Indian Venue Opens in J Street

Those who have been to J Street over the past week may have noticed a chef giving out free samples of Indian food from a small table near the H Street entrance during the lunchtime rush. While J Street has had special events this semester such as the "Meet the Dietitian Program," this one was different. This tasting was to preview the new Indian venue, The White Peacock.

Starting on Monday, the White Peacock opened for a trial period in a more permanent spot, at the Burrito del Rey station. The trial will run for two weeks while Sodexo management assesses student response. During the trial, The White Peacock will be serving food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., while Burrito del Rey will serve its Mexican fare from 3 p.m. through 9 p.m.

The White Peacock serves traditional Indian cuisine such as Tandoori Chicken and Na'an bread while incorporating Vegetarian options into its menu. An entree portion is priced at $5.99, which is the same price as entrees at other J Street venues such as Burrito del Rey, Little Italy and Charlie Chiangs Kwai.

More changes could come for J Street in the future as the university readies plans to renovate the first floor of the Marvin Center. The upcoming renovation, which will remove the staircase in the center of J Street, will provide more floor space in the eatery and could mean further changes to venues. The university is also looking to keep J Street competitive in the face of new eateries opening in "The Avenue" complex on I Street.

DC Restaurant Highlight: Bayou on Penn

Sandwiched between Washington Circle and the corridor of Georgetown boutiques, lies an area more familiar to GW students as home to the District's only Trader Joe's, than a culinary hot spot. But a new business aims to become a go-to bar and restaurant for its neighbors.

It is a Cajun-inspired restaurant and bar called Bayou, open for business six days a week. Diners and bar hoppers can enjoy live jazz music Wednesday through Saturday during the dinner rush, and local bands take center stage late Fridays and Saturdays.

Jason York, one of the establishment's four owners, sat down with WRGW News to discuss his vision, "We are trying to be a neighborhood bar with live music, reasonably-priced, delicious food, sports on TV and a great drink menu," he said. "We really wanted to bring the great atmosphere of New Orleans to DC."

Some must-try specialties: the fried green tomatoes (Executive Chef Rusty Holman calls them his "southern specialty"), the pork wings and the bread pudding drizzled with a bourbon caramel sauce.

The drink menu features a full selection of Abita beers from Louisiana, complemented by traditional New Orleans cocktail such as Hurricanes and Sazeracs.

"It feels like it could be a familiar place where everybody knows each other," said Kendra Johnson, a GW junior studying political science. "The flavors are unique and delicious, it's a great casual atmosphere and just two blocks from campus."

Be sure to check out Bayou on Penn first-hand on March 8th for Mardi Gras events all weekend long.

For more information, visit www.bayoupenn.com.

Dupont Circle Restaurant has Generosity on the Menu

Often, when dining out with friends the bill can cause nervous tension with dilemmas of how to best split the bill, controversy over who is paying and tips being calculated. At Karma Kitchen, this is never an issue.

The bill arrives in a green envelope and reads “Your Bill Total: $0.00. In the spirit of generosity, someone who came before you made a gift of this meal. We hope you will continue the circle of giving in your own way!”

Karma Kitchen is open only for Sunday lunch, when Dupont Circle’s Polo India Club becomes a ‘volunteer-run, pay-it-forward restaurant within a restaurant.’

Owner Arbinda Rajbhandari heard about the original Karma Kitchen in Berkeley, California, and decided to try it in Washington. It opened on February 14^th 2009 and has been able to sustain itself over the past year through guest contributions.

The food is delicious. There is always naan bread, basmati rice and chai tea served. Otherwise the meal is whatever the chef feels like making that day. All of the food is traditional Indian vegetarian cuisine and extra helpings and drink refills are generous.

“Karma Kitchen has become a part of my weekly routine,” said Caitlin Carroll, a sophomore student. “It is a community gathering of people who take time from their busy schedules to share a meal. The positive energy energizes me and inspires me,” said Carroll.

Karma Kitchen is located at 1736 Conntecticut Ave. NW (Polo India Club) on Sundays from noon till’ three.

J Street Changes Again

As returning students may have already noticed, a lot has changed at J Street over the summer. The most noticeable is the expansion of the J Street Café, making it even more like a traditional college cafeteria. The wall that used to separate J Street Café from the rest of the food area has been torn down to make room for a 33-foot salad bar, an extended hot menu bar and a dessert case. The bagel shop has turned into a high-rated kosher food option and is blessed everyday by a rabbi. Also, the pasta option has been replaced by food catered from a local Indian restaurant.

Many students will also be happy to learn that the Dining Services Commission is planning to place comment boxes around J Street and Ames Dining Hall on the Mount Vernon Campus. According to Christopher Franzetti, the Director of the Dining Services Commission, they are also planning to set up a table on particular days so that students can voice their opinions directly to the Sodexho manager.

Franzetti says that these changes will hopefully meet the demands of students and he considers that so far, this year they’ve been a big success.

- Ahna Olson

New Campus Choices

Hungry students have a variety of new options to choose from on campus this fall.  Wasabi To-Go features modern Japanese cuisine in a convenient location - right next to Au Bon Pain in 2000 Penn.  Their menu includes Japanese staples like sushi and sashimi, as well as vegetarian options.  The to-go Wasabi location takes GWorld, just like their original location. 

 

Expect construction to begin on a CVS in 2000 Penn soon.  The store will open next semester in the former Tower Records space, bringing the total number of CVS stores in a three block radius of campus to five.  Like the other locations, CVS will take GWorld as well.

 

Another addition to the list of locations you can use your GWorld card is the Marvelous Market at 2424 Pennsylvania Avenue.  The store opened late last semester.

 

Coinciding wtih an emphasis of recycling on campus is a soon to be open, eco-friendly restaurant, Founding Farmers.  It's located in the IMF building at 1924 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Developed by the National Farmers Union, the restaurant will feature fresh local produce and meats to emphasize the importance of sustainable agriculture.  Employees will follow strict guidelines for reducing energy use and waste, while menus will be printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.  Also, their water will be filtered in-house to eliminate throwaway bottles. 

 

And if you're looking for a place for happy hour, Tonic, on the corner of 21st and G Streets now serves liquor along with beer and wine.  In a long fought battle, the restaurant was granted a full liquor license over the summer.  Just remember that you are not allowed to purchase alcohol with your GWorld card, so make sure to stop by an ATM first!

 - Monika Wysocki

Happy August!

If you've ever been in DC during the month of August, you know how slow things can be.  Congress leaves town which means the city practically comes to a standstill. Not to mention, it's unbearably hot and muggy and you're forced to fight tourists right and left. So, in honor of the first day of the worst month for Washingtonians, some important (and not so important) campus updates.

• In case you missed it, WRGW is going to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. We'll be going on August 24th and returning on August 29th, so be sure to check back for event coverage during that week!

• President Knapp should be living on campus by the time the fall semester begins. According to University spokesperson Tracy Shario, Knapp's house will be ready by mid-August. If you haven't seen it lately, the old Alumni house has been extended and a large new bay window has been installed. An open house is scheduled for October.

• Restaurant week is almost here! What's that, you ask? Twice a year, DC restaurants, that on a student's budget you probably couldn't afford, offer three course meals for $20.08 for lunch and $35.08 for dinner. Make your reservations now, because the more popular restaurants book-up quickly.

• Cmail is a thing of the past. Welcome GWmail! To switch your email address to the new google-based GWmail, log on to my.gwu.edu and click on the mail option on the left side of your screen. Make sure to update all of your listings because email addresses now end with an @gwmail.gwu.edu. Cmail will forward your email for 6 months, but after that, messages with your old address will be bounced back. Now you can enjoy GChatting with the entire GW community.

• In honor of the summer Olympics, the Vern is sponsoring a sports themed summer film festival. On the Mount Vernon Quad (Eckles Library is the rain location) Remember the Titans will be shown on Wednesday, August 6, at 8:30pm and A Leauge of Their Own will be shown on August 13 at 8pm. On Wednesday, August 20, come to the Mount Vernon pool to cool off with Cool Runnings at 8:30pm.

• August also means that it's almost college football season! Now I know we don't get riled up about these things at GW (especially since we don't have a team), but for those of you who follow it, DC might be turning into a football town. According to a Washington Post article, DC will host the 9th ranked ACC team against Navy at Nationals Park. The inaugural Congressional Bowl will be held on December 20th. There's only one catch - there has to be nine eligible teams in the ACC. Last season, only eight of the twelve teams qualified. Regulations state that teams must win at least six games to be eligible for a bowl game. Fingers crossed!

• If you're stuck in DC this month, there is at least some good news! The District will offer buyers an exemption from the 5.75 percent sales tax for school supplies, clothing, shoes, and accessory items costing $100 or less. The Sales Tax holiday will begin on Saturday, August 2, through Sunday, August 10. A second tax holiday will be in November, beginning the weekend following Thanksgiving.

• UPD is celebrating "National Night Out" with food, music, and the opportunity for community members to speak with police officials from the university and MPD. The 25th annual "National Night Out" is a drug and crime prevention event designed to heighten awareness and strengthen neighborhood spirit. The event will be held on Tuesday, August 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. on the corner of 22nd and F Streets.

• The Princeton Review's annual survey was released this week and GW made four separate lists. As you might recall, GW had the distinction of being the "most politically active" school last year, but American University took over the top slot this year. GW was bumped to second place. As for the other lists, GW placed third in "great college towns," sixth in "dorms like palaces" (although students living in Thurston might disagree!), and 20th in "happiest students."

• Starting today, a local community college is banning tobacco anywhere on campus -- inside or outside. Montgomery College is one of more than 130 campuses nationwide that have gone smoke-free, according to the Washington Post. These schools are most commonly medical schools and community colleges. Montgomery College is the first college in the area to ban tobacco on campus. Most local universities, like GW, do not allow smoking in buildings, including dorms, and require smokers to stand a certain distance from entrances. In 2006, law professor John Banzhaf attempted to eliminate outdoor smoking at GW, but the school just enacted stricter outdoor smoking rules. Banzhaf told the Washington Post that he believes, "Almost certainly within five years, virtually all college campuses will be smoke-free."

- Mallory Thompson

CI Briefs

Welcome CI-ers. From DC’s unique culture to Colonial basketball games to plenty of politics both on and off campus, we hope you grow to love GW as much as we do. If you’re looking for somewhere to fit in, stop by the WRGW tables at the CI student org fair. We’d love to meet you and if you’re interested in broadcast journalism, we want you to join our team! Just give us your email and we'll get you on the air in the fall. If you miss us at the fair, don't worry. You can email me at wrgwnewsdirector@gmail.com to let me know you're interested or to ask any questions.

Now on with the news!

• President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg will sign copies of his book Big Man on Campus: A University President Speaks Out on Higher Education at Politics & Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave., NW) on Friday (tonight) at 7pm. Trachtenberg's new book is about the current state of higher education. With more than 30 years of experience, Trachtenberg helps to reveal what goes on behind the scenes of running a university.

• Comedian Robin Williams will headline this year's Colonials Weekend, University officials announced last Friday. Williams will perform at the Smith Center Friday, Oct. 17 and Saturday Oct. 18 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. July 8, and cost between $57 and $150, according to a news release. Peter Konwerski, assistant vice president for SASS, told the Hatchet that Williams was the "first and top choice" for Colonials Weekend.

• Women's basketball coach Joe McKeown, resigned this month after 19 years in Foggy Bottom to become the women’s basketball coach at Northwestern. McKeown announced his decision June 9 in Evanston, Illinois. "I just felt like I had been at GW for 19 years and I was very fortunate to have a great run there," McKeown told the Hatchet. "But Northwestern came after me and really emphasized the potential for women's basketball there, being in the Big 10." McKeown’s autistic son was a significant factor in his decision to move. Although McKeown’s contract was extended through 2014, Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz said there was no buyout in the move. Kvancz said he will begin the search for a new coach immediately and hopes to finish it as soon as possible.

• Pops Mensah-Bonsu is back in Dallas to try out for the Mavericks. While Pops was recovering from a knee injury that kept him from playing most of his senior year at GW, he played in 12 games during his rookie season with the Mavericks in 2006-07. After a stint playing abroad in Italy, he’s hoping for another shot at the NBA.

• A recent GW grad is already making a name for herself – as Miss DC. Kate Marie Grinold won the May 31st contest and will go on to compete in the Miss America Pageant in January. The Miss D.C. pageant awarded Grinold a $5,000 academic scholarship and she will now have the opportunity to compete for more scholarship money in the Miss America Pageant. The competition will be held in Las Vegas, and contestants will be filming a reality television show about the Miss America pageant this fall.

• GW's wireless network has expanded throughout the Marvin Center. Ronald C. Bonig, vice president and chief information officer, said, "This move gives the university community the flexibility to work throughout the campus and remain connected to our wireless network." This is part of a university-wide initiative to expand wireless connectivity throughout the Foggy Bottom Campus. The next buildings to receive wireless installations are the Academic Center, Media and Public Affairs Building, Old Main, Ross and Tompkins halls, and Fulbright and Thurston residence halls.
  


• Hillary Clinton suspended her run for the White House in DC last week. She spoke to 3,000 people at the National Building museum. Arriving 45 minutes late, she pledged her support to competitor Barack Obama saying, “So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can.” Obama will be confirmed as the Democratic nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this summer. Photo courtesy GW student Kat Overland.
  

• Friday the 13th was full of confusion in DC as a massive power outage crippled the center of the city. The outage was from the PEPCO substation in Chinatown and knocked out power for 30 blocks, including three metro station, for nearly three hours during the morning workday. Also, in a seeming unrelated event, two fires broke out in Metro Center station caused by smoldering stud bolts and while the station was only closed briefly, they added major delays to the morning rush. In fact, Metro had its share of problems last week. Besides Friday’s red line disaster, the orange line was affected three times last week, stranding commuters after a train derailed last Monday and then trains having to single-track around kinks in the line caused by the excessive heat near the West Falls Church stop. Investigations are underway for both the power outage and metro’s derailment.

• If you’re in DC this summer, a few new restaurants in our area are worth checking out. There’s a new Spanish tapas spot in Georgetown – Bodega. It’s open 11 during the week and until midnight on the weekends and boasts traditional Spanish tapas, much like Jaleo in Penn Quarter. Also new in the Georgetown area is Tacklebox, a lobster shack. From the same owners as Hook, Tacklebox is located next door in the old Georgetown Baglery. They offer affordable seafood and for all of you New Englanders – Lobster Boil pots to go. And finally, former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelson will be flipping burgers at his family’s new restaurant, Good Stuff Eatery which will open later this month. Located at 303 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, it’s only a few blocks from the Capitol South metro stop. Burger prices will likely range between $5.50 and $7.95. The Mendelson family has plans to open 50 nationwide over the next decade.

- Mallory Thompson

Take One Down, Pass It Around....

Two eateries on the GW campus have recently recieved liquor licenses.

Wow Wingery's menu of burgers and wings will soon be complimented wtih draft beers and bottles. Students can expect Wow to carry alcohol within three to four weeks.

Tonic, the relatively new restaurant on the corner of 21st and G Street, has had a rockier road to their liquor license. Their first request was rejected in fall of 2006. They met with much opposition from Foggy Bottom residents that were worried about increased noise that might come from bar patrons.

Tonic continued the fight and the second request for a liquor license was approved with strict stipulations on the type of alcohol they could serve. Their drink menu will now include beer and wine, with hard liqour only being served on weekend mornings. Pitchers of beer and drink specials after 7pm will not be allowed.

Tonic must also comply with mandated hours. The restuarant will remain open until 1am on Sundays and Thursdasy and 2am on Fridays and Satrudays.

The resturant plans to have daily happy hours from 5-7pm. These include half-price draft beers, $5 wine, and 50-cents wings. There are already 10 beers on tap and two more are on their way.

Judging by the turn-out last weekend to watch the Patriots-Jaguars game on the three large flat-screen TVs, Tonic is sure to become the new bar to go to in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood.

Senior Max Bernstein is glad the two eateries obtained their licenses. "It's always nice to sit with a group of people and drink a beer during football games," he said. "I'm excited that Tonic and Wow are bringing that opportunity to the GW community. It's definitely a void in the neighborhood that needed to be filled.

- Julie Hyman