This is a renovation going on in Columbia Heights. The vandals must really hate that financing company…
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Author: Prince Of Petworth
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So I walked out of Taco Bell and came upon a lively game of street chess on 14th Street. And let me tell you – eating two meximelts while watching a lively game of street chess rivals a live Nats game any day of the week except Sunday of course.
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I had a neighbor who lived across the street from me a few years back named Ms. Martin. Ms. Martin was in her 80s and had a gigantic Doberman Pinscher. So every now and then Ms. Martin would buy these gigantic bags of dog food and whenever I was on my porch I would help her carry the bags into her house. And finally the most amazing thing happened, she began to tell me about her past. It turns out Ms. Martin was the first black person to work at the Supreme Court as a secretary. When she got to know me she showed me all the news clippings, brittle and frail with age like she was. But boy did she have spirit. When she got to know me even more, she would again show me the old news clippings but with an added touch. We would share a bottle of watermelon wine. She was so happy unscrewing this wine and pouring me some in an outlandish glass. And then she would show me old pictures. At the time she was a striking woman but she showed me old photos and let me tell you she was an absolute knock out back in the day. But I also have to be honest, Ms. Martin was quite old and every time I saw her or helped her with bags she would tell me the same stories over and over again and I began to dread these conversations which could last up to an hour. Well, a few years back Ms. Martin broke her hip and she was placed into a full time care facility and her house was sold and I haven’t seen her since. Now when I look over at her house, I can almost taste the watermelon wine and see her huge dog and her even bigger smile. I miss Ms. Martin.
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Next time you are at Temperance Hall try the UFO Hefewiezen on tap, it is delicious!
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I still haven’t heard back from Robin about discussing a Farmer’s Market in Petworth but hopefully will soon so stay tuned.
I’m looking to get the t-shirts made in August/September and then have a P.o.P. Happy Hour at Temperance Hall to distribute them so stay tuned for that.
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So as I was walking down 13th Street yesterday in Columbia Heights when I encountered, depending on your perspective, a neat or not so neat neighborhood find. I have spoken about these little zip lock bags before but I had never encountered a full one. I always thought I’d find a really small peanut butter and jelly sandwich inside but alas my eyes have finally been opened. Fortunately, I didn’t see the proprietor drop his stash but if I did should I have said, “excuse me sir, I think you dropped your stash?”. So anyway, I sold it for $20 bucks so that’s not so bad. (I’m just kidding mom.) To make a long story short, I smoked it. (I’m just kidding mom.) I threw it away. What would you have done with this neat find?
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One day I too will have stairs and numbers as awesome as these…
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Thanks for your comment and more importantly thanks for the great food you provide!
“Hi, this is Gillian, Chef at CK. I was surfing the web to see who it was that snapped a camera phone shot as we opened a few Sundays ago. We were all wondering what that was all about. I’m glad so many of you love my restaurant. We try really hard to make it a great experience for everyone. If you hear me yelling back there. I’m yelling at a server to hurry and take you your food. Or Robin is yelling at someone to get them to greet the folks at the door. We’ve come a long way from the first days. We have a team of really competent folks now. However, sometimes they get overwhelmed by how many people are in the room. If I appear grouchy it is because I do all of the cooking. ALL OF IT. And I do all of it from scratch. I was not going to write but when someone said that my potatoes came from a box I had to say something. I boil 17 potatoes and then mash them, stirring in hot cream and butter. I do it. Not a prep cook. I make all of the sauces and I’m the one behind the stove. Yes I have had to leave the kitchen and talk to irate customers. I remember anonymous #1. He wanted just half a mimosa. But we don’t do that. There was a misunderstanding. The server sold him the whole thing. They drank just about all of it. I agreed to take it off of the bill. But he continued to rant and rave and swear the server was a liar. She started sobbing. I remember asking him to calm down. But he continued to stomp up and down and carry on. I asked him to leave and not bother paying for anything. In these situations I ask people not to come back. I know some of you guys know that some people are looking for a bad time. Not that Anon was. But we can see them when they come in. Nonetheless, we try really hard to make a great experience for everyone. As for our prices. Gosh. I think they’re pretty reasonable….only two things over 20. We’ve got a great casserole for about 10 bucks. I can barely eat the whole thing. If you’ve had a bad time or a long wait, try us for Sat brunch or Thur nights (burgers) it’s not so busy. But don’t every accuse me of cooking processed food. That is just not true. Those are fighting words. I take food very seriously. I use 100% jumbo lump in my crab cakes. I soak my chicken for fried chicken in buttermilk for 24 hours so it is as tender as can be. I’m very serious about this and I take none of it lightly. You will have good food at CK. If you insist on having something that’s not on the menu like 1/2 mimosa, or a grilled cheese sandwhich for your culture-deprived child then you might not leave as happy as the other 40 people in the room.”
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Holy cow, the McDonald’s on 14th and U has Wi-Fi! What’s next really good coffee? Wait, they do have really good coffee. I’m heading to the shelter…
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Yesterday was one of those beautiful Petworth days in all respects. The weather was beautiful and I decided to walk down to U Street to meet some friends for dinner. So as I’m walking down New Hampshire I notice a big spray of water coming from the alley. To satisfy my curiosity I had to check it out. I venture into the alley and I see an older gentleman probably in 60s watering his garden. My eyes go wide as I see all of the tomatoes he has successful grown. He is very skeptical when I approach him. He looked at me like I was crazy as I was ogling his garden. I asked him if I could take a picture of his garden. He replied “I don’t care, take a picture of whatever you want”, in not the most friendly tone. I was a little taken back. I quickly told him how amazing I thought his garden looked. At this point his eyes lit up for just a second and you could see him swell with pride. I then told him my woes about growing only two tomatoes and how they both got eaten by an animal. Without hesitating he walked over and plucked a handful of gorgeous red tomatoes and insisted that I take them. He told me he lived on the block for 35 years and has always had a garden. I was grateful for his generosity. I had so many more questions I wanted to ask him but he walked back to continue watering his garden. Well, I hope to catch him again to learn more about his gardening technique and to learn more about his experiences living in Petworth for the past 35 years. And yes, the tomatoes were delicious!