stupidusername

This has to be the most interesting coffee shop in the DC area.  Being in the bottom of an office building at the very end of a neighborhood that has hardly any residences and serving really amazing stuff.  They are not going to be using Handsome Coffee any longer since it was purchased by Blue Bottle.  For the pourovers, they had a selection of Nordic roasters that I'm not familiar with, but the one I had was among the best cups of coffee I've ever had.  I don't live far away but the hours and the hill have kept me away before last Saturday.  I will return soon.  

I think the last 2 or 3 meals I've eaten out at local mid-priced restaurants have been somewhat marred by extraordinarily long wait times between when I was finished, found a waiter/waitress to get the check, gave them my card, and got the check back.  If I had some kind of tablet thing I could have slid my card through 5 seconds after my last sip of water and been on my way.  Instead, I was held hostage for 15 minutes.  Count me in as a supporter.  

Mad Rose space was not a restaurant immediately before becoming Mad Rose, but I suppose it could have been a restaurant and then something else and changed back.  

I am kind of shocked that in one of the densest neighborhoods in a major metropolitan area that parking would be the prime factor for a place being successful or not.  Bus, metro, Ballston garage.  There are plenty of ways for people to get here.  

Happened to walk by this place today around 3PM today (Saturday) expecting it to either be not open until dinner or dead.  Surprisingly, the entire restaurant and bar appeared full.  So maybe the Rosslyn weekend traffic is increasing.  

Restaurants should call their happy hour specials their regular prices (meaning they could advertise them) and employ "surge pricing" for all the other times.  It would circumvent this ridiculous law and infuriate everyone - a 2 for 1 special.  

According to Washington Business Journal, the Marriott Wardman Park is the largest hotel in the city, with the Washington Hilton at number two. It's a bit of a hike, but I'd say the Hilton is within walking distance of Woodley Park. Not sure where the Shoreham fits in the size sweepstakes.

I believe the soon to open Marriott Marquis will be the largest in the city, resetting this whole order.

Paciugo Gelato Becoming Street Corner Cafe

I think this change was necessary. I have been in a few times, but I walk by often and this place needs more traffic to survive. Early on they sold some subs and sandwiches brought in from the Italian Store and the now closed Daily Deli near Ballston, but hopefully this means they will be making everything in house. I can always use another good carryout sandwich place.

Just to update, Street Corner Cafe lasted maybe 6 months or so.  I think it has been closed since early in the fall if not earlier.

Very excited, I've been watching the build out with anticipation.  Oh, and growlers!  But "prefilled growlers" gives me pause.  Here's hoping you at least have the option to have one filled fresh from the tap.

I'm no expert but I believe the biggest issue with growlers is the method in which they are filled, rather than how long it has been since they were filled.  If you get air in there, don't finish on foam, start with a dirty growler etc, you are going to have garbage even in an hour.  Seems like a pre-filled growler could allow them to focus in slower times and do it right.  But this is all speculation.

Can there be any doubt that *all* of these storefronts will eventually close?

Not sure but right next door is O'Sullivans, which recently underwent a rather dramatic expansion, essentially doubling the space.   They took the space from Sam's Corner, a relic of a sandwich shop that never appeared to be open.  Anyway, O'Sullivans seems to be doing well with their expansion, attracting good crowds.  Certainly not a place to seek out for food but seems like a well-run and fun Irish bar.  I bet they stick around.

The branch at 2424 Pennsylvania Ave is now not a Marvelous Market, but a Magnificent Market or a Spectacular Market or some similar name.  Kind of a Kennedy Fried Chicken type thing.

Looks like this place has finally closed.  Lights have been off for a couple of weeks and there's a sign on the door from a locksmith.  Was never busy, surprised it lasted as long as it did.  

It was purchased for brewing beers for the Farmer's Cabinet, a restaurant in Philadelphia. They had also announced an intention to bottle and distribute the beers. They were definitely brewing there for a while but the whole thing fell apart - some kind of legal issues and contractual issues. Most recent story I could find is here http://philly.eater.com/archives/2012/09/21/the-farmers-cabinet-vs-bella-vista-beer.php

Arrowine has opened a new branch in DC at 22nd and K. It's a very different feel from the Arlington store. First it is probably about 20% of the size. Second, and perhaps more importantly, because it is in DC, they have a whole collection of spirits/booze. I'm not an expert exactly, but I've not been in many stores in DC that have this kind of collection of unusual spirits. It is definitely worth a stop. Today they were doing tastings of 4 interesting bottles, including a quinoa whiskey. Because of the size, don't think there is any meats/cheeses/etc like in the VA store. Cool place!

OK, so it wasn't closed last time I checked but now both the Hell Burger locations have been closed that I've walked by them with a large sign directing people to Rays to the Third. Is this a break or a closure?

Probably not what they are focusing on, but in Chicago they have a decent selection of coffee. Counter Culture beans with a decent brew. I remember the food as being decent and close to the low cal thing they were trying to do. All in all, not bad

In my experience, growlers in bars are usually way overpriced and similar to what you experienced. Rarely makes financial sense to buy a growler of a beer that comes in a bottle although it can be kind of fun just to have your own container for whatever reason. They are nice to have for brewpubs or other small operations where bottles can't be had. I think they view it as a slight discount from ordering 5 beers in the bar/restaurant. So if you bought 5 beers in the bar, they would be about $8 or $9 each for a 90 minute IPA for about $45 so you got a deal at $38.

Oh. I envy the person who can knock out one of these cheesesteaks and go back to work. Seems like an evening food to me.

Is Steak and Cheesy still open? Walked by around 6pm and place was closed with tables pushed against the wall.

I really like their Octoberfest beer. Not as malty sweet as many American versions of the style - reminds me more of the German versions. But it doesn't have a real distinguishing factor so I can see people not raving about it.

I think this place was already Fetoosh and maybe just being renovated into one place. There was definitely some kind of restaurant operation there.

Now, it just so happens that neither one of them had particularly good coffee, so that's another issue (I heard from a non-industry friend, by the way, that some sort of wine cafe is opening in the old Stacy's place which would be awesome - no details, and I haven't confirmed).

The old Stacy's location is becoming Spacebar, second location from the owners of the Galaxy Hut (unless something has changed). More here on Facebook

That is something that makes me nuts. Does the closing time sign mean you are kicking everyone out at 10? Or that you are serving the last meal at 10? The answer seems to vary from place to place. Be consistent!

It seems to me that as a customer, I only want to know what is the last minute that I can come in. So, closing at 10 should mean I can walk in shortly before that. I try to avoid that, but was recently turned away from a place 40 minutes prior to closing time, so you know what, just follow your damn schedule.

We ate at the Rita's in Chinatown last week after a Caps game. Great service, good flavors of ice, two different flavors of custard but we were the only 3 people in the entire place. The owner said that weekdays he is busier than weekends and that he will close the shop for the winter because it is not profitable to stay open! The Rita's in Landmark Plaza in Alexandria also closes for the winter season.

The vast majority of Rita's close for the winter in their home PA/NJ territory. I think only recently have some been open for the winter and included indoor seating.

The pizza here is quite delicious. While I might normally prefer a crispy crust, this style was really good. I also had the arancini, which was great. Very tasty. I took my pizza home and it traveled (not very far) just fine. This pizza is very well-suited for reheating in a skillet, where it heats up and transforms into a crispy crust pizza. Get an extra and save it for breakfast.