Vote For Shaw Businesses for Mission: Small Business

Chase and LivingSocial are going to award twelve small businesses individual grants of $250,000 to increase awareness of the important role small businesses play in local communities and to help small businesses grow.

An integral step to a business being considered for the grant is for them to receive at least 250 votes online by midnight tomorrow night (Saturday, June 30, 2012).  After clearing this hurdle, businesses will be selected for the grants by a panel.

I know of at least two small Shaw-area businesses in the running for consideration, and encourage you all to vote for both (you can vote for more than one business):  Beau Thai (a business that I'm an owner of) and Old City Green.  Please help these two businesses make the cut by taking just a minute of your time.

VOTING IS EASY!  Just click on this link (https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/), then click "log in and support," then type the business name you want to vote for ("Beau Thai" and "Old City Green"), and then cast your vote!

Through Beau Thai's Summer Cocktail List, Vegetate Lives on in Spirits

If you are a relative newcomer to this blog, you might not know how obsessed I was with the restaurant Vegetate, which formerly occupied 1414 Ninth Street and closed in late 2009. I loved everything about it: from its vegetarian masterpieces (man, I miss those risotto croquettes) to its cool vibe and atmosphere. I especially loved interacting with the owners, Jennifer and Dominic Redd, who were always such gracious hosts who poured their hearts into every element of the restaurant and yet always made time to talk with the neighborhood locals like me. My most fond memories are of the everyday experiences of just walking down after work for one of their awesome, original cocktails.

So fast forward, I’m now an owner of the restaurant Beau Thai at New Jersey and R (which, by the way, gets a fantastic review by Tom Sietsema in the upcoming Sunday Washington Post!) and am also one of the many Washingtonians who have longed for the return of Jennifer and Dominic to the restaurant scene.

When we embarked on creating a specialty cocktail list for Beau Thai, tapping Jennifer and Dominic for help was a logical choice: we wanted our list to be unique, to incorporate fresh ingredients like our food, and to feature a delicious concoctions, just like Vegetate’s cocktails. Fortunately for us, they were up for the challenge and more. They designed a summer drink list for us, which will officially unveil this Saturday night (with Jennifer and Dominic working the bar for us!).

All of the featured drinks are really fantastic. Ingredients found in the recipes include house-infused Thai chili vodka, homemade limoncello, ginger-lime puree, and house-grown kaffir lime leaves.  One drink that graced Vegetate’s menu and that is reincarnated is Beau Thai’s Thai Basil Gimlet. The bright green cocktail is made from muddled, house-grown Thai basil, fresh squeezed lime juice, brown sugar, and small batch vodka. The homemade ginger beer is refreshing, tasty and light.

Be sure to stop by Saturday night to say hello to old friends Jennifer and Dominic and anytime thereafter to taste the amazing summer cocktails they designed for Beau Thai!

Beau Thai
1700 New Jersey Avenue, NW
202.536.5636

Community Safety Walk Monday Night

ANC2C04 Commissioner Rachelle Nigro has organized a community safety walk, which will take place this coming Monday night (May 23).  Meet in front of Good Libations at 5th and M Streets, NW at 6:30. Come out to meet your neighbors and take a stand against crime. The final stop will be Beau Thai restaurant for a fun neighborhood gathering at their bar. All ANC 2C residents are encouraged to attend!

If you have any questions, contact Commissioner Nigro at 202.670.1732, nigroanc2c@gmail.com, or www.facebook.com/votenigro.

Community Safety Walk
Monday, May 23, 6:30 PM
Meet at the corner of 5th and M Streets, NW

Beau Thai Secures Liquor License

Our beloved neighborhood Thai restaurant Beau Thai -- which came in third place in City Paper's 2011 Readers' Poll Best of Thai Restaurants in D.C. -- finally secured its alcohol license last week and now features a full bar. The offerings will expand and develop with time, but the bar currently feature four lovely wines that pair well with Thai food (a vino verde, a sauvignon blanc, a malbec and a cabernet sauvignon), a limited selection of good liquor, and a few beers.  This coming weekend, "Thai Bloody Marys" will make their debut at the restaurant, with a unique brunch menu to follow in a few weeks.  A signature cocktail list is also in the works.

The restaurant will apply for outdoor seating soon, with hopes of offering dining al fresco by the late summer/early fall.

Cheers, Beau Thai!

Beau Thai
1700 New Jersey Avenue, NW
202.536.5636