RSS FeedComcast Studio Xfinity Store Now Open In Chinatown (715 7th St NW)
Comcast opened its flagship Studio Xfinity store over the weekend at 715 7th Street NW in the heart of the Chinatown/Penn Quarter neighborhood. This used to be the City Sports store that closed in November of 2015. Modell’s took over the lease but then left before a store was ever built out. In May 2017 we learned that Comcast was coming in to the space. The store is open 7 days a week and customers can book appointments online for in-store visits.
We perused the store briefly which is nicely laid out and has a ring of similarity to it with Verizon, AT & T, and Apple stores offering experiential buying we hear millennials prefer. Notably Comcast now offers mobile phone service and there is a rack of Samsung and Apple phones to try. In the rear is a supremely large video screen and video room set up which we’re sure will be handy for the grand opening party (see below). All the services Comcast offers get some exposure in the store and La Colombe coffee taps dispense coffee to customers upon request from a center area where sales associates can be found.
There is a grand opening party for the store on Sunday, November 19 when the Washington Redskins play the New Orleans Saints with all day long Washington DC player appearances. The clipped text from the Comcast website link found in the events section is below:
Join us for an awesome kickoff party during the big game. We’re celebrating our grand opening with food, drinks, celebrity guests and fun giveaways while Washington and New Orleans go head-to-head. Meet former Washington cornerback Shawn Springs (3:00pm-4:00pm), pro hockey player Jay Beagle (2:30pm-3:00pm), pro football player Trenton Murphy (5:00pm-6:00pm) and more! Take a photo with the Washington football cheerleaders (2:30pm) and the Washington Wizard’s mascot G Wiz (2:00pm). Plus, experience 4D Virtual Reality by Samsung Gear VR and hop in the Samsung Gear 360 photo booth.
DowntownDC Fall Festival Is Tomorrow Noon To 2 PM At ITCDC (1300 Penn Ave NW)
We heard from the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW about the DowntownDC Fall Festival. The details follow:
DowntownDC Fall Festival
Date/Time: Oct 31, 2017 – Noon to 2 pm
Location:
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Woodrow Wilson Plaza, Washington DC 20004Get ready to fall into fun this Halloween with the DowntownDC Business Improvement District and the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center for the DowntownDC Fall Festival.
Bring your coworkers, friends, family and kids to Woodrow Wilson Plaza (1300 Pennsylvania Avenue) on Tuesday, Oct. 31 from 12pm-2pm for some free fun, including a special Halloween DJ set, pumpkin decorating with BLICK art, a mysterious Children’s Story Hour with DC Public Library, lively face painting, candy giveaways, and the return of the ghoulish DowntownDC stilt walkers.
Wear your Halloween costumes! Photo ops will be available.
Price: Free!
Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/downtowndc-fall-festival-tickets-38979134641
The Source Restaurant Now Offering Lunch Service (575 Pennsylvania Ave NW)
One of our favorite Penn Quarter restaurants, The Source by Wolfgang Puck in the Newseum building, recently restarted lunch service. We received some information on the lunch offering as follows:
The Source by Wolfgang Puck reintroduced lunch service starting on Tuesday, October 3rd, with a new menu by executive chef Russell Smith. Lunch, which will be served Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm downstairs in the lounge area only, is designed to accommodate guests who may only have an hour for lunch.
Smith, who has been with the restaurant since 2009, and recently took over as executive chef, has added dishes that are inspired by his recent trip to Southeast Asia, including a Duck Khao Soi with crispy noodles, red chili paste and pickled Chinese broccoli, a dish unique to the lunch menu. Smith’s twists on the restaurant’s signature dumplings are also available, such as the Carrot Dumplings with shrimp, Tamarind vinaigrette, toasted nuts and seeds in chili oil. Lighter plates, such as the “Hong Kong” style steamed Verlasso salmon with baby bok choy and lotus root, and the Chirashi bowl with seasoned rice and toasted sesame seeds, provide a range of options for any appetite.
The lunch menu is complemented by a wine list of wines by the glass, many of which are $10 or less.
Below is the entire lunch menu:
Appetizers
Charred Vegetable Salad, Marinated Cucumbers, Candied Walnuts, Roasted Chili Vinaigrette $11
Hot & Sour Soup, King Crab, Shrimp Wontons, Shimeji Mushrooms, Firm Tofu $15
Shrimp & Carrot Dumplings, Tamarind Vinaigrette, Toasted Nuts & Seeds in Chili Oil (4) $14
Berkshire Pork Belly Sui Mai, Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce, Chili Oil, Fresh Ginger (4) $12
Organic Chicken Wontons, Smoked Shallot Sauce, Fresh Cilantro (5) $12
Kanpachi Sashimi, Citrus Noc Chom, Puffed Wild Rice, Tosa Soy $16
Tuna Ceviche, Yuzu Ponzu, Jicama, Avocado, Sesame Tuile $19 (Addition $5 to add tuna to prix fixe)
Flight of Dumplings (12) $21
Entrees
Chinese Chicken Salad, Mustard Vinaigrette, Candied Cashews, Crispy Wontons $18
Crispy Chicken Breast Sandwich, Sambal Aioli, House Made Pickles $18
Prim Flat Iron Steak Salad, Crispy Rice, Cucumber, Pickled Ginger Vinaigrette $24
“Hong Kong” Style Steamed Verlasso Salmon, Baby Bok Choy, Lotus Root, Aged Soy $25
Fragrant Chili Oil Poached Striped Bass, XO Fried Rice, Crispy Garlic $26
Singapore Style Street Noodle, Beef Short Rib, Toasted Curry $28
Jurgielewicz Farm’s Duck Khao Soi, Crispy Wonton Noodle, Toasted Peanut, Lime $22
Chirashi Bowl, Scattered Sushi Grade Fish Over Seasoned Rice, Toasted Sesame Seeds $28
Prix Fixe Menu Choice of any two appetizers or one appetizer and one entrée $36
Vegetarian Prix Fixe $26
Improvements At Street Sense (New Vest Colors + Cashless Payment App)
Our good friends at Street Sense Media, the media operation that helps homeless persons get a leg up on life through publishing a newspaper sold by the homeless, let us know about a few changes to the operation. They are based in our neighborhood in the 1300 block of G St NW.
The first is that the vendor vest colors will change from a neon yellow to a bright blue and orange combination. Yellow and black will be swapped out for bright blue and orange, part of a bold rebranding campaign that represents the organization’s evolution from a print newspaper into a multimedia center harnessing modern, creative strategies to empower people experiencing homelessness. This coincides with the change of the operation’s name to Street Sense Media to denote the additional forms of media being produced and used by the homeless beyond the newspaper.
The second is that purchasers of the paper can now use the Street Sense Media App to pay their vendor for their newspaper. The app is available for Apple’s iOS and for Android.