constant rotation of local artists and aspiring talent.

The restaurant’s ambiance is as sleek and sexy as the jazzy sounds that fill it. Sotto’s dimly lit space, designed by Gronning Architects, incorporates lots of exposed brick, with attractive wood and steel accents for an overall warm, sultry effect. Patrons waiting for a table or simply looking to drink and snack on appetizers can sit at the long wooden bar, flanked by rustic steel barstools.

Sotto’s bar manager Daniel Barnes created his cocktail list based on classics from the 1950s and earlier; think of a “Trolley Car” with spiced rum, blood orange and angostura or an “Ed Ellington” with scotch, Lillet Rose, cranberry and orange. His take on these cocktails goes back to D.C.’s jazz culture, when jazz clubs were really big up and down U Street. “We’re trying to continue that by having jazz here,” said Michael Rosato, Sotto’s general manager.

Executive chef Keith Cabot’s menu reflects regional American cuisine with an emphasis on smoked meats. The chef’s selection of housemade sausages was inspired by Gejdenson’s trip to Austin. Other highlights include the Brussels sprout salad with an herb cream dressing and pomegranates, pork ribs, beef brisket and a delicious half-chicken with a delightfully crisp skin and chili sauce. Sotto also has a sweet selection of desserts, like poached apple with caramel ice cream or banana bread with dulce de leche and chocolate.

Diners can enjoy all of this in one of the restaurant’s cozy booths or at long wooden tables. At the end of the restaurant, a stunning glass wine cellar is the backdrop to the night’s local talent.

Sotto is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, starting at 6 p.m. [gallery ids="102023,134915,134914" nav="thumbs"]

Jody Kurash •

Africa is an exotic continent with an unbridled spirit: a place full of starry-eyed dreams of safari, mystifying native people, endangered animals, spectacular sunsets and thrilling sojourns across savannahs filled with breathtaking vistas.

On my first trip there, I came across a striking elixir in Kenya with a bold label that truly caught my eye. The label prominently featured a massive elephant with mammoth tusks staring at me with its ears alert. The brown bottle with a golden cord tied around it blended seamlessly into the background display, featuring images of the sun going down on a dazzling landscape, with elephants silhouetted across a sky tinged with orange and gold.

A tagline proclaimed it: “Amarula – the spirit of Africa.”

I would later see this alluring liqueur on sale throughout Africa, from the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe to the safari dreamland of Tanzania, from the rollicking beaches of Ghana to the colorful deserts of Namibia.

Amarula is a cream liqueur (similar to Baileys), forged from the fruit of the marula tree. In Africa, the tree is also known as the elephant tree because elephants are very fond of its fruit.

There is also an ancient African legend about the elephant and the hare. According to African.org, a hare helped an elephant during a time of drought. To thank him, the elephant presented the hare with a tusk. The hare buried it in his garden and then enjoyed the wonderful fruit in times of famine. From then on, the elephant is said to be looking for his tusk as he devours the fruit from the marula tree.

Marula trees grow abundantly in the wild and are found in South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The fruit, the size of a small oval plum, has a golden-yellow skin and a soft, citrus-like flavor, but with a creamy nuttiness.

Amarula liqueur is made in South Africa. The technique is very similar to the process of making wine, for which South Africa is also known. Like grapes, the fruit is crushed with the skins. Next, the pulp is transported to Stellenbosch, South Africa’s famed winemaking town, where it is fermented, distilled and then left to age for two years in oak barrels, where the additional flavors of vanilla and spices are imparted. Finally, it’s blended with fresh dairy cream to give it its thick, velvety consistency.

The rich and creamy final product is often served on the rocks as an aperitif or after-dinner tipple. Many of the cocktails made with Amarula are thick and heavy. For a dessert-like indulgence, it is mixed with coffee or other sweet liqueurs and ice cream.

The best Amarula mixture I’ve sampled came from an outdoor restaurant along the beachfront road in Cape Town’s hip Camps Bay neighborhood, where fashionable young locals hobnob on Sundays. It was a brisk early-spring afternoon, just before sunset. I was sitting on the patio, lazily enjoying the sublime view.

My drink arrived in a classic martini glass, looking a bit like an old-time brandy Alexander. A combination of Amarula, vodka and Cointreau, it was a pleasant pre-dinner treat. The orange liqueur enhanced the orange flavor of the Amarula, while the vodka provided an extra kick, preventing the drink from becoming too heavy. It was a lovely way to cap off a day of touring Africa’s celebrated southernmost coast.

There are more noble reasons to imbibe Amarula than the exotic taste. The brand is involved in many projects to help the people and wildlife of Africa. Being true to its majestic elephant mascot, the Amarula Elephant Research Program tracks elephant movement rates and ranging behavior. Amarula has also partnered with the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

Another unique community project the company sponsors is the tassel program, which helps formerly unemployed women by hiring them to make the tasseled cords that adorn every bottle of Amarula.

You don’t need to fly to Africa to sample this unique elixir. Amarula is available in many local liquor stores.

Swinging Safari
2 1/2 shots of Amarula
1 1/4 shots of Cointreau
1 shot of vodka

Mix all three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with an orange peel.

Georgetowner • April 22, 2015

The story of how I, a wine amateur, ended up preaching the gospel at the Wine Bar on the second floor of Bistrot Lepic is not worth telling.

I tasted. I looked through books. I looked up grapes and regions and appellations. I asked questions of the French crew and received choice words, such as ‘inky’ and ‘sauvage.’

After one hectic Sunday night, the manager decanted – sniffing it in a big glass with satisfaction – a Pic Saint-Loup. He poured me a glass and I swirled it, and within, magically, was the manure from the manure spreaders of my childhood, along with the shale-y underground on which everything in our part of the world grew.

Each time we taste a wine we get that lesson of terroir. This is what makes wine enjoyable – not to hoard, but to sample; to understand the earth a wine comes from, the weather, the slopes, the soil and its minerals; a sampling of the DNA of a particular place, its creatures, its flora, the traditional local dishes.

I decant a Madiran for two French gentlemen and they savor it along with a venison fricassée, singing its praises with Gallic pride when I pour. A lady, a sommelier, orders a Bandol. She tells me she only decants vintage bottles. “Really?” I reply. “I would decant a young pinot or even a Beaujolais,” I say. “Beaujolais, I cannot stand Beaujolais,” the lady says, and we chuckle.

A venerable vigneron from a small town in the Languedoc, in excellent shape well into his seventies, brings a rosé and a red for a wine tasting. I asked him about the vintage. “Every year is good in the South of France,” he says, and he smiles.

For all my homework regarding French wines not of the modern style, I have a new crush: a varietal exotic to me, with a long history, a grape not easy to handle. I’ve been hearing how every seafood restaurant in New York is pouring Greek white wines. There have been whispers about the Xinomavro grape, dark red wines of northern Greece.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I’m breaking out of my own routine, discovering the beauty of something new, beautiful, different, earthy and enjoyable with just about everything, sipping this foreign beauty in new company.

Sallie Lewis • March 26, 2015

Walking into After Peacock Room is like opening an elegant coffee table book and spending an afternoon in its glossy pages. The location, a former consignment shop, has metamorphosed into a delightful teahouse and fine-dining café. With its gilded industrial hardware, crystal chandeliers, plush blue benches and peacock-colored walls, it is both cozy and hip.

The aesthetic of After Peacock Room is inspired by James McNeill Whistler’s “Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room,” created in 1877 for wealthy English shipowner Frederick Richards Leyland. Whistler’s work was purchased by Charles Lang Freer and later installed in the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery on the Mall, where it remains today.

Heewon Ra is the lady behind After Peacock Room. The Korean beauty, who has lived in D.C. since 2001, remembers the first time she saw the Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery more than ten years ago. That moment would spark a sense of wonderment that would flower years later in her first venture into the restaurant business.

Prior to opening, Ra’s love of art and interior design drew her to a curatorial internship at the Hirshhorn Museum and to studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. After graduating, she spent time in Paris, where she fell in love with Mariage Frères, the famed teahouse in her Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood.

Upon returning to D.C., she dreamed about creating something similar to Mariage Frères, and Georgetown, with its pretty homes and European feel, seemed like just the place. “My goal was to provide excellent food and service in a nice ambiance,” she said. Inspired by the beautiful Prussian blues, deep greens and gold that come alive in Whistler’s work, After Peacock Room serves as a contemporary interpretation of the classic.

The quaint size of the teahouse is part of its appeal. In 2011, Ra snatched up the building on 27th and P. She began construction in 2013, and by 2014 After Peacock Room was in business. Along with being her first restaurant, the space was also her first interior-design project, and the outcome is a tribute to her talent. The interior walls, which are canvas, are layered in oil paint in hues of sea green and midnight blue that come alive at night.

The dining room in the back, called the Hawthorn Flower Room, is inspired by Leyland’s collection of blue and white porcelain; the walls are painted with gold flowers. Rockville-based woodworker Jed Dinger made the communal dining tables, and the black bistro chairs that accent them were freshened with brushstrokes of gold paint, which Ra added herself.

After Peacock Room was closed from June to November while the kitchen was updated and the wine-and-beer license was pending. During that period, the decision was made to transition from a full teahouse to a daytime tea-and-coffee destination with a fine-dining dinner component. Chef Nick Sharpe, who worked under the acclaimed Michael Mina in San Francisco, now helms the kitchen. The menu features the best of seasonal tastes.

On Sundays, After Peacock Room offers takeout coffee service from 9 to noon, with the proceeds donated to local charities.
Ra looks forward to growing the restaurant’s dinner business and being able to host small private parties. For now, though, she is focused on sustaining a unique teahouse and an elegant dining experience in the neighborhood.

After Peacock Room is located at 2622 P. St. NW.

Jody Kurash •

“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

On Nov. 10, 1871, journalist and explorer H. M. Stanley muttered these words to David Livingstone in a small town on Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, giving rise to this still-popular quotation.

The quote has dubious connotations, as it describes Stanley’s words upon completing a long and treacherous journey in search of Livingstone, one of the most popular explorers of the 19th century. When he spotted the only white man, the legendary question was posed

Livingstone, who had a near-mythical status in Victorian England, was on the forefront of a period of geographical discovery that led to the colonization of Africa.

Throughout Africa today, monuments of Livingstone abound. His name is attached to many places, including the city of Livingstone, Zambia, where he became the first European to visit Victoria Falls. Even a cocktail bears the name of the British hero.

I stumbled upon this by accident. As a cocktail nerd, whenever I travel to a new place, I Google the city name along with ‘cocktails,’ in an attempt to find the top local watering holes.

When I Googled ‘Livingstone’ and ‘cocktail,’ I didn’t find any lounge recommendations, but I found a number of sites with recipes for the Livingstone cocktail. My interest was piqued. I wanted to try this new cocktail, but the websites seemed to disagree on its ingredients.

The ingredients were sometimes listed as Mount Gay rum, orange juice and tonic. To me, a drink made with Barbados rum did not seem fitting for an African pioneer.

Another site had a photo of a drink looking much like a 20th-century cosmopolitan made with pomegranate syrup. I didn’t picture Livingstone hanging with the “Sex and the City” gals.

The recipe that came up the most was a drink similar to a classic martini, made with gin, vermouth and sugar syrup. This timeless combination was something I could imagine as a colonial drink.

I decided to take the search into my own hands when I landed in Livingstone last September. However, I quickly found that the hunt for the Livingstone cocktail in Livingstone was almost as challenging as Livingstone’s search for the source of the Nile.

I started with the bar at my hotel, Fawlty Towers, named after the John Cleese Britcom. Since my expectations were formed by the antics of Basil Fawlty and Manuel, I wasn’t too surprised when the staff hadn’t heard of the drink. They recommended some nearby places.

My first stop was Zambezi, a happening African joint. No luck. I headed to a long stretch of nightspots. I dutifully tried them all: cafés, outdoor bars, a seafood restaurant and even an Italian restaurant. Dr. Livingstone’s cocktail was nowhere to be found.

Finally, I upped the ante and headed to the Royal Livingstone Hotel, the ritziest place in town. I assumed they must serve the cocktail that bears the name of their hotel.

The Royal Livingstone exudes colonial elegance with its stylish design, graceful lobby and well-designed lounging areas. The expansive grounds around the hotel are home to a number of safari animals. I caught glimpses of zebras and giraffes on my taxi ride there.

Since it was early in the day, the refined bar was empty. I was handed a thick menu of drinks. Surely Dr. Livingstone would make an appearance soon. But once again he was absent. I quizzed the bartender, who brought me his supervisor. I was told that at one time they had a cocktail called the Livingstone, but they no longer served it. I asked him if I could order it. He eyed me suspiciously and said he would have to check.

He returned with a recipe for the elusive elixir and began to whip it up. Its ingredients were puzzling to me: mint muddled with a double of Jameson, apple juice topped off with soda water. A drink named after a British national hero forged from an Irish whiskey?

The drink was surprisingly interesting. The mint complimented the vanilla undertones of the Jameson, while the apple juice provided a hint of sweetness.

However, it seemed a bit heavy to be drinking after a warm day on safari, so I decided to compare it with the gin version I found online.

For the next round, I requested the bartender to mix a recipe I took off the internet. This drink was light and refreshing, and the London gin gave it a bit of regal twang. Here was a cocktail that could inspire new adventures.

After downing my drink, I found myself doing just that, hopping a boat from the hotel’s marina to visit the top of Victoria Falls and take a swim to the very edge in the Devil’s Pool.

Thank you, Dr. Livingstone, for the liquid courage!

Georgetowner • March 25, 2015

Minneapolis-based Granite City Food & Brewery plans to open its first East Coast location (and 33rd in the nation) late in April at National Harbor, on the bottom level of the Esplanade Building. With 300+ seats, this casual restaurant will feature a brewery, an open kitchen, a spacious patio and private dining. The plan is to have more than a dozen 450-gallon tanks on site. The company also owns Cadillac Ranch, which is slated to have a $1-million renovation this fall.

Quick Hits – Shaw edition: The Shay apartment building is expected to welcome a Tim Ma restaurant and a Compass Coffee … A ramen shop from Daikaya’s Daisuke Utagawa, Yama Jewayni and Katsuya Fukushima is slated for Shaw … Expect a Neighborhood Restaurant Group restaurant from their chef Rob Rubba in the old Atlantic Plumbing building.

More Shaw: All Purpose, a pizza-centric Italian American restaurant, is slated to open in the Colonel in Shaw at 1250 9th St. NW. It’s a team effort from the Bloomingdale restaurateurs who brought you The Red Hen – Michael Friedman, Michael O’Malley, and Sebastian Zutant – and Boundary Stone owners Gareth Croke and Colin McDonough. Michael will work with pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac of Buttercream Bakeshop to create a special pizza dough. MacIsaac will consult on All Purpose’s desserts, as well as open a bakeshop in the same building. The beverage menu will be a collaboration between Zutant, Croke and McDonough. The 80-seat restaurant is expected to open in the fourth quarter of this year.

Also opening in the Colonel is a Mexican restaurant, Espita Mezcalería. Shaw resident and owner, Josh Phillips, a Master Mezcalier, plans an innovative bar program that highlights the many varietals of the spirit, paired with the complex flavors of food from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. A Cornell grad, Phillips worked in bars and restaurants in Philadelphia before studying mezcal in Oaxaca. A September opening is planned.

Robert Wiedmaier will open Urban Heights – with chef Cliff Wharton at the helm – at the former location of The Roof in Bethesda. In line with the chef’s Filipino heritage, Philippine and South Asian cuisine will be the heart of the menu. The restaurant will feature small plates on three floors along with a rooftop bar and a tuna bar – offering everything from the unusual ahi poke to the popular tuna tartare. A May opening is planned.

Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong plan to open their first D.C. restaurant in Southwest D.C.’s Wharf development. It will be different from Restaurant Eve, serving food from all over Asia, notably Filipino cuisine. Filipino food is trending hot now, as there is also Purple Patch in Mount Pleasant and Bad Saint in Columbia Heights, as well as the aforementioned Urban Heights in Bethesda. The Filipino connection is Meshelle, who is of Filipino descent.

Chef and Manager Update: Michael Williams was appointed beverage director of Bastille and its sister restaurant Bistrot Royal, both in Old Town, Alexandria. He previously worked at The Oval Room and The Occidental Grill … Bobbie Miller is the new chef and beverage director at the Westin Arlington Gateway and will oversee hotel’s Italian restaurant Pinzimini … Fabrice Bendano is the new pastry chef at Le Diplomate in D.C.’s Logan Circle. He has worked at Adour and Citronelle and, most recently, as a consultant for Alain Ducasse’s miX in Las Vegas. He won the RAMMY award for Best Pastry Chef in 2012.

Quick Hits: The Navy Yard Oyster Co., a wine-centric oyster bar, is slated to open at the Lumber Shed in Southeast … The Woodward Building on 15th Street in downtown D.C. will soon feature an intimate prepared-food shop and bakery from the owners of Pleasant Pops in Adams Morgan … Blackfinn will open a 6,500-square-foot restaurant at the Loudoun Station project in the fourth quarter of 2015. There are currently locations in downtown D.C. and Merrifield … Basil Leaf, a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant with Persian influence (the chef is Reza Monsefan, who used to run Pars) will also open there this summer.

Openings Update: Momofuku Milk Bar has a summer opening scheduled … Pizza Studio in Dupont Circle is now planning an early second-quarter opening … Tadich Grill is now aiming for the middle of the second quarter … Smokehouse Live, a barbecue restaurant from Jim Foss, most recently of Hill Country BBQ, and Kristopher Diemar, formerly of Carmine’s, are taking this barbecue concept to Leesburg and plan to open mid-spring.

Linda Roth is president of Linda Roth Associates, a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the hospitality industry.

Georgetowner • March 11, 2015

While cupcakes still rule and macarons have staked a claim in Georgetown and frozen yogurt holds on, there is a new contender coming to town: the cream puff.

Specifically, Beard Papa’s — an international chain of cream puff stores, begun in Osaka, Japan, in 1999 — will be setting up shop at 1332 Wisconsin Ave. NW, formerly a yogurt store. The company reports that it hopes to open the Georgetown shop in late April or early May.

Beard Papa’s has more 250 stores in Japan and 300 worldwide. Its main product is a choux pastry shell filled with whipped cream custard, available in many flavors that include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, green tea, hazelnut or coconut cream. Beard Papa’s reports that it has served, as of this week, “453,418,099 cream puffs.” Think of the popular sweets cafe of cream puffs and eclairs as the Japanese version of Krispy Kreme and more.

Georgetowner • February 25, 2015

Sette Osteria plans to open this March in the Logan Circle space formerly occupied by M Café Bar at 1634 14th St. NW. Owner Iraklis Karabassis also has a Sette Osteria in Dupont Circle and Café Milano in Georgetown. Chef Nicola Sanna will feature housemade pastas and southern Italian pizzas. The dining room will seat 72, with a 30-seat private dining space. The outdoor patio will seat 45.

C-C-Changes: Could Robert Wiedmaier’s culinary tribute to fine dining, Marcel’s, possibly get better? In design: yes. Local designer Charles W. Craig, who worked with Robert and Polly Wiedmaier on their own home, was tasked with creating a new design that is lighter, brighter and festive. There’s new carpeting, new sheer curtains, framed silk scarves designed and signed by Art Deco master Erté, plush high-back leather chairs, starburst chandeliers and new Rosenthal china bearing the familiar logo of Marcel’s. The popular private table 28 is now completely enclosed by floor-to-ceiling drapery.

Mike Isabella is expanding his Greek concept, Kapnos, into Bethesda. Kapnos Kouzina (kitchen) will open this summer at 4900 Hampden Lane, where Vapiano used to be. The Bethesda outpost will feature more homestyle Greek platters meant for two to four people.

Quick Hits: Seven Hills Pizza is slated to open in D.C.’s Palisades neighborhood near BlackSalt, where Marvelous Market was…Derek Brown’s empire will expand once again with the addition of Scarlet Oak, slated to open in the Navy Yard area at 909 New Jersey Ave. SE…Brixx Pizza is slated to open in Clarendon next to Nam Viet…J ‘n G Tavern, a burger place with lots of beers on tap, will open in Petworth, from the folks who brought you Jackie’s and Bar Charley…Another fast-casual pizza concept, Mod Pizza from Seattle, will open at Silver Spring’s Ellsworth Place…Kin Da Thai and Sushi will open in Takoma Park where Takoma Bistro used to be. The owners also operate Aroi Thai in D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood.

Openings Update: Ted’s Bulletin opened its Gaithersburg location earlier this month, making it the second Matchbox Food Group restaurant in Montgomery County. There is a Matchbox open on Rockville Pike. This 160-seat Ted’s features a train theme inspired by the original Gaithersburg train station, a historic landmark built in 1884. The restaurant also has a 40-seat outdoor patio…SER (stands for Simple Easy Real), a Spanish-themed restaurant, has opened in Ballston, as the winners of the Ballston Restaurant Challenge…Pizza Studio, the fast-casual, build-your-own pizza concept, plans to open by early March in Baltimore’s Charles Village and in Dupont Circle, its first D.C. location, at 1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW…Orange Anchor at Georgetown’s Washington Harbour, where Cabanas used to be, is now open…The Alex, a lounge and restaurant (named for Alexander Graham Bell) in the Graham hotel in Georgetown, has reopened.

Stanton & Greene will open at 319 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, where Pour House was, on Capitol Hill. The owners include Sonoma’s Eli Hengst and Jared Rager as well as August Paro of Beuchert’s Saloon. The menu is brought to you by executive chef Josh Hutter and chef de cuisine Damian Brown. The cocktail program was created by Erik Holzherr of Wisdom and Church & State. The 180-seat restaurant is named after Capitol Hill’s Stanton Park and the Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene statue. A first-quarter 2015 opening is planned.

Founding Farmers plans to open its next restaurant in Tysons Corner at 1800 Tysons Blvd. this month. The 262-seat restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, is designed by GrizForm Design Architects. It’s owned by a conglomerate that includes the North Dakota Farmers Union and the National Farmers Union.

Chef & Ops Execs Update: Table’s chef de cuisine, Patrick Robinson, will now run the kitchen in the Shaw neighborhood restaurant, taking over from Frederik de Pue. Table will continue to emphasize seasonal dishes. Pizza Studio has hired regional operations veteran Scott Black to oversee the Washington and Baltimore locations. Black previously worked as vice president of operations for &pizza and regional director of operations for Noodles & Co.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Georgetown’s Bistrot Lepic will offer a special prix-fixe menu for 20 consecutive days, from Monday, March 9, to Sunday, March 29. Guests will also enjoy a complimentary glass of Champagne.

Linda Roth is president of Linda Roth Associates, a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the hospitality industry. Reach her at Linda@LindaRothPR.com.

Sallie Lewis • February 11, 2015

As winter winds down, the anticipation for warmer weather has pation for warmer weather has never been higher. Soon, spring and summer sailors will be assembling along the Georgetown waterfront.

And there’s a place that’s opening just in time.

Orange Anchor at Washington Harbour is a new, nautical-themed dining destination that caters to seaward-turning lovers of good food. Owner Reese Gardner – founder of Wooden Nickel Bar Company (Cooperwood Tavern, Irish Whiskey Public House and Second State) – has been boating all his life and wanted to create a space inspired by people coming in straight off the boat. The restaurant even has changing rooms and communal sink stations for washing up.

Inside, the decor is a study in primary colors: orange leather trades off with navy blues and white. Anchor-themed wallpaper contrasts with striped fabrics. Decorative accents such as boat cleats, mirrored portholes, stainless handlebars and steel spotlights all add to the nautical experience.

Large-scale photographs by local artist Mike Foster help set the scene with stunning views of the waterfront. On one wall, a medley of black-and-white boat photos honor members of the National Potomac Yacht Club at the Columbia Island Marina.

The restaurant will specialize in seasonal American plates, from jumbo lump crab fritters to classic clams casino, caviar tacos and lobster macaroni and cheese with a five-cheese blend. Patrons can also eat Chincoteague oysters four different ways: chilled, grilled, fried or on a half-shell filled with Champagne. Most ingredients are sourced from farmers within three hours of D.C. Orange Anchor will also have an “oyster hour,” 5 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with oysters for $1 each.

The bar pro-gram is equally impressive, with a selection of more than 40 rum varieties and 10 beers on draft. Cans of beer are served with a vibrant Orange Anchor koozie.

For the captain looking to get food or ice on the go, Orange Anchor’s boat delivery service will delight. Salads, sandwiches and bags of ice will be available for delivery to those who dock their boat at Washington Harbour. The venue will also have a deckhand on call should you be sailing solo and need help docking.

Orange Anchor will officially open Friday, Feb. 13, with soft openings on Feb. 11 and 12 (those having lunch or dinner on Wednesday or Thursday will receive half off their food and drink tab). Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Feb. 21. The website is OrangeAnchorDC.com. [gallery ids="101985,135439" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

As we kick off a new year, the phrase “out with old, in with new” is often heard. I decided to follow this advice during my recent journey to Singapore.

As a cocktail geek, whenever I’m in Singapore, I always make a pilgrimage to Raffles, the birthplace of the Singapore sling. While Raffles will always have history and a colonial elegance, the Singapore slings have a lost a bit of their magic, as throngs of tourists, cameras in hand, belly up to the bar for these now mass-produced tipples.

It’s time to let go of the past, I thought, and time to find a new cocktail spot in the lion city. A friend suggested I try Ku Dé Ta, a rooftop hotspot located in the Marina Sands resort. This ultra-lux restaurant/bar/lounge provides stunning 360-degree views of the city from the 57th floor of its waterfront location.

While the venue was impressive indeed, the handcrafted cocktails made an even more striking imprint. The menu, created by mixologist Knut Randhem, features a selection of tropical-tinged coolers, each one light and fresh, which pair to perfection with the food and climate.

I start off with their most popular drink, the Storm Cooler, a mixture of vodka, passion fruit, honey and raw Persian licorice powder. While licorice in a drink may seem out of place in Southeast Asia, I am reminded that Randhem hails from Norway and Denmark, where this flavor is more common. The result is quite remarkable.

“Very refreshing,“ says Mae Ng, Ku Dé Ta’s marketing executive. “It’s a sweet cocktail but not too overbearing.”

I couldn’t agree more. While a drink forged from sweet passion fruit and honey could easily turn into a sugary jumble, the Storm Cooler finds a perfect balance with the piquant licorice powder, which gives it a sassy kick.

This cocktail would be the ideal accompaniment to watching the sun set from the Skybar’s breathtaking patio. It’s served with large ice cubes, which melt slowly in the humid climate, keeping the flavor profile intact and not watered down.

While the drink’s ingredients combine flavors of Scandinavia with a tropical flair, its moniker comes direct from Denmark. It is named in honor of a Norwegian sailor who saved a man from the sea near Denmark. The sailor later opened a beach hotel, one of the oldest in Denmark, where Randhem has worked during the busy summer season.

The second drink I sample, named after Christopher Columbus, is a cultured mixture of Tahitian limes, Madagascar vanilla, pineapple, Spanish orange, vodka and sage. Given all its exotic flavors, I try to imagine if Columbus had made his way to Asia – instead of stumbling upon the Americas – if this would have been a cocktail he brought back to Europe.

While pineapple is usually found in sweet drinks, this super-cool drink is wonderfully tart and brisk, based on a classic cobbler. The key is the sage, which imparts a zesty tang that compliments the tart lime and muddled pineapple.

This unique combination was the brainchild of Randhem. “Pineapple works well with dry flavors like sage,” he says. “It breaks up the sweet fat flavor of the pineapple and opens it up.”

The last drink I try is the Honey Rose Daiquiri. To the customary ingredients of rum and lime, Randhem adds honey and rosewater to give this standard an exceptional spin. I really enjoy this drink, because as in a well-made daiquiri the taste of the rum shines through as the other flavors harmonize perfectly – like the backup girls in a Ray Charles song.

Randhem custom-blends the rum at Ku Dé Ta in order to achieve the desired flavor profile for his cocktails. The daiquiri is typical of many of the cocktails on his menu. “I like to take something that people are used to and present it in a completely different way,” he says. “I like to have lots of fun with odd flavor combinations.”

Randhem’s modern take on cocktails makes for a stimulating experience, just right for a new year. When I return to Singapore in March, I’ll be heading straight to the bay for a delicious liquid treat at Ku Dé Ta.