Spicy beer mussels

At Parlour Victoria in Washington, D.C., the newest restaurant by Baltimore, Md.-based Atlas Restaurant Group, executive chef Brandon Sumblin makes a spicy version of classic moules-frites. He heats chile flake in oil until its aroma is released and then adds diced coppa and begins rendering the fat out of that. Then he adds minced garlic and thinly sliced red onion, sweats that and then deglazes with white wine, reducing it until the liquid is almost gone. Then he adds mussels, a little beer, seafood stock, and heirloom cherry tomatoes, covers the pan and cooks the mussels until they steam open.

Then he turns off the heat, adds cold butter to the cooking liquid to thicken it and then adds chopped parsley and chives. He plates it with crusty bread and French fries.

Price: $28

White Collar Crimes

At Cut 132 in Columbus, Ohio, Michael Echeveste, the beverage director of Thompson Hospitality, developed this mellow sangria, which he makes by the pitcher.

He combines 16 ounces of fruit-forward red wine with an ounce each of rum, triple sec, lime juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice, plus two ounces of pomegranate juice. He tops it with club soda, pours it into four wine glasses filed with ice and garnishes it with half a strawberry and a Martha Stewart CBD gummy.

Echeveste said the drink is “not too sweet, but also not too serious.”

“Garnishing the drink with Martha’s citrus flavored CBD gummy brings out the tropical flavors of the sangria while enhancing the relax vibe,” he added. “You can and should drink two, and might even feel better in the morning from it. It’s fun, but won’t put you behind bars.”

Price: $14 

Collard greens falafel

At Blue Jay Bistro in Littleton, N.C., chef Ashleigh Fleming starts with a vegan version of her grandmothers recipe for collard greens, which is made with tomato paste, red onions, bacon, ancho chiles, guajillo peppers, and Cholula hot sauce. She folds that into ground chickpeas with a touch of flour, and lemon, shapes that mixture into balls and deep-fries them until they’re crisp. She plates them with barbecue-spiced carrots, a crema of beets and cumin, beet slaw, and cotija cheese.

Price: $26

“Mac and Cheese”

At The Restaurant at Blue Rock in Washington, Va., executive chef Bin Lu par cooks very long ziti — each noodle is around a foot long — and cuts them into 3-inch sections. Each of those is filled with a purée of celery root and black truffles. The noodles are then gently warmed, plated and then dusted with a blend of long peppercorn, Tellicherry pepper and pink peppercorns. Then they’re garnished with grated Grana Padano cheese as well as a Grana Padano mousseline.

Price: Part of the $119 four-course tasting menu