Category Archives: The Features

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

The DC 100
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Omnivore 100: #59 Poutine

Photo courtesy of
’08-dec-26′
courtesy of ‘sashafatcat’

I can’t tell you just how excited I was when I volunteered to write this week’s Omnivore: 100 feature and stumbled across the traditional French-Canadian dish, Poutine, as an option. As a native of Canada, I’ve been missing poutine ever since I moved to this great land and I wish Americans didn’t find the concept of fries covered in cheese and gravy so revolting. For 12 years, I’ve been talking up the glorious amalgamation of fat, grease, and sodium that is a plate of poutine to friends who can muster no other response than snide remarks like “sounds like poontang.” I swear to God that sometimes I feel like I’m living the life of a South Park character (I’m not the only person who’s made this observation, and you can probably guess which one I’d be…cough, Cartman, cough)

So let me impart some Canadian wisdom (Liam, isn’t that an oxymoron? Har har, very funny…) upon you all about one of the greatest dishes ever. Yes. I said it. It’s one of the greatest dishes ever. There is NOTHING like sitting down to a plate of fries covered in gravy and cheese curd (especially after a night of boozin’ on Montreal’s Rue Ste. Catherine – MTL’s equivalent to 18th St. in Adams Morgan). Yes, it probably takes a few days off your life, but c’mon, by the time it actually hits you, your meals will all consist of apple sauce anyway. Continue reading →

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 7/24 – 7/28/2009

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

It’s about time summer showed up. We were missing you, stifling-hot days with sticky humidity and sudden downpours! Thanks for arriving late to the party and reminding us August is knocking on our back door.

Try as you might, however, you couldn’t keep us down. No way! We defied you this weekend, with multitudes of sports, BBQs and kids being kids! Our area photographers refused to submit!

Ok, so yeah, I’ve had double caffeine this morning. How about you? Chill a moment and check out the weekend from viewpoints other than your own… Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Interviews, Life in the Capital, Penn Quarter, People, The Features
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She Loves DC: Jill Zimorski

jill and wine

Jill rushes up to greet me wearing a bright green cardigan and a cute black Ann Taylor dress. (I know, because I have it in pink!) She’s not what you expect in someone whose credentials boast “Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers” and “has completed the Advanced Certificate Course offered through the Wine Spirits and Education Trust.” Jill just looks like she could be any of my girlfriends, but with a totally rockin’ day job – beverage director for Café Atlantico, the popular Penn Quarter eat place that hides Minibar. She’s been with Jose Andres since 2006, and seen Cafe Atlantico through quite a bit. We sat down to talk about my favorite subject – DC, paired with my other favorite subject – food and wine. (Heavy on the wine, given Jill’s passion!)

Me: Name the best part of DC in your opinion?
Jill: I think it would have to be the endless variety of people who you can meet, and what you can do here. My list of things I want to do is long, and some of it you can do on your own and other things with friends. Continue reading →

Getaways, The Features
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Getaways: Monticello

The Monticello

“I am as happy no where else and in no other society, and all my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.” –Thomas Jefferson, 1787

Strolling the grounds of one of America’s most famous homesteads, with its tidy green spaces and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains stretching out from either side, one could see why Thomas Jefferson sought always to be here, at Monticello. Monticello, with its book-lined walls, its stretching gardens and its needs, was — for Jefferson — the only place worth being, even during his trips to France as U.S. Minister or his time as president. And honestly, who could blame him?

The day trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, from DC was inspired in part by a graphic essay by Maira Kalman in the New York Times called “Time Wastes too Fast.” Kalman retells her own pilgrimage to Monticello with a quaint and quirky awe at the man, his accomplishments and his life there. “If you want to understand country and its people and what it means to be optimistic and complex and tragic and wrong and courageous, you need to visit his home in Monticello,” she writes. Okay Maira, I’m sold.

Continue reading →

History, Monumental, The Features
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Monumental: Fort Marcy

DSC_1761

Driving the George Washington Parkway north along the Potomac, you can almost miss the entrance to Fort Marcy Park. It’s not a well-known Civil War fortification, not being a sight of one of that war’s destructive battles, but it was one of the key components of the Union’s defense of the capital. (It’s also known as the place where White House Counsel Vince Foster’s body was discovered in 1993, but that’s not really relevant today.)

At the beginning of the Civil War, there was only one operational fort (Fort Washington, over in Maryland) to defend against Confederate encroachment. A huge effort was made to establish a defensive ring of forts around the capital, eventually resulting in a ring of eight enclosed forts and over 90 gun batteries by 1865. These preparations made DC one of the most heavily fortified cities in the world at that time.

Continue reading →

Arlington, Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Minh’s

Photo courtesy of
‘Day 63: Minhs’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

I discovered Minh’s pretty quickly after moving to DC. You see, I have this thing for rice paper summer rolls and peanut sauce. I love them, and I want them at least once a month. Back where I come from (cue the country song), there is this amazing Vietnamese restaurant called Lang Van’s, owned by a friend’s family. I was upset to leave Lang Van’s, so I quickly searched out a substitute. Minh’s certainly lives up.

With one of the largest menus I’ve ever seen (trumped only by Cheesecake Factory) you pretty much can’t go wrong at Minh’s. Located between Court House and Clarendon out in Virginia (where arguably all the good Asian food hides) Mihn’s is situated on Wilson Boulevard in a nondescript office building. I’ve had friends tell me that they’ve ridden past it a million times, never noticing it. I wonder how that could be, seeing as there are huge neon signs in the window, but that’s just me. (Hey, I never claimed Minh’s was trendy, or sleek, or chic!) The outward appearance isn’t the fabulous part of Minh’s, the food is. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: July 25-26

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_0629’
courtesy of ‘blakespot’

Katie: To kick off the weekend I’m going to try and swing by Urbana to partake in their $3 birthday celebration to snag myself some $3 pizza and $3 prosecco. On Saturday I’m headed out to see Jason Mraz with G. Love and Special Sauce at Merriweather Post Pavillion – perfect summer lawn concert! Sunday I’m meeting fellow food writer Jordan Wright (have to give her a shout out, she’s fabulous!) for a dim sum brunch she promises is “off the hook”. Afterwards I’m taking a friend shopping for an overdue birthday present and stopping by Georgetown Cupcake for what will be, if you can believe it, my first time there. And what Katie weekend would be complete without pool time? At this point you should just assume it’s happening.

Acacia: I will be dedicating this weekend’s plans and this weekend planner entry to my good friend and roommate Sam Rosen-Amy, whose birthday it is TODAY and whose birthday celebrations are commandeering my weekend. Happy Birthday, Sam, you are 23 on July 23rd. I hope this means I don’t have to get you anything now… Okay, that being said, tonight we’re heading over to start the celebratory weekend with an outdoors screening of Top Gun down in SW by the waterfront. Friday or Saturday I may finally check a visit to the Newseum off my to-do list. Sunday, after recovering from Sam’s birthday party part 2, I think I’ll check out a reading by author Elizabeth Hawes on her book “Camus, a Romance,” at Politics & Prose. From the sound of it, that book is like if I went and chatted it up with all of Hemingway’s relatives and then wrote a loveletter to him. (PS Happy 110th birthday Big Papa)

Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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Fringe: Pepe the Mail Order Monkey and Hopelessly Devoted

Photo courtesy of
‘Franciscan Monastery Candle’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Pepe The Mail Order Monkey

Mom told me that if I couldn’t think of anything nice to say I shouldn’t say anything at all.

Hopelessly Devoted

Vincent Lacey & Natalie Sullivan do a show that is – more or less – about being Catholic which runs under an hour and… well, it’s fun. That’s really pretty much it and that’s enough: this show never pretends that it’s going to dig into any weighty analysis, ask any hard questions or deliver any hard answers about faith in the modern world. Sure, there’s one somewhat serious scene about what happens when a religious conversion outlasts the relationship that prompted it but its awkwardness is packaged with an equal amount of humor. The show ends strong and on its most amusing number. In it, both performers do a delightful sendup of just how wrong an institution can go when its desire to become more modern and relevant outpace its actual ability to be hip.

A few moments don’t work well; there’s an implication that there’s some more weight in the conversion scene than is actually there but it moves on into another unconnected bit quickly enough that you won’t mind. That’s true of any of the stumbles here, most of which revolve around an audio setup that could use better balance – by the time anything irks you they’ll be on to something new. Odds are it’ll be something that will bring you a smile.

Pepe the Mail Order Monkey Musical has two more showings on the 24th and 25th at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church.
Hopelessly Devoted runs once a day through the 26th at the Goethe Institut.

The Features, Thrifty District
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Thrifty District: Music

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

If you’re a music fiend like me, you find a way to fit music in your budget– but if you don’t keep an eye on your spending, it can easily get out of control. But is there any way around just buckling down and buying $200 concert tickets or $18 CDs?

Oh yeah. Especially in DC, you can definitely go see great live music and get your hands on CDs for less than you think.  Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: A Mystical Week

This went in for sure

Halfway through the fourth quarter in the Mystics game against the Indiana Fever last night, the jumbotron rallied the fans, asking them all to put four fingers in the air. Somewhere in my long sports education, I clearly had missed a chapter, as I was a bit confused. I was soon informed that this was an old football tradition, to put four fingers in the air to say “we own the fourth quarter.” (Duh.) It was a nice thought, but unfortunately it was Indiana who dominated, holding onto their ample fourth quarter lead to defeat the Mystics 82-70.

“I think our team had some really good spurts where we played really well, and we adjusted throughout the game,” said Mystics Head Coach Julie Plank after the game.  “I give our team credit for how we competed. This is a veteran team, they’re an Eastern Conference finals team and I thought we competed with them, and I look forward to playing them next week at their place.” Continue reading →

The Features
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DC’s Great Streets: Part 1


View We Love DC’s Favorite Streets in a larger map

The District’s Great Streets Initative aims to revitalize selected corridors in the city by focusing funding on streetscape improvements, economic development assistance, and public safety initiatives.  The program was started back in 2005 and it’s probably too early to tell how successful it has been.  But that program really focuses on streets that need revitalization– areas with little pedestrian activity, not a lot of walkable attractions, and pretty bleak streetscapes.

What about streets that are already great?  Streets that are pleasant to walk down, with lots of shade and benches and a mix of uses to walk to– DC certainly has some pretty fantastic streets already.  I set out to ask our authors about their favorite streets, and here’s the first half of their picks for the District’s greatest streets:

Tom: Pennsylvania Ave SE & 7th Street SE.  From this corner, you can see so much of the city.  Just north of here on 7th is Eastern Market, to the northwest along Pennsylvania are the Library of Congress (my favorite DC Landmark) and the Capitol.  Large trees stand along the sidewalks, and in the medians, and while cars traverse the neighborhood, the sedate pace feels like that of a county seat, and not the nation’s capital.  Seward Square has beautiful residential spaces just a block away, and the small businesses that dot Pennsylvania and 7th are some of my favorite. Montmartre is a great place to get lunch, and Peregrine Espresso is one of my favorite cups of coffee in the universe, and Spike Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery is just a couple blocks away.  Shade and comfort, right in the middle of our busy city.

Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA, WTF?!
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Talkin’ Transit: In the Dark

Photo courtesy of
‘Where To Set One’s Eyes’ courtesy of ‘Bogotron’

It’s been a month since the fatal Red Line crash outside of Fort Totten. You’d think a deadly event like that would force some changes over at Metro at how they do things, right? More accountability, more transparency, better oversight, more concern for public safety..

Initially, I was impressed on the fact that they were at least trying. Despite some hard questions. Now, however, I’m not so sure.

Everyone by now has heard about the Post’s pretty damning report regarding Metro and the continual widespread failure of track circuits on four of the five lines. Incredibly scary stuff; those circuits are used to keep track of trains, their speed and location. The failure of such a circuit seems to be the cause of last month’s accident – though the NTSB has not officially announced the actual cause. Metro rail chief Dave Kubicek has downplayed the Post’s report, saying that none of the problems detected are anything close to the track circuit problem at the crash site. He insisted again that “the rail system is safe” and that it’s “a gross exaggeration” to suggest it’s widespread.

What is troubling isn’t just the technology failure; it’s how Metro’s handling it and other issues that have popped up lately.

Continue reading →

Dupont Circle, Entertainment, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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Fringe Arts: The Oresteia

Dizzy Miss Lizzie's Roadside Revue presents The Oresteia at Church Street Theater as part of the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival

Dizzy Miss Lizzie's Roadside Revue presents The Oresteia at Church Street Theater as part of the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival

Though I still stand by my original thinking that one of the chief joys of Fringe is seeing theater in the raw, as it were, scrappy and imperfect in rough and ready locations – sometimes I have to admit that can hinder as well. Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue Presents The Oresteia, a funny and subversive retelling of the Aeschylus play, suffers from venue pains. Contained in the run-down Church Street Theater, it’s hindered by the confines of a proscenium stage. Despite the best efforts of a lively cast, the location really clips its wings. Chief among the venue problems is the sound quality – it’s plagued by bad miking that jars the ears and disconnects you from some truly great vocal pipes.

But, if you can get beyond that, there’s meat here. A lot of gusto in the retelling by company members Steve McWilliams (music) and Debra Buonaccorsi (direction), which takes the classic Greek tragedy pitting the old forces of matriarchal blood revenge against the new forces of patriarchal justice (or as my poker-faced drama professor called it, “the rise of the phallus”) and shakes it up with rock-n-roll, burlesque, and lots of profanity. The cast makes a valiant effort to get you in the mood upon entering, by busking cheap beer and flirting with the audience. But the theater’s not built to encourage much interaction and that’s a pity. Once the show starts the action is pretty much confined to the stage, and almost seems crammed in those confines. It erupts through in a couple of places where the gutsy singing just can’t be cramped.
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Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting*: Washington Monument On Axis

The Washington Monument is not on axis!

The Washington Monument is not on axis!

 I admit it, I’m definitely a perfectionist.  I’m a big fan of symmetry and straight lines and order.  I think that’s one of the reasons I like DC so much– L’Enfant’s plan is so orderly, with the important sites marked by radiating avenues, and the clear axis of power coming straight down the Mall.  But something has always bothered me– the center of the White House doesn’t look like it lines up with the Washington Monument.  Why, in a city so based on order and symmetry and strong axes, does the Washington Monument not line up?!

Because the ground right at the intersection of the center of the White House and the center of the Capitol was not strong enough to support such a giant structure.  Originally, L’Enfant had proposed a small equestrian statue of George Washingon at the intersection of the east-west axis of the Capitol and the north-south axis of the White House.  But plans changed, and the Washington Monument went there instead.  The Monument was larger and heavier than anything that L’Enfant had envisioned, so it had to be shifted off axis to avoid less solid, marshy ground.  The Monument now rests “about 300 feet southeast of the crossing point of L’Enfant’s two primary vistas” (from Grand Avenues, page 271).  Mystery solved!

So has anyone besides me noticed and been bothered by this?  Or am I the only one who will be sleeping easier tonight knowing that there’s a reason behind the off-axis placement of the Monument?

* Ok, so I realize this isn’t a myth exactly.  But it’s something that’s always bothered me about DC that I couldn’t figure out.  If you have a DC myth in mind that you’d like me to bust/confirm, please e-mail me at shannon (at) welovedc.com.  Thanks!

We Love Arts
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Fringe: “Freakshow” and “Bare Breasted Women Swordfighting”

show

Over the weekend I caught three shows; One was Riding the Bull, which Jenn already reviewed. The other two were Freakshow and Bare Breasted Women Swordfighting. I enjoyed both overall, but both had some issues.

Freakshow’s problems were 100% venue-related. If you haven’t partaken of a Fringe show or just haven’t been over to Fort Fringe, the Fringe powers that be have set up a large tent in the outdoor area next to the former AV Restaurant. It’s a colorful and fun space and a neat idea.

Except.

The tent also houses the bar; in fact you pass through it to enter the performance space. Like most bars, keeping the noise level consistently down below a dull roar requires divine intervention. Fringe’s direct line to the almighty is just as flawed as anyone’s, and consequently the noise spills through at random points. At several points I found myself leaning forward and straining to hear. Freakshow’s last performance is this Thursday at 6:30pm, meaning most of the 80 minute performance will overlap with the last hour of Fringe’s happy hour.

Unfortunate, because the show is worth your time. Andrew Mitakides has an intense stare that makes you instantly believe he could be the barker and head for a traveling freakshow around the turn of the century and Allyson Harkey wonderfully inhabits the armless and legless Amalia, only out of our sight briefly during the entire show. Personally I’d have had to itch my nose long before the hour and a half had passed by. Everyone else is similarly good, though poor Edward Daniels doesn’t get much to do as the feeble-minded “Pinhead” character. If the end falls down at all it’s in trying a little too hard to create some sense of closure. We come in with a situation already set, albiet in transition – I wish the playright had trusted us to walk out with the same sense of continuinty.

Bare Breasted Women Swordfighting, on the other hand, had a fine venue but I had some serious problems with the content.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: Almost Dog Days Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United vs Rapids’
courtesy of ‘veni markovski’

D.C. United
Record: 6-3-9
Last Two Weeks: 2-0-0
Place: 2nd in the East

Just two games for United these past two weeks, an MLS win against the Colorado Rapids and an Open Cup win against the Harrisburg City Islanders. Sure, Brian Namoff put one in his own net against the Rapids, but overall, it’s looking better and better for United. They’re headed to the Open Cup quarterfinals this Tuesday night against the Rochester Rhino at the SoccerPlex, then it’s out west against the Quakes in San Jose, then a CONCACAF Champions League game against the C.D L.A. Firpo. Three leagues, four games, two weeks. Here’s hoping that Namoff can keep up his scoring streak, and not just on his own goal…

Kastles
Record: 5-6
Last Two Weeks: 5-4
Place: 2nd in the East by a half match

There are just three matches left in the swift 2009 World TeamTennis league: one on the road versus the undefeated Springfield Lasers, and a pair at home against the Lasers and the New York Buzz. On the line? A playoff spot and a winning record for the season. While the Kastles are in 2nd place in the East, it’s a precarious position just a half match ahead of the Boston Lobsters, and a game and a half in front of the Freedoms and Buzz. It’s going to take some “Refuse to Lose,” to make sure they make it to the Playoffs.

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We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Fringe picking 101

Photo courtesy of

‘Noir City’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

I know some of our readers are regular and devoted Fringe-goers (as well as some performers). Those of you who are have no doubt already dug through the marginally painful Fringe Festival online database of shows, read every description, plotted out what you want to see and when you can see it, and come up with a schedule allowing you to fit in as many of your desired shows as possible.

This is not for you.

This is my reaching out to those of you who are sitting between “well, I’d kinda like to see what this is all about but I’m not sure…” and “huh?”

If you’re on the fence or not normally someone who takes in live performances I say this to you: Go. Take a shot. Live performance – whether it be theater, dance, or music – has a quality all its own and when it works it’s better than anything you can get recorded. The nice thing about Fringe is that, for the most part, even when it blows it’s still usually different and interesting. The fact that attending helps us keep a more vibrant local arts culture is icing on the cake.

I’ll do my best to point you at the resources to let you pick something that’s not a stinker. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, The District, The Features
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Project Nur – “In Solidarity With Iran”

Project Nur

Project Nur Flashmobber

We got the alert about the roving Iran flashmob yesterday mostly from our various day job employers. Property management companies were sounding the alarm with their tenants- oh noes! Flash mobs have turned violent in other cities!

Their concern was, shall we say, overstated. I had to look hard for the Project Nur group at the Lincoln memorial- it was about 6 people; a few twenty-somethings, and one person who appeared to be a bit older. At a signal, the flashmobbers ran to positions on lower staircase in front of the Memorial, and stood silently, holding up their printed handbills so that people could both see and take them, but not engaging in any interaction with the assortment of sightseers who walked by. Which was kind of unfortunate, because they were largely ignored that way, and what’s happening in Iran is important not only to Iran, but the whole Middle East as well as the world.

The whole thing was a little anticlimactic, honestly, after the talk of an “agitprop” demonstration in solidarity with Iranians. That said, it’s hard to come up with a noticeable group activity with 5 (I hear there were about a dozen at Federal Triangle), and I did appreciate their respect for people who were just there to check out the memorial.

At the end of their prescribed silent demonstration time, the protesters walked around, quietly offering leaflets to passerby. Speaking of the leaflets- I have to say I’m impressed- I wish I could get a good photo to show you. The text was well-written, and cogently lays out the basic facts about what’s happening in Iran and how interested people can get involved. Which include, in addition to writing to your Member of Congress (for those who actually have representation, hmm…), pressuring Nokia to stop providing and supporting the surveillance technology the Iranian regime is using to crack down on the protesters, which surprised me. I learned something I didn’t know today through the protest, so it was effective in that regard.

Click through for more photos of the protest. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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McEnroe Brings Controversy and Defeat


photography by Max Cook

In the press conference prior to last night’s World TeamTennis match between the Washington Kastles and the New York Sportimes, John McEnroe was calm, cool, and collected.  Some might say he even seemed bored.  The fifty year old retired tennis legend, once ranked number one in the world and known for his fiery temper, sat emotionless as he answered questions he’s no doubt heard countless times before.  When asked whether he now considers himself an entertainer or an athlete he said, “A little bit of both.  I think people come here expecting me to get angry and yell at someone.”  You think?  The Kastles banked on it and played a video compilation of vintage McEnroe outbursts (“You have GOT to be kidding me!”) on the big screen no less than ten times throughout the evening.  Would McEnroe remain emotionless or would the crowd see the explosion they were hoping for?  With the Sportimes leading the Kastles by two games in the Eastern Conference, there was a lot riding on the line for the night’s match. Continue reading →