Drew Trautmann

Hey Rockwellers

I recently returned here as Executive Chef after a long hiatus. It is good to return to the neighborhood. Anyway, I wanted to let people know about an event that we are doing that is near & dear to my heart as my mother just recently passed away due to complications from Alzheimer's. Any support for this cause from the food community would be greatly appreciated.

http://act.alz.org/goto/Sonoma_Alzheimers_Fundraiser

Thanks

Drew Trautmann

Come get some food before snowmageddopocalypyse 3.0 Valentine's week of death storm traps you in your house! You might want to have some leftovers so you're not forced to eat pet food or even worse your pets. We are also conveniently located next to Ace Hardware so you can buy all of the batteries and hunting knives you'll need to survive. WARNING: I may be engaging in hyperbole.

New-ish menu roll out;

Our menu consists of small to medium plates. We encourage sharing.

Create your own tasting menu.

(items with an * can be doubled as an entrée)

CHEESE/HOUSEMADE CHARCUTERIE

chopped chicken liver...apple chutney, cranberry-walnut bread $8

wild boar rillettes...asian pear mustard, pickled sweet onions, bread $9

dk deviled eggs...smoked paprika, spanish anchovies $6

artisanal cheese selection...lavash, wine jelly $4 each  SEE LIST

PASTA/STARCHES

warm buttermilk biscuits...herbed pumpkin butter $6

baked yukon gold potato...taleggio cheese sauce, duck bacon, chives $8

spaghetti...housemade coppa, caramelized onions, olives, blue cheese $11*

red wine risotto...grana padano$7

                VEGETABLES

forest mushroom salad...citrus-lemongrass sauce, soft egg, mint, cilantro $11

trumpet mushroom terrine...sherry jelly, marinated leeks, grilled bread $10

crepe lasagna...three cheeses, greens, sweet onions $11

apple cider-soy braised parsnips...toasted rice powder $7

grilled heirloom carrots...burrata, pistachio pesto $8

dk salad...salanova, brioche croutons, pickled beans, poppy seed vinaigrette $8

housemade pickle selection $4 each /3 for $11 /6 for $20 SEE LIST

SEAFOOD

steamed blue bay mussels ...spicy saffron pan sauce, cous-cous $11*

house cured steelhead trout gravlax ...dill sour cream, grilled bread $8

warm alder smoked haddock brandade...parsley-caper salad, lavash $8

glazed sablefish collar...king oyster mushroom salad, coconut dipping sauce $12

MEATS

sautéed calves liver... onions, housemade pancetta, mustard vinaigrette $11

½ maple glazed game hen ... sweet potato latke, warm dried cranberry relish $11*

open faced oxtail sandwich...tomato-tamarind gravy, crispy shallots, cheddar $10*

5 oz wagyu bavette steak...baked potato, blue cheese-horseradish sauce $16*

We are calling the oxtails a sloppy dk, the liver is from Martin's beef in the Plains VA, game hens are organic from amish country, & the haddock is house smoked. Earth N Eats is keeping us with produce this winter. Come see us.

Lots of new stuff to warm you up. Baby back rib soup w/ thai curry broth, Calves liver w/ onions & housemade pancetta, sablefish collar, red wine risotto w/ foie gras-sweetbread sausage& blue cheese, warm sour cream coffee cake, with coffee ice cream, & hot toddies Come cure your cabin fever.

Hope to see you,

We will be pouring Chocolate City's limited release Mr. Mayor on draft starting tonight. It is a Chocolate Stout 9% brewed with marionberry (get it). Hooker, b* tch to set you up companion and crack not included. Feel free to bring your own, but please be discrete. We have a lot of new stuff to go with it including slow roasted pork shoulder, a cured seafood platter, octopus stew, & Brussels sprouts with smoked onions & molasses glaze. Hope to see you there.

Hey Drew--Been a little while since you've posted here.  I actually learned recently I have a restaurant aficionado friend who lives close to District Kitchen but has never been. So we'll be remedying that in the next week or so.

Any seasonal or new item updates?  No kids will be in our party. Though one may be a tad immature.

Thank you!

Lots of new stuff. We have house-cured salmon caviar with crème fraiche, chives, & potato skins, housemade all beef franks with Vienna sauce,  braised collard greens with hickory smoked sweet onions, & housemade hot sauce, porcini farroto with chard & taleggio, stone crab claws, whole roasted pompano (from Virginia cobia farms), apple turnover, & foie gras sausage.  We change the menu a lot, but I'm sure at least some of these items will still be here, ask me again when you're closer to coming in & say hi when you do.

Thanks for your interest,

Our farmstand is back this Friday September 6th & should have lots of great stuff including peaches , corn, green beans, new potatoes, housemade strawberry breakfast bars, pecan brownies & housemade sodas. We're planning on running longer this week until @ 5 pm. We hope to see you there. Also, check out our new menu format. All items are available in half portions to let you create your own tasting menu & to allow sharing. Visit our website or swing by to take a look.

Thanks,

"Feeding The Kiddie" by Michele Humes on Slate.com

In my experience kids will eat or at least try what is put in front of them, why dumb down their palates at an early age?

Our new kids menu.

DISTRICT KITCHEN DOES NOT HAVE A SEPARATE MENU FOR CHILDREN, BUT EVERY EFFORT (WITHIN REASON) WILL BE MADE TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR KIDS. PORTION SIZES ON MANY DISHES CAN BE ADJUSTED, & IF NEED BE SOME DISHES CAN HAVE INGREDIENTS LEFT OUT. WE LOVE KIDS & FEEL THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRY SOME OF THE SAME GOOD STUFF MOM & DAD GET MADE WITH THE SAME ORGANIC LOCAL INGREDIENTS & CARE.

STUFF KIDS LIKE

grilled corn wheels... ancho honey butter $6

mushroom black bean burger... traditional garnishes $15 add cheddar +$2

rosemary lemon chicken leg... garlic mash, corn wheels $18

bucatini pasta w/ butter & aged cheddar or slow cooked tomato sauce $8

waffle fries...candy onion-chive crème fraiche $9

soy candied peanuts & crispy chickpeas $7

housemade pickle selection $4 each/3 for $11/6 for $20 SEE LIST

obx style lump crab pate..pickled onions, lavash $10

foie gras parfait... okay it was only a couple of kids, but they liked it!

DESSERT... SEE LIST

HAVE FUN & ENJOY!

This weekend we went to a new format on our menus. Everything is available as a smaller portion to allow groups and individuals to come in and try more things, basically creating their own tasting menus, as always the menu is printed in house, so it will be constantly changing. We will also be offering drink pairings in smaller portions to go with their food choices. Our farm stand is back up again this Friday as well.

Thanks.

I wish I'd known about that when I stopped in two days ago.  

Sorry, it was on the Woodley Park listserv. I hope you enjoyed yourself anyway.

We would like to extend the final two days of our neighborhood restaurant week to members of Don Rockwell. The promotion is as follows.To show our appreciation for your support District Kitchen will be offering a 3 course menu the entire week (August 11-17) for $33 to our neighbors (and Rockwellians) . In addition, we will have drink specials only for you guys. Just print this e-mail, & make sure to say hi when you come in. We hope to see you! There are no upcharges and the whole menu is available.

Thanks and reserve soon,

"Feeding The Kiddie" by Michele Humes on Slate.com

In my experience kids will eat or at least try what is put in front of them, why dumb down their palates at an early age?

Come help make Hickory Hollow farms day and support local agriculture during farm to table restaurant week, they will be here today at 10 am with lots of great stuff. Tonight at the restaurant we will be featuring their artichokes during dinner. Farm to table restaurant week is just like regular restaurant week except less crowded and for a good cause. We hope to see some of you guys today.

Thanks,

Thanks, to any & all who came to the market yesterday, Today we will have some of Joel's (Qualia) delicious whole bean coffee for sale along with all of our other stuff.

Thanks,

Doreen & Ben just brought a ton (almost literally) for our farm stand starting tomorrow. Corn, tomatoes, new potatoes, summer squash, cabbage etc. They are confident they will sell out. Come help support them.

We will have popsicles at the market

We are also doing farm to table restaurant week, next week. More details are at www.eatlocalfirstdc.com. We will be offering a 3 course menu, just like regular restaurant week. Registration fees benefit d.c. freshfarm markets programs.

What will the hours be for the farmstand?

Sorry, I forgot some of the most important information - hours and location. We will be open from 10-4 both days (provided we don't run out of stuff at 2606 Connecticut Ave. NW.

Thanks,

We are starting a farm stand with Bounty Hill Farms (Mercersberg Valley PA) in front of the restaurant on Fridays and Saturdays starting July the 19th. In addition to seasonal produce, we will be offering some items made in the restaurant including popsicles, some baked goods, some charcuterie, and beverages (cocktails???) including housemade sodas. We will expand offerings if demand is there, perhaps including dairy & meats. Doreen & Ben Shank from Hickory Hollow Farms will be helping out. They will be bringing sweet corn, peaches, tomatoes, herbs, hopefully cherries (they are beautiful),and other seasonal things. Of course if you don't feel like cooking yourself, come in for dinner we use their stuff too. Since this is a new thing for us suggestions of what you would like to see would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

In honor of Mother's & Father's Day (mine love it) and my time spent in the Midwest, we made Braunschweiger from local pork. it is smoked for 3 hours over hickory & served with green tomato chow-chow, horseradish, & grilled bread. Come get your liver on.

On a related topic we have lots of lovely libations & food on offer if you can find parking or an alternate method of getting here. We just got nettles (a harbinger of spring) & the first leeks are coming in. My love of root vegetable is wearing thin. Also, I am a thread killer.

One of the most beautiful (for a pig) suckling pigs arrived at our door yesterday. Come enjoy it with us this weekend.

Thanks

We will open at 5 tonight with pre-theater special until 6:30.

This week we began offering a 3 course pre-theater Sunday-Thursday from 5-6:30. Three courses for $35. The order must be in by 6:30. We offer the full menu with a few upcharges. Mention donrockwell & add a 3 course wine pairing for $20. We have lots of new stuff. Come and see us.

Thanks,

Drew

Kinda tooting my own horn, but we are getting sablefish collar form Sea to Table that I like and also doing a whole roasted dorade from Local Ocean that is very popular.

Just got back from my first visit to District Kitchen, and left very disappointed.

I live a few blocks away and was very excited for a new place to open up nearby that wasn't a tourist trap like the rest of Woodley Park. I go to Cashions 3-5 times a month, and while I love it and almost never leave disappointed I was hoping for a new place to add to the mix.

The space itself is great, a 10/10. I loved everything about it. However things went south once we sat down.

We stopped by tonight (Sunday) around 8:00pm. There was only one other solo dinner at the bar besides us so service was good. (Except for when the bartender and a few waiters were taking shots together. If the food was good I wouldn't mind this, but it was what it was).

Since this was our first visit I wanted to try a variety of things so I went with small plates.

The Cinnciatti chili style lamb fusilli was the highlight of the meal. It was a little under seasoned but was good overall and the Ciny chili taste came through very well.

After that things got very disappointing.

I also ordered the Bouchot Mussels and Crispy Rabbit Boudin. The bartender said that three plates would probably be to much for me and said he would put in the Mussel order after I ate my first two dishes if I still wanted it. Normally I appreciate advice like this, but while the fusilli is a pretty good size for a small plate it's nothing overwhelming and I waited close to 20 minutes after I finished it for the mussels to arrive.

The Crispy Rabbit Boudin was absolutely tasteless and very under seasoned. You could have told me it was lamb or chicken and I would have believed you, since there was nothing crispy in them and no rabbit taste at all.

Once I finally got the Bouchot Mussels the disappointment continued. The Curry was overwhelming (and I like curry) and the club fries that came on the side were under seasoned and under cooked.

My fiancee (a vegetarian) had the Kennet Square Mushroom "french dip". A total let down. Basically two slabs of half decent french bread with some sautéed mushrooms mixed in with white bean puree and a mushroom broth on the side for the "dip". (For $18 bucks!!) Again, totally under seasoned. This also came with the club fries, which were also tasteless only this time them came out so hot it burned her mouth after the first bite. This dish would be more at place for $8 at Corner Bakery.

I ate out a lot this weekend. Cashions, New Heights, Mala Tang and Trummer's on Main for Brunch. I had nothing but good things to say about all of those meals. This on the other had was a huge disappointment from a place I've been excited about since I first heard about it months ago.

Maybe because it was Sunday night and the B team was working. But overall a very poor showing.

Since it's so close and since I like to eat out I'll be back at some point. But I hope things have dramatically improved by then. The space is awesome and the location, between the Woodley and AdMo locals mixed in with a ton of hotel traffic should keep this place going for a while.

I just hope they step up their game.

csjohns7, I am sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your meal at District Kitchen. Jawad, my chef de cuisine (working grill), my sous chef (working sautee'), and I (expediting) have been at the restaurant for every minute of every service since we have been open. We have been in this business for a long time and we strive to make everyone who comes through the doors happy. Had we known that you were unhappy with your food we would have taken every measure to rectify the situation. We are a young restaurant (about a month old), and we are interested in and have solicited feedback, both good and bad. The majority has been good, but when something has been wrong and it was brought to our attention, we have done everything we could to ensure that our guests left with a good experience. I do hope you'll give us another chance, and let us know what you think (I'll be in the kitchen, Jawad will be the guy in the jacket).

Thanks,