By 
‘butterfly food’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Another weekend come and gone; fortunately this time the thunderstorms held off until Sunday night. Grip your cup of coffee a little closer and hang on to it a little longer. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: April 2011
By Dan Rowinski
We are louder: Caps usher Rangers out of the playoffs in Game 5
‘Washington Capitals home opener 2009 – 8’
courtesy of ‘Garyisajoke’
Karl Alzner got a tweet this morning from a Rangers fan forecasting a repeat of history and certain Caps demise.
So, Josh Bennett (@JoshBenn80), how are you feeling right about now?
For the first time in the Bruce Boudreau era, the Caps have close out a playoff series in less than seven games. Did anyone think that was possible?
It happened
Washington took care of business against the Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs quarterfinals 3-1 to take the series four games to one. The Caps now await the winners of the Buffalo/Philadelphia, Boston/Montreal series’ or the Tampa Bay/Pittsburgh series to see who they play next.
If Buffalo (the No. 7 seed) upsets the Flyers, then the Caps get the Sabres in the semifinals. If Philly comes back and wins, the Caps could play any team from the No. 6 Canadiens (currently tied at two games apiece heading into Game 5 in Boston Saturday night), No.5 Lightning or No. 4 Pittsburgh. Really, whatever is the lowest seed heading into the next round and the Sabres, with a three games to two advantage, look like they could be it.
“There is going to be a little bit of relief. I mean, we are completely different team this year and the whole circumstance is different,” Alzner said. “It is nice to get a round out of the way because I got a tweet, I think this morning, saying something about ‘are you guys ready to choke again and lose.’ I was like, ‘hopefully we will show you’ and now that that is done I am pretty happy about that.”
By He Loves DC: A Q&A with Christian Hunt
Photo courtesy of Christian Hunt
Once a month, on Saturday nights, Christian Hunt can’t be missed. He’s the guy in the bright red suit hosting the Capital City Showcase at the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan. Hunt is a District native. He was born at Georgetown Hospital and raised in Glover Park.
“It’s funny because there are so many transients here that I’m like a white squirrel, because I was born and raised in DC, still live in DC, and root for all the DC sports teams, though I pretend the Redskins don’t exist. As cheesy as it sounds, DC is my home and it always will be,” Hunt said.
Hunt took a few minutes to give We Love DC the low-down on why he thinks his hometown is “the most beautiful city in the world.” He might have lived in Boston during his college years but according to Hunt, the District is far from being a tourist trap.
Rachel: So tell me about this Capital City Showcase. It’s an evening that showcases a variety of local performance artists. How did the project get started?
Christian: I’ve been performing since I was 10 years old. Whether it was doing plays, playing piano, or singing in chorus, I was always on stage. At the end of college, I started dabbling in stand-up comedy, but when I started working I put it all on the shelf. So after years of not performing at all, I started to get the itch again. I remember being up late and watching infomercials for The Midnight Special, which was a variety show from the 1970’s that featured the best acts of the time. And I thought to myself “Why doesn’t something like this exist anymore?”
I also grew up watching the old DC20 channel, which featured local programming, like all of the kids shows hosted by Captain 20 (if you grew up here you know what I’m talking about). And again I thought “Why is there no real local programming anymore?” So I figured it would be really cool to fill both of those voids with a live variety show that featured all of talent that DC has to offer. And The Capital City Showcase was born.
By Brittany
Friday Happy Hour: The Josephine
It’s time for Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.
I hate jelly beans. I do not care if this makes me some kind of easter bunny hating grinch, I think the neon-colored gelatinous orbs are gross. However, even the jar of them that arrived with my drink at Last Exit last night did not sour me on the place.
The new Mount Pleasant bar specializes in simple drinks that showcase house infused sprits and pairs each one with a little snack like grapes, popcorn, or, in the case of The Josephine, jelly beans. The pairing makes sense – the sugary, fruity beans are meant to play off the dry, savory qualities of the drink. The Josephine takes a thyme and grapefruit infused gin and lengthens it with a bit of club soda. The result is a sophisticated, not remotely sticky, sort of a take on a “gin and tonic” and perfect for the coming summer.
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By Patrick Pho
We Love Arts: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Returns To Woolly
Photo Colin Hovde
Apparently We Love DC loves the Neo-Futurists. Fellow theatre writers Jenn and Don have also seen, “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind” during past visits to the area. The Chicago-based theatre troupe have been performing versions of the show for over 21 years with shows both in their home theatre (called The Neo-Futurarium) in Chicago and on the road.
Luckily our coverage of the show isn’t excessive, because no two TMLMTBGB shows are the same. The premise of the show is to perform 30 “plays” in 60 minutes. After each performance an audience member rolls dice to determine how many plays from the current list of 30 will be retired forever and replaced with newly written material.
The performances are chaotic, spontaneous, and audience driven- but it’s not Improv. The skits will invoke feelings of happiness, confusion, or outrage- but it’s not drama. What occurs on stage is performance art that’s somewhat unclassifiable.
On the scale of Orange Juice to Orange Crush- it’s Sunny D.
By Tricia Barba
Food Tweet of the Week: Khan’s
In the world of DC restaurants talking about opening for months before they actually do, Twitter has become a way keep potential patrons excited about the food that’s coming soon. At the same time, other establishments wait until almost opening day to start Tweeting incessantly. Khan’s Bar & Grill, which didn’t open until late March, is somewhere in the middle.
Using the handle @KhansDC, this Mongolian grill has tweeted since early March giving us all sorts of scoop.
The risky
One March 7th, Khan’s wrote “Forecasting an opening day of the 21st!!!!!” Surprisingly, they weren’t wrong.
The sarcasm
On the same day we were treated to “Is in total shock that the Health Inspector STILL ISN’T HERE!!! Guess they take their scheduling window training from Comcast.”
One word, bold.
The week’s winner: Continue reading
By Capital Chefs: John Critchley of Urbana (Part 2)
‘Shellfish stew at Urbana’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
With spring finally in the air, chef John Critchley’s shellfish stew with coconut and lime is great for this time of year. The coconut milk and lime keep it light, but it still has a rich and creamy broth. For all you seafood wary cooks, this isn’t a difficult recipe to make, so it’s good for taking the plunge into cooking with shellfish. The flavors are great and it’s a dish that will definitely impress your friends.
Click through to find the full recipe after the jump.
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By Ashley
Food Truck Tracker
‘porc food truck – purveyors of rolling cuisine’
courtesy of ‘justgrimes’
It’s Good (Food Truck) Friday!
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Capital Chefs: John Critchley of Urbana (Part 1)
‘John Critchley of Urbana’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
Like many chefs, John Critchley, the new executive chef of Urbana, is cooking because he says, “I don’t know anything else.” Cooking, albeit his full-time job, doesn’t even feel like work sometimes. John started working in a kitchen in his freshman year of high school where he learned that many times your kitchen staff becomes like a family.
“I try to promote that same feeling in my kitchens now,” he says. “You spend 60 hours a week working with each other so it becomes a family. It becomes what you grow to love doing.”
While working in the kitchen creates a family of sorts, he does admit that it’s a challenge to balance everyone’s different cultures, attitudes and work habits. However, John strives to bring his team together and says that he likes seeing people reach their goals because it helps the development of his team in the kitchen. “I want to see my line cooks move up to sous chef. I want to see that they’re motivated to improve,” he says.
By Brittany
Seasonal Cocktails at POV
Photo: Daniel Swartz for W Washington DC
I need to write this sentence: Warm weather whistle-whetters await at the W. Now, that out of the way, we can talk about some drinks.
The terrace of POV at the W is stunning and the perfect spot for a drink on a warm, pleasant evening. It was on just such a lovely evening this week that I was invited by the hotel to sample their spring and summer seasonal cocktails – and was delighted by several of the offerings as well as the setting. Continue reading
By fedward
It’s Tourist Season: Share the Love
All photos by the author
A couple years ago the Social Chair and I were sitting at a bar when the couple next to us asked us a question. They said they’d overheard our conversation with the bartender and were looking for a restaurant recommendation, since they were visiting from out of town and wanted to try something other than their usual haunts. We got to talking about where they were from (“Outside Toronto”), and we mentioned that we were leaving in a week to go visit family and friends both in and outside Toronto. It was at this point in a conversation with a Canadian that I would usually get to play my trump card, since my sister lives in a town even most Ontario natives haven’t heard of. But when we told them the name of the town (West Montrose), they got a little wide-eyed. And then they asked, “which house?”
It turned out that these strangers, from “Outside Toronto,” had almost bought that very house, and after they didn’t buy it their friends did. Their friends, in fact, were the couple who sold the house to my sister and brother-in-law (and since my sister’s family is moving to The Hague, it’s for sale again). In this city you never know who you might meet.
Judging by what I’ve seen on Twitter, and a stale rant that has been making the rounds again (which I won’t dignify by linking here), tourist season has fallen hard on some of you (the fact that it arrives at the same time as allergy season also doesn’t help, I’m sure). But I ask your patience as I make this heartfelt plea: please be nice to tourists.
By Tricia Barba
This Week in Food
‘Pound the Hill’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’
Open
Watershed is open! Finally. Chef Todd and Ellen Gray’s second restaurant opened its doors last week. Not only is it one of the few restaurants that has actually managed to open on schedule, its menu also looks fantastic. So head to NoMa for some baked oysters and Carolina Style Barbequed Shrimp. I love that it also serves a “continental” breakfast…it is in the Hilton Garden Inn after all.
Opening
El Centro, D.F., aka taqueria & tequileria is opening up at 1819 14th St. next month. The restaurant actually spans three floors and will serve authentic Mexican comfort food. El Centro D.F. is a collaboration between partners Richard Sandoval, Kaz Okochi, and Ivan Iricanin, who also partnered on the neighboring Masa 14. I can’t wait to try the Tacos al Pastor with adobo marinade pork belly, cilantro, onion and grilled pineapple.
Backwash
I wonder how many Toki Underground profiles have been written up so far. Either way, in this one, Washington City Paper’s Chris Shott writes: “Most chefs would profess to pouring a little heart and soul into every dish they make. Erik Bruner-Yang adds something more: a dash of DNA. ‘I taste every single bowl of ramen that leaves the kitchen,’ he says. Consider it a kiss from the cook. ‘Everyone gets a little backwash,’ he laughs.” So if you want to stand around for hours waiting for ramen…do. Worth it.
Pound Event
Pound the Hill will host an author talk with Garrett Peck, author of the newly-published Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren’t, on Wednesday, May 4 at 6:00 PM. Go here for more information.
Happy Eating!
We Love Weekends, April 23-24
‘2011: 002’
courtesy of ‘::FiZ::’
Dave: It’s a really jampacked Easter Weekend for me. First off, I’m starting Friday with my first alumni softball game of the season, playing under the Monument before heading over to the Exchange for a pitcher and some tater tots. I won’t be there for long, because I have to get out to Ragtime out in Courthouse where my band is presenting an epic tribute to Hootie and the Blowfish’sCracked Rear View. We’ll play other stuff, too. Promise. I’m getting on a plane to go join my family for the rest of the weekend, but rest assured that if I were to stay in town, I’d have Screwtop’s Easter Brunch as one of my top priorities.
Tom: Springtime, at long last! Easter is this weekend, and while I’d normally be singing with the Falls Church Presbyterian Church choir, I may just be an observer at the Basilica in Brookland, where a good friend is singing as part of Holy Week services. As for Easter Brunch, with the teeming hordes descending upon all of my favorite establishments, I’m thinking I’ll just hit Eastern Market this week for some eggs and really great bacon and maybe a local chicken to roast on Sunday night. We’re planning a little themed shindig for Game of Thrones‘ second night. Saturday, catch me in the garden getting ready for next weekend’s Garden Guild monastery plant sale. I’ve got beds to prepare for some lovely blueberry bushes. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
Spring Cocktails at AGAINN
‘Spring cocktail trio, AGAINN’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’
Fresh off his excellent showing at ARTINI, Brent Davis invited me to sample a few of the new spring cocktails over at British gastropub AGAINN. As I sat sipping drinks observing the happy hour crew, Brent greeted regulars with a friendly wave and a jibe. It was obvious that they love him. Just after telling me a funny story about the gin and cucumber drink he created for a regular called The Modest Lobbyist, the young lady herself entered. It’s that kind of bar.
AGAINN’s beverage menu still has the signature cocktails created by the very talented Bon Vivants of San Francisco, such as the Lady Macbeth and the Bareknuckle Boxer. Brent has added a few of his own, and my favorite was his riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri, called RedRum (ok, the R’s are reversed, like in The Shining, but I am not technologically savvy, so just imagine that font looking far sexier!). Continue reading
By Rebecca
Best Sports Meme Of All Time
courtesy of @pottenhoff
Nuff said.
By Ashley
Food Truck Tracker
‘4 girls, 1 hour in line, 12 tacos. Thanks @takorean! #curbsidedc #fb’
courtesy of ‘iwantamonkey’
So, how mad are you that your friends get tomorrow off for Good Friday while you’re stuck in your stupid office? So mad you’re willing to take a two hour lunch? I say go for it.
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By Don
Pulitzer Round-Up
‘Ralph Pulitzer (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’
Monday’s announcement of the Pulitzer prize winners yielded a few wins for our area, both in worker and subject matter. The Pulitzer is a prize awarded by Columbia University at the recommendation of the Pulitzer Prize Board, a group of people who work in the journalism field or in education. This year’s board includes Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post, for example. While most of us associate it primarily with journalism there’s also categories covering the arts.
I’m sure they’re going to bar me from the National Press Club for saying so, but the Pulitzer process bears some resemblance to the Academy Awards. While the announcements always include mention of the “nominees,” the reality is that the actual nomination process is no guarantee at all of quality – it’s largely self- or organization-driven. In theory a nomination can even come from “readers or an interested individual.” No statistics are provided on the matter but you have to know there’s some journalist’s mom sending in a sheaf of their clippings every single year. My money is on Ezra Klein. If you’re interested in how the process works you can look at this year’s submission guidance.
Our area had some winners and losers – though making it to the final stage is a form of “losing” that I could surely live with – and I’ve gathered up some links and information for you.
By Don
Capital Bikeshare’s membership almost doubled with Living Social deal
‘Bikeshare’
courtesy of ‘Karon’
In today’s WaPo DC Wire, Mayor Gray is quoted as saying that Capital Bikeshare has 10,700 members. What the Wire doesn’t mention is that the recent Living Social deal offering discounted memberships sold 8,118 items – a 76% increase in membership. While not all of those are necessarily year memberships they do expire within six months. That’s a huge increase in users for a system that currently claims to have 1,100 bikes – about 1 per 10 members.
25 more stations added in the District with 10 bikes per station brings up the total number of bikes to 1350. That means the ratio could get as bad as 1 bike for every 14 members if all those Living Social members redeem their certificates at once. 28% less availability is a big decrease – I see empty racks fairly often – what will this do to availability?
UPDATED: It’s worth pointing out that not all of those certificates will necessarily be redeemed. However even a 70% redemption rate – which seems reasonable for an expenditure of that amount that doesn’t take much to activate – will represent over 5,000 new memberships. The best result for current members who want to see as many bikes remain available is to hope that these new members will activate their memberships but never make use of them – the health club model, as it were.
By Dave Levy
Happy Hour for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society [Tonight!]
‘DC Meetups – 11-02-16 – Really?’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
Have no plans this evening? Want to do something good downtown? Read on.
Join an evening benefit for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society tonight down at RFD (810 7th Street Northwest Washington D.C., 20001) at 6 p.m. A $15 donation gets you in the door for $3 Miller Lites and $4 Yuenglings, and of course what better place to watch the Caps in Game 4? The deal gets even sweeter with some live music* starting at 7 p.m.
Don’t miss this great event for a great cause, as all proceeds will go directly to the LLS.
*Disclosure: it’s the author of this post’s band in a charity gig. It’s for a good cause, after all.
By Patrick Pho
We Love Arts: Art
Photo by Scott Suchman
If you could take the premise Yasmina Reza’s “Art” and turn it into an episode of Seinfeld, it would have been a classic.
Just imagine George Costanza marching into Jerry’s apartment to see a blank white 5’ x 4’ canvas…
Jerry: George! Behold my latest acquisition!
George: What is it?
Jerry: It’s an Antrios!
George: Antrios?
Jerry: Antrios!
George: Never heard of him.
Jerry: Well he’s a classic- and this painting will be as well! I got it at such a steal!
George: How much?
Jerry: $200,000. What do you think?
George: I am speechless. I am without speech.