One of my dreams for Shaw's main streets is that they will be lined with more great, interesting restaurants like Vegetate, Etete, and Corduroy. In addition to enjoying trying new foods and dining out, I would love to see more restaurants because I think restaurants significantly drive revitalization and give a wonderful buzz to the streetscape. I also think existing restaurants benefit from the addition of new restaurants and the corresponding patrons, attention to the area, and vitality that they bring.
Every time I encounter a charming spot serving up delicious food, I picture where such a restaurant would fit neatly in our neighborhood. For instance, I recently ate at this awesome little cuban restaurant in the East Village called Cantina. I can totally see a Cantina-type restaurant in one of the newly renovated retail spots of the Exchange or across from the Convention Center on lower 7th (wouldn't a great Cuban restaurant be an awesome addition to our food scene?) .
On Friday night, I found another restaurant that I can totally picture on one of our main streets: Cork. If you haven't had the pleasure to check this 14th Street newcomer out, you must. The atmosphere is really neat and the food is spectacular. Among the many stand-out dishes we tried (small, share-able plates seems to be the M.O.) were the duck confit, the potato and leek gratin, and the red wine braised lamb. I've been wishing for a wine bar in central Shaw for a while now, dining at Cork gave clarity to my vision!
Cork
1720 14th Street, N.W.
202.265.CORK
3 comments:
Next time you're in the East Village... you MUST try Cantina.
And when you are heading to Cork here in DC... call ahead! They allow you to call 30 minutes ahead which will help ease the regular hour to hour and a half long waits. The food is worth it.
went to cork on saturday
we did not call ahead
we did have to wait
not sure how long we waited for
it was a few glasses of wine
the setting and the vibe offered for a good backdrop as we stood in the hallway waiting to be seated
we enjoyed ourselves
mount pleasant could definitely use some upscale dinning establishments
but I think that the ANC snuffed the growth potential in the past by denying liquor licenses as well as the ban of music in recent years
I like the vibe but it is suffering from the horde mentality that seems to following any new opening in DC. I thought the wine was mediocre, a chintzy charcuterie plate, some of the food was good but small plates are the rule. Veritas is better if you want a real wine bar.
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