February 9, 2006
The Weekly Feed: Veritas Edition
John Harvard's Brew House Has Dropped Out
It looks like the District can't even keep sub-par brewpubs. Already a eighth-year senior, John Harvard's Brew House on Pennsylvania and 13th Streets NW has closed its doors. With the phone dead and its banishment from the mothersite, it looks like the Ad Board has asked it to take a loooooong leave of absence.
DCist had mixed feelings about the place. I'd return for bit of post-college nostalgia, but the place never kept up with its flagship big-brother in Harvard Square. With beer ranging from Budweiser clones to approximations of Murphy's Stout, as well as from honey to pumpkin to blueberry, the idea of the D.C. Johnny Harvard's was nice, but it couldn't carry out its promises. Service was habitually poor, the food was too greasy, and the design was completely incongruous with the restaurant's vibe.
Where does that leave us? Are there any really good brewpubs left in D.C.? Capitol City Brewing Company brews its own, but, candidly, we don't find it all that special. District Chophouse occasionally has some pretty good beer (like its Bourbon Stout), but it's a chain owned by Rock Bottom, Inc. And don't even get us started on Gordon Biersch. We see an opening here, entrepreneurial D.C.; don't make us drive to the suburbs! We can't stumble home from there.
Jaleo's Paella Festival Around the Corner
José Andrés is making a real fortnight of it. Starting on February 20 and lasting until March 5 is Jaleo's fourth annual Paella Festival. Happy hours at all three Jaleo locations during the festival will feature free paella samplings from guest chefs Juan Guillén and Emilia Belmonte. The two will bring recipes such as mushroom-squid black rice paella and lobster-chicken paella from their restaurant in Santa Pola, on Spain's Mediterranean Coast. There will also be a special event at each location, including a private dinner in Bethesda on the 21st, a meet-and-greet with the guest chefs in D.C. on the 22nd, and a dinner and wine-tasting on the 23rd in Crystal City. If you have a pit in your stomach for some saffron rice or just some sangria, call (202) 628-7949 for more information.
Free Martini and Champagne Tasting
Man, do we wish Friendship Heights were closer. Paul's Wine & Liquors at 5205 Wisconsin Avenue NW is hosting a free Champagne and martini tasting Friday from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. We're a little flabbergasted. Free? Really? Wow. All you interns/college students/people looking for some free bubbly might want to plan to meet up on the Metro. Tell Paul hi for us.
Morou in His Own Words
The WaPo has a really interesting interview with Morou, the chef at Jack Abramoff's now-defunct Signatures (why are they still paying for a Web site?). Morou makes it clear that he was never focused on the politics of the whole Abramoff affair, saying he doesn't wish to "get involved in something [he doesn't] understand." He says that Jack was "one the best bosses" he's had, which leaves a little bit of a bad taste in our mouths. But we suppose it's possible to be an awesome boss and a duplicitous felon at the same time. Morou does get points for commitment to his staff, however. Evidently, he spent time after the shuttering calling around to place his staff in other restaurants. We understand that it's the way of the trade, but it's classy nonetheless. We look forward to Morou landing a good spot (or opening his own!) so we can try his handiwork without worrying about the taint of Abramoff.
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Last year there were rumors of an Old Dominion Brew Pub opening on the 9th street side of the Convention Center. I haven't heard of the status since. It was even mentioned on the Post's Going Out Guru's Blog last year.
Both the John Harvards and Dean and Deluca at the corner of 13th and E closed within the last 4 months. I thought perhaps they were making room for a new restaurant covering both spaces (the D&D space was always kinda crappy, but if the two places combined it would provide some sunlight for John harvard's space). But as of right now there's a sign on the doors saying the space is available, which means there's no one already planning on going in there.
I'm sorry to see John Harvard's go, but with elephant castle a block away, I'm not THAT sorry.
What do you have against Gordon Biersch?
For those of you willing to make the trek out to the 'burbs, Sweetwater Tavern (Falls Church and farther out) brews their own. Shenandoah Brewing Co in Alexandria is not only a brewpub, but also allows people to brew their own.
Yeah. What do you have against Gordon Biersch -- which is a combination of two restaurants started by independent entrepreneurs and well respected in their home towns: Big River Brewing Co. in Chattanooga, TN and Gordon Biersch in San Francisco. They kept the beer name, as it was actually German trained brewers that started it, and added Big Rivers great food and service expertise. Can you tell I DO like it?
By far, my favorite brewpub in the DC area is DuClaw (www.duclaw.com/). However, with the closest location in Bowie, it's a bit of a trek. I'd be exceptionally pleased if they opened a location that were at least inside the beltway, bonus points if metro-accessible.
In defense of John Harvard's they did have one really good appetizer...it was like an asian version of a quesadilla (egroll material instead of a tortilla) with pulled pork and a sweet/spicy marmalade bbq sauce.
Franklin's in Hyattsville is by far the best local brew.
DuClaw has a brewpub? Sweet! I tried some of it at the Mid-Atlantic Beer Festival and really took to it.
(Unfortunately, as a city-dwelling Metro rider, Bowie is about as accessible to me as the the moon. Ah, well.)
BeerDrinker - hmmm, I haven't tried Franklin's, but I've heard good things. I suppose I should recant and say that DuClaw is the best among the ones I've tried.
cminus - glad you agree. DuClaw's beer is excellent, and the food is brewpub-ish but I think it's a step above a lot of brewpubs. I agree Bowie is a bad location -- even as an Arlington-dwelling car driver, Du Claw is about the only thing that could ever pull me to Bowie, and I'd go there a lot more if it was convenient. In a perfect world, Du Claw reads DCist and now realizes there's a market for them in more central locations :)
John Harvard's sucked, but it was one of the few relatively inexpensive dinner places in that area. Now getting food during/after a late night at the office is that much tougher.
now that I know that Gordon Biersh is the same as Big River I will actually not dis it the next time someone suggests we go there. I loved going to Big River when I went to school in TN.
Poor John Harvard's. I was one of the people who opened the restaurant back in 1997. It was a great concept and a sibling of some pretty successful establishments in Philly, Boston, Atlanta, and other cities. Unfortunately, it suffered from what was a poor location back then (in '97, the area was pretty desolate after 5:00), which caused the home office to avoid much inestment in the place. That was followed by the sale of the chain to a larger restaurant corporation that valued the bottom line over food, beverage, and service standards. As a result, all three suffered.
The last time I was in there I was shocked and appauled at the appearance of the space and the service staff (both looked to be in disrepair), and the food went from fresh ingredients to what aspired to be T.G.I.Fridays.
It saddens me to see something that I and other poured our souls into just sort of petered out. It did enjoy a brief period of relative success, but it was time to go.
Poor John Harvard's. I was one of the people who opened the restaurant back in 1997. It was a great concept and a sibling of some pretty successful establishments in Philly, Boston, Atlanta, and other cities. Unfortunately, it suffered from what was a poor location back then (in '97, the area was pretty desolate after 5:00), which caused the home office to avoid much inestment in the place. That was followed by the sale of the chain to a larger restaurant corporation that valued the bottom line over food, beverage, and service standards. As a result, all three suffered.
The last time I was in there I was shocked and appauled at the appearance of the space and the service staff (both looked to be in disrepair), and the food went from fresh ingredients to what aspired to be T.G.I.Fridays.
It saddens me to see something that I and other poured our souls into just sort of petered out. It did enjoy a brief period of relative success, but it was time to go.
I didn't know where to post this, but I would like to know what is the status of a new Stoney's bar opening? I heard they might open another bar but don't know if that is true?
Sigh. And once again, I am moved to bow my head and take a moment of silence for Bardo Rodeo. Dremo's offers some great beer, but it's a shadow of its former self.
I liked Franklin's a lot for quite a while. But then suddenly I had a long series of very disppointing experiences where the beer was, IMO, overthought and off the mark. I haven't been there in about a year, but if it is back on track I'll definitely be headed out there!
Bardo?! Yeah it was great for the first year, but those folks never learned how to celan a tap.
Gordon Biersch is cool, but for beer, even if it isn't a brew pub, I'll stick with the Brickskeller.
Good riddance to bad garbage. Stopped going to Harvards in 2000: a couple of the beers were ok, most overpriced, and the food just hit the dirt. Can't blame them for peddling overpriced junk tho, with the cost of rent in that part of town. That doesn't mean I have to buy it.
And that other crappy brewpub in Old Town closed as well. It used to be an alright place, then the place just fell apart. I went in there during the last snowstorm and they had space heaters on because the central heat was busted. And they had nothing to drink but ales; not a single lager. The only good part was that I ordered a cheap steak and they screwed up and sent me the sirloin. Whatever.
What they need to do is re-open Stoneys as a brewpub in a cheaper part of town, like H Street NE. It would fit right in with the new bars opening there.
What they need to do is re-open Stoneys as a brewpub in a cheaper part of town, like H Street NE. It would fit right in with the new bars opening there.
I will say this about John Harvard's, they had some really good bread that they would serve before the meal... warm and soft and good taste mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
That Dean and Deluca's was pitiful. I walked in there one morning and it was dead and everyone just ignored us, so we left. Horrible location.