Monthly Archives: April 2012

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Bruins Beat Caps in OT, 1-0


Photo courtesy of cerebusfangirl
Tim Thomas making the save
courtesy of cerebusfangirl

The Bruins’ Chris Kelly scored 78 seconds into overtime to give the Boston Bruins a victory in the first game of the best-of-seven playoff series. Rookie goaltender Braden Holtby played an outstanding game, making tremendous saves throughout regulation, but was beaten on the first shot he faced in overtime.

“It was a chess game out there and we battled hard,” said coach Dale Hunter after the game. “Unfortunately it was a perfect shot inside the post that won the game.” Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals win 3-2 on a wild pitch

Nationals Park Scoreboard

The Nationals won in extra innings today, notching a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in ten innings. Craig Stammen picked up his first win of the season, and Alfredo Simon for the Reds picked up the loss on a wild pitch that scored Ryan Zimmerman with two outs in the bottom of the 10th. 

The home opener is a beautiful thing. You know you’re going to get a primed crowd, you hope you’re going to get good weather, and just about everyone is happy to be there and full of hopes for the team. The Nationals had all of that going for them when stepped on the field amid the screams of F-18s overhead and a brass band playing in the infield. The last strains of the National Anthem shredded by so much jet noise, the Nationals took the field with high hopes off a 4-2 road trip and sitting atop the NL East early in the season.  On the mound for them, Gio Gonzalez, whose last outing had at least one member of the press corps wondering if he might not be the biggest question mar of the season.

Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: April 13 – 15

Photo courtesy of ajemm
It’s Almost Opening Day
courtesy of ajemm

Huzzard: Like the song goes it has been a long, cold, lonely winter, and while the sun might not be out in full force and heat today the boys of Summer will take the field at Nats Park. As for my weekend it all starts…RIGHT NOW!!! This afternoon I am headed down to Nats Park to enjoy the glories and traditions of Opening Day. But that is only the start. Tomorrow I get to head out on my first baseball assignment of the year for this very site to cover some of the new food offerings at the park and the Friday the 13th game of Jordan Zimmermann vs. Bronson Arroyo. Then Saturday I once again head out to the park back in fanmode to collect a Stephen Strasburg bobble head and enjoy the third game in the four game series between the Nats and Reds. As far as Sunday goes, this might be the week to use it as intended, a day of rest, or to head down to the farm and see what the P-Nats are up to.

Photo courtesy of pablo.raw
On the bridge III
courtesy of pablo.raw

Tom: This weekend we’re off to the second city to visit with some internet friends, but with weather like we’re expecting here, color me jealous of those of you who stay behind. I’d be riding the Beach Drive trail for its incredible scenic value in the Spring, or reliving 2002 with All-American Rejects at the 9:30 Club. Saturday also is Growler Hours day in Ward 5, as it is each week, and I’m sorta geeked out by the idea of Chocolate City’s First Coast Bohemian Pils. Sadly, that’ll have to wait a week.

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The Features
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Yuri’s Night is tonight!

Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Science on a Sphere / Yuri’s Night at Goddard
courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

51 years ago tonight, not entirely knowing that he’d survive, Yuri Gagarin was strapped to the top of a rocket and went up in a capsule and orbited the Earth, the first man to do it. It was a pretty ballsy thing to do, both for the Russians, and for Gagarin. It changed the course of the space race, and as much as Sputnik kickstarted the rocket industry, Gagarin kickstarted the race to the moon.

That means it’s time to party, and Yuri’s Night in DC means a bunch of great events to celebrate the crazy dream to head outside the atmosphere. There are events at Continental in Rosslyn, Science Club downtown, The Dunes in Columbia Heights, Blue Banana in Petworth and Lucky Bar in Dupont. Events include a Lego spaceship contest at Science Club, space-themed video walls, and DJs at a number of the events.

Saturday, you can celebrate with the big bash at Artisphere, which will have live music, an art exhibition, and space burlesque. Because, really, what kind of awesome space-themed party would it be without Pinkie Special (site may be NSFW) and the Atomic Mosquitos? Don’t miss the art exhibit, 2012: Elevator to the Moon, which has work by Dana Ellyn, Scott Brooks, Todd Gardner, Emily Green Liddle and others, and looks phenomenal.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, and don’t forget your deely bobbers.

Sports Fix
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What to look forward to at Nats Park

Photo courtesy of flipperman75
Nationals Park Sunset
courtesy of flipperman75

For baseball fans, the park is the compass that we orient ourselves with; it sets the stage, its orthogonal lines and sloping curves like a map before the spectator serving as guidepost and direction. As baseball returns to Nationals Park, some things are the same, some have changed, and we’re here to get you ready for Opening Day and beyond.  While much remains the same on South Capitol Street, there’ve been some changes that you should be ready for.

Half Street

First up is Half Street, most fans’ entrance to the park, and the home of the Metro. This winter, the western side of Half Street was revamped entirely and is now home to the Half Street Fairgrounds, which is patterned after Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market. The space that was formerly the Bullpen and Das Bullpen will be augmented by the presence of food trucks, beer stands, and places to congregate and relax ahead of, and following, each game. The industrial feel matches the construction that has languished in the area thanks to the economy’s slow recovery, and the decor includes shipping containers.  One friend said of the new architecture, though, that she was taking her evening job in the other direction, and on off-days I don’t expect this place looks quite the same. We’ll have to see what the season brings. You should also consider a longterm stay RV park when traveling long distances.

Photo courtesy of afagen
Nationals Park
courtesy of afagen

New Ticket Options

The Nationals have a couple new ticket options for fans this season. Weekends are big at Nats Park, and there are two options for weekend games to pique your interest.  Thursday and Fridays, Burger Pack tickets get you into the Upper Outfield Gallery and Outfield Reserve sections, as well as vouchers for a burger, some fries and a soda for $20-29 depending on where you seat and who’s in town.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are Miller Light Party Nights in center field, with Scoreboard Pavilion seats running $25-27, but coming with a pair of drink coupons good for a soda, a bottled water, or a beer at the Scoreboard Walk bar.  Neither offer is good for games against the Yankees, but other than that the rest of the season is fair game.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Fourth Annual Cochon 555 Comes to DC

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Pork at Cochon
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

The pork craze on the food scene may have quieted down a little bit, but that probably doesn’t (and shouldn’t) change anyone’s feelings about bacon, pork rinds, pork loin or any other delicious part of the hog. So to get quell your pork cravings, Cochon 555 is making its fourth annual stop in DC on April 22nd at The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.

This year’s competing chef lineup includes last year’s DC “prince of porc,” Scott Drewno from The Source by Wolfgang Puck, returning competitor Ed Witt from 701 Restaurant, as well as new competitors Mike Isabella from Graffiato, Wes Morton from Art and Soul, and Nicholas Stefanelli from Bibiana. The way it works is all five chefs prepare dishes using parts of heritage breed pigs from snout to tail, and you, dear attendee, get to feast on all of it. When all is said and done, one of our DC chefs will go on to compete against other chefs from around the country at the Grand Cochon event at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen in June.

Additionally, you’ll get to sample wines from five family wineries, as well as beers from Anchor Brewing and other spirits.   And just in case the dishes from the competition weren’t enough for you, Bourbon Steak’s Adam Sobel will be preparing a whole BBQ hog–you know, just in case you feel peckish. Those of you who enjoy wielding knives and playing Iron Chef in your kitchen when no one’s looking can check out a butchering demo from Wagshal Market’s Pamela Ginsberg.

Tickets can be purchased online for $125 per person or $200 for VIP tickets with early admission at 4 PM and access to “welcome cocktails” and oysters from Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC. The 2012 Cochon 555 in DC starts at 5 PM on Sunday, April 22nd at The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Seraphin Shines In Wizards Win Over Superman-less Magic

Photo courtesy of BrianMKA
Kevin Seraphin dunk
courtesy of BrianMKA

Coming into tonight’s final game against the Magic this season Washington was 0-3 against Orlando. However thanks to a career performance from Kevin Seraphin (and a Dwight Howard-less Magic team) the Wizards pulled out their second win in a row 93-85. Tonight’s win follows a victory against the hapless Charlotte Bobcats Monday night.

Without Nene and Trevor Booker both out with  plantar fasciitis, the Wizards have leaned on big man Seraphin more in recent games and he has responded well. He led the team with a career high 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the win.

Also in the mix were Jordan Crawford (21) and John Wall (15). Jameer Nelson led the Magic with 19 points.

After the Magic took a 29-18 lead in the first quarter, the Wizards hung on tying the game at halftime and breaking away with 10 minutes left in the final quarter thanks to a bank shot from Seraphin.

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Entertainment, Media, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Creators of “Texts From Hillary” Meet Clinton, Receive Special “Text”

In an interesting turn for The Internet’s Latest Meme: Texts From Hillary,  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited the Meme’s creators to meet with her and receive her own submission for the site.

The tumblr, which collects and produces fictional text conversations between celebrities and Secretary Clinton, has been burning up the web ever since it was created last Wednesday. Adam Smith, the Communications Director of campaign-finance nonprofit Public Campaign, says that it’s been a crazy week ever since.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Drinks
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Event (P)Review: On the Town with Dale DeGroff

Dale DeGroff 1
All photos by the author

Dale DeGroff returns Thursday night for what I’ve been told is a bigger and better On the Town show, this time featuring pianist Dan Ruskin. This article, originally published last year, is a good preview for this year’s show.

The fact that you probably already know what a Cosmopolitan cocktail is, and most likely even have a mental picture of the sort of person you imagine would drink it, owes its existence to King Cocktail. Widely credited as the bartender who made it popular (if not ubiquitous) from behind the bar at the Rainbow Room in the 1980s, DeGroff has a long history both with his leg up in front of the bar and as the all-seeing, all-hearing master of ceremonies behind it. The “On the Town” seminar is a chance for him to tell a sample of the stories he has collected – or been a part of – since he moved to New York four decades ago.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Support the 16th Annual Dining Out for Life

You dine out. You like to volunteer and support good causes. And once again this year, you can do both in one evening.

On Thursday, April 26th, nearly 140 restaurants in the DC area will be participating in the sixteenth annual Dining Out for Life event, benefitting Food & Friends. Restaurants donate anywhere from 25 to 110 percent of their profits from the evening to the local charity that provides meals and counseling to clients in the region who are living with HIV/AIDS, cancer or other life-challenging illnesses.

If you want to do more to help Food & Friends, sign up to be a Restaurant Ambassador. You’ll help spread the word about the event, greet and thank diners on the 26th and raise funds.

Last year’s Dining Out for Life raise more than $240,000 for Food & Friends. For more information about the event, go to www.foodandfriends.org/dol.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of Joe in DC
F Street
courtesy of Joe in DC

A nice street-scape, where the very people walking along are part of the scenery. This shot, done by Joe, is something that we all see everyday. It just takes someone to take the picture for us to stop and notice the beauty. Take that moment now and look: the light is soft and low in the sky, casting long, expressive shadows. The people and cars are arrayed in a random pattern which fills the shot just right. And the picture is wide enough that you can see the lines of the brick sidewalk; a sidewalk made of multiple different colored bricks. Most definitely a photo worth seeing.

The Daily Feed
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WWE Raw Comes to the Verizon Center

Photo courtesy the author

Fresh off one of the best WrestleMania events in recent memory, the WWE Superstars invaded a packed Verizon Center last night for their weekly RAW Supershow. The boisterous crowd was on their game, filling the air with several “yes! yes! yes!” chants (for Daniel Bryan) and dueling “let’s go Cena” “Cena sucks” cheers.

Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Arias with a Twist

Joey Arias in Arias with a Twist. Photo by Steven Menendez

Woolly’s Arias with a Twist is Arias as in Joey Arias, drag performer, and Basil Twist as in puppets. The show is visually stunning on every level – the lighting, costumes, sets, and oh my, the puppetry – the puppetry is superb. And I was bored through almost all of it.

Which is so disappointing. I love a good, campy, drag show. I love live music and cover songs. But it would have taken a step up for me to make it to underwhelmed by the experience as a whole. We got more enjoyment after the show from ranking which other theater would be more or less likely to show someone feliating a puppet. [For the record, we had no consensus on most likely, but National was the winner for least probable]

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Dear Bikeshare Dad

Bikeshare for Dad and Baby

Photo by Marvin Joseph, Washington Post

You might have seen yesterday’s long-form piece on the transformation of Mount Vernon Triangle, a neighborhood making the transition from parking lots and empty lots to being a vibrant part of the fabric of the city. You should read the whole piece if you haven’t. But I want to talk about this excerpt from Marvin Joseph’s photo of construction in the area. 

The full photo, available here, is a picture of construction along K Street between 3rd & 7th Streets NW, but it features this dad and child on Bikeshare. Now, I’m no believer in sheltered youth, I’m going to be the sort of parent that sends Johnny and Janie out to play outside as much as possible, and when they get boo-boos, there will be requisite fawning over their injuries – but also praise and reward, for risk-taking can be a valuable skill.  However, I’m not sure that strapping your newborn to your chest, and hopping on a Bikeshare bike (sans-helmet, natch) is a great way to go through life.

But maybe that’s just me. What do you think? REI has a good guide to biking with your kids, so try that before you hit up Bikeshare with the Baby Björn.

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District, Ward 2, Ward 6
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New statue arrives atop Howard Theatre

New Sculpture arrives on Howard Theatre

photo by Sean Hennessey

The DPR mobile stage is up on T Street just south of Florida, and the rebuilt Howard Theatre is ready for people, but the last details are still coming together ahead of this morning’s dedication an opening. The ceremony, open to the public, begins at 11:30am, but at 8:30 this morning there was still a crane parked in front of the Howard Theatre. The  precious cargo being hoisted atop the famous façade is Brower Hatcher’s Jazz Man, an eight-foot metal-and-glass sculpture of a trumpet player.  In his hands, a trumpet crafted by DC artisan Sean Hennessey.

The Beaux Arts inspired Howard Theatre kicks off a week long extravaganza at 11:30am today with a dedication ceremony and public tour, with live music. Read our feature on the re-opening of this beautiful classic, and then head on over to check it out.

Howard Theatre
620 T Street NW
Washington DC
Metro: Green/Yellow Line at Shaw

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 4/6-4/8

Photo courtesy of vpickering
Drum Circle
courtesy of vpickering

Two for three isn’t bad! Baseball season has finally started and the Nationals are off to a really good start. I’m so excited! Oh, and I guess some other things happened this weekend: fireworks, pillow fights, and a major religious holiday. But nothing as big as the national pastime starting up for the year! But if you insist on seeing the other minor events of the weekend, pictures of them are below…and one last time: GO NATS! Continue reading →