Washington Examiner interviews 901's David von Storch

David von Storch has kept relatively quiet about his new restaurant 901.   There hasn't been a whole lot of press, his website is minimal, and neither the site nor OpenTable include a copy of the menu.

Yet, he granted three minutes to the Washington Examiner for a brief interview, which you can read here.  It's only four questions long.

He says that 901 specializes in a sharing menu, but each menu item is individually portioned.  While the menu is "American," von Storch thinks American is pretty international, with influences from Asia and Italy.

Discounted Newseum membership

Are you a regular at the Newseum?   Or would you be if it were a little cheaper?

Today's Groupon gives you the opportunity to join the Newseum for $35.  It's usually $75, and considering regular admission i s $20, it pays for itself in less than two visits.

Membership entitles you to free admission for an entire year and a priority entrance to skip the line.  You also get discounts at the gift shop and on tickets for your friends.

A dual membership is also available for $60 (regular $125) or a family membership, good for two adults and up to four children, for $85 (regular $175).

In related coupon news, Living Social is offering membership to the Kennedy Center for $30 today, which is usually $60.

Hill Country introduces Sunday Gospel Brunch

Penn Quarter is Sunday Brunch Headquarters.  And now Hill Country has upped the ante a bit.

Not only does Hill Country offer Sunday Brunch specials -- $20 for 1/4 pound brisket, one pork spare rib, one beef rib, 1/4 chicken, any two sides, and a dessert -- they are not introducing live Gospel Music on Sundays from12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.   And live gospel music is cool.

The Jazz Brunch changed the brunch scene, and we'll see if gospel does the same.  A unique and creative idea if nothing else.

Hill Country's June music schedule

May went fast - but June means not only the official start of summer, but a new music schedule at Hill Country BBQ.   Here is the June schedule; there is no cover unless otherwise noted:

Some pay-by-phone parking has ended

We wrote in April about pay-by-phone parking meters coming to the entire district.  As part of that plan, one pay-by-phone pilot vendor will be ending its service in D.C.

Verrus is the company that operates pay-by-phone meters around Union Station, Dupont Circle, and in the downtown area along K Street, Eye Street, and New York Avenue.   They ceased operations last Thursday.

The new city-wide service will be run by Parkmobile, but is not up and running yet.  They will allow customers to pay meters by phone by phone or mobile app.

Today's Farmers Market specials

Today is Farmer's Market day and the Washington Post has a roundup of today's specials:

• Mountainview Farm will have cherry belle radishes for $2.50 per bunch and red rain mizuna for $2.75 per bunch.

• Anchor Nursery will have red turnips for $3 per bunch

• Copper Pot will have asparagus soup for $5 (16 oz. of soup) and spinach dip for $5 (8 oz of dip).

Circulator expands to Anacostia

The Circulator has been enormously successful.   Linking key parts of the city that are not accessible by rail, the Circulator has expanded rapidly.

However, now the bus seems to be more of a brand than an innovative idea.  The Circulator expands to a new route serving Anacostia that notably doesn't circulate. 

DDOT is holding a public meeting to get input on the new route, which snakes from Anacostia up through Navy Yard and up to Capitol Hill, on the edges of Penn Quarter.

The meeting is this Monday, June 6 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the UPO Building (1640 Good Hope Road S.E.).

A map of the new route:

Penn Quarter an example for other cities

We ran across this story in the Sacramento News Review and it made us smile.  Sacramento is considering moving their suburban arena into the downtown area, and their article talks about the "turnaround" our area has seen since the Verizon Center opened in 1997.

"Since, the Wizards/Capitals former owner led a push to build a new facility in downtown DC. Up and running since 1997, Verizon Center has helped spark a turnaround there. It’s now a trendy, go-to destination with a lot of things to do, good nightspots, and places to live near public transit."

You can read the full article here.  It's not entirely complimentary, it does acknowledge that we still have our problems, which include "uneven schools" and "gang violence."

E Street closed until OCTOBER

We have posted before about the closing of E Street's eastbound lanes between 4th and 5th Streets and the lack of any notice that it was going to be happening.

DDOT has finally gotten back to us on the project, and they say E Street will be closed until OCTOBER.

That means to go eastbound on E Street, you either have to detour up to F Street or down to D Street.  D Street is harder because Indiana Ave comes into it, and with Police Headquarters and D.C. Superior Court there, there is a lot of pedestrian traffic (very little of which is within the crosswalks).

Going up to F Street is easier, with a stop sign at 5th and F.  However, there is the Judiciary Square metro stop and a crosswalk halfway up that block at the National Building Museum, and if trains are just letting off you can be stuck for awhile.   Turning right onto 4th Street works, but there is often a lot of double-parking in front of the U.S. Attorney's Office, so it is often easier to go up to 3rd Street.

It looks like we better get used to these alternate routes since E Street will be impassible until October.  No word on whether the Westbound lanes will stay open that entire time.

The construction is taking place for the National Law Enforcement Memorial, which will be underground at that location.   E Street has been under almost constant construction there for the past few years.  With a sidewalk and partial lane closure for the D.C. Court of Appeals finally opening, the entire street has now closed. 

Free water refills around D.C.

In this heat it comes quicker than usual.  You finish off that last sip of water in your water bottle, and you are still far from home.  Where can you refill it?  Should you throw away that bottle and buy a new one?

Now your problem is solved.  The DC Water and Sewer Authority has teamed up with restaurants all around the city to provide free water to those who need to refill their water bottles.

Many of these restaurants are offering filtered water, so you aren't even subjected to tap water.

"We’re partnering with local businesses to increase public access to drinking water, protect the environment and save people money," said DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins. "We encourage residents and visitors to refill their reusable water bottles with our high-quality tap water when out and about in the District."

You can get a list of the many restaurants here, where you can search by street.  We found many Penn Quarter restaurants, and some of them allow you to fill up with filtered water from their soda fountain.

Potbelly's are all participating, and you generally don't go far without seeing one of those.  So is Teaism, West Wing Cafe, Camille's, and Pitango.

Extensive power outage downtown

Because of the sweltering heat outside, more people are draining power from Pepco, who isn't equipped to handle it.

About 1,969 customers are without power downtown; however, most of them are north of Union Station (about 1,500).  So Penn Quarter has largely been spared, for now.

The space between the two Lexington buildings on 8th Street is an electrical transformer.   Lines from there go underground to most Penn Quarter buildings, so we are generally spared from downed power lines.  However, overconsumption is a different game. 

If you do lose power, there is a "cooling center" located at the Walker Jones Education Campus at 1125 New Jersey Ave N.W.

Many downtown government buildings--federal and local--have been closed because of the power outage, so check first if you're going anywhere downtown.

Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure this Saturday

The Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure is this Saturday.  It takes place on the Mall, but between 3rd and 7th Streets.

While DDOT has not released any closed streets, it would be safe to bet that traffic won't be easy between 3rd and 7th Streets approaching the National Mall.

The race begins at 8:00 a.m., but they are several events prior to the start.  Metro will open early on Saturday--at 5:00 a.m.--to accommodate the race.

Free cookies at Union Station tomorrow

Doubletree Hotels are widely known for the chocolate chip cookies they give out when you check in.  This week, the hotel chain is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a nationwide cookie tour.

Their CAREavan (their phrase, not ours) will be going on a 10-week, 10,000 mile, 50-city tour and it will be stopping here in Washington tomorrow.

The van will be at Union Station from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow handing out free cookies.

So if you're near Union Station tomorrow, pick up a cookie or two.  Or three.