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Most every business venture requires outside investors.  The crowd-funding model is newish, but Dino's is by no means the first restaurant to use it.  Critics' darling Rose's Luxury is a recent and notable example.

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Kickstarter and sites like it (such as Indiegogo) have been responsible for quite a few excellent products - from sous vide circulators to the portholes the Aviary uses for its cocktails being made for mass production.  Most of the sites even have a "food" category where restaurants all over the country leverage them.

I think its an excellent way for a small business (particularly one with a solid following locally) to avoid having to leverage 3rd party "investors" who may want more say in restaurant matters while keeping the funding in house so to speak.

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Most every business venture requires outside investors.  The crowd-funding model is newish, but Dino's is by no means the first restaurant to use it.  Critics' darling Rose's Luxury is a recent and notable example.

"critic's darling" Rose's Luxury is an absolutely outstanding restaurant.  My only contribution to its funding was the cost of dinner and, sitting at the kitchen bar, wanting a bite of every course that came out.

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"critic's darling" Rose's Luxury is an absolutely outstanding restaurant.

I don't believe I suggested otherwise, and a quick look back at my posts would illustrate my agreement with you.  I brought it up to demonstrate that crowd-funding is not something done by amateur, fly-by-night operations.  I know of their crowd-funding because I took part in it.

My experience with Dino suggests that it too is a restaurant worth supporting.

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Not to be rude, but is this a joke? I never heard of a request to "donate" money to a privately owned for-profit business.

Actually, I am asking to prepay for the right to discounts and special events.  The $25 donation gets you two coupons for 10% off your meal at Dino, including alcohol, wine and whatever.  It is easy to see folk getting well over $25 in discount for a $25 contribution.

But in fact, 4% of the funds donated so far were to people who chose no perk.

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I see no issues with more businesses opening up capital needs to the small investor (or fans of their local establishment if that's existing). The public gets a chance to decide whether to do or not. I'd rather have the independent vs a corporation-backed endeavors.

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We now have an address to share and we will be staying a little longer in Cleveland Park.

Where: 1914 9th Street NW

9th Street between U and T but at the T end.

A few more details from Tim Carmen's GOG blog post...

Just read this on the WaPo website and was going to paste the link but you glad to see  you got to it first! Congrats on signing the lease and good luck with the new venture. Hopefully with the extension we'll be able to stop by before you close.

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We now have an address to share and we will be staying a little longer in Cleveland Park.

Where: 1914 9th Street NW

9th Street between U and T but at the T end.

A few more details from Tim Carmen's GOG blog post...

Having read Tim Carmen's post Kudo's to Dean.  Having leased a lot of space in the past I was surprised to see mention of a letter of Intent referenced some months ago.   SO MUCH can go wrong between a letter of intent and a lease.....and from long long experience the common perspective has been...don't mention ANYTHING until a deal is done!!!

From the Carmen article it appears Dean has been juggling a lot of balls to get a new space, prepare a new restaurant and keep staff.  Kudo's on working all those things out.  Good luck with the construction, keeping the existing restaurant open, keeping your staff together and moving to Shaw.  I for one expect to be there between now and late February.  Its been years since I've been to Dino's and that long precedes my joining this forum.

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Our last night on Indiegogo.  Ends at Midnght west coast time.

You can get discount coupons for $250 worth of discount for $200, $100 for $85.

We also have a tasting menu with brunello etc for 2 for $300 and a wine dinner that will blow your socks off for $1000 with old brunello, amarone, barolo etc for 8.

$2500 and we raid my cellar for 80's vintage Ridge, 97 Brunellos, and an 83 Amarone plus dinner for 8.

Indiegogo: Dino Comes to Shaw

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Our last night on Indiegogo.  Ends at Midnght west coast time.

You can get discount coupons for $250 worth of discount for $200, $100 for $85.

We also have a tasting menu with brunello etc for 2 for $300 and a wine dinner that will blow your socks off for $1000 with old brunello, amarone, barolo etc for 8.

$2500 and we raid my cellar for 80's vintage Ridge, 97 Brunellos, and an 83 Amarone plus dinner for 8.

Indiegogo: Dino Comes to Shaw

Good luck with all this, Dean. I hope it works out for you.

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At Dino, we spend approximately $25 a week on paper hand towels.  That is at least a 33 gallon trashbag a day of trash.  So for the Grotto, I made a commitment that we would have electric dryers.... the XLcelerator dryer is green listed and earns you leed points.  It really deliverers the best combination of price, speed and energy use {especially compared to the Dyson Airblades}  Unfortunately, they run about 400 to 540 depending on finish.  And, it is insanely hard to find anything on eBay at less than full price.  But perseverance led to a pair of new white plastic models at $570 plus shipping.  The white ones look dorky IMO, but hey, $1160 for chrome vs 570 is a big difference (in fact, it paid for a door)!

Just as I was about to hit buy now, I did one last search and behold"¦ a pair of chrome babies, used but in pretty great condition.  I had to zoom on the labels to check the voltage and amperage, and they matched what the bathrooms are wired for already. 

I might get to see my new back bar tomorrow... umm the next day... before any more DC political leaders get indicted.....beofre hell freezes over.  Made from 120 year old 2x12 heartwood joists taken from a building being demolished. 

Small victories on the road to a new restaurant.

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The top of the back bar arrives, as sis our communal table, the upstairs bar, and the bottle steps.  Wine coolers are here, but I don't know if we go the and dryers or not {have to check the FedEx tracking and its on Kay's Email.} Waiting for the rest is torture.  Office & closet doors should go in today.  We are installing the kitchen equipment today as well.  

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Dean's playtoys...

In so far:

Wine coolers

Backbar TOP ONLY 136" 2x10 120 joist

2 sets of bottle steps {smae wood}

Communal table 9' {same wood}

Front Bar upstairs {same wood}

12 bottle Monterrey Winekeeper stainless

All our hot line equipment

Some kitchen refrigeration

Some stainless shelves.

New light for entryway

Chandelier for entrance

Sunday we walk with the wood worker and are doing field measurements for the following made from more of the same wood:

Upstairs back bar

Sides for Downstairs backbar

Top for Downstairs bar.

New Kick for Bars.

Trim pieces

Host Stand

In addition...

Re purposed tongue and groove flooring to wrap the bars.

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Good luck on all that construction and custom work.  Its detailed, time consuming, eeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaaaa....and it can come in at costs and with issues one never expected.

When we built the bar at our current Arlington bar school we had two master craftsmen.  they anchored that thing like a rock.  Top bar was solid as can be.  We overdid it, we overspent, and it took too long.

Meanwhile that thing is sturdy!!!   Unbeknownst to us a year or two after it was built a potential heavyweight competitor was looking to open in this region.  He visited our location.  Took a look at the bar and the construction.  Years later I got friendly with him and we have spoken quite a bit.  He told us that among other things one of the reasons he decided not to open a competitor or 2 in this region was because how solid that bar was.  He figured we were there to stay.  Additionally, he being a fellow of substantial girth and weight, he referenced he could jump up and down on that thing and not break it...something he couldn't say for most of his construction.

;).....and knowing what we know now and how it would have affected the competitive marketplace....that danged well built, very expensive piece of construction definitely paid off in contributing to his not competing with us.

In any case, custom construction is a bear.  Good luck.

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We have a very limited number of seats for our friends and family dinners Thursday and Friday/  I guess thats now tonight and tomorrow.  If you would like to come, send me a time, night and how many

Food is half off.  Wine and booze etc is full price. We will send out some stuff free over the course of the evening as we aer testing.   Please tip well as my servers have not make tips in a long while.

Please also wait for me to confirm as we can only take so many at any time over the evening.  We will open at 6:30 and serve 'til 10.

You can email me at

eat@dinoinshaw.com

or reply here via PM only.

I will edit when we are full.

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Soft opening Saturday.  Closed Mother's Day.  Soft opening Monday thru Wednesday.  Limited menu and seating although the menu is almost up to full size.  Wine list growing every day.

Grand Opening Thursday.

Reservations start for Friday night early only.

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We stopped in yesterday and had a great meal! We started with bacon with grilled strawberries and deviled eggs. The deviled eggs were wonderful, but I could eat the bacon and strawberries at every single meal and live an incredibly happy life. Then we shared the cinghiale, meatball pasta and the stewed goat. The cinghiale has always been one of our favorites, and it didn't disappoint. The meatballs were soft and flavorful, served with perfectly cooked pasta that retained a nice bite. The goat provided a great balance to those, nicely stewed with a garbanzo side. We scarfed up every bite and finished with balsamic strawberries and a chocolate tart. They are doing some real magic with strawberries right now, so head that way if you get a choice.

How awesome that Dino is now so much closer to us! I will be back very soon, possibly even before the opening.

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Sitting here with my family a couple days after we went to Dino's Grotto on Friday Night (the second night of official opening). We had a wonderful time at the restaurant, the waitstaff were all really pleasant and helped create a really positive atmosphere.

For starters, my Mother really appreciated the whole wheat bread served and as she says "you can tell a lot about a restaurant by the stuff they serve for free."

For appetizers we particularly enjoyed the Burrata and the Deep Fried Artichokes.

For entrees we had the Skirt Steak (with an anchiove-based sauce that was really good), the Mussels which were really juicy and plump. The broth was delicious. I ordered the Duck, which was really juicy. My brother ordered the free form lasagnette and really enjoyed it (even though he avoids carbs and didn't know it was going to be pasta.

For dessert we had a couple cheese plates and a delicious tiramisu. Dean and Kay were wonderful and the vibe in the restaurant was just really pleasant. I really believe this place will do well and we will definitely be back. I'll be checking the board regularly to see any updates on the place.

-noah

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So far, we have good availability early.  Our reservations are on City Eats. If you call same day, we will put your name on the waitlist which gives you a little priority.

We have happy hour at the 2 bars 'til 7pm: $3 off wines by the glass, cocktails and beers.  And antipasti.  $12 mussel pots and Burger & a Brew is $15 with our standard taps.  Wine madness 'til 7 as well as all night Monday night.

Local softies, skirt steak, House made sausages, last of season asparagus, caprese

 
Red Wines by the Glass
 
Palama "arcangangelo" {negroamaro} salento "˜12
huge 4 / 9 / 27
 
La Qercia {montepulciano} d'abruzzo "˜12
round ~ big 4 / 10 / 29
 
San Polo "rubio" {sangiovese} montalcino "˜11
rich 4 / 11 / 33
 
Tami {frappato} sicilia "˜12
5 / 12 / 36
 
Santa Lucia "melograno" {uva di troia } castel del monte  "˜10
5 / 13 / 38
 
Caruso e Monini "terre di giumara" {nero d'avola} sicilia "˜11
5 / 13 / 39
 
Perezzetta "erio" {sangiovese, cab, syrah, merlot} toscana "˜12
dark 5 / 13 / 39
 
Crivelli {ruche} monferrato  '12
5 / 12 / 42
 
Klee {pinot noir} willamette "˜12
racy, spicy, soft 5 / 14 / 42
 
Collemattoni "adone" {sangiovese, merlot} "˜09
softer side of montalcino 6 / 15 / 43
 
Hilberg {Barbera} d'alba piemonte "˜11
round, elegant, rich, spice     7 / 18 / 54
 
De Conciliis "donnaluna: {aglianico} paestum "˜11
spicy, hedonistic, earthy, yummy 7 / 18 / 54
 
Scacciadiavoli {sagrantino} Montefalco "˜06
huge flavors, lots of spice, very racy 7 / 20 / 59
 
Glen Manor "hodder hill" virginia "˜10
big, modern, bordeaux blend 9 / 26 / 77
 
 
Whites by the Glass
 
Dubini "bianc0" {grechetto, procanico +} orvieto "˜12
sprightly 6 / 15 / 45
 
Borgo M {friulano} friuli "˜12
traditional 4 / 9 / 27
 
Mormoraia {vernaccia} di san gimignano, toscana
5 / 13 / 38
 
Bucci {verdicchio} castelli dei jesi, marche
6 / 15 /45 
Glen Manor {sauvignon blanc} virginia "˜12
crisp, intense nose, bone dry 6 / 15 / 45
 
Fizz, Pinks & Orange by the Glass
 
fizz La Gioiosa {prosecco}
8 / 39
 
w3 Argiolis "serralori rosato" {cananaou, monica, caragnano +} sardegna "˜13   
4 / 10 / 30
 
7b Movia {rebula} slovenia "˜10
7 / 18 / 54
 
Cocktails
 
Bootlegger's Strawberry ~ dc's own green hat gin, house strawberry rhubarb sage infusion, lemon juice   11
 
The Bitter Fruit of a Brazilian Threeway ~ avua cachaca, punt e mes, aperol grapefruit bitters   11
 
Dino's Scoflaw ~ old overholt rye, dolin blanc, lemon juice, house grenadine   11
 
Justine Popped Her Raspberry ~old overholt try, imbue petal & thorn, lemon juice, raspberry shrub, bittercube #2 jamaican bitters   11
 
Brasilian Landing Strip ~ apple cachaca, luxardo maraschino, asian pear syrup, grapefruit juice, imbue petal & thorn   11
 
Tequila Sunrise ~ cabbeza tequila, fresh oj, house grenadine   11
 
The Made Man ~ johnny drum bourbon, averna, cocchi, bitters  11
 
Z-Groni ~ royal dock of deptford gin, zucca, dolin dry   9
 
 
Birra Alla Spina ~ Tap
 
3 Star "peppercorn" saison {dc} 7
 
Champion "killer kolsch" {va} 6
 
Atlas "home rule" india pale lager {dc} 7
 
Lost Rhino "face plant ipa" {va} 6
{when it runs out it's going to be port city ways & means}
 
DC Brau "daughters of poseidon" black ipa w/brewed w/oyster {dc/me}
 
Baladin "floreale" {piemonte, italy} 9
 
 
Birra Bottiglie e Lattine
 
Menabrea ~ blond lager {italy} 6
 
Anchor "california" lager {ca} 6
 
Union Brewing "duckpin" pale ale {md} 6
 
Williamsburg "red marker" red ale {va} 6
 
Del Ducato "nuova mattina" spiced saison {parma italy} 11
 
Del Ducato "verdi" imperial stout {parma italy} 12
 
Du Claw "sweet baby jesus!" chocolate peanut butter porter{md} 7
 
Erdinger non alcoholic {germany} 7
 
New Planet "gluten free" pale ale {co} 8
 
Hard Ciders
 
Hauser Estate Winery "jack's" cider {pa}
 
Crispin cider {ca}   750 ml 12
 
Dupont "cidre bouche brut" {france}   750 ml 21
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We enjoyed our meal last night though we thought some dishes were somewhat over salted-my skirt steak and M's duck.. I really like the new corkage policy $7.50pp and unlimited bottles!. Dino veteran Michael took good care of us and Dean and Kay were their usual charming hosts. Parking is real b**** but Dean told us relief is on the way. For now, take the metro or a cab. The upstairs room is quite LOUD when full but full is a good thing. Finally, we appreciated the "friends and family" discount and we will be Grotto dwellers!

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Hangover Brunch starts this Sunday.  $25 in the Grotto Bar only.  Noon 'til 4pm

You get

Fabian and John's "hair of the dog":Instant Breakfast,

your choice of any of our other brunch booze or a tap if you are in need of hydration,

a main or two starters.  hayman's old tom gin, egg, worschershire, thai sriracha, simple syrup, lemon juice, bitters

Regular brunch upstairs features a bottomless Mimosa or Bloody for $12 and a selection of brunch-y and lunch-y items and starters

Wine madness {33% off wines $51+}  in effect noon 'til 7pm.

Happy Hour in the grotto Bar is noon 'til 7pm {no discount on the brunch booze, its already discounted}

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If you are lazy, the Instant Breakfast will give you a kick in the ass. 

It reminds me a little of my favorite michelada recipe: 1 oz. lime juice, 1 oz. Cholula, 1 oz. worcestershire sauce, 12 oz. Negra Modelo, ground pepper to taste.  It can be a bit intense for those who don't like savory/spicy, though, so I'm sure Fabian and John's creation is much more balanced.

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It reminds me a little of my favorite michelada recipe: 1 oz. lime juice, 1 oz. Cholula, 1 oz. worcestershire sauce, 12 oz. Negra Modelo, ground pepper to taste.  It can be a bit intense for those who don't like savory/spicy, though, so I'm sure Fabian and John's creation is much more balanced.

An entire ounce each of hot sauce and worcestershire??? Dang.

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A short season favorite back tonight....

Grilled Apricots: McLeaf's Apricots, pancetta, mascarpone, saba

More signs of summer...

Tuscan Bacon w/Grilled Peach & Aged Balsamico

Peach Parfait {Bourbon spiced sauteed Spring Valley} peaches, house granola

And...

Grilled Beef Braciole antipasto w/kale, shallot & sherry vinaigrette, greens

Last of spring...

We have enough asparagus and Chentarelle to last 'til Tuesday at most.

And remomber our Glen Manor Wine Dinner

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Terrific dinner tonight. For whatever reason wasn't a frequenter of old Dino's so my wife and I went with some basics -- the burrata and cinghiale pappardelle to start and the Dino burger (with duck fat potatoes) and Orata for entrees. All delicious. Will be back to branch out.

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We will have the World Cup on our TVs tomorrow Sunday.  The game starts at 3.

We are featuring a Champion 11 Tasting of antipasti for $27.  You can have a "tapas sized" taste of 11 different antipasti including a grilled apricot, squash blossom, pate, salumi, cheese and more.

The bar will feature Happy Hour all day $3 off cocktails, wines by the glass and antipasti.  Selected taps are $5.  Mussel pots are only $12 for a kilo, and out burger and a brew is $15.  Plus wines are 33% off for bottles over $50 'til 7pm.  And bottomless Bloody's, Mimosa's and Bellini's are $12.

Hangover Brunch {2 cocktails plus a main or two starters for $25} happy hour, and the game are grotto only.  Regular, ala carte brunch is upstairs and in the Grotto.  

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We are non participants in Restaurant Week but we are offering a $35 tasting mneu with 1o dishes from our regular menu.  Wine flights {$14}, beer flights {$14} and cocktail flights {$25} are available.

Details: We Don't Need No Stinking Restaurant Week!

Reserve via City Eats.  Go to our website for a link.

Also starting at 9pm,we offer our late night menu featuring the Italian Chili Dog {deep fried pancetta-wrapped beef dog w'wild  boar chili, cheese & house made hot pepper relish}, buffaloed duck wings, corned beef has & more.  Late Night Menu Starts at 10pm Friday and Saturday.  All night sunday.

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That chili dog on the late night menu is exactly what you want when you realize that you've skipped dinner in favor of two additional cocktails, want something fatty and artery-clogging, but aren't drunk enough to consider Amsterdam Falafel or a Jumbo Slice.

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Our dinner this past Tuesday showed a kitchen really hitting its stride. Our companions enjoyed the pseudo restaurant prix fix while I ducked out with the prosciutto and cannelloni-all good. The mozzarella and anchovy sandwiches were sin on a plate-rich and decadent. Hope took excellent care of us and Dean regaled our table with tales of truffles. 

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