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Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema recently gave NoPA (800 F ST NW) a less than stellar review. The restaurant garnered just 1.5 starts from the critic, who praised chicken dishes, fried pie desserts, and not much else. While we don’t totally disagree, we feel about NoPA about the same as we did the restaurant that previously occupied this space (Zola); it’s less about the main dining area and meal experience, and more about bar and lounge area.
The folks who run NoPA no doubt disagree with this sentiment and want the attention focused on full meals and fine dining. Our view, however, is that when you enter this restaurant you should turn left into the bar/lounge, and try to snag seats in the north east corner overlooking 8th & F. These seats offer such a fun, cool, people-watching perch you may never want to leave. It also gives you the opportunity to sample what has quickly become our favorite light snack: Roasted Almonds with Sweet Chili.
The almonds have a fiery bite, with plenty of sweet crunch to match. These almonds will make you forget all about that Safeway Nut-Bar (oh wait, you’ve already forgotten about it), and washed down with what may be the finest gin & tonic we’ve ever tasted (800 F & Tonic) and you’ve got a great start to an evening out, or a fun end to day.
These almonds are not the only things we liked at NoPA, of course, and at the lounge we’ve really enjoyed some of the other small bites. For instance, the heirloom carrots over yogurt are our new favorite vegetable, and the housemade ricotta is fantastic with the housemade country pate.
We know many people in the DC area are tired of small plates restaurants, but they remain one of our favorite concepts. The ability to taste (and share) a wide range of foods from one kitchen continues to appeal to us. As such, we highly recommend that same method of dining at NoPA, particularly when you can enjoy your meal in the comfort of one of the coolest lounges in the city.
Eat Local First Week
This week, July 22 – 27, DC is celebrating Eat Local First. Participating restaurants will be highlighting local, seasonal produce and artisanal products, and there are a series of events planned to educate, inform and inspire you to become a supporter of the local food movement.
Here are the Penn Quarter neighborhood restaurants who are participating in the Farm-to-Table Restaurant Week from the event web site.
Art and Soul
415 New Jersey Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Azur
405 8th St. NW
Washington, DC 20004
Brasserie Beck
1101 K St. NW
Washington, DC 20005
Cedar
822 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20004
Del Campo
777 I St. NW
Washington, DC 20536
Graffiato
707 6th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Jaleo
480 7th St. NW
Washington, DC 20004
The Occidental Grill
1475 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20004
Oyamel
401 7th St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Poste Moderne Brasserie
555 8th St. NW
Washington, DC 20004
Table
903 N St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Zaytinya
701 9th St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Penn Quarter Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
Photo: Future location of Red Apron Butchery (709 D St NW)
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Here’s what we were reading recently about neighborhood news in DC. Have something to add? Leave it in the comments!
Have any tips? Send them in confidentiality to: pqliving [at] gmail.com
National Mall – Screen on the Green, the weekly summer movie night, started last night on the National Mall. Up next Monday, July 29 is the 1979 classic Norma Rae. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Tootsie are also on the schedule. [HBO – Screen on the Green]
Downtown – Dunkin Donuts will be opening at 12th and G St NW thereby doubling the density of donut shops on G St NW. [PQ Living]
Penn Quarter – Both the storefronts of the ill fated Wagamama’s in the 400 block of 7th Street NW and the hopefully fated Red Apron Butchery in the 700 block of D St NW have been stripped of their markings. Sometimes this is meaningless and sometimes it is the leading edge of something new. See photo above – we’ll have to wait and see. A representative answering the phone at Red Apron’s Union Square Market outlet indicated September was a possible opening time frame for the Penn Quarter branch but was otherwise tight lipped. [Hat tip to two different PQ Living readers]
Downtown – The digital commons opened at the Martin Luther King Library at 9th and G St NW offering facilities for book pressing, 3D printing, and more computers. Looks pretty cool to us…let us know if you’ve checked it out. [DCist]
Penn Quarter Crib of the Week – Normally, one bedroom units don’t catch our eye much because a number of them are cookie cutters (the location is still great though!). This one, however, stands out and we almost want to buy it ourselves. The reason? It’s on the northwest corner of the Clara Barton on a reasonably high floor so you get great views towards 7th and E St NW and beyond. It’s also got the black granite and cherry cabinet finishes that are upgrades in the building. It’s 805 square feet in size, has 1 bedroom/1 bathroom, carries a price of $459K, sports monthly condo dues of $382, and the MLS tag is DC8139478. Two thumbs up! [Redfin – 616 E St NW – Unit 819]
Tinker Tailor… Donut Maker?
Earlier this week the Washington Business Journal noted that Dunkin’ Donuts is planning to open a store at 1200 G ST NW. We assume this means the Massachusetts based donut chain will be taking over at least of one of the recently vacated spaces we’ve noted on this blog, perhaps the tailor or the shoe repair shop (or both)?
We only recently tried the newest PQ donut shop, Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken (1308 G ST NW), and couldn’t have been happier with the discovery. The Astro crème brûlée was one of the tastiest pastries we’ve ever had in downtown DC, and the fried chicken has finally filled the void created when Popeyes left our hood.
According to that WBJ article the 1200 G ST Dunkin’ Donuts will have 14 seats and a 48 person capacity. A more pressing question, however, is will they bake donuts in the shop, or have them delivered from a central bakery?