Insatiable • Celeste McCall

At El Secreto de Rosita (U Street corridor), a bartender pours a Pisco sour, the Peruvian national drink.

Rosita Revealed

On a chilly Friday night, my husband Peter and I had attended an art opening at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery on U St. NW. Afterwards, we sought out dinner nearby at El Secreto de Rosita, 1624 U St. NW. The jam-packed restaurant was humming. The host politely told us the restaurant was fully booked. But there were two seats at the marble-topped bar.

It was too cold for margaritas or even Pisco sours, the potent Peruvian national drink. Instead, we perused the wine list which offered vintages from Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Uruguay. We settled for glasses of red and white from Spain.

We were tempted by the ocopa scallop appetizer, assorted ceviches, squid ink rice with prawns, scallops and mahi mahi. We also considered arroz chaufa—a popular Peruvian dish influenced by 19th-century Chinese immigrants to Peru. But I opted for grilled octopus in garlicky Creole sauce. Escorted by pureed purple potatoes, the cephalopod tentacles were moist and tender.

Peter chose aji de gallina. The dish consisted of shredded white meat chicken draped over savory rice and potatoes, napped with aji amarillo (yellow pepper) sauce. The crowning glory was a hardboiled egg slice.

Rosita’s secret? Excellent victuals, drinks, lots of ambience and positive energy. For hours, more information and reservations—strongly recommended—visit www.elsecretoderosita.com.

Insatiable

by Celeste McCall

Retro Rocket Return

Remember Johnny Rockets, the circa-1950s retro burger chain? It’s back, at 1501 Rhode Island Ave. NW, in Logan Circle. Decades ago, we had a Johnny Rockets in Union Station’s lower level near the food court. There were other outposts as well, including one in Georgetown which closed in 2020. Now, thanks to parent company Fat Brands Inc., a global franchising company, Johnny Rockets has resurfaced.

Logan Circle’s shiny new Johnny Rockets sports its signature black-and-white tiled floors, bright red booths, Washington, DC themed posters, and Motown music. To drink: sodas, draft beers, spiked and unspiked milkshakes. Those famous cookedto-order burgers (now including plant-based) and fries share menu space with spicy wings, grilled chicken breast, Philly cheese steaks, BLTs, chili and salads, plus a kids’ menu. Logan’s Johnny Rockets is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For more information, visit www.johnnyrockets.com.

Balkan Expansion

Any day now, look for the Shaw outpost of Ambar restaurant at 1547 Seventh St. NW. Ambar is known for its savory grilled lamb sausage, stuffed cabbage, cheese pies, beet tzatziki and baklava. Fans will find these favorites at the new location, along with Ambar’s signature all-you-can eat brunch and a second-story rakia cocktail bar. (Rakia is a potent, fruit-based spirit popular in the Balkan region.) Guests will sip that and other beverages under a retractable roof. The Shaw offspring will be Ambar’s third location; others are at 523 Eighth St. SE (Barracks Row) and in Clarendon (Arlington). For updates and more information, visit www.ambarrestaurant.com/shaw.

French Point of Interest

Market Watch

In Union Market’s bustling food hall, Chef Alex McCoy is unveiling Bar Boheme. Due to open soon—if not already—Bar Boheme is slinging more than a dozen European-style sandwiches stuffed with freshly sliced and cured meats and other goodies.

The rotating sandwich selections are packed with British salt beef, spicy English mustard and pickles. You’ll also find house-made pork rillettes, grilled Thai herbal sausage, mortadella, porchetta (Italian-style roast pork roll), Swedish meatballs and much more.

But diners cannot live by bread alone. Heading La Boheme’s full bar listing are interesting foreign and domestic wines, beers, ciders and snazzy cocktails. (Chef McCoy also operates Adams Morgan sandwich and burger hotspot Lucky Buns.) Located at 1509 Fifth St. NE, Union Market is open daily. For more information, visit www.unionmarketdc.com. Chef Nicholas Stefanelli—who brought us Officina (Wharf and Downtown), Masseria (Union Market) and Philotimo (temporarily closed), has done it again. His latest culinary enterprise is Le Clou, 222 M St. NE. For this modern spin on a French brasserie, Stefanelli taps his classical Gallic training. Le Clou, by the way, is roughly translated as “point of interest.” Le Clou’s chef de cuisine is Nico Cezar, who cooked with Stefanelli at Masseria. Situated off the lobby of The Morrow Washington DC Curio Collection by Hilton, Le Clou seats 75 in a gilded dining room dotted with swirled marble tables and sleek leather booths. Guests will dine on sweetbreads with black truffles, seafood towers, Hudson Valley foie gras, escargot, frog legs, trout and steak frites. For a splurge, a côte de beouf 28-ounce bone-in ribeye served with Fourme d’Ambert cheese is just $148.Escorted by pureed purple potatoes with Creole sauce, Rosita’s octopus is moist and tender. There’s still more:

Pork belly-stuffed cabbage is a specialty at Ambar, Barracks Row ‘s Balkan restaurant which is unveiling an outpost in Shaw.

A cheese trolley will slice a dozen choices each day. A custom Champagne cart will roam the dining room and adjacent Lobby Lounge, pouring a dozen bubbly options by the glass. For Le Clou’s hours and more information, visit www.themorrowhotel.com.

Coming Soon

In the Atlas District, Hiraya, a Filipino restaurant, is headed for 1248-1250 H St. NE. Don’t rush over there right away; Hiraya is not opening until spring. (In the meantime, you can still visit Hiraya at e Block Food Hall downtown.) For the future enterprise, Chef Paolo Dungca is joining Juan and Jeremy Canlas, the father-son duo behind local chain Supreme Barbeque and Auntea Boba.

Hiraya’s H Street restaurant will showcase a separate menu and matching atmosphere on each oor. e casual rst level will serve Filipino pastries, breakfast sandwiches, lattes brewed with ube (purple yam) and teas from Auntea Boba. You’ll also nd silog, a Filipino morning staple made with sinangag (garlic fried rice), itlog (egg), and longganisa sausage. Upstairs will serve à la carte small plates to start, eventually adding prix- xe options. For updates, visit www.hirayadc.com. ◆

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Celebrate Asian Lunar New Year in Shaw, 1/22/23!

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Shaw Main Streets is a designated DC Main Streets program and is funded in part by the Department of Small and Local Business Development, Muriel E. Bowser, Mayor.

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