Month: December 2008

Capital Market: Best Restaurant Supply


Best Kitchen Supply/ Best Equipment Corp
413 Morse St NE
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 544-2525
Cash, credit, debit

Description: This is mainly for restaurants and other small businesses but don’t let that stop you, nor the little sign at the door saying you must have a business license. Once you’re in the door, they don’t kick you out. But you do need to keep in mind who their main clientele is, when you gaze at the big professional pots and pans. There are pots, pans, woks, chinois, tamis, knives, serving things, graters, table clothes, aprons, long white plastic chopping boards, and whatever non-electrical thing you may find in any restaurant around. You will not find a lot of the name brands familiar to home cooks, remember these are for professionals and not meant to be pretty. You will locate items that can find a home in your home kitchen. Smaller mesh sieves, micrograters, pastry bags, the smaller pots and pans can service the home cook. Don’t expect any hand holding from staff and the store is cramped. But the staff is friendly enough and sometimes will help you. Price wise, they are cheaper than Bed, Bath and Beyond and other department stores in varying degrees.

EXTRA- Don’t come in yakking on the cell phone. There is a sign in the shop somewhere about cell phone conversations. And pots will need to be seasoned.

LINKS
Previous posting about Best
Capital Market: The Series
The Capital City Market Blog
Capital City Market: What’s in the market?
CHOW.COM- Best Kitchen
Don Rockwell.Com- Mentioned in discussion
Washington Post- Very small mention.

4 a good time call Kim


Kim Wee at Timor Bodega.
Kim wants me to let y’all know that you should feel free to call him if you need something or want to drop by the store during day hours when Timor isn’t normally open. I put his number 202-210-1986 in my cell phone. But I also have Thai X-ing’s number on my cell too.
During the day Timor doesn’t open until 4:30pm. But if you’re working from home or taking a mental health day and you’ve run out of milk or organic whatever give Kim a call and he’ll accommodate you. Seriously, by letting him serve you, you’re helping his business and his business is something I want in the neighborhood.
I don’t know about you but I do have a couple of numbers on my cell that include businesses. Timor Bodega is now one. Thai X-ing was the first, when I realized that in the time it took me to get from my work detail location out in Suitland, back home to Shaw, my order would be ready.

1115 Rhode Island Ave NW

I lived across the street from this spot for nearly a year in the basement of the squat apartment and never really gave it much thought. Then when I went to work at that place that pays me, I kept seeing the address pop up in various documents and really couldn’t place it in my head. Well bopping around in databases it popped up with a picture and now I know why I kept seeing the address, it’s part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (Survey number HABS DC-470).
Here’s my problem. There are over 900 locations in the District of Columbia in this survey. New York City, over 200. New York is bigger, older, and more f’ing populous why does the District have such a concentration of ‘historic’ buildings? Among the District’s buildings on the list are some notable and inarguably truly historic buildings, with an actual role in national history, and then, there are some plain Janes.

No stopping Leroy

Today on ANC 2C02 Kevin Chapple’s blog is a letter announcing that Mr. Leroy Thorpe, who was deposed, dethroned, by Kevin in 2006, is requesting a recount for the 2008 election. I’m not that concerned this year, as the difference is 29 votes, as opposed to 5 votes in 2006.
This is just one thing, but Leroy surprised us back in 2006 with his take over of the ECCA and the invented position of puppet master, I mean Parliamentarian for ANC2C chair Doris Brooks. So any guesses of what else he’ll do besides this? Will he start up a ANC2C centric ‘non-profit’, or his own publication. What will he do next because I don’t think he’ll go quietly.

Remembrances of Chain Reaction

This Saturday at the Big Bear from 10-3 there is going to be a used bike sale. Which reminded me of the place I used to get my used bikes, Chain Reaction. Chain Reaction was a product of the non-profit group Shaw-Eco Village, and the bike shop was at the corner of 6th and R, then moved over to North Capitol. It was a great place where I could go to and get my bike fixed. The location was especially helpful when I had this heavy 3-speed and my rear wheel was bent and torn up. The prices were good and low and the young men working in the shop would fix it that day, so I could walk back home, do what I needed to do, and walk back to pick it up. I had bought a serviceable but ugly womens 3-speed for about $40 some dollars and a womens hybrid for about $150.
Now the shop is gone and the Bike Rack is the closest thing, but sadly they don’t work on bikes like mine. So if I need my bike fixed I’ll have to do it myself or drag it up to Adams Morgan or Capitol Hill. So I’ve been learning about fixing bikes.
So I have fond memories of Chain Reaction, though the shop was small and cramped, it provided a service that I really needed.

Locked out

It started about sometime after eleven-something last night, someone in the alley was calling up to someone. It happens occasionally, and it is the oddest thing where someone is looking for someone who used to live around here. They’ll go around back and yell at the house where they think their friends live. However, that wasn’t the case last night.
There was door banging. This was a few doors down, but I’m reminded of how small and close our houses are on this row when someone is doing some heavy knocking. When I wandered into the kitchen I could actually hear the name of the person being yelled and realized it was one of my neighbors knocking and yelling to his sister to let him back in.
My best guess, from living near them for so many years, is that the brother was more than likely on the back deck and had been out there when his sister locked up (or he locked up and forgot his key) and went to bed. It happens, I’ve locked out and have been locked out by roommates too. This is why I have a few people with keys to my house, to help on those occasions, and there have been several occasions, when I’ve been locked out of my own home.
The yelling and knocking went on for a good while, as he tried both the front and the back of the house. Yes, these houses are just so, and apparently no amount of insulation can block out the noise, so that I could tell, when he was trying the front of the house and the rear of the house. When I decided to get to bed, I poked my head out to ask him if he needed to use the phone. He said he had called but she wasn’t answering.

Hey Tree Rats

…despite what the Washington Post wrote about there being no acorns, there are are acorns on Rhode Island Avenue, between 7th and 6th Streets. I also could have sworn that my feet crushed some acorns elsewhere in the hood. So Shaw squirrels rejoice, you will still be able to continue your idiotic pursuits of climbing trees, half eating nuts and tossing them aside to dig up my beets and destroy them. Stupid tree rats.