Friday, September 01, 2006

Post: Where's the Buzz?

According to the Post (scroll straight down to the bottom paragraph), it's on H Street. The writer describes barhopping in Adams Morgan, or Georgetown as "been there, done that," but seems to feel quite differently about the experience on H Street NE. You get the idea from the final sentence that reads:

There's no other neighborhood where you'll find sword-swallowing
bartenders, hand dancing lessons and live go-go and indie rock bands just a few doors from a black-box theater, cozy neighborhood taverns and soul food takeout joints.

14 comments:

Mark said...

While I'm glad to see H St. get attention from the Post, I cringe at the thought of it becoming the next G'town or Adams Morgan...

Mark on 11th

Anonymous said...

It looks like they are going to do a big cover story on the H Street scene in next week's Weekend.

Anonymous said...

I'd say Englert's master plan has succeeded. At least in the creation of a "destination". It's been built, will they come?
This would actually make a great business school case study.

Anonymous said...

Gimme a break! The facts are that the Show bar was dead last night with all of 4 customers.The hotel had nothing either.

Anonymous said...

I don't think there's any danger of H St NE becomming the next Adams Morgan any time soon, but as the chains invade U St, the small independent businesses will be looking for retail space. Right now, and in the forseable future, that means H St NE, and Georgia Ave.

inked said...

Brian, I'll have to keep an eye out for that. I personally hate Georgetown, but I feel differently about Adams Morgan. I don't like the whole crazy drunken frat boy scene that can sometimes dominate. I'm also not much for places like Fly or Left Bank (but that's just my taste). I do like the fact that you can find cheap Ethiopian food late & great beers on tap at the Reef. I hope we can find a good balance on H Street of day time places & nightlife. Recall that the night life scene in Adams Morgan is based almost entirely on alcohol, with food & music taking a definite back seat. Hopefully, H Street's more diverse nightlife (we've got theater, live musical performances, & live performances on other types, in addition to just bars serving up drinks) will help guide us down a different path than Adams Morgan.

Anonymous said...

anonymous at 10:42 AM,

August up until labor day is notoriously bad for the restaurant industry the District. No college kids, staffers, or interns, and most of the others are either on vacation or driving their Jeeps up to Dewey Beach.

-Former Hill bartender

Anonymous said...

As for Inked's thoughts on Adams Morgan, I couldn't agree more. The contrast between a Tuesday night at Adams Morgan, which I really enjoy, and a Saturday night, which I can't stand, is jarring. If we could bring an Adams Morgan weeknight vibe to H Street, I think that would be something to celebrate.

Anonymous said...

Great thoughts on the pros and cons of Adams Morgan. It would be great to see some of the positives of that vibe down here on H.

Also, good to hear that the Post will be offering a feature on the neighborhood next weekend...just in time for the people finally returning to the city after the summer recess (after many years in the District, I agree with the former bartender's statement). The Post has certainly been generous with publicity for the positives going on here.

JRL

Anonymous said...

No offense to anyone, but I worry that people are fooling themselves when they talk about how they want H street to turn out just a particular way. "like Adams Morgan on a Tuesday night but not a Saturday night," etc. I mean, we all have our preferences, but the fact is, H street needs to change, and there's only so much we can contol the development. Do we want businesses and developers to come here or not? or would we prefer the good old days of burned out buildings and crack dealers at every corner? we should try to impact the process, of course, but I think there are a lot of people whose expectations and demands are veering into the unreasonable. It seems silly that we beg businesses to open here, but then when they do, we want them to meet A, B, C, D, E, and F criteria. Again, no offense to anyone, just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, I want frat guys and jennas rahing and puking on every corner. That's an improvement only if you are a racist.

This week's City Paper has an article on the problem of crowds hanging out on the sidewalk that is happening around these joints. Wonder when Joe E will want to build more outdoor decks/patios as holding pens for them.

Love

Anonymous said...

Wow, Love, nice job of playing the race card. It has nothing to do with race, actually; to some of us, one night of frat boys and "jenna" or whatever you were saying is preferable if it means the rest of the week we can walk down H street at night without the risk of being mugged or carjacked or seeing a drug deal go down in a burned out building. In my opinion, it's racist to think that long-term residents here-- whatever their race-- prefer or deserve to continue to live in that kind of environnment.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that this area will turn into Adams Morgan anytime soon. The bars here already cater to a different demographic. We don't really have a dive bar where you can get trashed on the cheap. For a good while anyway, we are going to be getting the hipster demographic. Watch out for the Vespas.

Love, nice way to play the race card. H street as it is now, is a wasteland in the eveninings. I would love to see the H Street connection shut down and something that doesn't jar with the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

It's not about race. If you want to make it about race, it makes you a racist. Whatever 'CoLoR' you are.

Give it up and embrace peace....

So everyone can party on H Street together!