Address: 1544 9th Street NW, Washington, DC
Key Players: Kwame Onwuachi, Gregory Vakiner
Projected Opening: Late March 2016
Whenever a young chef's first-ever standalone project is a tasting menu-focused restaurant, diners take note. Chef Kwame Onwuachi comes out swinging with the Shaw Bijou, telling Eater that his cuisine will be "nothing short of global" and borrowing from several influences: his childhood in the melting pot of the Bronx, his parents' heritage (his mother is Creole while his father is Nigerian and Jamaican), and his professional background in French technique, honed from working in kitchens like Eleven Madison Park.
"I'm not just bastardizing some sort of dish that people have been eating for hundreds of years," he explains. "It's my interpretation of it because I grew up eating this thing and I have a story related to it." With just a bit of construction left to go before Onwuachi and partner/fellow EMP alum Gregory Vakiner can open, all DC can do is tune in to see Onwuachi's performance on the current season of Top Chef. I All Shaw Bijou Coverage [EDC]