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Zola Wine & Kitchen, a wine shop combined with a chef's test kitchen, is located just steps away from Zola, the restaurant adjacent to the International Spy Museum. Star Restaurant Group executive chef Bryan Moscatello and his culinary team will be testing recipes in this new kitchen lab for Zola's menu and for the company's upcoming new Italian restaurant, opening in 2009 at the Woodward Building downtown, at 15th and H Streets NW. The wine shop houses approximately 6,000 artfully displayed "great find" wines from around the world with an emphasis on international bottles. A selection of pre-packaged sandwiches and gourmet products are also available at the wine shop so one can easily create a picnic spread to "grab and go." The kitchen is open daily for recipe testing and culinary activities for the Star Restaurant Group's chefs. It can also be booked for private event luncheons during the day, and on designated Wednesdays, "Quick Lunches" cooking classes will be held in the kitchen from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information, contact Denielle Vendetti, special events planner, at 202-654-2855 or dvendetti@zoladc.com. Zola Wine & Kitchen, 505 9th St. NW, Washington, DC, DC 20004, 202-654-2855.
Andrew Kitko is the executive chef of Redwood, the new 195-seat restaurant on Bethesda Row (7121 Bethesda Lane). Chef Kitko recently returned from the West Coast to Washington, DC to reconnect with his East Coast roots, and developed a seasonal mid-Atlantic menu for the eatery. Kitko spent a total of nine years in San Francisco, with such restaurants as Stars Bar & Dining, Gary Danko and Palmetto. For additional information or reservations, call 301-656-5515 or visit www.redwoodbethesda.com.
Mrs. K's Offers Budget-Savvy Savings
As budgets shrink and wallets tighten, Mrs. K's Restaurant will offer three-course Fireside Menus priced at $23 per person for lunch and $33 for dinner. Specially crafted by executive chef Maurisee Upshur, the Fireside Menus will be available January 3 through March 2009. Wine lovers will also note that The Wine Press at Mrs. K's Restaurant is presenting an exclusive selection of bottles available at deeply discounted prices. The Fireside Lunch will be offered Tues.-Sat. from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Diners will be treated to a three-course menu including dishes such as a garden salad, chilled gazpacho, stuffed grape leaves, chicken BLT, rainbow trout, shrimp and basil pesto pasta and for dessert a favorite, the Tollhouse pie. During dinner service, the Fireside Menu will be offered Tues.-Fri. from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Mrs. K's Restaurant, 9201 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-589-3500.
Unwind at Vinifera
After a long day's work, come and relax with a drink at Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro's upscale "Unwind Hour." Every weekday evening from 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Vinifera invites guests to settle in with a glass or bottle from the restaurant's extensive wine selection and a sampling of executive chef Seth Eldridge's complimentary tapas. Each week, Vinifera will feature three highly rated wines for special "tasting" at bargain prices. Guests can choose from Vinifera's collection of nearly 300 local, domestic and international wines by the bottle, as well as over 25 wines available by the glass or half glass. Specialty cocktails and microbrews are also available. Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro, The Westin Reston Heights, 11750 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20191, 703-234-3550. 
Proof’s Lunch CrushProof Restaurant is offering a midday meal deal fit for busy professionals in search of a quick lunch option in the Penn Quarter. Offered in the bar and lounge only, the Lunch Crush features a choice of six entrées paired with a glass of house red or white wine, soft drink or iced tea for $12. Chef Haidar Karoum's menu will rotate regularly, but always include at least three sandwich options, such as the crispy shrimp burger, served with cucumber, jalapeño, pickled daikon and sriracha aïoli; a pasta option, such as the orecchiette and house-made Italian sausage with rapini, wild mushrooms and Parmesan; and a hearty salad option, such as the grilled hanger steak salad. Wine director Sebastian Zutant will also rotate the house wine pours regularly. Proof Restaurant, 775 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20001, 202-737-7663.
Bombay Club's Facelift
This month, restaurateur Ashok Bajaj's first Washington restaurant, The Bombay Club, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. With this birthday, The Bombay Club is unveiling a new 24-seat private dining room, a new bar and lounge, and a new menu by executive chef Nilesh Singhvi. The new menu of gourmet Indian cuisine highlights the diversity of India's regional dishes. The restaurant will continue to serve the indulgent Sunday brunch buffet, featuring unlimited sparkling wine. The Bombay Club, 815 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20006, 202-659-3727.
Hawaiian Fare at fyve in Honor of Obama
To note the Obama administration and the Presidential Inauguration, The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City, welcomes chef John Zaner from The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Hawaii to help celebrate culinary delights from the President-elect's childhood hometown. Menu items that chef Zaner will prepare to pay tribute to Obama's native hometown include kalua pork lumpia, slow-roasted pork meat shredded with ginger, cabbage and shiitake mushroom in lumpia wraps and fried, served with a ginger-lemon grass dip; and tuna tataki salad, marinated tuna quickly grilled, sliced and served on top of wakame salad, drizzled with ponzu sauce. Yann Chupin, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City, and Amy Brandwein, chef de cuisine of fyve, will help prepare the feast. Lunch & Dinner daily. fyve, The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City, 1250 S. Hayes St., Arlington, Va. 22202, 703-412-2760.
(Sushi) Roll With the Upcoming Administration
Asia Nine Bar & Lounge's co-owner Nuthinepan Tantivejakul and co-owner/chef Boonrod Yotmanee honor the new administration by offering a selection of maki sushi, each designed with the soon-to-be former Senators in mind. The Obama Roll is a lean and green offering of mixed green veggies (asparagus, cucumber, avocado, radish sprout and basil leaves, dusted with sesame seeds). The Biden Roll features a nod toward the region in a crunchy-finished combo of local crab meat and cucumber, with wasabi cream sauce for a little heat. For a full-on celebration, each roll is paired with Hakushika Gold Yamadanishiki (Tokubetsu Junmai), sparkling saké with flecks of gold confetti. Asia Nine Bar & Lounge, 915 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20004, 202-629-4355.
1789 Restaurant Unveils a Prix-Fixe Menu
1789 Restaurant in Georgetown is offering a new fixed-price three-course menu for $40 per person (exclusive of tax and gratuity). Although menu items will change daily, executive chef Daniel Giusti has included a number of distinctive options for guests. Appetizer items include Northern Neck broccoli soup with beer-battered burgundy snails and Neal's Yard Montgomery cheddar, and pappardelle with pan-roasted chicken livers, sage butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Guests can also expect entrée choices such as Emerald Farms pork chops with a warm salad of scarlet turnips and dried Jonathan apples, stewed baby turnip greens and roasted pork, and braised beef short ribs with white sweet potato purée and Brussels sprouts. Reservations at 202-965-1789. 1789 Restaurant, 1226 36th St. NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202-965-1789. Check back soon for more news. Check back soon for more news.
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