Batter Bowl Bakery Rebrands as Uni Bistro

23 Nov
New Exterior at Uni Bistro, Previously Batter Bowl Bakery

New Exterior at Uni Bistro, Previously Batter Bowl Bakery

Batter Bowl Bakery (403 H Street) has recently rebranded as Uni Bistro due to an ownership change.  Previously, the restaurant was owned by neighboring Ethiopic that opened it back in 2013.  It is now owned by the husband and wife team that has been running the day to day operations.  According to the owners, Uni is a play off of nearby Union Station as well as the word unique.  The new logo that they will be rolling out soon is based off a thumb print to highlight the restaurant’s unique character.

As we previously reported, they are hoping to attract more customers in the afternoon and evening by serving alcohol and expanding lunch and dinner menu items.  As part of its rebranding efforts, the outside of the restaurant has been repainted gold and there is a new sign outside.  Expect to see new menu items rolled out soon in a push for later in the day customers.

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Sneak Peak Inside Cotton & Reed, Opening This Winter in Union Market

23 Nov
The Front of Future Cotton & Reed. Will Be Glass Roll-up Window

The Front Entrance of Future Cotton & Reed That Will Be Transformed Into Roll-Up Glass Window

Looking for something to look forward to during the cold winter months after the holidays?  Look no further than Cotton & Reed, the new craft rum distillery coming to the Union Market area (1330 5th Street, NE) this winter.  Cotton & Reed will have both a tasting room and a distillery in the location, which is slightly up the street (to the north) from the main market building at Union Market.  While you wouldn’t be able to tell based upon the outside of the building, construction is well underway inside as Cotton & Reed hopes to open in February of next year.

View of Cotton & Reed from Front Door Looking Back

View of Cotton & Reed from Front Door Looking Back. The Tasting Room Will be in the Front (Bar to the Left in Picture) and Distillery in the Back.

Cotton & Reed was founded by Reed Walker and Jordan Cotton who met in a previous professional life as NASA consultants.  They created Cotton & Reed several years ago at Blind Dog Cafe and have been working to expand and open a distillery with a tasting room ever since.  Cotton & Reed has crowdfunded much of its initial start up money utilizing Indiegogo campaigns, which recently raised over $45,000 for the business.  In addition to the founders, the company has assembled a team that includes general manager and herbalist Lukas Smith, who recently won DC Eater’s Bartender of the Year award.

Future Tasting Room Area at Cotton & Reed

Future Tasting Room Area at Cotton & Reed. The Bar Will Be on the Right in Picture.

While looking for a location, they were approached by Edens, the mega South Carolina real estate company that opened the Union Market market building and that has purchased major portions of the surrounding warehouses and vacant land over the past several years.  At the time, 1330 5th Street was occupied by Samsung Tofu, a wholesaler that operated in two side by side warehouse stalls.  Samsung will continue its operations but has shifted everything into one of the two stalls and a wall has been erected to subdivide the two businesses.  February is the tentative open date, but that could slide depending upon construction.  The building is quite old, and the construction team keeps finding surprises as they renovate (including unknown pipes recently).

Future Distillery Area at Cotton & Reed

Future Distillery Area at Cotton & Reed

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DC Harvest to Serve Brunch on Black Friday

23 Nov
Monterey Jack Doughnuts at DC Harvest

Monterey Jack Doughnuts at DC Harvest

DC Harvest (517 H Street) will be serving brunch on Black Friday from 11 am until 2:30 pm.  In addition to their usual brunch menu, they will be serving their signature Old Bay fried chicken, $20 bottomless Bloody Marys, and monterey jack doughnuts.  The restaurant will be closed for Thanksgiving but will otherwise have normal operating hours during the weekend.

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Taqueria Replacing The Spot Deli on H Street

14 Nov
701 H Street

701 H Street

A taqueria will be replacing The Spot Deli (701 H Street) which closed back in September.  The name is somewhat unclear from the signage–either Pronto Taqueria and Rosticeria or Fresca Taqueria and Rosticeria.  The location had undergone a renovation prior to opening as The Spot Deli; it had previously been Heaven & H Deli for only a few months and had been Grace Deli prior to that.  It is unclear if the location is related to The Spot Deli and its owner Troy Williams who is also opening a restaurant at 1255 H Street (although that construction has been stalled for several years).

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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 Shooter—gelatin 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.

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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).

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