Bounce. Bounce. Please don’t cry. Please don’t wake up.
I sat, or bounced, rather, on an exercise ball with a 6-week old bundled into a 6-yard wrap twisted and tied around me as I flipped through pages and squinted at PDFs. As I planned my maternity leave—I finished eating and filed the last of the reviews just days before I gave birth—I promised to return for the production of the November issue, so this was how I edited, fact-checked and reworked (every year a restaurant seems to shutter in the midst of the issue; this year it was Willow) this year’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
And yes, it was much harder to eat multiple meals a day with a baby taking over an ever-smaller space designated for food.
Since we sent the issue to the printer, and since the story debuted online, there have been more changes to the restaurant scene. Here’s what you need to know:
–2941 launches a “Meatless Monday” eight-course vegetarian tasting menu. [more]
-The always-packed Ciao Osteria adds more seats and a gelato bar. [more]
–Hank’s Pasta Bar, the latest from Jamie Leeds of Hank’s Oyster Bar, is still on track to open late this month. [more]
–Kapnos Taverna will get a sibling when Kapnos Kouzina opens in Mosaic District, in the former Gypsy Soul space. On Dec. 11,Requin, another of Mike Isabella’s projects, will debut as a pop-up there (and will eventually open in D.C.). [more]
–Marumen‘s chef Paul Lee, profiled in the September issue, left days before the November issue went to print. We’re still waiting to check out how Marumen is faring without Lee and where Lee is going next.
–Reserve 2216 is currently closed as the team looks for a new space, most likely staying in Del Ray. [more]
-The talented Tarver King, chef of The Restaurant of Patowmack Farm, this year’s best restaurant, is also an artist. Because of course he is. [more]
-This is not important at all, but with the most recent iOS update, the onigiri emoji (referenced in the Tachibana review) is now in a new location on the keyboard.
-The team behind Water & Wall opened Chase the Submarine, a sandwich and butcher shop in Vienna. [more]
-Here’s background on The Wine Kitchen‘s new chef, Tim Rawley (plus a note on his Dr. Seuss-themed dinner on New Year’s Eve). [more]
As for me, I’m back from maternity leave and figuring out how to review restaurants with a (crying) baby. Send tips!
READ MORE: 50 Best Restaurants 2015
