Category Archives: The Daily Feed

Life in the Capital, Media, News, People, The Daily Feed
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…And the Housewives Are?

Photo courtesy of
‘Cosmos Club’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Carol Joynt of the New York Social Dairy thinks that she may know who the “Real” Housewives of DC will be.  Based on her inside knowledge, she has a list of five socialites that are likely to be on Bravo’s upcoming reality show.  The ladies in question are: Mia Abdo, supposedly one of DC’s best dressed; Mary Amons, founder of “District Sample Sale”; Lynda Erkiletain, owner of DC’s top modeling agency (we have modeling agencies?); Michaela Salahi, a former model and wife of a wealthy vintner; and Lisa Spies, wife of Republican fundraiser Charlie Spies. That fact that I’ve only heard of one of these women is a badge that I wear with honor.  Hopefully, reality TV will leave us alone sooner rather than later.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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I Don’t Mean To Start Something, But…

Photo courtesy of
‘weenie beenie hdr’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

I almost feel like I have to. This morning as I left my client’s office in Anacostia and drove (yes, I know, Car-Free Day, blah blah blah) back to my roost in Fairlington, I felt the urge to try something new for lunch. I’d heard tell of the Weenie Beenie being home to one of the DC area’s best half-smokes, but I always wrote it off. That little place, across from the Day Labor center? How could that place be any good? It’s a walk-up, for cry-eye.

Oh, how I was wrong.

This statement is controversial, and I feel it may need more basis in evidence, but I have come away thinking that this might just be the best half-smoke in town. I almost feel like there needs to be a side-by-side taste-test with Ben’s to prove it, but I’m thinking that the Weenie Beenie may yet rule the roost.

Who’s with me?

Arlington, Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Celebrate the Clizzledizzle

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_0303’
courtesy of ‘|

Slip on your brown flip flops, because this Saturday is the 12th Annual Clarendon Day, an event celebrating Arlington’s original downtown. The festival, to be held rain or shine on September 26 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., will feature all kinds of Arlington loving.

There will be magic and puppet shows, a Doggy Splash Pool, skateboard demos, electric cars, art booths and of course, my favorite, food from more than 15 restaurants, including The Liberty Tavern, Willow, Whitlow’s on Wilson, Mexicali Blues, and Tallula/EatBar. You can even catch GoRemy, the Arlington Rapper, emceeing the event, which is probably pretty epic in person.

Just beware of people packing heat and boat shoes.

The Daily Feed
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Free BurgerZ Tonight

Photo courtesy of
‘Z Burger Freeburger Night’
courtesy of KStreetKate.net

Yesterday, K Street Kate shared with us why she loves DC. Today, she shares dinner. All you need is the secret password… (shhh… “K Street Kate”).

Z Burger Tenley Town is giving away free burgers tonight from 5-7 p.m., courtesy of K Street Kate. Check out the HUGE burger invitation. And while you’re there, check out the new speciality “Obama Burger”, and let us know how it is!

Milkshakez (over 80 kindz!), friez, onion ringz, cheesesteakz, hot dogz, BURGERZ… Z Burger is located at 4321 Wisconsin Avenue. Thanks Miz Kate!

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Franconia-Springfield Loses Parking

DSC_1665

If you’re a Blue Liner and take Metro from the Franconia station, get ready to fight for parking at the garage. As many commuters who use the station are aware, the Metro garage is about to undergo a major rehabilitation project. WMATA issued a press release announcing that the first phase of construction will begin on Thursday, October 1. Up to 220 spaces will be “lost” over the next twenty months of repair as concrete deterioration is replaced, treated with sealant, and parking spaces restriped.

Check the press release for a whole list of options to park; most of them are free alternatives but do require some walking.

Music, The Daily Feed
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New Album from Le Loup

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Local band Le Loup‘s second album was released today, called Family. One of the songs off the album was featured on the most recent “All Songs Considered” podcast, with a mention that their live shows were absolutely amazing. I’ve never seen them, but apparently they usually set up right in the middle of the floor to completely get rid of the distinction between band and audience. They are touring for Family starting in October, but won’t loop (heh) around to DC until their last tour date in the beginning of November.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro Gets More Money

Photo courtesy of
‘YIP 228 – Things you don’t want to see in the Metro’
courtesy of ‘(afm)’

The US Senate passed a $122 billion transportation, housing and urban development funding bill recently that has $150 million earmarked for Metro. The Senate bill has language that requires Metro to put safety as its first priority when determining what projects to pursue, including implementing the recommendations of the NTSB. (The NTSB has suggested replacing the oldest rail cars, installing guardrails at curved sections and installing equipment that warns track workers and operators of approaching trains.)

The real question is, will WMATA be so enamored from the infusion of cash that they’ll reason it out to fill their widening budget gap, or will they actually listen this time?

The Daily Feed
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Code of Conduct Coming for Council

Photo courtesy of
‘Law Books’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Council Chair Vincent Gray wants to see the DC City Council adopt a new Code of Conduct, the kind that might prevent this summer’s fracas with Marion Barry’s ex. The bill will be proposed as emergency legislation to get it quickly through the system. I hadn’t realized that the Council rules hadn’t permitted for a censure or reprimand of Councilman Barry, as deserving as he was, simply because there is no reprimand process for members of the council. I suspect that’s on the agenda as well.

I would suggest a rule for the Council to think about:

Any councilperson caught giving no-show grants to people they’re involved with has to do the truffle shuffle in Freedom Plaza with their pants around their ankles while Tom Sherwood and Kojo Nnamdi narrate it for the radio listeners.

The Daily Feed
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Your water rates are going up

Photo courtesy of
‘Falling Water’
courtesy of ‘photo_secessionist (really under the weather)’

If you’re a DC resident you can expect to pay more for your water & sewer soon. Starting October 1 the rate charged for the consumption of 100 cubic feet of water will go up about 9%. Water use will go from $2.30 to $2.51 and sewer – which is billed based on water consumption – will go from $3.31 to $3.61, making the total cost for 100 cubic feet of water use $6.11.

The “impervious surface area charge,” which attempts to figure out how big a share of the storm runoff you should be responsible for, is making a jump of 77% from $1.24 to $2.20 per month per “equivalent residential unit.” You can find your ERU on your bill.

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Go Car-Free Tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of
‘SmartBikes have arrived!’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

As a native of the Western United States, I grew up with the belief that roads and cars were not just the way to get around, they were a birth-right not entirely unlike the right to vote. Silly, I know, but when you’re 30 miles from the nearest decent place to get a pair of jeans and Amazon.com hasn’t been invented yet, it’s not hard to figure out why they’re necessary. In much of DC, though, it’s easy to get around by Metrorail (that is when the trains are running) or Metrobus (when they’re not hitting people) so if you only occasionally give up your car for public transit, consider going car-free tomorrow.

There’s going to be a big Car-Free party at 7th & F Street in Penn Quarter, with all kinds of events. In addition, the Fojol Brothers, the Spy Cafe Cart and On-The-Fly will be selling tasty lunch options, and there’s going to be a ton of giveaways. Give it a look.

The Daily Feed
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Election board to discuss anti-gay marriage ballot initiative

Photo courtesy of
‘Capital Pride Parade’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Friday’s DC Register has an announcement about  a scheduled public hearing by the Board of Elections and Ethics. On October 26th they’ll meet and listen to input on a proposed initiative, “Marriage Initiative of 2009.” It’s the usual anti-gay marriage boilerplate: an effort to put in the DC code the text “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the District of Columbia.” The board will have to decide if this is something that actually can go on the ballot as an initiative and if it’s appropriate.

Personally I  think the issue is a simple one: do you think civil rights should be up for popular vote? My vote is no, and I, like a lot of people, would expect that anyone who gets to sit in the front of the bus or at the lunch counter would agree. However that’s not the case and WaPo had an interesting article in this weekend’s edition about the stark difference in opinion on gay marriage when you view answers in the District along racial lines. It’s worth a read.

If you want to speak at the Election board hearing you can find contact information in the public hearings section of the Sep 18th DC register.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Great American Dine Out This Week

Photo courtesy of
‘proof.glass’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Through Saturday, September 26, every time you eat at one of the (roughly 75, according to my search) participating restaurants in the DC area, they will donate a portion of the proceeds to fight childhood hunger. Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out seems like as good an excuse as any to check out Proof, Georgia Brown’s, or even hit up Bruegger’s one more time this week. But then, do we really ever need an excuse for good food?

The Daily Feed
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Non-Applebees need not apply

Photo courtesy of
‘Every Food Fits – Fitting Alcohol into a Balanced Diet’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Advisory Neighborhood Committee 5B10 wants to clamp down on alcohol sales along Bladensburg Road in NE, so if you want to put in a restaurant along there, well, you’d better have a big conglomerate behind you.

There’s actually two parts behind the request that will be discussed in a public hearing on October 21st from 1 to 3pm; The first part is probably a little more palatable to people, though I think it more negatively impacts the poor. The ANC would like to put a stop to all single sales of alcohol in their area, with the goal of cutting back on “litter, public drunkenness, and loitering.”

The second is more troublesome, I think: they’d like an ongoing moratorium “to prohibit any restaurant that is not a part of an established chain of restaurants from obtaining any temporary, conditional or permanent license to serve and sell alcoholic beverages of any kind on its premises.” Precisely what constitutes “an established chain of restaurants” is unclear and will presumably be hashed out in the public hearing, but I’d say it seems like a rather unpleasant restriction on local entrepreneurship.

News, The Daily Feed
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Generous George’s Closes

Photo courtesy of
‘meaty goodness’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Sadly, an icon of my childhood is no more.  Generous George’s Positive Pizza and Pasta Place closed the doors of its Alexandria restaurant for good, on Sunday. Fortunately,  George’s maintains a second location, in Herndon, which will stay open.  The legend will live on, even if the more convenient location doesn’t. When I was younger, Generous George’s was a frequent after-church lunch spot for my family and I.  I honestly haven’t been back in years, so I can’t really say whether the place was good or not, but to my 11-year old taste buds, the pizza was excellent.  Plus, the individual pitchers of soda were awesome.  Farewell, Alexandria location of Generous Georges’s Positive Pizza and Pasta Place.  You will be missed

The Daily Feed
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Only Dim Wits Think the Skins Stunk

Redskins Game 1 022
Photo courtesy of Amanda Wolfe

The Redskins players think you are bad fans. They won, ok? It’s not like they were playing one of the worst teams in football, have an enormous payroll, charge you ridiculously high ticket prices and bombard you with never ending commercial or brand promotions during a game at Fedex! Your only job as a fan is to pat them on the back no matter what.

The Skins “won” yesterday 9-7 over the St. Louis Rams. But I was there and I still have no idea how they actually won. The play calling was miserable! How many times can you run Portis up the middle in the red zone and expect them to not have their nearly last ranked defense ready for it? How many times can Moss drop or fumble the ball and be completely worthless? Jason, what the hell was that play in the end-zone where you didn’t want to get rid of the ball and were only inches away from taking a safety and completely killing all momentum after the fumble recovery? If you, like me, booed the Redskins’ performance on Sunday, you, sir, are a “DIM WIT”. According to Linbeback Robert Henson, at least. He even tweeted it!

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Turkish Restaurant Week in DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Photo of Real Hummus’
courtesy of ‘foodistablog’

Close on the heels of my post about great prix fixe meals in the city (all for less than $35) comes Turkish Restaurant Week, where you can snag a delicious 4-course meal for only $25. The deal runs from today through September 26th as part of the 2009 Turkish Festival.

So where can you snag some delicious mezze for cheap? My choice would be Levante’s in Dupont Circle, because they have some crazy delicious bread. Rosemary Thyme would also be a front runner. For a full list of participating restaurants and menus, ATA-DC has you covered.

For more on the entire ATA-DC Turkish Festival, slated for October 4, head over to the 2009 Festival site.

Adventures, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Night Life, The Daily Feed, The District, The Hill
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Half Way To St. Patty’s Day Celebration

Photo courtesy of
‘Don’t Have Any Words at the Moment’
courtesy of ‘marciadc’

I’m guessing that even if you’re Irish, you probably didn’t realize that tomorrow is the halfway mark to 2010’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

If you’d like to celebrate this VERY special occasion, have a pint or you’re just looking for a good time, check out the St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Kelly’s Irish Times and the Dubliner tomorrow.  Festivities begin at 4pm and last until 12pm with drink specials, raffle prizes and live music.

Entry is $5 in advance, $7 if you’re sporting green and $10 if you just want in at the door, and can be bought through Lindy Promotions.

Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Talk Like a Pirate

 Photo courtesy of
‘Skull and cross bones pirate flag’
courtesy of ‘baltine’

I just wanted to remind you all that tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day. I realize that this isn’t strictly DC interest, but since it is an international holiday, it does apply to our fair city.  So, please, bust out the “yarrs” and “avasts” and enjoy this yearly excuse to call other people “wenches.”

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Delonte West Pulled Over With Three Guns on Beltway

Photo courtesy of
‘A shotgun story’
courtesy of ‘tombothetominator’

Okay, I get that people need to transport guns all over the place, and I definitely support their second amendment right to do so, but there’s appropriate ways to do it, and then there’s stupid ways to do it. This is a blog post, so you can guess which way Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers chose to do it.

That’s right. He was carrying a handgun in his waistband, another on his ankle, and he had a shotgun in his guitar case. And he was on his motorcycle on the beltway when he was pulled over for erratic driving. He will face charges for carrying a handgun while driving come November. Apparently the police decided his shotgun in a guitar case doesn’t face a charge. Seriously, why don’t these people hire someone to transport their weapons for them safely? This is such a no-brainer. Why the hell would you need to carry three guns on your motorcycle? Isn’t a sedan more appropriate? Then you can put them in cases so they don’t go off inside your pants, Plaxico Burress-style.