Hudson Restaurant Helps Restore Gulf Coast One Sip/Bite At A Time; Shows Pelicans Love...

NORTHWEST -- Washington, D.C. do-gooders have long known about Dupont Circle hot spot Hudson Restaurant & Lounge. A longtime supporter of many local non-profits, Hudson has served as the gathering place for countless Fashion For Paws and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society benefits over the years.

(In fact, we were just at Hudson on Thursday when it hosted the launch of Refugees International's Young Humanitarian Circle with a 'Cocktails For A Cause' party.)

As a result, we weren't at all surprised last week to learn that Hudson was to be the setting of yet another philanthropically-minded evening in the coming days, only this time benefiting the Gulf Coast region.

A kick-off party celebrating a partnership between Hudson and the Gulf Restoration Network, Monday's soiree marked the start of a weeklong promotion during which five percent of all of the restaurant's sales (both food and drinks) would be donated to help restore the natural resources impacted by the BP oil drilling disaster.

Both Hudson's restaurant and lounge had risen to the occasion with each crafting a unique set of Louisiana/Gulf-inspired menu items to help instill in patrons a sense of nostalgia for the at-risk region.

First up were three specialty cocktails that Hudson's bartenders had concocted for the week:

Ernest Borgnine Hurricane on the Rocks: Hollywood actor Ernest Borgnine is credited with the invention of the Hurricane; a popular drink served in New Orleans.
Sazerac Cocktail: Another drink to come out of New Orleans, the Sazerac is one of America's oldest known cocktails, dating back to 1859.
BP Blip Oyster Shooter: Consisting of Tito's Vodka from Texas, cocktail sauce, and an actual oyster from the Gulf region, this drink was so named, at least in part, because the murkiness of its liquid mirrors some of the water surrounding the Gulf's devastated wetlands.

Careful not to let the drinkers have all of the fun though, three Gulf region-inspired appetizers had also been fashioned by Hudson's chefs, including:

Louisiana Shrimp Pizza topped with fresh Gulf shrimp, red peppers, and Andouille sausage.
Fried Oysters featuring cornmeal breadcrumbs and a remoulade sauce.
Thunder Cajun Chicken Wings with a zesty ranch dressing.

When we asked Hudson's owner, Alan G. Popovsky, why the BP oil disaster was especially important to him, he explained how, as a restaurateur, he is committed to only serving environmentally sustainable and humanely harvested food to his customers. And the current crisis in the Gulf region threatens the ecosystems on which a lot of this food depends on to reproduce.

So while there's nothing more he would like to do than to travel directly to the affected area and "clean a Pelican", as a business owner, Alan simply can't afford to spend so much time away from work. This week's benefit is therefore his way of helping out and giving back.

Hudson likes to describe itself as its customers' "home away from home." Yet, pelicans too seem to have found refuge there as well.

Very nice.

To stay informed about the BP oil drilling disaster and learn how you can take action, please visit the Gulf Restoration Network's website.