
“Dear PoPville,
I love Mark’s Duck House in Falls Church and Bob’s Shanghai 66 in Rockville, but delivery in the District? Chinese New Year is coming, who is the best to order from?”

“Dear PoPville,
I love Mark’s Duck House in Falls Church and Bob’s Shanghai 66 in Rockville, but delivery in the District? Chinese New Year is coming, who is the best to order from?”

“Dear PoPville,
What is the protocol or expectations regarding apartments and food delivery service from places like postmates, Grubhub, etc.? Do you expect them to come to the building front door or to come upstairs to your apartment door? I live in a small building with just 12 units and no lobby or doorman. I can easily buzz people in but find that they often expect me to come down. Just curious what the norm is so I don’t expect something which isn’t really included.”

“Dear PoPville,
Anyone else have their @Caviar hacked recently? Someone got into my account ordered $148 of Chick-Fil-A on my credit card. Got an immediate alert and I stopped it but apparently this is a thing. The dumb part: they put their address and phone number in my app. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Lorie Shaull
From the Office of the Attorney General:
“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced a lawsuit against DoorDash, Inc., a food delivery service, for its practice of encouraging consumers to tip for food deliveries and then pocketing those tips instead of passing them along to workers. In its lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that DoorDash led consumers to believe that any tips would go directly to food delivery workers, while instead effectively treating this money as extra profit for the company. OAG is seeking to recover from DoorDash millions of dollars in tip money that consumers thought they were paying to workers, and to impose civil penalties. (more…)

“Dear PoPville,
I am Arpitha from Foodhini. We are a social impact meal delivery & catering startup in DC that specifically hires immigrant and refugee chefs and supports them in preparing and selling their delicious multicultural home recipes. We are striving to use the power of food to create equity and sustainable jobs for communities of diaspora and enrich our cities with cultures and foods that have never been seen before.
I am so excited to let you know that we have expanded our delivery services to Takoma Park in addition to Arlington and DC Proper.“

Thanks to Nicole for passing on her petition:
“Prime Now allows for delivery of groceries from Whole Foods for $5. The service is excellent. But the amount of plastic packaging is over the top.
Option 1: (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Julia
“Dear PoPville,
I’m curious if readers feel increasing frustration with food delivery services like Instacart and GrubHub not delivering to the door. I note those specifically, because they have become the worst, in my experience, with refusing to park and deliver to my apartment. For companies that operate in urban areas, I have no clue why they don’t get why I would pay a 20% tip and a delivery fee to go retrieve my own food from across the street (and in the case of groceries – lug up three flights of stairs).
I’ve recently started sending it all back if they won’t deliver. No matter how much I need it it how hungry I am.”

Inside 399 Morse Street, SE. Photo by Meaghan Webster
From a press release:
“D.C.-based restaurateur Antonio Matarazzo and chef Matteo Venini announce an April 2 opening of their upscale fast-casual pizza and street food concept, Stellina Pizzeria, in the growing Union Market District. The duo most recently worked together as managing partner and executive chef, respectively, of the city’s popular high-end Italian restaurants Lupo Verde, Lupo Verde Osteria and Lupo Marino. Their new venture – occupying a 2,000-square-foot, 88-seat footprint at 399 Morse Street NE – brings a contemporary spirit to the classic pizza counter, and taps into a new niche of fine-casual Italian dining. Meaning “little star” in Italian, Stellina has a logo of five circles representing the five points of a star, each signifying a different element of the dining experience: Italy, pizza, style, food and love. (more…)
OK, so it’s 6:59 p.m. and you’ve changed your mind about that South African Syrah you could have picked up on your way home. Your hands were full, as was the Metro. Still, now you want that bottle of wine but you’ve already changed into your jammies for the evening, and your show is about to begin… What to do?
All is not lost: The Lady Pearly to the rescue!
The Lady Pearly is D.C.’s newest — as of October 1 — purveyor of home delivered fine wine. Order between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the wine of your choice will arrive at your door within an hour after pushing the “send” button.
And Kevin A. Brown, the mastermind behind the service, swears to us that 6:59 p.m. is not too late.
“Correct,” he said when we asked for assurance. “The window closes at 7 p.m. daily; anything submitted before that gets sent out for delivery. As the business expands, we plan on making the delivery window much larger.”
Yes, but… what’s behind the name?
It involves a true story of Brown’s “best friend and love of my life, my wife Pearly” and a plot of land in Scotland where Pearly earned the title of nobility, “The Lady.”
“That name stood out as not only fitting, but also unique and remarkable and we decided it would be perfect for the noble world of wine,” Brown said.
So you can stop asking about that and start asking about the carefully curated selection of wine (and a few hand-crafted spirits), ranging from a Château Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux for $498 to a Looking Glass Chardonnay for $5.
Look for the business to expand into a larger selection of wines, FedEx options and monthly private wine tasting events.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Tim Brown
“Dear PoPville,
Does anyone in DC use a Meal Delivery Service (like Blue Apron, Home Chef, et. al.)?
I’m looking into trying one to make dinners a little easier and I was curious if people are using these services and if they’re happy with them. I’m looking for something that has healthy options and allows me to cook. I’m also very curious how the costs compare to going to the grocery store.
Thanks for any info or recommendations!”