Coffee and Cream at Whitlow’s

I recently had the pleasure of having breakfast at Whitlow’s on Wilson over in Clarendon. I had not been there before but when my wife suggested it I jumped at the opportunity. I love the idea of having breakfast at a bar. I suppose it makes me pine for those younger college days when I spent a lot more time at bars and would stumble to the local IHOP or Waffle House to get a bite at sunrise, just before going to bed.

I can’t do that stuff anymore, nor would I want to relive it if I could, but those years provide me with good fodder for storytelling.

Whitlow’s gave me that fun sense of nostalgia, except with better food and a nicer atmosphere. The hostess, who was very friendly and forthcoming with information, explained the history of the restaurant to me and pointed out some interesting aspects of the Clarendon location. The original Whitlow’s, once a fixture in DC, is long gone but the Clarendon version has a lot of old fixtures and memorabilia from its predecessor, making it a cool, visually appealing place.

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

photo courtesy of VA DMV

Normally the John Kelly’s Washington column makes me want to stab myself in the eye, although marginally less than Bob Levey’s column did. However I am willing to put aside my enmity to point out today’s column talking about a vanity license plate in danger of not being added to the roster. We all know about my sick fascination with license plates by now, so I felt like I should give a little back and show you this one which is angling to be added to the roster of over 180 plate options here in VA. If realtors, bowlers, and fans of the wild turkey (and not the kind from the bottle) can have plates, why not fans of peace?

VA won’t commit to the plate unless 350 people pre-register and commit to it – just not worth the money otherwise, apparently. It’s hard to believe any idea gets rejected, but a number failed to reach the threshold.

I wonder if Wayan would be willing to quiz those with Friends of Tibet plates to see if they’re sufficiently well-informed by his standards to have the plates?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You know the one. The memo that says:

Dear Sir or Madam:

PS – We see that you’ve also read through the manual on how to park your POS too. Congrats! Take up as many spaces as possible because it’s your God given right. Have you installed a gun rack yet? If not, you should see an accessory catalog in your mailbox shortly.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Have you been outside today? Stick your pale neck outside the cubicle for a few minutes and enjoy the sunshine before it’s time to go home.

I found this buggy of treasure outside Murky Coffee when I went outside to feed the meter. The owner was nowhere to be seen but this guy has the right idea. All of us benefit from a little sunshine and some fresh air, even the stuff that fills our homes. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Taking your stuff for a walk is a great excuse to go outside, so grab the keyboard from your desk and head out to the grace and wonder of a beautiful day while you still can.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Windows on the left are painted on.

The PNC Bank at 301 7th Street NW has a painted-on set of windows and bricks on the east side of the building. For some reason, this really pissed me off and made me want to take my money somewhere else. I suppose I should be a little more rational and think before doing something so rash but it really rubbed me the wrong way.

I suppose I should be delighted by this building mural as public art but this really got under my skin. It felt to me like a visual laugh track. Maybe I’m just an old-fashioned guy. I like my gin with tonic and my murals not to try to deceive me. The whole thing felt like the mural equivalent of sofa-sized art – a painting more of convenience than inspiration.

PNC Bank – here is your chance to redeem yourself and explain why you have fake-ass windows and fake-ass bricks painted on your building.

I’m not saying it’s not well done. The craftsmanship is high and I am sure it took someone a good bit of time and sweat to do. It just sticks in my craw. Maybe it’s just that Dr. Zaius would not approve and thus neither do I.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 8th, at least 20 bars and restaurants around the city will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, which will be using the funds to help the merchants and producers who depended on Eastern Market for their livelihoods.

Eastern Market Rescue has the list of participating establishments along with the hours during which they’re participating (some are doing a happy hour, some are designating the whole day) AND, my personal favorite, the actual percentage being donated. EMR has been recommending a 5% donation, but some places are going above and beyond, and you can reward that generosity if you so choose. There’s also a flyer you can use to ask your favorite establishment to participate.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

While this week’s cold snap feels more like fall than spring, summer is on its way. And summer in DC can only really be enjoyed on a porch.

Where else can you watch the neighbourhood goings-on with a drink and a shout? How else can keep that ratty college couch when you girlfriend moves in?

My neighbours know this to be true. That is why they are busy rebuilding their porch before the weather gets warm. Come June, July, August, that is where you will find us.

Where will it find you?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Washington, DC area is by far the most cosmopolitan and international place I have lived (even more than Rensselaer, NY) but I have a problem with it. Where are the Tibetan restaurants in the area? Now and then a fella gets a serious hankering for some tsampa and yak butter tea. As good as it is, 7-11 just doesn’t cut it. Can anyone recommend a Tibetan restaurant in the area? I haven’t been able to find one but I am sure there is one here.

Somebody had recommended Mt. Everest over on 18th St. NW but it is now closed, from what I can tell.

What is your favorite place to get delicious Tibetan delights?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Kira and her friend Debra

It’s the second and last day of the Avon walk and Kira is the last of our spotlighted walkers. Her personal page at the Avon site is light on details about what her personal connections to the disease are… except for the picture of her and her friend Debra, seen here, who her caption indicates is no longer with us.

Help fight breast cancer and support Amber here. Click the “click here to support me” button on that page and donate.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

For all those who ran the windy 6.2 miles of Haines Point this morning, congratulations! You can now have that greassy Bloody Mary brunch with out guilt.

I will be looking for Krispy Kreeme since the Sallie Mae post-race foods were way too healthy. Apples and yogurt is for those who slept in, not for 10K runners.

Especially those who ran a 7:30/mile pace for 46 minutes of speed.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Oh it is a cold morning to be in race shorts. With a chilly breeze cutting through thin licra, teeth are chattering more than feet are running- for now.

In moments there will be a few thousand runners streaming down Ohio Avenue for a six mile log. Before them we wait.

Waiting to find a parking space. Waiting for our race packet. Waiting for the toilet. And now waiting for the race.

Wish us luck. We will need it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Has anyone else noticed the cattle chute being constructed in front of the White House? After being eyed suspiciously by Secret Service guys as I photographed it, I asked one of them what it was for. Supposedly it’s to create a secure zone for when H.M. the Queen is here.

Somehow I doubt it. What does the Queen need with a cattle chute anyway? I smell a conspiracy.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There’s been a lot of buzz about Robert Wiedmaier’s new restaurant Brasserie Beck , which just opened a few days ago. Beyond the hype, I had two personal reasons for wanting to try it – celebrating the end of the construction of the new office building it’s located in, which has been making a hell of my morning bus commute for the past several months, and casing it as a potential pitstop on my new post-work walking routine (who needs a water break when you can have a Tremens?).

Beck is on the “unfashionable side” of the K Street Corridor at 1101 K, where there are many empty lots under heavy construction, bound to eventually be unrecognizable when the old Convention Center site is redeveloped. Given that, I was curious how crowded it would be at 1pm on Friday (not at all) and what kind of diner would be present (business casuals). It will be interesting to see what happens as word gets out that it’s open and it picks up. That much-quoted “European train station” interior could get very loud indeed, and I’m not sure about the almost cafeteria-style tables. Hopefully when filled with people it will have a lively, inviting feel perfect for its Belgian beer and comfort dishes.

But enough of the obligatory atmosphere rap, how was the food?

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

The Arlington County Police Department will close Crystal Drive, from South 20th Street to South 23rd Street, on May 5, 2007, from 3:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. for the Crystal Rocks Concert.

If you are going to the Crystal Rocks concert, hop on the Metro. The Crystal City stop is only two blocks away from the concert location. It’s either ride the train or wait in hellishly long lines in your car.

Tomorrow’s high temperature is only forecasted to be in the upper 60’s but we are getting to that time of year when the sun beating through the windshield makes folks extra pissy on the roads. So if you have a car, leave it at home and take public transportation. Avoid the nut jobs on the streets and walk by all the honking horns. Trust me – you will be glad you did.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Twice on the same commute, I witnessed the same curious behavior.

When a double seat opened up completely, someone already sharing a seat with someone else would jump up, and without checking to see if any of the standing people were moving toward the seat (and in one case nearly running someone over in the process), scurry over and sit in the empty double seat as fast as they could.

I can understand the appeal of not having to share a seat, of course, but the hurry to do so while there are still people standing in the car inspires a moderately evil impulse… I always want to slide into the seat with them and spread out a little, just to see the looks on their faces.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s been a few days since the electrical fire at Eastern Market closed the historic edifice for 18 to 24 months while it is rebuilt. The ashes are settled and the loss is nearly total. Hope, however, is not gone from the scene, and folks everywhere are working on relief for those businesses who were affected by the fire:

The Capitol Hill Community Foundation is seeking donations (tax-deductible, natch) for the market staff that were affected by the fire: The devastating April 30th fire destroyed the roof and shut down operations in the South Hall. The bricks and mortar can be fixed and the building preserved. What we must also preserve are the lives and businesses of the people who make up the Eastern Market community.

Eastern Market Rescue is tracking a happy hour benefit for next Tuesday, complete with a sweet Google Maps mashup letting you know where and when and how much will be going to the relief effort.

Of course, if you want a tangible good, there’s always this sweet Rebuild Eastern Market T-shirt. $20, but $14 goes to charity: The t-shirts are available for sale at Dawn Price Baby, Groovy D.C., Marvelous Market on Capitol Hill and Maggie and Lola boutique. Shirts will also be available this Sunday, May 7, 2007 outside the now devastated Eastern Market.

Do something to help this week. While the repair of the building may take close to two years, the relief we provide to those who lost their livelihoods in the fire is crucial to keeping the future of Eastern Market alive.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

It is dark. It is chill. It is a Temperance Hall Thursday in Petworth.

The food is good, the drink better, and in spite of the Internet jukebox, the music is great. Hendrix and Kravitz paired with Hooker and Brown.

I only wish the mysterious Prince of Petworth was here to join the scene. May I be blessed with his presence soon.

Until then you, I, we can enjoy the lack of temperance in this hall.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Image from Three panel soul

If you’re a boingboing reader you likely saw this story. Matt’s a local, and apparently was working as an SAP contractor in the area when he got canned because someone heard him talking about target shooting and it made them uncomfortable.

The really funny thing, to the extent that getting fired for thoughtcrime can be funny, is that he’s a contractor for THE NAVY. I don’t think my experience working for a government contractor is unique in that more than 1 in 10 of my cow orkers are former members of the armed forces. Plus a few who were in the Air Force. I kid, I kid!

Seriously, you work for an organization that is involved in the business of war and you’re freaked out by someone talking about target shooting? Worse – you ARE that organization and you kowtow to that?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Nick & Leigha

Nick and his wife Leigha are walking together to support the fight against breast cancer and they need your help to hit their goals. Our previous two spotlighted walkers has hit their goals and surpassed them, but Nick and Leigha are lagging a bit.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Avon Walk you might not be aware of the extent of the commitment these people make to the cause. We know from the name of the event that they’ll be out walking to raise visible awareness of the cause. You know from my harping on it for several days now that they’re committed to asking others to contribute to the cause. Are you aware that every walker has made a personal commitment to hit that $1,800 goal even if it means taking it out of their own pocket?

Here’s what Nick has to say.

Help fight breast cancer by supporting Nick here and his wife Leigha here. You can contribute any amount you like and every cent counts. When you click the “click here to support me” button on each walker’s page you can opt to do any amount on a one time basis, or make a commitment to donate $25 a month for the next 3 or 5 months.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The other morning, like many mornings here in Northern Virginia, I drove from my house to the coffee shop that’s become my home base. On my drive, I always pass this one little house in the Lyon Park neighborhood of Arlington. It’s cute, and it’s small, probably 2000 square feet or less, and painted white. It’s a 1920s-era bungalow, complete with cute porch and an add-on off to the side done by one of the previous owners. It’s not ostentatious like many houses in the area, it’s just cute. And, like every morning for the past few months, there’s a For Sale sign on it. Find a great Cottage in Wasaga Beach for your family.

Today, they’d added the “New Low Price” sign to it, so I pulled a U-turn, grabbed the flyer, returned to my car and read it.

My guess was right, built in 1924. Gas heat, gas kitchen. Just under 1900 sqft, and there’s a back deck. .21 acre lot.

$819,000.

I nearly cried.

When a small single family home is more than I make in 10 years…the world’s all kinds of topsy. Anyone have a line on some good lotto numbers?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs