Wheelhouse, 5714 Connecticut Ave. NW. If you’re feeling an urge to be on the water but currently stuck in the city, the newly opened Wheelhouse in Chevy Chase hopes it can be your escape. The nautical-themed eatery is the newest project of restaurateur Bo Blair and chef David Scribner, whose Georg etown Events Hospitality Group is behind DC and Nantucket favorites like Millie’s, Jetties, Surfside, and the Bullpen. Wheelhouse offers indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a 33-foot bar with TVs to watch sports. Blair says he wanted to create a space for diners to feel like they’re in a coastal yacht club.  “You don’t feel like you’re in DC. You feel like you’re somewhere else. And that’s exactly what we love to do,” Blair says. The restaurant’s raw bar will offer staples such as oysters, littleneck clams, tuna poke, and ceviche, along with daily changing seafood from up and down the East Coast. Other nautically themed dishes include salads like “The Keel” with blackened shrimp and rosé oregano vinaigrette, plus sandwiches like “The Mainsail” with fried fluke and coleslaw. Blair’s favorite menu item is the local roasted rockfish—inspired by a recent trip to the Caribbean—topped with a lime butter sauce and served with coconut rice and peas. Meanwhile, some cocktails nod to yacht rock artists, such as the “Christopher Cross” (vodka, grapefruit, lime, and sea salt) or the “Kenny Loggins” (an espresso martini). There’s an orange crush and frozen aperol spritz as well. Wheelhouse will also offer a happy hour at the bar on weekdays from 4 to 6 PM. A separate takeout counter next to the restaurant serves ice cream from Maine-based Gifford’s, which currently also supplies ice cream to Jetties. The standard menu is also available from the takeout counter, along with a special takeout brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays. Brunch items will include homemade coffee cake, egg sandwiches, of course, coffee. “Millie’s and Surfside have both become community hubs, and we really love to offer something for everybody,” Blair says. “We want everyone to come and love it, whether you’re coming in to watch a game with a bunch of guys, or you’re having a lunch with a bunch of ladies, or you’re bringing your parents in, or you’re bringing your kids for family dinner.”The post Wheelhouse Brings a Raw Bar and Yacht Rock-Inspired Cocktails to Chevy Chase first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less