Po Boy Eating Contest at Po Boy Jim
Po Boy Jim (709 H Street, NE) will be holding its 3rd annual po boy eating contest during H Street Festival this year. The contest will take place at 6 pm, and the winner gets a trophy and a sandwich named after them for a month. It is free entry for the contest and throughout the day they will be having specials from SweetWater brewing.
2016 H Street Festival from the 2nd Floor of Red Rocks
With H Street Festival this coming Saturday, all week District Cuisine will be rolling out and previewing specials that restaurants across the H Street Corridor will hold for the Festival. Stay tuned for lots of fun dining news!
New Paint Job for Citi Pizza on H Street
District Cuisine noted several months ago that Citi Pizza (504 H Street, NE) was temporarily closed for renovations. Over the past several weeks the restaurant has undergone a major external transformation, and the front wall has been replaced with new windows. At the end of last week, the exterior got a bright new paint job that makes it stand out on the block.
Exterior of Starbucks on H Street
The new Starbucks in the Anthology building on H Street (625 H Street, NE) is now open and serving coffee to the neighborhood. The Starbucks will soon be joined by Unleashed by Petco and Buredo, as announced by the Washingtonian last week.
New Yoda Dragon Bowl at Pow Pow
Pow Pow (1253 H Street, NE) will be launching a new addition to its menu this coming Tuesday, August 30th. You can view our opening preview of Pow Pow here. Per the management at Pow Pow:
The “Yoga Dragon” speaks to everyone’s inner being while screaming its true identity as a post workout dream bowl. This powerful protein focused meal weighs in at 100% vegetarian. Served with mock chicken tossed in peanut sauce, alongside black beans, edamame, bean sprouts and pickled carrots, all resting comfortably on Pow Pow’s signature rice and greens mix. Finished with house roasted sriracha nuts, and topped with cucumber-lime yogurt and sriracha drizzle. Also available as a vegan option.
Spicy Chicken Slider Special at The Haymaker Bar
Earlier this week, District Cuisine featured our interview with the owners of The Haymaker Bar (1015 H Street, NE) where we discussed the new concept and their exciting new plans for the neighborhood. As a follow up to that piece, below are the new food and drink menus for The Haymaker. Additionally, the restaurant will have spicy chicken sliders on its menu for the next week as a special; $10 for three sliders.
Food Menu for The Haymaker Bar
Drink Menu for The Haymaker Bar
*Photo credit Margaux Cedar
The New Bar at The Haymaker Bar on H Street
Many longtime H Street residents were sad when The Atlas Room closed for good several weeks ago to change into a new concept. However, the owners have converted the space into a new and exciting concept that they hope will quickly become a neighborhood favorite. Meet The Haymaker Bar (1015 H Street, NE), a more casual bar and neighborhood hangout that still will have chef driven cuisine. District Cuisine chatted with The Haymaker team last week to learn more about the new spot.
District Cuisine: We were very sad to see the Atlas Room close several weeks ago (we used to have our birthday dinner there every year). Think we’ll see any of the old Atlas Room favorites on the menu of The Haymaker?
The Haymaker: While we have (Atlas Room) favorites too, we reimagined chickpea fritters as pubfare as the only crossover, not just because of their popularity, but because they’re vegan and gluten free which is a must on menus. We know people want old favorites, and we hope to make new favorites very soon! While The Haymaker isn’t fine dining, the flavor is still chef driven by owner/chef Matt Cordes.
DC: Where does the name Haymaker come from?
Haymaker: The Haymaker is derived from a couple of meanings and uses of the word. The first being a knockout punch as used in boxing, but really derived from a worker wielding a scythe and cutting down a large patch of hay in one “swing.” We offer a selection of 5 house made punches (a fistful if you will). Also pertaining to beverage, the Haymaker was the orignial Gatorade taken to the fields to keep workers hydrated, it consisted of water, herbs, apple cider vinegar, and sorghum or molasses. The goal for The Haymaker is to be a comfortable neighorhood bar with elements of wood, stone, and metal throughout to provide a laid back and warm environment to enjoy great food and drinks. It has elements of sports and news on the TV’s and an upbeat modern music selection, as well as a fully stocked bar and seasonal beers on tap and in bottles.
DC: What made you want to change the concept from being a fine dining restaurant into more of a neighborhood bar?
Haymaker: Honestly you answered your own question. The Atlas Room became the birthday/special occasion restaurant. It wasn’t a place the neighbors could enjoy a meal or two a week. The hope is Haymaker is at a flavor and price point for the neighborhood to visit often and regularly without breaking the bank. Our draft beer, rail and wine happy hour prices are kept low with this in mind ($5). We’re even launching a 1015 (our address) deal soon. Craving a late night snack? At 10:15 until midnight you can get a draft beer and our tots for $10.15. Continue reading
Street Map Painted on the Wall at Indigo
H Street/NoMa favorite Indigo (243 K Street, NE) has a new website that allows you to order and pay online and then pick your food up inside without waiting (check it out here). Indigo’s popularity is evident every night with the packed patio (they now have a bar outside) and the line out the door. On particularly busy nights, if you order in the restaurant for takeout, it can be close to a half hour wait. While they have call ahead service, sometimes getting through can take sometime. Indigo has recently solved that problem with the new online ordering platform. District Cuisine recently tried ordering online and picking up, and it worked very well.
News broke many months ago that the new Apollo building on H Street (600 H Street, NE–home of the future Whole Foods) would include a coffee bar from the owners of The Wydown on 14th Street. Construction is on schedule (Whole Foods should open early in 2017), and the coffee bar should open in either late October or November. District Cuisine caught up with Alex McCracken, co-owner of The Wydown, last week to discuss the upcoming concept.
The H Street coffee spot will have its own unique name that should be finalized soon. The team is very excited to be joining the H Street community; McCracken lived for several years right behind H Street and originally looked to open The Wydown in the Atlas District. While there are currently several coffee options on H Street, McCracken thinks that there is definitely room for more coffee in the neighborhood.
The H Street location will be similar to the one on 14th Street but not a carbon copy. The new location’s interior is being designed by Edit Lab, the same firm that designed the 14th Street location. As currently designed, the coffee bar will have a second entrance (in addition to the exterior H Street one) that will open up into the two story lobby of the Apollo during the day. This feature will expand customer seating and will allow customers to sit on the second floor, overlooking H Street. For security purposes, the second entrance will be closed at night.
Future customers can look forward to made from scratch pastries, ground and brewed to order coffee, and a small bar at night featuring several small food offerings (think cheese plate, nuts, etc). For customers who are in a rush, pre-brewed coffee, ice coffee, and other standard options will be available. The 14th Street location does not currently offer alcohol but is adding it soon. H Street customers can expect wine, beer, and one or two drinks as well. The coffee bar will offer free coffee tastings (or “cuppings”) on Fridays, so that customers can experiment with their coffee palates.
Once open, the coffee bar will be open from early to late every day with later hours on the weekend. More details as it gets closer to opening!
2016 H Street Festival from the 2nd Floor of Red Rocks
From an H Street Main Street press release this morning…
Announcing the 2016 H Street Festival—The Best One Yet!
Washington, D.C.—The 2016 H Street Festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17 from noon – 7 p.m. This year’s event will span 10 blocks of H Street NE with 14 staging areas, dozens of interactive attractions and displays and over 250 businesses, restaurants, community organizations and vendors. Join us for great entertainment, food, drinks, contests, family-friendly activities and more!
Organized by H Street Main Street, the annual event highlights the unique spirit of the H Street NE Corridor and is one of the most popular in the D.C. region. It’s been named the best community Festival by The Washington City Paper for the last six years and regularly attracts a crowd of over 125,000 fun-seekers.
Attendees coming to the Festival to enjoy music, contests and other entertainment, won’t be disappointed. The Festival will have a variety of shows, featuring some of the best local and regional performers in Go-Go music, rap, R&B, jazz, rock-n-roll, soul music, gospel and more. There will also be pie eating and tattoo contests, dance performances from a variety of cultures and disciplines, martial arts demonstrations and many more non-musical acts. Continue reading
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