Slicing pastrami at DGS Delicatessen (Courtesy of WETA Local Productions)
A new offshoot of the popular series WETA Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Eats does more than just look at the area’s restaurants—it’s a look at Washington history as seen through its food.
The series, which premieres tonight, focuses on a handful of businesses in Anacostia, Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, and Georgetown.The restaurants covered are relative newcomers —Dupont’s Bistro Du Coin, which opened in 2000, is one of the oldest ones, and the show doesn’t note its former life as Food for Thought.
But even these newbies may have a D.C. history you didn’t know about. Like DGS Delicatessen. It was founded in 2012 but has roots in old D.C. going back to the family-run, largely Jewish-owned chain District Grocery Stores, a one-time staple of area supermarkets that shuttered its last location in 1972 (the Magruder’s on upper Connecticut Avenue was once a DGS). Owners Nick and David Wiseman are the grandsons of Leon Wiseman, who owned a DGS back in the day.
The segment on Georgetown thankfully ignores Georgetown Cupcakes in favor of Baked and Wired (too bad they no longer make hand pies), but the highlight of this neighborhood segment may be a tradition you may not be aware of if you’re not a Hoya. The Georgetown University Grilling Society serves up juicy, distinctively shaped burgers on Friday nights in spring and summer, and all are welcome.
Capitol Hill’s Beuchert’s Saloon is another newcomer with ties to the past. It’s only been open for several years, but the original Beuchert’s opened at the same location in 1880, and legend has it that the saloon operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
Mama’s Kitchen in Anacostia opened in 2012, and is serving up new history along with pizza and wings. Fatima Nayir, the restaurant’s “Mama,” is originally from Turkey, and one of the first things she and her husband did when they opened up was to take down the bullet-proof glass. Nayir likes to reward neighborhood students with free pizza when they get good grades, perhaps inspiring a young restaurateur in the making.
Future episodes of the show will focus on Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant (crews will be filming at Purple Patch this month). Be prepared to learn something new about the restaurant next door, and perhaps discover a new favorite.
Neighborhood Eats premieres tonight at 8:30 p.m. on WETA TV and WETA HD
