1336 H Street, NE
More big news for H Street – a liquor license application posted outside 1336 H Street, NE (across from Rock and Roll Hotel) says Sin Bin Sports Bar & Restaurant is coming:
“Restaurant serving an array of appetizers entrees, burgers and sandwiches with seats for 200 patrons. Total occupancy load of 400. Entertainment endorsement to include dancing and cover charge and summer garden with 50 seats.”
Updates as construction progresses.
1410 U Street, NW
Last week we noted that DC Noodles was close to reopening on U street. Monday is the day:
More photos after the jump including a few shots inside showing what they replaced the mural with (more…)
1837 1st Street, NW
“Dear PoPville,
Do you know what the status of the Tapas place [Costa Brava] is that is supposed to go up on 1st right next to Rustik? It has basically looked exactly like this for months with no apparent work being done. Any idea what’s going on?”
Looks like they were having some permitting problems. From Costa Brava’s facebook page on November 6th:
“Working hard on permits. Should be soon. Fingers crossed.”
433 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Thanks to a reader for sending the new signage up at the Le Pain Quotidien coming to Mt. Vernon Square.
Jeremy previously wrote about Remembering Larry Byrd.
I sort of knew the day would come, but that didn’t make it any less disappointing. Dino Italian restaurant in Cleveland Park is closing. (We have learned a new iteration of the restaurant will open in Shaw).
The news came in a Tuesday email from Dean Gold, the restaurant’s owner/proprietor/comedian-in-chief. The closing date hasn’t been set but will be “in a matter of weeks,” according to the email.
The reason? “We simply are not doing the kind of business necessary to justify keeping our doors open,” Gold wrote.
But who cares, right? Restaurants open and close almost every day in D.C. Some restaurants open, bringing you the “bold flavors of Southeast Asia” or a “modern, refined take on the classic New York delicatessen” or some other line written in culinary P.R.-speak. And others close, because a concept wasn’t working out or a restaurant group wanted to shift their resources elsewhere.
But Dino’s, as it was called, mattered. It was a neighborhood spot in a city that has less and less of them. It had a menu that was interesting, mouth-watering and reasonably priced in a city where such a thing is becoming almost extinct.
Heck, the fact that so many people associated the restaurant with one person says a lot about Dino’s. How often do you walk into a restaurant in D.C. and know immediately who owns, runs and put his blood, sweat and tears into it? Dean Gold was that kind of owner. He’s also the kind of person who sources his menu from local farms not because it sounds good but because he believes it’s the right thing to do.
(more…)
1800 M Street, NW
Thanks to a reader for sending:
“Ran into biden today at Capriotti’s grand opening.”
705 6th Street, NW
From a press release:
“Daikaya Partners Daisuke Utagawa, Yama Jewayni and Executive Chef/Partner Katsuya Fukushima are pleased to announce the appointment of Lukas Smith as the new beverage director for their award-winning restaurant in the district’s Chinatown neighborhood, steps away from the Verizon Center. Smith brings to his new position experience gained through travel and his work in Washington restaurants, plus time in the wine and beer trade. He spent about 15 of those years crafting libations – including his grandmother’s recipe for Jack Daniel’s highballs, a Smith specialty.
Smith, 35, hails from Lookout Mountain, a landmark that towers over the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and runs down through Northwest Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia at Athens to earn his degree in Anthropology and Comparative Literature. Then from 2001 to 2002, he continued his education under a fellowship at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, where he earned the departmental Thesis Prize en route to a Master’s Degree in Nationalism Studies. Afterwards he returned to Athens to study and teach, which he did for three years while earning a second Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature in 2007. Smith then moved to the nation’s capital in 2008 and began his career working in Washington restaurants including The Gibson and Marvin.
In 2011, Smith became the regional marketing manager for Pabst Brewing Company. Then in 2012, he continued to get well-deserved recognition working at popular restaurants like Cafe Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar. He has been a member of the Daikaya team since its opening working on the beverage program, and crafted several of the restaurant’s most popular cocktail recipes. Guests can anticipate Smith’s menu to be highly innovative and complementary to the restaurant’s innovative Japanese fare. One of his favorite cocktails at Daikaya is the Thieving Magpie, Towari Soba Buckwheat Shochu, Cappelletti Aperitivo, flavored with bitter citrus, and Cocchi Americano Rosa, a roseate cousin of sweet vermouth. This new must-try libation is the perfect complement to Daikaya’s Sapporo-style ramen. The cocktail is served in a mason jar to facilitate ease and safety of service in the bustling close quarters of the ramen shop, and is available exclusively during dinner service for $10.
“The Thieving Magpie is a variation of the classic Negroni cocktail designed especially to marry with the savory flavors of Daikaya’s Sapporo-style ramen,” Smith says. “The cocktail deploys sweetness to balance ramen’s salinity, and bitterness to accentuate its oxidized properties. It is an assertive aromatic complement of citrus and earth to complicate our ramen’s comfortingly warm fragrance.”
In addition, guests can look forward to The Tone and Timbre Old Fashioned, Hibiki 12 Japanese Whisky, Beniotome Sesame Shochu, House “Resonance Bitters,” and lemon peel; The Boris Becher, a refreshing sour cocktail perfect for the colder weather made with Absolut Elyx Single Estate Vodka, Becherovka, Lemon juice, and a drop of Tabasco to highlight Becherovka’s cinnamon spice; Bob Loblaw’s Lob Loy, which highlights the honeyed core of Yamazaki 12, lightened by Dolin Rouge Vermouth and intensified by the bitter elements of Punt e Mes; The Hot Mulled Saké, house Gekkeikan Saké, pomegranate juice, charred spices, and citrus peel, and The Big Kitty cocktail – a riff on the classic Kitty Highball – made with Lambrusco (a bittersweet sparkling red wine), and a house ginger beer tailored to curb the wine’s natural sweetness. The cocktails range in price from $8 to $16, however The Hot Mulled Saké and The Big Kitty cocktail are reduced to $6 during happy hour, which runs Monday through Friday, from 5 PM to 7 PM. Daikaya will also be offering a hot version of all of the whiskey-based drinks on the menu.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user NCinDC
From a press release:
“The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (Board) voted today to renew the East Dupont Circle Moratorium for a three-year period with significant modifications. The decision is effective immediately on an emergency basis and is subject to a 30-day public comment period in addition to final approval from the District of Columbia Council.
The Board’s decision was consistent with recommendations made by Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B. Modifications to the moratorium include lifting the licensing cap on restaurants, multipurpose facilities and off-premise retailers in the neighborhood. The moratorium will continue to:
· Allow the issuance of two licenses to taverns;
· Prohibit the licensing of any nightclubs; and
· Exempt hotels from the restrictions.
The East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone will continue to extend approximately 600 feet in all directions from the intersection of 17th and Q streets, NW.
In addition to ANC 2B’s proposal, the Board also considered recommendations from the Dupont Circle Citizens Association and public comment received at a hearing on Thursday, Oct. 24. The moratorium was extended 120 days on an emergency basis after it expired on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Complete details of the Board’s decision can be reviewed in the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration’s Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking.
Members of the public can submit public comment on the Board’s decision for a 30-day period after the Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking is posted to the D.C. Register. Comments received will be reviewed by the Board. In order for the rulemaking to be adopted on a permanent basis, it would need to be approved by the District of Columbia Council.”
84 T Street, NW (1st and T St just off Rhode Island Ave)
Rustik has applied for some later hours at the corner of 1st and T St, NW. A liquor license amendment says the current hours are Sunday through Thursday 11 am – 12 am, Friday and Saturday 11 am – 1am and the patio hours are Sunday through Thursday 11 am – 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am – 11 pm.
They are hoping to extend those general hours to Sunday through Thursday 10 am – 1 am, Thursday and Friday 10 am – 2 am and the patio hours to Sunday through Thursday 10 am – 11 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am -12 am.
822 H St, NE (though actually located on 9th Street)
In early Oct. we noted Chupacabra’s new mural. Now they’ve got the new awning up. When the new fencing goes is it should look pretty good.
