Seafood Chain Truluck’s Plans to Arrive in D.C. Next Month With Plenty of Stone Crab

For the crab- and caviar-topped filet crowd

Surf and turf brand Truluck’s plans to open its first Mid-Atlantic location in D.C. next month, bringing stone crab claws and caviar-topped filets to Mount Vernon Square. The coast-to-coast chain, founded in Houston in 1992, will welcome its 13th U.S. location with half-price happy hour and dinner. Lunch and brunch will join the mix later.

A 10,000-square-foot location (700 K Street NW) will serve sustainably sourced, chilled stone crab plucked from Florida waterways, providing a new competitor for long-running Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak, & Stone Crab (less than a mile away downtown). Truluck’s even has a room dubbed the Stone Crab Lounge, which host live music nightly.

Truluck’s also serves Alaskan King crab and a petite South African lobster tail stuffed with a jumbo lump crab cake. Chef Laurence Cohen’s most decadent order is The Oscar Royale, a stack of 7-ounce filet, fresh blue crab, asparagus and béarnaise, spiked with Petrossian Royal Daurenki caviar. Bone-in and center-cut choices in 7-to-20 ounce sizes enter a 1,600-degree broiler before hitting plates.

Truluck’s/official photo

Mains include Dutch hamachi, pan-seared with tomato, grape, mint, dill and lime; gulf coast redfish Pontchartrain mixed with crawfish tails, shrimp and blue crab; and sesame crusted Hawaiian ahi tuna. Vegetarians can opt for cauliflower steaks, king oyster mushroom ceviche, or Impossible meatballs.

The two-level space is splashed with backlit onyx bar tops, chandeliers, red leather horseshoe booths, warm mahogany wainscoting, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Cork/official photo

In other news...

• Cork, Logan Circle’s 12-year-old wine bar and small plates place, announced it has a new chef. Johnathan Allen II has worked at the Source and Vermillion. New dishes under his watch include king trumpet mushrooms, with garlic aioli and za’atar, and roasted quail with braised apricot, coconut, and hibiscus.
• After just a few months in business, Georgetown stunner Brasserie Liberté already has a new executive chef at the helm. Matthew Cockrell, who built up his French cooking resume locally at Mintwood Place, Le Diplomate, and La Chaumiere, replaces 25-year-old Alinea alum Jaryd Hearn.