From the top: An aisle at Glut food co-op, which has been in Mount Rainier since 1969; Mount Rainier's traffic circle with a view of 34th Street,
a primary commercial road in the town; the counter at Artmosphere Cafe. (Photos by Katherine Volin)
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KATHERINE VOLIN
Friday, February 08, 2008
Should you decide to visit Mount Rainier, Md., anytime soon, keep your eyes open. Don’t blink for even one second as you make the drive down Rhode Island Avenue from the District to the tiny town just inside Maryland’s border. If you do, it’s almost certain that you’ll miss Mount Rainier entirely, which would be a shame.
Located northeast of the District near Takoma Park, the 1.7 square miles that make up Mount Rainier have long been a liberal foothold outside the District. In 2004, the town became the fourth in the nation to have a majority-gay city council. Although the town’s population is only 8,500, it even has its own gay group, Gays & Lesbians of Mount Rainier.
Having heard all the gay endorsements, I headed to Mount Rainier on a recent rainy day to explore the town. The area doesn’t exude charm on its exterior, which is more industrial than provincial, but I quickly learned that its inhabitants are full of warmth.
I started my tour at Glut, which is perhaps the most oft-noted Mount Rainier attraction by visitors. A natural food co-op that has existed since its 1969 founding by Vietnam War objectors, Glut rests on 34th Street, one of two commercial avenues in town.
Glut’s motto is “food for people, not for profit,” and the democratically run shop feels comfortably worn and welcoming. While there, I managed to find more obscure grocery items like stone-ground cornmeal and whole white peppercorns that had eluded me at other markets.
The co-op also stocks local baked goods, plenty of fresh food with a good amount of variety and an atypically large selection of bulk herbs, spices, grains and other goodies.
SEVERAL OTHER SMALL grocery stores dot 34th Street, indicating that locals don’t have to visit a Safeway to fill their pantries. A Jamaican ice cream shop, Island Style Ice Cream, was unfortunately closed — it being winter — but is housed in a charming yellow-painted house with a porch that appears to be just the place to enjoy a sweet treat on a stifling August day.
Nearer to Rhode Island Avenue sit two thrift shops, Mt. Rainier Antique, Thrift and Salvage and Odd Even Thrift Shop. Sadly, Odd Even was closed that day, but the other shop was open. The proprietor of Mt. Rainer Antique, Thrift and Salvage, introduced himself to me the moment I walked through the door.
The small shop is crammed with a wide assortment of objects, ranging from recently published books like Noam Chomsky’s “Hegemony or Survival” to writing desks to little accounting books from South Dakota livestock markets.
Eventually, I headed over to Rhode Island Avenue, which is off the circle that serves as the center for much of Mount Rainier’s traffic. Artmosphere Café, a combination coffee shop and music venue, offers a menu with soups, entrées and salads, but on the day I visited, the shop was curiously out of plenty of items, including soup and at least two ingredients in my salad.
I was the only customer in the shop, so the barista, who was freshly preparing my salad, very sweetly came over to ask me what I would like to substitute. Instead of a mixed greens, red cabbage, cucumber, tomato and carrot salad, I ended up with chopped romaine, olive, cucumber, tomato and sweet yellow pepper.
After leaving Artmosphere in the pouring rain, I decided to make one final stop in Mount Rainier, at a bakery that caught my eye, Pan Lourdes, a Salvadoran bakery.
As I stood in the shop examining the various breads and a few pastries, the woman at the computer behind the counter seemed in her own world. Eventually I spoke to her and she turned around, charming as could be, and gladly explained the various breads to me, showing me her favorites and even wheeling out a stack of freshly baked trays of bread. Still warm and dusted with sugar, the soft brioche-style bread made for a tasty end to a charming day.
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