Thursday, March 08, 2012

President Obama Dines at Boundary Road

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The western end of H Street is partially blocked off, and the rumors are flying that a very special guest (possibly President Obama) may be dining at Boundary Road (414 H Street) tonight.

From the comments:

Derek said...

It looks like Obama will be at Boundary Road. The whole area is blocked off. After an uncertain period of time, the doors to The Big Board will be closed. No in an out. I believe it is the same for other places around there. Mar 8, 2012 4:26:00 PM

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UPDATE
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It's confirmed. Here's a picture. This is pretty exciting for H Street. The First Lady (and first daughters) previously dined at Sticky Rice, and VP Biden took in a show at the Atlas a while back. What next?

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

they better head up those bread rolls tonight... knowwhatimsaying?

Anonymous said...

*heat up

Gonzo said...

Really? Wow. I ate there and was impressed, but surprised that he would pick a new restaurant, unless he is stoked about small businesses and start ups... maybe... or is there some connection?

Campy said...

This is super cool but I wonder, does BigBoard have to lose dinner service because of this? That's some serious BS if true.

Tom A. said...

I just walked by and he is definitely inside!

Anonymous said...

http://www.daylife.com/photo/0eMl9SSftfcsN?__site=daylife&q=Politics

Anonymous said...

That is great news for h street. For those who have lived here for 8 plus years, we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Thank you h street patrons from making this one of the best neighborhoods in the district. For all of the bad, this is a great place to live. Wylie st

Anonymous said...

The title of the post should include "President", just sayin.

Anonymous said...

much appreciated

Anonymous said...

Ugh....it was annoying listening to the yoga studio woman bitch about being inconvenienced by this and how she had the flu.

Alan Page said...

H Street has come very, very far in my time here. Has a sitting President eaten on the street in modern history? Or even during the street's prior heyday (pre-68)?

Anonymous said...

I got a parking ticket because last night I parked my car on 5th and didn't see the no emergency parking sign. ugghhhh

Barry! Barry! Barry! said...

Nice that he came to H. Even nicer not have had to deal with all the MD commuters cruising down H between 5:30-7:30pm. It would have been decent for him to go to Big Board instead considering the owners are veterans and they live in the hood.

Anonymous said...

Remember that part of the selection is based on security. Big Board doesn't boast the same security advantages as BR, but neither do many of the 4 and 5 star restaurants that will never have a sitting POTUS eat at their place. It's just the way it works.

Anonymous said...

This is great! Congrats to Boundary Road.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry if the secret service has to shut down a block so the president can have dinner, maybe the president shouldn't go out to dinner.

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh at the numerous people who were stopped by MPD for trying to use the sidewalk between 4 and 5th on H. The question half of them asked was, "Well, how do I get where I am going to?" MPD would then explain to them how to get there. Its a grid system peopole. You can walk a block in either direction North or South, and then carry on with your destination. This confused and irrated so many people.

My favorite:

"How am I supposed to get home?"
MPD: "Where do you live?"
Girl: "10th and I"
MPD: "Cross the street, go up to I Street and then go to tenth."
Girl: "Uh-uh, I aint trying to get lost."
She literally turned around and started walking back towards Union Station. Even the MPD officer was dumbfounded.

I weep for this country.

Oh, and for the really whiney, bitchy guy who thought it was such an inconveinence to add one more block to your commute, get over yourself.

heyktb said...

it's the wackos out there that force the secret service to be so protective. it's not the president's choice. if there was no threat of harm to this man or his family, he could walk down the street like a regular person. but reality is reality. would you rather he remain sequestered in the white house? or only eat out on penn ave. i think he and his wife having dinner is our neighborhood is great and a bit of inconvenience is totally worth it.
just go down the next block for pete's sake.

Anonymous said...

I was shocked at the huge number of cops. No wonder we have so few in our neighborhoods. Is this cost reimbursed? Don't get me wrong, I think that it's great that President Obama was on H. I saw even cops with him on Sunday at the convention center, but the city really needs to move the cops off of that detail, and the one that shows shows up at the Verizon Center at every event and move them into the neighborhoods.

dave said...

I walked by as the President got out the car. He looked around and said, "Wait, I said Boundary STONE. . . eh, F it." and went inside.

Anonymous said...

I may be wrong but lately I have seen a decent amount of cops in our neighborhood. I see one passing by my house at least every 5 to 10 minutes. No sirens on so i think they are just patrolling.

Chris said...

I was there too when Ms. 10th & I feared for getting lost one block away. Was pretty funny.

I was also surprised how many people showed absolutely no interest in why the road was closed when 200 yards away you could clearly see the Presidential Limousine! I suppose it's too hard to look up from your feet...

Pretty sure DCPD gets reimbursed for their work on motorcades and that it's built into their numbers as to how many cops are needed for the city. I thought they did a great job too -- very polite to everyone no matter how annoying, and one guy was showing a curious little kid his car.

Was actually surprised how much was still open too -- you could go to Ethiopic, Tru Orleans, and the yoga and fitness places were still open; so they did try to minimize the impact on neighborhood businesses.

And heck we got to see the Prez wave from his car on the way out!

Anonymous said...

Don't like motorcades, blocks locked down for POTUS to eat dinner, etc? Move to fuckin' Sperryville.

Anonymous said...

I was walking home, and a cop told me to go over G which I gladly did. I would have bitched a lot more if GW Bush had been messing with my commute. Wheh I got to 8th and H, people were FREAKING out to the cops about the buses being rerouted.

Dave B said...

Obama: "gun store? liquor store? gun store? where the f you takin me?"

i wonder if nearby places like ethiopic, big board, etc. are filled with plain clothes secret service eating and drinking

Dave B said...

all the people giving the cops a hard time were probably just pissed they couldnt cut through and gawk.

i just looked at the pic. i'm upset our president is drinking a long island

oboe said...

I'm sorry if the secret service has to shut down a block so the president can have dinner, maybe the president shouldn't go out to dinner.

I think if people are going to complain about the inconvenience of having the President of the United States eating in their neighborhood, maybe they should move to Laurel.

Anonymous said...

"... maybe they should move to Laurel."

I think the problem is Secret Svc overkill. They didn't even let people leave buildings. They had to wait until dinner was finished. Give me a break. Luckily my wife didn't have to pick up the kids.

Anonymous said...

I'm flattered and proud, as a resident and fellow H St employee, that the POTUS would choose to have dinner in my neighborhood. But even more than that, I'm glad he got to be a normal human being for 5 friggin minutes. I feel like people forget he's a person before he's a politician. The man should be allowed to have dinner (or take his lovely wife on a date) without being criticized for every little move he makes. I know he's the president, I know he volunteered for the job and all...but I don't care what party you identify with, cut the man some slack so he can have a burger, for cryin' out loud.

Hope they had a nice time!

Anonymous said...

I thought we were trying to get away from the tradition of black dudes with gun wielding entourages hanging out on H.

Anonymous said...

anon 2:27 - we only object to those when they are going to XII. When they's hangin' with the gentrifiers, it's OK.

Anonymous said...

Just for the record I saw folks leaving and entering The Big Board while the President was inside Boundary Road so it wasn't a total lockdown during the dinner. The people standing around near me (corner of 5th and H) were having a fine time chatting with neighbors and taking pictures of black vans (ha ha) I didn't hear any grumbling. It was fun, plus it was a nice night to be outside.

emo said...

Gotta say ouch! for laurel.

Derek said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
emo said...

Also next time they should go to dangerously delicious, singing "we finally got a piece..."

Anonymous said...

A friend and I were going to try out Boundary Road for the first time last night, but then we saw on Facebook that they were closed (for unspecified reasons) until 8 p.m., so we decided to visit the always-great Atlas Room instead. And who should be seated two tables down from us? Former Mayor Anthony Williams. Clearly it was a night for politicos to dine on H Street.

AngryHound said...

I was in the yoga studio when the President arrived. I was couretously escorted by the Secret Service in and out of the studio and was only not permitted to leave for a 5 minute window when he was actually arriving and entering Boundary Road. I found all of the police officers and Secret Service to be helpful and polite. The people on this blog are always so hostile and bitter, it gets exhausting reading everyone's complaints/"jokes" all of the time. Congratulations to H Street businesses!

Anonymous said...

I think the problem is Secret Service overkill...

The USSS ain't too big on letting protectees get assasinated, you know? And there is no shortage of nuts that would try such a thing.