Local News Brief: The Emprosator Debuts, Tasting Mythology & Lore, & Fringe POP

Atlas Brew Works (2052 West Virginia Ave.) collaborated with DC Brau (3178-B Bladensburg Road), to produce the Emprosator (a dopplebock), which they will debut during a show at Rock & Roll Hotel (1353 H St.) tomorrow.

Victim in Yesterday's Homicide Identified as Eugene Clarke

MPD has released the name of the victim in yesterday's early morning homicide in the 900 block of 10th Street as 39 year-old Eugene Clarke of Temple Hills, MD. Police responded to a call for gunshots a little before 4 a.m. and found Mr. Clarke unconscious, unresponsive, and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Arriving medical personnel could find no signs of life, and Mr. Clarke was pronounced dead.

News Brief: Mythology & Lore Brunch, Cusbah Statement, Sospeso Update

Mythology Restaurant & Lore Lounge (816 H St.) launches brunch service this weekend (12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday). The new restaurant, which serves "globally influenced nouveaux American inspired cuisine," held a soft opening during this year's H Street Festival. They haven't yet posted the brunch menu, but their dinner menu features dishes like Mojo Pork (braised shoulder, spiced tenderloin, ham, and pickles, with mustard jus), and But I'm a Vegetarian (curried chickpea ragout, and stewed eggplant, with lemon yogurt). You can read more about Mythology & Lore in this recent City Paper write-up.

Local News Brief: Crafty Bastards at Union Market & Big Chief Hosts 202Creates

 

A felted wool bunny from Crafty Bastards vendor Licorice Tree

Crafty Bastards is this weekend in tents outside Union Market (1309 Fifth St.). Tickets are $6 for one day, or $10 for both Saturday and Sunday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, some vendors may only be there one day). This is a fun annual exhibition and sale put on by the Washington City Paper, and featuring creations by independent artists and makers. It's a great place to find yourself some special, or to pick up the perfect gift.

Cusbah, Victorious in Court, is Here to Stay

Some months back it came to light that local Indian/Pakistani restaurant Cusbah (1128 H St.) was involved in a dispute with its landlord. The conflict devolved into the landlord causing a for lease sign to be displayed on the front of the building, a rumor the restaurant would close by May of 2016, and a court battle when the landlord tried to evict the business. Last night I received an update from an attorney for Cusbah, Steven Hessler. Mr. Hessler is also an owner of Gallery O on H (1354 H St.), and a long time fixture on H Street. He reports that Cusbah was victorious in court, and is ready to put the dispute behind them. His update (edited slightly for format) appears below. Perhaps a celebration over pakora and lamb vindaloo is in order.

Back to School Night at Browne Education Campus 9/28

It's that time of year again, Browne Education Campus (850 26th St.) hosts a Back to School Night. If you're a parent or caregiver for a child who attends Browne, in addition to meeting your child's teachers and learning about their curriculum, you can also register to vote, apply for a library card, and maybe even score some free uniform shirts and school supplies.

Local News Brief: History Fans Edition

The Historic Preservation Office recommended that the Historic Preservation Review Board designate portions of the Florida Avenue Market as a historic district.

Art in the Alley is this Saturday

September is a busy month around here, so I just wanted to remind people that Trinidad's Art in the Alley will take place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Art is the Alley is held in the alley between the 1200-1300 blocks of Florida Avenue and Morse Street. Art in the Alley is an annual community gathering meant to highlight local art and welcome neighbors to enjoy it outside. In addition to visual art, the night all features live music. This event is free and open to all ages. It's also happening the same evening as Art All Night, which seems like the perfect excuse to make this an unofficial add-on to your local arts agenda. A bathroom will be available.

Local News Brief: Ben's Upstairs, Oktoberfest at Wunder Garten, & Art All Night Volunteers

1001 (1001 H St.), the restaurant above Ben's Chili Bowl, is henceforth to be known as Ben's Upstairs. They've overhauled the menu as well. The jerked salmon remains, but a lot of other dishes got the boot in favor of new offerings. No more beer brined chicken, but you can now get meatloaf or pork ribs.

Art All Night to Include Musical Streetcars

Art All Night is Saturday, and there's all kinds of stuff happening at seven different locations along the H Street Corridor. Two of those locations will actually be moving streetcars. Check the schedule to find out who is performing when, but you'll find spoken word, hip hop, jazz, and more to enjoy as you cruise down the strip in style.

Halloween at Rosedale Seeks Volunteers & Donations

One of the group's past Rosedale Halloween events. Photo from E Street Adventures website

E Street Adventures, a group that has organized a Halloween celebration for local kids the past few years, is teaming up with the Rosedale Rec, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Sondra Gilbert (ANC 6A07), MPD, and others for a party called Halloween at Rosedale. Organizers hope to serve as many as 500 kids at this year's event, which will take place from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Rosedale Rec (1701 Gales St.). Halloween at Rosedale is a not for profit event that is completely free to those who attend. It will include carnival-style games with prizes, a costume contest, goodie bags, snacks, arts and crafts, a performance by local entertainment company Spinnabel Lee Entertainment, and more. You can view pictures and videos of past events on E Street Adventures' website.

Where are They Now: Revisiting a WaPo Guide from a Decade Ago

Fritz Hahn from the Washington Post tweeted link to a Going Out Gurus guide to H Street that he wrote a decade ago, and what's striking when you read it is that most of the places that he mentions are now closed, or have relocated. Here's a look at all of those places in order of appearance:

 

Horace and Dickie's: (809 12th St.) This fried fish place is still going strong, and may well outlive us all.

Victim Identified in Fatal Shooting in 700 Block of 16th Street

Police have identified the victim in yesterday's fatal shooting in the 700 block of 16th Street (Rosedale) as 18 year old Tesean Jermaine Ashe of SE. Earlier reports referenced the location as the 1500 block of Benning Road. Police responded to a call for a shooting at 5:26 p.m. and found Mr. Ashe "unconscious and unresponsive, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds." He was transported to a hospital, but did not survive his injuries. Shortly after the shooting MPD tweeted a look out for a black male, with short hair, wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and a black bandana, while operating a black scooter.

Tips to Help You Enjoy the H Street Festival

The Festival stretches from Fourth Street to Fourteenth Street, and runs from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Saturday. I've got some tips to help you make the most of the festivities.

Plan Ahead for Travel

The Streetcar will not run at all between 2 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. Some streets will be closed for an extended period, and you can expect buses to be rerouted. The @HStreetDC Twitter account tweeted that the streets will close at 4 a.m., but I haven't seem a full press release from them yet. A press release from the streetcar team says 3:30 a.m., so I'm going with that just to be safe. I can tell you from past experience that the Festival typically means the X2, the D8, and the 90/92/93 detour during the street closures. Again, I don't have anything current, but here's what they did back in 2014.

Local News Brief: Krampus Returns, Historic Preservation on H, & Classes at Open Studio DC

It's not until Dec. 3, but I highly advise marking your calendar now for this year's Krampusnacht. During this event, which is fun for both kids and adults, a large group of people dress as Krampus and parade down H Street.

Expanded Hours at the Haymaker, Beer Dinner at Granville's, & a Gravitas Pop Up

Tickets ($55.93) are on sale for Granville Moore's (1238 H St.)  five course beer pairing event with Brouwerij De Leite and Brasserie Artisanale de Rulles. 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Here's the menu (subject to change):
De Leite Cuvée Jeun'homme- Asparagus a la Flamande
La Rulles Brune- Smoked pork sliders with spicy pickles and carolina bbq sauce
La Rulles Estivale- Marinière Moules
De Leite Fils À Papa- Sweet and sour brussel sprouts with pork belly
De Leite Cuvée Soeur'ise and La Rulles Blonde- Liège waffle with strawberry sauce

Local tavern the Haymaker (1015 H St.) will now be open on Sundays from 1 p.m., with last call at the last play of the game that's on.

Gravitas, a new restaurant coming to Ivy City, will pop up at Republic Restoratives (1369 New York Ave.) Thursday, Sept. 15. Dinner starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $90 each, and for that you get five courses paired with cocktails using seasonal ingredients and Republic Restoratives spirits.

Menu:
Summer Heirloom Tomato Salad- Baby Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Shaved Parmesan, Baby Kale Shiso, Truffle Vinaigrette

Tuna Sashimi- Summer Pepper Relish, Puffed Rice, Tarragon Froth, Aigre-Doux Vinaigrette

Crispy Tile Fish- Slow Roasted Carrots and Pearl Onions, Summer Peas, Thai Basil Ginger-Lemongrass Emulsion

Marcona Almond Crusted Eye of Lamb- Braised Farro, Roasted Fennel, Preserved Lemon Castelvetrano Olives, Lamb Jus

Warm Chocolate Fondant- Peanut Butter Mousse, Chocolate Pearls, Mascarpone Cream Salted Caramel

Local News Brief: HR-57 Thursday Jams Return, ANC 5D Race Shake Up, & Mappy Hour

The closing of HR-57's H St. location left a jazz void in the area, but they are teaming up with the DC Pavilion (1399 Fifth St.) to bring back their Thursday night jazz jam sessions. The inaugural session is tomorrow night from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Show up to listen, or bring your instrument to join in on the jam. Food and drink available for purchase.

Local News Brief: Hitchcock at the Angelika, Louisiana Flood Fundraiser, & an REI Update

This October #Hitchcocktober 5 classic thrillers from the "Master of Suspense". Get tix! 🔪 https://t.co/9nBFaXzkIb pic.twitter.com/8IjYnWnVKK

— Angelika Pop-Up (@AngelikaFilmDC) September 6, 2016

As Halloween draws ever closer, so does Hitchcocktober at the Angelika pop up (550 Penn St.). Classic films from the master of suspense shine on the big screen every Thursday in October. This year's line-up includes The Birds, Suspicion, Dial M for Murder, The Trouble With Harry, and Psycho. Tickets are $7 (plus a $1.50 service fee).

Local News Brief: SEX BARBERSHOP No More, The Elroy Closes, & Nomad to Open Smoke Shop

The hubbub surround the SEX BARBERSHOP must have been too much, as the sign (seen above in a tweet from Capital Fringe) has been repaired. Its now more mundane message announces the presence of a UNISEX BARBERSHOP.

Local News Brief: Bardo May Close if 2nd Location Approved & WaPo on Halal Guys

Photo courtesy of Bardo

Barred in DC drew attention yesterday to the fact that the owners of Trinidad's Bardo (1200 Bladensburg Road) may close their location here if they are approved to open their new venture Bardo River Brewery according to their proposal. This appears to be related to conflict of interest restrictions in the DC Code, that state that "No licensee under a manufacturer's or wholesaler's license shall hold a license of any other class or kind." The issue is mentioned on pages 5, 91, and 92 of a 155 page transcript from the August 10th ABC Board hearing. Bardo noted in a tweet that the restriction simply means the same individual cannot hold both a manufacturer's license and a tavern license. Meaning that the Trinidad location would "NOT have to close." The transcript is not short, but it is both interesting, and a quick read. I've left a few highlight below.

Local News Brief: Sex Barbershop Sign Offends CM Alexander & Fire at the Starburst

A tweet from Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander

The well known, and much loved, Sex Barbershop sign (actually a partly broken sign that reads UNISEX BARBERSHOP) caused some confusion for Councilmember Yvette Alexander who recently spotted it in her travels down Florida Avenue. Alexander is finishing the remaining months of her term as the Ward 7 Councilmember after losing a bid for re-election to Vincent Gray. She tweeted asking DCRA to look into the business and sign. In a follow-up tweet she added "They need to change it! It's not appropriate especially with those scarlet letters." Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen responded saying the sign, which is located in his Ward, has been like that for a while and not seeming particularly concerned. The sign is frequently photographed by those who pass it, and it has prompted many a smile or joke from locals. Alexander is probably the first person I've seen express offense at it. A reporter from the Washington City Paper followed up with the owner of the barbershop, and the resulting piece is fabulous.