He pours the steamed milk into the spartan white cup, swirling the stream just a bit with fine motor control to make an artful pour and a heart shaped design in the surface of the mocha. She stands at his elbow, tamping down yet another pod for the pour. The clack of the grinder, the thud of the receptacle on the counter, this is the discussion between them. Yet, they move in perfect harmony. She scribbles on a cup. thwackthwackthwack goes the grinder, tamp with a twist, pour. The steamer hisses loudly in his hands, the pitcher moving gently. Then a perfect pour, all the while their heads nodding in time to the beat of the music.

To them, it’s not coffee, but craft. Intricate dance and artform, all in one. The ephemeral nature of the result is not lost on them as they smile and craft yet another one.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In reading the Definitive Patio Bar List comments, it struck me that Bin Round is right, we need to look beyond the usual suspects:

There must be more! How about Capitol Hill or Columbia Heights? Anyone know of good places there? Other than G’town and GWU, any places near the schools in the area?

Last night I stumbled home from one of my favorite places, Wonderland Ballroom after a great time in their new pet-friendly outdoor Beer Garden. Yep, a great Beer Garden in Columbia Heights. Who knew?

Well now you do. And we should all know – where are more Patio Bars? Add your new ideas to the Definitive Patio Bar List.

Wonderland’s Beer Garden

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Anyone who knows me, knows my love of Ray’s The Steaks. Even though I’m a little upset with them, I’m sure one cup of Crab Bisque all will be forgotten. Now, though, there’s a deal in place at the Arlington Ray’s that is one that absolutely, positively cannot be missed. According to Jason Storch of DC Foodies, Ray’s will be offering a $20 Bistro menu that includes a cup of their phenomenal soup or a salad, and a choice of their Hanger Steak or Salmon, all served with their famous mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.

When you see Michael, tell him Metblogs sends their love. There is no finer steak in town that Ray’s, get out there before the wait gets too bad.

Ray’s The Steaks

1725 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, now I really need a new coffeeshop. First it was velour jumpsuits, now it’s youth assaulting congressmen. Where can I go to have a cup of coffee and be unassailed?! Jim Moran is sitting at the table behind me plotting a demonstration against the detainees in Guantanamo, and while I suppose I appreciate that someone in Congress is actually talking about it, declaring that the Attorney General and the Presidents are in cahoots against Muslims, that seems to me to be a bit far fetched. They’re also talking about a letter signed by 100-150 Congresscritters to bring the troops home since Tom Fox died. Never mind the troops who’ve given their lives, let’s politicize the death of one civilian. Righteous.

[Edited later: They were Tom Fox’s Quaker group, not just your run of the mill constituents. I do feel bad for their loss, but I’m pretty sure bringing the troops home now isn’t the answer.]

I thought all this stuff went down in dark, smoky wood-panelled rooms on the Hill, but apparently it’s also going on in Northern Virginia coffee shops.

Moran bought two fruit juices at the counter. Of course, given his cozy relationship with MBNA, it was no surprise he paid by credit card.

[Edited later: I did get a chance to shake Congressman Moran’s hand. He’s a grabby fellow. Just didn’t want to let go of my hand. Why are all politicians like this?]

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Falun Gong Dafa

If you are downtown today, you might wanna check out the massive Falun Gongregation happening in McPherson Square.

Not content with the small ongoing protest in front of the Chinese Embassy on Connecticut Avenue, or last week’s better location of Farragut Park, they’ve now massing for a serious protest – going for numbers as well as location.

I’m going with a completely unscientific 1,000+ Falun Gong Dafa’ers, and based on the backpacks, food, water, and organization, they’re ready for a day-long occupation.

Oh and they’re also shifted tactics. No longer content with the usual “Oh we’re persecuted” line, or last week’s organ harvesting upgrade, now they’re going all out politically too. Chants of “Down with the CCP!”, calling for an end of the Chinese Communist Party is a sign they’ve given up thinking they’ll get anywhere with the current government. Now the Dafaists are for all-out regime change.

Good luck with that, kids. Just be sure to pick up your trash as you leave, or I’ll be calling you out for trashing the park too.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Arlington County has won the Travelling Spittoon award for their work with communicable diseases.

Okay, that’s great, but can someone please, for the love of all things good and crunchy in milk, tell me why they decided to make the award a Spittoon?!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

My darling girlfriend and I had a very unsuccessful evening Monday trying to drop in for the last hockey game of the season. I figured with the Caps being lame ducks it would be easy to grab some cheap seats, have an overpriced beer and watch the last live hockey I’d get till fall. Not to be – for some reason the crowds were out in force, the cheapest spot left in the upper bowl was $50 and the scalpers – not that I would ever use their illicit services – wouldn’t budge on their insanely high prices even at the end of the first period. Ah well, we made do with a few drinks at Clyde’s and watched the second period on the tv.

With the game heading into basketball-level scores at the end of the second we figured we’d go hit the salad bar across the street at TGI Fridays. While looking over the menu waiting for our server I commented that of the six chicken dishes on the menu, five were covered in cheese. The sixth is deep fried. “I should comment on this hostile attack on DC arteries,” I joked. DG commented that (a) TGI Fridays being heart-hostile is hardly news and (2) not at all DC related.

[correction: checked the receipt, it was actually Ruby Tuesdays. Thanks rich! All those places look alike to me…]

Apparently the universe concurred and decided to give me something worth writing about.

The staff at Friday’s may mean well, but they are woefully inadequate at dealing with one of the dangers of being in the city – street people. Or perhaps they’re just used to someone coming in looking to beg a buck, rather than the more vociferous variety they – and we – got that evening. I don’t know which voice in her head told her to walk in and sit down at an unused table, but it wasn’t a happy one. When her constant muttering about “killing everyone, dead to the floor” caught my attention and I looked away from the tv, she caught my eye and pointed at me from her six feet away and said “I’m going to kill you dead.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

You know, some stories are long in coming. It’s amazing, really, the things that just snap something into context. Sometimes they’re things that happen years later, like your ex-girlfriend coming out to you at a high school reunion some ten years later. Today’s event is Jim Bowden Arrested in Miami for DUI. Oh, wow, does that explain some things.

Sure, it explains things like leaving Ryan Church in the minors at the beginning of the season. It explains the leather pants. It absolutely explains completing the Soriano deal in the off-season without talking to Soriano about a position change. But, love him or hate him, he’s innocent until proven guilty.

What I want to know is….does running a baseball team while under the influence count as a misdemeanor, or is it more of a low-grade felony?

Please, for the love of God, Baseball, find us some owners so we can boot some of these clowns running the show.

[Update] Oh this just gets better and better, not only was Bowden arrested for DUI, his fiancée was arrested too. Capitol Punishment is all over this, and even has Jimmy Bo’s mugshot.

This really doesn’t look good for Bowden.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Coworker 1: “I think I want to join Flow Yoga because I like how environmentally-conscious they are.”

Me: “So, are there a lot of yoga studios out there which aren’t environmentally-conscious? Because you’re kind of screwing with my yoga studio stereotypes right now.”

Coworker 2: “Yeah, are there yoga studios where they slaughter kittens while spraying Aqua-Net around the room?”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Special to Metroblogging from contributor Mik,

Junkyards or Condos? Which would you rather see in D.C.? Perhaps DC will go the way of Japan, expanding into the water and building up the city on a rubbish dump. Don’t ask me what that sweet stench is during the Nats game on a hot July night, I’ll feign ignorance.

A recent article in the Washington Business Journal informs us that we may be running out of space in our beloved Capital. Soon enough, we’ll be living and working in Condominium city. What will happen to our trash transfer stations? Would looking at the practices put into place further North in Rhode Island prepare the City to deal with an expected 100,000 new residents by 2010?

With an influx of residents expected over the next four years will the City be able to meet the demand for services? Will young families have to traipse out to Leesburg to find a pediatrician for their young children? Will it be harder to make appointments with the neighbourhood veterinarian when Fido’s sick? How many people will not fight for that neighbourhood parking spot? Our only saving grace may be that as the City Dwellers age, and prepare to start families, they also want the picket fence to go with their 2.5 children, state of the art grill and Fido. Just as the Phoenix rises from its ashes, so too are our young marrieds moving out to the ‘burbs to make way for the next generation of City Dwellers.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’ve been in Bonnie Greer & Company in Del Ray a few times and found it to be a fun mix of stuff – funny knick-knacks, neat cards, weird pajamas, scented body soap sold and dispensed in scoops like ice cream – so it’s a shame that “Bonnie” has decided to close this location and focus on her shop in Gainesville. On the other hand, I like cheap & fun better than just fun so I’m excited by the prospect of her moving sale.

This Wednesday and Thursday, April 19th and 20th, a lot of the selection will be on sale for half off. Apparently not everything will be marked down since it’s a relocation sale to trim inventory, not a going out of business sale. Hours will be from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, but if you can’t make it then the last hurah will be Saturday during the fairly normal business hours of 10:00am to 4:00pm.

The shop is at 2204 Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In my day to day work as a recruiter, I troll through the resumes on Craigslist DC to see if anyone with an interesting skill set is looking for work. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

I think the real reason I read Craigslist resumes so much is really postings like this one.

Good luck in your job search, Stormy. I’d hire you if I could.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sure, the President’s ride lives out at Andrews Air Force Base under heavy security, and it’s nearly impossible to get near the place without being fondled in uncomfortable ways by men and women whose job it is to kill people who wish to do things like this, but some guy managed to tag Air Force One.

I certainly can’t vouch for the veracity of the video in question, but if it’s honest, holy shit, people. What the hell is going on that some guy can get close to the engines of Air Force One?!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Starting today, you can now tell us what you want us to cover. For a long time, I’ve been hoping to give the opportunity for our readers to drive what it is that we write about, and now, thanks to some hard work by our coders at Metroblogging HQ, you can do just that. Over at the right, you’ll now see a button that looks like this:

If there’s something happening, and you want us to cover it, well, click that button and tell us about it. There are a few rules to make sure we’re not just a mouthpiece, though. We’re not an events listing. That’s what Upcoming is for. We’re not a good Press Release Repeater, either, so don’t expect to see verbatim Press Releases here, or even anything remotely like that. Make sure to include a link to what you find cool or interesting. Details really help, because the more we know, the more likely we are to write. Also, make sure it relates to the Greater DC area.

Go on, give it a whirl!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of ericmcgregor

I was so jealous of you DC & MD folk and your extra day to file that I ended up giving myself one.

Okay, my disorganization, ass-dragging and the distance from here to the closest late night post office (Merrifield? Do all of you people do e-file now? Or worse yet, PLAN AHEAD?) was so great that I wasn’t going to make it to a drop off by midnight. So, I just dropped it in the box down the street – despite being a Virginian, I’ll be filing on the 18th as well.

In actuality it won’t matter. I have the situation I so despise – being owed money by the Fed – so there’s no late filing penalties. This is the first time I’ve failed to be on time in almost twenty years of paying taxes, though, and it feels kinda weird. I’m sure soon the sense of exhilaration will set in and it’ll be a short downward slide to heroin, bank robbery and tearing the tags off mattresses.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

easter madness

Now that Easter Sunday has passed, would you kind folks remove your obnoxious symbols of bunny love.

We Easter Grinches need not your reminders of peeps, eggs, and fake green grass.

Especially not this glowing peep/bunny abomination haunting our neighborhood and our dreams.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You might think I’m a little early in calling for the intern return, what with it just warming up and summer still seeming far away. You’d be wrong. Why? How about this little ad in the most recent Economist as a tell-tale sign:

The Economist office in Washington DC seeks a writer-intern to help with coverage in the four months up to this November’s election. Experience unimportant, pay negligible. Please send CV and sample article to Washingtonintern@economist.com

Mark my works, soon, you’ll be saying, with either love or hate, Poltergeist-style: “They’re back..”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Looks like a good showing for our Hometown Washington Post in the Pulitzer Prize Contests, with the Post taking home four of the awards for their reporting in 2005. The Post took the Explanatory Journalism, Criticism, Investigative and Beat Reporting categories. For their coverage on the Jack Abramoff scandal, Susan Schmidt, James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith won the Investigate reporting Pulitzer. David Finkel won the explanatory journalism prize for his work on the US’ attempts to bring democracy to Yemen. Robin Givhan won the Criticism Pulitzer for her coverage of the fashion industry. Last but certainly not least, Dana Priest won the Pulitzer for Beat Reporting, writing about the CIA’s secret prisons for terror suspects.

Congratulations to all of those who won, and Way To Go Washington Post!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Are you madly filling out your tax forms today? Maybe you’re even thinking you’ll need to run home for those forgotten W-4’s. Or you could’ve done it all online and are waiting to the last minute to pay. We here at DC Metroblogging would like to give you a tax-day gift: One extra day to file & if needed, pay.

“One extra day!” you say? “How can this be?”

This year the IRS, in their infinite wisdom, moved the filing address for the District of Columbia, from Philadelphia, PA, where its been for years to Andover Mass. And Massachusetts, in their own infinite wisdom, celebrates this day as the state holiday Patriot’s Day in honor of the American Revolutionary battles at Lexington and Concord. So that means we have until April 18th to file and/or pay because the Andover IRS processing center will be observing the state holiday today.

Now might this change in address and the corresponding day reprieve have anything to do with the recent The Tax Foundation study on taxpayer burdens? The one that found DC tied with New York and just behind Maine as the most tax burdened states in America with an average 12.80% total state and local tax burden for 2006? Or that on average, DC residents are paying the most each nationwide, $8,092 of our can’t commuter-tax MD/VA incomes?

Waddya think, DC? Might it be that we’re just that special, just a coincidence, or are we getting some well-deserved IRS loving?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Saturday was the 94th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, as I was reminded by a friend while out frolicking. Which also reminded me I’ve yet to visit DC’s Titanic Memorial, which along with DC’s WWI Memorial, is on my list of unusual commemorative places in Washington that I’ve never seen.

Sculpted by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, it’s dedicated to the men who gave their lives that night so that women and children could get precious lifeboat space. It’s more than a bit Christ-like in its interpretation of their sacrifice. Apparently there was a group of Washingtonian women who placed a wreath there every year, but it seems that practice may have fallen off.

Has anyone actually seen it? It’s rare that I get to 4th and P SW. Maybe next time I take a trip to the Fish Market, I’ll bring those gallant men a bouquet…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs