By Brittany
Not everybody has room in their apartment for a full-scale Friendsgiving and it can be hard to coordinate with lots of people leaving town to visit family elsewhere. Adams Morgan “dining saloon” Jack Rose offers a solution this Thursday with something they are calling “The Mutha Firkin Turkey Roast of 2011.”
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By Tricia Barba
Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar most definitely sticks out to you as you walk down 9th Street in Chinatown. You just can’t miss the red and yellow. It doesn’t look classy by any means (which it isn’t meant to), but more like fun and perhaps a bit overzealous.
More than a year after opening, Cuba Libre has some solid dishes, while others don’t make much of an impression. My favorite thing about the Havana-inspired restaurant is the bread with mango butter. It is brought out to you warm and is a perfect free starter. See more of my recommendations after the jump.
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‘For the Love of Good Food!’
courtesy of ‘Phaesia2011’
It’s Tueeeesssday. Yeah, nothing special, I know. But jazz up your day with some lunch from a food truck.
By Tom Bridge
‘Darrell Issa – Caricature’
courtesy of ‘DonkeyHotey’
The news broke yesterday that Congressman Darrel Issa (R-CA) was interested in granting the District greater autonomy to spend their own budgeted funds as soon as they’re allocated, instead of spending a month or two in limbo while Congress votes to approve or disapprove the funding, so long as the District does not spend that money on abortion for residents. Is it worth it to trade a small measure of autonomy for a larger one?
It’s certainly hard not to consider increased autonomy a boon to the District, when with it comes the ability to better control its spending, without having to wait on Congress to say yes. It would also bring the Hyde Amendment to DC as policy, despite that local revenues were being used for the abortions that were later stripped out of the budget when the President used DC as a bartering chip this summer.
On one hand, this would give the city more permanent control, but placing restrictions on what should be rights has never been an attractive option for local politicians.
By Tom Bridge
‘Now he belongs to the ages…..’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’
Bill O’Reilly has a new book out on the Lincoln Assassination, but you won’t find it in the gift shop at Ford’s Theatre. Why is that? Well, Ford’s Theatre’s deputy superintendent says it’s not nearly accurate enough.
The work has been widely criticized by a number of expert reviewers for a slew of apparent factual inaccuracies, the most damning of which are detailed at length in a new report by Rae Emerson, the deputy superintendent of Ford’s Theatre National Historical Site. In the report, Emerson concludes that the book is plagued by a “lack of documentation” and a number of “factual errors.”
Oops. Best to get that second printing fixed, Bill.
By Brittany
‘Caroling, Army-Style’
courtesy of ‘The National Guard’
Have you ever thought you would like to join a group to do some old-fashioned Christmas caroling? Perhaps you noticed you seem daft standing outside singing alone, and are looking for security in numbers? This holiday season there may be a chance for you.
A new group is forming that will be planning to sing around DC at Eastern Market, the Smithsonian, coffee shops, and other locations. Open to singers 21 and over, any tips raised during the season will be used to throw the group a fun party at the end of the season.
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‘Food Truck @ Truckeroo 4’
courtesy of ‘GuidedbyTim’
Start your week off right with lunch from a food truck!
By Tom Bridge
‘Warning’
courtesy of ‘Rukasu1’
Anacostia’s Uniontown Bar and Grill has been the subject of a lot of favorable coverage and attention for bringing new life to the Martin Luther King Jr. Ave strip in Historic Anacostia. Unfortunately this morning the coverage will be different, as its owner Natasha Dasher is the subject of federal drug trafficking charges, as she and two co-conspirators apparently had 65 kilograms (140lbs) of cocaine delivered to a Fort Washington office.
There are a lot of unanswered questions right now, especially given the future of the restaurant. The Post’s coverage revealed that Dasher is behind on the rent for the restaurant, which is not a good sign.
By Tom Bridge
‘Petition for Council–signatures’
courtesy of ‘Rochelle, just rochelle’
That’s right, it’s election season again. The April 3rd, 2012 primary is now officially underway (though we’ve had candidates in and out of the race already) with ballot petitions being available to suitors this morning down at the DC Board of Elections and Ethics at Judiciary Square. Ballot petitions are required by all three (yes, three) parties in the District to be part of the primary ballot, though signature requirements are vastly different between the organizations.
The Democratic Party requires 2,000 party member signatures for the At-Large race, and 250 party member signatures for the Ward seats. Ron Moten may be crazy like a fox, though, for jumping ship to be a “Civil Rights” Republican, as he’ll likely be the only candidate in the Ward 7 race to do so, and he needs just 14 signatures of Republicans in Ward 7 to get on the ballot. DCist’s Martin Austermuhle is camping out at DCBOEE this morning for the pickup process, so follow his twitter for a blow-by-blow.
As of 9:15 this morning, Jacque Patterson has picked up petitions to run against Marion Barry in Ward 8, and Councilmember Muriel Bowser has picked up petitions to run for re-election in Ward 4. It’s expected that three of the four ward council members will be facing serious challenges, with Muriel Bowser facing 7 opponents, Yvette Alexander facing at least three party challengers plus Ron Moten, and Marion Barry will have at least two. Jack Evans is so far unopposed, with his only challenger bowing out ahead of the petition deadline, suggesting harassment from the Evans camp.
By Brittany
These days, stationery designer Nick Hanzlik of R. Nichols is based out of Los Angeles where he is known for cultivating a celebrity clientele for his charming paper-cut designs. His roots, however, are in DC – like the sixth grade teacher at Sidwell Friends to whom he credits getting his start. For this holiday season, he is coming back to Washington with a special limited-edition range of city-themed cards.
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By Addison H
‘00091618’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’
One night removed from an anemic, although victorious, effort against the Devils in Newark, the Capitals got a chance for a do-over, on the second half of a home-and-home back-to-back Saturday night at Verizon Center. This game had the potential to be a trap for a tired, injury-plagued Caps team, and the Caps were caught in it after another incomplete effort.
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By Ben H. Rome
‘IMG_3383.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
After the debacle against the Dallas Stars last week, the Washington Capitals needed a rebound. Coach Bruce Boudreau punished the team with some nasty practices and in the first of this home-and-home series against the New Jersey Devils, it seemed to have made an impact. The Caps finished strong in their 3-1 victory at Prudential Center.
The good:
The bad:
The quote:
“If you look through history, and I wouldn’t want to do the calculating, but when you score a shorthanded goal in a tight game, that team almost always wins,” said Coach Boudreau when asked how important Chimera’s shorthanded goal was.
By Tom Bridge
Candle tribute for Ramos
Originally uploaded by tbridge
50-60 fans gathered in the cold at Nationals Park this evening for a showing of fan loyalty and solidarity in support of abducted catcher Wilson Ramos. The gathering, organized hastily late yesterday in a grassroots effort lead by twitter user Alicia (@dragballwramos), brought together a number of smaller fan groups into a cohesive whole, sharing stories about fan encounters with the Nationals’ young catcher.
Ramos is being held by parties unknown after being captured late Wednesday outside his family home in Valencia, Venezuela. The Nationals and Major League Baseball, joining with Venezuelan authorities, are working to secure Ramos’ return.
Update, 10:08pm: Word from the Interior Minister of Venezuela tonight says that Wilson Ramos is being returned to his family after being rescued from captivity.
Very glad to see that Ramos will be returned to his family, answering the prayers of many at Nats Park this evening.
‘Capital Food Fight Winner, Chef Haidar Karoum’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
Last night the battle between some of DC’s best chefs raged on for DC Central Kitchen’s 8th annual Capital Food Fight. In the final round, chefs Haidar Karoum of Proof and Estadio and Todd Gray of Equinox and Watershed worked with the secret ingredient: lamb. At the end, judges Ming Tsai, Joan Nathan and Ted Allen named Haidar as the champion (he’s the man with the boxing gloves in the above photo).
Chefs Brian McBride and Jeff Black also competed as featured DC chefs. One of the highlights of the night included a surprise battle round with former Top Chef contestants Mike Isabella, Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn and Jennifer Carroll working with Idaho russett potatoes as the secret ingredient.
The sold-out food fight raised $550,000 for DCCK’s programs, according to their website. You can check out more photos from last night’s Capital Food Fight here.
By Brittany
11-11-11 is hardly over and there is already internet backlash. Rest assured, as special as I think today is, I will make no claims about numerology or if your wish made at 11:11 will come true.
That said, today is special, so this will be a special Friday Happy Hour. Tonight, I am hosting a meeting of the Corduroy Appreciation Club at Room 11 – and their sweet, sweet staff have created special corduroy-themed cocktails to serve. I got to collaborate a bit on the recipes, but they are mostly the creation of Room 11 bartender Iris Ho.
So, here you have the first recipe shared in my Friday Happy Hour series – a drink you can make yourself tonight to celebrate this auspicious day, or any time.
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By Tom Bridge
‘flame in twilight’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Since Wednesday evening’s news that Nationals’ catcher Wilson Ramos was abducted at gunpoint, little else has been publicly revealed. His family, and the Venezuelan police, maintain that he is alive and being held, but nothing is known about the group holding him, or their demands. The Nationals, on the advice of the Commissioner’s office and Major League Baseball, have said very little other than that they are working with authorities both foreign and domestic.
Fans have organized a vigil tonight at the Center Field Gate at Nationals Park at 6pm tonight to show support for Wilson Ramos and his family in this difficult time. There’s a great post from Nationals Inquisition on the vigil. Special note: Navy Yard Metro is closed for the weekend due to work on the Green Line, so plan on going another way, by bus, bike or shuttle.
We’ll see you there.
courtesy of Nasty Little Man.
Local boy done good, Dave Grohl brings his hugely successful band The Foo Fighters back to the DMV tonight to headline a great triple bill at the Verizon Center.
For years the music industry has been saying that straight-ahead Rock music has no place left in the market place performing poorly on the charts and only appearing on the radio in snippets within grotesque multi-genre mutant songs. For Dave Grohl that message has been falling on deaf ears. One of the last champions of straight-forward rock music left on the radio, his band The Foo Fighters has been going strong for 17 years, most recently offering up the fantastic, back-to-basics album “Wasted Light”.
Recorded in a garage with his band-mates and some old pals (most notably Bob Mould*, Butch Vig, and Pat Smear) “Wasted Light” is a collection of barn-burning rock songs that drop all big studio pretense and trickery in a way that recalls the ‘Alternative Rock’ glory days of the early 90’s while also managing to sound amazingly refreshing amidst the current wasteland of crap-radio fare. Not that Grohl and The Foo Fighters needed it, but “Wasted Light” finds the group sounding reinvigorated and I’m expecting them to deliver a blistering rock show tonight.
Grohl is one of the coolest personalities in mainstream rock music. He takes advantage of his success to collaborate with and shine the spotlight on bands and musicians who he personally loves and/or was inspired by. The openers on this show are too cool to have happened by coincidence; I don’t think it is much of a leap to assume that Grohl had something to do with picking American Hardcore legends Social Distortion and on-the-rise, Welsh, noise-pop trio The Joy Formidable as his warm up acts. All told this show is stacked with quality music and is going to make for a fantastic night of rock & roll in the Nation’s Capital.
The Foo Fighters
Social Distortion and The Joy Formidable
@ Verizon Center
Tonight – 7:00pm
$57.50, 47.50, 37.50
* Dear Bob Mould, please be in town and do a guest-spot when they play “Dear Rosemary”.
‘DC Slices Food Truck’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
Happy Veterans Day! Give thanks to the men and women who have served in the military. And if you happen to have the day off in DC, grab lunch from one of the food trucks.
By Tom Bridge
‘Foster The People @ 9:30 Club DC’
courtesy of ‘specimenlife’
Congratulations to our friends at the 9:30 Club! Last night, the club was selected the most attended club in the nation by Billboard, besting the House of Blues at Disneyworld, and the House of Blues in Chicago. This is the fourth time in five years that the 9:30 Club has won the award, with other wins in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Club owner Seth Hurwitz said in a release early Friday, “There is nothing like the magic of seeing a band at the club. The audience knows it, the bands know it, and they feed off each other. I just love seeing everybody having those moments.”
Congratulations to all our friends at the 9:30 Club!
We Love DC regularly runs promotions with 9:30 Club, and I work with them on a regular basis for my day job. That doesn’t meant they don’t kick ass.
By Alexia
photo courtesy of The Sea and Cake
Catch Chicago’s The Sea and Cake tonight on the mainstage of the Black Cat. The quartet brings soft, jazz-influenced indie rock, blending ambient instrumentals and electronics with understated, dreamy/breathy vocals. The band is currently on tour of the US in support of their ninth studio album, The Moonlight Butterfly, released in May on Thrill Jockey Records. Check out their upbeat track “Up on the North Shore” from their latest album here.
w/Brokeback
8pm/$15
Black Cat Mainstage
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