Category Archives: The Features

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

Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Night Life, People, Special Events, The District, The Features
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Georgetown Halloween 2009

Photo courtesy of
‘Halloween in Georgetown’
courtesy of ‘ep_jhu’

Ever since moving to DC in 2006, I have managed to miss out on the Georgetown Halloween scene for one reason or another, so this year I vowed to check out the madness and see what all the hubbub was about.

Our method of event transportation from Glover Park was on foot, which was a wise decision give the street closures. We arrived on the scene at around 11pm, and found the M Street inundated with costumers.  The DCPD had temporarily fenced in the sidewalks for crowd control purposes, which created a nice parade-like crowd movement along the M Street corridor.  The bars were jammed packed with waiting lines, and picture takers were everywhere. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The DC 100, The Features
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DC Omnivore 100: #37, Cream Tea

Scones, The Jefferson

"Scones, The Jefferson" by Jenn Larsen on Flickr

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

Cream tea, high tea, afternoon tea… what’s it all about? And why does the Omnivore 100 list have “cream tea” instead of one of the other terms? I just remembered seeing little signs for “cream tea” while wandering around cute villages in the Cotswolds, but have never seen it used around here. Then there’s the constant “high tea vs. afternoon tea” debates that erupt on food forums, everytime someone asks where to get “a proper high tea” in this town.

As luck would have it, last night at the Women’s Chef & Restaurateurs Awards gala, I had the pleasure of meeting an actual tea sommelier! Cynthia Gold explained the difference between these three terms, with some history to boot. Like so much food lore, the actual reasons were not at all what I expected.

It all comes down to table heights.

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Music, The Features
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November Concert Preview

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

Kind of a light month music-wise in November, possibly due to the holiday. Also could be due to the fact that way more people are willing to venture out for a show when it’s nice outside than when it’s blistering cold, as November undoubtedly will be.  Most of the fun stuff seems to be clustered toward the beginning of the month, with a few excellent shows right around Thanksgiving, including Peter Bjorn and John, Queen Latifah, The Mountain Goats, and more– so let’s jump right in!

Right up front in November, the Verizon Center is hosting two HUGE names, but for very different audiences: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Monday, November 2 and Miley Cyrus the next day, Tuesday, November 3. I mean, I guess you can party in the USA and still be down with The Boss, right? Continue reading →

Alexandria, Tourism
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Tourism: George Washington Masonic Memorial

Photo courtesy of
‘Egyptian Floor of the Masonic Temple’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

While this enormous Masonic temple in Alexandria is visible from all over the city, I finally found my way there this past weekend to explore its inner secrets – and I was impressed. While I know in reality that the mysteries revolving around Freemasonry are highly dramatized, the unintelligible symbols, the A-list of Presidential members, and the immensity of the memorial make for an interesting combination, to say the least. Even if it does require a little imagination to keep the myths going.

The memorial is currently running tours up to four times a day, including weekends, covering all “9” floors of the building. From the entry hall, up to the museum, then to the Egyptian floor, followed by the Knights of Templar and, finally, the observation deck. Where are the other 4 floors? That only adds to the mystery. In several weeks, the temple is opening the elevators for public use on unguided tours, but for now you must go on a guided tour. Oh yeah, and it’s FREE. Continue reading →

Downtown, Food and Drink, Night Life, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: W Wine Bar

Barscape, W Hotel Washington

"Barscape, W Hotel Washington" by Jenn Larsen on Flickr

It took me a while to return to the W Hotel after my first look back in July. Katie’s second look confirmed it was going to be a sleek and chic scene. But what about the drinks?

When I ask people what they think about drinks at the W, I tend to get the same response – “Love the view. Hate the line.” They’re referring to POV and its roof terrace, of course, both featuring a killer view of our fair city. POV is still going strong, even as the weather turns chilly. The hotel plans to keep the roof terrace open year-round, thanks to heat lamps and a new awning. So if you don’t have a reservation up top, most likely on peak nights you will end up waiting in a labyrinthine line snaking through the Living Room. That is, unless you just do the sensible thing – plan in advance and make a reservation.

But the most important thing to remember about a night of drinks at the W – it’s not just about POV. There’s a snug little bar tucked away beneath J&G Steakhouse that’s perfect for a rendezvous or two. Biggest surprise? Shssh – the drinks experience may actually be better. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, October 31-November 1

Photo courtesy of
‘Chicken Canine: Petworth Dog Walk Halloween 2009’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

Jenn: One thing’s for sure – whatever I end up doing for Halloween will be a last-minute choice. It’s crept up on my like a mummy’s cold dead fingers and caught me unawares. Ok, maybe not, maybe I’m just lazy this year. Will I relive my undead goth years at Spooky’s crazy dance party at Town Thursday night? Will I go twisted Bollywood-style at Black Cat’s Bhangraween Saturday? Will I scare myself silly at Little Miss Whiskey’s Night of the Living Dead Friday? Or maybe join the bloodsuckers at Synetic’s Vampire Ball? Or… or… or… are too many choices making me go as mad as Dr. Frankenstein?

Ben: Friday’s our usual celebration of all things hockey, not the least of which is the visiting Islanders versus the Capitals at 7 p.m.  Not a big Halloween celebrator here; during the day we’ll be roaming Potomac Mills down in Woodbridge while at night we’ll be ignoring the door in favor of Penguins hockey. Sunday’s our designated “photography” day, so we’ll be heading down to Prince William Forest Park to catch the last vestiges of brilliant fall foliage and probably do some hiking, if the rain lets up. Continue reading →

Five Favorites, The District, The Features, WMATA
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Five Favorites: Metro Stations

Photo courtesy of
‘Woodley Station’
courtesy of ‘Tyrannous’

Hi, and welcome to a new feature called Five Favorites.  Our reader Jay suggested ranking favorite places in DC, and I’m going to start with five favorite Metro stations.  These are stations that are the best examples of vibrant, walkable, urban, mixed-use places in the District.  These are the Metro stations that you could emerge from at any time, and there’d always be plenty of people around.  This list is a mix of subjective factors and measurable data, so feel free to disagree and tell me which of your favorites I missed.

Number 5: Woodley Park/Adams Morgan. Ok, we all know that it’s annoying to have to walk across the bridge to get from the Metro station to the heart of Adams Morgan, but still– this Metro station is always full of people emerging from the ridiculously long escalators.  The Connecticut Avenue strip where you emerge from the Metro station is full of some great restaurants, and the 10-minute walk across the bridge to 18th Street puts you in the middle of it all.

The Adams Morgan neighborhood itself is a diverse, multi-cultural neighborhood with restaurants, bars, shops, and corner stores, and cute rowhouses and apartments mixed in.  While this stop just barely made it into the top five because of the distance to Adams Morgan itself, the vibrant, constantly-moving atmosphere of the area and the busy-ness of the Metro itself (residents and commuters in the mornings, people out on dates in the evenings, college students in the late evenings) make it one of the best mixed-use Metro stations in the city.  Walk Score: 95.  The Woodley Park Metro station has an average daily ridership of 8,000.
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Talkin' Transit, The Features
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Talkin’ Transit: Future of P-G County Transportation

traffic flow

Stop-and-go traffic may become a thing of the past for Prince George’s County commuters. That is, if county planners have their way.

The county recently released its 171-page transportation master plan, which covers such ideas as extending WMATA’s Metrorail Purple and Green lines, High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes on heavily-trafficked roadways and other suggestions to get commuters out of their cars and onto public transit.

The plan, in the works for nearly two years, is directly in line with P-G’s overall growth policy, focusing less on residential development and delving more into mixed-use. The county wants its residents to be able to live, work and play in a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

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The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Dracula

Dan Istrate and Natalie Berk in Synetic Theater's "Dracula." Photo credit: Graeme B. Shaw

Dan Istrate and Natalie Berk in Synetic Theater's "Dracula." Photo credit: Graeme B. Shaw

Oh, Vlad. How we missed you. Vampires are back in fashion, sucking blood and living forever. Sad soulful looks are fine, but let’s say you prefer your undead to be more aggressive and lustful. Synetic Theater’s revamp of their smash rendition of “Dracula” will be just the thing to get you in the mood. For Halloween, that is!

The company throws themselves into the well-known tale with unbridled enthusiasm. In some cases, they are literally thrown – the physicality of Irina Tsikurishvili’s choreography caused the audience to gasp repeatedly. As always, the artistry of the ensemble creates breathtaking images – fluttering hands for firelight, tossing hair as horses, a crawling bat – too many to mention.

As Dracula, Dan Istrate’s raw masculinity and wry humor were so on target, I thought the women next to me were going to have several Victorian fainting spells. Continue reading →

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Kick It Off Tonight

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington Wizards’
courtesy of ‘RMTip21’

The Wizards kick off their season tonight in Dallas against Mark Cuban’s Mavericks. While it seems the Wiz will wait even longer for the holy trinity of Arenas/Jamison/Butler to be united, but since we’ve been waiting since 2007, anyhow, so what’s another 3-5 weeks? This will also mark the Washington debut of coach Flip Saunders, who took over at the helm during the off-season. Saunders’ past success with Detroit and Minnesota make him a candidate to lead the turn-around for the Wizards, but much is dependent at this point on getting everyone healthy and keeping them that way.

The Wizards start of with a brutal first fifteen games. Four of their first five opponents made the playoffs this year, and they’ll be down Antawn Jamison until mid November at the earliest. It’s not exactly the sort of situation you want a team that has so much to prove to be in so early in the season. This is the kind of stretch you want to see much later in the year, once the engine’s running on all cylinders. But, if Saunders can keep the keel even, and can come out of that first fifteen with six or seven wins, then I’d say there’s a fair chance the Wizards might be back to their earlier form. Don’t hold your breath.

Tipoff’s at 8:30 tonight, and the game’s on Comcast Sports Net.

Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: Haunted DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Thomas Trueman Gaff Monument’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Hi, and welcome to a Halloween edition of Mythbusting!  This week, I’ll see if my mythbusting skills can translate to ghostbusting.  I’m going to tackle three different spooky DC myths and see if I can find any validity in the legends.  Sound good?  Let’s get started.

The Demon Cat in the Capitol: First off, let’s tackle one of the most widespread haunted myths of our city: the Demon Cat.  There are so many ghost stories involving a black cat who appears in the Capitol as an omen before national tragedies like presidential assassinations.  Legend has it that the cat has appeared before the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy, before the stock market crash of 1929, and even on September 10, 2001.  Apparently, there are even permanent paw prints in the Capitol that show the presence of the Demon Cat!  So is there really a Demon Cat?

Continue reading →

Farm Fresh, The Features
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Farm Fresh: Evening Star Cafe

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Here’s another feature where WeLoveDC authors Donna (greenie) and Katie (foodie) have paired up to tell you about local restaurants that take on the challenge of being green. Donna will explain the logic behind the environmentally friendly trends, and Katie will tell you if the food tastes any good. It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it, right?

Katie: Evening Star Cafe is nestled on Mount Vernon Avenue in the heart of Alexandria’s bohemian neighborhood, Del Ray. Lanterns twinkle above. Seated at the window, Donna and I watched neighbors pass by walking dogs, running errands and grabbing frozen custard from Dairy Godmother. Evening Star has this wonderful homey feel, so it’s not hard as hard to imagine the farm-to-table concept in practice there, as it is at a super-polished place like Charlie Palmer Steak. Chef Will Artley jokes around with us like we’ve known him forever, and describes walking through the farmer’s market picking up the food for our meal and it just makes sense. We were happy to accept an invitation to learn all about Evening Star Cafe (and Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s) approach to green dining.

Donna: Evening Star is just one of the eateries in the Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG), and co-owner Michael Babin talked to us about the philosophy that guides them all. NRG supports mindful growing, with no pesticides or hormones, as well as humane treatment of animals. The restaurants use biodegradable take-home containers, compost scraps, and soon their used cooking oil will be turned into biodiesel fuel.

Katie: We kicked off our meal with a light melon soup. Chef Artley laughed, telling us how he’s allergic to melons, but got so excited when he spotted these that he forgot and sampled some. It was that kind of meal – perfectly accessible, friendly, and so exciting that you forget things like food allergies. Continue reading →

Interviews, People, The Features
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He Loves DC: Walker Lamond

Photo courtesy of
Walker Lamond from the “Rules for My Unborn Son” Media Kit
courtesy of ‘K1rkles’

Walker Lamond can be described as the fatherly sage of the masculine aesthetic.  Perhaps you don’t know his name, but it’s more than likely that you’ve at least heard of his blog, “1001 Rules for My Unborn Son.” As the title suggests, Walker doles out practical advice to his son on his popular Tumblr page.  He’s gathered a substantial following over his past year and a half of blogging, including the attention of a few publishers.

Tomorrow, Walker will join the ranks of the bloggers turned authors when Rules for My Unborn Son, a book of his axioms, is released. It turns out that Mr. Lamond is a resident of DC and, on the eve of his literary debut, he graciously agreed to answer a few questions about his book and life in the city.  He even gave some advice while he was at it. So, continue reading to discover Walker’s thoughts on becoming an author, DC’s greatest sartorial misstep, and how to improve our taxi system.

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Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: Prelude to a Season

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Alex Barth’

D.C. United
Record: 9-8-13
Place: Fourth in the East
Last Two Weeks: 1-0-1

At the end of it all, United couldn’t win when they had to, and settled for a tie in Kansas City. They tied more than they did anything else this season, which is why they’ll watch the playoffs from their homes. Needing a win in Kansas City, they managed to put up the offense, but the loss of Wicks in goal meant they gave up a pair of goals they shouldn’t have.

So, what happens now? The good news is, United is still DC’s football team that doesn’t suck. The bad news, well, Coach Tom Soehn may be done. It’s not clear if that’s all that bad.

As usual, Ben Olsen nails it: “This organization’s not used to [missing the playoffs]. If that’s the case, then we’ll handle it. You know, take part of the blame. We lost this organization some points out of this year, and we’re in this together and move forward. You can’t make it every year, but two in a row is alarming, and we’ll certainly look to coming back next year.”

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Food and Drink, The Features
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Kirk’s Almost Famous Chili Recipe

Photo courtesy of
‘Chillli! Chille? Chili?’
courtesy of ‘goodcatmum’

If last weekend told you anything, it’s that cold weather is right around the corner. I’m writing, dear reader, to inform you of a method of defense against chill.  I want to bestow upon you a chili recipe that will warm your body and soul.  A chili recipe that is, as of last night, award winning. A chili recipe that has never been written down, before. My very own “Kirk’s Almost Famous Chili Recipe,” winner of the 2009 Miriam’s Kitchen Chili Cookoff.

My recipe is a bastardized Cincinnati style chili. Cincinnati style is sweeter and more complex than its Texan cousin.  It’s more about the spices than about the types and amount of chilis that go into it.  This isn’t to say that it’s weak or anything, it’s just different. What I tried to do was marry the complexity of Cincinnati chili with the beefiness and savor of Texas chili.

It should come out with a subtly sweet broth that has a slow burn towards the back of the throat.  There are hints of bourbon and cinnamon that go very nicely with the change in season and make the chili palatable enough to be eaten without rice or corn bread. Ideally, everything will come out in balance: sweet, but not too sweet and spicy, but not too spicy. And yes, it has beans.  Sorry, purists.

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The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Georgetown

Photo courtesy of
‘loves it’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Where We Live.  This week, we’ll be looking at a DC neighborhood that is older than DC– Georgetown!  Home to beautiful architecture, a thriving commercial district, and a major university, Georgetown probably draws more out-of-towners than any other DC neighborhood (except maybe Adams Morgan on Saturday nights).  Read on to find out what real Georgetown residents think of their neighborhood.

History: Lots of history to cover here.  Way back in 1632, an English fur trader documented a Native American settlement called Tohoga where Georgetown currently is, and he established trade there.  Fast forward to 1751 when the town was incorporated as part of Maryland (interestingly enough, it’s not named after George Washington as I had erroneously assumed– it’s either named after King George II or its founders, George Gordon and George Beall).  Because of its geographic location as the furthest point up on the Potomac River that boats could reach, it became a big port, and warehouses and buildings grew around the tobacco trade (and sadly, the slave trade too).

When Congress created the District of Columbia in 1791, Georgetown was included in the outline of the 10-mile square.  Georgetown continued to grow, with Georgetown University founded in 1789, and much of the area developed with commercial buildings near the water and residential buildings further north on higher ground.  Georgetown retained its identity for quite a while– that is, until its town charter was revoked in 1871, and when it was finally ordered in 1880 to conform with DC’s street naming structure.

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Adams Morgan, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Night Life, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: MAN EDITION

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_6739’
courtesy of ‘chrysti harrison’

Welcome to We Love Drinks: MAN EDITION (imagine the title with with like flames and motorcycles around it.  That’s how I picture it in my head, anyways.) Jenn has graciously handed me the reins this month to take you all on a more masculine version of her beloved feature. I’ll be leading you all on what is, for me, the ideal man-night in DC.

Man nights can take many forms.  There’s the cheap beer and wings version at a sports bar, there’s the suits and scotch edition at a cigar bar, there’s the more sodden bachelor party iteration, and each has its place.  My version is somewhere in the middle.  It’s not classy, but not frattish, not too raucous, but not boring.  Consider it the business casual pub crawl of man-nights.

First of all, some ground rules: no phone calls with women, no sissy drinks, no dancing, no personal vehicles, keep the list of bars short and local.  Follow these and you’ll be much happier, safer, and richer by the end of the evening.  For this man night, I’m keeping in the U St., Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan area of town.  It’ll keep transport costs low and leave you more time for desired man activities.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: October 24-25

Photo courtesy of
‘Please do not poop’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

I have been waiting to use this photo in an entry since the day it showed up in the Flickr pool, guys.  It’s nearly time for another weekend. Here’s what we’re up to- let us know what you’re doing in the comments.

Carl: I am going to take my lovely wife to the Philadelphia Art Museum on Saturday and will return on Sunday afternoon but if I were staying in town I would be putting together the best Halloween costume ever, which is made from traffic cones removed from their bases, slit up the side and stitched together. You’d have to see it. It’s wicked awesome. Also, this weekend I will continue my fundraising work for cancer research at the Children’s National Medical Center. Yes, since you asked, part of this includes shaving my head. It’s going to be completely bald-a-riffic.

Tom: This weekend, I have friends coming from pretty much all over the country to help celebrate our friends Jason and Bethany’s wedding.  Friday night we’ll be celebrating at Rosemary’s Thyme in Dupont and then Saturday we’re off to Nixon’s Farm for the actual event.  I’m excited to go see the fall colors out in West Friendship, and to watch as two friends I care deeply about tie the knot.  Sunday will be spent in pursuit of great brunch, very possibly at the Boulevard Woodgrill, or if it’s too busy, perhaps Overwood in Alexandria.  I need me some French Toast this weekend! Continue reading →