Thursday, July 10, 2008
Spike Mendelsohn on H?
Alert reader Dave sent in this transcript from a Washingtonian interview with Top Chef contender Spike Mendelsohn. In the interview Mendelsohn discusses his upcoming projects in DC, and says he has something coming on H Street. It isn't clear whether he refers to H Street NE, or one of the other quadrants, but I thought it merited a mention.
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24 comments:
Not sure about his plans for H Street. But Spike did just open his Good Stuff Eatery burger joint in Capitol Hill.
We went to Good Stuff Eatery last night before the Nats game and it was amazing. Great burgers and they have five or six really good dipping sauces for the fries, which are also really good. I wouldn't mind having one of those on H Street.
Unfortunely Spike isn't allowed to open Good Stuff on H, because you order at a counter and take your food to a table.
Too bad that we can't have his awesome burgers, fries and milkshakes on H street because we have a zoning overlay created by zealots that are afraid of fried chicken and chinese food. Maybe he wants to open a dive bar.
Hamster
er, yeah, I don't think he means NE unless he is opening a fried chicken takeout.
Hamster - If I understand correctly, Good Stuff would be classified as a fast food restaurant, and thus wouldn't be allowed to open as a matter of right (meaning they couldn't open without special approval). The owner could still open on H street, but would have to go through the extra step of getting special approval by the Zoning Administrator. If his place is as great as the comments here seem to indicate, I suspect he wouldn't have too much trouble getting approved.
I don't think you have to be a zealot to believe that the H street business mix would be improved by sit-down dining like Sticky Rice and Napa, rather than typical fast food places. And besides, an exception can always be made for good burgers.
When there is too much of one thing, you start to limit it in order to create a more balanced business district. There are way too many Chinese take-outs and Fried Chicken joints already.
Same thing would be true if there were too many bars, like Adams Morgan.
Really Anon 1241?
Did you miss the whole Dr. Granville's/Teddy Folkman/Food Network thing?
I don't know Inked, you may think we're joking or you'd rather us not say out of fear it may spark ugly discord on your blog, but Anon 12:41 has a point - And here we go... Cluck-U (intentionally?) got around the fast-food ordinance, so I don't see why Good Stuff couldn't get around it either.
-Anonymous 1:47
I find Hamster's comments negative and inflammatory because he referred to people who didn't want any more fried chicken and chinese food places as "zealots".
Hawk
And the race card is played in 3... 2....1...
My wife and I spoke to Spike outside his restaurant before it opened. We mentioned how we'd love a place like this on H Street, and he in turn said that they probably couldn't open one there because his business model for Good Stuff depends on both lunch and dinner traffic, and there isn't enough of the former on H. However, he also said he had been looking at H Street in a broader sense and was going to revisit it for his next restaurant project. So I think he probably was referring to NE.
http://www.dcoz.dcgov.org/orders/04-27.pdf
Please look at the link. It prohibits more of those fried chicken and chinese walk ups with no seating that attract drunk loiters who cause issues. eg 6th and H - 9th and H
I actually saw Spike at Granville's a few weeks ago (guess he was enjoying the frites and belgian brews in between setting up his show) and thought it was interesting that he was spending time on the other side of the Capitol from where his restaurant was going in....
Excuse me, but Tom Aloise 3..2..1.., you were the first person to mention "race". Boom!
RE: anon 1:47 and Cluck-U: remember that part of what was going on there was that the owner opened the place always intending to have a sit-down restaurant. Et voila: XII.
The people who still obsess over Cluck-U/XII really ought to figure out a way to finally copulate with someone. It will dramatically improve their apparently lackluster lives.
It almost seems that those who express any unfavorable opinions about something(for whatever reason), but particularly about a Bernard Gibson business (past & present) are the ones that end up being childishly attacked for sharing their opinion. I don't see that as particularly helpful or neighborly either. Makes one just want to stay away from here altogether if both are not equally reprimanded.
- little brown dog
Anon 147,
I think you might be looking at the wrong comment. All Anon 1241 said was-
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Anonymous said...
er, yeah, I don't think he means NE unless he is opening a fried chicken takeout.
Jul 10, 2008 12:41:00 PM
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I see no mention of fastfood classification in that comment, only the suggestion that no one would try to open anything in NE unless it was a fried chicken carryout. But I guess if you agree with that point...
And I don't mind if people disagree with each other here. I'm just asking them to be respectful in tone when they do so.
hey Jamie, thanks for the late afternoon chuckle!
Ahhh Tom, thank you. That countdown never gets old. I smile every time. Partly I guess because each time within a few comments of the countdown, the controversy starts.
Of course now it's slightly more civil. :-)
Getting back to the original post I wish I had something intelligent to say but I don't even know who Spike is.
But I do feel that we've had an extraordinary year on H Street so far. It's amazing to think of the establishments that have opened just since January.
And now the Great Streets construction has begun, yes?
Maybe Spike is looking to open a goofy hat store on H St.....
Funny, I still haven't heard any mention of race except for that by Tom Aloisi. I'm begining to see a pattern here.
Maybe some simply fuel the fire by assuming that discussions about drugs, alcohol, thugs, trash, sleazy business operations are race baited discussions when in fact no race was every mentioned. If you're one of the people that associates these descriptions with any particular race, then maybe you should step back and look at your own racist perspective before concluding that its someone else who's being the racist. I'm just saying.
-a
Ok, We get it. No more race card talk. No more talking about people who talk about race card. Damn it, the flame wars on this blog need just the smallest straw...
8th and el, cause I don't know how to make my handle say that.
Haha, oh, Rob...you clearly do not watch Top Chef!!
He was quite the character from last season. Check out his bio here:
http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/4/bios/
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