Penn Quarter gets an upscale suds haven

Beer doesn't always lead to high productivity, unless of course you're a country songwriter, and we're out of wars or something. From suds-heads apparently productive enough to open a sprawling new restaurant: 901.Opening Thursday from the Cap City Brewing crew, 901's serving house-concocted beers and Asian-influenced cuisine amidst 7500sqft of urban upscalery, including a wrap-around bar decked in glass-pebbled mosaics, an open kitchen, and an exposed keg room, all contributing to a decor they bill as "wonderfully edgy", except perhaps for that pebble part, as those are generally more spherical. The dishes are pleasantly all over the place, with mains like Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin (in an apple marmalade with herbed cream cheese) or Wasabi Seared Tuna (with cilantro pesto and hazelnut-scented rice) next to tapas like a mozzarella/ onion marmalade/ chili pepper/ créme roasted duck quesadilla, and peanut/coconut curry Thai Rice Paper Rolls, though eat them while saying "that's just how I rolls", and some Thai dude will come and side-kick you in the neck. The signature craft beer program's all new (no Cap City holdovers), with four house drafts (plus one rotating seasonal) including a low-ABV Belgian pale ale, a full-bodied English style Oatmeal Stout with chocolate and roast malts, and an unfiltered American IPA that's "aggressively hopped", or what James Marsden calls "exactly what happened to my once-hopeful career".And if you're not in love after sampling the homegrown stuff, they've also got 10 solid non-proprietary drafts like Allagash White, and a light-bodied Belgian from Victory, which if achieved, will result in even more country songs about drinking.