Restaurant Update, Thai Edition: Teakwood Headed for 14th Street

Has Logan reached saturation on Thai restaurants yet? The team from Alexandria's Galae Thai don't think so. Soon, they will be moving forward with longstanding plans to open up a new restaurant on 14th Street called Teakwood, which will be located at 1423 14th Street NW, south of Rhode Island Ave., next door to the BioScrip Pharmacy--and practically across the street from Thaitanic.

Teakwood (named after the teak trees found in southeastern Asia) will serve Thai cuisine and also house a sushi bar. Plans for the restaurant have existed for some time, but it has only been recently that plans for the space are shaping into reality. It's unclear how much of the menu will be brought over from the Alexandria location, but that location's menu can be found here. Plans currently call for the restaurant to be open seven days a week from 10a - midnight, and it will house just under 150 people.

The arrival of Teakwood continues a busy development pace along 14th Street between Thomas Circle and P Street. As noted by Borderstan earlier this week, Logan 14 Salon and Spa will be opening in August. It's arrival also poses another question: how many Thai restaurants can the neighborhood support?

As mentioned above, longtime 14th Street Thai restaurant Thaitanic is located practically across the street. Ironically, they have plans to expand to a second floor location and to add a sushi bar, although those plans are currently held up in negotiations with the ANC and ABRA, who several weeks agorejected the voluntary agreement between both parties. The VA will eventually be accepted, allowing Thaitanic to move forward with their plans--but it seems that it will be a race with Teakwood.

Meanwhile, a few blocks north, you may have noticed that the neighborhood's other Thai cuisine-serving establishment, Rice, has been closed for the past couple of days as they undergo an interior renovation. By the looks of things this evening, everything is set for a reopening tomorrow evening, replete with a "refreshed" interior.

So, no excuses for not being able to get your pad prik sod on--especially considering that you can also head up to Sala Thai on U, or Bua over at 17th and P (a personal favorite of the 14thandyous). Now...how about that bagel shop?

ANC Meetings Galore: Thaitanic on the Docket, New Restaurants in Shaw

For those of you into this kind of thing, the ANC2F meeting (that would be Logan Circle and environs) is meeting this Wednesday to discuss things like street closures and DDOT projects. But for those of you who frequent a certain Thai place on 14th Street, there is a bit of interesting news for you.

Thaitanic is looking to expand to a second floor and remain open until 2 AM seven days a week. This has caused some, er, concern amongst the neighbors, and the matter comes before the ANC Wednesday, as attempt to work out a voluntary agreement with the establishment.

Those interested in learning more can visit ANC2F's website.

Over at the ANC1B meeting on Thursday evening, they'll be discussing, among other things, two proposed new restaurant/lounges in the Shaw/Howard U. area. One is the proposed Gll Restaurant and Lounge, located at 2632 Georgia Avenue, which is looking to bring an American cuisine-style restaurant with live jazz to Georgia Avenua. The other is a coffee house/bar/lounge dubbed The Independent (as opposed to the partisan), which will be located at 7th and Florida. Both places are fairly good size, but the Independent stands out in particular, with a total occupancy of 235 and a summer garden with an occupancy of 90. They're looking to be open until 2 AM Sun- Thurs, and until 3 AM on Friday and Saturday. Good luck on that one, boys.

Also of note: a discussion regarding the proposed expansion of the African-American Civil War Museum.

For more details, visit the ANC1B website.

Logan/Shaw/U Street Businesses Clean Up in City Paper Poll

The City Paper's annual "Best of..." issue was released last week, and area businesses could be found in abundance amongst the winners.

Beer-lover's paradise ChurchKey scored big wins as "Best New Bar" and "Best Beer Selection" (although, considering that no one can get in the door at this place, it's questionable how useful this information is). Garden District won as "Best Garden Store", Nellies won for "Best Sports Bar", Miss Pixies got the nod for "Best Home Furnishings Store" and--in a bit of a surprise--Thaitanic was selected as the city's best Thai restaurant.

Now, keep in mind that this is the City Paper's readership poll, so many of the results are likely to be a popularity contest. (Whole Foods is the best specialty foods market? Really?) And there's a certain level of predictability--Ben's Chili Bowl will likely hold the title of the city's "Best Drunk Eats" until the Rapture. Still, the poll is nothing if not a statement on how dominant the Dupont-to-Shaw corridor is in terms of the District's commercial world.

Borderstan has a run-down of all the area businesses who won (or were runners-up) in the poll, including those who aren't members of the Mid-City Business Association. Go vie it a look-see; meanwhile, I'll be taking by out-of-town friends up to Busboys and Poets.