RSS FeedDC Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
Happy New Year to all Penn Quarter Living readers!
We thank you for your readership, comments, e-mails, and another successful year of operation. If you have any neighborhood tips or suggestions for PQ Living, drop us a line at: pqliving[at]gmail.com
Follow PQ Living via Facebook here and Twitter here. Our Flickr tag is pqliving.
Here’s what we were reading last week about neighborhood news in DC. Have neighborhood thoughts? Leave them in the comments!
Penn Quarter – The hole in the ground is no more as the Skanska project at 10th and G St NW becomes a concrete frame and a row of shimmering windows. That’s progress! [The 42 Bus]
Penn Quarter – Escalators in the 7th Street NW entrance at the Gallery Place/Chinatown station will be out of commission while under repair. Bring your walking shoes. [TBD]
H Street NE – The H Street NE shuttle which provided free lifts late into the evening between 7th and H St NW and the H Street NE corridor is no more. [Frozen Tropics]
Shaw – An apartment building proposal for 7th and R Streets NW. [Renew Shaw]
U Street – A roundup of the best and worst of U Street NW. [U Street Girl]
All of DC – Annual homicides hit a low not seen in DC since 1963. Good news! [NBC Washington]
Penn Quarter/Mount Vernon Triangle/Shaw – ANC 6C Planning, Zoning, and Environment Committee and the ANC 2C general public meetings are the evening after tomorrow. [Life In Mount Vernon Square (ANC 6C)] & [Life In Mount Vernon Square (ANC 2C)]
All of DC – An announcement of the restaurants participating in Winter Restaurant Week from January 17 to 23. [Capital Spice]
The Passenger: A Quiet Cocktail On Penn Quarter’s Edge
The Passenger (1021 7th St NW) sits on a calm block of 7th Street in the Convention Center’s shadow, three short blocks from the bustling heart of Chinatown. The lounge’s frontage is simple and nondescript, its name written in small script on the two front windows. The exterior exudes low-key cool and can be easily overlooked by passers-by. Yet there is no better place near Penn Quarter – or possibly in DC – for a quiet and expertly-crafted cocktail.
While only a few quick steps across Mount Vernon Square, The Passenger could not be farther from the flashing advertisements and mass market bars. Inside sit leather booths and exposed brick; at the bar stands a favorite narrow concrete pillar covered with patrons’ graffiti. The bar isn’t large but the interior is comfortably spacious.
Perhaps you’re looking for a martini to unwind with after work, or maybe Manhattans and Cosmos to share with a mixed group of colleagues. Whatever you drink, know it well: the Passenger’s menu is brief and beer and wine come second. Here, the cocktail is king.
This lack of information is not a limitation, however. The Passenger’s staff is heavy on creative suggestions. Looking to try something new? Just ask. They are indeed experts of their craft – mixologists, drink artists, whatever you want to call them. Rather have a classic? They’ll happily oblige, pouring perfection in a glass.
This is certainly a hidden treasure just outside Penn Quarter’s far northern edge. And while reinventing the cocktail has lately become all the rage, I love this bar because it takes the opposite approach: old-school cocktails that can be enjoyed in a minimalist, relaxed atmosphere. Because this is your father’s lounge.
~~~~~~~~~~
THF is a Penn Quarter resident who blogs about the culture of drinking at thehipflask.wordpress.com.
Small But Tapulous
We like to think of downtown DC and the Penn Quarter as a sophisticated urban village. Want to view snazzy full motion video screens, tempt traffic in a Barnes Dance crosswalk, and quaff a 1998 Château Pétrus? We got ’em. Like downing oysters, eating a sushi chaser, watching a 3D first run movie, and wrapping the evening up with gelato? You can do that. Interested in The Merchant of Venice followed by a craft microbrew and a large, tasty helping of chicken saltimbocca? No problem.
Now our neighborhood can claim being the tops in fast food condiment delivery. We checked our four other favorite burger joints in the Penn Quarter and the red stuff was delivered by disposable packets or pump action boxes. We’ve seen beer taps. We’ve seen wine taps. And, we’ve seen frozen yogurt taps. We’re not sure how the 911 E Street NW Golden Arches slipped this one under our nose but witness the ketchup tap…in the Penn Quarter…available here. Your french fries will thank you for it.
DC Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
Follow PQ Living via Facebook here and Twitter here. Our Flickr tag is pqliving.
Here’s what we were reading last week about neighborhood news in DC. Have neighborhood thoughts? Leave them in the comments!
Penn Quarter – Madame Tussauds will be completing its collection of wax Presidents to include all forty-four leaders. Tourists will be digging that! [Madame Tussauds]
Penn Quarter – Museum, a lounge at 915 F St NW, opens…and closes. We don’t know what the scoop is…do you? [DCist] & [Pamela’s Punch] & [Prince of Petworth] & [Urban Daddy’s Twitter feed]
Mount Vernon Square/Shaw – DC Public Schools and the Mayor announce plans for a new Dunbar High School on New Jersey Ave NW to the tune of $100M. [Life In Mount Vernon Square] & [The Triangle]
All of DC – Why is there no Metro station in Georgetown? How come no one is actually from DC? DC myths debunked. [We Love DC]
Penn Quarter – An update on the Central Liquor neon sign. What will its fate be? [The Location]
All of DC – DC breaks 600,000 residents…yes! [DCist]
Adams Morgan – The annual reading of grievances for Festivus took place in AdMo. Our favorite? “Stop proposing to my wife!!! JP” [NBC Washington]
All of DC – Cool new digital displays will be on trial at bus shelters and pedestrian centers of activity around DC in the spring of 2011. [Greater Greater Washington]