Monthly Archives: December 2010

Food and Drink, Night Life, The Daily Feed
By

American Ice Co. Opening

 Photo courtesy of
‘American Ice Co. signpost’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

Last night I braved the serious chill and stomped my frozen legs over to American Ice Co. to warm up at their soft opening. It only took a few minutes to defrost with a perfect Vieux Carre cocktail at the marble bar, courtesy of one of my favorite bartenders, Patrick Owens. This lowkey spot has been hotly anticipated (as it’s co-owned by Joe Reza with Eric and Ian Hilton, giving it Midas touch credentials). The official opening is this Thursday, December 16, after which American Ice Co. will be open at 5pm seven days at week. If last night was any indication, it will fast become my go-to neighborhood bar. Here’s a quick peek at what to expect! Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

The Census Survey and the New York Times just ate my day

Census Data from the New York Times

It’s hard not to get lost in a data projection like the NYT’s Mapping America: Every City, Every Block, which allows you to parse through 20 or so different projections of the American Community Survey data over the last five years from the Census Bureau.  When you can see the geographic correlations of education levels and income (check out the dividing line at 16th street in both cases), it’s a stark reminder of the different Washingtons that exist.

Be sure also to check out DCist’s initial take (focused on demography and increase/decrease) and GGW’s initial take (focused on population shift between wards)

This is a data goldmine, and the sort of thing that yours truly is absolutely in love with. Parse through this with us over the next couple weeks.

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
By

Blinking ornament in bomb-proof trashcan causes 90 minute fustercluck at Pentagon

Photo courtesy of
‘Christmas 2008 – My Tree – 12-21-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

I understand being cautious in a world where new plots to assault Metro riders are announced daily (and that’s just by WMATA! *badum ching*) that you have to be cautious in a situation where you figure out that you might well have something a bit hazardous on your hands.  This morning’s incident at Pentagon Metro, that closed the hub station for 90 minutes during the midst of rush hour, is one case where the caution lead to massive amounts of commuting frustration over a battery-operated Christmas ornament.

My question: why the hell did it take so long to figure out that it was a Christmas Ornament? I mean, I get not wanting to put your hand down in there to pull it out and have something go off, but why not just put that bomb-proof trashcan on a dolly and wheel it right out of the station so that life can go on while you figure it out?

Dupont Circle, Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, The Features
By

Pounding the Pavement in the Name of Chocolate


Courtesy of D.C. Metro Chocolate Tours

There are days when all you want to do is eat lots and lots of chocolate. You don’t care who sees you, and it’s not completely outside the realm of possibilities that you will visit not one, not two, but multiple stores in search of something to quench you thirst for something sweet. As a girl who has been down that road a time or two, it can be a bit embarrassing to run out of the house in your sweats and unwashed hair to blindly search for chocolate. But what if there was a way to justify this lapse in presentability by doing it in the name of learning? If you can make peace with that jacked up reasoning, then D.C. Metro Chocolate Tours is for you.

The tour is in its infancy here, but began in Boston over twenty years ago when a man who loved chocolate figured that lots of other people did too. Not until his daughter moved down here to attend George Washington University did he set his sights on our nation’s capital. They’ve only been operational for about six weeks, but judging from the tour I went on, already has quite a following.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Do you know this thief?

The Fisher Laptop Burglar

Do you recognize this alleged lowlife? This is allegedly the guy who broke into Marc Fisher’s place and allegedly stole a bunch of his family’s stuff, including his son’s laptop.  In an effort to take his thuggery to new levels, the new “owner” of the laptop has been posting to Fisher’s son’s Facebook, which is taking insult to injury on a couple levels.

Read the whole piece from Fisher, and if you know this guy, give the Police a ring? The Police’s treatment of the case may tick you off a bit, as well, but I’m stealing Fisher’s thunder, so go read.

The Daily Feed
By

AOL Unveils “DC’s Bests”

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Flag’
courtesy of ‘kevnkovl’

America Online (AOL) has released its 2010 DC Best Bets list and, personally, I find it underwhelming. Nominees for the various categories were selected by AOL editors and then voted on by AOL readers.

Tops on this year’s list include:
Best After-Work Bar: Lucky Bar
Best Day Drinking: Cantina Marina
Best Irish Pubs: The Dubliner
Best Mexican Food: Lauriol Plaza
Best Sushi and Japanese: Café Asia
Best Sports Bars: Rhino

One particular interesting listing:
Best Place to Break Up: Lincoln Memorial

Really? You invite someone out to a day at the park and break up with them? Cold, man, cold.

The Washington Business Journal has the complete list.

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
By

The Winning Ticket: The Roots

TheRootsP

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 we are giving away a pair of tickets to see The Roots perform at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday, December 28th. This is the second night of their two night-stint at the club. The Roots have been classing-up hip-hop for over twenty years with their live instrumentation and jazz-cool vibe. Most recently they have been holding down the fort as the house band for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Their five-nights-a-week gig on Fallon keeps The Roots super-sharp at all times. Enjoy a perfect Holiday chill-out show courtesy of these real instrument playing, hip-hop heroes.

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. Tickets for this concert are also available through Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading →

Entertainment, Media, WMATA
By

The Show Goes On For #MetroCarols Despite Social Media Fallout

Here’s the end to our #MetroCarol story, but before we get to that- a snapshot of what happened.

I was delighted to get a Facebook Invite to an interesting event: a flash mob on the DC Metro. Jason McCool, an actor and music professor, and Melanie Spring, founder of web marketing firm Sisarina, wanted to organize a spontaneous outburst of Holiday Carols on the platforms of various Metro Stations on the Red Line.

It was a great idea; a good natured event that would be a lot of fun to watch and would bring a surprise dose of holiday cheer into the city. Plus, I’ve never been involved with a flash mob before. I’m sure it was part of the reason over 100 people RSVP’d for the event.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

DC continues second-class status in Statuary Hall

Photo courtesy of
‘National Statuary Hall’
courtesy of ‘MNesterpics’

Tomorrow, the House will debate a bill that would allow DC to display a single statue in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, instead of the two that were proposed in a bill earlier in the legislative year that Congress did not pass.  Norton said in a release this morning, “Its federal taxpaying status entitles the District to two statues, like other jurisdictions that pay the full freight to support our government,” but welcomed the ability to display one of the figures central to the role of the District in Statuary Hall.

The figure will be either Frederick Douglass or Pierre L’Enfant on behalf of the District.  You can see their current statues at One Judiciary Square.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
By

Virginia Man Arrested for Plans to Bomb Metro

Photo courtesy of
‘FBI’
courtesy of ‘dnewman8’

The FBI has had a string of wins recently nabbing numerous would-be terrorists before they’ve struck. CNN is reporting that they’ve just accused a man arrested on December 7th of “threatening to place pipe bombs along the Metro transportation system in Washington.” The individual, identified as Awais Younis (nee Sundullah Ghilzai) bragged to someone on Facebook how to construct the device and where he could deploy them without being noticed.

The Daily Feed
By

New designs revealed for Dunbar High

Photo courtesy of
‘Dunbar High Schoolâ��’
courtesy of ‘Daquella manera’

This is Dunbar High as it stands today, a brutalist soulless monolith that dominates the nearby architecture at 1301 New Jersey Ave NW near Truxton Circle. This morning, a new Dunbar was announced, a $100M improvement of the site that incorporates elements of the original 1917 Dunbar school. Included are brand new athletic facilities, an O Street pedestrian promenade, and “The Armory” designed to be the beating heart of the new Dunbar.

New Dunbar Projection

The new site is scheduled to open for the 2013-2014 Academic year, and construction will be done such that the students will not need to be moved to another building in the interim. Bill Turque of the Post has a longer look at what that process would be like. In addition, you can view PDF concept drawings of Dunbar online.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
By

A logo at your metro? What’s in a name, exactly?

Photo courtesy of
‘Navy Yard Station’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

The news came out of the ANC 6D meeting last night: “What if we just put the Nationals’ logo on there as part of the name?”  To some, this is anathema, and representative of name-creep that has plagued Metro over the last few years, and a station called “Navy Yard/Capitol Riverfront/” is just a bridge too far.  To others, it’s a sort of visual shorthand, designed to keep the name of the stadium tolerable, while adding useful visual cues.

Continue reading →

Alexandria, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Eamonn’s/A Dublin Chipper

Photo courtesy of
‘969 thanks be to cod’
courtesy of ‘apium’
There are plenty of benefits of studying abroad in England — lots of culture, lots of pints and you don’t have to worry about learning that pesky other language. It is not, however, known as a bastion of fine cuisine. There is an exception to every rule though, and for me the British food that I think of fondly is fish and chips. Real deal, fried to perfection, wrapped in a newspaper fish and chips. And I’ve found no better way to indulge my inner collegiate than to go to town on some authentic fried cod (albeit Irish) at Eamonn’s.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

A priceless moment between Gray & Fenty

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_4593’
courtesy of ‘dbking’

Sadly, I was not able to attend the presentation of a new design for Dunbar High School, but Intrepid Post Report Mike Debonis was there and catalogued this epic exchange between Mayor Fenty and Mayor-Elect Gray:

“The Redskins beat themselves,” Fenty added.

“That happens often. Doesn’t it, Mr. Mayor?” said Gray to Fenty

I believe the Mayor-Elect has you there, Mayor Fenty.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Tim Carman Takes On The Times

Photo courtesy of
‘Lunch at the Majestic – the Aftermath’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

We love DC here, did you know that? Well, we do. It’s true. And we always appreciate it when someone else has a crush on the place we hold dear, and so today’s DC-loving award goes to Tim Carman.

Carman, formerly of the City Paper’s Young & Hungry and now a food writer over at WaPo took down the New York Times in today’s column “Dear New York Times: We get it. Your restaurants are better than ours.” Carman’s snarky criticism of the brash junk-food berating the NYT gave our fine city last week is a must-read for any DC foodie.

My favorite line? “District denizens are just beginning to evolve beyond their lizard-brain lust for red meat.” I highly recommend you read it on your lunch break over a meal from one of our sub-par eateries.

Update: It just came to my attention that Maria over at Hill Is Home should get an award too. Read: New York Also Thinks DC Looks Fat In Those Pants.

The Features
By

We Love Arts: Win Tickets to Spencer Finch

Spencer Finch, Passing Cloud, (394 L Street NW, Washington, D.C., July 7, 2010), 2010, dimensions variable. Fluorescent light fixtures and lamps, filters, monofilament, and clothespins. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin. Photo: Chan Chao.

“I see the President almost every day, as I happen to live where he passes to or from his lodgings out of town…. I saw him this morning about 8 ½ coming to business, riding on Vermont avenue, near L street…. Mr. Lincoln on the saddle generally rides a good-sized, easy going gray horse, is dress’d in plain black, somewhat rusty and dusty, wears a black stiff hat, and looks about as ordinary in attire, &c., as the commonest man…. I see very plainly Abraham Lincoln’s dark brown face, with the deep-cut lines, the eyes, always to me with a deep latent sadness in the expression.  We have got so that we exchange bows, and very cordial ones.”

–       Walt Whitman, “ Abraham Lincoln,” No. 45 (August 12, 1863), Specimen Days in Prose Works, Philadelphia:  David McKay, 1892, p. 43.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Come on Down! Alex Ovechkin To Be On The Price is Right

Photo courtesy of
‘Price is Right – Plinko’
courtesy of ‘insidethemagic’

Does your holiday vacation start early? If you’ll be home next Monday morning, December 20th, and channel flipping before the holiday, make sure to stop on CBS to catch the Great 8 joining Drew Carey on the greatest television game show of all time, The Price is Right. From the release:

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will also help [Jeremy] Roenick introduce a showcase that will include a trip to Pittsburgh to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins play against the Washington Capitals at the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field on New Year’s Day; VIP passes to the NHL’s New Year’s Eve Party in Pittsburgh; field/ice-level access during the Capitals and Penguins team practices at Heinz Field on Friday, Dec. 31; and a new 2011 Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid car.  The NHL-themed showcase includes prizes from Reebok, Bridgestone, Enterprise and Starwood Hotels.

I think they should let him play, “Put-It-Past-The-Goalie in One…or Two!” but I guess introducing a Showcase isn’t too shabby.

Be warned that if you play the below clip, the TPIR theme will get stuck in your head.

YouTube Preview Image
Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo


342/365 – diego’s by dracisk

Thanks to the cruelty of genetics, my head has less and less hair on it as time goes on, and I wonder why I keep paying someone to cut it.  I could use the clippers that I have and save twenty bucks by switching to a DIY cut, but my love for nostalgia keeps bringing me back to Diego’s.  It reminds me of when my dad and I used to go to the barber shop together when I was a kid, and is a tradition that I’ll pass on to my unborn sons.  In today’s world of grimy lawyers and social media consultants, professions that specialize in manipulating words and air, it’s nice to see someone still using their hands, creating a sense of community, and being a bright spot in peoples’ day.  One day Diego will be gone, but thanks to this photo his life and the lives that he’s touched are frozen in time forever.