The All-American Inaugural Ball

http://dc.metromix.com/events/photogallery/metromix-all-american-inaugural/904946/content

Creative Coalition Inauguration Dinner

http://dc.metromix.com/events/photogallery/creative-coalition-inauguration-dinner/902294/content

The Guys Next Door (Next Door review)

Two and a half years ago, when Ben’s Chili Bowl owners Nizam and Kamal Ali decided to purchase the space adjacent to their legendary U Street restaurant, the brothers were faced with a difficult choice. They could either expand the Bowl to accommodate their nightly overflow, or they could try something totally new, at the risk of getting lost in a neighborhood that's saturated with trendy bars and upscale restaurants.

In the end, the Ali brothers reached a compromise built around a simple truth: nothing complements a piping-hot chili dog quite like an ice-cold beer. With that in mind, Next Door was born.

“We wanted to keep the atmosphere laid back - as close to Ben’s as possible,” Nizam explained while shaking hands with passing customers. “That’s our niche. It’s all we know.” The real challenge would be to develop a top-notch menu that preserved the Bowl’s reputation while maintaining a “neighborhood bar” motif.

Enter Chef Rahman “Rock” Harper, the Alexandria native that became a household name in 2007 by winning Fox’s third season of “Hell’s Kitchen.” Nizam initially contacted Harper in early December seeking a recommendation for an Executive Chef. “When he said he was interested, I didn’t believe him,” Ali said. By December 17th, Rock accepted Ali’s formal offer and was on a plane from Las Vegas back home to the District.

With Chef Rock on board, the focal point of Next Door effectively shifted from the location and atmosphere to the cuisine. Chef Rock described his approach to the menu as a much-needed return to his roots. “It’s the food I grew up with - the food we all love. And I cook it from the heart.”

Each dish mingles home-cooked, all-American comfort food with the sophistication and culinary creativity you’d expect from a high-profile celebrity chef. Though the full menu is still being finalized, likely offerings include dry rub maple-smoked spare ribs with Savannah slaw, roasted chicken in a maple rosemary glaze with quinoa and shallots, crispy salmon with mashed potatoes and spinach, and sour cream remoulard crab cakes. Not exactly your run-of-the-mill bar food.

Next Door has accomplished something truly extraordinary: a venue that’s equal parts regional landmark, neighborhood watering hole and swanky gastropub. Of course, there are a few obligatory kinks to work out before Next Door reaches its full potential, but that just adds to the restaurant’s sincerity. “It’s not perfect,” Ali noted, “but it’s human.”

There is a certain poetry in that phrase, summing up the Bowl's "take us for what we are" approach that has been so loved by so many Washingtonians for the past half century. Next Door may lack the gritty greasey-spoon charm of its famous neighbor, but it maintains the same dedication to "good food done right" and the Ali family's unconditional love for the District.

http://dc.metromix.com/restaurants/restaurant_review/the-guys-next-door/884505/content