By 
Pi on Wheels
courtesy of ep_jhu
Happy Friday, food truck trackers! Check out the strEATS-powered map to see where they are today.
Continue reading
Monthly Archives: February 2012
By Don
We Love Weekends: Feb 24 – 26
more ice cream!
courtesy of ekelly80
Hey hey, it’s weekend time again. Based on the slim output from our writers I have to think most of them have started already. And who wouldn’t? It’s beautiful outside. Why are you even reading this? Go on, shoo, go grab a drink on a patio or something!
Alexia: Starting my weekend off loud, playing a show with my band The Torches, along with DC’s Drawbridges and Brooklyn’s Pearl and the Beard at Rock & Roll Hotel. Saturday getting my hair cut at my favorite salon near 15th & P, and will probably have to swing by SweetGreen to satisfy my froyo addiction afterwards. Saturday night heading over to the Warner Theatre to get my funny-bone tickled by Jim Gaffigan! Can’t wait! (Hot Pockets…) Sunday I wish I could be lazy, but I’ll probably need to work in a training run on the W&OD trail before heading to the National Cathedral at 4pm for the Cathedral Choral Society‘s all-Mozart performance, including the gorgeous Great Mass in C Minor. Continue reading
Food Truck Tracker
DC Empanadas!
courtesy of kimberlyfaye
Pull your eyes away from your computer screen and take a little break with lunch from a food truck.
By Ben H. Rome
Kent Monkman Emerges at NMAI
Photo courtesy Kent Monkman and NMAI
In his first performance in the United States, acclaimed Canadian artist Kent Monkman (Cree) will present a new work featuring his alter ego, Miss Chief, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Monkman’s large-scale paintings, faux-antique photographs, silent films, and performance works subvert official histories of Manifest Destiny and “noble savages.”
In the lavishly staged satire “Miss Chief: Justice of the Piece,” Miss Chief—the glamorous, powerful, mythical alter ego of artist Kent Monkman—as well as a host of other performers, illuminate policies that determine Native American identity. Unlike other populations in North America, Indians are defined not solely by self-designation, but by laws (some originating from archaic notions of biological race such as blood quantum) that measure one’s heredity by percentages. Miss Chief has decided to take the ultimate political stand against these laws and create her own nation and is looking for members. But, as is common with Miss Chief, her invitation is a grand event. Continue reading
Ticket Giveaway: Doron Petersan of Sticky Fingers at Sixth & I
sticky fingers bakery
courtesy of m hoek
Today the food team has a pair of tickets to giveaway to one lucky reader to attend the Sixth & I event with Sticky Fingers Bakery owner Doron Petersan. Petersan, who is a two-time Food Network Cupcake Wars winner, just released her first cookbook, “Sticky Fingers’ Sweets! 100 Super-Secret Vegan Recipes.”
She’ll be speaking at the Historic Synagogue on Thursday, March 1st at 7 PM, and doing a book signing afterwards. Petersan is known for her vegan recipes and determination to show that baked goods don’t need butter or eggs to taste good.
Here’s how the giveaway works:
For the chance to win the tickets, leave a comments on this post using a valid e-mail address between 9 AM and 5 PM today. One entry per e-mail address. We’ll close the comments section at 5 PM and a winner will be randomly selected and notified by e-mail. If you’re chosen as the winner, you must respond to the e-mail within 24 hours or you will forfeit the tickets and we’ll select another winner. The winner will be able to pick up the tickets under their name at will call at the Sixth & I synagogue.
Good luck and happy (vegan) eating!
By Patrick Pho
JaVale McGee With Brand New Lowlight In Loss To Kings
It was all going kinda well.
After the Wizards’ loss to Miami back on the 10th, the team went on a long road trip and managed to win a couple of games against Detroit and Portland. Then they lost three straight to the LA Clippers, Utah Jazz, and Phoenix Suns.
Back in the Verizon Center for one last game before the All-Star break the Wizards took on the Sacramento Kings in what would of been a bounce back game and a way to end the first half of the season on a positive note.
Instead the team couldn’t hold on after leading 68-60 in the first half and let another game slip away as the Kings roared back in the third quarter and ended the night with a 115-107 win. In the loss the Wizards set new standards in futility thanks to another boneheaded play from JaVale McGee.
With 10:12 left in the 3rd quarter, Kings’ guard Francisco Garcia put up a teardrop floater towards the basket that gracefully made its way to the hoop- until McGee used his scientifically measured body to swat the ball into the eighth row of the Verizon Center, a clear goaltending violation.
Here’s the video:
By Jenn Larsen
LUPEC Launches with DC BRAS!
Our cocktail culture has come a long way, baby. The art of crafting drinks is increasingly seen as just that – an art – and national recognition for DC’s bartenders and sommeliers has been catching up to what locals already know: we’re lucky to have some serious libation talent in our city.
As an avid lover of craft cocktails and our local bar scene, it’s an honor for me to serve on the inaugural board of DC’s chapter of the quaintly named Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC). We’re a women’s society dedicated to elevating the reputation of the cocktail craft by investigating the history, recipes and traditions of that uniquely American invention. LUPEC DC joins an illustrious list of other chapters including Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Portland. And yes, while we’re committed to raising the bar to its highest level of quality, we’ll have a bit of irreverent fun along the way.
In the spirit of that mix of fun and dedication, please join us for our first event: DC BRAS! Sunday, March 4 from 4-7pm, the ladies of LUPEC will be at The Passenger for a special fundraiser to benefit breast cancer research, sponsored by D.C. Brau and Macchu Pisco. With drinks on special and D.C. Brau beer on tap, prepare to watch the ladies mix up a 6.6 gallon Pisco Sour to celebrate the end of Pisco month with Macchu Pisco. Oh, and bra decorating. I said irreverent, didn’t I? Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
We Love Arts: Civilization (all you can eat)
Photo: Stan Barouh
As the sun rises on the stage of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s “Civilization (all you can eat)”, we are shown a farm full of animals. A group of pigs sleep soundly as dawn breaks. All appears well by the barn.
Except this isn’t any ordinary farm- it’s a slaughterhouse.
As the pigs sleep and play, unaware of their impending doom, one pig rises above the rest. Known as Big Hog (Sarah Marshall), this not so little piggy demonstrates an awareness above the rest of the herd and has a plan for freedom.
And thus starts Jason Grote’s world premiere of “Civilization”- his take on the values of America prior to the 2008 election. Grote examines the ideas of consumption, commercialization, and the inner struggle to succeed through several interconnected characters.
David (Daniel Escobar), is a struggling actor who gains notoriety after starring in a funny but crude Twix ad campaign. The commercials were directed by his friend Zoe (Tia James) who hopes to make the leap from ad work to feature films. Also working to make a name for herself is David’s friend Karen (Jenna Sokolowski), who dreams of becoming a reality TV star. Zoe’s husband Mike (Sean Meehan) is an aspiring motivational speaker who hopes to find the answer to the universe through chaos theory. Mike’s sister Carol (Naomi Jacobson) is struggling to make ends meet which has forced her daughter Jade (Casie Platt) to try her hand in amateur porn.
Their stories are intertwined along with Big Hog’s escape from the slaughterhouse in a series of scenes that are broken up with interludes of choreographed movement that depict a society that is always moving, yet the individuals inside it sometimes struggle to keep up.
Grote’s collection of stories come together to form a view of a lost America that knows that they want to make a difference in the world- but are having difficulty trying to find the way to do that. While entertaining and striking, the impact of Grote’s message is loss through a narrative that is a mixed bag in regards to impact.
Capital Chefs: Ari Gejdenson of Acqua al 2 (Part 2)
Pasta with beef ragu at Acqua al 2
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Clearly I’ve been on a bit of an Italian food kick lately. As well as a ragu binge. But is there anything better than a huge, warm pot of zesty, savory tomato sauce cooking away while it’s cold outside? Chef Ari Gejdenson’s recipe for beef ragu at Acqua al 2 is simple and delicious. Click through for the full recipe.
Capital Chefs: Ari Gejdenson of Acqua al 2 (Part 1)
Chef Ari Gejdenson of Acqua al 2
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Watching executive chef Ari Gejdenson swiftly expedite plates at Acqua al 2, you’d never guess that he was previously an international soccer player and that the sport was what got him into the restaurant industry. For starters, playing soccer allowed the young chef to travel and be exposed to all different kinds of cuisines in foreign countries. And it was soccer that took Ari to Florence where he began his unorthodox journey to the kitchen. Not long after moving to Italy, he wound up opening Ari’s Diner, an American-style eatery. “I saw a gap and that it was something that was needed in Florence,” he says, adding that a lot of the clientele were American students who were studying abroad.
For Ari, playing soccer and running a restaurant aren’t so different, as he explains that in both arenas your job is to entertain people. “These homesick kids would come in[to the diner] upset. And they would come to this place that reminded them of home and they’d leave happy,” he says. “The whole idea of bringing people into a moment by heightening their tastes was what made me want to become a chef.” At Acqua al 2, you can see him work the room with ease, transitioning from calling out food orders to the kitchen to shaking hands and hugging regular customers.
After running Ari’s Diner with his childhood friend, Ralph Lee, who is a co-owner of Acqua al 2 in Eastern Market, Ari started working at the original Acqua al 2 in Florence and eventually served as the chef for several years there. Gejdenson says it’s hard to be in Italy and not get swept up in the incredibly rich food culture. “The passion for food in Italy is a different thing. You’d have to have a blindfold on not to notice,” he says. After years of living and working in Florence, the Washington native returned home to open the second U.S. location of Acqua al 2.
Food Truck Tracker
Capmac DC Food Truck
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Food trucks. Go find ’em.
Continue reading
James Beard Foundation Semi-Finalists Announced
Birch & Barley
courtesy of Samer Farha
Well, look at you, DC. Getting nominated for a bunch of James Beard Foundation awards. Now I know we’re not in the home stretch yet, but a fantastic line up of chefs and restaurants from the DC area have made it to the JBF semi-finals. Click through for the full list.
Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
Drinks Special: ArtBar’s Moonshine
Cocktail, Art and Soul
courtesy of Jenn Larsen
ArtBar at the Liaison Capitol Hotel is one of those places I wish I could get to more often. Helmed by 2011 ARTINI champion Ronald Flores, it has a quirky vibe at the intersection of tourist and Hill trades, with the added benefit of Art and Soul’s nouveau country menu. Fellow WLDC author Tricia Barba (disclosure: Tricia also works at the hotel’s administrative office), convinced me to stop in and sample their new seasonal bar program, highlighting “modern moonshine.” We sat down with general manager Patrick Chiappetta as Flores walked us through the crafting of three cocktails, mixed and served in jelly jars.
Jelly jars? Very pantry to table.
“Modern moonshine” is just a sexy moniker for un-aged corn or rye whiskey, also known as white or silver whiskey, prepared legally by micro distillers now legitimizing a craft most often associated with bootleggers operating under the cover of darkness. ArtBar is featuring un-aged whiskey like Prichard’s Lincoln County Lightning, infused with fruits and herbs, then mixed up into cocktails highlighting tastes of the transition from winter to spring. Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
We Love Arts: The Language Archive
(Photo: Melissa Blackall)
What we have here with Julia Cho’s “The Language Archive” is a failure to communicate. George (Mitchell Hébert) is a master linguist yet doesn’t have the words to convey the thoughts that swirl around in his head and the emotions inside his heart. His wife Mary (Nanna Ingvarsson) has been driven to tears (lots of tears) with their marriage and has resorted to hiding passive aggressive notes of “bad poetry” lamenting about the situation. Meanwhile George’s lab assistant Emma (Katie Atkinson) has feelings for her boss and struggles with the decision to tell George how she feels about him. At the center of it all are Resten (Edward Christian) and Alta (Kerri Rambow), a married couple that are the last two speakers of a dying language. George and Emma are tasked with the job of documenting the language for posterity- better said than done when the long-married couple decide to stop talking to each other.
Forum Theatre’s production of The Language Archive has a sitcom premise, but the comedy is smarter than most Heigl-esque dreck.
By Mickey
We Love Music: Dead Milkmen @ U Street Music Hall, 2/18/12
The Dead Milkmen, Philadelphia’s top punk export, stunned a sold-out crowd at U Street Music Hall with the nervy verve of their declarations against mainstream America along with an amazingly acute understanding of their musical niche and a nod to DC hardcore punkers Fugazi.
Rodney Anonymous and crew tore through about 30 3-minute musical selections in a show at U Street Music Hall on Saturday, Feb. 18, to a largely respectful crowd who formed perhaps the most civil mosh pit in history at the front of the stage as the show reached its halfway point. By its halfway point, the Dead Milkmen had dispensed with some of their comparatively polite standards like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Methodist Coloring Book,” which thumb their nose as social acceptance, as well as new song “Fauxhemia,” which rails gently against things people are “supposed” to like, such as NPR. These songs, while rooted firmly in the Dead Milkmen catalog, hit their targets with a bit more of a slap upside the head than a kick in the ass. Continue reading
Food Truck Tracker
Food Truck @ Truckeroo 4
courtesy of GuidedbyTim
The sting of returning to work after a three-day weekend. Ease the pain with lunch from a food truck.
Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
Don’t Sweat Aircraft Patrols in VA
Reno 2007-337.jpg
courtesy of Ack Ook
Via Jalopnik and the Washington Examiner, Virginia residents don’t need to sweat the dreaded “speeding ticket via plane” in Virginia, mostly because the state doesn’t think it’s worth the $150/hr cost of keeping spotter planes in the air. Instead, they’re just going to keep nabbing you via squad car, and in some parts of the state, speed camera.
I always thought it would be hilarious/awesome to see the Air National Guard field a couple of A-10 Warthogs as speeding spotter aircraft. A few barrages from the Avenger 30mm cannon would pretty much stop all speed limit violation in the entire state.
By Brian Mosley
Featured Photo
Woodrow Wilson bridge
courtesy of vpickering
With the reflective surface of the Potomac, Victoria was able to get the colors of the Wilson Bridge’s lights in the river. And since it’s a long exposure, the movement of the Potomac gives the reflection a fascinating blurred look which draws the eye upward to the structure; all those vertical lines in the water point to the horizontal line of the bridge. Truly a fascinating shot, of a relatively simple form.
By Alexia
We Love Music: Zola Jesus @ U Street Music Hall, 2/16/12
Synth-chamber-electronic songstress Zola Jesus and her band performed to an enthusiastic crowd at U Street Music Hall Thursday night. They were supported by openers Talk Normal, a female experimental rock duo from Brooklyn who are accompanying them on much of their tour. They are in the midst of a US tour before heading over to Europe at the end of March.
This was the third time singer Nika Roza Danilova, who performs as Zola Jesus, had played in DC. Previously she has toured as on opener for acts including The XX and in Europe toured with Fever Ray. Her music is dark, moody, heavily electronic, with some piano and strings mixed in, with dramatic vocals. At times it brings to mind Massive Attack, other times Fever Ray, even hints of Kate Bush, but Danilova’s vocals are the unique element of her music. Continue reading
By Tricia Barba
First Look: Sixth Engine
Photo Courtesy Justin Cook
Like most people, I was excited to try out Sixth Engine, with a lot of the appeal coming from its setting: a historic firehouse house built in 1855 and the oldest in Washington, DC. Located north of Chinatown in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood, Sixth Engine serves modern American cuisine and comes to us from the team behind Capitol Hill’s The Dubliner Irish Pub.
I went there last week and even though it was freezing outside, the place was packed. Owner Gavin Coleman and team did a great job with the decor, though I wish the second floor didn’t feel so separate from the first: think doors, steps, and more doors. The industrial feel was appreciated albeit expected, and the furnishings and fixtures added to that historic appeal.
The food different story. Before I get to the negatives, the wine menu was uninspired and pricey, so I went for a regular cocktail instead and everything I tried was pretty good, so maybe the trick is to treat Sixth Engine more like a bar. The menu had many different options — it isn’t often that you see spaetzle on the same menu as a linguine. The prices were average (still on the high side) for the neighborhood, though more than worth it if the food turned out to be stellar. Unfortunately, that was far from the case.
Continue reading