Pleasant Plains

Dear PoPville – Ma-Ma’s Southern Cuisine

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I recently went to Ma-Ma’s Southern Cuisine with my girlfriend and had a great experience.

Ma-Ma, herself, served us and treated us to some lemonade on the house. I had the broiled “Sadie Mae”, a tender and flavorful trout filet with a wonderful side of greens and potato salad. My girlfriend had the “Irving”, named after the street, presumably. This dish included tender short ribs with bbq sauce, sauteed spinach and macaroni and cheese. Ma-Ma was so nice. One thing she warned us about is that we may want to call ahead to make sure certain dishes are available. I originally wanted the “Jim Graham” but she had sold out by the time we arrived. There’s also karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. I definitely recommend Ma-Ma’s Southern Cuisine to all of the readers.”

Great to hear a good review here. Ma Ma’s Southern Cuisine is located at 3118 Georgia Ave, NW?

Any other fans?

Good Deal or Not? “ample room for pets” edition (reader request)

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 735 Kenyon St, NW:


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The flier says:

“Newly updated 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath rowhouse with hardwood floors throughout, brand new open kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, exposed brick, central heat and air, balcony off the master bedroom. Deep landscaped backyard. Great deck, lawn, ample room for pets, gardening, parking, and entertaining. Close to 11th St, Wonderland, RedRocks, Room 11, METRO. WalkScore 92.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

What do you think of the reno itself? Does $499,000 sound right for this 3 bed/1.5 bath?

New Mexican Restaurant Coming to old Philadelphia Water Ice Factory at 2620 Georgia Ave NW

By Prince Of Petworth

On top the new taqueria coming to 11th and Lamont St, NW in Columbia Heights as well as the recently opened El Centro in Logan Circle comes news of another new Mexican spot for Georgia Ave, NW.

Back in June ’10 we learned that Philadelphia Water Ice Factory had closed at 2620 Georgia Ave, NW. I’m psyched to see a replacement is finally in the works. According to a recent liquor license application a new restaurant called Mama Chuy DC will be:

“Full-service Mexican Restaurant with carry-out and delivery service. No Live Entertainment. Summer Garden with 16. Seating capacity is 16. Total occupancy is 32.”

It sounds like it’ll be a bit small but if the food is good – potentially great news for this long vacant space.

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc: 759 Harvard St NW

By Prince Of Petworth

Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is the Principal Broker (DC) for Urban Pace, LLC. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 759 Harvard St NW
Legal Subdivision: Columbia Heights
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Columbia Heights
Original List Price: $349,900.
List Price at Contract: $349,900.
List Date: 02/07/2011
Days on Market: 9
Settled Sales Price: $350,000.
Settlement Date: 03/14/2011
Seller Subsidy: $5000.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original Good Deal or Not post is: here.

The listing can be seen: here. To see pics, open the listing link, click on the listing then scroll through from the main pic.

This home is located between Sherman Ave NW and Georgia Ave NW on Harvard St NW, a primary eastbound route connecting NW DC to the major medical centers above the McMillan Reservoir. Built during the early 20th century (DC public records date these properties in the 1908-1913 range), these modest brick rowhomes typically have two to three bedrooms and relatively small lot sizes of 800 to 1000 square feet. Lots on the even side of the street are slightly larger than the odd numbered homes. Most homes on this block do not have offstreet parking.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Shooting/Homicide in the 700 Block of Columbia Rd, NW Mon. Night

By Prince Of Petworth


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From MPD around 11:30pm Mon. night:

“The Third District is working a shooting in the 700 block of Columbia Road NW.”

I’m told that there was

“a male suffering from a fatal gunshot…we have no identification on this male subject.. our homicide branch is investigating and we will need the public’s assistance on any information that they can forward to us”

If anyone has any info at all please contact the Metropolitan Police Department on 202-727-9099 or 888919CRIME or text at 50411.

Dear PoP – HUGE fire on the corner of Columbia Rd. & Georgia Ave. NW

By Prince Of Petworth


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The following email was sent at 2am:

“Dear PoP,

Smoke outside is so bad that I couldn’t even walk out my front door to take a picture. I actually smelled the smoke inside my house and thought my house had caught fire. When I determined my house wasn’t on fire, I walked out back to see if one of my neighbors needed help. There were all these rats running down the alley and black smoke billowing around. Then I went to the front of my house and could see that there is a fire truck parked at the corner of Georgia Ave & Columbia Rd. NW. The police and ambulance have all of Georgia Ave between Columbia and Irving blocked off.

It’s been this way for about an hour. Just from walking outside briefly, my clothes reek of smoke. It’s right by that new beautiful park that was built at the end of last summer.”

Fortunately no injuries were reported and @dcfireems wrote:

“120am – 3001 Georgia Av NW – building fire – 2 sty vacant bldg – heavy fire 2 flrs upon arrival”

Normally when these huge fires occur – photos are the most powerful message. However in this case, I found the above sentence – “There were all these rats running down the alley and black smoke billowing around.” evoked an equally powerful image.

Wed. Afternoon Rental Option – Columbia Heights/Pleasant Plains

By Prince Of Petworth

This rental is located at harvard st. NW at sherman ave. NW:


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The Craigslist ad says:

“Available May 1: this is a recently-renovated (within the past 18 months) studio apartment in a Columbia Heights rowhouse. It is a GREAT DEAL for your own, private studio in DC.

It has new tile bath and kitchen (granite countertops in both). Carpeted. Very clean.

There is laundry in-house (adjacent to the room), cable TV, and high-speed internet+wifi. Power and gas are paid separately, split with all tenants in the house (though rarely exceeds about $75). Pet deposit is $250 + $50/mo (no dogs though).

The neighborhood is great: it is ~3 blocks to the Columbia Heights metro, “DC USA” shopping mall (with Target, Best Buy, etc.), 11th street bars and restaurants (such as Wonderland, Meridian Pint). You can also walk (~1 mile or less) to Adams Morgan, U Street, and the 930 club.

Also, within a two blocks are bus lines that take you to downtown, Adams Morgan, Dupont, Potomac Park, Van Ness, Cleveland Park and Tenleytown. (Buses 70, 71, 79, 64, H1, H2, H3, H4, H8).

The only drawback to the apartment is there is a low ceiling (6’6″) with a duct that comes down the middle to about 6′, so it will be most comfortable for someone below that height.

One year lease will get you the studio, I MAY be willing to work with shorter-term lease, but that is not preferred. Also, if there is more than one adult tenant, there is a $300 additional monthly fee.”

I’m curious what you guys think about, “if there is more than one adult tenant, there is a $300 additional monthly fee.” Have you ever seen that before?

Anyway, let’s assume it is one person – does $1000 sound realistic for this basement apartment?

Dear PoP – Has GII Closed?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

What’s up with GII Lounge at Georgia and Fairmont St, NW? It has been dark for several weeks.

It is one of the few sit-down restaurants on lower GA Ave and my boyfriend and I enjoyed going there on occasion. I think we still even have our receipt where they listed our tab as “White Couple.” They seemed to do well business wise, but what do your sources tell you??”

GII Lounge, located at 2632 Georgia Ave NW, opened up back in Aug. ’09 (even though their Web site, warning very loud, still says coming soon.) The phone number I had is now disconnected and when I stopped by on Sat. it was closed. Anyone know if they are permanently closed?

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