Five Things We’d Rather See Open in 4Ps than McFaddens:

1. Trader Joes. Because who doesn’t want $4 wine and $2 pasta sauce at their doorstep?
2. Panera. Good coffee, good bakery, lots of seating, free wifi. Yes, please!
3. Mellow Mushroom. If we had a good pizza/beer joint in the neighborhood, we would seriously never leave.
4. Jimmy John’s. With Jimmy John’s right down the street (and open til 3 am), life could be just like college again…
5. Anything but a tanning salon, a nail salon, or a CVS! I think we have those markets sufficiently covered.

What would you like to see in the space? Any McFadden’s defenders?

Happy long weekend!

User error as design flaw…
But it has two other features, one of which is weird, the other a problem… But every time you remove your backpack and forget that the headphones are connected to it, the headphones get yanked right out of your ears.

And now another installment of the The Annals of Outdated Technology brought to you by the listserv…
Would anyone like to get an old but still functioning multi-disc CD player out of their house and into mine? Let me know if you do. I’m happy to pick it up.

Delicious freebies…
I have 4 different bottles, infused with garlic, lemon or basil. I’m not a big fan of infused olive oils, but hate the throw them away. If anyone would like these bottles of olive oil, please let me know.

Dog wars…
It came to my attention this evening, as reported by our long time housekeeper, that a man in the neighborhood yelled and used profanity at her when our 5 year old dog, yes yappy, barked at his dog. I am the first to admit it is quite annoying that our sweet little Noki barks at dogs after much training… I promise you she is completely harmless but quite annoying.

I always wanted to live by a lake…
As many of us know, the sidewalk at the Cleveland Park Metro on the west side turns into a small lake whenever it rains. Pedestrians, including those flocking to and from the east side Cleveland Park Metro entrance, have to do some agile sidestepping. It takes days for the water to disappear after a moderate rainfall like Monday’s. I just noticed that there is a drain at the bottom of the pond. It must be completely blocked.

Lesson planning from Saudi Aramco, just the unbiased approach that every student needs!
Is anyone interested in these lovely American Craft Council magazines, as well as Saudi Aramco World, which even has classroom guides in the back?

The menu is divided into areas of tapas: bread, vegetables, meat, seafood, paella and sides.

The bread (pan con tomate) is $7 and can be adorned with Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, or white anchovy for an additional cost.

The vegetable tapas range from $5-$9. We’re most excited about the pan roasted Shishito peppers with sea salt ($6) and the Marcona almond crusted goat chesse with orange and olive relish ($7).

The meats range from $7-$25, with the higher end consisting of a full charcuterie plate with Spanish cheeses. We are excited to try the cocoa crusted striploin with Valrhona cocoa, fava beans, fennel, and mint sauce ($14).

The fish tapas range from $8-$14. The simple cod fritters dish (with salt cod and garlic aioli) sounds appealing ($8). The Catalan mussels ($8) will also be high on the list. Following common menu trends the fish section includes lollipops (tuna, anchovy, and octopus, $10).

Three different paella dishes round out the menu (whole prawn, grilled chicken, and roast chorizo). These range from $15-$19.

Full dinner menu

From The Express…
The Best Landlord for You
“When it comes time to move, having a larger company as your landlord can sometimes be advantageous. Gabriella Berman, 22, lives near the Cleveland Park Metro in a building owned by DARO Management Services, which owns 13 other properties in D.C. Once she’s lived in the building for a year, she could transfer to another DARO-managed building without financial penalties.”

From Greater Greater Washington blog…
Successful speed cameras require fair speed limits
“Now, an example, namely Porter Street/Klingle Road between Cleveland Park and Mount Pleasant. This looks like a bit of interstate highway plunked down in the middle of the city, evidence of a long-forgotten plan to make Piney Branch Parkway into an inner-city crosstown highway.”

From Green DC Daily blog…
DC Condo Associations Go Solar
“Over the past several years we have seen the DC condo market ebb and rise but there is one aspect that has been steadily increasing and that is condo associations going solar!”

From the Washington City Paper’s Young and Hungry blog…
The Devil Wears Prada (and Eats Ice Cream Sandwiches)
“Sugar Magnolia, the sister bakery to Ripple in Cleveland Park, has several rotating varieties including a strawberry ice cream sandwich with lavender sponge cake and chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cookies—all $3.50 each.”

From the Huffington Post…
Best D.C. Motorcycle Routes For Memorial Day Weekend’s Rolling Thunder
“Reno Road and 34th Street NW: Located roughly parallel to Connecticut Avenue through Chevy Chase, Tenleytown and Cleveland Park, these two roads run though primarily residential neighborhoods. It’s hilly, has some nice curves and full of nostalgia — at least for some.”

Has anyone tried these classes? Any other good food or wine education that we’re missing out on in the neighborhood?

Nice looking kitchen inside the new listing at 3430 Connecticut Ave

What’s it take to own property in Cleveland Park? For many young professionals this means taking a look at the condo market along Connecticut Ave. Regularly, we will be looking at the price level of condos available in Cleveland Park. Our survey area will be all condos for sale with a Connecticut Avenue address from Macomb to Tilden.

We add a 1-bedroom and see price drop on another 1-bedroom condo at 3616 Connecticut.

Total properties: 11

Median days on the market: 56

Total 1BR/studio: 7

1BR/studio price range: $240,000-$400,000

Median 1BR price: $312,500

Total 2BR: 4

2BR price range: $445,000-$649,000

New property spotlight:
3430 Connecticut Ave NW# 503
1-bedroom, 750 square feet
1-bedroom, plus den, great looking kitchen

Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!

Beef burger from Ardeo + Bardeo

Photo credit: Cleveland Parker (via Flickr)

BLT from Cafe Saint-Ex - photographer blog

Photo credit: dcgreenbites (via Tumblr)

Falafel with with chick peas, beets, hummus, and tzaiki from Amsterdam Falafel

Photo credit: Jonas Salone (via Flickr)

Trio from K Town Bistro - photographer blog

Photo credit: AK_Wong (via Flickr)

Jose Andres making friends in Cleveland Park…
From @dprinciotta
@chefjoseandres randomly meeting you in cleveland park Sat. made our day. Thank you for your warmth & taking time to talk. – Dan & Inbal

Shouldn’t Sugar Magnolia be hippie not hipster…
From @kcivey
OK, artisanal ice cream sandwiches are terribly hipster, but Sugar Magnolia’s coconut macaroon with coffee ice cream is good. #clevelandpark

You choose the tone…
From @floridagirlindc
I love that my neighbors essentially tailgate in our yard. Dogs, BBQ, babies, beer. Xo Cleveland Park!

More free books this weekend!
From @iamchrisblake
Check it out! The Cleveland Park branch of @dcpl is giving away boxes of free books. http://t.co/c740Q12H

Clearly doesn’t ride the metro much on the weekends…
From @MedievalMetro
A random 15min wait at Cleveland Park!?!? Unf***ing acceptable. #WMATA

Zoos everywhere you look in Cleveland Park…
From @StaceymckenzieM
There’s a camel at the Synagogue in #ClevelandPark. ’nuff said. @ Adas Israel http://t.co/sj1AjpSW

It looks like it will be a lovely weekend in the neighborhood, and with more Red Line single tracking scheduled, it will be a great time to explore the neighborhood on foot. So grab a cup of coffee, take a morning stroll, and check out one of these neighborhood parks or walking paths:

1.  Woodley Playground – This smallpark, found at Devonshire Pl. and Cortland Pl. (and seen above), contains nice, wooded trails.

2.  Tregaron – Located on the Washington International School campus, visit the “trails, meadow and woodlands” at this estate.

3.  Rosedale Conservancy – The oldest house in the neighborhood (that we discussed here) features Cleveland Park’s “village green.”

4.  Rock Creek Park – We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the lovely Rock Creek Park walking trails right in our back yard. Here’s a trail map, if you’re looking to check out a new part of the park.

5.  Melvin Hazen Park Trail – You may have walked by this trail, located on the east side of Connecticut Ave. between Segwick and Rodman, dozens of times without noticing it. Quickly escape the busyness of Connecticut Ave. by walking this trail down to Rock Creek Park.

Happy hiking!

Take my business advice or else!
I love to go to Yogiberry with my husband and kids…I went to them and asked to buy a few gift certificates. It so happens that their computers can’t or won’t ring up gift cards. Well I understood them to tell me they would be investing in a new system, so therefore today, May 12, I called to see if they could ring up gift cards (another birthday party tonight). They still don’t do gift cards. I wasn’t a business major but I know that just with me they’ve turned down over $100.00 of business. Who is running this place? I guess I’ll have to go to Froyo.

IKEA buddy request…
Random last minute SOS: I have a tree guy coming to hang some solar powered lanterns in my yard tomorrow in high places I can’t reach but a number of my lanterns from last year are no longer working. I got them from IKEA last year and they are back in stock in both the College Park and Woodbridge stores. If anyone is making a trip to either today (Thursday), I would be eternally in your debt if you could pick me up about 7 of them.

Proof that endorsement probably is an unnecessary step…
We are seeking someone who is a Universal Life minister who can endorse our friend in order to be the officiate for our wedding.

Giant tree killer…
Although “Giant Development Fatigue” is plaguing us and, unfortunately, dividing many, please understand that there is an issue that all of us should consider: *All* of the huge trees on Idaho Avenue are now slated for removal — both east and west sides. This environmental disaster is slated to take place soon. The extent of tree-killing far exceeds anything reasonable.

Grassroots campaigning for DC Bar…
For those listserv members who are (or know) D.C. lawyers, voting is now underway for electing new leaders of the D.C. Bar. One of the candidates President-Elect of the D.C. Bar is our neighbor, Andrea Ferster. Andrea is a native Washingtonian and life-long member of Cleveland Park.

Would Ricardo approve of this application of the comparative advantage principle? I think so…
I’m looking for a young person (high school/college) who would be interested in holding a yard sale. I will provide the goods and they will run the sale in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds. If you are interested, please respond.

Side note the hubbub was huge…
uBreakiFix in Cleveland Park Fixes Your TechIt is so great to have a new neighborhood-serving business in Cleveland Park — in the midst of the restaurant hubbub, which was huge tonight. I hope uBreakiFix is successful and will attract other retail businesses to our neighborhood.