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.