Category Archives: The Features

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

Featured Photo
By

Featured Photo


The Awakening #41 by andertho

One of my earliest memories of DC was when I visited The Awakening statue as a kid.  I have bad snapshots of me as an awkward looking teenager sitting in a giant hand coming out of the ground, proof that we’re all tourists at some point.  Looking at those photos now makes me feel old, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would live here.  Rarely do people dream of living in Washington DC, but rather places like Los Angeles, New York City, or Seattle.  But as fate would have it, here I am, over twenty years later living smack dab in the capital of America (f@&% yeah!), just nanoseconds from being obliterated by a nuclear bomb.  I digress.

Sadly, as most of us know, The Awakening no longer resides in DC but rather at National Harbor in Maryland where it was moved last year.  Photographer Tom Anderson, a fellow Fotoweek finalist, does a great job of capturing the giant in his new location.  I like his use of black and white here to accentuate the negative space between Goliath and the unsuspecting little girl as well as the sinister looking clouds in the background.  Where does this story end?  Does the bearded giant pluck the girl up and eat her like a gummy bear, or does she escape his grip only to move back to the area years later to become a K street lawyer or a nonprofit worker?  We’ll never know.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

Dinosaurs, Not WNBA Basketball

Photo courtesy of
‘The animatronics for walking with dinosaurs at the o2 is seriously impressive. 50ft fully mobile dinos’
courtesy of ‘Mr Gus’

Via the Washington Times comes this interesting, sad, and yet just a little bit hilarious note. If the Mystics make the playoffs? They can’t play their first round games at home in the Verizon Center. Why? Walking with Dinosaurs is coming to the Verizon Center that week, instead. I suppose it’s a sad note about the viability of the WNBA that they can’t even play their playoff games at their own facility, but at least they’ll be heading to the Comcast Center at University of Maryland where Marissa Coleman and Crystal Langhorne made names for themselves playing for the Terps.

The Features, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: Eclipsed

Ayesha Ngaujah, Uzo Aduba and Liz Femi Wilson in "Eclipsed" at Woolly Mammoth, photo credit Stan Barouh

Ayesha Ngaujah, Uzo Aduba and Liz Femi Wilson in "Eclipsed" at Woolly Mammoth, photo credit Stan Barouh

At what point does the abominable become mundane? At what point is a woman raped so much that she can shrug it off? At what point does she become so immune to violence against herself that she can turn around and become the perpetrator, the pimp and the executioner? And at what point does our isolation and ignorance of these events make us culpable?

These are pretty hard core questions. You wouldn’t expect it to be actually enjoyable to plumb these depths. But Woolly Mammoth’s production of “Eclipsed” succeeds.

Playwright Danai Gurira is a Zimbabwean-American whose interviews with Liberian women who had fought and survived its brutal civil war provide the intense realism of the play. It’s this informed backbone that drives the action beyond the sentimentalism that can poison pieces on women in war, and director Liesl Tommy finds the humor in those ugly depths as well, avoiding any pity party.

Five very different women – three tied to a warlord’s camp, a rebel soldier, and a peace negotiator – all share a common trait. Despite the horror of their lives, they adapt with a tenacious survival instinct. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
By

First Look: Bibiana Osteria & Enoteca

Photo courtesy of
‘Bibiana Outside Vertical’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

I took a calculated risk eating at Bibiana Osteria & Enoteca on Labor Day Monday. First off, it’s Monday, the notoriously worst day of the week to eat out. Second off, Bibiana only opened on Friday. Third off, it’s Labor Day. No Chef will be working. But (isn’t there always a but?) I had a friend in need of a totally new, fresh place for dinner, so crossing my fingers and holding my breath, I suggested Bibiana. Plus, I’m currently in the middle of reading former New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton’s memoir Eating My Words, where she argues, “As for reviewing an establishment too soon, my feeling is that as soon as a restaurant is open and full prices are being charged it is fair game.” Touche, Mimi. So with Mimi on my side, we struck out to discover Ashok Bajaj’s seventh restaurant in the DC area.

Was it able to stand up against all the forces it had going against it? You could have told me it was any Friday or Saturday night months from when it opened, you could have fooled me. Everything from the food to the service was absolutely on point. Continue reading →

The Features, Weekend Flashback
By

Labor Day Flashback: 9/4 – 9/7/09

Photo courtesy of
‘fiery tourists’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Welcome back to work. Hope your summer was fun. Guess what? No more tourists for a bit! Isn’t that grand? Ok, fine, I understand the grunting and muffled shouts at me this morning. I hear you. Back to the grind and all that.

Well, when you’ve got a few minutes, take a look at what your fellow residents captured over the last huzzah of summer. It may not bring it back, but they’ll at least put a smile on your face… Continue reading →

Tourism
By

Tourism: Changing of the Guard, Tomb of the Unknowns

Photo courtesy of
‘Changing of the Guard, Heel Clicking’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

“There goes another tourist,” you’re thinking to yourself when you watch someone (anyone) descend onto the metro platform at Arlington Cemetery’s metro stop. It’s a blatant giveaway to your status in this town. Only a backpack-and-water-bottle sporting family of four gets off here! But it was a risk I had to take last night.

I returned to Arlington Cemetery last night to remember the first time I visited the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier almost 7 years ago, but it felt completely different. This time, I was making the trip alone, and without my new college girl friends (giddy schoolgirls) running alongside as I made the 20 minute uphill hike from the metro up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The light through the trees at 6:00 in the evening cascaded over the acres of tombstones, and it was truly gorgeous. The hike uphill seemed like more of a quiet pilgrimage, and signs remind you to remain composed on the hallowed grounds. Continue reading →

The Features, Tourism, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: Festival Fever!

Bagpipers tuning up

Bagpipers at the Virginia Scottish Games and Festival by Corinne Whiting

Considering the headlines that dominate news pages these days, who could blame us for craving a bit of escapism? Luckily, an avalanche of September festivals offers ample excuses to wear kooky costumes or to (attempt to) speak in charming accents, to relive the past or to leap into the future. Sometimes we just need a few blocked-off streets or patches of green to catapult us out of familiar surroundings and demand we get lost in the sights, sounds and tastes of another time and place.

Some festivals draw repeat attendees who share such a passion for re-enacting and re-creating it seems more a way of life than a weekend hobby. (Some of these participants seem, sadly, to have been born into the wrong century.) Other fests prove more laid-back—a mix of cultural authenticity and comical distortion. But common denominators? The beer’s usually a-flowin’, the people watching superb.

The season kicks off September 5 and 6 with the Virginia Scottish Games and Festival in The Plains, Virginia. I first attended this lively event a few years back (having just returned from 16 months in Scotland), with expectations, in hindsight, a bit too lofty. (Yes, silly me, I thought I would actually meet some Scots and hear some of those dreamy, melodic accents.) Instead I did find some authentic culture (cuisine like tasty yet feared haggis and steaming meat pies) sprinkled with a bit of stereotype (or perhaps slightly-fudged cultural truths, like the presence of England‘s Newcastle beer) and a few unexpected oddities (a parade in which kilted Americans showcased their plaid-clad “Dogs of Scotland”). But the atmosphere carried charm all the same. I watched proud Virginians sport their family tartan, sheepherders demonstrate their craft, Highland dancers do their joyous jigs and bagpipers echo the captivating drone of their instruments up into a piercing blue sky and out into the rolling Virginia hills. It’s Scottish culture with a twist, but a highly enjoyable day in the countryside all the same.

Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Drinks
By

Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar

Little Miss Whiskey's downstairs bar, H St

Little Miss Whiskey's downstairs bar, H St

From the outside, the rowhouse-turned-bar has purposefully little to draw the attention of the casual passerby. Only the purple halo of light around the front window and red-lit address — 1104 — hints that something’s going on there that wasn’t before. Stepping inside however, is like a trip down the rabbit hole: violet light seeps from every fixture and reflects off gilded, well, everything. The velvet wall-papered walls are also covered with frames, mirrors, sconces and other random adornments, all painted gold. If I had seen the Cheshire Cat himself, smile floating in the corner of the bar’s upstairs lounge spot, I would have hardly been surprised. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
By

We Love Weekends: September 5-6

Photo courtesy of
‘follow your path’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Carl: Since Mother Weaver is coming to town on Friday, I plan to entertain her by taking her to see the lazy-ass welfare pandas, perhaps a concert at Millennium Stage, and definitely a visit to Ted Kennedy’s grave, not that it is entertaining, but it would be a meaningful visit. In the evening on Saturday Mom will enjoy a trip to Science Club for some $4 PBRs. On Sunday we will get up early and do some kayaking at Great Falls before I take her back to the airport. She may have other plans, but as long as she is staying under my roof, she will do what I say. How’s it feel now that the tables are turned, Mom?

Donna: With the weather this great, I’ll be outside as much as possible–on the deck, on the trails, and at the Virginia Scottish Games and Festival in the Plains. This shindig includes Celtic crafts, bridies (see, I used Wikipedia as a source) and caber tossing, which my friend Cat describes as big hairy men tossing telephone poles end over end. I’ll be lobbying to stay for the Saturday night concert with the Glengarry Bhoys. Having just returned from a couple days in the Rockies and still hankering for good beer, I’m also hoping to head for the patio of Fireflies in Del Ray,  which carries a few Colorado microbrews like the rich and sweet Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. Mmm, mmm good!

Rebecca: I’ve been out of town for the last four weekends, so I’m ALL about chilling out in DC.  Friday I’ll check out the movies at Bethesda Row. With all the summer blockbusters, it’s time to catch an off-beat, foreign flick.  If you haven’t caught the fever, it’s College Football season, so my Saturday’s will now be dedicated to cheering on Mizzou and Notre Dame.  If you’re interested in local college teams: UMD plays Cal at 10pm and Georgetown takes on Holy Cross.  Sunday I’ll mosey on down to the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn for the NSO’s FREE Labor Day concert.  Must remember to bring a picnic, blanket and some candles. All I can say is “Thank God Monday is a National Holiday!” Sleeping in late. That’s my plan. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features, We Love Food
By

The DC Food Scene: Blogger Happy Hour

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Foodie Blogger Happy Hour’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

Last night at Poste Brasserie, I stepped out onto the DC foodie scene, mingling with as many of the 60 local food and gardening bloggers as I possibly could. WeLoveDC’s resident foodie, Katie, couldn’t make the party, and she sent me in her stead (poor me…).

Thanks to Mary (Arugula Files) and Amelia (Gradually Greener) who planned the evening, WeLoveDC was present at an incredibly successful gathering.

Nestled into a private corner of the outdoor patio, the weather was impeccably gorgeous, the wine was flowing freely, Continue reading →

Downtown, Essential DC, Food and Drink, The Features, The Hill
By

Ethnic Food Survey: Greek

Photo courtesy of
‘Mykonos; Î�λληνική Ï�ημαία’
courtesy of ‘Global Jet’

Welcome to the first installment of the WLDC Ethnic Food Survey.  The idea here is not to provide you with an exhaustive list of your ethnic food options, but to give you a brief overview of what we feel are your best bets for any particular type of regional cuisine in the city.  Doubtless, there will be outrage from you at the glaring omissions in these articles, but we’ll do the best we can.

This time around, I’ll be giving you a tour of the wide world of Greek cooking. Greek food is widely available, albeit generally poorly executed.  You can get a mediocre gyro just about anywhere, but once you visit a proper, Greek establishment, your eyes will be opened to the awe that is Hellenic cuisine. Here are my favorites in DC:

Continue reading →

We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Willow

3879122264_e479a2a165

Willow Bar & Restaurant by Addison H on Flickr

I have been known to insult Ballston from time to time. I have a deep fond love of Arlington, but Ballston seems to me to be all high rises, chain restaurants and it’s kinda got a mall. But places like Willow make me take it all back. Tucked in the bottom level of an office building, Willow is a gem of a restaurant with fresh, local, sophisticated food and perfect service.

I’ve become a regular at Willow. I’ve taken my friends, my parents, I’ve gone there for drinks, for restaurant week dinners. I basically love it for it’s calm refined atmosphere and unblemished menu. The crowd errs on the slightly old to very old side, I see some grey hair every time I go. But then again I’m never there for a scene, so this has never bothered me – if I wanted a scene in Arlington I’d go to Eventide or Liberty Tavern. I come to Willow to take a deep breath. Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA, WTF?!
By

Talkin’ Transit: Labor Pains

Photo courtesy of
‘joy.’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

ZOMG METRO CLOZING 3 STATIONS DURING TEH HOLIDAY!!!1!one11!

I’m sure that’s the most common reaction by Blue and Yellow line riders who read Metro’s press release yesterday; it certainly seemed to be the tone set by commenters and blogs around the area.

Now, normally I’m one of the first detractors of Metro’s policies of late and yes, that was close to my initial reaction as well. It put a crimp into my own weekend plans, including a beloved relative flying in/out of DCA. But then I stopped to think about it.

It’s actually a good thing.

No, really! Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
By

First Look: The Jefferson

Jeffersonian Truth

"Jeffersonian Truth" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

If someone asked me to define elegance, I would have to toss out other words like simplicity and restraint, covered with a kind of luxury that has nothing to do with pretentious opulence but everything to do with exquisite comfort. It’s a hard sell in our over-the-top world, but I think there is a yearning to return to that kind of old-fashioned mystique. And the reopened Jefferson hotel, debuting after a 30-month renovation, is a breathtaking example of elegance, lovingly presented with true beauty.

Think I’m exaggerating? Well, I’ve taken plenty of photographs for you to see for yourself. While touring The Jefferson, fellow author Cathy and I were spinning around like tops, ooo-ing and aah-ing every little detail. And there are many – the Beaux Arts hotel was specifically renovated by design firm ForrestPerkins to evoke the Jeffersonian spirit. He’s everywhere, but in a refined way, nothing kitschy at all, oh no. Perhaps it’s the next best thing to being in Monticello – which features prominently in murals and custom toiles – even the spa’s “vinotherapies” pay tribute to Jefferson’s philosophies and interests.

But why are locals going to go? For two reasons – Quill and Plume. Continue reading →

Alexandria, Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, The District, WMATA, WTF?!
By

Metro Closing Three Stations for Labor Day Weekend

Photo courtesy of
‘middle track’
courtesy of ‘katmere’

Metro’s closing three stations this weekend starting Friday night at 9:30 and won’t be re-opening them until Tuesday morning at 5am. Those three stations are National Airport, Pentagon City and Crystal City, which means that a significant branch of the Metro will be traded for buses this weekend while WMATA refurbishes them. They’ll be stripping out 2,000 feet of Rail, 735 ties, and will be working on the concrete platform structures at National amongst other places. It’s a pretty big deal, so service is going to be drastically affected. The line between Pentagon and Braddock Road will not be operated at all. Metro has detailed the shuttle service via their website, and the appropriate section is below, for those who’ll need to transfer around the problems. Continue reading →

Mythbusting DC, The Features
By

DC Mythbusting: The National Mall as Protest Central

Photo courtesy of
‘Iran Protest in DC’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Welcome to another DC Mythbusting! This week, we’ll be discussing the National Mall and its place as the country’s ‘front yard’ for protesting and gathering.  With such a wide open space, in view of both Congress and the President, clearly the National Mall was created to be a place of protest and free speech, right?  And it has always served the role as the gathering place for Americans with something to say?

Not exactly.  While the Mall was envisioned by Pierre L’Enfant as a “people’s park” along a grand avenue, it has been through many iterations before it became what it is today. The author of Grand Avenues states that the Mall was “a public statement of American destiny,” showing a horizon of possibilities from the Capitol (113).  And while L’Enfant planned a grand vista along the axis (which turned out mostly perfectly) along with a singular equestrian statue, it wasn’t really built like that.
Continue reading →

We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Zengo

Photo courtesy of Me

Our outing to Zengo for restaurant week was perfect in every way. Zengo deserves much of the credit, obviously, but it helped to have a good sized group of people – five – who were all willing and thrilled to share their food. I think Frank Bruni’s article about how deranged his dining companions have been over the years says less about the world at large – as he alleges – and more about the caliber of his friends. Certainly none of the attitudes he describes were at play at our table, as nothing failed to get passed around and shared and nobody was shy about consuming their fair share.

Photo courtesy of Me

My darling wife and I arrived ahead of both our dining companions and our reservation so we spent a little quality time in the bar. I’m a boring beer drinker but my dearest had the cucumber mojito, which she declared excellent. The bartender claims their mango mojito is also superb, but the conversation happened because of the look of horror on our faces when he made a few in front of them. No doubt that mass of pink goo he dropped in on top of the ice tastes like delicious mango mint goodness once it’s dissolved into the drink, but, like sausage, this is something you should not watch being made if you expect to enjoy it.

I comment on how polite and efficient the host staff was in seating us only because it was the beginning of a trend. I see a lot of concern from people about the quality of service during restaurant week but if any of the staff at Zengo thought we were unworthy of their best effort than I can only imagine what it’s like there during ‘normal’ service. I was tempted to see if was even possible for me to drain my water glass below the halfway mark before someone came around but I feared I’d rupture something.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
By

Sports Fix: The Hunt Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Head Hung Low (Nyjer Morgan)’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Nationals
Record: 46-85
Last Two Weeks: 3-10
Place: Last in MLB

The Nats returned to their old ways this week, and were dealt a couple of setbacks that may have some negative repercussions for the rest of the season. First of all, if you love sports betting, you might want to check betfred promo code new customer, you will surely get a huge amount of bonus from this website. Nyjer Morgan ended his season this week with a broken hand sliding into 2nd, which is sad on many levels, but might be the best thing to protect him for next year. Ronnie “Sugartits” Belliard got traded to the Dodgers this afternoon for a Class A pitcher Luis Garcia. This means that Justin Maxwell will start to see some play with the Nats for the rest of the season, which brings us to the important points:

1. It looks like the Nats have a decent shot at doing better than their last year’s record. The Nats would need to finish 14-17 in their last 31 games to pick up a better record, and if they play Jekyll and Hyde like they have been, that’s a fair bet.

2. But let’s not hope too hard. If the Nats finish last in MLB this year, they’ll have a good shot at Bryce Harper in the 2010 Amateur Draft. He hit the longest home run in Tropicana Field’s history at 502 feet. He did it at age 16. And he’ll most likely be in the draft this coming year, which means the Nats would have a shot at the kind of hitter you only see once or twice in a generation. Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

Ghost Bike Memorial Removed

Photo courtesy of
‘Alice Swanson Memorial’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

The Ghost Bike memorial to Alice Swanson was removed by the Mayor’s Office over the weekend from its home near Dupont Circle at Connecticut and R, the spot where cyclist Swanson was killed on her commute to work. It’s not clear why the Mayor’s Office removed the memorial without so much as an explanation, and attempts by local outlets to reach the Mayor’s office for comment have gone unanswered. DCist has photos of the replacement memorial put up by community members yesterday.

So, WTF Mayor Fenty? What’s up with removing the ghost bike memorial?