El Centro DF Opening Cinco De Mayo; A Half-Smoke Winner

LOGAN CIRCLE—El Centro DF, the new taqueria from Richard Sandoval and Kaz Okochi, is officially opening on Thursday — just in time for Cinco de Mayo, as planned. Just $20 will get you into the reception that includes unlimited apperitivos, a Latin grooves and a cash bar for all the margaritas, tequilas and agave cocktails you can handle starting at 5 p.m. [EaterWire]

AWARDS SEASON—Firefly's Daniel Bortnick was declared the winner of this past weekend's half-smoke challenge at Domaso. The people's choice winner was Peter Smith from Ps 7's. And altogether the chefs raised more than $7,000 for charity! [EaterWire]

MENUWATCH—Vermilion chef Anthony Chittum is launching a tasting menu starting Mat 17 and continuing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. According to Tom Sietsema, the menu will be available exclusively at the kitchen-adjacent Farm Table, which costs between $75 and $90 per person. [WaPo]

CRYSTAL CITY—ARLNow reports that Bell 20 Tavern has opened in the lobby of the Crystal City Marriott, serving mostly bar food to business travelers but with a good 10 beers on draft and a cheap happy hour. [ARLNow]

GOING ROGUE—It isn't even open yet for reals, but RJ Cooper's Rogue 24 is getting some early reviews thanks to its pop-up preview going down in New York right now. The City Paper has some good observations, including how many bathroom breaks you'll need to take between the eight drink pairings, while the Washingtonian's Todd Kliman reports that the concept is not yet ready for prime-time. [WCP, Washingtonian]

Daniel Bortnick [Photo: Firefly]