Category Archives: The Features

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

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


Keep your pets and children inside during a blizzard by gerdaindc

Have you heard the rumor?  Due to the perfect combination of cool and moist weather patterns, DC could be in for a whole lot of snow this winter.  Our twenty inches that fell earlier this month could foreshadow much more white stuff to come.

Being from Denver, I love snowstorms, especially blizzards.  The bigger the better as far as I’m concerned.  I love how quiet things are when it snows and how it can transform a dirty, ugly city into a beautiful, serene wonderland.  Snowstorms can bring random strangers closer together, give people an excuse to stay home from school or work, and make for some great photographs.  Yet despite all of this, some people hate snow, hate the cold, and can’t wait for the sweaty, humid days of summer to return.

We’ve loved all of the snow photos that you’ve been adding to our Flickr pool.  This shot by gerdaindc takes me back to my childhood days when the kids in my neighborhood would build snowmen, go sledding, and depending on how ambitious we were, build igloos.  We may have even thrown snowballs at cars, but in those days it was all just innocent fun.

The Features
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Last Minute New Years Eve Dress Guide

Photo courtesy of
‘NYC holiday’
courtesy of ‘anne.oeldorfhirsch’

It’s happened to all of us ladies one year or another – you’ve been so busy with the holidays that you’ve completely forgotten to go shopping for your New Years Eve dress! Oops! That’s okay, I’ve got a few last-minute quick fixes for you, no matter what your style and budget. So read on for great places to find the perfect “kiss me” dress!

I’ve got some contenders for less than $50, great places to find a dress that’s sure to be one-of-a-kind, some tricky ways to turn an office dress into evening wear, and finally places to snag a show stopping dress that’s sure to get you noticed. So read on, lover girl, let’s get you dolled up. Continue reading →

The DC 100, The Features
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DC Omnivore 100: #49, Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

Photo courtesy of
‘Waterfall of Sugar’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

It’s time for another item on the DC Omnivore 100 list of the top one hundred foods every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.

“Hot. Now.”

Once upon a time in my crazy clubkid life there would come a point in the night when the urge for a Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut would become incredibly intense. Friends would pack into cars and caravan down Route 1 to the old production plant in Alexandria with its eccentric diner storefront and sketchy late night patrons. Our eyes would light up like five-year-olds as the blazing neon sign came into view, confirming our desires – yes indeed, there would be hot glazed doughnuts fresh off the “ramp of love.”

Nowadays you can get Krispy Kremes almost everywhere, even overseas, but back when I came to DC from Connecticut the only doughnuts I was familiar with were Dunkin’s cake varieties. So my first bite of this yeast-raised doughnut coated in cracking sugar was nothing short of a sweetness revelation. And I’m not even much for sweets – BUT! A box of warm doughnuts in my lap on a late summer’s night, the delicate outer crunch of sugar followed by the soft dough inside… just heavenly (wow, was that a bit of drool hitting my keyboard?).
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The Features
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Happy Holidays, DC!

HolidayCard-2009b

No matter what you’re celebrating this weekend, whether it’s Christmas or a long weekend, we hope it’s happy and safe. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for helping make DC a little more awesome every day.

See you on Monday!

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, December 25-26

Photo courtesy of
‘The Warm Glow of Electric Sex’
courtesy of ‘Rukasu1’

Happy Holidays, everyone. Here’s how we’re spending the holiday weekend. Let us know what you’re up to in the comments.

Tiff: Like many of you, I’ll be spending a good chunk of the weekend out of town visiting family, but there are two things I’m looking forward to doing here in DC with the rest of my off-time. I’ll be catching Matt Kazam at the DC Improv on Sunday, and since my office is closed Monday, I might go check out ICE with the ticket I got as a gift from the company.

Rachel: This is my first holiday season not being spent in Chicago. Since I can’t be around my family, I’m spending my time in Alexandria with a close one’s family and his two pets. I — like many of the fellow Jews I know — enjoy seeing movies on Christmas Day. This year, I’m hoping to go see that new Sherlock Holmes flick because what could be better than Jude Law … right? I’m also planning on recording a few new songs I’ve written to close out the new year and just sitting by the fire.   Continue reading →

Interviews, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Carlton McCoy

Carlton McCoy, sommelier for Sou'Wester. Photo courtesy Pfau Communications.

Carlton McCoy, sommelier for Sou'Wester. Photo courtesy Pfau Communications.

We Love Drinks continues our series where we look behind the bar, profiling the many people – from mixologists to bartenders, sommeliers to publicans – who make your drinks experience happen.

Ah, the mystique of the sommelier. How many times have you actually felt comfortable engaging in that dance of the wine list with one? There’s the delicate waltz about price point, the fear of disapproval of your favorite varietal. Unless you are a wine connoisseur or see something you recognize, no doubt it’s been awkward at best.

Enter Carlton McCoy, native Washingtonian and sommelier for Sou’Wester, Chef Eric Ziebold’s second restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental. Or rather, enter-exit-enter-exit-here-there-everywhere Carlton McCoy. I’ve never seen a sommelier with this kind of high energy. Almost like that perfect host at a private dinner party, checking in guests, smiling and milling about in an friendly open manner – he completely demystifies the role.

Gone are the days when people will accept a raised eyebrow reaction to a request for a moderately priced bottle. As we learn more about wine, we are less likely to approach a sommelier like a high priest, and certainly in rough economic weather that’s less likely to be tolerated. The best ones understand this and want to share their passion in an approachable manner. Carlton has this quality, times ten. I would never hesitate to ask him anything about wine, and I know he’d give an honest, no-nonsense reply.

This refreshing attitude comes backed with a pretty impressive pedigree. He’s an Advanced Level Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers (that’s one level away from being a Master Sommelier, of which there are only 168 in the world). But Carlton began his career in the culinary world, attending the Culinary Institute of America with stints at famed New York restaurants Aquavit and Per Se. He returned to DC to be Chef Ziebold’s assistant sommelier at CityZen while also managing the cheese cart there. His official duties at Sou’Wester include managing the some 250 bottle wine list, all-American beer list and cocktail menu. Having worn many different hats suits his expansive style well.

He’s also refreshingly humble talking about the cocktail program, his first! “Chef and I are lightweights,” he jokes, “so these are $10 cocktails you can have without falling over.”

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Entertainment, Interviews, The Features
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The Harlem Globetrotters take to the capital’s courts

Blakes on the ice with Capitals players
“Buckets Blakes” with the Washington Capitals
Courtesy Washington Sports & Entertainment

In early December, I sat down with Harlem Globetrotter “Buckets” Blakes over some tacos and salsa—the spicy garnish as well as the flavorful tunes playing overhead at Rosslyn’s Baja Fresh. A warm soul with a wide smile, Blakes arrived all suited up and with his basketball perched nonchalantly on his hip. When the behind-the-counter Baja employee jokingly extended his hands for a pass, Buckets playfully tossed the ball his way, afterward posing for a photo with the ecstatic fan.

Buckets Blakes (#15), now in his eighth season with the Globetrotters, clearly enjoys these press junkets he’s sent on as one of the team’s more experienced players. He kept busy during this past DC/VA tour—taking to the ice rink with the Capitals (learning “just how bad he is at hockey”), gift-wrapping at Tysons Corner, surprising Horton’s Kids youth with free eyeglasses and even, to the delight of some Wizards fans, swiping tickets at the Verizon Center (“Hey, I’ve got to make some cash somehow!” he joked). Blakes returns to the area with his teammates next week as they take over the court December 29 at Fairfax, Virginia’s Patriot Center at 7 p.m. and then at downtown’s Verizon Center December 30 at 7 p.m.

The Harlem Globetrotters are as American as apple pie. Who doesn’t hear Brother Bones’s whistled version of “Sweet Georgia Brown” and envision those red, white and blue-clad, towering magicians miraculously spinning basketballs atop long fingers and catapulting balls into the net from a court’s length away? The group, formed by London-born immigrant Abraham Saperstein, evolved in the 1920s on the South Side of Chicago where the original players grew up. The team (then called the Savoy Five) turned professional in 1927, later getting a new name when promoter Saperstein wanted to give the impression that the all-black team represented that mostly black New York borough. Famed for their unique combination of athleticism, theater and comedy, the Globetrotters have fluctuated between playing competitively and for show, resulting in one of the best-known sports entertainment franchises in the world.

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Entertainment, Fun & Games, Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Metro Singalong 2009

Photo courtesy of
‘Navidad en el metro’
courtesy of ‘Daquella manera’

With apologies to purists of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Johnny Catoe and Metro gave to DC…

12 budget shortfalls of 22 40 175 million dollars!

11 pole hogs hogging

10 SmarTrip card upgrades … no, wait … here we go … um, maybe … yes! … no, this one’s correct!

9 tourist tip guidelines (plus ancillaries, corollaries and exceptions)

8 doors opening to nowhere

7 not-so-hard questions

6 sweatbox stations

FIIIIIIIVE customer friendly operators!!!!!!

4 busted escalators

3 in-the-dark Metro board members

2 Metro shower curtains

and one disillusioned, disgruntled rider!

Have a great holiday, everyone! See you in 2010.

Adams Morgan, Alexandria, Arlington, Dupont Circle, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Penn Quarter, Petworth, The Features, WTF?!
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Surviving the Next Snowpocalypse

Photo courtesy of
‘South Smithsonian Escalators’
courtesy of ‘william couch’

The DC area, this weekend, was something of a post-apocalyptic landscape. Driving down 395 on Saturday, one would have seen abandoned cars spun out at odd angles and their stranded drivers trudging towards some nameless help. Most residents stayed holed up in their homes, living off of the provisions they had dutifully stocked the day before. Basic commodities were impossible to come by and the majority of services simply shut down. As the snow storm abated, DC residents peered from their homes at the changed landscape, and painstakingly began the cleanup, trying to return to normality.

Ok, sure, that is a bit of an over-dramatization, but seriously, 395 did look like something out of 28 Days Later.  This snow, like any snow, threw into sharp relief how woefully unprepared DC area citizens are for wintry weather. So, as a northerner, I take it upon myself to save you all from yourselves before the next snowpocalypse.

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Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Photo courtesy of
‘Christmas in Washington – 090’
courtesy of ‘giantminispacegoat’

Welcome to a holiday edition of Mythbusting! This week we’ll be figuring out exactly what is going on with the Christmas trees in DC. How many National Christmas Trees are there? There’s the one outside the Capitol and the one outside the White House, but are there more “official” Christmas trees in our federal city?

Yes, there are! There are three official national trees in our fair city: the Capitol Christmas Tree in front of the Capitol. the National Christmas Tree near the ellipse at the White House, and the White House Christmas Tree inside the Blue Room of the White House. Read on to find out the difference between these trees, where they came from this year, and which one is a DC native!

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Featured Photo
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Feature Photo


‘Boulder Bridge’
courtesy of ‘architeuthis dux’

If you guessed that our photo pool would be filled with snow pictures this week, you were right and deserve a prize. Almost as many pictures as millimeters of snow, and we rounded up some of the best yesterday. That’s not going to stop me choosing another snow picture as our feature photo for the week.

When the first failed attempt to purchase the land that would become Rock Creek Park was introduced in the Senate in 1867, Sen. B. Gratz Brown of Missouri, chairman of the Public Buildings and Grounds committee, said of the proposed park, “it has running water; it has rugged hills; it has picturesque scenery; it has abundance of varied forest timber; it has a native undergrowth blushing with beauty.”

It is this “picturesque scenery” that photographer architeuthis dux found when he wandered past the historic Boulder Bridge. Built in 1902 to carry Beach Drive over the creek, the bridge seems to have been waiting for this snowfall and photo opportunity. The snow, the creek, the quiet serenity, even the slight sepia coloring all combine to create a stunning picture that many won’t believe is inside the heart of our city.
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Fashionable DC, The District, The Features
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Fashionable DC: Stylish and Warm

IMG_0894
Photo courtesy of Kelly Collis Fredrick

Winter has arrived in D.C. and if you have lived in Washington for a while you know we are not real pros at surviving the cold and not to mention dealing with snow! I find it is more of challenge to stay stylish during the winter months.

Here are a few items that will keep you warm and looking stylish this winter.  So ditch those Uggs!

Hats and Scarfs

Anthropologie in Georgetown has a great selection of knit hats in a variety of colors and styles that range from $38-$42, they are loose fitting so it will not mess up your hair completely.  And on the flip side if you are having a bad hair day, they are super cute and you can wear them all day.

Another great item is a spin on a classic  – a ruffled scarf.  Anthropologie sells them a bunch of different colors for $98 and I have also spotted some at Bloomingdale’s in Chevy Chase for a lot less at around $40. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: Snow Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Ovechkin about to score’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

Capitals
Record: 22-8-6
Last Two Weeks: 4-3
Place: First in the Southeast

The Caps hit a bit of a skid this week. Sure, it’s hard to say that 4-3 is a skid, but when you’re as dominant as the Caps have been this season, it’s tough to watch losses at all. Especially when they’re shutouts like the game against the Sabres last week. Sure, Ovechkin is lighting it up like crazy, with 23 goals and 41 points, and Nicholas Backstrom is proving to be the assist machine with 28.

Injuries continue to be a bit of a plague, as they’ve sidelined important parts of the Caps lines, and now include Semyon Varlamov with a groin-strain. Perhaps the team is just road-weary? Long road-trips have taken their toll on teams past, so that’s entirely possible

One important piece of info, though, for Virginia-based Caps fans, the drive for a Capitals Vanity Plate for your car continues, and they need your help. On Frozen Blog has the details and applications close on the 31st.

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The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Snowpocalypse Flashback: 12/18 – 12/20/2009

Photo courtesy of
‘Great Blizzard of ’09’
courtesy of ‘pixelmasseuse’

Snowpocalypse! Amazingly, several of our intrepid area photogs got out and about over the weekend and captured some fantastic shots of our area under nearly two feet of snow. (Yes, I’m jealous. A little.) So while most of us lounge around on our ‘enforced’ day off today, reminisce of our winter wonderland ‘event’ while sipping hot cocoa and listening to holiday music.

You don’t even have to go outside!

And if you have any snow photos from the weekend you want to share, make sure you drop them in our WeLoveDC Flickr pool!

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The Features
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Federal Government Closed Monday

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

Tomorrow just got a whole lot more interesting. The Federal Government has announced that they’ve closed all agencies and offices tomorrow:

Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are closed. Nonemergency employees (including employees on pre-approved leave) will be granted excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. This does not apply to employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers’ compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status.

Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time.

Employees on alternative work schedules are not entitled to another AWS day off in lieu of the workday on which the agency is closed.

So, enjoy your snow day, DC! It’s gonna be a good one.

Update 5:50pm: Arlington County has also closed offices and services for Monday.

Update 6:26pm: George Mason University will open at Noon

Update 6:46pm: Falls Church City Government will open at 10am

News, The District, The Features, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro Closes Above Ground Service at 1pm

alertmap_w_legend.gif

Metro has just announced that they will discontinue above-ground rail service at 1pm today, until the snow has stopped. That will close 39 stations until the snowfall has been managed.

In addition: Metrobus and Metro Access will stop running at 1:30pm.

The reason for the closures at 8″ of snow is that if the third-rail is covered, it can no longer transmit the necessary running power for the trains, meaning you could get stranded by the snow. Once they’ve cleared up the snow, they’ll return to normal service, but I’d expect that to be tomorrow at the very earliest. You can read more about Metro’s snow policies on their site.

Steven Taubenkibel of Metro has just said that road conditions are far too treacherous to continue service. For the remainder of the day, they’ll run empty deicer trains on the above-ground tracks, so you may still see trains on the tracks, but there will be no service there. They are emphasizing safety, asking people to stay off the roads so they can be cleared for service.

Adventures, Fun & Games, News, The Features
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Snow Details, Snow Fun

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

Update 11:52: THUNDERSNOW HAS BEEN REPORTED AT QUANTICO! You hear me?? THUNDERSNOW I SAY!

Update 11:38AM: (From NWS Senior Meteorologist Logan Johnson): This will now easily be the biggest December snowstorm on record in DC. It is very important that people stay OFF the roads and also that people report their snow totals to the National Weather Service at lwx-report@noaa.gov. Heaviest bands of snow arriving right now in Arlington/DC area so snowfall totals will pick up quickly.

On a side note, DCA is closed until at least 1pm.

UPDATE 9:25AM: We are now in a blizzard warning until 6pm this evening! This means winds over 35mph in addition to our substantial snowfall (up to 22″), as well as very reduced visibility.

Quick snow recap of the latest:

  • We could see 9″ by morning and UP TO 2 feet of snow by Sunday morning. That is kah-ray-zee.
  • Blizzard warnings have been issued for areas east of the city, including La Plata and Annapolis, MD.
  • We are all in a winter storm warning through Sunday morning. 30 HOURS LEFT!
  • There is no milk left in the DC metro area. At all. Like for real.
  • DC has issued a snow emergency starting at 7am, so MOVE YOUR CARS.
  • Nancy Pelosi had to leave Copenhagen early to make sure she could get back to the Hill before DC is swallowed up by fluffy white stuff.
  • It’s very possible that Metro may be an underground ONLY system starting tomorrow. Map and details here.
  • Virginia is already in a state of emergency.
  • DC area news stations will have up to the minute coverage starting at 2am and will give you updated reports every minute on the minute. Team coverage expected at every area grocery store and intersection.

    • By now, you know all there is to know about this #snowpocalypse #snOMG storm. You’ve read our post from earlier today with a description of what thundersnow is and how it could happen tomorrow, making this megastorm even more entertaining. And above you have all of the latest details you could EVAR want! So let’s have some fun with this snow thing. Everyone in our area is going crazy right now and it will only get worse tomorrow. Play along.

    Continue reading →

    The Features
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    Maps for People Who Love DC

    DC Ork Poster

    DC Ork Poster

    As an urban planner, I really love living in a planned city, and I love maps of DC too– so much that I recently looked around and realized that the majority of wall-hangings in my home are DC maps. So for those of you looking for a holiday gift for someone who loves DC, let me suggest a couple decorative maps that are currently hanging in my home that could make great gifts for the DC-lover in your life:

    DC Ork Poster
    This was an early Christmas present this year, and already it is one of my favorite DC things. It shows the District’s neighborhoods by their names, creating a very cool effect. While this is extremely useful for determining which neighborhoods I haven’t yet covered in my Where We Live series, it’s also just really cool looking.

    Continue reading →

    People, The Features
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    Why I Love DC: Michael


    ‘In the Shadow of the Capitol’
    courtesy of ‘Bogotron’

    I love this city because of its shadows, what casts them, and who lives within them.

    I love the promise of the dream and the bitterness of the truth and how they coexist here. I love the power-brokers, hypocrites, and professional liars. I love the bus drivers, cab drivers, and the waitstaff at New Big Wong.

    I love all the idealistic young people who flood to our city every new Fall college term. I love watching them evolve into social climbing jerks and cynical drunks. I love the few who make it through and actually do some good. I love all the wonks, feds, consultants, soldiers, and spies.

    Continue reading →

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