Category Archives: The Daily Feed

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Taste of the Nation 2011

Photo courtesy of
courtesy of ‘Sexy Fitsum’

It’s almost time for another DC foodie favorite event, and also one of my favorites.  DC’s strong culinary community will be joining forces yet again to fight childhood hunger with Share Our Strength at the 23rd Annual Taste of the Nation.

More than 75 of Washington’s favorite chefs, mixologists, restaurants and wine bars will come together to raise money and awareness for “No Kid Hungry” Share Our Strength’s campaign to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Always billed as a culinary night to remember, buy a ticket and you’ll have the opportunity to try dishes from the capital’s best eateries, participate in a silent auction, and check out a number of live cooking demonstrations.  Participating chefs include Haidar Karoum of Estadio/ Proof, Nicholas Stefanelli of Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca, Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT and Nick Sharpe of Ba Bay. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Will Daniel Snyder’s Lawsuit Go Anywhere?


‘Statue of Iustitia’
courtesy of ‘ralpe’

In my family, to my mother’s constant disappointment, I’m the one who didn’t go to law school. But I grew up around legalese and learned to argue at the kitchen table, so I like to read legal filings and opinions more than the average non-lawyer.

This is how I came to read the filing in Daniel M. Snyder vs Atalaya Capital Management, LP, et al.  I’m not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but here’s a quick analysis of the filing and what it might actually mean. Postscript: TBD has also written about the suit’s merits

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Oscar Watch: How To Watch Every Academy Award Nominee In DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Academy Award for Der Fueher’s Face at the Walt Disney Family Museum’
courtesy of ‘Loren Javier’

Last week I shared with DC my intentions for watching all the Academy Award nominees before this year’s Oscars.

And I mean business.

After years of Oscar Watching I have a few rock solid strategies to try and catch all 50+ films that will be nominated for an Academy Award at any given year. I know that there are a few others out in The District that are also gunning for the gold, so here are my tips for a comprehensive Oscar Watch.

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Music, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Monotonix @ Comet Ping Pong, 2/4/11

Monotonix - [2011] Not Yet

If you’re looking for a “unique” experience on Friday night, you can’t do much better than seeing Israeli garage-rockers Monotonix at Comet. Their debut album was a well-received collection of fuzzy riffs and some barely intelligible shouting. If you like Monotonix but you haven’t seen them live yet, you are a fool. Their music is just background noise for the performance art of their singer Ami Shalev. He jumps off drum sets, asks people to throw garbage at him, and generally causes a ruckus. This man is a tank, taking abuse from the audience (and himself) in show after show. He’s the embodiment of rock ‘n roll excess.

After getting banned from every club in their hometown of Tel Aviv, Monotonix has been touring the world almost nonstop since their debut 4 years ago. Right now, they’re touring in support of their new album “Not Yet”. Oh, and Ami recently broke his arm at a show in Florida (I’m shocked that this is his first show-stopping injury), but I can’t imagine this group turning down their intensity for a stupid reason like that. Comet should be the perfect venue to see these guys, as they’ll be right there on the floor with the audience.

The openers Federation X and Pujol from Nashville bring more garage-rock flavor to the bill. Monotonix probably invited them just to have more people to help clean up after their set.

MONOTONIX
w/ Federation X, Pujol
Comet Ping-Pong
Friday, Feb 4th
$12

Adventures, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Eating the Luther


‘The Luther’
courtesy of Max Cook

A little over a week ago, Endless Simmer ranked America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches. Heading up that prestigious list was Churchkey’s Luther. A new take on the southern classic, a bacon cheeseburger between two Krispy Kreme donuts, the Churchkey version is a piece of buttermilk fried chicken, topped with applewood smoked bacon, stuffed between the two halves of a freshly-made brioche donut, topped with pecans, and drizzled with maple jus. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to sample one, diet be damned and despite some of the disgusted comments local readers had left.

Fearing an imminent coronary episode if I attempted to eat the entire thing by myself in one sitting, I was joined by several friends at Churchkey to share the delight (and caloric load). We quickly ordered the Luther, and it seemed many other patrons had heard of the secret sandwich and were doing the same, strangers united in gastronomy and love of superfluous food. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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How to boycott Daniel Snyder, professional douchebag

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

By now, I’m certain, you’ve heard that Dan Snyder, pursuant to yesterday’s threats, has sued the Washington City Paper for defamation.  I generally think these are the craven actions of a coward who can’t handle criticism with honor, and you might well side with me.  Since the announcements yesterday, I haven’t seen a single person backing up Dan Snyder’s vendetta against Dave McKenna and the City Paper.  If there any backing Mr. Snyder, and their name isn’t Tony Kornheiser, perhaps you can kindly point them out, so I can study these bizarre sociological phenomena?

In the meantime, if you’d like to express your displeasure with Mr. Snyder’s intimidation tactics, might I suggest hitting him where it hurts? That’s right: the only place Danny ever feels pain: his wallet. Here’s a good guide to avoiding enriching Dan Snyder

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Just What Georgetown Needed, The “OC” Treatment

Photo courtesy of
‘kayak, anyone?’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Be ready for a fictional, Washington outsider to mutter the phrase, “Welcome to M Street, Bitch.”

I’m not proud of having watched “OC” while in college in a town that is possibly the furthest thing from Southern California. That’s not to say I didn’t watch it. I’ll admit it. I have also come to grow to love another show by creator Josh Schwartz, the extremely entertaining “Chuck.”

This does not mean I’m necessarily supportive of the following news coming in from Lisa de Moraes:

Add “OC” creator Josh Schwartz to the list of Hollywood producers looking for a way to do a scripted drama that taps into the Washington political scene. ABC has ordered from Schwartz a pilot episode to be made for a possible TV series for next season, called “Georgetown.”

Yikes. I can’t wait for the stereotypes of collar-poppers (likely unfair) alongside some contrived storylines around outsiders trying to break into the DC scene through M Street. Don’t forget: “The OC” was the show that popularized that California song by Phantom Planet that is now stuck in your head as well as invented Chrismukkuh. How will this version be anything other than “Gossip Girl” set between Smith Point, the Tombs and Wisconsin Ave?

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Ba Bay Kicks-Off Its Guest-Chef Dinner Series

bb

Photo Courtesy Ba Bay

The Vietnamese restaurant Ba Bay just opened late last year, and it’s already doing one of my favorite things — interacting with the restaurant industry, even highlighting other chefs. On February 27 Ba Bay will hold its first of monthly Guest Chef Dinners, and the restaurant wants you there!

The first chef to make an appearance in the Capitol Hill kitchen alongside Ba Bay Chef Nick Sharpe is Chef R.J. Cooper of Rogue 24, the Mount Vernon Square restaurant set to open in May. Together the chefs will put make a five-course meal dinner highlighting their interpretations of Vietnamese flavors and dishes. DC foodies will remember that Cooper was Sharpe’s mentor  while both worked at Vidalia.

The five-­course will cost $65  per  person, and for an extra $35, wine pairings are also  available. The menu looks delish. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Carpetbagger’s Children

(Seated) Kimberly Schraf as Cornelia, Holly Twyford as Sissie, and Nancy Robinette as Grace Ann in the Ford’s Theatre Society production of Horton Foote’s “The Carpetbagger’s Children,” directed by Mark Ramont. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

It’s no surprise.

Much like everybody else around Washington, I am not locally born and raised. I was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and grew up in the neighboring town of Chelmsford. Before the city gained attention as the setting of The Fighter, it was known as a historic mill city  and one of the centers of the Industrial Revolution. Everything from canal tours to textile museum visits were regular rites of passage for the local school-aged children. While it was fun to ride in a boat through locks, learning about the finer points of looms and wooden dynamos were not the most entertaining of topics.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Storm Fizzle means free travel guides? Well, okay

Photo courtesy of
’15 Jan 2011 – No 037: Wikileaks Supporter in DuPont Circle’
courtesy of ‘B Jones Jr’

While we hear stories of woe from Chicago, the Midwest and the Northeast thanks to the storm that missed DC and left us with 50°F weather, there’s good news about free travel guides for your iPhone or iPod touch. Lonely Planet is making many of their US travel guide applications free for download until 9pm Eastern tonight.

The DC app has a pretty good offline map, which is a no-brainer to pickup, especially as it’s free until tonight.

The Daily Feed
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WLDC Sports Ticker – February 2

Photo courtesy of
‘davies tribute’
courtesy of ‘marc_tacoma’

The DC United get the lead item in the Ticker today – who saw that coming? Here’s a wrap-up of local sports news that is worth knowing, but maybe not worthy of a full post. It’s the WLDC Sports Ticker!

SB Nation reported yesterday that United are in serious talks to acquire one of the leading American strikers, Charlie Davies, for a one-year loan from his French club.  Beyond adding a fresh, young striker to the 2011 squad, there is a back story: Davies was unable to play in last summer’s World Cup after sustaining injuries in a brutal car crash on the GW Parkway while the US Men’s National Team was in town to play a qualifying match against Costa Rica in October of 2009…United also unveiled a stellar third jersey last week, and you better believe I’ll rock that red with Davies on the back if the first point comes through.

Want to be a Racing President at Nationals Park? You can apply for an invitation to the private auditions with the club by getting your mascot CV and other particulars in by Friday, February 11…I don’t think anyone had more fun at All-Star Weekend than the Caps’ Alexander Ovechkin; first, taking a picture of last pick Phil Kessel during the draft with a goofy smile on his face, then winning the Breakway Challenge and wrapping it up with a little stick throw interference during the game itself. Awesome…Whether or not the fan dunk was a “fan” dunk, it was still a sweet moment at a recent Wizards game.

Final Number(s): 299, 66 – the respective number of days since the Wizards last won on the road (April 9 of last season, in Boston) and the Caps won past regulation (a shootout victory over Carolina on November 28).

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Love Your Sweetheart the Spy Way

Photo courtesy of
‘Spy in the House of Love’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

This February, take your love undercover at the International Spy Museum, where they’ve developed a month-long set of activities to spice up the romance at your next rendezvous. From Whoopie Pies to Love a Spy, guests will experience how spies turn up the heat.

Starting February 4th, ISM offers the chance to “Love a Spy” every Friday and Saturday at Spy at Night throughout February. Guests who reserve a Love a Spy package for $100 will receive two Double Agent tickets allowing guests to visit the permanent exhibit and Operation Spy or Spy at Night.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Lola’s on 8th Street To Bring Games Your Way

loals

Photo Courtesy Lola's Barracks Bar & Grill

If you’re a regular at Lola’s Barracks Bar & Grill, known for its exposed brick walls, good service, and slightly older crowd, you might not have to be cramped into the narrow first floor much longer.

That’s because pending construction permits, the bar might soon be two floors taller and more fun. The second floor will have a 30-foot-bar and the third floor will be a game room. They’re brainstorming games right now that include at least one pool table, darts, shuffle board, foosball, and ping pong. I vote ping pong.

Shawn Case, one of owner Xavier Cervera’s employees, tells me that part of the left wall could be torn down for the staircase, but that the look will stay the same. He says the “change” will be one welcome by regulars, but he also hopes it will also bring new customers into the bar.

“Xavier really sees the need for something like this on the Hill,” says Case. “We want people to keep coming here after work, relax some, and play pool.”

If you’re on the Hill and looking for a good game room right now, try The Pour House at 319 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.

Lola’s Barracks Bar & Grill is located at 711 8th St. SE. The closest metro is Eastern Market Station (Blue/Orange Lines). For more information, call 202-547-5652.

The Daily Feed
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First Look: Bada Bing Cheesesteak Truck


‘Bada Bing Truck’
courtesy of ‘foodtruckapp’

One of the latest entrants into the burgeoning DC food truck scene is the BadaBing Cheesesteak Truck, which patrols the Wilson Boulevard corridor in Arlington, looking for hungry customers.  When I found the truck on North Lynn Street in Rosslyn today, it was surrounded by almost  a dozen patrons, risking their body heat for a chance at a cheesesteak.

Founded in 2010 by Nicholas Terzella, a former executive chef trained at the New England Culinary Institute who has worked in cities like New York City and Miami, the BadaBing Truck offers two main types of sandwiches: cheesesteaks and spiedies (pronounced “spee-dee”). While cheesesteaks are a favorite, staple American sandwich, the spiedie is a little more of a regional favorite, that some people might not be as familiar with.  The spiedie originated with Italian immigrants in upper New York State in the early 1900s, who took cubes of marinated, skewer-cooked chicken or pork (spiedinis) and stuffed them in a hoagie rolls. The resulting sandwich was so popular it even spurred the creation of a regional spiedie festival, the annual Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally (now in its 27th year!) in Binghamton, New York.

Continue reading →

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Habs Top Caps in Shootout

Photo courtesy of
Mathieu Perreault notched a goal and an assist.
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
For the second straight game, the Washington Capitals failed to hold a lead and lost in a shootout, this time to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2, last night at Verizon Center. Canadiens’ captain Brian Gionta scored two second-period goals as well as the lone shootout goal to win it for the Habs. The Caps have lost the last eight times when the game goes to overtime or a shootout.

On a night when Washington saluted former Capitals’ feisty scoring star Dino Ciccarelli, the Caps looked like they wanted to start where Dino left off 19 years ago. Washington came out with blazing hot sticks, shooting the puck and crashing the net. The defense was jumping into the action, and the Caps looked like the explosive offensive team of last season. Unfortunately, the Montreal Canadiens looked like the team that eliminated the Caps from the playoffs last year, too. The combination of suffocating defense and opportunistic offense paid off again for the Canadiens. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The Vindictive side of Danny Snyder

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Court of Appeals and Lincoln’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

The news is out this morning that Dan Snyder, owner of the Redskins, is looking to sue the Washington City Paper over their November story about the owner’s difficult relationship with fans over the years, entitled the Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder.  Snyder alleges that the author of the story, Dave McKenna, has defamed him personally, and is seeking to have him fired from the alt weekly.  Snyder has now allegedly threatened to sue McKenna and his employer, and has requested that the Washington Post retain all emails between McKenna and sports blogger extraordinaire Daniel Steinberg, over a “cross promotion deal,” which only serves to point out how Snyder views the Internet.

It’s sad to see a sports owner not taking his lumps like a man, and worse still to see him going after local journalists who write negatively about him. Some advice for Danny S from me? Thicken that skin and reserve your legal ire for people like Albert Haynesworth, who did more to harm the franchise with its fans than the City Paper piece.  Why not sue him, too?

Dupont Circle, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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DC Lady Warning: Dupont Circle is a hazard zone this weekend

Photo courtesy of
‘Thomas Jefferson, Pimp Daddy’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

Heads up ladies and gentlemen, there’s a shark hazard going out this weekend.  According to the City Paper, there’s a pickup artist (nay, the world’s finest pickup artist) on the loose this weekend, and he’ll be giving lessons to schmucks desperate enough to pay $1,300 to get a bit of game.

They’ll be working out of a Dupont Circle hotel, with “field trips” to area bars and coffeeshops, so if this is your normal bailiwick, consider yourself warned. Though, as WCP points out, the gents desperate enough to pay $1,300 to a scam artist are probably pretty loaded catches, so gold diggers, this is your definition of a “target rich environment”.

Or, if you like, you could have a blast just fucking with these guys.  That’s personally what I’d do.  But I’m not a lady.

Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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February Events at SAAM

Photo courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum

Tired of being cooped up in the house as winter rolls along? Now’s the best time to visit several of the area museums we’re fortunate to have here in DC. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has some great events lined up for winter visitors. All events are at the SAAM, located in Penn Quarter adjacent to the National Portrait Gallery.

Rockman Film Series: Silent Running
Feb. 3, 6 p.m.
The second of three classic but rarely screened sci-fi films shown in conjunction with “Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow,” Silent Running tells the story of a scientist trapped on Saturn with two robots as his only companions after a mission to protect the last Earthly botanical specimens goes awry. Starring Bruce Dern, directed by Douglas Trumbull.

Body and Soul with the Thad Wilson Orchestra
Feb. 5, 3 p.m.
Oscar Micheaux’s 1925 silent film, accompanied live by the Thad Wilson Orchestra. Body and Soul features the legendary Paul Robeson in his screen debut, playing an escaped prisoner pretending to be a minister in a small Georgia Town. Limited seating available; free tickets are required and available in the museum’s G Street Lobby beginning at 2:30 p.m. Presented in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery.

Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro to close Federal Triangle, Smithsonian metro stations for President’s Day weekend

Photo courtesy of
’29 Jan 2011 – No 064: Me This Week’
courtesy of ‘B Jones Jr’

Another Federal Holiday weekend, another set of closed stations on a day that not everyone gets off.  Metro announced this afternoon that they will be closing Federal Triangle and Smithsonian for the weekend to comply with NTSB recommendations and make safety and reliability repairs.

As much as this sucks, and this sucks an awful lot, it’s better than single-tracking for weeks on end while they do work in fits and starts.  The orange and blue lines will run in two pieces, with no service at all between L’Enfant Plaza and Metro Center at all.  Metro will run shuttle buses between the two stations.

For those who just went scrambling to a calendar, the closure is from 10pm Friday, February 18th, through closing on Monday, February 21st.  Metro has said you should plan on adding 40 minutes to your commute if you have to traverse that area, and to please dress warmly so you can wait for the infernal shuttle buses without dying of frostbite or exposure.

In addition, the Red line will be single tracking during that time between Shady Grove and Twinbrook, so if you come in from the outer reaches, expect some quality standing on the platform time to add to your suffering.

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro to hold community meetings around new Potomac Yard station

Photo courtesy of
‘Abner Cloud House 4’
courtesy of ‘ktylerconk’

Metro announced meetings this afternoon surrounding the placement and construction of a new Blue/Yellow line station at Potomac Yards. The meetings are scheduled for February 10th from 4:30pm to 6:00pm and 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Cora Kelly Rec Center in Alexandria. Those wishing to learn more about the environmental impact study that is being performed, or about the stations and the options surrounding the station should plan on attending the meeting.  Cora Kelly Rec Center is on the 10A, 10B and 10E Metrobus lines, and the AT10 Dash bus.

It should be a fairly interesting process, as there are a couple different sites for the station near the Potomac Yards shopping center, and the final placement of the station is as of yet up for grabs.  Look for this one to be an adventure. Take popcorn and a lawn chair.