Category Archives: The Daily Feed

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
By

The DC Theatre Community Gears Up For Theatre Prom 2K11!

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_2063’
courtesy of ‘dbking’

My pal Brieahn J. DeMeo calls it Theatre Prom.

I call it the fanciest event I ever had to get dressed for.

Sure I’ve been to weddings, but it’s easy when you know you just have to rent a tux and you are all set. For this one I had to call in the big guns- I rang up Brittany and she set me straight.

I’m talking about the Helen Hayes awards, the annual night where the local theatre community honors the outstanding plays and musicals of the past year. It’s kind of like the Tony’s- but for stuff that happens at Kennedy Center and Arena Stage. 26 awards will be presented tonight as well as three special awards to Ford’s Theatre (Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community), Factory 449 and No Rules Theatre Company (Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company), and stage legend Tommy Tune will be honored with the he Helen Hayes Tribute.

Tonight also marks the debut of a Helen Hayes commemorative stamp issued by the United States Postal Service.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Hot Ticket: Atmosphere @ 9:30 Club, 4/27/11

Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Atmosphere has been part of the underground hip hop scene for over a decade. With such albums as “Seven’s Travels,” and “God Loves Ugly,” that posse introspective lyrics and clever rhymes, lead rapper Slug has cemented himself as one of the “must hear” rappers to have come out of the mid-west. The bands lineup has changed over the years, but the new lineup consists of Slug and DJ Ant alongside keyboardist Erick Anderson and Nate Collis. The band is touring on their 2011 release “The Family Sign,” which debuted at #13 on the Billboard 200.

Also on the hip-hop heavy bill are Blueprint, Grieves with Budo, Sab the Artist and DJ Abilities. Doors open early at 5PM so don’t be late!

Atmosphere
@ 9:30 Club
4/27 – doors 5pm
$25

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Friday Happy Hour: The Josephine

It’s time for Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.

I hate jelly beans. I do not care if this makes me some kind of easter bunny hating grinch, I think the neon-colored gelatinous orbs are gross. However, even the jar of them that arrived with my drink at Last Exit last night did not sour me on the place.

The new Mount Pleasant bar specializes in simple drinks that showcase house infused sprits and pairs each one with a little snack like grapes, popcorn, or, in the case of The Josephine, jelly beans. The pairing makes sense – the sugary, fruity beans are meant to play off the dry, savory qualities of the drink. The Josephine takes a thyme and grapefruit infused gin and lengthens it with a bit of club soda. The result is a sophisticated, not remotely sticky, sort of a take on a “gin and tonic” and perfect for the coming summer.
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Food Tweet of the Week: Khan’s

photo
In the world of DC restaurants talking about opening for months before they actually do, Twitter has become a way keep potential patrons excited about the food that’s coming soon. At the same time, other establishments wait until almost opening day to start Tweeting incessantly.  Khan’s Bar & Grill, which didn’t open until late March, is somewhere in the middle.

 Using the handle @KhansDC, this Mongolian grill has tweeted since early March giving us all sorts of scoop.

The risky

One March 7th, Khan’s wrote “Forecasting an opening day of the 21st!!!!!” Surprisingly, they weren’t wrong.

The sarcasm

On the same day we were treated to “Is in total shock that the Health Inspector STILL ISN’T HERE!!! Guess they take their scheduling window training from Comcast.”

One word, bold.

The week’s winner: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of
‘Pound the Hill’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’
Open

Watershed is open! Finally. Chef Todd and Ellen Gray’s second restaurant opened its doors last week. Not only is it one of the few restaurants that has actually managed to open on schedule, its menu also looks fantastic. So head to NoMa for some baked oysters and Carolina Style Barbequed Shrimp. I love that it also serves a “continental” breakfast…it is in the Hilton Garden Inn after all.

Opening

El Centro, D.F., aka taqueria & tequileria is opening up at 1819 14th St. next month. The restaurant actually spans three floors and will serve authentic Mexican comfort food. El Centro D.F. is a collaboration between partners Richard Sandoval, Kaz Okochi, and Ivan Iricanin, who also partnered on the neighboring Masa 14. I can’t wait to try the Tacos al Pastor with adobo marinade pork belly, cilantro, onion and grilled pineapple.

Backwash

I wonder how many Toki Underground profiles have been written up so far. Either way, in this one, Washington City Paper’s Chris Shott writes: “Most chefs would profess to pouring a little heart and soul into every dish they make. Erik Bruner-Yang adds something more: a dash of DNA. ‘I taste every single bowl of ramen that leaves the kitchen,’ he says. Consider it a kiss from the cook. ‘Everyone gets a little backwash,’ he laughs.” So if you want to stand around for hours waiting for ramen…do. Worth it.

Pound Event

Pound the Hill will host an author talk with Garrett Peck, author of the newly-published Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren’t, on Wednesday, May 4 at 6:00 PM. Go here for more information.

Happy Eating!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Spring Cocktails at AGAINN

Photo courtesy of
‘Spring cocktail trio, AGAINN’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

Fresh off his excellent showing at ARTINI, Brent Davis invited me to sample a few of the new spring cocktails over at British gastropub AGAINN. As I sat sipping drinks observing the happy hour crew, Brent greeted regulars with a friendly wave and a jibe. It was obvious that they love him. Just after telling me a funny story about the gin and cucumber drink he created for a regular called The Modest Lobbyist, the young lady herself entered. It’s that kind of bar.

AGAINN’s beverage menu still has the signature cocktails created by the very talented Bon Vivants of San Francisco, such as the Lady Macbeth and the Bareknuckle Boxer. Brent has added a few of his own, and my favorite was his riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri, called RedRum (ok, the R’s are reversed, like in The Shining, but I am not technologically savvy, so just imagine that font looking far sexier!). Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Capital Bikeshare’s membership almost doubled with Living Social deal

Photo courtesy of
‘Bikeshare’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

In today’s WaPo DC Wire, Mayor Gray is quoted as saying that Capital Bikeshare has 10,700 members. What the Wire doesn’t mention is that the recent Living Social deal offering discounted memberships sold 8,118 items – a 76% increase in membership. While not all of those are necessarily year memberships they do expire within six months. That’s a huge increase in users for a system that currently claims to have 1,100 bikes – about 1 per 10 members.

25 more stations added in the District with 10 bikes per station brings up the total number of bikes to 1350. That means the ratio could get as bad as 1 bike for every 14 members if all those Living Social members redeem their certificates at once. 28% less availability is a big decrease – I see empty racks fairly often – what will this do to availability?

UPDATED: It’s worth pointing out that not all of those certificates will necessarily be redeemed. However even a 70% redemption rate – which seems reasonable for an expenditure of that amount that doesn’t take much to activate – will represent over 5,000 new memberships. The best result for current members who want to see as many bikes remain available is to hope that these new members will activate their memberships but never make use of them – the health club model, as it were.

The Daily Feed
By

Happy Hour for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society [Tonight!]

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Meetups – 11-02-16 – Really?’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Have no plans this evening? Want to do something good downtown? Read on.

Join an evening benefit for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society tonight down at RFD (810 7th Street Northwest Washington D.C., 20001) at 6 p.m.  A $15 donation gets you in the door for $3 Miller Lites and $4 Yuenglings, and of course what better place to watch the Caps in Game 4? The deal gets even sweeter with some live music* starting at 7 p.m.

Don’t miss this great event for a great cause, as all proceeds will go directly to the LLS.

*Disclosure: it’s the author of this post’s band in a charity gig. It’s for a good cause, after all.

The Daily Feed
By

Offseason, The Lockout, The Redskins and the 4/20 Sports Ticker

Photo courtesy of
‘Linebackers’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’

The Lead Item: One full Sports Ticker dedicated to the ‘skins this lockout offseason seems appropriate. Let’s catch you up on a few things:

  • As of this morning, even though the 2011 schedule has been released by the league, all signs are still pointing to lockout and the fact that those games are only going to get played in Madden ’12.
  • Let’s be optimistic, though, for once – there are some dates definitely worth circling when it comes to the schedule. First, the Redskins will probably be one of two center stage events on the first Sunday of the season in hosting a New York area team here in the Capital Region on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The tributes will be in full force, for sure. After that opening weekend game, Redskins fans can look to a Monday night date in Dallas, home dates with both the Jets and the Patriots and a trip to Toronto to face the “Ontario” Bills.
  • Another question: what’s the story with Donovan McNabb? Benched last year for Rex Grossman, McNabb could very well be on his way out the door, especially if Washington can pick up a QB in next week’s draft. Likely landing point? Minnesota…at least as of now.
  • Even though workouts aren’t necessarily allowed to happen right now (at least with coaches/team facilities), that didn’t stop a few players from working out on their own, led by London Fletcher. What’s also interesting is that there are reports of rifts between the middle-tier of players and the upper-tier, which could be an explanation for the practice and who was and wasn’t (McNabb, Haynesworth) there.

There, decently up to speed now, aren’t we? Let’s move on to the rest of the ticker.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Too Much Light tonight, you set the price

The Neo-Futurists in "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" at Woolly Mammoth. Photo credit: Colin Hovde

The Neo-Futurists and the ever-changing Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind have returned to Woolly and tonight is the “pay what you can” evening. Translation: if you’ve got more free time than cash then this is the way to go. The show is at 8 but tickets go on sale at 6pm with folks getting in line as early as 4:30pm. Or perhaps earlier – this is a hot ticket and dropping $5 or $10 in the donation box appeals to a lot of folks more than spending the usual $30.

Personally I think it’s well worth the $30 and I’m intending to buy tickets. If you can afford the time, however, go get in line. This is a show that benefits from audience energy and the kind of folk with that sort of dedication.

The Daily Feed
By

Redskins Release 2011 Schedule

Photo courtesy of
‘Skins Game’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’

Last week gave us the announced preseason schedule for the Redskins, and today the NFL followed suit with the regular season league-wide fixtures. Here’re your 2011 dates:

  • Sun.,Sept. 11 New York Giants
  • Sun, Sept. 18 Arizona Cardinals
  • Mon, Sept. 26 @ Dallas Cowboys
  • Sun., Oct. 2 @ St. Louis Rams
  • Sun., Oct. 9 BYE
  • Sun., Oct. 16 Philadelphia Eagles
  • Sun., Oct. 23 @ Carolina Panthers
  • Sun., Oct. 30 @ Buffalo Bills (Toronto)
  • Sun., Nov. 6 San Francisco 49ers
  • Sun., Nov. 13 @ Miami Dolphins
  • Sun., Nov. 20 Dallas Cowboys
  • Sun., Nov. 27 @ Seattle Seahawks
  • Sun., Dec. 4 New York Jets
  • Sun., Dec. 11 New England Patriots
  • Sun., Dec. 18 @ New York Giants
  • Sat., Dec. 24 Minnesota Vikings
  • Sun., Jan. 1 @ Philadelphia Eagles

Of course, any time we post about this, we have to remind you that we really don’t know if the lockout will allow the season to take place. Plan backup events as you deem necessary.

History, The Daily Feed
By

Smithsonian Snapshot: W. Atlee Burpee & Co.

Photo courtesy Smithsonian Institution

This week’s snapshot of an artifact not on display but contained within the archives of the Smithsonian Institution is that of a W. Atlee Burpee & Company Seed catalog. This seed catalog is from the W. Atlee Burpee & Co., which was founded in Philadelphia in 1876 by Washington Atlee Burpee, an 18-year-old with a passion for plants and animals—and a mother willing to lend him $1,000 of “seed money” to start his business.

The seed trade catalogs document the history of the seed and agricultural business in the United States; they also provide a history of botany and plant research such as the introduction of plant varieties into the country. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ trade catalog collection includes about 10,000 seed and nursery catalogs dating from 1830 to the present.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Cook like a Pro: Learn to Roast a Whole Pig at BLT Steak

Photo courtesy of
‘The main entree – pig’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

It’s not every day that you get to roast an entire pig, and frankly, it seems like a daunting task. But this weekend executive chef Victor Albisu of BLT Steak can break it down for you, as well as show you how to break down the whole hog.

The April 23rd class will run from 12:30 until 3 PM and is $100 per person. The class includes a four-course lunch and cooking demonstration. At the end, you get to feast on lechon asado, whole roasted suckling pig, crispy pig ears and artichokes, a valencia salad with Iberico ham and a chorizo stuffed pork loin. In hog heaven, yet?

To snag a spot, you can make reservations with Erica Frank at 202-689-8989 or email her at erica@bltrestaurants.com. Enjoy the Saturday afternoon literally “pigging out.”

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
By

Georgetown Waterfront Update

Photo courtesy of
‘Video: Scenes from around flooded Georgetown waterfront’
courtesy of ‘brownpau’

Despite yesterday’s fears, the 9pm high tide came and went without the Georgetown waterfront breach reaching K Street. As of 8:30am this morning, the Georgetown Waterfront is still completely shutdown with very, very limited access. The K Street side of the Waterfront is filled with emergency flood repair vehicles, workmen, Pepco vans, etc., all awaiting instructions from site surveyors. Local buildings continue to monitor their basements and lower level garages for flooding and seepage.

I managed to gain access to the 31st Street walkway that leads to the waterfront, and saw a heavily pumping Potomac river and the front side flooding. While the flood barricades along 31st street were all in tact, I could see where the waterfront walls leading into the fountain area had been breached. At that time the river was below fountain area level, and I could see some evidence of water being pumped out of the fountain pool back into the river.

The Daily Feed
By

Bicycle races – err, routes – are coming your way. Came. Whatever.

Photo courtesy of
‘Shadowcycle’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Let’s get the obligatory Queen link out of the way shall we?

Over eight thousand of you picked up Capital Bikeshare memberships from Living Social so we’re assuming some of you might want to actually, y’know, ride somewhere – particularly with the weather improving notably. Here’s two great resources for you:

One, the local organization Rails to Trails has a great site called TrailLink. You can simply retrieve all the DC trails or you can venture out into Maryland or Virginia. The C&O is lovely and runs through a lot of great places to stop along the way. Make it out to Loudoun and you can get a sandwich at Wegmans to hold you over till we get one in the city. Or the Whole Foods in Vienna – we won’t tell.

If TrailLink’s minor registration requirement rubs you the wrong way or you’re looking to take a more practical and less scenic trip you can actually use Google Maps for cycling. This feature actually went in a year ago and it does some interesting things to try to keep you in bike lanes and avoid heavy traffic areas. They talk a little about it in this announcement here and it’s interesting reading even if you’re not a mega-nerd. I found it outright fascinating. *harrumph*