Category Archives: The Features

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

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, August 14-15

Photo courtesy of
‘pretty clouds’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

Darpino: Big music weekend in DC coming up! On Saturday, I’ll be at the 9:30 Club watching Public Enemy perform their masterpiece “Fear of a Black Planet.” On Sunday, it’s over to the Rock & Roll Hotel to catch Canadian electro-pop heroes, Dragonette. In other news, the wrecking crew and I will be headed out to catch an afternoon showing of
Stallone’s mucho macho latest, “The Expendables.”

John: It’s a countrified weekend. Friday Night i’m stuck playing a cover show but if I weren’t I’d be enjoying some nice local beer at Vintage 50 out in the wilds of Leesburg. Saturday will be spent playing around in the WeLoveDC DirtLab near Oatlands and followed by a picnic dinner evening and Twilight Polo at Great Meadows south of Middleburg. Sunday we’ll grab brunch/lunch and wrap up the countrification at Market Salamander in Middleburg. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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Restaurant Week 2010: The Best Bets

Photo courtesy of
‘the joys of civilized living’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

Restaurant Week is practically upon us and as usual, everyone’s got their opinions. Some love it. Some hate it. And some use it as an opportunity to get to know their own kitchens a little better. I was always a Restaurant Week hater until a couple years ago when I discovered that a little organization, a lot of Googling and a little better attitude can actually a delightful Restaurant Week make. And since you, dear Washingtonians, are a busy bunch these days, I’ll take it upon myself to handle the organization and the Googling – the attitude adjustment is up to you.

My issue with Restaurant Week has always been those restaurants that feel their “special menu” needs to consist of a choice of two or three dishes for each course. Um…no. That is not a menu, and it certainly doesn’t give me a feel for what a meal would be like the other fifty-one weeks a year. Another problem I have is the fabled “upcharge” where a restaurant will gladly charge me almost a 50% surcharge for getting one of their pricier options. When I am getting the entire meal for $35 and you charge me an additional $15 for the steak, I am not a happy camper. Luckily, there are restaurants out there that forget the upcharges and let you choose from the entire (if not almost the entire) menu. This is the Restaurant Week Holy Grail.

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Interviews, The Features
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A We Love DC Interview: Spotlight On Design

Tadao Ando, March 2, 2002.  Image Courtesy of the National Building Museum.

Since 1997, the National Building Museum has been offering professionals, tourists, and aficionados the opportunity to hear some of the most distinguished architects and designers in the world speak about their passion.  Paul Kilmer, Director of Public Programs, introduces the Spotlight on Design speaker series as an occasion to “celebrate an architect, designer or firm, and give them the opportunity to share with us the significance of their work – celebrating design innovation”.  Furthermore, it allows us to “demonstrate how critical and important good design is to quality of life”, says Kilmer.  Past speakers have included Pritzker Prize Laureates, American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medalists, and the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Medal recipients.

Oh how I would have given anything to be a fly on the wall when Tadao Ando presented!

In the spirit of the Spotlight on Design speakers series, We Love DC chats with Martin Moeller, the Senior Vice President and Curator of the National Building Museum, who gave us some details about the makings of the wildly popular lecture program and how he feels about design and architecture in D.C.

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Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: “Dog Days” Cliche Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘today is the best day of Tchotchke’s life!’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

As August drags its hot, sticky self over the area like a dog licking something inappropriate in front of company, we start to think about the return of fall and the comedy scene is perking up a bit too.

This Friday, catch Seaton Smith: A Moment in Black Hipstery at the Warehouse Theater. He’s recording the show for a DVD, so this is a great opportunity to catch him on a night where he’s bringing his A material instead of working out new jokes at an open mic. The show starts at 8, and tickets are $5. Definitely worth your time and 5-spot.

Speaking of Seaton Smith, he spoke last month at TedxPennQuarter on “Reinventing the Black Comedian.” I caught it on the live stream, and if you’re like my friend Brittany who isn’t really into standup except as a sort of anthropological observation, I recommend you check it out after the jump. Continue reading →

Special Events, The Features
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The Nationals Honor Their Heritage


Pictured: Andre Dawson waving and Gary Carter (on the right).  Photo by Ian Koski / Nationals Daily News

Gary Carter showed up at Nationals Park Tuesday to help the Washington Nationals honor his former teammate. Much to his surprise, the Nationals hadn’t reserved all of the night’s festivities for 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Andre Dawson – he too would be recognized.

The Hall of Fame Ring of Honor is a display of player’s names atop the Lexus President’s Club seats behind home plate. It was installed this week as a reminder of baseball days gone by and a step toward ensuring that Nationals fans of the future know where their beloved team came from. Dawson and Carter are just two of the names inscribed inside that ring.

“Anytime someone extends that effort and pays homage to your career it’s very gratifying,” Dawson said after seeing the ring in person. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that I had to play for the organization. I never played here, but I understand the history and the connection and I’m most grateful.” Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: The Saw Doctors

Saw Doctors @ 9:30 Club

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

This week’s giveaway is a great treat from the Emerald Isle: two tickets to see The Saw Doctors at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, August 12th (Tomorrow!)

The Saw Doctors are a great Irish rock band. In Ireland these guys are superstars with 18 Top-30 singles and 3 #1-singles over the last 25 years. I’d bet a pint or two that there are some fans over there who would kill to see The Saw Doctors in the intimate, indoor setting of the 9:30 Club. If you’re unfamiliar with The Saw Doctors, they specialize in a great story-telling pub-rock sound. In some ways they play like an Irish-version of The Stranglers. Their lyrical style is full of great Irish humor and whimsy, but can also deliver some real bar-keep wisdom too. Also of entertainment value on Thursday night will be The Saw Doctors’ legendary fan-base, made up of enthusiastic Irish diaspora of which DC has plenty.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading →

Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Shakespeare free-for-all adds online ticketing

Images courtesy the Shakespeare Theater Company

Images courtesy of the Shakespeare Theater Company

Shakespeare Theater Company’s annual free production is adding an online lottery for tickets this year. Or more accurately – and perhaps unfortunately – almost completely replacing the in-person pursuit of tickets. That’s a big winner for everyone who gets to enter the online lottery rather than wait in record-setting temperatures, but maybe not the most accessible to the area’s disadvantaged.

Perhaps that’s a non-issue; I don’t have any statistics on who goes to free-for-all and it might be that the less internet-soaked among us are mostly served by the STC’s excellent Students for Shakespeare program. Anyone else can still line up thirty minutes before the show to pick up unclaimed will-call seats, a number that I suspect will be larger than it was when folks had to stand outside and sweat for their spot.

The rest of us can go to the lottery page anytime between midnight and 1pm before the next showing (or the prior day for matinees) and enter for our shot. Winning gets you 2 tickets which you need to grab at least a half hour before showtime.

I highly encourage you to go – I really enjoyed this production during the regular season and expect this re-staging to be equally good.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Unsane & Keehaul @ Ottobar 8/7/10

Unsane @ Ottobar 8/7/10
courtesy of Unsane.

I drove up to the wonderful Ottobar in Baltimore to catch a noise-rock double-bill so too-good-to-be-true that it was as if the lords of aggression themselves had forged it. I imagine these mighty creatures in their red-glowing cave, dipping their battle-scarred fists into molten iron, before plunging them into icy mountain rapids to cool and harden. The first fist of fury they named Keelhaul. The second they fastened to the end of a tree-trunk to fashion a warhammer; this they called Unsane. For decades these two mystic weapons of pummel made their way through the mortal world wrecking havoc on any and all who encountered them. Separated for many years by the fog of war, on Saturday night these two legendary forces reunited in a furious concert that stirred the blood and let slip the dogs of war.

Noise-rock is mostly about the musical expression of one thing: aggression. It isn’t pretty music, it isn’t nice. Noise-rock doesn’t ask politely and noise-rock never ever says “I’m sorry”. Noise-rock karate-chops you in the throat and knees you in the groin. Noise-rock throws you to the ground by your shirt-collar and pummels you with telephone books. It’s angry man music and it has been too damn long since this area’s tapped into the real old-school source of the stuff. The other night Boris and Russian Circles put on an amazing display of thinking man’s metal; at Saturday night’s Keelhaul/Unsane show you were too busy dodging blunt sonic jabs and throwing fists of your own to do much thinking. While you experience a post-metal show; with a good noise-rock show you are lucky to survive. Saturday night’s concert was so damn good I barely made it out alive.

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Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: 2 Amys

Photo courtesy of
‘2 Amy’s’
courtesy of ‘aus_chick’
There are certain unalienable truths for me when it comes to dining out: I don’t like to eat at restaurants with tons of kids, and I hate waiting for a table. 2 Amys is one of the few restaurants that I actually overlook these issues and settle in for a sometimes loud, usually not immediate dinner.

2 Amys is a neighborhood restaurant at its core, though a neighborhood restaurant with a much broader fan base than greater Cleveland Park. The restaurant is small, even with the secret second floor and tiny back patio, and not really made for the tables of four or six that are forced to meander around outside, hoping that a few two-tops will finish at the same time. Continue reading →

The Features
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Ryan Zimmerman’s “A Night at the Park”


Pictured: Ryan Zimmerman and his mother Cheryl / Chris Kennedy Images

Cheryl and Keith Zimmerman pride themselves on being family grounded people. Their biggest goal with their two sons, Ryan and Shawn, was to pass the value of family on to them. Monday night at Nationals Park, they watched with a glimmer in their eye as their oldest son Ryan of the Washington Nationals did his parents proud by sharing the value of family with over 700 people including his teammates, fans, and fellow District residents.

Ryan Zimmerman’s “A Night at the Park” was the first event held by his family’s ziMS Foundation in Washington, D.C. The foundation raises money to benefit multiple sclerosis research in honor of Ryan’s mother Cheryl who was diagnosed with the disease in 1995. As Ryan got a little bit older, he realized that if he ever had a chance to do something to give back, not just to his family but for everyone else who goes through daily life with MS in their own family whether it’s a parent, brother, or sister, he would do it.

“Obviously when I got to play baseball at this level I had the platform to kind of run with it and do something with it and I’ve had a lot of help along the way,” Ryan said. “It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to give back to people who have helped me get where I’m at now and this was the perfect reason to do it.” Continue reading →

News, Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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NTSB v WMATA in Board on Board Battle

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

Yesterday, for the first time in recent memory, the NTSB took a field trip. Their board joined Metro’s board at the auditorium yesterday for the WMATA board meeting yesterday. During that meeting, Metro made a couple of public statements, one from its interim GM Richard Sarles, and one from Board Chair Peter Benjamin, on the subject of the accident review and the progress that WMATA has made since then. Of course, Metro isn’t just silently accepting the conclusions of the NTSB, and yesterday’s board meeting had at times what appeared to be Sharks vs. Jets moments as WMATA faced off with NTSB over the recommendation. The Post has a good accounting of the meeting, but it doesn’t seem to cover any interaction between NTSB and WMATA.

Somehow, it seems, though, that several of the WMATA Board members hadn’t seen the animation of the accident until yesterday, which is mind-boggling to me. Did they also just get the findings yesterday? I recognize that the WMATA Board is not one with full-time members who only do oversight and nothing else, but it seems to me that they should’ve seen that the day of the hearings, no?

Regardless of acceptance of blame, WMATA’s board needs to show a dedication to safety both for its riders and its staff, that just doesn’t seem to be there right now. While WMATA is taking steps in the right direction, they don’t seem to be organized around the issue. A hotline is a good start. Clearing the wayside is a good start. But bellying the 1000-series cars without doing any kind of testing? That’s just reactionary.

We Love Arts
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WPA SynchroSwim at the Capitol Skyline Hotel


Fluid Movement by Max Cook

One of my favorite organizations, the Washington Project for the Arts, continues to stoke the fire under the DC creative community.  Between hosting stimulating exhibits at their headquarters, curating performance art shows, and organizing art parades, they’re adding some hot sauce to our otherwise bland burritos.  On Sunday evening, in collaboration with the Rubell Family Collection and Conner Contemporary Art, the WPA scorched our taste buds with the second annual synchronized swimming performance competition known as SynchroSwim, a spectacle not to be missed.  Teams performed choreographed routines in the Capitol Skyline Hotel pool and were awarded prizes in three categories: best performance, best visual spectacle, and crowd favorite.

This year’s contestants consisted of some snake charmers from Baltimore, four Van Halen loving, popsicle throwing hotties, an aquatic percussion band sporting road flares, and an oil slick.  Yes, you truly had to be there, and I insist that you go (and participate!) next summer.  Needless to say it was the highlight of my weekend.  More photos after the jump!

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Boris & Russian Circles @ 9:30 Club 8/3/10

Boris @ 9:30 Club 8/3/10
photo by author.

Last Tuesday night DC was treated to a brilliant exhibition of guitar excellence when Boris and Russian Circles performed at the 9:30 Club. I think just about every metal fan that I know was surprised that this show was at the 9:30 Club. Post-metal and radical guitar-genre chameleons like these two bands sometimes have a hard time filling smaller clubs like Rock & Roll Hotel and Black Cat. I was impressed that 9:30 Club was willing to gamble on this power-house, underground, double-bill.* Tuesday’s show was my third time seeing Russian Circles and my much-anticipated first time catching Boris in concert (finally!). Going in, I was convinced that either one of these bands could have been the headliner. Their recorded music is equally brilliant and I knew first hand how awesome Russian Circles are live. Tuesday’s show featured a killer opening set by Russian Circles, followed by a next level performance by Boris that showed off exactly why this band of Japanese experimental rockers had top-billing.

Continue reading →

The Features
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Nats Fans Are People Too: Cheryl Hauser


Pictured (left to right): Cheryl Hauser, Josh Willingham, and Cheryl’s friend Kristie / Photo provided by Cheryl Hauser

“Nats Fans Are People Too” is a new series taking you inside the minds and lives of the District’s biggest Nationals fans. Do you know somebody who should be featured? Are you one of the many die-hard Nats fans in town? Get in touch by sending a message to rachel@welovedc.com!

No amount of teasing is ever going to change Cheryl Hauser’s mind. She is and always will be a Nats fan.

Hauser, who was born in DC but lived in Waldorf, Md. until she was 7, grew up in Annandale, Va. with a family who loved to go to Orioles games. Each summer Hauser and her family and friends would take trips to Baltimore to watch baseball. It was their family’s bonding activity.

“We’d support [the Orioles] and we’d go a couple times a year,” Hauser said. “It was a fun family thing, but never as intense as what happened now, which happened by accident.” Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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117th Ranked Nalbandian Wins Title


David Nalbandian by Max Cook

AUGUST 8, by Paula Schumann

Even before the two finalists walked onto the court, chants of “Ole Ole David” could be heard from the highest seats in the Stadium Court, and the Argentine flags were waving.  It appeared that we had a crowd favorite. 28 year old David Nalbandian (ARG), who is ranked 117th and came into the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on a wild card, was about to face Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), age 25 with a ranking of 25, in the singles final.  Nalbandian’s ranking had dropped after not playing for nine months due to hip surgery, and being out again for two month
this summer with a hamstring injury.

After the obligatory photo ops and hand shaking, the coin was tossed and Baghdatis was the first to serve.  It was broken and Nalbandian went on to serve and held for an early lead at 2-0.  Both players continued to dazzle the crowd, Nalbandian with his whip-like forehands and Baghdatis with his adeptness at the net.  Despite some double faults at key points, Nalbandian began to dictate play and finished off the set at 6-2 in 53 min.  As people got up from their seats you could tell what everyone was thinking….this won’t last long.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Bagdatis/Nalbandian to Meet in Legg Mason Final


Marcos Bagdatis by Max Cook

AUGUST 7, by Paula Schumann

The weather was perfect for tennis on Saturday afternoon at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic as the first semifinal singles match got underway inside the Stadium
Court. Marco Baghdatis (CYP) faced Xavier Malisse (BEL) in a match whose
outcome seemed anyone’s guess. There was no favorite and no underdog.

The stadium was still filling up as the match began with Malisse serving. He
held his serve easily and seemed calm and confident. Baghdatis got off to a shaky start when his service game went to deuce twice before holding. But as
things progressed you could see the two styles of play establish a certain rhythm
that would prevail throughout the match. Mallise played deep from the back of
the court, confident with his seemingly effortless ground strokes, and Baghdatis
worked from inside the baseline, coming in to take points at the net.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Upsets Continue at Legg Mason


Xavier Malisse by Max Cook

AUGUST 6, by Paula Schumann

There were more upsets at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Friday in the quarter final round played during the day session.  After Thursday night’s ousting of Andy Roddick, it seemed like anything could happen, and so it went. First up was Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Xavier Malisse (BEL), winner of Thursday night’s match against John Isner.  They split sets, Malisse taking the first 6-4, and Berdych taking the second 3-6.

In the third set, Berdych showed some signs of coming unglued when he
challenged an in call on a shot by Malisse, which was confirmed in by shot spot.
He continued to argue that the shot spot was clearly wrong.  I heard others from
the crowd voicing the same opinion.  But shot spot rules, so play continued.  He
then regained his composure to serve a 129 mph ace.  Malisse seemed the
calmer of the two despite the occasional double fault and unforced error.  He
wasn’t letting it get under his skin or at least he wasn’t showing it.  He went on
to get an early break and then held his serve.  At 4-1, Berdych held his serve
when the game ended by Malisse mishitting a ball that flew into the upper stands.
Malisse still remained stoic, head down and onto the next game.  Berdych lost
another challenge on his serve, which just seemed to further unravel him.  On
match point he came to the net but his volley went long and Malisse took the set,
6-2, and the match.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Raki

Photo courtesy of
‘Efe Raki’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

Welcome to the Friday Happy Hour, your single drink primer for the weekend.

Ah, the aniseed! Like cilantro, it has a taste you either love or hate. Absinthe, sambuca, pastis, raki are all anise-flavored spirits that inspire devotion or downright hatred. Me? I love licorice. So you know what side I fall on. Recently the mysteries of one of these aniseed derived drinks was revealed to me at Agora, the new Turkish restaurant on 17th Street NW in Dupont Circle. The charming bar manager, Ismail Uslu, was kind enough to let me sample some raki, Turkey’s official national drink. It was a fascinating experience and one I hope you’ll share.

But what is raki exactly? Like ouzo and grappa, raki is produced by distilling the solid remains of fruit after it’s been pressed, commonly raisins, figs, or grapes. Then it’s flavored with aniseed. Raki can be drunk straight (called “sec”), in which case it’s clear, or diluted with cold water, which turns it milky white. Ice cubes can also be added after dilution according to personal preference. Agora stocks six raki of different styles and distillation levels so you can sample several to see which one you prefer. I tried Efe, which is triple-distilled from grape remains.

Ismail showed me the traditional way to serve raki. Two glasses were placed on the bar, one with plain raki about a third of the way full, and the other with water. From a separate pitcher he poured chilled water into the raki which resulted in the magical transformation known in Turkey as “the lion’s milk” – turning the raki that beautiful opaque color. Then he placed a bowl of ice cubes down for me to add as I liked.

“It’s a slow drink,” he said, “sip some raki, then some water. It’s not like shots.” Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The Features
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Campaign Notebook: August 5, 2010

Photo courtesy of
‘Signs0118’
courtesy of ‘Charlie_2001’

Good afternoon! It’s been a hell of a readjustment for me, I was in Stockholm all last week and I have been attempting to catch-up. We’re now only 39 days away from Primary Day, and we’ve got a lot of news to sift through. The biggest story, of course, is Vincent Gray’s upset victory at the Ward 4 straw poll. We’ve also got more news out of Ward 1, and an interesting twist in the at-Large contest. Here we go. Continue reading →