Caruso s Grocery restaurant review: The old-school Italian joint of your dreams washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Las Gemelas, from the team behind Espita Mezcaleria, serves mezcal cocktails and plenty of margaritas. Photograph by Leah Judson.
Been a while since you’ve been to an actual bar? Fair! But even with all the pandemic restrictions, plenty of new watering holes have opened over recent months. Here are some new places to check out now that a bartender can actually hand you a drink across a bar.
2622 P St., NW
The cozy Georgetown spot from veteran somm Elli Benchimol transitions from a cafe serving espresso and pastries by morning into a wine and cocktail bar specializing in Champagne, caviar, and French fare come afternoon. While there are plenty of ways to splurge, the place also offers several more approachable options, including bubbles with a trio of deviled eggs for $20, or a glass of Champagne and full caviar service (served with a box of savory waffles) for $50.
Bartenders Give Their Takes on the Drink of Summer 2021
Spritzes, hard coconut water, mezcal margaritas, and more
The Roost s mezcal margarita. Photograph by Nick Farrell.
Bars are officially back, so what’s everyone drinking? Five DC-area bartenders share their thoughts on what everyone will (or should) be sipping this summer.
The (Not Just Aperol) Spritz
“When people think of spritz, they think Italian. We’ve been able to flip those flavors around. We have a cachaca-based spritz-style cocktail with papaya nectar. Adding the touch of some sort of fresh fruit can turn around that flavor. I do think there is this trend that people may have overdone it during the pandemic. People are coming out of that and saying ‘maybe I do want something lighter.’” Serenata Beverage Director AJ Johnson
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Caruso s Grocery, an Italian-American restaurant, opens at the Roost (pictured: homemade pasta alfredo with mushrooms). Photography by Stacey Windsor
Some chefs reference family recipes from time to time. At Caruso’s Grocery, an Italian-American red sauce joint opening Wednesday, May 12 on Capitol Hill, partner Matt Adler says his menu is almost entirely drawn from Scoozi a restaurant his father, Larry Adler, ran for a decade in their upstate New York town, and where the younger Adler worked for a year before heading off to the Culinary Institute of America.
“I really try and look back at my father’s food because that’s an honest interpretation [of Italian-American cooking], not a chef’s interpretation,” says Adler, who spent recent years helming cheffy Italian kitchens at Osteria Morini and Alta Strada. “What’s the best way to make these dishes without micro-greens or deconstructing anything? I just want every dish to the best possible version good ingre