Tag Archives: noma restaurants

Todd Gray’s Watershed Changes Chefs, Freshens Menu

14 Jan
New Braised Pork Shank with Sweet Potato Hash at Watershed

New Braised Pork Shank with Sweet Potato Hash at Watershed

Todd Gray’s Watershed, the coastal cuisine restaurant located within the Hilton Garden Inn in NoMa, has undergone several changes over the past couple of months.  Less than a year after opening the restaurant in 2011, Todd Gray turned over operations of the restaurant to Culinaire, a food and hospitality management company (Gray operates several restaurants and wrote a cookbook).  According to David Wood, Senior Vice President with Culinaire, Gray still plays an active role with Watershed and spends time in the kitchen every month with the staff.  He recommends and changes certain dishes on the menu so that they maintain his “style and vision.”  Culinaire’s vision for Watershed is to have the restaurant represent “a road trip down the Eastern Seaboard” like Todd Gray initially envisioned.

Executive Chef Joseph Paire

Executive Chef Joseph Paire

Now, the restaurant has brought in new Executive Chef Joseph Paire who has conducted an overhaul of the menu that features several exciting new dishes (view menu here).  A D.C. native, Paire graduated from Johnson and Wales culinary school and has since worked in several kitchens around D.C. including Sonoma, Mussel Bar, Lincoln (opening Chef de Cuisine), and most recently Farmers Fishers Bakers in Georgetown.  He was excited to come over to Watershed because of the restaurant’s beautiful space and the growing NoMa neighborhood. Continue reading →

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Dunkin’ Donuts Coming to NoMa

30 Oct

We noticed some interior construction activity on the N Street side of Constitution Square in NoMa (2nd and N, NE) this afternoon and some building permits posted in the window.  Based upon the leasing agent’s (KLNB) website, we can confirm that Dunkin’ Donuts will be coming soon to that space.  NoMa will now have a Dunkin’, a Starbucks, and a Tynan Coffee and Tea within two blocks of each other.

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TD Burger Opens with a Stumble, Begins to Improve

15 Oct

Our first trip to TD Burger in NoMa (250 K Street, NE) almost didn’t warrant a return trip.  It was very disappointing as the restaurant has a great outdoor seating area and a Top Chef contestant as the chef (Timothy Dean).  Yet, the fast casual burger restaurant had a weird set up, confused service, and unimpressive food.  Since that, our most recent return trip saw some improvement.  However, we hope that this trend continues and accelerates as the restaurant still needs help.

Sonia from the Bronx Burger at TD Burger

Sonia from the Bronx Burger at TD Burger

Customers order their food at the counter and then go sit down with a number card for food to have their food delivered to them.  But there’s a catch: you can’t order any alcoholic drinks at the counter and instead have to go to the bar or get the attention of the cocktail waiter/waitress (only one or two employees had the ability to serve alcohol even though there were close to ten employees serving customers).  It took us around seven minutes to order drinks once we sat down even though the restaurant was empty and we’d already asked a different server for help.  This was after waiting several minutes to order food (there was no one in line in front of us) due to a combination of the server being completely confused and the computer system being down.  Additionally, this set up is not ideal as it requires customers to open a second tab for alcohol even if they only want to order a beer.

The food did not improve the night.  The “Sonia from the Bronx” burger sounded intriguing: avocado, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, and grilled romaine.  The burger probably would have been great if it had been served as a salad without the bun.  The grilled romaine was tasty and the burger had promising flavor.  Unfortunately, all of this was overshadowed by a soggy bun that fell apart and could not hold the burger properly.  We were a little confused at how the bun was so soggy as it had clearly been thrown on the grill for a few seconds and had light grill marks.  Regardless, it ruined the burger.  The allegedly “beer battered” onion rings tasted like onion rings we could have picked up in the frozen section of the grocery store.

Continue reading →

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TD Burger Moving into NoMa

26 Mar

Washington City Paper had written several months ago that Top Chef participant Timothy Dean was looking for a space to open his second TD Burger somewhere in D.C. and likely in NoMa (Dean currently has one in Maryland).  ANC Commissioner Tony Goodman tweeted earlier today that TD Burger will officially be moving into the retail spot at the Loree Grand building in NoMa (3rd and K Street, NE where Zuppa Fresca was).

From the Washington City Paper preview several months ago:

The D.C. location of TD Burger will be similar to the original, which serves burgers, Neapolitan-style pies, sandwiches, milkshakes, and more, but with the addition of a full service bar. Dean will also rename the burgers after various presidents who he’s cooked for or crossed paths with over the years, including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. And instead of the Martin O’Malley burger, which is available at his Maryland location, a D.C. councilmember may also get his or her own meat patty.

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