The April Hit List: Rooster & Owl, 2Fifty, Ivy and Coney, Oyster Oyster, and More

Between his Copenhagen research trip to Noma, his years cooking nouvelle cuisine under chef Guy Savoy, and taking notes from his wife’s past down traditional Korean recipes, Rob Rubba has applied all his experience to capturing the deepest flavors and unexpected new textures in the bivalve and plant-based cuisine of Oyster Oyster. Recent dishes have included lion’s-mane Salisbury “steak” with matsutake mushroom-potato purée and creamed totsoi, best enjoyed with a selection from their concise list of sustainably farmed, low-intervention wines. (Think brambly old-vine mencia from Adega Sernande, or botrytized Willamette Valley riesling aged under flor from Teutonic Wine Co.). Also keep an eye out for Pizza Night — one of the most singular and satisfying pies in the city right now, made in a style that somehow channels both Alice Waters and Papa John’s.

Dining status: Patio dining with heaters are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

With its breezy roofdeck, classic pizza parlor and ballpark fare, and broadcasts of seasonal Great Lakes regional sportsball, there’s no place like Ivy an Coney. Their Detroit-style pan pizzas are faithfully executed, with copious amounts of Wisconsin brick cheese, red sauce and peps (or try it with their shaved Italian beef and giardiniera). Chicago hot dogs are also a must — dressed with neon relish, mustard, onion, pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt. And their District (local microbrews) or High Life (as in Miller) combos, with a shot of Old Grand Dad bourbon, are an enduring and much appreciated deal that won’t make you dip into that stimulus check to enjoy a night out.

Dining status: Heated rooftop seating (with retractable roof for inclement weather) is available for reservations. Carryout is also available.

For eclectic Levantine small plates and bottomless brunch, Ala in Dupont is a must. Start off with a spread of house specialties like duck prosciutto rubbed with orange and Turkish coffee, smoked and cured mackerel with sumac cream, and fried halloumi drizzled with pine honey. Hot off the mangal, favorites include the dukkah spiced chicken, with Medjool dates and zhoug. For brunch (offered as bottomless food and drinks!), trust on the lahmacun, a Turkish rolled pizza of sorts, and the dukkah Benedict, made with tarragon and slow-cooked short ribs, and if Bloodys and mimosas aren’t your thing, draft beer, spirits, and house wine are also bottomless.

Dining status: Patio dining with available heaters and limited indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout and delivery are also available.

Since 2014, Minibar alumnus Devin Gong’s Copycat Co. on H Street has been among the premiere cocktail bars in the city, but perhaps no other (save for their sister bar Astoria) can also boast a menu of delectable Sichuan street food. Think chili wontons, pork cheek skewers, salt & pepper shrimp, and dan dan noodles. Beyond their seasonal drinks menu, rest assured their martinis are served at sub-zero temperatures, daiquiris are vibrant and perfectly aerated, and mai tais achieve harmonic balance. Or their expert staff can improvise most anything in between.

Dining status: Patio and limited indoor seating is available for reservations. Bottled cocktails, food and bar supplies are also available for carryout. Open seven nights a week.

Trust Rose Previte and gang to convert Maydan’s vacant industrial alley into a bohemian streetery, festooned with Persian rugs and string lights for the pandemic era — and to offer their current Table menu to go, as well, should you want a spring picnic plan. The menu spans the cuisines of North Africa, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, all cooked over a massive wooden hearth. Choose an assemblage of spreads, accoutrements, salads and kebabs, and a center plate, all to share — perhaps starting with beet borani and pita bread hot off the the fire; followed with by a ground-lamb Aleppo kebab, plus a cabbage salad accented with lemon, saffron and pickled sumac; then to grilled, butterflied bronzini, with toum and chermoula.

Dining status: Order here for the menu to go;  Limited dining available indoors and outdoors; call 202-370-3696 for more info.

When you’re feeling stir-crazy cooped up at home, but a vacation to the tropics is not in the cards, head to Serenata for their transportive Latin cocktails and snacks from the team behind Colada Shop. Beverage director, Andra ‘AJ’ Johnson has curated a program that spans the range of all-too-rare classics like the Hotel Nacional, to the frozen caipirinha/mango-colada flavors of their Nova Bossa, and even more innovative drinks, like the Toucan Play That Game, made with Jamaican rum, Campari, fino sherry, guava, banana-coconut cream foam, activated charcoal, and a Midori reduction. (It works, trust us.) Alongside drinks, their esquite empanadas, chicken croquetas, or pandebono — made with cassava, smoked queso fresco and black truffle — are a must.

Dining status: Limited indoor dining is open for reservations, and available first-come-first-serve tables on the La Cosecha heated patio. Carryout is also available.

Word of co-owners Debby Portillo and Fernando Gonzalez’s stellar Texas barbeque traveled fast, and once they were crowned as the No. 1 barbeque destination in the DMV, to no one’s surprise, long lines ensued and demand outpaced supply. Fortunately their custom built 1000-gallon smoker has arrived, and with available online pre-ordering, there’s a lot less FOMO, and a lot more buttery wagyu smoked brisket to be had. Jalapeño and cheese-laced smoked sausage links are also a must, and the smoked turkey is the sleeper hit. And beyond the standard barbeque sides, we’re especially keen on those rooted in Debby & Fernando’s El Salvadoran heritage, including their caramelized pineapple and smoked meat pupusas.

Dining Status: Open for carryout. More info here, or call 240-764-8763

With the spring thaw, Rooster & Owl has reopened for dining, and chef-owner Yuan Tang (by way of Rogue 24 and Jean Georges) has channeled influences, from Lowcountry to Mexican, French, Lao and Japanese, all into his build-your-own four-course tasting menu. You might start with kampachi tataki with green mango serrano and leche de tigre, followed by chawanmushi with asparagus, razor clam, and salmon roe. Finally a Wellington of deboned quail, wrapped in a scallion pancake within a duck-fat shortcrust pastry, and served with a curry gravy. And that still leaves dessert by pastry sous chef Tori Potter; consider the yuzu panna cotta with basil geleé and lychee to complete your meal on a sharp and refreshed note, or perhaps the Brie custard pie with Ritz shortbread crust and honey walnuts for a more decadent finish.

Dining Status: Patio and limited indoor dining are open for reservations.

The inevitable April showers have us craving ramen, and Menya Hosaki has proven to be among the most formidable practitioners in town. Chef-owner Eric Yoo, a financial consultant turned ramen chef (after extensive training with Keizo Shimamoto at Ramen Shack in New York and the Rajuku ramen academy in Japan) is not only making superlative broths and dashis, but also fresh ramen noodles in-house. Go for the classic shoyu for a more delicate and understated chicken chitan & dashi broth, or go full-power with the spicy tonkotsu ramen, made from creamy pork paitan broth. All served with their succulent pork chashu, which gets a final sear before plating.

Dining Status: Outdoor and and limited indoor dining is available first-come-first-served. More info here. Carryout is also available.

Big Bear’s ivy and pergola covered patio is once more illuminated into the night, and the air is filled with aromas of roasted meats and pizza from their new wood-burning oven. By day, Big Bear runs as a neighborhood coffee shop, serving everything from breakfast burritos to gazpacho. On weekend nights, enjoy wood-fired pizzas, as well as three course dinners for two — think slow roasted harissa spiced lamb and Appalachian cheddar focaccia, with tabbouleh and circus-tent carrot cake. Plus available add-ons like red-snapper ceviche and Florida gulf pink shrimp cocktail.

Dining status: Cafe hours are morning to afternoon, 7 days a week. Weekend dinners are available and Thursday through Saturday evenings for carryout with open seating on their patio. More info here, or call 202-643-9222