PHOTOS COURTESY OF SECO WINE
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Carlie Steiner created Seco Wine to “create a little bit of a f***ing positive moment in these days.”
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HEN I OPENED POM POM, IT TRULY WAS THE Seco Wine, whose name derives from the Spanish word restaurant of my dreams,” says Carlie Steiner, who for dry that is also used in Bolivia for raising a toast, reflects launched the boutique operation last August in the the varied experiences of Steiner. The 28-year-old native of same Petworth locale as her previous outing, the nationally Virginia Beach has previously lived in Bolivia and got her start acclaimed Himitsu. in D.C. at the esteemed cocktail lab Barmini by José Andrés. With Pom Pom, the Steiner, a member of the LGBTQ com- That two-year stint informs the cocktail kits that Seco offers, munity, rooted more avowedly than ever before for her queer providing recipes and “everything you need to make fresh home team. She conceived of the restaurant as “an elevated cocktails at home” — complete with whole lemons and limes. dining experience [especially] for queer people” and also as “We decided against juicing the limes for you [because] they’re “a safe space for queer people and for trans people, and a safe just never going to be as good unless you're juicing fresh that space for women and people of color.” Ultimately, though, day. It makes the world of difference.” Pom Pom became “really a melting pot of gender and sexuality When it comes to its namesake alcohol, Steiner explains in a way that most restaurants don’t perfectly achieve.” that Seco Wine “is different than wine clubs and it's difUnfortunately, Steiner doesn’t really see a future for Pom ferent than buying wine in a store. It's a very experiential Pom in the emerging new world order of physical and social wine-buying process.” Seco features greater diversity and more distancing. “Even if I wanted, in my deepest female-produced wines, presented in a livelier Click Here to of hearts, to reopen it,” she says, “Pom Pom and more lighthearted approach, rather than wouldn't work in the space that it's in. Our Visit Seco Wine mere groupings by origin or varietal. For examdining room is 400 square feet. I don't have an ple, there’s “Horoscope Moods,” a pack of three opportunity to think about ‘what do I want’ because the num- wines selected to complement one’s particular astrological sign bers are telling me what I can't do. I've thought about every that makes a “really good birthday gift,” and a “Baby Makin’” possibility.” collection that “comes with lube and chocolate and three Instead, within days of Pom Pom’s closure due to COVID- amazing bottles of wine” — including a rosé from Send Nudes, 19, Steiner immediately seized on a new delivery and to-go a California winemaker who actually encourages drinkers to venture that allows a core team — a queer-led group with show pink in the revealing way suggested by its name. Pom Pom’s chef Amanda Moll and sommelier Casey Rath of “It's just really fun,” Steiner says. “What we’re going for is Pineapples and Pearls — to continue “to cook for people in a just trying to create a little bit of a fucking positive moment in way, and to serve and teach them about wine and cocktails.” these days.” —Doug Rule Seco Wine offers grocery items as well as food and drink packages, all available for free delivery as well as pickup from 828 Upshur St. NW. Use the code “Metro” for $15 off all purchases. Call 202-321-4751 or visit www.secowine.com. MAY 28, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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