Tag Archives: 20001

Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Drinks
By

We Love Drinks: The Gibson

"Etouffer un Perroquet" cocktail at The Gibson

"Etouffer un Perroquet cocktail at The Gibson" by Jenn Larsen on Flickr

On a dreary rain-soaked night in the heart of U Street, I was buzzed into The Gibson. Well, as befits a speakeasy or “secret bar,” first I was let into a ratty little foyer where my reservation and legality were confirmed with brisk efficiency by a tweedy doorman. Then he smiled broadly.

“Welcome to The Gibson,” he said, opening the inner door and ushering me into a jewel-box of a bar.

Deep blue walls, mirrored panels set off by ebony wood, red velvet banquettes, and really funky ceiling fixtures are highlights of the interior. Yet the overall effect is simple, with room for maybe no more than fifty people all together, at the long bar or side booths or tables in a back room. Reservations are highly encouraged – if there isn’t space, you can’t stand around at the bar and there won’t be a line at the door. 

As far as speakeasies go, The Gibson isn’t really that difficult to find, but it does want to maintain a degree of mystery. I’m fine with that, as it encourages a quiet, romantic (dare I say adult?) evening in the company of people who love cocktails with a passion unrivaled.

The cocktail menu at The Gibson, designed by ace mixologist Derek Brown, is neatly divided by main liquor element and features a mix of imaginative drinks and variations on the classics. Or order your usual cocktail from the bar and see how they put their own twist on it.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Art and Soul

Photo courtesy of william couch
Wine Glasses, courtesy of the_amanda

I’ve heard the buzz about Art and Soul. Oprah’s former chef, southern cooking, two-time James Beard Award winner…blah blah blah. So when the restaurant appeared on the faux-restaurant week list (AKA OpenTable’s  Appetite Stimulus Plan.) I was pretty stoked.

Seeing as the Appetite Stimulus Plan (AS) was kind of like a best-kept-secret restaurant week only for those in-the-know, it was hardly competitive for the good reservations, and Matt and I were able to land the perfect Friday night table for two. (Ya’ll just wait until real RW, I get uber competitive and call people past their bedtimes to confer about reservations. I change them, drop them, negotiate for them. OH MAN. Just you wait, cause now I’ll blog all about them!)

Anyways. I read Tom Sietsema’s review before we went, so I was prepared. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The District
By

Downtown Holiday Market Opens

Russian Egg Christmas Ornaments
Russian Egg Ornaments by Tom Bridge

The Downtown Holiday Market on F Street in Penn Quarter started at noon today, and features dozens of market stalls of some of the coolest locally-made stuff that I’ve seen. There are homemade cutting boards, made with beautifully-grained Shenandoah trees, amazing decoupage boxes in just about every shape and size, with just about every different pattern you can imagine.

The pedestrian market is right across the street from the Verizon Center, so if you’re out to get lunch at Gordon Biersch, or Rosa Mexicano, or maybe Jaleo, stop on by the market. It’s open every day between now and the 23rd, from noon until 8pm. There’s fair-trade coffee and tea vendors, with sample pourers, so you won’t freeze despite the chill. There’s all manner of unique crafts and gift opportunities. Read on for more photos from the Market.
Continue reading →

Night Life, We Love Arts, We Love Drinks
By

We Love Drinks (& Arts! & Music!): “X in DC”

"X in DC" by irrezolut, on Flickr

"X in DC, November 2008" by irrezolut, on Flickr

Friends had been trying to get me to check out “X in DC” at BeBar for a while. “It has everything you like!” they raved, “Electronica! Arts! Bellydancing!” I finally got around to the last event on November 15th, and it was definitely a case of truth in advertising. Sometimes you need a little more from your night out than the usual bar experience. “X in DC” aims to blur the boundaries between different artistic disciplines by bringing them together to collaborate or compete, depending on the evening, and this synergy makes for a constant display of creativity. It’s also just plain fun.

It doesn’t hurt that “X in DC” takes place at BeBar, one of the sexiest lounges in DC. A long room lined with a bar on one side and pillow-tossed banquettes on the other, it’s all anchored by a small stage that morphs into a dance floor later on. BeBar survived a somewhat rough birth in Shaw when a local church tried to block its opening back in 2006, but I’m glad they toughed it out and two years later it remains a gorgeous space. The design is simple yet elegant, the lighting delicately flattering, and the drinks menu dangerous. Not to mention, no attitude from the door or the bar. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Rally against Metro searches

Photo courtesy of Pianoman75

Metro, courtesy of Pianoman75

If you’re downtown and like-minded you could go to Metro’s HQ building for a rally against the announced random bag search policy[Facebook account required for some reason]. It’s organized by the Flex Your Rights folks but has a number of other organizations and folks on board. I’m not sure I hold out much hope for their success but I’d be there to lend my emotional support if I was anywhere near downtown right now…

If you can’t make it you can always peruse FYR’s guide to refusing metro searches.

Metro’s Headquarters Building, Lobby Level from 6:30-7:30pm
600 Fifth Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Entertainment, Music, The Features
By

We Love Music: Vampire Weekend @ 930 Club – 12/08/08

If Vampire Weekend fans had a case of the Mondays at the 9:30 Club the past two nights, then they were delighted out of that funk and transported to, well, brace for cliché…the weekend.

Taking the stage Monday night against a large canvas banner of their January 2008 self titled album “Vampire Weekend,” the four band members looked shockingly youthful. Dressed in their trademark prepster style, there was tremendous display of plaid, three of four musicians donned tartan shirts, and the drummer, always edgy, rocked a tie dye shirt.

The band’s two night stint at the 9:30 Club marked their first DC performance since a February concert at the Rock and Roll Hotel. This DC performance gap is particularly ironic given keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij’s metro area roots; for Batmanglij, who had strong crowd support, playing this venue must have been surreal, as one of his first concerts, Sigur Ros, was at the 9:30. In one of the brief set pauses Batmanglij admitted that he had seen another act prior to Sigur Ros but was too embarrassed to share the name with the crowd. Hanson, perhaps?
Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Free Taco If You Love The Improv

Maseca.jpg
Genuine Maseca Corn Flour by Andy Castro

It was hidden away in a DC Improv email that you might’ve just ignored, but here it is, for all our readers: You can get a free taco at California Tortilla today if you love the Improv, and are able to write on paper. Well, I suppose they’d accept this entry, printed out, with the following highlighted, if your handwriting sucks:

Dear California Tortilla,

We Totally Love the Improv. This person does, too. Please give them a free taco.

Love & Kisses,
We Love DC

There’s one in Cleveland Park on Wisconsin, and another on 7th Street across from the Verizon Center in Chinatown. There are, also, Cal Tort locations in Virginia, and in Maryland.

Music, The District
By

Whistling In The Dark: They Might Be Giants @ 9:30 Club 11/28/08

They Might Be Giants by La Tête Krançien

In my younger years I spent a lot of time listening to cassettes in my room, on my walkman or in the car. If you’re like me, They Might Be Giants 1990 release Flood was among the most played and beloved albums in my collection. I learned all the words and the trumpet parts, which have stuck with me from childhood through adulthood. This past Friday, I was able to show off these skills (sans trumpet) when They Might Be Giants headlined the 9:30 Club to perform the album in its entirety.

This show, along with a handful of other dates this fall, features the band opening for themselves with full-album performances, most notably Flood and Apollo 18 (the following night they performed Apollo 18 back in New York). This comes right in time with the increasing trend of artists who have long-standing tenure in the music business to perform some of their greatest albums. This fall, Built To Spill and the Meat Puppets toured together doing much the same concept, and London-based All Tomorrow’s Parties has been hosting the Don’t Look Back concert series since 2005. On this cold Friday night however, Washington, DC was host to a special night of music. Not generally done outside of their hometown of New York City, They Might Be Giants are looking back and paying homage to their most successful record to date. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: 1905

Dining Room at 1905

The stretch of 9th from U Street to the Convention Center makes for an interesting walk. It’s a very exciting time to live close by, with development evolving in a truly organic way. From the Little Ethiopia of Etete, Chez Hareg, Habesha Market and Queen of Sheba, to glorious grimy dive DC9, past the beautiful boys at BeBar, vegetarian haven Vegetate, on down to the weirdness of the Convention Center’s cold empty glass. All along are pockets of blight, boarded up houses mostly owned by Shiloh Baptist Church.

On this fascinating street has dropped 1905, a small second floor bistro. The vibe is rather like visiting a quirky friend’s dinner party, whose decorating style is rustic opulence on a budget. On weekdays it’s a relaxing spot for a quiet candlelit meal or drinks at the cosy bar. On weekends the communal table ramps up and it’s far livelier, with live jazz on Thursdays at 10pm. Whichever you prefer, the staff is committed to making sure everyone has a good experience and keeps a friendly atmosphere.

The menu features kicked-up bistro and comfort food with a French twist. Like the space, it’s small, and I wonder if it will change seasonally. The standout for me is the “Grilled Merquez with Polenta and Piquillo Peppers.” I’ve had it twice and it will be hard not to have every time. Having comforting polenta and spicy lamb sausage together – well, it’s like kissing a shy boy and finding out he is a bad boy. Seriously, that’s my metaphor and I’m sticking to it. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Penn Quarter, The DC 100
By

DC Omnivore 100: #67: Beignets, period

Photo courtesy of micky mb
Cafe au lait and a beignet, please
courtesy of micky mb

Item 67 on the Omnivore 100 list is “Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake,” but I have to say – this is one place where I take issue with the list. I grew up in Miami and had family in New Orleans, so I’ve bought many a pack of churros while stopped at a streetlight on Calle Ocho and eaten my fair share of beignets at Cafe DuMonde. Calling elephant ears and funnel cake the same thing is one matter, equating them with beignets and churros simply because they’re variations on fried pastry is just…. wrong.

I leave you to your own devices to find an elephant ear; the circus comes through town on a regular basis and you have a decent chance at any street fair of finding a booth selling the drizzled fried dough. Churros we might re-address later – feel free to share any local location you think is worth out looking into.

For a beignet, however, my devotion to you, constant reader, is such that I compared two locations where you can try one of the few Louisiana exports to surpass zydeco. Continue reading →

Monumental
By

Monumental: The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

Photo courtesy of Me

Pentagon 911 Memorial

You don’t need me to tell you about the history of this memorial. If you’re old enough to read this then you have some memories of the day that necessitated it. I don’t know that this town has ever put up a site paying homage to lives lost so recently; the opening ceremony was just last month, 7 years to the day after American Airlines flight 77 slammed into the side of the Pentagon. The same side where this park sits.

Nothing unusual about that; a short drive out into Virginia on 66 will take you to locations where pivotal battles in our history occurred. What is unusual is that at the Pentagon, business goes on just as it did on September 10th, 2001. Except now the world’s largest office building – where picture taking is banned even in the parking lot – now has a tourist attraction on its grounds.

Going there, you get the clear feeling that they’re not sure how to deal with that fact. Continue reading →