Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend

Get there first: Slim’s Diner

Slim's Diner [Photo: R. Lopez]

Owner Paul Ruppert just opened this diner, one of many new spots in Petworth, on Wednesday.  Go for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or reserve it for a new late night option. The design leans contemporary with tufted red booths and matching stools at the long white counter, but the menu is full of classic American diner dishes. Find blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes, a Reuben sandwich (with turkey, corned beef, or veggie), a French dip, an iceberg wedge salad, and milkshakes and floats.

Friday night drinks: Wicked Bloom

Wicked Bloom [Photo: Facebook]

This low-key Bloomingdale bar is around the corner from the former DCity Smokehouse location. It recently joined forces with the barbecue joint while it's in between homes. Go for the Paper Planes cocktail, draft beers, or loaded brisket nachos. The creamy cilantro sauce is also a must on the pit smoked chicken wings.

Revisit a classic: The Lafayette

The Lafayette [Photo: Official]

Dine among D.C. power brokers at The Lafayette, the restaurant inside The Hay-Adams Hotel. The dining room os pleasantly quiet and ideal for conversation, especially in this era of noisy restaurants. Plus, they recently brought on Nicholas Legret as the new executive chef. After exploring his menu, be sure to save room for desserts like vanilla soufflé with blueberry sorbet or milk chocolate baked Alaska. Then head down to Off the Record for an after dinner drink.

Try Sicilan pizza: Pizzeria Vetri

Pizzeria Vetri [Photo: Facebook]

Lauded chef Marc Vetri is behind this new pizzeria with two locations in Philadelphia and one in Austin. But with so many new pizza places opening lately, this one distinguishes itself as the only one that offers rectangular Sicilian pies called pizza al taglio. Katsuya Fukushima of Daikaya has also collaborated with them on a special miso honey gelato.

Go before it closes: Alfie’s

Alfie's [Photo: Facebook]

Chef Alex McCoy just announced he's closing this Southeast Asian pop-up in Park View by the end of the month. It will reopen eventually, but not in Petworth as originally planned. The long weekend is shaping up to be quite warm, so sit on the patio and wash those spicy dishes down with a glass of their rotating punch.