Friday Question of the Day

Friday Question of the Day – Where is the Most Romantic Dinner Spot in Town?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Madame Meow

Dear PoPville,

My sweetie and I are eloping in a couple of weeks at the DC courthouse, and I’m thinking I’d like to have a romantic dinner, just the two of us, a couple of days before. What are some of the most lovely, quiet settings for a special date night in DC? Extra points for places with some strong vegetarian entrees.

It’s pricey but since this is a very special occasion, I’m voting Blue Duck Tavern. On the cheaper side, I’ve yet to find a place I love as much as the patio of Room 11 (3234 11 St. NW). Where’s your favorite romantic date night spot in town?

Friday Question of the Day – Should DC’s Building Height Limits Be Lifted? (Take Two)

By Prince Of Petworth

Yesterday the Washington Post published a story titled Gray, Issa consider relaxing D.C. building height limits:

Issa, Gray and Norton said they primarily envision minor modifications to the height restrictions, perhaps an additional story onto some projects. But even a small change could make District buildings sleeker, raise ceiling heights and provide more opportunity for green space, architects said.

Issa said he’s also exploring whether the District should have greater flexibility to consider even taller buildings in areas away from downtown, a change that could one day remake parts of Northeast and Southeast and help the city absorb new residents and businesses.

Under the Height Act, a building on a commercial street can not exceed 20 feet greater than the width of the facing street, to a maximum of 130 feet. There is an exception on Pennsylvania Avenue between 1st and 15th streets NW, where buildings can rise to 160 feet.

Back in Jan. 2009 after polling PoPville about this 62% said it should not be lifted and 38% should be lifted. I’m wondering if folks still feel the same way? If you think they should be lifted – should there be any limits at all? If so, what should the new limit be? Do you think the restrictions should only be limited to downtown?


Friday Question of the Day – Do You/Your Guests Take Off Your Shoes When You Enter Your Home? (reader request)

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

A reader sends in this question after reading a discussion on Houzz:

In places like Japan, Austria and Sweden, entering a house with shoes on is a rarity. But those living outside of these countries know that not all guests are familiar with or honor the shoes-off policy.

It’s a tough house rule to implement because on one hand, as the host, it should really be your house, your rules. But on the other hand, guests should be made to feel as comfortable as possible — and we all know that not everyone is comfortable going shoeless.

I think this is an awesome question because I live in a split house – my wife always takes off her shoes and I never do. But for those who do take off their shoes before entering their home – do you have your guests take off their shoes as well?


Friday Question of the Day – Should Rock Creek Parkway be Rerouted?

By Prince Of Petworth

Dear PoPville,

I am interested in the city and region getting better use out of their waterfront assets. The city is slowly starting with improvements in Georgetown, Navy Yard, and SW Waterfront, but I think there is more they can do. To help, I think the city should to reroute the Rock Creek Parkway from in front of the Kennedy Center onto existing roads. The existing roads in the area could handle the traffic with a few fairly simple upgrades to the intersections. Then the area north of the Lincoln Memorial and West of the Kennedy Center currently used by Rock Creek Parkway could be converted into parkland for everyone to enjoy. The area under the Kennedy Center overhang could even be used for some creative recreation or retail. I believe this would actually simplify traffic by removing some of the web of confusing roads in this area. I’ve attached a simplified picture showing how the road could be rerouted (pretty straightforward).

I know that there are people that will complain that this cuts off the Kennedy Center even more, but the fact is that Kennedy Center is already cut off. This proposal would do nothing to make that better or worse. Covering the road east of the Kennedy Center to integrate it better with Foggy Bottom could be a longer term goal, but it is expensive and would not happen for may years. This proposal could be done relatively simply and relatively quickly.

Actually, the National Park Service is already working on a plan:

Kennedy Center/Potomac River Pedestrian Access Improvement Project. Under this proposal, FHWA would provide pedestrian access between the Kennedy Center River Terrace and the Potomac Riverfront in Washington, DC; providing a direct link between the Kennedy Center and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Trail, which is administered by the NPS. The purpose of the project is to improve access between the Kennedy Center River Terrace to the Potomac Riverfront. The action is needed because physical barriers and safety concerns currently discourage pedestrian traffic between these two resources.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the NPS and FHWA are preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to identify alternatives and assess the potential impacts of the proposal. Concurrently, the agencies will conduct consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

So for the FQotD – do you think this will actually happen? If so, when do you think it’ll actually be implemented? Do you think there are other “waterfront assets” that should be improved upon?

Friday Question of the Day – Where is your favorite bar/restaurant patio or roofdeck?

By Prince Of Petworth

With such beautiful weather and new bars and restaurants popping up every week I gotta ask about outdoor dining and drinking. Back in July 2008 we touched upon some good roof decks in the city but we are way past due for an update.

I’m voting Red Derby’s roof deck and Room 11’s patio. But I also love waterfront areas so I have to put in a vote for Cantina Marina at the SW Waterfront and Tony and Joes in Georgetown (hopefully the Georgetown waterfront dining areas damaged by the floods will get fixed soon.) I’m also super eager to see how the Fairgrounds taking over the old bullpen bars by Nats Park turns out. Of course I also like the veranda at Veranda and I think the roof deck coming to the Brixton is gonna be awesome. Hmm, I guess this is a tougher question than I thought.

Nevertheless, for this week’s FQotD – Where is your favorite roof deck and/or patio in the city? Any new(ish) bars/restaurants have a particularly good outdoor space? Any other ones you think are particularly promising?

Friday Question of the Day – What Upcoming Concert are You Most Looking Forward to Seeing?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong

With the announcement of this year’s Sweetlife Festival and RadioHead coming to town June 3rd – let’s talk music for this week’s Friday Question of the Day. What concert are you most looking forward to seeing this spring/summer? Any other music festivals on your radar? Any lesser known bands that are supposed to be good live?

Friday Question of the Day – What are you most looking forward to with the warm weather?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

It’s been a rough week with crime and accidents so I need a fun Friday Question of the Day. Not to mention the weather was so unbelievably beautiful yesterday. So it got me thinking about what I’m most looking forward to with the coming warm weather:

Cherry blossoms and other flowers blooming around town. (Park Service announced peek cherry blossom blooms for between March 24 and March 31)

Outdoor/roof deck dining and drinking. (It’s great to have Standard back at 14th and S St, NW)

And, finally, I can’t wait to go hit the beach!

For today’s FQotD – what are you most looking forward to doing with the coming warm weather?

Friday Question of the Day – Will Howard Theatre’s Success Hurt the Lincoln Theatre?

By Prince Of Petworth

A reader asks via the @PoPville twitter feed:

“ Howard theatre sounds great. But what about the failing Lincoln? Seems they will be even worse off now with the ‘competition’.”

I think that’s a really interesting question – do you think (if it is one) Howard Theatre’s (6th and T St, NW) success will hurt the relatively nearby Lincoln Theatre at 1215 U St, NW. Is this even more reason for the Lincoln Theatre to focus on movies? Or do you think the city, especially with all the new development/revitalization planned for the area, is big enough to support two historic theatres in Shaw/U Street?

Friday Question of the Day – At What Point, if any, Do You Say: “I’ve Had Enough, I’m Moving?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user McGhee Street Photography

This has been a rough week with numerous reports of muggings around town. But something else I read from the MPD-5D listserv really got me thinking about our quality of life. Here’s an excerpt:

Counting the stolen plants, stolen stepping stones, destroyed planter pots, bashed in garage door, and 3 occurrences of spray-painted graffiti, this is the 12th time our Eckington [Ed. Note: specific address removed and this situation could apply to many of the neighborhoods we live in.] property has been vandalized or robbed in the two years and three months since we moved into it. Each incident on its own may seem somewhat insignificant and maybe we should just be happy that we haven’t been mugged at gunpoint yet, but when you look at the combined losses and expenses it is very troublesome. It makes me angry, as well as discouraged.

I know we all have different philosophies/thresholds but I’m curious what would you do if you faced this exact situation. Assuming you are renting or are could sell your property without much of a loss – would you move? Would you set an arbitrary time frame, like, “if it doesn’t stop or get better in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years etc. I’m moving”?

Would your calculations change if you were mugged at gunpoint?

Like I said, we all have different ways of reacting and we may not know how we would react unless we actually experienced them but for today’s Friday Question of the Day – what would you/do you think you would do if you were in the same situation as the OP? Would you ever move to a different neighborhood/city if your quality of life degraded or didn’t improve like you thought it would?

Friday Question of the Day – What’s Your Favorite Radio Station?

By Prince Of Petworth


4000 Brandywine St NW in Tenleytown

Late last week @NeibsWBJ tweeted:

“WAMU moving to 4401 Connecticut Ave., NW…”

After getting some photos, I was writing up a post and it occurred to me that (selfishly) this would make for a great Friday Question of the Day. Since I work alone, I have the radio on all day. Though, my favorite show is actually what I call the Canadian show – As it Happens which goes on at 11pm. Anyway, during the day I find that I listen to WAMU for as long as I can before I burn out then I listen to ESPN radio for as long as I can before I burn out. I pepper in 99 Luftballons a few times and then I start the cycle over again.

With internet radio so easy these days, I realize I’m being ridiculous. So the Friday Question of the Day is an easy one – What’s your favorite radio station? I used to love The Current, 89.3, from Minnesota Public Radio.

What’s your favorite – it can be music, news, talk, sports or anything that I can find either on the radio or online?


4401 Connecticut Ave., NW in Van Ness

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