Lunch: Teaism

Tucked away on the first floor of an 8th Street residential tower is the downtown location of Teasim. I've just elevated them to the top of my lunch list. Actually to the top of my any-meal list. More days than not, the line reaches beyond the front door and onto the sidewalk. And although I've always found a seat, looking with a group can be nerve racking. Doesn't matter. The food is worth it.

I actually first went to Teaism for tea. Years ago. And that was at the Dupont location, which I believe is the original. There are now two others; one steps away from the White House at 800 Connecticut Ave NW and of course Penn Quarter at 400 8th Street NW. These folks are very vegan and vegetarian friendly. Bento box? Sure! Vegan burger? Yes. Kebab? With seitan even. Teasim goes the extra mile and indicates on their website which meals are veggie and vegan; and how to adjust meals to fit those requirements. That's excellent.

My all time favorite crack-like addictive dish is the seitan stir fry. I don't sit by the door anymore because every other person entering the restaurant looks at my plate and has to ask what it is, because it smells soooooo good. And I know I'm not the only one who likes this dish. It's not a secret. The seitan is pan fried in a savory sauce which sadly, I can't really do justice describing here. Trust that it's freaking good. Then, they add in spinach, rice and believe it or not, macadamia nuts. A nice ball of brown rice tops it off. Heavenly dish if I ever had one. Finish it off with a ginger beer soda. Perfect lunch.

The space in the PQ restaurant is a little cramped upstairs, but opens up nicely in the downstairs seating area. Lunch is always a crush there with people standing in line, then standing waiting for food, then doing the balancing act with trays trying to find a seat. If you're in a hurry, this is one of the few places that consistently gets food out fast and prepared correctly. You can get in and out without having to watch the clock.

So, here's to this place. Keep up the good work and keep that seitan on the menu!

West Elm Out. What's Next?

Furniture retailer West Elm is closing it's downtown location at Metro Center, vacating a prime location for more retail or entertainment. West Elm is a purveyor of high-end furnishings.

I really liked their style and aesthetic, but most of the pieces were waaaaayyyyyy out of my league. So, I window shopped, went in a few times, but never bought anything. Wondering if they would have done better on "Furniture Row" on and around 14th Street NW near U. There you'll find Muléh, Vastu, soon to be Room and Board, Reincarnations, Urban Essentials, Goodwood, Millennium, Miss Pixie's and a few others.

As for the downtown space vacated by West Elm, I'm betting on a clothing store. It would join other clothing related retail near that corner including, Guess, American Apparel, Jos. A Bank, H&M, Zara, Macy's, Peruvian Connection and a few blocks away, Urban Outfitters and Ann Taylor Loft. I have no idea what's going into the new space, but here are some options:

poll by twiigs.com

After Midnight

Top 10 Worst Possible Metro Cuts

For the first time since living in DC, I am seriously doubting out mass transit system. The current CEO just submitted his resignation, passengers and workers seem more vulnerable to safety issues than ever, and we're likely to have to pay more for less service very soon. The recent winter storms cost the agency $18 million and the general financial outlook is not favorable for riders of bus or rail.

The Post's Robert Thompson mentioned some of the potential changes here. He was pulling from a report (fairly large PDF) from a WMATA committee exploring cost cutting measures.

Here are some of the scariest possible changes coming our way. These are not final! This is really a cost/benefit tally and background for when the decisions do have to be made about service cuts and fare increases.

Number 10) Reduce bus service on various routes on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. --Previously had normal weekday service on these days.

9) Eliminate 8 car trains during rush hour. --Okaaaayyyy... never really see them in service anyway.

8) Increase fare for B30 (bus to BWI) and 5A (bus to IAD) to at least $6.00. --Yikes! Still better than cabbing it there. I guess.

7) Increase bus fare from $1.25 to $1.50. --I'm actually not 100% against this, although its a steep percentage increase at once.

6) Increase the minimum rush hour rail fare from $1.65 to $1.90. -- Consider that the maximum fare would also increase to $5.00; for a single trip.

5) Increase yearly bike locker rental fee (at Metro stations) from $75 to $200. --I see this mostly deterring participation in this program.

4) No Yellow Line service between Huntington and King St on weekends. Replaced with a bus shuttle. --Almost laughable. VA people, get on this.

3) Increase wait time for trains to 15 min on Saturday daytime, 20 min Sunday daytime and 30 min late night on Saturday and Sunday. --This is a joke, right?

2) Close three (unspecified) stations on the weekend. --Don't see this ever happening for political reasons.

1) Close rail system at 12:00 midnight on Friday and Saturday. --Devastating for partiers and service workers. This WILL put more drunk drivers on the roads of DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Honorable mention, if there is such a distinction for this list:

**Eliminate Yellow Line service between Mt Vernon Sq and Fort Totten. --This was a life saver on late nights. Could live without it in the end.

**Eliminate 42 bus service between McPherson Sq and 9th and G (on 33 select trips throughout the week). --Noooooooooo! I'd hate this. My link to downtown gone!?

** Eliminate H1 bus. --Would hinder Columbia Heights to Dupont commuters.

Some of these are worst case scenarios. This WMATA report is an important step in determining how to move forward. We need to know the impact, both in dollars and human capital, of these changes. Some will be devastating to particular populations, economic and geographic.

If you have political representatives regarding this matter, call them, email them, show up at their offices. They need to know what you think. For Ward One residents, that's Jim Graham, who has been on the Metro Board for over 10 years. All of us will lose out a little in this exchange, though. The key is that Metro make the best decisions it can for the continuity of basic, safe transit service while planning for a prosperous and expansive future for the best transit system in the nation. Is that too much to ask?

Puppet Underground is Back

Way back during the bearable part of winter (last December), the Puppet Underground put on Las Posadas, a progressive performance in a string of homes located right here in Mount Pleasant. The series of plays were a take on the traditional holiday themed celebrations in Mexico.

This time around, the Underground is hosting several performances at a single venue venue: St. Stephen's Church on 16th Street NW. The title of tomorrow's event is The Chilly Day Cabaret. There will be two puppet theater performances and one musical performance by DC's own Yamomanem, a New Orleans style jazz band.

The show descriptions via Puppet underground:

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“The Tale of the Hungry Mouths: A Soup Opera” by The Brothers Harrell

A soup opera served warm. A candlelight observance on six stages. Hailing from the rich tradition of southern puppet families, the Bros. Harrell dish up an evening of ultra low-tech neo-contemporary mixed-media performance art. Bring your own bowl ad spoon.

“The Suitcase of Life” by Papermoon Puppet Theatre

Papermoon comes to us from the warmer climes of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, a group experimenting with puppetry through international and multi-cultural collaborations. "The Suitcase of Life" is an interactive puppet play exploring selling the unsellable.

Yamomanem: New Orleans Jazz Band

Led by New Orleans ex-pat Monty Montgomery (sousaphone; co-founder of the much loved Panorama Jazz Band of New Orleans), Yamomanem interprets the traditional jazz repertoire and Carribean Creole music of the 30s with electric guitar and Latin percussion. Yamomenem was nominated for Best Jazz Band in 2007 by the Washington Area Music Association!

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Sounds fun! And I'm pretty sure they are serious about bringing your own bowl and spoon. There is a sliding scale; $5-$10. Virtually nothing considering what you will get in return. St. Stephen's is located at 1525 Newton Street NW, on the corner of 16th and Newton. The show is happening in the auditorium, so use the side door. Chilly Day Cabaret begins at 7:00pm; on tomorrow, February 20th. Good luck Puppet Underground! Glad they're doing it this weekend and not weekend last (or the one before!).

Real World Restaurant?

This show is the gift that keeps on giving. I haven't watched an episode of the Real World DC since the first one, but its not that I don't like the show. My TV gets about 400 channels from the cable and I literally can't find MTV. Or don't want to. Unsure.

Anyway, the house that was home to the made for TV roommates may soon be home to DC's newest restaurant. Washington Business Journal is reporting that the owners have recently begun marketing the 2,700 sq ft space to restaurants. The address is 2000 S Street NW, in the Dupont neighborhood.

Obvious benefits: close to Connecticut Ave and Dupont Metro station, on the 42 bus line, across the street from popular restaurant Thaiphoon, the space has an (albeit brief) celebrity history. Drawbacks: no one who matters cares that the Real World was filmed there, not actually facing Connecticut Ave, previous tenants were MTV, then an architectural firm--both commercial, but non restaurants.

The right gig could make it there. A destination restaurant or an old standby with a built-in customer base. Random bistro or steakhouse probably wouldn't do well since there are several types of those places in Dupont already. Or they could go the opposite direction and shoot for a neighborhood type place; smallish, affordable prices, kinda dirty, quality bartenders, snapshots of patrons lining the walls and a cash only policy. Not likely in that space, but a guy can hope. Ten dollars says they give in and rent it out as an office within a year.

Free Yoga at Adams Morgan Studio

For a while anyway. Stroga Yoga is offering free yoga as of yesterday at its new studio in Adams Morgan. The classes are first come-first served and happen two times a day each day until the 28th of February. The new studio just opened it's doors yesterday and is another addition to the previously noted crowded yoga scene is Ward One and really, DC in general.

Stroga is taking a unique programmatic angle, combining strength conditioning and traditional yoga for a more nuanced workout experience. Or so says the website. They are located in one of my favorite/weird buildings in the city, 1808 Adams Mill Road NW, just north of Columbia. That building sat empty and in disrepair for years until it was recently renovated and started renting out spaces to businesses Wachovia Bank, Fed Ex Kinkos and now Stoga. Beautiful old building and I'm glad to see it's spaces activated again.

If you're really into taking advantage of the free classes and want more details, I'd stop by or give them a jingle, but the advertised free classes are at 6:00am and 6:00pm on weekdays and 10:00am and 3:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Bestway Becoming Bestworld(?)

Strangest thing. Walking the surprisingly snow-less sidewalk yesterday, I looked up and the sign that has read "Bestway" for years, now says "Bestworld."

Sort of. The sign wasn't quite finished yesterday and there was a partial letter up there in place of the "R." Why? I really don't know. Neither did one of the employees. I'm pretty sure ownership didn't change. Haven't heard of any lawsuits. Maybe they got tired of "Bestway," and where else to go but up. BestWORLD. Enough said. I'm still shopping there. Maybe I'll feel a little better about it next time around.

Bestworld is located at 3178 Mount Pleasant Street NW.

Parker Posey Movie Marathon at Asylum

Asylum Rock and Roll Lounge is putting on another cool movie night. The organizers of the Wes Anderson and John Hughes movie marathons are turning their attention to a single actor this time. No, not my all time favorite John Cusack. It's Parker Posey! My second favorite. Well, maybe third favorite after Joan Cusack.

Posey appears in so many films, I lost count trying to recall by memory. But Asylum is showing the best three: Best in Show, Party Girl and the pièce de résistance, The House of Yes. They'll be shown next Wednesday.

There could be an argument made for a few others to be included, particularly subUrbia and Drunks. But those were worthy movies that happen to include Posey. The three being shown are clearly the best of the films she's starred in. You will enjoy them all! And so will I. If you have been to these movie nights before, you know that the seats fill up fast and that you should not be jerky to the people sitting next to you at the bar (yes, I'm talking to you loud, random visitors from a state that shall remain nameless). The movies will be shown at the upstairs bar on three TVs and the one big pull down screen over the stairs.

The details:
Wednesday February 17
7:00PM Best in Show
8:45PM Party Girl
10:30PM The House of Yes (below)
Asylum 2471 18th Street NW

Catch Me on The Kojo Nnamdi Show Today!

Catch Andrew from New Columbia Heights and myself on the The Kojo Nnamdi show today. The segment is titled Bogging the Mount Pleasant-Columbia Heights Corridor. We'll be discussing how we interact with our respective neighborhoods through blogging.

The show is an advance for the "Kojo in Your Community" event, in which the radio host will travel to Columbia Heights (All Souls Unitarian Church) and broadcast live with feedback from the audience.

So, our session is sort of like that. But we're bringing the community (or at least our interpretations of it) to the host. Should be fun and I don't know if there is a call in part of the program, but if there is, go bananas.

Blogging the Mount Pleasant-Columbia Heights Corridor
Thursday February 11, 2010
12:30PM
WAMU 88.5 FM on the radio
Listen Live over the internet

Library Moving to Mount Pleasant Street

The Mount Pleasant Branch Library will temporarily move into the space last occupied by Super Save Market. The DC Library system is in the process of renovating and rebuilding libraries all over the city. We're in line for a renovated and expanded library in 2011. In the meantime, the empty retail space at 3164 Mount Pleasant Street NW will serve as the temporary library while the 17 months renovation is being completed. That may very well put the opening of the "new" library sometime mid to late 2011 (although the scheduled time frame is in the spring).

The changes will be major, including an entire addition to the rear of the building,a reconfigured and unified entryway, and new, dedicated children's room. A few renderings of the changes are below. Keep up with the renovation plans on this page: Mount Pleasant Library Construction Update.

Super Save --formerly located at 3164 Mount Pleasant Street-- was my favorite little bodega on the strip. It closed abruptly more than two years ago. Since the closing, the building has sat vacant, but available for rental. Now that space will be activated once again.

The temporary library is being designed and constructed by MCN Build. MCN is a local firm who's linked to some pretty cutting edge design projects such as the Policy an Sweet Green restaurant build outs as well as the nearby Tubman School renovation. So, a least the temp library will look good, although there's no way it won't be a little cramped. I look forward to all the changes and know that it's all for a better (and bigger) permanent Mount Pleasant Branch Library in 2011.

Renderings:

Video: snOMG 2010 Snowball Fight

Saturday at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park at about 3:00pm. There were dozens (hundreds?) of people in the park during the day Saturday. Football games on the green, dogs running in the show, sledding down snow covered staircases, and this. A not-so-massive snowball fight, but a fun one. Not a mean-natured person there. For the most part if you weren't holding a snowball, you were off limits, although I did get hit with an errant snowball while trying to jump off the stage and go home. Whatever! A fun day walking around the car-free streets.

Malcolm X Park Snowball Fight Take 2 from The 42 Bus on Vimeo.

Reasons to Be Car Free in DC #12: Snowed In + Dig Out!

Walking around on Saturday was a blast. Not a worry in the world for most of us. Lots of snowball fights, walking in the streets, sledding and snow-football. Sunday, uh, not so much. Digging out was the theme of the day. Walking around, surveying Mount Pleasant, I saw dozens of people with shovels, scrapers and brooms digging out their cars. Not that the roads were passable, but people have to work, travel and live. Saw lots of neighbors working together as well, in teams.

One person who was not digging out a car was me. I would have gladly helped out any of you who needed, but most of you looked like you were having fun. The only shoveling I did this weekend was of food into my mouth while watching the Super Bowl. C'est la vie for a northeastern snow town, which is what we've become over the last few months, apparently. With more snow to come! I love it.

Photos: snOMG 2010

Park Road, February 2010

Park Road, December 2006

Enjoy the weekend.

Celebrate Art, Beauty and Chocolate at Neighborhood Spa

UPDATE: MOVED TO FEB 13, 2:00-6:00PM

Among the fairly diverse offerings on Mount Pleasant Street --take out and sit down restaurants, video rental, tailor, laundry, bar, yoga studio, dentist, jewelery store, pharmacy, and more-- there's also a full service spa. Barreiro Salon and Day Spa is at 3103 Mount Pleasant Street NW, at Irving Street. I'm not a spa expert, but they seem to offer every spa service one could want; massage (sign me up please!), waxing, mani + pedi, facials, hair care, skin care and more. Right here in the neighborhood. Who needs to go to Georgetown, Gallery Place or the suburbs? Just walk a few blocks and there you go.

Well, Barreiro Salon is hosting a Valentine themed event this Saturday; "Celebrate the A B C's!" As in Celebrate Art, Beauty, and Chocolate. Here's the breakdown.

Art: There's an art gallery inside of Barreiro. Yes, they've managed to create a gallery as part of the retail space. They are showing art by well known Latino artists with dual intent. The art adds to the allure of the space for customers, but its also for show and sale. You'll be one of the first to see the gallery this weekend if you attend.

Beauty: If you haven't noticed, the event is being held in a salon! They'll be offering all the usual services that day, but you should call ahead to schedule. Check out the website for all the details. Massages and facials will be discounted on Saturday.

Chocolate: The salon is also teaming up with The Cacao Tree, an artisan chocolatier (uh, I want that as my job title). Not sure if anything is vegan, but Cacao Tree offers about two dozen types of truffles and other sweet confections. They even got some national attention the last year when the owner met the President and left a few samples for him. I'm sure that was on the house!

So, quite an event they've put together. I'm sitting at this computer and my hands are saying "type!" but my back is saying "call and make a massage appointment you fool." I just might.

The details for Celebrate Art, Beauty and Chocolate:

Who: Barreiro Salon and The Cacao Tree
What: Celebrate Art, Beauty and Chocolate!
When: Saturday February 13, 2010, 2:00-6:00pm
Where: Barreiro Salon, 3103 Mount Pleasant Street NW
Why: Because its freaking cold outside and a deep tissue massage sounds divine, and I can pretty much roll out of bed and land on their doorstep. Is that good enough?

Love or Hate Lauriol Plaza?

For a restaurant that basically has only one item I can eat, almost always has a wait for a table, is predictable in nearly every way and draws the consternation of many friends, I really love Lauriol Plaza. I mean, this place has never let me down for a meal. Perfect "parents" place, birthday place, new job celebration place and first (or 100th) date place. Ladies, I know you come here for nights out. And families, I see you there, too. Try getting into the front door on a weekend night. The front patio basically turns into a club. A club of drinkers, all waiting for tables. Or not.

Yes, for the most part, the food is predictable. The only dish that I know is vegan is the vegetarian fajitas. Others may be, but that is literally the only dish I ever order. Not counting drinks. The fajitas are amazing. They come sizzling on a platter with rice, beans and mini tortillas. Among the hot, savory vegetables, are two plantains! The soft, fresh plantains make the platter for me.

Drinks, that's another story. I've had it all at Lauriol, but I mostly like the swirl frozen margarita. It is simple and great. I like to stuff the lime down into the drink and find it frozen at the finish line. Actually, I hardly ever get one frozen margarita. Go for the pitcher.

If you frequent Adams Morgan or Dupont, there's no way you haven't passed this place. But if not, it's at 1835 18th Street NW, at T.

Poll: Paying More for Metro

Beginning on March 1, 2010, you, I and everyone else using WMATA will pay more to use it. Last week the Metro Board of Directors voted to implement a 10 cent fare increase for the months of March, April, May and June of this year. The increase, which in theory is temporary, will raise nearly $10 million, helping bridge a budget gap which totals $40 million. And that's just for this fiscal year. I suspect the surcharge will become permanent.

What that means for most of us in the city is: rush hour base subway fare will increase to $1.75 and riding the bus with Smartrip will increase to $1.35. If you still use cash to ride the bus, you'll pay $1.45. See full details on the official press release.

Let's say you take a short subway ride or bus ride to work. Throw in six casual transit rides a week. That's less than $5 more dollars per month to ride Metro bus and rail.

I can live with it. I know Metro has it's fair share of management issues. And equipment equipment issues. And recently, serious operator issues. But one of the things they do need is money. Money to maintain the equipment we already have, money to increase the safety of the system and money to maintain and increase the services offered. I am willing to pay even more. What about you?

poll by twiigs.com