JENY BENITEZ
Spotlight
D
Renewed Slate
ANNY LLEDÓ WAS EAGER TO SHOW OFF HIS NEW- There's cheese and charcuterie, plus all our woodfire items from est baby — his second restaurant, Xiquet DL, above a duck, chicken, lamb, steak. There's something there for everybody. revamped Slate Wine Bar in Glover Park. “I just finished He says the pandemic, “in some ways is creating an oppora nine-month renovation,” Lledó says. “We made everything tunity to be a little more diverse.” Case in point: After getting really beautiful to have people come and enjoy the experience an abundance of requests for paella, Lledó took to offering of a complete woodfire kitchen [and] Valencian cuisine.” Yet classes through Zoom — one a paella cooking series on select almost as soon as the chef and his team were ready to open in Wednesdays, the other wine tastings on Thursdays. “We do all March, everything began to shut down. the prep work for them, so they don't have to go home and cut “We had a lot of excitement on the opening,” he says. “And chicken or portion out vegetables to the right sizes,” Lledó says. then in the second week we were getting as many new reserva- The wine classes, meanwhile, come with four bottles of wine. tions as we were cancellations: ‘Oh, we made a reservation two “Both classes are very interactive,” Lledó says. “When days ago, but based on the news, it seems like we we’ve had wine tastings at Slate before, people Click Here for All wouldn't ask as many questions. Through Zoom, should be staying at home.’” Lledó has been with Slate since 2013, having Upcoming Events there's really a good opportunity to be a little bit gradually worked his way up from part-owner more educational and informative. And I think to full proprietor. He characterizes Slate as “your neighborhood people are used to it with their own meetings on Zoom. Now wine bar, more focused on small bites, small plates, and more of they get to do something fun.” a Mediterranean and American flair.” A year ago, he decided to Lledó sees the Zoom offerings continuing well into the future convert its second-floor office and storage space into a restaurant — after the time when restaurants can legally reopen for dining, with a narrower, more refined focus on the cuisine of Valencia, and at least until he’s able to operate with a 20-person staff for the region of Spain where his father was born and raised. both restaurants, up from the current skeleton crew of five. Yet what Slate and Xiquet currently offer strays from what Lledó “Until we get an overall vaccine and people feel one hundred had planned. “We keep trying to update our menus online to make percent comfortable,” he says, “carryout and delivery and classes things fun. There's two salads. There's a whole vegetable platter. are here to stay.” —Doug Rule Upcoming Cooking Classes include Seafood Paella on Wednesday, May 20, Duck & Chicken Paella on Wednesday, May 27, and a Master Class of Valencian Paella on Wednesday, June 3. Classes start at 6 p.m. Cost is $35 per person per class and include fully prepped ingredients from Xiquet’s retail market. Upcoming #SommNights include an Argentine Wine Tasting on Thursday, May 21, and Spanish Atlantic Wine Tasting on Thursday, May 28. Classes start at 6 p.m. Cost is $85 to $120 and include four bottles of wine. Slate Wine Bar and Xiquet are at 2404 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-913-4671 or visit www.slatewinebar.com or www.xiquetdl.com. 8
MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
