As the first concept in Petworth's
EatsPlace prepares to graduate on Thursday, owner Katy Chang is getting ready to roll out the next offering: Baba's Dumplings, created by Chang herself.
The scratch-made dumplings (and noodle soup) come in options for carnivores and vegans. Chang, who was vegan for 15 years, says she felt strongly about providing flavorful vegan options. "I've had lots of experiences of having bad broth," she says. So while the carnivore's version of the soup is made with a broth made from bones simmered 24 hours, the vegetarian version "has just as much care" put into it. The soup especially seems tailor-made for the upcoming cold weather. Chang says she's been cooking it for the restaurant's staff meal, "and it's something we've all been eating and craving."
EatsPlace, at 3607 Georgia Ave NW,
opened in October with DC Born and Raised, which sold
upscale comfort food. (
Mason Dixie Biscuit Co briefly popped up at EatsPlace as well, but
moved to Union Kitchen for its weekend hours. Baba's Dumplings will be the second restaurant-in-residence, opening Saturday, with a third chef to be announced "really soon" who could take over the kitchen as soon as February.
Also launching with Baba's Dumplings is a line of housemade bitters, including "Ma La Mama," bitters made with the numbing Sichuan peppercorn. The bitters are meant to be used in cocktails but also "as general flavoring agents," Chang says. In Chinese herbology, she says, bitter is a flavor associated with the heart, and is one of five flavors needed to maintain the body's balance--and who isn't, she says, a little out of balance after the holidays?
Baba's Dumplings soft-opens Saturday evening from 6-9 p.m., and then its hours will be:
Sunday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Monday: closed
Tuesday-Thursday: 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday: 5 p.m-11 p.mm
Saturday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.