Trabocchi's Fiola, Richard's Michel and Other Hot Upcoming Spots

Renderings of Virtue Feed & Grain

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Appetite-whetting harbingers of a rebounding economy, exciting new restaurants are in the works from nearly all of DC’s top toques and restaurateurs. Just yesterday, we heard that chef Fabio Trabocchi will be returning to town to open an accessible Italian, Fiola, in the Penn Quarter space that once housed Le Paradou. Meanwhile, Trabocchi’s former Maestro space in the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner is being transformed for another major talent, Michel Richard, whose French-American, Michel, is slated to open there in the next few weeks.

Cathal Armstrong and his team are readying a historic Old Town building for Virtue Feed & Grain, an Irish-American tavern serving pub fare and craft beers (106 S. Union St., Alexandria). They're also planning a market, butchery, bakery, wine bar and restaurant combo, dubbed Society Fair, at the corner of Duke and South Washington Streets. Both are due as early as next spring.

Jeff Black will be joining the trendy lineup on 14th Street NW above Logan Circle when he opens The Pearl Dive Oyster Bar next year featuring seafood and po’ boys, as well as a bocce ball court in the bar upstairs (1612 14th St. NW).

Clyde’s Restaurant Group plans to remodel a massive two-story space that recently housed a Borders into a still-unnamed mega-restaurant (challenging Carmine’s in size), with a nightclub/concert space on the lower level (14th and F Sts. NW).

R.J. Cooper plans to open Rogue 24, which will be a bravura showcase for his 24-course tasting menu featuring ingredient-driven New American cooking, located in the Convention Center neighborhood. He's also working on a more casual concept, Pigtails.

Enzo Fargione garnered major foodie buzz during his former gig at Teatro Goldoni, and he's hoping to re-create the excitement at his upcoming Italian, Elisir, which will feature tasting menus and a chef's table, plus a bargain bar menu and à la carte options (427 11th St. NW).

Former Top Chef contestant Mike Isabella will open Graffiato in Chinatown near the Verizon Center, where he'll be focusing on cicchetti, Venetian small plates of pizza, charcuterie and cheese  – quite a change of pace from his former Middle Eastern venue, Zaytinya (707 Sixth St. NW).

Richard Sandoval (Zengo) and Kazuhiro Okochi (Kaz Sushi Bistro) teamed up for Masa 14, and they’re planning on doing it again with a yet-to-be-named, three-story taqueria with rooftop seating (1819 14th St. NW).

Finally, Todd Gray will focus on seafood and Eastern seaboard specialties at his upcoming Watershed, which will offer accessible pricing, a raw bar, lounge and patio, when it opens in the hot new area called NoMa (north of Capitol Hill and Union Station) as early as next spring (First and M Sts. NW).