Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Daily Feed
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Beer Lovers Rejoice!

Photo courtesy of
‘the cask’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

Great news for those who love a good beer: a second Rustico is opening in the area soon, and this one will be Metro-accessible!  DC Metrocentric reports that the restaurant is slated to open at the end of August in Ballston at 4075 Wilson Blvd near Ballston Common Mall.  ARLnow reports that this Rustico will feature 400 bottled beers, 40 beers on tap, and two cask-conditioned ales, along with the great pizzas and hearty food that Rustico is known for.  Now here’s hoping Rustico’s excellent Oktoberfest and Festivus celebrations will take advantage of this convenient new location.

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Deadmau5

Deadmau5 @ 930 Club

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

This week’s ticket giveaway is so hot it’s making the sun jealous! This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to the SOLD OUT Deadmau5 show at the 9:30 Club on Friday July 30th!

Deadmau5′ current tour is THE dance music event of the Summer. The man in the mau5-head has been throwing down spectacular live sessions all over the world and for the next three nights he will be taking up residence at the best club in the country! Deadmau5 has elevated his game from simply spinning beats to creating a mind-blowing audio/visual experience complete with jaw-dropping digital light-shows, a custom built DJ-booth that has to be seen to believe, and most importantly his excellent custom-blend electronic music. Missing Deadmau5 is perhaps my biggest Coachella Festival regret this year. Every report that I’ve read out of Coachella indicates that Deadmau5′ 2010 show is an unforgettable, electronic music experience. This week DC is lucky enough to get a triple-dose of Deadmau5 shows. Thanks to the techno-savvy however, all three shows are already sold out! But fear not dear readers, one of you still has a shot at catching Deadmau5′ stunning show this Friday night!

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The Best Photo of Last’s Nights Nats/Braves Crowd You’ll See


Photo by Christopher Skillman, reprinted with permission

For the first time in what felt like weeks, it wasn’t brutally hot come dusk, making it an absolutely perfect night for baseball. Even though a packed house had to deal with “How the Grinch Stole Strasmas” after Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start, many stayed around to catch an impressive home performance from the Nationals. Take a look at this picture (bigger size after the jump, and full size here; I highly recommend clicking through to see the detail Christopher caught). It’s a near poster-esque view of last night’s crowd from Nationals Park, and a reminder that baseball is a beautiful thing. Continue reading →

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Flash, Oh-Ooooh!

Photo courtesy of
‘20100202 Boychuk and Fleischmann’
courtesy of ‘Dan4th’

Late last evening, the Caps announced they have re-signed forward Tomas Fleischmann for the 2010-11 season. The one year contract is worth $2.6 million. The signing removes one more Cap from arbitration and firms up the team’s offense. “Flash” set all sorts of career highs last season, netting the most goals (23), assists (28), points (51), and plus/minus (+9) in his five-year NHL career.

Acquired by the Caps in 2004 in a trade with Detroit, Flash has clocked 260 games with the Caps and racked up 128 points, improving his offensive numbers every year. Last season, 10 of his 23 goals came in the first period and he was one of the standout forwards to step up during the ten games Alex Ovechkin was absent from the lineup. He also represented the Czech Republic in the most recent Olympics and was a key player in the Hershey Bears’ 2006 Calder Cup championship.

The Daily Feed
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No Strasburg, No Problem


Miguel Batista in April, Photo by Ian Koski/Nationals Daily News

If you woke up Tuesday morning in anticipation of a Stephen Strasburg-Jason Heyward match-up at Nationals Park later that evening, the odds of the last place Nationals coming away with a shutout win against the first place Atlanta Braves might not have seemed too far-fetched.

The Nationals did go on to shutout the Braves 3-0 but Strasburg didn’t pitch, Heyward didn’t get a hit, and Miguel Batista got the win. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Strasburg Scratched From Start After Warmups

Photo courtesy of
‘The Smoking Gun(ner)’
courtesy of ‘Mylar Bono’

Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo received word from pitching coach Steve McCatty relayed from the team’s trainer during Stephen Strasburg’s bullpen warmup before Tuesday night’s proposed tenth start against the Atlanta Braves that Strasburg was having trouble getting loose.

According to Rizzo, Strasburg showed no signs of pain or symptoms during the week and had played catch yesterday. “There’s no shooting pain or anything like that in his shoulder or elbow,” Rizzo said. “He was just struggling to get loose.” Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, News, Special Events, The District, WMATA
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NTSB Finds Systemic WMATA Safety Issues From Red Line Crash Investigations

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

Today in a five hour long hearing, (not including a one hour long lunch break) the NTSB released their findings on the 2009 Red Line crash. Chairwoman Hersman kick off the hearing with opening remarks that highlighted the thoroughness of the report, the importance of its findings and immediate need for WMATA to take action to rectify what Hersman called “WMATA’s anemic safety culture.”

As Tom pointed out earlier today, many of the findings had already been unearthed. NTSB Engineer Payan spent a good length of time both describing and fielding questions about the failures of the Automated Train Operation (ATO) system and the WEE-Z bond sensors that caused the first train to essentially disappear from the track circuitry sensors and made the second train speed up and, tragically, slam into the first train. Prior to the crash, circuit failures like this were happening so often that WMATA employees became desensitized to the alerts and would ignore them. More shocking is that since the crash, WMATA has identified about 290 track circuits capable of this same failure and has not replaced them. No word on if WMATA is currently paying more attention to the alerts. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Noises Off

The Keegan Theatre's production of "Noises Off." Photo credit: Jim Coates Photography

British playwright Michael Frayn’s farce-within-a-farce Noises Off has become one of the most beloved and popular comedies since its original staging in 1982 – so popular that when Frayn updated it ten years ago for a National Theatre revival it caught a Tony for its famous Broadway transfer. Listening to the audience’s uproarious laughter at Keegan Theatre’s production last night, it’s not hard to see why this play is produced again and again – it’s simply guaranteed to make you laugh.

There’s an endearing quality to Keegan’s performance, with the appropriately creaky Church Street Theater making a believable setting for a play about all the awful failures a tired touring company goes through.  This may not be the most perfect production of this jewel of a farce, but the cast is giving it their all and there are crazy moments of hilarity. Playing now through August 22, it’s a very entertaining night out.

Three acts take the audience through three nights of watching as a touring company attempts a farce called Nothing On, a silly piece of froth with a Benny Hill sensibility. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Shh…Secret Supper Club…Pass It On

Photo courtesy of
‘Archives – Top Secret’
courtesy of ‘Amberture’
In a town where security clearances seem to grow on trees, it’s always nice to be the first on your block to find something new. This may not exactly be the lost Watergate tapes, but the D.C. Supper Club put on by Artisa Kitchen is shrouded in just as much mystery.

Held monthly, the dinners do not follow the usual supper club template. Instead of a revolving door of chefs, the meal is held at a different Washington-area art gallery each time. Only after you book your meal are you informed of the top secret location. No matter the site, chef Bryon Brown (of molecular gastronomy powerhouse Jaleo) prepares a 12-course farmers market-sourced tasting menu accompanied by six wine pairings ($90).

There’s only room for 28 diners, and they are completely booked for the July and August events. Next up is the September 30th date, followed by a vegan supper on October 7th. It’s a great option for those who like their dinner with a little intrigue…but you didn’t hear it from me.

The Daily Feed
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Man Gets 90 Days For Stealing Library’s Pet Tarantula

Photo courtesy of
‘Meet Mozart’
courtesy of ‘GollyGforce’

The DC area has its share of zany criminals. There’s the infamous Georgetown Cuddler and the relatively new eco-terrorist. But did anyone know that we also have a Spider-Man in our midst? Randy Humple, 27, of Westiminster, MD has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing the resident tarantula of Westminster Library. Chili Rose, a Chilean Rose tarantula, was discovered missing from his (her?) home at the library’s information desk on May 19. Humple was later apprehended after he was not only seen with the spider, but heard bragging about his crime. Apparently, there’s a very fine line between zany and incredibly stupid. The 90 day sentence is in addition to the four year sentence Humple also received for violating his probation in a 2007 assault case.

Now, onto the next mystery: why a library would keep a tarantula as its pet.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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2011 Winter Classic Logos Debut

While it’s been confirmed since May, the reality of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic finally began to set in today. The league’s press conference today didn’t reveal much information beyond the logos and some remarks by various officials (mostly from Pittsburgh), but it did serve as a nice bit of hockey news in the heated wastland of summer.

The Caps had a few officials in attendance, including Team President Dick Patrick and Caps players Dave Steckel and Mike Knuble. Most of the press questions revolved around the recent history between the Penguins and Capitals and the hyper focus on the Crosby/Ovechkin matchup. “It takes a team effort to win the game,” said Steckel during one brief interview. “There are outstanding performances by them [Crosby and Ovechkin], but ultimately it comes down to all the guys on the team to succeed.” Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Penn Quarter, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Poste Roast

Photo Credit: Michael Harlan Turkell

I love throwing dinner parties. In my head, they always turn out like the cover of Bon Appetit and there’s always enough delicious food and the wine is perfect and everyone is happy. But in actuality, the food is pretty okay, it never is all ready at the same time, and I usually forget to put forks on the table. I always just assumed that the perfect dinner party was in the same category as unicorns and leprechauns, but Poste Roast proves that is not the case.

Poste Roast is a genius special event put on by the fine folks at Poste Moderne Brasserie in the Hotel Monaco. It’s part pig roast and part elegant dinner party. I admittedly didn’t really know what to expect when I forced seven of my closest friends to give over full control of their dinner and wallets to me that night, but I thought it was bound to be something memorable.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Old School DC License Plate Nerdery

Seriously old school DC plate

I saw this car yesterday and traffic, and immediately noticed that the plate said “HOYAS.” But then I noticed that it’s a black-and-white DC plate, embossed with a die in an older style, and got curious. A vanity plate like “HOYAS” is kind of like getting your first name as a Gmail username- it’s got early-adopter cred like crazy, and you do whatever you have to to to renew it and make sure you keep it, dammit. So over dinner last night, Tom and I got curious and wondered exactly how old this plate was.

DCPlates.net gave us the answer: This particular style of black and white baseplate, with the “Nation’s Capital” slogan on top and “Washington, D.C.” on the bottom, came into use starting in 1968. It was issued numerically until February 1974, when it was replaced with the first red, white, and blue design, but was still the standard plate for vanity plates until 1978. Which means this plate is older than I am. Awesome. That’s some dedication, right there.

And speaking of dedication, I’ve got to credit DCPlates for being pretty much the most thorough example of niche DC nerdery I’ve ever seen. Kudos to you guys.

The Daily Feed
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Squash Blossom Festival Returns To Oyamel

Photo courtesy of
‘squash blossoms’
courtesy of ‘willsfca’

Cherry blossoms are so last season. Right now, it’s all about the squash. Yesterday marked the first day of Oyamel’s third annual Squash Blossom Festival, which will take place through August 8th at the downtown Mexican restaurant. The event celebrates the summertime harvest of squash’s delicate edible flower, a defining ingredient of Mexican cooking. Six new dishes and one specialty cocktail will be available throughout the two-week period, each incorporating squash blossoms into its mélange of flavors and textures.

Continue reading →

We Love Music
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We Love Music (and Photos): Drive-By Truckers at 9:30 Club

Photo courtesy of

‘Patterson Hood’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Around 10:00 Friday night, Drive-By Truckers strolled out onto the 9:30 Club stage. Singer Patterson Hood raised his arms, puffed out his chest, and screamed: “Goddammit, I feel GOOD.” By 1 a.m., Hood and his fans were drenched in sweat twice over, the band was wrapping up a raucous cover of punk hero Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died,” and “good” had become an understatement of epic proportions for the way the night felt.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Rookie Phenoms Strasburg and Heyward Face-Off

Photo courtesy of
‘Stephen Strasburg’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’

The National League East has been a hot-bed of competition in 2010. The Mets resurrected themselves from dismal play due to injury in recent seasons past, the Marlins can boast what with Josh Johnson on the hump, the Phillies are one of the best all-around playing teams in the big leagues, the Braves are doing their best to extend legendary Manager Bobby Cox’s final season in the game to October, and then there’s the Nationals who are the only team currently under .500 in the standings at .424 and 15.5 games back.

Tonight’s match-up of the first place Braves and the last place Nationals has the potential to be a jaw-dropping site of a show. The elusive and long-awaited face-off of phenom rookies is scheduled to finally take place (pending any last minute changes or injury). Stephen Strasburg meet Jason Heyward. Continue reading →

Downtown, Fun & Games, News, The Daily Feed, The Mall, WTF?!
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Meteors over Screen on the Green?

Photo courtesy of
‘Strisciata stellare ad Est’
courtesy of ‘gerlos’

Did anyone else see the large meteors that fell over DC, last night? I was at Screen on the Green last night watching 12 Angry Men (always awesome) and I saw two flaming chunks of rock fall over the Capitol.  And I’m not talking about dainty shooting stars. These were large enough and close enough to be seen despite the city’s light pollution and definitely caught the attention of most of the movie goers. You could even see the rocks beginning to break up and shed chunks of debris.  They kind of looked like fireworks right before the explode.  Did anyone else see them, or am I crazy?