November 30, 2005
District Gentrification: Restaurants and Real Estate
In gentrifying neighborhoods from U Street to Upshur, top-notch D.C. chefs and restaurateurs are jockeying for prime positions. Along the U Street corridor, Al Tiramisu owner Luigi Diotaiuti has opened Al Crostino and Saied Azali followed suit with Viridian, Perrys' sibling venture. Nora Pouillon of the eponymous Nora and Asia Nora allegedly has her eye on 14th Street for a new place (U Nora, perhaps?) and James Beard nominee Ann Cashion of Cashion's Eat Place will open Taqueria De Flores on 11th Street in Columbia Heights in fall 2006.
What is propelling D.C.’s star chefs and established proprietors to set up shop in corridors where the power set has traditionally feared to tread? Sister publication Gothamist cites a link in New York City between cutting-edge hotspots and real estate stability. Specifically, Tim Zagat, in the City Section of the New York Times, notes how "adventurous nightlife seekers set their sights on an out-of-the-way area" -- which then paves the way for restaurants, high-end shops, and finally, residents who can afford to live in revitalized areas.
But in D.C., it seems to have worked the other way around. As written in these pages and others, real estate values in Columbia Heights, Shaw, Logan, Petworth, and U Street skyrocketed long before hipster bars and restaurants took root. Residents, rather than restaurants, have trailblazed onto these streets under the mainstream radar, for better or for worse.
Some lament the "suburbification" of the District because commuters have begun to tread on locals' unique turf. What's more, as Anne Hull recently reported in the Post, some residents fear that District officials have simply ceded land to real estate developers at the expense of long-standing businesses.
Others have embraced restaurants as the spoils of gentrification. They no longer have to trek to Dupont or Cleveland Park for a simple dinner and a drink. Petworth’s Kera Carpenter, the owner of W Domku, told DCist in August that neighbors were so anxious for the place to open that strangers showed up on the doorstep to help her paint. We noted in our subsequent late-summer visits that the plate glass window had been shattered -- perhaps a sign of protest about Upshur Street's changing character or perhaps a sign that things haven't changed that much after all.
Is the onset of restaurants and bars stripping the U Street corridor, Shaw, Columbia Heights, and Petworth of its mom-and-pop shops and its character? Is it infusing commerce and luster into neighborhoods that now need it?
Or are the new arrivals increasing property values -- and property taxes -- squeezing out residents and shop owners who have called these neighborhoods home for decades?
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"Squeezing" out businesses? What local business, the liquor stores? the "takeout" fast food dumps? the crack houses? As a long time Columbia Heights resident, I love all the new places coming in. Petworth, Columbia Heights, etc... where all full of vacant run down lots that are once again being used and loved! And a big credit, at least in Columbia Heights, should go to the Ethiopian community. I'm sick and tired of people acting like these neighborhoods weren't full of abandoned derelict businesses and homes. I'm sick and tired of "community" activists who push the falsehood that Columbia Heights was some kind utopia for low income businesses before whitey showed up.
Here, here, DCdude.
I've yet to read an article where a longtime resident bemoans that fact that their neighborhood is cleaner, safer and provides more amenities.
DCdude -- if that's the case, what do you make of this Washington Post article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/19/AR2005111901109.html
At least as to the U Street Corridor, the article notes that homegrown places such as Ben's Chili Bowl, Lee's Flower and Card Shop, and the New Vegas Lounge, among others, are seeing massive property tax increases that could ultimately do them in. And that places such as the Islander Caribbean are losing their regulars. Or are you limiting your argument to Columbia Heights?
I'm not sure I understand why we should be wary about business people trying to open up businesses. I'm not sure suburbification is the right word, either, as Al Crostino isn't exactly the friendly neighborhood Applebee's. Vibrant cities are made and remade, and while we should be vigilant about making sure that existing businesses and residents aren't muscled out, we shouldn't pretend that new investment is at all a bad thing.
It would be one thing if it were women and minorities that were making headway in these neighborhoods, but come on, Luigi Diotaiutu, Saied Azali, Nora Pouillon, Ann Cashion? This reads like role call for the Senate circa 1794! Oh wait, scratch that. What exactly does gentrification kill? And is shitty graffiti the best way to make your point? When did cleaning up a neighborhood become unethical? I'm all for the little guy making good in the end, but these aren't exactly Chili's and Flinger's restaurants that are moving in. And they aren't exactly replacing barber shops and culturally relevant family businesses that have been around for 40 years. If someone moved into Southeast and added a 'hip' new takeout chinese restaurant or liquor store, would that be gentrification just because it hasn't been there for 10-30 years? Gentrification is too subjective a word. It's like hipster. Just what exactly is a 'hipster' and why are they 'gentrifying' all of these neighborhoods?
I agree with DCDude and I think he is talking about C-Heights. Guess what the new Target is taking place of? A sketchy, vacant lot and some boarded-up storefronts. The new Torti Gallas development near the metro is, again, replacing a vacant lot. As a single woman who moves around frequently in the area, I'm glad that gentrification means increased activity in what are currently poorly-lit, unkempt spaces. And believe me, Target isn't "squeezing out" many local businesses, because I have to zipcar up to Prince George's Plaza to buy stuff like a sleeping bag and trash cans.
I also think that the number of venerable, older businesses is sufficiently small that a property tax break for them could quickly solve everyone's problems with a minimal revenue loss.
But I guess the issue for me is - yeah even if some of these new restaurants are local (well most of them are, I guess), if a 15-year DC resident can't afford to eat at them, ....? Y'know?
Maggie Moo's in my Adams Morgan neighborhood serves $5 ice cream. I never go. It's a waste of space, as far as I am concerned.
"Gentrification" occurs right after a "hipster" notices other "hipsters" moving into their previously low-rent/underdeveloped neighborhood.
Let's not be so quick to write this off as just a tax issue. I think that even without a tax break, 'older' businesses would be able to make up any lost revenue with increased traffic brought in by new development as well as the leverage to increase prices with increased demand. Don't even try to tell me that the New Vegas Lounge isn't thanking their stars for the revitalization of the neighborhood. Let's get to the crux of the issue and that's race. The bottom line is one thing: african-american communities are being displaced from their neighborhoods. Whether or not this is inevitable is up to debate. But if these new restaurants and shops were being opened by blacks, you'd have a whole different ballgame. If you want to lay blame, steer clear of the people who are actually moving in and taking the ititiative to rebuild the area. Focus on the government for not doing enough to give the existing communities the resources to regenerate themselves. Or the communities themselves. Where in the hell was Shiloh Baptist church for the past thirty years? Shiloh could have a fleet of Vegetates right about now, and all African-American owned. You don't hear anything from them until someone has moved in and actually done something good in the neighborhood. It's ridiculous.
The property tax situation is mostly, but not entirely, over blown. Ben's especially, it's always full, their not hurting for cash. Trust me, I've spent a boat-load there. The Islander might be losing it regulars, but it's gaining a new following. Plenty of "neighborhood" businesses survive in other parts of the city that have higher property taxes. What many of these "neighborhood" business folks have failed to realize is that with more places in the neighborhood to draw people in they will profit in the long run. And, I'm not against some kind of tax amnesty for long time established businesses. My point is that there is plenty of room! We still have dozens of boarded up stores in C-Heights alone!
Who decides which venerable old businesses would qualify for a tax break? Only 15-year residents?
Actually, I'd like to bitch about "gentrification" in Clarendon. Gone is Virginia Hardware, Washington Bikes, and any number of small locally-owned businesses and restaurants (stand tall, Galaxy Hut!). So what did we get in return? Goddamn Cheesecake Factory, Barnes & Noble and another oh so needed tanning salon.
(And an Apple store that keeps costing me money . . .)
Um, I didn't mention anything about 15-year tax breaks.
Um, I didn't mention anything about tax breaks.
Let's not confuse Maggie Moo's with real food. That ice cream is the worst, most overpriced food in the country. The fact that food, which isn't too great in the District to begin with, is so expensive at mediocre restaurants is a different issue altogether.
Dining deals exist but not in DC. Philly's got the best cheap dining in the area. If only more restaurants like those in the city would open here.
The whole gentrifcation/yuppification thing is so played out. I'm not saying there aren't real problems here, but the rhetoric has begun to overshadow the problem and possible solutions. The fact is we live in an area with a growing economy and are adding tons of new jobs, and therefore tons of new residents. But, according to some "City" mouthpieces, if people move to the suburbs they are (insert your own insults too) selfish, traffic causing, environment killing, DUMB suburbanites AND if they move to the city then they are suburban yuppie gentrifiers who are destroying the essence of city life. Come on, get over it.
In 2007, look for my bleeding-edge, indie rock themed check-cashing places. Need your money today? Yo la tengo, bitches!
I find that once gentrification moves into a given neighborhood the basic amenities available to long time residents become harder and harder to find. I used to be able to buy weed, coke and smack off the street in Columbia Heights and now I'm forced to go to NE, WTF?
Also look for my new band: Fleet of Vegetates. We'll be signed to Dischord any minute now...
Clap Your Hands Say Cash?
I see ads.
food, which isn't too great in the District to begin with
Oh? Then, pray tell, where can great food be found in the U.S.? Just NYC and LA?
Just as one commenter said the gentrification/yuppiefication discussion is played-out, I would add that so are the people who feel the need to put down DC in ways so categorical and unjustifiable ways.
dcistJason, that was hilarious. You've earned your paycheck today.
Bitchez, It's all about W Street. Get with it.
I sort of liken moments of transitions in neighborhoods to a crush:it's so great to anticipate the possibilities. The changes are really seductive. I, for one, am so happy people like Ann Cashion are moving in. I actually don't really think of her as an establishment chef. She doesn't have a PR machine behind her; she's all grassroots. Can't wait for her 19 butchers.
However, what's to say that Applebees isn't far behind two or three years from now? Do I want to deal with Target and Bed Bath and Beyond? Very convenient, but kind of spiritless, in comparison to Cashion, Nora, and even whatever was there well before I lived here.
Look at Penn Corridor as four years ahead-- for every half way interesting place, there are two places that aren't so interesting.
And as for hipsters, I'm so done with the classifying thing. If people want to wear pegged jeans, cowboy boots and legwarmers, who cares? Yet another reason I'm happy to be here and not NY anymore, where it's so much more ubiquituous.In writing this, I'm not condemning them-- or people who flip their collars, or guys who wear there blue blazers and pleated levi dockers. I'm sort of presenting the sides, and working through it myself.
Thanks for the comments.
The Colubia Heights Target isn't just replacing a vacant lot, anyone who's been in the neighborhood more than a couple monthes would know the Waffle Shop used to be on the corner. A local, minority-owned business, forced out by target. There was also a dollar store and a laundry-mat, the absence of which makes life much harder for local residents who don't live in housing with it's own laundry facilities (as our friend scottie clearly does).
The Torti Gallas development is taking the place of a lot that used to house the Cloumbia Heights Marketplace. Perhaps new residents engaged a bit more in their community, they would know this.
Random comments:
It is a shame to have to endure "spitiless" stores, but you can't buy everything at Storehouse or even Home Rule.
It is inaccurate to talk about the prices in the 14th & U rising before the bars and restaurants came in - where were you in 1994 when "The New U" was all the rage?
It is also odd to speak of businesses being pushed out when there are vacant buildings all over 14th & U - including several at, or practically at, the actual corner of 14th & U - what has to be the 'Tiffany' locaiton of the neighborhood.
Hey! It's just like williamsburg brooklyn.
Food in D.C.:
Come on people...just accept the fact that compared to New York, L.A., and San Fran, dollar for dollar, D.C. is lacking. This isn't a blanket put-down of D.C. as some may have alluded to. It's really just a matter of economics. In places like NYC, if you want to survive as a restaurant, you have to serve excellent food at reasonable prices otherwise people will just go to one of the 200 other good places that are within walking distance. In D.C. the concentration of food establishments just isn't there yet. But one day it will be. Until then, come to terms with the fact that a $22 piece of fish likely won't blow you away in our fair city.
So what to do then? I guess the answer is to never eat at an Applebee's, Maggie Moo's or Cheesecake Factory. And never shop at a Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond. Unless you Zipcar your ass out to PG County (or Arlington for that matter, unless you actually LIVE in Arlington, in which case, find another suitable place to patronize these businesses that isn't in your own backyard). This way, the evil places that we don't want to admit we're shopping or eating at will be fooled into believing that their revenue is coming from the suburbs and they'll just build more of them out there. We'll be a little D.C. utopia of non-franchised bliss. So when you go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and they ask you for your zip code, for god's sake: LIE. But you know what? They'll buy up your non-franchised restaurants like Al Crostini or Chipotle and they'll mass market them, or they'll come up with a new product line like West Elm and they'll stick it in your neighborhood and you won't know that your shopping at Pottery Barn for hipsters and eating at a Fresh-mex McDonalds. Or the guy who has a great idea on the grass roots level will expand his little Cake stand into a 'fleet of Cakeloves' (review on Pitchfork next week) and you won't want to eat there because he sold out and you always thought the cakes were too dry anyways. In a perfect world, Ian MacKaye would be a real estate developer and not a rock musician, and growth would be just the way everyone wants it. Well everyone except for 99.9% of the people out there.
I totally agree with these comments. I mean, a few years ago I could have gotten a 5 bedroom free standing home in the East Village of Georgetown for $2.7 million. Even if JFK lived there, it'd still be under $3.0 million.
BUT NOW?! That same house is clear of $4.0 million. I even had to sell my Aspen lodge to get it! I mean, I still have my place at Vail, but that's a small pittance (I mean, the 10th bedroom is really more of a walk-in closet).
So I say down with Gentrification! It's making it nearly impossible for a simple billionaire like me to live as I've grown a custom to.
*you're not your. I disgust myself.
OK, so DC lacks affordable places where people with families on moderate incomes can eat, but they'd better not try opening an Applebees?
I think we're hearing from a pretty thin slice of the demographic pie here.
Hey Blue Blazer, Pleated Khakis,
Surely you watch the Simpsons, sarcasm is dead. And even if it wasn't, picking on the Georgetown set is like hunting cattle with a shotgun. I don't even think khakis are fashionable with the billionaire set anymore. Please try harder.
"There was also a dollar store and a laundry-mat, the absence of which makes life much harder for local residents who don't live in housing with it's own laundry facilities...." I hear that drive-by shootings, such as the one that occurred on 13th street about a year ago, also really cramp the style of local residents. How exactly do you define "local resident" anyway? I am a local resident of Columbia Heights, and I hold out the hope that some of my property taxes will be used to restore decaying Cardozo High School. Are you seriously wringing your hands over the loss of a dollar store? Have you not seen the new Giant?? I see plenty of "local residents" shopping there. They really don't seem to mind it...
Where can you get a decent slice of demographic pie in D.C.? Oh wait, probably at Applebee's. I guess it's not so bad after all. Mmmmm, pie.
Ok, Columbia Heights, Target isn't pushing any minority business out. Target didn't buy the land. Target isn't developing the site. Target didn't get development plan approval from the neighborhood and DC zoning.
DC approved this planned unit development (PUD). So, in my mind, DC govt., neighbors in Columbia Heights and the developer are responsible. They are responsible for pushing any businesses out.
I'm just glad Target will be a block from my new place...that cost an arm and a leg.
Who says I was being sarcastic?
And besides, everyone who's anyone knows you hunt cattle with an elephant gun. Preferably with a comically large nozzle.
But then again, you sound like a mere millionaire, so what would you know?
[oh and if you thought my actual target was the Georgetown set, then you've got to try harder yourself]
Just NYC and LA?
No, but D.C. obviously has a long way to go as a food town - there *are* some great restaurants here, but there's also far too many where they're mainly selling the decor, and/or get by stroking the egos of the rich and clueless (see Woodley Park's godawful Sake Club for a perfect example). We can definitely do better.
Question: What does it mean when you say a business was "forced" out? How does that happen?
It's my assumption that business owners either sell their properties - if they own them - or move because they are unable to make rent - if they lease.
Oh my lord!
Now we're blaming "gentrification" on restaurants?!?!? I guarantee you most of us who actually live in Columbia Heights, the U Street corridor, Logan Circle, and Petworth WELCOME additional dining options.
Oh...and The Wash Post story on Saint Ex and the fall of Paradise Liquors had to be the biggest waste of print ever.
The lack of affordable housing is a serious issue. BUT lamenting the closure of rundown liquor stores and Waffle Shacks as victims of gentrification makes a mockery of the real issues at stake.
everyone is so funny here. especially you, "blue blazer" -- "mere millionaire?"-- where does one one find these types of retorts? do tell.
kudos to all of you on your comedic prowess. the readers of dcist have you to thank for your meaningful contribution to this tiresome subject.
Kitty's got claws. I remember back on the farm when we used to hunt cattle with machetes and hack off the legs at the knees. We'd let them bleed to a slow death while they writhed around in a pool of their own bovine blood. Wait, if you weren't being sarcastic, then how could you have a 'target' at all? Are you backtracking, Blazer? Nobody likes a backtracker. I know that feeling you're having. Where you typed a comment that you thought was witty at the time and then you read it after it's posted and you think, god, I'm a dumbshit. It's ok, it happens to everybody;)
Jay: I see reading further wasn't in your interests. I specifically did not mention NYC or LA in my critique of DC food. Rather, I said Philly is a great place for food. It's really good. And it's not expensive. And there are tons of restaurants. (The BYO is a bit of a problem, but eh, PA blue laws.)
I'm "putting down" DC food because, well, it's not that great considering the prices. Chicago, New Orleans...Austin...those are good food cities. DC is not a great food cities.
As for the Applebee's discussion, there are, in other cities, plenty of cheap restaurants that serve good food and aren't chains as crappy as Applebee's. Local dining doesn't have to be over-the-top expensive. Hell, even the diners in DC are more expensive than they should be. And it's not a put down; it's just my analysis/opinion.
Come on people...just accept the fact that compared to New York, L.A., and San Fran, dollar for dollar, D.C. is lacking. This isn't a blanket put-down of D.C. as some may have alluded to.
I assume you're responding to me, since I said it was a put-down. But I would say you're basically just proving my point. I fully admit that DC's food options are lesser than NYC (and presumably LA, though I haven't spent enough time there to know for sure). My point is that, why does anything worse than LA and NYC go in the category of "suck"? Realize that the majority of the country does not live in NYC or LA. I would say compared to 90% of the country, we have pretty good dining options here.
There was one good line in that Wash Post article, I believe from a Saint-Ex bartender: "Cities cannot be ghettos." By ghetto, I assume he just meant boarded-up, graffiti-covered and trashy, which still describes parts of 14th street. Otherwise, I agree -- what was the point of that totally uninformative story?
I would say compared to 90% of the country, we have pretty good dining options here.
Have you seen that 90% of the country? Because really we don't. There's no regional food that we can lay claim (a la Southern BBQ, Kansas City BBQ, Texas steak). There are few good ethnic areas (no Italian areas like in Philly) and Chinatown is a joke. Granted, Ethiopian is on the rise, and Thai in the surrounding areas is good, but that's about it.
Seriously, though, Jay, why are you so defensive? In the end, this is just an opinion, and a lot of people feel DC's food is subpar for the size of the city while others like it. Food is always an opinion.
Well if I were one to be embarrassed for my posts, I sure as hell would be rosy cheeked over a phrase like "sarcasm's dead".
Ben: I did read further. You said Philly had good cheap food. I didn't assume you were just saying overall that Philly had better food, as that would be a different statement having nothing to do with cheapness. I can see where DC may not have the best bargain/value on food, but to say that food here isn't great is a whole different statement.
And, on both the "great food" and "value" statements, I would cite Kinkhead's as an example of DC not being as bleak as you describe. How many other restaurants ranked so high nationally offer entrees at the (relatively) low $25-$35 range of Kinkhead's?
See, that's where you differ with most people. $35 for an entree is not cheap, and even $25 is pushing the very upper boundaries of cheap.
Ben: Saw your most recent post, after I'd already posted mine. DC definitely doesn't have a regional cuisine, obviously, but does that automatically mean restaurants here can't be good?
As for the defensiveness, I agree food is opinion, but it just seems a bit shortsighted to dismiss the entire area's restaurants. And, I was more reacting to your original lack of explanation behind your opinion. Now you have added more explanation, and I can see where you are coming from on your opinion.
See, that's where you differ with most people. $35 for an entree is not cheap, and even $25 is pushing the very upper boundaries of cheap.
I said relatively. Given the fact that it is a restaurant that routinely makes the list of the top restaurants in America. A list where many of the restaurants hover more in the upper 2 digit or into the 3 digit ranges.
That's the best you've got? Surely you could have pulled something better out of my posts than that? I mean come on, I used that little ;) winking thing. Who in their right mind does that. That was a slow, arching softball right over the plate. And what about the name I'm using, Arcade Fire t-shirt? How trite and sarcastic could I be? I could have gone out of my way and actually looked up some relevant indie-rock band that's not oh-so early 2005, but I'm just lazy (or way behind). Man, I gave you every opportunity to school me. But you hit me with my 'sarcasm's dead' quote. Ouch. Try self-deprecation, it's alive and kicking.
I agree with Ben, $25 is not cheap. We've got plenty of restaurants with decent entrees for $25-$35 (can you think of a restaurant that has the gall to charge more than $35 for most of their entrees?)
I think people are thinking more in the $10-$15 range. The sort of tiny place that is all over NYC. Honestly I think Adam's Morgan has a few of them (that New Orleans place, that crepe place). Not stellar food, but not Applebees.
And I thought the whole problem with the run-down places in DC is that there are not enough supermarkets. There are plenty of places for the residents to get cheap meals, it's just that they're all fast food.
For all the whining about the gentrification and downfall of Columbia Heights, no one mentions the positive spin-off effects from accelerated neighborhood investment - aka gentrification. First of all, Target, Giant, etc. would not have considered the neighborhood if it weren't for the National Capital Revitalization Corporation, D.C.'s public economic development entity and co-developer of these projects. They deserve more credit/blame for the Columbia Heights situation than "hipsters" or "gentrifiers." Back to my point... sure the Waffle Shop and marketplace are no more. What about the 15,000 square feet of space allocated at below-market rents for local and minority-owned specialty retailers? The restoration of Tivoli Theater? Hundreds on residential units set aside for low income residents, including a 60-unit facility for low income seniors? These are public goods that everyone can enjoy, and I also argue that the same applies to Target and Giant.
Very good points, Raw. There are many benefits to development in a neighborhood, if it's done right.
I think that half the people who use DCist to question/complain about gentrification are just trying to fulfill some need for urban drama in their lives. Or perhaps that have seen "Rent" one too many times...
The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I kept my finger outta there.
I’d have to agree with Ben. And as far as I can tell, the main reason the new local restaurants are not great a value is that the owners want mostly to only turn a profit, therefore the servings are sorta small and the overall feeling of dining in the establishment is one of rush in and rush out. That is what the owners want their patrons to do. The Diner is great, and it is only slightly overpriced. It could be worse, and other restaurant owners could do worse than emulating The Diner’s owners. Oh, and even $25 for an entrée is definitely not cheap!
Finally, is there not a difference between gentrification and community-based economic development?
My point exactly, Ralph. Well said.
Melissa,
You might consider capping your reviews of the state of DC with more pointed questions than variations on "what do you think?" Vague talk about the changes rings of the Plan and other myths offered in the process of denying that the market has simply changed, and that people now are willing to pay more to live on U. In our society, the people who are willing to pay more get the good housing.
The question to be asked, then, is whether we are so concerned about diversity on a neighborhood level that we are willing to alter the market through legislation. Property tax abatements for long-term businesses would be possible, though I'm happier letting current neighborhood residents vote with their feet whether a business is still valuable to them. Strict zoning against box stores is another tactic. Affordable housing is the most important means. Each of these cost money--how much is diversity worth to us?
On another note, I think that it's an interesting observation that businesses have followed more affluent people into DC's neighborhoods, rather than vice versa. Why would that be?
The post write-up was terrible. A liquor store loses its lease? A church whose congregation members all live elsewhere moves out and makes millions? St. Ex is so popular on weekends that the owner can't drink there anymore and has to use his profits to buy another place? Cry me a river.
Here's hoping five more great bars on 14th to handle the all the people who think it's a cool place to hang out.
a list of the top restaurants in America ... where many [entrees] hover in the upper 2 digit or into the 3 digit ranges
Really? There are restaurants in New York and San Fran and Chicago where the entrees cost over $100. Somehow I doubt it . . .
There is good food in the DC area at all price ranges, but it's definitely true that the entire region is lacking in distinctive local "foodways". Of course, it's also true that no other American cities can really compete with SF and NY when it comes to restaurant selection, diversity and even quality. I find it strange that so many people feel the need to make absolute, overarching statements ("DC food sucks," "No, DC food rulez!"), when the truth is obviously somewhere in the middle.
Here's the thing. Even our FAST food isn't very good. What I wouldn't give for a burger made at Carl's Jr. or a California Burger King. The food was fresh, hot and well made. It sucks when even the "bad" food is awful. There isn't a sense of quality that permeates the food culture and the preparation of food -- at ALL levels -- in DC. I'm not sure if that's because of the customers or because there isn't the proper oversight.
In SF not only could you find cheap beer, but cheap Sushi, veggie burgers at McDonald's. It's really a shangri-la of food that DC people don't really even understand. And as a Chicagoan, believe me, I think DC food is pretty okay. It just doesn't live up to a REAL food town.
What if the Diner was owned by Applebee's? And there was a Diner just like it in Baltimore and Minneapolis and San Fran? Would it still be great? These arguments seem so ridiculous to me. Is there anyone else here who finds the phrase $35 entree to be a bit absurd? How about we do a taste test, DCist? A 'Cowboy Burger' from Applebee's (it looks pretty damn good on the menu) vs. the $10 Palena burger. I'll bet any one of you would have a hard time picking one over the other. And I'll probably get shit for saying that, so why don't you just have a Pepsi challenge. All I'm saying is if Applebee's is gross, don't eat there. I've never even been, personally, so I can't judge. And as for me, I won't spend $35 on an entree. Even if I'm in New York.
frankly i'm really surprised that in this whole food argument new orleans has hardly been talked about. in my opinion, new orleans offers the best food there is in this country. no comparison.
Nate - in my experience, there are MANY places in NYC, LA, and Chicago, where one can spend near or over $100 on an entree (more true about LA than the other two), but frankly its really only something you see in the largest cities in the US, not so much in DC.
As for the lack good cheap food i will admit that you can't really compare it to NYC or LA, but also you can't compare DC to NYC or LA. And you can't even really compare DC to Philly either, seeing that at last count Philly was about 3 times the size and over a hundred years older than DC. That being said there are some great places to get good cheap food in this city, it just requires going out and looking for it and trying new places instead of reading reviews and bitching about how there is nowhere to get good cheap food. Try going to the other side of the river too. If a scrawny lil white/hispanic kid from Cleveland Park isn't too good to go across the river I don't see why the rest of you should be.
DC1974- I hope that in your time in chicago you spent less of your fast food money at mcdonalds and more of it at place like harold's or one of the millions of great hot dog places that that city has to offer.
Gentrification is a lie painting something that's well-loved and popular with a nasty brush. You can't gentrify something no one wants and why should you stop people from getting what they want? Why can't people get the house they love, eat the kind of food they love, etc? What's wrong with that? nothing.
The first weekend I moved into Mt Pleasant 10+ years ago a teenager made fun of me- "oh no", he mocked "The Man's moving in!" "I'm not the man, I responded, I just graduated from college." "Everyone who went to college is automatically The Man" he said.
oh.
so even little old you can be a gentrifier if the original residents are lame enough.
>The Colubia Heights Target isn't just replacing a >vacant lot, anyone who's been in the neighborhood >more than a couple monthes would know the Waffle >Shop used to be on the corner. A local, >minority-owned business, forced out by target.
WHAT? The Waffle Shop was a chamber of horrors. A neighbor claimed she was harrassed regularly by some dude inside who would come out and follow her. The restaurant was unclean, gave friends of mine serious food poisoning, and I'm so very glad that trashy place is gone! I only hope someone would save the sign.
Gentrification? Whatever this really means, with the bowing out of Anthony Williams and some of his backers already up on federal charges and add the new $400 million scandal unfolding, expect to see in the 2006 election results more Marion Barry types to win the local city council races but keep your eyes pealed on the Ward 3 race for Saint Son-of-a-Bitch A/k/a Jonathan Rees as he is talking windfall taxes on real estate gougers and expanding the rent control laws on anyone who rents even a single unit along with tax breaks for small businesses. While many would cheer this as I do, he will cause a very divided city council that has made a lot of promises out of their ass and never delivery and this will cause some serious fireworks at City Hall sort to say because if we think David Catania is a real ball buster then none of you know what a ball buster is until you get a load of Saint Son-of-a-Bitch Rees. Oh he is what most of us would love in a politician but expect to see him move towards taking steps to stop the exodus of certain classes of people by making other council members shit or get off the pot!
that's all.
Nope Meyer Lansky is not Rees but somebody who likes him but wonders if he may be a bit too head strong.
When will they learn that no one gives a damn about this Rees chap? And why is it that even his "haters" write like the smart kid in high school who thought he could really rock the world with his writing so he dropped out and took a lot of speed and oh boy the jack d. and while everyone else was applying themselves to getting smarter including his bonehead friend who is now getting his first novel published the dick he was taking speed and once people learn his potential wow will they be impressed?
Anon,
The way I see it, no matter what I post, some one under many aliases comes on and has some criticism to offer up.
I had a woman write me saying that she sees these negative posts as being written by some one who obviously fears me because if I was all that and less, then why bother and that made her take a hard look at me, what I offer and she concluded that she will vote for me because of what I stand for but if it had not been for this/these jerk(s) constantly attacking me, she would not had taken the time to look. Thus she summed it up by saying that those who hate me clearly fear me and they are defeating themselves by making people want to know who I am and start looking.
So I say, hate me all you want and thanks because that hate is turning into supporters who see what I have to offer talks their language.
Dream on, dude. Hate turning into supporters! Ha. And you with a supposed MBA from Columbia University. (I can't WAIT till the press checks into your resume, by the way.)
You started with the aliases and phony posts and spam (and left an ISP trail, early on, to prove it). And now you're reaping what you've so obviously and clumsily sowed. Karma dude. Everyone's been onto you since the day you started spamming Craiglist forums. And blaming other people for it just isn't going to prevent you from getting your comeuppance in 06. I know you won't give up, because you're obsessed. But stop and think. What kind of strategy is it to continue to berate, lie, accuse, slander and otherwise act out in the demeaning and ridiculous manner in public forums? Hint: not a really good one. I'm genuinely fascinated by your apparent inability to recognize this.
Hey Rees, I too am turned off by whoever it is that wants to make us believe you are a jerk.
I agree with you that DC would be better off if we lowered the taxes all round, weeded out fraud and waste and stop supporting the same number of government workers today that we had ten years ago when our population was 280,000 more as that is why our taxes are sky high.
I never knew who you were until all of these dumb postings against you made me look at your site and join the yahoo group you are part of and I am like that woman you claim wrote you. I find no fault in your logic of what you want to do.
In sum, I agree all of this bad press has been good for you as we would never have known who you were if it wasn't for these ill postings.
Good luck.
See no sooner than Rees posts something it is like he has a pitbull dog hanging on his leg and like before, it is someone who wishes to be an anonymous writer.
Unless the writer is man enough to show his real face none of us should take what he says seriously.
Why does every decent discussion end up being all about Rees. Why can't DCist simply ban the IP address of Rees (and all of his multiple identity posters) so rational humans can complain about other stuff around the city?
Fed Up with Rees
If you'd witnessed the shameful, threatening posts Rees has put on Craigslist and elsewhere about anyone who criticizes him (including accusing one poster of offering homeless people money to perform sex acts on him, writing to another's employer, and physically threatening another) then you'd understand why so many people go anon when posting about him. We're scared of him.
And Rees? I'm not a man. It's interesting that you always assume ALL your detractors are men. I'm done with you, though. It's like talking to a wall. A crazy, scary wall.
The poster above me is a liar.
At no time did I ever post any of what this person says and there is no proof I did.
This person the above poster is referring to is a Dr. Melvin Blecher where others who were tired of his postings decided to let him know it and started posting ugliness against him whether or not the claims were true.
Yet, I have never done any of the things the above poster claims and the excuse of writing anonymously is a lie too as this person uses that excuse to hype up her/his claim; a claim this person cannot prove to be true but what all of you to believe the lies as a real person would identify who they are and show solid evidence to what they say to be true.
Hey Fed Up,
I do not come here attacking anyone but I am the one being. So maybe we should ban the IP address of those who attack me as I suspect no matter what name is used, it is all the same person.
Well DCist, whose IP address is it?
As for the attacks on my Resume of life, I can prove everywhere I lived, worked or attended school. Some of the reporters who have interviewed me have already had the honor of seeing such proof before they did their story.
Wherefore, I am all the more motivated to take my positive platform and history of making positive contributions to the people because my only opponent has nothing to offer but less thanjh one full year of a work history and the fact that he stole his ideas from Adrian Fenty.
I will always post in my own name if I have something to say and when I do, then quote me and if I say something that is not a fact then bring it to everybody'd attention but please stop with the lies that I did things I did not as that is a cheap shot to try and win votes for yourself!
IF I POST EVEN A CLAIM HERE THAT IT IS A NICE DAY OUTSIDE, MY DETRACTOR WILL COME AND SAY I AM BEING UNTRUTHFUL OR COME WITH SOME NONSENSE THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WEATHER.
All,
After a little sneaking around in our publishing software, I found that Jonathan Rees and Karen Hoffman post from the same IP address. Now, I'm not saying that Jonathan Rees is posting as other people -- heavens no, I am an objective-minded third party observer -- but that's a mighty coincidence.
Martin
DCist.com
PS: Mr. Rees and others, try and keep the discussion on the content of the post.
Jay there is another great place for good food besides LA and NY - SF. I have lived in a few places and as far as great cuisine goes DC really does suck still. Esp in the mid/low priced area. Even the new 'all the rage' places don't get my pallette off very much..
I hope Cashion pulls through with the Mexican food because us Cali folk miss great Mex - Lauriol Plaza is middling to bad and MixTec I always thought is over-rated. You know what is good is Peppitos Tacos on Columbia across from Safeway.
Karen works in the same company as I do but on another floor. Thus we are on the same server, use the same company for our email, etc.
Rees,
Keep typing. You always have an answer don't you. At some point, the lies and tales you spin will catch up with you.
Fed Up.
Of course when you have 600 people working in my organziation and network, not only will they support and vote for me as most live in Ward 3, it shows that I have friends who are tired of the trash and if they want to post something then that is their freedom to do and my detractor can't believe that such won't happen.
Since my detractor seems to post the same message on different blogs or servers but uses a different names in each place, it becomes evident that person wants to make others believe that there are many who think the same when in fact it is just one person who has a long string of aliases.
Did Martin look to see the IP address of those different postings?
Hey Fed Up,
I can always back up what I say but you never can so shout the F Up!
Hey Fed Up,
I can always back up what I say but you never can so Shut Up!
Back to the issue at hand; namely, GENTRIFICATION, some says it is real, others think it is all in the minds of conspiracy buffs and some think it was going to happen anyway no matter what.
Is GENTRIFICATION a part of our free market economy and if YES, why then do we cry?
I believe it came as a device to chase certain minorities out of the city to make way for a certain class of people believed to be a source of higher tax revenues per person than those minorities being chased out.
This is my opinion.
Jonathon,
The last time I checked, 20009 is not in Ward 3, yet that is where your campaign PO Box is located.
I wonder if you really even live in Ward 3?
Penny
DCist, please, this has to stop. Please police these comments. If any of these "people" were to speak about the topic at hand with any regularity, and could offer arguments of any intelligence, I would welcome them. As it is, I see the very useful, usually pointed discussions within the DCist comments section descending into vanity forums for the ignorant and inconsiderate.
DCist, you're in a tough spot: You'd obviously like to leave the comments section free from moderation.
But Rees is clearly beginning to ruin the comments section on DCist, and he's clearly discouraging people from engaging in the kind of intelligent discussion possible in this forum. Just look at what happened to this comment thread.
And, then, he has what seems to be a serious tendency to attack, in these comment sections, those who it appears have had the misfortune of crossing his path online. (We can be pretty confident the comments several hours ago about his opponent, for instance, aren't true -- but that was tame: some of the attacks I've seen are pretty vicious).
Please do us all a favor and ban his IP address. I'm sure a search of previous posts under Rees' personas -- personas that, in just the last few days, have engaged in vulgar, hate-filled rhetoric -- will yield similar findings to the one several hours ago: that the IP address matches that used by Rees. And Rees' explanations will surely be as weak as the one given here. ("Karen", who coincidentally "works" in the same building as Rees, wrote earlier today, "I never knew who you were until all of these dumb postings against you made me look at your site...")
DCist, you're in a tough spot: You'd obviously like to leave the comments section free from moderation.
But Rees is clearly beginning to ruin the comments section on DCist, and he's clearly discouraging people from engaging in the kind of intelligent discussion possible in this forum. Just look at what happened to this comment thread.
And, then, he has what seems to be a serious tendency to attack, in these comment sections, those who it appears have had the misfortune of crossing his path online. (We can be pretty confident the comments several hours ago about his opponent, for instance, aren't true -- but that was tame: some of the attacks I've seen are pretty vicious).
Please do us all a favor and ban his IP address. I'm sure a search of previous posts under Rees' personas -- personas that, in just the last few days, have engaged in vulgar, hate-filled rhetoric -- will yield similar findings to the one several hours ago: that the IP address matches that used by Rees. And Rees' explanations will surely be as weak as the one given here. ("Karen", who coincidentally "works" in the same building as Rees, wrote earlier today, "I never knew who you were until all of these dumb postings against you made me look at your site...")
For what it's worth, the people who flogged the whole "DC-food-sucks-&-costs-too-much" vs. "no-it-doesn't-haven't-you-been-to-Komi" debate to death kind of ruined the thread too.
Good piece. I like the graphic. I do find what is apparently the DCist's love-hate relationship with street art and political graffiti rather amusing, however.
Penny,
I opened my post box in 1990 which is public record. I use to live on 17th Street NW until three years ago but I never gave up the post box!
You are welcome to ask Joe the postmaster at the Kalarama Station as that is public information. I live on Wisconsin Ave, NW next to the Russian Embassy!
Anyway, the BOEE, DMV & Tax & Revenue can attest ass to where I have lived the past three years and I don't hide my records.
----------------------------------------------
Please Ban Rees,
Have you ever worked for a company but never met face to face someone way on the otherside of the complex but you know of them?
I know of Karen but have yet to meet her as she is over in the clinical supervisor's office and I am far away in administration.
I have over 100 people I have never met face to face in my organization because the offices are spread out in DE, DC, MD and VA.
So Karen's claims is valid and people are so quick to assume things but that is because they are so full of themselves and distrust themselve and makes it hard for them to trust others.
The fact is, not everyone in my office knows I am running for public office as I am not running around and telling them.
There is nothing I have said that I can't slap up on a table and prove.
As for my opponent, he is half my age, arrogant, lazy and he has a habit of pissing government officials off with he snotty attitude instead of being polite and showing them the respect they deserve as I do.
Yea, I'll bad mouth my opponent as he needs to learn some degree of respect for his elders, that DC Government employees are not at his beck and call and take off his shirt and tie and break a sweat for what he wants in life like the rest of us have!
Keeping Rees off of here will be the biggest favor anyone's ever done him. Years after he gets the help he so desperately needs, you'll be sparing him the embarassment of looking back on his own posts and realizing just how un-well he was, and how readily and thoroughly he debased himself in public. It's an act of charity, Martin. Seriously.
Unless people are blind, the person(s) behind these nasty attacks on me is my opponent and/or a few in cahoots with him but not once has my opponent ever uttered a word in favor of what he has to offer because he has nothing to offer until he steals the idea for Adrian Fenty's website.
This behavior is standard practice in politics when a candidate has nothing to offer voters and fears the otherside.
See it for what it really is!
Hey Ban Him,
Do you have anything positive to offer other than your last STD exam sheet as you ramble on like Al Capone did in his last days when his syphilis was beyond hope.
Let’s talk issues not if you are capable of such!
REES FOR DC CITY COUNCIL WILL DO SOMETHING POSITIVE TO IMPROVE THE STATE OF DISTRICT POLITICS!
Beginning January 2, 2006, Team Rees will be distributing 20,000 "Mail In Voter's Registration" forms to homes throughout Ward
3 to encourage the 3,000 estimated persons who are eligible to vote but have not registered to become a part of our voting population.
Over a period of two years, we accumulated from around the city these "Mail In Voter's Registration" forms with the intent during
this campaign to really drive home the point that your VOTE DOES COUNT and to bring in new voters to the process.
We believe the low turn out rate in primaries and general elections is caused by many reason but mainly distrust by the public in their
elected officials and a feeling that their vote does not count as elected officials are out for themselves.
In other parts of the world, people are executed, intimidated and denied a right that we
Americans take for granted and we won't appreciate this precious right until one day we don't have it or have it on a very superficial basis.
TEAM REES will blanket Ward 3 with these "Mail In Voters' Registration Cards" along with our campaign advertisement which we believe voters will appreciate.
Jonathan R. Rees
Democrat For Ward 3 City Council
P.O. Box 21422, Washington, DC 20009
Two IP addresses from the same company would not be the same unless they came from the EXACT SAME COMPUTER. Just give up, dude. I just moved to DC; I don't know anything about you. But the fact that I live in Ward 3, will be voting in the next election, and have seen you insult people (with poor grammar and spelling too boot) would make me vote for Dick Cheney if he were running against you.
A Tech,
Wrong, where did you learn your computer skills. I certainly would not retain you for any IT work as you have shown your amateur status.
The people here on DCist are not too smart because DCist is set up where anybody can post here under any name, use any email address and there is no way of verifying it as to whom you think it is. Thus ignorant people like "A Techie" can be easily fooled but that is not hard to do to a dummy. Geez, I need to write a book, "DCist for Dummies like A Techie".
Why don't you write a book instead of wasting our time with your comments? You've managed to ruin a conversation a lot of people were having earlier because you felt the need to hijack someone else's blog for your own self-promotion. Thanks.
I just moved to Columbia Heights one month ago. Can one of the gentrification detractors tell me about things that there are to do in the area? Aside from Columbia Heights Coffee, the Giant and the Salvadoran restaurant on Park Road (across from the Giant) everything else that I do and spend money on that is within close walking distance has (apparently) been in Mount Pleasant.
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