New Columbia Heights

Yikes! Fake PEPCO scammers going around the neighborhood

2012-02-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Just saw this on WAMU's website via the Columbia Heights listserve: apparently people impersonating PEPCO workers are going around the neighborhood trying to scam people. They either seem to be trying to get your account number and personal info, or they pose as bill collectors. A few people have given them money. One lady on the Columbia Heights listserve had this interaction:

Yep. I had a very personable guy come to my door on Fairmont St. Ran the script described below [in the WAMU article]. I told him to leave me printed material and I'd get back to him if I wanted his services. He said that wasn't the way this offer worked. We went back and forth for a few minutes. I finally told him I didn't want whatever he was offering and he got snippy that I would refuse "money sitting on the table." I told him that if it's too good to be true then it's probably not true and shut the door.

Apparently similar incidents have happened elsewhere in the region too.

A PEPCO spokesman tells WAMU that people should be wary:

Anderson advises people never to give out account numbers because Pepco already has it. In addition, he says the utility does not make a practice of popping up on doorsteps unannounced."Ninety percent of the time, Pepco works outside of your home and when we are dealing with the smart meters and installation, then we may knock on your door," he says. "But even before that, if we have to come into your home, we're going to contact you and let you know we will be in your neighborhood at a predetermined time."

Anyone else experience this? Pretty strange and brazen.

Really crappy looking (and incorrect) street signs going up

2012-02-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Look up: our new street signs look like crap.

A few weeks ago, I read in the Post that DC street signs would be getting a new font and would be written in title case, rather than upper case (that is, Fairmont Street rather than FAIRMONT STREET). They're also going to write the numbers as ordinal numbers, as in "14th Street" rather than the current "14 Street."

I've seen the font, which is part of new Federal standards, before on highway signs in other parts of the country, and always liked them. However, on some signs I spotted near the Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro, it looks really bad. I think the city got it wrong.

Check out the sign to the right for new Hampshire Ave and the one below for Georgia Ave. The New Hampshire sign uses three different sizes: the "ew" in New is bigger than "ampshire" in Hampshire. It shouldn't be that way, and it looks terrible.

Aside from that, more things are wrong. Compare the "G" in the sign for Georgia Ave to the sign below in Michigan using the font: they're not the same. And the lower case letters in the DC signs are way smaller than they should be: "eorgia" and "ampshire" are less than half as large as the upper case letters, while in the Michigan sign, they're more than 2/3 the size of the upper case letters. (In typeface lingo, upper case letters are called majuscule, and lower case are miniscule.) Furthermore, the quadrant is written as Nw, when it should be NW.

What's odd is that Mike DeBonis from the Post snapped a picture (bottom right) of new and old East Capitol Street NE signs on Capitol Hill, and everything looks correct. It appears that somebody messed up when they made these Georgia and New Hampshire signs.

Now I know street signs are a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but man, do they look awful.

UPDATE: To be clear, I think this is the wrong font. The lower case g in Georgia is another example: compare it to Clearview, the font it's supposed to be.

The Pinch, new American restaurant, coming to 14th and Perry Parkwood

2012-02-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

There's another new spot coming to 14th Street. The Pinch, an American restaurant, is coming to the old El Salvadoreno space at 3548 14th Street NW, at ~~Perry~~ Parkwood. It's going to have 99 seats inside and about 30 in a sidewalk cafe. It's a two floor space, and the agreement with the neighborhood commission says they may have occasional live music or spoken word performances downstairs.

Like other neighborhood spots, their sidewalk cafe will close at midnight on Friday and Saturday and 11 pm on other nights.

I hope to get some more details soon, but this is a good thing. It's nice to have something else coming to 14th Street between the area just north of DCUSA (the Allegro building and The Getaway) and the Red Derby at Spring Road.

DSW shoe store confirmed -- looking at end of 2012

2012-02-08T09:27:00.003-05:00

We've heard rumors for awhile, but it looks like much-beloved shoe discounter DSW is in fact coming to DCUSA, according to the Washington Business Journal. They're aiming for late 2012 to open.

A lot of folks seem to be fans of DSW, which sells name-brand shoes for cheap, for women, men and kids. It's different than Payless in that they're not generic shoes.

The Wash Biz article says they're leasing 23,000 square feet on the second floor, the blue area labeled #204 on the plans below. It seems to be behind Best Buy, so I am guessing the access will be from downstairs. There have been uninstalled escalators in the space below before and you can see one on the first floor plans.

The article adds they're still looking for tenants for the large downstairs spaces west of IHOP, numbers 124 and 125 below. Number 125 was supposed to be the Grocery Store Who Shall Not Be Named. Note that some of the tenants on these plans are out of date, but at least shows the spaces.) They mentioned a "boutique grocer" in the article, but they also mentioned that a year ago, so don't get your hopes up too much.

So what do you think, happy about this? I was originally worried about making DCUSA too much of a mall, but I've since gotten over that.

Work progressing on new pharmacy at 14th and Fairmont

2012-02-07T12:55:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I reported that a new pharmacy was coming to 14th and Fairmont, in the Columbia Uptown building (the space used to be a convenience store.) It looks like they're making some progress.

I walked by the other day and saw a lot of work underway, with shelves and counters and such, and a business card in the window.

The place is going to be called the Cardozo HealthMart Pharmacy, though their card says they're at Fairmont Avenue, rather than Fairmont Street.

I suppose a pharmacy is a good use of the space, though there's already pharmacies at the CVS at 14th and Irving, the Target in DCUSA, and the Giant on Park Road (although I've found that CVS often takes awhile or messes things up.)

What do you think, nice to have another pharmacy?

Music video filmed in the neighborhood

2012-02-07T09:51:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, I received this email from local musician Brent Peterson, who made it with Mark Perkins, also a neighborhood resident. It's well done and shows a lot of neighborhood spots. Enjoy.

Here's Brent & Co's Facebook page.

Coffy Cafe (and crepes) set to open Feb. 18

2012-02-06T10:28:00.003-05:00

Coffy Cafe, the new mod-themed creperie coming to 3310 14th Street NW is almost ready: their Facebook page reports they'll be opening February 18th. I heard from some tipsters that there were workers inside, permits in the windows and the wi-fi was on.

The place sounds pretty neat: they'll be serving made-to-order sweet and savory crepes priced from $4.50 to $9 (for smoked salmon), baked goods from family recipes and coffees. Their new website has the full menu.

I interviewed Philecia a few months ago about the place and how she came up with the idea. She also sent along some in-progress photos from a few months ago, to give you an idea of how it will look. They're here.

I do like crepes, and it's always good to have a new, creative place coming to the neighborhood. Plus 14th Street north of the Metro is starting to be a bit of a French strip, with Le Caprice bakery up the block. Well, maybe if we're lucky.

The Carodozo track is closed to the public for 18 months

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I recently received some questions from people asking about Cardozo's track, which used to be open to the public. However, during the school's renovations, it will be closed for about 18 months, according to Jim Graham.

Runners, where else would you recommend? The track at Banneker looks nice.

Oops: "Girad" Street is closed between Sherman and Georgia

2012-02-02T13:30:00.001-05:00

This morning I was walking down Girard Street and saw this sign at Sherman -- hey, guys, you forgot a letter.

The street is closed due to construction, part of the badly needed Sherman Avenue Streetcsape improvements, which will improve one of our dumpiest looking streets.

So if you are driving, make sure not to take "Girad" Street between Georgia and Sherman. Or Girard Street.

Wow! 1,000,000 hits for New Columbia Heights

2012-02-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

Today I checked out my stats and noticed the blog hit a major milestone: 1,000,000 hits!

I began this blog in March 2008 because a lot of things were happening in the neighborhood: cranes were everywhere, DCUSA had just opened, new developments and businesses were coming in, old businesses were leaving, and there were many cool events and big changes -- but there was no one source I could go to and find it all without having to go sift through other neighborhoods and stuff I wasn't interested in.

Since that first post ("Welcome!") I changed the name of the blog from New (Columbia) Heights to just New Columbia Heights, I've written nearly 2,000 posts (check out the tags at right for all the topics), I've met a lot of interesting folks and have even gotten interviewed by places like WAMU and the Washingtonian.

Since the beginning, I've always relied on the readers to provide feedback, useful and funny comments on posts and to send in tips and questions to newcolumbiaheights(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks, and please keep it up.

And most of all, I hope the blog has been a useful service and source of news and entertainment for everybody.

Thank you for reading.

T Street Post Office moving to Reeves Center at 14th and U

2012-02-02T08:07:00.000-05:00

Here's some news for those folks who use the post office (or would like to): while Columbia Heights isn't getting one, at least one is coming a bit closer. The T Street station, formerly near 14th and T, will be moving into the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center at 14th and U, according to DCist and Eleanor Holmes Norton.

This post office was originally slated to close, along with others in the city, but thanks to the move, it will stick around.

The move will happen at the end of February.

Paila Chilean Grill expands menu: steak, fish, ceviche, more

2012-02-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

Paila Chilean Grill, the great Chilean place on Park Road (see my earlier review here) has just expanded their menu! I stopped in the other day and the owner pointed out some new items, specifically ceviche, the marinated seafood dish popular in Latin America, as well as beef, tilapia and chicken "a la pobre," which is a traditional Chilean dish made with steak, fish or chicken topped with a fried egg and fried onions, over French fries. It's more expensive than the other items, but sounds pretty delicious.

They'll still serve their delicious sandwiches, like the chacarero with steak, avocado, jalapenos, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo, and the fish tacos.

In addition, I finally had a chance to try the brazo de reina (Queen's arm), a cake made of dulce de leche and coconut -- it's often sold out. And I must say, pretty great. Worth a go if they have it:

New space finder for arts groups, arts venues

2012-02-01T11:05:00.003-05:00

Are you an artist or group looking for a venue to present your work? Or a venue looking for artists? The Cultural Development Corporation just launched DC Spacefinder, a searchable database for venues and for artists. Sounds pretty cool, and could be useful for local artists and venues. Here's their press release:

Cultural Development Corporation Launches

DCSpaceFinder

Searchable Database for Art Spaces in DC to Present Work, Rehearse and More

WHO	Cultural Development Corporation, powered by NYC’s Fractured Atlas and supported by DC’s Office of Planning.
WHAT	DCSpaceFinder is a state-of-the-art, searchable database of arts venues in the DC-metro area. The website lists spaces that offer room for classes, workshops, auditions, rehearsals, performances and more.
WHEN	DCSpaceFinder will launch January 30, 2012
WHY	Artists need space to rehearse, perform, teach and more. Venues around DC have room they rent to these artists. DCSpaceFinder is the portal to match artists and spaces – a win-win for both sides.
DETAILS	Artist and venues register for free at www.dcspacefinder.org. Artists may search by creative discipline, type of space and location. They may save their favorite spaces and post reviews. Venues may upload rental requirements and detailed specifications about their space.

Corner store at 13th and Otis gets an upgrade: coffee bar, lots more wine, craft beer, fancier interior

2012-01-30T15:16:00.003-05:00

Looks like the Thirteenth Street Market at the corner of 13th and Otis is going upscale: I recently visited to pick up some stuff and noticed it's had some big upgrades: there's a new coffee bar with all the fixins, nice new wood shelves, an entire wall of wine, and a whole lot more craft beer.

The store's owner (who is a really nice lady) said there was a lot more demand for this kind of thing lately, and she looked to add some more to the store as well.

It's interesting to see the change in focus of some of our local markets to reflect the changes in population, and this seems like a good fit for the area, as there isn't much else around with the wine or coffee.

Joe Biden and granddaughters eat at Pete's Apizza

2012-01-30T10:32:00.001-05:00

Folks at Pete's Apizza on Irving this Friday evening had a surprise: Vice President Joe Biden was eating there with two granddaughters. A buddy texted me about it at approximately 7 pm and a few folks started posting pictures to Twitter: @sethnotshep and @jmerzie have a couple good shots of the VP, Secret Service, surprised patrons, and more.

Of course, Pete's is kind of a popular place with the Obama administration: the President mentioned it in a speech ("everybody go there"), and later invited the owners to a meeting.

And previously I speculated that Columbia Heights was the Obamas' favorite DC neighborhood, since in the past few years President Obama signed a bill with Michelle at Tubman School, visited the Columbia Heights Youth Club with the First Lady, visited a charter school, also with Michelle, the First Lady went to the Upper Cardozo health center and jumped rope at Bell, and the President worked out at the DCUSA Washington Sports Club. And of course there's Pete's.

I guess sometimes the White House (or Naval Observatory, in Biden's case) gets boring. Might as well go eat somewhere you are familiar with.

Photo by @sethnotshep

Trash Cat clothing shop opening this Saturday at the Pleasant Plains Workshop on Georgia

2012-01-27T13:15:00.000-05:00

There's a cool-sounding pop-up shop is coming to the Pleasant Plains Workshop this Saturday: Trash Cat, a clothing sale and swap. Their grand opening is this Saturday from 4 to 8 pm, and after that they'll be open Thursdays and Fridays from 2-7pm, Saturdays 1-6pm and Sundays noon to 5pm. Trash Cat will be open until February 25th.

Basically, the shop is a collective organized by four ladies to sell and swap interesting clothes -- some vintage, some new. You can read more on their Facebook page and the the PPW's website.

I've written about the Pleasant Plains Workshop before, it's a cool art venue/gallery/space for events located at 2608 Georgia Avenue NW. In the past, they've had performances and artists have sold their wares. It's a neat venue and worth a visit.

UPDATE: The organizers note that it's a small space, so Saturday might be packed, and they suggested Sunday as another option. There's a Washingtonian piece on it, and here's some more photos they passed along:

People's Noodle Bar now open Monday-Saturday; Senor Chicken is closed

2012-01-27T12:34:00.002-05:00

Ramen fans, you are in luck. People's Noodle Bar, the pop-up ramen shop that took over Senor Chicken on Saturday evenings, is now open Monday-Saturday from 5 to 9:30 pm. And along with this, Senor Chicken is now closed indefinitely, so it's ramen only.

Chef Peter He tells DCist that they're going to convert Senor Chicken to People's Noodle Bar, and this is a step along the way.

I interviewed Peter a few months ago and also visited the place -- pretty darn tasty. It's not the ramen you may think of from the packets, it's good noodles, pork, veggies or duck skin, and fresh herbs. The pork is Berkshire pork and other ingredients are from local farmers.

I'm happy for them, and also glad to see another good food spot open -- plus Senor Chicken never seemed to have many customers.

You can follow People's on Twitter. They're located on the Park Road side of DCUSA, just west of 14th Street.

Photo by Justin Grimes

Don't Block the Box comedy show at Wonderland this Friday

2012-01-26T14:15:00.000-05:00

Sounds like a fun time at ol' Wonderland this Friday:

Hell yeah! Don't Block the Box is back for our record breaking ninth show at the Wonderland Ballroom! And here's the schedule of events: first you'll drink, then you'll laugh, then you'll drink some more, then you'll dance until the night is over and everyone had a fucking awesome time!

Your headliners:
Doug Powell (Fresh off the release of his new one-hour special "I Am You An Hour From Now" and seen at the DC Improv and the Riot Act Comedy Club)

Tim Miller (Improv feature act, opener for Daniel Tosh, Pablo Francisco, and Bob Marley, from the popular Three Guys On podcast & Sirius/XM radio)

Featuring:
Johno Cain (Riot Act Comedy Club, Virginia Beach Funny Bone)

Moreese Licorish (Broadway Comedy Club, DC Improv)

Hosted by:
Reggie Melbrough (KZ's Comedy Contest winner & headliner, feature at BloomBars, Speakeasy DC)

Show @ 7:30
21 and over
Where: The second floor of Wonderland Ballroom
Price: $3, cash only (coins acceptable!)
Closest Metro station: Only a few blocks from Columbia Heights Station
Parking: Everywhere!
Fun: times a trillion
Bar: Oh, there's a bar

Spotted: DC voting rights posters around the area

2012-01-26T11:25:00.001-05:00

I spotted this poster the other day on Georgia Avenue. While I'm not a fan of wheatpastes (see the ANSWER Coalition crap) at least it's now legal for this to be up for 180 days.

And DC voting rights an effort that I think we should all support, since as hopefully you know DC doesn't have a vote in Congress, despite a population bigger than Wyoming and Alaska. To me that's completely unfair, as we're taxpayers and are frequently subjected to the whims of Congress, which can decide to block anything the city tries to do, even if the city council approves it or a referendum passes -- like happened with Initiative 59 a few years ago, which approved medical marijuana and with abortion funding.

To see what you can do, check out DCVote.org.

Intern and volunteer opportunities at the Latin American Youth Center's Art + Media House

2012-01-26T08:15:00.000-05:00

Here's some great opportunities with a cool local organization. LAYC does a lot of good things, and the Art + Media House has tons of programs for kids (they designed the mural outside Wonderland) and for adults (I'm taking a class there now, in fact.)

Take a look, and pass it on.

Closed Adams Morgan outdoor marketplace reopens at 14th and Otis

2012-01-25T12:06:00.003-05:00

Something I missed: we have a new outdoor market.

The Unity Marketplace recently closed shop at its old location on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan due to a permit issue. They were open on weekends and they used to sell Latin American crafts and food (the churros and tacos were pretty solid). But now they moved to our area, opening at 14th and Otis in November. They've also expanded when they're open, Tuesdays through Sundays from 7:30am-6:30pm, and they've renamed themselves as the International City Fair.

Metro Diversity has more, including this on the what they'll have:

Food stands feature typical foods from El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and the Caribbean. Artisans offer outerwear garments, specialty items and typical crafts. Once established, ICF will expand to include a greater variety of offerings. The objective is to provide healthy, economical food choices with fresh ingredients for a variety of tastes and an attractive, open air street fair for visitors and residents in the heart of the District.

I haven't had a chance to stop by yet, but it sounds pretty cool. Anyone been?

Room 11 has a new blog on their expansion progress

2012-01-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

You may recall that we recently heard that Room 11, the great little bar at 11th and Lamont, is expanding into the space next door. They also just stared using their blog to detail the progress on the expansion: right now they're tearing down walls and things in the spot, which used to be Jeans N Things (here's the location on Google Streetview).

They hope to be finished in early Summer, and it looks like they have their work cut out for them, the place is pretty messed up. I'm really looking forward to it, Room 11 is a great spot if you haven't been. I try to go about once a week. Here's their website.

Target now has a "Bullseye Bodega"

2012-01-24T08:15:00.000-05:00

The other day I was at the Target in DCUSA and noticed something odd: in the area on the first floor that used to have bulk items, there were signs for the "Bullseye Bodega." Kind of a weird name, and there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary there: things like random decorative vases, paper towels, storage boxes. I guess it's like a bodega in that there are random items you may need, but I don't really see what this accomplishes.

Doing a little research, there was something similar in NYC Target stores, a sort of pop-up for a few weeks where you could "Shop the Bodegas for chic deals in home, fashion, accessories and beauty from our acclaimed roster of design partners." Unless you consider Target brand paper towels to be "chic" then I don't really get it. They do have some coupons, at least. Strange.

Checking out Smucker Farms, the new Amish store on 14th

2012-01-20T12:25:00.001-05:00

The other day I stopped by Smucker Farms of Lancaster County, the new Amish store at 2118 14th Street NW (near W). It's basically a small grocery store with traditional and artisanal items -- think a small version of Whole Foods if everything was from Amish and Mennonite farmers (and some local farmers in the DC area).

The store is actually fairly minimalist, with shelves along the side walls and some displays in the center, plus some other items in the back. There are dry food items (soups, jelly, pasta, root beer, and so on) plus a bit of organic produce, and a lot of farm-raised beef, poultry, pork, eggs and dairy (see that here and here).

They also have dry goods like soap, candles and wooden toys (and kubb sets) in the back area.

When I was there, the cashier was a cousin of founder Eric Smucker, who she said is from Lancaster, the Amish heartland, and has been in DC for nine years.

The place has a lot of nice items, and I'd go back, but it's not your average grocery store: I'm sure there are good things there, but a lot of them I've never tried. You have to have either heard of the relatively popular stuff, like the highly-rated, lard-made Good's Potato Chips, or you have to pick stuff that sounds good or interesting. Definitely not your usual food shopping experience. The prices were a bit higher, but not outrageous, and you certainly get what you pay for. I got a really tasty jug of root beer for about $3 and stroopwaffles, a delicious Dutch treat of waffle cookies with caramel between them, for about the same price.

You should stop by and check it out yourself. It's always nice to have a store with quality items and farm-raised food, especially now that the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace is done for the season. They're open 8am-10pm on weekdays and 9-9 on Saturday and Sunday.

Funny video: "Shit DC People Say"

2012-01-19T11:44:00.000-05:00

This video is making the rounds, "Shit DC People Say" by the folks at Social Studies DC. It's not specific to Columbia Heights, but some of the things are certainly familiar (and there is a brief mention: "Shaw is the new Columbia Heights.")

Of course, you could make the case that this is more "Shit 20- and 30-something white professional people say in DC" but why take out the fun?