Slim's Diner getting closer to opening
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Goodbye Riyad, hello Ruta del Vino
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Riyad Market, the inconvenience store at 800 Upshur St busted for selling synthetic drugs, is supposed to close by November 13th, according to the Office of the Attorney General. To replace it? A new Latin-inspired wine bar and restaurant
Read more about the new wine bar after the break:
Read MoreThe opposite of a Slim chance: an interview with Paul Ruppert
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You can’t talk about the recent resurgence along Upshur Street in Petworth without mentioning Paul Ruppert. The Ruppert family has lived and owned businesses in DC since the 1890s when his great-grandfather opened up a hardware store. An entrepreneur at heart, Paul has run several successful restaurants in DC since he opened his first one on 7th Street with his mother in 1992. Paul has made a career of opening businesses in areas of DC that are on the cusp of change, and then lending support to those communities. It’s no different with Petworth. Read more about Slim's Diner and Paul Ruppert, after the break...
Read MoreThai restaurant at 845 Upshur Street gets a name
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The southeast Asian / Thai-inspired restaurant coming to 845 Upshur Street NW is going to be named after a friend of Chef Alex McCoy (well, a friend's nickname, really). It's going to be called Alfie's.
Read MoreCommunity meeting with owners of new Upshur restaurant
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ANC 4C07 Commissioner John-Paul Hayworth held a public meeting this evening with the three owners of the new southeast Asian restaurant coming to 845 Upshur Street, Marc Dosik, Alex McCoy and Hunter Thompson. The meeting was an opportunity to get resident input on a Community Agreement between the three owners and ANC 4C. Read more about the meeting after the break:
Read MoreAn interview with Chef Alex McCoy: a focus on authentic flavors and a casual atmosphere
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I spoke with Alex McCoy, one of the three founders of the new new Southeast Asian restaurant coming to 845 Upshur Street, to talk more about his goals with the restaurant, some menu ideas, the ambiance, and his thoughts on Petworth. Read the interview and see some photos of menu ideas after the break:
Read MoreSoutheast-Asian restaurant coming to Upshur St in Petworth
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Local DC chef and Food Network Star finalist Alex McCoy is opening up a Southeast Asian-themed restaurant with business partners Hunter Campbell (who owns Mason Inn restaurant in Glover Park) and local real estate agent Marc Dosik from Help-U-Sell.
Read MoreDinner at Slash Run, a review of Petworth's newest tavern
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My family decided to check out the new tavern on Upshur St called Slash Run. Owned by Jackie Greenbaum and Gordon Banks (who also own the restaurants El Chucho and Bar Charley), along with their partners Nick Nazdin and Ellen Cox, the new Tavern opened on Thursday to rave reviews from neighbors.
We went in early on a Sunday evening mainly to make sure our 4 year old had dinner at her regular time (don't upset the time schedule of a 4 year old, or you'll pay -- all day long). The atmosphere of the "hair glam/rock" burger joint is dark... Read the full review and see pictures after the break:
Read MoreMPD & EMS respond to Dunkin Donuts
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I was down at Dunkin Donuts this afternoon with a friend when EMS, the Fire Department and MPD roll up and converge on the store. Five patrol cars and even a Segway officer responded to a passed out person, and after a few minutes they rolled a man out on a stretcher.
Read MorePetworth News Shindig is on!
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Shindig is from 6-8pm at Petworth Citizen!
See you then!
Dunkin Donuts opens on Georgia
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If you hadn't heard or seen by now, Dunkin Donuts has opened at the corner of Quincy and Georgia Avenue, at the bottom of the Park Place apartments.
Read MoreWhat do you want on your pizza?
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Timber Pizza Co. is organizing a community meeting with ANC 4C07 Commissioner John-Paul Hayworth to discuss their plans to open a restaurant at 809 Upshur Street NW. The meeting is Wednesday, June 30th from 7:30-8:30pm in the Petworth Library large meeting room (basement level).
Come by and meet the owners, Andrew Dana and Chris Brady, and discuss the restaurant concept, help shape their ANC / community agreement, discuss any noise concerns (they're planning on outdoor seating), and so on. I think this is a great idea, and kudos to Timber Pizza for being proactive!
No RSVP needed. (h/t JP Hayworth)
Thai/Balinese Restaurant coming to Upshur St
/Image courtesy of Takeaway
Looks like Upshur Street between 8th & 9th Streets continues its growth as a restaurant row. Word is that a group is looking to open a Thai / Balinese restaurant at 845 Upshur St NW, where the closed China American Inn is now.
They hope to open in Fall 2015. I'll try to get more info.
A quick review of Timber Pizza
/Timber Pizza Co. had their portable brick oven set up at the Kennedy Street Festival on Saturday, and getting a pizza from them was high on my list of to-do's for the day. By the time I got there, there were only three pizza doughs left -- they clearly had a good day, and I clearly was lucky to get there in time.
I finally got the chance to meet owners Andrew Dana and Chris Brady in person, after doing a phone interview with Andrew a few weeks back. Both are very excited about opening up the restaurant on Upshur Street later in the winter (though with the amount of work 809 Upshur St needs, I'm thinking this might be an early 2016 opening).
Owner Andrew Dana making me a pizza with two kinds of cheese and pepperoni.
Then we got down to the business at hand, and I ordered a half-pepperoni, half-cheese pizza (a small one to split with the family). I watched Andrew stretch the dough, put the sauce on, then the two kinds of cheese (low-moisture mozzarella/provolone, fresh mozzarella), then a couple of thin pepperoni slices.
Into the brick oven it goes...
Into the brick oven it went with the long-handled pizza spatula. Before I knew it, "Pizza coming out!" was shouted and the pizza came back out of the oven, steaming and bubbling. After walking around the festival for a few hours, at this moment my growling stomach and I were both very focused on the pizza.
Over it went to Chris, who offered to put on basil (and they had some very fresh-looking basil waiting) but I declined -- not sure my 4 year old would go for it. Chris then grabs a large "rocker" pizza cutter and quickly cuts the pie up into 4 large slices. The pie went onto a perfectly cut, perfectly sized round piece of cardboard and I think I mumbled a quick "thanks" as my impatient appetite pulled me over to the entryway of a closed business where my family was sitting and waiting.
Even with a bandaged hand, Chris is a master with the rocker.
This was a good pizza. The cheese was thick and melty, and there was good oil on the pizza without making a total mess everywhere. The bottom of the crust had that slight wood-burnt crunch, and the edge soft and thick. It folded up perfectly. The pepperoni was tasty -- cut thin so the flavor was there but it didn't overwhelm the slice. I was really hoping the pizza would be good, and Timber Pizza did not disappoint.
No seriously, it was delicious.
My 4-year old daughter said, chewing around her second piece, "Daddy, when they open, I want to go eat there every night." Yeah, me too.
You can try them out for yourself this upcoming weekend. Timber Pizza Co. will be at the Petworth Jazz Project on Saturday, June 27th at the Petworth Park (6pm - 9pm). I highly recommend you show up to grab a pizza -- before they run out of dough.
Find them online at TimberPizza.com.
Join President Lincoln’s Cottage on September 19, from 10am to 2pm, for their free annual Homecoming celebration inspired by the Lincoln family’s time living on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home, here in the Petworth neighborhood.