The X2

Location of the NLEO Museum in Judiciary Square A new museum is coming to downtown DC, and it's going underground. The National Law Enforcement Officers Museum will be located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Judiciary Square (400 block of E St NW). The Memorial opened in 1991 atop a park that also serves as the northern entrance of the Judiciary Sq Metro station. The creation of the Museum portion was authorized by Congress and President Clinton in 2000. The new museum will be located across the street from the memorial, directly in front of the DC Court of Appeals building; the side with the snazzy glass-enclosed security checkpoint. Planned glass entrance pavilions on each side of the museum appear to compliment the DC Court of Appeals building, but also seem to be set off to the east and west sides, as to not block the view from E St NW. Organizers secured financing this January and construction has begun. The initial excavation will l...

The DC Department of Transportation will hold a meeting to discuss the Environmental Assessment for the streetcar's eastward expansion. The meeting is on Thursday May 19 . Details from DDOT are listed below. One of the reasons the development for streetcar is so important is that people should have some level of confidence that, when necessary, they can rely on a transit alternative to Metrorail or Metrobus. This is especially pressing since there are now planned delays and closures due to the SafeTrack initiative . Driving is one alternative, but so are walking, biking, car share, taxis/ride share, and now, streetcar. So, if your normal mode can't work today, well, there's always a backup, and a backup to that backup. Some redundancy in transit is OK ( some ). The basic plan is to extend the streetcar line from its current eastern terminus Oklahoma Avenue NE down to the Minnesota Ave Metro station, the Benning Road Metro station, or both. With this mild expansion, t...

Future site of Zips at Hechinger Mall. The Zips Dry Cleaners chain is coming to Hechinger Mall. Interior demo work has begun in the space that is near Safeway. This space was previously Ashley Stewart clothing store. Zips has been in operation since 1996 and has about 40 stores in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Many of the stores are franchised. Just peeking inside, I can see that the process of build-out is in the very early stages, so they won't open anytime soon. I'd look for it later this year. Zips will be located at 1571 Maryland Ave NE.

BAB is closed on Sunday, like the Streetcar. Hopefully, they both flip that policy sooner than later. On a recent trip to BAB Korean Fusion , I was pleasantly surprised that the staff and menu were quite vegan friendly. At many a DC restaurant, I make educated guesses about menu items, especially when the staff is not helpful or the menu doesn't specifically mark vegetarian items. A lot of the times that means I don't order anything for settle for basic, obviously vegetarian items. But, BAB staff was awesomely knowledgeable and fortunately they have plenty of options. I'm not a Korean food master by any stretch, but a dozen years of eating at Adam Express in Mount Pleasant made me love dishes like vegetarian bibimbap or japchae. BAB lets you order from a menu of special house dishes, but I chose the make-you-own, customizable option, with choice of protein, vegetable mix, and rice/quinoa. The tofu was excellent and I went with the backyard veggies (carrots, sp...

The construction of Fare Well , a new restaurant from the owners of Sticky Fingers , has progressed steadily over the last year. Recently, signage was installed atop the storefront at 406 H St NE. Not too much happening inside when I walked by, but the interior looks finished (construction wise), if not yet fully furnished. No word on an exact opening date, but the restaurant put out several calls for job applicants in early March. I'm really excited for this new, all-vegan option for H St, so stay tuned for more updates!