Stay Local & Eat Local for Memorial Weekend at Sonoma Restaurant

by Brittany Posted on May 22, 2013

Staying Local for Memorial weekend? Sonoma Restaurant invites you to join us for our Memorial weekend Locavore dinner. Executive Chef, Joshua Hutter has prepared a special three-course prix fixe menu with amuse. The menu will feature Papa Weaver’s Pork, a family owned farm located in Virginia focused on providing gourmet pork products to local restaurants and farmers markets.

Chef Hutter’s menu, priced at $43, starts with a delicious amuse bouche of ‘Bacon Bisque with Crispy Potato.” First course is the salad of all salads, the ‘’BLT  served with Crispy Pork Belly, Local Butter Lettuce and Housemade Foccacia Croutons, tossed in a Tomato Vinaigrette.’ Second course is the heartier ‘Beer Braised Pork Shoulder, with Fava Bean Puree, Fried Onions and Meyer Lemon Gremolata.’ Finish your meal off right with an indulgent dessert, as Chef’s prepared an ‘’Orange Spice Panna Cotta with Crisp Pancetta and Orange Supremes.’

We are closed on memorial day, (Monday, May 27th) but will be offering our Locavore menu on both Saturday, May 25th and Sunday, May 26th. Make a reservation by calling 202.544.8088, or booking through our website at www.sonomadc.com.

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Celebrate Mother’s Day at Sonoma

by admin Posted on May 10, 2013

Join Sonoma this Sunday, March 12 in celebrating the special women in your life this Mother’s Day. Executive Chef Joshua Hutter has prepared a special Brunch menu from 11:00am to 3:00pm with the full menu available all day. 

Relax and enjoy spending time with mom as you sip on a refreshing cocktail and try one of our delicious brunch options. The way to your mom’s heart may just be our ‘Brioche French Toast, with macerated strawberries, sambuca anglaise and fresh whipped cream’ or try our ‘Crab Cake Benedict’, ‘Herb-Parmesan Ricotta Frittata’ or ‘Eggs Florentine’ sure to be a huge hit with mom. 

Not able to join us for brunch? We are featuring our entire menu all day until 8:00pm. There is something for everyone, from our healthy pasta options featuring the freshest ingredients to one of our featured savory specials, ‘Dry-Aged Local Ribeye with mushrooms,lava puree and a borolo steak sauce’. 

We look forward to spending Mother’s Day with you and your family this year. 

We encourage you to make a reservation by calling Sonoma at 202-544-8088, or booking through our website at www.sonomadc.com

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Have a Happy Easter (Brunch) at Sonoma

by admin Posted on March 29, 2013
Happy Easter from Sonoma
Local Eggs at Sonoma

Join the Sonoma Team for a fantastic Easter Brunch this Sunday, March 31st from 11:30am until 5:30pm. Executive Chef Joshua Hutter has prepared a family friendly brunch menu that includes favorites from his new weekday breakfast menu, some amazing Easter Brunch Specials, and a wide selection of more savory options as well.

Whether you’re a ‘Bacon & Eggs (with breakfast potatoes)’ kind of breakfast eater, or you prefer ‘Herbed Ricotta Frittata’, ‘Eggs Florentine’, or a ‘Crab Cake Benedict’ you won’t be disappointed. I wouldn’t miss our ‘Brioche French Toast, with macerated strawberries, sambuca anglaise, and fresh whipped cream.’

For those in the mood for more of a savory meal, you might select our ‘Local Lamb with wheat berries, roasted beets, onions and a beet mostarda’ or the ‘Grilled Rainbow Trout with a saffron couscous, spinach, and braised fennel.’

We will serve something for everyone including Local Dry Aged Burgers and Pizzas, a wide selection of Salads and of course, our famous Cheese and Charcuterie Boards.

Sonoma’s menu is house-made and locally sourced, so you know you are eating the freshest, tastiest food you can find.

We look forward to celebrating Easter and the arrival of Spring with you this Sunday.

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A Truly “Green” St. Patricks Day at Sonoma

by admin Posted on March 13, 2013
A Truly Green St. Patrick's Day at Sonoma

This St. Patrick’s Day Weekend, March 16th and 17th, Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar presents the ultimate “green” St. Patrick’s experience: a special three course plus amuse prix fixe dinner featuring local ingredients and a vegetarian entree. Accompanying the menu is a locally-themed flight of wine or a paired tasting of mid-Atlantic craft beers, including options DC’s own 3 Stars Brewing Company and DC Brau.

The three-course plus amuse dinner is $37, the special beer flight is $15, the wine flight is $19. All menu items, beers, and wines can also be ordered a la carte.

Among the items on Chef Hutter’s menu are both classic Irish dishes showcasing local ingredients, including: Potato Soup with Bacon;  Housemade Corned Shenandoah Beef & Cabbage with potatoes, carrots, grain mustard; Housemade Spinach Pasta with basil, parmesan, garlic, pine nut pesto (vegetarian); and Mint Ice Cream, chocolate sauce and crumble.

Our St. Patrick’s flight of mid-Atlantic craft beers features a local Porter from Port City Brewery, DC Brau Public Pale Ale, Mama’s Little Yella Pils, and Cabin Fever Seasonal Brown Ale. The wine flight will feature Solletico Prosecco ‘11, Barboursville Winery Sauvignon Blanc ‘11 , Righetti “Campolieti” Ripasso ‘10, and Dow’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port.

And as a small perk for those truly in the spirit: anyone wearing green on Sunday, March 17th will receive a special treat from Chef Hutter’s kitchen.

We encourage you to make reservations by calling Sonoma at 202.544.8088, or booking through our website at sonomadc.com.

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Sonoma Now Offers Weekday Breakfast

by Amanda Earley Posted on February 14, 2013

Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar is excited to announce that we are now open for breakfast Monday through Friday from 7:30am until 10:30am.

Sonoma’s commitment to fresh, locally sourced ingredients and quick, friendly service makes it the perfect spot for either a quick bite to start the day right, or your morning power meeting.

Join us for breakfast weekdays, though March 1st and reference this blog post to receive a complimentary Coffee or Tea.

We look forward to being your go-to spot to start the day.

See you soon!

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Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Sonoma Restaurant

by Amanda Earley Posted on February 14, 2013

This is going to be a great Valentine’s Day at Sonoma!

Executive Chef Joshua Hutter has poured his heart into Sonoma’s Three Course (with Amuse Bouche) Prix Fixe Menu for $49.50.

Our amazing Wine Team has assembled an optional, hand-selected wine pairing for an additional $29.

Come spend the evening with us, we share your love of food, wine, and life.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sonoma’s Valentine’s Day Menu

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A Rat Pack & Vintage Vegas New Year’s Eve

by Amanda Earley Posted on December 6, 2012

This New Year’s Eve, let Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar take you back to a time where drinking at the office was accepted, smoking was healthy, and swank cocktail parties swung to the tunes of singers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. Join us on December 31st for special ‘Rat Pack & Vintage Vegas’ New Year’s Eve Party.

Downstairs, in Sonoma’s bistro will be transformed into an “Old School” Italian restaurant, the kind with checkered table clothes, bottles of Chianti, dripping candles, and, of course, a soundtrack with plenty of Rat Pack favorites. Executive Chef Michael E. Bonk will offer a delicious three-course prix fixe Italian menu for our guests, using the mid-Atlantic’s best local and seasonal ingredients to offer his takes on classic dishes from the era.

At 8:00 pm, the games begin! Join us for the later-night Vintage Vegas festivities: play your hand at games of chance, while enjoying 50s style classic cocktails, complimentary hors d’oeuvres all night. And just to spice up the night, Sonoma will also offer a special backroom – DC’s best Champagne Room – sorry, everyone, this is the Hill, not Nevada – the Champagne room will offer an array of sparkling wines for tasting.

The Dinner and Vintage Vegas package is $75 and includes the three-course Italian prix-fixe dinner, a complimentary champagne toast, and access to our upstairs Vintage Vegas party at 8:00pm. Because not everyone can party like it’s 1950, we also have a special early bird package for $45, which includes the three-course dinner before 6:30pm and a complimentary champagne toast. Or, if you’re just interested in the evening soiree, Sonoma will also offer a $44 Vintage Vegas package through our fabulous partners Gilt City. (Look for the package launching on December 17th!)

We are expecting a packed house, so book your dinner reservations now through out website sonomadc.com or by calling the restaurant at 202-544-8088.

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Pork & Ale Locavore Beer Dinner Menu

by Amanda Earley Posted on November 26, 2012
Beverage Director Frederick Uku and 3 Stars Brewer Dave Coleman

On December 1st, Sonoma presents the ultimate locals-only experience as part of its year-long Locavore’s Dinner Series: a four-course dinner featuring local pork, each paired with fresh, local craft beers from DC’s own 3 Stars Brewing Company.

For $57, enjoy the four-course menu with beer pairings and a pre-dinner meet-and-greet cocktail party with the brewers from 3 Stars and Sonoma’s Executive Chef Michael E. Bonk. There are only a few seats left, so purchase your tickets quickly by clicking the link here!

Amuse

Bellezza del sud – pork belly crackling, dolcelatte bleu cheese, pecan pesto, vincotto

3 Stars Southern Belle 

First

Panino di carne di maiale – mini pork burger, house made brioche bun, peppercorn saison mustard, arugula, grilled onion relish

3 Stars Peppercorn Saison

Second

Gnocchi con la birra di maiale – ricotta gnocchi, peppercorn saison braised pork shoulder, root vegetables

3 Stars Peppercorn Saison

Third

Suini e frutti di mare – grilled swordfish, guanciale, chard, crayfish, brodetto

3 Stars The Sea of Change

Fourth

Ciccolato pandemia (chocolate pandemic) – warm chocolate fudge, maiale crema dolce, cocoa nibs, malta gelato

3 Stars Pandemic Porter

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Pork & Ale Locavore Dinner Featuring 3 Stars Brewing Company

by Amanda Earley Posted on November 20, 2012

Dinner No. 9  of the Locavore Dinner Series @ Sonoma

On December 1st, Sonoma presents the ultimate locals-only experience as part of its year-long Locavore Dinner Series: a four-course dinner featuring local pork, each paired with fresh, local craft beers from DC’s own 3 Stars Brewing Company.

Executive Chef Michael Bonk and Brewers Mike McGarvey will introduce each dish and beer pairing to the intimate group – limited to only 20 guests – who are also invited to a special “meet the beer maker” event with the founders of 3 Stars prior to dinner. The entire four-course plus amuse dinner with pairings, plus the pre-dinner social, is only 57.00

Among the items on Chef Bonk’s menu are: Gnocchi con la Birra di Maiale – ricotta gnocchi, peppercorn saison braised pork shoulder, and root vegetables paired with 3 Stars Peppercorn Saison; and Suini e Frutti di Mare – grilled swordfish, guanciale, chard, crayfish, and brodetto paired with the 3 Stars Sea of Change American Pale Ale. And no, we didn’t forget dessert: Ciccolato pandemia – warm chocolate fudge, maiale crema dolce, cocoa nibs, malta gelato paired with 3 Stars Pandemic Porter.

There are only twenty seats available for this special dinner, so purchase your tickets now by clicking the link here.

If you can’t make the main event, Sonoma is offering an abbreviated three-course local pork menu with a special 3 Stars beer flight as part of our regular dinner service on December 1st. Space is limited, however, so we do encourage you to make reservations by calling Sonoma at 202.544.8088 or through OpenTable on our website at sonomadc.com.

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Bipartisan Fun @Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar

by Amanda Earley Posted on October 31, 2012

We at Sonoma strive to be a bistro-style neighborhood restaurant, serving local mid-Atlantic Italian cuisine with a hip, approachable, and unique wine list. It just so happens, however, that our ‘neighborhood’ does include the Capitol Building, Supreme Justice Building, the Library of Congress, many lobbyist firms, and other political hot spots.

Although we love to host all of the great families and young residents from our lovely Capitol Hill neighborhood, we also love the stories we hear from all our ‘politico’ guests.

Today, Eater DC mentioned Sonoma on both of their lists of ’Where to find wealthy Republicans,’ and ‘Where to find wealthy Democrats.’ We weren’t surprised to hear; Sonoma is a home for both parties. Owner Jared Rager loves telling the story about Sonoma hosting a political fundraiser in our upstairs Avenue Lounge for a certain former Republican presidential candidate, while a large group of Democratic representatives were toasting wine and scotch downstairs at our main bar after victorious vote on ‘The Hill.’ Both groups feeling as if Sonoma was ‘their bar.’

The truth is Sonoma is a bipartisan restaurant and wine bar. The Washingtonian Magazine suggested that we needed to ‘fix Washington’  by bringing back more bipartisan drinking. We toast our glasses of wine to this suggestion. We even came up with an election day plan, certain to please our guests whether they plan to vote red or blue on Tuesday, November 6th.

Sonoma’s election day party will be equipped with big screen tvs throughout both the upstairs and downstairs, all-day happy hour prices, complimentary food, and even an election day pool, culminating at the end of the night in our ‘bipartisan toast’ to the next president.

Mark your calendars. We hope to see you then at a place where toasting your neighbor with a great glass of barolo brings politicos together no matter the party.

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