Get Ready for Italian Comfort Food and Rotisserie Duck From 2 New Eastern Market Restaurants

Washingtonian reports that a New American restaurant and a family-friendly Italian osteria will open this fall near Eastern Market — both from Hollis Silverman, the former chief operating officer of ThinkFoodGroup. The two spots are headed to the 700 Penn building, and will be staffed by a team of José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup alumni like head chef Jim Diecchio and mixologist Owen Thomson.

The Duck & The Peach is slated to debut in November with dishes like roasted chicken, crispy red snapper, and rotisserie duck, followed by La Collina, which will serve pasta, Nutella sundaes, and offer an antipasti and mozzarella bar. Eventually, Silverman will add a gin-based cocktail spot called The Wells (TBD on that bar’s opening). Originally dreamt up in 2018, the restaurants will now include pandemic-inspired options like heated patios, walkup windows, counter order cafes, and of course, takeout.

In other news...

• New smoothie shop Zeleno opened up in Dupont Circle at the end of September, with options like beet lattes, matcha smoothies, sandwiches, toasts, açaí bowls, and coffee. The cafe at 1605 Connecticut Avenue NW is outfitted with photo-ready decor like a greenery-covered wall and a swing.
• Pow Pow, H Street’s go-to for fast-casual vegan bowls, is working on a new location downtown at 1250 I St. NW for the beginning of 2021. That’s not all: the Washington City Paper reports that Pow Pow restaurateur Shaun Sharkey and chef Margaux Riccio are plotting a major expansion, adding a permanent location for pop-up Bubbie’s Plant Burgers, with more vegan openings in the works.
• There’s a reprieve for Dolcezza in Bethesda. The local gelato chain announced last month that it would close five of its cafes across the DMV, but now Federal Realty Investment Trust states that the Dolcezza located in Bethesda Row will remain open for the holiday season.
• Celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn keeps adding PLNT Burger locations. The vegan chain just opened its first Virginia location in September, and now there’s a second Virginia outpost incoming in Old Town. PLNT Burger, which serves plant protein burgers and oat milkshakes, is celebrating its seventh store opening inside the Alexandria Whole Foods Market this Friday. For the Old Town opening, Mendelsohn partnered up with Tracye McQuirter of the 10,000 Black Vegan Women Program, who contributed a special recipe for the occasion.

• Chef David Guas of Arlington’s Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery is planning two special election-themed sandwiches to serve on November 2 and 3. There’s a McDonald’s-esque “Filet-O-Catfish” to represent President Trump, with cheese and pickled jalapeño tartar sauce. For Joe Biden, Guas riffed on a sandwich from Delaware sub shop Capriotti’s, offering up the “Bobby 2.0” with sliced roasted turkey, cajun cornbread stuffing, and cranberry vinaigrette. In addition, a complimentary “Vote” sugar cookie will be included with the purchase of either presidential sandwich on Election Day.

Correction 10/23: Updated with details on Bayou’s election cookie deal