By Brittany
Sometimes Patty Boom Boom feels almost a little bit “secret.” As the numerous nightspots by the Hilton Brothers go, it seems to get a little less attention than its sister bars around the corner and down the street. The upstairs is reserved for dj nights which skew towards reggae and dub, the sounds of which filter down to the small area just inside the door where one can sit, grab a patty for dinner, and enjoy a Red Stripe or one of the bar’s signature rum cocktails.
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By Don
‘Rain Delay on HD’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’
Well, we made it past the soggies. Mostly. Capital Weather Gang says we’ll still get sprinkles and clouds through the weekend but after about 12 inches of rain this level of sprinkle seems like a cool and sunny breeze.
Okay, not really. But I’m trying here, people. So what do we plan to do with our slightly less damp weekend? Read on…
Rachel: Another weekend, another ballgame. It’s back to Nats Park, where I’ll be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For those interested, Saturday night is Danny Espinosa bobblehead night, so get ’em while you still can. Then, in between baseball related activities, I have some friends coming in from out of town so I’m hoping to treat them to something special even if it’s just a walk around the National Mall or a stop in a Smithsonian museum. I still haven’t seen the MLK Memorial in person so I’m thinking a walk-by might be in order.
Tom: There is SO much happening this weekend, I don’t even know where to start. Saturday’s got the Virgin Free Festival at Merriweather, and if you’re looking for tickets and a ride, check out what BYT, the 9:30 Club and Pop Chips are doing. You can still get in on the ride if you need just the ride, too. Friday night, I might just trek north to Charm City to see what the Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival is all about, since the idea of an awesome graffiti alley and acrobats doing high altitude work is really intriguing to me. The Nationals are home against Houston this weekend, and it may just happen that we get another Strasmas on Sunday, so I’ll be there, hoopla and all. Whew, I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
‘PB whoopie from Wonky’
courtesy of ‘yostinator’
Whoooopie! It’s Friday! So go stuff a whoopie pie in your face before you head off to the weekend.
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‘Cheese wheels at Bourbon Steak’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
I can think of few simple combinations that go together as well as meat and cheese–philly cheesesteaks, charcuterie and cheese boards, chicken parmigiano, heck, even the simple breakfast sandwich combines the super powers of a sausage patty and melted cheese. So it made sense when Brenton Balika, the executive pastry chef at Bourbon Steak, started a cheese program at the meat-centric restaurant in Georgetown.
The cheese program, which was officially launched in May of this year, has opened up a whole menu featuring eight to 10 cheeses at any given time. While the cheeses can take anywhere from a few hours to a few months to complete, depending on the type, the restaurant typically goes through an average of 200 wheels of cheese per week and 169 gallons of milk, according to Balika.
I met with Brent to learn more about Bourbon Steak’s cheese program and to find out what goes into making cheese.
By Tom Bridge
‘Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge’
courtesy of ‘dbking’
The Duke Ellington Bridge on Calvert Street between Woodley Park and Adams Morgan is currently closed while the Bomb Squad handles a suspicious package. In light of the outstanding threat, the overwhelming response from MPD and the Federal Protective Service bomb squads is mostly precautionary. The L2 bus, amongst others, has had its route split in half, and traffic through the area isn’t moving at all. I would avoid Connecticut Avenue up through Woodley Park for the time being, and likely the Rock Creek Parkway beneath the bridge.
Update: As of 10:00am the Bridge is again open.
‘Young|Veteran’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’
The story of the 2010 Washington Redskins needs no retelling. If the images of McNabb sulking on the sidelines and Haynesworth rolling on the ground aren’t burned into your memory then you weren’t paying attention. It can be argued that the issues with McNabb were partly his being taken out of comfortable surroundings and then feuding with the Shanahans. What cannot be argued is that McNabb threw a career high in interceptions with 15 and his lowest number of touchdowns since 2003 with 14, and his 77.1 passer rating was his worst since his rookie season in 1999 when he had a passer rating of 60.1. At the age of 34 Donovan McNabb had the worst season of his career, and he found himself benched for Rex Grossman in the final three games.
The main issues with the Redskins in 2010 were the same as they have always been. They continued to try and be the off-season champs with the trade for McNabb and stuck with Albert Haynesworth in the 3-4 defense despite his objections that he was not that type of player. Haynesworth swore that by working out with his personal trainer he would be ready for the 2010 season, but he failed multiple fitness tests and missed time in training camp. This season the Redskins do not have a McNabb, Portis, or Haynesworth, but what they might have is a team. The 2010 Redskins were seen as a disappointment more because of the expectations than the results. The team finished with the record the talent dictated it should.
The Redskins have made it a habit to ignore problems at the bottom and middle of the roster and to try and go for the big splash. The Redskins never wanted to put a team on the field. They wanted a collection of stars they hoped would play well together and cover up shortcomings at non-glory positions like the offensive and defensive line. When the big name signings and trades failed the Redskins ended up left with nothing and struggled through season after season. This off-season the Redskins took a different approach. They traded 35 year old defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday to the Cardinals for 24 year old running back Tim Hightower. In 13 games started for the Cardinals in 2010 Hightower averaged 4.8 yards a carry and 46 yards a game with an average of only 9.6 carries a game. A league average running back average 4.2 yards a carry in 2010. With a normal workload of between 20-25 carries a game Hightower could provide a vast improvement to the Redskins running game.
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By Tom Bridge
‘Capitol Hill Bollard’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Late yesterday, as the President went to speak to Congress, news began to disseminate concerning a “specific, credible but unconfirmed” threat against the DC and NYC areas that could happen around the anniversary of 9/11. That language means, as far as I can tell, “We think we know what they’re going to try, we believe that it’s plausible, but we’ve only got one source on this.”
The plot is thought to be a vehicle based explosive device, and DHS, the FBI and others are on the lookout for a pair of box trucks. There aren’t a whole lot of details at this point, which means that response from the city and elsewhere are sorta vague: awareness is already heightened, and will be increased further still, look for extra police around the city this weekend as we pause to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The Mayor and Chief of Police gave a news conference last night where they confirmed they’re working with federal authorities, and have activated their 9/11 plan in response to the threat.
There’s not much else to do at this point, but if you wanted to brush up on your “what to do in the face of disaster,” DC HSEMA has a good set of guides for preparedness, crisis skills, and the shelter and evacuation plans for each ward of the city. Don’t panic, be prepared.
By Tom Bridge
There’s been a whole lot of rain this week. Parts of Fairfax county have gotten 10-15 inches of a rain as part of the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. The storm’s pattern, unusual for the area, has dumped rain on the District and surrounding area with surprising ferocity and longevity.
This video, taken this afternoon in Fairfax, shows a man on an innertube, heading right down the flooded street. While we wouldn’t recommend trying this (the storm has claimed two lives already), it’s certainly a lot of fun to watch the guy tubing down the highway.
’embossed menu’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
As I previously wrote, 1789 lost its long-time executive chef, Dan Giusti. The restaurant announced that Anthony Lombardo is taking the helm as the new executive chef. According to a news release, Lombardo was most recently the executive sous chef at Casa Nonna and like his predecessor, was also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to having worked at the Italian eatery in Dupont Circle, Lombardo was the chef de cuisine at Bacco Ristorante in Southfield, Michigan for four years.
Lombardo has already started in the kitchen, so it should be interesting to see how the menu will change in the coming months.
By Don
If you and the kids are stuck at home maybe some of these toys will work well for you. Eligible for Amazon Prime so you can have it by tomorrow (if UPS has a boat in your neighborhood) – the Fisher-Price Little People Noah’s Ark is just barely over $20. Or if you have wooden tables that are floating above the water that’s invaded all our homes you can do the jigsaw puzzle pictured below!
By Don
‘Hippo hanging around after lunch’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
Who’s got the saw? And how many feet in a cubit anyway?
Well it looks like the internal domain name the We Love DC team uses to communicate amongst themselves should have been sandbagged – it floated away in the night and our ability to coordinate anything along with it. So instead of our usual Weekends feature here’s a picture of a hippo.
We miss you Happy. For reals. Peace.
Anyway, we’re re-assembling our excretion into a coherent gathering and hopefully will be back on track soon. We haven’t forgotten you!
‘Soft shell crab taco’
courtesy of ‘yostinator’
It’s Thursday, so that means you’ve got one more day to keep on truckin’. Get some grub, give your belly a rub and maybe that will make it a little better.
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By Tom Bridge
Probably my favorite thing about short films is that they cater well to those of us with shortened attention spans. Tonight begins the DC Shorts Film Festival, which runs until September 18th, and the Festival staff have an awesome film picker, so that you can make sure to catch the show you want to see, or find films that look interesting.
Tickets run $12 + fees for each showcase ahead of the event, and $25 + fees for each party, or you can get any of a number of packages, or a complete All Access pass for $125 + fees. If you buy on-site, each showcase is $15.
‘A Summer Night Delight’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’
Hank’s Oyster Bar just got a whole lot bigger and better. The restaurant in Dupont Circle recently renovated and doubled its capacity to 68 seats inside, 40 seats on the outdoor patio and a private dining room upstairs. Plus, the new lounge space next door is offering longer late night service until 2 AM on Sundays through Thursdays and until 3 AM on Fridays and Saturdays.
If you go to check out the new space, I recommend trying some of the new bar snacks such as their seafood ceviche and the housemade pretzels with beer cheese sauce. Since oysters are the name of the game, try Hank’s own variety, the Hayden’s Reef Oyster, named after the son of chef/owner, Jamie Leeds. The meaty oysters were developed with the help of Bruce Wood of Dragon Creek in Montross, Virginia and have a good, slightly sweet flavor. And before the restaurant’s menu changes with the new season approaching, try their getaway cocktail with a homemade cinnamon clove syrup. Park yourself on the patio or the bar for a few hours and take in the beautiful new space.
By Brian Mosley
‘A Barbie Girl In A Barbie World’
courtesy of ‘[F]oxymoron’
The things you can see, when you’re walking around the city, can be fascinating. You could run into people doing interesting things; you could see the sky change into fascinating colors; you could even see the little details on the street. Yes, living in the city is many things, but lacking fascinating sights is not one of them.
The picture above by [F]oxymoron certainly falls into the little details category. It’s just some random trash littering the street. Yet chance has arranged it in such a way as to make it look as if the street has eyes. Or, better yet, that a person is emerging from the pavement below the photographer’s feet. It’s certainly a perspective that 99% of people will miss, but we were lucky enough to have someone there to see and capture it. And everyone, keep your own eyes open for things like this; be sure to enjoy them as much as I do.
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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
September is rolling by faster than the food trucks. Go find out where they are today.
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By Michael R
‘The Low Anthem’ by The Montage
This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see The Low Anthem perform at the 9:30 Club on September 15th at 7pm.
By Tom Bridge
‘the lord is come’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
“Wait and See” is a mantra that Nationals Fans have been familiar with since last August, when newly minted Nationals Hero Stephen Strasburg went first on the disabled list, and then underwent Tommy John surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. As the storm clouds, remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, pummeled the DC area all day, the scheduled debut was less than certain.
“Wait and See,” the team said, along with the meteorologists and amateur weathermen alike. At 4:30pm, the rain began to taper off, and by 5:30pm the tarp was draining into left field as we all awaited the word of the weather and the start of the game. Manager Davey Johnson had said in the pre-game conference that in the case of a rain delay, Strasburg wouldn’t be coming out, and instead we’d have the MLB debut of Brad Peacock instead. The storm held off, passing just West of the District line as each wave of the storm came through.
By Tom Bridge
‘Capital Bikeshare on the Mall’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Good news, DC! It looks like the Park Service and Capital Bikeshare have struck a deal to add stations to the Mall. While there are several big questions outstanding still, including location and who will pickup the $23,000 annual maintenance on a bikeshare dock. It looks like the District may pickup the $50,000 in costs per dock, though.
The addition of new Bikeshare stations down on the Mall, a frequent destination of tourists and locals alike, would be a welcome development in a fight that had the District and the Park Service at odds.
By Tom Bridge
‘Danger’
courtesy of ‘Jarrod Bruner’
Many thanks to Helder Gil on Twitter, who pointed out this editorial from last week that concerns the construction at the CityCenter DC site between New York Avenue and H Street in the middle of downtown. The site was the focus of a ruling recently that has possibly put the District in a very difficult position of reimbursing developers for millions of dollars of labor charges.
At question here is the Davis-Bacon Act signed into law in 1931 by President Hoover. The law states that buildings, and other projects, constructed by the federal government as public works, are governed by certain rules, including wage rates that are no less than the prevailing rate of pay for that job elsewhere in the city. The Department of Labor ruled that the CityCenter DC project was subject to these rules because, though the development is being paid for by private developers, and financed outside of the city, because the land is leased to the owners for 99 years, one administrator at the DOL has declared that enough to apply to the developers.
You’d think that this sort of thing would come out of the pockets of the developers (in this case, according to the developers, that could be $20M), but according to the ruling official, Nancy Leppink, it’s the city’s responsibility to reimburse the developers to the tune of $20M for the difference in wages.
More interesting is the result that this might have at the Walter Reed development site, which the city owns and would likely lease to developers. At stake could be another $20M in potential revenue in taxes on the businesses in that space, which could be jeopardized by this ruling.
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