About DC Restaurant Openings
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Little Engine. 250 Seventh St., SE.
Rob Sonderman mastered barbecue as the former chef of Federalist Pig and fine-tuned fried chicken at Honeymoon Chicken. At his new Capitol Hill spot, Little Engine, he’s focusing in on wings and rotisserie chickens—all jazzed up with cheffy dry rubs and sauces.
“I think a lot of the same skills translate,” Sonderman says. “I definitely miss a brisket every now and again, but I’m happy to not have to be managing cooking something for 14 to 16 hours.”
The restaurant is backed by a new investment group from Jeff Zients, former White House chief of staff and “Covid Czar” under the Biden administration. He was also one of the original investors in Call Your Mother, and Sonderman says he got connected to Zients through the bagel chain’s co-founder Andrew Dana, who he’s known since high school growing up in DC.
“[Zients] knows how to come into a room and get everybody on the same page and to march towards a common goal,” Sonderman says. “Obviously, that was what made him good in politics.”
With Little Engine, the goal was to create something “premium but approachable.” Whole rotisserie chickens go for $22.50, while family combos including four sides, sauces, and a grilled tortilla are $42.
The chicken is cured with salt, cumin, garlic, smoked paprika, and other spices for 24 to 48 hours then rubbed with olive oil and more spices before it’s roasted in an old-school rotisserie oven for about an hour and half. You can then finish your chicken with a choice of different dry rubs, such as a spicy chili crunch with garlic and sesame or “Hazel’s magic dust” (named after Sonderman’s daughter) made sweet and smoky with brown sugar and smoked paprika.
The wings are also cured with spices then coated in rice flour and cornstarch for a light gluten-free breading with a slight crunch. Garlic parm and buffalo sauces are already popular, but Sonderman says his personal favorite is the sweet and spice sticky Sichuan glaze. Other sauces range from Thai peanut to house ranch.
The menu also includes salads and wraps with pulled chicken or crispy mushrooms, plus sides such as sweet corn-and-scallion hushpuppies or crunchy peanut slaw.
Going forward, Sonderman says he also plans to expand the rotisserie offerings to include proteins such as pork or lamb shoulder. Little Engine is also aiming to get a license to sell beer, wine, cider, and some canned cocktails.
“We want it to be the type of place that you can come a couple of times a week and maybe get your late-night wing fix, but also have a healthy lunch or meal for the whole family,” Sonderman says.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind DC’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
