Monthly Archives: January 2012
Cleveland Park Events Calendar Now Live
Want to try something new, hear a lecture, or listen to live music, all without leaving Cleveland Park? Check out Clevleand Parker’s new Events Calendar. We’ll gather all the upcoming neighborhood events and post them on one page, so you’re never stuck wondering what’s going on in the neighborhood. Our calendar will cover events taking place within the area bordered by Rock Creek Park, Albemarle St NW, Wisconsin Ave NW, and Calvert St NW.
Have an event that you’d like to let your neighbors know about? Contact us and we’ll add it to the calendar. You should also let us know if you check out any of these events and have a review for us!
Open and Transparent Menu at Dino
A screenshot of the Dino page on Real Time Farms
If you like knowing where your food comes from, eating out can be very frustrating. Although many menus have token references to how the food is sourced, few have gone as far as Dino in Washington, DC. Using the website Real Time Farms, Dino has made transparent the source of its entire menu. Eight other DC restaurants–Dino is the only one in Cleveland Park–have joined the site. With over 70 eateries nationwide, the Real Time Farms seems to be gaining the most traction in DC, Los Angeles, and its home state of Michigan. According to site co-founder Cara Rosaen, “Customers can now have a real relationship with who grew their food and how it was grown.”
Dean Gold, owner of Dino, has spent a lot of time “fiddling and fussing” on the site. Gold’s work on the site is apparent. Every menu listed ingredient appears to be sourced. The entire menu includes 16 different farms, 14 different “artisans”, and 13 different distributors. For each of these classifications, you can dig deeper into the company to find out more information. At the very least you can get address and website information, though some farms have quite a bit of great information. One of the more interesting things for me was to look at everything that Dino does in house. This list includes everything from the house relish to the delicious black truffle butter. Rosaen notes, “Dean is very serious about his sourcing and about consumer education. He is passionate about the quality of his ingredients, and wants to share his passion with his diners.”
I asked Dino owner, Dean Gold why is was important for him to get listed and he replied, “I believe in the farmers and the other suppliers we use. It is hard on the website to give them any credit in a way that resonates…” That said, he offers some caution for other restauranteurs about joining the site. ”[Join] only if you are willing to let people know who you buy from. There are restaurants that show how green washed they are by only listing a few items as “local” when they in fact majority not local or sustainable.”
I am not a huge organic and sustainable eater (faux pas, I know), but even I think this is really cool. I can imagine if sustainability, organic foods, and local farms are important to you, the information on this site is unbelievable.
Dino: 3435 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20008, (202) 686-2966
Ripple, the best wine bar in Washington, DC?
La Maialina ($8/$24 at Ripple) has a Wine Advocate score of 88.
Could Ripple be the best wine bar in Washington, DC? Perhaps… The relatively new Cleveland Park business is a growing sensation, even making Washingtonian’s 100 very best restaurants. We are certainly not the first to approve of its wines (in fact, the Wall St. Journal did so back in November). Nevertheless, we feel it is only appropriate to add to the chorus of kudos.
What’s most amazing to us is Ripple’s ability to offer quality and affordability and knowledge without pretense. Standard on Ripple’s wine list are a handful of really great bottles of wine for less than $30. Some are even priced as low as $21. Although the cheaper wines hold their own, visitors should not shy away from their more expensive bottles. Ripple, unlike just about every other wine bar, actually gives you a full glass discount on bottles. That means some amazing $15 glasses are available for $45/bottle. It’s also kind of neat that you can get a bottle of the sparkling wine for only $20. Talk about a cheap celebration!
By the glass, there are four really solid $6 offerings (a red, two whites, and a sparkling). We’ve all experienced some places in DC, which shall remain nameless, that sell mediocre to bad wine for double and triple the price. But Ripple’s $6 glasses are really quite impressive, especially given the price. And the offerings by the glass are not limited to a handful – there are over 20 reds available by the glass. The list continues to impress with the significant number of sustainable and organic offerings.
Ripple would be one of our favorite wine bars if it made more space for wine drinkers outside of the bar. It now has two separate dining rooms, plus the 2-tops in the bar. It’d be awesome Ripple could carve out a space for lovers of its wine menu to lounge and “gather” as they say in their tagline. Given the success of the restaurant, however, this seems unlikely. In any event, next time you are enjoying nightlife in Cleveland Park, give Ripple a shot. Whether your price point per bottle of wine is $20 or $200, we guarantee that you will find something that you like.
Tweets from this Weekend – Cleveland Park Style
Our new weekly installment that takes a look at tweets from in and around the Cleveland Park area over this past weekend.
Wow, beautiful Cleveland Park property
From @homevisit
Must See: Renovated Cleveland Park Victorian from @washfineprop. Tour: http://t.co/rGQHrrTd
Rickshaw?
From @erinkkeane
DC metro riders in Woodley Park & Cleveland Park, how are you gonna get around today?
Sounds cool but $45 for a 24-page book?!
From @nenitadgb
Cleveland Park: A Guide to Architectural Styles & Building Types: http://t.co/4Sann90Y
Cleveland Park the next Broadway
From @fieldtriptc
Thank you to everyone who was involved with today’s staged reading of @DanielleMohlman’s #Stopgap. Let’s do it again some time.
Did WMATA go a little overboard with the shuttles?
From @mindymoretti
Avoid Conn. Ave btwn Dupont and UDC. @wmata is running shuttles and that part of the road is littered with buses.
Fun!
From @floridagirlindc
Metro down. Hood up. (@ St. Arnold’s of Cleveland Park w/ 4 others) http://t.co/4tb59orr
Pictures from the Weekend – Metro Closed Edition
Interesting weekend in Cleveland Park with the metro closed. Shuttles are running to Dupont Circle and there is a bevy of WMATA workers around the station entrance.
All Fired Up, Washington, DC Extends Hours
All Fired Up in Cleveland Park has extended its hours on Tuesdays. The ceramics activity store is now open 11-9 pm on Tuesdays, the same as all other weekdays. Find out more information at the store’s new website http://www.allfiredupdc.com/. All Fired Up is a great “alternative” activity in Cleveland Park. They even let you bring a bottle of wine for double the destressing!
Now for some beautiful pieces done in the shop courtesy of its online gallery…
This week in the Cleveland Park Listserv
One of the best parts of our neighborhood is the small town atmosphere that the Cleveland Park Listserv helps to create. Each Friday we will pull out some (possibly out of context) gems from the Listserv to share with our neighbors and friends. We hope these outtakes of the neighborhood news will get you ready for another great weekend in Cleveland Park!
Been there, suffered that…
I just received a ticket in the mail for $200 from the DC Dept of Motor Vehicles. There is a $100 fine for stopping/standing in an morning rush hour zone and a $100 penalty. I received no such ticket on the date that is listed.
Eco-friendly flushers take note…
Random Free Stuff: Water Save Toilet kit, all parts should be there.
The first to criticize should be the first to laud…
Pepco’s technician replacing our meter today noticed a small gas leak and let us know. Washington Gas was here in 15 minutes, fixed it, and relit the pilot lights.
More importantly, what are they trying to say about Cleveland Parkers?
This morning I noticed yard-sign-type signs stuck on the treelawns all over the neighborhood, advertising some sort of quickie liposuction. I removed four(!) from the corner of 36th and Ordway and saw more along Reno as I drove out of the neighborhood.
Civic responsibility Sidwell Friends! What would President Obama think if he knew?!
I went for a lovely long walk with my dog Marnie this morning and was delighted to see that almost all the sidewalks were cleaned of ice, except the long walks by Sidwell Friends school — both on 37th and also on Wisconsin. I wish this institution had been as conscientious as all my other neighbors in making the walks safe for pedestrians.
Ehhh, your options are limited – go with Ardeo + Bardeo…
My mother is coming to see my place for the first time, and I want to take her to brunch. Please let me know your favorite brunch spot in Cleveland Park.
Cleveland Park Resident Now Heads Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
Congratulations to Ruthanne Miller of Cleveland Park who is the new chairperson of the powerful Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, a part of Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA). Miller has previously served the community as ANC 3C commissioner and on the Board of Zoning Administration (BZA). The Control Board is a seven member committee that “meets once per week to adjudicate, administer, and enforce the provisions of ABC laws.” Depending on your position, the Control Board frequently plays hero and/or villain when it comes to alcohol regulation in the city. Miller replaces Charles Brodsky who stepped down a month after allegations of impropriety were leveled against him by a former board member.
As chair, Miller will preside over many hearings directly related to our neighborhood and local businesses. In terms of her stance on community development, she tends to be pretty business-friendly. Recently, Miller has been a public advocate for reviving the storefront culture along Connecticut Ave. To her credit (in our mind), she has spoken out against the restaurant quota in Cleveland Park quipping, “Restaurants can’t open in Cleveland Park, and instead you’re getting tanning salons” in 2010. Of course as chair of the Control Board, she will walk a very fine line between protecting neighborhood residents and allowing for a vibrant business climate.
Miller’s appointment seems to come much less contentiously than her last mayoral appointment. In 2003, Miller was appointed by Anthony Williams to replace Anne Renshaw on the BZA causing an uproar among some residents. The furor surrounded Miller’s convenient political connections and the “fast track” her appointment garnered, not necessarily antipathy toward Miller herself. In addition, many believed the ouster of Renshaw was a direct consequence of her penchant to take on developers over zoning issues in the District. Former councilman at the time, Adrian Fenty was quoted as saying, “I am very upset that the mayor has not brought Mrs. Renshaw back, because she has done a very good job.”
Top Ten Things to do in Cleveland Park with the Metro closed
Who needs the Metro? WMATA may be shutting down the Cleveland Park metro station this weekend, but the surrounding area has enough going on to keep us all busy without resorting to the Red Line. Given the delays on the weekends even when the station is open, this may be a handy guide for some time to come.
Here’s our top ten recommendations for enjoying your Cleveland Park weekend staycation:
1. Take your Sunday afternoon tea at the Hillwood Estate. From 1 – 3:30 pm, visit the Hillwood cafe for teas, finger sandwiches, miniature pastries, and wine. Can’t make it for tea? On Saturdays, Hillwood’s cafe also offers lunch seatings from 11 am – 3:30 pm and the Estate is open for tours.
2. Hop on the H2 bus to Columbia Heights. Grab some barbecue and enjoy Sean Chyun & the Deceivers live on Saturday night at Acre 121. Sean Chyun “draws his influence from the likes of The Beatles, Tom Petty, David Gilmour, and Brian Wilson, while carving his own unique plot on the rock and roll landscape.”
3. Relax with “one of the finest concert organists of his generation” at the National Cathedral. For a $10 donation on Sunday night at 5:15 pm, guests to the National Cathedral can check out Scott Dettra’s organ performance.
4. Take in some art at the Stanford Art Gallery in Woodley. This art space, tucked in a Woodley Park gallery in the Stanford University building is featuring the exhibit Insight and Identity: Contemporary Artists and Gertrude Stein. After art, check out the newly opened District Kitchen.
5. See free theater at the Cleveland Park Library. On Saturday at 2:00 pm, DC theater collective Field Trip Theater will perform a staged reading of Stopgap by Danielle Mohlman, a “play about same-sex marriage that wasn’t just about equality.”
6. Explore Connecticut Avenue. Been meaning to Check out the (highly underrated) Indian Ocean in Van Ness? Heard that the new sushi restaurant, Sushi Para, has been getting good reviews? Always walk by Fresh Med, but never tried the gyro [coupons here]? Now’s the time to try to find the next hidden Cleveland Park gem.
7. Bike Cleveland Park. With no snow and sunny skies predicted for the weekend, hop on a Capital Bikeshare bike and cruse through Cleveland Park over to the Rock Creek Park trails.
8. Show some love for Mount Pleasant. Hop off the H2 bus and grab a slice and a pint at Radius for $5. Then you can dance to modern latin rock at Marx Cafe with DJ Luis or chill with some jukebox tunes at the newly renovated dive bar, the Raven.
9. Expand your literary horizons. Listen to David Satter as he “examines the end of the USSR from a humanist perspective” and discusses his book It Was A Long Time Ago, And It Never Happened at Politics and Prose at 6 pm on Saturday. Finish the night off with pizza and ping pong at Comet next door. Politics and Prose is also hosting authors Elizabeth Dowling and Thomas Byrne Edsall this weekend.
10. Check out the Gin Joint. Take a stroll down Connecticut Ave (you can also take the L2) to the Gin Joint, the small bar below New Heights in Woodley Park. The gin joint offers a vast selection of gins from across the globe. In addition, they have premium and homemade tonics. Try the gin tasting flight for only $15.
Free Theater in Cleveland Park
On January 28 at 2:00 pm, DC theater collective Field Trip Theater will perform a staged reading of Stopgap by Danielle Mohlman at the Cleveland Park Library. Called a “play about same-sex marriage that wasn’t just about equality“, Stopgap:
“…takes place in suburban Chino Hills, California, during the state’s most recent divide — the aftermath of Proposition 8. After being offered a job teaching math at his alma mater, Robert moves from Boston to his white picket fence hometown in California, bringing with him his boyfriend (and later, husband) David. After a glass of wine at a birthday brunch, May, Robert’s childhood best friend, announces that she is going to turkey baste her way into pregnancy; earlier that same day, David tells Robert that he wants to adopt. This dark comedy delves into the lives of six individuals living just on the outskirts of their white picket fence surroundings, trying to find their own definition of family in this hetero-normative community they call ‘home.’” [link]
Field Trip Theater, formed in 2011, is a group of “theatre practitioners who would rather produce and develop new plays than rehash the words of dead white men.” The group’s am is to “cultivat[e] new plays in the workshop and staged reading setting,” and this appears to be their first performance.
Tickets are free, but guests should RSVP for the event at fieldtriptheatre@gmail.com.
Cleveland Park Food Carts?
Seems strange, but proposed regulations could make it more likely that food carts begin appearing in new places around DC. Currently, there is a freeze on food cart expansion because the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) cannot grant new licenses until pending regulations are approved. As currently written these regulations would open up location-based permits, including some zones along Connecticut Avenue. DCRA calls this area “Rock Creek West” with the most prime location being Zone C-2-A which extends from Macomb to Porter along Connecticut and another around Connecticut and Ordway. The license fee will be $587 per year, or less than $50 per month.
Thinking of starting a food cart or fearing ugly hot dog stands? You should know that part of the new regulations are stipulations on cart aesthetics. Existing food carts will have one year to comply with new regulations. You may think that most vendors will flock to the downtown area, but Ward 2 will only have 350 total licenses, 340 of which are already taken, so it seems likely that the expansion could occur outside of the traditional vending area. DCRA is hopeful that new regulations will encourage innovation and originality in this market, making it a better fit for our neighborhood.
HT: All We Can Eat blog
Cleveland Park Condos (January 25, 2012)
New condo up at 3901 Connecticut Ave.
What’s it take to own property in Cleveland Park? For many young professionals this means taking a look at the condo market along Connecticut Ave. Regularly, we will be looking at the price level of condos available in Cleveland Park. Our survey area will be all condos for sale with a Connecticut Avenue address from Macomb to Tilden.
Total properties: 14
Total 1BR: 10
1BR price range: $159,000-$409,000
Median 1BR price: $334,000
Total 2BR: 4
2BR price range: $420,000-$675,000
Median days on the market: 107
New property spotlight:
3901 Connecticut Ave NW, #114
$389,00 – 1 bedroom
768 square feet
Days on Zillow: 7
