Hand Held Food Filling Out the Walk

Pretzels and crepes for all! If you want lunch food in Penn Quarter anyway. The last few weeks have seen the opening of Crepes on the Walk and Auntie Anne's Pretzels at 701 7th Street. The shops are outside on "The Walk," the name that's starting to catch on to the Gallery Place arcade at 7th and G Streets. The other stores on "The Walk" are Clyde's, Häagen-Dazs, Sushi Go Round and Smoothie King.

Crepes on the Walk is part of the local Crepes-a-Go-Go mini-chain. They have four stores. Auntie Anne's is a franchised location of the Lancaster, PA pretzel maker. They have over 1,000 locations worldwide. Along with Smoothie King, these businesses seem to be capitalizing on the lunch to go crowd and tourists. Not a bad plan; we'll see if it works long term.

Bobby Fisher Memorial

Must be a photo week this week. I have a few (thousand!) I'd like to post eventually.

These are from an event three years ago at the now closed Bobby Fisher Memorial. The building was on North Capitol Street. They had art, shows, parties, talks, vegan cake-offs and more. Not many spaces like it in the country, let alone DC. Sad to see it go by the way-side, but I know there were some amazing events there while it lasted. I haven't been by there in quite a while. If you know what's become of it, let me know.

Civil War Statues: George B. McClellan

McClellan: major general in the Union Army, defeated Presidential candidate (to A. Lincoln in 1864), Governor of New Jersey and author. The statue has been at Connecticut Avenue and Columbia Rd NW, since 1907. Sculpted by New York artist Frederick MacMonnies. Here's a cool newspaper clipping from a 1902 New York Times paper announcing the contest for the statue (PDF).

Apartment Houses: The Park Regent

The Park Regent. 1701 Park Road NW. If you live on the south face of this building, you have a great view of the Mount Pleasant commercial strip. Couldn't find much on the history of the actual building. If you live here, do you like it?

Filming it Up: Goethe-Institut

Here's a chance chance to see some movies you can't catch at the multiplex, but can walk to from the 42 bus route.

Goethe Institut: Film-Neu 2010 Festival
January 22-28
E Street Cinema, E St NW b/t 10th and 11h

This festival is nearly 20 years old. It features films from German, Switzerland and Austria. There are 10 movies total. Here is the entire schedule. And following, my two picks. Descriptions provided by the fest.

Let's Make MONEY
This visual tone poem follows director Erwin Wagenhofer's 2005 documentary, We Feed the World, which traced the global path of food from raw material to table. In this film, Wagenhofer shows what can be done when a passionate social activist uses a vivid visual style to convey ideas that can change the world. (Austria, 2008, color, 107 min.)
Saturday, January 23, 4:30pm

Sunday, January 24, 9:15pm

Pope Joan (Die Päpstin)
Fascinating and moving story of Joan of Ingelheim, who rises through the ranks of the Roman clergy disguised as a man and is elected pope in the year 843. Based on Donna Woolfolk Cross's bestseller. Discussion and book signing with author Donna Cross following. (Germany/Italy/Spain, 2009, color, 140 min.)
Wednesday, January 27, 6:45pm

Ticket Prices per film
Festival Opening Session (Jan 22, tonight!): $25
General Admission: $10
Students and Friends of the Goethe-Institut: $8
Seniors: $7.50

H.D. Cooke Elementary

In Adams Morgan. Recently renovated (June 2009) and now a LEED certified school. Originally built in 1909. Additions in the 1920s and 1960s. 2525 17th St NW.

Scaffolding, Fencing Removed From 3145

Most scaffolding all of the fencing was removed from the face of 3145 Mount Pleasant Street NW. The shell of the former apartment building has stood for over 22 months pretty much as is. A devastating fire destroyed it in the early morning hours of March 13, 2008 displacing all the residents and leading to a mostly hidden, seemingly non existent attempt to rebuild or redevelop.

The 93 unit building was home to about 200 residents. The overnight fire caused $20 million in damages, after destroying 3145 and gutting most of the adjacent Meridian Hill Baptist Church (fronts 16th Street).

If you have any news or lived in 3145, do tell. I would love to hear that the owners of this building have decided to move on this and started work in any area; whether that is site clean up, complete demolition or rebuilding. As of late last year (November) the property was still on Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs' Vacant Property List without exemption. That means they were not exempt form DC's special vacant property tax, which is now at a steep $10 per $100 assessed value for "blighted" properties. In comparison, the tax rate for a vacant "non-blight" residential property is $0.85 per $100. The exemption would have meant the owners were actively attempting to sell the property or improve its condition. So, according to DCRA they were doing neither of those things late into 2009.

Perhaps that has changed with the new year. If you see something, say something. Well, tell me first, then say something. Good luck to all the former residents who are still around and want to return to their original homes.

Champlain Street-Marie Reed Underpass

Finally had a chance to go see the new Champlain Street-Marie Reed School underpass this weekend. Previously, Champlain Street NW in Adams Morgan was interrupted by a pedestrian only underpass at Marie Reed School. The school straddles both sides of Champlain Street. On the other side of the interrupting island was a street called Old Morgan School Pl. Old Morgan School Pl continued south and connected at an intersection with Florida Avenue.

The area around the former pedestrian way was often dimly lit and sketchy, although it was adjacent to the busy Reed city pool entrance and the school playground. It was known as a trouble spot for as long as I can remember. Not a place you would want to be alone after a certain hour.

But opening the street up to vehicular traffic --along with more lighting and a bike path-- has livened up the immediate vicinity. Its not nearly as intimidating as before. The new car lane is one way, southbound. And it's closed to traffic during school days (until 3:30pm), which makes sense. Bicyclists get a "sharrow" lane with the southbound cars and also get their own contraflow lane in the northbound direction. The northbound bike lane is not protected from cars in the adjacent lane (unlike the buffered 15th Street southbound bike lane). We'll have to rely on drivers slowing down and bikers keeping a straight and steady hand at the wheel.

This has to be great news for residents of all the new-ish condos and apartments on Champlain Street as well as the long time residents. An easier route to Florida Ave and generally greater traffic flow through the neighborhood. Great job by the city on this one.

The New K Street?

The new K Street NW is looking more and more like a reality. Recent changes in federal transit funding disbursement rules mean that the District's plan to reform the often clogged east-west letter street may happen sooner than later.

The District's plan would mean the entirety of K Street NW from Washington Circle to Mount Vernon Square would be completely reconfigured from sidewalk to sidewalk. The dreaded "access lanes" on each side would be eliminated. In the center of the roadway, two lanes, specifically meant for buses. One eastbound an one westbound. These lanes would be for buses only; Metrobus, Circulator, maybe the various commuter charter buses. Hopefully not tour buses. Or maybe they should be allowed, too-why not. If and when we ever figure how to construct a streetcar system, they would be able to use the center lane as well. I see these lanes getting as clogged as the regular lanes are now.

The main idea behind the bus only lane is about moving buses in a more efficient manner though downtown. If that happens, supposedly more people will ride the buses, taking cars off the road, bettering the environment.

Fed funding decisions will be announced in mid-late February. If the District gets the funding for K Street, construction could begin late this year. Great, more construction! But his should be worth the stretch. Fingers crossed!

Embassy Finally Going Condo

This is news to me. If you know what's going on, please let me know. The Embassy Apartment residents denied an attempted condo conversion --maybe 4 or 5 years ago-- but looks like this is happening for real now. The economy and District laws prevented the then owners from converting at the time. Essentially, they had waited too long to act on the original paperwork. Maybe they refiled. I don't know. Curious to find out though.

Hopefully the apartment renters are either getting a decent chance to put in offers or getting generous buyouts.

Beautiful building. Just gorgeous. 1613 Harvard Street NW. I consider that Mount Pleasant. For reasons that are not hard to guess, the new Embassy website references Adams Morgan as the location and notes that the building is "just two blocks from Columbia Heights Metro," while "Capitol Hill and the Central Business District are minutes away." No mention at all of Mount Pleasant. Not a selling point I guess. Sad. Anyway, good luck to the new resident. You'll love our neighborhood, too. Promise.

First You See Him. Now You Don't: Gilbert Gone

In a bit of not so transparent PR maneuvering, the Washington Wizards have decided not to feature one of its star players in a banner on the Verizon Center. Gilbert Arenas, he of the recent gun play allegations, has been indefinitely suspended from playing in the NBA. He's forfeiting a salary of $147,000 per game during the suspension.

Yeah, one hundred forty seven thousand dollars per game. There are 82 games in the NBA season. Wow. Big mistake (allegedly). Anyway, the Wizards are apparently done with him and recently removed a banner with Arenas' likeness and the words "character, commitment, connection" from the 6th Street NW facade of the Verizon Center. It was replaced with a banner that features three other players. In the new banner they aren't even playing basketball, they're "giving back to the community." Image is everything. And by everything I mean money.

Banner photos; before, during and after the fiasco.

Call Box Yarn Art

On a pretty frigid walk to a friend's house yesterday I spotted a neat sight. Hats, scarves and more were apparently knit FOR the call box characters at the intersection of Mt Pleasant Street and Park Road NW. This is awesome! My old roommate knit a scarf for me years ago, which I still use, so I appreciate getting a warm piece of handmade goodness from someone who cares.

But this tops anything I've ever owned. They're so TINY. The old fire and police call boxes were incorporated into a citywide project named Arts on Call about 5 years ago. They feature various scenes relative to DC history in each respective neighborhood. Art inspires art!

Burritos Fast, CVS, Maoz

Burritos Fast
If you haven't seen, Tikal Burritos Fast is back from the dead! With some fresh new table clothes and a missing counter in the front window, a restaurant nearly 100% identical to the one which closed. I have not set foot inside the new place. Have you? Anyone have anything to report? I will try to get over there for a burrito at some point soon. As you may or may not know, I was a fan of the old place if only for the fact that it was close and you got a lot of food for the money.

CVS
The new CVS in Adams Morgan is open. The pharmacy-food-convenience store moved across the street this month, abandoning the cramped and awkward store at 1700 Columbia Rd NW. The new store is adjacent to the newly renovated Safeway at 1747 Columbia Rd NW. It is much, much larger but looks a lot less quirky than the older location with new precast brick and concrete panel sections on the face.

Maoz Vegetarian
I was really excited about the opening on Maoz Veg in Dupont. It finally opened and I've been there several times since. A few lunch visits and lots of after work and a late night or two. In my opinion, the product has gotten better over the weeks. I've always been happy with my meal, but they haven't always been consistently good. The fries have been, but the falafel was sometimes great, and sometimes OK. Have you had similar experiences? Still glad its here and I'll probably go again soon. Maybe today!

New Years Over Adams Morgan

Ellwood Thompson's: If and When...

Yes, the economy sucks. And locally that means plenty of empty retail storefronts. Most are in older buildings in which a former tenant has moved or closed. But some vacancies are in new construction. Like in DCUSA, the massive retail development located three blocks from Mount Pleasant.

One of the original planned tenants was Whole Foods. That deal never materialized and later speculation focused on Ellwood Thompson's, a Richmond, VA heath food store. Then the signs went up. It was official, Ellwood Thompson's was opening a location in DCUSA: target date, winter 2009. That was immediately followed by the realization that the country was already in economic disarray, with many of the problems originating with real estate. So, the move to DC was put on hold. However the company was still spending money. They are paying the rent on the DCUSA space and over the last two years completed a huge expansion of the Richmond store including a stand alone coffee shop located across the parking lot from the store. (They have great vegan breakfast wraps by the way. And a Clover.)

I hope they make it here someday soon. Here's what you'd have to look forward to when and if they can make it happen. The location would be 15,000 sq feet of space in DCUSA on the first floor, directly under the Best Buy store. Elwoods would front on Irving Street and face the Highland Park building. It's unknown if they'd make room for the stand alone coffee shop, but perhaps it'd look like the last photo here. One can hope, right?

Coffee/Riot: Tynan Coffee and Tea

Coffee shops, cafes, whatever you prefer to call them, DC has its fair share of spots that serve up the caffeinated, addictive beverage in some form or another. Some are bakeries, others more restaurant-like, and others are straight up coffee shops. I've taken on task of chronicling some of my favorite coffee spots in the city, on a quest to show what's unique and cool about them. If you have suggestions, go bananas. I'm not much of a hater or complainer so I'll mostly be heaping praise and being posi. Previous Coffee/Riot posts: Sticky Fingers, Baked & Wired, Dos Gringos, M.E. Swing, Grape and Bean, Crumbs & Coffee, Open City, Tryst, Ebenezers Coffeehouse, Bourbon Coffee, Chinatown Coffee Company.

Tynan Coffee and Tea
While sitting at Tynan drinking a soy latte of unknown calorie count, I looked up at the workout machines across the street at Washington Sports Club. I should have started a series on gym memberships instead. I'll need one after this winter of eating. But anyway, on to Tynan.

Tynan is in Columbia Heights. It is within 100 feet of the Metro station, across the street from DCUSA shoppers and on busy Irving Street NW. The set-up is priceless. This place should do well financially and it looks like they are off to a good start.

The interior set up is neat. Tynan has a community table right up front, next to the door, but it's tucked away in the window bay. As you enter, you are drawn into the shop by one of two paths, leading to either the ordering area or main seating area. The main seating area is dark and warm with wooden furniture and feels enclosed like a separate room, although there are no high walls. I like this. In the front of the store is the aforementioned community table, a large couch-like seat, two or three single chairs with small tables and counter top seating designed for laptop users. Also to the left, as you enter, a large white wall, a natural canvas. A Columbia Heights related mural is planned. There is a small fireplace in the rear. I was there on a weekday recently and there were only five or six seats available, one of which I took. It was near the front window. There is an area for outside seating. Looked great for a few weeks after Tynan's opening in late October of last year. Looking forward to the outside seating this spring.

This place has a high turnover and fast service. The employees have always been pleasant to me. As usual, I ordered a soy latte as well as a regular drip coffee. Soy latte was nothing to write home about. I've had it on 4-5 separate occasions since they opened. Serviceable and, at the least, consistent. I don't know what type of soy they use. The drip coffee of the day was Guatemalan Antigua, a mild roast. On it's own, a strong coffee with a hint of bitterness and a bold, but not cutting or overwhelming aroma and taste. Later, when I asked for some soy as creamer (its not on the bar), the barista was nice enough to steam some for me even though I didn't ask. I liked that, too.

In addition to coffee, tea and juice, there are whole bean and loose leaf teas for sale, biscotti, croissants, muffins, and bagels. Prepared foods offered include waffles, quiche, breakfast sandwiches, salads, wraps and chili. A small selection of beer, wine and coffee liqueur drinks round out the diverse menu (PDF). Some items are seasonal, so I'd call and check or just drop by if you want to be sure one of those menu items is available.

Overall, Tynan looks like a good addition to the DC coffee scene. A nice place for a group meeting, after dinner date, or anonymous lounging. Its quite comfortable, clean and there are multiple seating choices. For the vegans, this place probably won't replace the likes of Sticky Fingers, but if you aren't looking for food or alcohol, this is a fine place to hang your hat for an hour or so. On the flip side, Tynan is a great alternative for those who aren't big fans of either Stick Fingers or Starbucks, the other coffee shops within a block of the CH Metro stop.

Tynan Coffee and Tea is located at 1400 Irving Street NW on the first level of the Highland Park building. It's between Five Guys and Commonwealth. Its open seven days a week; 630am-800pm and opening at 800am on the weekends.