Thursday, January 20, 2011

Justice Kagan considering move to "gentrifying" Logan?

Is it a sign that your neighborhood has officially entered the upper echelon of DC neighborhoods when a Supreme Court Justice is spotted checking out a potential new home there?

According to Above the Law, Elena Kagan, the Court's most recently confirmed Justice, is considering a move from her current downtown residence into a townhome in Logan Circle. She was recently seen checking out the townhome and, suppsoedly, "asking a lot of questions." (Which would, apparently, make her the polar opposite of Clarence Thomas.)

Strangely, Above the Law's David Lat appears unaware of Logan's thriving restaurant scene:

A possible downside of the area: it doesn’t have that many restaurants. And Justice Kagan doesn’t seem to cook much.

No, of course it doesn't. That would certainly explain why community activists felt the need to pursue legislation last year to raise the allowable percentage of bars and restaurants in the so-called "Arts Overlay District" to 50%, since the previous 25% cap had already been exceeded. And places like Estadio and Cork haven't been consistently making the lists of the area's top dining destinations or anything.

Oh well. At least Lat makes room for the possibility that the neighborhood isn't as gritty as it used to be--and even poses the question whether Logan has actually gentrified. If you can believe it.

Regardless, if Justice Kagan elects to move to our fine little neighborhood, I suspect she will enjoy it quite a bit. I just hope she can find a decent place to eat.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

David Lat obviously lives in the suburbs..

Anonymous said...

He actually lives in New York. Above the Law is an awful blog anyway.

Anonymous said...

I <3 Logan!

Anonymous said...

As much as I like our neighborhood, it still sorely lacks so much. Compared to New York, Logan certainly does have a dearth of restaurants. I think that is not disputable.

Chris in Eckington said...

And compared to Beijing, there's a dearth of good Chinese, and not nearly as many great museums as London.

Mr. Other Upper NW said...

"Compared to New York, Logan certainly does have a dearth of restaurants. I think that is not disputable."

No one's comparing Logan to NYC (although I am getting a bit tired of New York being referred to as if it were a singular entity--the entire city isn't Greenwich Village and NoLita). If you read the piece, you'll note that the author wasn't comparing Logan to any New York neighborhood; he didn't even mention New York. He was comparing Logan to Kagan's current downtown residence. And you can't seriously argue that Logan is so far behind downtown DC in terms of eateries that Kagan is going to be in want of an acceptable dining establishment.

Anonymous said...

Yes, but he used to live in . . . Logan Circle.

Anonymous said...

Mr. 14th and You is spot on -- no, Logan Circle isn't "New York," but it certainly has as many good restaurants in its own neighborhood and within walking distince to others as anywhere in DC.

Anonymous said...

Can we just get a bagel and legitimate pizza-by-the-slice place in logan? Then we can start comparing to NYC.

Anonymous said...

When he last lived in DC, Lat lived at Post Mass in Scott Circle. Not exactly Logan. And that was a few years ago. 14th and U is far different since then.

Anonymous said...

not commenting on difference between logan and "new york," but here are the restaurants that are within walking distance from the center of logan circle. (i consider about half-a-mile to be walking distance. this seems fair, and removes the "what neighborhood is it in, really" discussion, which seems pointless. the point is what is close to logan circle, right?) anyway, here they are:

birch and barley/church key
estadio
posto
logan tavern
commissary
veranda
ackc
lalibela
teak wood
thai tanic
ghana cafe
cork
sweetgreen
zenten
masa 14
bar pilar
cafe st. ex
policy
komi
skewers
hanks oyster bar
fox and hounds
point chaud
homemade pizza (not a restaurant, but good stuff)
cafe green
trio's

...i am sure i am missing some. there are also many takeout places i left off, not to mention whole foods, which is pretty good for getting food. also, there are many plans for new restaurants (black jack, some italian places, whatever will end up under the fancy new condo's on 14th street) to come. i think the point is that there are plenty of places to eat in logan circle, which is not what the article suggested, right?

Anonymous said...

And also within that 1/2 mile radius is Corduroy, one of the best restaurants in the city!

Anonymous said...

heard from a former tenant that a supreme court justice walked through his rowhouse on 13th st between U st & T st

might have been her!