It’s been a good couple of weeks for new lunch options for those who work near the White House. Spice Indian Bistro recently opened up at 17th and Penn. NW and we recently learned that Wicked Waffle was coming to 1712 Eye St, NW. Add a new pizza option to the list.

The Upper Crust Pizzeria will be coming to 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (next to a relatively new Roti.) A recent liquor license application says:

“Gourmet Pizzeria offering dine-in, take out, and delivery. Occupancy load of 34.”

A good pizza place at this location would be a phenomenal addition for the lunch crowd.

Update: You can see their Facebook page here:

“OFFICIAL Facebook for Boston’s best pizza with 17 locations in and around Boston; 1 in Key West. Coming soon to DC!”

Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is an Associate Broker with Urban Pace. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 1100 7th St NE
Legal Subdivision: Old City #1
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Capitol Hill
Original List Price: $259,900.
List Price at Contract: $259,900.
List Date: 11/05/2010
Days on Market: 0 (Not unusual with new construction, which sometimes may be entered post-contract for comparable purposes)
Settled Sales Price: $255,900.
Settlement Date: 12/21/2010
Seller Subsidy: $5,000.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: FHA

Original GDoN is: here.

The listing for the subject property and current available units in the building can be seen: here. The virtual tour of the building can be seen here.

Once again, much of the conversation from the original Good Deal or Not (GDoN) post focused on crime and how it affects the perceived desirability of a particular location. I can’t believe that nobody even touched the subject of this property being advertised as “Capitol Hill”. Personally, I would have gone with “SoFlo”. Or is it really “H Street” or “Atlas District”? The name of the condominium is “NOMA Overlook”, which is understandable given that NOMA now actually has a real live Harris Teeter and is a mere six blocks away.

The listing comments mention that there are a total of six units in the building. The two current active listings appear in the link above. Given that this relatively recent settlement is reported to have been financed with an FHA loan product, I assume that the other couple of units have settled as well. That comp information has not been shared as yet. Unfortunately, for the one unit that does show as settled, we can’t calculate the price per square foot since the listing does not include the square footage and the recent condo conversion units have not appeared in tax records yet.

Photo by PoPville flickr user [F]oxymoron

“Dear PoP,

The short version of the question – Does anyone have experience fighting a drivers’ license suspension based on a cycling accident?

The longer version – A few months ago, I was cycling in DC and was struck by a car. Damage to myself, my bike, and the involved vehicle were fairly minimal (thankfully), and the driver admitted fault to both me and the MPD officer that arrived at the scene. In spite of the admission of fault by the driver, the officer wrote me a citation “because you don’t have an insurance company to fight.” I was flabbergasted, to say the least, and decided to contest the ticket via a letter by mail. I screwed up in that I misread the ticket and thought the letter needed to be postmarked within 60 days when in fact it needed to be received within 60 days. I have now received notice that my drivers license has been suspended and not only do I have to pay the ticket, I also have to pay twice that amount to have my license reinstated. The notice has no mention of any form of recourse, just payment methods.

My questions are: How can DC suspend my license to drive when I was cycling? Those without drivers’ licenses (minors and others) can cycle on DC streets and get into accidents, so how does it make sense that some folks can face stiffer penalties than others? Does anyone have helpful insight into how to fight the suspension and not pay to have it reinstated? At this point, I’m willing to pay the ticket just for it to go away (should have done that in the first place), but I am worried that sometime in the future, if I’m in a cycling accident again, the “admission of guilt” could come back to haunt me if i have to go to court over damages/injury.”

Wow. I fear it may be too late to remedy but is there any chance you got the driver’s contact info? If not I think you may be out of luck. What do you guys think about this specific situation?

To the larger question – Anyone know why you can get your driver’s license suspended for biking citations?

Last week when Town & Country closed in the Mayflower Hotel (1127 Connecticut Avenue NW) I wanted to stop by to snap a photo before construction began (it’ll become a Pink clothing store which will move from it’s current location in the hotel.) Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice the faded sign on the outside featuring Sam the bartender. The sign says in part, “…Washington’s most famous bartender…” so it got me thinking about famous bartenders or at least bartenders I like in DC.

And since I’m also horrible with names you can answer the question – “the guy with glasses from Room 11 who used to work at Temperance Hall.” I actually do remember that name – Dan Searing (part owner of Room 11 in Columbia Heights) is one of my favorites. I like Dan because I can go in and say I feel like something with gin and he’ll fix up an amazing concoction that I’ve never tried before. It also helps that he’s a really nice guy.

I was just having a conversation the other night when I said that despite all the bells and whistles of a new bar, for me, what makes or breaks a bar is quite simply the quality of the bartender.

I suppose there can be two elements – fixing drinks and personality. So for the FQotD – who’s your favorite bartender (and what bar do they work at) in the city?

Thanks to a reader for sending the heads up that this former beauty is currently getting fixed up. I’m not sure if it’ll be split into condos/apartments or a single family residence. But I’ll be sure to update as the renovation progresses.

I once noted that the looking at the basement apartment sign could instantly transport you back in time, so for posterity here it is one more time before it gets removed:

It’ll be great to see these awesome details come back to life:

Photo by PoPville flickr user maria jpeg

Congrats to C Money:

“Missed Connection: Red line, 5 PM. You were wearing a red coat and were quiet and motionless, yet clearly having a great time. I was the guy in the black jacket with a mischievous grin. E-mail me?”

Runner up to Epsom:

“Maybe it would make more sense to stand.”

Honorable mention to MSF:

“I never should have gotten talked into the full body botox treatment.”

Awesome! Frampton Comes Alive Spanish version with typo. I think this is actually valuable…

Another super cool one from Ledroit Park.

From an email:

“Well Built seeks to encourage and broaden the sustainable design discussion. Please join us to be a part to of changing the world one chair at a time. January 20th from 6:00-8:00 pm Well Built will host a panel of local designers as they discuss how they incorporate sustainability into their furniture designs:

Lauren Russell and Larry Strassner of Russell and McKenna; Jessup, MD;
Caleb Woodard, Furniture Designer and Craftsmen, Alexandria, VA;
Eric and Kory Kuczynski of EK Living, Hagerstown, MD.

Please meet us at the Well Built Showroom at 14th and Q Streets NW, Washington DC.”

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From a NoMa BID press release:

Renowned owners of Equinox Restaurant, Todd and Ellen Gray, plan to open Todd Gray’s Watershed in NoMa’s Hilton Garden Inn in April 2011.

Award-winning Chef Todd Gray’s culinary skills will be showcased throughout Watershed’s inventive assortment of time-honored American fare with a focus on seafood specialties prepared in traditional regional Eastern seaboard fashion. Chef Gray has crafted a roster of traditional favorites like Maryland crab cake sandwiches, steamed mussels, pan-fried oysters and daily grilled fish specials, and infused them with the signature style that has earned him accolades and a loyal following across the Mid-Atlantic.

Watershed offers three distinctive settings including a restaurant, lively raw bar and lounge and an airy patio complete with sweeping street-front views down First Street, NE, from Constitution Square. Watershed will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner – and the breakfast component is an exciting change of pace for the Grays, Ellen said.

Holy awesome!

Wow, the River Park coop is wild. And huge. From their Web site:

River Park (1301 Delaware Ave. SW) itself is composed of a set of townhouses and high-rise buildings in a park-like setting. River Park structures feature a unique modernistic design created by the award-winning architect, Charles M. Goodman. Its 1200-plus residents form a dynamic community that makes River Park a great place to live. River Park is a main feature on the District of Columbia’s Southwest Heritage Trail.

You guys like the style?

A few more photos after the jump. (more…)

If you have any fun or interesting animal/pet photos or news please shoot me an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say what neighborhood you’re from or upload to the PoPville flickr pool. I can’t guarantee I’ll get them all posted but I’ll do my best.  I’m aware not everyone loves pets.  But they bring me (and others) a lot of pleasure.  It’s cool, hold tight, a new post is coming in a half hour, you can make it!

Photo by PoPville flickr user Gosia_K

“Here is a picture of my Eckington-dwelling pupp, Ovi (on the left), taken this afternoon by my amazing dog hiking lady.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user tess271

After the jump see a cat available for adoption. (more…)

This rental is located at 20th Street NE at Newton Street NE:

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The Craigslist ad says:

“This beautiful upstairs furnished apartment is currently for rent in the Brookland/Woodridge area near Catholic University. The apartment has utilities included, a separate entrance, air conditioning, Washer/Dryer and is Metro accessible. Ideal for students. Seeking non-smoking tenants without pets.”

How do you think the separate entrance works?

$825 sound reasonable?

Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian

“Dear PoP,

I am currently looking for a good auto body shop to fix a few large scratches on my car. Have you ever posted a discussion regarding body shops in the area? Looking around the District, I am concerned about quality and wonder if many of the garages are mostly chop shops. I would appreciate input from PoPville regarding good body shops that are reasonably priced and have good workmanship.”

Who do you guys recommend?

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

Submit your photos to the PoPville flickr pool here. Follow PoPville on twitter here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user yostinator