ThayerAvenue.com

Continuing our venerable year-end wrap up from yesterday, here’s my choice for the final five downers from 2010.

5. Skateboarding is Not a Crime

Pushing for a skate park in DTSS is one thing, and I’m all for civic engagement of the youth in the community. But hijacking the Kojo show at the civic building and making us sound like the banana republic of the greater DC region is something else entirely. The kids that were there seemed well-spoken and respectful, but in the words of a great philosopher, sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. There were much larger, more important issues to be discussed, but many of those weren’t addressed because of the amount of time given to this apparently overarching issue. Thankfully, we can now move on and ice skate under the flying V canopy at Veterans Plaza.

4. Hook & Ladder Pulling Out of the Old Fire Station

Hopes ran so high on this one. Potential for on-site brewing, growlers to go – the possibilities were endless. They even opened up offices on Fenton to manage things locally. I’m going to have to blame MoCo on this one. My understanding was that, among other factors, county regulations were so much of a pain in the ass that it just got to be too much.

Thankfully, others stepped in for what has proved to be a great place to go. Fire Station 1 continues to be a good place to go, and they do their best to keep at least half of their taps streaming with Maryland-made beers. It took me much to long to start going there on a regular basis, but now it’s up to us to keep it alive and well.

3. PEPCO

Given the multitudes who have suffered from the lack of power over the past 12 months, this doesn’t need much explanation. We were dark for 4 days this summer in the sweltering heat, losing hundreds of dollars via contents of our refrigerators and freezers. One loyal Silver Spring resident even started the site www.pepcosucks.com, logging all the twitter activity tagged with the words #pepcosucks, #pepco, and in an effort at parity, #pepcorocks. Classic.

2. Drivers on Dale

It was as if the traffic calming devices just went up overnight and no one saw them coming. I believe the word I used at the time was “schadenfreude.” The sentiment still stands.

1. This

In particular, the fact that it was rectified much too quickly.

Thanks for another spectacular year, folks.
Travel and general busy-ness has kept me from the Interwebs over the past few weeks, but I look forward to more mockery and frivolity in 2011. Happy New Year!

I dropped by Babes Sports Bar last night to check things out in anticipation of the Caps/Penguins game this weekend. First impressions are good, especially in terms of food. For those of you familiar with the old Gallery bar layout, they’ve maintained the upstairs bar, with plenty of televisions, several bar seats, and a few tables. Once you make your way downstairs, things pick up a little.

There are several pool tables, lots of space and seating, plenty of room at the bar, and lots of televisions. Granted, I didn’t walk around the entire place, but the one thing I feel like I missed was a big-ass TV screen. You can see whatever is on via the plethora of flat screens, but it’s always nice to have one central place for the big game of the week. If anyone has been let me know if there’s something else I missed. I just plopped down at the bar downstairs and got my eat and drink on.

Ron, the manager I spoke to, said that they were still working out some kinks but things had gone smoothly so far. Then he asked the $1,000,000 question: “Do you like ribs?” Well, duh. Apparently the latest batch had just come out of the oven and he said they were the good, dry rub kind. Now, I’m from the South, and I constantly lament the fact that there’s no good barbecue in this area. Urban BBQ in Rockville is a manageable substitute, but a man makes a statement like that about ribs, I gotta test him out. And damn, those ribs were tasty.

The helpful bartender (Megan?) told me they were planning a whole host of activities once the weather warmed up. If you’ve ever been to Gallery, you know there’s an outside bar in the upstairs parking lot. She said they were planning on turning is into a sort of beach bar – complete with sand, lounge chairs, and, to quote her directly, “babes in bikinis. Because when you have a bar called ‘Babes’ you have to have babes in bikinis, right?” Uh huh.

Other people at the downstairs bar were enjoying what looked like excellent burgers, and the menu had a list of hot dogs with great toppings (chili, cheese, onions, peppers, etc.). I have to say the menu looked really good, but I was disappointed with the beer-on-tap selection. If you want good beer, I’d still recommend the great selection Jay has put together at Fire Station 1. Plus, it’s a much shorter walk from Thayer.

Not much of a crowd last night, so the place can prove its meddle when it’s packed to the gills. Hopefully that will be this weekend for the Winter Classic. Follow-up reviews to come…

While everyone else is doing their Year in Review lists, I thought it might be nice to once again poke fun at the low points of the past year and the people who made them happen.

10. The Demise of the Penguin

Pretty much anyone reading this is familiar with the Silver Spring Penguin and what it did for hyperlocal coverage of Silver Spring. Jen Deseo went to countless boring meetings, tweeted her frustrations, and then provided us with thoughtful stories that got down to the who, where, when, why and how. We were all sad to see her go, but she headed north for more metropolitan pastures.

For those of you who don’t know, the Penguin family has expanded, and Jen is now running a couple of other sites (when not mothering): The Hyperlocalist blog and the Question the Wisdom tumblr site. Our loss, her gain. And without mentioning any names, at least she didn’t try to maintain a local blog here after she had moved to another city.

9. Mayorga No More

The much-loved coffee shop pulled up their Silver Spring roots for greener pastures in Takoma Park, citing nearby construction woes, poor parking arrangements, and a general lack of business.

This was one of the sadder closings in the area, as I’d much rather stop by there for coffee than go to Starbucks or Highlands. Added bonus: booze.

8. The Fracturing of the Prune

Okay. So I only went into The Fractured Prune twice, and neither of those times resulted in the purchase of a donut. But that’s a perfect location for the likes of a Dunkin Donuts or, better yet, Krispy Kreme. That hot donuts sign is like a red beacon of hope when times are dim.

7. Buy Books, Not Bridges

My disdain for the library bridge people runs deep. Wanting the bridge is one thing. Harping and harping on it even after the County Council has given it the axe is something else. These bozos even had a presence in the 2009 Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade. I made fun of them more than I mocked the Takoma Park Attachment Parenting folks in the the July 4th parade in the People’s Republic of Takoma Park. And “Access for All”? Puh-leez. I like this sign much better. And the retailers who display the signs in their windows have no idea that they’re promoting getting people off the streets and away from their storefronts. Let’s hope this thing dies a quick and painless death once and for all in 2011.

6. ESSCA

While we’re on the subject, I’ll remind you that my venerable civic association voted to endorse the bridge even after the county had killed it. This vocal minority, composed mainly of old white people who purport to know what is best for the community, can provide entertainment equivalent to a vaudeville show while forcing you to stem the bleeding from your ears all at one time. If you don’t believe me, head on over to the Silgo Recreation Center on the third Monday of each month. That’ll learn you.

Stay Tuned…
Part 2 will be hitting the Interwebs tomorrow.