It’s warming up in D.C., blossoms are blooming, and local chefs keep on rolling out plenty of new dining concepts. Here’s a look at five new pop ups to get you out of the house and enjoying the weather. (Restaurants in D.C. are currently operating at a maximum of 25% capacity under COVID-19 restrictions. Virginia restaurants are capped at 50% capacity, while Maryland has no capacity restrictions on bars and restaurants.)
Chef Massimo Fabbri knows a thing or two about making sandwiches, thanks to the ones his mother made for him when he was growing up in Italy. He had been creating sandwiches for his staff at San Lorenzo in Shaw. “Someone looked at me and said, ‘Man, you’re really good at making sandwiches, why don’t we open for lunch?’” Fabbri says. That led to his pop up that launched March 22.
The menu is built around seven sandwiches, all $14. The Fiore turns a signature San Lorenzo dish — fried squash blossoms stuffed with truffle goat cheese — into a sandwich with tomatoes and micro greens. Others feature such toppings as mortadella, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, and figs. All arrive on crusty baguettes sourced from California, the result of Fabbri’s extensive search for the right bread. (“I tried 16 different types of baguettes,” he says.) The par-baked loaves are finished in-house. “I couldn’t make it that good,” Fabbri says of the bread. “It’s phenomenal.” A few salads and a daily soup are also available, as are brioche-based dessert paninis, like the nutella-ricotta-strawberry sandwich, a classic from Fabbri’s youth ($10).
The concept is available for onsite dining as well as take out and delivery. “It’s very casual, it’s easy going,” Fabbri says. And it’s quick, too: “We can get a sandwich out in less than a minute, we’re really fast,” he says.
Where: 1316 9th St. NW
When: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday
Celebrate the Blossoms at Hook Hall
Anna Valero misses peak bloom every year. Thanks to Hook Hall’s new concept, which launched at the end of March and runs through May, there are plenty of pink frilly blooms taking over the garden spaces, and its cabanas have turned into Japanese tea houses. “I no longer have to worry about the three days of peak bloom, I now know I can have peak bloom any day,” says Valero, Hook Hall’s owner.
The concept celebrates the blossoms as well as the history of D.C.’s relationship with Japan, so the menu features such items as spicy miso honey glazed wings ($11.99) and chicken katsu pizza, which tops a fried chicken pizza with kewpie mayo, tonkatsu sauce, nori, pickled carrots, and toasted sesame seeds ($13.99). “The crew is really loving the chicken katsu pizza,” Valero says. Sake features prominently on the drinks menu, including Bushido Kizakura Shuzo, the only one on draft, which comes in a carafe for four to six people ($34.99). And there are Kirin Spring Slushees, too — aka draft Kirin topped with a pink head of frozen Kirin. “It’s cherry blossom season in D.C., so everything has to be pink, right?” Valero says. Several other Japanese spirits, including whisky, also make their way onto the list.
A number of pop ups are planned in conjunction with Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, Valero says, including an evening market on Wednesdays and events with Suntory and some of the chefs from Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate. It’s all in an effort to “celebrate amongst the petals and also celebrate those in the community,” Valero says.
Where: 3400 Georgia Ave. NW
When: 3 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday; 3 p.m.-midnight Thursday-Friday; 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday-Sunday
Spritz Garden at Columbia Room
Blagden Alley bar Columbia Room is launching its summery, spritz-centric pop up on April 7, though owner Derek Brown says it’s something he’s wanted to do for years.
Front and center on the menu is the Aperol spritz, with prosecco, Aperol, and sparkling water. “It’s the perfect kind of warm weather drink,” Brown says. A frozen version of the drink made with clarified strawberries and Normandy cider will be on offer, too. “I’ve been in love with the idea of doing a frozen Aperol spritz a while,” he says. Other refreshers include a watermelon Americano, with Campari, Dolin Blanc, and watermelon soda; and the Cynar spritz, with salted grapefruit soda. Light Italian snacks — olives and cheese and such — are also available, as is the menu from Columbia Room’s sandwich pop up, Your Only Friend. And if alcohol isn’t your thing, you even can get a spirit-free “Aperol-like spritz” that Brown says “tastes pretty much in the same vein. You don’t feel like you’re missing a lot.”
Reservations are encouraged and will be available in Columbia Room’s streatery space as well as its rooftop patio. (You can order drinks for take out, too.) And as the pandemic ebbs, a sense of hope is coming with the beautiful weather, Brown says. “Right now, people are in the mood to move about and have some fun,” he says. “And this is an opportunity to grab a few of your friends and enjoy a sunny afternoon with some drinks.”
Where: 124 Blagden Alley NW
When: 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday for the streatery, 5 p.m.-midnight Wednesday-Saturday for the rooftop patio.
Music venue The Anthem’s pop up on the District Pier at The Wharf returned at the end of March. For folks who went last year, it’ll seem familiar: “We didn’t make a whole lot of changes because people seemed to really like what we were doing,” says general manager Dori Armor. The biggest adjustment? Swapping out a few bigger tables for two-person tables.
The menu includes riffs of camp classics, like fresh watermelon ($5) and grilled corn with sriracha mayo and cotija cheese ($8), and beachy bites, like blackened shrimp kebab ($15) and a crab cake ($20). “People really love the crab cake,” says Armor, adding that even as a Baltimore native particular about her crab cakes, she is a fan, too.
The pop up is expected to run through August and regardless of the weather — with a few caveats, like heavy rain, lightning, or possible tornadoes. Each table gets its own private tent, but “tornadoes and tents don’t go together very well,” Armor says.
Where: 101 District Square SW
When: Opens at 5:30 p.m. Friday; opens at 12:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Cocktail Garden at King and Rye
With the arrival of warmer weather, Alexandria restaurant King and Rye is packing away its wintry igloos-turned-spring greenhouses and welcoming diners to its redesigned open-air outdoor concept on April 21. “We’re completely redesigning the courtyard, with some intimate dining spaces, fire pits, and little lounge spaces,” says chef Peter McCall.
King and Rye focuses on local Southern ingredients, and McCall says the pop up menu will continue in that vein. “We’re going to try to make that even more approachable,” McCall says, explaining that he doesn’t want the restaurant to get lost or overshadowed. Instead of, say, a three-course meal, the menu will have more small plates alongside family-style large format meals, like a 32-ounce bone-in barbecued pork shoulder with biscuits and pickles. “It comes out in this beautiful glazed pork shoulder steak,” he says. “You can shred it at your table.” The drinks menu, curated by general manager Allison Strunk, will feature spirits and seasonal produce and herbs.
The Cocktail Garden will run through the summer, in rain or shine, McCall says. Some tables have umbrellas or tents, but there’s also space in the restaurant or event space in the attached Alexandrian hotel if necessary. “We weren’t able to tent the entire area, but it also takes away from the beauty and the open air,” McCall says.
Where: 480 King St., Alexandria
When: 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday
