Salted Pisco Sour at Eat The Rich. (Photo by Paul Taylor)
Drink of the week: Salty cocktails
Where to get it: Eat the Rich
Food and cocktail pairings are nothing new—a good drink can enhance any meal—but Eat the Rich is now applying this concept to its raw bar and seafood menu with a new “Brine Time” happy hour, featuring cocktails and spirits with a salty, savory, briny backbone.
Drinks include a salted pisco sour with sherry, salt tincture, and fennel liqueur, while the Capital Dill blends Green Hat Gin, a Virginia-made oyster-steeped aquavit, and cucumber-dill syrup.
Before you freak out, relax. You won’t be served highballs of boozy saltwater, says Paul Taylor, who manages the bar and worked on the drinks with owner Derek Brown.
“We’re definitely trying to push the boundaries of some things, but I think the menu is varied in degrees of saltiness,” he says. “The idea of salt or savory elements in any of these drinks is just to accentuate [the flavors].”
Like anything, he says, balance is key. Too much salt can ruin (or enhance) a drink the same way it does with chicken, steak, or vegetables.
In addition to cocktails, Taylor recommends pairing a raw oyster with a dram of Islay scotch. Even better: shoot back the oyster and then pour the scotch into the shell with the extra brine before sucking it dry.
During happy hour, briny scotches will be priced at $10 and select cocktails are $9 ($12 otherwise). Specials run 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday. Other deals include Rappahannock oysters for $1 and oyster back shots for $6.
Small bites:
An Iceland-themed dinner
With this weather, anything iced sounds amazing right now. Art and Soul (415 New Jersey Ave NW) is hosting an Icelandic pop-up dinner this evening at 7 p.m. Chef Hamilton Johnson of the forthcoming Honeysuckle will be joining the kitchen staff. Tickets are $70 for four courses and four drink pairings. D.C. is sorely lacking in Nordic cooking, so this is a unique opportunity within the city.
A sampling (and sipping) of summer’s bounty
Head to Chef Todd Gray’s Equinox restaurant (818 Connecticut Avenue NW) on Sunday, July 31 for a “Solstice Bites and Flights” tasting of seasonal dishes and drinks, with plenty of food on hand for both vegans and omnivores alike. Look for dishes like grilled figs and mushrooms, striped bass tacos, and eggplant ravioli, and drinks will include local sips from Denizen’s Brewery, Boxwood Winery, and Lyon Distilling. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and tickets are $45 plus tax and gratuity.
New restaurants on display
If you live to be ahead of the restaurant curve, don’t miss Mess Hall‘s (703 Edgewood Street NE) “New Kitchens on the Block” (affectionately dubbed “NKOTB”) showcase this Sunday. Participating soon-to-open restaurants include Marjorie Meek-Bradley’s Smoked & Stacked, Jeff Black’s Addie’s, and Yuan Tang’s Rooster & Owl, along with cocktails from Green Hat and Catoctin Creek and beer from Leesburg’s Vanish Brewing. Tickets are $65 for general admission and $95 for VIPs. Sessions run from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m.
Beer, The Bullpen, and Billy
Billy Joel is hitting Nationals Park this Saturday and The Bullpen (1201 Half Street SE) will be open for pre- and post-show festivities starting at 3 p.m. There will be live music and $10 24-ounce Miller Lite and Coors Light cans on special. Admissions is free and you can stop by with or without a ticket to the big show.
