Category Archives: The Features

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

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: Division Champs Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_5742’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Capitals

Record: 46-14-9
Last Two Weeks: 5-1-1 
Place: Won the Southeast Division, 1st in the East

What a team. I think the best reduction of the Caps’ season into a single game came against the Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon. If you didn’t like that game, well, you just plain don’t love hockey. The Caps came out hard-charging, and it cost them. Alex Ovechkin sent the ‘hawks’ Brian Campbell into the boards head-first about halfway through the first and drew a five-minute major that turned into a game misconduct, followed shortly thereafter by Alexander Semin charging the Blackhawks goalie Niemi. Suddenly, it was 5 on 3, and the Caps ended up down 2-0. With Ovechkin out, and a two-goal deficit against the Blackhawks, it wasn’t looking good. The game dragged.

It wasn’t til the third period that the Caps offense awoke, but once it did, it was flurry of furious skating and shooting. The Caps struck hard and fast, scoring three times in just under two and a half minutes. Having fought back for the tie, they went into overtime with all the momentum. The Caps’ Nicklas Backstrom would come up big for the Red at just past the halfway mark in the overtime period, reflecting a missed shot back under Niemi’s knees and in for the win.

Was it pretty? No. Did it matter? No. The Caps are a strong team even without Alex Ovechkin, but tonight it was their mistakes that cost them a couple goals early. They were able to capitalize on their opportunities, though, which is a strength I’d rather see than a flawless defense. The Caps have just seven more games at the Phone Booth before the playoffs start. Catch ’em while you can.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 3/12 – 3/14/2010

Photo courtesy of
‘Whites Ferry Store, Potomac River’
courtesy of ‘Photos by Chip Py’

Dried out yet? Hmmm, probably not, considering today’s forecast.

Still, despite the wet weather (at least it wasn’t snow!), opportunities abounded for photos and happily, our local photogs obliged. So while you’re settling in for another wet Monday, indulge in a look back at the weekend through some other perspectives.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Green DC, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Guinness

Photo courtesy of
‘christmas eve’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

I know that St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until next week, but let’s be honest, it’s on your mind.  So, why drink anything other than Ireland’s finest: Guinness Stout. I don’t feel like I need to expound upon the flavor and richness of Guinness as I’m sure that everyone has tried it.  But, lest anyone fear that the upcoming holiday may contribute to growing waistlines, let me assure you that Guinness will not be the culprit.  It is a wonder beer, of sorts.  Despite it’s thick texture and powerful flavor, Guinness stout is actually very light.  It actually has fewer calories that Coca Cola.  In fact, there is evidence to suggest that may be healthy, if drunk in moderation.

Another fun fact: the great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness is a local.  Os Guinness, who is a prolific author/critic/theologian lives in McClean.  So, this weekend drink for your health, drink for our local Guinness family member, and most of all, drink for St. Paddy’s Day.

People, The Features
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Why I Love DC: Courtney


‘IMG_0650’
courtesy of ‘mkuhnert’

It’s funny, because when I sat down to write this, I was reminded again that DC was definitely not the plan when I was making decisions about college, and yet, here I am. Rewind to my senior year in high school. I was set on a school in the midwest, and even though I had applied to Howard, I have to admit I was petrified of moving so far away from home. What I didn’t know then is that, five years later, I wouldn’t regret that application at all.

I promise this won’t be completely about Howard, but what I do have to mention is that attending Howard University was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I am extremely proud that I had the opportunity to study at a school with so much history and so much culture. Ok, that’s that. Continue reading →

Alexandria, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Smackdown! Beer vs. Wine

Remnants of Beer vs. Wine

Remnants of Beer vs. Wine, by Jenn Larsen on Flickr

Thor Cheston is the beer director for Brasserie Beck, while Leah Dedmon is the wine director for BRABO. They may both work for Robert Wiedmaier (Rammy’s Chef of the Year last June), but they are passionate rivals on the merits of beer vs. wine, especially when it comes to which will pair best with food.

Oh, they’re also engaged.

Fellow WLDC author Kirk and I aren’t engaged. We aren’t even really rivals, he just happens to be partial to beer while I prefer cocktails. But we are committed to bringing you the very best in drinks! So when we learned Thor and Leah would be going head-to-head in a battle to prove whether beer or wine would win as best for food pairings, we jumped. Four courses crafted by Robert Wiedmaier, paired by Leah and Thor with both wine and beer? There was even a tie-breaker course! It’s a rough life, but we suffered for you.

Most importantly, the loser of this ancient struggle has to do the other’s laundry for a month (that would be Thor or Leah, not Kirk or I!). Along the way we learned a lot about interesting ways to do food pairings with different types of beer and wine. All took place Wednesday night over at Wiedmaier’s “foodie trifecta” partnership with Kimpton’s Lorien Hotel & Spa in Old Town, Alexandria – BRABO, the Tasting Room, and the Butcher’s Block.

It was a tough crowd of fervent wine and beer lovers. So let’s kick this battle off with some oysters, a strong golden ale, and a chablis…. Continue reading →

Arlington, The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Court House

Photo courtesy of
‘Courthouse’
courtesy of ‘rpongsaj’

After profiling 22 neighborhoods in the District, it’s time Where We Live headed out to the suburbs. This week we’re focusing on Court House, an urban neighborhood in the middle of Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Sure, it’s technically a ‘suburb’, but with a movie theater, multiple grocery stores, tons of bars and restaurants, and office and government buildings, Court House has more to offer than many neighborhoods in the heart of DC.

History: In 1791, this area used to be part of DC.  But Virginia wanted Alexandria County back (mostly due to the sad fact that Alexandria was a big slave port, and talk of abolishing slavery in DC had Virginia scared), and this land was retroceded in 1846.  Fort Woodbury was a Civil War fort built in 1861 that stood where the current courthouse stands.  In 1852 the City of Alexandria split off, and in 1920 this area was renamed as Arlington County.

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Fashionable DC, The Features
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Fashionable DC: Luxury Items For Less

Robert R.

Robert Rodriguez fur and cashmere stole on sale for $42.50. Photo credit: Kelly Collis Fredrick

I started a mental list of luxury items that will, at least in theory, forever be staples in my closet – Chanel quilted purse, couture leather jacket, Hermes scarf, vintage fur stole, perfect pair black Manolo’s heels – just to name a few. Being an avid shopper, the treasure hunt to find these items at a deep discount is part of the fun. We are lucky in DC to have a plethora of consignment stores and I visited several to see if I could find the luxury items I was looking for… though I’m still saving for these items so I left my credit cards at home.

All the consignment stores I visited carried J. Crew, Banana Republic, Nanette Lepore, Tory Burch, etc. – which is great for staples, but I was looking for the “Fifth Avenue” brands. After several stops, it came down to these three consignment shops that had the best selection of luxury items. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, March 13-14

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Max: I’m headed up to NY this weekend to eat amazing food and check out some arty things like the Whitney Biennial.  However if I were staying in DC, I’d take advantage of the rainy forecast by watching some Oscar-winning movies and checking out Amy Lin’s work at Addison/Ripley in Georgetown.

Paulo: This Saturday is designated “DO TAXES ALREADY DAY” but after the taxes are done we will reward ourselves with a Japanese all-you-can-eat buffet at Matsutake in Ballston, followed by a trip to the National Gallery to see The Sacred Made Real and The Chester Dale Collection.

Samantha:  This weekend I will be attending a wedding in Philly on Friday and then heading to Scranton for their St. Paddy’s Parade on Saturday.  But — if I were to be in DC this weekend, I would most definitely be heading to E Street Cinema to catch a showing of An Education (I hear it is amazing).  I also would love to catch the photography exhibit of William Christenberry at the Hemphill Fine Arts Gallery on 14th Street.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Here We Go Magic

HWGM Photo Courtesy of Tell All Your Friends

It takes two words to describe Here We Go Magic – an experience.

The second their melodies creep into your ear, a musical journey begins and there’s no stopping it until you’ve arrived at the final destination. Their sound is a lot like the freaky tunnel scene in the original Willy Wonka movie. You don’t know where you’re going until you get there.

Where do they take you? A layered, hypnotic trance of swirling nirvana featuring an acoustic guitar pulse paired with Luke Temple’s high-pitched voice. Sound’s confusing, doesn’t it? Here’s a suggestion: don’t get bogged down in the details. Just listen. Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Special Events, We Love Arts
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National Geographic Live: March 2010

America's Endangered Species, ©Joel Sartore; courtesy of the National Geographic Museum

The spring season of National Geographic Live – a series of dynamic lectures, concerts, films and more – continues this month, with more great offerings.

Thanks to the awesome response from last month, the National Geographic Museum is offering up two pairs of tickets to our readers for any of the following events. Simply comment below (PLEASE use a legit email address and your first name) with what two events – in preferred order – you’d like to attend. We’ll do a random drawing on Friday (March 12) at 10 a.m. and get the winners set up with their first (or second, if your first choice is full) selection. Keep in mind that tickets are for single events only.

Note that the photography exhibitions that open this month do not require tickets and are free for visitors to enjoy.

Okay, enough about rules. Check out the March offerings after the jump.

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The Features
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Behind the Design: Sweetgreen

Photo courtesy of
‘Sweetgreen #14’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

A bit over a year ago, as I was sitting in my Institutional Design Studio, I was flipping through my favorite magazine – Metropolis – when I came across a feature story on Georgetown’s Sweetgreen.  I was in awe of the historic retrofit, the building used to house the Little Tavern hamburger ‘hut’, in conjunction with its eco-friendly and streamlined interior – I knew that as soon as class was over I would be off towards M Street in order to explore further. Could it be true? Does a piece of design paradise exist with-in a 460-square foot envelope just down the street from me?

Fast-forward a year later, to yesterday actually, where my investigation of Sweetgreen continued with Nic Jammet, one of the restaurants three owners (the others are Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Ru), at their newest location in Logan Circle.

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Farm Fresh, The Features
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Farm Fresh: Radius Pizza

Winter Pie

Winter Pie with celery root puree

Here’s another edition of our Farm Fresh feature where WeLoveDC authors Donna (greenie) and Katie (foodie) have paired up to tell you about local area restaurants that take on the challenge of being green. Donna explains the restaurant’s environmentally friendly efforts and Katie tells you if the food tastes any good. It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it, right?

Katie: Radius is one of those neighborhood gems that make you feel like you won the jackpot when you discover it. Tucked away on the second floor of an old row house on Mount Pleasant Street in Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant, the little pizzeria is one of my very favorite restaurants in the city. Last April, husband and wife team Todd and Nicole Wiss took over the former Italian eatery and turned it into one of the city’s most eco-conscious restaurants.

Donna: Chef Todd and his Nicole met while working at Poste Moderne Brassiere, which also has a commitment to local and sustainable food. It was there, while directing a James Beard Dinner that Todd became passionate about farm-to-table cooking. “Having eaten this way the majority of my life, I found it really important to make it our goal to create awareness to the diner that this is really important for the sustainability of our land, for future farming, and future generations,” said Todd. And then he shared that other reason: “It tastes a hell of a lot better!”
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Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: Table Scraps Edition

These next couple of weeks are a little sparse on the comedy front, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. The Washington Improv Theater FIST competition continues apace, with round 1 finishing up this weekend. They’ve already got some highlight video posted, so you can see if competitive amateur improv looks like a fun night out to you.

At the Arlington Drafthouse this weekend is Carlos Alazraqui and Cedric Yarbrough, stars of Comedy Central’s Reno 911, a show I’ve never understood the appeal of, but I seem to be in the minority on that point, so maybe you’d like to go see them. Continue reading →

People, Scribblings, Special Events
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Scribblings: Gail Harris

Photo courtesy of
‘Missile Exercise’
courtesy of ‘mashleymorgan’

Gail Harris was assigned by the U.S. Navy to a combat intelligence job in 1973, becoming the first woman to hold such a position. When she retired at the end of 2001, she was the highest ranking African American female in the Navy; her career spanned 28 years of leadership in the intelligence community, from the Cold War to Desert Storm to Kosovo. Her last challenge was in developing policy for the Computer Network Defense and Computer Network Attack for the Department of Defense. She recently authored A Woman’s War: The Professional and Personal Journey of the Navy’s First African American Female Intelligence Officer and will be at a special program at the International Spy Museum tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. She’ll share her unique experience and perspective in providing intelligence support to military operations while also battling the status quo, office bullies, and politics.

After the jump, a brief Q&A between the International Spy Museum and Gail Harris. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Some Girl(s)

Clementine Thomas and Brian Sutow in No Rules Theatre Company's production of "Some Girl(s)" Photo Credit: C. Stanley Photography

It’s Neil LaBute’s birthday next week, so it seems fitting that relative newcomers No Rules Theatre Co. are performing his play Some Girl(s) now through March 21st. Many have called him a psychologist of the dark side of the human soul, others a misogynist (personally, I think he’s an equal opportunity misanthrope). LaBute was responsible for one of my favorite films, Your Friends and Neighbors, scenes of which still sting sharp in my mind. Fellow WLDC author Don and I ventured out to H Street Playhouse convinced we would be at each other’s throats at the end of the play, in fitting tribute to LaBute with a raucous “He Said, She Said” review.

Our bottom line? This is a tight production featuring great performances, guaranteed to cause debate afterwards. The play’s age is showing, and a key character seems miscast, but that shouldn’t stop you from heading out to H Street and laughing cruelly as LaBute holds the mirror up to our blighted interpersonal relationships. It seems a pretty simple plot – watch as a man revisits his most memorable flings and exes before his impending marriage. Fun times! Who hasn’t wanted to gloat a little over the ones you left behind? But it’s not that simple, of course.
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The Daily Feed, The District, The Mall, Tourism
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Michelle Obama Donates Inaugural Gown

Photo courtesy of
‘Michelle Obama Donates Inaugural Gown’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

In a ceremony in the NMAH’s Flag Hall this morning, First Lady Michelle Obama donated her Jason Wu-designed chiffon and Swarovski crystal gown to the Smithsonian as part of their new “A First Lady’s Debut” Exhibit that opens tomorrow. Featuring gowns from the last 50 years of Inaugurations, from Mamie Eisenhower through to Michelle Obama,

Designer Jason Wu, 28, was on hand to meet the First Lady for the first time, and today thanked her for “letting my story become a small part of the events,” surrounding the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Wu emigrated from Taiwan when he was just 9 years old, studied in New York and Paris before opening his own studio in Manhattan 4 years ago. He is the youngest designer to outfit the First Lady for the Inauguration.

The exhibit is open to the public starting tomorrow morning.

Michelle Obama and Jason Wu with her Inaugural Gown Michelle Obama Applauds Huntington High School Students 

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough introduces Michelle Obama Jason Wu speaks about his Inaugural Design

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


Kid & Gorilla by architeuthis dux

A great photo can evoke many emotions from the viewer, much like the one above.  My first reaction was, “Awww, look at the cute kid at the zoo.”  Do you remember those days, when your parents or siblings took you to the zoo and you couldn’t believe your eyes?  How amazing was it that there was a magical place full of animals that you’d only seen in your books and on TV?  Oh and the only things to eat at this place are snow cones and cotton candy?!  Nice knowing you Mom and Dad.  I’m coming to live here with the elephants and tigers.  I appreciate all that you’ve done for me but the zoo is a bazillion times cooler than our house and I can poop wherever I want to!

My next thought after I’d looked at this photo for a while was, “Damn I feel so sorry for zoo animals, particularly the intelligent ones like the gorillas.”  There aren’t too many things that separate humans from primates, yet somehow it’s OK to keep them locked up in a cage for their entire life.  I know that zoos help protect endangered species and educate the public about animals, but that doesn’t keep me from wanting to let them loose into their natural habitat.

And my my final though, or rather my question, is which of these two creatures is more intelligent?  A 10+ year old gorilla or a wee little toddler?  I bet they’d both rather be on the opposite side of the glass.

The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: March Music Preview

Photo courtesy of
‘Project 365 – Day 2. It’s Only Rock’n’Roll’
courtesy of ‘.ygor’

Ticket prices for chart-topping acts who headline the big award shows are expensive. Not to mention the fact that tour stops at gigantic commercial venues like the Verizon Center take all the fun out of what a concert is supposed to be — an opportunity to hear quality live music. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule (like Muse at the Patriot Center last week), but whatever happened to showing the homegrown groups some sweet, sweet lovin’ by attending their hometown gigs? We’ve got 5 shows slated in March that deserve an audience. So spring something new on yourself this month  and check ’em out. Continue reading →

The DC 100, The Features
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Omni 100: #15 The Street Cart Hotdog

Photo courtesy of
‘Hot Dog Stand, West St. and North Moore, Manhattan.’
courtesy of ‘New York Public Library’

The hotdog cart has a long and storied history in the United States, and DC is no exception to the hotdog cart culture. In fact, DC’s own epic street meat, the Half-Smoke, is part of that culture of hotdog carts in DC. Sadly, most of the standard vendor carts lack any sort of character, and most are pretty common denominator when it comes to the hotdog.
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The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 3/5 — 3/7/2010

Photo courtesy of
‘lights, sun, and stucco’
courtesy of ‘m hoek’

What was that gigantic, heat producing orb up in the sky this weekend? The sun is back! Oh how we’ve all missed it so. The weather report tells us that come mid-week, we may be seeing some sundress weather. That means comfort for the ladies and eye candy for the fellas. It also means patio dining is back! So get ready to pull those leather jackets out of storage, throw on those shades, and head outside for a more comfortable climate to wander around in. Forget winter. Soon, it will be nothing more than a distant memory. Continue reading →