Chef Nobu Matsuhisa threw out the first pitch at Nationals Park on Tuesday, April 23. | Washington Nationals Plus, Wingo’s returns to Georgetown, Duke’s Grocery is expanding to Maryland, and more intel Award-winning Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa is making the most out of his trip to the nation’s capital this week. The well-traveled culinary icon behind 50 namesake Nobus around the world threw out the first pitch on Tuesday night to kick off the Washington Nationals series against the visiting LA Dodgers. Baseball prodigy Shohei Ohtani took it from there, rounding out the game with the hardest-h ..read more

Rasa’s wraps come stuffed with chicken tikka, spicy chicken, or tandoori paneer. | Rey Lopez for Rasa Roti bread creations are now available for the first time across its five area locations Fast-casual Rasa adds stuffed wraps to the mix this spring, marking the local hitmaker’s first big menu makeover since its start in late 2017. Three options (chicken tikka, spicy chicken, or tandoori paneer) are joined by lemon-turmeric rice, romaine, spiced chickpeas, chutneys, and sauces, all wrapped up in warm roti bread. The debut item drops today, Tuesday, April 23, across its five DMV-wide locations ..read more

A 10-seat counter offers 12- or 17-course sushi menus. | Joy Asico-Smith The fast-growing brand debuts Thursday, April 25 with timed tasting menus and psychedelic decor The D.C. sushi scene is getting a groovy new addition. Perched atop the citizenM hotel near L’Enfant Plaza (550 School Street SW), Sushi by Bou swings open for dinner service on Thursday, April 25. Guests can enjoy timed omakase courses set against sweeping skyline views in a vibrant space outfitted with disco balls and kaleidoscopic furniture. Sushi by Bou Fish getting the torched treatment at Sushi by Bou. Sushi by Bou curren ..read more

The new Whitlow’s on Water fits 48 party-goers at a time. | Whitlow’s on Water Seasonal offerings on the Potomac include tailgating excursions to Nats Park, sunset Champagne on the dock, and everything in between This spring, D.C. docks are home to a surge of drinking vessels designed for every occasion, vibe, and price point. A returning line of retro motor boats are apparently the ticket to getting engaged, with seven proposals out on the water last year. Want to watch dolphins give birth on the Chesapeake this summer? One hotel offers an excursion for that. And a fancy sailboat manned by a ..read more

The epic view from the mezzanine level at La Grande Boucherie. | Rachel Paraoan The sophisticated brasserie out of NY debuts for dinner service on Thursday, April 18 If its opulent pre-opening party is any indication, La Grand Boucherie just may be the hottest new restaurant downtown has seen in years. Over the course of a glitzy Wednesday evening, complete with a red carpet, jazz band, and absinthe towers dispensed at its two pewter bars, a symphony of servers floated around the white tablecloth dining room and wraparound mezzanine to drop off some $80,000 of plated French fare. Hundreds of a ..read more

Made with 100-percent pure Blue Weber agave from Jalisco, Mexico, 1953 is aged for 15 months in American Oak barrels. | 1953 Tequila/Facebook Meet the three former D.C. politicos behind 1953 Tequila In 2018, former Obama administration official Lindsey Davis Stover ran against human rights expert Alison Kiehl Friedman in the Democratic primary for Virginia’s 10th Congressional district. What started as a classic D.C. political introduction resulted in an unexpected twist. “There were so many absurdities that went on in our campaign,” recalled Stover (incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton ended up win ..read more

Cafe Fiorello will bring a parade of Italian plates to Pennsylvania Avenue NW. | Cafe Fiorello The treasured Italian chophouse will plant roots along Pennsylvania Avenue NW later this year Cafe Fiorello’s first foray outside of Manhattan will reactivate a prime downtown D.C. corner that’s sat empty since 2018 (1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW). The NYC fixture, situated across the street from Lincoln Center since 1974, continues to lure theater-goers with its reliable Italian fare and a destination antipasti bar overflowing with vegetables and seafood. Other familiar favorites making their way down ..read more

Executive chef Masako Morishita finishes her unagi donabe rice dish with kinshi tamago and scallions. | Rachel Paraoan For her latest culinary act, rising chef Masako Morishita hopes to make her unagi donabe rice special stick at Perry’s To satisfy demand for her hit rice bowls, Perry’s Restaurant’s executive chef Masako Morishita bought two more donabes — traditional Japanese clay pots — to have three in rotation at the Adams Morgan stalwart she’s been leading since fall 2022. Deb Lindsey/Washington Post Perry’s executive chef Masako Morishita standing in her sleek, wood-framed dining room. T ..read more

A.Kitchen+Bar specializes in seasonal American ingredients and natural wines. | a.kitchen+bar A.Kitchen+Bar debuts at the foot of a new Foggy Bottom hotel later this spring The nation’s reigning restaurateur is entering the D.C. market. The award-winning team behind Philadelphia’s a.kitchen and a.bar, one of the city’s hottest dual dining destinations, will plant roots in Foggy Bottom later this spring. Jeff Schear/Getty Images for The James Beard Foundation Ellen Yin (right) of High Street Hospitality Group accepts the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur from Andrew Zimmern (l ..read more

Chef Peter Prime teams up with local restaurateur Bernard Gibson to reboot Bammy’s. | Adra Williams Navy Yard’s waterfront fixture resurfaces this month with a big focus on smoked meats Bammy’s, the beloved island-hopping fixture on the banks of the Anacostia River that suddenly closed last fall, makes a surprise return this spring under new ownership. Bammy’s originally opened in 2020 under Maydan alums Chris Morgan and Gerald Addison, who wooed Caribbean chef Peter Prime to join the team two years in. The co-founders ultimately ended up parting ways with Bammy’s last year to tackle a wave of ..read more