March promises openings of several new restaurants in Washington.
Espita Mezcaleria (1250 Ninth St. NW) will specialize in the flavors of southern Mexico, highlighting Oaxaca’s seven styles of mole. Tortillas will be hand-pressed, and all dishes featuring masa will be made with freshly ground corn. A rotating selection of varietals and styles of mezcal will be available.
Chef Michael Schlow, who owns Tico D.C. and The Riggsby in Northwest, will open his Italian restaurant Alta Strada (“high road” in Italian) at 465 K St. NW in March. Antipasti, thin-crusted pizzas, house-made pastas and seasonal main courses will be on the menu. The wine list will be an extensive all-Italian one.
Across the river in Alexandria, Burton’s Grill & Bar (6450 Old Beulah St.) will feature contemporary American dishes in a casual setting. The restaurant will showcase vegetarian and gluten sensitive menus.
The BBQ Joint (2005 14th St. NW) is a new barbecue restaurant serving pulled pork, brisket, smoked turkey, sausage and ribs. Sandwiches include a Cubano, Sloppy Joe sliders and smoked pastrami. For dessert, there’s banana pudding. Chili is made with smoked tofu, and customers can buy the barbecued meat by the half-pound. The restaurant has a Frito pie to-go window.
Recently opened Nazca Mochica (1633 P St. NW) is a Peruvian restaurant, serving ceviches and pisco with Sol De Ica Pisco from Ica, Peru, on the main floor (Mochica), and full meals specializing in Peruvian cuisine on the second floor (Nazca).
Just-opened Mulebone (2121 14th St. NW), replacing Eatonville, is owner Andy Shallal’s (he’s also behind the Busboys and Poets cafes) concept for a modern Southern restaurant. Named for a play by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, the eatery features fried chicken, gumbo with grilled cornbread, black-eyed pea fritters and Texas shrimp with sweet potato biscuits.
Lupo Verde (1401 T St. NW) will honor International Women’s Day on Tuesday with a special dish: risotto mimosa, combining rice with saffron, shrimp, mango and pistachios. The dish will be available for one night only, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. In Italy, it’s customary for men to give women a yellow mimosa flower on March 8. At Lupo Verde, each lady who dines Tuesday will receive a complimentary mimosa cocktail.
On March 16 beginning at 6:30 p.m., Marcel’s by Robert Wiedmaier (2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) will serve a “Birds & Burgundy Dinner.” Priced at $180, it includes quail eggs in brioche, duck foie gras, breast of poussin, and quails and snails, as well as appropriate wines from Burgundy to accompany the dishes.
Macon Bistro & Larder (5520 Connecticut Ave. NW) is introducing “Sunday Evening Movie Classics” in its new Magnolia Room. On March 6, three Julia Roberts films will be shown — “Steel Magnolias,” “Pretty Woman” and “Eat Pray Love.” On March 13, it’s Joan Crawford’s “The Women,” “Mildred Pierce” and “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” Films begin at 7 p.m., and each runs about 90 minutes. Guests can sip cocktails ($12), beer ($5) and half-priced bottles of wine. A supper menu and cocktail chatter snacks will be available. Short ribs, shrimp and grits, fried chicken and hamburgers are on the menu. Reservations are recommended. Future films will be announced on the restaurant’s website — maconbistro.com
Throughout March, three Legal Sea Foods restaurants (704 7th St. NW, 2301 Jefferson Davis Highway in Crystal City, and Tysons Galleria in McLean) will add Skrei to their a la carte menu. A Norwegian Arctic cod, Skrei is considered a culinary delicacy in Norway and spends most of its life in the nutrient-rich Barents Sea. Upon reaching maturity, it migrates to the Norwegian coast to spawn. Between January and April, small fishing vessels catch the fish. It’s a firm white fish, and Legal Sea Foods will serve it with green olives, Meyer lemon-artichoke relish, fingerling potatoes and Brussels sprouts with bacon for $27.95.
Spring in Washington means cherry blossoms, and the Hay Adams Hotel (800 16th St. NW) will serve specials inspired by the blossoms from March 20 to April 17. The Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 Japanese cherry trees from Tokyo’s mayor. A Japanese-inspired, three-course $70 prix-fixe menu is offered. Each day during the festival season between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., executive pastry chef Josh Short will offer chocolate and cherry macaroons in the hotel lobby as he builds a cherry blossom macaroon tree.
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