July 5, 2006

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1789 welcomes new chef, new clientele

1789 is nothing short of a DC institution. Opened the 1960s by a Georgetown University alumnus and now owned by the Clyde's group (a fact of which I was not aware before today), the restaurant has been heralded as "one of the prettiest restaurants with some of the best American food in the nation's capital."

Since the prices at 1789 range from $18 to $38, it is only during Restaurant Week (or on a rare and very special occasion) that I can frequent such a culinary landmark. Unfortunately, many others in the District are in the same financial boat (actually, it's more like a leaky canoe), so I have yet to secure one of the coveted RW reservations. I'm sure I'm not alone in my jealousy, especially since the recent departure of Chef Ris Lacoste made many of us wonder if the restaurant would maintain its stellar reputation.

Be envious no more, my fellow monetarily challenged Washingtonians. In an effort to introduce the new executive chef, Nathan Beauchamp, to the community, 1789 has announced a fabulous promotion. Just go here and print out the coupon, and you can enjoy a three-course, prix fixe meal for $35.

Of course, just like during Restaurant Week, that price does not include beverages or gratuity. However, given the normal entree prices ($15 for a crab cake appetizer, $29 for a duck breast entree, and $9 for a chocolate mint torte), and given the fact that, with the exception of lamb, beef, and foie gras, which carry a $10 surcharge, the entire menu appears to be available, I'd say it's a pretty darn affordable way to check out Chef Beauchamp's chops and experience the legendary ambiance of the building itself.

Consequently, Chef Beauchamp was born and raised in the area (the Maryland shore, to be more precise), and he spent time at such hot spots as Restaurant Eve, Vidalia, and the Park Avenue Cafe in New York. He has some big shoes to fill, but this promotion coupled with August Restaurant Week (that is, if 1789 participates) should give him plenty of opportunities to hone his craft and find his zen place.

Posted by bettyjoan at July 5, 2006 3:10 PM | Comments (6) | EatFoo 1.0 Posts


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I think we can all agree that expensive food for inexpensive prices is a good thing. I guess the whole "Restaurant Week" thing is all over the country now. They definitely have it in San Francisco.

Posted by: Barzelay at July 5, 2006 4:07 PM


I acutally find the real kicker with dining out is the wine! I just read over 1789's wine list - acutally quite a solid selection - and I realized that I'm likely to spend as much on wine as dinner for two, even with the good deal. It's still a savings but they're still making their money on the alcohol, not the food..


The only DC restauranteur I can think of offhand who discounts his wine stock is Dean Gold of Dino's in Cleveland Park. I know there's at least another but the name doesn't come to me offhand. I was over at Spices last night and wandered past Dino's (it's on the corner of Ordway and Connecticut next to Atomic) and right now he's running an even more special promo where he's discounting bottles $50 or more by 1/3 on MTW (with a 20$ per person food purchase).. still, that's mighty generous. Dean is both a foodie and a wino of massive preportions.


(In a fittingly cooincidental fashion I got an email from him this morning seeing if I could come to a Riesling dinner he's hosting there for the Robert Parker, Mark Squires' BBS folk in a few weeks. Had to decline, though, as I'd already been to one "Offline" in the past month - far too pricey to do that often! Last month's was California wines at Charlie Palmers.)


By the by - do you know when the next Restaurant Week will be?

Posted by: Abigail at July 6, 2006 10:14 AM


Barzelay: Yes, I'd expect San Francisco to have a RW, given the city's culinary reputation. I only wish I could be out there to enjoy it! I suppose DC RW will have to do.

Abigail: I, too, looked at 1789's wine list and found it to be pretty solid (though I must confess, I am a far bigger foodie than wino). I've heard of Dino's wine discounts, but when I visited a while ago, I was quite unimpressed by the food, so I haven't been itching to get back. Also, I tend to dine out with non-wine-drinking companions (sadly), so bottle discounts aren't as big of a draw for me. I have been wanting to try Vidalia's Tuesday Wine Tastings, though--any thoughts about the selection there?

Oh, and the next DC RW is supposed to be August 14-20, but the list of participating restaurants is still not available (FYI, I hear that 1789 is NOT participating this time around, due to the aforementioned $35 prix fixe promotion).

Posted by: bettyjoan at July 6, 2006 10:26 AM


I guess if you're already offering a commensurate deal and you're not hurting for business there's no need to participate in RW.. Who's on your hit-list for next go around? I keep wanting to go to Notti Bianche (wine list looks great) and most recently I've been eyeing Acadiana.

I'm ashamed to admit I've never acutally visited Vidalia. My friend Courtney went there for RW last year and raved, and I keep making reservations and cancelling for one reason or another. I should probably prioritize it this time. I'm on assorted wino mailing lists so I keep seeing their wine tastings but again, through my lameness never make it out. I think the launch of our new site, Wine Generation, will help get me there, though... Vidalia's wine list is solid - all good juice and things that are being talked about right now - but there's nothing crazy inspired on it, I'd say.

Posted by: Abigail at July 6, 2006 11:29 AM


Acadiana is very good--Mr. Barzelay and I (and our respective significant others) went there during January RW, and it was a great experience. In addition to Acadiana, RW has exposed me to IndeBleu (neutral), Galileo (big thumbs down, unfortunately), Vidalia (amazing), and Taberna del Alabardero (good regularly, but not for RW).

I'm having a hard time deciding where to go in August. 1789 was first on my list, but I'm also interested in trying Cafe 15, Ceiba, Corduroy, DC Coast, Palette, and/or TenPenh. I may also use RW as an opportunity to revisit Circle Bistro, Vidalia (seriously, it's THAT good), and Zengo, which are all favorites of mine.

Just checked out your site--I'll be back!

Posted by: bettyjoan at July 6, 2006 1:30 PM


Cafe 15 was awesome. Jeanette and I went there during the last restaurant week. I highly recommend it. Palette also is on my list. Acadiana was perfect.

Posted by: Barzelay at July 6, 2006 6:31 PM

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