Sprig & Sprout Vietnamese Restaurant Opening Soon!

Sprig & Sprout, a Vietnamese pho and sandwich shop, is opeing soon in the former Margarita's Mexican Restaurant space.  Margarita's closed a couple of years ago and the space has been vacant ever since. Sprig and Sprout will feature pho (a rice noodle soup) and rice dishes, as well as banh mi sandwiches. They also will offer egg rolls as appetizers. Soup or sandwiches will have choice of tofu or meat, including pork belly, brisket, flank steak, tripe, chicken and more. The planned opening is any day now (early November) but no announcement yet.  Below is a partial menu - click on it for larger version:

Leaf Collection in Glover Park

City leaf collection in Glover Park begins 11/19.  The neighborhood will get at least two leaf vacuums. The Department of Public Works has instructed residents to put leaves in the treebox area between the sidewalk and the street, not in the street itself, as that can cause a hazard for cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians and will clog sewer drains. The deadline for the first vacuum is Sunday 11/18, for collection between 11/19-12/1.  The deadline for the second vacuum is 12/16, for collection 12/17-12/29. If necessary, we might get a third vacuum between 1/7-1/12. Now of course if they don't come until the end the period, then those leaves in the treebox area will get blown out all over the place after a couple of good storms, but this is the schedule. They have asked for leaves only - no limbs, rocks, dirt, etc... which could damage vacuum equipment.  Can you imagine being one of the rakers who rakes miles and miles of leaves into the street ahead of the vacuum truck? I dread just raking my own tiny square of lawn.  These guys work hard....

Farmers' Market

The Glover Park farmer's market closes for the season on 11/17/12 - only two more Saturdays this year! Make sure to come by and browse or buy. Lots going on there these days.  See website for events at: http://www.dcgreens.org

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy thankfully spared Glover Park from the worst of its wrath. Most residents were expecting widespread power outage, considering we seem to lose power every time the wind blows. It ended up being nowhere near the devastation of the 15-minute derecho storm earlier in the summer. Scary winds peaked for a few hours Monday evening, and a couple of trees came down on Tunlaw Road and W Street, but according to PEPCO outage records only about 100-150 residents lost power and most were back up and running the next day.  The W Street tree did fall on two houses causing significant damage to roof and porch, but did not appear to be a devastating loss and the city had removed the tree within a couple of days. The storm moved north well before Halloween and the hoards of trick-or-treaters were able to enjoy cold but pleasant weather going house-to-house on Wednesday evening.

Mayfair & Pine Open for Business

Mayfair and Pine, a new restaurant in Glover Park, has opened in the space formerly occupied by Town Hall at 2218 Wisconsin Ave. Town Hall had moved up the street to the former Busara location last year. View their website, including reviews, menu and photos at: http://www.mayfairandpine.com/ or at the www.GloverParkDC.com restaurant link at http://www.gloverparkdc.com/restaurants.html  Labeled as a "gastropub", the space largely retains the ambiance of Town Hall and has been getting positive reviews on Yelp.

Shepherd's Pie is nice - lighter and simpler than one would normally expect; spinach dip is excellent.  Kids are welcome, and they have daily specials. Wait staff very attentive and knowledgeable. Interesting draft beer and wine choices. Weekday attendance has been light so go grab a table of your choice and spread out!

Liquor License Moratorium

Glover Park’s ANC voted to extend the 16-year-old Liquor License Moratorium, while conceding a modification allowing two more licenses. The intense debate will continue to rage over whether the neighborhood should seek to attract businesses or risk continued vacancies with shuttered store fronts. Those opposed to lifting the ban worry about noise and drunken misbehavior, while those in favor see the potential to add to the diversity and vitality of our commercial strip.