I've run into
@PeteButtigieg
so many times that I think we might officially be friends now. It's nice when politicos make themselves part of the community.
Some of the best pho in DC is only available 16 hours/week (Tuesday - Friday from 5-9). Pho Junkies (1025 First St SE) has no online presence, just damn good pho with a super fragrant broth, high quality meats, and the most precise presentation I've encountered.
Not sure how a place with homemade pastries evaded my radar, but Sweet Lemon Cafe recently opened at 201 Massachusetts Ave NE with a full coffee menu, very affordable food, and pastries that vary daily based on the whims of the owner. Pictures from the business and menu below 👇
If local news isn't sustainable at a local university with a journalism program where it makes up 4% of the school's operating budget, I'm not sure where it can work.
The owner of former nightclub Town has applied for a liquor license under the LLC Town 2.0 to open in a former church at 1001 North Capitol St NE. Requesting total occupancy of 524 with 125 seats outside (🤔). A bit different than the initial plan to convert into a synagogue.
I had never heard of CANNA Coffee Cookie Ice Cream Cafe Burger Wing Spot, so I looked at their website and found that they're serving most of Tatte's menu and subbing out ingredients they can't make. Wild.
Forgive me for I have sinned. I have passed neighborhood institution Al's Deli at least 100 times without going in and missed out on this bulgogi sub which is one of the best sandwiches I've had in DC. Diced caramelized onion and pepper, lettuce, tomato, mayo. $14.50 with fries.
Under Lapis, with a separate entrance around the corner, is vinyl-spinning basement cocktail bar Lapop, where unique cocktails with interesting flavors (cucumber gin and chutney 👍; old tom gin with pear, burnt honey, and cardamom 👍👍) are served alongside the full Lapis menu.
I have passed on your pleas, and the free mini blitzer wolf spritzer extravaganza is BACK ON! And it starts in 10 minutes. 3-6pm today at El Presidente.
The best Restaurant Week deal is undoubtedly at Rania (427 11th St NW). The fine-dining Indian restaurant (Michelin ⭐ if you care about that) is opening this week for lunch with a $25 three-course menu through Saturday. Impeccable cooking (unreal dal), presentation, and service.
Banging brunch at Cucina Morini. Love the thoughtful food in a casual setting (sit anywhere & order) for affordable prices (nothing more than $17; fancy cocktails are $10). I wish more places made specialty coffees this size - double shot over pistachio cream & filled cornettos🤌
Rice Market (1608 14th St NW) is such a little gem. Pick up prepared food or grab all the hard to find ingredients (or pre-made sauces from the upstairs restaurant) you need to cook a variety of Asian cuisines and wine/beer/sake to pair with it. It's a lot packed in a small space
People complain about L'Enfant Plaza, but the Crystal City underground is the boss level maze, at one point full of literal hidden gems, money laundering fronts, and spaces to hide bodies.
Overheard in a DC playground:
Mom
#1
: Are you doing dry January?
Mom
#2
(with infant): No, I did dry 2021...
Mom
#1
: Want a beer?
Mom
#2
: Yea.
*Mom
#1
busts out two beers in koozies*
The crime boys are becoming aggressively annoying. Yes, crime is a problem. Yes, we should do something about it. But most restaurants are closing because y'all are tweeting instead of eating.
If you're so upset about the direction of DC that you're willing to spend the significant amount of time and resources to recall someone, I don't understand why you go after a single councilmember who ran unopposed in 2022 rather than the mayor who runs the city government.
Intimate bar Providencia (1321 Linden Ct NE) opens tomorrow off H Street, mixing the flavors and personal stories of the Mexican, Salvadoran, and Taiwanese partners. A small food menu will change frequently. Open 4pm-midnight Tues - Sat. First of many spots planned in the alley.
Two years ago today, all DC bars and restaurants were ordered to close. Despite all the obstacles, way more have survived than we feared. The difficulties are far from over, but I am in awe at the resilience of everyone who works in the industry.
The number of people who claim to hate Navy Yard and The Wharf is only surpassed by the number of people who pack the restaurants and bars on a nice day.
In the basement of a church near the convention center is Saints Paradise Cafeteria, serving soul food to an electric crowd every day from 8am-5pm. The food is good, not great, but the price is right, and it's a nice place to linger over a meal with someone like
@AustinKGraff
.
First time seeing light pole advertising for a coming restaurant/bar - La Shukran, the cocktail and wine bistro opening soon above Yellow Union Market.
The long awaited
@UnionMarketDC
HQ location of YELLOW cafe and accompanying rooftop bar La' Shukran will have 116 seats inside and 36 outside when it opens this summer according to a new liquor license application.
Was at the same playground as
@PeteButtigieg
and his kids this morning where he was wearing a hat to keep a low profile after doing the Sunday morning talk show roundup and I was wearing a hat because I haven't showered in three days.
.
@FolgerLibrary
reopens this Friday after an extensive renovation with new cafe Quill & Crumb opening in the Great Hall late summer/early Fall. They'll offer an all day menu of sandwiches, soup, salads, and pastries with afternoon tea & a full-service bar on performance evenings.
Compliments Only (526 8th St SE) is a great addition to
@BarracksRow
. Well constructed sandwiches, French onion dip, and a full fridge of Dr. Brown's. Plus seating and thick napkins. They've got it all. Open every day from 10:30am-6pm.
Ginkgo Gardens already beautifies the corner of 11th St SE next to 695, and now the owner is renovating the long-vacant building on the other end of the block at 11th and I St SE. Waiting to hear what he has planned for the space.
Been a minute since I was in Old Town, but if you've been following, you know I travel for donuts. New spot Ben'YaYs took over the space that once housed an old favorite - Eamonn's - and is serving beignets with sugar or cinnamon & your choice of dip along with Ethiopian coffee.
The Trolley Trail extension along Route 1 opened late last year, meaning you can now bike all the way from DC to Manifest Bread in Hyattsville, MD on protected trails.