DC Food: Rita’s Ice Cones

Rita’s Ice Cone shops are becoming quite the chain, but I can taste why. This one is at the corner of South Dakota and Rhode Island on the northeast side and is THE stopping point for DC and Prince George’s County ambulances - five stopped by in the hour we were there. Plus, we can bike there from Mount Rainier.

You can get soft serve custard, but why?

Instead, go for the gelati. Tonight I had custard with pina colada and wild black cherry flavored shaved ice on top of more custard. Incredible.

Road Trip from Mount Rainier (MD) to Fairlington (VA)

We live in Mount Rainier, Maryland, that town you’ve never heard of that is not a mountain and is right next to DC. When we go to visit friends in Fairlington, we pass some curious sights and good food on the way…road trip!

1. Rita’s Ice Cones - Rhode Island and South Dakota

You can get soft serve ice cream, but why? Instead, go for the gelati. Tonight I had custard with pina colada and wild black cherry flavored shaved ice on top of more custard. Incredible. The choice for DC and Prince George’s County ambulances - five stopped by in the hour we were there.

2. Road Funds Sign - Rhode Island and 13th St NE

Rhode Island Avenue is in the process of being resurfaced from North Capital to 30th St NE. Love the construction. But in an amazing feat of accountancy, the project’s costs are known down to the penny…$1,495,597.23 for the Feds and $303,076.53 for DC.

3. Etete Ethiopian Restaurant - 1942 9th St NW

As you continue down Rhode Island, you might get hungry and swing off near the Shaw Howard University metro station to Etete Ethiopian near U-Street. Amazingly good Ethiopian that feels less commercialized than Dukem (it’s half-house, half restaurant after all). Plus, if you’re lucky, they’ll fire up the projector and play African music videos with pelvis thrusting women for your fine dining pleasure (even if you’re the only ones there)…

4. I-395 Speed Camera Slow-Down - south of the New York Avenue entrance

There is a speed camera just after the tunnel on I-395 at New York Avenue. Everyone local knows it and the speed limit is 45 mph. But everyone slows down to 35 mph. Why????

(Picture TBD)

5. Guy Camping on I-395 - under 7th Street SW

So you’re finally getting somewhere and are set to head over to Alexandria. But wait, there’s a guy camping, complete with a tent, BBQ, and lawn chairs in the grassy median underneath the 7th St NW overpass between the east and westbound I-395 traffic. He’s been there for at least a month, hanging out in broad daylight. The Washington City Paper did a story on him last week, “Median Man.”

6. Idiots Crossing Five Lanes of Traffic - Jefferson Davis Hwy exit

You’ve crossed the river and are in Virginia! Congratulations. But here’s an SUV going 25 mph, trying to cross five lanes of traffic after gawking at the Pentagon and throwing the bird because you didn’t let him in…Have a nice day.

(Picture TBD)

7. All These Condos Looks the Same - Fairlington

You’ve finally made it to Arlington, home of your friends. But every single one of these condos looks the same and now you’re lost…

Welcome to Mount Rainier, Maryland (near Washington DC)

So you’ve decided to move to Mount Rainier, Maryland?

Congratulations on finding the best, undiscovered city outside of Washington D.C. Housing prices are reasonable (for DC), there’s a metro within walking distance (17 minutes to Chinatown), it’s a friendly walkable neighborhood where you get to know your neighbors, and there’s no real mountain. Takoma Park at half the price and twice the diversity…

This guide should help you in finding your way (and if anyone has suggestions, make a comment below and I’ll incorporate it)…

Statistics

Even with all the single family homes, apparently Mount Rainier has the highest population density in Maryland, over 12,000 people per square mile (of course the total area is only 0.65 square miles).

• Mount Rainier on Wikipedia
• Mount Rainier Profile

Basics

• Government
  • City of Mount Rainier
  • Police
  • Fire (county)
  • Library (county)
  • Hospital
    • Providence (DC)
    • Prince George’s (MD)
• Utilities
  • Water - Washington Sanitation District
  • Electricity - Pepco (cheapest default supplier) or Pepco Energy (green electricity, roughly 3 cents/kWh more than coal/nuclear)
  • Natural gas - Washington Gas (cheapest default supplier)
  • Curbside Pickup (city)
    • Compost on Monday (yard waste)
    • Trash on Wednesday
    • Recycling on Friday (paper/cardboard, #1/#2 plastic, aluminum, metal; don’t separate)

Community

• Arts - Gateway Arts District (a growing artist community; my review)
  
• Economic Development
  • Gateway Community Development Corporation
  • Anacostia Hours (alternative/local currency; my review)
  • Route 1 Growth Blog
• Food
  • The Glut Food Coop (”still funky, still cheap” groceries; my review)
  • Artmosphere Cafe (great jazz on Mondays; my review)
  • Island Style Ice Cream (mango, stout, and soursop flavors; my review)
• News
  • Prince George’s County Gazette
  • Mount Rainier Email List (community chatter)
  • Washington Post Local Explorer
• Other Resources
  • Community Forklift (building materials reuse center)

Outside

• Northwest Branch Trail
• Mount Rainier Nature Center
• Mount Rainier Pool Club
• Running Club
  
• Biking
  • Biking Club
  • Mount Rainier Bike Coop Website / Email List

Other Links

• Joe’s Mount Rainier Website

Want to live here? Find a home in Mount Rainier.

DC Food - Island Style Ice Cream

Have you ever heard of soursop ice cream? Island Style Ice Cream in Mount Rainier, Maryland might be the only place in the DC metro to get it. What about stout ice cream? I didn’t think so. Well certainly mango and guava then, right?

The Carribbean is here and it tastes good…organic, local, and frozen on a cone. I kid you not. This is the best ice cream I have ever tasted. Head to the traffic circle just past Eastern on Rhode Island and then north 1 block on 34th Street. Just look for the metallic coconut tree…

 

DC Signs - “Not the Best, But Still a Good Price”

Un-Safeway not-withstanding, Ghetto Giant on Queen’s Chapel in Hyattsville is kind of the K-Mart of supermarkets, and includes a reduced produce cart, bearing this sign, and packages of fruits and vegetables with a similarly labeled barcode sticker. I did in-fact buy the two packages of potatoes seen above and made a very nice roasted vegetables medley.

DC Food: Thai Roma

We were looking for a veg-friendly restaurant and happened upon Thai Roma in the Eastern Market area on VegDC.

Thai Roma is half-bar, half-restaurant, with day-glo metallic table tops that make your head swirl if you look at them too long. All in all, the food is good, but reminds me of “truck-stop” Thai - tasty but not elegant. And the waitress has attitude, insisting that we didn’t want mock-duck in one dish but that we should have it in another…Generally speaking, mock-duck isn’t that common in DC restaurants, so I suppose it’s a treat just to have it at all, although not necessarily where we wanted it.

Black plum eggplant, sauteed with black bean sauce and basil:

Pad Thai with tofu:

Green beans stir fried with brown sauce and onions:

Yellow curry with tomatoes and onion:

Thai iced tea (nice and strong, with a free refill):

DC Food: Artmosphere Cafe

The Artmosphere Cafe, located on the first level of the Mount Rainier Artist Lofts (part of the Gateway Arts District), is located in Mount Rainier on Rhode Island Avenue, just past Eastern Avenue (at the traffic circle).

Artmosphere is more than a coffee shop. Check out the menu of sandwiches and salads (cous cous and curry lentil caught my eye) but stay for Friday and Saturday night concerts, Live Jazz brunch on Saturday, Monday Night Football, or open mic Wednesday poetry. Tonight is drum circle jam, Friday is a vocalist, and Saturday is hip-hop - something is always going on…Lounge away on the full length couches.

DC Food: Vegetate

We went to Vegetate last fall, and of course, I’m just getting around to posting pictures and my review…

The restaurant is hidden in the middle of a block south of Rhode Island Avenue at 9th and O. They must have cheap rent because it’s not a strolling-through-the-neighborhood kind of destination. Look for the glowing green “V” in the middle of the block of row houses, some of which are abandoned.

Order a few things. You’ll like 1-2 of them and think the others were okay. The pickled string bean (free) starters were a nice touch but I was amused by the elementary school style cutlery - thin, cheap, and short. Perhaps another bargain?

The bean/squash appetizer (”Roasted Rumba Squash and Black Beans on a corn grit crust”) had the consistency of baby food - puree one but not both please. And the salad (”Grilled Baby Romaine Salad”) was fine but not memorable.

The mini vegetarian burgers (”Trio of Vegetate Burgers with mustard, sauteed onions & greens with pomme frites and spicy steak sauce”) were cute but three different flavors would have been more exciting - take advantage of the design to up the flavor possibilities.

My girlfriend had the sesame encrusted tofu (”Crispy Tofu in a Mushroom Consomme”), which itself was fine. She liked the brussel sprouts the best…

We had interesting dining guests, which included a stretch hummer with a tiara/boa enfused birthday girl and 8 of her closest male and female friends for a party upstairs. Not unpleasant or anything, but unexpected given the target vegetarian audience.

All in all, you’ll find some things you’ll like amidst the menu items but in our case it wasn’t the main thing we were ordering - the sides, the starter, etc. Little improvements to making the flavors unique and fresh would be appreciated.

DC Food: Thai Menu Democracy

I come from Minneapolis, which has consistently good Thai restaurants.

I live in the DC metro, which has surprisingly unexciting Thai restaurants, more like Chinese food sauce rehash than popping Thai goodness. My DC favorite so far is Lemongrass Thai in Annapolis but the 4-5 I’ve tried in DC haven’t left memorable impresssions. Want a red curry with tofu? Sorry, only with squid. And mock duck is a rare thing.

One of my favorite Thai restaurants in Minneapolis is Tum Rup Thai, which takes a decidedly democratic approach to their menu…mix and match dishes, proteins and flavors! DC Thai take note!

Step 1: Pick your dish (Soups, Favorites, Curries, Noodles, Fried Rice)…Let’s try a curry.

Step 2: Pick your protein…Let’s have mock duck.

Vegetarian - $9.95
Chicken, Pork, Tofu, or Mock Duck - $10.95
Beef - $11.95
Shrimp or Squid - $13.95
Scallops - $14.95
Shrimp, Squid and Scallop Combination - $16.95

Step 3: Pick your flavor…Let’s have a massamun curry.

Gaeng Kiow Wanh (Sweet Green Curry)
Green curries are volcanic and complex, rich with voluptuous sweetness of coconut milk, bell peppers, egg plant, squash, green beans, zucchini, peas, and Thai basil.

Gaeng Daeng (Red Curry)
This spicy traditional Thai curry is combined with bell peppers, zucchini,
egg plant, squash, bamboo, and basil. This curry can also be ordered with mixed vegetables.

Gaeng Massamun (Massamun Curry)
From the southern part of Thailand, Massamun curry is a spectacular dish
containing potatoes, onions, peanuts, and your choice of meat.

Tum Rup Thai Egg Noodle Curry
A hose specialty, this flavorful curry is served with potatoes, yams, frie onions, cilantro, scallions, lime, and crispy egg noodles.

Gaeng Daeng Sapraros (Pineapple Red Curry)
Tomato, pineapple, bell peppers, and basil cooked in red curry. Available with roast duck (Gaeng Pet Phet Yang)

It’s absolute friggin’ genius! And I’ve seen it elsewhere in the Twin Cities. Why can’t DC come up with such a method? If there is one, I’m there.

DC Food: The Glut Food Coop

Technically not in DC (2 blocks away), the Glut Food Coop is in Mount Rainier (Maryland), a town 95% of Washingtonians have never heard of (even though it borders DC). On the northeast side near Eastern and Rhode Island, the Glut is “Still Funky, Still Cheap” since 1969, offering you both food and an experience.

This isn’t Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, or even TPSS. Forget an electronic scanner. Tap your toes to the reggae music in the produce section. Avoid all the plastic packaging by buying in bulk. Love the cheap dried fruit. Make your own peanut butter. Say hi to your neighbor. Let someone cut in line with only two things.

More hardwood floors than sparkling granite (way more), if you hate shopping (and don’t frequent organic enclaves), go elsewhere. But if like the people and the experience as much as the food, this is your new destination. I love it the more I go there and it’s one of the anchor businesses in Mount Rainier.  Apparently, it’s having a hard time adjusting to the new organic market realities now that natural foods are trendy and everywhere…click here for the story.