Yearly Archives: 2011

The Daily Feed
By

India Comes to the Kennedy Center in March

maxINDIA_HeaderMain_2
As part of the Kennedy Center’s maximum INDIA festival, some special menu items will be available at Roof Terrace Restaurant and KC Café throughout the month of March to coincide with several exhibitions and performances.

It’s billed as “East meets West.”  Twelve chefs from India led by Chef Hemant Oberoi, the Executive Grand Chef of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai, will fly in for a delicious collaboration with Roof Terrace Restaurant’s Executive Chef Joe Gurner.

Roof Terrace Restaurant will offer three, three-course prix-fixe menus, each priced at $65 per person, and the KC Café will feature a range of Indian foods a la carte style.  Diners who purchase the special items will get recipe cards, letting them recreate the dishes at home…too bad I can’t cook.

I’m all about the gastronomic journey. Menu items include Khurmai Aur Aloo Ki Tikki, potato and apricot cakes with tamarind dressing; Roti Pe Boti, spiced lamb on leavened bread; Kali Mirch Ka Murg, chicken with peppercorn and mint; and desserts like Masala Chai Kulfi, spiced tea ice cream; and Elaichi Gulab Jamun Crème Brulee.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Projecting the 2011 Nationals and the 2/16 Sports Ticker


Screengrab nabbed by Carriage Clock Rock

The above is presented with minimal comment.

Lead Item: Pitchers and Catchers have reported and it’s supposed to be about 68 degrees on Friday. It feels like spring, my friends. With that, it’s only appropriate that both necessary and unnecessary prognostication gets going. In terms of the latter, we get to say things like, “The Werth signing was really for 2012, expect a similar or slightly improved team in 2011 over the 69-win team from last year.” When it comes to the former, the most important resource for teams may be uber-smart Baseball Prospectus simulators. Well, yesterday there were some leaked preliminary statistics that may or may not be accurate, so we at least have something about which to talk.

Rob Neyer at SB Nation caught it (and then did correct that the projections had been erroneously posted), and while the headline for these faux-projections was about the Yankees simulated to miss the playoffs, I did get a chance to peek before they were removed. Your Washington Nationals…only a five game improvement to an average projection of about 75 wins. The math makes some since; after all, the National League has few elite teams, but, unfortunately, the Phillies and Braves combine to fill out about a solid quarter of the Nats’ schedule. It’s tough competition, but with the fading Marlins and Mets, shouldn’t the Nats pick up a few more games to get closer to .500?

The WLDC Sports Team will have its own projections as we get closer to Opening Day on March 31, but for now, it’s just fun to talk baseball. More sports news from around the District after the jump.

Continue reading →

Comedy in DC
By

Comedy in D.C.: Brad Ryan and Ralph Cooper’s Awesome Thursdays

awesomethursday - bradandralph

I was in the part of town that has Chinese letters beside English ones hanging with Brad Ryan and Ralph Cooper who are the founders of Awesome Thursdays at the R.F.D. in Chinatown. We had a good chat on a Saturday afternoon in the Chinatown Coffee Company and were lucky to be at a table. It took me about twenty minutes to snag one. While I stalked the area I noticed one girl sitting alone with her purse placed on the chair beside her. At first I thought she didn’t want to get her bag dirty, but then in walks this guy who heads right to her. She looks up. “It’s nice to meet you in person!” He tells her. It was a successful online date. Beautiful. I sat alone for a couple minutes and then in walks two dudes who come to my table. Another successful online date. Um… anyway, let’s learn about Ralph and Brad. Continue reading →
The Daily Feed
By

Catania moves to make birth control pills available without prescription

Photo courtesy of
‘ritual’
courtesy of ‘M.Markus’

Council Member David Catania (I-At Large) introduced a bill yesterday to allow pharmacists to dispense oral contraceptives to patients without a prescription from a doctor. The bill is intended to increase access to contraception among patient populations who may not be able to afford the office visit to have a doctor prescribe it.

Specifically, the bill would authorize the DC Boards of Pharmacy and Medicine (the bodies which issue licenses to pharmacists and doctors, respectively) to come up with some rules to govern the process by which pharmacists could dispense hormonal birth control without a prescription.

According to the Post, the program under consideration might involve collaboration with doctors similar to the District’s pharmacist-administered-vaccines program. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
By

We Love Spoken Word: Rollins @ 50 @ Grosvenor Auditorium, 2/13/11


courtesy of Henry Rollins.

Henry Rollins turned 50 years old on Sunday. To celebrate he performed two spoken word concerts at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium. I went to the late show that kicked off around 9:45 and ended at about midnight. The two and hours in between were filled with words; thousands of words; flying out of Henry Rollins’ mouth at a manic rate of fire. Some of the words were funny, some were serious, some could be considered challenging, while most should be called inspirational.

It was a highly entertaining evening of high-energy storytelling from one of society’s most interesting misfits. A tag that Rollins would probably embrace if his self-deprecating humor and admitted outsider attitude are any indication. In fact one of the points Rollins made over and over again during his set was that his audiences are probably his favorite people to spend time with; he certainly stressed that he can’t stand being at home with himself. So what better way to spend your birthday than surrounded by a room full of your favorite folks in your hometown?

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Haute Pizza at POV

POV Mushroom Pizza
Mushroom pizza at POV
Courtesy of BrandLinkDC/POV

It’s not often that pizza is regarded as a beacon for haute cuisine. But when it’s served under Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s name while you take in a view of DC from POV’s rooftop, you’ll see why their new pizza is a far cry from delivery.

 The W Hotel’s POV recently added three gourmet, individually-sized pizza options to their menu, including a traditional mozzarella, basil and tomato pie, wild mushroom and goat cheese pie and a truffle and fontina pie. The pizza made with black truffle peelings and truffle oil has been available at other Jean-Georges restaurants, in case it sounded familiar to you. And if the new pizzas aren’t enough for you, POV is also adding a creme fraiche cheesecake with kumquat marmalade and a walnut fudge brownie with a salted caramel ice cream.

Sounds like a good option for entertaining those fancy clients who are in town. A little haute pizza and a cocktail should be all they need to unwind after a day of meetings.

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music
By

The Winning Ticket: Drive-By Truckers

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!

Since the winner’s choice proved so popular last week, we’ve decided to do another one; this time we’re raising the stakes by giving away tickets to a sold out show!

Up for grabs this week, we have one pair of tickets to see Drive-By Truckers perform this weekend at one of their sold out show at 9:30 Club ! That’s right, one of the best Southern rock bands in the business are playing on Friday and Saturday night to a sold out club, and whoever wins today’s contest will get to choose which night they want to attend. Just tell us which night you’d like to go when you leave your comment below. If DBT’s show at the club last summer is any indication, the winner is in for a really good time!

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.

For the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading →

WTF?!
By

NPR’s take on Anacostia: Whitey Is Coming

Southeast DC Census Data by race

Most mornings, my radio is tuned to WAMU for Morning Edition, and of course it’s the one morning I need XM that I miss an interesting story centered on DC.  Alex Kellogg from NPR reported a piece titled “D.C., Long ‘Chocolate City,’ Becoming More Vanilla” all about the recent census numbers, gentrification in Anacostia, and the change of the neighborhoods east of the river.

I’d like to say that NPR did a thorough job that represented DC in a good light.

I’d like to say that. But I can’t.

Kellogg’s quick and dirty race narrative is the sort of story that drives me crazy because it sounds right. It sounds like its grounded in good statistics and lengthy discussions with people in the neighborhood.  But it’s not, and NPR wound up providing legitimacy to economic disaster porn in DC when the story should’ve been the recovery of a community.

Continue reading →

Comedy in DC, The Daily Feed
By

Comedy in DC: Cool Dudes Hanging Out

YouTube Preview Image

The comedy show for cool dudes is back, and as we have already established, you are a cool dude, in the unisex, non-gendered sense of the word, so it seems this comedy show is for you.

On Friday night, 7 PM at the Velvet Lounge on U Street, 5 measly bucks gets you an evening of comedy hosted by Hillary Buckholtz, and featuring Tim Miller, Kyle Martin, and Michael Foody, all hilarious.

Headlining this cornucopia of hilarity will be Team Submarine, a duo from New York (video above), who describe their comedic style as “grown men throwing things at each other while words come out of their mouths.” So, you know, maybe sit in the back.

The Daily Feed
By

Civil rights are a budget issue

Photo courtesy of
‘Superior Court Detail’
courtesy of ‘roarofthefour’

More accurately, they are a budget issue when you fail to honor them. That’s not a new lesson for our area: improper arrests during Charles Ramsey’s tenure as police chief cost the city well over a million bucks. But it seems to be one lesson officials aren’t taking seriously: as DCist’s Heather Goss reported yesterday, security continues to harass photographers for no valid reason. In this case it was a DC Superior Court guard and Federal Marshals.

Potentially luckily for the DC budget it was the marshals who violated Jerome Vorus‘ rights and deleted his photograph – an Atlanta man just got a $40,000 award for having his photos deleted against his will. Mind you, if I was the one suing – and we’ve seen no indication that Vorus intends to – I’d name the District as well.

It’s one thing to get caught by something like this for the first time, but repeatedly stepping on the toes of people who aren’t afraid to make you pay up is just dumb. When you consider that the estimate of practicing attorneys in the area tops 80,000 it might be in the city’s interest to make sure authorities don’t overstep their bounds. $40,000 is a lot to pay for a picture you don’t even get to hang on your wall.

News, The Daily Feed
By

Virginia to alter stop light laws?

Photo courtesy of
‘STOP’
courtesy of ‘fromcaliw/love’

Virginia is considering a bill (actually, it’s most of the way through the system) that would allow the police to charge anyone who makes a California stop at a red light with a class one misdemeanor that could add six points to their license, suspend it for six months, fine you $2,500 or put you in jail for a year.

That’s the equivalent of a DUI.  For a rolling right on red.

The original bill was set to have this take effect if you were involved in a traffic accident where someone was killed or badly injured, but the committee saw fit to replace the original bill with a more generic provision which would place the infraction at the discretion of the police officer. The proposed law would affect infraction related to traffic signals, not just right on red, which would also apply to traffic signals that are offline.

The committee that proposed the bill is chaired by Rep. David Albo, whose firm does work related to DUI defense and other “Serious Traffic Issues.” Who better to defend you than the guy whose committee brought out the law, right?

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: On the Razzle

Michael Glenn, Matthew McGloin and Ashley Ivey in Constellation Theatre Company's "On the Razzle." Photo credit: Daniel Schwartz

Imagine polishing off several bottles of bubbly with your ditzy old Aunt. That’s the kind of delightfully dizzy night you’re in for with Constellation Theatre Company‘s madcap production of Tom Stoppard’s On the Razzle. There are more groaning puns and twisted tongues here than I can possibly quote. The completely ridiculous wordplay seems endless, gorging itself on a verbal box of chocolates until the farce bursts at the seams. You’ll feel like a goose stuffed with foie gras. Yes, I meant to mix those metaphors. That’s the beauty of the evening.

To lovers of Broadway musicals, the plot will be familiar. It’s Hello, Dolly! without Barbra Streisand, I mean, without the matchmaker. Stoppard based his play on the Viennese comedy that Thornton Wilder used to write the play Jerry Hermann used to write the musical – deep breath – it’s this kind of whirligig origin that director Nick Olcott calls “an analgram of stunning originality and blatant theft.” It’s no surprise this production is set on a revolving stage. The usual brilliant Stoppard wordplay is itself a swirling waltz, with malapropisms building on themselves in an excess of tomfoolery.

You could just sum it up as a play about two guys trying to pick up girls by pretending to be high rollers. Somehow, in a town gone mad for tartan, with the help of a wooden horse named Lightning, they become made men. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Vace Italian Delicatessen

Photo courtesy of
‘Vace Italian Deli’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Vace in Cleveland Park isn’t just an Italian market, it’s a way of life. The best way to explain this is with this little story. A friend of mine loved the pizza from Vace so much that every time he ordered it, he never made it home without eating a good portion of his order mid-commute. Not so interesting? Well, let me set the actual scene. He would order a large pizza while on the train at Metro Center, head up to Cleveland Park and spend the walk down Connecticut Avenue to his place in Woodley Park chowing down on half his pizza. I certainly hope some tourists leaving the zoo snapped a picture of this crazy dude, box top askew with pizza down his face. Now THAT is love.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

DC’s Coconut Cake Challenge

Photo courtesy of
‘Whole Foods Cakes -5856’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’

Contests come and go in this city, but this is one I can really get behind. Eatonville and Church Lady Cake Diaries are teaming up to host a coconut cake challenge. Fire up the KitchenAid mixer, call your grandma and pry the family recipe out of her, use the entire 72-hours of your holiday weekend to craft the perfect cake–it’s time for a bake-off.  Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Interviews, People, We Love Drinks
By

A Round With … Katie Nelson

Katie Nelson
Katie Nelson
Photo by the author.

The drinks team decided that this concept from the Flickr blog would be a fun way to get to know some local bartenders. So we stole it. We’re passionate about spotlighting D.C.’s finest behind the bar. Our first round is with Katie Nelson from the Columbia Room.

1. Introduce yourself. What’s your current position and how’d you get where you are today?

Katie Nelson, Service Manager and Bartender at the Columbia Room, a 10-seat private bar within the Passenger.

In a literal sense, I got my current job because I had been a regular at the Gibson, which was my neighborhood bar and, of course, where my boss, Derek Brown, worked for over a year. I was in the right place at the right time when he asked me to take a job working for him, and I’m a lucky lady. Beyond that, though, I come from a family that relishes food and unique experiences. I grew up mostly in North Carolina, but I’d also lived overseas in Saudi Arabia and traveled from a young age, which I reckon helped me to develop a wider palate. After college, I took on a bartending position in a restaurant where I’d worked as a server, and I loved taking care of the customers and making drinks, but I was under the impression at the time that the job wasn’t meant to be a permanent position. I moved to D.C., worked a few different jobs and moved around a bit more before coming back finally to the beverage/hospitality industry. I’d noticed that all of the things I’d liked about all of my previous jobs had in some way to do with aspects of this field, and considered culinary school, but realized that the immediacy of working in a bar — crafting drinks in addition to being able to personally serve and talk to the customers — made bartending a more ideal position for me. My Southern-ness comes out — I really enjoy making people feel happy, so it’s a natural fit. My particular role at the Columbia Room brings my joys to the forefront: constantly experimenting with flavor, learning from the cocktail greats of the past and present, educating my palate and passing on information to others when I can, and helping to create a hospitable experience for our guests.

2. What’s the first drink you remember learning to make (or the first drink you remember drinking)?

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Think Spring with an Urban Garden

Photo courtesy of ‘Great Lettuce Harvest of 2009’ courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’ Though it may seem months away, spring is fast approaching. With it comes puddles, unpredictable clothing needs and pollen. But it also means finally having fresh vegetables that aren’t of the kale variety, and if you’re a go-getter and an urban dweller, the best way to get those veggies is through an urban garden. Or a grocery store, but growing them with help from gardeners dublin is way more satisfying.

Tiered wooden outdoor plant stands with shelves allow you to save space (micro apartments) and can be used to layer your plants according to the size. Tall plants in the lowest tier, shorter ones in the middle and the shortest ones on the top tier works best. If there are a variety of plants, use stands of different sizes to arrange them.

Landscapes and features are important because they contribute significantly to our well-being and quality of life. They provide the broader context within which we live our lives. Living within aesthetically pleasing and culturally meaningful landscapes enhances our sense of wellness. We used https://www.twinwoodfarms.com/ for the trees and grass on our landscaping.

If becoming an urban veggie warrior seems daunting, plan to head over to Coolidge High School this Saturday for the fourth annual Rooting D.C. Conference, a day-long forum for urban gardeners. They cater to everyone from those with the greenest of thumbs to the newbies. The event is free and open to the public, and will include interactive workshops that run the gamut from the basics of gardening to how to cook your perfectly cultivated produce. So much more better than standing dumbfounded in front of the produce section at Whole Foods. For information on community gardens in your area, check out D.C.’s Field to Fork Network.

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo


Dupont Underground Continues by MikaAltskan

While most photographers tend to focus on the prettier aspects of DC such as the monuments, the cherry blossoms, or the wildlife, others like to explore the underbelly of our city with their cameras.  Urban exploration, sometimes known as “urban spelunking” or “urban caving”, involves going to forgotten places that are relics from past eras.  Many times it’s difficult (and illegal) to reach these hidden gems, but the reward is often worth it (unless you get arrested).

We Love DC does not condone trespassing, however we love to see the haunting images of decay that you discover in the darkness, whether they’re of the Dupont Underground, Forrest Haven, the Metro tunnels, or the Washington Coliseum.  Just be sure you’ve had a recent tetanus shot before you shimmy down a rusty tunnel and bring backup in case you run into some C.H.U.D.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
By

Coyotes Trip Capitals 3-2

Photo courtesy of
‘Bryzgalov Makes a Save’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

One shot in the final 8 minutes, down one goal? Last year this would have been unheard of. This year, it’s becoming the staple of most Capitals’ games, and it does not bode well at all.

The Caps surrendered 3 goals on 18 shots last night to a Phoenix team looking for positioning in the tight Western Conference playoff race. Though the Caps did pepper Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov with 31 shots – 11 between Alex Ovechkin and Mathieu Perrault – the Caps just couldn’t get it done. The power play was a dismal 0-5 on the night as well. Michal Neuvirth stopped only 15 of the shots he faced and the Caps just looked absolutely flat on the ice.

Special teams has been a focus during practice, but the Caps still drag along a goose egg over their last 15 chances. It’s not that they’re not shooting; last night’s contest saw 13 shots on their first four chances. “We were moving it around and we looked like a power play,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “I thought for sure we were going to score a couple of goals on it. Sometimes, it’s not meant to be.” Continue reading →