A New Covered Courtyard Bar in the West End Pours Fancy Gin and Tonics

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The Fairmont hotel in the West End has a secluded new courtyard bar serving weekend brunch, caviar flights, and gin and tonics with custom gin commissioned from Ivy City’s One Eight Distilling. Gin goblets are garnished with lavender, rosemary, and lemon thyme grown in surrounding planters, adding to its Secret Garden-style backdrop of string lights, flowers, and cherry trees. Sharable bites from executive chef Jordi Gallardo include Maryland crab cakes, flatbreads, smoked short rib or rockfish belly tacos, American farmed caviar, and Chesapeake oysters. Guests can sip bubbles produced from a ceremonial champagne sabering ceremony every Wednesday at dusk. The bar runs until 10 p.m. every day, opening at 2 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends. Brunch features Benedicts, biscuits and gravy, buttermilk pancakes, and a mimosa and bloody mary bar.

Kamala grabs a cafe con leche

Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by Cuban cafe Colada Shop’s Southwest Waterfront location on Monday, October 4, for an iced cafe con leche and empanadas as part of a conversation about minority- and women-owned small businesses with Mayor Muriel Bowser. And last week, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff got a pupusa fix at Adams Morgan’s Salvadoran mainstay El Tamarindo.

Dupont gets a to-go window for chain burritos

Chipotle just unveiled its first walk-up window in D.C. at 1300 Connecticut Avenue NW. The fast-casual giant, which recently rolled out Washington Post-approved brisket, accepts digital orders at the compact, contactless outpost that’s open daily from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. Chipotle’s nearly M Street NW locale will remain open, a company rep tells Eater. Guests can round up to support Kids In Need Foundation’s Supply a Teacher Program.

Rasika chef will pop up at Mama Ayesha

Resy’s The Classics Remix, a takeout pop-up series across 10 cities in the U.S. and London, includes a D.C. collab with James Beard award-winning Rasika chef Vikram Sunderam and Middle Eastern mainstay Mama Ayesha’s (Friday, November 5, to Sunday, November 7). To-go meals feature falafel — made with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and coconut tahini — and a basmati rice starring saffron, cardamom, mace, and cucumber yogurt. Reservations go live Monday, October 11, at 10 a.m. for American Express cardholders and Wednesday, October 13, for the public.

Beer Wire

On Friday, October 8, Ivy City’s Other Half Brewery hosts Portland, Maine’s High Roller Lobster Company, for an afternoon of rolls and guest pours from Tripping Animals, Human Robot, Ocelot, and more. Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s giant Snallygaster fest returns downtown on Saturday, October 9. And on Sunday, October 10, Other Half hosts the annual beer-and-bivalves fest Oyster Wars from noon to 5 p.m. with seafood snacks from The Salt Line, Dauphines, and Harris Creek Oysters. DC Brau released its 4th Annual Pride Pils cans this month, with all proceeds from sales at bars, restaurants, and retail stores benefitting The Blade Foundation and SMYAL.

DC Brau/official photo

Updated 2:34 p.m., Tuesday, October 5: This story has been corrected to reflect the Chipotle on M Street NW will continue to operate.