Out and About: What's Up With H Street NE?

Give it up for the Atlas District. Even three to four years ago, I wouldn't have had a reason to stop anywhere on H Street NE. Drive though, yes. On the way to Botanical Gardens, yes. On the way out to some parts of Maryland, yes. I don't have kids, but perhaps if I was on the way to the old Children's Museum, then yes. But now, I find myself working to get down to this part of Northeast several times a month.

The first place which I began to visit on a semi regular basis was the Argonaut. I tried a few happy hours a couple of years ago and really liked the atmosphere. It's not so much a dive bar as it is a pretty solid watering hole with better than average food for a bar. I swear there were a few vegan-ish offerings when I first visited, but at least they kept the skinny-crisp fries and have killer sweet potato fries now, too. You can watch sports there and its the H Street venue that most feels like a really old neighborhood haunt to me.

The most in/famous of the newish venue on H Street has to be the Rock and Roll Hotel. Before attending a new years party there two years ago, I wrote a letter complaining about the prospect of naked sushi, which they had widely advertised before hand. I was a little taken aback by possibly having to eat sushi off of a naked lady. Or watch other people eat sushi off of a naked lady. Anyway, when I showed my ID for admittance, the door guy recognized my name and we had a laugh over me actually writing a letter about naked sushi. Turns out it wasn't really as degrading or unhygienic as I had imagined. Plus the sushi was mostly gone by the time we got there and the ladies just went home I guess. They had bikinis on, too. So, not naked. Great sound system. Books great bands. That's all I have to say about Rock and Roll Hotel.

The place I visit the most, though, is Sticky Rice. It's a Richmond, VA import (my hometown). The DC version is just as fun, if not more so, and I thoroughly enjoy being there whenever I go. Somehow, it's always packed. I mean, I can't get over this fact. There are always people there. Upstairs, downstairs, at the bar, waiting to be seated, on the patio, just everywhere. If one place exists that can pull off sweet decor, awesome, unique, and vegan friendly food, good drinks, over the top staff antics, while mixing in the use of a gong without being cheesy, it's Sticky. And I said it a year ago and I will say it again, the Dirty Vegan is like, the best meal ever invented. The best. Non-vegans, please try it. And the sushi here is inventive (yes, even for the vegans) as anywhere. And fresh. Hands down the crown jewel of H Street eats, in my eyes. And the best spot for partying on H Street in general. If college partying had an older and (only slightly) more mature brother, this place is it.

As for the Red and the Black, Sidamo, Pug and the few others I've been to, I need to visit a couple more times to give a proper write up. However, the Atlas District has matured nicely so far and if most of the places survive the recession/depression, H Street NE will boost itself back into the upper tier of neighborhoods in DC. Another quality neighborhood site, Frozen Tropics, keeps tabs on a daily basis if you want to follow along in real time.

Atlas District: Is it growing on you, too? Not convinced yet? Haven't figured out how to get there/get home? What do you you think?

Festival on H Street in Photos

Not sure how long this fest has been going on, but it was great fun last Saturday! The weather was excellent and all were in a great mood. Not quite as dense as Adam Morgan Day Fest, but that's a good thing! Many restaurants were open and serving lunch or drinks. I rode my bike down and was not alone. There was some pretty good music and even a fashion show starring some younger folks, on a real runway! It was nice to see some of these places in the light of day, I'm usually there after dark... Another great addition to the fall festival scene in DC.

Sticky Rice DC: A High Quality Import

Please, call your moms, brother, best friend, downstairs neighbor, and whoever else you think may remotely enjoy a good sushi roll. Then, take them to this place.

Sticky Rice was and is a popular homey hangout restaurant in my hometown of Richmond VA. I'm sure everyone has this type of '3rd place' in their hometown. Sticky was a see and be seen place, a unbelievably good sushi place, a drink after work place, a meet a new girl/guy place and a good dinner when I don't want to cook place. A lot of hats for one restaurant to wear, but it worked. I never figured it could be replicated in DC because most of us here are too stuffy and not as wild as we were in Richmond. But somehow, and not a bit surprisingly, actually, owner John Yamashita has transformed a space in Atlas District into one of the funnest new restaurant and bar venues in the city. (Photo courtesy of Sticky Rice DC)

We had dinner and drinks at the very soft opening of Sticky Rice DC last week and were very, very impressed. The new venue, at 1224 H Street NE is sleeker and more worldly than the original, but still meshes well with the other new establishments in the Atlas District. Its only a few doors down from Red and the Black and a block away from the Rock and Roll Hotel. Some may be able to walk there, but if you live near Mt Pleasant, its quite a trip. We ended up taking a cab from Gallery Place. It took all of 5 minutes to get there, but walking from Union Station (closest Metro) or waiting to ride on X2 bus (drops you off near the front door) were not really options for us at 10:00pm.

The soft opening meant that some ingredients for certain dishes were depleted or hadn't been purchased, but we made out just fine. The sushi is off the hook. We started of with the spicy avocado roll, prepared by the owner himself, right in front of us. We ate it as an appetizer, but I could have made a meal out of a bunch of these rolls, they were so good. In addition we ordered the tofu bites, a bowl of crispy fried tofu with a smoky, savory sauce and scallions to flavor. It cost $3.00. A $3.00 appetizer that's nearly as filling as a whole meal; unheard of in DC. We split the main dish, the Dirty Vegan, a noodle dish (choice of noodle type) with vegetables and tofu in a peanut and coconut sauce. It was soooooooo good. Already this may be one of the top restaurants for vegans and vegetarians in DC. The menu features a section for the vegetarians and the all vegan and vegan optional dishes are marked as such. Truly a dream for most vegans in this city, which traditionally hasn't been the friendliest to us.

All the rest: bar on the first floor, fully stocked of course; outside patio, in the back on the second floor; sushi bar upstairs, with booth and table seating for 20 or so upstairs as well, additional dining booths and tables downstairs. Didn't have my camera, but if you're curious, check out their Flickr for pre-opening photos and look over the sick menu. Yes, its that good. Thanks to this place for bringing another great food option to our fair city, DC.