By Laura Hayes
Mosaic District newcomer DGS Delicatessen reminds customers it’s more than modern Jewish deli with the launch of DGS After Dark. Every Thursday of the month the restaurant will flex its bar muscles by offering themed bar nights with discounted drinks from 6 p.m. until late. They range from playful ’80s cocktail nights that may involve adult bar mitzvahs to more serious tributes to Virginia beer, wine and spirits. “It’s a celebration of the new delicatessen drinking culture inspired by our grandparents’ long nights in Lower East side taverns, winter getaways to Florida and jazzy escapades to the Catskills,” says co-owner Nick Wiseman.
Oct. 29 marks the kick off of DGS After Dark and also serves as a birthday bash for the restaurant’s executive chef, Brian Robinson. In addition into the birthday trappings of champagne, cake and party hats, the evening will also be a chance to get a sneak preview of cocktails that will be offered at DGS After Dark theme nights moving forward.
Starting, Nov. 5, the theme nights are as follows:
-First Thursday of the month: Amber Waves of Grain
A beer-focused evening of tap takeovers and rare brews
-Second Thursday of the month: Throwback Thursday
Five classic cocktails priced at $7 each
-Third Thursday of the month: Mazel Tov!
An ’80s-themed party featuring drinks that should remind you of the movie “Cocktail” such the Alabama slammer, mai tai or sex on the beach priced at $9 each.
-Fourth Thursday of the month: Virginia is for Lovers
A chance to celebrate what the DGS team deems the best very best of the commonwealth when it comes to brewers, distillers and winemakers.
One of the cocktails bar manager Anthony Lawson says he’s most excited to roll out for DGS After Dark is The Gentleman’s Agreement—a play on a classic with orange and clove liqueur, rye lemon, and a root liquor that gives the drink a nostalgic note of root beer. Try it on Throwback Thursday theme nights.
Two more things to look out for: Robinson’s DJ group, Pork and Beans, will be spinning ’80s hits on Nov. 19, and Christmas Eve’s DGS After Dark will be Mazel Tov Christmas-themed with pastrami lo mein, Rueben egg rolls, Tsing Tsao beers and mai tais.
Finally, Wiseman says they’re leaving the door open for possible adult bar mitzvah-themed celebrations on the Third Thursday Mazel Tov nights as there was demand at the D.C. location of DGS Delicatessen. “Typically they do the religious side themselves and then call us to celebrate,” Wiseman says. “We did one in Dupont a few months ago for an older gentleman; we rose him up on the chair and danced the horah.”
Laura Hayes hails from Philly (but don’t hold it against her). She’s been covering the local dining scene for three years, and her work has been published in the Washington Post, Food Network, Washington City Paper, Arlington Magazine and more. Having lived in Japan for two years, she finds herself in a constant state of craving sushi. Laura always orders her favorite savory dish again for dessert and keeps her gut in check through lots of CrossFit classes.
