Monthly Archives: October 2009

The Daily Feed
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Green Halloween

green

If Halloween just isn’t protesty enough for you then this is your year. Green Halloween aims to use the holiday’s mask focus as a chance to “show the world the real faces of the politicians who have detained and killed our friends in Iran.” You don’t even have to print one out yourself – they’ll hand em out at the 9pm start time.

If you go, do me a favor and find the organizer and tell him about bit.ly or tinyurl.com or something. Putting a link like that one above on the bottom of a flyer is just insane.

Music, The Features
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November Concert Preview

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Kind of a light month music-wise in November, possibly due to the holiday. Also could be due to the fact that way more people are willing to venture out for a show when it’s nice outside than when it’s blistering cold, as November undoubtedly will be.  Most of the fun stuff seems to be clustered toward the beginning of the month, with a few excellent shows right around Thanksgiving, including Peter Bjorn and John, Queen Latifah, The Mountain Goats, and more– so let’s jump right in!

Right up front in November, the Verizon Center is hosting two HUGE names, but for very different audiences: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Monday, November 2 and Miley Cyrus the next day, Tuesday, November 3. I mean, I guess you can party in the USA and still be down with The Boss, right? Continue reading →

Downtown, News, The Daily Feed
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MLK Jr. Memorial Authorized

Photo courtesy of
‘Martin Luther King, pictured during the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech at the Lincoln Memorial’
courtesy of ‘BlatantNews.com’

A few days ago, we reported that the MLK Jr. memorial had been approved and that it was awaiting its building permit.  Well, that permit has now been issued.  Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, officially signed a permit allowing construction to begin.  The memorial should be completed some time in 2011.

Eat Like Me, Food and Drink
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Eat Like Me: October’s Best Dishes

Photo courtesy of
‘West End Bistro’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Am I becoming a snob? It is possible. When I started this whole endeavor, I swore to myself that I’d never become that obnoxious girl, who sniffs a plate, turns up her nose, and sends it back to the kitchen with a wave of her hand. That’s just not who I am. I’m the kind of girl who unashamedly adores Olive Garden – iceberg salad, processed breadsticks, mozzarella out of a bag and all. But lately? You guys, I’m getting nervous for myself. I think I’ve caught the foodiot disease. I find myself overhearing a joke about truffles, foie gras, lobster and caviar being the major food groups and think it’s so funny that I repeat it to my friends. Boys half-joke that I’m intimidating to take out to dinner because “where could a guy take a foodie like you?” To which, I vigorously shake my head in over-compensating protest, saying, “no, no, I’m like anyone else! I like Taco Bell. I swear!” And yet… I find myself becoming more and more obnoxious.

I think it might actually stem from the quantity of food I’ve put in my pie hole this year. I’ve been blessed enough to try a tremendous amount of places, and with that much dining out, and that much input, I’m bound to start being increasingly judgmental. Right? It’s only natural. This month has been one of the most ridiculous eating months of my life. And yet, of all the months of Eat Like Me that I’ve written, I didn’t struggle to come up with the contenders. There were clear winners. And this could be for a number of reasons, but I think one of them is that I’m getting snobby. I’m sorry! I tried not to. And don’t worry, I still love Potbellys. And I can talk about other subjects. But between you and me, reader, I’m on a slippery slope. (Just look at my Twitter feed. Obsession at a whole new level.)

So what does all this snobbery amount to? Well, a stiff cocktail for me later for admitting my problem, but also a great Eat Like Me for October. I’ve been to some outstanding places, from real DC classics like Oval Room or Obelisk, to new up-and-comers like Kellari and neighborhood spots like Evening Star Cafe. And I have to say, this list of dishes is by far my favorite. So without further ado, the best of my October meals. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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WJLA Report Creates Stir Among Breast-Haters

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington DC Breast Cancer 3-Day Walkers & Crew 02’
courtesy of ‘Daniel.Techie {TCP/IP} @ 127.0.0.1’

So there was this report on WJLA last night about breast self-exams for women as a cancer detection/prevention measure. As I watched the female anchor warn viewers that the following story contained “graphic images of women’s breasts” I rolled my eyes and wondered what the hell our problem is as a society, and then watched the story, both for self-education and for media-criticism purposes. I wondered how they would handle it.

So I watched, and what struck me was how very clinical it was. The only close-up shots were for the specific purpose of demonstrating the technique. There were no gratuitous boobies hanging out, only depictions of both a doctor and a patient demonstrating the exam procedure. The whole thing was, frankly, the opposite of sexually provocative. It was about as sexy as when my doctor discusses it with me (NOT SEXY AT ALL). And look, I’m kind of a prude about this stuff, so it’s not like I wouldn’t have noticed if it were exploitative.

I’m not saying some pubescent kid with raging hormones and no access to other depictions of nudity couldn’t have found SOME reason to get aroused, but that says more about what puberty is like than about the quality of this report. It was medical, educational, and so it annoys (but does not surprise) me that groups like Concerned Women for America are actually complaining about it. Apparently the Concerned Women are not actually that concerned ABOUT Women. But if nothing else, it generates publicity for the importance of breast self-exam. So, watch it for yourself (maybe not in your cubicle) and decide.

The Daily Feed
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Stairs That Scare


Stairway
Originally uploaded by tbridge

DC Concierge has five bar stairways to avoid including the #1, the bathroom stairs at Lucky Bar, pictured here. I’d have to say, though, that the #1 stairway I’m glad I won’t have to see again, ever, is the one at the old Murky Coffee/Common Grounds in Arlington, which I always worried would just collapse into splinters one day. I’ll also add that the stairs at Madams Organ always made me just a little uncomfy, but the last time I was there was easily 2005 if not before.

My favorite stairs, though, are probably the ones over at 18th Street Lounge, while always add to the “hidden spot” feeling of the whole place.

The Daily Feed
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New Bike Lanes on 15th Street!

Photo courtesy of
‘Future Contraflow lane’
courtesy of ‘volcrano’

If you’ve been on 15th Street NW this past week, you’ve probably noticed the construction of a new contraflow bike lane. This lane will be open early next week, allowing bicyclists to travel south on northbound 15th Street NW.  This improvement project also includes ‘sharrows’, or painted arrows reminding motorists to share the road, for northbound bicyclists.

As a major commuting artery in the city, 15th Street is notorious for being car-dominated– the four lanes of one-way traffic seem to really encourage drivers to speed.  I live a block off 15th Street and feel like I’m taking my life in my hands every time I have to cross at my unsignalized intersection.  So here’s hoping the new bike lane will lead to a more balanced mix of transportation that is pleasant and safe for pedestrians, bikes, and cars.

News, The Daily Feed
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Michelle Rhee Battles the Council to the Death

Photo courtesy of
‘Scene of two men fencing’
courtesy of ‘Powerhouse Museum Collection’

I saw the highlights for yesterday’s City Council meeting both on Twitter yesterday and also on the news last night. It seems that the Council is a little testy that the Chancellor ignored some of their requests, and yesterday they made their displeasure known. Having now read the City Paper liveblog, and Mike Debonis’ Twitter feed from yesterday, I think yesterday’s battle was more of the Fenty/Council battle, and not just against the Chancellor. She was standing in for Peter Nickles and Adrian Fenty, and so I’m going to score this thusly:

Fenty Administration: 3
City Council: 5

A loss for the Fenty Administration, but given that yesterday was the council’s rules and venue, I’d say it’s not quite the rout you would’ve expected. Michelle Rhee held her own in the council chambers yesterday and that should not be ignored.

Alexandria, Tourism
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Tourism: George Washington Masonic Memorial

Photo courtesy of
‘Egyptian Floor of the Masonic Temple’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

While this enormous Masonic temple in Alexandria is visible from all over the city, I finally found my way there this past weekend to explore its inner secrets – and I was impressed. While I know in reality that the mysteries revolving around Freemasonry are highly dramatized, the unintelligible symbols, the A-list of Presidential members, and the immensity of the memorial make for an interesting combination, to say the least. Even if it does require a little imagination to keep the myths going.

The memorial is currently running tours up to four times a day, including weekends, covering all “9” floors of the building. From the entry hall, up to the museum, then to the Egyptian floor, followed by the Knights of Templar and, finally, the observation deck. Where are the other 4 floors? That only adds to the mystery. In several weeks, the temple is opening the elevators for public use on unguided tours, but for now you must go on a guided tour. Oh yeah, and it’s FREE. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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ZocDoc Comes to DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Doctor’s Office’
courtesy of ‘Kelly Sue’

As we’ve progressed further and further into the digital age (and I’m speaking here of time, and not necessarily of social progress) we’ve gotten the ability to schedule a lot of things online. Grocery Delivery, Flights, Trains, Concert Tickets, Car Pickup, Maintenance Appointments. The more I can read the appointment availability schedule for myself, the more I can arrange my schedule to my own satisfaction instead of feeling at the beck and call of others. It’s freeing to make your own appointments.

Enter ZocDoc. They’ve worked with 12,000 doctors and dentists in the DC area to build an appointment system that you can access online. Tell it your health insurance, and what speciality or kind of generalist that you want to see, and it finds appointments in their schedule and puts them up for you to see. Got the sniffles or possibly the swine flu in 20010 and you’ve got Care First insurance? There are appointments for twelve different doctors in DC for today. How about Humana PPO instead? Eleven docs are waiting for you.

Where was this when I needed a GP appointment two months ago and had to wait five weeks to see someone?

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed
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Arlington Attack Politics Get Ugly

scan0005 front
Scan of Ringel Mailer in Arlington

If you live in Virginia, I’m sure you’re sick and tired of all of the attack ads airing for the gubernatorial race between McDonnell and Deeds. It has been a long and ugly race and many around the area are excitedly awaiting the coming of election day on Tuesday, November 3rd, so we can be done with all of this. But did you know that attack politics is hitting very, very close to home for many today? If you live in the 48th district in Virginia, which includes north-east Arlington and wraps around down to Crystal City, you may be waking up to a very nasty attack mailer compliments of Aaron Ringel, the Republican opponent of six term incumbent Democrat Bob Brink. According to Ringel, Brink wants to hurt your children.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Being Green on Travel

Photo courtesy of
‘Beach Club at Mauna Lani’
courtesy of ‘troymckaskle’

A DC winter is on the way; soon we’ll be fantasizing about heading to a tropical island, or to the ski slopes. But how can you travel green?

Find out tonight at the DC Green Connection event Sustainable Tourism: Taking Travel to New Places, starting at 6 p.m. at Busboys and Poets. Learn how the choices you make for travel — whether for business or travel — can benefit the environment.

You can also bid on a green vacation. This auction through Sustainable Travel International includes stays in the Mexican Caribbean and Jackson Hole, WY; a seven-night cruise in Alaska and an eight-day eco safari in South Africa.

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Spying a Halloween Festival at ISM

Photo courtesy of
‘Haunted Spy House’
courtesy of ‘Sister72’

The International Spy Museum is celebrating Halloween with a weekend full of events for special agents of all ages. Spend the scariest night of the year at the place where disguises aren’t just for Halloween!

Enjoy “Spy Fright,” a haunting twist on the standard Spy at Night event (on both Friday and Saturday evenings) complete with the specialty Vampagne cocktail, a disturbingly delicious combination of Prosecco, Black Vodka, and raspberry puree. Participants will enjoy a spine-chilling trip through the Museum’s immersive experience Operation Spy and other spy games, including the new CLUE: Secrets & Spies Edition and expert tradecraft demonstrations.

Families will have the unique opportunity to celebrate Halloween with Hasbro’s DC launch of their CLUE: Secrets & Spies Edition. Special Agents Scarlet, Mustard, Plum, and crew will be on hand to greet junior agents. Game demos and giveaways will also take place from 1pm – 9pm on Saturday, with special Halloween treats including pumpkin cookies, spiced cup cakes and fall cider available in the Spy Café.

Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed
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Office of Tax & Revenue Revokes Argonaut, Seven Other Local Sales Tax Certificates

Photo courtesy of
‘doesn’t fit the normal stereotype’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

The DC OCFO this afternoon announced that eight restaurants, including H Street anchor Argonaut, and Georgetown’s Mendocino, have had their sales tax certificates revoked for non-remission of sales taxes collected. The eight facilities owe just over $860,000 collectively. The revocation of their tax certificates means they cannot legally collect money for food or drink, which means they’ll likely be closed until such time as they’re settled with the city.

Interestingly enough, Argonaut is saying they’ll be open this evening after a brief closure, as they’re working things out with OCFO. Apparently, there was a problem at the OTR (problems at the Office of Tax and Revenue? Really? I never would have guessed that they might be having problems over there.) that necessitated the demonstration of these payments, and while Joe Englert’s other two businesses were able to quickly do so (the benefits of local banking!), Argonaut was not able to move as quickly thanks to Bank of America. Update: They have been returned their Tax Certificate by the OCFO this morning, according to Twitter.

That does leave these seven other places in hot water with the OCFO:

INTI,1825 18th St., NW
Prince of Georgetown, 3205 Prospect St., NW
Besta Pizza, 5029 Connecticut Ave., NW
Porter’s, 1207 19th St., NW
Prince Café, 1042 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Mendocino Grille, 2917 M St., NW
Café Nema, 1334 U St., NW

If you’ve got reservations, you make want to check them. Full release after the break:

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Thriller on H Street tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of
‘Thriller Dance. Washington, DC. October 2009.’
courtesy of ‘stuzehner’

The outage at our hosting provider ate my weekend submission, but all I was really going to tell you about was Joy of Motion’s Thriller on H Street tomorrow night. No, this is not the first DC Thriller event this October (as evidenced by the photo I’m using for this entry- there was one last week), but it’s the one I was excited about, so there. It starts with a 2-hour workshop to learn the Thriller choreography (which is no small feat, let me tell you), followed by a group performance of the dance in the parking lot next to the AutoZone. It’s $20 to participate ($10 for kids 8 and up), and costumes are encouraged. And there will be a moonwalk contest.

Downtown, Food and Drink, Night Life, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: W Wine Bar

Barscape, W Hotel Washington

"Barscape, W Hotel Washington" by Jenn Larsen on Flickr

It took me a while to return to the W Hotel after my first look back in July. Katie’s second look confirmed it was going to be a sleek and chic scene. But what about the drinks?

When I ask people what they think about drinks at the W, I tend to get the same response – “Love the view. Hate the line.” They’re referring to POV and its roof terrace, of course, both featuring a killer view of our fair city. POV is still going strong, even as the weather turns chilly. The hotel plans to keep the roof terrace open year-round, thanks to heat lamps and a new awning. So if you don’t have a reservation up top, most likely on peak nights you will end up waiting in a labyrinthine line snaking through the Living Room. That is, unless you just do the sensible thing – plan in advance and make a reservation.

But the most important thing to remember about a night of drinks at the W – it’s not just about POV. There’s a snug little bar tucked away beneath J&G Steakhouse that’s perfect for a rendezvous or two. Biggest surprise? Shssh – the drinks experience may actually be better. Continue reading →

Arlington, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Wine for a Cause

Photo courtesy of
‘Bottle’s Top’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’ 

Looking for a happy hour option tonight that will also help others? Charity events are always a win-win, and the elegant Hotel Palomar Arlington has you covered tonight with “A Taste of Virginia’s Own.”

The event will raise funds for the Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry, which has been helping educate the community about HIV/AIDS since 1987. Tickets are $35 at the door and the event will run from 6pm to 9pm. Varietals from such local winemakers as Chateau O’Brien, Horton Cellars, Pearmund Cellars, Tarara Winery and Rappahannock Cellars will be featured. The Palomar always does an excellent spread of hors d’oeuvres so you’ll be fed well too.

Helping a worthy cause + learning about local wines = a good Thursday night plan.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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K Street is for Kellari

fish display2

Dreaming of a trip to Mykonos, while stuck toiling away in your cubicle? Lucky for you, the New York eat place Kellari opened its doors at 1700 K Street two weeks ago, ready to fulfill all your Greek needs without any of the airfare or time off.

I was invited to sample all the Greek fare during a tasting, and I’m happy to report, we’ve finally got a restaurant on K street that will stick. For the happy hour-er in you, Kellari offers fun cocktails at the bar, with limitless olives, and crackers and cheese. Take a seat, and indulge in fresh fish, which you can pick right off the raw bar in the center of the dining room. (I’d recommend the King Prawns from Madagascar, divine.) Sample some hummus with grilled bread to get started, pick yourself a fish, and round out the meal with some of the best baklava I’ve ever had.

In no time, you’ll be floating on the Aegean. At least in your mind.