Philadelphia’s a.kitchen expands to Washington DC

As a recent Washington DC partial transplant (I split my time between Georgetown in DC and Philadelphia), I’ve been spending no shortage of time trying to find places. It took me a minute in early September to get myself to the correct AKA Hotel in Foggy Bottom, navigate my way through its modernist lobby and to the brand new, not-quite-open-at-the-time a.kitchen + bar for their friends and family night. The air was electric with the barely contained anxiety emanating from the mostly very new staff.

It’s not the first time that Ellen Yin of the legendary Fork Restaurant, High Street Hospitality, and a.kitchen + bar has expanded her signature brand of casual American elegance outside of her home base of Philadelphia. Years ago, she had straddled the Philly and New York City markets, accumulating Amtrak points up and down the more northern section of the Northeast Corridor. Her NYC projects were part of a seven-year long journey that came to an end in 2022. She has very recently made her way a little farther down south, on the same train line, to DC.

Yin and chef Eli Collins are renowned for their celebration of Philadelphia’s produce. I had previously written about Yin’s commitment to serving Pennsylvanian wines. How would this be translated to our nation’s capital? Would they be sourcing primarily from the Chesapeake? How would High Street Hospitality be received by a brand new city? And how does working in two Mid-Atlantic cities… work? (For one thing, in the kitchen, day-to-day leadership falls to Chef de Cuisine George Madosky, who joins the DC chef community after four years as the chef of Fork.) But I spoke with Yin, Collins, and Frank Kinyon, High Street’s Wine Director to find out more.

Yin breathed audible sighs of relief when I called her. “I feel so happy that we’re finally open after a long construction. There’s a ton of lead up, so many challenges. You have to dig your heels in and make it work.”

KA: When was the DC project first conceived?

EY: After the pandemic, we had been primarily focused on re-establishing all our restaurants in Philadelphia. Our hotel partner, AKA, was also re-establishing itself by adding on numerous new hotel projects in Miami, Boston, and the DMV area. Being that there was a restaurant previously in the Washington Circle location, they invited us down to check it out. We (HSHG) immediately fell in love with the location being right off Washington Circle, convenient to a large residential area and right near GW and Georgetown. We felt it could fit our goal of being a neighborhood restaurant while still being an amenity to the hotel, similar to our positioning at Rittenhouse Square.

KA: How similar is the menu in DC to Philly’s?

EC: Since we are new to the market, we wanted to bring something specific and unique to DC.  But at the same time, we are still new to the market and learning what guests want. So, we have a combination of some of our greatest hits from Philadelphia (crispy oyster mushrooms, chickpea panisse [pictured top], for example), combined with new ideas that explore the region (potato rosti with crab rillettes, chicken liver tartlet with truffles, etc.). Although it is subtle, there are differences in products, but many of the same farmers who served us in Philadelphia also serve us here.

KA: What menu items are you particularly excited about in DC?

EC: We are getting beautiful rockfish and striped bass from a local fisherman (Scott from Orchard Point). It is served with Lima beans, hakurei turnips, and mizuna leaves. Also, a warm cauliflower salad with aged cheese, puntarella, and almond bagna cauda. Virginia clams with a spicy crab broth and spaghetti nero is a great combination and also features peak produce with local sourcing.

KA: What is the clientele like in DC? And how has the reception been?

EY: Because we are part of the hotel, very diverse! DC is such an international city. Our clientele are coming from all over the world and country. They are sophisticated and are looking not just for great food, but a well-rounded, consistent experience accompanied by great service. And we always thought Philly was such a collaborative environment, but DC also has such a supportive hospitality industry. They’ve helped us navigate the nuances of DC.

KA: What sort of nuances?

EY: For example, the upcoming inauguration. Being from Philly we’ve never experienced an inauguration and a few restaurateurs have told me about all sorts of different ways restaurants can participate. We’ve already done some incredible collaboration dinners with Rob Rubba of Oyster Oyster and Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit.

KA: Ellen, you’ve been a champion for Pennsylvania wines—how does that translate to DC area wines?

EY: The group’s perspective on wine is based on sourcing sustainably and for High Street in particular, locally. Although I am a huge fan of VA and MD wine, a.kitchen + bar DC’s wine program, like its sister in Philadelphia, focuses on its natural wine program. As you know, DC’s wine market is vast, and accessibility of wines is large. That’s why Frank Kinyon, our wine director, decided that in DC we would start with an all-French wine list because that is where the natural wine movement all started and there is so much more to explore.

KA: How different is the wine and cocktail list in DC versus Philly?

FK: One major difference is the availability of wines and spirits. In Pennsylvania, we work with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board who sells all wine and spirits to us. In DC, there are more diverse smaller distributors who have more leeway to operate, thereby opening the opportunities for a larger deeper list possible.

KA: What’s next after DC?

EY: Well, I wouldn’t be upset if AKA expanded to Paris, Rome or Mexico City.  But for now, our goal is to make a.kitchen + bar DC as much of a Foggy Bottom staple as it is in Rittenhouse Square, and to continue to make great food, provide outstanding service and build our reputation in DC so that people look to us as a consistent outstanding dining option! Then if Paris, Rome, or Mexico City come around, we’ll be ready.