Takeout only? Menu changes? Different hours? Name an adjustment to survive the coronavirus pandemic, and restaurants in D.C. have probably done it. And many restaurants have turned to pop-ups in a bid to keep customers coming. Pop-ups have sprouted up all over the city in lots of forms: Some chefs have created limited-time menus or opened for new meal service, some are offering outdoor seating with a new vibe and offerings, and others have forged new partnerships with a hosting restaurant or bar. Here’s a look at a few of the pop-ups around D.C., and how they came to be.
McMinty’s Watering Hole
For its takeout lunch option, Mintwood Place in Adams Morgan takes a rotating approach featuring themed pop-ups with small menus that change every three weeks. Mintwood has never really done lunch before, says executive chef Harper McClure, so the idea was to start building that conversation: “It’s also why we came up with different names—we didn’t want people to necessarily think ‘Mintwood.’”
McClure says he drew inspiration from “very neighborhood-y type of places, like delis and chicken shacks.” First up: Bluto’s Chicken Shack in June, followed by Wise Mouth’s, a Jewish deli menu. Mintwood recently launched McMinty’s Watering Hole, an Irish pub menu featuring such classics as fish and chips ($14) and bangers and mash ($12). A riff on Italian subs is likely in the future. “By far, the fried chicken [from Bluto’s] was the biggest hit,” McClure says. Didn’t make it in time? You’re in luck: “The fried chicken sandwich that we put on—that is now on our permanent happy hour menu,” he says.
Where: 1813 Columbia Road NW
When: McMinty’s Watering Hole began July 20. But the pop-ups will continue “as long as we will be doing lunch,” McClure says.
Room 11 Sandwich Shop
Even before the pandemic, Room 11 co-owner Dan Searing and former Spoken English chef Matt Crowley have been talking about a potential collaboration. Now, Crowley is helming a pop-up sandwich shop for takeout orders at the Columbia Heights bar.
“Matt has traveled quite a bit, so the first menu was inspired by some of his travels,” Searing says. “The idea was to be international and eclectic.” Case in point: the eggplant muffaletta ($11), the jamon beurre sandwich ($12), and the Cubano ($13), which has been one of the top sellers. The pop-up has grown beyond sandwiches to-go: After D.C. entered Phase One of reopening in June, Crowley developed an expanded bistro menu for patio dining, too, with such offerings as English pea and lobster salad ($18). He even did a pig roast for the Fourth of July, which proved quite popular. “I’m hoping we’re going to do one for our anniversary,” Searing says, adding that Room 11 turns 11 in August.
They’re also adding new cafe offerings, including Alchemist coffee and an exclusive ice cream flavor by Ruby Scoops that’s based on one of their cocktails, according to Searing. Crowley, Searing and Room 11 co-owner Paul Ruppert have more ideas on tap, too. “We’re exploring some options to reinvent it with a new menu,” Searing says.
Where: 3234 11th St. NW
When: Wednesdays-Sundays.
Primrose 2.0
With new chef Oliver Friendly at the helm, French restaurant Primrose in Brookland has developed a number of pop-ups, including Larry’s Fried Chicken and Cheeseburgers and Rock the Casbah, a Moroccan theme. Primrose is offering a fresh pop-up for the first two weeks of each month, returning to its French roots for the second half. Food can be ordered for takeout or enjoyed on the patio. “We wanted to give the neighborhood a new restaurant for a week or two, since we’re all stuck at home and can’t go anywhere,” Friendly says.
Sometimes YouTube has been his inspiration: He says he pitched a Szechuan pop-up after watching lots of cooking videos from chefs in Asia. (It was hugely popular, Friendly says: “We’ll be bringing Szechuan back.”) They’re also drawing on staff experiences, he says, adding that their sous chef is from El Salvador and has been working on Salvadoran menu. “Not quesadillas and tacos but: ‘Here’s what I grew up eating,’” Friendly says.
He’s worked find the right mix of interesting and familiar items on the menu. He and his wife have two kids under 6, he says, and many people in the neighborhood are in a similar place, age-wise and career-wise. “We realized we need to balance really interesting food with what you need to feed your kids on a Tuesday night.” That means you might find a Szechuan fried chicken sandwich ($13) on the menu, right next to mac and cheese ($9). August’s pop-up will feature regional Northern Thai and Laotian fare, such as sour fermented pork sausage.
Where: 3000 12th St. NE
When: Tuesdays-Fridays, 5:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 4 p.m.- 9 p.m.
Logan Circle restaurant Nina May, which opened in November and dishes up seasonal “New American” fare featuring all-local ingredients, launched its Mexican menu concept in May. Co-owners Danilo Simic and Colin McClimans originally developed the menu for Cinco de Mayo, intending to throw a party on-site. Then came the pandemic, and so it was a takeout menu for May 5. “It was so popular, we sold out for that day,” Simic says, and they decided to keep it going throughout summer.
McClimans drew from his experience working in kitchens with a strong Latin influence—“Professionally, I’ve never cooked Mexican food,” the executive chef says—and collaborated with the Nina May staff to develop the recipes. “Everyone put their touch on the menu,” he says. Nina Mayo’s selection includes flautas, tamales, and churros for dessert, but the al pastor tacos have been a particularly huge hit, McClimans says. They even bought a vertical spit, the traditional way to roast the pork. The popularity of the pork tacos ($15) led to a vegetarian dish on the Nina May menu: portobello mushrooms getting the al pastor treatment and served over cilantro rice ($28).
The menu is available for takeout only, though there are a limited number of chef’s Mexican tasting courses for two ($70) on Tuesdays.
Where: 1337 11th Street NW
When: Tuesdays “most likely through August,” McClimans says
Brighton Beach
The British pub-influenced restaurant The Brighton launched its dine-in pop-up at The Wharf this month, offering a laid-back menu. “Since we’re themed off a British pub, and there’s Brighton Beach in England, we let the two play off each other,” says Brighton general manager Chris Janiak. They’re adding paper lanterns to give “a nice beachy vibe” to the tent on the pier, which has 10 tables and can seat as many as 60 to 70 people.
Some Brighton menu classics make appearances. “The burger sliders are basically mini versions of the short rib burger,” Janiak says, and regulars will recognize the grilled chicken sandwich ($16), too. But the specialty “big ticket item” just for Brighton Beach, he says, is the lobster roll ($18).
Janiak expects to run Brighton Beach through the fall. “The Wharf has been really great in letting us use their extra spaces,” he says. “[For] football season, if it happens, we might get some TVs down there.” Since it’s so new, the hours are flexible—the recent extreme heat has led them to adjust their hours—so keep tabs on Instagram, Janiak says.
Where: 949 Wharf Street SW
When: Fridays and Saturdays; hours vary.
