Critical Chris

This place has an amazing retro diner feel, a lot like the 29 diner down in Fairfax, which, decades ago was under the same ownership. I stopped in at dawn on a Sunday morning for the triple play breakfast with three poached eggs, ham, bacon, and sausage with a side of grits. There was a small contingent of local regulars that stopped in for their coffee klatsch upon the 6am opening. The staff was super friendly and down to earth. This was my second trip here and I’ll definitely be back again in the future.

My first impression of this Potbelly was shaped upon my arrival, hours before closing time, at 1pm, when I encountered a locked-down-tight exterior entrance door which had a sticker on it stating “PULL A LITTLE HARDER.” (see photos). That this door, with this sticker, was locked, struck me as a cruel inside joke played by someone with bad intentions. As I sat inside and ate my lunch, I watched several would-be customers, large groups of them even, attempt to enter this door, and then give up, apparently concluding this Potbelly was already closed for the day.

I would be shocked if this locked door isn’t a blatant fire code violation. I ended up entering though the exit doors. A surprise inspection by management, or, if needed, DCFD, would solve this problem in short order.

The sandwich I ordered was at par with a typical Potbelly sandwich. The person making the sandwich was friendly enough and made a decent sandwich that I did enjoy.

The selection of chips was plentiful. The drinks in the cooler were cold. One of the two restrooms had no soap.

I would go back and give this location a second chance.

I enjoyed this tour with close family, including a high school age student in our family, and we each found it to be an excellent educational primer on the movement. It inspired critical thinking about those who came together to put their lives on the line to forge the equality that some of us take for granted in the present day.

This tour seemed to be a unique and refreshing addition to the broad array of other waking tours on offer in New York.

Joe had a captivating, and engaging tour narrative that set the status quo of today’s lifestyle against the historic backdrop of institutional disenfranchisement, discrimination, and brutal police repression those who came before us experienced in the mid 20th century.

Joe conveyed a thoughtful and well-researched historic narrative as he brought us around to several places in the vicinity of Christopher Park of importance to the equality movement, and unpacked the history and the evolution of the movement up to the present day.

This tour lasted about 70 mins. I would remark that it’s suitable for families, couples, singles, students, friends, academic and professional acquaintances, and basically for anyone with an interest in social, and cultural, and political issues and their context within the history of the United States.

A pleasant shaded sculpture garden to stroll through, with contemplative benches nearby.

You want to automate teller services, then be prepared to have your customer-facing experience shaped by your automated teller machines (ATMs). First these ATM machines are positively filthy (see photo evidence) with broken fixtures (see photos). One was out of service. The other would not print a receipt. The touchscreen functionality was so bad I had to abort my transaction.

One of the other ATMs Capital One has down the street, in the heart of the Chinatown shopping and entertainment district, across from Capital One arena, closes down every night no later than 7pm. So, if it’s after 7pm, this ATM at 12th & F St. is your closest alternative.