Future Blue Diner/Spile & Spigot on H Street
Construction has been underway for several months at the future location of Spile & Spigot (1st floor) and Blue Diner (2nd floor) at 1248 H Street. In the last week or so, the exterior of the building has dramatically changed (for the better). Looks like both places are still several months away from being open.
Blue Diner/Spile & Spigot
Turkey Club Sandwich at Uni Bistro
If you live on the west end of H Street, you know Batter Bowl Bakery well. For us, we stop there multiple times a weekend to fill up on our favorite iced coffee and warm pastries. Several weeks ago, Batter Bowl changed its name to become Uni Bistro, which features the same great coffee and pastries plus many new lunch and dinner entrees. The name Uni Bistro is a play off of both the restaurant’s proximity to Union Station and the unique image and vibe that the owners envision for the restaurant. They also hope to attract more of an afternoon and evening crowd as the restaurant previously only had a strong morning clientele. For now Uni will maintain its existing hours; however, they may expand later into the evening in the future. You can view their new menu here.
Lasagna at Uni Bistro
The expanded menu was under development for quite a while, and it is delicious. Some of the items are similar to ones that were on the previous lunch menu, but many of the items are brand new. All of the items are fresh and made in house daily. Our favorite so far is the Uni bruschetta, made with freshly baked bread (we recommend asking for sourdough) and topped with a combination of basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese that tastes almost like pesto. We also like the lasagna–a healthy serving of ground beef lasagna served with a side salad that includes walnuts and cranberries. The lasagna is cooked long enough to provide a golden brown to the cheese on top without drying out the sauce, noodles, and meat on the inside. Other solid options include the turkey club sandwich and the Eighth Street sandwich, an open face sandwich with chickpeas, hummus, avocado, capers, and tomatoes. Both sandwiches come with the side salad.
Uni Bruschetta at Uni Bistro
Uni Bistro serves its new menu both in house and to go. Their to go packaging holds up well regardless of which of the items you select. Most of the items we have tried thus far are large enough to serve as dinner or as lunch and a snack later. If you haven’t tried the new menu at Uni Bistro outside of breakfast, you need to stop by and check out the new offerings. It has quickly become one of our good-to spots for a quick dinner or lunch on H Street.
Exterior of Po Boy Jim
Po Boy Jim (709 H Street) is planning a Mardi Gras celebration for this Tuesday that will include numerous specials starting at 3 pm and going all night.
Exterior of Nando’s on H Street
Nando’s (411 H Street) will be opening up on Saturday February 13th for the first time. The weekend of the 13-14 they will be throwing an official housewarming event where all proceeds will go to the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street. You can RSVP to attend by clicking here.
Open:
Not Yet But Attempting to Open
Closed
Snowy H Street
Open
Frozen 6th and H Bar and Grill
Closed
Ongoing list of restaurants and bars that are open during the storm. Will update as long as there is power! Listing specials that we know of as well. Email us with additional details (districtcuisine (at) gmail).
Open
Closed
Last fall, we looked at the new restaurants and bars that were coming to H Street. Over the past year, several new restaurants have opened up, so we will now take an updated look at restaurants that have opened, ones that have made construction progress, and new restaurant concepts that have been announced recently. For each of these categories we list the establishments in order of going west-east down H Street. If we’ve missed a place, please let us know in the comment section. You can see previous versions of H Street’s Horizons here, here, here, and here.
Opened in Last Year
New Concepts Announced in Last Year
New Exterior at Uni Bistro, Previously Batter Bowl Bakery
Uni Bistro–previously Batter Bowl Bakery–at 403 H Street has launched a new lunch/dinner menu this month. In addition to the new food, diners can also now get beer and wine, with a cocktail program launching soon as well. Uni’s new menu is down below (click on any image to make it larger).
Site of H Street Connection Will Be Fenced Off Starting January 16
Notice went up earlier this week that the southern blocks of 8th-10th Streets on H Street will be fenced off starting today (January 16th) for the construction of the new H Street Connection project (more details here). As of this morning, there were no cars in the parking lot, and it appeared that crews were preparing to install a fence around the property.
District Cuisine 