Yearly Archives: 2009

Food and Drink, The DC 100, The Features
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DC Omnivore 100: #98, Polenta

Polenta

"Polenta" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

It’s time for another item from the DC Omnivore 100 list of the top one hundred foods every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.

There’s something so comforting about polenta. Maybe it’s the mushiness. Last night, fighting off a fever, I had an intense craving for this cornmeal goo, so I dragged myself off to the store to rustle up a plate.

Polenta is one of the staple dishes of Northern Italy, though it also can be found throughout Eastern Europe and Turkey. Honestly, there’s not much to it – boiled cornmeal using either the yellow or white varieties, fine or coarse grained. But it’s a bit labor-intensive. Like risotto, it requires constant stirring as the cornmeal grain’s starch slowly gelatinizes. But once it does – oh happy day. You get a soft, creamy mixture, and that’s before adding any other delicious ingredients like butter or cheese! It’s also extremely economical, filling peasant food that can be prepared in so many ways, from breakfast to dinner.

If you see polenta on Italian restaurant menus around DC, chances are it’ll be paired with sausage – this is a pretty traditional mix of mild and spicy. Tosca takes it to another level, matching it with sea urchin ragu and caviar (for lunch!). But polenta doesn’t have to be served straight from the pot – you can also cool it and fry it up. Fried polenta has a more complex flavor than when just boiled – the taste of corn is more pronounced. I was inspired by the grilled polenta I recently tried at Vegetate to make an attempt at this style myself. Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed
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Generous George’s Closes

Photo courtesy of
‘meaty goodness’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Sadly, an icon of my childhood is no more.  Generous George’s Positive Pizza and Pasta Place closed the doors of its Alexandria restaurant for good, on Sunday. Fortunately,  George’s maintains a second location, in Herndon, which will stay open.  The legend will live on, even if the more convenient location doesn’t. When I was younger, Generous George’s was a frequent after-church lunch spot for my family and I.  I honestly haven’t been back in years, so I can’t really say whether the place was good or not, but to my 11-year old taste buds, the pizza was excellent.  Plus, the individual pitchers of soda were awesome.  Farewell, Alexandria location of Generous Georges’s Positive Pizza and Pasta Place.  You will be missed

The Daily Feed
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Only Dim Wits Think the Skins Stunk

Redskins Game 1 022
Photo courtesy of Amanda Wolfe

The Redskins players think you are bad fans. They won, ok? It’s not like they were playing one of the worst teams in football, have an enormous payroll, charge you ridiculously high ticket prices and bombard you with never ending commercial or brand promotions during a game at Fedex! Your only job as a fan is to pat them on the back no matter what.

The Skins “won” yesterday 9-7 over the St. Louis Rams. But I was there and I still have no idea how they actually won. The play calling was miserable! How many times can you run Portis up the middle in the red zone and expect them to not have their nearly last ranked defense ready for it? How many times can Moss drop or fumble the ball and be completely worthless? Jason, what the hell was that play in the end-zone where you didn’t want to get rid of the ball and were only inches away from taking a safety and completely killing all momentum after the fumble recovery? If you, like me, booed the Redskins’ performance on Sunday, you, sir, are a “DIM WIT”. According to Linbeback Robert Henson, at least. He even tweeted it!

Continue reading →

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 9/18 – 9/20/09

Photo courtesy of
‘Zooming around H Street’
courtesy of ‘mediaslave’

Zooma-zoom-zoom and a boom-boom!

Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.

Hope your weekend was as fantastic as our weather was. Technically the last weekend before fall, I think summer finally went out with some panache. Now we get to look forward to fall colors, football disappointments and holidays galore! In the meantime, hold on to the last hours of summer by checking out some great photos from our area readers, taken over the last few days.
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Turkish Restaurant Week in DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Photo of Real Hummus’
courtesy of ‘foodistablog’

Close on the heels of my post about great prix fixe meals in the city (all for less than $35) comes Turkish Restaurant Week, where you can snag a delicious 4-course meal for only $25. The deal runs from today through September 26th as part of the 2009 Turkish Festival.

So where can you snag some delicious mezze for cheap? My choice would be Levante’s in Dupont Circle, because they have some crazy delicious bread. Rosemary Thyme would also be a front runner. For a full list of participating restaurants and menus, ATA-DC has you covered.

For more on the entire ATA-DC Turkish Festival, slated for October 4, head over to the 2009 Festival site.

Adventures, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Night Life, The Daily Feed, The District, The Hill
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Half Way To St. Patty’s Day Celebration

Photo courtesy of
‘Don’t Have Any Words at the Moment’
courtesy of ‘marciadc’

I’m guessing that even if you’re Irish, you probably didn’t realize that tomorrow is the halfway mark to 2010’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

If you’d like to celebrate this VERY special occasion, have a pint or you’re just looking for a good time, check out the St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Kelly’s Irish Times and the Dubliner tomorrow.  Festivities begin at 4pm and last until 12pm with drink specials, raffle prizes and live music.

Entry is $5 in advance, $7 if you’re sporting green and $10 if you just want in at the door, and can be bought through Lindy Promotions.

Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Talk Like a Pirate

 Photo courtesy of
‘Skull and cross bones pirate flag’
courtesy of ‘baltine’

I just wanted to remind you all that tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day. I realize that this isn’t strictly DC interest, but since it is an international holiday, it does apply to our fair city.  So, please, bust out the “yarrs” and “avasts” and enjoy this yearly excuse to call other people “wenches.”

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Delonte West Pulled Over With Three Guns on Beltway

Photo courtesy of
‘A shotgun story’
courtesy of ‘tombothetominator’

Okay, I get that people need to transport guns all over the place, and I definitely support their second amendment right to do so, but there’s appropriate ways to do it, and then there’s stupid ways to do it. This is a blog post, so you can guess which way Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers chose to do it.

That’s right. He was carrying a handgun in his waistband, another on his ankle, and he had a shotgun in his guitar case. And he was on his motorcycle on the beltway when he was pulled over for erratic driving. He will face charges for carrying a handgun while driving come November. Apparently the police decided his shotgun in a guitar case doesn’t face a charge. Seriously, why don’t these people hire someone to transport their weapons for them safely? This is such a no-brainer. Why the hell would you need to carry three guns on your motorcycle? Isn’t a sedan more appropriate? Then you can put them in cases so they don’t go off inside your pants, Plaxico Burress-style.

People, The District, The Features
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Arrivederci, DC: Bucket List

IMG_0327

Driving back into the city after a week of being in Upstate New York, I soak in that familiar feeling of relief. Ah, back in the District and thank goodness. No other city can quite shake its tail-feathers like DC at night. You look down the avenues and spy the Capitol Dome illuminated as if to say, “Why would you ever leave this?” Yet DC has a reputation as a city of transience– young people here for their twenties before settling down elsewhere, money changing hands, the powerful commuting back and forth to their districts. There is a cycle of departure. And yours truly, for all I love this city, is no exception it appears. Before leaving for a 9-month adventure in teaching in the Campania region of Italy, I utilized my free time to take care of some unfinished business, what we’re calling the DC Bucket List.

You live here, so why would you spend time waiting in line with Mr. Fannypack and Mrs. Un-ironic White Tennis Sneakers? Well, suck up your pride (yes, we know you work for Rep. So-and-So, you’re very busy and important) and hit some of the hot spots now that the tour tide has died down. If not now, when? Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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H is for Happy Times

Photo courtesy of
‘Adams Morgan Day’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Guys, I love H Street. It’s true. I wasn’t sure how it could possibly improve, but then H St was like, how about live music, street food, urban art, and a blues guitar raffle? Yes, please. Tomorrow is the 2009 H Street Festival, which will be rocking your socks off from noon to 6pm on the 1000-1300 blocks of H St.

Other bonuses: my friend will be dancing with members of the Glade Dance Company and mobile vendor Curbside Cupcakes will make its debut! Now I’m just worried regular H St won’t be good enough, after this.

The Daily Feed
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Syrup For the Win!

Photo courtesy of
‘the favours’
courtesy of ‘Magalie L’Abbé’

So earlier this week I asked the very smart readers of We Love DC to settle an internal debate that’s been going on at Restaurant 3 over the sauce to be served with their Chicken and Waffles dish. I promised to remain neutral at the time, so as not to sway anyone, but am glad to see my fine readers are as intelligent as I thought they were. Maple syrup won by a LANDSLIDE, and I’m so pleased. You all have refined taste buds, and as a result Restaurant 3 will now be serving the dish the CORRECT way, with maple syrup! Everyone wins.

But actually, someone does win a bit more than everyone else – free dinner at Restaurant 3, to be exact, just for casting a vote. I used random.org to select a winner, and so CONGRATULATIONS, commenter #73, Snack Pig, you win free dinner for two at Restaurant 3! Plus, Snack Pig chose syrup, so they’re even better off, as they won’t be disappointed.

If you’re not Snack Pig and didn’t win, you can still go to Restaurant 3 and grab the Chicken and Waffles for $16. Restaurant 3 is located at 2950 Clarendon Blvd in Arlington, VA and is a stone’s throw away from the Clarendon Metro stop.

Adams Morgan, Food and Drink, Interviews, Life in the Capital, People, The Features
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He Loves DC: Ben Eisendrath

Ben Eisendrath of Grillworks, Inc

Ben Eisendrath (image courtesy of Grillworks, Inc.)

“If you want high-rise, get on the train.”

Tucked away on an Adams Morgan side street, off the alley entrance and past the Harley, lies a secret patio that just happens to be the headquarters of a foodie subculture – Grillworks, Inc.

Local entrepreneur Ben Eisendrath had been introducing friends to the glory of South American-style wood grilling for years before he chucked the daily grind to re-launch his father’s invention and transform it into a viable business. From “grubby greasy shop drawings” to 3D CAD renderings, Ben translated his father’s elegant design for the modern world. Shops in Michigan and Virginia now produce what’s known as the “Maserati of Grills.”

I’ve known Ben for over a decade, and in the majority of those years the highly coveted grill party invites have seen quite the menu range. From regular ol’ burgers to caribou sausage, from butterflied salmon on a bed of dill to goat leg – and those are just the protein options!  The simple beauty of the grill’s design enables it to weather all seasons, and it’s slowly expanded from just a quiet secret amongst locals to celebrity chefs and newscasters. And honestly – there’s just nothing like the hypnotic dance of the wood burning flames as they light the night.

Ben could easily pick up and move to another city. A Michigan native, he came to DC in 1993; his grandparents have lived here for a long time, and it seemed a manageable starter city for someone who’d never lived in a metropolis before. But somehow, as with so many of us, the city sucked him in. Ben’s a Washingtonian now. I asked him to talk about why he loves DC, the challenges of being a local entrepreneur, and where he goes to get his grub. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Get your crime on

Photo courtesy of
‘Autopsy’
courtesy of ‘SWP Moblog’

While it may not have the kind of comedy of mid-crime Facebook status updates, the National Museum of Crime&Punishment does have some neat exhibits like the America’s Most Wanted studio and all kinds of crime-fighting stuff, like the CSI kind of exhibit pictured above. And it’s got a half-off deal going if you’d like to skip out of work and head over – just say “lock up” and it’s $10 for adults rather than $20.

Or take advantage of the “6 after 6” deal for locals if you want to go in the evening. Flash your driver’s license showing  you live in DC, MD or VA and it’s $6 if you come in between 6 and 7. (They’re open till 8 but the website says no tix after 7…)

Adventures, Entertainment, Fun & Games, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Male Soccer Models Needed ASAP

Photo courtesy of
‘Defiance’
courtesy of ‘artwork_rebel’

There’s a casting call  for some serious adult male soccer players for a video shoot next week.  The production company is having “auditions” – today, where all you have to do is show up in your hotness and show them your footie skillz.  It’s all for some sort of Gatorade-ish take-off spot, so envision sweat drops in slow-mo.  If you qualify,  contact Karen @ Carbone Entertainment.  Also, please forward your headshot to the ladies at WeLoveDC. ;)

The Daily Feed
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Comedy Gold to be Found in DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Fall Equinox – Moonrise – 9-4-09’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Now that everyone’s realized that DC is a great place for reality shows, action shows, and movies, someone has finally realized the potential for comedy gold here. I’m not talking about the hilarious antics of badge-weilding Hill interns or the jokes that come from the Metro (“Could it BE any more crowded?” That’s my Chandler impression, FYI).

No, according to Greg Malins, the guy behind “Friends,” among other things, the hilarity comes from newly elected members of Congress living together. Um, what? That’s what you came up with? He calls it Freshmen, and it’s set to air on ABC sometime soon. Call me crazy, but that does not sound like a winner to me. I don’t care if you do get input from Arianna Huffington for it. Thoughts?

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Samurai Sword Killing Takes a Turn

Fox 5 is reporting a slight change in the Baltimore Samurai story, which includes the phrase “modern-day ninja vigilante”. They’re suggesting that the victim in this case was not killed in the garage, rather the victim was crouched in a corner in front of the house. The suspect lunged when he asked his roommates to call the police, and that’s when the fatal blow was delivered. Apparently, the group of roommates went searching for the robber when the police came up empty in their initial search of the house after the robbery.

Monumental
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Monumental: Theodore Roosevelt Island

Photo courtesy of
‘Teddy waves from on high’
courtesy of ‘snapzdc’

Theodore Roosevelt Island may not have sandy beaches and palm trees, but this little island definitely has secrets.

First, you have to know it’s there. From the frenzied lane-changing above on the Roosevelt bridge, you’d never know that a nature preserve nearly 90 acres large lies below.

Scores of people zip past it daily in their cars on the George Washington Parkway, too, or on bike or foot on the Mount Vernon trail–only a single footbridge lets people across from near Rosslyn.

And when you do find and wander onto the island, all you see at first is trees. It’s a bit of a surprise when you come upon the hidden plaza, with a moat, fountains, and a 17’ statue of Teddy Roosevelt towering overhead.
Continue reading →