RSS FeedDining Out: America Eats Tavern
I finally got around to dining at the new Jose Andres restaurant, America Eats Tavern (405 8th St. NW). I am a huge fan of Jose’s restaurants. Cafe Atlantico was always one of my favorites and I was really sad to see it go. As others had warned me and I have to agree, the menu is challenging. I loved learning about the history of a dish, but it is too dense and assumes you just know what most dishes are requiring more dialogue than usual with your server. We ended up ordering way too much food and next time plan to just share several starters (this seems to be the strongest section of the menu anyways). Overall, it was a delicious dinner for a rainy night and I would recommend it if you haven’t been. By far, the hushpuppies were the highlight of the meal (we ordered two helpings and I’ve been thinking about them all day). The most Jose dish I tried was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich with foie gras. It reminded me of why I like Jose so much – simple ingredients combined and presented in an innovative way.
DC Shorts Film Festival Starts This Weekend
One sure sign that fall is approaching every year is the appearance of the DC Shorts Film Festival. This is the 8th year for the festival as it brings 145 films programmed into 17 unique 90-minute showcases showing at four venues. Although the festival runs from September 8th through the 18th, the primary weekend for showings is this upcoming weekend, and in our neighborhood the Landmark E Street Cinema at 11th and E Street will be the primary performance venue. Other venues include the Navy Memorial (701 Pennsylvania Ave NW), the Artisphere in Rosslyn, VA (1101 Wilson Blvd), and the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St NE). There are also three ticketed parties being put on by the organizers at local venues.
To get a sense of what’s showing, there’s a film sorter depicting thumbnail images for all 145 films that allows you to click on any image to see a film description and filmmaker information with some thumbnails having trailers and previews also. You can sort the thumbnails by different categories such as country, interest, genre, and Showcase number.
Best of all, for PQ Living readers there is a neighborhood discount! Enter the code PQLIVING11 as a part of the online ticketing process and receive $2 off the purchase price. We’ll see you at the festival!
DC Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
Photo: Brass band plays at the corner of 9th 7th and F Streets 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!
Penn Quarter – Buddhafest honors the September 11 weekend with a two day series of talks, meditation, films, and music at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre on D St NW. [Buddhafest]
Mount Vernon Triangle – The CityVista Safeway at 5th and L St NW is now open 24 hours. [The Triangle]
National Mall – The 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition Semi-Finals takes place the afternoon of Sunday, September 11, at the National Museum of History. Hailed as the most prestigious jazz competition in the world, the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition is often compared in stature to classical music’s International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The finals and 25th anniversary of the Institute are at the Kennedy Center on September 12. [Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz]
Penn Quarter & Other Parts of DC – The DC Shorts film festival begins this week. Watch PQ Living tomorrow for a way to save a few dollars on tickets. [DC Shorts]
Shaw – Cafe Eagle, a Mexican restaurant, takes over the old Vegetate space at 1414 9th St NW. This one’s walking distance from the Penn Quarter. [Prince of Petworth]
Penn Quarter – The District of Pi Pizzeria opened at 910 F St NW and all the bloggers are all over it. We were at the soft opening and enjoyed the food but it’s pretty loud in the main dining area when full so bring your shouting voice. The exposed brick is a nice interior touch. [Capital Cooking] & [Eater] & [DCist]
Shaw – A great short video profiling the Capital Pool Checkers Club that meets at 9th and S St NW. [Renew Shaw]
Penn Quarter – For those who didn’t get to the soft opening of the short lived Museum at 915 F St NW, a few photos demonstrate how nice it now looks inside. [DCist]
Penn Quarter – Minibar is now open again within the America Eats Tavern on 8th St NW. [Eater]
Penn Quarter Living is looking for writers. If you enjoy all that the Penn Quarter and downtown DC offer and like to write, drop us a line at: pqliving [at] gmail.com
Navy Memorial Fountain Nears Winter Hibernation
As our readers may have gathered, we love to talk about the US Navy Memorial fountain (701 Penn Ave NW). Given its proximity to a fair amount of PQ homes, and the fact that we usually walk past it on our way to the Washington Mall, the landmark really feels like our neighborhood fountain.
We’ve posted pictures of when the fountain water was neon blue (to fight algae), when ducks were swimming after torrential rain storms, and even noted when the fountains were flowing full-steam or at just a trickle.
So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone when we recently happened to notice a small leak in the fountain wall while waiting to meet a friend at the landmark fountain. The regular spring maintenance will likely patch any leaks before the water is turned back on in 2012. But, it did remind us that we may only have less than 2 months remaining until the fountains are turned off in advance of the winter temperatures.
On that note, we wish our readers a happy Labor Day weekend with some great weather (minus some isolated storms) to enjoy the fountain and many of our other neighborhood amenities!