New Bethesda Restaurant Unveils Budget-Friendly ‘Sizzle Plates’

Switcheroos

R Family Kitchen & Bar, the restaurant replacing short-lived Tapabar in Bethesda, has ditched small plates for fully composed meals featuring sous-vide chicken, seared steak, and salmon. Bethesda Magazine reports that the “sizzle plates” now being served by the restaurateurs behind neighboring Bold Bite and 202 Donuts run from $16.75 to $19.75. Status: Certified open. 4901-A Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, Md.; website.

Expansions

The new 2,200-square-foot cafe Australian coffee chain Bluestone Lane is installing in the ground floor of 1100 23rd Street NW is its biggest location to date. The new West End shop is projected to carry all the burgeoning brand’s greatest hits, including gourmet coffee, tea, fresh juices, and avocado toast.

Shutdown gets real

Happy hour deals and weekday brunch specials are piling up as the government shutdown continues, but some hospitality providers are likely to lose their client base if federal workers don’t fill office buildings this week (and beyond). Case in point; WAMU reporter Armando Trull captured a rush for coffee at a L’Enfant food court that’s probably going to become a ghost town if government workers stay home while Congress fights over funding levels.

“Emotions run from anger to uncertainty,” Trull writes.