Monthly Archives: February 2011

The Daily Feed
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Rangers demoralize the Caps … again

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_2006.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

It has been a while since the fans at Verizon Center have seen a good show.

Well, that is if you weren’t at Lady Gaga Thursday night.

More specifically, Capitals fans have not seen a good show at Verizon in quite some time. Before the 6-0 shelling at the hands of the Rangers on Friday, the Capitals had lost their previous two home games by a combined score of 6-1 to the Kings and Sharks. The team then went on the road for much of the month of February, cruising the West Coast, New York and Pennsylvania for five games with varying results before returning home to lay an egg against New York.

The last time the red-clad denizens of Verizon Center got to celebrate a win was against rival Pittsburgh Feb. 6. A home win over the Penguins, because they are so hated in D.C., makes everything all right, doesn’t it?

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The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Seagull

For a play written over 100 years prior, Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull has elements that could would of made for a great MTV Reality Show. Complicated love triangles, affluent families, and a setting that could be described as Russia’s version of The Hills, the Seagull is a story decades before its time.

I recently attended a production done by The Arlington Players and I could see those elements come to life on the stage. An ensemble of tortured souls, yearning to satisfied their unrequited love. It’s so emo I expected Death Cab for Cutie to chime in between the many acts.  While the Chekhov piece has endured the test of time with a vibrant display of human struggle, there are some aspects of the show I would of been better off without, most notably the four act length of the play. The show lasted well over three hours, something I would have cut down like other modern adaptations of the show. However I do respect to homage to the original work in this case.

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The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Cappuccino

peregrine cappuccino by erin_m

It’s time for Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.

Traditionally, one celebrates with Champagne. Some things, though, one celebrates with coffee.

In this case, the celebratory beverage was a cappuccino from Peregrine Espresso. It seemed more appropriate at two in the afternoon on a Thursday, after all. Besides, there is always a faint air of luxury and rebellion about spending hours over coffee with a friend when everybody else is trapped in their offices, which even a lovely glass of wine cannot quite top.
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Special Events, We Love Arts
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NatGeoLive: March 2011

The Eagle Hunter's Son, ©Eden Film Stromberg Productions, used with permission by National Geographic

First of all, a very big “thank you!” to all our readers. National Geographic took a chance last year with WeLoveDC in letting us give away event tickets through our site and WOW did you guys exceed expectations! So on behalf of WeLoveDC and National Geographic, thank you for supporting the NatGeo Live program.

With that kind of preamble, it’s probably apparent that yes, once again we’ll be doing random drawings every month for our readers to attend a NatGeoLive event of their choice (with exceptions). The 2011 season is packing quite the wallop from what my sources tell me, so get ready for another great lineup of screenings, talks, tastings, and more. (For ticket information, visit online or call the box office at (800) 647-5463.)

To enter the drawing, simply comment below using your first name and a legit email address, listing the two events from the following program list you’d like to attend. (Note that there are a few events not eligible and we’ve noted them for you.) Sometime Monday (Feb 28) in the afternoon we’ll randomly select two winners to receive a pair of tickets (each) to one of their selections. You’ve got until noon on Monday to enter!

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food Tweet of the Week

Photo courtesy of
‘Pulled Pork slider @ Westend Bistro Ritz Carlton’
courtesy of ‘thepresidentwearsprada’
Chefs are doing quite well for themselves in We Love DC’s Food Tweet of the Week Award…or maybe I’m just partial to tweets about engagements for some odd reason. Either way, this week’s Twitter top prize (and all the money that comes with it, ha), goes to the fabulous Joe Palma of Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton.

Tweeting under @WestendBistro, Chef Palma has more than 1,110 followers, and Tweets a few times a day updating readers about new recipes: “Ridiculously nice halibut coming in for tomorrow” — and new concepts: “Permit apps pending for the smoker for April BBQ pop up, cross your fingers Making root beer this week with licorice root and sasparilla.” Even better, he gives us a nice look into his personal life, and he is never afraid to highlight other restaurants.
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Comedy in DC, Entertainment
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Storytelling In DC: Story League

_JH36783-2
Photo by Abby Greenawalt

I was almost swept away by the wind on Saturday as I trekked down the curvy streets of Adam’s Morgan to meet up with SM Shrake , one of the founders of Story League, and attend their second workshop.  I had a flash of the opening scene to Shutter Island when I was walking up the driveway of the mental institution-like structure. As I got closer and closer to the front door, I heard heavy strings getting louder and louder with each step I took. Fear was trying to take control, but I knew I had to get in there. There was a question that infected my brain with obsession. “What is Story League?”

To get to that answer I first had to learn about the man with the idea of Story League. I had a nice chat with SM who has been a Washingtonian for four years. He grew up in Detroit and lived in Philadelphia before making his way to the District.  He would visit the nation’s capital to hang out with a friend while living in the City of Brotherly Love. (I googled that nickname about Philadelphia. I can’t confirm if people say that, but it sounds nice.) Anyway, he realized that he had so much fun here that he wanted to make it his new home. “What I find fun about it is there’s a camaraderie. The transitiveness of the people. To me that gives it a different feel. It’s almost like hotel bars are sexy. People are passing through.” I totally understand what he means by this. D.C. is a place where people relate instantly, because they are not from here. Fortunately for SM, he was able to bond with people that are not only not from here, but have a passion for live storytelling. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Terrapin Crime and Punishment?

Photo courtesy of
‘Tucker’
courtesy of ‘borman818’

A double-item for the folks in College Park, today. I wish it was good news. It’s not.

The University of Maryland has many notable alumni, ranging from Jim Henson through Nobel Laureates. In the sports side of things, there are pro athletes like Vernon Davis and Darius Heyward-Bey; potentially even more well-known as a proud Terp is ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt. Right now, though, SVP isn’t that psyched about the lack of support the students in College Park have shown for a basketball team that still has a (slim) chance of making the tournament. He took his complaint to ESPN 980 after a Twitter rant earlier this week, commenting that he understands that students have classes, but “part of the college experience is living a little bit, outside I have to do my econ homework.”

The second part is the so-called, “punishment,” although it isn’t even close to related to the crime at hand. Testudo Times pointed out what could very well be new football uniforms for the Terrapins this fall. Yikes:

The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: White Rabbits @ Rock & Roll Hotel, 2/27/11

The beat-driven, piano-pounding sounds of White Rabbits will be coming to Rock & Roll Hotel this Sunday, Feb. 27th. This is sure to be an energetic (and very rhythmic) show.

White Rabbits follow the post-punk aesthetic of fellow Brooklynites Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah! as well as The French Kicks. However, they approach this style with two percussionists, two guitars, and a piano while mixing in bits of ska, calypso, and African rhythms to form a unique yet catchy sound. Although the band formed in 2004 while at college in Missouri, they’ve been a fixture of the Brooklyn music scene since moving to the neighborhood in 2005. Their first album, Fort Nightly, was released in 2007 and received instant praise from Pitchfork calling it “…a great debut for a band with an impressive, distinctive sound”. After playing Lollapalooza and gathering some buzz for their kinetic live shows in which the members often switch instruments during the set, they returned to the studio and released It’s Frightening in 2009. This album, produced by Britt Daniel of Spoon, featured a cleaner, stripped-down sound without changing the band’s approach (as evidenced by the excellent single, “Percussion Gun”).

The White Rabbits are currently taking a break from recording a new album to play a few northeast shows this week, the last stop being our fair city. If you’re looking to avoid the Oscars and enjoy some good music, check them out this Sunday.

White Rabbits
w/ Caveman
@ Rock & Roll Hotel
Sun. 2/27 – 8:30 pm
$16

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Thursday & Underoath @ 9:30 Club, 2/22/11

IMG_4196-2.jpg
All photos by Andrew Markowitz

I was not expecting such a great night of metal at 9:30 Club on Tuesday night. To my surprise, the show was sold out by the time I arrived. Animals as Leaders, a local progressive metal outfit, blazed through a set that left everyone at the show talking about them for the rest of the night. Plus, the headliners Underoath, a metalcore group I’ve been writing off for years, wowed me with their flashy stage show.

So that was a nice surprise, but really I was there for emo / post-hardcore group Thursday. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its release, Thursday played their debut album “Full Collapse” in its entirety. Let’s just say I’m pretty familiar with it. It comes up pretty frequently when I want to scream alone in my bedroom. The words to all the songs are permanently engraved in my head, or at least in my diary.* Confession time: Thursday is the band I’ve seen most live. I lose a ton of cred in the ‘metal scene’ for this, but you know what? Every time I see them, I walk away thinking about how Geoff Rickly is a grade-A frontman, who brings undeniable energy to every performance. I just can’t pass up a chance to see him.
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Business and Money, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The District
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Homemade Pizza Co. Comes to Georgetown

Although the Homemade Pizza Co. has five other locations in the DC area, I’ll readily admit to never hearing of them or even noticing that I’ve walked by one. That was until they opened their latest shop in my neighborhood and a held three day long celebration featuring free pizza, salad and the owners grilling (yes, grilling) up their za and chatting the locals.

Unlike most pizza joints, Homemade Pizza Co. doesn’t serve you hot out of the oven pizza. Instead they sell bake-at-home pizzas made to order. Yes, that’s right, you’ll be ordering (either in the shop or order your pizza online for delivery or pick up) uncooked pizzas that you then have to (gasp!) cook yourself. The horror!

However, these unbaked pizzas are above and beyond the Whole Foods or Safeway premade pizzas. These pizzas are custom made on-the-spot with the dough is rolled out specifically to meet your needs. They use the freshest, highest quality all-natural ingredients like specialty meats, terrific cheeses, and local produce because we all know that our farmers have greatest fresh-from-the-farm products. Once home, the cooking is simple and every pizza is labelled with the uber simple 5 step instructions, where total cooking time takes about 10-15 minutes.

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Entertainment
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Oscar Watch: We Love DC Picks The Academy Awards!

Photo courtesy of
‘Preparing for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards – the corner of Hollywood & Highland’
courtesy of ‘popculturegeek.com’

I have been waiting for this weekend for awhile now.

I’ve been watching a lot of films. Like I said when I first started this thing, I try and watch every Oscar nominated film out there.

That’s a lot of films.

As of this morning I have watched 42 out of the 56 (80%) nominated films. Through those 42 films I have watched 105 of the 120 (87%)  total nominees. Before Sunday I’ll probably be able to squeeze 2-3 more films in.

So now it’s time to offer all of my thoughts on this year’s races. I also polled the We Love DC staff to give you a complete picture of who we think will win this year’s Academy Awards.

Supporting Actress

Patrick – Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit): Her presence in True Grit is just dominating. However there are two dark horse scenarios that could spoil it:

1. Overwhelming enthusiasm for The King’s Speech elevates Helena Bonham Carter to the top.

2. Melissa Leo overcomes her campaigning snafus and is recognized for a solid resume of character work.

Tom – Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit): I was astounded by Steinfeld’s performance. To rest a whole movie on a virtual unknown, and to have that unknown just own the performance like she did in True Grit? It was astounding.

Rebecca J – Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit): Academy loves giving the lil golden fella to young-uns.

Jenn – Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech): She nails the Queen Mum. In a good way.

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The Daily Feed
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Draft Pick The Key In Hinrich-Bibby Trade

Photo courtesy of
‘Kurt Hinrich and Goran Dragic’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

As today’s trade deadline for the NBA comes and goes, the Washington Wizards made their move by trading Kurt Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to the Atlanta Hawks for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a first round pick in this year’s draft.

At 34-23 the Hawks currently hold the 5th seed for the playoffs but lost their third game in a row last night and have the Melo-infused Knicks gaining ground on them in the standings. Hinrich will help the Hawks as a veteran role player, a job he embraced here in Washington filling in for John Wall throughout the season.

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All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Sulaimon Brown’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

Sulaimon

Don’t know who Sulaimon Brown is? That’s not a surprise. He was a Democratic Candidate for Mayor in this past summer’s mayoral primary with a penchant for speaking his mind about Adrian Fenty…and then telling everyone to vote for Vince Gray.

“Wait, what?” you say. Yeah, you heard right. He pushed for Vince Gray, despite appearing on the dais at debates and at other events as a candidate himself. I’m just as baffled as you.

It was revealed by the City Paper’s Alan Suderman, that along with Kwame Brown’s SUVs and the growing salaries in the Mayor’s office, Mr. Brown received an auditor’s position in the DC Department of Health Care Finance, making $110,000 per year.

This morning Brown was let go, and escorted by police out of the office of the DHCF by police after troubling remarks made during his termination arrangements.  Then he decided to show up for Mayor Gray’s afternoon press conference. That’s when things got hilarious. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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This Week in Food

CUP

Photo Courtesy Sprinkles Cupcakes

 Looks like DC’s food scene will keep growing in 2011 with even more pizza, burgers and cupcakes. Going with that third theme: Georgetown’s soon-to-be-open Sprinkles Cupcakes (3015 M St. NW) is putting its mobile truck on the street come Monday and giving away free cupcakes for two weeks. The first week’s schedule is: Franklin Square on Monday, Georgetown on Tuesday, Dupont Circle Wednesday, Gallery Place Thursday, the Capitol on Friday, Friendship Heights on Saturday, and Eastern Market on Sunday. Sprinkles opens Thursday, March 3rd. (h/t Metrocurean) 

Want yet another food truck? With paperwork in hand, Sabor’a Street hit the road on Wednesday. Look for the yellow truck for delicious Latin-inspired street food and follow @SaboraStreet. 

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Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Homebrew Your Own Hard Cider

Start your fermenting!

February may seem like a strange time to think about cider, or even autumn. But when Mother Nature seduces us on a Friday with the sweet smell of spring, then turns her back days later with a sick smack of sleet, I’m happy to exercise a flagrant disregard for the season. More importantly however, we’re about 8 months out from the peak of autumn, the same amount of time it takes to make a seriously strong batch of hard cider, which makes this the perfect time to start brewing.

I had never seriously considered brewing my own hard cider, let alone any sort of alcohol, until last September on a trip to Denver. I visited with my buddy, Nick, who is an avid homebrewer and we spent a day-hike discussing the ins-and-outs of brewing; I became very excited by the idea. He suggested cider as a good first step. Before I was on my way back to DC, I’d already ordered some supplies to get started.
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The Daily Feed
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Galactic Happy Hour @ 9:30 Club

This one is for the fans of the New Orlean jazz-jam band super-group Galactic, fans of New Orleans, fans of free stuff, and fans of alcohol.

Tonight at the 9:30 Club’s basement bar a/k/a The Backbar (entrance on the 9th St. side of the club) they are starting the party early with a special happy hour before Galactic’s concert. The happy hour will run from 6 to 7 o’clock and is open to anyone (not just ticket holders). Anyone attending the Galactic show who goes to the happy hour gets first entry to the show itself; so you can get sloshed and then grab your favorite spot to watch the show before the front doors open. The happy hour will have food and drink specials, including a $6 special on Hurricanes; raffles for free swag, like tix to future shows; and rumor has it a visit from members of the band!

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, February 26-27

Photo courtesy of
‘Let’s Have Some Fun’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Rebecca J.: Friday I’m headed to the Black Cat to catch Fred Armisen perform where I’m hoping for some salutes to his Gov. Paterson and Barrack impressions. After that we’ll head to the basement of Cafe St. Exwhich always gets crazy. On Saturday, as I’m headed to a “Look At This Fucking Hipster” party in the evening, the day will be spent scavenging thrifts shops for the most absurd hipster get up imaginable. I’m already scared to see the bf in skin tight tapered pants. Yowsa! After the wild and craziness of Friday and Saturday, Sunday will be all about relaxing, recovering and watching all things Oscar.

Jenn: It could be an art-filled weekend, starting tonight with ARTventures on H where from 5:30-8pm you can wander through 13 galleries on H Street NE for an art walk that not only gets you culture but also gets you fed – for every gallery you enter, your “passport” is stamped to get you 12% off participating H Street hotspots from 7-9:30pm. Total happiness. Also worth a stop at some point is Rosemary Feit Covey’s exhibit “Death of the Fine Art Print” at Morton Fine Art, where you can see how this provocative artist is stepping out of her comfort zone in a fascinating way. Continue combining art with food by hitting Locolat next door for an evil waffle-burger (yes, it’s a burger with waffles for a bun, topped with beer-saturated cheese. I told you, evil!). Ok, you could also just have a regular Belgian waffle but either way, go for the decadence this weekend. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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It’s Not Delivery, It’s Michel Richard

Photo Courtesy of Central

For me, getting take-out for dinner seems a bit like admitting defeat. I know how to cook and hate to pay for food, but sometimes I’m just lazy. To add insult to injury, I usually don’t feel fulfilled by my take-out. Lukewarm pad thai, greasy pizza and mistaken orders usually get me pretty cranky. But HOLD THE PHONE, my take-out dreams are finally coming true. Central, Michel Richard’s bistro downtown, is doing take-out. You read that right, folks, you can walk down Pennsylvania Avenue with your Michel Richard-approved bucket of chicken.

Richard has always done cheeky cuisine well (the man uses more winky quotation marks in his menu than anyone I’ve ever seen) and it’s about time he got down and dirty with some fabulous take-out. It won’t be the entire menu, but you’ll be able to pick up the fabulous lobster burger, the ridiculous mac ‘n cheese and the piece de resistance, the bucket of the truly amazing Central fried chicken. For $29.99, you’ll get three breasts, three thighs, ten chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and honey-dijon sauce. Watch out Colonel, Michel is coming for ya!

Carry out is available Monday through Friday for lunch, and Monday through Saturday for dinner. Nothing will make your coworkers jealous quite like a lobster burger. Definitely better than their lame Lean Cuisine.