Well I’ve never heard of Gayot but it’s always nice for a local spot to get national recognition. They write:

“…it’s really one of a kind in DC, for no other place dares to tread where this eatery goes: Swedish waffles may be a breakfast option, possibly smoked Baltic sprats for lunch or dinner, or maybe a bison burger or pirogi in two different variations—the one filled with cheese also contains little-seen buckwheat.”

Domku is located at 821 Upshur St, NW.

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“Dear PoP,

I don’t know if you have addressed this, but the restaurant Seafood & Things on Upshur is still closed despite it’s door placard stating it would reopen after the Christmas holiday.

I walked by today and to my surprised found a yellow tabby napping on the counter INSIDE…see pictures…
My concerns are 1)is the restaurant permanently closed and 2) is someone feeding/caring for the cat???”

Perhaps they have gone the way of nearby Beveragemania open one day and closed the next. Does anyone know if they have permanently closed? For the record I’ve had a pretty good crab cake sandwich from them. I’m not sure if seeing a cat in there is a good sign or a bad sign…

Seafood & Things is located at 847 Upshur Street, NW.

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Photo by PoPville flickr user quigley_brown

Fusion located at 4815 Georgia Ave, NW has shared their Valentine’s Day Dinner Menu and special. It is $40 and full menus can be seen after the jump. But I was also curious – what is your favorite restaurant to go to on Valentine’s Day? Read Full Post

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Mayor Fenty and Ward 4 Council Member Muriel Bowser (pictured above) attended a ceremonial ground breaking for the new restaurant and bar coming to 3813/3815 Georgia Ave., NW on Tuesday Morning. Also making remarks were developers Chris Donatelli, and Calvin Gladney from Mosaic urban partners as well as co-owner Ian Hilton.

We’ve been following this property very closely. It is one of the more exciting developments to hit Georgia Ave in quite a while. We last looked at it back in early Jan. when demolition started. I was pretty psyched to get a look at the inside. Obviously there is a fair amount of work yet to be done but I was able to get a better vision of what it’s gonna look like. The space will be similar to how Marvin on 14th Street is set up with dining areas separate from the bar and lounge. They hope to be able to open the space in June or July.

Both the mayor and council member were very excited that Petworth will be getting another sit down restaurant which many residents have been requesting for years. Mr. Gladney from mosaic spoke about the historic nature of the building which used to house Billy Simpson’s Seafood & Steaks, a white table cloth restaurant in the 60s that hosted many civil rights leaders. Mr. Hilton mentioned that there is no reason why folks on Georgia Ave can’t have a spot like Marvin closer to where they live.

I agree with all who spoke, this was a great day for Petworth, Georgia Ave, Ward 4 and the whole city.

A few other items of note. The mayor said that the nearby Safeway is still planning to improve and renovate their store. And the empty lot a few storefronts north on Georgia is also set to be redeveloped and will host another restaurant.

It was a great day. And I got to meet the famous Channel 4 News Reporter/WAMU Friday Politics Cohost – Tom Sherwood!

More photos of the inside (which should make for interesting before and after photos when it’s completed) and floor plans after the jump. Read Full Post

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I wasn’t terribly excited about the Cricket grand opening in this location but the Sala Thai liquor license application got me pretty psyched. The Sala Thai spot is located a few storefronts south of Cricket on Georgia Ave.

It actually will take up two spaces:

The occupancy load will be 80 and I was pretty excited to see that they are requesting a summer garden area to seat 16:

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We’ve been teased with a Jamaican Restaurant coming to this spot since 2007. This new sign is promising…

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Fusion located at 4815 Georgia Ave, NW near Moroni and Bros. has long been one of my “new” favorite restaurants. I can hardly believe it has already been a year since they’ve opened. The owner, Barry, pictured above could be one of the nicest proprietors I’ve met (and I’ve been fortunate to meet many). Barry previously worked at Rasika and Bombay Club and has brought that quality of dining to Petworth. But more than just the great food, he has created a warm neighborhood spot where regular diners often greet each other like old friends. This was evidenced at the party thrown to celebrate the anniversary. It was filled with an amazingly friendly and diverse crowd. So congrats to Barry, his family and colleagues, and I look forward to many more years of quality dining at Fusion.

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“Dear PoP,

I picked up the attached notice of suspension from the Park View blog. Apparently, the shooting that occurred on Rock Creek Church Road on Saturday, December 5, 2009 was part of a scuffle that began in Sweet Mango Café. Sweet Mango has been a staple in the Petworth Community and a favored spot for jerk chicken in DC. Many of us have found it to be one of the few edible spots on Georgia Avenue. Still, as a result of the crime and other offenses that have occurred this year, Chief of Police Cathy Lanier has deemed the establishment an “imminent danger to the health and welfare of the community.” Based on her recommendation, DCRA has suspended the establishment’s liquor license pending a hearing to occur tomorrow.”

Wow this is crazy. Thanks to all who sent emails about this. You can read the full complaint below:

sweet-mango-cafe-notice-of-summary-suspension

You really have to read the report, it is truly unbelievable. Basically, two patrons were kicked out, the shooting occurred and MPD found blood inside the vestibule of Sweet Mango while nobody from the establishment called the police. Additionally, they are accused of operating an illegal nightclub in the basement. Sweet Mango is located on New Hampshire Ave. across from the Petworth Metro.

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Thanks to a reader for the heads up on the work going on at 3543 Georgia Ave. across from the EL Haynes charter school. Sadly, there was a bit of a language barrier in my brief chat with the workers out front. They did however confirm that a restaurant was going in. When I asked what type they said American but I’ll be sure to follow up when they open. And in nearby news it was nice to see the new Senior Center rising a half block to the south at Georgia and Newton:

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It was back in Jan. ‘08 that Manny & Olga’s first issued a press release about coming to Petworth. At the time they hoped to be open by “Summer 2008″. So I was shocked to walk by the old Hunger Stopper Restaurant at 3624 Georgia Ave. (a few storefronts south of Looking Glass Lounge) and noticed the following sign:

I’m not exactly sure what the “this location available for franchise” means. Are they going to build it first and then sell the franchise or vice versa? It does say coming soon though. You guys think this is a good addition to this section of Georgia Ave.? Remember The Green Room sports bar is still set to come nearby at 3632 Georgia Ave.

I call dibs on the Hunger Stopper sign!

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Fasika, formerly Abol, Ethiopian restaurant has a nice external renovation going on at 4422 Georgia Ave, NW. I wonder what the center part will be covered with. I’m totally digging the copper though…

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photo(3), originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Well there’s some good news and some less exciting news. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Union City, a coffee brunch diner type spot from the owners of recently opened Tynan Coffee & Tea in Columbia Heights, will fill the northernmost retail spot.

Today, the CricKet sign went up to help cement CricKet’s take over of DC…

And in happier news – Sala Thai will be opening up a Thai and Sushi restaurant. And finally a Subway sandwich shop will be opening. Still no word on whether the spot from former Colorado Kitchen chef Gillian Clark is going forward. More news on the rest of the spaces as deals are signed.

I’m particularly curious what you guys think about the Sala Thai and Subway shops?

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Thanks to a reader for the heads up about a new restaurant coming to 4809 Georgia Ave, NW (right next door to Moroni & Bros. Pizza). So this section of Georgia will now have Moroni’s, Fusion and now this spot. I spoke to the owner of Moroni’s who thinks that the restaurant will be Ethiopian. The permit on the window said there will also be a lounge on the first floor. I think this’ll be great news for the block as the more foot traffic here the better for all the restaurants.

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IMG_2371, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

When I wrote about the IHOP coming to DC USA earlier in the week I mentioned that I had more good news coming. And the good news is some more info about the new spot coming to Petworth from the folks behind Tynan Coffee & Tea opening Friday in Columbia Heights. This spot is coming to Petworth in the retail space of Park Place above the metro. The place in Petworth is not just going to be a coffee spot. I mentioned earlier that it’s going to be in the northernmost retail space near the corner of Georgia and Quincy. There will be some outdoor seating and what has me most excited – breakfast/brunch options.

I mean proper breakfast/brunch options. This has been one of the things I’ve been craving most – a real place to sit down and eat breakfast/brunch in Petworth. Domku does a fine job on Upshur Street but that’s really one of the few options for a hot breakfast.

This spot will tentatively be called Union City and as best I understand will sorta be like a Tryst/Diner type of place. Excuse me a moment while I wipe the tears from my eyes. Ok, sorry bout that. This is phenomenal news that I’ll be following closely. Stay tuned…

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Mrs. Peron Williams right (whose husband was an ANC rep who strongly supported this development) and Muriel Bowser cutting the ribbon along with CM Graham, Mayor Fenty and Chris Donatelli

On Wednesday the new building, Park Place, above the Petworth metro was officially unveiled. It brought out quite the representation from the DC government. In addition to Mayor Fenty, Council members Bowser, Graham and Kwame Brown were in attendance.

Some highlights from the remarks. Mayor Fenty said the day signaled that “economic development on Georgia Avenue had finally arrived”. He continued, “the days when stagnation reigned on Georgia Avenue are over”. And he gave a lot of praise and recognition to the Donatelli (the developers) family for their vision. “Donatelli is not afraid to invest in neighborhoods that other people have written off”.

Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser said, “My breath was literally taken away when I stepped onto this roof”. She continued, “This is just the start for things to come on Georgia Ave”. She also noted that this project captured the best of green development as it clusters people above the metro with easy access to commute to work. Bowser also lauded the community for their involvement in supporting this project.  Before the community got involved this space was slated to become a municipal property.

Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham said, “Who would’ve thought that we would have this kind of building at Georgia and New Hampshire? The neighborhood knew that this building could be here, that’s who knew”. Graham also noted that the project had “the benefits of transit oriented development in the best sense”.

Sadly, I passed out a bit from the blaring sun when Council member Kwame Brown said a few words. But he basically echoed the previous comments. I revived a bit when Chris Donatelli took the mic and started mentioning the coming retail. (Some info I found out after the official remarks.) There will be a cafe/coffee spot, 2 sit down restaurants (one from Gillian Clark formerly of Colorado Kitchen and the other possibly a Thai/Sushi spot). He said the retail may resemble some of the spots on U Street (in the Ellington building) as some of those folks are considering opening up second or third spots in Petworth. There are also discussions to bring a wine store in most likelihood the folks behind D’vines. There will be 8 retail spots in total.

Given the current state of the economy, I think we are very lucky that this project was completed. The place looks pretty amazing. It really sinks in when you hear Mayor Fenty say, “I remember the day when new development hadn’t been built on Georgia Ave. in like 80 years”.

As promised after the jump you can find some photos from inside along with a pricing sheet. Read Full Post

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