Archive | October, 2015

Union Social Opens Today

15 Oct
Main Bar Area at Union Social

Main Bar Area at Union Social

Union Social (100 Florida Avenue, NE) opens up for dinner service today (brunch will be added soon).  You can check out the menus here.  The restaurant is part of a family of restaurants including Copperwood Tavern in Arlington.  Chef Randy Mosteller will be in charge of the kitchen at Union Social, having previously been the Executive Chef at Redwood in Bethesda before leaving to open Union Social.

USMussels

DC Brau Mussels at Union Social

There will be a focus on local ingredients that are served fresh everyday.  Mosteller says that he likes to take simple ingredients and prepare them well using creative preparations and drawing on his training at the New England Culinary Institute.  Playing off “social” in the restaurant’s name, many of the dishes are intended to be shared among friends at the table, including the (very) large flatbreads that are available.

Seared Scallops at Union Social

Seared Scallops at Union Social

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DC Harvest Debuts New Bar Manager, Mixes Up Cocktail Menu

14 Oct

 

Sour Cherry Gel Cocktail Shooter at DC Harvest

Sour Cherry Gel Cocktail Shooter at DC Harvest

We’ve loved DC Harvest’s food for awhile, but recently DC Harvest has changed up its drink menu and now has several new creative cocktails available.  Under the leadership of new bar manager Matthew Fisk, DC Harvest’s drink menu has branched out from only having domestic alcohols to instead having a mix of domestic and international.  Fisk–a former philosophy and ancient language graduate–comes to DC Harvest by way of New Orleans and Proof, Vinoteca, Ripple, and Daikaya in D.C.  In discussing the changes to the cocktail menu, Fisk says “when I came here to DC Harvest, the bar was completely stocked with offerings that only came from the United States…I strongly advocated for a more international presence behind our bar…the cocktail is an American institution, like rock and roll.  Its origin is multiple.  Mixing together ingredients from different lands is how this country began, and what often makes the U.S. a wonderful place to hail from.  We will always feature spirits from our friends and neighbors at home, but we will also not forget that most of us came here from elsewhere.”

Clover Kyu at DC Harvest

Clover Kyu at DC Harvest

A sample of the new drink menu (descriptions and photos courtesy of Fisk and the staff at DC Harvest; links added in by District Cuisine if you would like to learn more about the drinks or alcohols):

  • Que hora son?–inspired by a Paloma cocktail, grapefruit juice is turned into grapefruit water through a gel agar clarification process that involves mixing the grapefruit juice into a gelatin that is then run through a small sieve (this process was perfected by Dave Arnold a famous mixologist in New York City).  The grapefruit water is mixed with aperol, triple dry, Espolon Blanco tequila, salt, malic acid, honey syrup, and phosphoric acid.  It is then put into bottles where it is carbonated prior to being served with lime and pineapple mint.
Que Hora Son at DC Harvest

Que Hora Son at DC Harvest

  •  Clover Kyu–a combination of Jensen’s dry gin, fresh made black raspberry syrup, egg whites, and Yuzu.
  • Sour Cherry Gel Cocktail Shootergelatin mixed with Leopolds Bros Maraschino Cherry Liquor is set for several hours.  More gelatin is mixed with lemon-infused Ivy City gin, lemon juice, and sugar–this is then poured over the other gel (the cherry one from the fridge) until both set together.  The resulting gel cocktail is served with a raspberry on the side.

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Union Social Will Have Private Event Area, Large Pet Friendly Patio

14 Oct
Exterior of Union Social

Exterior of Union Social

Union Social (100 Florida Avenue, NE)–opening Thursday in NoMa–will have both a private event area inside and a large patio space out front that (they hope) will be dog friendly.  The private area is towards the back of the restaurant and features its own bar, a retractable glass garage door, and a TV.  Once Union Social opens up, the space will be available for renting out for parties and events.

Bar in Private Space at Union Social

Bar in Private Space at Union Social

While they are still working out the details, the entire space in front of the restaurant (which is quite long, almost a full block) will be a large patio for the restaurant.  Union Social’s owners are dog lovers, so they are hoping (pending DC permitting) that the space will be dog friendly.

Roll-up Garage Door Window

Roll-up Garage Door Window

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Union Social Opening on Thursday in NoMa (Complete Menu)

13 Oct
View from Inside Union Social Overlooking Florida Avenue

View from Inside Union Social Overlooking Florida Avenue

Union Social (100 Florida Avenue, NE–immediately north of the NoMa Metro stop) will open officially on Thursday.  They will be hosting residents of their building tonight (Elevation at Washington Gateway) and friends and family on Wednesday prior to opening to the public on Thursday.  Union Social is from the owners of Copperwood Tavern in Arlington and hopes to be a neighborhood destination where diners can enjoy locally sourced dishes and an extensive bar.  Union Social has a transit theme to its interior and many of the items on its cocktail menu.  They will be open for lunch, dinner, and brunch on the weekends (although not initially).

Interior of Union Social

Interior of Union Social

The complete dinner and brunch menus are below.  Click here for a larger version of the dinner menu and here for a larger version of the brunch menu.

Full Dinner Menu at Union Social

Full Dinner Menu at Union Social

Full Brunch Menu at Union Social

Full Brunch Menu at Union Social

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Driftwood to Celebrate One Year Anniversary on Saturday

8 Oct
Driftwood Kitchen on H Street

Driftwood Kitchen on H Street

Driftwood Kitchen (400 H Street) is celebrating its one year anniversary this Saturday (October 10th).  For brunch, they are inviting guests who wear their pajamas to get a free glass of campaign to celebrate, and they will be offering a special prefix menu (as well as an a la carte menu) and bottomless mimosas and bloody marys for $15.  For dinner, every guest will get a complimentary glass of champagne and there will be a prefix menu, free give aways, and half price bottles of select wine.

Vendetta to Make Sunday All Day Brunch

1 Oct
Front of Vendetta

Front of Vendetta

Vendetta (1212 H Street) will be turning its Sunday menu into an all day brunch.  From 11 am until 10 pm on Sundays, you can enjoy the entire Vendetta brunch menu, including french toast sticks all day long.  Their $15 bottomless mimosa special will run from 11 am until 3 pm on Sundays.

In addition, DC Bocce will be returning to Vendetta on Wednesday nights (you can sign up at DCBocce.com).