NewsFlash: City Paper is Too Cool for Tex-Mex

I'm calling you out, Washington City Paper. I'm pointing the finger squarely at you for tarnishing the image of my fair city. The next time some clueless I-paid-too-much-for-my-broomcloset-of-a-condo NYCer starts running his mouth about the cultural backwater that is the nation's capital, I'm sending him over immediately to talk with you. Why, you may ask? Simple:

The City Paper Best of DC Poll.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "The Best of DC poll? But that's always been rubbish." And I would agree. Raku is the region's best Asian restaurant? The hottest fashions in the District are to be found at Ann Taylor? The list of absurdities could go on and on. But, in their reach for biting irony, we now are blessed with this nugget from a CP staffer:

The Rockville Pike Chili's is the region's second-best Tex-Mex restaurant. According to said City Paper contributor, when it comes to Tex-Mex food:

Lamer is better. Tex-Mex is Mexican food tuned to sloppy, portion-crazed American palates[...]In short, the ideal second-best Tex-Mex place is the Chili’s in Rockville. Both because that’s what we deserve, and because it is reliably so-so-bordering-amazing every single time.

You can almost hear the snickering coming from the CP editor's desk as they reviewed that copy. "Yeah man, Tex-Mex food is so lame, let's demonstrate how lame it is by selecting a bland, freeway-food caliber chain restaurant that doesn't even purport to be a Tex-Mex restaurant as one of the region's best!"

Even in the annals of City Paper snarkiness, this is a new level.

And yes, I get that it's supposed to be ridiculous. I get that the writer was showing his general disdain for Tex-Mex food (and the constant fawning over DC establishment Lauriol Plaza) with his selection. But that ignores two important points: 1) not all Tex-Mex is created equally, and 2) there are a number of fine establishments doing it quite well here in DC. Alternately, skip right past the "Tex" portion altogether and head straight for one of our area's wonderful Mexican-oriented establishments.

For instance, head over to La Plaza or La Loma on Capitol Hill, or head up to La Lomita in Chevy Chase, for some Salvadoran-tinged Tex-Mex done pretty darn well. I'm sure other readers could submit their own, and the list would go on and on.

But no. The CP wasn't actually trying to give us good Tex-Mex recommendations, it was going to show everyone a thing or two about how uncool the whole Tex-Mex thing, and consequently DC's culinary proclivities, is. It's so uncool, in fact, that a nondescript strip mall joint that doesn't even serve Tex-Mex food is the poster child for for this gastronomical abomination. I mean, if that's the angle you're going for, at the very least put forth local chain California Tortilla and keep the recommendation local. But that would indicate that the CP actually cared about such things.

So, thanks for that CP. And thanks for reminding me that Starbucks is the second-best coffee shop in town, that Barnes & Noble is one of our best book stores, and that IKEA is one of our top furniture retailers. I'm so overwhelmed by this torrent of information, that I'm proposing a category of my own: Most Uselessly Bland Collection of Commercial and Culinary Recommendations. I think I might even have a winner.

Fire at Policy, 14th Street Temporarily Closed

It doesn't seem to be anything major (no smoke clouds billowing up into the sky at least), but around 8:45 PM this evening there was a fire reported on the second floor of the recently opened Policy near 14th and T streets.  At least half a dozen EMS vehicles responded, with police closing 14th down in both directions between S and U.

As of 9:00, the fire--however large it was--appeared to be contained, and despite a few chilly diners standing outside and some traffic disruptions, all seemed to be OK.

The American food-serving restaurant/lounge opened last week in the renovated former space of a second-hand shop.  For more about Policy, check out Metrocurean's post on it.

Graham and Metro

I often disagree with Jim Graham, and he added fuel to my fire not long ago. Last week, he was invited to a live chat on Greater Greater Washington. I give him credit for community outreach and for giving respect to the blogging community. But here is the issue:

[Comment From Geoff Hatchard]
serious question—advertising on buses is dramatically underutilized. i see ads in the overhead spaces on buses that are 15 months old, advertising events that have long-since ended. is there a way you can have a heart-to-heart with the ad sales people at WMATA and tell them to step it up with regards to buses. i'm sure advertisers would love to have all those eyeballs...
Jim Graham: I am surprized to hear that. I will ask the GM about that whne we are done here. You can email me for follow up at jim@grahamwone.com

The problem here is that Jim Graham, who chairs the WMATA Board of Directors, hasn't noticed out-of-date advertising on Metro and Metrobus. I had occasion to ride the 50 buses on 14th Street about four times last week. Every one of them had out-of-date advertising. I also saw a charity ad on a Metro car last week for winter holiday fundraising. And for how long have U Street/Cardozo passengers stared at the Marshall's grand opening ad — the one that had the eyes scratched out almost immediately — at the 13th Street exit? Out-of-date advertising is not the crime of the century, to be sure. It's just that you don't have to try to find examples, but you do need to actually use Metro. Which, brings me to another good comment from the chat:

Michael Perkins: Recently in the Washington post it was reported that not many Metro Board members and management ride the system. Do you think it's important for board members and members of WMATA management to regularly ride transit?
Jim Graham: Yes I think so. ALthough--for example-- I have no kids in DC schools, but I particpate in school decsions. There are countless more examples. All the same, there is both a susbtantive and symbolic purpose in riding. Lilke many others, I will be attracted away from the auto by attractive transit service...Like the upcoming bus imporvemtns impacting Ward 1.

I take this comment to mean that Graham finds Metro and Metrobus currently unattractive and, therefore, doesn't use it much. Sigh.

Move Your Car!

Street sweeping with ticketing begins this morning for much of Logan Circle. This year, if you don't move your car to the appropriate side of the street, the odds of a ticket are much higher than before; rather than rely on parking enforcement, sweepers now have cameras mounted on them, and tickets will simply be sent in the mail.

The Joys of Transportation

Please excuse this brief departure from our usual blog format to relay a personal story.

The 14thandyous are truly blessed to be able to live within such close proximity to our places of employment that transportation and its associated headaches rarely register as a concern with us. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case...as Friday night showed.

I headed out of my office in Penn Quarter around 6 PM on Friday evening to head over to meet Mrs. 14thandyou at Firefly in Dupont for a date night. My plan was simple enough: catch the Red Line at Chinatown/PQ over to Dupont, and walk over from there.

My first sign that something was amiss was when I encountered cryptic yellow signs haphazardly taped to the Metro turnstiles that stated: "MAJOR DELAYS. Save yourself money and do not enter the station." I had never encountered these before--their bluntness certainly got my attention. However, the signs didn't indicate what line(s) were affected, and since three lines pass through the Chinatown station, I decided to chance it.

The "which line is it" question was soon answered as I descended the escalator into what I could only describe as sheer pandemonium. I had never seen the Metro platform so jammed with people--you couldn't even get remotely close to the platform entrance. I hastily made a decision that the Metro was not going to be an option this evening (I later heard about the massive derailment at Friendship Heights) and decided to cab it over to Dupont.

Heading across town in rush hour is never fun, but at least I wouldn't be the one driving. I hailed a cab on 6th street, and the driver proceeded to loop around over to K in order to make a right onto Mass to get around Mt. Vernon Square. Only, traffic in the two left turn lanes onto was backed up--but my driver, ever resourceful, decided to turn into the lanes anyway. Because he was unable to complete the turn, he ended up being stuck sideways across multiple lanes of traffic, and because he was stopped so close to the car in front of him, once cars started to move he was forced to back up and then move forward.

Unfortunately, my driver did not think to look behind him before he backed up--if he had, he no doubt would have seen the other cab that had stopped behind him. Since he did not, he ended up smacking into the other cab. My driver got out and proceeded to the open window of the cab he hit. Words were exchanged. I couldn't tell if damage had been done to the other cab, but I was certain that I had heard the sound of a car door getting bent by a fender.

This lasted for about a couple of minutes, at which point I had decided to bail out of the cab. Only the cab driver returned at just that moment, got in, spat out "everything fine" and then sped off around the Square, leaving the other cab behind. I had my doubts that everything truly *was* fine, but I was too busy staring wide-eyed at my driver--unfazed by the earlier incident--zipping in and out of traffic and pedestrians along Mass Ave. to ponder the thought too deeply.

Finally, I arrived at Firefly, nearly an hour after I started out. I paid the fare, but didn't tip, and caught the driver mumbling something as I stepped out of the cab. Should have caught his license number, but at that point I was simply happy to be out of the cab. Not so bad, all things considered, and it did make the Hefeweizen I ordered taste all the better.

After a couple more drinks and some snacks, we headed out to walk home--by which time it had started raining.

But of course.

Cleanergate

If you've missed the news, Cornerstone Cleaners/CS Cleaners on the corner of 14th and U has gone under. Recently, a hastily scribbled note in pink highlighter appeared on the door as the only alert to customers that the shop will be closing within a month. Fine. Trouble is that the storefront has not been open to customers who have clothing inside to pick up. Those who have called the phone number posted on the sign are usually greeted by a completely full voicemail box. Despite all of the Roy Pearson jokes on DCist, this news probably isn't funny to you if you entrusted clothing to Cornerstone.

The good news: Some effort is being made by the property manager to get people into the store. The bad news: not all customers' clothing is in there; according to DCRA, some items are in a storage warehouse, and the property manager does not know where exactly that warehouse is. The store will be open this evening from 3 to 8 p.m. Jim Graham's office is on top of the issue and reports that it has arranged with the store managers to "attempt" to keep Monday, Thursday, and Saturday evening hours (more here). If you would like DCRA's assistance on this issue, they have a web page dedicated to Cornerstone.

The interesting little side story that has developed out of this incident is a testament to the power of the blog. It appears that Herb of DC may have broken the story after an attempt to liberate his shirts on Saturday, which Sommer Mathis at DCist then picked up on Tuesday. Our crack local news outlets then scrambled over to 14th Street last night to cover the incident. At least if DCist picks up a story from another blog, they will give you credit for it. Of the four major networks who reported on this story, only ABC even alluded to having gotten information from a local blog, but they certainly didn't mention Herb of DC by name. NBC 4 has been the only station to give credit to DCist on its web posting of the story. WUSA 9 was so late to the party that their website didn't carry the Cornerstone news until 12 hours after the other networks got to it. (Their post is also hardly in English with missing punctuation and the quotation, "they had electrical and their lease was up.") I find it intriguing that the local news folks appear to be monitoring the blogs for leads but don't want to let on. Yes, generally blogs are full of opinion and unsubstantiated news, but if you can verify a story that someone else broke, then I think you ought to give credit where credit is due.

Today at Noon: Live Chat with Jim Graham

Via greatergreaterwashington, comes today's opportunity to chat live with DC councilman and loitering-hater Jim Graham. Want to find out about the next round of bars to be shut down? When that anti-loitering bill will pass? Why I can't find a decent bagel on U Street? Now's your chance to ask all of these pertinent questions, and perhaps learn how you, too, can Graham-stand on the pet issue of your choosing.

Last I checked, the link provided for the chat wasn't up, but should be around the time the chat is to begin at noon.

Cafe Salsa is OPEN

Thanks to Borderstan for the tip--it seems that Cafe Salsa has (finally) opened their doors to business. Although we have yet to dine there, early returns seem to give the establishment high marks (it seems their mojitos drew in the crowds at their Alexandria location...Mrs. 14th and You happens to be quite the mojito fan, so we'll see if they're as good as advertised). No word on why the opening took so long (it seemed that they were "almost ready to open" for some time...) but at any rate we're happy to hear that they finally did.

It should be noted that only the first floor dining room is currently available, so seating will be somewhat limited. Several other dining rooms on the second floor will be open soon, offering panoramic views of the Central Union Mission and the Whitman-Walker Clinic. I jest, of course...I'm certain the view will be quite lovely.

Oh, and in case you go off hunting for Cafe Salsa's website, it seems that they don't have one. Cafesalsa.com takes you to the homepage of Cafe Salsa--in suburban Chicago. Lest you get confused or something.

Reminder: Street Sweeping Begins Anew March 23

Ahhh, springtime. The flowers begin to blossom, the temperatures begin to rise, and DC parking enforcement begins ticketing cars who dare fail to respect the street sweeping regulations.

Beginning this Monday, street sweeping regulations will once again be enforced, which means alternate-side parking will be in effect until the fall. And if you think you might get lucky as you have in years past when you avoided that $30 ticket when DC Parking Enforcement somehow missed the car you forgot to move the night before, those days are probably numbered. According to DPW's website:

Recently, DPW introduced “Sweepercam,” the newest application of license plate recognition technology to improve street sweeping effectiveness. The technology consists of cameras mounted on street sweepers to photograph vehicles illegally parked in the curb lane of residential and commercial streets during day and night sweeping hours. The sweeper operator switches on the camera, which photographs the vehicle’s license tag, the vehicle and the vehicle’s position on the street. The registered owner will receive a ticket in the mail that will include these photographs.

Wow, that's a move totally out of the Catbert, Evil Human Resources Director playbook. In fact, we put that up there with the chump move DC is known for in this regard, which is sending the street sweeper along a street ten minutes before street sweeping regulations begin, and then two hours later a parking enforcement vehicle comes through and tickets cars that are parked there.

DPW swears that the program effectively removes significant amounts of trash, debris and pollutants from our city's streets, and they may very well be right. But it doesn't make the parking regulations any less of a pain in the a$$.

Borderstan Walk-Around

This Thursday those living in Borderstan may be interested in an important neighborhood event. From the Borderstan blog:

What: Borderstan Night-Safety Walk Around. Join police and city government staff for a quick walk around Borderstan. The purpose is to point out dark areas that need lighting, burned out street lights, overgrown trees, etc. The goal is to improve night safety in Borderstan through better lighting and visibility.

When: This Thursday, March 19, 6 p.m. The group will leave 15th and T NW at 6 p.m. and proceed south.

Who: You, your neighbors, representatives of D.C. government agencies. This includes members of the MPD, D.C. Department of Transportation and Andrew Huff, the Outreach and Services Specialist for Ward 2.

Why: You can meet members of the police who patrol West Borderstan (PSA 208) and East Borderstan (PSA 307) as well as your neighbors… and contribute to public safety by working with officials to fix lighting- and visibility-related problems.

Where: 15th Street NW, starting at T Street and proceeding south to Rhode Island Avenue NW. Join us at 15th and T or watch for us as we make our way down 15th Street NW. Our goal is to cover/talk to residents on the 1400- and 1500-blocks of all streets between T Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW

More Information: Contact Andrew Huff at andrew.huff{at}dc{dot}gov or Borderstan at borderstan{at}gmail{dot}com.

More on Proposed U Street Hotel

Images courtesy JBG Cos.

Thursday evening, representatives from the JBG Cos., developers of the planned U Street hotel at 13th and U streets, were on hand to present an overview of the project and answer questions from neighborhood residents.

Although preliminary, the plans for the hotel are impressive. Designed in a style meant to emulate "traditional" DC architecture, the hotel will top out at ten stories and include something in the neighborhood of 250 guest rooms. Other features of the hotel will include:

• street-level retail, including a locally owned restaurant, a Rite-Aid (which owns a ground lease for the location through 2026), a BB&T bank and other commercial options;
  
• an art gallery on the second floor of the hotel devoted entirely to local artists; and
  
• a rooftop bar/cafe and fitness club, featuring a swimming pool, both of which will be open to the public.

The presentation by JBG was well-designed, beginning with images of U Street in the early years of the 20th century which showed the history of hotels in the neighborhood, focusing on the since-demolished Dunbar and the (now) apartment building Whitelaw, on 13th Street.

The plan, however preliminary, was not without its detractors. Audience members, when given a chance to comment, voiced concerns ranging from the common and expected (parking) to the odd (the placement of a swimming pool ont he roof). Parking may not be a significant issue, what with the hotel being located dirctly across the street from two Metro lines and JBG's innovative plans for so-called "stacked parking" in the underground garage. It is likely, however, that their plans for the handling of deliveries and service vehicles--through a narrow alleyway entrance--will be problematic and will not doubt be revisit during the permitting phase.

One audience member protested the plans for the hotel by reading from a letter; whether the letter was authored by the reader or someone else was not clear. What WAS clear was this particular member's belief that the hotel, with its planned height of 110 feet (which the audience member deemed would make the structure a "colossus" that would "harm" the neighborhood), should not be allowed to exceed the current by-right allowance of 65 feet.

Some back-and-forth between the audience member and JBG's Matt Valentini ensued, with Valentini asserting that the project would not be "economically feasible" if constrained to the 65 foot limit (it would also significantly detract from the aesthetic integrity of the building, at least in our opinion), and the audience member berating JBG for what he deemed to be pure money-driven "opportunism" in creating a building he felt to be out of proportion for the neighborhood.

The most effective rebuttal to the height argument came when Valentini and architect David Schwarz unveiled a scaled model of the hotel as it would appear along with other currently existing neighborhood buildings. After studying the model for several moments, one audience member asked "which one is the hotel?" A better argument could not be made that the planned structure is not disproportionate--at least from our perspective.

As was noted previously, the current plans at this point are very preliminary, and it was noted that the D.C. Planning Office had not yet received anything with regards to the project. With the anticipated time needed to secure the proper variances and permits for the construction of the hotel, the timelines discussed for completion was construction commencing in 2011, with completion by 2014.

Community residents and other interested parties who wish to view more about the project or make comments are encouraged to visit the CSNA's "U Street Hotel" page, which has links to JBG's presentation as well as numerous images, information and more.

14th Street Circulator Line To Commence Next Month

According to a transportation report provided at the March CSNA meeting, a new Circulator bus line linking McPherson Square with Logan, U Street, Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, Adams-Morgan and Woodley Park will debut beginning next month.

The new line will begin at McPherson Square (14th and I streets) and run north along 14th Street to Irving Street. From there, it will run west along Irving, south on Mount Pleasant, southwest along Columbia Rd., then west on Calvert across the Ellington Bridge to Woodley Park. The line will run every 10 minutes from 7 AM - Midnight Sunday through Thursday, and until 3 AM on Fridays and Saturdays.

EDIT: Courtesy of the Washington Business Journal, a map showing the new route can be found here.

We feel that this expansion of the Circulator service is both welcome and long overdue. 14th Street has long needed an expansion of transportation options, and linking a neighborhood such as Logan and U Street with Adams-Morgan and Woodley will provide a much-needed transportation option between those popular areas, and will also provide a quick link between Logan and the Orange/Blue lines at McPherson.

The Circulator presents an enticing option over bus transit for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its dependable frequency and the fact that the number of stops is limited. It's also cheaper than a MetroBus ride ($1) and accepts SmartTrip cards. In other words, we look at this as a win for all involved.

The Circulator's website can be found here; unfortunately you won't find any news about this expansion in service. The most recent news item is a press release from 2007, so perhaps their website isn't the best place to find information about their service.

Cardozo/Shaw Neighborhood Association Meeting Tonight

For those who are able to make it, the CSNA will be hosting their monthly meeting at the Source (1835 14th Street), and will be covering a number of interesting/timely items. From their website:

Agenda items include:

• a presentation by JBG Companies on their proposed "U Street Hotel" project,
• updates on the new Circulator bus line,
• U Street Streetscape project, and
• applications for new and existing alcohol (ABC) licenses in the CSNA area.

The 14thandYous may or may not be able to attend, but if anyone does we'd love to have some feedback on what gets discussed.

The Sad Saga of 14th and T, and What It Means For U Street/Logan Development

Image courtesy of the City Paper

The current issue of the City Paper includes a sorry tale of woe regarding the situation with the building located at 14th and T streets. Though it's not overly in-depth, it does take you through a nice history of the building, from its beginnings as a factory for Model T cars, up to its current status as the (maybe?) future home of Minneapolis-based furniture retailer Room & Board.

The piece is both fascinating and frustrating, as one learns how the massive edifice went from abandoned warehouse, to a church, to a condo building, to a future home of a Diner and Dave Chappelle-back comedy club, to the future home of Room & Board, to its now uncertain situation.

Undoubtedly, the most aggravating part of the story comes from the March 2008 time period. It was at this time that plans were formulating for Tryst and Diner owner Constantine Stavropoulos to open up a new cafe/diner on the first floor of the building, with the second floor featuring Riot Act Comedy Club (co-owned by Dave Chappelle) and Boundless Yoga operating on the third floor. The City Paper quotes Stavropoulos as saying that the deal fell apart due to a failure to secure tenant allowances, which Stavropoulos called "crazy." However, that relates only a portion of the story.

From an October 2008 post from greatergreaterwashington (subsequently picked up by Borderstan), we learn of the ardent opposition to the developer's plans by ANC2B09 commissioner (and ANC2B chair) Ramon Estrada, in particular the "24 hour aspect" of the operation. This, in spite of the fact that many in the Logan/U Street corridor had advocated for the project as a way to both increase the vibrancy and security of the area. (Estrada, it should be noted, has also strongly advocated for a reduction in the size of the proposed project at 14th and U streets). The idea for the diner/comedy club went by the wayside, and furniture retailer Room & Board stepped in to claim the spot (although that deal now appears in doubt due to the economic calamity).

So, why bring this up now? Well, for one the City Paper has dredged it up as an example of urban development and local government involvement gone awry. But, perhaps more importantly, with several new operations, along with two massive developments, set to descend upon the neighborhood during the coming months and years, it's important for the community to understand how these types of decisions get made.

I wrote in an earlier post that I could foresee problems with the proposed operating hours of two forthcoming 14th Street restaurants/lounges, and this is precisely the reason why. Even with strong community support, the voices of a few prominent (or loud) members of the community can dictate neighborhood developmental policy, frequently to the detriment of the community as a whole. The ramifications of this type of behavior extend far beyond that of the development in question. DC as a whole is changing, and it's not merely U Street and Logan that have reaped the benefits. Business owners are presented with the ability to pursue opportunities in neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights, H Street, Petworth and other locales should they find the climate there more hospitable.

This doesn't mean that the interests of residents and others in the community should be ignored; far from it, in fact. But stories such as the one at 14th and T show the consequences of ignoring broad-based community sentiment in the name of protecting the interests of a vocal minority.

Pick Me! Pick Me!

The annual Washington City Paper Best Of poll is out. Log on and vote for your favorite local institutions. Walking around the neighborhood, I've seen that Miss Pixie's and Java House, among others, are lobbying for your vote. And, of course, we wouldn't be hurt to be named your favorite blog.

Spotted in Georgetown This Weekend

Note the handsaw that is attached to the hood. Note, too, that the Wicker-mobile is parked illegally. Can you imagine going to impound lot and describing this vehicle?

We're just going to give this one a big old WTF and move along.

Two New Restaurants/Lounges Coming to 14th Street

Big news this week for the 1800 block of 14th Street: it seem that two new establishments are headed to the block, and they both sound pretty exciting.

The first is Blu Restaurant and Lounge, which is set to fill the space between and Pulp and Home Rule formerly occupied by the Latino grocery store. According to the ABRA application posted to the window, Blu is planning to host live bands and a DJ, serve "light food" and will have something called a "summer garden," although we're not entirely certain what that is.

I haven't been able to obtain independent confirmation of this, but it seems that there is a Blu Lounge already in operation in Bethesda. You can check out their website here for a taste of what is (likely) coming to 14th Street.

One potential hang-up for them: they are looking for operating hours extending until 2 AM Sun - Thurs and until 3 AM on Fri-Sat. Now, the 14thandYous don't happen to have a problem with those hours--14th street is a commercial corridor, and in our opinions there could stand to be a bit more late night activity in the area that isn't occurring behind the Mr. Wash--but we know of plenty in the neighborhood who are likely to raise a fuss and voice all manner of concerns over the heathen debauchery that would no doubt take place should Blu be allowed to remain open until that ungodly hour on a school night.

Our prediction: they'll get until midnight Sun-Thurs, and until 2 AM Fri-Sat. Stay tuned...

A few paces down the block, Masa 14 is about to rear its head. Unlike Blu, Masa is shaping up to be more of a full-service restaurant, with cuisine that is--if their ABRA application is to be believed--is severely geographically challenged.

Masa's sign indicates that they will be serving "Mediterranean fusion, with a focus on Latin and Asian tapas". Now, I'm no geography major (help me out here IMGoph) but it seems that any restaurant focusing on Latin and Asian tapas would have a difficult time qualifying their food as remotely "Mediterranean," but perhaps there is an angle to this that I am missing.

Perhaps most importantly, the application takes great pains to note that there will be no nude dancing at this establishment. So, all of you expecting to get "Camelot on 14th," well...I'm sorry. You'll just have to wait.

Masa also seems to afflicted by the same operating hours delusion as Blu, so perhaps they can band together on this one?

Interestingly, assuming both places move forward with their plans, it will mean that every storefront on the east side of the 1800 block is filled. So, cheers to that.