By 
‘Basil Thyme Food Truck’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
Might I suggest some delicious lasagna this afternoon? Get in touch with your inner Garfield and scarf some down.
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Monthly Archives: August 2011
By jordana
Greetings from DC!
For fifteen years, the West-facing wall of Mama Ayesha’s restaurant on Calvert Street stood bricked and barren, save for a narrow painted banner of Middle Eastern desert. In 2007 it was time for a tune up, decided manager Mohammed Abu-El-Hawa, whose family has owned and operated the Adams Morgan icon since 1960.
Originally founded as Calvert Café by Ayesha Abraham, a Palestinian immigrant who arrived in Washington in the late ‘40s, the restaurant has “served ambassadors, foreign dignitaries, and U.S. officials,” according to its website, and found a regular in one DC institution in particular: reporter Helen Thomas.
The distinguished (and now controversial) White House correspondent seemed the perfect fit for his DC venue, and Abu-El-Hawa envisioned a mural of Ms. Thomas interviewing every president since the start of her career, beginning with Kennedy and on through, at the time, George W. Bush.
He just needed an artist. Continue reading
By Mental Errors Doom Nats In 4-2 Loss To Arizona; In Memoriam Mike Flanagan
‘Desmond touches ’em all’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Any Washington Nationals fan who bothered to sit through the entirety of Wednesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks would probably have felt a nasty shock of recognition. For one night, the Nationals of April and May re-emerged and reminded the 17,881 in attendance that there was a time when the team was in the bottom half of the National League table in every major offensive statistical category. They allowed 24-year-old Lynchburg native Daniel Hudson to come within one out of a complete-game shutout before back-to-back solo home runs by Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes forced Hudson to yield to J.J. Putz, who forced Wilson Ramos to lift a foul popout to Lyle Overbay to end the game. Continue reading
By Tricia Barba
First Look: Graffiato
Earlier this year it was Toki Underground and Shake Shack that were pretty much the buzz everywhere before they opened their doors. When that died down, Graffiato became the restaurant everyone was talking about. The 130-seat dining spot in Chinatown comes to us courtesy Top Chef Mike Isabella, and it has been consistently crowded since it opened in June.
As most foodies can tell you, Isabella is no stranger to DC. He spent three years in a kitchen a few blocks northwest of Graffiato, as the executive chef of Jose Andres’ Zaytinya. If that doesn’t ring a bell, he also appeared on Season Six of Top Chef and he was the runner up on Top Chef All-Stars.
By Rebecca
CB2 Fall Line: Space May Be Limited, But It Can Still Be Chic
Continuing on the heels of my Etsy Round Up: Washington DC feature apartment decorating finds, I ventured over the CB2 in Georgetown recently to check out their Fall 2011 collection. The latest and greatest from this Create&Barrel and Land of Nod, “affordable” sister shop centers on providing innovative, space saving options for DC’s small apartment, loft and efficiency occupants. Although that is not a revolutionary concept (see IKEA, West Elm, etc.) and was not chosen to meet the particular needs of DC urban dwellers, it is well executed. Continue reading
By Don
We Love Arts: Reggie Watts at Woolly Mammoth
Reggie Watts, photo by Wendy Lynch Redfern
Andy Kaufman would have loved Reggie Watts.
Be careful how you take that bit of praise. If you’re of my generation and largely remember Kaufman solely as loveable goofball Latka on TAXI you’re not getting the right picture. Watts’ stage performance is reminiscent of Kaufman – a wandering path that includes comedy but isn’t limited to it. Slotting him as a comedian, as GQ did, is no more accurate than calling him simply a musician or a monologuist. Watts is a Performer; I’d call him a performance artist if that wasn’t such a loaded phrase.
Reggie Watts live performer makes a lot more sense for Woolly Mammoth and their commitment to adventurous on-stage performance than Reggie Watts, internet & television performer. Reggie Watts puts on a multi-faceted and entertaining show that combines music, jokes, subtle comedy and physical humor. It’s right up my alley and I loved it all the way through. If you think it might be to your taste I suggest you get in to one of the remaining four shows. If you’re looking for a straight-up comedy performance… you might want to adjust your expectations.
Case in point, my darling wife’s reaction.
Food Truck Tracker
‘Takorean truck’
courtesy of ‘yostinator’
You survived the earthquake yesterday. So that deserves lunch from a food truck, right? See which ones are out and about today.
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FREE FOOD ALERT: Make Your Own Pizza Kit
‘rakhi and her pizza’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’
Cheese is fatty, meat toppings tend to be rich, and the sauce is sweet. Pizza toppings are also packed with a compound called glutamate, which can be found in the tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni and sausage. … But according to culinary scientists, they contain flavor compounds that taste even better when eaten together.
Getchyer pizza! Potomac Pizza’s four locations (listed below) will be giving out a free slice of pizza and soft drink to all customers from 12 PM – 4 PM today. The restaurant is calling it their “final slice of summer.” And to quell your sadness about summer ending, you can go eat your feelings in the form of delicious pizza.
Homemade pizza, even with the cost of electricity factored in, is ridiculously affordable. However, it does take some time to make. Most of it is hands off time, though (oven heating, dough rising), so as long as you’re at home already, it won’t feel like it takes that long.
It’s probably because you’re making it at home in a home oven. Those top out at 450 or 500 degrees F, which is a refrigerator compared to a pizza oven. You can compensate for that somewhat by getting a pizza stone and letting it preheat in your oven. If you are a fan pizza chef, check this link https://www.dough-re-me.co.uk/ for tips on your pizza dough.
The four locations are at:
- Chevy Chase Center: 19 Wisconsin Circle, Chevy Chase, MD
- Potomac Promenade: 9812 Falls Road, Potomac, MD
- Traville Village Center: 9709 Traville Gateway Dr. Rockville, MD
- Kentlands Market Square: 625 Center Point Way, Gaithersburg, MD
Note that there’s a limit of one free slice per customer.
By Tom Bridge
Neat view of the Quake through a Seismic Array
God I love science. Yesterday in the wake of the day’s events, I sat in Rustico in Ballston with a couple of geoscientists from NSF trying to find this exact imagery, and Jen sent it over last night late. It’s pretty impressive to see the seismic waves roll through the whole of the continent, even if they likely weren’t felt by anyone on the other side of the Appalachians.
By The Winning Ticket: Chuck Brown
This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Chuck Brown perform at the 9:30 Club on August 27th at 9pm. The Godfather of Go Go will be celebrating his 75th birthday in an event hosted by Bootsy Collins.
By Tom Bridge
Updated Closures for 24 August
‘Sidewalk Closed Signs’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Several closures were announced in local and federal government artifices overnight. They are as follows:
Local:
DCPS is Closed today. They changed their minds from open-but-for-three-schools at 10:30pm last night to All Closed at 5:50am today.
Federal:
According to OPM, the following federal agencies are closed:
- Department of Health & Human Services
- Department of Labor
- National Building Museum
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Commerce Building A in Franconia
- Office of the Secretary of Defense at One White Flint in Bethesda
- Department of Health & Human Services in Laurel
- Archives in Suitland
It’s not yet clear why DCPS felt the need to close all of their schools today, aside from “an abundance of caution.”
By Nats Strand Men On Base, Drop 2-0 Game to Arizona
‘Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27)’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’
After one strange (earthquake filled) day in Washington, D.C., the Nationals did their best to keep things on the diamond interesting. Washington took a 2-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in what was likely right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann’s penultimate game of the season, but it was a well fought battle.
Neither team scored until the seventh inning. Arizona third baseman Sean Burroughs hit his first homerun of the season, a two-run shot, off Zimmermann to give his team the upper-hand. The Nats biggest issue of the night was stranding men in scoring position.
Washington had eleven base runners Tuesday night. Five of those runners reached scoring position. Continue reading
By brownpau
National Cathedral Earthquake Damage
The National Cathedral suffered some significant structural damage in the earthquake, with the tops of three of its tower pinnacles falling over, and cracked walls in buttresses and on upper floors. More info from their earthquake press release: Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
VIDEO: DC Earthquake Interrupts My Workday
As you all know, an Earthquake has hit the East Coast. When the quake happened I was in the middle of a video shoot with my co-worker Danny when all of a sudden our 14th floor office in Rosslyn started to shake. Watch the video to see Danny’s reaction.
By Rebecca
Etsy Round Up: Washington DC
Oh. My. Goodness. I <3 me some Etsy and the authentic, amazingly beautiful items available on the website; it’s a place I go to for inspiration amd a little break from the monotony of life. To spread the love on DC Residents Day, I’ve combed Etsy to find the latest and greatest handmade, DC inspired items that would be the perfect additions to DC lover homes, wardrobes, weddings, etc. Continue reading
By brownpau
Virginia Earthquake Rocks DC
Hey, Washington, DC was just rocked by an earthquake! The tremor hit at 1:51 PM today, and the earthquake detail page on USGS shows an initial magnitude of 5.8, epicenter near Mineral, VA, somewhere between Richmond and Charlottesville. Twitter is alight with reports of shaking felt from down the Carolinas all the way up to Canada, and as of 2PM the streets around many buildings around Downtown DC are still teeming with people who fled buildings at the initial shock. The source of the earthquake was fairly shallow, just 6 km underground, which explains why the tremor was felt over such a wide area.
Metro is currently limiting trains to 10-15 mph while the tracks are checked for kinks.
Did you feel it? Where were you and what did you do?
By Tom Bridge
Irene on the Horizon
Well, as nice as good as the weather’s been the last two days, there’s a forecast that you need to be aware of for the coming weekend. Hurricane Irene, currently harassing Haiti and the Dominican Republic looks to be headed for landfall the middle of the weekend in North Carolina. NOAA suspects it may well be a major hurricane when it hits land, and that by the time it reaches the Chesapeake it would still be at hurricane strength.
To some forecasters, this storm is reminiscent of Hurricane Floyd, which dropped 14″ of rain on the DC area in 1998, left 500,000 without power thanks to its 70mph winds. Be on the lookout, DC, this one might be the first big storm since Isabel hit DC in 2003.
Food Truck Tracker
‘Arepa!’
courtesy of ‘yostinator’
Go on and get some good grub today. See where the food trucks are roaming around the city with our StrEATS-powered map.
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By Tricia Barba
One Year Later: Zest Bistro
Courtesy Zest Bistro
Verdict: A wonderful, small restaurant to hit up if you’re alone, with a large group of friends, or with your family. The waitstaff treats all diners here to a smile.
This restaurant with a green awning is the “last” sit-down restaurant on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row. If you’re going south on 8th Street, Zest Bistro is past Matchbox, Cava, Molly Mallone’s, and The Ugly Mug — so you definitely have to keep walking to get there, and you should.
By Brian Mosley
Featured Photo
‘Looking Into the Past: Doing the Charleston at the Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC’
courtesy of ‘jasonepowell’
Hey, it’s an old photo, and a new photo, in one…and it’s of people doing the Charleston on the doorstep of Capitol Hill! What more could you want in a photo?
Jason is quite the innovator with this style of photo (I call it a “Flashback”; Jason calls it “Looking Into the Past”; whatever you want to call it, we can all call the results awesome). He takes historic photos from publically available collections (mainly the Library of Congress), gets enlargements made, and then tries to line up the old picture with the present scene. It can make for quite the sight: some you see how much has changed, others how little, and then you see the downright weird. If you want to read more, Jason’s work has been highlighted by some high profile outlets recently.