The first time brothers and Montgomery County natives Jared and Arthur Ringel worked together was at Ledo Pizza during high school. In the years since, Arthur went on to cook at Vermillion, Vidalia, and Hank’s Oyster Bar. Meanwhile, Jared gravitated toward the front of the house, most recently managing at HomeMade Pizza Co. Now, the two have reunited to open their own restaurant, DC Harvest Kitchen & Bar, which will debut on H Street NE on Sept. 2.
The menu has plenty of seafood options given the two years Arthur spent at Hank’s. The chef hopes to highlight invasive fish like blue catfish, snakehead, and lion fish. He’ll also serve a limited selection of oysters, crudo, and other raw-bar options. Arthur says he plans to use the bycatch from scallop boats: “Sometimes they accidentally catch nontargeted species and instead of wasting them or throwing them back, the fishermen can keep them and sell them,” Arthur says. His purveyor will call him from the docks and ask if he wants some rockfish, tilefish, or flounder. “It will be be at my door in three hours,” he says. “And those will be kind of the off-the-menu specials.”
Also like Hank’s, DC Harvest will have “daily plates”—one special for each night of the week. Monday, for example, will be fried chicken night, Tuesday will be Chesapeake bouillabaisse, and Wednesday will be brisket. There will also be homemade pastas, like spelt linguine with spicy lamb sausage, and vegetarian-friendly dishes like crispy quinoa cakes. Arthur says the kitchen is happy to work with customers to adapt dishes to dietary restrictions.
DC Harvest will also have a kids menu with healthier options like whole grain pasta with vegetables and olive oil or meat sauce, blue catfish with vegetables, and a petite steak with potatoes.
The drink menu will feature all domestic wines and almost exclusively American spirits. (The one exception is vermouth—for now.) Meanwhile, the taps will be pouring beer from only D.C. area breweries, including DC Brau, 3 Stars, Atlas Brew Works, Flying Dog, Port City, and Starr Hill. Also expect mocktails for the non-drinkers.
As for the decor, expect—you could probably guess this—a “modern farmhouse” look. The two-story building, formerly a Tae Bo studio and apartment, has plenty of whitewashed brick, wooden beams, a faux-fireplace on the second floor, and a 10-seat Carrera marble-covered bar on the first.
The restaurant will start with dinner and expand to brunch the following week.
DC Harvest Kichen & Bar, 517 H St. NE; dc-harvest.com