The Channel was a great place to relax, enjoy a pint, catch up with ole friends, and watch an English Premier League game or two. My favorite high round table and wood stool served as my personal office space, one with a full-service bar. Needless to say, I didn’t get much work done.

There wasn’t a single day, that I wouldn’t meet someone new, and often the bartenders Oscar or Cormac would introduce me to people sitting at the bar. And sometimes I brought Apollo with me to the sidewalk patio. Friends tolerated him as long as he didn’t squawk too loud or poop in their drinks.

Part of the benefits of working for the Channel was the 10% employee discount.  So when I wanted to take a break from beef chow fun at Chinatown Express or fettuccine alfredo at Vapiano’s, I could choose corned beef and Reuben sandwiches, with a frosty pint of Guinness.

It also helped that adjacent to the Channel was Absolute Noodle and Sushi, and a block away, its sister eatery, Absolute Thai. Camping out at the Channel and working within the three square block Chinatown neighborhood, I was able to build on our burgeoning list of clientele for both site-building and event hosting.

All the restaurants that I worked with within the Chinatown hub were Asian with the exception of my Celtic cousins.

Paschal brought over a pint of Smithwicks “So did you hear about the new deli opening down the road in NOMA (North of Massachusetts Ave)?”

I took a long sip of the malty sweetness. “Yeah, I think I read about it on D.C. Eater.”

“I noticed the ‘Opening Soon’ signs on my way home while I’m waiting for my commuter bus to Bowie.”

“Not only are you a great ‘office’ manager, but you’re also a great source of information.”

“Yeah, let me know about their pastrami vis-a-vis our corned beef. Want to know if they can complement or if they’re our competition.”

Just down the road from the Channel on Mass Ave, past the lifeless concrete island known as the US Government Accountability Office, and next to Wise Guy Pizza was the sparkling new Carving Room, a Moroccan-Jewish deli replete with a full bar.

Owner Oded Weizmann, with support from co-founder Rachel Steiman, runs the kitchen and insists you don’t call him a chef.

“Our motto is house-cured and hand-carved,” said Oded. “Our corned beef is wet-cured for 21 days, and our pastrami dry-cured for 9 days.”

“So I work for the Irish Channel, and we’re really proud of our corned beef,” I mentioned.

“Well I was born in Israel, and I can tell you that corned beef is more Jewish than Irish.”

“Right on Oded. So what’s in the cigar?” I asked.

“They’re fried spring rolls with Moroccan spiced house-ground brisket. They are to die for?”

“Wow, pretty unique. What do you have featured at the bar?”

“Well our slogan is ‘Meat, Knifes, Beer’, so we have quite an extensive beer list from small-batch brewers. Beer is served by the pint or in a growler which is a bit larger than a pitcher.”

“What’s above the growlers?”

“Oh, those are our jars of pickled vegetables — every entree comes with pickled veggies on the side.”

I noticed that the Carving Room was using a rudimentary Wix site, so I readily segued into our M.O.  Oded appeared interested and was impressed by the fact that we were working with a half dozen restaurants in the area.

“Yes, you have quite an extensive list of clients that I’m quite familiar with.  The partnerships can be very complementary.”

“I totally agree, and we should inform the Irish Channel not to brood over the hot, new restaurant in town. So can I setup a time where I can photograph your dishes and sample your cuisine?”

Wayne Manigo and I had often knocked back a few pints and devoured the corned beef sandwiches at the Channel, and today he was in the mood for something rich and smoky.

“I’m a lover of food period. Don’t matter where it comes from or who cooked it,” Wayne once said. “Food is a love language of it’s own.”

The first meal served was the homemade pastrami and fresh potato salad with a zing of mustard and horseradish

“The pastrami sandwich is really kicking,” Wayne said. “Every succulent bite is a symphony of richness and flavor.”

Next Oded brought out the CR burger made with house-ground brisket, bacon with an over-easy egg on a toasted brioche bun.

Wayne loved the creamy potato salad, but he also adored the fries with cumin garlic salt seasoning. 

“And the sauces,” he commented. “It just brought everything up to the next level.”

“I definitely know what it’s like to work in the kitchen,” Wayne said.

“Yes, it’s all about the knife skills isn’t it,” Oded added.

“So where did you learn how to cook?” I asked.

“In 2013, I was living out of my car after I quit my IT job at the SEC. I decided to take culinary classes offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

“How did you do?” Oded asked.

“I know it’s tough to stay focused.  One day I was working in the kitchen without my usual energy and my instructor, Chef Jared said ‘I hope you’re not wasting my time by daydreaming.’  From that moment on, I remembered my problems are not bigger than me!”

“Wow, Chef Jared is one hell of a role model,” I added.

“Yup, and I really appreciate you Oded for showing us some of your stellar cooking skills. Can I work here and steal your recipes?”

“Appreciate you coming over and tasting our cuisine. Please let everyone know we got the best pastrami and corned beef in town.”

“I can’t agree with you more. We’ll guzzle Guinness at the Channel, and stroll over for the pastrami,” I said.

“Wait till Guy Fieri finds out about this joint. It’s just a matter of time before it’s featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” Wayne added.

After bagging Burma, Ming’s, the Irish Channel, Absolute Noodle, Absolute Thai and now the Carving Room,  it was time to branch out further than the Chinatown enclave. But parking was expensive and D.C. loved to issue parking tickets like it was candy.

“I told you to purchase a pedicab,” Jason Morenz suggested. “When the weather is nice, you can sit in the back and whistle at the ladies.”

“Why would I want to do that? So I can visit other restaurants in the area without having to drive?”

“Yes and you can hustle some money on the side. This could be a whole new vertical.”

* * *