The Clover coffeemaker at Old Town’s Grape + Bean brews one cup at a time. It can be programmed according to type of coffee bean, cup size, and other variables. Photograph by Stacy Zarin-Goldberg.

David Gwathmey points with pride to the pine floors and original beams of his Alexandria coffee shop—the building dates from the 1800s. They were freed from layers of linoleum and wallpaper when he and his wife, Sheera Rosenfeld, opened Grape + Bean (118 S. Royal St.; 703-664-0214) in February.

The Old World atmosphere is balanced by Gwathmey’s other source of pride: a high-tech brewer called the Clover. The one-cup gizmo, which cost $11,000, is programmed according to cup size, brew time, and water temperature to maximize the flavor and clarity of every bean or blend.

“As with chocolate, breads, and other specialty products, people will pay a premium for more flavor,” says Gwathmey, who charges up to $3.75 for a Clover-brewed cup.

Gwathmey’s shop is creating a buzz among connoisseurs who can taste the difference between an herbal Ethiopian bean and a citrusy South American blend. But Gwathmey isn’t alone. In fact, two of the best sources for high-quality beans in the area are Alexandria neighbors of his:

Old Town Coffee Tea & Spice (215 S. Union St.; 703-683-0856), near the river, has been around almost 30 years. Teapots, cozies, French presses, and coffee paraphernalia pack shelves. Bean fiends gravitate to owner Frank Poland’s 20 or so varieties of coffee—plus more than 200 loose-leaf teas. Beans from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, with the unusual flavor profiles of prized single-origin beans, are the pick of serious home brewers.

On March 14, 2006, Nisha Sidhu made her pitch to longtime friend Bharet Malhotra. She wanted to open a chocolate lounge—and wanted him to sign on as her business partner. Sidhu would bring the dessert skills—she had completed L’Academie de Cuisine’s pastry-arts program and worked as special-events pastry chef and chocolatier at 2941 in Falls Church—and Malhotra, a vice president of sales at a software company who has lived all over the world, would provide the business savvy.

More than two years later, their chocolate-focused lounge and restaurant, Co Co. Sala, opened last Friday in DC’s Penn Quarter. How does Malhotra remember the exact date when the chocolatey plan was hatched? He laughs: “It happened at my birthday brunch.”

•Chef Richard Sandoval, owner of Penn Quarter’s Latin/Asian Zengo and a dozen other restaurants nationwide, opened his second local spot this week at Tysons Corner Center. The Mexican La Sandia, which has a twin restaurant in Denver, offers more traditional flavors than Zengo, but the colorful dining room tries to bring some swank to the mall location. A festive opening party last weekend featured a mariachi band and a neverending parade of tasty margaritas, strawberry agua frescas, pork carnitas, and tiny fish tacos. At the end of the night, Sandoval and his business partner, celebrated tenor Placido Domingo, made an appearance.

Next weekend, some of the nation’s keenest beer aficionados will be in DC. The occasion? Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience. Forty-eight breweries from across the country will take part in the controlled bacchanal celebrating the art and science of pairing good beer with good cuisine. Guests will be treated to a reception of 35 food tastings, each with a suggested beer pairing. Representatives from breweries will be on hand to give seminars and talk up their favorite pints.

Every brewery that comes will be bringing one or two craft beers, each to be paired with the appetizers (supplied by Federal City Caterers). Some of the most interesting pairing ideas include Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout with crostini of figs and prosciutto (Foothills Brewing Co., North Carolina), Liquid Sunshine Blonde Ale with steamed Thai turkey dumplings (Hoppy Brewing Co., California), and a Tartanic Scottish Ale with crème brûlée (Blackfoot River Brewing Co., Montana).

Only eight chefs remain on this season of Top Chef, yet it could be 800, considering the amount of ego still left in the house. As the show opens, Antonia muses about the gender equality, saying, “This is the first time four women have made it this far.” Immediately, we know a woman is going home tonight.

The chefs file into the Top Chef kitchen and don’t seem surprised to find Padma and Tom together, his bald pate shining somewhere near the vicinity of her armpit. “Aw, they know,” he mutters. Yes, even we the viewers know. If Tom is in the kitchen for the Quickfire Challenge, it can mean only one thing: Mise en place relay race! (It scares us that our brain cells store this type of information.)

Ahhh, brunch. That lazy weekend repast fueled by Bloody Marys and mimosas that bridges breakfast and lunch and, after a long week at work, passes as a full-day activity. In the spirit of Mother’s Day—one of the biggest brunch days of the year—we’re bringing in three chefs who offer stellar late-morning menus to chat about all things brunchy and breakfasty today at 11 AM. Ask them about their own favorite brunches, how they riff on the traditional to set their menus apart from the often-boring pack, or for ideas on what to make for Mom on Sunday morning. Because, of all people, she certainly deserves a delicious, lazy brunch. Submit your questions here.

Feedback—our feature where we ask you, the diner, for a restaurant critique on the street—has gone video! This week, we staked out Tackle Box, Barton Seaver and co.'s week-old, New England-inspired fish shack in Georgetown. What did the lunch crowd think about the fried-up and wood-grilled menu, picnic-table decor, and the pricetags? And how did they rate the place on a scale of 1 to 10?