June 12, 2006
The Red & The Black: A New Music Venue for D.C.
You may have heard about the burgeoning of the H Street District. With a slew of bars and music venues on the rise, it's lousy with comparissons to what U Street once was. Tonight marks the opening of one of those new venues, The Red & The Black. DCist first heard about the bar's opening from the band Doveman, after they received a slew of messages from perplexed fans wondering where the heck their show was taking place.
Tonight's the tavern's first night open, as well as their first show, with Doveman and opener David Thomas Broughton. As a note to all of those who plan on checking it out, their first week open is a dry run -- literally. No alcohol will be served until a later date, but they encourage you to stop by The Palace of Wonders next door, whose bar will be open all night. The Red & The Black is a New Orleans-themed bar, so let us know if their Jambalaya is any good.
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ah, good to see they finally have a site up. I talked with Broughton the other day and even he seemed confused about the place
Hmm.. according to the Atlas, there will be no less than 6 bars on that one block of H St. Could they spare one for Southwest?
Yep, H Street is on the move.
Here's an admittedly dated but good link showing a lot of plans...
http://frozentropics.blogspot.com/2005/03/1300-block-of-h-street-ne.html
Yes, it's got a long way to go. But it's going to be quite the destination relatively soon.
Safety - it's an issue, but no more so than U Street was, or is, for that matter. I actually feel safer wandering H Street NE than I ever have wandering U St. And there's big, big residential developments going in that should swing the critical street mass to create a more safe environment.
I actually feel safer wandering H Street NE than I ever have wandering U St.
Really? Wow. I'll admit my H Street experience is limited, but when I was there last it seemed creepily deserted. On U there are usually other folks around. Not that plenty of muggings don't still occur around there, but there's enough foot traffic that I'd think it'd be less of a problem.
According to an old Washington Post article, there is supposed to be a shuttle bus service (funded by H Street business, I assume) from Union Station and Capitol Hill for bar patrons. Anyone know if that's up and running?
There's more foot traffic on U, which is usually a good thing, but on U I've been repeatedly harassed by gangs of roving youths on bikes. A couple of times I felt lucky to have gotten away without being jacked up.
I've never had that happen on H St.
Youths on bikes? You should carry an arm-load of sticks for self-defense. As soon as you hear the tell-tale clicking of the baseball cards, you should pull out a stout branch and aim for the spokes. The only person who harasses me on U street is Pierre, and he just wants to tell me a 15-minute story about how he's known as "Robin the Hood."
Praise "Bob" there's more options on H Street! It's like U Street circa 1997 again: no Starbucks, no cruelty-free organic tofu bistros, no $18 personal pizzas, no $5 PBRs. Just bars looking for customers, Horace & Dickies, and Cluck U.
Hot tip: a padlock in the pocket makes for a great 1-finger brass knuckel, but I didn't tell you that. And ladies, take a hint from Ms. Betty Page: carry a brick in your purse. You'll know what to do when the time comes.
That is until the DC Council bans padlocks and bricks.
Perhaps I was too generic. The 'youths' in question are actually menacing young men, not sweet-faced kids. They are in gangster-wear, and more often than not allude to carrying guns. They tend to swoop down on people and intimidate them. It's happened to me on three separate occasions on U Street.
As for carrying sticks for defense, was that a serious suggestion?
The only "shuttle" I am aware of is the X2 bus (take it from Chinatown or you could take the 90/92 from Eastern Market to 8th and walk the remaining four blocks. The later is rougher ride.
As someone who lives two blocks off of H Street, I would say that the 90/92 is just as safe as the X2. AND the 90/92 runs from Adams Morgan, to U Street, to H Street, and Eastern Market. Turns out the 90/92 is a v. convenient way to get around town!
Rumor is that Joe Englert, who owns six or eight of the bars that will eventually open on H St., plans to operate a shuttle that would run between Union Station and H St. The longer term plan for H St. provides for light rail to run down H St. to (i think) Union Station.
I've lived a 1/2 block north of H St. for 3 years. Never been mugged, accosted or even threatened (fortunately). Great place to live and look forward to more entertainment.
there are one or two rundown looking characters you might see on the corner of 12th and H, mostly guys who panhandle in front of horace and dickies, but even *that* has been going down lately. i guess MPD must have cracked down on the panhandling. once you're on the 1200 block, things are pretty quiet. i also recommend that folks check out the h street playhouse, r&b coffee, and phish tea cafe (all in the 1300 block).
The District plans on putting in light rail along H Street in the near future.
See: http://www.anc6a.org/hottopic.html
In late Summer/early Fall, we will also see the start of the $20 to $23 million makeover of the H Street streetscape.
The District plans on putting in light rail along H Street in the near future.
See: http://www.anc6a.org/hottopic.html
In late Summer/early Fall, we will also see the start of the $20 to $23 million makeover of the H Street streetscape.
The District plans on putting in light rail along H Street in the near future.
See: http://www.anc6a.org/hottopic.html
In late Summer/early Fall, we will also see the start of the $20 to $23 million makeover of the H Street streetscape.
Can we just call it "The Red Cat"?
http://www.ontaponline.com/view_article.php?article_id=10317
Basically a budget version of DC9 but not as fun or interesting. Some of the food comes from the Argonaut. Same guy owns that place, Palace of Wonders, DC9, R&R Hotel and Big Hunt among others.
Not worth the journey from U st.