Monthly Archives: November 2010

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

Photo courtesy of
‘at vace in northwest d.c.’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

October wasn’t exactly a regular eating month for me. I was in China for two weeks (where I dined on delicious, delicious things that I won’t even try to identify), I spent a few days eating every random thing in my fridge to clean it out before my trip, and the rest of the month was spent mostly dedicated to Vegan Week. By all accounts it shouldn’t have been a hallmark eating month, at least not in any D.C. locations, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well I did eat.

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The Daily Feed
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Celebrate World Vegan Day Tonight at Busboys & Poets

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington’
courtesy of ‘Michel Banabila’

Happy Vegan Day! Excited for today’s meat-free holiday but don’t know to celebrate? Well the veggie lovers at Busboys & Poets have got you covered. At the 14th St. & V St. 5th & K St. location tonight at 6:30pm, they will be hosting a Vegan Day event featuring speakers who know their stuff when it comes to veganism. The first half of the program will be focused on stories of how their panelists have lived meat free, while the second half will be a Q&A designed to answer all the questions you may have about going vegan, staying vegan and enjoying being vegan.

As a bit more incentive, the first 75 people in the door will get a free goodie bag filled with all the snacks and information your vegan heart desires, includng treats from Stickey Fingers and Divine Chocolates. And come hungry, Busboys & Poets has an extensive vegan menu for you to munch on while you discuss the age-old seitan vs. tofu debate. (I’m a tofu girl myself.)

The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: A Q&A With Dawes

The “next big thing” is thrown around a lot in music culture. What you hear about less often is the next great thing, the next band that’ll knock your socks off not just because all the cool kids love them but because they are just that good. If there is a musical god out there doling out success to those most deserving, Dawes, a rock and roll quartet from Los Angeles who will be appearing at the Rock & Roll Hotel on Wednesday, will be just one such band. Their 2009 debut, “North Hills,” was praised by critics as wide-ranging as Rolling Stone and the Wall Street Journal (!); Daytrotter’s Sean Moeller calls lyricist Taylor Goldsmith “as magnificent of a songwriter as there is currently creating.” Goldsmith has a knack for crafting beautiful lyrics that make order out of the chaos of our lives, and the men sharing the stage with him — his brother, drummer Griffin Goldsmith; Wylie Gelber on bass; and Alex Casnoff on keyboards — excel at setting those lyrics to music. On stage, the result is an improbable blend of melodic folk and high-energy rock and roll.

And they need that energy to get through a tour schedule that seems endless. In the last year and a half, the band has appeared at such festivals as South By Southwest, Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza, and opened for artists including (deep breath here): Josh Ritter, Corey Chisel and the Wandering Sons, Edward Sharpe, Langhorne Slim, She and Him, Jason Boesel, Deer Tick and Delta Spirit. Dawes has hit the road hard in support of “North Hills,” and the legwork has paid off. The tour that brings them back to D.C. for their fourth show in the area in a year is their first as headliners.

As a special thanks to We Love DC readers, we’re giving away a pair of tickets to Wednesday’s show. See the bottom of this post for rules of the giveaway.

I talked with Taylor Goldsmith about the band’s rising star, musical influences and future plans:

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Sports Fix
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Week 8 Recap – Skins vs. Lions

Photo courtesy of
‘Purple Redskins cap’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

For the second straight season, the Redskins went to Detroit and lost. That by itself would have been reason enough to question the team heading into their bye week but this loss came with something extra. With the Skins trailing 31-26 and just less than 2 minutes remaining, Mike Shanahan benched Donovan McNabb and replaced him with Rex Grossman. It was a curious move because McNabb was not injured and hadn’t played poorly. On Grossman’s first play, he was sacked and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Ndomukong Suh for a touchdown. So instead of just making adjustments and getting players healthy, Shanahan will be bombarded with questions about the McNabb benching for the next two weeks.

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The Daily Feed
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Freezing temperatures possible tonight

Photo courtesy of
‘”Audrey Hepburn” Hot Chocolate’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

We knew the day would come: the National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for pretty much the entire Beltway area tonight (plus Baltimore, Waldorf, and Annapolis, but who cares about them?), with temperatures expected to be in the low 30’s.

The first frost of the season may or may not really be tonight, but if you haven’t already, it’s a good time to bring in any plants in containers you’ve kept outside, clear away any of your possessions that have piled up next to your radiators, and get out the hot chocolate fixings.

Music, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Wait, Shamrockfest planning is already happening?!

Photo courtesy of
‘Dropkick Murphys – Do Or Die LP’
courtesy of ‘mtarvainen’

Two weeks ago, we thought it was too early to be planning for New Year’s, and I know a bunch of my friends wanted to punch various retail and online outlets for reminding us that Christmas is 54 days away today, but there was the email, right in my inbox this morning, telling me that Dropkick Murphys are coming for Shamrockfest this coming Spring.  That’s right, mark your calendars, my Irish-punk loving friends: March 12th, Dropkick Murphys are coming to DC for Shamrockfest, and tickets go on sale Wednesday after next at 10am, so set that alarm, too.

Isn’t it great to look forward to Spring Training, Green Beer, and an awesome rock concert? That may not be enough to keep you warm through the winter, but at least it’s a good start, right?

All Politics is Local, News, The Daily Feed
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On The Ballot: Electing an Attorney General?

Photo courtesy of
‘Sam Waterston’
courtesy of ‘Alan Light’

In addition to the hundreds of ANC campaigns, and the formal election of Vincent Gray and the Council, tomorrow’s District ballots will have a question for the voters of DC: Do you want the position of Attorney General to be appointed by the Mayor, or elected by the People?  The whole paperwork considering the amendment to the charter is quite lengthy, but can be found on page 39 of your voter guide, or in this handy PDF. To simply: vote for the proposition if you want to elect the AG, vote against it if you think that’s the mayor’s job.

Now to the pros and cons of such an affair.  Proponents of the charter amendment say that it will insulate the city against Attorneys General like Peter Nickles: unresponsive to citizen concerns, no accountability, and pursuing oddly-shaped justice.  Opponents of the charter amendment say that it will change the way Justice is meted out, and will have a chilling effect on unpopular prosecutions.  What say you?  For or against?

The Daily Feed
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Redskins Cheat Sheet: Week 8 @ Detroit

Photo courtesy of
‘213/365’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’

Trick or Treating, the Marathon and Recovering from Restoring Sanity probably went to the top of your list for Sunday, and not watching the Redskins/Lions stumblefest in Detroit. That’s why we have the Redskins Cheat Sheet.

One of the jokes last year that came after the Redskins helped the Lions get one of their few wins on the season was the easy crutch policy line: “Oh, of course Washington is bailing out Detroit.” This year, I’m not sure what the excuse was, but boy was it painful to watch the ending of that one. While an NFC playoff spot isn’t ruled out at 4-4 halfway through the season (mainly because I’m convinced that everyone is going 8-8 this year), going into the bye week, there are probably more questions than answers for Shanahan’s maiden voyage.

To help you talk through as yesterday’s loss gets dissected in the office, read on beyond the jump.

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