There has been major construction at the former site of Souk (1208 H Street NE). The restaurant closed quite a few months ago, and there were rumors that they were doing a renovation prior to reopening. Souk was owned by the same owners of Nomad hookah bar (previously Sahra hookah) previously. No word on if it is still the same owners.
New Construction at Former Souk
Former Souk (in Middle Between Queen Vic and Vendetta)
Construction at the long awaited Po Boy Jim (709 H Street NE) is wrapping up, and the restaurant plans to open sometime in June. They recently launched a website and are hiring staff. In the coming weeks, they will finalize their menu and do a soft launch. You can read more about the restaurant in our preview here
A Look Inside the Window at Po Boy Jim
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Construction permits belonging to Starbucks have been posted on the windows of a new retail space at the corner of 20th and L Streets NW (2001 L Street). Previously the space had been an open area that led to the entrance of the office building; however, after an exterior renovation of the office building a few months ago, the area was enclosed, and it became clear that the space would become retail. A peak inside revealed that Starbucks countertops and floor tile have already been installed. It looks as though it is a few weeks away from being ready to open.
In other H Street dining news this week, a new sign has been posted for Po Boy Jim’s (709 H Street NE), and a peek inside the space reveals that the construction is almost done. Po Boy Jim’s has been coming to H Street for well over a year and a half now, and the building has undergone a complete renovation and looks very nice inside. Check out our preview of the restaurant here.
New Sign at Po Boy Jim’s
Coming soon signage was posted this weekend at the corner of 5th and H Street NE for Micho’s Lebanese Grill. The building previously housed a flower shop that has been closed for several months. Over the past couple of weeks there has been construction activity in the building. No liquor license has been applied for or posted as of yet. More details as we get them.
Signage Posted for Micho’s Lebanese Grill on H Street
The second outpost of Heavy Seas Alehouse that is slated to open in Rosslyn is now looking at an early February open date due to some construction delays, according to one of the restaurant’s representatives. The Alehouse was initially targeting an opening this December prior to the delays. The Alehouse will feature Heavy Seas beers from the Baltimore based brewery in addition to a wide array of food. You can read more details about the restaurant’s plans from ARLnow.
Currently H Street’s restaurant scene is divided into two sections: the Western end and the Eastern end without almost any restaurants in the middle. The Western end runs from Ethiopic in the 400th block to Hikari Sushi in the 600th block. The Eastern end starts with the Atlas Room in the 1000th block and runs to the 1400th block. In between there are not really any restaurants (the new Chupacabra being the exception). There is a lot of development planned for that section (including three apartment buildings and a Whole Foods) but not much has materialized so far. Continue reading
Our first trip to TD Burger in NoMa (250 K Street, NE) almost didn’t warrant a return trip. It was very disappointing as the restaurant has a great outdoor seating area and a Top Chef contestant as the chef (Timothy Dean). Yet, the fast casual burger restaurant had a weird set up, confused service, and unimpressive food. Since that, our most recent return trip saw some improvement. However, we hope that this trend continues and accelerates as the restaurant still needs help.
Sonia from the Bronx Burger at TD Burger
Customers order their food at the counter and then go sit down with a number card for food to have their food delivered to them. But there’s a catch: you can’t order any alcoholic drinks at the counter and instead have to go to the bar or get the attention of the cocktail waiter/waitress (only one or two employees had the ability to serve alcohol even though there were close to ten employees serving customers). It took us around seven minutes to order drinks once we sat down even though the restaurant was empty and we’d already asked a different server for help. This was after waiting several minutes to order food (there was no one in line in front of us) due to a combination of the server being completely confused and the computer system being down. Additionally, this set up is not ideal as it requires customers to open a second tab for alcohol even if they only want to order a beer.
The food did not improve the night. The “Sonia from the Bronx” burger sounded intriguing: avocado, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, and grilled romaine. The burger probably would have been great if it had been served as a salad without the bun. The grilled romaine was tasty and the burger had promising flavor. Unfortunately, all of this was overshadowed by a soggy bun that fell apart and could not hold the burger properly. We were a little confused at how the bun was so soggy as it had clearly been thrown on the grill for a few seconds and had light grill marks. Regardless, it ruined the burger. The allegedly “beer battered” onion rings tasted like onion rings we could have picked up in the frozen section of the grocery store.
Street Map Painted on the Wall at Indigo
Tomorrow evening Indigo (243 K Street, NE) will open for its first dinner service and will bring authentic Indian cuisine to the corner of K and 3rd Street, NE. The restaurant will be open for dinner service Monday-Friday and will be open from breakfast through dinner on the weekends. They will also offer takeout and delivery service in the region. There will not be a set menu, but instead there will be a rotating menu of Indian dishes that will change every 3-4 days. Diners will enter the restaurant and order food at the main counter and pick up their meal when it is ready at the counter. Initially, Indigo (a name derived from “Indian food on the go”) will also have a limited alcohol menu of beer and wine, but they hope to expand their selections in the coming months and have a freestanding bar in the restaurant. However, authentic Indian street food that highlights the spices and flavors of the region and uses the freshest available ingredients will always be the focus of Indigo.
Counter-Window Where Diners Will Order Their Food at Indigo
Indigo is the culmination of many years of work in the restaurant industry for husband and wife owners Dinesh and Nidhi Tandon. The Tandons owned a restaurant in India for several years prior to moving to the United States in 2003. While they took a few years off from the culinary industry when they first moved to this country, they began operating a food truck in 2010 that served Indian dishes right outside of Union Station. As Dinesh explained, they had a very strong response to their food and soon they had a large enough fan base that they expanded their operation to a stall at Eastern Market that has been operating for the past two years. They also began to do a strong catering business and last year began operating a stand once a week at Georgetown University’s market. During this time of expansion, they rented an industrial kitchen in Virginia and were having to work incredibly long hours (many times waking up at 3am) to go from market to market picking up ingredients, bringing them back to their rented kitchen, cooking the dishes, and then transporting them to Eastern Market (or the Georgetown University market) to sell. Throughout this time, they dreamed of finding a place where they could establish a brick and mortar restaurant.
Their search for the ideal location took a while. Dinesh looked at several places on H Street and entered serious negotiations, but none of them worked out. He kept searching everyday for potential places. The Tandons have a house near Trinidad in NE, and Dinesh would frequently pass by the Franklin Carryout located at 3rd and K Street, NE. While the market was fairly rundown, Dinesh believed that it would be a great location to establish a restaurant. One day the owner of Franklin Carryout put the place on the market; Dinesh responded within hours of the listing. Continue reading
District Cuisine 