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Eating Around: A Hot Pot Hot Spot in Rockville
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Rockville
Rockville
BOB'S NOODLE 66 is worth the inevitable wait for a seat. Open for breakfast and lunch, the restaurant features delicious hot pots, a communal bowl of broth that's accompanied by meat, seafood, vegetables and an array of condiments.
Hot pots are ideal for staving off the winter chill, and gathering friends around a steaming bowl is also a nice way to welcome in the Chinese New Year's Year of the Rat.
» Bob's Noodle 66, 305 N. Washington St., Rockville; 301-315-6668.
Out & About: Sausages Galore in Rockville
ON CAPITOL HILL, it is sometimes said that observing legislators at work is kind of like watching sausage being made. On Rockville Pike, however, the new Kielbasa Factory lets its patrons focus more on eating sausages — a far more appetizing prospect.
As The Post's Walter Nicholls reports, the sausages at the Kielbasa Factory aren't actually made on-site, although in-house production is a long-term goal. Right now, the meat is prepared by a top butcher in Chicago. But local sausage lovers should still rejoice — we've been without a reputable Polish deli for years.
The eatery, owned by Polish native Krystyna Ahrens boasts more than just sausages. Expect pierogies, bread, brined Polish pickles and the Pope Kremowka, the late Pope John Paul II's favorite puff cake. And if you're looking for that ultimate of Fat Tuesday treats, the Polish jelly-filled paczki, Ahrens and her crew will have you covered for any gluttony before Lent.
» Kielbasa Factory, 1073 Rockville Pike, Rockville; 240-453-9090
Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post
Transit Is Central to New MoCo Planning Guidelines
EXPECT MONTGOMERY COUNTY'S transit corridors to get a lot more crowded in the coming years: The county council last week approved new planning rules to encourage development in places already served by public transportation.
That means Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton and Metrorail stations in the Rockville Pike corridor will likely see more dense development as the decades wear on.
Reports The Post's Miranda S. Spivack:
In the next 20 years, Montgomery faces several challenges as it tries to absorb the expected arrival of thousands of new residents and jobs already approved and plans for the proposed expansion of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. And the open land available for development is almost used up.Taxes on new construction in the county will increase from 70 percent to 125 percent, depending on the location and type of development.
» "New Montgomery Growth Policy Formalizes Focus on Public Transit" [WaPo]
Eating Around: Spice Fans Take Notice
TWO PENZEYS SPICES outlets are up and running in the Washington area; a Falls Church location is the newest fragrant outpost. Spice fans like the chili power blends, made with ground chili peppers, cumin and Mexican oregano. In mild, medium and hot, and at prices between $2.39 and $13.50, that's crowd-pleasing flavor for a steal.
» 1048 Rockville Pike, Rockville; 301-738-8707.
» 513 West Broad St., Falls Church; 703-534-7770.
» TASTE OF BETHESDA: Oct. 6 marks this year's Taste of Bethesda from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Woodmont Triangle. Participating restaurants include Passage to India, Ri Ra Irish Pub, Rock Bottom Brewery, Divino Lounge and Restaurant and Jaleo, whose tapas is pictured at right. Ticket bundles are $5 for four. Don't feel like driving? Take the Metro to Bethesda and catch the Circulator.
» OCTOBERFEST AT THE OMNI: Celebrate Octoberfest outdoors at the Garden Cafe at the Omni Shoreham's "Your Stein or Mine" event. This German-themed happy hour costs $15 for mini-bratwurst, soft pretzels with mustard and a selection of European fall lagers. A band playing German music will lend atmosphere.
» Omni Shoreham, 2500 Calvert St. NW; 4-8 p.m. nightly, 202-234-0700. (Woodley Park-Zoo)
» POOCH CAFE: Looking for a place to watch the game? The Lost Dog Cafe in Arlington has the goods to go with your game. From the Redskin sandwich — barbecue, bacon and coleslaw on a roll ($6.25) — to the Democrat — roast beef, ham, bacon and Swiss cheese ($6.25) — chances are there's a sandwich named for your favorite team. Though hundreds of bottled microbrews are offered, Octoberfest and Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale on tap may be the choicest way to go. And as the doggie decor and the name suggest, the restaurant and deli is committed to rescuing pets, too.
» Lost Dog Cafe, 5876 Washington Blvd., Arlington; 703-237-1552.
Photo by Susan Biddle/The Washington Post
Eating Around: Roasted to Perfection
COFFEE GOURMANDS who crave fresh-roasted beans can buy Mayorga's brand raw or bring in their own green (unroasted) beans from any other coffee company to have them heated up at the factory. The branch nearest to the D.C. area is in Silver Spring on Georgia Avenue, but until April 15, roast customers will have to detour to the factory's Rockville location, which is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.
In the meantime, the Silver Spring location is spiffing up. The owners of the building — which also houses Moorenko's Ice Cream — are asking shops to add entrances and convert walls to plate glass to make the alley more crowd-friendly for weekend and after-work events.
» Mayorga Coffee Roasters, 8040 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring; 301-562-9090.; 15151-D Southlawn Lane, Rockville; 301-315-8093.
» Moorenko's Ice Cream, 8030 Georgia Ave. NW; 301-588-5656.
» 'BEER DIRECTOR' — EVERY YOUNG MAN'S DREAM JOB: This month marks the debut of chef Frank Morales' Mosaics at Rustico, for which he and beer director Greg Engert have collaborated to create one of the area's first beer-pairing menus.
Around Town: A Rappahannock 'Grits Line'
HOW DIFFERENT IS NORTHERN VIRGINIA from the rest of Virginia? Very different, according to an analysis this morning by The Post's Brigid Schulte and Chris L. Jenkins, who say that last week's elections show that the region north of the Rappahannock River is "not only different than the rest of [Virginia], it is a different state. And it's no longer in the South."
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| Click the graphic above to enlarge in a new window. Graphic by The Washington Post |
If North and South were face off in armed combat (it's happened before, we hear), then it looks like Fredericksburg would once again be on the frontline, if such trends hold. Luckily, the data from last week's analysis seems to indicate more of a change in the "grits line" — the boundary that divides the part of the country where grits are automatically served with breakfast from parts where they're not, the true measure of North vs. South — than a potential battle line. We hope at least.
In additional post-election stirrings, The Post's Michael E. Ruane assesses the current prospective political standing of the D.C. region's elected representatives on Capitol Hill. To sum up: D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton might get a vote in the House and a D.C. commemorative quarter. While Virginia Sen.-elect Jim Webb is the "toast of the resurgent Democratic Party," the commonwealth's senior senator, Republican John Warner, will lose his Senate Armed Services Committee chairmanship, but will be "still very respected," says Republican Rep. Tom Davis, who will also lose his chairmanship over the House Government Reform Committee. In Maryland, if Rep. Steny Hoyer is chosen House majority leader today, he will likely use his newfound power to his home state's benefit. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who represents much of Montgomery County, says the region will get its "fair share" of Homeland Security dollars. And so on ...
» "So Close, Yet So Far Apart" [WaPo]
» "The Battles for Marye's Heights" [NPS]
» "Area Hoping to Cash In on Hill" [WaPo]
» MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Envy! Is the new Rockville trying to get some Silver Sprung in its step? Blogger Silver Spring Scene thinks that Rockville Town Center developers are stealing a fountain design from Silver Spring. What will those Rockville tricksters snatch next? Ray's the Classics? Discovery Communications? Quizno's? [Silver Spring Scene]
» STADIUM-ARMORY: Blogger The Land of JD, who diligently keeps watch over development news at and near the Washington Nationals' South Capitol Street ballpark, reacts to the news that District officials are trying to lure Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to have his team play again inside the D.C. line at a new facility where RFK Stadium stands. She says that when the Redskins vacated RFK in 1997, she predicted "that there was no way they'd still be out in Landover 20 years down the road. ... There's still 11 years for me to be proved right, I think even D.C. could possibly put this deal together under such constraints." [JD Land; WRC via WTOP]
» GEORGETOWN: Washington and Baltimore have moved to a new level in the realm of big-city sports rivalries. First, Washington acquired its own Major League Baseball outfit — a team that makes the Baltimore Orioles less relevant. Now D.C. has stolen Charm City's pride and joy: the Bayhawks professional lacrosse team, Major League Lacrosse's most successful franchise. The new Washington Bayhawks gathered at storied Nathan's at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW yesterday to celebrate their move to the nation's capital. But will the team, and professional lacrosse, survive? [Bayhawks; Baltimore Examiner]
Real Estate Development Quiz
OH, MAMA QUAN'S TIKI HUT, we hardly knew ye — mostly because you opened this spring and closed this fall. And that may be for the best. You and your precious air rights will probably be replaced with condos — that's what seems to be the thing to do in Clarendon these days. In yesterday's edition of The Post, Kim Hart examined the state of the urban village, a mixing of residential and commercial space that still carries a high level of mass appeal. But the question is also whether the growing popularity of places like Clarendon, which is looking more and more like Bethesda with countless new restaurants and bars opening there, is beginning to evolve like Dupont Circle — an area that's lost many of its smaller businesses to franchises and chains that can better adapt to the changing real estate market.
With that we have a real estate development quiz. Using Clarendon's development calculus, on to the first question:
1.) If Clarendon is a mix of Bethesda and Dupont Circle, which emerging development relationship makes the most sense?
a.) Virginia Square is mix of Federal Center SW and Congress Heights.2.) Which area near a Metrorail stop won't be seeing new large-scale mixed-use development for at least a year because of a city council decision last night?
b.) Wheaton is a mix of Clarendon and Rockville
c.) Petworth is a mix of Eastern Market and Dupont Circle.
d.) Branch Avenue is mix of Vienna-Fairfax and Largo Town Center.
a.) Largo Town Center3.) Barracks Row's "Main Street," 8th Street SE, has seen a dramatic overhaul in recent years. What Northeast neighborhood might real estate hawkers term the next Barracks Row?
b.) Rockville
c.) Wheaton
d.) Dunn Loring-Merrifield
a.) Brookland
b.) Eastland Gardens
c.) Trinidad
d.) Ivy City
Answers, and explanations after the jump.
Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
Destination Shady Grove, Not Grosvenor
FOR SOME RED LINE COMMUTERS — those whose final stops are White Flint, Twinbrook, Rockville or Shady Grove — encountering a train with a final stop at Grosvenor-Strathmore can be frustrating; it means somebody else's wait for a train is over, but theirs isn't.
The thinking behind these Grosvenor turnbacks is that there are more Red Line riders inside the Capital Beltway, rather than beyond it, so there's not as big a need for trains servicing the outer portion of the Red Line. But try telling that to those outer portion commuters, especially the thousands of new residents in the greater Rockville area who use Metrorail.
As part of a Metro pilot program, some of the Grosvenor turnbacks will be eliminated starting this Sunday. The $2.25 million program is being funded by the state of Maryland and will provide full Shady Grove service for all Red Line trains on the weekends and during mid-day weekday periods. That means some relief — at least until the 18-month program ends.
» GET DETAILS ON THIS WEEKEND's Metro track work and service changes after the jump.
Around Town: Not Grandpa's Police Cruiser
FOR THE MOST PART, law enforcement departments everywhere have pretty ugly police cruisers. You're likely to see those Ford Crown Victorias and Chevrolet Impalas out cruising the streets of Leisure World in Montgomery County or at a golf course in Boca Raton. But Rockville's a little more slick than that.
The city's police department has brand new sportier-looking Dodge Chargers. Police officer Patrick Mancuso tells The Post's Aruna Jain that "one guy said the front looks like a Mako shark." Also in Rockville's arsenal of law enforcement: two new Segways, digital cameras and 15 hand-held language translation devices.
Photo courtesy city of Rockville
» "Technology Beefs Up Police and Parking" [WaPo]
» DUPONT CIRCLE: Over on the 17th Street NW strip, Casa Pena, a little hole-in-the-wall bodega — which sports a spotty selection of goods including cheap black beans and an extensive Goya juice products, one Express correspondent tells us — has closed its doors after six decades. It's a sad development for the neighborhood, and for those who would just stop in to enjoy the randomness. But it could be a blessing for a strip generally devoid of good restaurants and other amenities. [Hear and Now]
» GEORGIA AVE.-PARK VIEW: Housing officials with the District went into the Park Morton, one of the city's most crime-plagued apartment complexes and essentially threw out everyone who wasn't on a lease, The Post's Robert E. Pierre reports this morning — including boyfriends, husbands and children. Residents at the complex, located at Georgia Avenue and Morton Street NW, are now required to carry identification cards. [WaPo]
» WEST FALLS CHURCH: Need a job? Think you can you handle driving a big Metrobus? Metro is looking for a few good drivers and will be hosting an open training session Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School at 7130 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church. Shuttle service will be provided from the West Falls Church station, since parking will be tight at the school. Pre-registration and qualification details can be found here. [WMATA]
Notes From Around Town: CakeLove Cometh?
WARREN BROWN, food personality and the D.C. area's king of cupcakes, has an expansion plan and wants your input on where the CakeLove/Love Cafe empire goes next. This morning on his blog, the burned-out lawyer who turned a love for baking into a profitable enterprise lays out a list of possible locations, but as he stresses in all caps: "WE ARE ONLY CONSIDERING COMING TO THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS. NO LEASES HAVE BEEN SIGNED." Got that?
Here's a list of where the cupcakes could be coming: Shirlington, Clarendon, Rockville, Capitol Hill's Barracks Row and Dulles International Airport. As for the last possibility, are passengers really going to want to load their stomachs with buttery frosting before departure or upon arrival? It's so thick it probably can't make it through security.
Photo by James A. Parcell/The Washington Post
» "CakeLove and Love Cafe Are Growing!" [Official CakeLove Blog]
» ANACOSTIA: Opponents of a proposal to put a video lottery and entertainment facility at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road turned out on Thursday to protest the signature-gathering push by a Virgin Islands-based gambling entrepreneur to put the proposal on the November ballot. [WaPo]
» MONTGOMERY COUNTY: For all those thinking that Montgomery County's smoking ban was going to harm business, officials earlier this week reported that sales tax receipts are up in the two years since the ban went into effect. [AP via WTOP]
» ARLINGTON COUNTY: This weekend, service changes are coming to two ART bus routes: the No. 61 (which runs a loop between Court House and Rosslyn) and the No. 41 (which runs from the western end of Columbia Pike in the county to Court House via Ballston and Clarendon. [Arlington County]
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