‘Sâuçá Limunad’
courtesy of ‘justgrimes’
Truck choices are dwindling in this pre-holiday time, but Sauca and Takorean still have soup for you. Delicious, delicious and warm, warm soup.
By Ashley
Monthly Archives: December 2010
By Ashley
By Dave Levy
Week 15 Recap – Skins vs. Cowboys
‘Santana Moss catch, tackled’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’
A stirring comeback against a hated rival would have been a great early Christmas gift for Redskins fans. Alas, the burgundy and gold stocking by the fire appears to contain coal this morning instead of Tickle Me Elmo, and the Redskins move to 5-9 after the 33-30 loss to Dallas. You may now start mapping out replacement quarterbacks and targeting draft prospects. Positives and negatives from yesterday’s game in Jerryworld after the jump.
By Tom Bridge
Inauguration Events Schedule Out
‘The inaugural stand in front of the Capitol Building, Washington, DC…01/20/1948.’
courtesy of ‘The U.S. National Archives’
Thanks to a little birdie who put the schedule for Mayor-Elect Gray’s Inauguration in my email box this morning. The Mayor will be inaugurated at the Convention Center on Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 at 10am in Ballroom A/B. The doors open at 9am, and tickets aren’t required, so if you’d like to attend, you are welcome and free to do so. Stick around for the 1pm swearing in of ANC Commissioners and shadow representatives.
The gala event will be that evening, and Chuck Brown is playing, as are Raheem DeVaughan, Style Band and the Yvonne Johnson trio. Tickets are required, and 7,500 tickets will be available to the public starting Wednesday. Tickets can be picked up at the Convention Center from 10 to 2 on December 22nd, 28th, 29th and 30th in Room 145, until supplies last.
By Some lion cubs, since you aren’t working anyway
Now that all the National Zoo’s lion cubs have reached the 12 week mark and had their checkups and vaccinations, they’re being allowed into the outside portion of the lion enclosure for a short time each day, usually between 12:30 and 1:30. Since winter is upon us, weather may restrict their ability to go outside and play, but if you’ve been waiting for your chance to see the cubs while they’re still little and cute, here you go.
By Tom Bridge
Feel Better, Mary Cheh
‘Ward 3 Candidate Mary Cheh Campaign Kickoff’
courtesy of ‘DCist’
Send some good vibes to Councilwoman Mary Cheh who took a spill over the weekend and had a dislocation fracture of her arm and will need surgery to repair the damage. It’s a tough time to be a jogger, between uncleared sidewalks, slippery conditions and cold weather. We wish Cheh a speedy recovery and a safe surgery tomorrow.
By Ben H. Rome
Washington Slide Ends Against Sens
Okay Caps fans, you may now exhale.
Thanks to Mathieu Perreault and a herculean second period effort, the Caps finally killed the streak monkey on their backs, defeating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 yesterday at Scotiabank Place.
Perreault opened and closed the Caps’ second period surge, scoring 34 seconds into the second frame. Eric Fehr backhanded the puck in less than a minute later, putting the Caps back into the game. They were down 2-0 coming into the period. Perreault then wristed in the game winner five minutes later.
The team survived a last-minute flurry by the Senators and then, as the game ended, they mobbed the ice and goalie Michal Neuvirth, who managed to knock away 24 shots on the night. “We felt like we won a championship,” said Perreault. “We needed that win so much for our confidence and just for the team. That was a huge win for us.” The two-goal effort was Perreault’s second multi-goal game since his recall from Hershey.
The Caps not only knocked out the streak that has netted only 11 goals in their 0-6-2 stretch, but also reclaimed the lead in the Southeast Division from Atlanta. The Thrashers used the Caps’ misfiring to gain ground and slipped ahead after the Caps lost to Boston on Saturday. The division race, once thought to be a runaway Caps win, is now neck-and-neck, with the Caps, Thrashers, and Lightning all one point from each other.
The streak’s end probably came at the best time possible. The Caps face a tanking New Jersey team tomorrow and then the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday for a quick home stand before the holidays.
By Ben H. Rome
Weekend Flashback: 12/17 – 12/19/10
‘red LEDs’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
The holidays approacheth! Work this week’s gonna drag, so feel free to wander back here as often as you like for some “avoidance therapy.”
By Dave Levy
Redskins Cheat Sheet: Week 15 vs Dallas
‘appropriate for dallas weekâ�¦’
courtesy of ‘dharmabumx’
Death, Taxes and Redskins Collapses. Other things you can rely on (at least this season)? The Redskins Cheat Sheet, here to get you through with a quick recap that has just enough ammunition for you to act like you cared come Monday’s morning meetings.
For yesterday’s games, I posted up at the new Buffalo Wild Wings down in Crystal City. Don’t get me wrong: I love a good chain sports bar, but there is an added fun dynamic to watching NFL down here in DC, and it has to do with the fact that there are enough transplants that just about every team seemed to have representation. I mean, it actually looked yesterday like there were more fans of each of the other NFC East rivals than locals wearing burgundy and gold.
Which is why it was weird when you started hearing pockets of excited fans yelling toward the end of the Redskins game, high fives replacing the impending sense of doom that ‘skins fans have risen to all season.
And then, as should have been expected, the Redskins blew it, coming back to tie the game at 30 before letting the Cowboys kick a field goal with little time left. Why did they earn their 9th loss of the season? Let’s find out after the jump.
By Dave Levy
Friedgen Gone at Maryland?
”
courtesy of ‘Jimmy Morris’
There seems to be a lot of moving going on for some high-profile DC sports figures this weekend. Hot on the heels of news that Gilbert Arenas is on his way to Orlando comes several reports that Maryland head coach (and the 2010 ACC Coach of the Year) Ralph Friedgen is about to be forced out of College Park for former Texas Tech boss Mike Leach.
This is a pretty interesting development, considering that UMD could (should?) have fired the Fridge after the disastrous 2009 season in which the Terps went 2-10. Friedgen had a six game turnaround this year, leading the Terps back to 8-4 and nearly into the ACC Championship. Why the change now? Well, a lot seems to do with former assistant James Franklin taking the head coaching duties at Vanderbilt. He had a clause in his contract that he would be the next coach at Maryland once/if Frieden was canned or retired. With that commitment no longer necessary, Maryland is free to make a move, and with Leach available and buddy-buddy with key Terp boosters, it was a perfect storm.
More news as we get it.
By Dan Rowinski
Wizards dig for ways to lose, dropped by Heat in final seconds
‘Kirk Hinrich’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’
Drama of the magnitude seen on Saturday at Verizon Center does not often happen when the Wizards are involved.
First, Gilbert Arenas, the enigmatic scorer and chaotic former face of the franchise (hello John Wall) gets traded to Orlando. Then the feel-good story of beating LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the Heat after the histrionics of the afternoon gets snapped away in the final seconds as Washington blows a five-point lead with 18.4 seconds left to lose to Miami 95-94.
What it boils down to is that the young Wizards really have no idea how to close out a game.
And the Heat do.
“Get down the stretch and we did just about everything that you have to do wrong to lose a game and they did everything right,” head coach Flip Saunders said.
That just about sums it up.
Washington was in tenuous control over Miami for much of the game. The game was a see-saw that the Heat were never able to quite balance in their favor until the final seconds. The Wizards would go up by six or eight only to have Miami climb back to tie it before Washington would do it again. It looked like Washington had finally gotten the better of the Heat in the fourth period, jumping out to an 80-72 lead, a margin they would hold more or less until the final two minutes or so.
Then, as it so often is in the NBA, the drama started.
By Dan Rowinski
Adios Gilbert: Wizards swap Arenas for Lewis
‘Arenas lets it fly’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
The Wizards have made a trade with the Magic that will send Gilbert Arenas to Orlando in exchange for small forward Rashard Lewis.
“We traded Gilbert Arenas to Orlando for Rashard Lewis,” general manager Ernie Grunfeld said. “We think that Rashard will help our front court with his experience, his versatility, his ability to stretch the defense. He is a 39 percent career three-point shooter and when you have a point guard like John (Wall) who likes to penetrate and distribute, you need people who are going to stretch the defense and be on the outside.”
It is reportedly a straight-up swap with Arenas and Lewis both having hefty contracts that their franchises would like to be done with. Arenas is owed $60 million in the end of his deal while Lewis has a few years remaining on the gargantuan $118 million deal he signed with the magic heading into the 2007-08 season.
By Katie
Lovely: December 2010 Snow In Pictures
‘let it snow’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Snow in the District is beautiful, let us not forget. Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
Video: Ron Artest Talks About Meeting Obama And Wiz’s Nick Young
‘Lake Show!’
courtesy of ‘Jason Rosenberg’
Last night a streak was broken in basketball. Unfortunately I’m not talking about the Wizards’ current losing streak. Their sixth loss in a row (13th on the road) ended an eight-game losing streak for the New Jersey Nets. The 97-89 loss did have one silver lining: another great game for backup guard Nick Young. Young scored 22 points in the losing effort and now has back-to-back games of 20 points. Young is having a strong season as an offensive spark off the bench and in a conversation with Laker’s forward Ron Artest I talked to him about Young’s improvement while he spoke about his recent meeting with President Obama. I also got a chance to get a quote from Young about his play in a game where his team is often behind.
Watch the video after the cut.
By Tom Bridge
DC Real Estate Tax Credit passes with other economic measures
‘Two Dollar #11’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
When the House passed the economic package late last night, it included an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, but it also included a $5,000 tax credit for those buying a house in D, and a $3,000 per employee wage credit for each DC resident hired by DC businesses. These are retroactive through all of 2010 and extend through all of 2011. In addition, there are some capital gains-free transactions for some DC businesses, so you’ll probably want to talk with your accountant about that.
By Monarch Magazine Celebrates Re-Location to D.C.
‘Paul Wharton and Ebong’
courtesy of ‘NightlifePR DC’
Last night, Monarch Magazine celebrated the recent relocation of its headquarters to D.C. with an event at the J. Crew in Georgetown. Thanks to the District’s inability to function at the sight of a flurry, there was some confusion as to whether the event was even going to take place after yesterday’s snowfall, and punctual arrivees (myself included) milled about in the frosty December air before entering to a strangely disorganized, lackadaisical vibe. (Not a magazine was on display; the servers circulating wine and sparkling water were not to arrive on the scene for another 30 minutes; and a makeshift runway seemed to have been abandoned mid-creation.)
Though tongues have wagged about all cast members on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of D.C., the event’s “host,” Paul Wharton (a recurring persona on the show), was charming and gregarious, albeit openly admissive of the fact that he would rather be home canoodling by the fire with his Wheaton terrier, Oscar [de la Renta Wharton]. 45 minutes into the event, however, with no formal welcome, no area demarcated for any sort of presentation, and no proof of the “personal styling” sessions promised in the event invitation, guests began to sneak out the back door. It’s a shame, in a sense, since Monarch is marketing itself as a new source of high-fashion commentary for sartorially-minded Washingtonians, and the guests in attendance (lots of bloggers, stylists, and otherwise chic folk) seemed to be willing listeners.
To be frank, if the event is indicative of Monarch’s overall efforts to position itself as a fashion expert in the D.C. area, it certainly has the nonchalant attitude down, but the jury’s still out on whether it can deliver. The glossy magazine I eventually snagged did, however, feature some interesting styling — and I, for one, will be following them with interest.
xoxo
TheFashionMagpie
By Ashley
Party Platters According to the Pros
‘Medium Charcuterie Platter’
courtesy of ‘Sifu Renka’
It’s the time of the year when there are holiday parties a-plenty and it starts to look a little like Groundhog Day. Not only do you have the same conversation with a guy in a stupid Santa tie about how a Kindle is pretty much the same thing as an iPad, but the finger food gets pretty repetitive. You got your brie, you got your random water crackers, your cut up cauliflower with ranch dressing…it’s pretty boring. I believe in the true spirit of the season — showing your friends how much better of a cook you are than them. But what to do? It’s tough to stand in front of that cheese counter and know what to pick up, but luckily there are professionals out there who are a little more clued in. Enter our experts and their tips for putting together the best charcuterie, vegetable and cheese trays you can.
By Dave Levy
Bench, McNabb; McNabb, Bench
‘McNabb takes off’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’
It has not been your week, Donovan. First, there’s that whole, “losing streak/Redskins season all but over and everyone’s blaming you” thing. Then, you just want to enjoy a basketball game and these local fans won’t let you be, booing you. The pickle on your crap sandwich? Rex Grossman, according to reports, is going to take your job this weekend. From Comcast’s Kelli Johnson, via SBNation:
“Just learned that Rex Grossman is starting over McNabb Sun in Dallas; I’m told Redskins Lockeroom is divided and guys are extremely upset.”
Interesting strategy, let’s see if it works out for them. I mean, I also scoff because Grossman hasn’t started since 2008, and has a combined stat line in the last two seasons of two games played, seven completions, an interception and a fumble lost on a sack. Continue reading
By Food Truck Tracker
‘yes please’
courtesy of ‘hellomarkers!’
It’s still a little slippery out there my friends, so walk, do not run, to the nearest food truck.
He Loves DC: Spike Mendelsohn
Courtesy of Taylor PR
The world first met Spike Mendelsohn as a brash young contestant on “Top Chef: Season Four.” Two years later, he’s become one of Washington’s culinary darlings, making his mark on Capitol Hill with his two restaurants, Good Stuff Eatery and We, the Pizza. Now, he’s back on “Top Chef: All-Stars” (you can catch him on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Bravo), has plans to expand Good Stuff, and travels around the country for special events and appearances. In between jet-setting and toque-wearing, We Love DC caught up with Spike to discuss family, junk food and the latest restaurant rumble between Washington and New York.
By Rebecca
Christmas Lights Car and Bike Parade
‘Hoggie’s Entry’
courtesy of ‘GollyGforce – on a new quest’
This Saturday, Brightest Young Things hosts a holiday lights bike and car parade where participants decorate their vehicle with bulbs, wreaths, tinsel, antlers, etc. and parade around town from 7-9:30pm.
The parade route starts at Jack’s Boathouse at the Georgetown waterfront at 7pm, heads to Politics and Prose for a celebrity reading of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and then moves over to Chevy Chase’s Comet Ping Pong. The free event is co-sponsored by Flying Dog Brewery.
My biggest question was how do you convert wall plug in lights to run on your bike or car. Thankfully, a Google search easily answered my question.