Category Archives: The Daily Feed

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Fall to Rangers in Shootout

Photo courtesy of
‘Matt Hendricks’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
A late fluky goal led to a shootout loss for the Caps, marring an otherwise strong defensive performance and a stellar evening for Matt Hendricks last night at Verizon Center. The Caps took a precarious one-goal lead into the third period against the New York Rangers only to let victory slip away. The Rangers managed to tie the game late in the period, then outlasted the Caps in a high-scoring shootout to win 2-1.

The last time these two teams faced off in Madison Square Garden on December 12, the Rangers handed the Caps the worst pounding of painful 8-game losing streak. This time, the Caps showed up ready to play … except they forgot to shoot the puck. The registered only one shot on goal in the first 12 minutes of play, and only 11 shots through the first two periods. “We’ve been passing up shots to create plays,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “You score your goals by shooting the puck and going to the net.” Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Meet The Newest Washington Wizard: Mustafa Shakur

Photos courtesy DC Sports Bog

The Wizards were dangerously low on Point Guards heading into last Saturday’s game against the Boston Celtics. The night before Kurt Hinrich sustained an elbow injury and wouldn’t be able to play in the game. Late Friday night, the team decided to call up Mustafa Shakur from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Shakur arrived to the Verizon Center on Saturday and found an NBA jersey with his name and number on it.

However it wasn’t a perfect fit. That’s what you get when you are signed and asked to play within the same 24 hours.

That didn’t stop Shakur from making an immediate contribution, starting Point Guard John Wall ran into foul trouble early in the game and just like that Shakur would make his debut in the NBA.

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Music, New Category, The Daily Feed
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Dismemberment Plan for Newbies

Photo courtesy of
‘Dplan applause’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

No one wanted to leave last night’s Dismemberment Plan concert. I can totally understand why. Like many things about DC, I was late to the party.  I moved to DC as the band was at its Zenith, with Emergency & I a recent hit with the indie rock community, but my tastes tend toward more strophic rock and roll, rather than the frenetic unversed music of Travis Morrison and his cohorts. But, recognizing what an opportunity this was, I bought my ticket and stood in the packed balcony of the 9:30 Club last night for the last of the DC concerts.

The four-piece band played their fifth concert in as many nights, and looked totally at home on stage at the 9:30 Club before a sold out crowd that was deeply reverent of the Plan.  As far as the audience was concerned, these guys could do no wrong.  City Paper said of the show today, “D-Plan records are great because they’re personal. D-Plan shows are great because they’re communal. It’s all about the ritual.”

Right on.  As someone who went to figure out what it was that everyone was so excited about, and to understand a bit of DC’s rock history, it was an incredible glimpse into a band about which no one seems to utter a negative, or even merely apathetic, word.  Color me a fan of their live show, and now an owner of Emergency & I for future reminders.

Fashionable DC, News, The Daily Feed
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TheFashionMagpie: DC Readers Leery of the New “Sunday Style” Section in The Post

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

You may have noticed a change to your Washington Post this past weekend, and if you are like any of the Washingtonians that have commented on this modification, you are probably not happy about it.  The paper has split its arts and style sections, and D.C. residents will now receive a “Sunday Style” insert on Saturday mornings.  The insert will cover TV, music, fashion, and film, or as executive editor of the Post Marcus Brauchli put it in his explanation (defense?) of the new section, “the popular culture that shapes so many of our weekends.”

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Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Dismemberment Plan: a weekend in tweets

Photo

When Dismemberment Plan’s “Emergency & I” was first released in 1999, “tweet” was the sound a bird made. This weekend, as they played three reunion shows in our city’s finest venues (check back at 3 for Brittany’s review!), it became an often hilarious and sometimes poignant way for some fans to experience the event. Many of you might complain that in the age of smartphones, we’ve forgotten how to kick back and just enjoy the music. But as someone who spent Friday and Saturday night’s shows following along from home, and Sunday night’s show sending photos out to friends who couldn’t make it, I’d argue that there’s some communal value in the concert tweet. There’s room for poignancy, humor and nostalgia in those 140 characters, all of which were on display by some of DC’s tweeters this weekend. Below the jump, a collection of our favorites.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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First Look: DC Empanadas Food Truck

DC Empanadas Truck
DC Empanadas Truck
Courtesy of Bonappetitfoodie

Here’s what I really love about the food truck scene: one day I can get Indian curry, the next day an all-American, New England lobster roll and the next a delicious selection of Latin American empanadas. And even within the menu at DC Empanadas there’s diversity in the fillings–fruit and cheese, beans and rice, and some good ole meatballs, marinara and mozzarella.

DC Empanadas officially started rolling in the beginning of January and is further proof that frying something will only make it more delicious. I’ve made two trips to the truck so far and have subsequently devoured every little pocket of fried dough with hot fillings that I’ve gotten my hands on. The types of empanadas they offer change daily, so I’ve happily done some of the legwork for you and tried seven of them. Yes, seven–that’s about one-third of the menu. You’re welcome. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wall’s Last Second Shot Clinches A Shocker Over Celtics

Photo courtesy Patrick Pho

Yesterday I said the Wizards didn’t possess the perseverance to overcome a deficit in a Friday night loss to the Suns.

Last night they found it, and hung around to upset the Celtics in a thrilling 85-83 win.

There weren’t that many As to put up on the “Great Wall of Assists” (Wall had only four assists), in fact the sell-out crowd was so packed they couldn’t hang signs because there were too many standing room only patrons. John Wall ended a 16 point, 6 rebound game with a three-pointer with 57 seconds left in the game to put the Wizards on top for the first time all night. The team managed to hold on after the Celtic’s Paul Pierce tried for a last-second game winner of his own and missed.

“I felt good, got a great look- it just wasn’t my night,” the Celtics captain said post-game.

The game started with a 35-20 Boston lead in the first quarter and it started to feel like another bad night for the Wiz was in store. Washington dug deep and managed to hang around, battling their way throughout the night. After flirting within a point for most of the second half they managed to take the lead after the offense that kept Boston on top all night started to falter.

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capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Ovechkin Crushes Maple Leafs with Hat Trick

Photo courtesy of
‘Alex Ovechkin’
courtesy of ‘Dan4th’

In Canada, the big sport is ice hockey, and it doesn’t get any bigger than “Hockey Night in Canada” in Toronto. Think Monday Night Football in Dallas or Green Bay.

The Caps arrived in town to face the Maple Leafs after a couple of shaky road games and with a minor league goaltender. Alex Ovechkin, who loves a big stage – led the Caps to victory with a hat trick, and rookie goalie Braden Holtby stopped 36 shots as Washington defeated Toronto 4-1 on Saturday night.

None of Ovechkin’s goals were the type of highlight-reel material that Caps fans have come to expect from the Great 8. He scored on a tip in, a rebound, and an empty net. But the common thread was Ovi’s hustle, positioning and discipline – characteristics that are becoming the defining features of the 2011 Capitals. “It’s the only way we’re going to win,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “Grinding games out is what we’ve been doing lately. We’ll probably continue to do it. … It might not be the most exciting brand of hockey in the world, but everybody seems to like winning hockey these days, so that’s what we have to do.” Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wiz Can’t Stop Frye In Loss To Suns

Photo courtesy John Powell

You look at the roster of the Phoenix Suns and there are a few familiar names: Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Vince Carter. Combined the three have 41 years of NBA experience. Of course there are older teams in the league (tonight the Wizards take on the Celtics) but the point is that the Wizards are a very young team and their inexperienced showed in last night’s 109-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The game started off quite well for the Wizards. Washington got up 33-22 after the first quarter and John Wall already got himself nine assists. The Wizards looked dominant as the press raced to the record books to see if Wall was on a record pace in single game assists.

However the second quarter was a different story. The team was unable to keep the pace they set in the beginning and the Wizards let the Suns catch up and get ahead with the help of Channing Frye, who led the team with 25 points including a 7-11 effort at the 3-point line.

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The Daily Feed
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Tonight: Cool Dudes Hanging Out

Photo courtesy of
‘PFFFT!!!’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Tonight, the Velvet Lounge’s new comedy showcase, Cool Dudes Hanging Out, premieres featuring Jared Logan (in from NYC to headline), Jeff Maurer, Kara Klenk, Tyler Richardson, and Hillary Buckholtz, hosted by Branden Wardell. So you know, clearly this would be the unisex application of the word “dudes.” It’s billed as “a show for cool dudes,” and since you are reading We Love DC, I know you to be a cool dude. So apparently, this show is for you.

It’s $5 to get in, and the show starts at 7PM.

The Velvet Lounge is at 915 U St. NW. There will be drink specials, oh yes, there will.

Food and Drink, Penn Quarter, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: West Islayer

West Islayer (photo by author)

It’s time for Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.

One of my besties, Heidi, wanted celebrate her birthday with a low-key, grown-up sort of celebration in which a group of us went out for a nice dinner and cocktails at a nicer sort of restaurant. Our group, though, is all vegetarians or vegans, so the choices for fancy spots can feel limited. She picked Rasika for the ample offerings of both veg fare and original cocktails.

Jason Stritch was behind the bar that night and we enjoyed a number of his creations. He told me he spends about thirty hours a week just prepping ingredients – creating his own syrups, growing herbs, and brewing his own cider (which was the best cider I have ever tasted – though I am not much of a cider fan). The first thing he whipped up for me was a Scotch-based cocktail called the “West Islayer.”

Scotch can be a challenging base for a cocktail – most Scotch-tails I have tasted leave me wishing I just ordered a tumbler of the stuff without mixers – but the campfire smokiness of a Laphroaig Scotch is so appealing this time of year that I gave the drink a chance. It won me over immediately.

To the smoky Laphroaig, the drink adds spiced honey and allspice dram. The sweetness and hint of spice add a wonderful walking-on-damp-leaves-in-autumn quality. Everyone who sampled my drink – and, with an aroma like the West Islayer has, everyone around wants to sample it – enjoyed it, be they regular Scotch drinkers or the person who claims they do not like to drink “anything brown.”

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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First Look: Big Cheese Truck

Photo courtesy of
‘347/365’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

Food on wheels has been (and I’m thinking it will be continue to be) all the rage in DC. And with each new truck’s appearance, I get giddy about the prospects of expanding my lunch horizons. Big Cheese Truck launched in mid-December and I finally caught up with them to give them a try. It was a cold, blustery day and I thought a hot grilled cheese and warm tomato soup would be just the thing to get me through the workday. Unfortunately, I’ll be honest and say that I was disappointed.

The tomato soup was chunky and had a strong basil flavor. While I could have handled the basil, the salsa-esque consistency threw me off. Something about warm, chunky salsa under the pseudonym of tomato soup just didn’t do it for me. The grilled cheese with cheddar on sourdough should have had more cheese and definitely could have been melted more to reach the point of gooey-deliciousness. The cheese from the local Cowgirl Creamery was a good pairing with the tangy sourdough bread. However, for a sandwich coming from a truck named “big cheese,” I was expecting huge, gooey gobs of cheese, not a thin, apparently shredded, layer of the stuff.

I know the initial launch for a food truck (or any restaurant, for that matter) can be rough, and there’s some level of trial and error on the menu. So I’m hoping that the Big Cheese Truck will improve with time and deliver a bigger and better lunchtime favorite to the hungry cheese-eatin’ people of DC.

The Daily Feed
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Hawk in the LoC

The Library of Congress Main Reading Room has been invaded by a Cooper’s Hawk! First noticed Wednesday afternoon, the bird has been flapping about the dome of the Reading Room, and seems to be unable to locate an exit. LoC staff tried getting its attention with a hawk call from a bird-identifying app, to no avail, and they’ve called in Fish and Wildlife to help get the bird out, hopefully unharmed.

Anyone at LoC got updates on the bird situation? And a name?

(Thanks to Abby Brack at LoC for the photos)

The Daily Feed
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Ted’s Bulletin Eyes Bethesda

Photo Courtesy Ted's Bulletin

A while ago, I heard that the owners of Ted’s Bulletin were scouting for locations in Virginia — Tysons Corner to be exact. WRONG…unless you count that they recently signed a lease for a fourth DC-area Matchbox at Lee Highway and Gallows Road in Virginia.

But I’ve come to realize that there’s always a bit of truth to everything you hear. Curious, I called Ty Neal, one of the four friends behind the whole Matchbox, Ted’s Bulletin, and now DC-3 operation.  He told me that there are plans for expanding Ted’s Bulletin already, hopefully with one location in Bethesda and another one in the District.  If all goes as planned, leases could be signed this year.

I asked him what neighborhoods he was looking at in DC, but Neal said he was going to keep that to himself for now, though he does have a few places in mind. (Looks like I still have a while to convince him to come to Navy Yard.)

Neal adds that the Hill’s Ted’s only has 80 seats, and that future locations will have 120 to 150 seats depending on the available square footage.

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The Daily Feed
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Get your violent discourse fix tonight

walmartbullseye.jpg
image excerpted from Anti-Walmart flyer as seen on RedState

If you think that we should still be using crosshairs and targets on promotional materials for rallies, and think that threats of violence and intimidation make good community activism, then join the folks outside Dick Knapp’s house tonight in Woodley Park.  Knapp works with Foulger Pratt Development, which is developing the site on Georgia Avenue that has been said to be one of the spaces that Walmart is occupying.

While one can argue against Walmart’s business practices, and do so successfully in terms of what they do to wages and prices, arguing in front of a developer’s house isn’t okay. Doubly so when you put a crosshairs on the flyer. And, while we’re thinking about, go over at read Alex Baca’s excellent explanation of why Walmart isn’t the end of the world for DC.

So, argue against Walmart, but don’t do it through practices of personal intimidation and threats, alright?

News, Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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WMATA responds to 23 Dec incident

Photo courtesy of
‘Steppin’ Out, WMATA Style’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Metro has released a statement regarding the incident first reported on Unsuck DC Metro that has horrified many: six armed men reportedly boarded an Orange Line train on December 23rd, and allegedly robbed and beat passengers aboard that train, and according to some accounts, the Metro operator did not respond to emergency calls made from within the car.

The incident is pretty horrifying, and suggests that perhaps MTPD should spend a bit more time on trains rather than ineffectively searching our bags.  The Statement is below and in full, and says that MTPD apprehended suspects within 30 minutes and recovered the stolen property.

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Comedy in DC, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Comedy in DC: Awesome Thursdays Open Mic

Photo courtesy of
‘268|365’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’

Comedy is great for your wellbeing and you can get a healthy dose over at R.F.D., 801 Seventh St., in Chinatown where they are throwing Awseome Thursdays starting at 8:00 PM sharp. Ralph Cooper and  and Brad Ryan will host the free event and there is no drink minimum, so enjoy the cold water if you don’t have any cash. How do you have internet and no cash?

Anyway, let some comics chisel the ice off your heart and let the bar’s vast beer selection fill your tummy as you immerse yourself in some true DC culture.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Bullfeathers Bounces Back on Monday

DSCN0564

Photo Courtesy Tricia Barba

As a former Capitol Hill resident and now a proud Navy Yard dweller, let me just say that Monday’s re-opening of Bullfeathers is one that I’ve been eagerly awaiting.  And that’s an understatement.

To recap: Bullfeathers “closed” in July of last year in order to undergo a complete renovation.  The Capitol Hill mainstay is now owned and operated by the team behind the popular Tunnicliff’s Tavern, Ulah Bistro & Stoney’s. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Food Truck Tracker

Photo courtesy of
‘Sâuçá Food Truck’
courtesy of ‘justgrimes’
Today’s deal is at either of the Sauca trucks, where you’ll get an entree and a drink for $5, normally $10! A steal!
But things are not all happy and friendly in food truck land today. The popular Metro Halal Cart in Rosslyn has been forced to move after a pretty lengthy back and forth with the property owners of the building they were stationed in front of. The word is that the cart has moved to a “less popular area of N Lynn St.” but if you spot them in their new location, let us know in the comments.

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