Steaks for ladies: now a thing. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Women of Washington, there’s a steakhouse opening just for you. STK is set to inhabit the former Casa Nonna space with a “female-friendly mindset,” as described by managing hospitality company the One Group. The company has already expanded the concept from New York to Atlanta, London, Las Vegas, LA, and Miami. Tagline: “Not your daddy’s steakhouse.”
So what does an un-fatherly chophouse entail? Well, you won’t find a lot of mahogany paneling or soft piano music. Other locations look like a cross between a restaurant and nightclub and, according to the One Group, boast features such as black platform seats, smoky mirrors, and “textured crocodile tiles.” Steaks arrive in small, medium, and large—just don’t call them unladylike—portions, alongside a variety of sauces and sides like truffle fries and mac and cheese. The lineup also includes non-beef options such as a raw bar, crab salad, and lobster, or tiny beef options like the signature slider-like “Lil’ BRGs” (which could potentially undergo a name change based on past vowelless burger battles). If the DC location is anything like New York, you could dress up various dishes with truffles or foie gras.
The arrival of STK marks the second overtly woman-oriented restaurant planned for Washington, the first being the “lady-friendly” sports bar Bracket Room from The Bachelorette’s Chris Bukowski. So, ladies, what do you think? Is it the dining equivalent of the Bic Pen for Her, or an attempt to fill a niche of female-friendly dining we’re lacking in the city? To the poll!
Did This American Life forever ruin calamari for you?
We don’t know what your friends like to talk about, but it’s been the topic of conversation at every dinner we’ve attended since This American Life dropped its “Doppelgangers” show upon us. Dining companions saying they just can’t stomach the idea of fried squid rings after considering the rumor—the totally unsubstantiated rumor, mind you—that pork bung is sometimes used as “imitation calamari” and shipped off to restaurants for your dining pleasure.
And it’s a funny thing, the power of suggestion. Even at some of our city’s finest restaurants, where there is no doubt that seafood sourcing is being taken super seriously, we’ve watched friends and family demure at the suggestion of taking on a platter of calamari.
But we want to hear from you: One week later, are you turned off from fried squid
forever, or have you already returned to those crispy rings? To the poll!
Who will end up on the roof of Union Market? Photograph courtesy of Flickr user Afagen.
Churned through the food-world rumor mill Thursday morning: the Prince of Petworth-generated gossip that Old Dominion Brewing would be opening a beer garden atop Union Market.
Not a fact, Edens director of culinary strategy Richie Brandenburg told the Washington City Paper’s Young & Hungry blog. Brandenburg added that he has been in talks with breweries about a project—including DC’s own Chocolate City—but that “no deals are in place.”
That got us thinking: What regional brewery would Washingtonians most like to encounter there? So at the risk of being accused of lazy journalism again, we want to hear from you. Is there a beermaker you’d most like to see at the new Northeast foodie mecca? If you don’t see your favorite regional brewery on the list (admittedly not exhaustive), feel free to let us know in the comments.
NOTE: Language in the below poll was slightly modified to make it clear that we were not stating that any business plan had, in fact, been stolen. The intention was only to learn how people felt about this issue, not to take sides. Apologies for any misunderstanding.
When the Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced that it would be filling the former Dupont Circle home of Yola with a fried chicken and doughnut restaurant, most of us rejoiced. But not all. One man, it seems, was less than thrilled with the development. And that man is Dan O’Brien, owner of Seasonal Pantry and cheftestant on the forthcoming season of Top Chef. “I’m so upset,” O’Brien told Eater DC. “It hurts that there’s a bazillion things people can do. They’re capitalizing on something that’s going to be great for them.”
Bryan Voltaggio just announced, via Twitter, the name of his forthcoming diner (the existence of which he confirmed to us back in December) in Frederick, Maryland. It's Family Meal--an industry term for the family-style meal restaurant staffers eat before the dinner shift. Like it? Hate it? Got a better idea? Let us know.
