Monthly Archives: February 2010

The Daily Feed
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Fight the Snow. Build a sled.

Photo courtesy of
‘Crazy Sledding’
courtesy of ‘terren in Virginia’

Sure, you may have seen the earlier post about where to sled in the District, but with less than 24 hours to go before an epic snow, it’s too late to order your very own version of Rosebud from Amazon, and all the local Targets, WalMarts, and hardware stores are sold out. Luckily, the folks at HacDC are coming to the rescue, with a late night impromptu sled-building workshop tonight at the Columbia Heights Hackerspace at 1525 Newton Street NW.

Sled building will commence once tonight’s Dorkbot DC meeting finishes up, sometime between 9 and 10 PM. But come early at 7 for the Dorkbot presentations!

Penn Quarter, The Daily Feed
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SAY IT AIN’T SO… Wagamama’s Backed Out???

Photo courtesy of
‘Wagamama Streatham Street’
courtesy of ‘renaissancechambara’

I interrupt the snow coverage to bring you some HIGHLY DISTURBING NEWS that MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE BUT IF IT IS I WILL CRY AND IT WILL BE BAD AND YOU DON’T WANT ME TO CRY DO YOU? NO YOU DO NOT.

Wagamama’s may not be opening. Says this thread at Don Rockwell.

YOU GUYS. THIS IS NOT OKAY. I REPEAT. NOT OKAY. I WAS SO EXCITED.

I’ll be in the bathroom with tissues if you need me.

The Daily Feed
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Snowball Fights! (No Guns, Please.)

Photo courtesy of
‘Aim’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

We’re tracking reports of a couple different snowball fights prepared for Saturday in the wake of what will be a second historic storm in a year! We’ve seen a Facebook invite for a Snowball Event on the Ellipse. Maybe the President will come out and throw the first snowball? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. There’s another snowball event put on by the NAKID Kickball league scheduled for 3pm by the Smithsonian Metro station, which I think is a great place to have a snowball fight (Metro accessible? Brilliant!)

Amongst our Twitterati, folks are also calling for a second snowball fight at 14th and U Street, this time without the gun-toting off-duty detective (Stay home, Baylor!) as well as a fight on Logan Circle. Watch this space for additional snowball fights, and add others as you hear about them in the comments!

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors, The Hill
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The Hills

Photo courtesy of
‘sledding fun’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

We worked damn hard during the last snowpocalypse to make sure that you were well informed as to the snow related goings on in the DC area.  In fact, I’d say we covered the bases pretty well.  You know what that means for this time around? Recycled content!!

One of our readers, Shaun from Arlington, asked us about sledding hills in the DC area.  Fortunately, Cathy came up with a pretty sweet list in December.  For your information, here it is again:

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Activation 2719: Support Local Artists

Photo courtesy of
‘What’s that say?’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

If you are someone who can’t fathom staying indoors just because of a ‘little’ snow, then perhaps adventuring over to the pop-up gallery called Activation 2719 might just be your perfect excuse to break-out. Activation 2719 is presented by Ready Set DC and No Kings Collective, a DC artist collective that promotes the relationship between area artists and their city, and will be kicking off a two week exhibition on Saturday at 6 p.m. with food from CommonWealth Gastropub and music via DJ Fleg and DJ Tom Lim – with vocals by Sheena Alexis and Bullfight Academy.

The exhibit will continue through February 20th and features the following local artists: Anieken Udofia, Bryan Rojsuontikul, Brandon Hill, Francisco Esteban, Batool Al-Shomrani, Peter Chang, Emily Greene Liddle, Tim “CON” Conlon, DECOY, and James Walker.

To attend, RSVP here by 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Activation 2719 is located at 2719 13th Street NW, Washington DC.

Food and Drink, Interviews, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Ivan Iricanin

Photo courtesy of
‘Masa 14 – 7’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

We Love Drinks continues our series where we look behind the bar, profiling the many people – from mixologists to bartenders, sommeliers to publicans – who make your drinks experience happen.

When Ivan Iricanin first tells me his favorite drink is tequila, I don’t quite believe him. After all, as beverage manager for Masa 14 with its 100+ tequila collection, doesn’t he have to say that? But the care is evident as he lines up a flight showcasing some exquisite ultra-aged tequila. And once I sample his simple margarita, I definitely believe him.

Ivan’s originally from Serbia, spending the past five years in DC and previously working with Richard Sandoval at Zengo. When I ask how a Serbian came to love a Mexican liquor, he mentions rakija, a fruit brandy usually made with plums. The best varieties are homemade and difficult to get. Traveling to Mexico as part of his stint with Washington Wholesale, he was reminded of his national liquor when trying the micro-tequilas – and of course Sandoval’s Mexican heritage was a huge influence as well.

Most Americans never get past mixto tequila, artificially colored and only 50% or so of it actual agave – the remainder coming from other sugar sources. “You’ll get a headache if it’s mixto,” Ivan says strongly, “all our tequilas served here are 100% agave.” This is serious stuff, with a regulatory council and bottle identifiers similiar to wine regulation. Ivan suggests starting your exploration with a flight – and what better way to completely wipe all memory of previous bad tequila choices than to go with a micro-tequila flight. Masa has six on the menu, and you won’t find them anywhere else.

As he lines up the gorgeous bottles with a card explaining each one, I’m thinking this could be dangerous, even though Ivan says the quality is flawless. I’m still relieved that fellow WLDC author Max is also along for the ride to help me with the tasting! Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Line at Trader Joe’s pretty freaking crazy


Trader Joe’s line too damned long
Originally uploaded by carlweaver

Were you in line at Trader Joe’s on 25th and L Street today? When I realized what was going on I turned tail and left. Those folks on the left in the photo are in line for the register. The folks on the right are waiting in a line that wrapped around the entire inside of the store. No foolin’.

I normally like working near this store but not today. I am curious, though, why it was so busy today and why people chose to wait in that long ass line. Were you there? Can you shed some light for me?

Downtown, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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RWDC Art!

Photo courtesy of
‘MTV’s “Real World” House in DC for 2010’
courtesy of ‘dbking’

Are you an art collector searching for a few “as seen on realty TV” pieces? Do you love MTV’s sense of interior design so much that you wish to emulate it in your own home? Well, you’re in luck, because Gallery Plan B is hosting a two day event during which you can purchase some of the artwork displayed in the Real World DC house! Starting Staurday, the pieces are on sale at Plan B’s 14th St. location.  They’re even hosting a reception with the artists on the 6th.  So, if anything jumped out at you during your religious watching on the RWDC, get yourself to Plan B to lay your hands on it.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Win Tickets to the Georgetown/’Nova Game Saturday!

Photo courtesy of
‘Marquette at Georgetown’
courtesy of ‘bhenak’

Not afraid of a little snow? Love yourself some Hoyas Basketball? Us too! We’ve got a great contest to give away five pairs of awesome tickets to Saturday’s game courtesy of DC Lottery (Hey, Powerball’s up to $140M! That buys a LOT of snow removal!) and all you have to do is leave a comment to enter! We’ll pick five lucky winners tomorrow morning at 10am and coordinate tickets with DC Lottery.

See you at the game! Thanks DC Lottery!

DCLottery.jpg

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: February 6-7, SNOPOCALYPSE II!

Photo courtesy of
‘354:365’
courtesy of ‘::FiZ::’

Kirk: On Friday, I’m going to the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Falls Church to celebrate my tax return. My plans for Saturday are tenuous, at this point. Provided it doesn’t snow, I’m going to make another attempt at Mr. P’s Ribs and Fish, as my plans were foiled last weekend.  Sunday is, of course, Super Bowl time.  Hopefully I’ll be sitting at a friend’s house in front of a 60″ HD TV with my mouth agape.  Do I care who wins?  No. I hate the Colts and I think that the Saints are overrated. After the game, I’ll mourn the end of the football season and being preparing for fantasy baseball.

John: Friday night I’m going to grab a quick bite somewhere along U street (maybe Marvin) and then run over to play an early show with No Second Troy at the 9:30 Club (Hotspur is headlining, doors at 6, show over by 10:30). After that some drinking at Duffy’s and possibly a late night dance off at find somewhere to watch the SuperBowl and get my drink on. Without a dog in the fight, it’s probably going to see what I can do to start and yet avoid a fist fight. Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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The Latest Forecast: We’re Gonna Get Straight Crushed With Snow

Photo courtesy of
‘Vanishing point’
courtesy of ‘Pianoman75’

Friend of We Love DC Logan Johnson, Senior Meteorologist for the National Weather Service, was kind enough to provide us with a specially updated forecast for the DC Area:

Snow lovers can rejoice (yet again!) as another winter storm has set its sights on the DC Metro area. This one looks like it may very well rival or even exceed the historic storm of December 19th. Low pressure taking shape over the Gulf of Mexico will visit the southern states with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and windy conditions. As the low takes a northward turn Friday night…it will strengthen off the Georgia coast and send precipitation towards the Mid-Atlantic. A cold area of high pressure will already be in place, and this will allow for the precipitation to fall as snow as the low pressure continues to strengthen and lift north to just off the Delmarva peninsula by early Saturday. Read on for the complete coverage Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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WeLoveDC Presents: Cocktails at Wisdom

WeLoveDCDrinks

Looking to take your understanding of drinks to the next level? Experience the handcrafted cocktail revolution firsthand at Wisdom Cocktail Parlour on February 23 from 6-8 p.m. with the WeLoveDC Crew.

Wisdom’s Erik Holzherr will be dishing on the art of the cocktail, suggesting what you might enjoy in one, and offering up some amazing libations poured especially for you.

Tickets, which include your first craft cocktail, are $15 ahead of time or $20 at the door (space permitting). Food and happy hour specials will also be available.

To sweeten the deal:

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Go Red


’30/365: Family in the Snow’
courtesy of ‘Amberture’

Tomorrow is National Wear Red Day – show your support for the fight against heart disease by wearing some red (or any variation of the color for that matter). According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one health threat for women. Although DC, Arlington, and Alexandria collectively ranked in at number two for the nation’s top 10 heart healthy cities for women, we can still help to spread the word. So when you wake-up tomorrow morning, in addition to remembering to wear your snow gear for the evening, GO RED!

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Daily Feed, The District
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DC Meat Free Week

Photo courtesy of
‘Chef Palma’s Westend Green Tomato Salad’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

First, there was meat week. And after I announced it, former WLDC author Jasmine astutely pointed out that every week is meat week, really. Which is a point I totally agree on – it is absolutely easier to eat meat in this city than it is NOT to eat meat. Enter: DC Meat Free Week. DC Vegan has put together a delicious sounding week of vegan menus, starting February 6 and running through the 12th and I have to say, it looks mighty tasty.

With some of my favorite restaurants like The Source and Restaurant Nora, on the list of participating places, this isn’t something to scoff at. DC Vegan also reports, “Two of the restaurants are debuting new vegan menus, and one is offering discounted rates off their regular prices. Gene Baur, Farm Sanctuary President and Co-founder, will be attending dinner one night. And two of the events are fundraisers, including one with all profits donated to Haitian relief.”

I’m sold – eating ethically is important. I can’t wait to see some of of our cities finest restaurants step up to the challenge.

Crime & Punishment, Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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The Most Annoying Metro Person

Photo courtesy of
‘day144 :: year three’
courtesy of ‘erin*carly’

People cause me great consternation on my commutes in and out of the city. I have this vision in my mind of how everyone should behave on the metro in order to make a perfect commute.  People would be kind and considerate, they would move briskly, no one would tote rolly book bags, and those two teenagers at the end of the car would stop their shouting.  But no, it’s not like that.  Maybe I’m just growing cynical, but the longer I take the metro, the more it seems like a virulent trap of obnoxious types intent on making commute as unpleasant an experience as possible.  It’s gotten to point where I’ve started grouping people into certain personalities.  There’s the “stand in the doorway” guy, the “pole dancer“, the “I’m sorry my bag is sitting here” guy, and so on and so forth.  It’s really been weighing on me for the past few days.  I’m sure this is something that you rehash this with your peers every so often, but let’s share: who is your least favorite metro personality? Mine: rolly book bag person, without equivocation.

The Daily Feed
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Good Luck and Good Hunting, Panda Bear

Photo courtesy of
‘Everyone Meet Tai Shan! (1 of 3)’
courtesy of ‘Daniel.Techie{TaiShan~4Ever} @ 127.0.0.1’

Oh, our little Butterstick is all grown up now. He was packed in a special carrier this morning along with 200lbs of bamboo, pears, sweet potatoes and other treats, and packaged off to China on a special Fedex plane. Tai Shan is headed to a panda breeding center, where he will work with other pandas to repopulate their endangered species.

We’ll miss you, fuzzy guy. You always brightened our day.

Special Events, The Features
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The Un-Valentines Day Round-Up

Photo courtesy of
‘Anti-Valentines’
courtesy of ‘septuagesima’

So when you’re not dating someone on Valentine’s Day you pretty much just want the day to disappear.  So there’s no graceful way to start this post, I’m going to just dive right into all things that you should do on Valentine’s Day when you’re not really celebrating it. I don’t call it the anti-Valentine’s Day, because it’s not exactly. I’ve got advice for the ladies who like to go out with their friends, for those of you who need dinner but don’t want to be around goopy couples all over each other, for people thinking they’ll get lucky in love on the day made for love, and for guys who want to go out with their friends. So read on, romancer, and let’s start forgetting this holiday ever existed.

Go Somewhere That Doesn’t Have a Menu For Couples (cause that makes us want to vom).

On Saturday, February 13th, AGAINN will feature an anti-Valentine’s Day menu for singles with a three-course menu inspired by the cuisine of the British Isles, priced at $39 per person. Prepared by Executive Chef Wesley Morton, the menu begins with a choice of Celery Root Soup served with Stilton Mousse and Grated Apples or House-made Black Pudding served with a Fried Egg, Petite Mustard Greens and Toast followed by a choice of Grilled Salmon Served with King Richard Leeks, Olive Oil Crusted Butterball Potatoes and Watercress Broth or Mixed Grill of Tamworth Pork with 10-Hour Roast Shoulder, Crispy Belly, House-Made Sausage and Sage Dumplings Served with Brussels Sprouts and Heirloom Apple Sauce. For the perfect ending, guests will dine on Spotted Dick Served with Maple Rum Custard. I am going to refrain from jokes about dicks.** Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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“You can do some serious subway flirting before you realize the guy is homeless.”

WeLoveDCDrinks

If you caught last week’s episode of 30 Rock, you probably heard Liz Lemon bemoan the winter weather. Well, we’re ready to break out of the doldrums, too.

Join We Love DC for its first event of 2010 at Wisdom Cocktail Parlour on Tuesday, February 23.  Wisdom’s owner and head bartender, Erik Holzherr, dishes about the art of the craft cocktail and matches you with the best drink for your palate.

Don’t let the snow and cold weather win. The momentum begins tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Check back here for the details on how to get your ticket.