SOUTHERN-STYLED MALLARD LANDS IN A FAMILIAR LOGAN CIRCLE SPACE THIS SUMMER
Logan Circle’s American pioneer Birch & Barley — one of the only dining options on the now-booming nightlife corridor when it opened in 2009 — will close for good on Saturday, July 13. Weeks later, Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG) will reboot the first-floor space as a fresh new Southern spot called Mallard (1337 14th Street NW).
Mallard, the brainchild of South Carolina native and vet D.C. chef Hamilton Johnson, is scheduled to start flapping for dinner service on Tuesday, August 6. But Johnson is already cooking on-site: ChurchKey, NRG’s beer-fueled sibling up top that also turns 15 this year, unveiled a refreshed menu under his watch this week.
While searching for a permanent D.C. space for Mallard to nest, Johnson teased the menu over the past year with pop-up dinners at Michelin-starred Gravitas and a long-term residency at Adams Morgan’s disco-dripping Le Mont Royal.
Johnson got his start at renowned Charleston restaurants and went on to become a well-known D.C. dining fixture — recognized for both his all-tattooed look and talent — that dates back to his downtown days at Southern showpiece Vidalia under James Beard Award-winning chef Jeff Buben. Johnson went on to open edgy, Southern-accented Nordic kitchen Honeysuckle in the same space, which closed in 2019, and subsequently cooked at places like American Son and Michele’s in the Eaton hotel.
At Mallard, Johnson turns to global techniques and local purveyors to produce remixed mashups of Southern comfort foods. Opening items include an elegant plate of shrimp and grits topped with smoked pork, piquillo peppers, and shellfish broth; wild-caught blue catfish with poached oysters, corn, and smoked trout roe; seared sea scallops surrounded in summer delights like charred peaches and dandelion greens; and Berkshire pork trotters. Duck dishes and foie gras naturally make lots of appearances at Mallard. Johnson sources the namesake ingredient from family-run La Belle Farms located in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.
Mallard fills a carnivorous hole left behind by all-American standby the Pig, which closed along the same strip in fall 2022.
Mallard’s bar will be manned by the beverage team at NRG, the prolific local group behind the Roost food hall, Bluejacket brewery, Iron Gate, Owen’s Ordinary, and others.
Beverage director Greg Engert will pull draft, canned, and bottled beers from ChurchKey’s impressive collection up top; spirits director Nick Farrell plans to supply spiked lemonades, iced teas, smashes, and a long list of 150 whiskeys; and wine director Erin Dudley will focus on pours from small and sustainable vineyards.
The cute name pays homage to Johnson’s father’s favorite hobby of carving wooden decoy ducks. NRG founder Michael Babin bonded with Johnson over their shared Southern upbringing, “where wildlife, hunting, and fishing traditions connect tightly with cooking, eating, drinking, and socializing,” says Babin. Mallard is going for “unpretentious and fun,” he adds, as seen in Johnson’s banana pudding full of nostalgic Cracker Jacks and Nilla wafers.
Johnson will also helm the kitchen up top at ChurchKey, with plans to retain favorites like homemade tots and buttermilk-brined fried chicken sandwich while adding dishes like duck frites slathered with green peppercorn gravy and a fried catfish sandwich with homemade gribiche sauce.
After closing, Birch & Barley’s space will get a light makeover as a chic, rustic hangout dressed with lots of duck-themed decor and artwork. Mallard will debut for dinner service to start at 5 p.m., and weekend brunch will join the fold in early September.
