Greater DC’s Black Restaurant Week kicked off Sunday, July 16, boosting nearly 100 Black food businesses around the District, Maryland, and Virginia as part of a nationwide campaign to celebrate and increase sales at Black-owned eateries. Black Restaurant Week—actually two weeks—runs through the end of July. Here are some notable participating restaurants and specials to try:
All Set Restaurant & Bar
8630 Fenton St., Silver Spring
The airy seafood dining room is offering a three-course meal for $45: oysters rockefeller, a pork chop with broccolini, wild rice, and peach chutney, and a buttermilk scone with berries and cream. Sibling eateries Money Muscle BBQ and the chicken shack Fryer’s Roadside discounting takeout orders 10 percent when you order through their websites.
Ben’s Next Door
1211 U St., NW
Ben’s Chili Bowl’s modern, brunchy sibling is offering a $40 special that includes a cocktail, appetizer, entree, and dessert. Choose from starters like buffalo cauliflower and lump-crab deviled eggs, and mains such as jerk penne or chicken and waffles.
Matchbox
Multiple locations
The 20-year-old wood-fired pizza chain with locations stretching from Rockville to Capitol Hill to Merrifield is offering two fixed-price menus. The $25 tw0-course lunch includes a salad or arancini plus a second course like a burger or 10-inch pizza. The $41 three-course dinner menu moves from a salad or appetizer to chicken fettuccine alfredo, miso salmon, or a 14-inch pizza, then on to dessert like brownies or New York cheesecake.
Oohhs & Aahhs
1005 U St., NW; 5933 Georgia Ave., NW
These beloved soul food spots on U Street and in Brightwood are offering double-entree meals with two sides, a dessert, and a drink for $40 when ordered online with the code BRW23. Classic plates include fried whiting, short rib, and wings.
The Park at 14th
920 14th St., NW
On Thursday and Friday, this atmospheric nightclub/restaurant on Franklin Park is offering a $55 three-course dinner and a $45 bottomless brunch with Caribbean-inspired American fare and free-flowing cocktails.
There are dozens of other participating Black-owned restaurants. They include HalfSmoke DC, a lounge-y U Street spot; Spice Kitchen West African Grill, a Nigerian jollof rice purveyor in Brentwood’s Mixt Food Hall; Appioo African Bar & Grill, a Ghanaian nook in Shaw; and the vegan soul food chain NuVegan Cafe, with locations on Georgia Avenue and in College Park, Baltimore, and Woodbridge.
