Dining in Shaw

[Ericandblueboy]

Is there any magic parking around there or do most people take the metro?

[Justin Bittner]

My girlfriend lived on 12 and v before we bought our house, I can tell you from two years of trying to find parking in that area that it sucks. If you go early like 530 the spots haven't been taken yet but after 6 it's a crap shoot. In front of the church on 12th and v stays empty for a little while, and there are a few spots on v like the one that's on the south side that's a solo spot tends to not get snatched up soo fast. But really the later it gets the more impossible it becomes.

[Rhone1998]

Is there any magic parking around there or do most people take the metro?

totally depends on whether you're talking Fri/Sat or any other day of the week. Besides Fridays and Saturdays, it's usually not difficult to find parking before 7:30, particularly the further north you look (e.g., on Florida Ave., or on 12th or 13th between V and Florida).

[lion]

My girlfriend lived on 12 and v before we bought our house, I can tell you from two years of trying to find parking in that area that it sucks. If you go early like 530 the spots haven't been taken yet but after 6 it's a crap shoot. In front of the church on 12th and v stays empty for a little while, and there are a few spots on v like the one that's on the south side that's a solo spot tends to not get snatched up soo fast. But really the later it gets the more impossible it becomes.

Parking is the only reason I haven't visited IzaKaya Seki yet.

Last week we finally went to Sakuramen on a week night, it took about 25-30 minutes to find parking in Adams Morgan. About two years ago, I used to be going to the U street neighborhood for about six months. Normally, it would take about 30 minutes to find parking as well. Granted time of the evening +- 1 hour can make a substantial difference, it was still a challenge.

[turbogrrl]

Adams Morgan is much more difficult lately due to all of the construction; a 100+ cars from the dorchester were all displaced, plus about 20 spaces on 17th, another 10 on ontario... etc. Adams Morgan and U street have also phased in the residential-parking-permint-only until 8:30 pm for half of the remaining parking.

For both of these places, it's really best to take transit; circulator from woodley park/columbia heights, or green line to U street. Otherwise, it's as others have said: plan on parking before 6:30. Welcome to the city. But Izakaya Seki is worth the hassle. (Or, in my case, the 1.5 mile walk).

[porcupine]

As a former owner of a Smart Car I can tell you that there's one reason, and one reason only, to own one, because it's a piece of s**t. But parking in DC sure gets easier.

[Sthitch]

As a former owner of a Smart Car I can tell you that there's one reason, and one reason only, to own one, because it's a piece of s**t. But parking in DC sure gets easier.

What no love for the automated manual trans? Personally, I never trust a car with an odd number of cylinders, just seems so unnatural.

[DonRocks]

The BMW Isetta had one cylinder, 12 HP, and three wheels.

[Sthitch]

The BMW Isetta had one cylinder, 12 HP, and three wheels.

I am still at a loss to understand how BMW survived that rolling shitshow.

[Cizuka Seki]

I FEEL THAT WE'RE DIGRESSING...

...and yet...there's the story about the snail who was sick of being so slow that he bought a car and went to a paint shop to request a big "S" painted on each side. The confused shop guy asked, "why an 'S'"?

Grinning, the snail replied "so that when people see me driving fast, they can say "hey, look at that S CAR GO!"

[DonRocks]

I'm beginning to notice a small crack in the Dining Stronghold that is Shaw - is it a blip in time, or a sign that the market is heading downward? I guess we'll find out in a few years.

[FranklinDubya]

13 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I'm beginning to notice a small crack in the Dining Stronghold that is Shaw - is it a blip in time, or a sign that the market is heading downward? I guess we'll find out in a few years.

Don, is this something you'd be able to elaborate on?  It seems like there's been less notable openings in Shaw of late - but not sure if you're referring to that or more a decline in quality among places that are already there.

[DonRocks]

7 hours ago, FranklinDubya said:

Don, is this something you'd be able to elaborate on?  It seems like there's been less notable openings in Shaw of late - but not sure if you're referring to that or more a decline in quality among places that are already there.

I'm having the DC Dining Guide completely revamped, from top to bottom, for the first time ever. We've made it down to Shaw, and I was struck by how many restaurants have closed in recent times: Mockingbird Hill, Shaw Bijou, Drift on 7th, Eat the Rich, 1905, Southern Efficiency, Thally, not to mention older closings such as Dickson Wine Bar, Mr. P's Ribs and Fish, Axum, and Table. Yes, there's Convivial, and also three of those closures were essentially one Ruppert/Brown restaurant - still, things don't seem quite as heady as they were just a few years ago. It's largely intuitive, but I'm on this stuff about ten hours a day, and I'm just "sensing" less activity, and that sense was bolstered last night by the reality of the Dining Guide. This is why I voiced my post in the form of a question, rather than a statement. Still, other than Convivial, I don't see any restaurant in Shaw that I would run to; I think Mount Vernon Square (or, West Convention Center - whatever you want to call it) is the most intriguing area in DC right now - granted, that could be considered "Shaw South," but it's also pulling downward from U Street, and eastward from Logan Circle, and arguably includes Convivial. I think the Marriott Marquis might be tugging things a bit to the West: I think Tom Power is something of a Warren Buffett when it comes to DC real estate - I thought he was insane for sinking so much money into that townhouse, but right now he's batting 3-for-3 in real estate ventures.

I try to keep my personal feelings out of things like this, but I'd be lying if I said that in this non-inflationary economy, I didn't think a real estate correction was coming - if it comes, things will retreat towards blue-chip areas, and West Convention Center, supported by the Marriott Marquis, is about as blue chip as it gets right now - investors and restaurateurs know this.

But to answer your question succinctly, I wouldn't have even written this post if the spate of recent Shaw closures wasn't pointed out to me last night, during the Dining Guide update. I haven't been sitting around pondering this.

Plus, it's impossible not to notice the long-term, downward trend in Restaurant Openings (thanks to cheezpowder). The 2013 list didn't even begin until March 1st, and even with that, there has been a five-, going-on six-year downward trend. No, the list isn't "official," but it's as close as you're going to get without scouring city records, and it includes both suburban VA and MD. What she has done has been nothing short of remarkable. One thing I've noticed over thirteen years doing this is that restaurant activity has been a very reliable leading indicator of things to come. For those into technicals (I don't pretend to understand them), we may have hit a double top in 2015 and 2018 - only time will tell.