Restaurants Downtown Go Through Changes
• June 18, 2013

Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, will open a block from Metro Center in January, in time for Inauguration Day. The carryout res- taurant will offer about a dozen donut flavors, ranging from peanut butter and jelly to crème brulee, and fried chicken served either with but- termilk, a rub of dry spices or a sriracha glaze. Jose Andres is planning to reopen his acclaimed Minibar restaurant this month at 505 9th St., NW, the former home of Zola Wine & Kitchen. With the expanded space come expanded prices: the tasting menus will be $225 per person, up from $150. Andres and his company, Think Food Group, sold the building at 405 8th St., NW that once housed the restaurant and two others—the unique, pop-up restaurant America Eats Tavern and Café Atlantico. Belgian chef Frederik De Pue and his backers purchased the building and may open another restaurant this year. Also coming: Chix DC (1121 14th Street), the green restaurant with a Latin flair, will offer healthy fare in 2,200 square feet of space. Taylor Gourmet, the Italian deli and market specializ- ing in authentic hoagies and market goods, will replace Meatballs, the short-lived casual eatery, at 624 E Street.

Point Chaud Café & Crepes’s second Downtown location opened for business last month at 1100 New York Avenue. The open kitchen offers sweet and savory French pan- cakes, Illy—the authentic Italian espresso cof- fee—fresh gelato, smoothies and other fare. Embers Grill (80 F Street), serving up kabob, burgers, and side dishes such as chickpeas and hummus, also opened last month and is located near New Jersey Avenue.

Chinatown Park Reopens
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The Chinatown Park has reopened to the public after undergoing a six-month refurbishment. DowntownDC BID partnered with the National Park Service to replace and realign the park’s interior sidewalks, expand and upgrade the irrigation system, and install new sod, trash-cans, and plenty of benches. In addition, NPS will plant several new trees in the park later this fall. The lawn will remain fenced off for a short time to allow the new sod to establish.

Hoyas Rebuff: ‘We’ve Been Here Since 1789. How About You?’
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Declaring that parties are not a crime, Georgetown University students have counterpunched with StopCrimeNotParties.com. The website “will give students the opportunity to report encounters with local residents, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Department of Public Safety, and the Student Neighbor Assistance Program,” according to the Georgetown Voice news blog. The new website will document any instances of “questionable behavior” observed by students during those encounters—especially in the wake of an amended disorderly conduct law that outlaws any loud noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. that could be considered “likely to disturb one or more persons in their residence.”

The noise law prompted the students’ creation of the website, which distributes a Hoya blue lawn sign—in contrast to the residents’ red signs—for students or student sympathizers to post.

Q Street Gas Station Fire Destroys Garage, Snarls Traffic
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The service garage of the gas station on Q Street—known both as the Washingtonian Auto Shop and Georgetown Auto Service—went up in flames March 15. The fire started around 8 a.m. DC Fire & EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said it took firefighters 15 to 20 minutes to extinguish the fire at the corner of Wisconsin Ave. and Q St., NW. An Exxon gas and service station sits across the avenue.

“The fire caused significant damage to the building, a car inside the building and one car outside the building,” DC Fire said. Nearby restaurant Los Cuates also suffered damage from the fire. Piringer reported that fire investigators believe it was an accident: mechanics were working on a gas tank in a car with a space heater nearby and the fumes from the space heater ignited gasoline fumes. Three workers were examined, one for smoke inhalation, but all three refused transport to a hospital.

Wisconsin Avenue was blocked from Reservoir Road to P Street with about 11 fire vehicles—even a Navy foam unit had been called because of concern about a possible explosion, though it was not used. Damage is being assessed by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

Bobby Gonzalez, owner of Georgetown Auto Service, owns another repair shop in Alexandria and is offering to drive to his Georgetown clients, pick up their car and return it when work is complete.

It Takes 39th Street Resident Tom Strike to Catch a Thief
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Driving near his home on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, Thomas Strike observed a suspicious character on 37th Street, who then walked up to a house and took a delivered package off its porch. Strike got out of his car and shouted at the man: “Sir, is this your box?” The suspect threw the parcel at Strike and ran. Strike then tackled the perpetrator, who had other stolen items on his person, and held him until Metropolitan Police arrived. Strike lives on 39th Street with his wife Sarah and their three children. The neighbor got his package back, and residents are calling Strike a neighborhood hero. “The suspect is going to be charged with assault (on me), theft and trespassing,” Strike said. Yes, we’d call that the Luck o’ the Irish and a Lucky Strike, too.

Lululemon Murder Suspect Worked at M Street Store
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Brittany Norwood, alleged murderer of fellow Bethesda Luluemon Athletica employee Jayna Murray, was held without bond by Montgomery County, March 21. WTOP reports that it “has learned police were told that Norwood was transferred from the Georgetown Lululemon store to the Bethesda location because of concerns she was stealing merchandise. The company is not commenting, and it is not clear when the transfer happened or if it was proven Norwood had taken anything.” WTOP added that Montgomery County Police were investigating whether Norwood had been accused of stealing merchandise from the store before she allegedly killed Murray on March 11. (There was no other independent source for WTOP’s report at press time.)
Norwood’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for April. Norwood had also worked at the Willard International, according to WUSA.

Kennedy Center River Stairs Design Fails to Impress
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After decades in limbo, the river stairway design for The Kennedy Center is again in play, and major city players are not impressed.

The Potomac River Pedestrian Access Improvement Project plans a direct connection to be built between the Kennedy Center terrace and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway trail at the river’s edge. “Physical barriers and safety concerns currently discourage pedestrian traffic between these two resources,” according to the National Park Service, Federal Highway Administration and the DC Department of Transportation.

First seen as a grand staircase—as are the real Watergate Steps near the Lincoln Memorial—the latest design displays two glass ramps turned right and left and two elevators. Nearby Watergate resident Arthur Cotton Moore, architect of Washington Harbour, submitted a more monumental design in 1987. (It is important to note that Moore’s Georgetown work brought the Potomac River back to the people as a real waterfront to be enjoyed.) Moore has said he supported a more dignified stairway design for the Kennedy Center, as envisioned by its architect Edward Durrell Stone.

Expressing skepticism is Jonda McFarlane, a leader in the creation of Francis Scott Key Park and the Georgetown Waterfront Park. “When did this firm get asked to do a new design?” McFarlane said. “We need something that will be appropriate both in design and history (honoring the memory of John F. Kennedy). This latest design does neither. We don’t need a little tacked-on thing.”

“We should take our time with it,” neighborhood commissioner Bill Starrels cautioned about the proposed design. “We have waited long enough, and we need to make it worthy of the Kennedy Center, the Nation’s Capital and Georgetown.”

“I would love a beautiful gateway to and from Georgetown,” said Jennifer Altemus, president of the Citizens Association of Georgetown. “But I do not like the fire escape design.”

D.C. Water Gets Spring Cleaning: Can You Smell It?
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District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority has announced its spring cleaning of our water. Now through May 2 “the disinfectant in drinking water will temporarily switch from chloramine to chlorine. During this time, individuals may notice a change in the taste and smell of drinking water. Local water authorities recommend running the cold water tap for approximately two minutes and refrigerating cold tap water for a few hours to reduce taste and odor. Water filters are also effective in reducing chlorine taste and odor.”

According to WASA, this annual change is part of a routine maintenance program to keep the water distribution system in the District of Columbia, Arlington County and Falls Church clean and free of potentially harmful bacteria. A temporary switch to chlorine with system-wide flushing is done to maintain water quality throughout the year. This is standard practice for many water systems that use chloramine during the majority of the year.

Individuals and business owners who take special precautions to remove chloramine from tap water, such as dialysis centers, medical facilities and aquatic pet owners, should continue to take the same precautions during the temporary switch to chlorine. Most methods for removing chloramine from tap water are effective in removing chlorine. Individuals with special health concerns should consult with a health care provider on the use of tap water.

For more information, contact D.C. Water: 202-612-3440 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or 202-612-3400 (24-hour).

Mayor Gray, DDOT Launch PotHolePalooza 2011
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Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Interim Director Terry Bellamy today launched PotHolePalooza, the District’s annual campaign to aggressively repair damaged roadways across the city, which runs through April 21.

How to Report a Pothole: Residents and commuters can notify DDOT in a variety of ways: 1.) call the Mayor’s Call Center at 311, 2.) use the online Service Request Center at 311.dc.gov, 3.) text message or Tweet to twitter.com/DDOTDC, or 4.) e-mail to PotHolePalooza@dc.gov. Callers must identify the location including the correct quadrant (NW, NE, SE, SW) in the city and as much detail as possible about the hazard, including the approximate size and depth of the pothole. DDOT crews will also be out and about proactively identifying potholes.

DDOT will be posting numbers and overall totals of potholes filled. This information will be updated daily and can be found at ddot.dc.gov/potholes.

St. John’s Fundraising Begins: Halfway There
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With past donations from the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Francis Scott Key, it surprises few that St. John’s Church Capital Campaign to raise than $2 million—for improvement in the Episcopal church’s interior, electrical upgrades, pipe organ replacement and stained glass window restoration—has already more $1,000,000 pledged. Campaign chair Patricia Parson was delighted along with fellow parishioners who heard the news on March 18 in Blake Hall from St. John’s rector, the Rev. Dr. Albert Scariato, who added his pep rally phrase, “With God’s help, we will!”

The audience listened to musical selections and honored the memory of beloved rector, Rev. Margaret Graham, who died five years ago. Donations will also assist shelter and community programs and the Bishop Walker School in Anacostia. [gallery ids="99216,103506,103503" nav="thumbs"]