Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

Mayfair & Pine Opens in Glover Park

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Mayfair & Pine Opening
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

DC has Top Chef alums Mike Isabella, Carla Hall and Spike Mendelsohn. And now Emily Sprissler is joining the ranks.

The Top Chef season 2 alum opened her own restaurant, Mayfair & Pine last Friday. You’ll find a British influence at the self-described “family-friendly gastropub” in Glover Park in dishes like fish & chips, shepherd’s pie and beef wellington nibbles. A long, dark wood bar makes the space feel even more intimate.

Mayfair & Pine is located at 2218 Wisconsin Avenue, NW and is open Tuesday through Sunday.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Chef Emily Sprissler of Mayfair & Pine
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food

We Love Food: Surfside

Photo courtesy of
‘Surfside for lunch’
courtesy of ‘vincentgallegos’

I’ve never been big on take-out. By the time I decide what I want, find the menu, call it in, wait forty-five minutes, go pick it up, almost drop it on the way home, and finally get home and realize they got my order wrong, I’m not really hungry any more. And the truth is that on most occasions, I can make food that tastes better than what a restaurant lets sit for 20 minutes in a Styrofoam container. And did I mention I’m cheap? All that makes for a pretty tough road for take-out purveyors everywhere.

But as we all know, there is an exception to every rule. In this case, it’s Surfside. It might have a little something to do with its proximity to my house, but what puts it above and beyond the rest of the many take-out options in Glover Park is the food. And don’t worry, people of not Glover Park, eating in at Surfside is even better than trying to eat it off my lap in front of a TiVo-ed episode (or two) of the new 90210.

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Business and Money, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District, We Green DC

Capital Bikeshare Opens In Glover Park

Photo courtesy of
‘Do my nails clash with the red?’
courtesy of ‘fromcaliw/love’

After a lengthy community discussion about where to place the new Capital Bikeshare station, the latest addition to the operation has opened in the Northwest neighborhood of Glover Park in the parking lot of the Guy Mason Recreation Center.

According the Glover Park resident listserv, residents are hopeful that bikesharing will get a lot of use as an alternative to pokey buses and single-occupant car trips.

The Features, We Love Arts

We Love Arts: Interview with MIJA

Image Credit: MIJA Jewelry

In less than four years, Michelle Guest has turned her passion for art and jewelry design into a thriving business.  MIJA Jewelry is literally everywhere, and has graced the pages of almost every fashion magazine and tabloid – decorating a truly A-list clientele (Gwenyth Paltrow and Ellen Pompeo are huge fans).  In this We Love DC exclusive interview, the designer and Glover Park resident lets us know a little bit more about what makes her collection special and where she goes to find inspiration in her very own backyard.

We Love DC: What is MIJA?

Michelle Guest: MIJA is a combination of the first two letters of my name (MIchelle) and the first two letters of my sister’s name (JAni). My sister was the one who really inspired me to start the business by creating a collection of children’s jewelry.  The company has since expanded and now also features a huge collection [of] women’s jewelry.  She really encouraged me to jump into a business I initially knew nothing about.  If it was not for her, I’m not sure I would have ever done it!

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Adventures, All Politics is Local, Entertainment, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, The Hill

Recap: 2nd Annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game

2nd Annual Congressional Softball Game

Yesterday at Guy Mason Park in Glover Park, female members of the media took on female members of Congress in the 2nd annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game to benefit Young Survival Coalition.

Both teams were stacked with a who’s who list of Washington pols and reporters, including Captains Dana Bash of CNN and Shailagh Murray of the WaPo, and Captains Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a principal organizer of the event, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years at the age of 41. MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell and Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced the game and kept the friendly banter going.Very entertaining.

Off the field, it was a politico convention. DC’s First Lady Michelle Fenty kicked off the game was the first pitch. Supreme Court Justice, and Yankee’s fan, Sonia Sotomayor hungout in the Congressional dugout and Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in the second inning. Also spotted at the event were Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Minority Leader John Boehner, Majority Whip Eric Cantor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, etc. Continue reading

Adventures, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed

Glover Park-Burleith Farmers Market Debuts Tomorrow

Photo courtesy of
‘_MG_0683’
courtesy of ‘logan.brown’

Even though I won’t be around to witness its opening weekend, I’m super pumped that the Glover Park-Burleith Farmers’ Market debuts this Saturday from 9am-1pm.

This producer-only farmers market features local fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, bread, eggs, plants, cut flowers, handmade soap, pasta, gelato and more. A different bluegrass band will be there every week to provide live music to the dog-friendly market. In 2010, the market hopes to offer additional features, such as bike clinics, live-chef demonstrations and garden/composting workshops.

The market is located in the parking lot of the Hardy Middle School, just across the street from the newly opened Social Safeway.  The market will run every Saturday, rain or shine, until October 30th.

Business and Money, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed

I Declare the Grocery Store Games Officially Open!

SupermarketGladiators

At 8:05am this morning, literally minutes after the new Social Safeway opened its doors to public, and the competition between the super giant and the Whole Foods up the street had already begun.

As I walked down Wisconsin Avenue, the former Pizza Hut, located directly across the street from Whole Foods entrance and parking garage was being decorated with a big bright banner/decal that read “Hungry Georgetown? Safeway: We are just down the block.” How neighborly and friendly of the Safeway to let Whole Foods know they’re there for them. I mean WF might indeed be hungry and in need of a good sandwich.

In all seriousness, I’m all about some good competition.  WF has had it made  since the Social Safeway closed last year for renovations leaving Glover Park, Burleith and Georgetown residents sans a non-organic, “non-gourmet,” whole paycheck devouring grocery store. Advertising the new Safeway directly across the street from WF is a genius marketing maneuver by Safeway. Well done sirs. Well done.

Shop Around The Corner

Crime & Punishment, News, People, The Daily Feed, WTF?!

Another Cuddling Incident

Photo courtesy of
‘Cop Car in Georgetown’
courtesy of ‘Hoosiers United’

Has the “Georgetown Cuddler” returned?  Police report that a woman in Glover Park awoke on Sunday morning to find a stranger spooning her in bed. Upon discovery, the man fled without stealing anything, or otherwise causing any property damage.  This crime bears striking resemblance to a spate of sexual assaults that occurred in Georgetown, last year.  In all cases, women asleep in their homes awoke to find a stranger fondling them. This is first such incident since August.

Adventures, News, The Daily Feed

Accident at Georgetown Whole Foods

Fire trucks arrive

Fire trucks arrive

At around 7pm last night, an elderly driver crashed into the underground garage entrance of the Whole Foods at 2323 Wisconsin Avenue NW.  Details are still emerging as to what caused the accident, but The Examiner reports that the elderly woman driving the car had minor injuries, there were no other injuries reported and that the building structure suffered minor damages.

According to an eyewitness report, who was in the Whole Foods by the meat counter, there was a loud collision-like noise and a rumble from the impact.  Immediately, a Whole Foods employee came running up the garage stairwell, yelling for the entire store to clear out and customers began heading (in a somewhat civil manner) to the Wisconsin Avenue exit.

When I interviewed a Whole Foods’ employee, who was a witness to the accident, they  said the elderly driver had been coming down the garage entrance and had sped directly into the wall. The employee speculated that perhaps the driver had stepped on the gas instead of the brake.  From the picture I took from the top of the garage ramp (which is as good as I could get from my pauper cell phone,) the entire front of the driver’s car was smashed in, indicating to me, that the car was going very fast at the time of impact. That no one was seriously injured in the accident is a great fortuity considering the amount of Whole Foods’ employees and customers present at this high volume shopping time. Continue reading

Business and Money, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District

Safeway Gets Web Savvy

Photo courtesy of
‘New Social Safeway Coming Soon to Burleith’
courtesy of ‘TreyDanger’

The Social Safeway has gone all social media on us, and got themselves a website.  Yes, we’re still only about half way through the nine month long renovation, but now we can track progress and developments.

The site offers a real time WEBCAM with time lapse, split screen and overlay functions, schematics of the supermarket and commercial area, and photos detailing the new and improved department offerings.

As a regular user of the former Social Safeway, I am pumped for the new grocery store and the additional offerings it will bring to an already vibrant and awesome DC neighborhood.

The Features, Where We Live

Where We Live: Glover Park

Photo courtesy of
‘Glover Park hawk’
courtesy of ‘Julie Lyn’

Welcome to another installment of Where We Live. This week we’ll look at Glover Park, a neighborhood that often gets overlooked because of its two loud neighbors: Dupont Circle and Georgetown. But there’s a lot of charm in Glover Park, and it offers residents a perfect balance: living on a quiet, tree-lined street while being just five minutes from restaurants, shops, and attractions. (And, for the record, it seems that no one is quite sure how to pronounce the name of this neighborhood, but it’s actually Glover– rhymes with lover, not clover — Park.)

History: Glover Park gets its name from Charles Carroll Glover (1846-1936), who donated much of the land that became Rock Creek Park and is responsible for the Washington National Cathedral’s construction. Glover Park started developing in the 1920s, with mostly residential rowhouses. The commercial district along Wisconsin Avenue developed in the mid-1930s, attracting corner stores and even a movie theater, while retaining the feeling of a small town. The Glover Park neighborhood was considered upscale compared to the “squalor of Georgetown” during this time, and through the years the neighborhood has preserved its residential nature and small-town character. Continue reading

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District

Save The Georgetown Circulator

Photo courtesy of
‘Driving, Not Reading!!! :)’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

The Georgetown Monitor reported yesterday that the DDOT is seriously considering a significant cut to the Circulator’s Georgetown service based on budgetary concerns and ridership totals.  Despite Ward 2 DC Councilman Jack Evans’ protests, City Administrator Neil Albert has apparently already signed off on the plan.

The only hope for keeping the service is for DC residents and businesses to appeal to Mayor Fenty directly.  If you’re interested in joining the petition to prevent further Circulator service cuts to this area, GM has a sample letter you can sign.

***For clarification, the DDOT’s proposal would eliminate the Wisconsin Avenue portion of the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator’s route, specifically from M Street to Whitehaven Street.

The Features

Why I Love DC: Rebecca

Photo courtesy of
‘It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine…’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

I moved to DC in January 2006.  I had visited a few times before: a hormone-ridden Middle School trip, a brief look at GW and Maryland during the exhaustive college search and a one-day journey to pick my sister up from her semester in DC program.  But aside from these all too quick and superficial trips, I really had no clue about the depth and charm of this Southern-Northern gem of city.  What exactly prompted me to job search and relocate to a city I had no connection/experience with, I’m not sure.  What I do know is that now that I’m here, I’m in no hurry to leave. Continue reading

Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed

Blue Ridge Opens Today

blue ridge logo

Good news for Glover Park residents, as they’ve all got a new eat place in the ‘hood as of today. Blue Ridge, which seats 185 guests inside and in its unique rear garden and deck, is housed in a carefully restored century-old row house in Glover Park, and will showcase a menu that embraces seasonal, sustainable, and locally sourced ingredients from the Mid-Atlantic. Blue Ridge will offer guests lunch and dinner daily, with weekend brunch both Saturday and Sunday. (Three cheers for SATURDAY brunch, love it.)

“Barton’s approach to the Blue Ridge menu – straightforward, unfussy, and ingredient-driven – fits perfectly with the mission of creating a restaurant that could have existed 100 years ago,” says Owner and Managing Partner Eli Hengst. “There are no ‘essences’ or superfluous explorations on the Blue Ridge menu, just honest food and cocktails rooted in American tradition with a simple, rustic design as the canvas for good food and conversation.”

Uniquely down home in both food and decor, Blue Ridge is a welcome addition to the DC dining scene. The dining room incorporates reclaimed church pews, as well as custom dining and farm tables made by Ken Hoffman, a local vendor at the historic Eastern Market in Washington, DC. I’ll have a first look for you soon, I’m sure, but until then, let me know what you think in the comments.