BakeHouse is on T Street, just west of 14th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Luis Gomez. Catch his photos at One Photograph A Day. Follow him on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos.

We have been waiting for it. Bakehouse opens Wednesday morning at 7 am. The Bakery and Coffee shop at 1407 T Street NW actually came from the ground. Niall Cooper and Lindsey Morse’s BakeHouse has been in the making for more than a year.

Lindsey Morse of BakeHouse. (Luis Gomez Photos

Theirs is a great story of entrepreneurship. The couple started a brand for their baked goods, known as Bakehouse, and started selling their products at local markets in DC. But about a year ago, Morse and Cooper started to seriously consider opening their own space to bake and sell their goods.

BakeHouse is in a brand new building on T Street NW. Inside it has very modern aesthetics, a sleek and clean design. Morse previously told Borderstan: “We want to let the pastry shine.” They will be open from 7 am to 9 pm during the week and until 11 pm during weekends.

BakeHouse will offer an ample menu not only for breakfast, but for lunch as well. Tea, homemade syrups and coffee from Zeke’s will be served all day at Bakehouse.

Their breakfast menu includes a variety of baked goods, including scones, loaf slices, English Muffins, oatmeal and granola, biscuits, brioche rolls, bundts, cookies, cupcakes, truffle tarts, biscotti and breakfast sandwiches.

Lunch Options

• Pea, Parmesan and Bacon Orecchiette
• Za’atar Roasted Vegetable Orzo

Sandwiches

• Egg Salad with Bacon, Spinach and Lemon Vinaigrette
• Chicken and Bacon with Mozzarella, Red Onion and herbed spread
• Thai Red Curry Chicken Salad with Arugula
• Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper with Goat Cheese, olives, spinach and peanut pesto

Bakehouse will serve freshly made products and baked goods. They have an outdoor seating area — great for people to stop by after dinner to enjoy a post-meal sweet.

BakeHouse at 1407 T Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

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From Aparna Krishnamoorthy. Email her at aparna[AT]borderstan.com. Follow her on Twitter @aparnakris.

Delivered to you. (Aparna Krishnamoorthy)

Green and red brews of fruits and vegetables (that look unappetizing and like it came straight out of the Potomac) have been all the rage the last couple of years. We all know that eating fruits and vegetables is good for our health, but who really has the time to shop for kilos and kilos of vegetables, juice them (in that $500 juicer!) and drink it up?

Enter Alive Juices. Started by programmer turned master juicer, Rachan Malhotra, Alive Juices makes and delivers juices right to you. Within DC, they deliver to your house, to your office or even the gym or yoga studio! No more excuses.

Organic Ingredients, Six Different Types

All their juices have been extensively tested, use organic ingredients as far as possible and are freshly made in a commercial kitchen in Silver Spring. Alive Juices currently offers six different juices, each with a distinct flavor (mint, carrot, ginger, etc.) and targets a different health aspect (cardiovascular, colon health, etc.).

All the juices are unpasteurized to preserve the living nutrients (hence the Alive juices, get it?) and are based on Ayurvedic principles. And while juicing has been a fad only recently in the West, Ayurveda, the ancient Indian line of medicine has prescribed juices and concoctions of herbs and vegetables for more than 5,000 years. Hardly a fad really.

I recently had the chance to try some samples of the juices, and was very happy with what I had. All of the juices contain what they call the “Big 5” — sprouts, ginger, garlic, apples and lemon. That may not sound so appetizing, but in fact the juices are really good. Even the green juice was really good with the bitterness of the greens cut by the ginger and lime.

In addition to the juices, sometimes they also provide nutritious nuts and seeds, so that you don’t snack on that bag of chips. Nice touch.

Want to give it a try, or get more information? Check out their FAQ’s , email info[at]alivejuices [dot] com or call 202-436-2300 to order.

Not ready to order yet, but want to try a sample first? Stop by the Rolls on Rolls food truck during lunch time and ask for a sample of the juices. And while you’re there, get a paneer kathi roll for lunch.

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From Chelsea Rinnig. Email her at chelsea[AT]borderstan.com.

Sweetgreen is sponsoring the Sweetlife Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavillion. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Return of the Sweetlife Festival

Sweetlife is back tomorrow, May 11, at the Merriweather Post Pavillion for another full day outdoors of top-notch musical talent and a food forest highlighting healthy snacks alongside the best of DC’s restaurants and chefs.

New to this years’ festival is a group outdoor yoga class before the opening act and an ecostore of sustainable and local products to help you get through the day.

While VIP and Pavilion tickets have sold out, General Admission tickets are still available to witness an impressive lineup. Phoenix, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kendrick Lamar, Passion Pit, Gary Clark Jr., Solange and Lindsay Sterling headline the festival at the Mainstage. The Treehouse stage will feature additional acts like Holy Ghost!, Youth Lagoon and MS MR, to name a few.

Lastly, the 9:32 Club, sponsored by the 9:30 Club, will host guest artists like Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, Mr. JPatt of The Knocks and others at a stage catered to those looking to dance off some of those festival day calories.

More Than Just Music

Speaking of food, plenty of salads, yogurt, wraps and sweetpress will be available to attendees for purchase at the sweetgreen café, along with snacks from locals like sticky fingers and Docezza. Toki Underground, Kushi Izakaya, DGS and food trucks Takorean, Pepe and the Big Cheese will also be on site throughout the day. Local breweries and vineyards will provide libations as well — so go ahead and have that extra beer — it won’t matter as much when you’ve had a salad for lunch.

Sweetgreen recently opened another Borderstan location this past week at 14th and W Streets NW, to add to the Dupont Circle and Logan Circle locations in the neighborhood. Three locals first opened a location in Georgetown in 2007 and since then, the business has expanded to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Sweetgreen promotes sustainable practices, healthy living and organic, farm-fresh ingredients.

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From Mathew Harkins. Email him at mharkins[AT]borderstan.com.

Burgers and Beer at Helix Lounge on Rhode Island Avenue. (Luis Gomez Photos)

The approach of summer means a lot of different things in DC, many of them involving the weather and the general unpleasantness of said weather. But the coming months also bring all of your favorite summer traditions and the promise of some new ones.

And when looking for fun local traditions, one of the most reliable places we can turn to in Borderstan is Helix Lounge. Located at 1430 Rhode Island Ave NW, Helix Lounge is planning to bring a favorite event back to the neighborhood along with a new one.

First, the Returning Event

On Wednesday, May 29, from 5 to 7 pm, the Backyard Bash will return to the outdoor patio of the Helix Lounge. For just $8, Washingtonians can choose from a variety of specialty burgers (including a vegetarian option), complimentary toppings (as well as specialty toppings for a slight charge), a bag of Utz potato chips and a classic macaroni salad. All of this great food will naturally be paired with Helix Lounge’s regular Happy Hour drink specials.

The Backyard Bash will take place every Wednesday from May 29 through Labor Day.

Local Beer Night

And as for that new event mentioned above? Helix Lounge is about to become your newest stop in the local craft beer scene. Every Tuesday evening starting May 21, Helix Lounge will be hosting Local Beer Night, meaning just $4 for select local beers on tap. Those beers will operate in two different sets.

May 20 through July 15, the selection will be:

• DC Brau “The Public” Pale Ale (Washington, DC)
• Port City Brewing Company “Essential Pale Ale” (Alexandria, VA)
• Starr Hill “The Love” Wheat Hefeweizen (Charlottesville, VA)
• Flying Dog “Old Scratch” Amber Ale (Frederick, MD)

And from July 15 through August 31, the selection will include:

• Heavy Seas “Loose Cannon” IPA (Baltimore, MD)
• DC Brau “The Citizen” Belgian Ale (Washington, DC)
• Dogfish Head “Burton Baton” Imperial IPA/English-Style Ale Blend (Milton, DE)
• Flying Dog “Under Dog” Atlantic Lager (Frederick, MD)

With so many great deals and activities coming up right in the heart of Borderstan, it almost makes you excited for the hot and muggy weather. Well, at least it makes you excited to forget about the humid weather while relaxing at the Helix Lounge.

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From Katie Andriulli. Email her at katie[AT]borderstan.com and follow her on Twitter @kandriulli.

Perilli from Rolling Ficelle. (Katie Andriulli)

So, dear readers, DC has a lot of food trucks (like, over 100, somehow). Some of them are out-of-control good, others… meh. But how does one know what to pick when the hunger pangs come calling? Do longer lines necessarily translate into better food?

Or are the better trucks just more efficient? Which truck gives you the most bang for your buck? Why do you drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Did anything about The Following make sense? These are just a few of the questions I’ll be attempting to answer for you each week.

This week, we road-tested the Rolling Ficelle, purveyors of fine sandwiches.

Food Selection and Price

The Ficelle specializes in sandwiches served on mini french baguettes (ficelles) from DC’s own Lyon Bakery. They offer eight options, all named after famous artists (see the full menu here). The Davis (roasted chicken, lemon aioli, avocado, romaine and slivered almonds) and the Rothko (prosciutto, provolone, romaine, tomatoes and herb butter) are just two of the standouts.

There’s also one veggie option, the Perilli (eggplant, red peppers, mozzarella and roasted garlic aioli). And don’t forget to ask them about their specials when you go…their french onion soup is better than it probably has a right to be.

All sandwiches are $7.75 plus tax. Chips are $1 and soda and lemonade are $2.

The Verdict!

• Wait time: 5/5. The line was pretty short (2-3 people ahead of us) but it was straight up gross outside during lunch hour on the day we went, so the crowds may have been thinner than usual. That being said, it took less than three minutes from the time we ordered to the time our sandwiches were handed to us, which is almost implausible.
• Service: 5/5. The guy who took our order was very friendly and had a nice hat on. Plus, they take credit cards, which is a must.
• Bang for your buck: 4/5. The Ficelle is probably not the cheapest food truck around – sandwiches will run you about $8 bucks each – but the combo deal, which includes a sandwich, chips and a fresh lemonade (amazeballs!) for about $10 is a pretty sweet deal. Also, the sandwiches are BIG y’all (see below) and the ingredients are fresh and high quality, so you won’t feel swindled in the least.
• Deliciousness: 4.5/5. I ordered the Perilli and my friend chose the Bluhm (roast beef, green peppers, giardiniera, herb butter and beef jus). We devoured them like ravenous bears at a Boy Scout Jamboree, and both raved about the taste. The roasted garlic aioli on the Perilli was especially indulgent, and all the ingredients complimented each other nicely. The actual ficelle is served warm and toasty, but not in a gross Quiznos kinda way. I took off 1/2 a point because my sandwich got a little soggy at the bottom under the weight of its ingredients, making it a bit less appetizing to finish (but I did anyway, obviously).
• Overall: 4.5/5. If you want a kick-ass sandwich for a pretty good value and aren’t one of those jerks who seems to have a spare 3 hours to wait in line for your lunch, then the Ficelle is the truck for you.

Follow the Rolling Ficelle on Twitter @TheFicelle.

Truck you’re too scared to try? E-mail me at katie[AT]borderstan.com and and let me know! (I mean, I’m not saying I’ll try it either you weirdo, but who knows!) 

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Hill Country Backyard Barbecue on the lawn in front of the National Building Museum. The downtown location is at 410 7th Street NW.(Laetitia Brock)

From Laetitia Brock. Email her at laetitia[AT]borderstan.com. You can follow her at @FrenchTwistDC and on her own blog, French Twist DC.

The beach is so last year… this summer, we’re going country. The New York Avenue Beach Bar will not be back this summer, but DC is getting an outdoor backyard barbecue instead. Hill Country Barbecue Market, the Penn Quarter Texas barbecue restaurant, kicked off Hill Country Backyard Barbecue on the lawn in front of the National Building Museum Friday evening.

The weather was pretty perfect for outdoor dining Friday night and a few clever diners had BYO(P)B… brought their own picnic blanket, which came in very handy since the available picnic tables and bales of hay were all taken up pretty quickly. No need to BYOB anything else though, Hill Country Backyard Barbecue serves beer and signature cocktails such as Sangria, Texas Tornado and a Hill Country Cooler.

The menu is kept pretty simple and will change daily. On Friday, options included a pit-smoked brisket and pork spare ribs. All entrees are $10 and come with a choice of sides. The food is not made on site, but prepared at the restaurant and transported to the backyard barbecue.

Hill Country’s Backyard Barbecue will be open Wednesday through Friday from 4 to 11 pm, Saturday from noon to 11 pm, and Sunday from noon to 9 pm. On Friday and Saturday nights, there will be live music. Hill Country Backyard Barbecue is located behind the Verizon Center on 5th street between F and G streets.

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The 14th & U Farmer’s Market. (Luis Gomez Photos)

The 14th and U Farmers Market will be open this Saturday at the corner of 14th and U Streets at the Reeves Center from 9 am to 1 pm. These are the hours throughout the season (Saturdays only).

It is a great weekend for strawberries and asparagus.  Pleasant Pops has joined the market and will be inaugurating their first visit with Strawberry Ginger Lemonade, Strawberries & Cream, Honey Lavender and Mexican Sweet Cream and Cinnamon pops.

Whisked will be there as well with its great pastries.  Plenty of pastured pork and grass fed beef and lamb, duck and rabbit.  Real French style goat cheeses and delicious breads to go with from Panomamas’s.

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Tonight: Black Whiskey has a soft opening at 9 pm. (Luis Gomez Photos)

May2 at 9 pm Black Whiskey is having its soft opening.

Chef and owner, Darren Norris of Kushi Izakaya & Sushi, are claiming his spot on the corridor at 1410 14th Street NW, the former site of Mar de Plata restaurant. Renovations and remodeling for Black Whiskey have been going strong for the last couple of weeks.

Black Whiskey went totally black on its facade. It  keeps the floor tiling of the downstairs space for what they call the “Social Room,” with a capacity of 250. Exposed brick walls and wood details are upstairs in the “Carvery Pub.”

The drink menu will include small batch whiskeys and a large selection of beers on tap. The menu will be “contemporary, farm-to-table, rustic, American meals such as roasted chicken and lamb, with sides like potatoes au gratin and sous-vide cooked vegetables.”

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Mariachis and Margaritas. (Borderstan Collage)

From Jane Alonso. Her passion for food and spirits leads her on frequent excursions into Borderstan’s land of bars and restaurants. Email her at jane[AT]borderstan.com

Margaritas are rarely my drink of choice unless I happen to find myself in a bar on Cinco de Mayo. I love tequila, but I find the margarita mix used by most bartenders to be too cloyingly sweet for my taste. However, given the chance to attend this year’s Margarita March, I decided to give this classic another look.

Organized by Beerathon LLC, the team behind the DC Whiskey Walk, the Margarita March last Saturday gave ticket-paying participants the opportunity to sample margaritas in eight Borderstan restaurants — Alero, Ben’s Next Door, Nellie’s, Bar Rouge, La Villa, Judy Restaurant, G. Stoney’s and Tabaq. Armed with my ticket, I set off for an afternoon of drinking amid the crowds.

First, it is worth noting the history on this popular cocktail. Contrary to what many probably believe, the margarita isn’t a classic Mexican drink. Like so many things we Americans conceive as “Mexican,” the margarita was actually a cross-border invention.

During Prohibition, Americans crossed the southern border in search of liquor, bringing with them their suggestions for what bartenders should serve. At the time, the “Daisy” was a popular American cocktail consisting of brandy, fruit-based liqueur, and lemon juice. Daisy, is a nickname for Margaret, which is translated in Spanish as “Margarita.”  Swap tequila for the brandy and viola — the Margarita was born.

A Margarita done right respects this history of using fresh citrus juice and good quality ingredients. Unfortunately, many bars resort to pre-made artificial margarita mix, which is why I have developed a distaste for the drink over time (not to mention too many bad headaches from all that bad mixing). There were examples of both ends of the spectrum at the 2013 Margarita March.

To call out two winners — Ben’s Next Door and Bar Rouge both had excellent Margaritas made with fresh ingredients and good quality tequila.  Bar Rouge in particular went above and beyond with a version made with fresh-squeezed lemon and lime juice, cointreau, and real de penjamo tequila, proving that a Margarita can compete with the best.

On the other hand, the Margaritas at Judy Restaurant were being poured by an overworked bar hand from a ratty-looking plastic jug filled with a sickly, greenish color liquid. Tequila was apparently already mixed into the jugs. Hmm. Okay, so presentation isn’t everything — I tried to give the drink a fair review on taste…

But alas… it was pretty bad. Artificially sweet and hardly a hint of tequila. Perhaps the restaurant was too overwhelmed by the crowds to put their best foot forward. Indeed, the poor bartender seemed to not know how to handle the increasingly frustrated patrons waiting for the staff to send more of the ghoulish liquid up from the kitchen.

I suspect that Alero’s Margaritas were also made with an artificial pre-mix, but the festive atmosphere made me feel less critical. Who can be grouchy with lively salsa playing in the background amid piñatas and the smell of fajitas? Even the worst Margarita tastes good in these conditions, which is how most American Mexican restaurants get away with serving such poor versions without a backlash from customers. But it doesn’t have to be this way!

I have one regret from the Margarita March — I very much wanted to try Tabaq’s Margarita, but I was too impatient to wait in the very long line to get into their tiny bar. It’s on my list for next year.

Happy Cinco de Mayo – and if you find some truly excellent Margaritas in Borderstan, we want to hear about them!

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B Too at 1324 14th Street NW to open May 7. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Luis Gomez. Catch his photos at One Photograph A Day. Follow him on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos.

Bart Vandaele of Belga Cafe is getting ready to open B Too. The weekend showed lots of activity at Vandaele’s new restaurant at 1324 14th Street location, just steps from The Pig and its new chef Michale Bonk.

After a year of a renovations, the opening was expected to be in April but the new opening date is May 7, according to Washington Business Journal. A peek through the front window shows that the furniture and decorations are mostly in place; the inside of the place looks gorgeous.

It seems like the 14th Street corridor is blooming this spring with new restaurants. After Le Diplomate’s April 12 soft opening and subsequently great reviews, many are waiting for the openings of Cafe Di Bari, M Cafe bar (both at at 14th and R NW) and Ghibellina.

B Too’s menu will offer waffles, Belgian dishes and a wide selection of beers. There is more information on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

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