Category Archives: Downtown

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 →

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 →

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Crime & Punishment, Downtown, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors, WTF?!
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D.C. Parking Injustice – Tow Me… Blow Me…


Law enforcement scofflaws
Originally uploaded by philliefan99

Did you hear me Mr. Fenty and Ms. Babers? D.C.’s quest to now emulate Chicago with the new administration has reached new lows. As the Democrats and Obama administration have been touting friendliness to green technologies, smart transportation alternatives, and conservation, the city they now hold a majority in,  took a TWELVEFOLD step backwards. I had created the D.C. Motorcycle parking map of the Metro region to help those folks on two wheels track down ever vanishing spots (one set is in center court in the Verizon Center… how convenient), and since most garages do not allow motorcycles in, it’s necessary. Over this past weekend, the D.C. Parking Authority (aka, the D.C. DMV) cranked up the rates without warning for the motorcycle spots to be commensurate with the rates for cars (or even more so), from 12 hour meters which were 25 cents for an hour and 24 minutes, to now 7 minutes per quarter… a loss of 77 minutes 92% of your parking value… WTF?! It shocked most folks parking on the G Street meters (which until the beginning of last year were free) on the west side of the Old Executive Office Building so much, that today, EVERY bike has decided not to pay. Seriously D.C., are you trying to discourage smart commuting?

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All Politics is Local, Downtown, Life in the Capital, Technology, The Daily Feed
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DC Loses CIO to Obama Administration

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘ckramer’

Hearty Congratulations to DC CIO Vivek Kundra, who is the latest victim of Obama Abduction. Well. I suppose it’s not exactly Abduction if they ask and you consent, right? Okay. We need a new word for that. Anyhow. Mr. Kundra is headed to the OMB as administrator of e-government and information technology. Not quite the cabinet-level CIO position that he was suspected to be considered for, but not exactly entry-level work.

Kundra will see Government-wide IT budgets of something on the order of $70,000,000,000. First task? Maybe some Macs for the Obama staff at the White House? I hear they’re jonesin’ hard.

Downtown, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Truly Thrifty

Urbana Interior

Recently, I had lunch in Dupont Circle with my work BFF. We chose Urbana as our spot because of the “Urban Lunchbox” deal they have going on – a full three course meal (+ coffee) for 11.95, with a dollar of that going to Arc of DC. (The Arc is a great organization that aims to improve the quality of life of all persons with developmental disabilities and their families.)

At Urbana, diners get a choice of the salad or soup of the day, plus any of the sandwiches or personal pizzas on the menu, and they’ll finish you up with a cookie for dessert. I LOVED it. The portions were very generous, and the fare healthy and well done. Urbana is chic, the service was impeccable and the deal was a complete steal. Normally, my pizza alone would have cost $13, but with the lunchbox I got salad, said pizza, dessert and coffee for that price.

Plus, I have a crush on every Kimpton Hotel, and Urbana is located in the Hotel Palomar on P street so I even got a peek at the stylish hotel lobby. Everything in that hotel is designed immaculately. Even the plates and dishware were trendy. Click through for a peek at my super-sleek coffee cup. Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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And So Begin the Exemptions

Photo courtesy of
‘Cigar’
courtesy of ‘J$’

It’s gotta be nice to have a councilman in your organization; so that he’ll take on the first exemption to the smoking ban so you can have a cigar on St. Paddy’s Day. That’s right, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (and their circa 1998 website) have convinced Councilman Jack Evans (Ward 2) to put legislation before the council that would exempt the fraternal organization on St. Paddy’s day so they can have celebratory cigars with their celebratory whiskey.

This one seems crappy to me. I know, holiday, but if we do one exemption, it’s going to be a dozen of them. Better would be to write an exemption process and let people petition a committee of the council for it, instead of going the legislative route. It seems that Evans took this on of his own volition, but it seems to be an inefficient way to try to do this on a regular basis, if we want to do that at all.

Downtown, Inaugupocalypse, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Ikea Masters Chintzy

Photo courtesy of
‘Ikea Metro Ad’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

We caught these ads last night at Gallery Place, and this big banner was part of a series of ads hawking bookcases and dressers and a big ol’ sale down at Ikea. I admire the timeliness of the ad, but I’ve got to ask: Did y’all really want to commercialize the Inauguration in such a way? Kinda creepy to use the peaceful transfer of power of a nation to sell cheap ass furniture.

But that’s just me, I guess.

Downtown, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The Mall
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Smiles Abound Pre-Concert

3006941468_fae9b7a75d_mAt mid day, I ventured downtown near the White House, and was surprised to experience a pleasant drive despite the 2pm We Are One concert.  The streets were well manned with DC police officers and additional crowd support units.  Even navigating Farragut Square, aka “The Vortex of Doom” was easy and delayless.

Another pleasantry was the overall vibe coming from everyone, working or attending the concert.  Everyone was smiling, laughing and almost dare I say it skipping.  They were of course bundled up, but I have no doubt that the cold was the last thing on their minds.

Downtown, Food and Drink, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Round Robin

Round Robin Bar

"Round Robin Bar" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Let’s say you need to get drinks with colleagues after work, or have incoming relatives or friends who aren’t particularly interested in the “real” Washington but rather want the “politico” version (and this last problem may be really relevant in a few days). I don’t think you can go wrong in those instances with the Willard Hotel’s Round Robin bar.

Even if you don’t actually see a Washington “insider,” the traditional dark wood and green walls fairly ooze influence. Beaten down leather banquettes, little pub tables, and that famous round bar in the center – all in a small nook off the side of the Willard’s opulent lobby. You even get a bowl of nuts to snack on, gratis.  

I know! – it’s like that soft cashmere sweater you reach for to make you feel cosy and cared for – it may have some unsightly moth holes, and you wouldn’t wear it out on a hot date, but you still snuggle up with it sometimes.
Continue reading →

Downtown, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Navy Memorial Offers Restrooms, Food for Inauguration

Photo courtesy of
‘_SWP6526’
courtesy of ‘moworld’

Just got word that the Navy Memorial’s Naval Heritage Center will televise Inauguration Day activities live in its stadium-seating theatre, featuring a 46′ x 16′ HD screen. Registered guests get in-and-out access all day with clean, indoor restrooms. Food? No problem! A catered box lunch is included in the ticket price. All members of the public are welcome – IF they’ve got a $30 ticket and a reserved spot.

The Navy Memorial is on the Inauguration Parade route, halfway between the Capitol and the White House. Limited seating, so give them a call at 202.380.0733 or visit the memorial’s website.

Downtown, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Traffic Grows Worse

Photo courtesy of
‘Typical Beltway traffic’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

I will preface this by saying: it’s possible I’m imagining this. But, in the last two days, I’ve sat in more interminable traffic than I do in the worst moments I’ve lived in DC. Yesterday’s trek into the city, even though I was just coming from inner Arlington, was some of the worst I’ve had ever. Poor Tiff was caught up in the foofaraw around the water main break yesterday, as her office is at 15th and L.

Is it Inauguration making the day-to-day grind of moving around all the worse? Or is it merely a seasonal increase after the largely-easy traffic of the Winter Holidays? Either way, I can’t wait for Thursday next week, after everyone’s gone again.

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Entertainment, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Jamming inmates cell phones – or not?

Cell phone zombie, originally uploaded by erin m.

Just because the inauguration is only a week away shouldn’t mean we avoid any other controversy. Like, for instance, a battle over jamming cell phone signals.

As Tom reported earlier, DC is going to test a system to jam cell phone signals coming from one of the DC prisons.

But, the prisoners have a new ally in the fight to keep those unlawful cell phones. CTIA – the cellular phone industry’s lobbying group – has filed suit today trying to stop the DC department of corrections from testing cell phone jamming equipment.

Continue reading →

Downtown, The District, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Little Fountain Cafe

little fountain cafe

I believe I’ve already shared with everyone that I’m a regular reader of the local dc foodie blog Metrocurean. Matt and I were looking for a good date spot to celebrate Christmas together before I head home for the holidays, so I turned to Metrocurean’s “date spot” recommendations. Metrocurean author Amanda suggested a bunch of places I’ve been before, but one I’d never even heard of, Little Fountain Cafe. It’s getting pretty hard to stump me when it comes to good eats in this city. Between writing for WLDC and spending lots of time researching this town, most of the time I’ve at least HEARD of a place if it’s worth anything. But this one was new. A little googling, and an online reservation later, Matt and I were booked, and I was super excited. Everything I had read about said we were in for a treat.

Little Fountain Cafe is located on 18th street, right in the bustle of Adam’s Morgan. In the english basement below Angles Bar, Little Fountain is a hidden gem.

Continue reading →

Arlington, Downtown, Life in the Capital, The Features
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Thrifty District: Cheap, but Chic

Flappers

"French Flappers, Parisian Cafe 1920's" by Vintage Lulu on Flickr

In one of my many other lives, I’m a theater costume designer. However, I’m not really a costumer (someone who actually makes clothes), though I sew on occasion, I’m always disappointing my friends by not making them exquisite clothes from scratch. But what I can do is shop with them! Costume designers have to realize a director’s expansive and expensive vision on a sometimes depressingly tight budget in a small amount of time. So in our continuing series on the Thrifty District and how to maximize your fast-depleting funds, I thought I’d give you a little taste of my favorite shops to get cheap yet chic fashion.

Let’s start with the basic rules (getting them out of the way fast so we can have fun with shops!):

Know Yourself and Support Yourself
No, this isn’t some New Age mantra. It means don’t buy anything that doesn’t fit. If it’s too tight or too loose just don’t do it. Don’t get distracted by sizes, they don’t mean anything anyway. If you knew your actual dressmaker size you’d freak out the number is so high – even you superskinny misses! Continue reading →

Downtown, Essential DC, History, Monumental
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Monumental: U.S. Navy Memorial

DSC_1261

Architect Pierre L’Enfant envisioned a memorial in the capital to “celebrate the first rise of the Navy and consecrate its progress and achievements.” However, it never took shape until 1980 when Rear Admiral William Thompson, USN (Ret.) received blessing from Congress to construct a Navy Memorial on public land.

The Memorial Foundation, formed in 1977 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and other Navy colleagues, selected Market Square – across the street from the National Archives – as the site of the memorial. Construction started in 1985 and was officially dedicated on October 13, 1987, the 212th birthday of the US Navy.

There are two parts to the Navy Memorial, the public plaza and the Naval Heritage Center, which occupies one of the two buildings that flank the memorial. Just inside the entrance is a sculpture by Stanley Bleifeld, The Homecoming. The Center caters to building personal links between naval service personnel, both veterans and active-duty, and their families.

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Downtown, Talkin' Transit, The District, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Woolen Wonderland

Photo courtesy of Saff anna
How much does a segway?, courtesy of Saff anna

Metro musings, charter bus parking, meter rates rising…five goooooold rings!

*ahem* ‘Scuse me.

So Jim Graham’s pushing to pop downtown meter rates to $2 an hour. Additionally, the DC Council is considering ditching the District’s long-standing practice of free meter parking on the weekends in the downtown core.

The rate increase isn’t for additional revenue, however. Graham noted that it’s “about finding more money for a specific compelling need in the city,” specifically a funding resource for the affordable housing projects in the District. Such projects include programs for first-time home buyers and permanent supportive housing for the homeless.

Other thinking is that the higher rates would discourage commuters from the ‘cheaper’ parking alternative to the expensive garages and open up more spaces for shoppers. Current meter rates in the District are a lot cheaper than other downtown cores, such as New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Hey, if the revenue is used as suggested, I’m all for it.

Continue reading →

Downtown, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Mall, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Pompeii at NGA

Marine mosaic detail, from a house in Pompeii (2nd century BC), by chrisjohnbeckett, on Flickr

"Marine mosaic detail, from a house in Pompeii (2nd century BC)," by chrisjohnbeckett, on Flickr

One of the most incredible sights in my life was watching angry red streaks of lava etch the side of Mount Etna. I was on my way to the Catania airport during a vicious rainstorm. As the lightning crackled through the dark sky and the burning streams pulsated, the laconic driver assured me in typical Sicilian fashion – “c’è normale” – that’s nothing, it’s normal, it isn’t even a “real” eruption. My heart was racing even though I was safely miles away from the volcano, so awesome was the power of nature.

So I can only imagine how more horrifying the power of Mount Vesuvius was when it erupted in AD 79. But the people of the Bay of Naples still live under its threat, no doubt echoing their Sicilian counterparts in thinking, “c’è normale,” even with the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum close by to remind them. Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples, at the National Gallery of Art, cleverly lulls you into a similar state of complacency. The exhibit first highlights the decorative art of Pompeii and the surrounding area, taking you through the various rooms and courtyards of a typical villa of the Roman Empire. Only at the end are you hit with a dark room and depictions of volcanic explosions, a haunting evocation of “La Civita” – the lost ancient city.

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Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events
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DC Loves the Holidays

Photo courtesy of FredoAlvarez
Union Station Wreaths, courtesy of FredoAlvarez

Ok, I confess.

My initial intent with doing a “Holiday Happenings” article was to hit the majority of the cool stuff happening in the area. But as I did more and more research, the more amazed (and flummoxed) I became with the sheer volume of cool holiday stuff to do around here.

This’ll be my third Christmas in the area and my first real foray into finding out what all is going on to sate my holiday appetite. Normally we just hit the area neighborhood to ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ over light displays but this year? We wanted to really take advantage of the season.

Hence wanting to take this project on. Boy, am I ashamed to say I was utterly ignorant on the goings-on around here during December.

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Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 11/21 – 11/23

Photo courtesy of M.V. Jantzen
Back from the Past, courtesy of M.V. Jantzen

From new theater openings to the reopening of the NMAH, from yard work to group fun, you guys really made the most of this past weekend. Sooooo many good photos, I couldn’t stop!

Keep up the great work capturing life in our area. With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I know I’ll find some great stuff from everyone for next week.

And watch this space next Monday: we’re going to have a photo contest, and you’re all invited!

Continue reading →

Arlington, Downtown, Food and Drink, Penn Quarter, The Features
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Thrifty District: Dine Like a Congressman on an Aide’s Budget


FoodSign
Originally uploaded by brownpau

Welcome to the first post of our new feature, Thrifty District. Inspired by the New York Magazine “Cheap Living” feature, we’ll post ideas designed to help save you money, while still living large. Bad economy + already steep DC prices = OUCH! We’re here to act as your band-aid (ahem, generic-priced bandage, that is…) for otherwise painful prices.

We’ll explore where to get a great yet cheap haircut, how to dress up for less, the best place to find an affordable drink, among many more localized money saving ideas and tips. The first installment though, is how to eat great for less. I’ll do head-to-head (or is it fork-to-fork) comparisons of some of the cities most delicious yet expensive restaurant dishes and suggest you try their cheaper (and equally delectable) brethren.

Continue reading →