About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Are pizza and oysters the dream combo we’ve all been sleeping on? Veg-centric Shaw restaurant Oyster Oyster recently debuted its next-door “garage” serving grandma-style slices and oysters on the half shell. Now, the team behind Brookland French bistro and wine bar Primrose has announced a new Union Market spot call Parachute Pizza that will similarly focus on Sicilian-style squares and oysters when it opens this fall.
“It’s just a weird coincidence,” says Primrose owner Sebastian Zutant, who’s partnering with his general manager Erin Im and chef Oliver Friendly for the new business. The trio would like to eventually offer more small seafood dishes, and a raw bar was an easier-to-execute starting point. On top of that, “nothing excites us more than eating delicious pizza. We all love fucking pizza,” Zutant says.
In particular, Zutant says they love the “gushiness” of Sicilian-style pizza with its crispy olive oil-fried crust and airy-chewy interior. Friendly, who also operates Eat & Smile Catering, says they plan to have four or five pizzas available by the slice, but a slightly longer list of full-sheet pies. Expect classic toppings like pepperoni or veggies, but also cacio e pepe, breakfast-inspired, and “taco-ish” options.
The oysters will be available by the half dozen—with the option to make them “fancy.” That means they’ll come gussied up with accoutrements like salmon roe, pickled beet, and tarragon vinegar. Special to-go containers will be available for diners who want to take their oysters to other parts of Union Market. Pizza will also be available for takeout and delivery. The team hopes to eventually offer some other small plates, like salads and garlic knots, for dine-in.
Zutant is a well-known DC somm and has his own Virginia wine label called Lightwell Survey. At Parachute Pizza, he’ll be focusing on wines that are “fun, funky, and available to-go.” The 10 rotating offerings will be canned or on draft, including wine cider from Quebec’s Revel Cider and kegs of Beaujolais Nouveau. (Zutant is trying to figure out if he can keg his own wine too.) There will be some cocktails on tap too.
The Union Market space, formerly home to Red Apron’s stall, will have six spots at the bar, high-tops seating around 20 people, plus a glass window looking into the pizza kitchen. Counter service with tablet ordering will be available to start, but Im says they’ll look into making the bar full-service down the line.
As for why it’s called Parachute Pizza?
“Pizza saves lives,” Zutant says.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
