Nationals Park Neighborhood Eateries: Kruba Thai and Sushi

Pitchers and Catchers are only 30 days away. Time for our next guest post from Beth - our Nats Park neighborhood resident and food critic.

Kruba Thai and Sushi

3301 Tingey St. SE

Opened: November, 2012

As the second full-service restaurant to open in the neighborhood Kruba was strongly anticipated (people went even before they were serving liquor. we were serious).

I always get a little worried about Kruba, it’s never crowded inside. I think (hope) it’s because they do a robust takeout/delivery business.

I know lots of folks might not think about Thai food and baseball going together but if you’re in the mood for something different or having a hard time finding a seat elsewhere Kruba could be a pretty good option for before or after a game. As I mentioned above, there is almost always room, even for a large party. The decor is striking, full of ornate wood carvings. And the food, especially the curries, is tasty (be warned, if something is labeled spicy, believe it!) and presented beautifully (more on that below. My experience of the service is a little inconsistent, but we’ve always enjoyed our meals.

Go if you’re looking for:

• A place where you can walk in and sit down without a wait
• Sushi or Thai (duh) with a hefty kick
• The opportunity to wow your tablemates with your meal choice. I mean seriously look at this shrimp fried rice in a pineapple! (That’s how they send it to you even for delivery. My photography doesn’t do it justice)

Stop someplace else if:

• You want your cuisine to be as American as your favorite sport
• You’re a craft beer diehard (like most Thai restaurants Kruba has a limited beer menu and focuses more on cocktails)
• You’re starving and on a strict budget. Portions here are a bit small for the price. I would say the quality is worth it, but you’re not going to stuff yourself on the cheap. Unless, you order the shrimp fried rice. That’s enormous.

Send

SEND

Some days I see the Five Minute Friday prompt and I am completely blank. Other days, I have an idea but I mull before posting. This week - I knew right away where to start.

"Send" can be a terrifying word when you are a baseball fan. Especially one with littles who have learned your avid fandom. Wednesday night, the word crossed my screen - first my twitter feed, then my MLB alerts and then eventually my ESPN text alerts. Nationals send Tyler Clippard to the A's for ...

The ... wasn't relevant at first. CLIPPY?! You traded Clippy? I knew it could happen. Baseball is business. That's one (of a million - or more) reason I am not a GM. I just do this baseball thing with my heart. And my kids. As a grown up, you can see business. I don't like it, but I get it. My kiddos? Not so much. At least not at first, and then after that, not without some coaching. Part of parenting - coaching in tough moments.

Some of you may laugh at the scenes that followed, or be in disbelief, but for me, Thursday was a tough, tough morning. My girls LOVE Clippard. His walk out song (Ready or Not) and his delivery on the mound. His smile and his goggles. His attitude with the fans. His willingness to answer questions. His hugs. My kids love hugging ball players. We have his bobblehead and since I announced the trade, that bobblehead has been on our kitchen table so we can see him at breakfast and dinner - and share our fun memories. "Mom! Remember when he was on our calendar?!" "Mom, remember that day I took all those pictures?" It goes on...

The Washington Post Sports Bog caught wind of the thread of parents Wednesday night who were dreading sharing the news. And followed with the "update tweets" on Thursday. And then reached out for a phone interview - to hear what it was like for the kids to say goodbye.

STOP (note - my 5 minutes just expired).


And then they wrote an article. (Thanks, Dan Steinberg!). Published it. MLB Cut4 and Hot Stove picked it up and there were lots of comments and mentions and it's a little odd how social media spreads things. My dad called because he thinks the whole story is cool.  

The girls have recovered from the shock. We have played the song about 5 times in the past 24 hours. They have made farewell cards which are now sitting on the table while I debate the best place to mail them (the Coliseum? He may not be there for weeks! Maybe I wait 34 more days and mail to the A's spring training facility. Where IS the A's spring training facility?). The bobblehead is following us around the house.

The girls have seen the article. Which generated a new discussion: "Mom, why don't they put our REAL ages in there? I am 9 3/4, not 9." "yeah, and I am 6 1/2!" I still don't really know what to say to that. We have started to talk about the "new guy" (Yunel Escobar). How he can play second base - how we have a need there. And then my 9 3/4 year old added "yeah, and in case Desi gets hurt. But that would stink mom, because we need healthy guys so we can win all 162 games."  For the record, even though adults (including me) know a team will never win all 162 games, my girls will not give in on that. It is theoretically possible, even if mathematically extraordinarily improbable, so we continue our countdown to Opening Day with the dream of 162 wins, a team full of guys we love (including the new guy - whom we've not even met), and memories of one of our favorites - as he starts a new chapter across the country. 

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Welcome (Five Minute Friday)

Five Minute Friday took a pause over the holidays and now it's back! Here's how it works:
1. write 5 minutes on the word of the week
2. Link up at Kate's place
3. Leave a comment on the post of the person who linked before you

Easy, fun, and encouraging. This week, we write on
WELCOME.

As I write this, there are 37 days to go until pitchers and catchers report. Until baseball is back. It has been a LONG offseason. There's been plenty going on - both within baseball (Padres, A's and lots of other very busy teams. Not really my team.There is still time) and outside of baseball. We did Radio City Music Hall. Holiday celebrations with the family. The Winter Classic. snow days. Library trips. Movies. And I am finally discovering the amazing show "The West Wing". Hooray for Netflix, with no commercials and no season-long interruptions for cliff hanger resolution!

But really, I miss baseball. I have some friends that I see mostly only through baseball. We get together in the offseason some. And a lot of us have jumped on the Wizards bandwagon. But it's not the same as when we are at the park. Or tweeting as we watch an away game from home. I joke that Nats park is my home away from home. Although that's not as much of a joke as some might think. My second family is there. The girls have taken to calling these people our Nats friends. Some have even had their names changed from "Ms. _____" to "Aunt _____".  Every morning the girls get up and ask me how many more days. So together we are counting down until we can say "welcome home" to our team and our friends. Until we can kick the season off with "let's play ball!".

Stop.

Journey: A Year in Review

I can hardly believe it is time to look ahead to a new year, and to choose a new word. Before I explore that, though, I have a lot to be thankful for with the end of the "journey year".

Literal journeys this year added 5 new baseball stadiums to my places visited: Citi Field (Mets), Petco Park (Padres), Angels Stadium, Dodgers Stadium, and PNC Park (Pirates). I also added "on the ice at the Verizon Center" and "on the field for pre-game" at Nationals Park, PNC Park, and Orioles Park at Camden Yards.  I traveled with a new friend to see some old friends in California, and road tripped with Nats buddies to see the team, explore Pittsburgh and meet a new work colleague.

My journey this year also led through some tough decisions - some job opportunities turned down, some memories finally filed away in a place where they won't haunt me every day, and with mixed emotions, a new church home for me and the girls.

I've made some new friends and some amazing memories due to the power of social media. We've laughed together, cried together. Hugged each other in times of great family loss and those moments of baseball agony. Cheered until we were hoarse. Witnessed history live - no hitters and 18 inning marathons. Tried new foods, some which were fabulous and some I'll never touch again, thank you very much. We've made memories I will cherish long after 2014 has faded away.

And I've been challenged beyond what I remembered possible
* with a new organization to give my time in a more deliberate way
* with my kids - the hard questions have started
* with my writing - I tried to go 31 days straight (and didn't get there, but got further than I would have last year)
* with my heart - could I let someone close again?

So as I reflect on the end of the 2014 journey, it's been a great year. Hard times, but good ones. And even in the toughest moments of this year, I wouldn't change a thing if I could. Even the results from the playoffs. Because the agony of defeat makes the forthcoming triumph that much sweeter. The deliberate focus on the process rather than the destination has been excellent for me this year. The journey goes on ... I pray the intentional choices will continue... but as we cross over to 2015, my new word is WAIT.

I am excited ... and very nervous ... about what exactly that looks like in this coming year. Brave, grace, and journey have ALL turned out to be just what I needed. Apparently "wait" is what I need now.

Nationals Park Neighborhood Eateries: Justin's Cafe

Happy almost New Year! After a little side discussion, I am pleased to announce my first guest poster (and she's bringing a feature that will hopefully be a recurring guest post series until baseball season starts!) Meet Beth. She's one of my Nats park buddies, and she lives right in the neighborhood. The Nats Park neighborhood! She's been exploring the new eating places as the neighborhood grows. Since we are always looking for the inside scoop on the new munchies in town, the gang proposed that Beth be our Nats Neighborhood food critic. Only she didn't have a place to post her reviews. I am glad to share them over here - now we can all take advantage of Beth's knowledge and plan our next visit to the ballpark. Welcome Beth, and I hope all of you enjoy our tour of the restaurants around the ballpark. Hopefully we'll have a new post about once a week, and that should take us close to opening day. (Hurry up April! We miss baseball!)
~ Jen.

*Guest post by Beth Dahlman*

Justin’s Cafe

1025 1st St. SE

Opened: April, 2010

I’m going to start off the first write up in this little series with a disclaimer: I’m totally biased about Justin’s. It’s the only place that I’ll be writing about that was in the Navy Yard/Near Southeast neighborhood before we were. Eating there after we toured the condo we would eventually move into in August 2010 is part of what made Dan and I know we could make the neighborhood our home. We’ve met dear friends playing trivia there on Tuesdays. The checks come with our names on them instead of a table number. After dozens of pizzas and hundreds of pints of Racer 5 IPA there’s just no way I can be “objective.” But I hope I can be helpful.

Since it was the only sit down eatery close to Nationals Park for many years it’s probably the spot most familiar to Nats fans, but I couldn’t leave it off the list of places I was going to write about (due to all the sentiment expressed above).

For those of you who haven’t been, Justin’s serves an American food menu focused on salads, pizzas and sandwiches. Dan is partial to the buffalo burger and I always take a couple of the 5 Guys-esque fries when he orders one. But to me the pizzas are the standouts among the Justin’s menu (and offer the most vegetarian friendly options). They are “neopolitan-American” style with a crisp, chewy crust (the chew reminds me of a good bagel, though it’s way less dense). One is more than enough for one pretty hungry adult. Less hungry couples could probably split one and be fine. My standard order is the Wentworth plus arugula (if you could start ordering that as “The Beth” and make that a thing that would be cool). Drinks are focused on American craft beers. There’s also wine and a full bar but to be honest I can probably count the number of times I’ve ordered something other than a Racer 5 without taking off my shoes.

Go if you’re looking for:

• Fun, neighborhood atmosphere for lunch or dinner. It’s the “Cheers” of Navy Yard.
• American craft beer
• Pizza!
• A selfie with a MASN personality
• The chance to lose to my team in trivia on Tuesdays

You might want to skip if:

• Crowds bother you (a smaller space + being the only option for so long means the place can get pretty packed, especially right before and after Nats home games).
• You’re looking for a leisurely, traditional brunch. Justin’s has a tasty but limited brunch menu (and it’s not served on game days).
• You’ve got little ones in tow during prime time. While I’ve always found Justin’s warm and welcoming, I can see the seating situation and crowds of baseball revelers making it a tricky option for families when it’s crowded.
• You’re a strict vegetarian with a soup craving (most of their soups are made with chicken broth)

Time for a Change

This isn't an easy post to write... the big ones never are.  I have been wrestling with a decision for close to a year, and The Lord has finally made it abundantly clear what the new path should be. Honestly, at first, I didn't like the answer, so I resisted the change. I continued to ignore the gentle hints. I plowed ahead. But there comes a time when you just need to listen. And obey.

It has been our privilege and pleasure to serve with our friends at Temple Baptist Church for more than 10 years. Friends, you have supported our family through the depths of despair and on our hardest days. You have rejoiced with us in our best moments of celebration. You have cried with me, held me, brought us meals and studied God's Word with me. You have loved my children and watched them grow. You have changed their diapers and wiped their noses; held their hands, taught them about Jesus. You have sung with us, laughed with us, played with us. You have been an example to us. And most importantly, you have prayed - both with us, and for us, every day. I can never thank you enough for being a part of our family, and for providing, with the Lord's help, just what we needed, exactly when we needed. it. We are forever grateful.

It is with mixed emotions that I say farewell to you all - the Lord has called us to serve elsewhere, and to grow in this next chapter of our lives in a different church community. We are excited for this new opportunity - the next step in our family's journey - but please know that we love you, and we are so glad to have had this time with you. We aren't moving physically - so we will still be around. Don't be strangers. We still want to see your smiling faces.

Love,
Jen, S & A

Dear (Five Minute Friday)

I didn't finish my 31 days of writing. I might get back there. And I am a few Five Minute Fridays behind. I may or may not get back there.

But there's no time like NOW to get back on the wagon. I saw the word this week and it hit close to home. So I will write on.

Join us? Here's the link to "how it works" and at the end of my post is the link for this week.

DEAR

I'm a letter writer. A pen and paper girl. And for a very long time, I saved EVERY letter I got in the mail. Ever. Cards and notes and affections scrawled by friends of long ago. You would think I'd be a better emailer and keep in touch-er because of my draw toward letters, but I am lousy at real-time keep in touching. I stioll love a good piece of paper and a pen to send a note, though. And there's a few folks from my long ago writing days with whom I am still really close, albeit slow about my notes.

Last weekend I was cleaning out some more boxes from the move. (Yes, I know it has been a year since we moved, but at least I am still giving thought to this!) And I found the collection of letters and cards from my ex. The "dear Jen ... " From when we first met - and from before we met in person. And the cards and notes I had saved through all the years of our marriage. Including ones from the last few years.

I'd originally had in mind to save them for the girls to read someday. So, I;ve been moving them each time we moved, including the last 2 times when I moved without him, since he's no longer living with us. And as I pulled out that box, I took the time to really read the letters this time. Including those last ones. And I made a bold decision. They are filled with a lot of lies. Stuff the girls never need to see. I put the box aside and gave it some more long, hard thought. And I came to a decision. I shredded the whole pile. Every last word. Every card.

There was no way for me to continue to carry the lies and dead weight with me. I felt relieved once the shredding was done.

What about the early years? The letters that were "real"? Well, the stuff in there, based on the actions of the later years ... I don't know about that either. So it was better to get rid of it all than to engage in endless mind wars with myself.

My girls have the opportunity to know and love their dad as he is, and don't need to see the transition from who he was through the period of terrible to who he is now. They can form their own opinions and their own relationship, and don't need to see the spiral of hurt from this other perspective.

They are smart girls and they will ask the right questions when their hearts are ready to know. And then I can share an honest, but full of grace, perspective of how we got from those days to where we are now. But no collection of lies, mistruths, truth and clouds of letters needs to be sorted through to do that. So I shredded and today my heart is a little lighter.

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