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.

Last Chance to Vote for "Best of DC" 2010

Do you have a favorite Logan/Shaw/Dupont business that you would like to see recognized in the City Paper's annual "Best of DC" poll? If so, you need to hurry to get your vote in to the annual popularity contest. Voting closes tomorrow (Monday) for people wishing to cast a vote for their favorite bartender or yoga studio.

The Logan-Shaw area offers a wealth of possibilities for victory: is Longview, Plan B or Transformer the best gallery in the city? Is Garden District or Old City Green the best garden store? Is one of our area hang-outs the best coffee shop in the District? Which one of our innumerable Ethiopian restaurants is tops in the city?

Click here to go and cast your vote. If you're curious who won what last year, the 2009 poll is available by clicking here. Happy voting!

ANC2F Meeting Tonight: Cafes and Sex Clubs?

ANC2F has their monthly meeting scheduled for tonight, and all looks to be pretty much standard fare for ANC meetings: you have your church parking discussion, your ABRA discussion for a new cafe coming to 14th Street (Cafe Trebant), some assorted DC government reports, and so forth.

However, the most interesting part of the meeting may come from something that is not listed on the agenda. It seems that Washington CityPaper reporter Amanda Hess has been sniffing around the story of the death that occurred over the weekend at the sex club that operates at 1618 14th Street. City officials, it seems, have not exactly been forthcoming regarding the individual's identity, nor the circumstances under which the death occurred. Hess has indicated that she plans to attend this evening's meeting to raise the issue before the ANC--ostensibly, we can only assume, to urge the ANC to launch some sort of inquiry or investigation.

If you're thinking that this property has been in the news before, you would be correct. A few years ago, a fire broke out in an upstairs room of the building, leading to an investigation into the use of the property by the District. The club that runs the sex parties hosted at 1618 is the "DC Wrestling Club," which is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. However, the property is currently zoned residential, and nothing in the property records indicates that it is a staging area for functions conducted by a nonprofit entity.

There are many questions surrounding the property, and likely non of them will be answered tonight. But a good conversation could ensure nonetheless.

The full agenda for this evening's meeting can be found at the ANC2F website.

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.