Category Archives: The Features

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

24 in DC
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24 in DC: Episode 8 (5:00 to 6:00)

Defending the Supreme Court.
 Defending the Capitol, by tiffany bridge

The voiceover promises that “this is the hour that changes everything!” Let’s hope that means that Jack will finally figure out where FBI headquarters actually is. Here we go with the recap, and welcome to another week of We Love DC’s geography-snarking.

5:00

We open with weaselly traitor FBI nerd at his desk, being taken to task about issuing the federal warrant that thwarted our hero.  Ooh, looks like Blondie is a traitor too! Agent Weaselly has the Magical Undetectable Bug of A Thousand Expositions!

Agent Freckles is freaking out that Debaku’s girlfriend is in danger. Silly Agent Freckles, thinking of “assets” as “human beings.” You’ll never stop ANY terrorists with that attitude, missy. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The DC 100, The Features
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DC Omnivore 100: #48, Eel

Unagi Sushi (Eel) by Madman the Mighty (Creative Commons)

Have you ever been given someone something to eat, and been told “no, try it first, and then we will tell you what it is?”  Then you are a very brave soul, especially if you were in college.   I hope you survived the episode.

I’m guilty of this trick, especially when introducing my friends and co-workers to Sushi.  Eel, especially freshwater Eel (or Unagi) is one of my favorite pieces of sushi.  It has a much higher fat content than most fish, but it’s smooth flavor and texture make it a staple of most sushi trays and a lot of the better sushi rolls.

Unlike most sushi, Unagi (fresh water eel, the most common) is never served raw.  That’s not because it would kill you or anything – the sushi afficinados reserve blowfish for that – but because you would absolutely hate it.  Unagi has a fat layer in it that smells awful, and doesn’t taste all that great.  Continue reading →

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 2/20 – 2/22/09

Photo courtesy of hpux735
Eisenhower Executive Building, courtesy of hpux735

Despite the chill in the air, the sky was (mostly) agreeable and due to the number of events going on this weekend, you guys were busy! DC Exposed to the Oscars to Kennedy Center concerts to bands to sports professional and not, you guys managed to capture quite the slice of life in our area. Bravo! So here’s a super-sized Flashback for your work-diverting pleasure, after the jump. Continue reading →

Monumental, The Features
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Monumental: Dumbarton Bridge

courtesy of kimberlyfaye

courtesy of kimberlyfaye

Tatonka!  Tatonka!  Tatonka! Tatonka!  This week’s Monumental goes by the aliases of the Buffalo Bridge and the Q Street Bridge, however the correct DC nomenclature is the Dumbarton Bridge.  Constructed between 1914 and 1915, the bridge spans high above Rock Creek Park and connects Georgetown to Dupont Circle.  However, bridging these two DC neighborhoods turned out to be easier said than done. Continue reading →

Special Events, The Mall, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Pride Before Fall

30dutc_large1

“A Bird’s-Eye View of Amsterdam” (circa 1652), by Jan Micker, based on a 1538 work, courtesy Amsterdam Historical Museum

Two current exhibits at the National Gallery of Art are at first glance dissimilar. “Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age,” is a tightly restrained showcase of the grand Dutch Republic’s view of its cities and public spaces, using cartographic metaphor to show a mighty macrocosm at its seventeenth century height. “Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans“ takes on our own republic from a microcosmic perspective, capturing in lush yet depressing detail the consumerist chill of 1950’s America.

But seeing both exhibits in the same afternoon gives you the sense of how art can mirror culture – either cleaning up reality, or showing the truth beneath. 

“Pride of Place” could be marched through very quickly, your eye breezily taking in maps and cityscapes in soothing sepia tones. It’s all power and glory and civic cleanliness. But I urge you to resist this temptation to rush, and look closer. Details on these paintings are intensely human, the small smudged faces of the Dutch citizens at work. No attempt is made to sex them up – they are potato-faced plain, staunch and proud in their sensibility and commerce. Their quiet industry is matched with the republic’s burgeoning pride. But every once and a while there’s some guy goofing off in the corner! Continue reading →

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The District, The Features
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DCist Exposed Opens Friday

Photo courtesy of HeatherMG
DCist Exposed 2009!, courtesy of HeatherMG

It’s that time of year again, photography lovers.  The third annual DCist Exposed Photography Show opens this Friday at the Gallery at Flashpoint.  The juried show “showcases new talent as the artists reveal the city through the eyes of the people who live and work in the DC area.”  If you haven’t been to it in past years, it’s a great chance to view some amazing photographs taken by our superb group of local photographers, many of whom submit their incredible work to our very own WLDC pool.  Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Pin the Name on the Recruit

Photo courtesy of
‘nick was practicing my signature! lol’
courtesy of ‘irina slutsky’

It seems the Nationals are in a bit of trouble with their latest prospects.

Gonzalez’s current agent, Stanley King, said early Wednesday morning he was shocked by the revelations.

“I hope this is a mistake,” King said via telephone. “I was at his house this winter and he answered by his [baseball name]. I will look into this.”

I’m not exactly sure what goes between those brackets that makes any of it look less damning. Looks like that contract’s going to be void, and that the Nats might have to figure out who they really signed…

Talkin' Transit, The Features
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Talkin’ Transit: O Bus, Where Art Thou?

Photo courtesy of
‘waiting’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Chock full of WMATA today.

First up, it looks like the Circulator will be taking over one or two Metrobus routes this spring. This would increase the local service to five looping routes from the current three. Which routes aren’t yet determined, but Circulator officials have stated they can offer the same service as Metro for less money. Whether Metro agrees or not remains to be seen.

Additionally, the Fairfax Connector is proposing to operate three Metro lines beginning this summer.

Metro’s desperate to plug a $154M hole in their budget, so it would be in their best interest to look at letting local services handle it. But Metro would lose the line’s fare revenue and subsidies from the jurisdiction that is paying Metro for the service. While the operating costs would go away, they may be reluctant – or stubborn – to let that money go.

The Examiner‘s Kytja Weir does a great job looking deeper into the issue. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Dog in the Manger

Photo courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

DOGRHRSL_039
courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

I opened The Washington Post today and found Peter Marks’ glowing review of The Dog in the Manger and thought “yep, yep, yes, yes! Exactly right!” Then I thought “shit, what’s left for me to say?”

Who are we kidding? Of course I can still find something to say.

Seriously – while I don’t agree with Marks across the board, I do agree with him on the big points: the show is great and worth your time. The translation is so well done that this 500 year old play has dialog that feels fresh while still being from its own time. David Turner is fan-freaking-tastic and riotously funny. The show’s a winner and you should go see it.

So what else? I’m not as thrilled with Michael Hayden’s Teodoro as he is, but he fills the role well enough. Maybe that’s just my feelings about the character, a man who is almost exclusively reactive through the whole piece. It’s probably the one problem the excellent translation simply couldn’t address and the one thing that’s going to be a little odd for modern audiences. There’s not a hint that Teodoro has ever thought of Diana romantically before he catches her eye and she starts to drop anvil-like hints on his head, yet it completely derails his existing relationship. It’s not an insurmountable problem but it doesn’t give Hayden a lot of room to excel. Continue reading →

Downtown, Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Equinox

Photo courtesy of
‘proof.glass.2’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Situated on Farragut Square in the Downtown corridor, Equinox is unassuming on the outside. With a glassed-in atrium, it looks like it was once a lunch eatery or an after-work bar spot that has been transformed, to the best of an interior decorator’s ability, to an upscale dining room. After having a wonderful time at Equinox in the fall, partaking in the fall happy hour, I was dying to try Equinox for a full meal, and Valentine’s Day was the perfect excuse.

We were sat, and the meal started out with bread. I love bread – it has the potential to set the tone for the entire meal. Bread can be a warm welcome, a fabulous place for a meal to start, and unfortunately Equinox’s bread fell flat. Well, not the bread so much as the hummus that came with it. I’m a big fan of interesting spreads (hello, honey butter, yogurt dill cheese or herb butter) and so I was excited to try the hummus that came with a pastry puff bread and some sort of fruit and herb bread slices. It was bland. It was mostly tasteless, with sort of a weird aftertaste. I tried it with or without the bread, and have to say, that hummus was a mistake for the chef to send out. I could have gotten better hummus at Trader Joe’s. But luckily, the hummus was the worst part of the entire meal, and everything just got better from there. Continue reading →

Alexandria, Fun & Games, History, Special Events, Weekend Flashback
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Photo Flashback: George Washington’s Birthday Parade

Happy Birthday, GW

Yesterday, we headed out to the “largest parade celebrating George Washington’s Birthday in the USA!” – Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Parade. How can you beat that as the perfect homage to President’s Day? Here it is in a photo review, from clowns to horseback riders, the parade had it all. Continue reading →

24 in DC
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24 in DC: Episode Seven (4:00 to 5:00)

Photo courtesy of tbridge
Jack and the Capitol 2
courtesy of tbridge

Hey there everyone. Tom and Tiff are currently being held captive in a basement of a Los Angeles bodega Dupont-area shop  so I’m going to be judging tonight’s battering of our beloved down. Jack don’t want to hurt you, DC, but you just make Jack so ANGRY….

Top of the hour means recap time to catch you up to date. I think this is the one where Jack faces a moral quandary and does what he has to in order to protect America. At the end of the last episode some extended gunplay had led to tragedy: over a dozen cases of Negra Modelo and Modelo Especial were broken and the beer sprayed everywhere.

Oh, and the First Dude got shot too.

Let’s go!

4:00 and they’re coming into the not-Dupont shop. Agent Freckles has barked at high volume that the first dude was shot but don’t spread it around. Look at the upside, at least he’s not a journalist with a headwound.

Then again, there’s no such thing as a West Arlington Hospital, so how bad can the care be?

4:05 and the quickest clearance process ever is taking place in the Oval Office. Where’s your SF86, Buchanan? Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Capital Delight

Photo courtesy of
‘090127 Alex Ovechkin’ courtesy of ‘Dan4th’

Ben here, filling in for Tom as he wings his way back across the Atlantic. He’ll have more National angst in a couple weeks, I’m sure.

Capitals
Record: 36-16-5 (77 points)
Position in Division / Conference: First / Tied for second

Two words to describe the current sports darlings in town: On fire.

And at just the right time. The Caps enter this week, just about 2/3rds through the season, at a red-hot pace and fighting with perennial standings goliath New Jersey on a near-nightly basis for the second spot in the Conference. The Caps are 9-2-2 in their last 13, though their road record needs some work, evening out at 14-12-4.

Ovie, to no one’s surprise, has scored 27 goals in his last 29, including a hat trick last night against a surprising Florida team. Alex Semin knocked in another point last night as well, notching himself as the teams’ fourth 50-point scorer this year. Mike Green had a NHL record eight game point streak for defensemen come to an end, however, but his success is typical of a well-oiled hockey team just hitting the right stride for the upcoming playoffs.

With the NHL trade deadline nearing, it’ll be interesting to see how McPhee sees the team and if any moves might be made. Barring a total failure by Theodore – who’s been showing consistent signs of his early Vezina career – the team look solid enough to go far come April and May.

Continue reading →

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 2/13 – 2/15/09

Photo courtesy of imageining
My Valentine, courtesy of imageining

And a Happy Belated Valentine’s Day to you all. Hope your weekend was full of everything you wanted it to be.

So what did you all do this past “weekend o’ love”? Well, after the jump, find out what some of your fellow residents and visitors were snapping photos of around the area. And please, if you see something that you like, click over to their Flickr stream and let them know. Our resident photogs are awesome and we should show our appreciation for sharing their work with us. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice

Okay, I get it, I know, Disney on Ice: Disneyland Adventure isn’t something you’d ususally find on WLDC, nor would it be something that I would typically write about as an author, but when you’re offered comp tickets, I mean – hey? Who would turn down some good old quality time reliving your childhood? Plus, it’s an excellent escape from all the “grown up” thinking I’ve been doing recently, what with a new job, taxes, and a stinky economy. So one night in the “happiest place on earth”? Well, fine, I’ll give it a shot. Also, truth be told, I’m totally the kid who wrote papers for school on the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan drama. I followed Michelle Kwan‘s life story. I know who Scott Hamilton is, and envied his 80’s sequined flared get-ups for the Olympics. Kristi Yamaguchi? Yes, please.

So off we went for a night of saccharine plotline and figure skating… Continue reading →

The District, The Features, WTF?!
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Baby, It’s Cold Outside. And In.

Photo courtesy of


‘6th St Row in Snow’
courtesy of ‘daveinshaw’

Last week’s Thrifty District story was eerily familiar to me. My good friend Rebecca, over at Inspiration DC, has gone through almost the exact same Pepco disaster that Tiff featured in her post. She’s got a 700-square foot apartment, top floor of a building in eastern market, with two small bedrooms, one bathroom and a kitchen you can barely fit into. And she comes home to a $500 electricity bill.

With Pepco recently foraying into social media (welcome, welcome!) we thought we’d put the system to the test. We tweeted Rebecca’s story and Andre Francis, the Twitter dude (aka the Social Media Lead)  over at Pepco, got on the case.  Read on to hear the story from Rebecca’s point of view, and to hear what @PepcoConnect has done to resolve her case. Maybe you’ll learn some tips on how to deal with your own massivly large Pepco bill…


“When we got our first heating bill from Pepco at our new apartment I thought for sure it was an obvious mistake and would be cleared up quickly.  No one in their right mind would pay $491.70 for a month of electricity and heat in a small 700 sq feet apartment.  Now it has been a month, several angry phone calls later and we apparently owe them almost $900 for two months of heating and electricity.

Make sure that you heating and air conditioning are working correctly, with the help of air conditioning repair Escondido you can do it, this will save you a lot of money every year.

Continue reading →
Interviews, The Daily Feed
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We Need Interviews!


Random TV Interview
Originally uploaded by Mr. T in DC

I love doing interviews for all you WLDC readers. So I’m putting out the call – I’d like to line up some interviews for everyone’s reading pleasure, because you know we all like to be nebby in other people’s lives…

So if you or someone you know fits the following, contact me at cherokeeace [at] juno [dot] com:

  • Newly relocated to the DC Metro area
  • Small business owner with a unique area business
  • Major / minor celebrity (hey, I can dream) who loves the area or has fond memories of a visit
  • Tourist or recent visitor to the area
  • Long-time resident with an interesting story to share

I won’t guarantee that everyone who contacts me will see their ‘story’ up here, but I will guarantee those that do will be interesting and fun.

Getaways, Tourism, Travel
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Getaways: Artists Inn Residence

Lionshead Faucet, Artists Inn Residence

"Lionshead Faucet, Artists Inn Residence" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Sigh. Stupid economic apocalypse. I really wanted to get away for my birthday this year. Rough times on all fronts. Originally I had some fantasy about skipping town to Barcelona or Marseilles. But, no such luck. So, I settled for a staycation and escaped for the night to exotic Dupont Circle. The bed and breakfast that I discovered, however, turned out to be the best birthday idea I’d had in ages.

The Artists Inn Residence, run by the incredibly kind Terry Gerace, is an amazing B&B at 18th and R Streets NW. If you have any out-of-town guests to house or are looking for a romantic or peaceful escape, this is the place. Beautifully renovated, it’s filled with light and gives the impression of a gracious Parisian mansion with a modern twist. Six suites are lovingly decorated like perfect jewelboxes – each with a different theme that is never heavy-handed. The rooms are also completely outfitted with the technophile essentials like high-speed wireless internet, crazily hidden HDTVs, heated floors, mood lighting… I easily spent half-an-hour just fiddling with the gadgets like the TV hidden in the mirror over the massive stone fireplace.

I stayed in the Da Vinci suite, with its bed constructed out of massive carved doors making me feel like I was nestled in a Tuscan farmhouse. Upon arrival I was even sweetly greeted by a little chocolate cake. Now that’s a class act. Continue reading →

Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Night Life, The District, The Features
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Review: Spy at Night

Photo courtesy of Ghost_Bear
Spy, courtesy of Ghost_Bear

If you’re interested in changing up your happy hour plans, then heading over to the International Spy Museum’s “Spy At Night” is for you.

Every Friday and Saturday from 6pm-10pm, the museum stays open to offer guests (read: spies in training) a late night glimpse into the lives of spy operatives.  According to the Executive Director of the International Spy Museum, Peter Earnest, Operation Spy combines real-life details and mission deliverables from past spy operations, and he should know: he’s former CIA.  I can’t give too much away–it’s confidential, and would ruin the mystery behind the experience–but what I can tell you is that Operation Spy is completely different from the museum. Continue reading →