DC Libraries Are #1, Native Foods Closes, and Other News

Our Library System is Awesome

Before the streetcar travesty, DDOT was really my favorite DC agency. Then, DC Water moved into the top spot, mostly because of that poop-to-electricity thing. But, now DCPL has jumped to number one based on, well, a lot of reasons.

1) The staff recommendation and new book sections at MLK Library are on point. I've never been led astray. Never! This is how I was introduced to Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, and Scott Sigler; all recent favorites. So, go, accept a recommendation, and find a new favorite author.

2) You can get your passport processed! If you're getting a passport for the first time (not renewing), you can get it processed at MLK! Details listed here, but the basics are that they have office hours on Tuesday-Thursday [3p-7p] and Saturday [10a-3p] at MLK Library, located at 901 G St NW.

3) Basement shows. Y'all, you need to make it to one of these show. Too many good bands to list, but suffice to say DCPL has invited some of the most talented, entertaining, and smart musicians working in the District right now. These bands typically play weeknight shows in the basement of MLK Library in conjunction with the ongoing development of the DC Punk Archive. Anyway, go ahead and read this related article The Evolving Politics of Punk in the Nation's Capital.

4) A bunch of other cool offerings! They even made a video highlighting some of the best library programming. Music by DC/Mount P band Puff Pieces!

Native Foods Closes

Native Foods failed to survive just one calendar year in DC. I'm actually shocked they didn't. The all-vegan fast casual restaurant closed both DC locations (Penn Quarter + Dupont) last week after opening in the fall of 2014. I honestly thought they would clean up, especially at the Penn Quarter location. I'm definitely not an industry expert, so I can't say why exactly they closed, but according to company execs quoted in this Washington Post article, the DC stores just weren't meeting expectations.

I had more than a few experiences at both locations with botched food orders and extraordinary wait times. But, I also enjoyed many sunny outdoor lunches and made nice with the super friendly, hardworking staff. Apparently the company gave little to no notice of closing to local employees, which is quite disappointing. I'm definitely thinking of them this holiday season. Good luck y'all.

New Metro GM Opens Up

Paul Wiedefeld, the new General Manager of WMATA, participated a really, really good Q&A chat with our friends over at Greater Greater Washington. Wiedefeld was surprisingly open about his initial impressions of Metro, overview of how he'll manage the agency, and how important it is to him to improve service, safety, and regional cooperation. This gave me a bit of hope, as I have recently developed a disappointing and low expectation for Metro management. Read the transcript here.

Coming Soon: Chickpeas and Desserts

Native Foods at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Today is the opening day for Native Foods in Penn Quarter. This is the second east coast restaurant for the all vegan, fast casual food chain. The other east coast location is near Dupont Circle. Native Foods Penn Quarter is at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, adjacent to the Navy Memorial.

Rare Sweets at 963 Palmer Alley NW

RareSweets is a dessert bakery setting up shop in the City Center development downtown. The Union Kitchen member is looking to open its first stand-alone store before the end of 2014. The address will be 963 Palmer Alley NW, between 9th and 10th Sts NW; near the Kate Spade store. They'll have limited seating.

2Armadillos at 3239 14th St NW

Chickpea snack maker 2Armadillos (also affiliated with Union Kitchen) appears to be establishing a presence in Columbia Heights. What kind of presence? Unknown at this point. Their products are available in retailers across the Washington area, but it's unclear if this space --3239 14th St NW, in the Park Triangle Building-- will serve as a retail space, kitchen, or both. Bonus: all of their products are vegan. Very cool. This space was last occupied by Julia's Empanadas, which I loved.

UPDATE: 2Armadillos messaged me to say it's just office space for now.

Native Foods Café Preview

Native Foods Café has has been holding a few food preview days over the past week. Instead of spending $$$ on traditional marketing and commercials, they decided to host a few nights of simulated service (with real food) with the benefits of training staff and creating word of mouth. I had a chance to visit the Dupont location last night and after a year of speculation, I'm happy to say it seems to have been worth the wait. (Also, I'm heretofore banishing the term "soft opening," when referring to restaurants, because gross.)

The restaurant is all vegan and is definitely in the fast casual category. Customers queue and order at the register. You get a number card and can basically sit wherever there is a seat available. There is no table service, although the staff delivers your food (no listening for your order number) and they offer to do things like refill your drinks and whatnot. Very cool. The Dupont restaurant has seating on the first floor as well as a pretty large below-grade level. Up to 160 people can sit inside, and up to 14 seats are allowed on the patio facing 18th Street.

The menu is extensive, with about 50 dishes total including appetizers, salads, bowls, what they call "handholds" (sandwiches, tacos, wraps, etc.), desserts, and kid-sized meals. They have crazy-good lemonades and other rotating drinks. Native Foods will also serve alcohol, but were not during this preview. Somehow, all the beers are $4, what? Beers include Champion Killer Kolsch, Port City Optimal Wit, and Duclaw Euforia Brown Ale, among others. There's wine, too.

I can't speak for the whole menu because, unfortunately, I was not allowed to order one of each dish, and it got a little weird when I started walking around checking out everyone else's food as they ate. Kidding. ANYWAY -- I ordered:

Japanese Sesame Crusted Chicken Bites: Definitely appetizer/snack size. The pickled vegetables make this dish. Must like sesame seeds.

Rockin' Moroccan Bowl:  Order this if you're really, really hungry or want enough food to take home for dinner later. It's good, really good. But, I mean, it's just a whole lot of good. Marinated tofu & grilled root vegetables FTW. It's gluten free like a lot of dishes on the menu.

Native Fries: Basically these are shoestring French fries. For some reason I froze like Ralphie Parker on Santa's lap when I was ordering, because I almost always get sweet potato fries if available, which they were. Whenever sweet potato fries are on the menu, ordering regular french fries is like asking Santa for a football: BASIC.

Apple Cake: This was like a marriage between a slice of regular yellow cake and a slice of apple pie. Pretty good, but keep in mind these aren't hot out of the oven. All of the desserts are ready-to-eat style and live prepackaged in a deli case until you order it. Still, it was tasty, and tart.

Like Woodlands Vegan Bistro and Elizabeth's Gone Raw, Native Foods is a welcome all-vegan addition to the DC food scene. Unlike those two however, Native Foods will be open downtown, and will be set up to serve hundreds of people for lunch each weekday, quickly. No more settling for the one vegan dish on the menu, we can order anything, everything. This place is going to rake. 

The Dupont Native Foods is located at 1150 Connecticut Ave NW (18th St side). It will open on September 30. The Penn Quarter/Market Square restaurant is located at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW. It will open on October 15. The operating hours of each store will be 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM daily.

Native Foods Opening September 30 in Dupont

The Native Foods Café restaurant in Dupont just erected signage and is closing in on opening day, The 5,000 square foot space at 1150 Connecticut NW will be one of two to open in DC this fall. The DC Native Foods restaurants will be the first on the east coast. The Dupont store is set to open on September 30, the Penn Quarter location on October 14. Native Foods offers an all vegan menu and is in the fast-casual style.

The restaurant at 1150 Connecticut (actually closer to the corner of 18th and M NW) has applied for an alcohol license. The license request includes a max indoor seating capacity of 116, total occupancy load of 160, and an outdoor patio with 14 seats. They're seeking operating hours of 7:00 AM - 2:00 AM (Sun-Thu) and Fri-Sat 7:00 AM - 3:00 AM (Fri-Sat). Let's hope they stick to the September 30 opening date. VERY cool addition to the DC vegan scene and Dupont lunch scene in general.

Native Foods Opening in Dupont

1150 Connecticut Ave NW (18th St side) is slated to be filled by Native Foods.

After getting really excited last year at the prospect of an all-vegan Native Foods Cafe opening in Penn Quarter, I'm taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach to the news of another location. The potential Penn Quarter restaurant at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW is still set to open this year, but the local "flagship" location will be near Dupont Circle at 1150 Connecticut Ave NW.

I walked by the Dupont site yesterday during early evening and there was significant construction work being done inside the space. It's located on the first floor of this 12-story, mid-1970s office building. This space is actually on the 18th Street side of the building, and at 5,000 square feet, is quite large. It was previously filled by two separate businesses, an optometrist's office and a SizzEx deli-style restaurant.

Native Foods is California based, all-vegan, fast casual style restaurant. They are in the midst of an east coast expansion, which includes the two in DC; their first restaurants east of Chicago. Both the Connecticut Ave and Penn Ave stores will open in September of this year, according to the Native Foods website. Can't wait!