Tuesday night I attended a private event over at the Old Dominion Brewhouse and ran into Shaw Rez, as well as Kevin Chapple, and some other ANC people. Alex had tipped me off about the event and I did see him but we never got around to speaking.
Someone had asked if the food served up was from the restaurant or was it catered. The food I had seen on the menu before. The time I did go out to ODB with a friend I ordered the shrimp wrapped in thin strips of fried potato. They are good but they need a little something, like ketchup. I saw crab cakes on the menu in some form (maybe as a sandwich) and the mini cakes floating around were okay, but I’m picky about my cakes. Someone else had mentioned the chicken bits were excellent once they were dipped in the honey mustard.
Anyway, there was some mention about ANC stuff. One was something I don’t even want to report on but it involves a deposed mini-dictator and his plans. Another was a sentiment from Gallery Place to not be in the 2C-verse and join up with that area that calls itself Penn-Quarter. I totally understand that sentiment, as GP has a heck of a lot more in common with PQ than MVS. Then speaking with an ANC from 2F, he supposed that once the Whitman and other places fill up there may be a rearrangement of borders. I gather that won’t happen until the 2010 Census.
And lastly, ODB is a minority owned business.
Category: Uncategorized
A couple of thoughts
Yes, I did see the Post articles on the Convention Center, 9th Street, the Chinese New Year Celebration down in Gallery Place and the proposed merger of Sirius and XM, which may impact Eckington.
I’d been thinking about Gallery Place/ Chinatown since I’ve been running a number of errands ’round there lately, and the article just more or less confirmed a bit of my thinking. It seems that a fair number of Asian American attendees at the street celebration were from the ‘burbs. Face it, on any other regular day when running around Gallery Place many of the faces are Black, White and Latino. I thought of the Jewish quarter of Prague that the city hawks as a tourist area, which though having a Jewish graveyard, and monuments, but few Jews*. The buildings and signs say something in Chinese, but the spirit of the street says “Gallery Place”. When the MCI/Verizon Center was still off-gassing its new paint and floors there were a larger number of Chinese restaurants, that were later replaced by the Legal Seafoods and like chains. The impact wasn’t sudden, and the Gallery Place area is still changing. A place opens, then it closes and is replaced (hopefully quickly) by some other operation. And maybe it is still a little too soon to expect great things of the Convention Center.
Or maybe not. We’ve got our own set of problems and conditions north of the Square. For one, MVQ and the 7th and 9th St corridors are and were far more residential than Gallery Place. Yes, you compare condo to condo but there are also a lot of fee simple, low density housing, garden apartments and lots of non-luxury units. I mentioned that I lost the faith in projects yet to come, those things are on 9th St. Some of them are in the process of ‘becoming’, some are waiting for their developer/owners to get their act together, and while they aren’t yet what they are to be, you got ugly on the streets at present. Unlike Gallery Place we don’t have that huge office drone population crowding up the counters at Shaw eateries. I guess we were supposed to get a huge convention going populace, who aren’t staying in any Shaw hotels because, oh right. And last time I went to a convention I had lunch inside the building or ate at places I saw between the hotel and the center. Which would mean, if your hotel is at Gallery Place, you’re probably eating in Gallery Place.
Don’t even get me started on Shiloh. Senior housing. Not plain old affordable housing, because face it many of y’all moved to the burbs to get away from the affordable housing crowd.
*Yes, the population is growing but it is miniscule compared to its early 20th Century, pre-Holocaust numbers.
BAA meeting
|—————————————–|
| Blagden Alley Association |
| Monthly Meeting |
| |
| THURSDAY, February 22, 2007 |
| 7:30-9:00 pm |
| Marthlu and Hal’s |
| 905 M Street, NW |
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The newsletter is at
[short cut]
Topics:
1. A relaxed meeting, centered on discussion
of where we see the neighborhood going:
Residential, commercial, and traffic.
2. Police.
3. More.
Renovation 2007: Bookshelves
A website/ blog I’ve just discovered and really enjoy just posted something that turned me into a puddle of joy. Desire to Inspire showed how books could be used in decorating. I have mentioned to a few people the idea that I want to line my first floor with bookshelves. The Bernstein & Andriulli shot is just what I fantasized about, floor to ceiling bookshelves, with a ladder.
My love my radiators
Please oh wonderful radiator heat never, never leave me again. I didn’t know how good I had until you left me. This house is not a home without you. I promise to treat you right this time. I will have you serviced every year, even if it means having some plumber talk down to me because I’m a woman. ‘Cause you are worth it.
For the past two mornings I have woken up to a hot bathrobe and towel. I’ve been able to dry my thick tights, socks and sweaters on the radiators, filling the room with that Downy fabric softner smell. My nose isn’t drying out anymore. I can leave the house with warmed gloves. Life is good again.