1648 North Capitol Street, NW at R Street
It’s been a while since we spoke about Pub and the People coming to the corner of R and North Capitol St, NW. I peeked in the window and was pyched to see the bar being built out. If all goes well I’m told they should open in early February. Can’t wait!
For those not familiar you can read some background here.
Photo by PoPville flickr user John Cochran
“Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) is thrilled to announce the return of Winter Restaurant Week – the seasonal, week-long celebration of area restaurants featuring specially priced menus from some of the most acclaimed dining destinations in the DMV. From Monday, January 19 – Sunday, January 25, over 230 restaurants will offer three-course prix fixe dinner ($35.15) and/or three-course prix fixe lunch ($20.15) menus. Perfect for spending time with family and friends to kick off the New Year, Winter Restaurant Week offers myriad exciting dining destinations and menu options for everyone to enjoy, all at an affordable price.
For more details on Winter Restaurant Week participants, or to make reservations visit www.ramw.org/restaurantweek.”
“Come celebrate the holidays at Taylor Gourmet
ALL Regular size hoagies just $6! All day, everyday for the 12 Days of Hoagies:
December 12th – 24th.”
You can see their menu (and locations) here.
Photo courtesy Andrene’s
From an email:
“Andrene’s Caribbean & Soul Food Brings Dine-In to Kennedy Street
Andrene’s Caribbean & Soul Food [warning music plays on website], a neighborhood favorite on Kennedy Street NW, has removed its plexiglass and will reopen with a new interior and dine-in seating on Friday, December 12 from 2-9pm. Andrene’s Grand Reopening will feature a live DJ, free samples, and 10% of the day’s profit will be donated to So Others Might Eat.
Andrene Finn’s generous portions of jerk, stewed chicken, oxtail, goat, plantains, wings and ribs draw customers to stop in from all over the city. Now, her customers are welcome to stay a bit longer. Andrene is a resident in the neighborhood, and knows many customers by name. The plexiglass was already in place when she took over the location at 308 Kennedy Street NW in 2006. Now there are bar seats facing the street, four tables for two, a is fully ADA accessible entrance and bathroom. This feature was important to Andrene, a social worker by day serving DC’s aging community.
Andrene decided to transform her businesses with encouragement and free advise from neighbors and fellow members of the Kennedy Street Development Association (KSDA), including a construction manager, interior designer, and an architect. KSDA works with business owners, property owners, and city agencies to make Kennedy Street a better place for everyone around the street.”
Previous plexiglass:
1730 Connecticut Ave, NW
Thanks to a reader for sending word. Obviously My Way has some sorta New York connection but anyone hear any other details?
A peek in the window reveals buildout has started but they still have a ways to go:
Updates as they get closer to opening.
Looking north
3347 M Street, NW prior to renovation
Thanks to a reader for sending word that Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop opens their Georgetown location on Monday. Capriotti’s opened their first DC location at 1800 M Street, NW in Nov. 2013. You can see their menu here.
717 6th Street, NW
“Dear PoPville,
I was running past The Bulletin building in Chinatown and saw permits up in the windows.
The permitting record makes clear the renovations are for a restaurant “with 66 seats on the second floor, 57 seats on the third floor, 63 seats on the fourth floor, for a total of 186 seats and a maximum occupancy of 311 persons.”
Would love to know more about what they’ve got planned.”
Anyone hear who’s coming to the former Muse Lounge space?
Just when it was looking good why did I have to say – Let the saga continue! A jinx waiting to happen. Thanks to @WeinDC for the update:
“What the…will we ever have a #rays”
@iankapuza also sends:
“@PoPville I guess this explains the delay for @Rayshellburger in Mt Vernon Square [451 K St, NW]”
Thanks to @lafilardo for tweeting us this morning:
“@PoPville grilled cheese (I think) coming to 1901 L Street”
Back in August we learned that the former Energy Kitchen space would become a Melt Shop. Their website says:
FOOD THAT REMINDS YOU OF COMFORTABLE TIMES. EASIER TIMES. YUMMIER TIMES. TIMES WHEN HOME COOKING WAS THE ONLY KIND OF COOKING. FOR US, THAT FOOD IS GRILLED SANDWICHES. AND TATER TOTS. AND MILKSHAKES. MMMMILKSHAKES.
WITH MELT SHOP, WE SET OUT TO MAKE THE BEST DAMN SANDWICH ON THE PLANET. PERIOD. BETTER THAN OUR MOM’S (SORRY, MOM). BETTER THAN YOUR MOM’S. IT’S THE COMFORT FOOD YOU LOVE, BUT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER HAD IT BEFORE. NEXT LEVEL STUFF, MADE FROM ONLY THE BEST ARTISANAL INGREDIENTS, FRESH-BAKED BREAD EVERY DAY AND THE BEST CHEESE A MAN CAN FIND.
WE KNOW BECAUSE WE LOOKED REALLY HARD. IT’S ALL FROM SCRATCH, ALL THE TIME. SO YOU CAN TAKE COMFORT IN KNOWING THAT WE ARE NEVER COMFORTABLE, UNTIL YOUR SANDWICH IS.
Check out their NYC menus here.
Updates when they get closer to opening.
entrance on L Street next door to Sweetgreen – view looking east toward 19th Street
1309 5th Street, NE
From a press release:
“Great news for BBQ fans, on Thursday, December 11, Chef Andrew Evans will bring The BBQ Joint to Union Market – the vibrant district in Northeast DC. The ‘cue master will serve his signature brand of low and slow barbecue that has already earned a devoted following at his two BBQ Joint restaurants in Easton and Pasadena, Maryland.
“Bringing the BBQ Joint to the District was a natural,” says Evans. “This is a town that really cares about handcrafted, flavorful food and celebrates the effort that goes into creating it.”
Photo courtesy BBQ Joint
The menu will feature ribs, pork butt and brisket, along with mouth-watering sides like collard greens, baked beans and cornbread. Evans will also treat Washingtonians to smoked Sriracha and beer sausage, which will be sold exclusively at Union Market. Other special offerings will showcase Chef Evans’ passion for rubbing down meats and dialing them in with smokers, to get just the right bark, juiciness and smoke flavor to pluck anyone’s primal caveman chord.
Photo courtesy BBQ Joint
Evans trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has been recognized as one of the country’ s leading fine dining chefs for his previous work at The Inn at Easton. He has graced the cover of The Washingtonian, been featured in The New York Times’ food section, earned three-stars from The Washington Post and has recently appeared on The Food Network going head-to-head with Bobby Flay on new, hit television show, “Beat Bobby Flay.”
Evans pivoted from fine dining to BBQ after being asked to judge the Jack Daniels BBQ competition a decade ago. “I was blown away by intricacies that went into competition-level BBQ,” Evans says. “I became obsessed.” Since then, he has devoted himself to mastering the art of the ‘cue, by fine tuning his own rubs and sauces, experimenting endlessly with the variables of smoke and temperature and sourcing the highest quality meats.
Photo courtesy BBQ Joint
The result is competition-worthy barbecue that borrows the best traditions from Texas to Kansas City, while revealing layers of flavor that honor Evans’ culinary training.
“Great BBQ is all about the subtle details,” explains Evans. He likens the BBQ process to the creation of wine stating, “BBQ is like a great wine; it’s so simple but complex and difficult to master.” Therein lies the challenge – balancing the endless changing variables to ultimately create something that is both magical and ethereal.
“It’s rare for people who don’t follow the competition circuit to have access to this level of barbecue,” he says. “I wanted to make it available to everyone because I want to share my passion with people—it’s the chef in me, I guess.”
Starting December 11, the BBQ Joint at Union Market will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The BBQ Joint will offer take-out, as well as catering for larger events in and around the DC area.”