A good bar crawl requires connections, careful planning, and alcoholic fortitude – possessing none of said attributes myself, I was thrilled when a friend stepped forward last weekend armed with all of those plus a handy map and suggested we all head out to the new/hot/buzzed nightlife area – H Street NE, otherwise known as the Atlas District.

Our destinations were The Red & The Black, The Argonaut, and The Palace of Wonders. This libational exploration was a fascinating glimpse into a neighborhood in search of an identity after years of neglect (or one whose former identity is rapidly being overtaken by the new). Urban philosophical musings aside, it also was a damn good time. Those of us who’ve lived in DC for years got hit by a good dose of deja vu as we crawled down the strip.

Hitting The Red & The Black first, we were immediately greeted with a friendly round of free whiskey shots (surprise, one of our more humble crawlers designed their sign!). The bar is decorated with an crazy abundance of French prints, doors, and empty frames, painted a lurid, ah, red and black, with obligatory tin ceiling and low lighting going for a very French Quarter feel. No flaming absinthe shots as yet, but a selection of bottled beers (to be expanded soon), vats of jambalaya and gumbo behind the bar, and comfy booths to relax in. The jambalaya sure packed a sweaty eyebrows punch. There’s also an upstairs for concerts and dance parties – several crawlers commented that it seemed “very DC9 East,” which makes perfect sense as it’s the product of the same mind, bar impresario Joe Englert.

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Now that I have my tickets, I can remind you all that the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be showing at midnight tomorrow at the Regal in Chinatown.

I’ll be getting a giant bucket o’ soda, because instead of taking a nap beforehand, I’ll be celebrating Butterstick’s birthday with our colleagues (blogleauges?) over at DCist at Chief Ike’s.

Guess I’d better go to bed early tonight.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Behold, people more special than you. I know it’s hard to tell from such a lousy picture, but these are the people whose convenience outranks even your safety. While many of us were creeping forward in yesterday’s afternoon deluge, attempting through care and reduced speed to keep safe, these four paragons of wonder decided to pull off to the side rather than continue on.

The idea of pulling over and being safe rather than sorry is a great one… if you do it in the breakdown lanes before and after the bridge. In keeping with their higher station in life, however, these jerks royalty among us decided they’d do it in one of the two traffic lanes so they could be out of the rain. Luckily they’re more important than everyone else, otherwise blocking already hindered traffic would be an amazingly asshole thing to do.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While Taishan Butterstick may be turning one, complete with a celebration at the National Zoo, my feelings on such pro-kiddy Zoo activity is well known.

What you may not know, and for me is a much more compelling Zoo event, is August 24th’s Brew at the Zoo.

The hefty $50 tickets went on sale today, which allows you to stand in long lines to pay yet again for beers from 20 microbreweries and if you’re not early, stare at empty hors d’ouvres plates from area restaurants.

Now the scene is packed with 1,000+ locals, so there is action to be had, but watch those beer goggles. My 2004 Brew in the Zoo led to my worst date ever, when I learned to just say “no” to Yes.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Let’s say you are from Ohio. You’re in DC for the 4th of July festivities, and you decide to park on the 1400 block of N Street NW.

Being from out of town, you’re not so familiar with the need to keep clear of alleyways and driveways. You park on the very edge of one with the nose of your car just peeking into a driveway.

When you come back to your car, you don’t have a dreaded DC parking ticket. You feel lucky until you notice your front bumper.

Congrats – that a DC kiss, baby.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sadly, my Portuguese isn’t too great, but if yours is, go check out Metroblogging Rio De Janeiro which launched over the weekend. We’re now in 48 cities on 5 continents!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Rob Goodspeed has a detailed examination of the Section 8 Housing in the northern part of DC, and he comes to a conclusion that could have some serious consequences for many DC neighborhoods: half the governmentally subsidized apartments are able to discontinue their contracts with the government this year, and many may well sell their properties to private development which would likely not maintain affordable housing in Northwest. Check out Rob’s article and the maps involved, it may be a bit of a clue as to what’s going to happen to DC over the next year or two as things change with the Section 8 housing.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In honor of Italy’s win over Germany earlier today (but of course the satellite went out during the last thrilling minutes of the game – damn meteorological interference!) I thought I’d salute one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city – Coppi’s Organic on U Street.

We ventured there Sunday night, aiming to relax over some pizza and prosecco. Coppi’s serves up delicious food from the Ligurian region of Italy and is always packed. It’s a very small restaurant, so reservations are essential, especially if you want one of the wooden booths. Once situated you’re lulled by candlelight and dark red walls covered in Italian bike racing paraphernalia. It’s been a fixture on U since 1993, and despite its rising popularity increasing the difficulty of getting a table, or the accompanying rising of prices that seems to be endemic in my neighborhood these days, I still love to return. Why? Two words – nutella calzone…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

I stood on the balcony at the Department of Interior as the fireworks rang out, I thought to myself, as the haze settled into the stagnant air, about the smoke hanging in the sky. Thoughts ran wild as the smoke hung, obscuring the explosions in the night sky, from Baghdad’s fall to other battles, and then to a strange place. What would Al Gore say about all this?

Fireworks, an Inconvenient Truth? Or a Rockwellian Delight?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is the view from the Ballston Commons Mall right now. That would be hard rain flying sideways in seriously strong winds.

Rain and lightening that just knocked power out here at this mall.

If you have friends on the National Mall, call and warn them NOW!

This storm is moving fast and it is packing a serious punch.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today is our Independence Day. Tired of overtaxation and under-representation, the 13 original colonies sent men to Philadelphia to write an appropriate list of grievances to their King and declare him but another man, no longer imbued with power by his Creator. Instead, they said that all men were created equal, born poor or rich, born landed or serf, all men were given rights by their God that none should tear them asunder.

Liberty is among those rights. The freedom to act with accordance to your own personal code and to the code of the land. Our Constitution and its Bill of Rights was a revolutionary document in the history of governance. No longer did the autocratic or the plutocratic control the people, but learned men chosen by those people to govern in their stead.

Sadly, most of the men and women I see governing in this town would shame the Founders. Trying to legislate things they don’t understand, holding men without writs of habeus corpus or on no charges with no trial date in sight, and spying upon Americans’ phone and bank records. The beauty of America is her fragile balance between freedom and the Tyranny of Evil Men. If we are too free, that Tyranny comes from abroad and seeks to damage it. If we are too gullible, though, that Tyranny comes from within and seeks to destroy it.

I realize that the balance between outside threats and inside freedoms is a difficult one, and I hope today that those who watch the parades, crank ice cream, enjoy the fireworks understand that the battle that we are facing today isn’t just with outside enemies who wish to kill us for not believing in their violent and oppressive God, but also from those who seek to guard imaginary safety with violence, fear and the rule of oppressive law.

There are truly foes on both sides to face, as there always will be in a free society.

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam,

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self control,

Thy liberty in law.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This scene surprises me. It is a Monday night after all and yet 18th Street is packed at 2am.

The bars have just closed and it is the last scramble for a date or a taxi. Hotties here are debating pizza or McDonalds.

I am taking a different path. It is time to walk two of my supermodels home and then head for my own home.

Good luck 2am Adams-Morgan crowd, you are gonna need it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

How do you think Zipcar can stir up a whole hornet’s nest of responses on a community message board? How about posting this little snippet on the Adams Morgan Yahoo Group:

Zipcar is actively looking to add more cars in the Adams Morgan
Neighborhood. If anyone knows of any available parking spaces for
rent, please let us know

Everyone from those bemoaning the loss of a single parking space to those thinking Zipcar means local residents shopping in the burbs instead of with local businesses responded with the usual polite commentary.

Right.

If you wanna follow along in real time, keep track on the Columbia Heights Yahoo Group. Zipcar just posted a request there too, and the flame wars will start in three, two, one..

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Stopping traffic in Dupont Circle and headed down Connecticut Ave is the Granny Peace Brigade.

Or at least thats the best I can tell. Like most peace protests this one does not seem to be very focused or coherent.

Unlike the massive traffic jam it is creating.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you’ve ever driven through an EZ-Pass tollgate, you know the exultation of not having to roll down the window, fumble for change or open your wallet to pay your toll. Now, that may be coming to Metro. I cannot stress to you how much this could rock. I hate standing behind some person who can’t figure out which way the farecard goes in, or worse, they have a shredded, folded, dog-eared card that just won’t go in, no matter which of the four ways they try it. This could, conceivably, set up an EZ-Pass-like situtation for Metro stations all over DC, but currently, they’re really only look at three different trial points, none of them anywhere near downtown, which is a crying shame.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Are you one of the patriotic fools revelers headed to the madness that will be the National Mall tomorrow? Are you dreading the sweaty and crowded Metro post-pyrotechnics? Might you be even crazy enough to consider driving?

Please let me persuade you to an alternative – ride you bike! Not only will a bicycle be easier to store and faster to leave by, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association will provide free Valet Bike Parking on the Mall.

The Bike Valet Service will be located on the grassy area just across the street from the Washington Monument’s East entrance from 10:00am until 10:00pm. You can even use the handy Gmap Pedometer to chart your course right to the Valet Service location.

Even if you don’t wanna valet, I strong suggest you bike long before you drive and maybe even in lieu of Metro.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There are canvassers on the streets of DC gathering signatures for a campaign to legalize slot machine gambling in DC, and they’re on the streets as part of a hard push to get 19,000 signatures before the July 10th deadline for ballot initiatives. Here’s where it gets really fun. The referendum that they are trying to gather signatures for would put a 3,500 machine slots gambling parlor…in the middle of Ward 8 in Southeast.

The canvassers are, as they have been recently, out of towners brought in to gather signatures at a reward of $2 per signature. You may remember this sort of thing from Mayor Williams own campaign for mayor the last time around, when he had to run as a write-in candidate because most of his signatures were deemed invalid and improperly collected. The companies involved in collecting them, as well as the Mayor’s own campaign, were fined heavily by the Elections Board.

Does DC really need slots? Maybe, but is putting it in the poorest area of town an ethical thing to do?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

For those of you who plan on indulging heavily tomorrow (it is our Independence Day, after all, we must celebrate!), there is a free cab ride home. You may have to wait 30-60 minutes, but the SoberRide group (provided by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program) will pay your taxi fare up to $50. So, if you get a DC cabbie home tomorrow, make sure to have him zig and zag through a few extra zones for the heck of it.

Seriously, though, if you’re even thinking of driving home after a few beers tomorrow, just don’t. Call these guys and get a free ride home. The cost of a cab into town on the 5th will be dwarfed by the cost of a DUI and a ton of legal fees. Take the safe ride.

Also, please remember that the phone number they list (1.800.200.TAXI or #TAXI on Cingular) will only work if you have a local phone number, so if you’ve kept an out of town cellphone number for any reason, you’re going to have to use a payphone or another local landline to call that number.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, it does make sense when you think about it. Rubber’s durable, and a heckuva lot more flexible than concrete, so that explains why DC is testing it in Northwest as a sidewalk replacement. It won’t take chalk, which means that one childhood tradition might disappear if they decide it works. The program’s a test to see if the more expensive sidewalks will be more durable than the usual concrete, proportionate to the extra cost.

I’m all for brand new sidewalks, maybe the Park service ought to try it for down by the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom season?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

DC Speed Enforcement Zones

This just in from the folks who want to fully repeal the Drive 55 speed limit, the National Motorists Association (NMA), DC is second on their list of the top ten speed trap cities in the United States.

Might they have mistaken AAA’s call that the whole District is a “strict enforcement area“? Or are they intimidated that a program which started with six photo/radar guns in squad cars now has 12 camera-equipped cruisers and 10 fixed position cameras scattered city-wide?

Ah, I know, they’re reflecting the anger of the 2.2 percent of drivers (down from 30% when the program started in 2001) who paid more than $103 million in fines since speed cameras were installed.

Two point two percent?!. Kinda hard for me to belive DC is a Speed Trap City at 2.2%. NMA, call me when you get to a real number or when AAA, a reputable national organization, upgrades DC to traffic trap status

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs