Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/807384
26 / the tasting panel / april 2017 WHAT'S NEW IN D.C. Y ou can't always take the District of Columbia at face value. What's at street level is easy to see and appreciate, but sometimes the real story can be a short flight of stairs above or below the surface. Take Dacha Beer Garden. At street level, this outdoor bar space in the Shaw neighborhood features Belgian, German and American craft beers, served at picnic tables under a canopy of lights. But if you enter through a door just to the right and climb the stairs, you will find yourself in one of D.C.'s most beautiful loft dining rooms. Unbeknownst to the revelers downstairs with their pint glasses, Mariam "Raz" Razavi is serving wine to a group of 16 Dacha Supper Club guests. Razavi, founder of Wines By Raz, a wine concierge service, curates the wine pairings for this twice-monthly event. Guests enjoy a five-course meal by James Beard–nomi- nated Chef Quinten Frye, while Razavi regales them with stories about the wine in their glasses—the history, the people, the land that makes it special. "I try to make the wines come alive for them," Razavi says of her guests. "They come here because the setting is intimate and friendly. It's like hosting a party in my home." When not being used for the Supper Club, Dacha Loft doubles as an art gal- lery and private event space, but whatever the event, the wines will be "By Raz." Heading into the hustle and bustle of Washington's business district, another sanctuary lies just below M Street. A descending staircase, lined by a mural inspired by the chef's tattoos, leads to Honeysuckle, a new restaurant by owner Chef Hamilton Johnson. The cuisine is a fascinating mashup of Southern home- style cooking and Icelandic/Nordic cuisine. Johnson, influenced by years spent in Charleston, South Carolina, and cooking for Southern-foods stalwart Vidalia (the previous restaurant in the Honeysuckle space), also took inspiration from several trips to Iceland, participating in the Food and Fun cooking festival there. "The space has evolved into a great balance of rock-n-rock and art," says Brad Gamble, Honeysuckle's Lead Bartender. "Here among the tattoo murals and rock musician portraits, people can really find their 'happy place.'" Gamble has been in the bartending game for almost 30 years, but enjoys the challenge of keeping up with Johnson's cuisine. "The true test of a great restaurant is if a guest can come in twice a week and have an equally amazing experience each time. Hamilton has created a menu that can achieve that three times a week, easily," Gamble chuckles. Gamble's cocktail, beer and wine program will be updated seasonally to keep up with changes to the chef's menu, but the most important thing to him is con- necting with his guests. Gamble explains, "If I am able to relate to a guest that establishes a connection that can be revisited for years to come. It's the lost art of the hospitality business—success through building relationships." Behind Door Number One PHOTO: DAVID DENTON by David Denton, CWE IBWE Brad Gamble, Honeysuckle's Lead Bartender. PHOTO: DAVID DENTON PHOTO COURTESY OF DACHA Mariam "Raz" Razavi curates wine pairings twice a month for the Supper Club guests at Dacha Beer Garden's upstairs loft. Honeysuckle's cuisine is a fascinating mashup of Southern home-style cooking and Icelandic/Nordic cuisine. Pictured here: Muscovy duck, rendered in molasses butter, hedgehog mushrooms, sweet potato mustard and lingonberry jus.