The Wine Loft is Now Open at Slate Street Café—Owner and certified sommelier Myra Ghattas has had this wine loft on her mind since she opened Slate Street (515 Slate NW, 243-2210) half a year ago. What was once a shell of a space is now a 60-seat cherry perched atop the breakfast and lunch hotspot, with its own extended hours to boot. Patrons can enjoy 25 wines by the glass plus a nice selection of beers and a new bar menu from 4 to 10 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Wes Naman

A surprising place for ingenious ingredients and udon soup

The Great Pumpkin would be proud of Sophia's Place. Of all the things that can be made out of pumpkin, they have managed to find the one unique recipe that no other place has exploited throughout the holiday season: homemade pumpkin brownies.

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Perfect pairings for the people you know

So, you're going to a dinner party and want to take some red wine, but there are so many choices and so many categories—maybe you should just take flowers instead?