We noticed some interior construction activity on the N Street side of Constitution Square in NoMa (2nd and N, NE) this afternoon and some building permits posted in the window. Based upon the leasing agent’s (KLNB) website, we can confirm that Dunkin’ Donuts will be coming soon to that space. NoMa will now have a Dunkin’, a Starbucks, and a Tynan Coffee and Tea within two blocks of each other.
Archive | October, 2014
The Spot Deli: A Casual Deli and Bakery Opens on H Street
29 OctApproximately two months ago, The Spot Deli opened at 701 H Street after significant renovations were conducted to what had been Heaven & H Deli. While The Spot Deli has mostly flown under the radar for the past couple of weeks, its owners have grand plans for the neighborhood. The owners of the Deli are planning a second location (The Spot on H) several blocks east on H Street. That location has been undergoing a complete reconstruction for well over a year now. Once open, The Spot on H will have several bars and will serve “American cuisine with international flair.” As they wait for construction to wrap up there, the owners of the two restaurants–including Chef Troy Williams, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of several restaurants around D.C.–hope to begin ingraining themselves in the neighborhood with The Spot Deli. We had an opportunity last week to sit down with Basia Davis, Manager of The Spot Deli, to talk about the opening and the plans for the future.
Basia is a native of D.C. who graduated top of her class and then went to culinary school at Johnson & Wales (she laughs that there is a friendly alma mater rivalry between her and owner Troy Williams, who graduated from Culinary Institute of America). She first met Williams through the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP) that Williams is very involved with in D.C. The program provides public school students across the country with opportunities for education, training, and employment in the culinary world. She stayed in touch with Williams after culinary school and became Manager of The Spot Deli a few weeks ago.
The location for The Spot Deli was acquired from the folks behind Heaven & H, which had been open on and off for several months. After taking over the building, renovations were conducted both inside of the building and outside prior to the opening, including a new coat of paint for the exterior. The setup of the Deli encourages takeout business, but they plan on adding some additional tables soon. The Deli serves breakfast all day as well as lunch that includes a variety of Mexican dishes and more traditional deli items (sandwiches, salads). As they gain more experience with the neighborhood, they are adding new items and have specials almost everyday (recent ones include beef stew and Creole shrimp). Frequently, The Spot Deli has a rush of breakfast business around 8:30 am followed by a rush of lunch business right before the noon hour. Continue reading
DC Harvest: Our New Favorite H Street Restaurant
23 Oct
First Floor at DC Harvest
Phrases such as “seasonal,” “local,” and “farm-to-table” have become so overused in restaurants across the country that they have begun to lack meaning and simply induce eye-rolling amongst diners. Seemingly anyone can throw a few “local” or “seasonal” vegetables on a plate and claim their restaurant fits this bill. While such restaurants are a dime a dozen at this point, restaurants that truly embrace local, seasonal sourcing through close relationships with farmers and suppliers and combine it with superior culinary skills in the kitchen, warm service in the front of the house, and a focus on their neighborhood are truly rare. DC Harvest is such a place and has quickly become our favorite restaurant on H Street.
Zatar Seasoned Turkey at DC Harvest
Brothers Arthur and Jared Ringel bring decades of experience to the front and back of the house at DC Harvest. Arthur’s resume includes graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in New York along with stints at D.C. culinary destinations BLT Steak, Vermillion, Vidalia, and Hank’s Oyster Bar, where he became head chef. Jared’s restaurant management experience spans over a dozen years around the D.C. area, including being both a general manager and a franchisee for several concepts. Their experience shines through in both the food and the service. Continue reading
Driftwood Kitchen (Mostly) Shines in Debut
21 Oct
Exterior of 400 H Street, NE
400 H Street, NE is arguably one of the most promising locations on all of H Street for a restaurant. Occupying a large corner spot on the west end of H Street, it is within blocks of several major apartment buildings (and many potential customers) on H Street and in NoMa. The space was completely renovated several years ago, transforming it from a falling apart music club into a beautiful two story restaurant with a large sidewalk patio and a two sided open balcony on the second floor overlooking both H and 4th streets. Despite this great setup, Tru Orleans–the original occupants–was unable to survive after two controversial years.
New Light Fixture at Driftwood Kitchen
Tru Orleans has largely been erased from the building. Instead meet Driftwood Kitchen from the owners of Darna in Arlington (you may notice similarities between the logos of the two restaurants). They have spent the last several months renovating the building and removing the previous New Orleans architecture. The owners have labeled Driftwood Kitchen’s cuisine American, but it draws inspiration from Middle Eastern cooking (unlike Darna which is more traditional Middle Eastern fare). Even in the first week of service, Driftwood Kitchen appears to have drawn a fairly solid crowd.
New Driftwood Kitchen on H Street
We started with a drink off of their craft cocktail list. The Hawa combined an interesting mix of gin, egg white, cucumber juice, and elderflower. While it sounds strange, it worked well, especially with the egg white foam on top. In addition to their eight cocktails, they have several local beers on the eleven draught beer list.
The menu (click here to view it) is divided up into “snacks”–ranging from a few bites to medium appetizers–and “offerings”–mostly small sized entrees. While the portions are on the smaller side, they are also priced fairly reasonably. Some of what we’ve sampled:
Snacks: The hummus guacamole snack combined two favorites from different cuisines into one tasty bowl. The house fries were fairly standard but were served with a spicy dipping sauce that set them apart from regular fries. And the cayenne caramel corn mixed sweet and spicy into a very pleasant bar snack.
“Snacks” at Driftwood Kitchen
Pursuit Wine Bar: Another Great Reason to Go to the East End of H Street
20 Oct
Downstairs Bar at Pursuit Wine Bar
H Street has a great wine bar? Most people would answer no to this question. However, venture east of 14th street, past the many vacant storefronts and you will quickly learn that Pursuit Wine Bar (1421 H Street, NE) opened quietly this summer and is subtly filling an important void in the Atlas District. For many people, the H Street Corridor ends at 14th street because there are not many establishments east of there besides the Argonaut. Yet, Pursuit is well worth your time.
Wine Flight at Pursuit Wine Bar
On any given night, there are well over 40 wines available by the glass as well as beer and cocktails for the non-vino drinkers. Not sure what you want or want to experiment? Try their flight of five wines for the very reasonable $15. The downstairs bar has over a dozen seats and a front table in the window; if the bar is full, checkout upstairs for tables. Their menu features a cheeseboard and a charcuterie board as well as several salads and a make-your-own grilled cheese menu.
Cheeseboard at Pursuit Wine Bar
Interested in Driftwood Kitchen on H Street? Here’s Their Menu
18 OctDriftwood Kitchen (400 H Street, NE) opened last Sunday for dinner. We’ll have an initial review going up soon (spoiler: we liked it), but in the meantime wanted to post their menu which isn’t on their website yet for those who are interested in trying Driftwood.
Driftwood Kitchen Menu
Driftwood Kitchen Drink Menu
Kitty’s Saloon Soft Opens, Official Opening Friday
10 Oct
Interior Wall at Kitty’s Saloon
Kitty’s Saloon (1208 H Street, NE) had its soft opening this week and will open tomorrow (Friday the 10th) for full dinner service. For the first month or so, the restaurant will only have its first floor open as they complete construction on the upper level. The lower level features a bar, three two top tables in the back, and a table in the front by their floor to ceiling roll-up window that opens on to H Street. You can see our preview here and view their menu here.
Tables at Kitty’s Saloon
Ceiling at Kitty’s Saloon
Bullfrog Bagels Brings Great Bagels to H Street
7 Oct
Bullfrog Bagels on H Street
Ever since we moved to the H Street Corridor, we have believed that the Corridor really needed a good bagel place. Finally our wish was granted. If you have not checked out Bullfrog Bagels (1341 H Street, NE), you need to as soon as possible. After being a pop-up bagel spot across the City for several months, Bullfrog now resides on H Street. Long time H Street restaurant and bar Star and Shamrock has reduced its footprint by about half and the other half of what used to be Star and Shamrock now houses Bullfrog (the entire space remains connected and shares kitchen space so you can easily grab a bagel at Bullfrog and go to the bar at Star and Shamrock without going outside).
The bagels are very thin and light (as light as bagels can be). They continuously make the bagels while they are open, so they may be out of certain varieties while you are there. However, the bagels are the freshest you will find around D.C. and are usually hot out of the oven. They have the usual favorites like plain, onion, poppy seed, and everything. You can get your bagel plain or with butter, a variety of jams, regular cream cheese, or scallion and chive cream cheese. You can also get it with smoked salmon or make it a true breakfast sandwich with egg, bacon, cheese, avocado, or onion jam (see complete menu here).
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on Onion Bagel at Bullfrog Bagels
Our favorites thus far are the onion bagels with either scallion and chive cream cheese or done as a breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese. The scallion and chive cream cheese is nice and light with a balance of scallion and chives. The bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich is not overly greasy as sometimes happens with breakfast sandwiches.
When you walk in, you take a number and then wait to order. If you’re in a hurry, make sure to call ahead your order as it can get quite busy on the weekends! They are open everyday besides Monday from 7 am-11 am but will sometimes stay open later depending on demand.
Sixth and H Bar and Grill Opening Early 2015
6 Oct
Future Home of Sixth and H Bar and Grill
We had noticed construction activity on and off over the last several years at 523 H Street, NE but had not heard anything about what was going into the space. Late last week, the door was open and we were able to peak in and chat with the owner who recently applied for a liquor license for the space. Sixth and H Bar and Grill will be a sports bar that will serve burgers and pizza with multiple TVs inside for sports. They will also have a patio on the side of the restaurant along 6th street. They will be open seven days a week and have late night service (their liquor license says that they will open at 8 am everyday, but we suspect this will change). Inside, the restaurant looks like it is pretty close to being ready to go; it already has several TVs installed over the bar. The outside of the restaurant looks like it could use some refurbishing, but it is unclear if that is going to happen prior to opening. The owner told us that they are planning on opening “sometime after the holidays” before March Madness basketball.
Future Patio for Sixth and H Bar and Grill
District Cuisine 