Young & Hungry » Neighborhood Restaurant Group

New York Chef Michael White Is Coming To D.C.

Chris Shott — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:06:48 +0000

Celebrated New York chef Michael White will be opening an outpost of his rustic Italian-style Soho eatery Osteria Morini at The Yards near Nationals Park. Eater NY and Eater DC offer some details. Having dined at Convivo and Alto, back when White was cooking at those places, Y&H will say this is pretty exciting news for D.C. White's planned eatery is the latest in a string of food and beverage projects to join the massive riverside development, which notably includes a forthcoming craft brewery from ChurchKey operator Neighborhood Restaurant Group. Target opening date for White's place: summer 2013.

Image courtesy of Osteria Morini

ChurchKey Crew Hires Veteran Brewer For New D.C. Brewery

Chris Shott — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:08:21 +0000

Megan Parisi, former lead brewer at Cambridge Brewing Co. in Massachusetts, has been hired by Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the owners of D.C.'s beer-centric Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, to head up production efforts at its new brewery, which is now under construction at The Yards near Nationals Park. Y&H colleague and "Brew in Town" columnist Daniel Fromson has the scoop in today's Post. Parisi will be largely focusing on making barrel-aged sour beers, not unlike Belgium’s tangy lambics, at the forthcoming brewery facility, which, Fromson reports, will also feature a brewpub-like tasting room and a 200-some-seat restaurant managed by Kyle Bailey, Birch & Barley's Rammy-winning executive chef. The new facility is expected to open in late 2012.

Photo by Tomasz Sienicki/Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license

ChurchKey Crew’s Waterfront Brewery Aims For Late 2012 Opening

Chris Shott — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:02:01 +0000

In his weekly beer chat with WTOP, ChurchKey suds expert Greg Engert dishes up a few details about the new "boutique brewery" and restaurant that operator Neighborhood Restaurant Group is planning for the Southeast D.C. waterfront near Nationals Park. The project has already broken ground and Engert tells WTOP, "Hopefully, that'll be coming out—hopefully, keeping our fingers crossed—about a year from now."

Check out the full video below.

Now Holding Glasses And Classes: ChurchKey’s Greg Engert Launches New Beer Academy

Chris Shott — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:46:46 +0000

He might not think much of official cicerone certification programs, at least not as the only path to sudsy perspicacity, but that doesn't mean that ChurchKey beer director Greg Engert is opposed to a proper malt and hops education. Next month, Engert is launching a year-long series of Saturday afternoon tutorials called "The Beer Academy" at sister NRG-owned restaurant Rustico in Arlington. His lesson plan for the inaugural class on Saturday, Jan. 21, is expected to focus on flavor profiles—"crisp, hop, malt, roast, smoke, fruit & spice, tart & funky"—of six different beers. The price is $24 per person and, let's face it, you were going to spend that much on beer, anyway, on Saturdays.

Get the full details, if you're interested, below:

Beer Director Greg Engert Introduces The Beer Academy at Rustico

Get Schooled on the Basics of Beer at Brew U.

Arlington, VA − On Saturday, January 21, Rustico, located at 4075 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, will officially become home to The Beer Academy a.ka. Brew U. Guided by Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s Beer Director Greg Engert, The Beer Academy will offer a comprehensive curriculum for beer enthusiasts with two-hour tutorials, once a month for the entire year. Each class will be held from 1 PM to 3 PM on Saturdays at Rustico in Arlington, and is priced at $24 per person. With a Food & Wine “Sommelier of the Year” as their guide, students will receive a first-class education, as well as tastes of at least six beers, hand selected by Greg to exemplify the featured theme of each class.

Those who attend the inaugural class on Saturday, January 21 will get schooled on Tasting Craft Beer: Examining the Flavor Spectrum across the History of Beer. During this course, students will be led on a journey through Greg’s flavor profiles (Crisp, Hop, Malt, Roast, Smoke, Fruit & Spice, Tart & Funky), while sipping and studying six different beers. Future classes will focus on topics such as casks ales, sour ales, farmhouse ales of the world, and brewing locally vs. locally sourced brewing. To heighten the experience, Rustico will offer their full brunch menu a la carte with standouts such as buttermilk biscuit sliders, sweet potato skins and crispy deviled eggs to the attendees.

The Beer Academy will commence on January 21 and run every four weeks, with subsequent classes scheduled for February 18, March 17, April 14, May 12 and June 9. Dedicated students, who wish to enroll in the full year will receive a discount of $6 off each class (additional discounts for packages of three, six and nine classes are also offered). To reserve a spot for The Beer Academy please call Rustico at (571) 384-1820.

As the beer director for Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Greg Engert draws on his extensive beer knowledge to create the beer programming for the company’s ten concepts. To source unparalleled selections, Engert works with breweries around the globe both renowned and remote to ﬁnd the best beers available. Engert specializes in domestic microbrews as well as international craft rarities that are not readily available in the United States. Recognized for his work, Engert has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Food & Wine, Food Arts, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, Beer Advocate, All About Beer, Imbibe, Draft and Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and appeared on national television programs such as Cooking Channel’s Foodography and Unique Eats.

About Rustico

Rustico is a neighborhood restaurant that pairs honest, robust cooking with an amazing beverage program. With a cache of over 400 beers, a bustling bar scene and a passionate kitchen committed to its craft, Rustico is a restaurant to visit with family and friends time and time again. Rustico in Ballston is located at 4075 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, VA. For reservations or more information please visit www.rusticorestaurant.com or call 571-384-1820.

Greasing the Wheels of Government: Biofuel Mogul Pitches His Restaurant Fryer-Oil Plan

Chris Shott — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:14:06 +0000

Wendell Jenkins, the guy building a $4.2 million bio-diesel plant in Northeast D.C., appeared before D.C. Council on Monday in the hopes of inking a deal to provide the local government with fuel made from recycled restaurant grease. WRC-TV via WAMU has the full details.

Neighborhood Restaurant Group, owners of Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, among other area eateries, is one of the companies that plan to supply Jenkins with used oil from its fryers.

D.C. Department of Public Works director Bill Howland, though, is skeptical, the station reports: "Howland said while he would love to use bio-diesel – in part to satisfy alternative fuel requirements – he needs more time and more data to make sure bio-diesel is reliable, particularly for public safety vehicles."

Photo by Edward Betts/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Birch & Barley Will Gladly Give Up Its Fryer Grease for Biofuel

Chris Shott — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:38:24 +0000

A D.C. startup wants to take millions of gallons of grease from the city's restaurants and turn it into biofuel for the area's trucks and buses. The Huffington Post reports on the proposal by DC Biofuels, which plans to build on a two-acre site along Adams Place NE, if it can secure the financing—"a big if," according to HuffPo. Over at Housing Complex, Y&H colleague Lydia DePillis spoke with company president Wendell Jenkins, who says he can start cranking out biodiesel at the rate of five million gallons a year once the facility is built. One source of grease is already locked in: Neighborhood Restaurant Group, owner of Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, among other D.C.-area restaurants. "Every week, it's hundreds of gallons of oil," NRG managing partner Michael Babin tells WAMU. "In the past, we've paid someone to take it away for us and dispose of it....Our waste oil is perfectly good for driving diesel engines."

Photo by Edward Betts/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

ChurchKey Crew Mostly Mum on D.C. Brewery Details

Tammy Tuck — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:48:03 +0000

It seems the people behind beer-focused venues Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, Rustico, and Columbia Firehouse are sick of slinging only other people's suds. On Monday, a press release naming the tenants of a new development near Nationals Park outted Neighborhood Restaurant Group's plans to start a brewery in southeast D.C.

The mixed-use development, dubbed "The Yards," will house a Harris Teeter, seven new restaurants, a riverfront park, and a plethora of office space and residential units—good news for those who want to stake out a claim near the taps. The new brewery and restaurant will occupy a 6,400-square-foot space and is slated to open in late 2012.

So far, the folks at NRG are being pretty tight-lipped about the details, as they are still in the early planning stages.

Birch & Barley/ChurchKey beer director Greg Engert tells me via email:

We are excited to be bringing a new craft brewery to Washington’s vibrant and growing beer scene. We are still in the development stage, so we do not have more details to share at this time. We hope that before the end of the year we will be able to announce the details of our brewery concept and introduce our brewery team.

Engert, who built the craft beer program at Rustico before opening beer mecca Birch & Barley/ChurchKey in 2009, will likely have a strong role on the team. He has already been involved in brewing projects with Sierra Nevada, where he attended Beer Camp in 2009; Baltimore's Stillwater Ales for Birch & Barley's first anniversary beer; and Schlafly on the recent D.C. collaboration ale, House In Session.

Under Engert's direction, a parade of highly-regarded and innovative brewers from around the world have visited the D.C. area to feature their brews at his draft nights and pairing dinners. Connections with big-name brewers Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery and "gypsy" producer Mikkel Borg Bjergsø of Mikkeller lend themselves to unique opportunities for collaboration.

According to NRG rep Megan Bailey:

We have crafted some amazing relationships over the years with brewers, chefs and other passionate, quality-driven, food and beverage folks that we are excited to approach for collaboration. None of them have been confirmed yet, but the possibilities are endless and exciting.

If NRG's visible commitment to high-quality, education-minded craft beer programming is any indication, the new brewery is indeed something to be excited about. With this news, all the new breweries opening in the area, plus Brasserie Beck / Mussel Bar owner Robert Wiedmaier's impending brewpub project (which Beck beer director Thor Cheston assures me is alive and well), D.C. should expect some great developments over the next year in the arena of local beer and food.

Image courtesy of Neighborhood Restaurant Group

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Potbelly, Buzz Bakery, Austin Grill, New Brewery Coming to the Yards

Chris Shott — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:07:15 +0000

Developer Forest City Washington announced Monday the signing of seven new restaurants and a Harris Teeter grocery store at its new project called The Yards near Nationals Park. The forthcoming eateries, all slated to open in 2012, will include Potbelly, Buzz Bakery, Austin Grill Express, Kruba Thai and Sushi, BRB-Be Right Burger, Huey's 24/7 Diner, as well as a new craft brewery by the folks behind Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, Neighborhood Restaurant Group.

Photo by Bobak Ha'Eri/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

Quick Feeding: Haggis Lovers, Rejoice!

Michael E. Grass — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:32:32 +0000

Are you one of those Robert Burns nuts who likes to honor the great Scot (and his poetry) in the month of January by chowing down on some haggis? Againn can eliminate the trouble of stuffing a sheep's stomach at home, when the restaurant hosts its own three-course Burns birthday menu on Jan. 25, complete with "Cock-A-Leekie" soup, haggis paired with turnips and mashed potatoes, and a sticky toffee dessert. Seating is limited and reservations are required. The dinner is priced at $45 per person, excluding tax and gratuity.

We're hearing that Woodley Park's new Hot N Juicy Crawfish restaurant will be opening this coming weekend and will be giving away a free pound of shrimp between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which consists of places like Birch & Barley, ChurchKey, Buzz, EatBar, Rustico, Tallula, and Vermilion, among others, has named Tiffany MacIsaac as executive pastry chef for the D.C.-area restaurant collection.

Last Week’s Greatest Hits on Young & Hungry

Tim Carman — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:02:54 +0000

Write a fake food guide for a fake political rally, and real people will actually read it. Some might even take it too seriously. (Or not.) Maybe the guide's popularity just means that, whether we're talking about politics or places to dine, people are more in a mood to laugh than labor loudly over the details.

Your favorite posts from last week: