A round-up of some recent cool things, and a few that suck.
Welcome to 2020!!!
Big Deals
The new section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail near R Street NE is now open. And the new park is shaping up as well! (More about Alethia Tanner Park)
2019 was a good sports year for DC. The Washington Nationals and Washington Mystics won it all. 2020 should prove to be a big year too, with a few new sports entries to the DC scene.
The XFL starts in a month! The DC Defenders start the inaugural season on Feb. 8th! (Preview)
DC is getting its own Major League Rugby (MLR) team as well. Old Glory DC has its first home game on Feb. 16th @ Cardinal Stadium. (Tickets)
Gypsy Kitchen is opening in the old Masa 14 space this Spring. It will serve up pan-Mediterranean small plates, highlighting Greek, Moroccan, Indian and Middle Eastern flavors, among other regional influences. (More info)
Kitsuen is finally opening on H Street NE. (Eater DC)
A bunch of new restaurants have opened up near me on H Street NE or nearby. Verified open are Café Filí and Pho Viet USA, both pretty good lunch options so far. I’ll have to check out the new Buffalo & Bergen soon.
Alex McCoy’s Thai kiosk, Som Tam, is open in Union Market! (Eater DC)
A Butter Chicken Co. will take over the old Red Boat/Micho’s space on H Street NE. This space seems to get no love, although I enjoyed Micho’s and sometimes made it to Red Boat. I love Indian food, so maybe this will be a cheaper option than nearby Indigo. (PoPville)
Some sweet, sweet concerts in January and February to check out. (Top 15 Concerts)
There are over 8,000 breweries in the U.S. by the end of 2019. And only 11 in DC?? Despite the low number, we do have some good ones however. (Here’s the Brewers Association 2019 Recap)
A new Sweet Science Coffee opened in NoMa. (Eater DC)
Speaking of NoMa, Nerds in NoMa is starting again in 2020 on Jan. 15th. (Do This)
Bummers
Gypsy Sally’s closed. Shit. I did get the chance to go in December to say farewell.
Satellite Room closed. Shit.
Smith Commons closed. It will be a new place called Milk & Honey. (Eater DC)
The Beetle House closed before I had to chance to peek inside. A year round ‘Halloween’ bar didn’t seem like the best concept, but the owner made a lot of people angry with comments about DC’s nightlife scene. You won’t like DC when they’re angry.
DC Reynolds is closing. Okay, not too sad. (PoPville)