Category Archives: The Features

These are our features. They come back either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Sports Fix
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Week 7 Recap – Skins vs. Bears

Photo courtesy of
‘DeAngelo Hall Intercepts Mark Sanchez’

courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

In what was a very sloppy game, the Redskins overcame some close calls and played opportunistic ball as they defeated the Bears 17-14. Both teams combined for 9 turnovers, 13 penalties, and 4 third down conversions on 23 attempts. Basically, who ever wanted it more would win this game. After trailing 14-10 in the first half, the Skins got two breaks in the 3rd quarter. First, an apparent touchdown sneak by Jay Cutler was not called by the officials and, even more surprisingly, the Bears did not challenge the call. Albert Haynesworth caused a fumble on that play but right after the Skins took possession, Donovan McNabb threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown…except it was called back due to a delay of game on the offense. As bad as McNabb looked at times, Cutler looked worse. He had 281 yards passing, but threw 4 interceptions and lost a fumble. With the victory the Skins improve to 4-3 and get their first road win on the season. Continue reading →

Arlington, Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Cabaret

I consider myself a very lucky person.

Theatre was never in the cards for me when I signed up to produce the high school production of “Noises Off!” as an after-school activity. Now eight years later I recently completed stage managing a production of “Noises Off!“ as my first gig with a professional theatre company.

After signing up for that high school production I went on to produce over 12 shows in high school and college- then I stopped. I moved to the DC area and I walked away from theatre. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Henry VIII

Ian Merrill Peakes as King Henry VIII and Louis Butelli as his fool, Will Sommers, in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (photo courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library)

When I first walked into Folger Shakespeare Library I was impressed with the authentic Elizabethan performance space. I also didn’t know what to expect from Folger’s season opening production of Henry VIII. Shakespeare falls outside my wheelhouse when it comes to plays, often we associate  the works of William Shakespeare with one of two things: fantastic, masterful prose or boring, hard-to-decipher material.

I know I’m not the only one who would have the same two assumptions about Shakespeare. Unless you are a theatre/Shakespeare buff, the idea of sitting through such a show might be a tough idea to stomach. I commend director Robert Richmond in doing everything possible to make the historical play of England’s Tudor Monarch accessible to the audience. He added two characters not in the original text in Will Sommers and Princess Mary, who add additional context into the historical piece. The widespread blocking of the show often places actors in the middle of center aisle, acting out to the audience who are only a mere inches away. The show can also thank The Other Boleyn Girl and The Tudors for bringing the story of King Henry VIII into the spotlight.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Gary Numan @ Black Cat 10/20/10

Gary Numan @ Black Cat
all photos by Erin McCann.

New Wave icon and synthesizer guru Gary Numan performed at the Black Cat on Wednesday night to a packed house of devoted fans. It was a weird but enjoyable performance that felt like two very different concerts in one. For the first hour, a very ill Gary Numan lead his band through a performance of his 1979 classic album “The Pleasure Principle”. The performance was a strange one due to Numan’s illness; the band sounded fantastic however as Numan tried to make the best of not having a voice by asking the crowd to sing some of the songs for him. The situation lent some impromptu fun to the performance of Numan’s ice-cold classic. By the end of the album portion, I was beginning to visualize my forth-coming rave review. Then, as if magically revitalized, Numan and his band suddenly launched into a set of guitar-driven, psuedo-industrial tunes that saw Numan belting out vocals like a banshee.

The two hours of Wednesday night’s concert featured very different sounding music, had entirely different energy levels, and felt like they were performed by two completely different bands. I am a fan of the first band, not so much of the second.

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Five Favorites, The Features
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Five Favorites: Complete Streets

Photo courtesy of
‘Mount Pleasant and National Baptist Church, Bike lane in foreground’
courtesy of ‘tedeytan’

Just this week, DDOT adopted a complete streets policy that encourages streets that accommodate all users– motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users.  This marks a shift from the auto-centric planning that has long dominated transportation planning throughout the country.  Even though DC is slightly late with its policy (168 jurisdictions already have complete streets policies on record), there are already so many great streets in the District that are fantastic examples of complete streets.  So here’s a list of our five favorite complete streets in the District.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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First Look: Rustico Ballston

Photo courtesy of
‘Rustico: Coming Soon’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

The paper is still up at Rustico in Ballston when I arrive just a few minutes early for the evening’s events.  The block of Wilson Boulevard is mostly in transition and Rustico sits in the center of the restaurant cocoons, looking like it will be first to arrive.  Across the plaza is the next NRG project, the second location of Buzz Bakery, and next door to Rustico is an early-in-build-out Sweetgreen slated for the end of the year.  Our guide for the evening opens up the side door, and a few workers follow her out, showing that this is still a restaurant in the final phases of being constructed.

The entryway floor is covered in paper to protect the surface from the boots and construction dust, and some of the interior work is in progress, including a beautiful beer bottle and mirror mosaic.  A fireplace sits dormant on a night that would otherwise call for it.  Shepherded past the construction and into the bar, beer sommelier par none Greg Engert is waiting for us, and hands me a small glass of a California Imperial IPA that has notes of just about every possible hop and floral.  While Greg will continue his focus on Church Key, it’s impossible to separate the man from his first home, at Alexandria’s Rustico, and he’s been integrally involved in training the Arlington staff.  Neighborhood Restaurant Group believes strongly that passionate people make the best employees, and have continued that trend forward in the new Rustico.  Andy Carlson will be helming the bar for Rustico Ballston, which will feature 400 bottled beers, 40 taps and 3 cask-conditioned ales, making it a formidable presence in DC’s already expansive beer scene.  Last night’s dinner was certainly a festival of great beer paired with great food that left me thinking that we’re in for a real treat.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, October 23-24

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_0674’
courtesy of ‘mediaslave’

Rebecca: Friday I’m headed to Bar Dupont to celebrate a good friend passing the VA Bar. Woot Jimmy! Ladies, he’s single. Saturday morning, after picking up some produce from the Glover Park Farmers Market, I’ll have my eyes glued to ESPN as College Game Day travels to Columbia, MO where the No. 11 Tigers will take on the No.1 Sooners at 8pm. Go Mizzou! Burn down that stupid covered wagon! Saturday evening will be devoted to the game and, depending on the outcome, will either result in shots of Firefly for everyone atBreadsoda or crying myself to sleep. Sunday I’m off to Chef Geoff’s for a bridal shower followed by my first visit to WLDC author Jenn’s favorite haunt, The Passenger. To wrap up my weekend, I’m off to NoVa to play a night footie match. Whew! This weekend is going to be a doozy.

Michael: Friday night I am going up to Baltimore to see Helmet and Intronaut at SONAR. Regardless of Helmet’s status as a “group”, Page Hamilton always brings it hard in concert. Saturday I heard a rumor that DC party legends Thunderball are performing somewhere in town. I am trying to nail down the details. Will definitely be there if it’s going down. Then Sunday I might check out Four Tet at 9:30 Club because his weird electronics will sound great there. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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We Love Vegan: Part 3, Question and Answer Session

Photo courtesy of
‘mini peppers’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

So talk more about your decision to be vegan – aside from curiosity, why did you do this?
Katie: I recently read The Kind Diet and have been interested in veganism ever since. After The Kind Diet, I read Clean Food, a vegan cookbook that doesn’t make a big deal about being vegan, but focuses more on eating locally and seasonally. After those two, I was convinced I needed to try it, and thought eating this way was something easier done being held accountable by a) Ashley and b) you, our readers. I’d totally do it again, and if I wasn’t a food writer whose career depends on eating meat and dairy, I’d probably take Silverstone’s challenge of going for a month or two and seeing how it felt.
Ashley: I have always been interested in juice fasts, more specifically in the people who are willing to put themselves through that, but I knew that would never happen for me. I thought of trying veganism for a little bit as a way to see if the high of clean eating really exists, as a lot of juice fasters have explained it to me, without quitting solid food altogether.

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The Features
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More DC Apologies We’d Like to See

Photo courtesy of
‘Jerk City’
courtesy of ‘Smath.’

You’ve probably heard by now that Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, Virginia Thomas, called Anita Hill and left her a voicemail asking her to consider apologizing to Justice Thomas for her sexual harassment allegations 19 years ago. I mean, clearly the only honorable course of action was to sit down and shut up about her mistreatment.

We found Mrs. Thomas’ sheer chutzpah inspiring and have come up with a list of additional apologies we’d like to see around DC:

Rasheeda Jones, it is time to consider apologizing to Council Member (and then-mayor) Marion Barry. It was such a shame the way you set him up to get caught by the FBI with that crack pipe. Really. Did you not consider the effect it would have on his political career? And while we’re on the topic, I call upon the IRS to apologize to Barry for their outrageous demands that he pay the taxes he owes to the US Government. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features, We Love Arts
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The Washington Legacy of Damn Yankees

If the court pleases, I’d like to enter Exhibit A into the record, the Venn Diagram that leads this post. In it, you’ll note two circles demonstrating a fairly obscure, but relevant point for the upcoming article: the population of baseball fans that intersects with those who are likely to read about Broadway musicals is not large. However, your honor, what I hope to show is that, while the overlap is obscure at best, there is a little something for everyone here in the following examination:

Later this afternoon, the Texas Rangers will take the field at Yankee Stadium for game five of the ALCS. They lead three games to one, and the long defeated franchise stands on the doorstep of the World Series, ready to wave the team’s first pennant. As written here late last week (partially to get a reaction, partially because the history is fun), this organization has some ties to DC, as they were once the Washington Senators, version 2.0. It wasn’t a comprehensive look at the history of the 2nd Senators to grace DC, nor other ties between the Texas Rangers and Washington baseball (notably, the fact that Texas Ace Cliff Lee was a prospect in the Expos’ system and traded away for little long before his rise of the last few years), but really just some fun thoughts to help find a rooting interest this postseason.

In that vein – and to give fair ink to all parts of the Washington baseball past – there’s one other part of Senators history from the first iteration of the franchise that also could be entertaingly relevant: the 1955 musical Damn Yankees.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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We Love Vegan: Part 2

Photo courtesy of
‘Go Vegan Be Green Save the Planet’
courtesy of ‘bunnicula’

Yesterday, we began a three-part series in which our food writing team, Ashley and Katie, went vegan for a week. This is the second installment of the series. Catch up on Part 1 here.

DAY THREE

Katie: By now you know I eat fruit and a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. Nothing to see here, move along.

Ashley: I was a sad vegan this morning. I woke up and didn’t have it in me to leave the house, and much to my dismay had no food (vegan or otherwise) in the kitchen. I briefly considered wandering to Starbucks in hopes they would have something, but laziness prevailed and I had two cups of coffee instead.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Jaime Moreno, DC Soccer Legend

Jaime Moreno, DC Legend

For those that don’t follow soccer, it’s hard to put into appropriate terms what Jaime Moreno means to D.C. United and the MLS as a whole.  As crucial as Riggins and Sonny Jurgensen are to the Redskins success a generation as ago, Moreno means more than that to United.  As important as Ovechkin is to the Caps, or Strasburg to the Nationals, Moreno is all that and more.

Moreno’s contributions to Major League Soccer are on par with Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron’s to baseball.  In his 14-year MLS career, he’s the only member of the 100-goal, 100-assist club, and is tied for the all-time lead for goals with 132.  He gets a shot at 133 this Saturday, and we’d like to send you and a friend to go see the game.  Leave your name in the comments with a valid email address in the appropriate field and we’ll pick at random on Thursday afternoon.

The team has been celebrating Moreno for the last month, and their archive of coverage is deeply impressive. Moreno has been the constant leading presence for the team from its creation through its four MLS Cup Championships and through the denouement of United over the last two years.  In many ways, Jaime Moreno is D.C. United, and it’s hard to picture the state of the franchise without him as part.

The team has a number of events planned for Saturday, culminating with a special honoring of Jaime Moreno by the 2011 Season Ticket Holders with all of the earned trophies during Moreno’s career.  Moreno is probably the least-celebrated DC star athlete, which is a shame.  Get out to RFK on Saturday afternoon and give Moreno the attention he deserves.

Food and Drink, The Features, We Green DC, We Love Food
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We Love Vegan: Part 1

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Over an especially gluttonous meal one night, filled with lamb chops and veal, we had a thought: What would life be like without all this meaty goodness? But not only without meat, what about life without this cheesy, eggy goodness? That crazy night (after maybe a few too many glasses of wine) the idea of Vegan Week was born. We, your loyal food writers here at We Love DC, decided to tried are very best to eat completely, 100% vegan for one week.

Well…one work week. Ashley ate most of her meals out of the house, for no other reason than everything she knew how to cook had bacon in it, while Katie had to make her decidedly unveg work location work for her. What follows is the sometimes humorous, sometimes surprising, sometimes depressing account of Vegan Week 2010. (For more on our decision to go vegan, check back here Thursday at 11 a.m. for the wrap-up post in this series, We Love Vegan: The Question and Answer Session.)

Dun-duh-duuuuuuuh.

A disclaimer: Through plenty of Plant Alternative research and polling our friends who know a little bit about living a meat-free lifestyle, we came to our conclusions about how to attack Vegan Week. We tried, to the best of our abilities to eat vegan, and to our knowledge we did. If we screwed something up along the way, it was on account of our own stupidity more than anything else. We are not vegans, not even vegetarians, but we tried our best. Also, just a reminder, we here at We Love DC respect all lifestyles, from the meatful to the plantful, and expect that you do too. Take your haterade elsewhere, thanks. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


DSC_0013 by mediaslave

Despite our best efforts, it’s hard to pick a favorite time of year.  Some say it’s the spring when the weather starts warming up and the cherry blossoms burst onto the scene.  Not long after we’re given an 80 degree day and are drinking margaritas on a patio which could easily contend for my favorite time of the year.  Yet somewhere deep down in my twisted psyche, the month of October will always hold a special place.

Perhaps it’s my memory of wearing vampire teeth with fake blood on them and running door to door with my friends to fill our pillowcases full of candy.  After a few years of practice, we knew which houses gave out caramel apples, which gave out toothbrushes, and which geriatric neighbors had the ability to scare the crap out of us regardless of what they were giving out.  As Seinfeld once said, the main objective of a kid is to, “Get candy, get candy, get candy,” and get candy we did.  Unfortunately, most houses gave out miniature versions of the real thing, from boxes of Nerds, to Dots, to Snickers.  It brought us great joy when our rich neighbors down the street plopped full size candy bars into our bags.  The weight of them as they hit the bottoms of our bags caused our tiny little arms to strain, but brought big smiles to our faces.  We then scurried off through the crisp October air, or snow as Denver would often have, to the next lit doorway in our sweaty little costumes.  We were on an important mission, a mission to get candy.

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The Features
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Giveaway: Worn Magazine is Back!

All Photographs by Max Cook for We Love DC.

People say that bigger does not always mean better.   However, in the case of Worn Magazine’s second issue – this statement could not be any less true.  With 52 pages of glossy, DC-centric fashion, 60-plus original photographs, and the introduction of contributing writers, Worn magazine is bigger, better, and, most definitely, brighter than ever.

With the success of the inaugural issue, Worn Magazine has continued to deliver on their promise – “to bring greater awareness of local fashion and art to the District and to the nation” – by making the focus of their fall/winter 2010/2011 issue to be on the artists who are trying to make it in DC.   Nicole Aguirre, Worn’s Editor-in-Chief explains it best in her editor’s letter.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Agnostic Front @ DC9 10/14/10

IMG_4899
all photos by author.

Last Thursday night at DC9, hours before tragedy occurred outside of the club, New York Hardcore legends Agnostic Front performed that sub-genre’s definitive document, their debut album “Victim In Pain”, in full. The show was part of a tour celebrating the album’s 25th anniversary re-issue and by default NYHC’s unique stamp on American Hardcore punk music.

It is an unfortunate coincidence that the tragic event which occurred on 9th street on Thursday night happened after this fantastic concert. There have always been a lot of misconceptions and assumptions about the Hardcore punk scene and I am concerned that the violence on 9th will somehow be connected to this concert.* I can attest that the concert and the crowd attending it were focused on unity and the celebration of Agnostic Front’s music; there was much more singing arm-in-arm camaraderie than fists flying. It was in fact a riotous celebration of how much the Hardcore scene has evolved; far from its brutal roots in the 1980’s to become one of the most positive, all-inclusive, underground music scenes around.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 10/15 – 10/17/10

Photo courtesy of
‘Rock Creek Park Cattails’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

October around here is the best time of year, in my opinion. The leaves change, the air is crisp, and everything is in transition for the upcoming winter. It actually reminds me of a passage from “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”:

The day becomes more solemn and serene
When noon is past–there is a harmony
In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,
Which through the summer is not heard or seen,
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!
– Percy Bysshe Shelley

Hope you had a great weekend! Here’s to a great week, one and all.
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Getaways
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New Bus Service Links U Street to Brooklyn (Win a Ticket to Try It Out!)

Photo courtesy of
‘Knowitexpress’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

“Don’t hate on us. Don’t hate just because we might be cool or choose to live in a creative, vibrant neighborhood,” implores Shalonda Hunter, founder of The Know It Express a new bus service between Brooklyn and DC. You might have heard it casually called “the hipster bus” – but it’s owner has a more inclusive, positive concept.

“The whole idea is to help people from both cities appreciate what the other has to offer – and connect people with their pals, where they live.” Check out Dingo Bus a leading charter and coach hire service Perth Australia. Get a cost effective travel solution – contact Dingo Bus today!

Ms. Hunter originally founded The Know It as a DC tourist-information site (now in transition to more of a traveler’s social network) after years of work in the city and a deep desire to show off both the major tourist sites, but also the personal, hometown side of DC. Even if tourists make their way off the Mall, she says, “There is more to this town than a stop at Ben’s Chili Bowl. I want to show people that.”
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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Sabrina Fair

Today’s formula for a romantic comedy is pretty clear: take two attractive actors and throw them in a highly unlikely situation. Maybe your Canadian boss needs to marry somebody in order to stay in the country or you have become the next target of your ex-husband who’s also a bounty hunter. As long as you pair up Jennifer Aniston with some hot guy (Matthew McConaughey is always a safe bet),  you’ll probably sell some tickets. Just make sure you include a series of obstacles and challenges on their journey that allow the pair to argue and bicker until the end where they fall in love.

The comedy in today’s RomComs usually come through slapstick and awkward situations. Whether it’s a grown man who still lives with his parents or a woman who’s been a bridesmaid in 27 weddings, the humor stems from a seemingly ordinary person thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Samuel A. Taylor’s “Sabrina Fair” is a product of the 1950’s and follows old conventions of subtlety in its humor and drama. The extremism of today’s comedy is replaced with dry wit. The journey and obstacles are replaced with a fairy-tale clash of social classes where a person of wealth falls in love with a someone from the working class. Continue reading →