New restaurant concepts keep popping up in D.C. Some are making the most of outdoor spaces while we’ve still got gorgeous weather, and others are hoping you’ll pop in and grab a sandwich to go, and still others have gotten creative with their bars.
Whether you want to dine in, dine out, or sip something new over snacks, we’ve got a few pop ups for you to explore.
Shaw’s Espita Mezcaleria team lured chef Rob Aikens back from New York during the pandemic to usher in a new ghost kitchen featuring smashburgers. (Thus the name: It’s a riff on their ghost kitchen intent.) “It’s a food people like to eat, a fast food, purely for pickup and delivery only,” Aikens says. “I thought it’d be great.”
The concept’s overwhelming success turned it into a true pop up — meaning you can now order Ghostburger’s menu while dining inside at Espita. There are three burger options ranging from $9 to $15: the Ghostburger, which has a classic “Big Mac flavor” according to Aikens; the Frenchie with garlic aioli, blue cheese, onion confit, and champignon de Paris, aka white button mushrooms; and La Hamburguesa, an Espita crossover with queso Oaxaca, salsa macha, and smoked tomatillo relish.
All come on a Martin’s potato roll. “Everybody knows it’s nice and light and it’s not too heavy, and the bread-to-meat ratio is spot on as well,” Aiken says. “There’s nothing worse than getting a burger where you have all bread and no meat.” Burgers aside, there’s a cheesesteak ($15-$20) with shaved ribeye and housemade cheddar sauce on a hoagie roll shipped from Sarcone’s in Philadelphia, wings, fries, and a range of spiked (or not) beverages. The menu is here indefinitely, Aikens says. “We’re not planning on stopping this any time soon,” he says. “It’s been so very well-received.”
Where: 1250 Ninth St. NW
When: 3-9 p.m. daily
The pandemic restrictions on dining gave Brent Kroll, Maxwell Park’s owner and sommelier, an opportunity to explore an idea he’d always had in the back of his mind: “What if I took our mentality of a bar and took it into pairings that aren’t a fortune?”
The result is Russell Island, a pop up with an expansive pairing menu that’s taken over his laid-back Navy Yard location. Socially distanced tables lent themselves to a shift in service, with more food and glassware, Kroll says. He and chef Michael Rafidi, owner of the neighboring Albi, crafted a menu of 16 pairings that can be purchased in a group (i.e., any three pairings for $38) or a la carte as individual items or pairings. (Takeout is available, too, even with vials of wine.)
Small plates offerings include sweet bites, such as peanut butter truffles with candied pretzels ($5 alone, or paired with a port for $15), and more savory ones, like caviar and mille-feuille potato with creme fraiche ($16, or paired with a declassified cava for $29). “That’s a really cool pairing and a really accessible way to try a good caviar,” Kroll says. Expect pairings to shift seasonally, too. “We’re playing around with more braised meat-type dishes,” he says.
Maxwell Park’s Shaw spot has no plans to shift gears in a similar pop up, Kroll says, because Navy Yard’s location relies on Albi’s kitchen. (The Maxwell Park kitchens aren’t set up for this sort of culinary undertaking, he adds: “They’re the size of a walk-in closet.”)
Where: 1346 Fourth St. SE
When: 4 p.m.-midnight, Tuesday-Saturday; 4-11 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
Michael Habtemariam, the Ethiopian-born founder of the Woodridge shop serving up D.C.’s buzziest chicken sandwich, had been gearing up for a second storefront for over a year — when the pandemic emerged as he was getting ready to sign a lease. “We switched our lease to a pop up, because we don’t know what’s going to happen on U Street,” Habtemariam says.
The pop up opened Sept. 30 at the Ellington, where a Roaming Rooster truck has parked in front of the development for the past three months to dish out craggy, buttermilk-brined chicken sandwiches. The menu includes the Nashville Hot, a fried chicken club seasoned with a blend that includes cayenne and habanero, and comes in three different spice levels; and the buffalo chicken sandwich with blue cheese. Sandwiches are around $9, and wings, chicken tenders, twice-fried french fries and a vinaigrette-based slaw round out the offerings. Everything is takeout and delivery for now.
The honey butter chicken sandwich has been a U Street favorite so far, Habtemariam says. He’s also eager to connect with the new neighborhood: “I’m excited about reaching out to more people, to the community. Not just serving food, but getting involved with the community.”
Where: 1301 U St. NW
When: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
Chef Rob Rubba launched a collaborative grab-and-go cafe with Virginia-based Rako Coffee Roasters in Oyster Oyster’s open-air Oyster Garage last month. The pop up, Rako’s first in D.C., was born out of their shared sustainability values — and shared love of coffee, says Rako co-founder Lisa Gerben. (The roastery was supposed to launch its first café in the spring, but, well.)
As with the dinner menu at Oyster Oyster, locally sourced seasonal offerings drive Rubba’s pastry menu, with such inventive pastries as pawpaw loaf with toasted sunflower seeds, roasted kabocha squash flatbread, and pumpkin-hickory bark rolls. “It’s almost a native cinnamon-like spice,” Rubba says of the hickory bark. Expect the pastry lineup to change weekly based on ingredients, Rubba says.
Rako’s espresso-based offerings include a baklava latte, with cinnamon, cardamon, and clove-infused honey syrup ($5.50). And then there’s the mushroom chai, which blends Rubba’s house-made lion’s mane mushroom powder with spiced tea ($5.50). “When people try it, they don’t even think there’s mushroom in it,” Gerben says. More than a flavor, lion’s mane adds a host of health benefits and a textural element, according to Rubba: “It’s creamy without adding any cream.”
Wondering about the sleek print on the drink sleeves? Local artist Emon Surakitkoson is behind the custom design. “It’s just another cool collaboration,” Gersen says of the sleeves. “They go surprisingly well with the murals in Oyster Oyster’s garage.”
Where: 1440 Eighth St. NW
When: 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, through February
La Tejana is helping folks get an early jump on their Taco Tuesday with a weekly breakfast taco pop up at Bammy’s in Navy Yard. Gus May, La Tejana’s owner, and Chris Morgan, Bammy’s executive chef, had been friends for years when Morgan called May up during the pandemic and offered to host a weekly popup. “It’s an incredibly generous offer,” May says — and in August, he took it to launch La Tejana’s first weekday pop up. (La Tejana’s no stranger to the D.C. pop-up scene, with regular Sunday pop ups at Thamee and other weekend pop ups.)
The current lineup is three breakfast tacos: a chorizo taco, a migas taco and a bacon, potato and egg taco with housemade queso, though May says they’re planning to roll out a bean and cheese taco soon. “And we have some ideas for a vegan taco in the near future,” May adds. None of their offerings qualify as vegetarian yet because their handmade flour tortillas are lard-based. Tacos are three for $12 or six for $22.
Both chefs leave the possibility of a taco collaboration open in the future, but for now, the focus is on La Tejana’s classics. “We’re really excited to introduce La Tejana to Navy Yard, and roll with it for now,” Morgan says. “There isn’t anyone doing things quite like what Gus is doing.”
Where: 301 Water St. SE #115
When: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesday, indefinitely
To create the cheery patio space at Ivy City distiller Don Ciccio & Figli, owner Francesco Amodeo first needed to do a little persuading for a permit. “It’s not a very high-traffic street, there’s zero pedestrian traffic, and the sidewalk is basically barely in existence,” Amodeo says. D.C. signed off on the permit, and Bella Vista was born in August. The Saturday pop up offers 13 tables outside and four inside for socially distanced cocktail sipping. The drinks menu is a shorter version of Bar Sirenis’, which has been closed due to the pandemic, and is divided into classics — think Negroni and boulevardiers — and craft, like the Rickey, which features the distiller’s anise-flavored Finocchietto, or the Noce, which uses the housemade Nocino, a green walnut liqueur.
The snacks list is simple, Amodeo says: “Some pizza bread, some olive oil, olives from Italy, and some nuts from Italy.” Stellina Pizzeria is behind the food, though guests are welcome to bring their own food as well, or order from restaurants for patio delivery. Carryout drinks off the menu aren’t available, Amodeo says. “It’s more like a destination,” he says of the distillery. But over the summer they launched Perla, a brand of premade and bottled cocktails that are available for purchase.
Where: 1907 Fairview Ave. NE
When: 1-8 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 10, though Amodeo says he’s hoping for a permit extension into November
