H Street NE

This edition of Eating Around Town was written by Abbey Becker. Abbey previously wrote about Table.

I like McDonald’s French fries–they’re thin, crispy, salty, and cheap. But when I dine at a restaurant that serves French food, I do not expect to be served fries that could have been brought over from the nearest golden arches.

Unfortunately, this meant Le Grenier (502 H Street NE) and I were not going to be on good terms.

But let’s talk about the good parts. I got there earlier than my 7:00 dinner reservation on a Tuesday night, so I took a seat at the bar to wait for my friend. Happy hour runs from 5 to 7 every weekday at the bar, and you can get half off wines and cheeses. The bartender was incredibly friendly and helpful; I told him I didn’t know much about white wine, but that I was interested in something that wasn’t sweet. He had me try a Chardonnay, which I didn’t like, then gave me a sample of another that I liked better. When I had questions about some of the cheeses, he knew what each tasted like, how each was made, and which would go best with the glass of wine I chose. Possibly the best part was that the three cheeses (served with sliced green apples, a sliced strawberry, some nuts, and a lightly dressed mixed green salad) and my glass of wine cost $10.

Two women next to me ordered the three-cheese and three-meat plate, and when it arrived with pate as one of the meat selections, one of the diners wrinkled her nose and said she really didn’t like pate. The bartender offered to swap it out for something she’d like better, like prosciutto. That’s service! (more…)

Grace Deli, 701 H Street, NE

From MPD:

Steven Williams, 47, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for the June 2012 slaying of Hae Soon Lim, the owner of a Northeast Washington delicatessen, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Williams pled guilty to a charge of second-degree murder while armed in April 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Morin. Upon completion of his prison term, Williams will be placed on five years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence, Ms. Lim, 64, was found by police on June 14, 2012, at about 6:15 a.m., on the floor of her delicatessen, Grace’s Deli, in the 700 block of H Street NE. Her vehicle was found parked directly outside. An autopsy determined that Ms. Lim died from a single gunshot wound that entered through the back of her neck.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has a crime surveillance camera located a block away from the delicatessen at 8th and H Streets NE. A review of the video from the camera showed that a vehicle consistent with the appearance of the vehicle belonging to Ms. Lim pulled up and parked in front of the deli at about 5:25 a.m. on June 14, 2012. The video also shows a single person, believed to be the victim, leaving the vehicle and walking toward the restaurant.

The video then shows, moments later, a single person crossing H Street rapidly on foot, moving toward the front entrance of the restaurant, where that person then proceeds to interact in close proximity with the person believed to be Ms. Lim. (more…)