Fresh menus keep popping up around town in familiar spaces as chefs and restauranteurs continue to get creative, using markets, pop ups, and ghost kitchens to help them survive the pandemic. Here are a few to check out.
Every day is a good day for pho, according to Daniel Kramer, managing partner at Duke’s Grocery. “I will enjoy it just as much on a hot summer day, when it’s sticky and steamy out in the middle of August, as I will on a cold day in January,” Kramer says, adding that the Duke’s staff shares his appreciation for the fragrant rice noodle soup. A friend shared his Vietnamese family’s recipe, which the pop up uses. “I knew it was good to begin with,” Kramer says. “So we just kind of went from there. We made a couple of little tweaks, but it’s basically a family recipe.”
The concept officially launched earlier this month at the Duke’s in Foggy Bottom with five different pho options ($12-$14). Toppings include eye round, brisket, meatballs, and chicken. Kramer says the soup’s been selling faster than expected—he even had to make a run on a recent Friday afternoon to grab more supplies—and that they’re looking at potential new toppings. Some guests have requested a vegetarian pho, which Kramer calls “a bit of a challenge.” They’re considering adding other classic Vietnamese items, like spring rolls and Vietnamese coffee, he says.
For now, though, they’re focused on the pho, which is available for dine-in, as well as takeout and delivery. “On a selfish level, I’m enjoying that I no longer have to go anywhere to get pho, I can get it while I’m working,” Kramer says. “But the entire staff is the exact same way, it’s not just me.”
Where: 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
When: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Farm-fresh seasonal produce is at the heart of the pop up that chef Fabio Trabocchi launched in September as the way to reopen his flagship Fiola. He built a relationship with Chancellors Rock Farm in Virginia, which supplies many of the ingredients central to his menu. “I am the son of a sharecropper, and see a lot of the way I grew up every time I visit the farm,” Trabocchi says.
Trabocchi’s partnership with the farm began last year—it takes time to choose the crops and cultivate them, he says. The harvest is then incorporated into Fiola 2.0’s weekly menu. Diners choose a three-course meal from a list of 12 to 14 dishes ($85-$105 per person). “Most of it is a nostalgic take on regional Italian cuisine,” he says. Some clearly call out their region, like the pasta dubbed For Bologna, featuring pappardelle with herbs and flowers, bolognese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Others are more subtle, like the antipasto dubbed Love for Mary, which gives a bounty of marigolds a tempura-like treatment—similar to the way squash or zucchini blossoms are often prepared, Trabocchi says—accompanied by a citrusy marigold-infused tea.
The pop up is expected to last through the holidays, Trabocchi says, but elements of the concept may be more permanent. “We’ve found a way to not only reopen Fiola since the pandemic, but found a dimension that is perhaps here to stay,” he says.
Where: 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Where: Wednesday-Saturday until 6:30 p.m., until at least January 2021, according to Trabocchi
For Brian Schram, the owner of Scarlet Oak in Southeast, Detroit-style pizza was a pandemic revelation of sorts. “Full disclosure: It’s very new to me,” he says. His trip to Los Angeles this spring turned into a four-month stay because of Covid-related stay-at-home orders. While there, he discovered a restaurant serving the Midwestern specialty, which features a rectangular pie topped with cheese, then sauce. “I fell in love with it,” he says. “I said: ‘This is the best pizza!’ I’d never had this style before.” And, after he returned to D.C. in July, he decided to bring it to Navy Yard. It was then that Side Door Pizza, so named because it’s quite literally operating out of Scarlet Oak’s side door, was born.
Schram says he started out serving 30 pies a night, and has since increased that to 50 pies on Fridays and Saturdays and nights where he does promotions, like a free bottle of wine with a pizza. Pizza dough starts with a 48-hour proofing. “There’s a lot of love and labor that goes into it,” Schram says. And, like the style of pizza, it’s a new adventure for him. “I don’t really have a culinary background,” he says. “I’ve learned a ton about baking and the science behind it, and it’s been a lot of fun.” For now, he’s got two options: classic cheese ($24) or pepperoni ($26). “The plan right now is [that] each month, we’re going to roll out a special pie or two,” he says, one of which will likely be vegetarian, the other with meat. For November’s pizzas, he says, he’s been playing around with topping combinations like mushrooms and burgundy truffles, as well as broccoli rabe and Italian sausage, though nothing is set in stone yet.
Schram plans to keep the pop up going indefinitely, and he says he aims to roll out some charity pizza dropoffs “to put the pizza to good use.”
Where: 909 New Jersey Ave. SE
When: 5-10 p.m. Wednesday-Monday
7-Eleven and stores like it are hardly cultural destinations in America, but in Japan, those konbini are worth a stop—or three. “You can’t really describe it,” says chef Katsuya Fukushima, the chef behind Daikaya. When people experience konbini, though, he says: “They’re like, ‘Whoa.’”
So Fukushima has tried to channel that concept into a market pop up that sells a mix of bento, onigiri (or rice balls), instant ramen, Japanese snacks and ingredients, and more. Fukushima’s planning to bring a number of Japanese favorites to the mini-mart, including udon, katsu curry, and oden, a wintry classic that features a variety of foods—think meatballs, fried tofu, and veggies—simmered in a dashi broth. “It’s a new thing for a lot of Americans,” Fukushima says. He’s also tapped Mary Mendoza, the pastry chef at Bantam King, to develop pastries as well as fluffy Japanese milk bread for sandwiches. “It’s a very difficult bread,” Fukushima says. The key? Using Hokkaido flour, he says. And they have plenty of it, thanks to Tonari, Daikaya Group’s Japanese pizza restaurant that opened earlier this year but has been closed during the pandemic.
The mini-mart isn’t open for in-person browsing, for obvious reasons, but customers can see the lineup online and place orders for pickup at Daikaya 1F. “We’re actually talking about converting it back into a ramen shop,” Fukushima says, but says he plans to keep the market aspect—under the current pandemic restrictions, Daikaya 1F could only seat 16 people inside.
Where: 705 6th St. NW
When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday
Astro Doughnuts and Fried Chicken’s sandwich-centric ghost kitchen opened this month for takeout and delivery in Northwest. (All orders must be placed in advance—walkup orders are not accepted.) The idea was born last year, says co-owner Elliot Spaisman, when Astro catered an event for the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. His business partner, Jeff Halpern, is a coach with the team, Spaisman says, and “he said, ‘We can’t just serve fried chicken, we need a protein option.’ So we started steak and cheese.” The duo seized the opportunity to develop their “Astro spin” on cheesesteaks this summer during the pandemic, he says.
Set sandwiches, like the Philly Classic and the Pizza Steak, which includes marinara, pepperoni, mushrooms, and peppers, run $12.50-$14.50. Build-your-own cheesesteaks start at $11.50. “People like cheesesteaks all different ways, and they’re particular in how they like them from all over the country,” Spaisman says. Thus Satellite offers a choice of heat level—mild, medium, or hot—and 15 other optional add-ons, including bacon, cajun mayo, and house-made smoked gouda cheese sauce. (His go-to cheesesteak combo? “Provolone, banana peppers, sautéed onions, and pickles,” Spaisman says.)
Other sandwiches include a gyro and curry chicken salad. Not a carnivore? A vegan sandwich stacks a fried portobello, jalapeño slaw, lettuce and “comeback sauce” on a pretzel roll ($11.50). Three breakfast sandwiches are available until 11 a.m., including the Steak and Eggs ($8.50), a cheesesteak topped with a sunny side up or scrambled egg and hot sauce. You won’t find donuts on the dessert menu, either. Instead, Satellite dishes up large made-to-order cookies, including a seasonal pumpkin snickerdoodle.
Where: 1308 G St. NW
When: 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
