Recessions is located downstairs at 1823 L Street, NW. Recessions is one of these places that sometimes falls below people’s radar but those who know it absolutely love it. And I just learned they have karaoke. Anyone ever eat here? You can see the full menu here. Any fans in general?

Thanks to a reader for sending – if you experienced traffic problems on Sherman this was likely the cause.

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

Well I don’t know if this is gonna work but lots of folks have requested I give it a shot so here goes… Looking for Love will attempt to fix up some folks in PoPville on a date. Depending on the responses we can try to make this a weekly feature.

If you want to be featured just send me a photo or two and a brief description (see below) and readers who are interested will email me and I’ll forward you their contact info with a photo of theirs. The rest is up to you. If you have a good date let us know and we can do a follow up.

Mad props to Jonathan for being a brave brave man for going first:

Name: Jonathan
Height: 6’2″
Hometown: Houston, TX
Occupation: Faculty Researcher
Looking for: Single women in their 20′s

——–

Greetings, ladies of PoPville! My name is Jonathan and I’m hoping this will be a great way to meet some of the lovely women that I just know keep up with this blog. So a little about me: I’ve been living in the DC area for just under 2 years now and will soon call NoMa/Eckington my home. I’m an easygoing, down to earth guy with a good sense of humor, looking for someone special to spend my time with. When I’m not contributing pictures to PoP’s flickr pool I enjoy exploring DC on my bike, reading a book at Tryst while sipping their delicious frozen cappuccinos, slacklining at Malcolm X Park, listening to or playing music, trying new things with friends – basically just enjoying life in this awesome city. We’d probably be compatible if you are: fashionably nerdy at times, enjoy being active, and love to laugh. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Photos after the jump. (more…)

On Tuesday, we saw the old Erol’s Video Club sign that was revealed after the Blockbuster sign was dismantled on Barracks Row. There were some fond memories of Erol’s from many readers so I wanted to share this note I received from the founder’s grandson:

My grandfather Erol Onaran moved to DC from Turkey in the early 60′s and opened an electronics sales and service place called Erol’s TV. The business did well, but didn’t take off until he began renting videotapes around 1980. Erol’s Video grew from a handful of local locations into a large chain, eventually reaching over 250 stores and stretching from Raleigh to New York, and expanding west into cities like Cleveland and Indianapolis. But by the late 80′s the industry had changed, and a family-run business was unable to compete with the big, public chains. Facing mounting losses and dwindling market share, we sold the company to Blockbuster in the early 90′s.

A few years later, my father Orhan Onaran purchased the old TV shop back from Blockbuster and began selling and fixing PC’s in addition to TV’s. But that didn’t really go anywhere until we began bundling unlimited dial-up internet access with the PC’s we sold. At the time, internet access was sold by the hour, so the unlimited access business model was a huge hit. Erol’s Internet began to grow very rapidly during the dot com boom, signing up hundreds of thousands of subscribers on the East Coast by the mid-90′s. But like so many businesses back then, the company never actually made much money. Rather than go public to raise capital, we sold the internet business outright to RCN, who rebranded the internet service as Starpower in the local market.

My grandfather passed away in 2005, and we finally closed our last repair shop shortly thereafter. We’re very proud of our nearly 40 year run in DC, and we’re glad that people remember the businesses fondly. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Photo courtesy of SUNdeVICH

Great news to end the week. The long anticipated gourmet sandwich shop from some of the folks behind Seasonal Pantry is opening at noon today. It is located around the corner from Seasonal Pantry in the alley off 9th Street behind 1314 9th St, NW.

Their Web site says:

A non-traditional space lends itself to a non-traditional sandwich shop. Most sandwich shops in the city have a flavor profile that carries through their entire product line. Whether it be Italian, Jewish, or Middle Eastern influenced, many menu items taste similar to one another which can get a little boring. At SUNdeVICH we wanted to address this fact by using the world as our flavor guide and our immediate backyard for our ingredients. SUNdeVICH offers a wide range of flavors, textures and combinations that may seem familiar but have a distinct twist.

The objective is to provide a wide range of bold flavors by using fresh and local ingredients. Ideally people can eat at SUNdeVICH multiple times a week; and have a completely different dining experience each time.

You can see their menu here and in PDF below:

SDV_menu

Enter through the alley off 9th St by the Lamont Bishop gallery.

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

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 morning at 10am.

Thanks to a reader for sending a possible solution to the Foggy Bottom metro woes. Leave it to the Dutch come up with this awesomeness:

Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong

“Dear PoP,

What’s your take on this? Has U Street evolved to where it should be called a neighborhood?

If you ask people who live at 13th and T, NW where they live, they’ll probably say near U Street. Same goes from residents at 10th and V. And so on.

How’s this for neighborhood boundaries: Florida Ave. (north); T Street (south); 16th St. (west) 9th Street (east).”

Personally, I think U street is absolutely a distinct neighborhood (and I think your borders are more or less spot on.) There are certain neighborhoods like Shaw (where technically U St resides), Columbia Heights, Capitol Hill even Petworth that are so large that they have very different feels within them. I also think that neighborhood names evolve over time. One of the things I used to use was the closest metro stop name (but obviously some neighborhoods aren’t served by metro.)

We can also look at Capitol Hill which we’ve done many times in the past. The fact that some people call the area by Capitol South metro the same neighborhood name as the H St, NE area is ridiculous to me. Just like I think U Street is a neighborhood, I also think H Street NE (or Atlas District as some people call it, though I prefer H Street) is a distinct and separate neighborhood.

Having said all that – at the end of the day – I’m perfectly fine with people self identifying what neighborhood they live in. I’m not a big fan of fake Realtor names like “East Dupont” but if someone identifies their neighborhood with Ledroit Park but they really live one block from the border in Shaw, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I know people who are a lot older than I am and have lived here a lot longer than I have and they say they live in Petworth though they are technically over the border. Well, I have no problem with them saying they live in Petworth.

And as the city continues to change and develop I have no problem with the invention of new names like NoMa as long as the residents like it. But that’s just me.

What do you guys think?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Gosia_K

Congrats to PG with:

“Smithers, I’m really enjoying this so called…iced cream”

Runner up to DCRealist with:

“I just love chocolate ice cream, G-d damn it!”

Honorable mention to smc_dc with:

“Pleasant Pops was out of Watermelon Mint, so I guess it’s Kumkwat & Pickle Juice for me…”

Please email me directly for your shirts!

“It might be time to win a caption contest so I can get an updated shirt! Here’s an old PoP shirt that traveled with me to the Cinque Terre on the coast of Italy.”

Awesome description of it here:

“The record starts off listing all his credentials and appearances before government officials, scientists and businessmen, then launches into a hour long diatribe about how we are basically the devil’s pawns as we speak.”

Ending the week with one of my all time favorites from Cleveland Park.

“Dear PoP,

This was the scene at the New Hampshire & Georgia intersection at 6:30 (just five minutes ago). Cyclist was clearly severely injured. Despite the fact that there were lots of squads and fire trucks there already, she hadn’t been moved yet. Didn’t look good, that’s for sure.

I know this will probably start the usual vitriol between drivers and cyclists in the comments, but I think it would behoove us all to take a minute to reflect on this situation. Rational people can all agree that both cars and bikes do stupid things on city roads, and there’s no telling at this point who was at fault here. Both groups make their fair share of mistakes, but nobody can argue which group is usually in worse shape when cars and bikes collide.”

and

“not sure if anyone has sent this in, it happened probably 50 minutes ago. i heard it the smack and the car’s screeching breaks but didn’t actually see it at first. a mid-size car hit a 20-or-30-something, tall, slim, blonde-haired girl right in the middle of the intersection – she was wearing a helmet and a backpack but i didn’t actually see a bike anywhere, she might have been going to get one from the bikeshare right there outside sweet mango? there was a police officer there and nearly a dozen others showed up within minutes. the girl who hit her was standing there with her driver’s side mirror in her hand – her car was pulled off to the side and eventually an officer came to question her. there was a sizeable head-shaped break in her windshield and she looked pretty shaken up. the victim didn’t seem to move and didn’t seem conscious the entire 20-or-so minutes i was there — she was bleeding from a cut on her arm, it seemed. eventually EMTs put a collar on her neck and took her off in a stretcher. it looked like one of the officers might have taken her phone and called someone because i thought i saw a gentleman standing with her who wasn’t in a uniform, but he didn’t seem upset and then he got into the front seat of the ambulance. the police tried to get all the traffic to move north but eventually just closed all the streets, although they’re re-opened now. i’d say at least 100 people were stopped watching the whole scene and trying to help.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user [F]oxymoron

From an email:

For one night only, Sierra Nevada will be taking over ALL of Nanny’s taps with special brews like the California Common and Juniper Black Ale. Door Prizes and fundraising games will be going on all night to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training! Hope to see you then!

When: Thursday, July 21 from 5pm-2am
Where: Nanny O’Brien’s Irish Pub
3319 Connecticut Avenue Northwest

I’ve been getting lots of emails from folks asking for updates on Shaw’s Tavern located at 520 Florida Avenue NW. There have been lots of false alarms about opening dates. This is gonna be a situation for me, where I have to see it (or get a photo from a reader) of the opening. There have been some super “soft openings” but I believe they are still waiting on getting their proper permits in order. I’ve heard some people say they will be open tomorrow. I’m willing to say that they will be open soon. If anyone notices a proper opening tomorrow or this weekend – please send a photo and an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail.

I’m eager to take a taste!

UPDATE: A reader reminds us that the ABRA (alcohol permit) hearing isn’t until July 25.

I’m now told the new target date for opening is Thurs. July 28.