You can’t top this:
NoMa (Near Northeast)
From the side of the Oasis Market in NoMa. Has held up strong from when it was first painted in Aug. 2012.
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.”
We’ve admired the building above before but the one across the street (pictured below) is pretty sweet too:
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1146 3rd Street, NE
From Tim Spangler, senior vice president of Retail for REI:
“We love the DC area and we are delighted there’s excitement about talk that we’re looking at Uline. We have been talking with the developer, but need to clarify that we have not finalized the decision. We need the perfect location to create a unique and inspiring space for our members and the community, so we will let you know when we have more details to share.”
From Union Kitchen:
“The District gets its first local craft chocolate factory! Just in time for the holidays Undone Chocolate launches a small batch bean to bar craft chocolate company in Washington DC. Housed in Union Kitchen, an innovative food business incubator in Northeast DC, the Undone Chocolate factory roasts and grinds organic dark chocolate from cocoa beans sourced directly from small producers in Central & South America, and the Caribbean. By working with directly-sourced cocoa beans Undone Chocolate supports local economies and sustainable agricultural practices.
Cofounder Adam Kavalier received his PhD in plant science and went on to pursue research in cancer pharmacology at Cornell. While studying plant biology, Adam began experimenting with Cacao (the source of chocolate), he started making chocolate and scientifically analyzed his batches in the laboratory. Cofounder Kristen Kavalier has worked for startups in education and technology and is helping to take Undone Chocolate to the next level. Together, this husband and wife team are putting DC chocolate on the map!
As the District’s FIRST craft chocolate makers, they are excited to teach the local community about how chocolate is made and where it comes from. They will be teaching classes on how to make chocolate from scratch and organizing tasting events, including pairings with wine and cheese, all starting this winter. (more…)
A reader sends the photo above and writes:
“not sure exactly what is going on but the Harris Teeter is closed for health code violations. Considering I eat there for lunch 85% of the time, I was understandably very surprised and a little grossed out”
Earlier @jwetz also tweeted us:
“NoMa Harris Teeter has been closed for food code violations. Might need alt plans for groceries tonight”
Rendering via Douglas Development
Everyone time we talk about dream retail tenants – REI always comes up. Huge news tweeted by @20002ist last night:
“Big news for NoMa: @douglasdevdc stated tonight at @6c_pze they will soon sign deal to bring flagship REI store to Uline Arena on M St NE.”
Douglas Development’s website says:
“Uline Arena is an exciting office/retail re-development in the burgeoning NoMa neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The 2.5 acre site is located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue NE, M Street NE and 3rd Street NE, with Congress Street NE dying into the property. The property is currently occupied by the Arena building (historic), the Ice House building (historic), and two other commercial buildings, most used as parking structures. The Arena building, best known for being the venue for the first American concert given by The Beatles, is also architecturally significant due to its concrete barrel vault roof and structural concrete arches. The Ice House building is the original ice manufacturing facility which provided ice for the skating rink within the Arena building. It was there where Mr. Uline created his patented equipment which became so successful that the Arena building became necessary.
The currently single-story Arena building will be converted to a single level of retail below three levels of office space. The Ice House building will have additional ground level retail space with a portion of the first level being dedicated to office. Above this will be two additional levels of office space. This will require additional space added to the Ice House building, which will occur in a sleek new glass structure extending above the original roof line of the Icehouse. Additionally, a new 168-space, 4-level parking garage will be constructed on the southeast corner of the site.”
Well this could be awesome. We’ve spoken a lot about a possible Eataly – but a huge Latin Market from Chef Jose Garces (Rural Society) sounds equally promising. From Washington Business Journal:
“Union Market developer Edens has a signed lease for a 20,000-square-foot Latin market, according to a letter submitted to the D.C. Zoning Commission last month. We’re hearing the market will be a new concept from Philadelphia-based chef Jose Garces that will offer a range of Latin groceries and prepared foods.”
From MPD:
“The Metropolitan Police Department seeks the public’s assistance in identifying five persons of interest in reference to a Robbery–F&V which occurred in the Unit block of L Street, NE, on November 8, 2014 at approximately 2:45 AM. The subjects were captured by nearby surveillance cameras.
Anyone who can identify these individuals or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.”