We’ve been looking forward to the debut of Mike Isabella’s 14th Street sandwich shop, G, since the toque divulged details and the upcoming menu back in February. Now it looks like Jerseyites in his home state will get first dibs on a similar concept, as a new eatery, G GrabandGo, was just announced for an opening in Edison, New Jersey, this spring. The Washington version is slated to debut later in the summer.
Isabella partners with sister Diana Isabella and brother-in-law Rob Wetchkus for the 20-seat spot, which promises to combine aspects of both Graffiato and the upcoming G. Both sandwich spots will serve breakfast creations such as the Jersey Mac—duck egg, ham, and Muenster cheese tucked between fresh-baked English muffins—and a variety of Italian classics like chicken Parm and an Italian hero.
Isabella isn’t the first Washington toque to expand to the Garden State. The Revel in Atlantic City drew Robert Wiedmaier and Michel Richard to set up outposts of Mussel Bar and Central, respectively.
Pisco Sours will be among the liquid offerings at Del Campo. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
When chef Victor Albisu first conceived of Del Campo, he imagined a cozy rowhouse restaurant with exposed-brick walls. Then he toured the 5,800-square-foot space at 777 I Street, Northwest, the former home of PS 7’s. He says immediately his vision for the place changed into something larger, a restaurant that captured the rustic-elegant charms of dining in countries such as Peru and Argentina.
Entering PS 7’s, guests traversed a dark, closed-off hallway with walls dividing the dining room from the bar area. At Del Campo, however, the entranceway is flanked by half walls, opening up the entire space. Enormous antique chandeliers hang down from the ceiling, and there are lots of ornate mirrors, wood, and earth tones. The restaurant is big enough to house an asado bar—get ready for flights of grilled meat—and an adjacent wine bar where staff can decant the full-bodied red wines that wine director Morgan Fausett selected for the bottle list. There is also a 36-seat bar with its own menu—a casual counterpart to the fine-dining one you’ll find in the rest of the restaurant. A big fan of all things smoked and charred, Albisu even found a way to incorporate the grill into the cocktails. Read on for all the details on Del Campo’s exciting bar plans.
Pillowy beignets at Bayou Bakery. Photograph courtesy of Bayou Bakery.
Greetings, derbyers. Cashion’s won Tuesday’s contest, beating out Seasonal Pantry for a spot in the elite eight. There are just two slots lefts before we move on to the next round, so be sure to weigh in as we move toward selecting the best doughnuts in all of Washington.
Up now: Palena Market, sister store to Frank Ruta’s acclaimed restaurant, where the fritters are a weekend favorite for much of Northwest Washington. Palena takes on Bayou Bakery, home to chef David Guas’s buttermilk beignets. Who wins? The decision is in your hands. Be sure to vote before 5.
Happy hump day, food truck followers! It feels like we skipped spring and went straight to summer, so get outside for specials like spicy salmon salad from Go Fish, apple crisp doughnuts from Mama's Donut Bites, and coconut curry and noodles aboard Fojol Bros. (Volathai).
Chef Adam Schop (left) and the most luxurious item on the menu at Le Diplomate: a three-tiered shellfish plateau heaped with freshly shucked oysters, clams, shrimp cocktail, king crab, and lobster (right). Photographs by Jeff Elkins.
Spring has finally arrived, and it’s perfect weather for relaxing on an outdoor patio with a bottle of cold Chablis and a three-tiered platter of freshly shucked oysters, clams, cracked crab, and chilled lobster. Which you can now do at Le Diplomate, a 14th Street spot from Philadelphia-based restaurateur Stephen Starr, which is finally open after a year of construction.
Nightly dinner service is currently underway, and there’s already plenty of competition for seats on the 60-seat, hedge-lined patio. Chef Adam Schop combines traditional brasserie staples such as French onion soup, hand-chopped steak tartare, beef bourguignon, and moules frites with more modern innovations (here’s the menu). You might start out with tuna carpaccio drizzled with leek vinaigrette or roasted sweetbreads with morels before moving on to house-made pappardelle sauced with wild boar or seared scallops with spring peas and orzo. Simpler dishes—radishes with sea salt and butter, say, followed by savory crepes or an omelet—appeal to the casual weeknight diner.
Restaurants on the 14th Street strip are mainly geared toward the evening crowd, but once Le Diplomate is fully up and running, you’ll find breakfast, brunch, lunch, and mid-afternoon service. While the airy 200-seat eatery is surrounded by windows, the 36-seat garden room, with its glass ceiling and doors opening to the patio, seems particularly suited to reading the paper over a pot of La Colombe coffee and a warm croissant. Later in the day, a stately curving zinc bar or one of the deep semicircular booths promises to be a popular spot for sipping one of the many draft beers, wines, or French-inspired cocktails like a glass of bubbly with Combier Pamplemousse, a grapefruit liqueur. Designer Shawn Hausman—the talent behind see-and-be-seen spots such as Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont and the Standard in New York City—created the chic decor, which manages to feel both buzzy and cozy, thanks to glowing lamps and antiques salvaged from Parisian markets.
The concept was inspired by the corner building, a former laundry facility that reminded Starr of Parc, his French brasserie off Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. While the menus and design are different, the two have a similar feel, especially from the outside with canopied sidewalk seating. Another welcome carryover: an extensive bakery program, with stacks of fresh baguettes and boules greeting you at the door. The loaves pop up on the menu, but you can also make like a Parisian and tuck one under your arm to go.
The restaurant officially opens on Monday, April 15. Until then, enjoy a 10 percent discount during the soft-opening stage. We’ll report back on daytime services as they start.
Le Diplomate. 1601 14th St., NW; 202-332-3333. Current dinner hours: Sunday through Tuesday 5 to 10, Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 11, and Friday and Saturday 5 to midnight.
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Happy Tuesday, food truck followers! It's the perfect day for a food truck picnic, so get out in the sunshine for specials like fried oyster tacos at Chef Driven, fried rice and miso soup from Tokyo in the City, and Speedy Gonzalez cheese empanadas aboard DC Empanadas.
The pastry chef at Cashion’s bases her doughnuts on an old Italian recipe. Photograph courtesy of Cashion’s.
Well, Washington, it’s pretty clear you are fans of doughnuts on a stick. Farmers market favorite Mac’s Donuts enjoyed a major victory over newcomer Zeke’s DC Donutz in Monday’s competition.
Now it’s time to pick between the puffs at Shaw market and restaurant Seasonal Pantry or those at Cashion’s in Adams Morgan, where you’ll find them at the bar during brunch. Seasonal Pantry pastry chef Naomi Gallego plays around with cool flavor combinations like pistachio-lemon Old Fashioned and banana with chocolate-caramel cream. Cashion’s dessert maven Lauren Bonfiglio takes a more classic approach, using an old Italian recipe to create her ethereal puffs. Who moves on? Cast your vote before 5.
Apparently April is National Empanada Month. Celebrate accordingly at Cuba Libre. Image via Shutterstock.
Chef-tacular: The big ticket event this week is Taste of the Nation, Share Our Strength’s fundraiser at the National Building Museum on Monday. A whole host of chefs, bartenders, winemakers, and participating restaurants share bites and sips, all in an effort to end childhood hunger in America. Tickets start at $105 and go up to $150 for VIP access.
Empanada happy hour: April is National Empanada Month (why not?), and Cuba Libre celebrates with a variety of stuffed specials. This Monday is the official “empanada hour,” with $1 empanadas, $5 caipirinhas, and $4 sangria from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.
Mike Isabella with judge Scott Drewno (left) and Proof chef Haidar Karoum (right). Photographs by Jeff Elkins.
Any city that has hosted it will tell you: Cochon 555 is a debaucherous day of pork-rific proportions. At each stop on its national tour, the event challenges five chefs to make the most of one entire heritage breed pig by creating dishes using all of its parts. Meanwhile, wine, beer, and spirits vendors show up to buzzify the pig-eating crowds.
This year’s event in Washington took place on Sunday, April 7, at the Newseum. The chefs participating were Mike Isabella (Graffiato), Bryan Voltaggio (Volt and Range), Kyle Bailey and Tiffany MacIsaac (Birch & Barley), Jeff Buben (Vidalia and Woodward Table), and Haidar Karoum (Proof and Estadio). It must be said: They really rose to the occasion, putting out impressive dishes such as belly pastrami (Isabella), pâté en croûte (Voltaggio), and an Egg McMuffin-like sandwich with a pork-fat muffin and hickory-smoked pork loin (Karoum). Crowds washed down the rich dishes with jarred Manhattans featuring whiskeys from Hudson, Far West, Four Roses, and other distillers, as well as wine, mezcals from Illegal, and digestion-aiding shots from industry darling Fernet Branca.
In the end, Mike Isabella and team were judged the winners of the evening. To relive all the piggy goodness, cruise through our tasty slideshow.
Happy Monday, food truck followers! It's a gorgeous spring day, so get out in the sunshine for specials like smoky mac and cheese with green-chili-braised pork from Cap Mac, crabcakes aboard Cirque Cuisine, and ice cream cookie sandwiches from Captain Cookie.
