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I just got confirmation from the powers that be that Fire Station 1 will officially be open for business tonight for dinner. They had to wait for their final permits to come through, and that’s all now been taken care of. I’ll be there to check it out – photos to come!

UPDATE: As Promised, More Photos
Just went by Fire Station 1 to confirm, and the kitchen is humming, trucks are being unloaded, and the place looks great.

I know it’s not the plural of moose, but just work with me on this one. And I’m not referring to the Great White Water Buffalo of old. More on that in a moment.

Sietsema Does “First Bite” at Pacci’s
The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema put up a fair review of Pacci’s today. Highlights include salads (minus the chewy octopus) and the pizza (which he says could benefit from a little salt). All in all I would say a two-star review on his scale. I might give it 2-1/2 stars on that scale, but it gets bumped up a little considering the other pizza options we have around here. I suppose it’s all about context.

So Close: Fire Station #1
The Gazette has a good writeup of the almost-open Fire Station #1. Soft opening is this week sometime (which would imply around-the-clock work considering how things looked last week), and the Grand Opening will be June 6. Another good scoop writeup from our friends over at Silver Spring, Singular.

In Other News…
We bitch and moan about beer and wine sales here, but I’m glad I don’t live in Kensington. I never knew they were such teetotalers.

The Moose is Loose
Jerry McCoy’s new blog highlights the discovery of a time capsule at the now-defunct Silver Spring Moose Lodge. Unveiling will take place on Saturday, June 26 as part of the 13th Annual Montgomery County Heritage Festival. Any guesses as to what’s inside? My money’s on an actual moose.

Happy New Year, everyone. Good to be back from the holiday hiatus. A few things happening around the ‘hood, the most important of which (as far as I’m concerned) is the opening of the new Fenwick Beer & Wine store at the corner of Fenwick and Second Avenue in the little house previously occupied by, among other things, Long & Foster Realtors. There had been some buzz on the listserv about it, so I checked it out this weekend. It’s still in the beginning stages, but they have a pretty good selection already.

Most impressive is their selection of large bottles of beer, something to which I’m particularly attuned. I normally end up going to Gilly’s Craft Berr & Wine in Rockville or piggyback a Costco trip to The Perfect Pour in Columbia. The latter has the best selection in the greater DC/Baltimore area, but it is, after all, in Columbia. And Gilly’s actually has food and three taps to sample in-store. But it’s nice to have something in the Silver Spring CBD that has something akin to it.

Among the items I’m really happy with is their selection of Unibroue beers, as well as a growing selection of brews from the Southern Tier Brewing Company. The also have a broad selection of six packs like Dogfish Head, Brooklyn, Magic Hat and more. As everything is currently stacked up in the store on boxes, I anticipate the inventory and interior decor will grow as the business does.

As for wine, their selection is small but full of things you might not find at a lot of other stores. I tend to go to other outlets for wine, though. Or have it shipped direct to DC and bring it across the state line because the idiots in Maryland still haven’t let go of their regressive direct shipment laws. (I was also told by the director of Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control Board that this is entirely legal, so until they change the direct shipment laws, I encourage you to have at it.)

I spoke to the owner, Suman, and they’re having a grand opening celebration on January 23, with free tastings of Belgian beer from 1:00-3:30om, and wine from 4:00-7:00pm. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by. Would love to see these guys stay around a while.

On a Much Sadder Note…
Our beloved Silver Spring Penguin will cease and desist operations as of this Friday, January 15, 2010. Jen Deseo has been a great asset to the community and I, for one, will miss her greatly. If you’re looking for blame, point it at Penguin photog Ron Pace, who was given a great opportunity up in New York.

Calling all Downtown Silver Spring Twitterers
Don’t forget the DTSS Tweetup – a gathering of local twitterers (tweeps?) – on Friday, January 22 at Mi Rancho. Use hashtag #DTSStweetup for Twitter promos and live tweeting. Margaritas start flowing at 6:00.

Things have piled up since the election and the Zombie Walk, and I finally have some downtime to address some all-important community news…

Hook & Ladder
I had a fantastic opportunity to meet with the staff of Hook & Ladder Brewery at their Fenton Street offices. The one big takeaway: I *need* kegerators at my office. Things are moving along with permits and such for the buildout of the brewery, so expect some action at the old firehouse early next year. Had the chance to taste some fantastic new beers, including Pipe & Drum Irish Ale and the Ember Amber. Fantastic stuff.

Look for these new variety packs at a store near you. They include the aforementioned beers, plus the classic Golden Ale and the oh-so-tasty Backdraft Brown. I would bet they all go great with turkey. In an effort to support local business, please reach for these guys first. Not only will you support the local economy, but you’ll also be supporting the Hook & Ladder Firefighter Burn Foundation.

And speaking of buying local…

Buy Local Silver Spring Guide
The Buy Local First initiative has set its sights on Silver Spring’s CBD. Early next month, a brochure will be distributed highlighting reasons for buying local and a comprehensive listing of local businesses in the area. Hats off to Emily Adelman of LEDC for her outstanding work.

“A Cracker Barrel with Good Food”
That’s how they described it. Everyone’s favorite food writer, Tom Sietsema, gave a nod to an upcoming Silver Spring restaurant in this week’s “Dish” column on washingtonpost.com. Chef and owner of the District’s late Colorado Kitchen, Gillian Clark, expects to open the General Store this month near the Seminary on Post Office Road. The menu “will feature ‘American road food’ and include chicken and dumplings, casseroles and chili.” Can’t wait.

In the meantime…
A Happy Thanksgiving to all!

It’s unfortunate (perhaps) that all my posts recently have been a mishmash of short things, but after April 10, my life will begin returning to normal. More on that after the fact.

Goodbye, Mr. Heston
Can we have that gun, now?

Hook and Ladder Wins Beer Madness Tourney
As if there wasn’t enough reason to be excited about Hook & Ladder opening up a brewpub here, they went and won the Washington Post Beer Madness Tournament. From the article:

Their Backdraft Brown, this year’s Beer Madness champion, is an American-style brown ale with a chocolate caramel sweetness from the specialty malts, balanced by a splash of citrusy Cascase hops. The Fleischer brothers donate a portion of the proceeds to groups that help burn victims: a penny per pint, a quarter per case, and $4 from every keg sold! If we needed an additional reason to drink their beer, this is an admirable one.

Congratulations to Hook & Ladder! Meanwhile, in my March Madness brackets, I picked UCLA over North Carolina in the finals. Damn.

Urinate. But if you were better looking you’d be a 10.
There’s been some concern/hilarity on the listserv lately, depending on what side of the fence you’re on (literally). Someone has been urinating in soda bottles and leaving them in odd places – in people’s yards, dropped over fences, sitting by the curb.

I get my fair share of crap in the yard. Living on a main thoroughfare between stops for the 20 bus, there’s always plenty of bottles, bags, garbage, etc. And if it came down to urine-filled Gatorade bottles, I’d be hesitant to post it to the listserv for discussion. But thanks to those with the chutzpah to do so for the humor.

Live Nation Update
As reported on Silver Spring, Singular, among other places, some of us got together with Ted Mankin of Live Nation to see what the company had in store for The Fillmore Silver Spring. First off, this is NOT a done deal. If you’re for this deal, I urge you to actively support it. Ted will be answering questions for the general public at the Lee Building on April 8. Help make this happen.

And for all you bozos that think the Silver Spring Blogosphere is a mouthpiece for the Live Nation movement, please take take a trip down to 9:30 or The Birchmere and have another cool glass of STFU. I want music sooner rather than later, and I think this is the right ship to be on. Period. Get behind it or get your folk-song-singing-NIMBY-lovin’ ass out of the way.

The Washington Post (specifically, the Going Out Gurus) are reporting that the Wheaton Mall complex Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton is getting a Montgomery Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse. It will be slightly larger than its Arlington sister at 32,000 square feet and will show a variety of films – including first run films (at $8.50 – $9), some middle-of-the-road films (for $6 and under), and will even offer $1 movie nights from time to time.

The current P & G Theater will close in April and re-emerge in “late summer” as the Montgomery Cinema & Drafthouse. And in addition to movies, the facility will have stand-up comedy and broadcast sports events, among other things.

All that having been said, I’d still rather go to AFI to see a movie and forego the truant-ridden Wheaton area. Ever since El Pollo Rico burned down, I’ve had no reason to trek up there (and, frankly, less of a reason for being).

Speaking of theaters…
I got an email a short time ago from someone who had their purse emptied during a movie at our esteemed Majestic Theater. It must have been a real stealth operation, as the perp got into the purse, took out the cash, and returned the wallet to its normal place with credit cards and such intact. Keep your eyes peeled.

And back on the subject of beer…
If any of our friends at the Hook & Ladder Brewery are listening, I encourage you to email me. We’re all looking forward to the opening and I’m more than happy to shill for you guys as time draws nigh.

I’m reminded of a line from The Hunt for Red October, where the KGB agent aboard the eponymous sub was reading from Capt. Ramius’ Bible:

And the seventh angel poured forth his bowl, and a loud voice cried out from heaven: “It is done.”

So the 9:30 club gets the big Heisman from the County Council. That’s fine. Ike Leggett sent a letter to several people, the contents of which were posted on the listserv. Here’s an excerpt:

For obvious reasons, it would be inappropriate for the County to enter into an agreement with one operator only to subsequently decide to engage in simultaneous negotiations with a second proposed operator that has the benefit of seeing and undercutting the signed terms of its competitor’s agreement. This would be unacceptable. Had the County originally signed a Letter of Intent with the 9:30 Club, or any other operator, and a third party inserted itself into the negotiations at the last minute by cherry-picking an existing proposal, my attitude would be the same.

And this is something I can totally be on board with. So Live Nation is coming in? Great. Building a Fillmore? Excellent. Now get the details done and give me some live music. How long will that take? Are we still looking at 2010? Hurry it up, already!

On a different note…
It looks like the rumors of a Matchbox or some other restaurant at the old Fire Station #1 were bogus. VERY excited about Hook & Ladder coming to the neighborhood, and as Silver Spring Scene reports, we’re looking at June 1 plus 45 days. Just what that means, I’m not sure, but the sooner the better.

Anything I can do to speed up the process, gentlemen? I have several growlers at the ready, itching to be filled with that hoppy, yeasty goodness.