RSS FeeddLeña Wood-Fired Mexican Cocina & Mezcaleria Opens Mon, May 10 (476 K St NW)
All photos courtesy of dLeña
dLeña, a Richard Sandoval restaurant, will open its doors for dinner on Monday, May 10 at 476 K St NW. This is the brick building on the southeast corner of 5th and K St NW that includes The Cloakroom on the upper floors. Below we crib selected portions of the press release:
dLeña will offer diners over 250 seats in its 5,000 square-foot indoor and outdoor space. The new restaurant is designed to blend old-world forms and refined modern design. Diners will feel the traditional, rustic wood-burning cooking hearths of time past throughout the space.
Diners will travel to Oaxaca, Mexico, through a multi-sensory experience in every bite of Chef Camacho’s signature smoked large plates, grilled on the restaurant’s signature wood-burning grill. Dishes include Wagyu Steak a la Piedra ($48) served with poblano pepper, caramelized onions, homemade salsas, and made-to-order tortillas; Camarónes a la Diabla ($30) smoked chili marinated shrimp with chipotle sauce and grilled spring onion; Coliflor a la Leña ($16) charred cauliflower with a chimichurri and watercress lemon salad.
Embracing its Mexican and Latin American heritage, dLeña will also debut a beverage program that highlights wine, tequila, and mezcal distributors. Diners can expect beverage offerings such as the Ceviche de Setas ($14) to Vertical or Horizontal Tequila/Mezcal Flights (ranging from $22-$27), the beverage program collectively elevates any dish on dLeña’s menu and introduces diners to artfully crafted flavors.
The menus can be found here.
Last Week For Chalk Walk In Gallery Place Alley (7th and G St NW)
This week is the last week for the Chalk Walk, a 3D interactive and Instagramable ground art installation running until April 30 in the Gallery Place Alley between Clyde’s and the Capital One Arena. The image above is close to the Gallery Place mall entrance so you have to walk deep into the alley near the Haagen Dazs shop to see it. But, it’s worth checking out if you’re out and about the neighborhood!
New Restaurant Signage At Former Cedar For The DC Noble (822 E St NW)
The pandemic inflicted much hardship on retail establishments including restaurants. A neighborhood favorite restaurant, Cedar (822 E St NW), now has different signage installed. Cedar existed as a subterranean restaurant offering simple, delicious American cuisine. Just before the pandemic began Cedar built out the above ground space vacated by the Bank of Georgetown on the southwest corner of 8th and E Street NW. Cedar’s website is now gone, the phone line listed doesn’t get answered, and online vestiges have been removed. The new signage indicates “The DC Noble”. We have been unable to source more information but as we learn more we’ll pass it along.
Outdoor Sound Legislation Resurfaces At City Council
The outdoor sound legislation on which the DC City Council held hearings in 2019 has been reintroduced by Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmember Brooke Pinto (Ward 2), and Councilmember Anita Bonds (At Large). The status of the bill can be seen here and the (re)introduction can be seen here [PDF] with it having the title ‘B24-0137 – Amplified Noise Amendment Act of 2021’. The word ‘noise’ should be removed but regardless of the name, some form of it needs to be passed or incorporated into current DC sound level regulations so that all the stakeholders – residents, musicians, tourists, workers, and government representatives – can move forward.