Photo by PoPville flickr user theraspberryexpress

“ Pâté en Croûte, special 2.0 District of Columbia heraldry edition.”

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

Photo by PoPville flickr user theraspberryexpress

Dessert after the jump. (more…)

By popular demand (I got threats over this!!!) please accept the Adventures of Ernie the Flying Dog Vol. 3.

Ed. Note: I had the great pleasure of meeting Ernie in person on Thursday and I can personally vouch that he is as cool in real life as he appears in the photos. Stay tuned for Vol. 4 in late June…

This condo is located at 1200 Euclid St, NW:

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The Web site says:

“Just 4 years young, this boutique, 4-unit building was completely gutted down to the shell in 2007; every appointment and all new systems, including Central AC and heat, were installed.

You have the entire 1st floor of this rowhouse to yourself – this is not an english basement! Upon entering, you are greeted throughout with luxury – 9 foot ceilings, gleaming, hardwood floors, a neutral paint palette and well-placed, recessed lighting.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

$519,000 (Condo fee: $265/mo) sound right for this 2 bed/2.5 bath condo?

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“Dear PoP,

Lots of police activity on the 1300 block between V and W around 3:30am Friday morning. Helicopters circled for over a half hour with spotlights in the alleys around Union Row. There were still cars and police tape around the alleys this morning. Any idea what’s going on?”

I’ve received many inquiries about the incident above. MPD writes:

“Early this morning an adult female was found unconscious in the 1300 block of W Street NW and was later pronounced deceased.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department on 2027279099 or 888919CRIME
or text at 50411.”

I asked specifically if it was going to be a homicide investigation and they said not a homicide.

Photo by PoPville flickr user rpmaxwell

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this week?

Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

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 the Principal Broker (DC) for Urban Pace, LLC. 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: 1219 I St NE
Legal Subdivision: Old City #1
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Old City #1
Original List Price: $480,000.
List Price at Contract: $458,000.
List Date: 08/17/2010
Days on Market: 212
Settled Sales Price: $460,000.
Settlement Date: 05/05/2011
Seller Subsidy: $11,500.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original Good Deal or Not post is: here

The listing can be seen: here. To see pics, open the listing link, click on the listing then scroll through from the main pic.

When this burned out shell of a then siding covered house sold for $25,000, who woulda thought you could play indoor miniature golf within a couple of blocks a mere ten years later? Subsequent sales occurred in 2004 post-renovation for $320,000., and then again in 2006 for $449,000. less a $5000. subsidy.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Back in Aug. ’10 we learned that Peregrine Espresso would be expanding into Logan Circle (they have an extremely popular Capitol Hill location by Eastern Market at 660 Pennsylvania Ave SE.)

I was able to get some sneak peek photos last night before an opening party. The exact opening hasn’t been selected as a few permits/approvals still need to be in order. They will likely be open over the weekend or early next week.

There isn’t much room for seating inside but there will be a bunch of stools and and the front window area which can likely fit 15 or 20. Also in the warm weather there will eventually be a bit of outdoor seating out front like at Cork.

1718 14th St, NW is right next to Cork Wine Bar. Cork used to be the home of Sparky’s coffee shop which closed back in 2007. We’re sorta coming full circle…

The space itself looks great. There are lots of nice details that you can see in the photos after the jump. (more…)

Thanks to a few sharp readers (and Anna in particular for sending the photos) for letting us know about the new Panera coming to 4501 Wisconsin Ave, NW right next to Payless and the Tenleytown metro. Panera is listed on the building permit:

Panera opened its first DC store in Dupont (also by the metro) back in Nov. ’10. We’ve also heard they are opening a spot in Columbia Heights (in DC USA) near IHOP. If I were a betting man, I’d say keep your eyes peeled for more near metro stations…

Photo by PoPville flickr user katiecampbell

I think this is an awesome day and there have been reports of huge participation today. Unfortunately a reader sends in a rough experience:

“Dear PoP,

This morning I had my first assault from a car. I was at the front of a line of traffic at the red light at the end of Rhode Island where it hits Connecticut. When the light turned green, I went straight onto M St with the rest of the traffic in the middle of the right lane. A white van pulled up behind me, almost clipped my back tire, and laid on the horn. The van then pulled along side of me and tried to swerve into my lane. Then the van slowed up, continued honking, and a woman in the passenger seat threw a can of something at me and hit me in my leg. The van then swerved around me, tried to cut me off again, and then turned up 20th street. I saw a cop on the next block and reported the incident with the license plates. The officer wrote it up as assault. Just thought you might want to remind PoPville to always be wary of cars on the road.”

I think it’s great the officer wrote it up as an assault but I hope everyone else who rode to work today had a more pleasant experience.

Anyone ride in with a caravan or check out a pit stop? I’d love to hear about some good experiences as well.

Photo of ‘last night’s battle’ by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

“Dear PoPville,

I recently signed up for the DC alert text messages and e-mails. I now get several e-mails and texts a day about robberies and other crimes. It is quite surprising. I however caveat this with the fact that I have lived here for 2 years and have never really been near or seen anything bad go down (knock on wood). Will these constant notifications just get me scared/worried all the time or are they actually useful? Do you get them?”

It’s a very good question and one that I often wrestle with when deciding about what crime stories to post or not post here. I’d say I regularly get over a dozen emails a week (sadly, sometimes many many more) from readers talking about crimes (and this is not including the daily alerts sent by MPD.) Often times when I’m on a walkabout I recall a horrible crime on the street I’m passing by. These are obviously not pleasant thoughts. When people introduce themselves to me and tell me where they live, my brain automatically catalogs what crimes have happened nearby. I don’t think this is necessarily a healthy thing. I can’t help it.

For me personally, I think it’s very important that I know what’s going on because of the blog. But if I weren’t running this blog – I honestly don’t think I’d want to know about every single crime that takes place. However, having said that, I still think it is useful to know that some crimes are happening and where they are happening just to remind you to be alert. And some people like to know what is the cause of every single siren they hear – and this is a good way to do that.

So for the Friday Question of the Day: What do you guys think – do you think it is useful or stressful to sign up for MPD police alerts? If you are interested you can sign up for the MPD listserves here.

After the jump you can see an example email from Thurs. sent out daily by all MPD Districts (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user megan king

As anticipated there were so many good entries this week. Nearly impossible to pick a winner. But here goes…

Congrats to Andy with:

“And they left it in a bag on his doorstep?

No officer, wasn’t us. We’ve been here all day, honest.”

Runner up to Michael with:

“Where’s the poker game?”

Honorable mention to Mike with:

“Man, this neighborhood really needs more fire hydrants.”

Please email me directly so I can get you your t-shirts.

The close up is killing me:

This foot from Cleveland Park always cracks me up. I realize that the home was probably once owned by a Podiatrist but since the Doctor’s sign has been turned around, I think it’s doubly awesome that the new owners have kept the foot! Too good.

Yesterday we saw one of my favorites from Bloomingdale – today is one of my favorites from Mt. Pleasant. It usually gets a pretty sweet garden as well later in the summer.

From an email:

The Spring Thing Craft Show is free to attend and will feature over 40 local artisans—including DC’s belt maker and Eastern Market regular, Jon Wye, baby fashions by Yinibini baby and “If they bathed at Woodstock” patchouli soap by Herban Lifestyle. Live music will also be provided by Dave Tieff and Snakehead Run.

In a late breaking turn of events, show organizers announced that Merlindia’s own Fojol Brother’s would serve their unique brand of mobile [Indian OR Ethiopian] food and Lucky Dog Animal Rescue will supply show-goers with a fun raffle and free, long sought after love and attention courtesy of very cute dogs.

What: The DC Craft Mafia Spring Thing Craft Show
When: Saturday, May 21st from 11 AM – 5 PM
Where: The parking lot of St. Lukes Episcopal Church located at 1514 15th Street NW (15th and P St, NW)