[Tujague]

Walking down Pennsylvania Ave SE today, I saw that Hunan King, the Chinese place next to the L'il Pub has closed. It was just okay, but it was still my go-to place for Chinese carry-out. Do any other Hill dwellers have any preferences among the other Chinese carry-out places on the Hill?

[Spiral Stairs]

After extensive experimentation, we simply decided to stop trying to find good Chinese food on the Hill. We channel our urges into Vietnamese (Pacific Cafe) or Thai (Old Siam).

[Pat]

Tujague, on Oct 9 2008, 04:07 PM, said:

Walking down Pennsylvania Ave SE today, I saw that Hunan King, the Chinese place next to the L'il Pub has closed. It was just okay, but it was still my go-to place for Chinese carry-out. Do any other Hill dwellers have any preferences among the other Chinese carry-out places on the Hill?

That's too bad. I hadn't gone there much recently but used to find their food pretty decent. I have gotten takeout from Hunan Dynasty--200 block of Penn--but I more often eat-in there. It's okay.

[sparkycom]

Yikes, this was my husband's fast-food cheap Asian cuisine option on the Hill for ages.

[Tujague]

I heard today that both the Bread and Chocolate and the Ben & Jerry's on Seventh St. SE near Eastern Market will be closing by mid-November. Certainly the former is no great loss, even if it did big weekend business. Does anyone know what might be taking its place? (I wonder if this is where the new location for Rockville's Cava might be, which Sietsema has reported is coming to the Hill.) And as far as B & J's goes, it would be great if Montmartre could expand into the space, maybe create more of a wine bar section or something.

[Tujague]

One of the Hill newspapers reported recently that an "upscale" Japanese restaurant is going into the Hunan King space.

[Tweaked]

woo hoo...I've been waiting for over a decade for the Bread & Chocolate space to close and become something else!

[Tweaked]

As dirty and nasty as it is, the Chinese takeout on 8th Street (China wall?), across the street from the fire station does great drunk Chinese food...General Tso chicken dripping in too much batter and sauce drunk Chinese food that is

Go with the combo platter with pork fried rice and an egg roll for like $8.

BTW, has anyone ever been to the Chinese Restaurant (Young Chow) around Connecticut and 3rd...next door to the Mexican/Salvadorean place. I often see bus loads of asians being herded there.

[Banco]

Tujague ideas are good, but for God's sake please not another frickin' coffee shop.

[Banco]

I've found Young Chow, on the north Side of Penn right next to La Lomita, to be better than most. Admittedly the bar is set quite low here on the Hill.

[Pat]

A restaurant is going to replace the sports shop on the 200 block of 7th Street, SE, just opposite Eastern Market. The person who told me was unsure but thought it was going to be either Italian or Greek food.

[Tweaked]

Sports place will be Italian according to the liquor board notice posted on the window. They were still cleaning out the store this weekend, so not sure how long it will take to turn it into a restaurant.

Samphan is also now open in the Hunan King spot.

[sandynva]

I've been to las placitas, on 8th st near banana cafe, a couple of times. excellent cheese pupusas, and the vegetarian burrito is perfectly fine.

[Tippster]

The place next to Las Placitas (used to be called Szechuan House) was far better than any other Chinese place in the area. I think it's called the Fusion Cafe now, but they'll still do normal Chinese takeout if you order by phone or from the bar. The rest of their menu is pretty decent as well.

Hunan King did make their own Egg- and Spring Rolls, which will be missed.

[DonRocks]

The following posts have been split into separate threads:

Seventh Hill Pizza (Pat)
Zest (leleboo)

[leleboo]

Has anyone tried Dulce yet, from the owners of H Street Martini Lounge in NE? They've been open with modified hours while waiting for their liquor license, next to what is apparently the now-defunct Pacific Cafe (The Hill Is Home, in its review of Dulce, says a seafood restaurant is going there, FWIW). Given that this place is right near me, it could become a staple if it's any good.

[Pat]

There's information on some new places here.

[leleboo]

Pat, on 29 October 2009 - 02:26 PM, said:

There's information on some new places here.

I was psyched when I saw that post the other day -- Ted's Bulletin work getting going -- and I had posted something about Zest here, but I'm still unclear on if they're aiming more for the restaurant vibe, or the bar/club vibe. Still, I love seeing all of this going on. Yeah, I'm an unabashed "I love my neighborhood!" booster.