Food & Wine

Linda Roth • June 22, 2016

Michael Schlow continues to build his restaurant empire in D.C. He will open Casolare in the newly renovated Glover …

Robert Devaney • June 10, 2016

Last month, the Rosewood took over the luxe hotel on 31st Street, next to the C&O Canal, which once …

Kate Oczypok • June 9, 2016

Now open near the convention center: a bakery offering your childhood favorites, made from scratch.

Gary Tischler • June 6, 2016

The popular brothers Shahab and Maziar Farivar are pioneers of D.C.’s restaurant scene.

Richard Selden • May 25, 2016

The first batch of Sagamore Spirit, Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank’s new straight rye whiskey, was released May 13, just in time to be the official rye of the Preakness Stakes.

At Plank’s Sagamore Farm — about 15 miles northwest of Baltimore’s Pimlico race track, home of the Preakness — Sagamore Spirit co-founder (with Plank) Bill McDermond hosted a launch party for the rye May 19. Restaurateurs and bartenders from D.C. and Baltimore drank rye and rye cocktails, tossed down bites from area eateries, smoked cigars, listened to a Nashville band and rode a mechanical bull. Plank’s remarks were on video; he was giving the commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Maryland.

The hugely successful athletic-wear entrepreneur bought Sagamore, former horse-breeding farm of Pimlico owner and president Albert G. Vanderbilt II, in 2007. About 100,000 attendees are expected at this year’s Preakness, on Saturday, May 21. The favorite, Nyquist, won the Kentucky Derby May 7.

A distillery for Sagamore Spirit, under construction in the Port Covington section of Baltimore, is expected to open to the public by early 2017, complete with tasting rooms. The rye, currently aged out of state, is cut to 83 proof with springwater that bubbles up through the limestone on Plank’s farm.

Two Georgetown liquor stores sell Plank’s Sagamore Spirit for $44.99 per 750-ml bottle.

“The guys like it,” said Steve Feldman of Potomac Wine & Spirits at 33rd and M Streets. “It’s kind of a sweet rye.”

Hop, Cask & Barrell — on Wisconsin Avenue near R Street — also had about six bottles left, pre-Preakness.

Georgetowner • May 9, 2016

In case anyone asks, the Cinco de Mayo holiday commemorates the victory — on May 5, 1862 — of the greatly outnumbered Mexican army over the French at the battle of Puebla. But most people will be too busy drinking margaritas to delve deeper. Instead, drink deeper, at the following locations:

El Centro D.F., 1218 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Georgetown’s Mexican outpost is putting out a $20 bottomless buffet, with tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, tostadas and churros. $6 margaritas and $5 Mexican beers.

L2 Lounge, 3315 Cady’s Alley NW

Doors open at 6 p.m. for a night of fundraising to support the victims of the earthquake in Ecuador. Happy hour specials, party favors and a DJ spinning Latin music.

Malmaison, 3401 Water St. NW

Malmaison DC and promotional partner IgniteDMV present a Cinco de Mayo Experience with a sangria bar, delicious food and desserts, stilt walkers, a mariachi band and a DJ. Tickets are $25. For tickets, visit eventbrite.com.

Morton’s The Steakhouse, 3251 Prospect St. NW

A Casa Noble brand ambassador will be at Morton’s for a Make Your Own Margarita & Tequila Tasting. Tickets are $60. For tickets, visit eventbrite.com.

And this Saturday…

Running of the Chihuahuas, The Wharf, 600 Water St. SW

Watch 96 chihuahuas race for the finish line as you sip a Mexican beer and order from food trucks between 1 and 4 p.m. All proceeds from the race will go to Rural Dog Rescue, a group that saves dogs from high-kill shelters.

Juliana Zovak •

District Doughnut announced on April 26 via Twitter that the company is about to pop up in Cady’s Alley.

According to a report by Eater DC, the pop-up will temporarily fill a vacancy at 3327 Cady’s Alley NW, in a part of Georgetown known for its furniture and design stores.

The company recently posted a photo to its Instagram account of construction work on the Georgetown site. The countertops are handcrafted oak with wood from an old Maryland barn. Another Instagram post announced that the Georgetown location will also offer espresso drinks.

District Doughnut serves fresh, handcrafted doughnuts with creative flavor combinations, such as fluffernutter and chocolate crème brûlée. Founded by two D.C. natives, the company opened its first store in 2014 on Barracks Row.

This will not be the Georgetown debut of the sought-after doughnuts, which often make an appearance at the weekly Wedneday farmers’ market on the Georgetown University campus.

Jody Kurash • May 4, 2016

What’s cooking behind the bar?

On a recent spring day, I was enjoying an after-lunch drink with a friend at Poste Brasserie in the Hotel Monaco when I was struck by an enchanting aroma coming from behind the bar. It had a fruity scent, joined with the fragrance of exotic spices. Since it was one of the first warm days after an early-April cold snap, the tropical scent tingled my senses.

As I leaned over to take a peek, I spied a pot filled with a brilliant yellow hue slowly simmering. Bartender Joel Newbraugh explained that he was preparing a seasoned pineapple syrup for one of the house cocktails, the pineapple airmail. The bouquet of spices included cardamom, turmeric and cinnamon.

The airmail is a classic, dating back to the golden age of cocktails. Even the name brings back memories of days gone by. Airmail (the service) was quite a feat when it lifted off in the U.S. in 1911. The idea of sending correspondence across the country — and later over the ocean — in a few days was unthinkable just a generation before.

Airmail eventually gave way to special couriers like FedEx and DHL — and, eventually, email. But at one time if you wanted a letter to get somewhere quickly, you went to the post office, bought an envelope with red and blue barbershop piping around the edges and attached a special stamp (often with a photo of an airplane).

Cuba began regular airmail service in 1930 and the cocktail of the same name appeared shortly afterward in a promotional pamphlet for Bacardi, then headquartered in Cuba. It is not known whether it was a Bacardi creation or copied from a Havana bar.

This delightful drink was composed of Cuban rum, honey, fresh lime juice and Champagne. It later officially turned up in in Esquire’s 1949 Handbook for Hosts. It was sometimes served with a special airmail stamp affixed to the glass.

Poste’s pineapple version, conceived by head bartender Justin Hampton, reinvents this timeless drink by replacing the honey with the aforementioned pineapple syrup, adding a sultry dimension.

The original version calls for Cuban rum, which unfortunately is not available here in the States. This rendering uses Plantation 3 Stars — a multinational rum blended with spirits from Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad. Bartender Amy Russell describes the flavor as similar to a rhum agricole (rum-distilled sugarcane juice), “but not as intense.”

The distiller says that each of the three distinct rums lends a specific character to the spirit. “Matured Trinidad rum imparts its classic elegance, Barbados delivers sophistication with a balanced mouthfeel and Jamaica conveys its unmistakable structure and rustic edge.”

The pineapple airmail is served in a champagne flute garnished with a mint leaf. While its appearance may look like a gentle mimosa, do not be fooled; this drink is definitely not tame.

On first sip, the full-bodied flavor of the rum and spice hits your tongue, mingling with the sweetness of the pineapple like happy bedfellows. Then, thanks to the lime and sparkling wine, it has a dry tart finish. The mint leaf adds a bit of coolness.

Pineapple drinks can easily become cloying, but cooking the fruit with spices curbs its sugariness. The airmail delivers the whimsical fun of a tropical drink with a refined flair.

If you want to try the pineapple airmail, you must hurry to the Hotel Monaco. Poste Brasserie is slated to close temporarily this summer, then reopen with an edgy new concept.

The Pineapple Airmail

1 ounce rum
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce spiced pineapple syrup
Prosecco

Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour into a champagne flute. Top it off with Prosecco.

Georgetowner •

Dick Talbot has sold Rumors Bar & Grill, his iconic landmark saloon in downtown D.C. at 19th and M Street. The new owner is Pat Morrough, who has also owned Quarterdeck Restaurant in Rosslyn, Virginia, for the past four years. Does this mean there will be a new place to get steamed crabs in downtown D.C.?

Manhattan Proper, a New York-based “elevated sports bar with updated eats,” has leased the 1319 F Street space where Finemondo used to be and plans to open a D.C. version of its popular sports bar and restaurant: Proper 21.

Mike and Donna Anderson, along with their business partner Bill Blackburn, have formed Homegrown Restaurant Group. They plan to open Whiskey & Oyster in the Carlyle development in Alexandria, where the U.S Patent and Trademark Office is. The 100-seat seafood restaurant will feature a raw bar and an outdoor patio with 50 seats. They also own and operate Pork Barrel BBQ, Sushi Bar, Holy Cow and Sweet Fire Donna’s.

Openings Updates: Buttercream Bakeshop, by Tiffany MacIsaac and her partner Alexandra Mudry-Hill, is expected to be open before the end of May in the ever popular Shaw neighborhood at 1250 9th St. NW … Not Your Average Joe’s is slated to open in Silver Spring’s Ellsworth Place by mid-June … Chuy’s in Sterling just opened … Dave & Buster’s just opened in Capitol Heights, Maryland … Newly opened, Ashlar, is the restaurant that replaced The Grille in the newly renovated Morrison House hotel … Eric Ziebold and Celia Laurent’s restaurant, Metier, was slated to open April 26 at 1015 7th St. NW, below its sister operation, Kinship. The 36-seat restaurant offers a seven-course menu for $200, plus beverages … Hakan Ilhan’s Ottoman Taverna, a nod to his native Turkey, will have Chef Ilhan Erkek, who opened The Ritz-Carlton in Istanbul, at the helm in the kitchen.

Linda Roth is president of Linda Roth Associates, a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the hospitality industry, providing creative connections through media relations, marketing initiatives, community outreach and special events. Reach her at: Linda@LindaRothPR.com or lindarothpr.com or #LindaRothPR.

Georgetowner • April 21, 2016

Click here to read the French Market preview in this week’s Georgetowner.