Washington City Paper: Contents for Mar. 31

Table for None
This table gives the lie to oft-heard complaints that Ward 8 has no sit-down restaurants.

Cover Story

All that’s left of Laval’s is the sign. Red and white and direct, affixed above a strip mall along Alabama Avenue SE, it still advertises a rare promise for the neighborhood.

“LAVAL’S GOOD FOOD TO GO

AND RESTAURANT”

Below, there is only a gray, ashy shell of a storefront. Inside, workers squat over electrical wires and bang away at the floors and walls; the place smells like dust. There is nothing left of Laval Sanks’ soul-food restaurant. Nothing of the $90,000 he sunk into the place. No custom green-marble-laminate tables. No birch-wood trim. No signed African art on the walls.

Unlike on his sign, Sanks’ eat-in restaurant didn’t get second billing inside. When he opened in January 2003, his tables had top-of-the-line amenities: glass, china, silver, linen napkins. The surrounding neighborhood, he says, which includes the new Henson Ridge town-home development, embraced him. Former Ward 8 Councilmember Sandy Allen became a regular.

But fine dining wasn’t enough to buffer the effects of Hurricane Isabel, which killed the restaurant’s electricity for a week. Nor could the restaurant withstand hits to its catering contracts or a dispute with the landlord over the water bill and unexpected infrastructure costs.

“In order to survive in the restaurant business anywhere, you need more than just the neighborhood people,” Sanks says. “Southeast is Southeast. That’s all it is. There was nothing wrong with the restaurant.”... Continued

Issue of Mar. 31 - Apr. 6, 2006

News and Features

Table for None
This table gives the lie to oft-heard complaints that Ward 8 has no sit-down restaurants.
Cover Story By Jason Cherkis
Easy Rider
On the P17 with Metrobus' most loyal head counter
The City By Dave Jamieson
O for Offensive
The Mail By Bill Malcom Carlisle
Shitty Paper
The Mail By Reuben Holmgren

Columns

Connecting the Shots
Shooters' names are a big secret in Fairfax County.
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Loose Lips By James Jones
The Next Crack Cocaine?
No, not really.
Dept. of Media By Ryan Grim
A New York State of Mind
How many New York Times subscriptions does the Washington Post need?
Dept. of Media By Erik Wemple
Savage Love
Savage Love By Dan Savage

Eats

Smoke 'Em Out
Young & Hungry By Tim Carman

Movies

Heist Heals
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski
Yankee Incongruity
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!
Directed by Nathanial Houmlrnblower
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Adam & Steve
Directed by Craig Chester
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski