From the Atlas District, now to the heart of the U Street neighborhood, &pizza is opening a second District location at 1250 U Street NW, DC on Wednesday June 12th, 2013 directly beside the U Street Metro station. Celebrating their arrival at the center of DC’s historic music scene, the restaurant will host the U Street All Stars, starring: Elijah Jamal Balbed, Reginald Cyntje and JS Williams live on Friday June 14th from 6pm-8pm & Saturday June 15th from 2pm-4pm & 9pm-11pm.

The U street location of &pizza will open daily from 11am to 11pm Sunday – Wednesday, remaining open until 2am Thursday & 3:30am on Friday & Saturday.

The assembly line style of ordering will continue in the new restaurant with patrons choosing between three different crusts (traditional/ whole-wheat/ multigrain), six in-house prepared sauces (Mushroom Truffle/ Spicy Tomato/ Basil Pesto), and six cheese options (House made Mozzarella/ Provolone Blend/ Ricotta). Customers then pick from choice standout toppings ranging from proteins like local farm eggs & soppressata; vegetables such as roasted peppers & artichoke; and “finishes & oils” that include fig marsala & red pepper chili oil. Or, find a favorite from their array of nine pie suggestions like the popular Farmer’s Daughter made with farm eggs, hot sausage, and house made mozzarella.

Committed to creating an ambiance emblematic of the neighborhood’s rich cultural history, &pizza designed a space honoring the community’s legacy with framed black & white photos of local leaders, historic pictures of iconic U Street landmarks, and a large brass ampersand highlighting the significance of jazz music & venues in the U St district.

*Along with the celebrating the opening of the U Street store, &pizza will be conducting a pizza box design contest with the winner receiving $200 and have their design printed on 5,000 boxes. Contestants can pick up a blank box (or two) at either store. Finished submission must be received by June 17th, and the winner(s) will be announced over Instagram @andpizza on June 24th.

*&pizza has also finalized plans for its third location at Monroe Street Market – serving Brookland, Edgewood and CUA neighborhoods

The current Imperial Valet cleaners at 1331 Connecticut Ave, NW just south of Dupont Circle is looking to become a sports bar.  A liquor license application posted out front says they will be called NTH (National Tap House).

Specifically the placard says:

New Tavern/Sports bar. Serving appetizers, full menu for lunch, dinner and late night fare. Flat screens, electronic music, live bands and DJ. Occupancy load is 267.

They hope to stay open “Sunday through Thursday 10 am – 3 am, Friday and Saturday 10 am – 4 am”. They also hope to have a summer garden. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Thanks to a reader for sending a link to the Kickstarter page for Havoc Boards:

“War gaming on 15 custom maps. Available in classic style and engraved wood, Havoc Boards let you conquer the world one piece at a time.”

Back in March we learned that a new Mediterranean restaurant, Dunya, was coming to 8th and Florida (just east of 9th and U St, NW). We knew there would be a summer garden but I didn’t realize a roof deck was also in the plans. A very happy surprise. Looks like it has potential:

This is crazy. From MPD:

The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a suspect in connection with an armed robbery which occurred in the 1400 block of 12th Street, NW.

On Friday, May 17, 2013, at approximately 9:22 pm, a subject approached two individuals who were dining at a restaurant in the 1400 block of 12th Street, NW and robbed them of their personal property.

The suspect is described as a black male wearing a white shirt and dark shoes. He was armed with a handgun.

The suspect is shown in this video: http://youtu.be/rbtQyR4gmAM

Anyone with information that can assist in the identification of this subject is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent offense, including armed robbery, committed in the District of Columbia.

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Back in February we learned of Derek Brown’s (Passenger, Columbia Room, Hogo) plans to open Mockingbird Hill in the renovated storefront at 1843 7th Street, NW. This is the sherry and ham bar. I was fortunate to be invited to a preview party and sip some sherries and taste some ham. And take some photos of course:

It’s a relatively narrow space dominated by a huge bar that runs nearly the length of the space. Though there was one table in the very back. When you visit, it’ll be important to remember that this is def. a bar and not a restaurant. Having said that, the hams were so freaking good.

Jerry Zawacki carves off a slice from one aged two and a half years.

Lots more photos after the jump.

Ham hangs like a piece of art

lone table in the back

Long bar

I’m salivating just looking at this and remembering how it tasted

Chantal serves up a Green Hat Brigade Gin and Tonic

Also delicious

Did I mention it comes from a keg?

7th Street Transformation Continues

@iaff36 now tweets:
“**3rd Alarm** #DCFD on the scene at Fragers Hardware in #Caphilldc”

@patrickWhitmore tweets us:

“@PoPville cops getting people away due to toxic fumes. Likely from paint shop. People should stay away – for their own health.”

@melanieciolek tweets: “DCFD going at flames from above, have windows out in house next door”

View from Rossyln:

Photo via SB

From Council Member Tommy Wells:

“Frager’s Hardware is a DC landmark and an absolute gem to the Capitol Hill community. The owner John Weintraub and former co-owner Ed Coppenhaver have always given back so much to the community. This fire may present a set-back, but I can say with confidence that this community and our city will rally behind Fragers and its employees. My office will be working with the store, neighbors and community organizations to help put together a coordinated response effort. I want to thank our Firefighters and emergency responders for their efforts to contain and put out the fire.”

Last week we learned of plans for a German beer garden for 919 U Street, NW. Turns out another one could be on the way to Shaw as well. Thanks to a reader for sending word and details distributed to neighbors in advance of an ANC 6E meeting tonight [Wednesday, June 5, 2013, at 6:30 PM at the Watha T.Daniel/Shaw Library, 1630 7th Street, NW, in the lower level meeting room]. The ANC commissioner writes:

“Dacha Beer Garden proposes to transform the long-vacant parking lot at the northwest corner of 7th and Q Streets, NW, into an outdoor eating and drinking establishment, similar to The Standard, at the northeast corner of 14th and S Streets, NW.”

Following are details for the proposed Dacha Beer Garden:

Our goal is to create a pleasant, green and beautiful neighborhood beer garden serving world-class brews and tasty, organic food to our community. We will strive to be an exemplary small business, an active participant in the life of the community, and a good neighbor.

DACHA in Russian and German means a small summerhouse with a garden.

We will serve carefully selected, premium German and Belgium brews along with organic, antibiotics- free sausages and delicious home fries – all at affordable prices. Our beer selection will greatly determine the character of DACHA. For example, many of our beers will come from Weihenstephan Brewery– the oldest brewery in the world. Unlike commonly known pub selections that invite a certain type of customers and behavior, our beers will set the mood for a pleasant conversation among friends and families. It is important to mention that we will be serving beer, not liquor.

We have planned DACHA with neighbors and community in mind. We will go to great lengths to minimize noise and inconveniences for our immediate neighbors.

• All our beers will be served on draft. This means there will not be any noisy bottle disposal. Beer will be served in glassware, while food will be served on disposable paper plates along with disposable, biodegradable plastic utensils.

• All food will be pre-cooked off-site and reheated on-site. This practice will ensure minimal levels of kitchen smells.

• Thoughtfully selected and abundant plants, such as lilacs, wisterias, hydrangeas and many others will further create an atmosphere of a pleasant retreat from the bustle of the city and from heat. Furthermore, plants are great noise barriers. That is another reasons why we would like to have as many plants on site as possible.

• There will be no music after 10pm. And the music before 10pm (if any) will be pleasant, low- volume, ambient tunes that will not make customers raise their voices.

• There will be no dancing, no DJs and no live performances.

• We are going to share trash removal service with the adjacent restaurant; thus, no additional trash pick up in the neighborhood.

• The staff will consist of trained waiters, bartenders, a manager on duty and a guard. The list of their duties will include among other items:
- No tolerance for lack of ID or fraudulent IDs
- Swift and discreet handling of customers who may have had a bit too much
- No tolerance for leaving premises with beverages in hand

• We aim to provide more than enough bathroom facilities for our customers. The site will have an ADA compliant bathroom along with 2 additional non-ADA bathrooms.

• We will provide a free Wi-Fi access point.
Seating Capacity – 112 (subject to change per final permits)
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Thursday— 4pm to 11pm
Friday— 4pm to 12am
Saturday-Sunday— 12pm to 12am

Take a look at some of the proposed beers and food after the jump.

Click to enlarge

@TonyTGoodman tweeted the news last night:

“Coming soon to NoMa – @Moes_HQ on N at 1st NE, adjacent to TD Bank.”

image via KLNB Retail

Moe’s Southwest Grill’s website says:

Founded in December 2000 in Atlanta, Ga., Moe’s Southwest Grill is a fun and engaging fast-casual restaurant franchise serving a wide variety of fresh, made-to-order southwest fare.

The first thing you’ll hear when you walk into the restaurant is an enthusiastic “Welcome to Moe’s!” It’s more than a greeting; it’s a way of life for the folks who customize each meal fresh to order right in front of the guest.

While Moe’s is best known for its burritos packed with a choice of over 20 fresh, flavorful ingredients, the menu also features kid’s, vegetarian and low-calorie options. And all meals are served with free chips and salsa.

We believe in delicious simplicity, which is our way of saying we’re committed to serving only the highest quality ingredients 100% of the time at 100% of our locations. The fully customizable menu proudly boasts all-natural, cage-free, white breast meat chicken; steroid-free, grain-fed pulled pork; 100% sirloin, grass-fed steak; and organic tofu. At Moe’s, there are no microwaves, no Trans fats and no msg.

Food quality, safety and customer service are no joke, but aside from that, Moe’s tries not to take itself too seriously. For fun, the folks at Moe’s gave each menu item a unique name like The Funk Meister taco, Homewrecker burrito and Billy Barou nachos, to name a few, just to keep things interesting.

And the music at Moe’s is also a good conversation starter. If you listen closely to the tunes playing at any Moe’s restaurant, you’ll notice all of the songs are performed by dead musicians to honor the sweet sounds of the artists who left us too soon.

You can see their menu here. Currently Moe’s has DC locations at 1331 Pennsylvania Ave, NW and 470 L’Enfant Plaza East. Anyone ever eat at one?

Kintaro Japanese Restaurant has opened in the former J Chocolatier space at 1039 33rd Street, NW. You can see their menus here. According to their facebook page they opened May 3rd. The place looks awesome. Anyone happen to try them out already?