Exterior of H &pizza
We’ve learned that H &pizza (1118 H Street NE) is ready to open next weekend for dinner. Check out our interview with the owner here and pictures of the newly renovated interior from their Facebook page. The pizzas sound great, and the new interior looks great from our peeks inside to look at it. Can’t wait to check it out!
We just got back from the meeting with the mayor down on H Street regarding the H Street streetcar project and wanted to write some quick thoughts about the streetcar. The big news of the meeting was that the streetcar is planned to begin operation (if it stays according to schedule) in summer 2013 and that it will run directly down H Street from Union Station (crossing the Hopscotch bridge above the Amtrak tracks) all the way to Benning Road and then will continue down Benning Road; it will not cut up 2nd or 3rd streets to get into Union Station. While we are pleased that the streetcar project is progressing, we are disappointed that it will not open for over a year.
The H Street corridor has developed incredibly over the past few years (and even months), but the streetcar will help take it to the next level and continue making the area one of the top dining and going out regions in D.C.
The sooner the streetcar is operation the better for a few reasons:
The streetcar will connect east and west H Street. The east end of H Street has featured new and popular restaurants and bars for the past few years. Until recently, the west end of H Street had lagged behind and did not have many going out places (except for Ethiopic). The recent openings of Tru Orleans and the Bigboard have made the west end of H Street a second destination for people going out on H Street (planned restaurants such as Boundary Road and the apartment/Giant grocery store development will continue to add to it). However, the middle section of H Street has seen no real development over the past few years. While there are planned developments and openings (ranging from Hikari Sushi to new apartment buildings), currently the middle section of H Street is uninviting late at night and many people do not feel comfortable walking from the eastern end to the western end. They could take a cab from one end to the other, but for most people that is too much effort and taking a cab six blocks seems silly. Unfortunately, that means that many people remain in either the east end or the west end but do not go back and forth. Both people going out on H Street and the businesses lose out currently. The streetcar will fix all of this as it will provide a quick, easy, and safe way for people to get from one end to the other. (All of this requires that the streetcar stay open late into the night, which we think is a must).
The streetcar will provide another way for people from outside of the H Street region to get there without taking a cab or driving. Right now whenever we go out with friends on H Street the first question we get is “how do you get to H Street?” For those of us who live in the region it is easy: we walk. However, as H Street continues to become more and more of a hot spot for dining and going out, it needs to be more accessible. Currently, people from outside of the H Street region can drive and park or take a cab. Continue reading
Outside of Pho Bar and Grill
It may have taken awhile (we were inaccurately told they would open months ago) and there may still be a few kinks (they still can’t serve alcohol because of a delay with their liquor license application), but Pho Bar and Grill on H Street (1360 H Street NE) has finally opened. The restaurant is located on the east end of H Street near the fairly recently opened Shawafel and across from popular bars like the Rock N Roll Hotel and H Street Country Club. It serves a variety of Vietnamese dishes but focuses on pho (a traditional Vietnamese soup that usually features broth, a type of meat, noodles, and a variety of other ingredients ranging from basil to lime to hot sauce to bean sprouts).
If you walk in and are not immediately greeted, don’t be deterred or you will miss out on the food (menu here). The service is somewhat lacking (as it is many places on H Street), but the food will have you coming back for more. As a starter, try the crispy egg rolls. For $5, you get two lightly fried rolls that have a mixture of shrimp, pork, and crab meat–mostly pork. They are nicely cooked so that there is a light crunch when you bite into them, but they are not overly hard or greasy. Pho Bar and Grill also has several types of dumplings, but we have yet to try them as they have been out. Continue reading
Just learned while walking through the H Street Festival today that Pho Bar and Grill (1360 H Street) will be opening next Sunday. Menu looks good (and cheap), we can’t wait to check it out!
Toki Underground and Ethiopic represented the H Street Corridor in this year’s issue of the Washingtonian‘s Cheap Eats list (out this month). We’ve eaten at both and have really enjoyed both of them. Glad to see H Street making it on to this important list!
Shawafel
The east end of H Street has a plethora of restaurants and bars with many different themes and atmospheres. Yet if you wanted a casual and quick meal or late night food after a night out on H Street, you were basically limited to Taylor Gourmet’s sandwiches (not a bad choice at all), pies, or venturing into one of the sketchier late night establishments that will serve you everything from Chinese food to fried fish from behind a bulletproof glass window. Fortunately, Shawafel, which opened Monday at 1322 H Street, has changed the game and filled a much needed niche.
A quick serve casual Lebanese restaurant, Shawafel is located across the street from popular establishments like H Street Country Club and the Rock and Roll Hotel and down the street from Sticky Rice, Red Palace, and Toki Underground (as well as many others). This prime location makes it an excellent stop for anyone who doesn’t want to have a lengthy dinner but still wants quality food before going out. Its location near so many H Street bars and its late hours (3am Thursday-Saturday) will no doubt make it a popular place in the early hours of the morning for post bar food. Continue reading
District Cuisine 