Link roundup

Young and Hungry is looking forward to Smith Commons (1245 H St), which wont open tonight, but hopes to open within days.  Urban Daddy and Thrillist have short pieces as well.  The Urban Daddy piece has some great photos from the second floor.  Nice work on the renovation and decor, guys!

Greater Greater Washington reports on bike lanes and/or bike boulevards for the H Street Corridor, possibly along G and I Sts.
DCTheatreScene recommends Black Nativity at the H Street Playhouse (1365 H St).  The show runs through January 2.

Frozen Tropics has begun rounding up New Year's Eve options on H St.  H Street Country Club (1335 H St) has a dinner date plan for two, while the Red Palace (1212 H St) a Variety Blowout Bash planned.  Little Miss Whiskeys (1104 H St) and Jimmy Valentine's (1103 Bladensburg Rd) have fun plans as well with "Double Whammy 2010" a night hosted by One Love Massive and 5 great DJs lined up.  They'll also provide patrons with shuttle service to Union Station at the end of the night.
Rock and Roll Hotel’s (1353 H St) has A Rattler New Year's Eve with Rattler, Villains DJ Crew and more. Tickets are $25 general admission, $50 for open bar.

Tim Carman, now of the Washington Post, has this response to a recent NYT article about so-called 'junk food' (really comfort food) on Capitol Hill and H Street.  Carman's thoughtful critique follows the same path as a recenty reply post on THIH and includes this impassioned defense of some outstanding new restaurants in the neighborhood, which do far more than offer quality comfort food.  Carman cites Ethiopic and the Atlas Room in noting how the Times failed to tell the story of:

how a husband and wife are dragging Ethiopian cuisine (disgusting finger food!) into the arena of modern American dining. (Tom Sietsema: "If you think all Ethiopian restaurants are cut from the same cloth, you have yet to visit Ethiopic" in the Atlas District.) No one needs to know that Ba Bay on Pennsylvania Avenue SE has hired a fine-dining chef to put a modern twist on Vietnamese cooking, complete with themed craft cocktails. And no one can stand another word about that Florentine import, Acqua al 2, let alone another sentence about those two accomplished toques who just launched the daringly original Atlas Room on H Street NE where the chefs have cast aside the concept of a standard appetizer-entree menu.