H Street Coming Soon - Happy 2011 Edition

Angelico H Pizza (1421 H St) wood fired pizza, tapas, planning to submit for Vera Pizza Napoletana (i.e. use OO flour, San Marzano tomatoes, Bufala mozzarella, etc).  Building already substantially renovated and shooting for spring opening. 
Home Slice (1387 H St) gourmet pizza from large restaurant and pizza purveyor with NOLA roots.
Joe's Coal and Ice House (1358 H St) Ray's the Steaks type; steaks/ribs restaurant from Joe Englert. Timeline unclear.
Vendetta (1350-1352 H St) Red Sauce Southern Italian w/ H Street leaders Joe Englert & Chef Teddy Folkman. Also w/ Dolce (Cappucino/dessert/gelato spot) upstairs.  Expected to open before Joe's Coal and Ice House.
Smith Commons (1245 H St) Modern Bistro with Belgian chefs, impressive beer and wine lists, and three gorgeous levels, including a back patio deck. NOW OPEN.
Sale for Redevelopment of Autozone lot (1201 H St) Sale pending to Western Development. 
Church & State (1236 H St) Craft cocktails above Fruit Bat.  Erik Holzherr's "baby."  Opening in January.
Toki Underground (1234 H St) Ramen/Dumpling bar -- opening above the Pug hopefully within the next month or two.  Food was a big hit at H Street Festival.
Sticky Rice Expansion (1222 H St) Popular sushi & tots place expands next door to help reduce waits.
Unnamed Greek Mezze Restaurant (1220 H St) Greek mezze restaurant.  No construction yet. 
The Queen Vic (1206 H St) Authentic British Gastropub shooting to open soon.  Buildout ongoing.
Horace & Dickies Expansion (1200 H St) Fried fish icon to open up sit down cafe next door with expanded menu to include breakfast and bakery items.
Khan's BBQ (1125 H St) Mongolian BBQ restaurant in buildout phase at corner of 12th & H. Buildout ongoing and relatively far along.
Unnamed Restaurant in Birdland Space (1118 H St)  Restaurant from owner of Home Slice (1387 H St) & various other NOLA restaurants.
Wall Development (1113-1117 H St) Surplus of vacant lot to private developer for residential/retail development. 
Chow (1110 H St) Pan-Asian restaurant. No visible construction, unclear when might open if ever.
Atlas Room (1015 H St) Modern American fine dining from talented chefs with craft cocktails and quality wine program NOW OPEN.
H Street Connection (800-1000 H St) (high-end condos above two blocks of new retail, including outdoor seating patio at 8th St corner).  Final plans recently approved by Zoning Commission. 
HR-57 (806 H St) Popular, iconic jazz venue coming to H Street from 14th St NW in January.  Also plans to open a Blues venue a couple blocks away. 
Adobe Design Center & Showroom (652 H St) Home accessory, art, and furniture retail outlet quietly relocated to 7th & H from Rhode Island Avenue last month. 
600 block of H St (South side) Washington Real Estate Partners mixed-use project that includes 234 residential units, 500 parking spaces and ground-floor retail. 
Our Place on H (523 H St) Sports Pub at SW corner of 6th & H.  Slow buildout ongoing.  No liquor license / application to date. 
Spot On Training Studio (508 H St - lower level) highly regarded dog training studio from neighborhood resident in Metro Mutts building. 
Tru Orleans (400 H St) New Orleans/Acadian Restaurant with plans to improve and increase size of building to two stories on NE corner of 4th & H.  Some minimal construction appears to have recently begun.  ABRA hearing on liquor license February 28. 
360 H Street Apartments and Giant Grocery Store (300 Block - North side H St) Steuart Development mixed use building with residences and grocery breaking ground this spring. 
Capitol Place (200 block of H St - South side) Mixed use development with over 400,000 sq ft of retail, 300 condos, 380 parking spaces. The building will be several stories high at 2nd & H Sts, but will gradually scale back to row house heights of 45-55 ft as it reaches 3rd St to the east and G St to the south. Dreyfus Development. Recently completed demolition, but construction has yet to start.
Kitchen on K Street Chef Gillian Clark of the former Colorado Kitchen and General Store Fame brings her fried chicken, donuts, daily breakfast and more to the H Street corridor in the Loree Grand at 3rd & K.

Smith Commons opens & offers opening week specials to its neighbors

SMITH COMMONS OPENING WEEK PROMOTIONS

• Opening Week Menu and 25% Discount
• Since Smith Commons staff is still training, the Dining Room is offering a select menu Tuesday through Sunday (see below). As a small neighborly gesture to thank you for being among the first to visit the Dining Room, guests will receive 25% off final checks, exclusive of alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity through Sunday, January 9.
  
• Smith Hour on Friday
• Every Tuesday through Friday, "Smith Hour" will offer $5 bar snacks and a selection of cocktails, beer and wines at the Smith Commons bar on all three levels.  This Friday,  Smith Commons will offer complimentary bar snacks from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. 

City Gallery presents Ronnie Spiewak "Leaves, Words & Screens"; Reception Sat. Jan 8, 6-9 pm

CITY Gallery Presents
Ronnie Spiewak "Leaves, Words & Screens"

City Gallery is very pleased to announce its first solo exhibition "Leaves, Words and Screens" by gallery member Ronnie Spiewak.   Spiewak will exhibit new work and will awe visitors with her mastery of collage. 

In Spiewak’s words:

“Collage has always been a satisfying vehicle for expressing my ideas and emotions. Scissors and exacto blades are among my most coveted tools, serving in effect, as my paintbrushes. They help create lines and shapes quickly and crisply giving the work the energy I seek.  I am most comfortable when I’m tearing, cutting and pasting paper onto paper. Paper also has a 3-dimensional quality that I’m constantly exploring. Glossy black  ink-saturated magazine paper sings. The color, plainness and usefulness of brown paper give it an earthy quality.

I am also drawn to the calligraphy of foreign language newsprint with its beautiful array of symbols and marks. The mixture of languages becomes a metaphor for the eyes and ears of the world. Using Hebrew newsprint is a way to integrate my personal heritage into the work, reflecting on the culture of an ancient and simultaneously modern land.

In my work, and in my life, I’m interested in putting and keeping things in motion, much like a juggler. I create a complete image by using disparate pieces to make the whole.  It’s a selective process about incorporating, juxtaposing and eliminating. It’s about finding and loosing. It’s a method of working that reflects the ways I make choices in my daily living.

My current work is inspired by nature, travel, words and people. Recently, I took a serendipitous departure into three-dimensional work, making stand-alone paper constructions. I have no idea where this turn will take me, but I tend to let my intuition guide me. “

About the artist:
Ronnie Spiewak received her B.A. from Monmouth University in 1971 and her B.F.A. from the Corcoran School of Art in 1982. She has exhibited widely throughout the Greater Washington Metropolitan area for many years. She works at Passageways Studio in Riverdale, Maryland.

Please Join us Saturday January 8, 2011 from 6PM to 9PM at City Gallery, 804 H Street NE, Second Floor, Washington, DC 20002.  For more information email us at mailto:info@citygallerydc.com?subject=Gayle%20Krughoff%20%22Out%20at%20Night%22 or call us at 202.468.5277 or visit our website at http://citygallerydc.com/index.html

Toki Underground Menu looks awesome

Toki Underground was featured on the cover of the last Washington Post Weekend section and is beginning the roll out in anticipation of opening soon.  You can follow them on twitter and facebook now and here is their menu, which looks outstanding.  This is truly going to be a one of a kind spot in DC. 

Link roundup

Smith Commons (1245 H St) was the talk of the town last week with a soft opening, a NYE opening, and will officially open tonight at 5 p.m. for full service.  CityStream's 365 Things to do in DC had this preview with these great pictures showing the impressive rehabilitation of this property. 

Examiner.com likes the Biergarten Haus. 

The H Street Shuttle ran its last trip to H Street.  While the X9 Express bus is now running and offering experess service along a similar route, the last express bus leaves for H Street around 6:30 p.m., so much of the shuttle's coverage remains without a good public transporation option.  This is an unfortunate development.

Frozen Tropics reported that Sticky Rice reopened last night, but that they are currently operating without liquor.  They have a hearing on their liquor license tomorrow afternoon.

DCist says Taylor's Pattison Avenue (roast pork, broccoli rabe, sharp aged provolone) is one of their best bites in 2010.

Ward 6 Dems met with the candidates who are seeking temporary appointment to fill Kwame Brown's At-large Council seat until the March special election last night at the Atlas Performing Arts Center and voted overwhelmingly in favor of Sekou Biddle in that contest.

Spot On Training Studio Coming to 508 H St later this month

2010 was an incredible year on H Street and 2011 is going to be another one with new businesses like Smith Commons, Church and State, Toki Underground opening and the grand full reopening of the Argonaut all in the next month or so.  Now comes news that Spot on Training is opening a studio on H Street in partnership with Metro Mutts at 508 H Street later this month.   This is great news for neighborhood pet owners, for Metro Mutts -- the winner of the 2010 HILLY Award for Best Retailer, and for the corridor's growing stable of businesses. 

Good Afternoon!

As a H St. NE/Capitol Hill neighborhood homeowner and business owner I want to introduce myself and share some exciting news.  I started Spot On Training in April of 2010 in hopes of providing the dog owners in the surrounding community a positive option for dog training right here in our neighborhood.  I'm a certified professional trainer and until now have focused primarily on in-home private training with some classes here and there.  I'm excited to announce that in late January the Spot On Dog Training studio will open on H Street in the lower level of Metro Mutts.  

I think area dog lovers would love to hear about this new partnership and would be pleased to know that yet another resource has landed on their door steps.  And that 2 businesses have come together to help make our neighborhood a better place to live in!

Please help spread the word!

Heather Morris, CPDT-KA

Spot On Training
positive motivation, thriving dogs
202-629-2967
heather@spotondogtrainingdc.com
www.spotondogtrainingdc.com

Follow Us on Facebook!

Twitter!

At-large Council Appt Forum & Straw Poll tonight @AtlasPACDC (1333 H St)

Ward 6 Dems Host Forum & Straw Poll for At-Large Council Seat

In accordance with DC Law, the membership of the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee has the responsibility of appointing an fill the vacancy on the D.C. Council due to the election of Kwame Brown as Chairman of the D.C Council. As this interim appointment will have considerable authority, the Ward 6 Democrats scheduled a forum prior to the Democratic State Committee's vote. A special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

To be eligible to vote in the straw poll, you must be a registered Democrat in Ward 6
When: Monday, January 3, 2011
Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm
Where: Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street Northeast

RSVP Here: http://bit.ly/W6DAtLargeCandidatesForum0103


The invited candidates are:

Sekou Biddle
Dorothy Douglas
Calvin H. Gurley
Stanley J. Mayes
Hon. Vincent B. Orange
Kelvin J. Robinson
Saul Solorzano

The forum will be moderated by Mark Segraves.

The forum will be followed by an impromptu gathering at the Argonaut for libations.
Contact ward6dems@gmail.com if you should have any questions.

Charles Allen, President
& the rest of the Ward 6 Democrats Executive Committee