Barracks Row Restaurant Crawl
Next Weekend
Have you been to 8th St. SE lately? The place is going crazy! New places like The Old Siam and World Cafe are snuggling into the Hill neighborhood next to old standbys like Banana Café and Levi's Port Cafe. They're even putting in a Dunkin' Donuts on the corner of 8th and Pennsylvania! Hellooooo Coolattas.

The folks along Barracks Row are pretty excited about it too, and they're throwing the second annual Barracks Row Dine Around next Saturday, the 29th, from 4-7 p.m. For $45 (or $40 in advance), you may sample the wares of 14 restaurants and one liquor store (yes!) for what they're calling a “progressive dinner.” It's really a kitchen crawl, though, and we will be bringing our red keg cups and acting accordingly.

Get tickets by emailing the folks at the Barracks Row Main Street Association at mainstreet@barracksrow.org, or pick them up at the association's headquarters at 733 8th St. SE. Tickets are limited, so don't be lazy.

Soft Shells Trickling In
DCist has seen soft shell crabs, one of the region's spring delicacies, popping up on menus this week. We were able to sample a couple at Hank's Oyster Bar last night, which were delicious, and Brendan Cox at Circle Bistro tells us he hasn't put them on the menu yet, but has a dozen or so that he'll be “hand-selling” tonight. Be on the lookout for the fresh-molted crustaceans, especially next week, as a seasonal special. Never tried the little guys? Be sure to take it apart and pull all the meat out; ignore the looks you're getting from everyone in the dining room.

Dine Out for Cure Autism Now
Several area restaurants are opening their doors for Dine Out for Autism Monday through Thursday next week. Participating restaurants will donate between 10 and 20 percent of your bill to the Washington Chapter of the Cure Autism Now Foundation. Included in participants is Nage, which received a mention in WaPo's “Worth the Trip” column for its crabcakes. This isn't a small feat for the place, what with crabcakes and all the permutations thereof at practically every restaurant in 200 miles. If you do go to Nage, be sure to request a “Cure Autism Now” card at the front desk before your meal.

Heather Chittum Crossing Rock Creek Park Again
Just when I thought I would have to break down and go to Citronelle for Heather Chittum's desserts, she decides to come back to the Foggy Bottom as pastry chef for Notti Bianche and Dish. Her original position had opened up again, after her successor plans to move on. Hubby Anthony Chittum was apparently persuasive, as Mrs. Chittum has been gone for about six months. This is great news, since the cognitive dissonance of riding the Circulator to one of the area's best restaurants was getting to me.

Image of Banana Café and Panda from flickr user Elvert Barnes.