• Fourteenth Street, Northwest, is keeping up its foodie momentum. In the wake of news that Blue Ridge’s Barton Seaver will open a fish market and restaurant, there comes word that Cork owners Khalid Pitts and Diane Gross are planning a gourmet shop up the street. Gross tells Metrocurean that it won’t be “hoity-toity” but will sell wines from Cork’s list plus beer, cheese, charcuterie, sandwiches, and salads. The husband-and-wife team will also cater small events, hold classes, and sell take-home versions of Cork standbys such as their excellent chicken-liver pâté.
• The owners of Matchbox, the Chinatown pizza/miniburger restaurant that recently opened a second location on Capitol Hill, just announced plans for a third spot. Ted’s Bulletin, also on the Hill, will serve classic cocktails and comfort food. Co-owner Ty Neal tells Tom Sietsema that there will be a “shake-tender,” charged with crafting milkshakes and malts.
• Michelle must have put in a good word: Barack Obama zipped out for lunch at a DC branch of Five Guys today, accompanied by NBC’s Brian Williams. Today’s presidential cheeseburger was topped with lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, and mustard.
• Bartender Justin Guthrie (formerly of Central and Hummingbird to Mars) is switching plans to handle drinks at the upcoming Blue Ridge and will instead craft cocktails at the W Hotel, which is slated to open in downtown DC later this summer.
• A Mexican-accented menu overseen by Ann Cashion and a punch-packing tequila list come together at the H Street Country Club, the long-anticipated hangout that just opened in the Atlas District. But the biggest draw might be the indoor minigolf course, where you can sink a putt in holes dedicated to Ben’s Chili Bowl and Marion Barry.
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Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
