Food

Bethesda/Chevy Chase Summer Restaurant Week Starts Now

It’s nearly August, which means summer Restaurant Week season is ramping up. It was just announced that DC’s Restaurant Week will happen August 24 through August 30. But you can get a jump-start on the (usually) bargain eating by heading to Bethesda or Chevy Chase: Their version of Restaurant Week—$12 to $15 two-course lunches and $25 to $30 three-course dinners—kicks off today and ends on Sunday, August 2. High on our list are the Cali-inspired restaurant Redwood, eclectic wine bar Grapeseed, and Asian-fusion spot Raku. Cheap Eats favorites Faryab, Jaleo, and Passage to India are also taking part, but dinner at those places is usually less than $30 a person anyway. We’ve got a few of the menus below and will be continuously updating them throughout the week.

Assaggi Mozzarella Bar

$12 lunch menu: The appetizer is a choice of chilled carrot/tomato gazpacho or summer lettuce salad with Sherry vinaigrette.

For the main course, choose between goat-cheese/arugula ravioli with tomato sauce; chicken Milanese with heirloom-tomato salad; or mild Italian sausage, braised fennel and tomato, and arugula salad.

A dessert—the selection changes—may be substituted for an appetizer.

$30 dinner menu:
To start, choose between buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes, olives, capers, and basil; fennel-stuffed calamari with Neapolitan-style escarole; or summer lettuce salad with goat cheese and red-wine vinaigrette.

Main courses include sea bass with tomatoes, olives, capers, and broccoli rabe; braised veal breast with mushroom gnocchi and cream sauce; and rigatoni with mild Italian sausage and porcini mushrooms.

Dessert is a choice of summer-berry cake with vanilla sauce or goat-cheese crème brûlée with pistachio gelato.

Divino Lounge

$30 dinner menu: Starters are a choice of gazpacho; house salad; or shrimp in white-wine/garlic sauce.

Main courses include grilled mini filet mignon and grilled shrimp with vegetables and Champagne sauce; baked chicken breast stuffed with spinach, serrano ham, and Provolone; or mixed paella with meat and seafood.

Dessert is a choice of crème caramel with dulce de leche; tiramisu; or Argentine crepes with dulce de leche.

Grapeseed

This Bethesda wine bar is extending their lunch and dinner deals through August 9.  

$12 lunch menu: Appetizers include house salad with sherry vinaigrette; arugula salad with goat cheese, olivevs, and feta; Caesar salad; soup of the day; shrimp with tasso gravy and grits; fried calamari with guacamole and salsa; and mussels steamed in beer with whole-grain mustard.

The main course is a choice of grilled-fish tacos with spicy slaw, avocado, and lime; turkey burger with grilled onions and Caesar dressing; fontina-stuffed meatball with marinara and basil flatbread; grilled pork tenderloin with fries and housemade steak sauce; grilled salmon with spinach-and-shiitake salad; shrimp with arugula pesto and parmesan flatbread; mussels steamed in beer with fries; chicken-and-portobello sandwich; Thai grilled-chicken salad with cucumber and lime.  

$30 dinner menu: The appetizer is a choice of fontina-stuffed meatballs with polenta; wild-mushroom fricassee with truffled polenta; fried chicken livers with habanero jelly; cornmeal-fried oysters with bacon beurre blanc; sauteed calamari with tomato, lemon, and chorizo; gnocchi with shrimp and pesto; mussels steamed in beer with whole-grain mustard; grilled Caesar salad; cherry-tomato salad with corn and basil; field-greens salad with sherry vinaigrette; arugula salad with olives, feta, and white-balsamic vinaigrette; and soup of the day.

Main courses include pan-seared rockfish with corn chowder and herbed croutons; portobello-mushroom chilaquiles with squash, tomatillo salsa, and queso fresco; pan-roasted filet mignon with horseradish mashed potatoes and oxtail-mushroom ragout ($10 surcharge); balsamic-roasted chicken with Hayman sweet potatoes, red grapes, and Italian sausage; grilled salmon with spinach-shiitake salad and redskin smashed potatoes; and pan-seared scallops with Yukon Gold puree, carrot-almond sauce, and cauliflower ($8 surcharge). 

Dessert is a choice of bittersweet-chocolate pudding with salted caramel and caramelized hazelnuts; warm blueberry crisp with cardamom/pine-nut streusel and orange-buttermilk ice cream; and housemade pineapple, raspberry, and mango sorbets. 

La Ferme

$15 lunch menu: Start with chilled cream-of-cucumber soup with dill crème fraîche; baby-lettuce salad with heart-of-palm, tomato, and mushrooms; or seafood terrine with fine-herb sauce.

Main courses include pan-seared bistro-steak medallions au poivre; grilled mahi mahi Provençale with mashed potatoes; and penne with vegetables and Parmesan.

A dessert—crème caramel; bittersweet-chocolate mousse cake; or raspberry sorbet—may be ordered instead of an appetizer.

$30 dinner menu: Starters include fricasee of snails and wild mushroom Provençale; chicken-liver terrine with port; warm crab-and-broccoli custard with tomato coulis; onion soup with Emmenthal cheese; chilled cream-of-zucchini soup; chilled asparagus with creamy vinaigrette; Caesar salad; and mesclun salad with heart-of-palm, tomato, and mushrooms.

Main courses are a choice of panko-crusted halibut with ratatouille; fricassee of monkfish, shrimp, and scallops with fettuccine and lobster/tarragon sauce; grilled salmon with cauliflower puree, wilted spinach, and Dijon-mustard sauce; pan-seared chicken breast with wild mushrooms and sherry-wine sauce; grilled flatiron steak with pommes frites and white-wine/shallot sauce; sauteed veal with sundried-tomato/basil cream sauce; sauteed pork chop with Calvados and mushroom-cream sauce; sauteed calf’s liver with caramelized onions and Sherry vinegar; or penne with vegetables and Parmesan.

Desserts are a choice of warm summer-berry bread pudding with vanilla ice cream; bittersweet-chocolate mousse with walnut brittle; mango sorbet with fruit salad; honey-vanilla crème brûlée; and tomme de savoie cheese with dried fruit and nuts.

Lia’s

For its $25 lunch and $30 dinner, Geoff Tracy’s Friendship Heights Italian restaurant will let customers choose from nearly the whole menu.

Redwood

$30 dinner menu: Appetizers include soup of the day; summer lettuce salad with breakfast radishes, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and white-balsamic dressing; and grilled-octopus salad with farro, fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, lemon, and paprika vinaigrette.

The main course is a choice of market fish with summer-corn succotash and Chesapeake crab butter; roasted beef coulotte with gruyere-potato puree and red-kale pesto; roasted pork loin with crushed new potatoes, rapini, and figs; or cheese tortellini in fresh-herb broth with summer vegetables and grana padano.

Desserts are summer fruit soup with white-chocolate gelato; goat-cheese panna cotta with orange and honey-glazed figs; or chocolate bread pudding with strawberry coulis and sweet creme fraiche.

Tragara

Restaurant Week is extended here through August 31.

$12 lunch menu: Appetizers include Caprese salad; roasted sweet peppers with garlic and olive oil; grilled portobello mushroom baked with tomato and mozzarella; mussels with Verdicchio, herbs, garlic, and tomato sauce; minestrone soup; romaine salad with focaccia croutons and Parmesan cheese; or mixed-greens salad.

The main course is a choice of warm shrimp salad with endive and radicchio; Boston lettuce salad with smoked salmon, mozzarella, and capers; agnolotti with Parmesan-cream sauce and cappellini Napoli; penne with tomatoes, basil, eggplant, and mozzarella; orecchiette Puttanesca; grilled chicken breast with tomatoes, basil, and olive oil; and grilled salmon with broccoli rabe.

$30 dinner menu: Appetizers are a choice of Caprese salad; roasted sweet peppers with garlic and olive oil; prosciutto with melon; grilled portobello mushroom baked with tomato and mozzarella; mussels with Verdicchio, herbs, garlic, and tomato sauce; minestrone soup; romaine salad with focaccia croutons and Parmesan cheese; or mixed-greens salad.

For the main course, choose from agnolotti with spinach and Parmesan; penne with tomatoes, basil, eggplant, and mozzarella; orecchiette with broccoli rabe and jumbo-lump crab; linguine with shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and roasted garlic; grilled salmon with smoked salmon, fettuccine Alfredo, and arugula emulsion; chicken breast with sweet peppers, olives, and mushrooms; veal Scaloppine; and flank steak with shallots and Barolo.

Dessert is a choice of pastry, gelato, or sorbet.

Visions

$30 dinner menu: For an appetizer, choose from kalamata-olive tapenade with focaccia; trio of seasonal soups; steamed mussels with bacon, black beans, and leeks; crawfish egg rolls with Thai peanut sauce; grilled-vegetable bruschetta with sweet-red-pepper sauce; mesclun greens with balsamic vinaigrette; and grilled Caesar salad with Parmesan crisps and lemon-balsamic reduction.

Main courses include crab mac ’n cheese; Cuban-style salmon with plantains, sofrito black beans, and rice; chicken Scaloppine with linguine; penne with roasted chicken and spinach in garlic-cream sauce; penne with salmon and asparagus in basil-pesto cream sauce; and Israeli cous cous with roasted vegetables, rosemary potatoes, and asparagus puree.

Desserts are fresh fruit with crème Anglaise; sweet-potato pie; chocolate crème brûlée; and tiramisu.

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Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

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.