Category Archives: Downtown

Downtown, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Momoyama

Photo courtesy of
‘Roll’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

Momoyama defines off the beaten path. It couldn’t be any more off the beaten path unless it were literally down an actual dirt road. It is not. But it is tucked back in this really weird city block on the Senate side of the Capitol on second street near 395. But boy, is it worth seeking out. It is some great sushi.

A converted rowhome, with a tiny dining space, it seats maybe thirty maximum. The sushi is rolled up front by two sushi masters grabbing rice from a bowl between them, cutting fish and drizzling sauces. The prices are super cheap, and the service is great. I love everything about Momoyama, it feels like my own little sushi corner of the world. Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Media, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors, The Mall
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Screen on the Green: On the Waterfront

Photo courtesy of
‘Screen on the Green – 7-14-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

For the third movie in its ressurection run, Screen on the Green will feature On the Waterfront this evening. For those of you not in the loop, On the Waterfront is arguably one of the greatest movies of all time. It won 8 Academy Awards and features Marlon Brando in his prime (ladies). The weather is supposed to be beautiful tonight and I highly recommend that you get to the mall to enjoy this film with a thousand of your closest friends. The feature should start around 8:30.

Downtown, The Daily Feed
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701 Gets A Facelift!

701 interior
Old 701 Interior

Ashok Bajaj, restaurateur extraordinaire announced that 701 will close on August 2 and reopen on August 10th after round-the-clock renovation efforts including a new interior and a new chef. 701 is getting a total facelift featuring a new crystal vinyl bar topped with glass. Another new addition is a semi-private dining area designated with elegant curtain panels that can comfortably seat 24 supplementing the popular 20–seat private dining room.

Guests can anticipate a soothing color scheme of beige, brown and ivory accented by deep azure blue found on the new “Neptune” leather chairs with floral tapestry backs sprinkled throughout the restaurant. Dark rich wood and neutral earth tones provide a welcoming décor against the restaurant’s new backdrop, a striking black and white wall covering.

Bajaj has also tapped Adam Longworth as the new executive chef for 701. Chef Longworth, a 2001 Culinary Institute of America graduate, has worked with Chef Alfred Portale at New York’s acclaimed Gotham Bar and Grill since 2002. After a short stint under Tom Collichio at Gramercy Tavern in 2003, he went to Philadelphia to help Portale open Striped Bass with Chef Christopher Lee, now the executive chef at New York’s Gilt Restaurant.

Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Media, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The Mall
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Screen on the Green Returns Tonight!

Photo courtesy of
‘Screen on the Green’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

In case you didn’t already have this marked down on your calendar, Screen on the Green makes its triumphant return tonight with a showing of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The screen will be set up on the Mall between 4th and 7th streets (you can’t miss it) and the showing will start at sunset. There is a 30% chance of rain, so pray that it holds off till after the movie.

Business and Money, Downtown, The Daily Feed
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A Little Sim City For DC

Photo courtesy of
‘My SimCity (650K Residents)’
courtesy of ‘adamjackson1984’

With news about budgetary changes coming to the city, in an attempt to offset a $666M budget deficit, it’s definitely time to start thinking about the hard choices necessary to fix the gap in the city’s finances. Enter the Washington Post, who’ve designed a little simulator to alter the budget and work your way back toward a revenue-neutral DC. You can alter revenues (taxes) and expenditures (Marion Barry’s girlfriends) to narrow the gap.

It’s a good way for citizens to understand the choices at play when it comes to covering a budget deficit. Either taxes and fees go up, or services go down, and sometimes it’s a little bit of both. Choices have consequences: if you raise the taxes on the wealthy, they might move to Arlington or Bethesda, and you lose their revenue. It’s interesting, give it a look.

Downtown, Essential DC, History, The Features
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The “New” Ford’s Theatre Museum

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_3434’ courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Last night, Ford’s Theatre re-opened its museum after nearly two years of extensive renovation. The result is a transformed space that magnificently shows off the National Park Service and Ford’s Theater Society’s remarkable collection of artifacts of President Lincoln and the events surrounding his assassination on April 14, 1865.

The museum now tells the story of Lincoln from his arrival in Washington in 1861 through the Civil War and the sudden end of his life. Lauren Beyea, the museum’s publicist, explained that they “tried to create a greater sense of the context of what Lincoln’s life was like when he was in Washington. The city doesn’t have anything like that – we have monuments and things that are in tribute to him scattered around the District. But being Ford’s Theatre and storytellers ourselves, we thought it would be a great opportunity to really embrace the history that surrounds this place as well as Lincoln himself.”

So what can visitors expect now? Continue reading →

Downtown, News, The Daily Feed
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Watergate Hotel to be Auctioned

 Photo courtesy of
‘Watergate and Moon’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

WUSA 9 reports that the Watergate Hotel will be up for auction next week.  The hotel’s owners defaulted on their loan payments last month and the foreclosure notice on the property expires next Tuesday.  If the current owners fail to make payments by that date, an auction company will start accepting bids on the Watergate.

Downtown, Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Olives Closing for Renovations

Photo courtesy of
‘DC’
courtesy of ‘dsix’

While dining at Olives Friday, my waiter informed me that they’d be closing their doors  for renovations after the evening’s service.  Staff have been told that renovations, the restaurant’s first in 12 years, will last until at least the end of August, if not into early September.  Hopefully these “renovations” are not a signal that the renowned dining establishment is not coming back, an unconfirmed DC restaurant community rumor, but rather that the restaurant is getting a much needed face lift.

Downtown, History, Monumental, The Features
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Monumental: Pershing Park

Photo courtesy of
‘Film! – Canon A-1 – Pershing in Focus -11-7-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Few people think much of Pershing Park. I’d wager that most walk by without noticing it. In spite of Pershing Park being DC’s largest World War I memorial, it serves primarily as a napping place for the homeless and a thoroughfare for tourists walking from Federal Triangle station to the White House. You never see people stopping to take pictures or reading the inscriptions on statue pedestals, and the space is a bit disordered and poorly maintained. In and of itself, the park is hardly worth writing about, but it does serve as a disheartening case study of Americans’ indifference towards our nation’s participation in the Great War.

Pershing Park is located on 15th and Pennsylvania, between the Willard and the Commerce building. It was constructed in 1981 by the Pennsylvania Ave. Development Commission in honor of Gen. John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces. In case you’re a little hazy on your history, Gen. Pershing was one of America’s greatest military minds and “General of the Armies,” the highest rank ever held by any American officer aside from George Washington (although, Washington received this distinction posthumously). Pershing commanded the Expeditionary Forces during World War I and his over all strategy has been credited by many as a deciding factor in the Allied victory of World War I. In the course of a year and a half of combat, his armies suffered over 300,000 casualties, but succeeded in dislodging the Germans from many key locations in Europe.

Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Media, News, The Daily Feed
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Robin Williams Filming at DAR

Photo courtesy of
‘DAR Constitution Hall’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Robin Williams is coming to DC and HBO is going to film him here. Williams’ national comedy tour, “Weapons of Self Destruction,” will make a stop at DAR Constitution Hall in November. THR.com reports that HBO plans to tape his performance there and air it as a prime-time special at some point December. If you’re hoping to get tickets to the show, good luck. The “Self-Destruction” tour is completely sold out. I guess that means that Robin Williams actually is funny?

Downtown, Entertainment, News, The Daily Feed, The Mall, WMATA
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A Record Setting 4th for Metro

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro, Orange Line train to Vienna’
courtesy of ‘GogonaÅ?’

The Business Journal reports that riders on Saturday set a new record for July 4th commuting.  Metro reported 631,206 trips on their system, an increase of over 32,000 from 2008 ridership.  If the masses of humanity that I saw are any indication, every last one of these trips went through L’Enfant Plaza station. What a mess.

Downtown, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Only The Best

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Hoffmann’

Where and when are you going to be able to get Sweetgreen’s Sweet Flow, wine from Asia Nine, sushi from Kaz, a dish from The Source and Pete’s Apizza all in the same room? Duh, at Washingtonian’s Best Of Washington Party, of course!

Washington’s top restaurants (as voted by readers and editors of Washingtonian) and wine and beer purveyors will be serving up their best at the National Building Museum on July 15. See the list of participating restaurants and purveyors here. Editor- and reader-favorites including Central Michel Richard, Citronelle, Blacksalt, Hook, Charlie Parker Steak and the Oval Room will participate in the annual event which attracts more than 1,200 people and shares a portion of the profits with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Dessert lovers will find cool treats from Dolcezza Gelato, sweets from Georgetown Cupcake and Baked & Wired, and delicious offerings from other top-rated bakeries and creameries.

Tickets, $95 to $125, are available on washingtonian.com.

Downtown, Food and Drink, History, Night Life, The Features, The Mall
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First Look: W Hotel Washington

Washington Monument from POV, W Hotel Washington

"Washington Monument from POV, W Hotel Washington" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Yesterday I got a sneak peek at the W Hotel Washington, due to soft open next Wednesday. I’m so sorry I wasn’t allowed to photograph the interior for you. Because really, it’s absolutely gorgeous. I hope my words will give you a taste of what to expect on July 8.

First off, it’s impossible to tell what kind of vibe the W will actually have when its public spaces are filled with people. Will it deliver on the promise of some seriously stunning interior design and incredible libation talent? Or will it devolve into a pretentious hive? I can’t answer that now, but I do know that designer Dianna Wong’s wry elegant touches set the stage for a crazy scene.

I was happy to see the original architecture has been renovated, not gutted, melding the cool classicisim of the old hotel with the arch sensuality of the W style. Empress Josephine, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Lily Allen would all be at home in the grand Living Room, with its blacks and reds and pinstripes in a riff on the idea of “lingerie as a power suit.” The chandeliers are all lit for changing moods and clever little details abound, like the George and Martha Washington silhouettes flirting on the elevators.

My favorite part of this large room is tucked into a corner – the old registration desk with its imposing brass and marble is used as a private alcove with purple banquette seating. It’s the perfect example of how the W went about merging the historic with the new. Continue reading →

Downtown, Fun & Games, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Slam Dunk Contest

Photo courtesy of
‘Slam dunk’
courtesy of ‘cruffo’

DC basketball is like a wave rising and falling.  Teams like the  ’07 Hoyas raise our hopes, while the Wizards make a yearly attempt at breaking our spirits. On Saturday, Sprite and the NBA will give locals a chance to show what DC is really about.  The Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, an amateur dunk competition, will be held on that day at 4pm at an outdoor court between 9th and 10th streets on Pennsylvania Ave NW.  Admission is $10 and attendees will be able to vote on their favorite dunks via text messaging. Thanks to Wendy for giving us the heads up!

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Essential DC, The Daily Feed
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Is Adrian Fenty the Next Obama?

Photo courtesy of
‘well-dressed mayor’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

The Daily Beast seems to think that it’s possible.  In today’s “Big Fat Story,” Fenty was proffered amongst six rising, African-American political stars that the publication feels are following in the President’s foot steps.  The Daily Beast cites the Mayor’s landslide victory and his work with the DC school system as being Obama-like qualities. While there is little doubt that Adrian Fenty, or any politician, would love to see success like Obama’s, the real question is whether or not he has the character to move outside of DC city politics.  What are your thoughts?

Downtown, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Capital Pride 2009

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_0224’
courtesy of ‘David.R.Carroll’

Leather, pleather, and drag queens, oh my! I think it must be time for Capital Pride. The weekend’s festivities kick off tonight at Cobalt (oh, Cobalt…I feel the exact same way about you Meg S. does…) with the Mr. and Ms. Capital Pride Leather contest. That sounds almost as good as the High Heel Race, really…

Tomorrow, Town, Nellie’s and Phase 1 will be hopping with happy hours and events, and there are plenty of educational opportunities. Sunday rounds out the weekend with a 5k and a night with the Mystics.  The rest of the week is smattered with some auctions, an interfaith service, and a pride shabbat. Check the full schedule for all the details. Oh, and did I forget to mention Ru Paul will be around? How could I?

Downtown, Essential DC, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The Hill, WTF?!
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Sound Off: Best food INSIDE Union Station

Photo courtesy of
‘it’s full. yet it’s empty.’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

I have mixed feelings about Union Station. It’s gorgeous,  yet it’s grubby. It’s full of good stores, yet it has nothing really that interesting.  It’s got good hustle and bustle, yet I hate the lost souls. Seriously, it’s love/hate. I love it but I really hate it. But mostly I think about Union Station and how much space is wasted with bad food. I recently had a discussion on Twitter with my tweeple (I’m getting addicted. We knew this would happen, didn’t we?) about Union Station and the lack of decent food inside.

We settled on Corner Bakery actually being the best option. And that’s fine, I like Corner Bakery (not as much as I love Potbellys!) but isn’t it sad that our epicenter of transportation doesn’t have good uniquely-DC food inside? There’s a decent Gyro to be had downstairs, and I don’t hate Cafe Renee, but ya’ll, it’s basically a food-void, in my opinion. This is distressing to me. So I ask you… Am I missing something? Is there a hidden gem in there that I just don’t know about? Or is Union Station just the way I see it – a black hole of mediocrity?

Downtown, Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Live on the Woodrow Wilson Plaza

Photo courtesy of
‘Woodrow Wilson Plaza’
courtesy of ‘mastermaq’

The Wilson Plaza, located at 13th and PA NW, now has its own twitter page to keep you updated on lunchtime concerts.  Unfortunately, you’ve already missed Chaka Khan who performed today, but with a concert everyday, there will be plenty more to catch over the summer.  For anyone who works downtown, it’s a welcome change to the typical lunch.

Downtown, Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed
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Three Additions to Art & Soul’s Patio

Photo courtesy of
‘art and soul happy hour’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

Three exciting things just in from Art & Soul:

1) A new Crab and Beer Wednesdays happy hour
2) The introduction of a (gasp) fire pit on the patio (love!)
3) A Puppy Patio Menu complete with doggie drinks, treats and desserts

Let’s start with 1. A Crab and Beer Wednesday includes three super jumbo crabs, corn on the cob or seasonal vegetables, hushpuppies and potatoes, price will vary depending on the market price of the day. I’m sorry, did I just type hushpuppies? YES I DID. Continue reading →