Chef Robert Curtis Steps in at Mercy Me to Carry out a Latin Menu Makeover

The reigns at Mercy Me are shifting as soon as once more. The “Sorta South American” restaurant within the West Finish — initially the 2020 product of Timber Pizza Co. energy couple Daniela Moreira and Andrew Dana — enters a contemporary part subsequent week underneath the management of newly fashioned Unordinary Hospitality Group.

Beginning Monday, November 27, the fashionable lobby-level restaurant formally unveils a brand-new meals and beverage menu, revamped decor, and a vinyl “listening room” for teams of music lovers to vibe in whereas they dine (1143 New Hampshire Ave NW). Name Your Mom, D.C.’s beloved bagel store from Moreira and Dana, continues to function as standard on-site.

Mixologists Radovan Jankovic and Marko Bogdanovic at the moment are main Mercy Me’s beverage program, whereas Unordinary’s third founding accomplice Robert Curtis is stepping in as culinary director. Curtis, who quietly left his government chef position at 4 Seasons’ luxe Bourbon Steak this 12 months, additionally led the kitchen at now-closed Hazel and held an apprenticeship at Copenhagen’s Noma. The Mercy Me alternative appealed to Curtis, he says, “to create one thing new with the intention of rebuilding a very nice idea.”

Along with Brazilian chef Giancarlo Junyent, Mercy Me continues to take diners on a culinary tour throughout South America, with contemporary and revolutionary additions starting from Argentina’s fugazetta to Peruvian tuna crudo.

Ceviche made with hamachi, ardour fruit, and leche de tigre is served atop a chilly purple candy potato sorbet, preserving the fish chill whereas making a subtlety candy, bitter and filling chew. A charred radicchio “Caesar” that requires a fork and knife is filled with umami from an anchovy French dressing and a crunch from garlic streusel. Gnocchi makes an look with an sudden pairing of braised quick rib, poblano mole sauce, Cotija cheese and pickled purple onions, making a healthful and comforting dish match for the winter season.

The fugazetta shines as a model of the Argentinian-style stuffed pizza, served in three variations: with Comte and provolone cheese, onions and garlic; whipped ricotta and fig; or honey and shaved truffles. 4 items pull aside for an indulgent chew. And to tug out all of the stops, a $139 tomahawk steak constructed for 4 to 6 is dropped at the desk scorching with roasted garlic and chimichurri sauces.

To not be outshone, the retooled bar menu goals to make Mercy Me “a premiere cocktail vacation spot in D.C.,” says Jankovic and Bogdanovic. The advanced “Chica & Pedro” options Spanish wine Pedro Ximénez, chicha morada (a Peruvian favourite manufactured from dried purple corn, fruit, and spices), rye, pineapple, and lemon. The “OG Espresso Martini” is a fancier model of the ever present traditional, made with vodka, amaretto, coconut butter, Mexican fernet, a Brazilian espresso mix, and Amazonian cacao. Jankovic is credited with creating top-of-the-line espresso martinis on the town throughout his tenure at Dupont’s Residents Cafe & Bar.

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Tucked contained in the boutique Yours Really lodge that now flies the InterContinental flag, Mercy Me maintains its boho-chic creative inside, with extra velvet armchairs, couches, and tables tucked subsequent to towering, tropical vegetation. The lodge’s previous vinyl store has been become a non-public eating listening room, the place friends can choose the music of their selection (and the whole restaurant will get to pay attention—a privilege finest used properly), or work with a dwell DJ on a custom-made set.

Mercy Me is open Sunday via Thursday from 4 p.m. till 9:30 p.m., with dinner serving starting at 5 p.m. and the bar open till 10:30 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10:30 p.m., with dinner service starting at 5:30 p.m. and bar service till 11:30 p.m.