A D.C. deli selling an array of New York-style foods and drinks is looking to come across the Potomac this summer.
Buffalo & Bergen hopes to open a fourth shop at 1028 N. Garfield Street in Clarendon, where UnCommon Luncheonette closed last fall. Inspired by soda shops in the Big Apple, the restaurant offers classic deli food, egg creams and cocktails.
“Clarendon holds a special place in my heart,” founder Gina Chersevani told ARLnow. “During the earlier days of my career, I spent two formative years at EatBar, and I quickly fell in love with the warm community spirit and the passionate local food scene in Arlington.”
Buffalo & Bergen has bagels by the dozen
- The deli’s three D.C. locations sell numerous breakfast and lunch sandwiches, as well as flavored cream cheeses and smoked fish and meats.
- New menu items, like seasoned chicken cutlet bites and braised swordfish with a marinated mixed green olive salad, will celebrate Chersevani’s Sicilian heritage.
- Other treats include stuffed knishes, matzo ball soup and latkes served with bourbon applesauce, peppered creme fraiche and chives.
It sells sweet treats and classic cocktails
- Leaning into its nostalgic soda shop aesthetic, the business also serves handcrafted sodas, floats, milkshakes and egg creams.
- The menu features over two dozen cocktails, from classics to new creations.
- Highlights include Buffalo’s popular bloody mary and the Spring Beauty, made with white rum, blood orange, lemon, Jamaican bitters and egg whites.
The founder is a decorated D.C. bartender
- Chersevani, a veteran mixologist, owns D.C. bar Last Call and Suburbia, an Airstream trailer bar at Union Market.
- Her accolades include the first-ever RAMMY award for Best Beverage/Mixology Program in 2010.
- In November 2021, Chersevani won Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” competition. She made another show appearance in 2022.
Photos 1-3 via Buffalo & Bergen/Facebook.
