Brad Pitt Has Your Secret Shit: Rolling DC

i've yet to hear anything positive about them, ever. surprised someone there has a twitter account!

from everything I've heard, the dcra twitter feed is really helpful!

Not sure how they're working out all the code issues w/ the diner - it it possible to get a building relocated from another state grandfathered? What about accessibility/emergency egress path requirements? I have enough trouble getting regular construction to meet the latest codes so it's hard to imagine how an old diner will.

yeah, i have no idea. it sounds like they thought they had everything good to go, but perhaps they were clueless.

are dc's codes particularly tough? or is it more a question of finding out exactly what dcra is looking for to satisfy them? like, where does breakdown occur that seems to stop so many new businesses from opening or existing ones from expanding?

DC enforces code a lot harder than most other cities and the permit office is understaffed and generally screwed up.

I bought a condo.

o_O

I mean I knew about this, but seeing it on ilx is blowing my mind a little bit.

everyblock.com looks like facebook for a neighborhood--mine's even showing party photos at the moment. much easier to scan their crime reports than inspector d3lgado's yahoo group emails.

Anyone signed up for the DC Police Alert texts or emails? It's pretty awesome, nice to get violent crime reports within minutes rather than days.

Parking in DC sucks, guys. Please build a supertrain to pittsburgh, please.

of all people, ed, i would have thought that you'd have ridden your bike

one of my friends from undergrad is on the team that built the everyblock, they started it up in chicago. so cool to see it taking off.

i sort of envy the guy because he didn't come from an IT background at all, but went on to do so much great work for progressive organizations & now has this thing going. most def winning at life right now.

if they could somehow integrate freecycle offers...yeah.

I like how DC was giving out parking tickets in residential neighborhoods to folks whose cars allegedly stuck out too far down from their driveway.

And y'all been following the Adams Morgan issue re pulling liquor licenses from places that don't sell enough food--Bossa and some other place so far.

yeah fuck those places imo - the way DC has gone about enforcement is kind of heavy handed all of a sudden but these places have been operating in clear violation of their licenses for years.

I do not understand how the licensing works for 'restaurants that sell alcohol'--How do they arrive at the percentage of food a place has to sell? How do they decide how many places can only be restaurants with liqor licenses rather than bars with liquor licenses and no food?

And if Bossa is closed, can it only be replaced by an establishment that also has to follow the 'restaurant with liquor license' rules rather than the bar with liquor license and no food rules?

I'm just asking, as I do not know enough about it, but do you think the DC license system is fair and that places in "clear violation" (I read that Bossa claims it came very close last year to meeting the proper percentages) have no reason to complain?

Do we still drink?

File this under "Be careful what you wish for," but I'm getting nostalgic about frat parties and have a hankering to see a bar fight (from a safe distance).

Now here's something to talk about over brews and the right amount of food in a properly licensed establishment--- I see in the Washington Post that the Mayor's former substitute teacher in school is now (as a civilian not employed by DC) driving the mayor around town and getting millions of dollars for his private business from the mayor's administration.

I do not understand how the licensing works for 'restaurants that sell alcohol'--How do they arrive at the percentage of food a place has to sell? How do they decide how many places can only be restaurants with liqor licenses rather than bars with liquor licenses and no food?

The issue is that many bars and nightspots in Washington are operating under restaurant-class licenses, which require businesses to derive either 45 percent of their gross receipts or at least $2,000 per seat in food sales. (The other usual option is a tavern license, which doesn't require food sales. Those are usually limited, though, and some neighborhoods, including Adams Morgan, have a moratorium on issuing new tavern licenses to prevent a buildup of bars.)

Keep in mind that $2,000 per seat per year is very very little - $5.95 per seat per night will get you there.

And if Bossa is closed, can it only be replaced by an establishment that also has to follow the 'restaurant with liquor license' rules rather than the bar with liquor license and no food rules?

Based on the Adams Morgan license moratorium, yes.

I'm just asking, as I do not know enough about it, but do you think the DC license system is fair and that places in "clear violation" (I read that Bossa claims it came very close last year to meeting the proper percentages) have no reason to complain?

Yes - the business owners know what the license class is when they start the business and what the requirements are. Skirting the regulations here isn't doing the neighborhood any good and heavily contributes to Adams Morgan being the hellhole it is.

But aren't some of Adams Morgan's problems caused by "taverns" and not just the 2 "restaurants that sell food" that were shut down--Bossa and Bobby Lews?

And isn't the issue in some way just like the issue is/was in Georgetown--too many knuckleheads (from DC, Md, and VA) who drink too much in both types of licensed establishments, and establishments that are happy to sell more and more drinks to people who should be stopping at say 2 drinks?

So hypothetically an "I Died" designed and promoted establishment in Adams Morgan could meet the food and drink rules and help establish a reason to go to that part of town?! They may be wrong, but Bossa claimed it was not so easy.

I'm going to be in DC for about 24 hours next week (one night). Any recommendations for dinner and breakfast/brunch?

argh, there was an awesome place on U Street that TOMBOT took my brother and me to but I can't remember the name, super awesome brunch spot tho

oh man where to start.

oh I know: ethiopian (Dukem, Queen Makeda, Madjet).

speaking of u street brunch, is hominy any good?

Ooh I love Ethiopian and SF is weak(er) than some cities on it. Do you have a preference on any of those three (it looks like they are all in the same area)?

no hominy

I like Dukem in general - solid performer.
Queen Makeda is sometimes wonderful but very quirky and slow.
Madjet I like, but maybe not as much as Quincie does.

no hominy meaning you haven't eaten there, or it's no good?

But aren't some of Adams Morgan's problems caused by "taverns" and not just the 2 "restaurants that sell food" that were shut down--Bossa and Bobby Lews?

One of the issues is that there are, according to ABRA, 16 places in Adams Morgan licensed as restaurants and operating as taverns - a very substantial total impact. The problem in Adams Morgan isn't that assholes go there, it's that due to the density of the places it crossed the asshole event horizon and attracts those people in general, leading to the marauding hordes looking for anyplace to go. And the places that are supposed to be restaurants are happy to not act as such in order to serve them.

So hypothetically an "I Died" designed and promoted establishment in Adams Morgan could meet the food and drink rules and help establish a reason to go to that part of town?! They may be wrong, but Bossa claimed it was not so easy.

It's not easy to meet the food requirements if you've established an image that doesn't include that, and you have an insufficient infrastructure for it. It's hard for Bossa to sell food because people only think of them as a bar - but that's only because they spent years acting like they were just a bar.

I haven't eaten at Hominy but every restaurant in that space has sucked, and their new chef's previous restaurant sucked. Maybe two wrongs will make a right in this case but I'm not spending my money to find out.

What's the less fancy Ethiopian restaurant right near Etete and DC Nine on Ninth just below U st. called? I kinda liked that about as much as Dukem.

Expo? Axum? There are quite a few on that block!

Rolling DC thread, can I beg a favor?

I'm moving to DC in late June / early July, and I'm looking for a place to live with my gf. We have 4 "wants":

1. Close to metro and/or rail lines surrounding DC (within a 10 minute walk to a train, preferably, since I don't have a car)

2. maximum of 45 minute commute into downtown DC (I'll be working at EPA)

3. A small yard would be cool, to plant a garden, but I realize that might be tricky. Maybe if nothing else, access to a relatively close community garden.

4. Under $1250 a month.

Can anyone recommend a neighbor? Or even another city, Alexandria, etc? We visited Baltimore last month to see a friend and weren't that impressed, plus the commute would be on the very edge of what I could handle each day.

Can anyone recommend a neighborHOOD?

Although neighbor recommendations could come in handy as well!

I'm too new to help ZS, but I'm registering general interest in a drink, maybe when ZS gets here?

argh, there was an awesome place on U Street that TOMBOT took my brother and me to but I can't remember the name, super awesome brunch spot tho

Polly's Cafe, perhaps?

Can anyone recommend a neighborHOOD?

Takoma Park, MD (just outside DC) springs to mind upon reading your wants.

x-post...I think it's Axum that I liked. So many Ethiopian restaurants around there

Okay so I think we are going to try Dukem. Any brunch/breakfast suggestions for the next day? Also anything happening this Tuesday night? Is the Washington City Paper the best place to find events?

Z S--you maybe could find a basement apt satisfying those criteria in the neighborhoods of Shaw (i'm thinking around 7th St NW, fairly close to U Street, which is a popular nightlife/restaurants/retail neighborhood), or Bloomingdale (farther east+south, less developed, maybe too far from Metro). your commute would be easy. dunno how you feel about basement apartments.

the seventh street garden is around there (actually on 3rd st now)
http://the7thstreetgarden.squarespace.com/

just a warning: community garden space hard to come by these days. the one I'm in has a multi-year wait list!

Oh and what is your crime tolerance? Important question, actually.

dunno how you feel about basement apartments.

I lived in one in Chicago for about a year. The only thing that bugged me was the lack of sunshine. I'd be willing to consider living in one again, though, if the price was right and the location was nice.

community garden space hard to come by these days

Yeah, so I've heard. That's why it would be really nice to have a place with even a tiny yard.

Oh and what is your crime tolerance?

I have a decent tolerance, but my gf would probably prefer somewhere on the safe side. Not a gated community suburb or anything, but being able to walk outside at night to a corner store without fearing a beat down would be nice.

Okay so I think we are going to try Dukem. Any brunch/breakfast suggestions for the next day? Also anything happening this Tuesday night? Is the Washington City Paper the best place to find events?

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:00 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Dukem and some of the other Ethiopian restaurants sometimes have live Ethiopian bands on late. White Rabbits, a Brooklyn rock band who Spoon's singer produced, are gonna be at the RnR Hotel that night, thought that place is over in NE. In addition to the City Paper, the Brightest Young Things website lists dc events, as does the Onion's decider column, and on Tuesdays dcist.com and the Washington Post website's Going Out Gurus list recommendations.

Hmmmm, I wonder if there's any reggae happening (dj-wise or band-wise) on U st that night?

"I Died" could probably help with DC breakfast/brunch ideas.

Lunch places around the Capitol/Museum area would be fine too actually.

Live Ethiopian would be great.

I think Dukem has live Ethiopian acts pretty much every night, they also serve late so you can catch dinner & music usually around 11pm.

slim pickings for lunch around Capitol/museums - bunch of hot dog carts, mostly. Mitsitam, the cafeteria in the National Museum of the American Indian is quite good.

Teaism, at 8th & D NW, is pretty kick ass generally.
http://www.teaism.com/Restaurant/PennQuarter7.html

There are a bunch of options heading north on 7th St, Jaleo is probably the best of them fairly close to the Mall.

Oh noes- just noticed Dukem site lists entertainment every night but Tuesday

http://www.dukemrestaurant.com/events.htm

I bet there must be one Ethiopian restaurant open tonight late with music.

Alex, you can go see Chaka Khan Wednesday afternoon for free if you'd like at Wilson plaza near the Reagan bldg from noon to 1:30

So much rain. When did this place become Seattle.