1309 H Street
1309 H Street has been vacant for many years, despite a sign in the window saying that a new concept was coming in summer 2012. There had been reports that a spot by the owners of Carolina Kitchen was going to open in the space, but it now appears that isn’t going to happen as there is a for lease sign out front. The building’s exterior is quite a cool space, so we hope that something comes through soon.
Outdoor Patio at Driftwood Kitchen
Driftwood Kitchen (400 H Street) will be holding a joint event with Atlas Brew Works during H Street Festival this year (September 19th). Atlas Brew Works will be offering four of their beers at Driftwood, including 1500 South Cap which is usually only sold at Nats Park. Driftwood will be serving its bar menu throughout H Street Festival; current items include: the Driftwood burger, Merguez Dogs, deviled eggs, and fried blue cheese stuffed olives.
Interior at Kitty’s Saloon
Kitty’s Saloon (1208 H Street) will have Shiner brewery at the restaurant during H Street Festival (September 19th) and will be serving $6 pints of Shiner Bock and $5 cans of Ruby Red Bird (Shiner’s grapefruit beer that is a District Cuisine favorite). They will also be serving George Dickel Bourbon as well as BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on fresh baked bread and alligator nuggets.
Scallops at DC Harvest
DC Harvest (517 H Street) recently celebrated its first anniversary on H Street (see our review here). We caught up with co-owners Arthur and Jared Ringel to discuss the first year and what is on the horizon.
District Cuisine: What has surprised you most in the first year?
DC Harvest: Many things, especially how successful Saturday Brunch has been. Most onlookers told us we should stick to just Sunday, but both days have been extremely successful. We have also just been thrilled by how patrons have taken to our menu and approach to offering a healthy take on upscale dining.
District Cuisine: What’s been your best selling item?
DC Harvest: Our locally sourced Scallop entrees. We have done many preparations that have reflected the changing seasons and the seasonal produce available throughout the year.
District Cuisine: Any consideration of lunch in the future?
DC Harvest: We are considering lunch in the future, but it is not in our immediate plans.
District Cuisine: Anything coming up that we should be on the lookout for?
DC Harvest: Continued expansion of our craft cocktail program. We’re working on packaging and pricing to offer our house made pastas for take and cook at home. We will be partnering with Catoctin Creek for weekly tastings every Wednesday starting in October. We’re currently researching products and recipes for our fall menu as well as our New Year’s Eve Celebration.
Po Boy Jim’s Po Boy Eating Competition Trophy
Last year at H Street Festival, Po Boy Jim (709 H Street) held its inaugural po boy eating competition where it awarded a trophy (see above) to the person who could eat the most in a short period of time. Building off the success of last year’s competition, Po Boy Jim will be hosting the event again this year at H Street Festival (September 19th). They will also be debuting a new po boy on their menu: the chili cheese po boy. There will be an outdoor bar in the front of the restaurant serving $8 hurricanes and four draft beers (Shock Top, Goose Island, Devil’s Backbone, and Stella) as well as t-shirts, bottle openers, and other giveaways.
Signage for 7-11 at Corner of H and 8th Streets
The 7-11 in the H Street Connection shopping mall appears to be moving two blocks to the west in anticipation of the Connection being demolished next year (it will become apartments and retail, details here). A sign popped up in the space at the corner of H and 8th Street (formerly Foot Locker) indicating that a 7-11 was moving into this space.
Patio at TD Burger
We really want to like TD Burger (250 K Street, NE). It has a great location right across the street from the always popular Indigo and who doesn’t like a good burger place with an awesome patio? Sadly our previous experiences at TD had taught us to avoid the place. However, recently the restaurant has set up a smoker on its patio that wafts delicious hickory BBQ smells for multiple blocks. After attempting to avoid the temptation multiple times, we finally gave in and gave TD Burger another shot.
Brisket at TD Burger
Unfortunately, we should not have. Let’s start with the logistics of takeout: an unnecessary nightmare. You order the BBQ inside and then pick it up from the guy at the smoker outside. Makes sense but wait: there are only certain BBQ items that you pick up from the guy outside–for other random ones, you pick them up inside. For example, we ordered a half BBQ chicken and an order of brisket. The chicken comes from outside, the brisket from inside. It didn’t make any sense, but we went with it. We placed our order and then went outside to pick up the chicken.
BBQ Chicken at TD Burger
TD Burger was not busy at this time. There was one guy in front of me also waiting for chicken. It took about ten minutes for him to get his chicken (even though it was already done in the smoker), and then it was our turn. The chef manning the smoker told us to wait a minute and then he would be right with us. He disappeared inside for five minutes or so and reemerged with a tray of raw pork ribs. He proceeded to marinate the various racks of ribs and threw them in the smoker while we waited. He then washed his hands in a bucket full of dirty water (no soap) and then proceeded to grab our chicken out of the smoker. Using his bare hands (which he had 30 seconds ago been marinating the raw pork ribs with) and tongs that he had also “washed” in the dirty water he divided my (measly) half chicken into thirds and cut it up. When we asked about having BBQ sauce on the side, it was interpreted as an odd request.
The whole process took at least 20 minutes, despite the fact that the chicken was done and ready to go the second we walked outside. We walked back inside to pick up the brisket that was surely done by this point. Wrong. Took another 5-10 minutes for that to come out as well. Continue reading
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