Murky Coffee - Founder Nick Cho's Terrific, Light-Roasted Coffee Originally on Capitol Hill and in Clarendon - Closed

[nick]

CrescentFresh said:

Was anybody else kinda surprised to see this fawning over Nick Cho of Murky Coffee based upon some previous bullshit Cho spewed on eGullet? To be honest, after reading his comments on eGullet that left the impression that no one on the planet can make coffee as good as him and no one cares about coffee as much as him, I was left with the feeling that this guy is a complete douchebag rather than the friendly, team-mate mentor that the Post article pointed out.

Granted, I just wanna clarify that it's strictly my impressions of his eGullet posts that lead me to think he's a jerkwad rather than any official authorization that he is indeed such. I don't think the judges have come back with an official report, yet. But I will say that after reading what he had to say on eGullet, there's no freakin' way I'd wander in to anything that guy touches. It was shocking to see how other coffee entrepreneurs are kissing his beans.

Admittedly late to the discussion.

Whatever your "impression" was, based on that eG thread, please don't wander in to touch me anywhere.

The state of restaurant coffee is slowly improving, but is still generally very poor... in DC, and pretty much everywhere else. There are too few exceptions. To disagree with this statement is an understandable and common ignorance about coffee.

[DonRocks]

Whatever your "impression" was, based on that eG thread, please don't wander in to touch me anywhere.

PS you under-roasted those special auction Kenya whatever-beans that I bought a month ago. Yes, I know you go for a light roast, but these were still under-roasted. They were!

Sorry for my crappy handwriting,

Rocks.

[mdt]

Admittedly late to the discussion.

Whatever your "impression" was, based on that eG thread, please don't wander in to touch me anywhere.

The state of restaurant coffee is slowly improving, but is still generally very poor... in DC, and pretty much everywhere else. There are too few exceptions. To disagree with this statement is an understandable and common ignorance about coffee.

Then how do you explain the state of coffee in your establishments? I have had burnt (Starbucks) tasting coffee the last two times I was in (Capitol Hill location) and was wondering what all the fuss was about. Not to mention the incredible length of time it took to get me the cup of coffee. Yeah I know, it takes time to make great coffee, or something like that. I think you should focus more on what you are producing instead of worrying about everyone else.

[nick]

PS you under-roasted those special auction Kenya whatever-beans that I bought a month ago. Yes, I know you go for a light roast, but these were still under-roasted. They were!

If it was a month ago, it was Kenya Gaaki. What do you mean by "under-roasted?" The gold-label coffees will tend to be lighter-roasted, to highlight the inherent flavors in the coffee, rather than shroud them in a darker roast.

"Under-roasted" beans will taste grassy, and will often end up under-extracted in the cup. Our roaster, Counter Culture, also photo-spectrographs every roast.

I'm not disputing your assessment. The chosen roast-level very well may have been lighter than your preference, or there could have been a mistake. The next time something like this happens, bring back the bag!

Then how do you explain the state of coffee in your establishments? I have had burnt (Starbucks) tasting coffee the last two times I was in (Capitol Hill location) and was wondering what all the fuss was about. Not to mention the incredible length of time it took to get me the cup of coffee. Yeah I know, it takes time to make great coffee, or something like that. I think you should focus more on what you are producing instead of worrying about everyone else.

What did you order? Nothing we offer is dark-roasted, so while a "burnt-taste" isn't possible, I can imagine that something may have tasted bitter or otherwise bad. Same offer to you (and anyone else reading this): if something tastes wrong or otherwise bad, send it back! That situation leaves two possibilities... a poorly prepared drink, or a drink that, though properly prepared, is not to your liking. Let us make you something that you DO like.

I hope that your experience was not truly reflective of "the state of coffee" at our shops.

[DonRocks]

If it was a month ago, it was Kenya Gaaki. What do you mean by "under-roasted?" The gold-label coffees will tend to be lighter-roasted, to highlight the inherent flavors in the coffee, rather than shroud them in a darker roast.

"Under-roasted" beans will taste grassy, and will often end up under-extracted in the cup. Our roaster, Counter Culture, also photo-spectrographs every roast.

I'm not disputing your assessment. The chosen roast-level very well may have been lighter than your preference, or there could have been a mistake. The next time something like this happens, bring back the bag!

A woman walked into an orthopedic surgeon's office, unable to walk because of lower-back pain.

"My MRI was negative," she said. "My primary physician insists there's nothing wrong!"

"This is why we treat patients and not photographs," the doctor replied.

Quick, Nick: Click!

Cheers,

Rocks.

P.S. Just in case anyone thinks I'm inaugurating Pick On Nick Day, I agree with his general assessment of restaurant coffee (yes, there are exceptions), and Murky Coffee is where I try and buy my beans. Aggressive? Yes, but this is the type of rabblerousing the area coffee scene needs. Now go ahead and argue...

[Heather]

So Don, did you take the beans back?

Nick, how much of coffee roasting is subjective? What mdt describes at burnt and "Starbucks" tasting is the only roast that doesn't taste bitter as hell to me.

[hillvalley]

Due to lack of accessibility to anything else I end up having Starbucks when I drink coffee. Mocha is my drink of choice.

Last week I had the opportunity to grab a cup of mocha from Murky's Capital Hill store and with the first sip realized what I was missing with my usual cup of mocha joe. I found the coffee to have a more developed flavor than Staryucks and it didn't taste burnt at all to me. I don't know much about coffee or the state of coffee in DC restaurants but I do know Staryucks could learn a thing or two from Murky.

[mdt]

So Don, did you take the beans back?

Nick, how much of coffee roasting is subjective? What mdt describes at burnt and "Starbucks" tasting is the only roast that doesn't taste bitter as hell to me.

I guess the burnt taste that I was referring to was coffee that has been in a pot too long. I just ordered a regular coffee and there was almost no difference from any other coffee that I have had from Starbucks.

Maybe we need to do a coffee tasting at the next picnic.

[jparrott]

Like I always said, gotta maintain that keen alcohol/caffeine balance.

[Heather]

OK, we're talking about two different things here. Beans purchased and brewed at home vs. coffee brewed in the store.

[Ferhat Yalcin]

I don't know much about coffee or the state of coffee in DC restaurants but I do know Staryucks could learn a thing or two from Murky.

Im not going to talk about starbucks coffee , but Im sure every business owner needs to learn from starbucks corp. they currently have over 12,000 stores worldwide and they are planning this number to be 40,000 stores.

they sure know how to operate.

[hillvalley]

Im not going to talk about starbucks coffee , but Im sure every business owner needs to learn from starbucks corp. they currently have over 12,000 stores worldwide and they are planning this number to be 40,000 stores.

they sure know how to operate.

I was referring to the taste of the coffee

[youngfood]

with the first sip realized what I was missing with my usual cup of mocha joe. I found the coffee to have a more developed flavor than Staryucks and it didn't taste burnt at all to me. I don't know much about coffee or the state of coffee in DC restaurants but I do know Staryucks could learn a thing or two from Murky.

Murky's espresso drinks have spoiled all other DC establishment espresso based drinks to me. I'm not wild about their coffee, but they make the best lattes & espressos around. As for the service, the folks at Eastern Market make great drinks and are a lot of fun, and its not their fault the store is entirely too popular for its size.

[nick]

A woman walked into an orthopedic surgeon's office, unable to walk because of lower-back pain.

"My MRI was negative," she said. "My primary physician insists there's nothing wrong!"

"This is why we treat patients and not photographs," the doctor replied.

Quick, Nick: Click!

Cheers,

Rocks.

Thanks for the link. We've been talking about refractometers to analyze espresso extractions, but for roast degree, folks use these suckers. Either way, point taken. As we say, "What's in the cup is what matters." However, you don't have that coffee for me to go CSI on... sometimes, the photograph is all we's gots.

Nick, how much of coffee roasting is subjective? What mdt describes at burnt and "Starbucks" tasting is the only roast that doesn't taste bitter as hell to me.

As with pretty much anything culinary, there is a lot of subjectivity. Very generally, in the west (and Pacific North West), you tend to see darker roasts, whereas we on the Right Coast tend to roast lighter.

However, differences emerge when you're talking about commercial-grade coffees, or low-grade specialty (like at our friendly neighborhood *$), versus top-quality specialty coffees.

At a more commodity level, you roast it to your customers' general preferences. It's about the roast. What coffee is being roasted is secondary. That said, the darker you roast a coffee, the more you taste the roast... the less you taste the unique characteristics of the coffee.

For our segment of the coffee community, we're focused on coffee-appreciation (vis-a-vis wine appreciation), so a dark-roast is generally considered an anathema. If we're sourcing a special auction-lot of coffee, and paying 5-20 times what the chains pay for their green (pre-roasted, ready-for-export) coffee, it's no wonder we wouldn't dare treat it the same as the chains do.

"Coffee appreciation" is a growing and developing culinary field. The good news is, the vast majority of the elements within are not at all unique to coffee; in many ways, coffee is very comparable to wine, and the rules that apply to coffee are generally very similar to the rules that apply to most fresh produce (i.e., what constitutes "fresh" for produce is about the same for roasted coffee, you wouldn't buy pre-chopped fruit, so why buy pre-ground coffee? And using a blade or "whirly-bird" grinder is akin to chopping vegetables with a ball pien hammer). It's just sad that most people still treat coffee (both at home and yes, in restaurants as well) more like they would a can of peas; as if it were an imperishable.

However, none of that answers your real question, which seems to be, "Why do some coffees taste bitter to me?" Bitterness in coffee is often ironically what people say when they taste acidity in coffee (ironic, because those two are, as you might now, opposites). A darker roast does "roast-out" a good bit of acidity in coffee. The other likely culpit is bad brewing. VERY little coffee is brewed truly properly out there, and home coffee equipment (both the brewers and the grinders) generally does a very poor job of what its intended purpose is. If the grinds are too fine, if not enough ground coffee is used, if the brew-time is too long, if the water does not flow through the grounds evenly... each of these will lead to an over-extraction (similar to steeping tea way too long), and can create bitter flavors. A darker roast, because of the predominance of roast-flavor (a.k.a., burnt flavors), tends to be less sensitive to brewing errors.

[ol_ironstomach]

So, on the one hand, Murky appeals to the geek in me. After all, Nick is vocal on the various coffeegeek boards, and runs (in Clarendon) the only Synesso Cyncra I've seen around here. And the espresso-based drinks are better than most places around here, at least in Clarendon (ed: I mean "at least at the Clarendon location"). I found Capitol Hill to be quite a step down, slightly for the coffee, but largely for the attitude of his slacker baristas. "Best thing you'll ever put in your mouth, dude." Yeah, right. Not even the best coffee I've had, kid. You were so busy gabbing with your buddy last time that you let the portafilter group sit around and cool off

I've asked about ristretto shots at both locations. I got a blank look in CH. At Clarendon, when I asked if the classic cappuccino was pulled that way, the barista came over to the register with a helpful "sure!" and then added "most of the time."

The flavor is very good but not mind-blowing, perhaps because it tastes different than what I'd expect...I miss some of the bittersweetness of deeper roasting, but not the verging-on-burnt style of Starbuck's/Peet's/Quartermaine's. Perhaps better than the average café in Italy, far better than the average in DC, but still well short of the depth and complexity of my (inaccessible) benchmark, Seattle's Vivace, especially in the finish. IMHO.

[Margaret Johnson]

the espresso-based drinks are better than most places around here, at least in Clarendon.

The Clarendon location has hands down the best espresso drinks I've had in the area, and I make sure to find time to sit and enjoy one (not take it to go) whenever I am nearby. The key is that they a. have the proportions down (2-1 milk/espresso for cappuccino, 3-1 for a latte) and b. they don't scald the milk. Oh, and they are consistent. In other coffee shops I occassionally get a good latte, but generally I find a dry foam sitting atop the espresso, which is WRONG and pretty gross, too!

When I was in Murky yesterday it took the guy making my latte about four minutes! Of course I didn't mind at all because I got a perfectly creamy, deliciously smooth latte, with some sort of leaf design in the crema.

[MeMc]

I'm so excited for tomorrow's Food Section! I hope it makes me more coffee literate. (:

[mdt]

I found Capitol Hill to be quite a step down, slightly for the coffee, but largely for the attitude of his slacker baristas. "Best thing you'll ever put in your mouth, dude." Yeah, right. Not even the best coffee I've had, kid. You were so busy gabbing with your buddy last time that you let the portafilter group sit around and cool off

But you don't mention the sign that says something along the lines of making good coffee takes time. I could never make this place a regular stop.

[Waitman]

Congrats, Nick.

[DonRocks]

Congrats, Nick.

That's rich.

Thrasher and Cho...

2-gether

4-ever

6 kids!

[Waitman]

That's rich.

Thrasher and Cho...

2-gether

4-ever

6 kids!

I figured that Nick must have fixed the tasting , but when I read that Thrasher was there, I figured it was an honest brew (ha-ha).

[nick]

When the writer (Walter) asked me who he might invite to the cupping, I immediately came up with one name: Todd Thrasher. Apparently, Todd was psyched to come and participate as well. I was glad to finally meet him.

I'm a little irked by the way the article ended. I don't remember saying anything like that, but then I probably did... Everyone has subjective preferences, and I generally try to avoid talking too much about mine, especially about coffees from friends and colleagues. *shrug* I'm mostly really psyched that Walter was able to acculturate the readership about cupping coffee. It's a fundamental skill in our industry, and one that has (to my knowledge) never been highlighted in the press... at least not at this level.

I just hope to see people learn to taste coffee, and learn to appreciate what goes into the brew that they're drinking. It was an honor to host the cupping, and all are welcome to join us for one in the future.

[DonRocks]

I'm mostly really psyched that Walter was able to acculturate the readership about cupping coffee.

In all seriousness, why isn't the best way to taste (or for that matter, drink) coffee at a temperature similar to what you'd drink wine? Can't you taste the stuff better when it's at 68 degrees as opposed to 180?

Cheers,

Rocks.

NB I brought this up to Kaz Okochi once about tea and he dismissed me immediately.

[nick]

In all seriousness, why isn't the best way to taste (or for that matter, drink) coffee at a temperature similar to what you'd drink wine? Can't you taste the stuff better when it's at 68 degrees as opposed to 180?

Well, I guess you could say that about anything then, couldn't you? Drink or food?

That said, the best coffees can still taste great at room temperature. When cupping, if you take a slurp right after you break the crust and skim the "gunk" off the top of the cups, the coffee is frankly too hot to be able to taste anything from it. Only after it cools to the 120-100*F temperature do some of the really sweet and savory characteristics really jump out.

Poor quality coffees, or poorly-roasted coffees, will taste worse as the coffee cools. What this tells me is that what makes these coffees palatable when they're hot is that your tongue is too shocked to really taste what's going on.

Once it cools to room temperature, many of the aromatic elements of the coffee stop "steaming" up, and you're left with mostly just the taste (minus the aromas). It's certainly its own flavor profile, and there are some coffees that I'd gladly drink at room temperature. However, the coffee needs to have been ground properly, with a high-quality grinder. Otherwise, improper extraction can lead to poor flavors and bitterness, which would really emerge as the coffee cools.

Don, when are YOU gonna join us for a cupping, eh?

[DonRocks]

Don, when are YOU gonna join us for a cupping, eh?

I was right there in front of you on New Year's Day!

[Sthitch]

I was right there in front of you on New Year's Day!

Well at least he asked you to a cupping and not a spooning

[hillvalley]

I was right there in front of you on New Year's Day!

Phantom Rocks strikes again

[nick]

I was right there in front of you on New Year's Day!

New Years Day?

Wait... were you the light-colored blur, or the dark colored blur?

[grover]

To Anybody who knows where murky coffee is located:

Is this Arlington location close from metro line? If it is where is the stop?

Nick, could you please put the metro information on the webpage?

Thanks

[mame11]

To Anybody who knows where murky coffee is located:

Is this Arlington location close from metro line? If it is where is the stop?

Nick, could you please put the metro information on the webpage?

Thanks

It is two blocks from the Clarendon Metro. I am bad with directions but I think you head southwest when you come up from the Metro (turn so you are walking away from D.C.) on Wilson. When you see the Silver Diner, you will also see what looks like it was once a fine house to its right. That is Murky.

There is also plenty of parking (feed the meters though, coppers are good at tickets)

The Capitol Hill location is at the Eastern Market metro. He has the Orange line covered :-)

P.S. www.wmata.org has a great resource to find metro information.

[nick]

To Anybody who knows where murky coffee is located:

Is this Arlington location close from metro line? If it is where is the stop?

Nick, could you please put the metro information on the webpage?

Thanks

Thanks for the idea! DONE!

[LoganCircle]

I rented a Zipcar for an hour this morning so I could make my first ever trip to Murky Coffee. Having read and heard reports about inconsistencies at the Capitol Hill location, I thought the trek to the Virginia location would be fun.

After having been taken far out of the way by Google Maps, after having gotten three sets of competing directions at red lights from the drivers of nearby cars, after having to navigate that weird intersection three times while looking for a parking place, and after having returned my Zipcar just enough minutes late to warrant an additional fee, I am still pleased to have made the journey.

That was as good an espresso drink as I've had in these parts, and on par with that of my favorite coffee shop ever, Caffe del Doge.

..and now that I know it's beside the Metro stop..

[grover]

My husband and I went to Murky Coffee at Clarendon location after eating lunch at Mandu. (Thank you NCPinDC and Nick, we had no problem to find it.) My first impression was that the place is exactly same as a branch of Starbucks at Barnes and Noble. I expected the place as a serious coffee tasting place. It doesn't mean that I am disappointed or anything negative. It was just different than I imagined.

I ordered a small drip coffee, he did a medium cafe au lait. For some reason, the service was very slow. Mine was done with normal speed but his order took way longer. I liked the taste. It could have been better if it had earthy flavor. After we finished drinking, I bought a bag of coffee bean (12 oz.) - Kenya something. I asked the cashier if they carry a half size of the bag. He said they don't. I wish I could taste a bit if they have a tasting corner. I am not sure if they have a tasting corner and I missed it. Also I would like to make sure what I am buying is what I want.

[jpschust]

Nick, I love your version of the soy latte (the key to a good one is using plain soy milk, not vanilla flavored. you can always add vanilla later), but that said, your employees could learn a touch from $tarbucks. I am echoing what a lot of folks have said on here- the service at your shops is slower than dirt. That said, I'll go back to your shops for espresso any day.

[LoganCircle]

I ordered a small drip coffee, he did a medium cafe au lait. For some reason, the service was very slow. Mine was done with normal speed but his order took way longer.

and

... I am echoing what a lot of folks have said on here- the service at your shops is slower than dirt. That said, I'll go back to your shops for espresso any day.

I made a second trip to Murky on Monday--this time on Metro--so I could sit down and enjoy my latte in house. My coffee was every bit as good as the day before.

The line was not long, averaging 4-8 people deep, but it was slow moving. Not slow moving because employees were inefficient or underperforming, slow moving because the process of making an espresso drink is time consuming. When a person is grinding beans, packing and tamping grounds, pulling espresso, and steaming milk, it takes longer for each drink to be prepared. I don't mind that, especially if it, in part, is what makes my drink taste so much better than at the chains. The slow movement of Murky's line is typical of what you'll find at other artisanal coffee houses in New York and elsewhere.

[grover]

and

I made a second trip to Murky on Monday--this time on Metro--so I could sit down and enjoy my latte in house. My coffee was every bit as good as the day before.

The line was not long, averaging 4-8 people deep, but it was slow moving. Not slow moving because employees were inefficient or underperforming, slow moving because the process of making an espresso drink is time consuming. When a person is grinding beans, packing and tamping grounds, pulling espresso, and steaming milk, it takes longer for each drink to be prepared. I don't mind that, especially if it, in part, is what makes my drink taste so much better than at the chains. The slow movement of Murky's line is typical of what you'll find at other artisanal coffee houses in New York and elsewhere.

Thank you for explanation. My husband waited his cafe au lait for more than 20 mintues after I've got mine.

[hillrat]

I'm a little irked by the way the article ended. I don't remember saying anything like that, but then I probably did... Everyone has subjective preferences, and I generally try to avoid talking too much about mine, especially about coffees from friends and colleagues. *shrug* I'm mostly really psyched that Walter was able to acculturate the readership about cupping coffee. It's a fundamental skill in our industry, and one that has (to my knowledge) never been highlighted in the press... at least not at this level.

Nick - Ignore the haters. The coffee at Murky is nothing short of divine and if people don't want to wait for quality, they deserve whatever type of swill they get.

[mdt]

Nick - Ignore the haters. The coffee at Murky is nothing short of divine and if people don't want to wait for quality, they deserve whatever type of swill they get.

There is a difference between waiting while folks are working and waiting while people are moving in slow motion. I have had enough excellent coffee drink in various places in my travels to know that they can provide a bit quicker service.

[Barbara]

I have had enough excellent coffee drink in various places in my travels to know that they can provide a bit quicker service.

Thus sayeth anyone who has gotten a cappucino or espresso in any coffee bar in Italy.

[flygirl]

I want to try the hot chocolate!

[nick]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Believe me, I've been as frustrated as anyone by the "slowness" during busy times. As y'all know, murky coffee is a business, and it certainly behooves me to want to keep customers served as quickly as possible. Especially at our Capitol Hill shop, I've witnessed many a customer peek in, see a long line, and leave.

As mentioned, top-quality espresso service is a time-consuming process. What, like it or not, exacerbates the delays is that we offer 16 and 20 oz drinks, as well as our 6 oz classic cappuccino and double-espresso. We could pre-steam our milk as they do in Starbucks, most other shops, and in Italy, but we can't, don't, and won't. Granted, in Italy, they can afford to pre-steam milk because they're never pouring more than 4-5 ounces at a time.

The only real alternative for us is to rock a second espresso machine. That will require new counters, a new configuration, more staff, etc. Notice I said "will" instead of "would." That's in our future, but it'll be a few months at the earliest.

In the mean time, thanks for your patience.

[DonRocks]

The only real alternative for us is to rock a second espresso machine. That will require new counters, a new configuration, more staff, etc. Notice I said "will" instead of "would." That's in our future, but it'll be a few months at the earliest.

Can't you just buy one at Starbucks?

[LoganCircle]

Dear Nick,

Please buy more medium and large ceramic mugs for in-house service at your Clarendon location.

Using paper when one is consuming a drink on the premises is undesirable.

Thanks,

Hank

[Al Dente]

My first iced coffee of the year really hit the spot yesterday. But what happened to the WiFi? Couldn't get access on Capitol Hill

[DonRocks]

Yo Nick, some people really do drive 30 minutes roundtrip to buy their coffee beans at Murky. And a small subset of that group really does tend to spend their last $20 bill on a midnight Daeji Bul Gogi run at Yechon the evening before, leaving them with nothing but a credit card.

This is twice in a row the machine has been down - what gives?

[mame11]

Yo Nick, some people really do drive 30 minutes roundtrip to buy their coffee beans at Murky. And a small subset of that group really does tend to spend their last $20 bill on a midnight Daeji Bul Gogi run at Yechon the evening before, leaving them with nothing but a credit card.

This is twice in a row the machine has been down - what gives?

There is a rather rude sign on the front door of the Clarendon Murky Coffee that alerts that there they do not take credit cards "ever." Well, they used to and a more polite way of saying it would be "Murky Coffee no longer accepts credit card"

But, Murky has not been about being polite in a long time. Sometimes the staff's aloofness is tolerable, other times it is not. I love the coffee and commitment to coffee at Murky but not making drinks the way a customer requests, and then doing so with complete attitude gets old.

[DinerGirl]

I saw that the Murky on Capitol Hill got shut down -- something about owing over a quarter million dollars in back taxes?

[Spiral Stairs]

I saw that the Murky on Capitol Hill got shut down -- something about owing over a quarter million dollars in back taxes?

I walk past Murky on the way to work every morning. Usually, I am pushing my son in a stroller, and I can't juggle coffee and a kid in a stroller without putting them both at risk, so I don't stop. This morning, though, I was kidless, so I was really looking forward to some Murky.

I was bummed to find "SEIZED" stickers all over the windows and a note, signed Nick, on the door about the closure. It it includes vague references to tax issues and heavy-handed behavior by the DC government. At Port City Java, which was Plan B, the staff believed that Murky had failed to pay sales tax. I know nuthin else.

[danfishe]

I walk past Murky on the way to work every morning. Usually, I am pushing my son in a stroller, and I can't juggle coffee and a kid in a stroller without putting them both at risk, so I don't stop. This morning, though, I was kidless, so I was really looking forward to some Murky.

I was bummed to find "SEIZED" stickers all over the windows and a note, signed Nick, on the door about the closure. It it includes vague references to tax issues and heavy-handed behavior by the DC government. At Port City Java, which was Plan B, the staff believed that Murky had failed to pay sales tax. I know nuthin else.

This would not seem to bode well:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/c...-murky-history/

[youngfood]

This would not seem to bode well:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/c...-murky-history/

That's a real shame. This has been a great spot on the hill since before it became Murky (used to be "Stompin Grounds"). The only problems I ever had with them was that they were too popular and often I wouldn't want to wait in long lines.

One of the free papers on my stoop last night said that DC insists they owe about $400K in back taxes, as well. If they are gone, I really hope something else of the same character takes their place. And I really hope they aren't gone.