RSS FeedAzur (405 8th St NW) Restaurant Opens April 18
Azur (405 8th St NW, 202-347-7491) will open in the former Café Atlantico space on Thursday, April 18. Featuring contemporary European seafood, this is Chef Frederik De Pue’s second DC restaurant opening after opening Table in the Shaw neighborhood not too far from Penn Quarter. A few details from the press release follow:
- 135 seats – an “ode to the sea, complete with subtle ocean hued accents and hand-made furniture”
- Seasonal menu focusing on “high quality products from sustainable seafood purveyors”
- Two bars – regular bar and a “six seat raw bar offering a bounty of fresh seafood presented in its most unadulterated form”
- Drinks – the restaurant will filter all water in house with Natura Water technology, eliminating the need for wasteful and polluting bottled water
- Hours – dinner will be served Tuesday through Sunday, with weekday lunch to follow
- Space – four levels, 6000 square feet, main dining areas are on the second and third floors, and the regular bar is on the first floor
- Chef – Chef Frederik De Pue also owns Table in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood and has owned 42º Catering since 2006. Belgian born and trained at the Hotel School Ter Duinen, De Pue first came to Washington in 2001 as the Executive Chef of the European Commission Delegation Ambassador.
- Early looks – a few interior photos can be found at Brightest Young Things, the Washington City Paper has an insightful write up on De Pue’s restaurants, and WaPo talks about the soft open which actually happens on Saturday
- Online – the restaurant has a web site and a Twitter account – we could not find a Facebook page
Penn Quarter ANC 2C Meeting This Evening At MLK Library
The monthly Penn Quarter ANC meeting is this evening at 6:30 pm in the Martin Luther King Library (9th and G St NW) in the second floor west side hall. Want to know more detail about Flight (hint: the new wine bar coming to 6th St NW) or what’s going to show up at 10th and F St NW (hint: an 11 story office building)? Attend the meeting and learn more. The agenda follows after the break.
Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken (1308 G St NW) Opens Tomorrow At 8 AM
We’ve waited a while for this opening and we can now announce it with certainty. Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken (1308 G St NW) opens tomorrow at 8 am. Next to the Laughing Man Tavern, their phone number is 202-809-5565. The location also has a Facebook page and a Twitter page. We’ll let the press release take it from here:
ASTRO DOUGHNUTS & FRIED CHICKEN TO OPEN ON MONDAY APRIL 8
Opening specials include first 200 customers receive a free doughnut and first 50, a complimentary side at lunch
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2013 – Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, a casual yet refined take on two comfort food classics – fried chicken and doughnuts – will open for business on April 8 at 1308 G Street, NW Washington, DC. After several months of catering and pop-up sales, pastry Chef Jason Gehring, formerly of Fiola, The Charleston and Cinghiale in Baltimore, and Poste Moderne Brasserie, has had the opportunity to test a variety of flavors and is excited to serve his evolving array of haute doughnuts, fried chicken, side dishes and one specialty sandwich. Astro will exclusively serve artisan drip coffee from Brooklyn Roasting Company, as well as sparkling and flavored waters. Sourcing some of the finest ingredients available, including Benton’s Bacon, locally raised, free range chicken, Valrhona chocolate, King Arthur flour, and Plugrá butter to name a few, Chef Gehring will vary seasonal doughnut flavors based on fruit and produce availability from local farmers.
During the opening week of April 8 – 12, Astro will have limited hours, opening at 8:00 a.m. until all doughnuts and fried chicken are sold out. On opening day, the first 200 people in line will receive one free doughnut with any purchase, while the first 50 people in line for lunch will receive a complimentary side with any chicken purchase. All lunch sales, including chicken, sides and the chicken and doughnut sandwich will begin at 11:00 a.m. After the soft opening week, regular operating hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Pop-Up No More
Late last year the old Waffle Shop (522 10th St NW) was host to the pop-up Help Shop. When the Help Shop moved out at the end of November, we had high hopes that this location would continue to host fun pop-up retailers. As the winter months passed the location stayed empty, but a few weeks ago the windows were papered over and we thought spring might be bringing something new to the neighborhood.
Unfortunately it looks like the Waffle Shop space will again host a tourist souvenir shop. Better than a vacant space, but not nearly as fun as a pop-up retailer.