Restaurant Review- Zola in Penn Quarter

I really enjoy Zola Wine and Kitchen for a quick lunch when I'm downtown so I was thrilled when some wonderful clients of mine gave me a gift certificate to try the main restaurant. I immediately really liked the space because there was a fun dark bar with music playing that would be perfect for happy hour or after dinner drinks but it was totally separated from the dining room, so you could still have a nice quiet dinner. We were impressed with the kitchen from the start because the bread basket was fantastic. There was wonderful pumpkin bread that could have been a dessert and these salty olive rolls that were divine. My aunt and I both decided to start with the butter lettuce salad because it sounded amazing. It definitely was; lots of little orange slices, tart parmesan cheese (or "dante cheese" which is what I now see the menu calls it but for all intents and purposes it was parmesan) and crispy butter lettuce in a creamy dressing. Only complaint is that the menu claimed there were dates and my salad only had one little teeny date piece. I wasn't too upset because I decided on the three "tastings" instead of an entree and one of my choices was the rich bacon wrapped dates (DELICIOUS). Perhaps the kitchen thoughtfully skimped on my salad because they didn't want me to be date-d out by the time my second course came out? My other two tastings were the steak tartar with quail egg yolk which was rich and amazing and the chopped liver which was good but a tiny portion. My aunt got the Tuna entree and gave me a slice of tuna which was absolutely delicious, fresh and perfectly prepared. We opted to finish our bottle of wine rather than order dessert because we were so full and satisfied. I would definitely recommend Zola to anyone looking for a great dinner and I will most certainly be back!

Under Contract! 912 F Street #1109 $849,900

My buyers fell in love with the large kitchen and amazing city view that this penthouse 2BR has to offer. It's in the heart of Penn Quarter and within blocks of their favorite restaurants, museums, and shops. Check out all of the windows! Pictures here.

Bidding Wars in Penn Quarter

This lovely 3BR in Penn Quarter came on the market a few weeks ago and my clients wanted to get in immediately. There were multiple offers and my clients wrote an escalation clause into their contract that went well over the listing price of $775,000 and still were not the winning offer. This is extraordinary as the last unit with this floorplan sold for $690,000 (it was tenant occupied and in a lesser condition- but still a large difference!). Although my clients were dissapointed and it was frustrating to lose out to another buyer, I thought it was a great sign for Penn Quarter and how in-demand larger units are there.

Restaurant Review- Rosa Mexicano in Chinatown

Last weekend I joined a bunch of friends at Rosa Mexicano for restaurant week. I've said on this blog before that I have a love-hate relationship with restaurant week and I also have a love-hate relationship with "upscale Mexican." First things first, restaurant week is a great chance to try out restaurants and get A LOT of food for a $35/head dinner. It's a fun excuse to get people together, but I often feel like many of the entrees have been sitting under heat lamps and you aren't actually getting to experience the restaurant's best food. Well this year for Rosa Mexicano we got the guacamole appetizers which they make at the table, so there's no chance of a heat lamp or the dip being anything but perfectly fresh. They also serve the guac with chips that are both pre-salted and not broken into little pieces. Listen up restaurants: there's no reason to serve unsalted chips! Secondly, I chose to order off the normal menu and get a salad with mango salsa and rare tuna, it was delicious and I think a better choice than paying for enchiladas or fajitas or something similar that I could order for half the price at a more modest Mexican restaurant. When I go for "upscale Mexican" I try to order dishes that are more adventurous or with nicer ingredients that your typical Mexican entree. We got lots of sangria and pomegranate margaritas and also tried a new drink "the Michelada" hailed as dinner's answer to the Bloody Mary, a Tecate beer with lime and spicy seasonings served in a glass with a salted rim, it was horrible but I'll try anything once! Friends who got dessert as part of the restaurant week deal ordered the apple cheescake and the hazelnut chocolate cupcake and I tried bites of both. While I love anything chocolatey, I would definitely recommend the cheesecake as the best. After a great group dinner and another round at the bar we were off to a certain dance floor on Wisconsin Avenue to work off our meal!

601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW #1206 SOLD! Full Price $449,000

This one bedroom generated a lot of excitement once it went on the market. The classic and elegant renovation as well as the sought after capitol views got it sold in no time. Many other one bedrooms have sat on the market for much longer in this neighborhood which reinforces the importance of move-in condition and starting at the right price. Certain segments of the market have the demand, and if the properties are up to par, they will sell quickly!

New Listing! 601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW $449,000

Nancy Itteilag and I have this gorgeous 1 BR 1.5 Bath condo in "The Pennsylvania" which is actually on Indiana Avenue behind Pennsylvania and away from that traffic noise. It's a lovely renovated unit with granite in the kitchen and baths and a balcony with great views of the Capitol. The building also has a great rooftop deck with amazing monument views. It's priced very well at $449,000 and $459,000 furnished. More pics here.

701 Pennsylvania Ave PH 14&15 SOLD!!

Penthouses 14 and 15 in Market Square East sold today for $730,000. We had an easy settlement and I am so glad we were able to get this sold for the seller. The buyers plan on re-dividing the space back to two separate spaces.

701 Pennsylvania Ave PH 14 and 15 UNDER CONTRACT!

Penthouses 14 & 15 at Market Square East (which have been combined into one fantastic unit with double balcony) have just gone under contract! Thank goodness for the spring market! Nancy Itteilag and I are thrilled to have gotten this under contract for our seller.

Restaurant Review -Ten Pehn in Penn Quarter

Last weekend I tried Ten Pehn (on 10th and Penn, naturally)for the first time. Ten Pehn's menu has dishes influenced by Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, and Filipino cuisines as well as a fun creative cocktail menu. I had the Thai shrimp soup (which is served in a hollowed out coconut) as an appetizer, and the spicy tuna roll appetizer as my main course with a side of sauteed veggies. Everything was delicious; especially the tuna roll which was not too spicy and had lots of tuna and no rice. We also tried the lemon cheesecake for dessert, which was wonderful. The food was wonderful and the service was prompt and friendly. My only complaint about Ten Pehn is that it looks like a chain restaurant. I couldn't put my finger on why, but for some reason feels like a P.F. Chang or Cheesecake Factory. I would highly recommend Ten Pehn to anyone who loves American-ized Asian food and doesn't mind a large restaurant.

DC Development Comes to a Halt

This is a terribly disappointing article in the Washington Post about the state of commercial development in Washington. It's very sad to think about how much work has gone into the planning and negotiating of these deals only to have them fall apart.

Restaurant Review- Jaleo in Penn Quarter

On Friday I met some friends at Jaleo, one of my favorite tapas restaurants in DC. I used to live across the street from a Jaleo so I've tried many of the options, and have the extensive menu narrowed down to my very favorite tapas. Jaleo is a colorful, loud restaurant so it's great for group dinners and less of a romantic date spot. Jaleo also has lots of vegetarian options and lots of seafood for those not eating meat on Fridays during lent! Some of my favorite options are the apple and manchego salad, lambchops, codfish fritters (SO good), garlicy shrimp, and the tuna and potato salad. I would recommend skipping the fried pasta, and I haven't loved their paellas. The service was friendly and quick and they don't mind if you stay and linger over your sangria for a while!

Gorgeous Penthouse in 701 Penn

This is a true DC dream Penthouse for $2,250,000. Look at those views! pics here

(ps. this makes my listing on the same floor at $799,000 a real steal!)

There Are Some Serious Deals Out There...

Today I saw a newly listed fantastic deal in the Clara Barton (616 E Street NW), one of my favorite condo buildings in DC. It is a 1000 square foot one bedroom for $349,000! This is an amazing price per square foot for downtown DC and especially for such a nice and nearly new building. The Clara Barton has a 24hr front desk, rooftop pool, theater, party room, business center and a huge gym. To put this deal in perspective, there is currently a 500 square foot studio for $315,000 and the other one bedrooms are priced in the high $300's for around 800 square feet.

Restaurant Review- Acadiana

Acadiana is known for its Louisiana style cuisine in an upscale setting. I got to try it for the first time the other night and was very impressed. Its a nice open layout with very high ceilings and a large bar that seemed to have a happy hour crowd. I would definitely recommend going to this restaurant with several people and getting lots of appetizers and salads to share, those seemed to shine more than the main courses. I had the beet salad and a delicious sweet corn and crab soup. I also got to try the fried oysters (HUGE and wonderful, not fishy at all) and the sides of collard greens and grits, neither of which I really enjoyed, (must be a southern thing!) They also serve biscuits with orange marmalade and butter, and while I didn't have room for dessert, the selection looked wonderful. It was good service, good food and a great atmosphere. We sat at a table upstairs which overlooked the rest of the restaurant and was probably quieter, so I would recommend that if the place is packed.

Price Reduction! 701 Pennsylvania Ave PH15 is Now $799,000

This gorgeous 2 BR in the heart of Penn Quarter has just been reduced to $799,000. More pictures:

http://slideshow.mris.com/slideshow.cfm?ListingKey=90004341876

Check out what this condo looked like BEFORE being totally renovated: http://www.homevisit.com/tour/legacy/mrisTour.asp?id=9061

National Book Festival is This Weekend

This Saturday I will be volunteering at the National Book Festival, a day to promote reading and literacy on the National Mall. The Junior League of Washington's cause is literacy so every year we provide volunteer services for this great event. I went a few years ago to see John Irving speak, and worked the lines last year. It is so much fun, especially to see all of the kids so excited to meet their favorite authors (some people line up for hours!) This year some of the big names are: Tiki Barber, R.L. Stein, Philippa Greggory, Alexander McCall Smith, Salmon Rushdie, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and Cokie Roberts. You can see all the authers and get more info here :http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/authors/

Its a really fun event, I encourage everyone to come!

Searching for a Great City View in Penn Quarter

I have a client looking for a Penn Quarter condo that doesn't look straight into an office building. On our tour last night we found one that has a very noteworthy view! Check out the huge windows in the master bedroom.

Pictures Here

777 7th Street is 2 BR/2 BA listed at $699,000.

Restaurant Review- The Caucus Room's Restaurant Week Menu

I have a love-hate relationship with DC's Restaurant Week. I really like the idea of it, getting to try upscale restaurants for a lower price and I have had a few really good meals during restaurant week. However, I feel like a lot of restaurants give you the sub-par or very limited menu choices. Last night I ate at The Caucus Room on 9th and D with several friends. I had very high expectations for this steak-house and while the food was good, I won't be going back for restaurant week. When we arrived at the restaurant at our reserved time we were kept waiting 15-20 minutes for our table, and then the 5 of us were walked over to a square 4 person table. When we finally sat down at a larger table the waiter was nice but very chatty. We explained that we were there for Restaurant Week but he proceeded to go on and on about all of their different steaks and what could be substituted for higher prices. It was overwhelming and the 5 of us all wound up getting the serloin steak from the regular menu. Two of us ordered ours "medium rare" but I had to send mine back since it was rare-er than medium rare. They only had two options for starters a simple salad or a smoked yellow tomato gazpacho (delish...definitely copying them and putting loads of cilantro in my next at home gazpacho experiment). The entres were the serloin, salmon or chicken, and the desserts were pinapple upside-down cake or sorbet. I was a little dissapointed that there was not more to choose from in terms of starters and desserts (a dessert menu with no chocolate....?) but what they did have was good. The Caucus Room also had wines features for 7/glass or 30/bottle and we chose the red which was a sweet Spanish wine. While I enjoyed trying a new restaurant and defintely paid less than I would for a 3 course meal there normally, I think the overall experience was lacking.

Restaurant Review- Oya

A few days ago my book club met to discuss Christopher Moore's Fluke, at Oya on 9th and G. If you like sci-fi-esque magical fiction with interesting characters and plot twists, I recommend reading Fluke. If you like great food, long wine lists, "hip" decor and a $28 prix fix summertime menu, I recommend trying Oya. The wine list is quite long with good descriptions (for those of us who don't know squat about wine) and a range of prices for wines by the glass (for those of us who can't tell the difference between a $7 glass and a $15 glass). I think the bar was very backed up because it took FOREVER to get the wine, but I was very pleased once it came out! Please don't confuse Oya with Oyamel a few blocks over on 7th, although if you do, the hostess at Oyamel will hopefully be as nice to you as she was to me, and point you in the right direction. Oya touts itself as "Asian french fusion" although it doesn't seem to be crazy combo dishes like some of the other fusion restaurants. I had the goat cheese salad to start with was delish, it was one of those goat cheese puffs, topped with some cooked apples next to a side salad (apparently "Asian" greens, but it looked like pretty standard mesclun mix) with walnut vinegar. For the main course, I tried the Sea Bass with miso flavor which came with a risotto-stuffed red pepper. I went for the "chocolate, chocolate, chocolate" dessert which lived up to its name and was very chocolately and delicious. I also tried a bite of the banana bread pudding, wonderful as well. I will definitely be returning!

1150 K Rental Back on the Market

Our lease on 1150 K Street NW #510 fell through yesterday so this rental is still available! 2 BR/2 Bath with gorgeous finishes and plenty of closet space for $2950/month. Includes 1 parking spot, and the building has conference room, fitness center, and rooftop terrace. Close to 3 metros and walk downtown to work!