Jump to content

Dining on H Street


Recommended Posts

I think the H St. Dining Guide rankings need to be re-assessed.  Liberty Tree most certainly does not merit italics at this point, and should be moved well down on the list.  It boggles my mind that Ethiopic is not listed in italics.  I'm curious as to whether Atlas Room is still good, but with limited time left in DC, I'm not planning on hitting it up before we leave.

Granville Moore's deserves to be in the top 10 on H, and I would move Copycat up a bit as well.  Big Board is a sleeper hit, and would be in my personal top 10 on H.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with pretty much everything Josh says here. I'd move Liberty Tree way down, Granville's, Copycat and the Big Board way up, and add Frontera Taqueria to the list period (this is my problem as I've written nothing about it). I'd also move Far East Taco Grill way, way up. It's not a great spot, but it's really, really good, and doesn't really belong down with the dregs of the strip. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, JoshNE said:

I think the H St. Dining Guide rankings need to be re-assessed.  Liberty Tree most certainly does not merit italics at this point, and should be moved well down on the list.  It boggles my mind that Ethiopic is not listed in italics.  I'm curious as to whether Atlas Room is still good, but with limited time left in DC, I'm not planning on hitting it up before we leave.

Granville Moore's deserves to be in the top 10 on H, and I would move Copycat up a bit as well.  Big Board is a sleeper hit, and would be in my personal top 10 on H.

Yes, I've been extremely busy. Liberty Tree has lost its italics and moved way down based on the departure of Graig Glufling and other people's recent reviews. Ocopa was moved down beneath Ethiopic when they lost Carlos Delgado. Ethiopic has never been in Italics, but has always been the highest restaurant which isn't - I'll give it another try based on your recommendation, but having been there twice, I can't do it until I see it for myself, and the only reason it's as high as it is (a "super second," if you will), is because of recommendations from people like you - also, in full disclosure, I'm not the biggest fan of Ethiopian cuisine in general, as I find it to be somewhat monotonic (literally, one-toned); yet, I've probably been to over 100 Ethiopian restaurants over the course of my life. The Atlas Room is a big question mark for me at this point, and has been heavily demoted until proven otherwise (still, I haven't yet removed the Italics). As of this moment, I'm fairly happy with my top-level rankings of H Street; the middle-of-the-pack is where doubts creep in.

You should go out to Bailey's Crossroads - Skyline is Ground Zero in the DC area for Ethiopian cuisine - in one single strip, there are probably six, maybe even ten, restaurants few people on this website have ever heard of - you'll recognize the storefonts because the signs have a black background with orange writing (English and Amharic), and it gets absolutely no attention from the media, with the exception of a biennial article about Abay Market.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Yes, I've been extremely busy. Liberty Tree has lost its italics and moved way down based on the departure of Graig Glufling and other people's recent reviews. Ocopa was moved down beneath Ethiopic when they lost Carlos Delgado. Ethiopic has never been in Italics, but has always been the highest restaurant which isn't - I'll give it another try based on your recommendation, but having been there twice, I can't do it until I see it for myself, and the only reason it's as high as it is (a "super second," if you will), is because of recommendations from people like you - also, in full disclosure, I'm not the biggest fan of Ethiopian cuisine in general, as I find it to be somewhat monotonic (literally, one-toned); yet, I've probably been to over 100 Ethiopian restaurants over the course of my life. The Atlas Room is a big question mark for me at this point, and has been heavily demoted until proven otherwise (still, I haven't yet removed the Italics). As of this moment, I'm fairly happy with my top-level rankings of H Street; the middle-of-the-pack is where doubts creep in.

You should go out to Bailey's Crossroads - Skyline is Ground Zero in the DC area for Ethiopian cuisine - in one single strip, there are probably six, maybe even ten, restaurants few people on this website have ever heard of - you'll recognize the storefonts because the signs have a black background with orange writing (English and Amharic), and it gets absolutely no attention from the media, with the exception of a biennial article about Abay Market.

The updated list looks pretty good to me.  I haven't been back to Ocopa since Jose Andres pried Carlos Delgado away.  I suspect it's still quite good, but it was so great when it opened with Delgado at the helm, that I fear it will pale in comparison. 

I would italicize Bullfrog Bagels, which has great bagels and does a terrific job with bagel sandwiches of both the breakfast and lunch variety.  Ethiopic deserves italics in my mind as well.  I'd also move Queen Vic and Granville Moore's up a few slots, but that may be a matter of personal preference. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the Queen Vic good again? We've basically not been back for about two years because our experiences there were so terrible.

Also, Ten 01, listed at the bottom of the H Street list, is now open. I haven't been, but plan on checking it out in the next week or so to see if it's suitable for an event that I'm involved with. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Mark Dedrick said:

Also, Ten 01, listed at the bottom of the H Street list, is now open. I haven't been, but plan on checking it out in the next week or so to see if it's suitable for an event that I'm involved with. 

NO.

The space is gorgeous, the beers and cocktails, good. The view is tough to beat, especially on H, with a lack of rooftops actually facing H St.

The food is atrocious. I absolutely savaged them on Twitter (which I now feel kind of bad about, but I was pissed). Fries were fries...fine, but little to no seasoning, and zero "rosemary or roasted garlic." Crispy pork belly was actually alright, but small and on top of "fall greens" (spinach) that were soaked in what tasted like soy sauce. The Ten01 Caesar is listed thusly on the menu: "brussels sprouts, avocado, broccoli, kale, cornbread croutons, caesar, marinated tomatoes." What came was unmassaged kale (sounds like a bougey complaint, but without marination or salt or some beating up, it's just torn kale, still fibrous), frozen broccoli (like, legit frozen - ice crystals when bit into), a few croutons, and a thin caesar dressing. No tomatoes. No brussels sprouts. No avocado. I never, ever send dishes back (mostly I don't like confrontation, but I also get that sometimes I order poorly and that's on me, not the kitchen). We sent this back, displeased.

I've had happy hour food here, and it's ok, mostly because it's cheap and goes well with booze, but will never again order off the dinner menu.

Cocktails and beers on a great rooftop with a beautiful view? That's their bag. Food? No way.

Sorry for the rant, there are just too many strong restaurants on H St. now to put up with shit like this.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, lhollers said:

NO.

The space is gorgeous, the beers and cocktails, good. The view is tough to beat, especially on H, with a lack of rooftops actually facing H St.

The food is atrocious. I absolutely savaged them on Twitter (which I now feel kind of bad about, but I was pissed). Fries were fries...fine, but little to no seasoning, and zero "rosemary or roasted garlic." Crispy pork belly was actually alright, but small and on top of "fall greens" (spinach) that were soaked in what tasted like soy sauce. The Ten01 Caesar is listed thusly on the menu: "brussels sprouts, avocado, broccoli, kale, cornbread croutons, caesar, marinated tomatoes." What came was unmassaged kale (sounds like a bougey complaint, but without marination or salt or some beating up, it's just torn kale, still fibrous), frozen broccoli (like, legit frozen - ice crystals when bit into), a few croutons, and a thin caesar dressing. No tomatoes. No brussels sprouts. No avocado. I never, ever send dishes back (mostly I don't like confrontation, but I also get that sometimes I order poorly and that's on me, not the kitchen). We sent this back, displeased.

I've had happy hour food here, and it's ok, mostly because it's cheap and goes well with booze, but will never again order off the dinner menu.

Cocktails and beers on a great rooftop with a beautiful view? That's their bag. Food? No way.

Sorry for the rant, there are just too many strong restaurants on H St. now to put up with shit like this.

I don't even know about the "booze" part...my buddy ordered a Manhattan there, and dude shook it.  No no no.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, JoshNE said:

I don't even know about the "booze" part...my buddy ordered a Manhattan there, and dude shook it.  No no no.

Sorry Josh, excellent point. Mark, I should've also mentioned that the bar staff don't really know what they're doing - to echo Josh's point, I ordered a Negroni here and the gal behind the bar eyeballed the three parts into a shaker and shook it. Huh. Even normal drinks are STRONG, with way too heavy pours, but the cocktail list they already have built is *alright*. Less than alright, actually, when you consider how close amazing cocktails are at Boundary Road, Copycat, and Church & State.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Mark Dedrick said:

Is the Queen Vic good again? We've basically not been back for about two years because our experiences there were so terrible.

We go to Queen Vic fairly frequently for brunch, and have been there for dinner a couple times recently.  I'd say they're good, not amazing,  but certainly warrant being higher than Liberty Tree (which is fine with kids because of the service, but nothing amazing) or Driftwood (where I have been disappointed by very uneven service and food.)  Note much of this is through my lens of "Is the three year old happy?"

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Mark Dedrick said:

Is the Queen Vic good again? We've basically not been back for about two years because our experiences there were so terrible.

Also, Ten 01, listed at the bottom of the H Street list, is now open. I haven't been, but plan on checking it out in the next week or so to see if it's suitable for an event that I'm involved with. 

Yes.  Go the the Vic again instead of Ten 01.  I can't believe you haven't been there in two years -- I've always thought the food was underrated and very good aside from a brief period when they were between chefs a couple years ago. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as I have your attention, we have an informal team of A-List Diners known as the H Street Overlords. If anyone lives near the Atlas District, Trinidad, etc., and wants to be on it, send me a PM.

(PS - I'll be more than happy to review Ethiopic again, not having been there in probably over two years. You know what to do ...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, JoshNE said:

I don't even know about the "booze" part...my buddy ordered a Manhattan there, and dude shook it.  No no no.

 

20 hours ago, lhollers said:

Sorry Josh, excellent point. Mark, I should've also mentioned that the bar staff don't really know what they're doing - to echo Josh's point, I ordered a Negroni here and the gal behind the bar eyeballed the three parts into a shaker and shook it. Huh. Even normal drinks are STRONG, with way too heavy pours, but the cocktail list they already have built is *alright*. Less than alright, actually, when you consider how close amazing cocktails are at Boundary Road, Copycat, and Church & State.

Traditionally many manhattan's and martini's have been ordered on the rocks.  Many customers have wanted their very strong drinks VERY chilled; hence some will still shake manhattans and martinis.  Some did it for show.  I've had quite a few over the decades, with various quality liquors and I do like both martinis and manhattans very very cold.  Shaken: doesn't bother me.  Does the liquor get "bruised"?  I can't tell the difference. I've never heard anybody adequately describe the concept of bruised while tasting.  I can't tell the difference.  Does it get diffused?  Yeah...somewhat.  If you have the drinks on the rocks, they get diffused.  But they stay very cold for a longer period of time.   If you sip a manhattan over a longer period of time, try it on the rocks.  Determine if you prefer the chill lasting longer.  

But its always in the eyes of the customer.  

Eyeballing!!!   Per an active member of the DC craft guild from out of NYC, in DC bartenders tend to use measures.  In NYC they tend to free pour.  Hopefully a bartender who is free pouring is doing so with some kind of count method...not eyeballing.  Hopefully.   If they are free pouring, unless you are completely 100% focused on them and have a well tuned internal clock that has been calibrated against the pour spouts how can you tell if they are pouring specific pours and at what amounts.  

Too strong versus balanced cocktails.  I agree.  Today's very creative cocktails with intricate ingredients deserve carefully measured pours that maintain the balance.   Can a place be both known for strong pours and known for craft cocktails.  Hmmm.   That would surprise me.  They would seem to clash.  

And lastly some places establish a reputation for strong pours.  And sometimes its amazing how long that reputation persists.  In downtown DC in the 80's (for gods sakes) I was introduced to Stans on Vermont Avenue.  It was  a place for boozers in suits.  Pretty amazing.  If you went there a lot you'd recognize the same customers; govt workers, attorneys, lobbyists, etc etc; bonded by booze.  I stopped going.  Lost contact with the place.  Here it is 30 plus years later.  It has the same reputation.  I know a couple of places like that with that same reputation maintained over 30 years in different cities and towns.  Freaking amazing.  I can only hope they don't have the same customers from 30 years ago.  (Ooops...I know one such customer).  

Ten 01.  Maybe they want a reputation for strong pours.  Maybe they want to be known for craft cocktails.  Maybe they have no idea what they are doing. :D    I liked lHollers advice above.  Cocktails and beers on the rooftop.  Then leave.  That sounds savvy. ;)

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, youngfood said:

Yes.  Go the the Vic again instead of Ten 01.  I can't believe you haven't been there in two years -- I've always thought the food was underrated and very good aside from a brief period when they were between chefs a couple years ago. 

Well, I had legit four or five horrible experiences, with truly terrible food and bad service, all in a row. Granville's is closer to my house and infinitely better, and other newer and better places opened up (Sally's, Ocopa, Maketto). It's one of three places I've basically crossed off of my list (along with the Argonaut and Sticky Rice), although I tend to revisit them after a year or so to see if they should still be avoided. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So earlier this week we did check out Ten 01. My Manhattan was eyeballed, but stirred, and tasted pretty much spot on. My wife's mezcal margarita (can't remember the name) was actually quite good. Beer list was very solid, and the space is very cool. We only got two snacks to eat while there, the shrimp and half-smoke corn dogs (burnt, which ruined the fact that they otherwise tasted good) and the fries (eh). 

We then proceeded over to Queen Vic to have dinner. It was good! I'll put it back into the rotation. Solid service, good food. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Kev29 said:

Is the 'H St is lacking in sit-down restaurants' discussion still alive in 2017? Is it a 'nightlife district' problem?

It's a neighborhood in transition, packed with people in their 20s. It will take some time for the restaurant scene to mature into fine(r) dining, but it's moving along nicely.

I'm assuming that rents are much less expensive than Clarendon (also a neighborhood in transition, packed with people in their 20s), which is why they haven't yet been plagued with places whose only goal is to sell as much liquor and cheap beer as possible.

If you mentioned Eventide to probably 15% of the people in Clarendon, they wouldn't know what it was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

It's a neighborhood in transition, packed with people in their 20s. It will take some time for the restaurant scene to mature into fine(r) dining, but it's moving along nicely.

How long does a transition take though? Joe Englert started opening up bars on H 11 years ago. 

Just my 2 cents but I think 1) it's been tagged with the 'nightlife district' label which (is so DC) makes people assume they need to eat before showing up to bars at 10pm and 2) other neighborhoods have passed it by in terms of being multi-dimensional all-day places (Barracks Row, Ballpark/Cap Riverfront/Navy Yard, even NoMa for the day traffic). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Kev29 said:

How long does a transition take though? Joe Englert started opening up bars on H 11 years ago. 

My gut feeling is that gentrification has been moving west-to-east, and hasn't gotten much further than Shaw. H Street NE is *way* further east than the general migration of NW DC residents, and will either need to become its own destination (if a star chef moved there, for example), or a boundary of the moving populace - for now, it's sort of its own entity, inhabited by intrepid souls willing to risk a long-term housing investment.

A friend of mine bought an amazing rowhouse on 14th and Allison NW 30 years ago, thinking that it would be a good long-term investment. Sure enough, it was, but in the interim, his company got bought out by AOL, he became a multi-millionaire, and now lives in Bethesda, unwilling to wait for the results. When he lived there, he said there were open-air drug deals in front of his house every single day, and his house was his private prison.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

My gut feeling is that gentrification has been moving west-to-east, and hasn't gotten much further than Shaw. H Street NE is *way* further east than the general migration of NW DC residents, and will either need to become its own destination (if a star chef moved there, for example), or a boundary of the moving populace - for now, it's sort of its own entity, inhabited by intrepid souls willing to risk a long-term housing investment.

Houses near H Street are now listing (and selling) for up to/ over $1M. Think its safe to assume gentrification has arrived. Those souls who moved in were intrepid in 2004 (like me, but I'm in the country now). Now, not so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Keithstg said:

Houses near H Street are now listing (and selling) for up to $1M. Think its safe to assume gentrification has arrived. Those souls who moved in were intrepid in 2004. Now, not so much.

I don't understand where people get their money.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

My gut feeling is that gentrification has been moving west-to-east, and hasn't gotten much further than Shaw. H Street NE is *way* further east than the general migration of NW DC residents, and will either need to become its own destination (if a star chef moved there, for example), or a boundary of the moving populace - for now, it's sort of its own entity, inhabited by intrepid souls willing to risk a long-term housing investment.

Hmm, not sure I agree on the gentrification and long-term housing bits. If someone bought there in 2006, their investment doubled long ago. The neighborhood below Trinidad and above Maryland Ave is now very much established in desirable residential terms. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mean, it's hard to imagine a more striking illustration of gentification than when Bozzuto sets up shop with its apartments, gym with boxing ring, dedicated dog washing room, rooftop swimming pool and arcade, and gets a Whole Foods as street-level retail.  Not to mention a coffee shop right off its lobby that offers pourovers and $9 Manhattan specials on Monday.  

There used to be an albino drug dealer on my corner back then.  Now there are roving white girls in yoga pants heading to any of three studios for their class.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

I don't understand where people get their money.

"Pro-Trump TV Pundits Took Undisclosed Payments from Trump Campaign" by Paul Farhi and Matea Gold on washingtonpost.com

Quote

Federal disclosure forms filed by the Trump committee Saturday show that it paid Serrano’s firm, ProActive Communications, a total of $30,000 for “communications consulting.”

Not bad for a few weeks of "consulting" work :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There also continue to be a lot of new restaurants opening up, at most price points. In the past year we've seen Sospesso, Stable, Hill Prince (bar, but I'll include it), BAB Korean Fusion, Pow Pow, the Haymaker, Farmbird, Nandos, Mythology, Fresca, and I'm sure many others that I can't remember off the top of my head. I tend to think it's a neighborhood in transition, and that people are trying to figure out what works here and what won't. 

Oh, and on the question of whether H Street is lacking in sit down dining options anymore, I certainly don't think so. Just last night we were debating while walking to dinner whether to eat at Maketto, Sally's Middle Name or Sospesso. And all three of those are located on the same block. And we didn't even cover in that discussion Stable, Red Rocks, Imm Thai, Impala, etc that are all in the 1300 block of H Street. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Kev29 said:

Hmm, not sure I agree on the gentrification and long-term housing bits. If someone bought there in 2006, their investment doubled long ago. The neighborhood below Trinidad and above Maryland Ave is now very much established in desirable residential terms. 

Yeah, that's why I said "gut feeling" - I really don't know; just trying to stimulate conversation.

20 minutes ago, Mark Dedrick said:

There also continue to be a lot of new restaurants opening up, at most price points. In the past year we've seen Sospesso, Stable, Hill Prince (bar, but I'll include it), BAB Korean Fusion, Pow Pow, the Haymaker, Farmbird, Nandos, Mythology, Fresca, and I'm sure many others that I can't remember off the top of my head. I tend to think it's a neighborhood in transition, and that people are trying to figure out what works here and what won't. 

Oh, and on the question of whether H Street is lacking in sit down dining options anymore, I certainly don't think so. Just last night we were debating while walking to dinner whether to eat at Maketto, Sally's Middle Name or Sospesso. And all three of those are located on the same block. And we didn't even cover in that discussion Stable, Red Rocks, Imm Thai, Impala, etc that are all in the 1300 block of H Street. 

When you start getting Panera, Cosi, etc., you'll know you've "made it." :)

(I meant to imply "fine dining"; not just sit-down dining - H Street hasn't lacked for places to eat in a long time.)

The Union Station parking lot, silly as it may sound, hasn't hurt H Street at all, and the trolley (PITA though it may be) is really pretty cool. My mom's older half-brother was a DC trolley-car driver in the early 1900s!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, DonRocks said:

My gut feeling is that gentrification has been moving west-to-east, and hasn't gotten much further than Shaw. H Street NE is *way* further east than the general migration of NW DC residents, and will either need to become its own destination (if a star chef moved there, for example), or a boundary of the moving populace - for now, it's sort of its own entity, inhabited by intrepid souls willing to risk a long-term housing investment.

Here's an interesting WaPo article from two months ago.  Personally, I have always felt comfortable in neighborhoods where the crime is mostly "quality of life" stuff, like drugs or smash and grab.  I can feel relatively safe when I think the murders and violence are targeted personal beefs.  I would not live in a neighborhood where random violence was a pattern.

Black Branding - how a DC neighborhood was marketed to white millennials

"Street crime in moderate doses doesn’t deter white millennials from swarming to take over traditionally black urban neighborhoods. On the contrary, they take pride in moving into an edgy, “authentic” community — and even brag about the violence."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/21/2017 at 3:47 PM, DonRocks said:

When you start getting Panera, Cosi, etc., you'll know you've "made it." :)

If you've ever been to the H St. Whole Foods at around 7 p.m. on any weekday to see all the white millennials picking up their prepared foods dinners on the way back to their apartment from the gym, you'd know that that the day has already come.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/21/2017 at 3:34 PM, Mark Dedrick said:

There also continue to be a lot of new restaurants opening up, at most price points. In the past year we've seen Sospesso, Stable, Hill Prince (bar, but I'll include it), BAB Korean Fusion, Pow Pow, the Haymaker, Farmbird, Nandos, Mythology, Fresca, and I'm sure many others that I can't remember off the top of my head. I tend to think it's a neighborhood in transition, and that people are trying to figure out what works here and what won't. 

Oh, and on the question of whether H Street is lacking in sit down dining options anymore, I certainly don't think so. Just last night we were debating while walking to dinner whether to eat at Maketto, Sally's Middle Name or Sospesso. And all three of those are located on the same block. And we didn't even cover in that discussion Stable, Red Rocks, Imm Thai, Impala, etc that are all in the 1300 block of H Street. 

It appears that Union Market will become a corporate-account like destination (save for A. Litteri, hint hint) while H Street NE won't. There have been some really fine establishments on H Street NE:  Ocopa got Michelin recognition, Boundary Road had its fervent admirers here,  and  Sally's Middle Name will close next week despite for being one of five finalists for the 2019 "Upscale Casual Restaurant" Rammy.   The Atlas Room was a nice spot, too.  It is discouraging.  Nothing against cheap eats or the like, but H Street NE would seem to be able support a diverse crop of venues.  

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/29/2019 at 6:55 PM, DaRiv18 said:

It appears that Union Market will become a corporate-account like destination (save for A. Litteri, hint hint) while H Street NE won't. There have been some really fine establishments on H Street NE:  Ocopa got Michelin recognition, Boundary Road had its fervent admirers here,  and  Sally's Middle Name will close next week despite for being one of five finalists for the 2019 "Upscale Casual Restaurant" Rammy.   The Atlas Room was a nice spot, too.  It is discouraging.  Nothing against cheap eats or the like, but H Street NE would seem to be able support a diverse crop of venues.  

 

 

 

The closures have definitely been discouraging, but I haven't given up hope yet! Thamee, which is replacing Sally's, could/should be really good, and not just a casual spot. We've still got Maketto, Sospesso, Stable, and Fancy Radish. But yeah, losing Sally's was not great!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...