Opening Soon: Bakery finally coming to Dupont/Kalorama

Just this past weekend, I was walking by the vacant Universal Gourmet space on Connecticut in Dupont near the tourist black hole known as Buca di Bepo, and I thought to myself how a quality baked goods and coffee shop would do amazing business in that location with the droves of workers walking to work and the tourists streaming from the hotels. Sure enough, Mark Furstenberg, the original baker behind Marvelous Market and international-banker-fav Breadline (who else can afford $10 sandwiches?), is opening a bakery!

Bakeries and butcher shops are sorely lacking from DC's retail landscape, but given the foodie explosion that's still burning strongly, it was inevitable that our sad supply of fresh yeast would soon be over. The only catch here is that Baker Furstenberg was not-too-long-ago hired as a consultant at downtown's G Street Foods, before he got the boot for not delivering (they make a deliciously modern cuban sandwich, fyi).

And don't forget the Bethesda Bagels that is opening just down the street in the thankfully-closed, former Johnny Rockets space (apparently chain-eating American tourists do have some standards). Kalorama is clearly the next 14th Street.

[via: Huffington Post]

Bread Furst (coming soon)
1825 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC
Neighborhood: Dupont
Metro: Dupont
Google Maps

ShopHouse: Chipotle goes Asian in Dupont (First Bite)

Metro-accessible banh mi.

This weekend, I checked out the much-discussed new Asian concept from Chipotle: ShopHouse. It’s the first and only location planned currently, and it had a soft-opening in Dupont Circle last week. The food is supposedly inspired by Southeast Asian street food, combined with Chipotle’s tenet of sourcing responsibly grown ingredients while churning out orders quickly like widgets.

The space is pretty spare, but the kitchen is astonishingly open to viewing while placing your order. There didn't appear to be a separate kitchen for food prep so you can see everything that the cooks are doing.

Similar to Chipotle’s brand of Mexican, you pick your base--either rice or noodles--and then add your protein and customize your topics. I wasn’t expecting to like the place, given Chipotle’s calorie and sodium bombs/burritos, but the food was veggie-centric, seemingly healthy, and came with a surprising amount of heat and complex Asian flavors for a fast food joint. 

Even more exciting, ShopHouse features Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches on the menu (the super-trendy yuppie food this year). While these were by no means authentic banh mi (as authentic as banh mi in the US go), my sandwich managed to supply that magical mix of french bread, grilled meats, and tangy pickled vegetables. The masterful but simple touch was adding basil to the assortment of pickled vegetables on top. While the bread is definitely softer than the crustier french baguettes that are usually employed in Vietnamese eateries, I am not opposed to bread that doesn't massacre your mouth. And who cares about authenticity when you have basil and metro-accessible banh mi.

Given the Chipotle prices, quick service, and seemingly healthy options, I will be returning regularly.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)
Price: $ - Cheap
Recommended: Banh mi with meatballs

ShopHouse
1516 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
Neighborhood: Dupont
Metro: Dupont
Website | Google Maps | Washingtonian | Yelp

Opening Soon: Lobster Rolls in Penn Quarter

Considering the lines for the Red Hook Lobster Pound truck and the bounty of boat shoes walking around town, get ready for a cupcakery-style infestation of lobster roll shops. Prince of Petworth is reporting that Luke's Lobster Shack is coming to restaurant-saturated Penn Quarter soon. Yet another NYC-spawned product that I'm begrudgingly looking forward to. (Opening Soon List)

Luke's Lobster Shack 

622 E St NW · Washington DC

This time I'm serious. Really!

Ok, now that I'm fully employed again and settled (yay!), I'm going to really try to make this blog useful and current. More streamlined, less wordy, and more updated. So tell all your friends and make sure to come by regularly.

The trendy but still delicious, Banh Mi.

Merzi: Fast Food Indian - Why Didn't Someone Do This Earlier

My first thought while eating at Merzi, a recently opened fast food Indian joint in Chinatown/Penn Quarter, was why hadn't someone introduced this concept sooner on a mass produced scale. Sure, we've had our Naan And Beyonds and Curry in a Hurrys, but I've never seen a polished place in the US like Merzi serve Indian-inspired flavors with Chipotle-style efficiency and decor.

The chicken with curry sauce on a naan carried a surprising spicy kick--I expected more subtle seasoning to cater to the masses--although one can choose among mild, medium, or spicy finishing sauces. The samosas, while dry from sitting under a heat lamp for far too long, had an unexpected slight sweetness from currants or something (I gobbled them down too quickly on the go to pay attention.) And like Chipotle, the portions are large, so I was unable to finish my substantive meal.

The food won't amaze, and it could certainly use some polishing (the corn topping ladeled on my dish was a distraction). But if you need to satisfy you curry cravings on the cheap, Merzi is a solid option, and I expect we will be seeing more of these around DC in no time.