Results tagged “cork”

D.C. has always had a reputation as a drinking town. Maybe it's because of all the lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians, but in the heyday of the cocktail, before Prohibition, residents of the District supposedly out-drank their counterparts in other areas of the country several times over. We even have our own cocktail that was named after a lobbyist. These days, many of the top restaurants in the city now have extensive cocktail programs to match their ample wine lists, and a number of places focused solely on making a truly great cocktail have opened in the last few years.

    

It's been a delicious year in D.C. The city has seen a number of interesting new restaurants and eatieries, including spots like CommonWealth, Art and Soul, Cork Wine Bar, Adour, and Ray's Hell-Burger. The DCist food staff got together to look back on their favorite dishes, desserts, and drinks of 2008.

The ownership of Mendocino Grille will be transferred from Eli Hengst and Jared Rager to Troy Bock, long term general manager and wine director of the restaurant, according to an announcement today. Barry Koslow will stay on as the executive chef. The reason behind the sale was to focus on their other restaurants/wine bars, Sonoma and Redwood. They also have leases signed for spaces on 14th Street and Glover Park where they will go head to head with Cork and Enology, respectively.

It has been about six weeks since Chef Stefano Frigerio, the former sous chef from Maestro, joined Mio and called in fellow Maestro alum Nick Fragelli Stefanelli. As has been noted, the restaurant has had many staff changes in its short history and gone through a lot of turmoil. And because of that, most food writers, including myself, have abstained from making much comment about the restaurant. There's no question that it is a charming space, though perhaps not in the easiest of locations. And I am sure many a person may have wandered into Il Mulino mistakenly due to the slight similarity between the names.

It's a very good time to be a wine drinker in D.C. With spring not too far away, wine bars have been popping up like daisies around town. Newcomers include Proof in Chinatown, Vinoteca at 11th/U, and Veritas in Dupont Circle. Just last night, another contender entered the fray: Cork officially opened its doors on 14th between R and S. The wine list is 40 strong by the glass, and around 130 by the bottle. Prices are generally in the $8-$11 range for glasses, although there are a few outliers at $6 and $14. Cork also offers flights of three wines for $9-$13 - my chenin blanc flight was an interesting tour through the grape's intricacies, with sugar and acidity levels varying between glasses. At the moment, the beer list has only five bottles, but it includes standouts such as the Smuttynose IPA and Floris Wit-Blanche. As for the food, I arrived as the kitchen was closing so I missed out on a chance to try the menu, but the presence of Chef Ron Tonaka, former sous chef of CityZen and Citronelle, makes me confident that the food will be an attraction here. The menu is small, but includes some typical wine bar fare such as charcuterie and duck confit, as well as more adventurous selections, each notated with wine recommendations.