Fruit Bat is the new bar from the folks behind Wisdom located at 1236 H St, NE between the Pug and Granville Moore’s. Anyone have a chance to check the spot out yet?
And for those keeping track of my scuttlebutt…
And I was surprised to see bags over the windows at Naby’s Island Restaurant located at 1128 H Street, NE. Anyone know if they’ve closed for good or are just getting renovated? They got great reviews when we discussed the best Jamaican spots in town.
Fusion owner and PoP Fan, Barry, sporting last year’s t-shirt
Thanks to a reader for snapping the above photo of Fusion’s owner (4815 Georgia Ave, NW) Barry representing last year’s PoP t-shirt.
Hope many of you can make it to Duffy’s tonight where you can try to guess people’s user names. Though of course you can remain anonymous. But, I keep hoping one of these days I’ll get to meet ‘neener’! Remember from 6:30-7:30 feel free to bring your kids. I don’t plan on getting completely schnockered until 10pm. I look forward to seeing both the old time readers and meeting some new ones.
Remember Duffy’s is located right behind the 9:30 Club on Vermont Ave, NW (U St metro 10th St side is closest metro stop).
This was an interesting link I found on twitter yesterday from Harlem Condo Life. They write:
“So I called over to the press office of Busboys and Poets to see what the deal was and the person who answered the phone confirmed they do have plans to open another restaurant outside of the Beltway and into Harlem.”
That’s wild and it got me thinking – what are other stores/shops/restaurants that originated in DC and expanded to other cities outside the Beltway?
“Dear PoP,
I recently read on your site that the Red Derby might be building a roof deck – and that they had no a/c. Any update on either? I’d like to go there this weekend, but without either the deck or a/c I’d probably go somewhere else. Thanks!”
In June we had a quick update about the progress of Red Derby’s roof deck construction (3718 14th St. NW at Quincy). To answer the reader’s question – the air conditioning is working again!!! And the construction of the roof deck is progressing nicely. When I stopped in last weekend I was told that the roof deck is looking like a Sept. completion. But in the meantime the downstairs is open and air conditioned. You can even see the eventual steps to the roof deck:
Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour
“Dear PoP,
Do you have any good ideas for first date restaurants? I’m looking for a place that is low key and relatively quiet/private so my hypothetical date and I can have a good conversation and get to know each other. Also, it shouldn’t be so inexpensive that I look cheap, but it shouldn’t be so expensive that I look like a show off (or that I blow a fortune on someone then realize that there won’t be a second date).
To give you an idea, a place like Red Rocks strikes me as a good first date option. I’m interested in non-Columbia Heights/Petworth spots too, though, because I live up here and I feel like it sends the wrong message to take a woman somewhere that’s just a few blocks away from my place.”
Back in Feb. ’08 we had a similar question where I recommended:
If you want to stay in the U Street area, you should get dinner at one of three places followed up by some live music at HR57 (jazz). Good places to eat beforehand are Rice, Al Crostino, or the new wine bar Cork. You’ll probably have to drop like $80 total for the both of you on dinner but HR57 is pretty cheap and you can even bring your own wine there. Rice is located right next to HR57 on 14th Street a couple blocks north of P. Al Crostino (a bit more expensive) is on U St. between 13th and 14th. If she’s been to HR 57 before or any of these restaurants a strong runner up would be to take her to Utopia which has live music at 1418 U Street. It has an awesome atmosphere and the music is usually pretty good. I think they only have music on Friday and Sat. though. If you want another place that is kind cool, go to Bohemian Caverns at 11th and U. It has a lot of history and the music is also rather strong in my experience (jazz and sometimes blues).
He decided to do this. Of course there are tons of new places that have since opened up since Feb. ’08 so what/where would you guys recommend for a good first date?
It seems like Wonderland (at the corner of 11th and Kenyon St, NW) has been there for ever. I can hardly believe it has already been/is only 6 years old! Owners Matt and Rose (pictured below) kicked off the celebration with a champagne of beers toast Sun. night. I hate to be that old guy who says “I remember when” but I remember when Wonderland was not open and all I can say is that they have been an phenomenal addition to Columbia Heights and DC in general. Yeah some nights are better than others but it is undeniable that a Sat. afternoon beer on the patio is very close to heaven. When people talk about a neighborhood bar, I think Wonderland is their template. So congrats to Matt and Rose and all the employees and neighbors who make Wonderland such a fun place to visit. (and thanks to Tina for the photos)
And in other 11th Street, NW celebratory news – Congrats to Room 11 (corner of 11th and Lamont) on their one year anniversary (another amazing addition to the Columbia Heights dining scene). From an email:
“We’re celebrating our first anniversary tonight! To help everyone get in a celebratory mood we’ll be offering complimentary glasses of our delicious Spanish sparkling wine (with purchase while supplies last) and featuring drink specials on wine and cocktails all night (a punch is rumored). And we still have some of yesterday’s hopalicious guest tap, Moylan’s Hopsickle! So please come out and help us celebrate our first birthday! Most importantly we’d like to offer a big thank you to all of our loyal supporters and our wonderful neighbors.”
I had the pleasure of trying my first Fat Tire back in June at the Black Squirrel located at 2427 18th Street NW and I gotta say I was pretty impressed. So good news for fellow Fat Tire fans – from an email:
“There’s been such a huge demand for us to bring Fat Tire Amber Ale from New Belgium Brewery back, that we’ve gotten enough to last most of August. Therefore we’ve named August as Fat Tire Month. Along with Fat Tire, we also have these other beers from New Belgium Brewery: Mothership Wit, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, and Ranger IPA. We’ve also brought back the brie-stuffed bison burger.”
Has anyone tried the bison burger?
Photo by PoPville flickr user Scenic Artisan
Last week I broke the news that Rustik Tavern would be moving into Baraki’s proposed space at the corner of 1st and T St, NW. There was a small open house this past weekend and the folks who stopped by, during the artwalk on 1st (more on that later), could hardly contain their enthusiasm. Indeed the space does look super promising. Including the famed wood burning oven:
I understand that there are still some permits that need to be acquired but hopefully folks will be eating pizza and drinking draft beer in Bloomingdale before the summer ends. I’m told literally hundreds of folks stopped by to check out the space. For those who stopped by what’d you think of the initial feel?
All in all this was a pretty quick turn around since we learned Polly’s closed at 1342 U St NW back in Feb. I briefly spoke with one of the owners, Kurt, who said the finishing touches were being completed on the menu. I’ll be sure to update when it becomes available online. The layout looks exactly the same as it did when it was Polly’s.
I think the layout is pretty classic (the bar is to my back in this photo) but hopefully the menu will be a vast improvement from Polly’s dying days. I’m eager to try one of the burgers which is supposed to be a specialty of the new Desperados. If anyone tries one out be sure to let us know what you think.
Thanks to all who sent in word about the new signage. For the record, I’m glad they kept the fence:
Dickson Wine Bar is located at 903 U St, NW. There were lots of fans when we judged them a few months ago. They’ve applied for a 26 seat summer garden. Sounds like it’ll be a nice addition.