Category Archives: Food and Drink
50% Off Pulpo Deal
Been meaning to check out Cleveland Park’s new-kid-on-the-block Pulpo? Then make sure to grab this 50% off Living Social deal. $25 gets you $50 to spend on Pulpo’s twist on classic tapas, such as octopus sliders, braised baby short ribs, serrano mac & cheese (or Spanish beer and sangria if that’s more your thing). Our recommendations? Skip the pan con tomate (tomato bread) to save room for the seafood tapas. Check out the deal here.
Pulpo has some great happy hour specials too. Check them out (and all the other places to get tasty food and drink deals) in our day-by-day happy hour guide.
Pulpo, 3407 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008, www.pulpodc.com
Uptown Tap House to Open on September 12
The former Four P’s location will reopen as the Uptown Tap House on September 12. The restaurant, owned by the same group that owns McFadden’s and Sign of the Whale, will open with a “neighborhood night” – an unbelievable opportunity to get a free 3-course dinner. Take a look at the announcement below for more information on the Uptown Tap House opening. You must make an email reservation by September 11 to enjoy this free dinner.
Uptown Tap House
Connecticut Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20008
202-244-2030
New Cleveland Park Neighborhood Guide Released by Going Out Gurus
The Going Out Gurus of the Washington Post recently updated their neighborhood guides and included our beloved Cleveland Park. Their full list of recommended neighborhood attractions can be found here, and includes many of the Cleveland Park institutions, such as Dino, the Uptown Theater, Vace, Palena, and the Zoo. We like that the guide also included (literally) off-the-beaten-path favorite Melvin Hazen Trail and new(ish) additions Sugar Magnolia and Medium Rare. But did they miss some of the smaller establishments and attractions that make this place really feel like home? (Then again, do we want the masses all crowding in for $5 drinks at Nanny O’Brien’s on a Friday night?)
What do you think readers? Did the Post get it right? What’s your favorite Cleveland Park business that’s missing from the GOG guide?
Day Trip from Cleveland Park: MD Wine and Harpers Ferry
We’d been hoping to make it Harpers Ferry for quite awhile, so we were quite excited to make the trip this summer. Of course, we also couldn’t resist hitting up the Maryland wineries we saw along the way. Here was our itinerary:
10:00 am – Leave Cleveland Park. Head North on I-270.
11:00 am – First stop, Elk Run Vineyards. Turn off 1-270 just past Germantown. Just past Mt. Airy, you’ll find a cluster of wineries with cute small tasting rooms situated in the middle of small vineyards in the rolling hills of Maryland. In the tasting room, you can pick six wines to try from their large selection–we particularly enjoyed some of their award-winning reds. For those currently into the Rose trend, they also had a tasty, summery rose.
11:30 am – Next stop, Black Ankle Vineyards. Just down the road, you’ll find Black Ankle Vineyards, where you can sip five of their wines in their gorgeous new eco-friendly tasting room, made mostly from materials grown on-site. While there, grab a light lunch of local cheese and salami and a baguette.
12:30 pm – Finish the wine tour at Loew Vineyards. There’s a reason we put this winery after lunch – their sweet wines seem most appropriate for after dinner sipping. But for their low tasting fee, it was fun to try some dessert-y (many containing fruit) wines in their tiny tasting room.
2:00 pm – Arrive at Harpers Ferry, WV. We took US-340 W straight down to Harpers Ferry. Plan to park outside the town, where you can take a shuttle in to the sites. (For any history buffs: Make sure to stop off at the shuttle stop Bolivar Heights, a former Civil War site, where we got to see a Civil War reinactment!) Enjoy stepping back in time for an afternoon while visiting this influential historical town where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. There’s something for everyone in this little town – hiking, shopping, museums, and lots of picturesque views.
6:00 pm – Head back to Cleveland Park. After a long day, you’ll be back in time for a relaxing evening.
Tip: If you go during the summer months, make sure to stop at some of the farm stands along the side of the road. Great way to go locavore and fill up your fridge with lots of delicious veggies without paying Whole Foods prices.
Looking to make it a weekend trip? Head over to Charlestown, WV and spend a night watching horse races at Charlestown Races & Slots.
Envy My Food – Edition #26
Welcome to out weekly feature Envy My Food. Each week we hope to share a wide array of restaurant food from Washington, DC.
Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!
Burger trio from Pulpo
Photo credit: Jonas Salone (via Flickr)
Tomato bread from Pulpo
Photo credit: Jonas Salone (via Flickr)
Sushi from Wok N Roll
Photo credit: monipots
Restaurant Week DC: Five Cleveland Park Options
We’re just a couple days away from DC Restaurant Week, which begins on August 13, and it looks like five restaurants in the neighborhood are participating this year. Ardeo+Bardeo, Dino, District Kitchen, Indique, and Pulpo will be offering a special Restaurant Week menu for $35.12. While the restaurants usually do a three course meal (starter, entree, dessert), we’re interested to see if new-kid-on-the-block Pulpo will do a five course menu like many of the other tapas restaurants. We like that Dino is allowing diners to select from the entire menu from for its restaurant week special (the other restaurants don’t appear to have released their menus yet, but we hope they’ll follow suit).
We just checked out Open Table and noticed that all of the restaurants have reservations available on all nights at virtually all times. It seems that long gone are the days when restaurants booked up weeks in advance for Restaurant Week, which makes us wonder: are people still excited about restaurant week? More importantly, at $35.12 per person, is it even still a good deal? Will you be hitting up any of the local restaurants during Restaurant Week this year?
Envy My Food – Edition #25
Welcome to out weekly feature Envy My Food. Each week we hope to share a wide array of restaurant food from Washington, DC.
Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!
Shrimp Burger from Proof
Photo credit: Cleveland Parker
Ceviche from Cafe Citron – photographer blog
Photo credit: AK_Wong (via Flickr)
Half Smoke from Ben’s Chili Bowl
Photo credit: kaszeta
Nam Viet Closing Soon for Renovations
Nam Viet will be closing for a week this August to perform renovations at its Cleveland Park location. Below is a photo of the sign posted on the restaurant’s door. The restaurant will be closed the week of August 6, 2012.
Nam Viet
3419 Connecticut Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 237-1015
Envy My Food – Edition #24
Welcome to out weekly feature Envy My Food. Each week we hope to share a wide array of restaurant food from Washington, DC.
Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!
Jersey Shore Pizza from Graffiato
Photo credit: Cleveland Parker
Bolivian Sonso with Beef from Cafe Citron – photographer blog
Photo credit: AK_Wong (via Flickr)
Italian Sausage Penne from Teatro Goldoni
Photo credit: Jonas Salone
Envy My Food – Edition #23
Welcome to out weekly feature Envy My Food. Each week we hope to share a wide array of restaurant food from Washington, DC.
Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!
Panna Cotta from Graffiato
Photo credit: Cleveland Parker
Calamari a la Plancha from Cafe Citron – photographer blog
Photo credit: AK_Wong (via Flickr)
Branzino Carpaccio from Teatro Goldoni
Photo credit: Jonas Salone
Atomic Billiards Fined, Suspended
On July 11 Atomic Billiards went before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for operating after hours at its establishment in Cleveland Park. This is a familiar place for the bar who sat before the board in February 2011 on the same charge. In that case, an Offer in Compromise was reached wherein Atomic Billiards would pay a $1,000 fine and have its license suspended for two days. The suspension was stayed for one year pending no further violations.
This bringing us to our July 11, 2012 hearing for the same violation, operating after hours. In this case, an Offer in Compromised was again reached and agreed to by the board. This time, Atomic Billiards parent company will pay a $2,000 fine and have its license suspended for three days. As last time, the suspension will be stayed for one year assuming no other violations. However, the two day suspension from the 2011 violation was triggered and Atomic Billiards license will be suspended on September 3 and September 4 (Labor Day and the Tuesday after).
Atomic Billiards
3427 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20008
(202) 363-7665
Envy My Food – Edition #22
Welcome to out weekly feature Envy My Food. Each week we hope to share a wide array of restaurant food from Washington, DC.
Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!
Broccolini from Graffiato
Photo credit: Cleveland Parker
Beef Carnitas with 3 Mole sauces from El Nopalito Grill – photographer blog
Photo credit: AK_Wong (via Flickr)
Napa Valley Burger from Bobby’s Burger Palace
Photo credit: Paul Sirajuddin Photography
