North Vietnamese Restaurant in Shaw Neighborhood, DC

This Northern Vietnamese Cuisine Restaurant is in a row house at 1914 9th Street, NW, in the Shaw neighborhood in Washington, DC. In Hanoi, there is a “Train Street” where restaurants line both sides of the railroad tracks. Diners eat at small tables on the tracks.

When a train comes through everyone moves aside returning after the train passes. Inspired by the “Train Street”, I painted a trompe l’oeil train engine inside the restaurant. The form is real, but everything painted on the train is a flat painting.

On a door at the entrance, is a trompe l’oeil Vietnamese payphone. It is all flat painting made to look dimensional. Around the phone were “stapled” papers which have since been torn away. Under the phone is a metal ledge where callers can learn or write. Underneath is an empty space with a dented sheet metal wall. A caller placed a paper shopping bag there and seemingly forgot it.

The wall to the right is real brick which I continued around the payphone door. It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.