💰 City offers grants to resuscitate downtown

What's CITY Talking About?

Grants to Get Downtown Going

D.C. is offering significant grants to rejuvenate business downtown. The city will award up to five new or existing businesses between $200,000 and $3 million to relocate or expand in vacated downtown properties. [DCist]

• Related: Mayor Bowser has made a point of trying to revitalize downtown as the Caps and Wizards prepare to leave. But what does a more livable downtown look like? [City Cast DC 🎧]

Controversial Councilmember Returns

Former Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans has been appointed to the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, four years after an ethics scandal led to his resignation. Evans stepped down in 2019, following an investigation that alleged he used his posts in city government to illegally assist clients. [Washington Post 🔒]

Wolf Trap Drops Summer Lineup

Wolf Trap has announced its summer lineup, including performances from: The Beach Boys, Patti Labelle, and Waxahatchee, and more. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. [WTOP]

Food & Drink: Meet Chef Mike Friedman

Mike Friedman – the chef behind D.C. standbys like Red Hen and All-Purpose – is opening two new restaurants today in Bethesda, Aventino Cucina and AP Pizza Shop. And they might just get me to drive to the burbs.

What To Expect From Aventino Cucina and AP Pizza

The adjoining Italian restaurants are two sides of a coin (or man in this case). Aventino Cucina combines Friedman’s love for Roman cuisine and Jewish heritage, while its neighbor AP Pizza is a takeout-style pizzeria similar to those Friedman grew up with outside New York.

“I have been on a collision course with this concept my entire career,” Friedman said about Aventino. “I feel like Italian cuisine and Jewish culture are two rivers that flow the same direction, but only really meet in Rome in the Jewish ghetto, and I wanted to explore that.”

Yum! What Should I Try?

Aventino's menu is full of homemade carbonara, oxtail ragu, and risotto fritters. If you only get two things at Aventino, Friedman recommends the Acciughe e burro — an aperitivo with housemade sourdough, olive oil, garlic, butter, anchovies, and lemon zest — and the Tonnarelli — a cacio e pepe made with three different types of pepper.

Culinary Style

Friedman is dedicated to simplicity. He and his team source great ingredients and don’t want to hide them on the plate. Instead, he puts his efforts into getting the basics – salt, fat, acid, and spice – just right. Many of his dishes are nods to his upbringing in a Jewish household in an Italian neighborhood, as well as his travels through Italy.

Where In DC Is Friedman Eating?

“I love eating anything but Italian food when I go out,” Friedman says. Some of his favorites include Anju, Taco Bamba, Yellow, and CHIKO. He also has a soft spot for a simple steak and often finds himself at Bourbon Steak and Woodmont Grill (also his favorite date spot). “I’m a big supporter of independent [spots], but also a supporter of delicious,” Friedman answers when asked about his taste.

What To Do

Today on City Cast

How Salary Transparency Could Change DC Culture

D.C. just passed a law requiring employers to post salary ranges, which will go into effect this June. Last March, we chatted with Hannah Williams, the woman behind Salary Transparent Street, about why it’s important and what she wants to see in these kinds of salary transparency laws.