Tuesday, August 26, 2008

DC Restaurant & News 2008 ( Summer Closer)

This has been a crazy summer, and its not even over yet in regards to the DC hospitality scene. From the recent frozen yogurt and designer cupcake craze, to the explosion of lounges/clubs opening in the city.


:::Restaurant Buzz:::

Hello Cupcake

Yesterday Hello Cupcake opened to much fanfare with cupcake fans standing in line for hours, the craze fueled by bloggers like myself along with help of Daily Candy and similar newsletters. You would have thought each cupcake had a extra stimulus check inside. First day jitters aside, Hello Cupcake handled the masses with class, amidst running out of cupcakes and having to bake more on the spot. To calm the masses, they began handing out free cupcakes to those waiting in the line that snaked all way to the ATM around the corner.



CoCo Sala is turning F st into chocolate lovers dream. As we noted before Co Co Sala has recently begun offering brunch options along with standard late night fare. After an glowing review from Washington Post's food critic Tom Sietsema. CoCo Sala is expanding next door into 927 F St NW in order to keep up with the increased demand for the restaurant. In the coming weeks they will be adding 57 additional seats in the space to the right of the existing establishment.

Surfside opened with well over 260 walking through the doors on opening night. Overall the public has been impressed with the Restaurant so far with relatively inexpensive beach fare created by Chef David Scribner, paired with amazing margaritas. The massive rooftop is a definite plus for the venue, as of the moment no drinks are allowed upstairs. We are sure Blair n Company

Surfside
2444 Wisconsin Ave




:::Lounge Buzz:::

Pasara Thai - Upstairs Lounge is showing promise, after opening up quietly to positive reviews. They have finally hooked up all the speaker wires and set to give some competition to neighboring lounges Play,1223 and Current. The lounge is called Sun Lounge, which was a source of confusion for some who thought it was going to be separate location from Pasara Thai, but actually is just the upstair area in the resturant. Friday's are set to be a international party with AllOutParty owner Sunny handling some of the promotions. Saturdays are going to handled by the ever classy Nate from Talk of DC.

Sun Lounge ( Pasara Thai) - 21+ On Friday Nights
1219 Connecticut Ave NW
(between N 18th St & N Jefferson Pl)
Washington, DC 20036

Ben's Chili Bowl - Ben’s Next Door Lounge

As Ben's Chili Bowl was celebrating their 50th anniversary with celebrities from all across the country. Work has begun on a sports bar and lounge that is scheduled to open in early October. The lounge will feature separate entrance, but a connecting entry in the back. There will also we a second kitchen added to the space, so while at the bar, you can now enjoy your favorite items from the menu in the lounge.