Every Thursday of the month the restaurant will flex its bar muscles by offering themed bar nights with discounted drinks from 6 p.m. until late. They range from playful ’80s cocktail nights that may involve adult bar mitzvahs to more serious tributes to Virginia beer, wine and spirits.

From October through January—“maybe longer,” according to the store’s website—the pop-up will be peddling Annie Sloane Chalk Paint, upcycled furniture, home décor, baby gifts and women’s accessories in a storefront on the District’s main drag, next to Dawn Price Baby.

It’s de rigueur to start a meal at Brine with oysters. To support the home team, I opt for RRO’s three signature slurps: buttery, sweet Rappahannocks; mildly salty Stingrays; and my favorites, briny Olde Salts. I ask for horseradish, and out comes a serving of thin, pickled strips of the fresh root that could be…

When I heard that famously fit Michelle Obama was a devotee of Solidcore—which Yelp reviewers have called “torture,” “humbling” and “insanely challenging”—I was nervous.

B Side One of many excuses to scope out the ever-jazzier Mosaic District, B Side has emerged as my favorite watering hole in the sprawl. As you might expect of an outfit that sells leaf lard (at butcher shop Red Apron) on the other side of the wall, the list at B Side reads as…