Tag Archives: Best of

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Best Of: Drinks 2011

Photo courtesy of Jenn Larsen
Architectural Ice
courtesy of Jenn Larsen

Another year, another round for the bar. Before launching into the drinks team’s reminisces of 2011, forgive me for doing something I rarely do as a writer – get a little personal. Just imagine you’re a bartender, and I’m pouring out my sob story at last call.

I almost gave up on drinks writing in 2011. After three years, frankly, I was feeling a bit jaded, and then personal set-backs began piling up, cruel jokes galore, making it difficult to stay focused. So I took some trips, detoxed on coconut water, did the “what’s it all about?” cliche. But after my return I was sitting at American Ice Company, as Patrick Owens happily sparked flames off an orange peel and Black Sabbath blared for Metal Night, and it hit me: what the hell am I thinking? I love drinks, I love DC and especially I love these people whose passion it is to create something so ephemeral and magical as a cocktail. Thoughts of sabbatical left my head, and I was back.

Through it all, the fantastic drinks team of We Love DC held it together – Brittany, Fedward, Moses – and now we’re lucky to add Addison to our imbibing crew. Let’s take a look back at our authors’ thoughts on drinks in 2011. And cheers to the bartenders who fill our glasses with craft, care, and a little magic.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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Best of: Food 2011

Photo courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie
courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

If you ask me, 2011 pretty much knocked it out of the park on the food scene. A plethora of new restaurants and bars opened, old restaurants expanded, chefs stirred up controversy and did good deeds, and in the end our fair city took home two James Beard Awards among others we were honored with. DC showed we’ve got the chops when it comes to food and it’s only up from here.

So fellow food writer Tricia and I took a look back at the year in food and rounded up all our favorites from the year. Find our Best of 2011 list after the jump and have a happy new year!
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Life in the Capital, News, The Mall
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Best of: DC Protests 2011

Photo courtesy of theqspeaks
Occupy DC – In the Capitol’s Shadow 2
courtesy of theqspeaks

It’s been the year of the protestor in DC, and that’s after a 2010 filled with Tea Parties and Rallies for Sanity. We’ve seen protestors on our walks to work, outside and inside our memorials, sitting in the middle of the street and, yes, in our jails. Some protests have gone really well: they’ve raised awareness or made for some badass photo opps, or both.

Others have utterly flopped: did you hear about the Occupy The Art Institute of Washington protest? Yeah neither did anyone else.

So here they are! Relive the all the obnoxious traffic, repetitive catchphrases and handcrafted signage of the most memorable protests of 2011!

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Interviews, Opinion, People, The Features
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Best of…DC Perspectives

Photo courtesy of Danilo.Lewis|Fotography
268|365
courtesy of Danilo.Lewis|Fotography

I’ll admit, I struggled a bit trying to figure out what to write a “Best of…” article around for this week. Sports? Covered. Food? Taken. I had to look deeper than the usual fare: what was it about DC—and about WeLoveDC in particular—that I really enjoyed over the past year? I realized that one of the perks we have is the slew of interview opportunities we’re given for the site. So why not look at some of the more interesting interviews we’ve done over the course of 2011?

Often, I find that through the glimpse of someone else’s eyes and perspectives, we’re given a mirror to gaze into our own lives and see where we are, what we’re missing, and what we can hope to achieve. We wrote quite a few interviews and features on people who live, work, and/or visit the DC area this year and I wanted to take a moment and point out some of the ones that really stand out. I hope you take a moment to dive into these great features and either revisit some old friends, or find your own inspiration to make a better 2012. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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Best Of: Theater 2011

Photo courtesy of thisisbossi
2011 07 16 – 6398 – Washington DC – Redrum at Fort Fringe
courtesy of thisisbossi

We Love DC authors Don, Patrick, Rachel and I may have different backgrounds in criticism and performance, and varying preferences for theatrical style, but we share a goal – to bring you our thoughtful, honest opinions on the passionate, challenging craft of live theater. Though the actual season calendar isn’t over yet, it’s time for the annual wrap-up of 2011. Here’s at look back at some of the highlights (and a few lowlights) of our theatrical year. Continue reading →

Featured Photo, Weekend Flashback
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Best Of: Photos 2011

Photo courtesy of pablo.raw
January moonrise II
courtesy of pablo.raw

Four days left in 2011. It has been a doozy of a year: government shutdowns, and people exercising their right to protest. Evil men dying, and squeal worthy, cute animals. Big events; personal milestones; and sad farewells. And throughout the year, our contributors to the We Love DC Flickr pool have kept the photos coming. While none are Pulitzer-prize winning pictures (despite their excellent quality), they do mark the passage of time here in our home city.

We decided to do a “year in review” of photographs for 2011. The majority are shots from the pool, with a few special ones sprinkled here and there for big events (or cute animals). I hope you’ll take a few minutes and look through them all, and think back on the year. And let’s make a resolution to keep the top-notch photos coming in for 2012! Or better still, you’ll start contributing photos in the New Year… Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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Best Of: We Love Food 2010

Photo courtesy of
‘Lunch at the Majestic – the Aftermath’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Last year, when we created the reader’s survey, we found out that you guys really like to read about food. I felt validated, and proud of what we’d created for food here at We Love DC. Pretty soon after that, though, I got a new demanding day job, where I wasn’t able to write much. I let the food coverage dwindle, but was continually bothered that I wasn’t able to write. I racked my brain for a new food writer for We Love DC, and thought back to Ashley Messick, who I profiled in February. I loved her blog From Komi to Marvin, where she ate her way through the 100 Best Restaurant List from Washingtonian. I knew that she had eaten a TON in this city, had a good palate, and a funny wit about her.

After a little sweet talking she agreed to join our team, and I was thrilled to bring her on to get our food coverage back on track. So I have to say, Ashley was maybe my favorite thing of 2010’s We Love Food, but since it has to be an entry, not a person, here are our greatest hits from 2010, brought to you by Ashley and Katie. (Side note: We are, again, looking to expand our food writing team, if you’re interested in joining us, let me know via email.) Continue reading →