|
“Henry Mendoza, owner of the popular La Plaza
restaurant at 629 Penn. Ave. SE, is opening
a new restaurant down the street
at 1129 Penn. Ave.
|
We had a pleasant experience on Metro recently. While returning from dinner (at Kellari, a new, upscale Greek restaurant), we spotted an artist sitting across from us, rapidly sketching a fellow passenger. How cool is that, we commented, lauding his departure from Metro’s usual iPod-listening-robot-like riders. The artist then executed an excellent charcoal likeness of my husband Peter. Price, $20. We started talking, and learned the identity of the New York-born artist: Nikita Z. Murray, who sometimes displays his work at Eastern Market. He was born in 1961, and his mother named him after the circa1950s-60s Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev. When asked why he plies his artistic trade on the rails, he explained that many artists do that in the Big Apple’s subway system. To learn more about Nikita, call 202-583-1768.
A La Plaza Spin-Off
Henry Mendoza, who brought La Plaza to the “Avenue” seven years ago, is opening a Cuban, Mexican, Salvadoran restaurant early next year at 1129 Penn. Ave. SE, in the spot recently vacated by Pacific Café. Mendoza, 39, arrived in the United States from El Salvador at 14. His first job was washing dishes at La Plaza (now closed, in Adams Morgan). After that he was a busboy at La Lomita (13th and Penn. Ave. SE). Eventually, he unveiled his own restaurant, La Plaza, 629 Penn.Ave. SE.
Ana Osorio, a chef at the old La Plaza, taught Henry this regional cuisine. Henry is running a contest to name his new restaurant. So far, entries include Mi Vecindad, (“my neighborhood”), Senor Henry, and El Pacifico, a nod toward the site’s Vietnamese predecessor. We suggest Casa de Amistad (House of Friendship). “My choice is Mi Vecindad,” Mendoza said. “There is no better neighborhood; it means a lot to me. These neighbors are the people who supported me, and where my kids (Ed, 8 and Henry Junior, 6) are growing up.” Neighbors who stop by La Plaza to cast their votes receive a free shot of tequila. Call 202-546-9512.
Best of the Wurst
Speaking of food, we love sausages, and we usually buy ours at Canales Quality Meats in Eastern Market. Many of their sausages are made right on the premises, where they combine fresh ingredients from nearby Virginia and Maryland. Natural sausage casing comes from North Carolina, said Carlos Canales, whose father, Emilio operates the stand. (Emilio’s brother Juan Jose runs Canales Deli and another brother, Jorge, has Eastern Market Grocery, all in Eastern Market.)
The sausage process is fairly simple. After the pork is marinated overnight in spices, it is passed through a Hobart grinder with a funnel-like gizmo holding the casing. Sausages are refrigerated at 34 to 35 degrees F. House-made varieties include Italian hot (chicken or pork); Mexican chorizo; lamb with rosemary; chicken habanero/tequila; bratwurst and loose North Carolina-style pork sausage. The Canales make about 200 pounds of sausage each week, Emilio estimates.
Clean Fun
Sometimes it’s fun to be taken to the cleaners. Not many dry cleaners do the work right on the premises, but one that does is Lustre Cleaners, 311 Penn. Ave. SE. Operated by brothers Brian and Steven Grozbean, Lustre was founded in 1918 by their grandfather, Samuel Grozbean, a Russian immigrant. (Lustre is one of the nation’s few remaining Jewish-owned dry cleaners, Brian told us.) Recently, besides a spiffy wood and faux-granite upgrade in the customer drop-off area, Lustre has introduced new, state-of-the art equipment. There is an enormous Union washing/cleaning machine, an automated Unipress AP2 shirt presser “irons” the still damp garments by blowing hot air on them. Then the freshly-pressed shirts are hung up, ready to be returned to their owners. The machine processes about 700 shirts a day. “This is the Wizard of Oz behind the screen,” Brian Grozbean joked, adding that working on site allows same-day service and prevents loss. Employing about a dozen people. Lustre is open daily and also does alterations, tuxedo rental, wedding gown preservation and storage. Call 202-547-1311.
Birthday greetings
Happy Anniversary to Homebody, 715 Eighth St. SE. The upscale Barracks Row home furnishing/gift shop turned four years old Saturday, November 14. To mark the festive occasion, customers and other neighbors celebrated with champagne and cake.
Kids night out
Tuesday is kids night at Mr. Henry’s, 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202-546-8412). From 5 to 8 p.m. year round, children accompanied by a dining adult eat free in the upstairs dining room. Besides partaking of chicken tenders, corn dogs, mac-and-cheese (normally $5 each) and sides like green beans, youngsters watch old cartoons and kiddie classics on TV. So far, the offer has been very successful, we’re told.
Doggone thanks
Here’s a heartwarming story with a happy ending. Lisa Schroeder, who lives near Congressional Cemetery, runs a pet rescue team, K-9 Lifesavers. She was fostering a 13-year-old beagle named Crystal, who had been a starved, abused animal when she was found and placed in a suburban shelter. Schroeder took her in until a permanent home could be found for the dog.
One day, Crystal wandered off from Schroeder’s yard. Needless to say, Schroeder was frantic, and fellow dog-lover Andrew Lightman placed a notice on Congressional Cemetery’s ListServe. After finding the lost pooch near Lincoln Park, a dog walker put up “found dog” signs. She also introduced Crystal to her mom, Monica (whose husband Alcione Vinet owns the nearby Park Café). Monica fell in love with the little dog and begged to keep her, and thus a new home was found for Crystal.
“We love placing dogs on Capitol Hill...we have so many good walking places,” Lisa told HillBuzz. “I never thought a 13-year-old dog could be adopted. But by getting lost for 10 minutes, Crystal found her forever home. She found her own people.”
Capitol Hill Bikes News
We are saddened to learn that Capitol Hill Bikes, 709 Eighth St. SE, is closing, hopefully only temporarily. “The [agreement] was somewhat mutual,” co-owner Denise D’Amour, adding that she wanted to return the shop’s other two rental spaces (half of the former Alvear’s at 705 and upstairs offices), to her landlady, but it didn’t work out. “We’ll be here until our inventory is gone, probably ‘til the end of November,” D’Amour said. “Hopefully, we’ll find another, smaller space on the Hill.”
Napa 1015 on H Street Closes
We were also sorry to learn that Napa 1015, the stylish restaurant at 1015 H St. NE, has closed, after serving the community for about two years. Owner Jorge Velazquez cited a number of factors, especially the sputtering economy. But here’s the good news: Velazquez’s decade-old Napa Valley catering business is alive and well. “We do wedding receptions, dinners, corporate events, anything the client wants,” said Velazquez. Napa Valley Catering operates out of its Logan Circle kitchen at 1416 11th St. NW. Call 202-232-7816 or visit www.napavalleycaterers.com.
Watch this space
Coming soon to the H Street corridor: Star and Shamrock, an Irish pub, at 1341 H St. NE. |
