The Georgetown Metropolitan

Martin’s Tavern, one of the first taverns in DC to reopen after prohibition, oozes history. It is where (recently verified!) JFK proposed to Jackie. And as any visitor know, various booths around the restaurant are noted as “favorites” of bygone DC bigwigs. And another point of pride for the restaurant is that every president since Truman has visited.

Well, that’s not quite right. Every president from Truman to George W. Bush has visited the tavern (either during or after their presidencies). The current occupant has not visited (and this might be one of the many instances that we all willingly grant a mulligan). But Barack Obama hasn’t visited either. Continue reading →

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A woman passed out due to carbon monoxide poisoning at the waterfront (she’ll be ok).
• Dog Tag bakery hosted Obama and Biden yesterday.

3200 block of P St.

GM has long tracked the alarming waxing and waning of the pernicious “dessert desert” in Georgetown. These are godforsaken locations along the main drags of the neighborhood where a hot and tired soul will have to walk upwards of two blocks in order to find some tasty frozen relief.

At times the deserts were nearly washed away. But recently several virtual Saharas have re-emerged while oases have multiplied in other spots.

Specifically: Thomas Sweet remains the only purveyor of ice cream or frozen yogurt along the entire stretch of Wisconsin Ave. At one point, not so long ago, you could get frozen yogurt at Tasty Frog at S St., some gelato at Dolcezza at Q St., ice cream at T Sweet’s, and some more frozen yogurt at Ice Berry at Dumbarton. No your stuck in line at T Sweet’s. Continue reading →

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• An image from a happily discarded proposal to sink a freeway beneath Georgetown.
• Guapo’s set to open at Washington Harbour in August.

Key Bridge

Photo by Aimee Custis.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Home next to Evermay up for sale at $22 million.
• Grace Street Coffee among the best in the city.

Potomac River

This week on Know Your Trees, GM is visiting a tree that is both beloved and hated for the exact same thing: its fruit. The tree in question: the mulberry.

Mulberry trees are a fast growing deciduous tree. The variety you are likely to see around DC, the red mulberry, is native to the eastern United States. The range spans basically all of the country east of the plains states and south of Chicago.

The red mulberry has a spade-like shaped leaf, like this:

But the leaves can also look like mittens and tridents, like this:

Continue reading →

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Great article about two Georgetown treasures: our historic manhole covers and Jerry McCoy.
• This confusion reminds GM of when he would tell people he was getting married at Dumbarton House. If their eyes shot open in surprise, GM knew they thought he meant Dumbarton Oaks.