Brightest Young Things

This week we have a restaurant week, a drinks week, three freakin' cupcake mentions, a smoothie bar for drunks, Arlington wine, H Street, awesome brunch, Kushi  has opened, a kitchen caught fire AND BUTTER DIED!. Then the round up with Italian arrogance, Obama's cheeseburgers, bad restaurant names and Cadbury Creme Egg Benedict!

• It's Restaurants Unleashed Week, with more than 100 restaurants offering discounted, fixed price meals. Full database here.
• It's also Yelp's Drinks Week in DC. Click here for drink specials and locations. Most places are doing 1/2 price drinks!
• Want a reason to get gay-married? Free cupcakes!
• Funxion, an upscale, full-service smoothie bar that serves alcohol has opened at Metro Center. What's next, the return of Oxygen bars?

• Arlington dwellers, you're getting a wine bar/bistro on Columbia Pike with the opening of Twisted Vines. For other wine bars in Northern Virginia, check out this article in Northern Virginia Magazine.
• H Street is getting two new places. Liberty Tree, which appears to be opening very soon. Ethiopic in a few weeks. (Via H Street Great Street)
• Birch & Barley is now serving brunch on Sunday from 11am to 8 pm. Went this past week and it was delicious and well priced. Do get the corned beef hash and duck eggs. Definitely get the brunch punch, a pitcher will run $28.
• Kushi opened.
• March equals brackets. Washingtonian has a cupcake bracket going.
• The latest DC kitchen fire was last night at BlackSalt. I called the restaurant and whoever answered sounded shaken, but said all were fine. Traffic last night, not so much.
• And Jose Andres declared that butter is dead. Julia Child is turning in her grave.

And the round up:

• Italy has banned molecular gastronomy ingredients. That's like the Wall Street Journal objecting to Google search. *snap*
• In addition to being a boozer and smoker, Obama has high cholesterol. Instead of blaming the GOP, he blames cheeseburgers. Mmmmm.
• This ain't right. Cupcake Pebbles cereal.

• A task we should probably take on here. A Boston food blogger lists the 27 worst restaurant names up there. A steak house named Moooo, a breakfast/lunch place called Blunch and a Chinese American place called Pu Pu Hot Pot. But hey, we have New Big Wong.
• Cadbury Creme Egg Benedict! Doughnuts, brownie, Creme Egg and frosting!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow @BYTEatDrinkfor running updates on food and beverage news in the area.  Send tips, suggestions and listings to eatdrink@brightestyoungthings.com