Cleveland Park Metro Elevator Out of Service til May

Really, WMATA? Really?

When I read our Cleveland Park Metro elevator was being replaced, I thought "Cool. It has been hit or miss lately."

But then I saw this on WMATA's website:

Is it me, or does it not seem like it should take five months to replace an elevator? I mean, the hole is dug. Remove the old. Assemble the new. Rock on.

In the mean time, I feel terrible for folks with disabilities and the elderly neighbors that rely on it.

New Years Eve at Medium Rare: Steak & Champagne

When I asked Medium Rare's Mark Bucher about their New Year's Eve plans, I should have known he'd "go contrarian and not gouge people." After all, the Cleveland Park steak mecca didn't make their name on gobs of options... just doing what they do... really well.

Medium Rare

Medium Rare is offering their usual $19.50 set menu of rustic bread, mixed green salad and prime dry aged sirloin cap steak with hand cut fries. Want to kick it up a notch for the festive occasion, Bucher will throw in a bottle of Champagne and your whole tab will be just $40 per person (based on a party of two.)

My tip: Pace yourself and save room for their enormous, decadent classic America desserts like carrot cake, apple pie, hot fudge sundae, double chocolate fudge layer cake and New York cheesecake.

Medium Rare normally doesn't require reservations, but due to anticipated volume, will be taking reservations for New Year's Eve on Open Table or by calling the restaurant at (202) 237-1432.

Medium Rare is located at 3500 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington. DC at Cleveland Park Metro.

All Inclusive New Years Eve at District 2

If you're getting a big crew together in Cleveland Park for New Years and don't want to deal with coordination hassles, District 2's deal might be for you.

District 2 Bar & Grill

They've made it super easy, by allowing people to buy individual tickets or group booths via EventBrite - and it's an all-inclusive deal!  I mean, all you want to eat and drink on New Year's Eve for just $75... that's kind of awesome if you're planning on rockin' out. I might want a little more control of my personal space, so I'd opt for one of the 10, 6 or 5 person booths.


If you get your friends coordinated today (December 20th), you can buy three tickets and get one free.


District 2 is located at 3238 Wisconsin Avenue NW (cross street: Macomb) in Washington, DC.

Dino Offers Five Courses of Fun for New Years Eve

If you choose to ring in the New Year at Dino, one thing is certain, you will not leave hungry. The Cleveland Park Italian restaurant, voted Washingtonian’s Readers Favorite in2011 for Best Restaurant, will be serving five full courses, plus a few surprises along the way.

You’ll kick things off a splash of prosecco and a “bar snack,” but I recommending ordering one of Andrew’s famous cocktails as well.

Next comes a vegetarian lentil and gorgonzola soup. The lentils signify coins and riches for the coming year, so make sure you eat every bite! And, the gorgonzola has been aged 200 days and I hear it tastes amazing.

For each of the principal courses, you can choose between a seafood, meat and vegetarian selection, so diners of all stripes will be happy. Options will include black truffles, house made charcuterie and sausage, seasonal vegetables and other locally sourced ingredients.

Dino will wrap things up with house chocolate truffles, made by an Italian producers using a single origin Peruvian chocolate!

For more information, including full menu and pricing, visit Dino’s “Buon Capo D’Anno Da Dino!”website.

Dino is located at 3435 Connecticut Avenue NW, right across Ordway Street from Cleveland Park Metro. Reservations can be made through Open Table or by calling the restaurant at 202-686-2966.

TO DO: Christmas Eve Contest at Medium Rare

Christmas-ing in Cleveland Park and just gotta get out of the house? Head on down to Medium Rare in your WORST, tackiest, most ridiculous Christmas sweater and you could be a big winner (of food, not attention from the opposite sex).

Everyone donning Christmas themed sweaters will get free Egg Nog, but the worst of the worst will score a $150 in Medium Rare gift cards.

And if your entire family is the first one through the door wearing matching sweaters, Medium Rare will buy ya dinner:

Follow Medium Rare on Twitter for more fun deals and treats! Medium Rare is Cleveland Park's hottest steak joint, located at the 3500 Connecticut Avenue, right at Cleveland Park Metro. Check out their menu at http://mediumrarerestaurant.com/

Power Outage in Cleveland Park

My Christmas tree lights flickered and New Girl on DVR just went dark. A quick neighborhood canvas showed neighbors lights were out too, so I went to Pepco.com to report the outage.

Pepco's iPhone app Outage Map

Upside is, they know about it. Right now it's affecting 650 homes. A crew has been assigned to figure out the issue.

When you register your outage, they give you a choice to receive a phone call when power is restored. Pretty convenient so that you can go run errands or visit friends (ones that have heat and TV.)

Pepco's website says they expect power to be back on around noon. Now, what should a gal and a very small dog do for the next few hours?

UPDATE 11:08am: My power is back on at Ordway Gardens. Happy dance. Lesson learned... Pepco has an iPhone (and Droid and Berry) app. You can easily report outages, get updates and see maps of areas affected right from your smart lil phone. Who needs electricity? I mean, until you have to recharge.

To Do: Be The First to See "New Years Eve" and Help Woodley House

Looking for a laid back, fun night out this week? Thursday night at the Uptown, catch a special advance screening of the celeb-laden new flick, New Year's Eve. In addition to catching the romantic comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert De Niro, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfieffer, Zac Efron, Cary Elwes (*squee* Princess Bride fans!), Alyssa Milano and (that dawg) Ashton Kutcher, you'll also be helping an amazing neighboring charity, Woodley House. 

The night kicks off at 5:30pm at Spices for a reception and then the movies opens at 7:30pm and will be hosted by CNN's Dana Bash.

Movie Night at The Uptown Theater

All proceeds go to Woodley House, a local non-profit that helps people with mental health problems reclaim their lives. Each year, they help more than 300 people at their residential facility!

More information and tickets are available on the Woodley House website. (There are many levels, including just catching the movie in the balcony.) 


Follow Woodley House on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on their good work.

Fall at Rosedale Conservancy in Cleveland Park

One of my favorite finds since moving to Cleveland Park is Rosedale Conservancy, three-acres of terraced lawn hidden in our neighborhood since the 18th century. Through this gate, you enter rolling hills and secret spaces that are protected from development.

It is a privately-funded park that is supported solely by the neighborhood. As soon as I found out, I contributed to keep the space "as is" and even paid a little extra for Ike to be able to get his Rosedale dog tags. It's his favorite spot to stretch his legs and run all four pounds he's got a rocket launcher speed.

It's hard to say what season is the best at Rosedale, but fall is certainly gorgeous with the leaf lined paths and colors of the trees. (But sledding down the hills when it snows is up there too!) There are community events year round, such as Easter egg hunts and cookouts.

To learn more about Rosedale Conservancy or to help support it, visit the website... or better yet, just drop by (there are membership forms right by the entrance gate.

The main entrance to Rosedale Conservancy is located on Newark Street at the corner of 35th Street.