Iron Gate restaurant is located at 1734 N Street, NW. A friend of mine took his girlfriend here for an anniversary dinner and was a pretty big fan. I hear it’s a bit pricey but worth it. What do you guys think – one of DC’s best hidden gem restaurants? Any particularly good dishes? Worth the money?

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories.  In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics.  

Ed. Note: This story was previously featured at People’s District but fans of the Hitching Post are going to love this. This feature is sorta what I had in mind for the snap-shots series. I’m grateful Danny will be sharing some of his great stories on a weekly basis here.

Mr. Carter on The Hitching Post’s Famous Fried Chicken

“I moved to DC from Cleveland, came here to be a police officer when I was 28. I met my wife while walking the beat. She was always supportive of whatever I did, including opening a restaurant. Today, I am very pleased that I made the decision to open The Hitching Post. Now, at the age of 75, 43 years after opening this place, I am still doing what I want to be doing.

“It all started when I was assigned with another policeman at Connecticut Ave. and Calvert St. one evening on a special detail. I was a footman, and footmen were required to stand outside in all kinds of weather for special events. This particular event was the President, at that time, having some festival at one of the major hotels in that area. During that evening, I was talking with the other officer, I don’t remember his name, but I’ll never forget what he told me. He said, ‘You interested in going into business?’ He told me about opening a restaurant and suggested this location in Petworth and said it was a gold mine. He said if I opened this restaurant, served good food and was nice to the clientele, I would make a good living. He was right.

“We were new to the business, to cooking and to dealing with the public so I learned my trade in here. I started cooking in the 1960s, but there was not much of a need for it then because much of our business was in the alcohol trade: beer, wine and mixed drinks. We had a good relationship with the older people who came in here from the soldiers home across the street. Many of them were from broken families, divorcees, lonely people, but when they came in here, we cheered them up. They made us feel so happy that they could relate their stories to us…and many of them had a lot of stories to tell. They told stories about war and their time overseas and we listened. They were very nice men and we even had a few women too. They would come day after day, we were like a big family.

“Much of that has now gone, and most of our clients are professionals who drive from other areas of the city. There was a lady who came all the way from Baltimore the other day to have some chicken. People always ask what kind of mixture I use to cook my fried chicken. It’s simple. I beat up my eggs and add a little water. That is my dip and then I mix in a little flour with salt and paper….and rosemary. Got to add the rosemary to it, that gives it the flavor.

“I think that our music box has also been a big addition to our popularity. We carry a mixture of music, much of it dating back to the 1940s. I still enjoy listening to Big Band, it has always been a part of my repertoire. We have some of our favorite artists such as Nat King Cole, Jo Stafford, and Chet Baker. A lot of the music is quiet music, nothing that is going to blow you out of here. We do have a little music that would be attractive to the younger generation, but most of our music is for a subtle dining atmosphere. With that Ipod you can collect more of what is available, but the music box still has something that you can’t replace, nostalgia. I think that in time, the music box is going to be an old dinosaur, just like the Carters!

“In the future, I’d like the restaurant to continue to operate. I don’t want to shut it down. I hope that I can manage the restaurant without ever, ever closing or changing it to something else. We spent so much of our life here, it means so much to us.”

A few weeks ago the owner of this house sent in a few pictures of his renovation on 15th Street, NW. It just whet my appetite and he was kind enough to invite me over to take some more photos. Holy cow. The previous photos hardly did it justice. The home was bought in 2000 and the renovations took a year. I’d like to thank the owners for being kind enough to invite me over and allow to take some photos. The owner writes:

“Fun news, just found out the house won a national AIA design award for sustainable design. The update really wasn’t about the pop up, it was about opening up the house and making it more environmentally friendly overall. We needed to re-do the electrical throughout, the plumbing to some extent, and to completely replace and update the HVAC while modernizing the kitchen and other spaces. The rooftop addition was an added bonus that we love–and it gave us some terrific additional access to the outdoors and that amazing park.”

Below is the view of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park from the second floor balcony off the living room:

Lots more photos after the jump including a sick Koi pond… (more…)

IMG_2081, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I’ve seen mattresses, shower curtains, odd books, gym equipment but this is the first food item. Green Beans. And French Style to boot. Gotta love the randomness of it all.

IMG_2054, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Last week WJLA released a poll saying that Fenty was at a 51% disapproval rating. I’m not sure how much stock to put into these polls but when I unscientifically chat with neighbors and friends, most seem to echo this poll. So I also noticed a bunch of these Draft Kwame Brown For Mayor signs this weekend. So couple of questions – Is Fenty doing a good job? If you think not, is there a good alternative?

“Dear PoP,

I wanted to let you know about some new artwork in the display cases outside the Convention Center at Mt. Vernon Square. The cases are under the Convention Center bridge, which I pass everyday walking from the metro to work. They’ve been empty forever, it’s great to seem them put to use, and there are some really interesting pieces. I especially like the DC street map done in yarn and pins. If you’re down that way you should check it out.”

More photos after the jump. (more…)

IMG_2016, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I actually saw the owner of this outside his house in Shaw and was able to ask a few questions. It was actually a wedding present from a designer friend up in Cape Cod. The tree is from the tidal basin with full cherry blossom bloom. Very cool wedding gift.

IMG_2048, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I had a lot of unusual finds in Bloomingdale this weekend. This banister really jumped out at me. I think the brass looks pretty cool.

IMG_2060, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

There’s a lot going on here but I particularly liked the metal design at the bottom. I’ve also never seen one like this before.

IMG_2055, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I know painted brick rowhouses can be a bit contentious but I found a few this weekend that came out pretty good.

There is a sign for a new pizza spot to come to 1745 Connecticut Ave, NW. However, there was a stop work order on the front window? Anyone ever hear of this pizza spot before? Is it a chain? They are claiming New York style pizza which could fill a gap in the city’s pizza options.

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“Dear PoP,

I’m the brother of Amanda Mahnke, who was jogging on Connecticut at Florida on September 3 when she was hit by a Metrobus. She is recovering from serious injuries. I’m very grateful to the people who came to my sister’s aid that morning, and I would like to talk to anyone who was there. If you could post something encouraging people who were there, or who know someone who was there, to e-mail me (rm2159570 at gmail dot com), I would be appreciative. Since WTOP created some confusion on the point, I’d also like to mention there is no basis for the notion that Amanda was wearing earbuds that morning. Not that it should make a difference — joggers who are wearing earbuds should be safe from buses, too.”

If anyone saw something please email Robert at rm215570 (at) Gmail (dot) com. For those that missed the Post article – the driver of the metro bus has been fired.

Photo by PoPville flickr user cacophony76

“Dear PoP,

Any ideas on why a train can sometimes be heard near Adams Morgam/Woodley? Where is this train??”

I asked a similar question back in May ’07. At that time I inquired about hearing a train from my home in Petworth. I was told that I was “hearing trains on the track that runs along the Red Line metro track parallel to North Capitol and then along Blair to Silver Spring.”

Anyone know what train you can hear from Adams Morgan/Woodley Park? Is it the same one?

It’s been fun watching the progress of this building at 9th and Q Streets, NW. There is a sign that says the condos sales are coming soon. I’ll be sure to list the prices when they and photos inside become available. Here’s what it looked like in Dec. ’08 and here’s what it looked like in March ’09. Come out pretty good, yeah?

There were so many great shots of the Fiesta DC Festival uploaded to the PoPville Flickr pool. Allow me to show a few. And this concludes the Fiesta DC retrospective…

The great shot above is from theraspberryexpress.

Above is a cool from schmiddi, titled, “Four Eyes”.

The shot of the sweet bike above was taken by *tinadelarosa

Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here.