Culture

Beneath the buttoned-down surface of the city, DC is full of history, diversity, joy and life.

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October 1, 2010 | 10:30 AM | By

Start your weekend off with free fun.

Laura Padgett

National Portrait Gallery

One of the reasons why I feel lucky to live in D.C. is because there are so many neat things going on, many of which cost nothing to attend; here’s an example of a free event, for tonight.

Skip rush hour, and join us for “Portraits After 5″ at the National Portrait Gallery. This happy hour event combines art and music with a contemporary twist.

The NPG will have a photobooth, a DJ, an artist “projecting” images and of course, an exhibit to explore– this time it’s “Americans Now“, and it focuses on celebrity and fame. Peep images of LL Cool J, Toni Morrison, Le Bron, Martha Stewart and more, while you debate whether they’ll still be famous in a century. If nothing else, it will help you avoid traffic. 8th and F Streets NW, from 5-8 pm.

FILED UNDER: Delightful City, Museums, Smithsonian
September 24, 2010 | 2:58 PM | By

Bloomingdale gets Rustik, tonight!

http://www.rustikdc.com/

Folks in the Bloomingdale neighborhood are elated at tonight’s 9pm opening of Rustik, a pizza joint at 1st and T St. When I say elated, I mean it. Here’s one tweet I can’t show you because of language, but the relevant part of it is this: “Been living in #Bloomingdaledc 4 years w/ no restaurant the dark days are over!”

Four years with no restaurant? Talk about an under-served area. If you’re wondering about the menu, peep this blurb:
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FILED UNDER: Restaurants, Bloomingdale, Food, Gentrification
September 23, 2010 | 12:11 PM | By

Won’t someone think of the Food Trucks?

Sauca, one of many mobile purveyors of food in DC

Just in time for lunch– the City Paper’s Tim Carman has written a great feature about Food Trucks in D.C. and the challenges they face from those who feel threatened by their surging, Twitter- powered popularity:

If they so desired, locals would never have to eat another fake half-smoke again.

If only supply-and-demand economics were so easy. The sudden appearance of gourmet food trucks that delighted so many lunch-hour consumers simultaneously horrified the established restaurant community—a deep-pocketed, politically wired bunch.

Now, like in Brooklyn and Los Angeles and every other city where mobile vendors represent new competition, the District’s inline businesses are turning to the legislative process to ease their pain. Thus when it comes to the street-food options, you may not have the ultimate say. Lawyers, lobbyists, social-media activists, councilmembers, and business owners are all working the levers of power to determine what rolls your way for lunch.

It’s powerful stuff. I know I’ll never look at Amsterdam Falafel the same way again– and I’ve been a loyal customer since they opened. I am sympathetic to the concerns of small business owners and thankful for what they give to our communities, but after reading Carman’s piece, some of them just sound…petty.

FILED UNDER: Culture, Food, Food Trucks, Politics, Small Business
September 20, 2010 | 12:26 PM | By

Amsterdam Falafel goes beyond the Morg.

Amsterdam Falafel

Yum. One of D.C.’s delicious places to eat is expanding (Via NBC):

Soon you can grab a falafel from Amsterdam Falafelshop (2425 18th Street NW) without being in the District. The popular restaurant recently filed paperwork to become a franchise. Falafelshops may soon open in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.

While I currently find myself sating my falafel cravings with Roti, there’s no denying that Amsterdam’s fries and hours are fantastic. See, when Roti locks its pretty doors at 5pm, Amsterdam is still slinging chick pea fritters until midnight on quiet nights (Sunday and Monday) and 4am on noisy ones (Friday and Saturday). When they opened in 2004, many of us were elated to have a (vegetarian, no less!) alternative to Jumbo Slice.  Yum.

FILED UNDER: Restaurants, Food, Small Business
September 15, 2010 | 12:35 PM | By

Who doesn’t love coffee?

sean dreilinger

Ethiopian coffee beans. Yum.

Right after I mentioned D.C.’s Ethiopian community in an earlier post, someone sent me information (thank you!) about this neat opportunity to learn more about what may be America’s favorite Ethiopian product– coffee. The D.C. Public Library (West End branch) will be hosting a Coffee Ceremony this Saturday, from 10am until Noon:

The coffee ceremony is a tradition in Ethiopia, an East African country that is home of some of the world’s best coffee. Come see the beans being prepared, breathe in the aroma and savor free samples.

A narrator in traditional costume will explain the ceremony, as others demonstrate it and serve the brew. Enjoy coffee as you’ve never had it before, and learn about Ethiopian culture, too. Please join us, and bring your family and friends.

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FILED UNDER: Culture, Delightful City, Little Ethiopia
September 14, 2010 | 3:00 PM | By

Another restaurant for 11th Street NW

I know, this is southwestern food, not regional Mexican. But it was delicious.

Columbia Heights is getting a new, and hopefully delicious neighbor: a Mexican restaurant. Via Tim Carman’s “Young and Hungry” column in the City Paper:

The tiny, 800-square-foot operation will be located at 3313 11th St., in a former liquor store, and will not only sell regional Mexican foods but also snacks inspired by the L.A. street food scene.

They’re going to be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and possibly late night. I hope they’re slightly more Vegetarian-friendly than Taqueria Distrito Federal. The proprietor, Jackie Greenbaum, had her reasons for picking the 11th Street location: Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Restaurants, Columbia Heights, Food, Gentrification, Small Business
September 3, 2010 | 5:26 PM | By

Phillips Collection Reopens, with FREE Admission

Kevin H.

Inside the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.

Yesterday, there was a fire at the Phillips Collection, a popular museum in Dupont Circle which is currently being renovated (that’s how the blaze got started, on the roof). The good news is no one and nothing were harmed by the fire. Better news? The museum reopens tomorrow and admission fees will be waived for the remainder of the month.

The fire, which broke out on the morning of September 2, was contained and extinguished swiftly. No one was injured. All artwork is safe and secure. Museum conservators have evaluated the artwork and determined conclusively that nothing has incurred significant damage. The building condition is under ongoing evaluation while cleanup and repair are underway.

Most museum phone lines continue to be out of service. For updated information, visit the Phillips’s Web site www.phillipscollection.org

FILED UNDER: Museums, Phillips Collection, The Arts
September 2, 2010 | 6:50 PM | By

Top Chef’s next season shows DC more love.

Looks like Bravo wants to inject some excitement in its aging (albeit Emmy award-winning) reality hit, Top Chef, whose current season was filmed in DC. Next season, its location won’t be its distinguishing feature. Via the Young & Hungry column in the City Paper:

…rumors are already flying about season eight. Both Eater and Grub Street are reporting (OK, rumor-mongering, which Y&H is happy to pass along) that next season’s Top Chef will feature only alumni from past shows.

Among the returnees are three D.C. chefs, including Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn, and Mike Isabella.

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FILED UNDER: Culture, Food
August 27, 2010 | 3:33 PM | By

Will they split infinitives in Klingon, too?

Star Trek, The Movie

Star Trek

Want another reason why DC is delightful? How about an evening of Shakespeare…in Klingon? That’s right, Klingon. Trek over to the Washington Shakespeare Company in Arlington next month to hear it for yourself. Via WaPo:

At the company’s annual benefit Sept. 25 in Rosslyn, selections from “Hamlet” and “Much Ado About Nothing” will be performed in the language that was invented for the Klingon characters of the “Star Trek” films. Actors will be speaking the verse in two languages, English and Klingon, and the lines in each will correspond to the Bard’s signature meter: iambic pentameter. The translations are courtesy of the Klingon Language Institute, a Pennsylvania group that published “The Klingon Hamlet” several years ago, in addition to composing the Klingon version of “Much Ado About Nothing.”

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FILED UNDER: Culture, Delightful City, Shakespeare, The Arts