A man wanted in a shooting in Chinatown last month has been caught on video, according to authorities.
The assault occurred on the 600 block of H Street NW about 2:45 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 10.
Video police distributed today in connection with the crime shows a man with a bandana walking on a sidewalk. It wasn’t immediately clear what role he may have played in the shooting.
A man was shot near the Friendship Archway in Chinatown early this morning, police said.
The shooting happened on the 600 block of H Street NW about 2:45 a.m.
Cops heard several gunshots before finding the victim. He was brought to a local hospital for treatment.
Police haven’t released any suspect information.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099. Additionally, you can text any information to the MPD by sending a message to 50411.
(Corrected on Aug. 8 at 8:45 p.m.) This article has been corrected to reflect that Ping Pong Dim Sum was closed temporarily, not permanently, as originally reported.
An Asian dumpling restaurant is back in business in Chinatown after closing briefly to repair its air conditioning system, a representative of the eatery told Borderstan.
Ping Pong Dim Sum at 900 7th St. NW shut down for a few days last week and reopened Sunday, Aug. 7, manager Guney Demirci said.
On Thursday, Aug. 4, the restaurant appeared to be out of business for good. An OpenTable reservation page for Ping Pong Dim Sum said the eatery was “permanently closed.” Its main phone line also was disconnected.
The closure would have marked the end of the London-based Ping Pong Dim Sum chain’s time in the District. Earlier this year, the chain closed its Dupont Circle outpost.
A D.C. man may have the chance to be crowned the greatest air guitarist in the world.
That man is Doug “Thunder” Stroock.
Last week, Stroock and three others strummed invisible guitars well enough to be awarded top honors in the Mid-Atlantic by a panel of judges at the 9:30 Club.
Next Saturday, they’ll compete in Portland, Ore., against 17 of the nation’s best faux-rockers for the chance to earn a spot among the air guitar gods.
Whoever wins will represent the U.S. in this year’s Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland.
Though he’s a tornado of ’80s fashion and creepy crotch-grabs onstage, Stroock is a fairly normal guy during his day-to-day life as a business consultant.
Stroock, who lives in Chinatown, says his persona is a “a sex figure that’s almost humorous.”
“I work out just enough to be in shape, but there’s no reason I should be kissing my bicep or pointing at it,” Stroock says. “It’s very opposite to my day-to-day persona. It’s like me, but a very outsized version of me.”
“I was not one of those guys who was rocking out to Metallica in my bedroom when I was 12,” he explains. “The theater of it is what drew me.”
Stroock says that although his routines change year-to-year, there’s always one constant: he’s going to rip off his shirt at some point.
“In every performance that I do, I know somewhere in there I am going to tear off my shirt,” says Stroock. “It’s my signature move.”
“When you play air guitar, you’re celebrating the essence of rock,” he adds. “You’re celebrating everything it means to be a rock star without actually being the musician part of the rock star.”
Will the overly macho moves and bare chest be enough to take home the world title? Stroock sure hopes so.
Until then: “I’m revisiting what my routine was and practicing,” Stroock says. “Definitely hitting the gym.”
Pareidolic Storefront is by ep_jhu from the Borderstan Flickr pool.
Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.
Today’s photo, Pareidolic Storefront is by ep_jhu. The photo was taken October 9.
If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from DC’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.
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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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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.
Daikaya Ramen Bar. (Jane Alonso)
The highly-anticipated Daikaya ramen bar introduces the art of traditional Japanese ramen to an American audience familiar mainly with the styrofoam microwave cup variety.
Opening to long lines in February, Daikaya is the latest in a new wave of hip noodle shops hitting the DC foodie scene, joining Toki Underground (H Street NE) and Ren’s Ramen (Wheaton, MD) in showcasing authentic Asian noodle bowls in a fast-paced, open-kitchen atmosphere.
Worth the Long Wait
What makes Daikaya worth the long wait? The noodles are the real deal — long, tender, wavy, yellow strands made by Nishiyama Noodles in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Yes, you heard it right — the noodles are actually imported from Japan, shipped directly to Daikaya.
It seems unbelievable that the ramen would not made in-house given that it is what the restaurant showcases, but Chef Katsuya Fukushima believes that ramen is such a unique commodity it has to be made in Japan to be truly authentic (note that Ren’s Ramen made the same decision – it also gets its noodles from Nishiyama).
The delicious and rich broth is all Fukushima’s making. Daikaya’s stock is “chintan” style — mostly pork-based, with some beef and chicken thrown into the mix. As noted in a fascinating interview with the former Minibar chef in City Paper, Fukushima uses a bit of the stock from the night before in every new batch of stock he makes, just as a bread starter might be used for years. This gives the stock its deep complexity.
Three Choices of Ramen
Three choices of traditional ramen are offered at Daikaya, each featuring a different flavor added to the stock: shio (salt), shoyu (soy), and mugi-miso (barley-miso). All bowls come with ground and sliced pork, vegetables (bean sprouts, onions, and chashu) sautéed in a wok, and several pieces of nori seaweed. There is also a vegan bowl of ramen for non-meat eaters. The soup is served made-to-order and the server will urge you to eat it right away, before the noodles become soggy or the broth too cloudy. This isn’t a venue to linger over your food.
For an appetizer, try the beautiful fried, made-to-order gyoza (fantastic, though I wasn’t a big fan of the vinegary, slightly bitter dipping sauce). Wash it all down with a sake, a Japanese beer, or calpico, a milky drink. And that is it for the simple, straightforward menu. Like in Asia, you go to a ramen bar for ramen and not for sushi or steak or even conversation with your fellow diners. The mantra here is to order quickly, eat quickly, pay quickly and move on with the rest of your day.
Fukushima is serious about ramen — despite his years of training in molecular gastronomy (including an apprenticeship at El Bulli in Spain), Fukushima spent three weeks in Sapporo under the tutelage of a ramen-master before opening Daikaya. The results show. The ramen is satisfying and delicious, and according to friends who have spent time in Japan, about as authentic a ramen experience as you can get in Washington, DC.
And there is more to come. On March 29, Fukushima and his business partner, Daisuke Utagawa (who also owns Sushiko), plan to open an izakaya, a type of Japanese drinking establishment, which also serves food to accompany the drinks, on the second floor above Daikaya.
Will Fukushima use the space to showcase some of his creative abilities honed in the Jose Andres empire? Keep watching this space for a future report.
The Details: Daikaya
- Where Am I Going: Daikaya, 705 6th Street NW.
- When Am I Going: Sunday through Monday, 11:30 am to 10 pm; Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 am to 11 pm; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 am to midnight.
- Paycheck Pain: Ramen bowls run between $11.50-$12.75.
- Say What? Daikaya is not a destination for a quiet romantic dinner; the small space is packed and rollicking.
- What am I eating and drinking: Ramen, gyoza, beer and sake.
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From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com.
Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken. (Courtesy Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken)
Borderstan has its long list of places to frequent for breakfast. This fall, we published a whole post on the best spots in the neighborhood to eat the most important meal of the day, and Borderstan’s Jonathan Riethmaier is constantly feeding us new ideas on where to get our morning caffeine buzz.
But, if you’re in the mood for something sweet and a little out-of-the-way on your Thursday and Friday morning commute, then check-out a little pop-up action happening in Chinatown.
Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken will host a doughnut pop-up this Thursday and Friday (December 20 and 21) at the Chinatown Coffee Co. (475 H Street NW). The pop-up will sell a variety of doughnuts, including different flavors on each of the days.
The following flavors will be sold on both days:
- Vanilla Glazed — vanilla bean glaze ($2.25)
- Brooklyn Blackout — devil’s food cake, chocolate glaze, cookie crumbs ($2.50)
- Maple Bacon — maple glaze, Benton’s bacon ($2.50)
- Peanut Butter & Jelly — strawberry jelly, peanut butter glaze ($2.85)
- Crème Brûlée — vanilla custard, bruleed vanilla glaze ($2.85)
- Eggnog cake doughnut — nutmeg butter cake, vanilla custard and rum glaze ($2.50)
- Panettone doughnut — yeast raised fruitcake, rum glaze, and toasted almonds ($2.25)
On Thursday, patrons will be able to purchase the following flavors:
- Banana Nut — banana cake, mascarpone glaze, pecans ($2.50)
- Gingerbread — gingerbread dough, gingerbread glaze ($2.25)
- Grapefruit — pink grapefruit glaze ($2.25)
- Black & White — chocolate dough, white ganache, vanilla glaze ($2.85)
- Gianduia — chocolate dough, chocolate custard, hazelnut glaze ($2.85)
On Friday, patrons will be able to purchase the following flavors:
- Twink-nut — golden vanilla cake, buttercream filling, vanilla glaze ($2.50)
- Chocolate Glazed — Valrhona chocolate glaze ($2.25)
- Pecan — butterscotch glaze, pecans ($2.25)
- Mocha — espresso dough, chocolate custard, espresso glaze ($2.85)
- Oatmeal raisin — oatmeal dough, buttercream filling, granola crumbs ($2.85)
The Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken pop-up shop from Pastry Chef Jason Gehring will begin at 8 am and last until the doughnuts are sold out. Astor Doughnuts & Fried Chicken is scheduled to open in January 2013 in Metro Center.
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