Monthly Archives: November 2009

The Features, We Love Drinks
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Tea Time!

Tea Time at home
Tea time at home by Corinne Whiting

A few years back, a loveably zany Irish friend of mine lugged tea bags with her from her Drogheda cupboards to the communal hostel kitchens of Buenos Aires, Rio, La Paz and Cusco. I’ll admit that I didn’t really get it. (“If only I had brown bread right now too,” she’d sigh dreamily, nearby mate drinkers looking on curiously as she downed cup after cup of her smuggled vice.) To say that Edel is a tea enthusiast is an understatement.

I didn’t understand her tea passion…that is, until I moved east to windswept Scotland, where a steaming cuppa is sometimes the only sure way to chase the chill from one’s bones. There I also learned to appreciate the soothing and intimate ritual of gathering with friends over a shared refreshment that requires time—time to steep, to cool, to sip, to savor, to merely pause and take it all in.

Coffee culture seems the more visible beverage addiction in most US cities (DC included), while the army of tea devotees tend to fly under the radar. But I suspect they’re out there. So where can a tea lover get a fix here? The options include spots pretentious and proper, casual and cozy, and those somewhere in between.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Downtown BID Project… huh?

photo (3)

Every morning on my walk to work, I walk through Thomas Circle and down 14th Street.  Every day this week, there’s been an electronic variable message sign on 14th Street that says, “Downtown BID Project/starting on or about/11-09-09, 9:30AM-3:30PM.  The Downtown BID, as you may know, is a business improvement district, which works to revitalize the downtown core through streetscape and cleaning projects.  They’re responsible for the SAMs on the street– those friendly folks wearing red that will provide directions and information.

So, since I’ve passed this display board every day since Monday, and there’s no real information about what this project is, I decided to call the Downtown BID today and find out.  But apparently, they have no idea what’s going on either.  Someone from marketing said I’d have to “be more specific”, which I couldn’t, because there’s nothing to be specific about. See the other two screens after the jump– what can I be more specific about?
Continue reading →

Adventures, Downtown, Essential DC, History, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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36th Annual Conference on Washington DC Historical Studies

Photo courtesy of
‘Lincoln’s Cottage – Magnified Capitol – 4-25-09’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

This Saturday, November 14, rub shoulders with and pick the brains of prominent DC scholars, students, history buffs and collectors at Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives.

The 36th annual conference unites all those dedicated to collecting and sharing the history of our nation’s capital and its local history.  This year’s highlights include newly uncovered findings on DC’s Underground Railroad, a photo history of the area, learnings from the restored Ford’ Theatre, and more.

Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.  Reservations are required. Call 202-383-1840 for more information.

The Daily Feed
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Have You Ever Seen the French (Hip Hop) Dance?

Photo courtesy of
‘Dancing to Batala at Artomatic 2009’
courtesy of ‘starbuck77’

Having lived in France for a year, I can attest that there is a certain “Je ne sais QUOI” about the way French people dance. Even when they’re out on a Friday night, it’s simply different with some 1940s swing mixed into urban break dancing. It’s also incredibly amusing to watch, and sinfully simple to start dancing along.

Tonight at 8:00 p.m., Aurélien Kairo, a well-known and “amazing” French Hip Hop dancer comes to St. Stephens Church in NW DC, hosted by L’Alliance Française and Words Beats & Life.

The 30 year old self-taught dancer from Lyon, France is successfully pursuing a faultless career.

From the street to the theaters, from the urban scene to the rural world, the relationship with his audiences, to all generations, is at the heart of Aurélien Kairo’s creative process.

Check him out on YouTube and see for yourself. This should, if nothing else, inspire some new dance moves for later tonight. And, a new interpretation of the music genre “Hip Hop.” I want to see him keep up this kind of energy for 50 minutes straight of dancing with no intermission… Can he do it??

The performance is $18 at the door. It’s expected to last 50 minutes without intermission. St. Stephens Church is located at 1525 Newton Street NW.

The Daily Feed
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Travelzoo Travel Deals Hit Twitter @DCFares

Photo courtesy of
‘fun with perspectives’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Great news for DC area deal-finder travelers who also have/follow their twitter accounts: Travelzoo partnered with Fly.com to launch real-time flight deal alerts via Twitter at @DCfares.

@DCFares promises to have the hottest airfares as soon as they come out. And their “easy-to-read Low Fare Calendars will show you exactly when the fares are available.”

Their twitter account expects 3-4 posts a week, so just make sure the other 2,458 people you follow don’t dilute the deal-finding.

The Daily Feed
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Not The Same Thing Over Againn

Againn Restaurant Located in Washington DC

Honestly, the British Gastropub trend sounds so unappealing, doesn’t it? I’ve heard it called “awful” and “tired” recently, and I gotta be honest: eating something called Mushy Peas, Black Pudding or Bubble and Squeak is not first on my list when I think of a delicious night out. It doesn’t speak to me the way “rack of lamb with cranberry coulis and yukon gold potatoes” speaks to me. That is, until I actually tried Againn.

Over on New York Avenue (sort of tucked away on 11th, really) – Againn is homey while still being trendy (the details are flawless), British without being flavorless, and a great happy hour spot to boot. And ya’ll, the Bubble and Squeak? More like a delicious savory potato latke with some veggies thrown in, than the weird swamp-creature vision I had in my head. Even better? Wesley Morton, Executive Chef of AGAINN, and partners Mark Weiss and Bahar Makinaci put a strong focus on serving sustainable seafood, organic meats and sourcing from select local farms for produce.

Standouts in my mind? I loved the cornish fish soup, served with thinly sliced bread serving as croutons to spread with a saffron mayonnaise and dip in your soup. The pork belly with brussel sprouts and cracklin’ was also a winner. But the real superstar? Toffee Pudding. The bar is also a great place to be, the genius who designed it should win an award or something for creating my ideal bar situation. A few feet from the bar proper, they’ve placed a few small little stands to set your drink on, with hooks all around the stand leg. Hang up your purse, your coat, and set your scotch down for a minute. Grade A in my book, I hate hanging on to my purse and coat while trying to unwind from my day.

Againn is located at 1099 New York Ave., NW, a few blocks from Metro Center’s 11th street exit.

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Bowen McCauley Dance

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Alicia Curtis and Dustin Kimball in "Lucy's Playlist," Bowen McCauley Dance. Photo credit: John McCauley

 This Sunday, Bowen McCauley Dance will be performing three pieces at the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage, free at 6pm. Featuring not just the artistry and athleticism of the professional company, but the Kenmore junior company and Dance for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) as well.

Bowen McCauley is the only dance company in the area to provide free weekly classes for people with PD, artistic director Lucy Bowen McCauley having received training and certification from the originators in New York – the prestigious Mark Morris Dance Group. This Sunday class participants will perform a piece called “If I Can’t Dance,” accompanied by folk singer Grace Griffith.  

“On this small stage you will see a huge show,” says Lucy, “involving the young, the old, the disabled, the professional, with live musicians and all for free.” Sounds pretty uplifting to me after a dreary grey week. Head out to the Kennedy Center this weekend and enjoy.

Foggy Bottom, Technology, The Daily Feed, The District
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You Abuse It, You Lose It

Photo courtesy of
‘In classroom #1’
courtesy of ‘poplinre’

The GW Hatchet reports that some professors have banned laptops, iPhones and Blackberries because students were using them for non-class related purposes (i.e. Facebook, AIM, email and even gaming).

Now having gone to highschool and college when laptops and smartphones were just becoming mainstream, I didn’t have that type of technological distraction. Instead, we had to rely on old fashioned doodling, note passing and daydreaming. The most technically advanced we got was playing “Drug Wars” on our TI-83 calculators in trig class. I was always so bummed when I got mugged riding the subway in Shaolin.

Point is kids have and will always find ways to distract themselves from learning about Joseph Proust’s theory on atomic theory or Emily Dickinson’s poetic themes of love, nature and death.  Unfortunately, laptops and cellphones take this distraction to a whole new level.

Yes, laptops can be uber useful for note taking, organizing and on the spot research, but their powers seem to be used more for evil than for good. Like Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker “With great power comes great responsibility” and if you’re not going to be responsible with how, when and for what you use your power, then you shouldn’t be allowed to have it in the classroom.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Thanksgiving Pie Sale Benefits Food & Friends

Photo courtesy of
‘Pumpkin Pie’
courtesy of ‘Bethany Ann Khan’

At the DC foodie happy hour last month, I found out about this great holiday pie sale to benefit Food & Friends, called Slice of Life.  While I’ve never volunteered for Food & Friends, it is a great organization with a great reputation. And we all know that it’s going to be a particularly rough holiday season this year…

If you purchase a pie for Thanksgiving and take it home for you and your clan through the Slice of Life program, 100% of the cost of the pie goes to the foundation. Or, you can donate the pie and the funds directly to the families who need them most.

All the information you could possibly be interested in can be found by clicking this link.

Let me know if you have any questions or, you know, what your favorite pie is. Orders must be completed by this upcoming Thursday, November 19.

You have the choice of five pie flavors: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Secret Service Limos Hit and Kill Man

Photo courtesy of
‘taking a drive’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Early Wednesday morning around 2:30am, a man was hit and killed on the Suitland Pkwy by two Secret Service vehicles in transit from Andrew’s Air Force base to their holding location in DC. The accident occurred just over the DC border in PG County. No word right now on what really caused the accident, but an investigation is underway.

Continue reading →

The Features, The Mall, Tourism
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Decorating for the Holidays

Photo courtesy of
‘Ribbon Cutting’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

The holidays are a time of excess, from decorations and food to parades and retail displays. We splurge on gifts, we make rich feasts for friends and family; we gather close to the people we love, seeking comfort in midwinter. The Smithsonian invited Santa & Mrs. Clause and Twinkle the Elf to the National Museum of American History to open a new small exhibit on the Holidays. Focused on Parades of all seasons, from Tournament of Roses through to Macy’s Thanksgiving, and the retail window displays of department stores (something of a relic to those of us under 40) all across the US, the new exhibit has photos and artifacts from holiday celebrations across the country.

The exhibit is fairly small, just a couple rooms, but what’s contained therein will snap you right out of your Fall Funk and propel you right into Holiday prep. On Wednesday, I was grumpy as hell, seeing the Wal-mart Christmas ads on television already, but last night, that disappointment was absent. Was it the joy in the kids’ eyes, watching Mrs. Claus read a story? Maybe it melted my grinchy heart. Holidays on Display runs for a whole year, on the Third floor, on the West side of the museum.

There’s a companion volume of the same name put out by the museum that has some fascinating history that’s DC-specific, including whole sections on the displays at Woodward & Lothrop, which were deeply memorable. Look for an interview with Mr. Bird in the coming weeks.

Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Technology, The Daily Feed
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Office Fridge Lockdown

Photo courtesy of
‘Postit on the shared office fridge’
courtesy of ‘Kai Hendry’

Yesterday’s Thrillist email featured an item I have a feeling many DC office workers need. The Fridge Locker Personal Food Security System keeps your lunch, yogurts, apples, etc. under lock and key and prevents that office fridge raider from making away with that leftover slice of pizza you’d been dreaming about during that 11am meeting.

The most ridiculous item I ever had stolen out of an office fridge was a half eaten scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with the spoon in it. Gross!

I’m sure there are plenty of good fridge raider stories out there. Let’s hear them.

The Daily Feed
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Kids Take on Where We Live

Photo courtesy of
‘hbw: jr professional’
courtesy of ‘greenkozi’

Every couple weeks I head out to another DC neighborhood and write up a profile for the Where We Live feature, but here’s an even cooler way to learn about neighborhoods: the National Building Museum sponsors a summer outreach program for DC kids in which participants get to document DC neighborhoods through photographs and creative writing.  Investigating Where We Live is an annual program for children ages 12 to 16, where the kids get some training in photography and then set out in teams to document different neighborhoods.  Their work is then put on display at the National Building Museum.

The kids from this summer’s IWWL focused on three DC neighborhoods: Columbia Heights, Shaw, and U Street.  Head over to the National Building Museum to see their takes on these neighborhoods before January.  And check out the IWWL student blog to hear from the kids firsthand– these are some very talented young people, and I can’t wait to check out their work.   Continue reading →

Food and Drink, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Special: Holiday Rum Punch

Mixing up rum punch

"Mixing up rum punch" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

The first in an occasional series where we ask local bartenders, mixologists and other libation lovers to show us how to rustle up some specialty drinks. As I can’t fit you all in my kitchen, I’ll bring my kitchen to you.

In just a few weeks, many of us will be joining family and friends for a relaxing, low-key little gathering known as Thanksgiving. Perhaps you’ve been asked to contribute something, and you’re racking your brain for what to do. How about punch?

Ok, not that kind of punch – I’m not advocating holiday violence! Though I know many of us feel like pulling a punch over the holidays, let’s get happy instead. Punch by its communal nature is festive, like an alcoholic water-cooler bringing everyone together as you dip and pour. To help get us in the holiday mood, Dave McCabe tested out my kitchen one afternoon with a winter rum punch. He brought the punch ingredients, we provided the cheese, everyone got happy.

Formerly a manager at Oyamel, Dave is now co-owner of Punk’s Backyard Grill in Annapolis. He explained that the restaurant is dedicated to serving healthy food at reasonable prices, and as a member of the Maryland Green Registry is an avid believer in sustainability. Dave himself is clearly a passionate proponent of honest and simple ingredients, both in food and in cocktails. This punch recipe is both easy and approachable.

But wait, let’s kick up the classic champagne cocktail first. You’re going to need it while you squeeze all those grapefruits and lemons. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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If you give a WLDC writer a funny photo…

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In case the photo is too small for you to tell, that sign is outside the fire station in South Arlington, on Wilson Boulevard. It looks like Peter Griffin in a fireman’s getup, with a big porno moustache, about to put Stewie into a bathtub. The family dog Brian, mysteriously missing part of his nose, is following the sign’s advice to “test the water before putting baby in.”

Let me tell you what happens when a We Love DC writer sees a sign like this. Tom takes a photo of it with his iPhone and emails it to the group, saying only, “WTF?!” The conversation then proceeds like this (verbatim, from the We Love DC authors mailing list): Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Vote for Google Street View’s Trike to Come to DC

Photo courtesy of
‘View from the Top’
courtesy of ‘JulieLG’

Last month, we told you about Google’s plan to reach non-driveable places with its new Street View Trike.  They asked for submissions through the end of October, and two DC locations have made the cut.  The National Mall and the Capital Crescent Trail are both finalists, and now the public gets to vote on the winners.  I think both of these places are great, and featuring them on Google Street View would open them up to people across the country.  Plus, I secretly hope that if the National Mall wins, they’ll take the trike up to the top of the Washington Monument and do a panoramic view from up there.  How cool would that be?

Anyway, you have until Monday, November 30 to vote here.

The Daily Feed
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Miss USA Pageant runner-up flakes out on DC appearance

Photo courtesy of
‘Bigotry is gay’
courtesy of ‘JP Puerta’

Carrie Prejean, whose 15 minutes of fame started on the Miss USA pageant when she told Perez Hilton that she is against legalizing gay marriage because “that’s just how I was raised,” is currently squeeeeeezing a few extra minutes out of her time in the spotlight on a book tour. She was all set to come to DC to address the Luce Policy Institute on the tour, but then just an hour before the event was to start, organizers had to call all the attendees personally to tell them it was canceled. Something to do with a disastrous appearance on Larry King the night before, maybe?

In any case, I’m perfectly happy she won’t be gracing District audiences with her presence. Beyond the simple fact that we disagree on gay marriage, which is not all that remarkable in itself, I find her infuriating for two specific reasons:

1. She seems to think that “how I was raised” is an acceptable justification for proscribing others’ behavior.

2. She created a situation in which Perez-freaking-Hilton had to be taken seriously.

Arlington, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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The Phallic Deli

Photo courtesy of
‘Every Food Fits – Well, Hot Dog!’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Do you like a little innuendo in your local deli?  Maybe some masculine flair?  Well, look no further than Ballston’s Market Place & Deli. Jeff, one of our readers, sent us a picture of Market Place’s hilarious and unintentionally(?) sexual logo.  This may be old news to Ballston locals, but most people aren’t in on the sausage fest yet, so I thought I’d give you all a laugh.  I took the liberty of posting the logo on Failblog, so get over there and vote for it. Penis.

The Daily Feed
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Tree preview

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Well, if you didn’t get tickets to the National Tree lighting maybe you can console yourself by getting an early look at the Capitol’s tree. It’s all over the Arizona news because they’re putting their grubby hands over it before it comes to us.

No, I’m not bitter because it’s 75 degrees and dry there while I’m starting a moss and mushroom farm in my backyard here. Why?

Anyway, the tree makes stops to let people gawk at it in Peoria, Glendale and Phoenix. Did you have any idea that people in the origin state cared this much about the trees they send us? I’m not sure I have ever gone to look at the Capitol tree on purpose and I’ve got a month to do it.