First Visit: St. Arnolds of Cleveland Park

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, so I hadn't been to St. Arnold's Mussel Bar & Underground's new Cleveland Park outpost since it opened this month. But when pals Will & Rachel were headed up there tonight, I crashed their party.

St. Arnolds in Cleveland Park, Patio Side

I was rewarded with a cozy bar setting with communal tables, a great selection of Belgian and English beers and their specialty, mussels and frites a billion different ways (ok, maybe more like 20+ ways). I went with the house speciality which is made with beer sauce, caramelized shallots, garlic, thyme and duck fat. I got a huge steaming pot of mussels perfectly cooked with a side of crispy, flavorful french fries. 

Mussels & Frites at St. Arnolds, Cleveland Park

On the beer front, I'm no expert, but my server steered me to the Ommegang Witte beer and I liked it a lot.  The beer steins are big, hefty and satisfying! I can't wait for spring when the windows all open and it's a beer garden all around. (We wondered aloud if the menu would change? It's so cozy and winter warming!)

Bottom line: It's worth checking out while it's cozy in January. If nothing else, you'll want to be on first name status with the bartender by the time spring breaks and those windows roll up!

St. Arnolds is located at 3433 Connecticut Avenue, at the corner of Connecticut and Ordway Street NW in Washington, DC. It's just across Ordway from Cleveland Park Metro. Full menu is here. 

More after the jump!

Chipotle Coming "Soon" to Cleveland Park

Y'all know how I feel about this...

St. Arnold's Mussel Bar to Open January 11th in Cleveland Park

Fans of St. Arnold's Mussel Bar's Facebook page learned today that the new Cleveland Park outpost will open January 11, 2012 at 5pm.

For those of you who don't yet know, St. Arnold's Mussel Bar & Underground has taken over the old Sabores space on Ordway Street at Connecticut Avenue NW - right across the street from the metro stop. I've been to the Dupont Circle location and can tell you it's a cozy spot that has super nice owner (that are often the ones serving you.)

They have a huge selection of Belgian beers on draft. I'd recommend trying out one of their mussels and frites dishes (they serve em SEVEN ways!) for dinner or a Nutella Belgian waffle for brunch or dessert.  Read the full menu here.

St. Arnolds: The "Before" Picture

I love what they've done to the enclosed (for winter, but in summer it rolls up) patio - festive lights strung across the ceiling, huge TVs for game day, and tons of chairs to accomodate groups. What we'll all get to see on the 11th is the basement space they've redone (anyone remember Park Bench... well, hopefully we can forget that.)

St. Arnolds: 48 Hours Before Opening Night

Will you be one of the first ones at to try it out or will you give them a few weeks before you pull up your barstool?

Live in Cleveland Park, follow me on Facebook & Twitter for the latest happenings in the 'hood.

Houses I Love: The One With the Pink Door

Every time I pass the house with the pink door, it makes me smile. It's just the kind of place I'd swoon about in Lonny magazine, but it's just two blocks from my condo.

I'm pretty sure a family lives there and I'd like to think one day, I'll end up with a man secure enough be ok with me painting our front door hot pink.

What's your favorite house in Cleveland Park - or your neighborhood - and why?

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.