Red Apron [Photos: R. Lopez]
The third location of Neighborhood Restaurant Group butchery shop Red Apron is the company's most ambitious to date. Overseen by Nathan Anda and Ed Witt, the shop has added everything from fresh pasta to breakfast sandwiches to a special type of new bread (courtesy of pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac) to their offerings.
About that breakfast: the restaurant is opening at 7:30 a.m. each day to serve up breakfast sandwiches (which can be hard to find in D.C.) on its new tigelle rolls. The bread is kind of like an Italian version of an English muffin; they have a special machine from Italy that they use to make them. Combinations include honey ricotta with pine nuts; sausage, egg and cheese (with maple butter); or a "morning meatball" with red-eye gravy. The butcher shop's homemade scrapple is also among the items served in the morning.
Lunch brings salads, sandwiches, a burger and "haute" dogs, and their famous beef fat fries. This location of Red Apron will also emphasize prepared takeout food items more, including rotisserie chickens, meatloaf and other "red plate" specials, plus sides like sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. This location of Red Apron has room for a dry storage area, which means those picking up meat will have a larger variety of cuts and sizes. Red Apron is working to become 100 percent animal welfare approved for its local beef offerings (they're already there for pork).
Similar in style to the Merrifield location, Red Apron has an extensive selection of retail items, all of which are heavily endorsed by Anda himself. There are special items from Gordy's pickles, heirloom beans, natural peanut butters and plenty of beverages. Red Apron's sandwich shop opens today; The Partisan, its adjoining restaurant, will open in two to three weeks.
· Red Apron [Official Site]
· All Previous Red Apron Coverage [-EDC-]
