Category Archives: The Features

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

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Special: Birch & Barley’s Beer & Whiskey

Birch & Barley/ChurchKey beer and whisky tasting

Last week, Birch & Barley hosted their first-ever beer and whiskey tasting. At the helm was the inimitable Greg Engert to guide the evening’s attendees through three different beers and three different whiskies, one of each presented on its own, and then two of each paired together.

While I’ve had several meals at Birch & Barley and have spent too much time upstairs at ChurchKey, I had not yet attended one of Birch & Barley’s tastings or beer dinners so I wasn’t sure what to expect—in its format, presentation, guidance, sociability—but based on my past experiences with the brother-sister venues and the heavy promotion the tasting received, I figured it would be worthwhile. By the conclusion of the event, it had certainly met expectations—I left better educated, with a few new acquaintances, and with a pleasant buzz.

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Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Royksopp @ 9:30 Club, 3/23/11

Photo courtesy of
‘Röyksopp 03’
courtesy of ‘Max Cook’

Guest reviewer Alexia Kauffman of The Torches was at the show for We Love DC:

Norwegian electronic duo Royksopp brought jubilant energy to their sold out show at the 930 club Wednesday night. When I arrived, fifteen minutes before doors opened, there was a line stretching down the block of dedicated admirers waiting in the cold rain for a good spot inside.

I must say that I have been eagerly anticipating this show for some time. This was my first time seeing Royksopp. I heard and loved their song “Remind Me” years ago (yes, before the Geico commercial), and then fell in love with their remix of Beck’s “Missing” on his 2005 remix EP(the best Beck remix ever, IMO). It wasn’t until their 2009 album Junior, though, that I fell hard for them. That album spent the entire summer/fall in my car stereo, and on repeat through my headphones at work.

Since then I have been dying to see them live. And finally, to DC they came. Continue reading →

Music, The Features
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Q&A with Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low

all time low feb 2011 miko lim photo credit
photo by Miko Lim / courtesy of Ear Shot Media

If you haven’t heard of All Time Low by now then you can probably declare yourself officially old. These guys have been blowing up huge and their popularity and success shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon; as evidenced by their selling out 9:30 Club way in advance of their upcoming show there on Monday night. All Time Low are a pop-punk band in the vein of Green Day or Blink-182, and if they keep doing things right they will soon be as big as the bands that inspired them. We caught up with lead singer Alex Gaskarth and asked him a few questions about the band’s early days, who inspires them, and what went into recording their fourth album “Dirty Work”.

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Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The District, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback 3/25-03/27/11

Photo courtesy of
‘Cherry Blossoms in the Dark’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Despite chilly temperatures, spring has sprung in our lovely Capitol City. The trees, and not just the cherry trees, are abloom; DC denizens are fully emerging from their winter comas; runners, outdoor enthusiasts and sports teams seem to taken up every nook and cranny of green space or path. The photogs were also out in full force this weekend, and have captured the essence of spring in DC. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Blue Man Group at Warner Theatre

Photo compliments of the Blue Man Group

Don’t let the blue body paint and vow of silence deter you from the Blue Man Group’s mission. There’s more to the chaotic and childish stage show than one might think. In actuality, Blue Man Group’s intentions are anthropological in nature.

When entering Warner Theatre for opening night of the Blue Man Group’s touring show on Wednesday night, patrons were greeted by a blue screen with the following text projected upon it:

“When meeting people from a foreign culture, offer a few gifts that reflect your interests as a gesture of friendship. Better yet, give things you’ve created yourself. Also, explore their interests and their culture. Ultimately, the best way to forge a lasting friendship is to create something together. Whether it’s a meal, an art project or a spontaneous dance party, when you create something with others, you build a connection that lasts a lifetime.” – International Diplomacy Guidebook

Blue Man Group, as a stage show experience, is a real-time lesson that teaches its audience members that using your imagination isn’t just for little kids. It’s okay to act like a goof. It’s okay to play with your food. It’s okay to make a mess. And, most importantly, it’s okay to have fun. Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Interviews, People, Special Events, The Features, They Make DC
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As Blossoms Arrive, a Moment with Diana Mayhew

DSC_2585

The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off tomorrow, commemorating Japan’s gift of 3,000 Yoshino cherry trees to the city 99 years ago. The Festival is a grand two-week affair that draws over a million people annually, with a diverse range of events all across the District.

Key to the success of this yearly event for the last decade has been NCBF President Diana Mayhew, who took over the helm in 2000 as Executive Director and then in 2007 as President. When she arrived, the Festival was an all-volunteer organization (begun in 1927) and its vision was to ensure that there was year-round, consistent staffing to ensure the growth, quality, and consistency of events. “We also help show the world that Washington, DC is synonymous with spring,” Mayhew told me. “There was a need to provide consistent services to residents and visitors interested in attending Festival events and there was no central communication.” The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) donated the salary of an Executive Director for three years until the Festival got up on its feet, implementing fundraising and sponsorships to support itself and the cost of programming, which is offered free to the public.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs – Teddy Diggs of Ripple (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of
‘Gnocchi with creme fraiche sauce, spinach and beans’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

Man, am I a big fan of gnocchi. It’s easy enough to make. It combines pasta and potatoes, the two powerhouses of starchiness. What’s not to love? So since it’s unpleasantly cold this weekend, make a nice, warm bowl of this gnocchi, courtesy of Teddy Diggs, executive chef of Ripple. In the recipe, Teddy uses a potato ricer. I usually follow the Alton Brown school of thought that “uni-taskers are bad.” But a potato ricer is a fantastic invention. Once you have mashed potatoes (or this gnocchi) that went through a potato ricer, you’ll never go back. You can use a fork to mash them instead, and use a fork to shape the gnocchi (you are forgiven for not having a gnocchi paddle).

The full recipe is after the jump.
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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, We Love Music
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Q&A with Alex Frankel of Holy Ghost!


courtesy of Girlie Action.

If you don’t know Holy Ghost! by name yet, there is a good chance that you’d know one of their many remixes if you heard it on the dance floor. Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser have been best buds for twenty years, going all the way back to the 2nd grade (talk about old school)! Music has played a big part in their friendship in that time. Most recently and successfully as a DJ/Remix duo and live band Holy Ghost!. Their disco-inspired originals and retro-synth remix style has them in high demand as both producers and as an opening act.

Holy Ghost! are opening for Cut Copy at two sold out shows at 9:30 Club next week. Alex Frankel took some time out from the studio to answer a few questions about the band and his life-long friendship with his band-mate.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Teddy Diggs of Ripple (Part 1)

Photo courtesy of
‘Teddy Diggs of Ripple’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

At some point in our lives, most of us have had a moment where we stare at the television screen and say to ourselves, “That’s what I want to do with my life.” For some it’s fantasy but for others, like Teddy Diggs, it actually becomes reality.

Diggs, the executive chef of Ripple, grew up on the “old Food Network” as a kid living in Oklahoma. You know, back when Food Network was actually good (that’s my opinion, at least) and aired shows with real chefs, like Bobby Flay and Emeril. So after watching the pros, Diggs became more interested in cooking, went on to take culinary classes in high school in Chantilly, VA, and eventually attended the Culinary Institute of America.

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Sports Fix
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What YouTube Tells Us About Jordan Crawford

Photo courtesy of
‘Jordan Crawford’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

I’ll admit that I didn’t stay up for all of the Wizard’s 119-127 double overtime loss to the Clippers last night. Those West Coast games are killer on a work night.

However I didn’t need to see the entire game to see the unfolding story of Jordan Crawford. By the time I turned off the TV he was already racked up 20 points and 10 assists, pacing John Wall in assists as he was ended the night with a 25 pt, 10 ast line. Crawford has started to show some production with the increased playing time he’s received as the Wizards are recovering from injuries to Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Rashard Lewis, and Josh Howard. Crawford has taken advantage of the opportunity, racking up 20+ points in four of his last five games.

If I was a real basketball analyst I’d fire up Syngery and probably do a film study on him to see what he’s doing well.

Unfortunately I don’t have the thousands of dollars it probably costs to afford such sophisticated technology. So I went to the only film room I had access to: YouTube.

Sure clips on YouTube will be a cherry picked, highlight-laden, collection of clips. But at least I’ll be able to see what’s “public tape” on him.

So I ran a search and here’s what I found.

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Adventures, Entertainment, Life in the Capital, We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: March 26-27

Photo courtesy of
‘(081/365)’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Marissa: I’m stretching my birthday out for as long as possible and celebrating a new job by kicking off Friday night with a party hosted by my best friend, Jennifer. We’ll probably all end up at either Madam’s Organ or Marvin. Saturday, an old friend from my high school fencing team (you read that right. Fencing.) is in town and I’m hoping we can catch up at Pound The Hill. Then it’s off to check out Nana, a neat clothing boutique, which reopens this week.

Patrick P.: I will be heading down to Miami this weekend to expierience the ever expanding Ultra Music Festival with Michael Darpino and my brother. I got some sun block with the special SPF to protect my body from free radicals caused by the sun. I also will be packing anti-crazy touchy raver repellant to ward off those that feel they can touch whoever they want while using illegal narcotics. My goal is to stay hydrated, excited, and dance myself into size 29 skinny jeans. I also plan on saying “Hello to my little friends” when I bust out some glow sticks and start jumping up and down till the sun goes up and down. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Agalloch @ Sonar (Baltimore), 3/21/11

ag1
All photos courtesy of Agalloch

On Monday, I drove up to Baltimore to check out Agalloch, rising stars in the American black metal scene. You know, I try to defend DC’s metal scene, but what does it mean when a critically acclaimed band passes us by? Are we not metal enough for a band from Portland? Are our local venues discriminating against the longhairs?

Anyway. I usually scoff at black metal as being too Satanic, too repetitive, or too grim – but Agalloch bring something unique to the genre, mixing in elements of folk (including acoustic and orchestral instruments), psych metal, and post-rock. It coalesces into something heavy and complex, something that rewards multiple listens. Despite some weak opening bands and a late set (running past 1am), I left the show sold on their vision for the future of black metal.
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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, We Love Music
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Q&A with Benjamin Plant of Miami Horror

Our guest writer Alexia Kauffman of The Torches enjoyed Miami Horror’s show so much the first time they played DC that we asked her if she’d like to interview the band’s creator for us in advance of their return this weekend.

Miami Horror is the electro/disco-pop creation of Australian DJ/producer/artist/musician, Benjamin Plant. Originally a solo endeavor by Plant, Miami Horror has grown into a full band and has done remixes for Gorillaz, The Presets & Bloc Party to name a few. Miami Horror is currently on an extensive world tour promoting their 2010 EMI release “Illumination”.

These charming gents played U Street Music Hall last year and their show was super fun, energetic, and a little goofy. They are returning to U Street Music Hall this weekend. If New Order and Air met at Studio 54 and had a torrid affair, Miami Horror would be their futuristic disco love-child. We Love DC was lucky enough to catch up with Ben for a chat amidst the band’s insane tour schedule; fresh off a week that included shows in Mexico City and Austin’s SXSW music festival.

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Comedy in DC, The Daily Feed
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Comedy in DC: Fan-Freaking-Tastic

Vijai Nathan

There’s a 99% chance of a good time happening this weekend as Vijai Nathan will be throwing the monthly show Fan-Freaking-Tastic over at Chief Ike’s Mambo room this Saturday. The theme for this party is “Freaks & Geeks” and will  feature performances by top DC stand up comics, storytellers, and slam poets for $15. The show starts at 8 PM, but I would advise getting there an hour early to take advantage of the happy hour deal going on before the show.

Entertainment, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The 2011 Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament


Photo courtesy Washington Improv Theatre

In a month where the words “seeds”, “upsets”, and “winners” are tossed around like a Rebecca Black music video, I found myself in room where several players were gearing up for their own big game in another big tournament.

No I’m not talking about the College Basketball Invitational. I’m talking about Washington Improv Theatre’s Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament, otherwise known as FIST.

Starting back on March 10th WIT kicked off their 5th annual tournament where teams of Improvisers face off against each other for the ultimate title. Over the course of 31 days, 47 teams made up of 141 performers will face-off in head-to-head matches as well as several “grand slam” matches where four teams compete.

Each match consists of a 12-minute performance from each team. The improv will be fast and furious and won’t be like what you may know from the days of “Whose Line Is It Anyways”. The rules forbid short games, making teams opt for longer forms of improv.

After the each team performs the audience votes for the winner, who then moves one step closer to the FIST title. While the votes are tallied the audience enjoys a performance from one WIT’s six house troops. It makes for a night of comedy that’s guaranteed to be something you’ve never seen before.

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Talkin' Transit
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Talkin’ Transit: Mind the Gap

Photo courtesy of
‘Horton #23 (26/365)’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

I was getting ready to head to work on Monday when I noticed that Twitter was all atwitter about the Orange and Blue lines being a mess. I usually head into town from Court House after 9:30, and usually congestion issues have worked themselves out by then.

But this was much bigger. A power cable outside Federal Triangle needed replacing, and this caused Metro to single track trains for roughly the duration of the morning rush hour. Even after rush hour ended, there were still residual issues with trains clumping and having to slow down.

I was trying to assess if I should work from home that day and looked at the next train arrival times for Court House. To my utter amazement, I saw that the next three trains were 8-car trains. When I decided to go in, I also saw that the two of the next three trains were also 8-cars. I was shocked, and dropped a note to Metro to find out what was going on.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs Reveal their Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Photo courtesy of
‘Evening Star #15’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

For weeks now, I’ve been bringing you Capital Chefs interviews. But there’s been something I’ve been holding back and hiding. There’s one question I ask in every interview that I started asking just out of personal curiosity. The question: “What’s the one tool or gadget in your kitchen you can’t live without?”

Some answers are unusual, some may inspire you and maybe a few will make you want to read more of our favorite design blog. If you’re a food nerd like me, you’ll be itching to run to Sur la Table when you’re done reading.

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Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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We Love Outdoor Dining: Our Favorite Spots Around Town

Photo courtesy of
‘indigo landing at dusk’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

Now that the weather is starting to turn for the better (don’t mind that pesky rain), all I can think about is eating and drinking outside. And in Washington, where the appropriate outdoor dining season is about two weeks long, it pays to be organized. That is why we’ve put together our favorite spots to sip a beer or have a bite on a patio, deck or sidewalk. Enjoy them, but if you take the last table at one of our favorites, we’re going to be seriously mad.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Position Battles Remain with 2011 Nationals

Photo courtesy of
‘LSE Sports Day, Malden Sports Ground, c1920s’
courtesy of ‘LSE Library’

We’re down to just 9 days before the Nationals starting 9 take the field against the Atlanta Braves (tickets still available), and there’s a pretty decent chance a couple of those positions aren’t yet full. The Nationals have been sorting out the position struggles over the last month or so, and there are still a few places with more questions than answers.

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Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Monumental
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Monumental: Taft Bridge

Photo courtesy of
‘Taft Bridge’
courtesy of ‘mgrass’

One of my first, distinct memories of DC is the long drive down Connecticut Avenue, after exiting 495 and headed to Dupont Circle. I was completely DC naive, had very little navigational or directional DC knowledge and for all I knew I could have been headed north or west or east. As I hesitantly meandered my way down Connecticut Avenue through the tree line Chevy Chase, past the sign to the National Zoo, little did I know that my first DC welcome would come from the majestic, patriotic, stone lion guardians of the Taft Bridge.

Constructed from 1897 to 1907, the arched bridge is the work of architect Edward Pearce Casey and engineer George S. Morrison, known for his steel truss bridges. The bridge, dedicated to U.S. President Howard Taft in 1931, is the largest unreinforced concrete structure in the world and in 2003 was named to the National Register of Historical Places. Continue reading →