Category Archives: The Features

These are our features. They come back either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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DC Chefs Head to the James Beard House

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Chef Logan Cox at the James Beard House
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

One of the greatest honors a chef can have is cooking at the James Beard House. Each year an extremely talented group from DC heads up to New York City with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington to prepare a meal for 60 or so people who get to dine in the late James Beard’s bedroom.

Is it a little weird to be eating in what used to be someone’s bedroom? Not unless you’re seated under the mirrored ceiling. That used be over his bed. The Beard House is full of lore, to say the least. After the jump, you’ll find a slideshow of all the photos from this year’s “The Best of DC” dinner that took place this past Monday evening, along with a little history lesson on the man behind the foundation.

Kudos to this year’s lineup at the “Best of DC” dinner, featuring Justin Bittner of Bar Pilar, Logan Cox and pastry chef Alison Reed of Ripple, Claudio Pirollo of Et Voila and Vikram Sunderam of Rasika. Also on hand were Todd Thrasher of Virtue Feed & Grain and Dan Searing from Room 11 for cocktails, along with Greg Engert, the beer connoisseur of Neighborhood Restaurant Group.
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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – Aug 10 – 12

Photo courtesy of Pianoman75
Feet
courtesy of Pianoman75

Marissa: August is just running away from me, and I’m doing everything I can to keep up and make the most of these fleeting summer weekends. Friday it’s time for a little jazz in the garden as the season winds down. Come Saturday, I’m taking an inaugural trip to Ray’s the Steaks for a giant steak that has had my mouth watering since Tuesday. Then Sunday afternoon, I’ll be heading out to FedEx Field for the Brothers of the Sun Tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. Cannot wait for all the country music that will be pouring into my ears!

Photo courtesy of calix
Free Pussy Riot
courtesy of calix

Alexia: Friday two important events are happening, and you can go to both! First, a Solidarity Concert for Pussy Riot is happening outside of the Russian Embassy, starting at 5:15pm, featuring the music of Brenda, Mobius Strip, Sad Bones, and War on Women. Then, at 10pm Shark Week is having an EP release party, sure to be epic, at Montserrat House. Joining them for the fun will be Jeremy Teter and BROS (formerly BROADS). I suggest getting tickets in advance for this one, it’s gonna sell out. Saturday I’ll be doing some time in the recording studio, working on a fun project, but if I get out in time you may find me shaking it at Hot In Herre, a dance party at the 930 club hosted by Will Eastman, featuring jams from the 2000s.

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Millie Jackson @ Howard Theatre, 8/3/12.

all photos by Jason Coile

There couldn’t have been a better venue than the Howard Theatre to experience a Millie Jackson show, circa 2012. The renewed and revitalized room, shiny and clean, big and bright with lights and giant screens, was abuzz last Friday evening as the mostly middle-aged patrons took their tables and finished their drinks and meals. When the curtain came up to reveal a ten-piece band, I know I was relieved, since the opener had sung solo to a music track. And when Millie made her entrance as the band went into “Breakin’ Up Somebody Else’s Home” I was also relieved, as I could tell she was fierce and ready for her first DC show in many years.

Millie Jackson is a 68-year-old R&B legend, whose biggest hits were in the 70s, but who never really disappeared, releasing recordings herself when no one else would. She is known as a comedienne as well as a singer – her albums and shows are filled with hilarious monologues about gender wars and politics, as on 1979’s Live and Uncensored, that round out her expressive vocals. Friday night’s show was no exception. Her banter and rapport with the audience was pointed and personal, by turns dirty and sharp. She has figured out how to undergird her comedy and great singing with an occasional seriousness which lends a layer of integrity to the whole shebang.

And it’s her smokey singing that still shows an incredible range.   Her set falls into four kinds of songs: her original 70s hits (“If Loving You is Wrong”, “Hurts So Good”, “Put Something Down on It”), latter day songs culled from her 90s output and 2001’s Not for Church Folk (“The Lies that We Live”, “Leave Me Alone”, “I Wish It Would Rain Down”), and a truly interesting choice of cover songs (Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”, and her opener “Breakin’ Up Somebody Else’s Home”). And then there’s the comedic ones (“Phuck You Symphony”, “Old Bitches Got it Goin On”)

Just based on her encore alone, where the crowd got up from their seats and rushed the stage as she came back on, barefoot, and closed with the torchy and climactic “I Wish It Would Rain Down”, it’s hard not to feel a performer like this, who breathlessly throws such a generous show, needs to be seen by more people. She told me in our interview that it’s getting harder and harder to book shows, since it’s hard to find openers, and her contemporaries have slowed down or stopped. It would be great for her to expand her audience somehow. The whole night, I kept thinking how wonderful it would be for a younger performer, either a hip-hop star or an R&B star, to just hire her as an opener, and take Millie around the country to perform for their younger demographic, so more people can see what this original can still do.

Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The District, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Ryan Mitchell of Shark Week

photo courtesy of Shark Week

DC-based rockers Shark Week have energy, sexiness, style and swagger to spare. Their sound blends garage-rock/psychedelia/blues & surf, with a punk-rock attitude. Check out their surfy-bluesy jam “If You Want Me To Stay (for a while)” from their new EP. You can experience the awesomeness that is Shark Week live for yourself this Friday, August 10th at their EP release party at Montserrat House. This week WLDC’s Alexia Kauffman got the chance to ask frontman Ryan Mitchell a few questions, and here’s what he had to say.

Alexia: How did you first start playing music?

Ryan: Motley Crue. My neighbor when I was thirteen was John Corabi, the second singer of Motley Crue. His son was pretty close to the same age, and happened to be an amazing drummer. Still is, actually. I guess it was worth it to let me borrow his fender and a practice amp so his son could have someone to jam with…
 
Alexia: Was there any artist or album or song in particular that first made you fall in love with rock music?

Ryan: Hard to say, I mean, I remember really liking the Offspring when I was eleven. But we never had cable so I was always way behind my highly cultured cousins at the time who were educated by Beavis and Butthead and MTV. I remember my county’s NPR station would play blues roots all day on Sundays and I would press record on a blank tape and get these great early American folk and blues gems which fit in really well with the punk music I was getting into at the time. It was easy for me to tie Woody to The Clash or something like that. So I really think I benefitted from having over-sheltering Christian parents in my youth. They shielded me from terrible pop and somehow I was still able to get punk tapes from my friends.  Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of TheRobbStory
Sweet Land of Liberty
courtesy of TheRobbStory

Normally an overexposed picture is not something a photographer wants. Washed out details and weird plays of light can ruin a shot. But, if done just right, an overexposed photo can add a fascinating depth too.

Take Robb’s photo above. It is a noticeably long shot; clocking in at an 8 minute exposure, it’s long even for a long exposure. With the shutter open for so long it allows the camera to pick up the entire light beams from the Capitol’s spotlights, creating a nice framing effect. Also, if you were to only take a quick glance, you’d think there were no people in the shot; but if you look closer, you’ll see the blurring effect of people’s movement at the base of the building. (Added bonus: Look really closely and you’ll see the distinct out line of a family portrait being taken.) The black and white film (yes, it is an analog shot) allows the viewer to focus more on the composition of the photo and not be distracted by any off colors. Yes, overexposed but not ruined, the shot is definitely a keeper.

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Food, Wine & Co.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Beets and goat cheese at Food, Wine & Co.
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

There are funny little ways in which you realize you’re growing up sometimes. Maybe it’s when you find yourself in a restaurant’s “wine library” and commit to yourself in your head that you really need to start investing more time (and money) in learning about pinot noir and its intricacies rather than picking a bottle based on the attractiveness of a label and how much cash is in your wallet. Or maybe it’s when you find yourself cleaning a plate of beets–and actually craving more–that you realize you and your palate are maturing in ways you didn’t realize were happening. About five tasting courses into dinner at Food, Wine & Co. I thought, “Maybe growing up isn’t so bad after all.”

If you’re not paying attention driving up Wisconsin Avenue navigating rush hour traffic, you could easily pass by the Bethesda restaurant without knowing you’re missing out on a great restaurant. Food, Wine & Co., which opened in late 2010, has found its groove as the neighborhood bistro its been branding itself as, despite some early growing pains. There’s a lively crowd on a weekday night in the main dining room, and if I were you, I’d take advantage of their small outdoor seating as the weather cools down.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Artichokes at at Food, Wine & Co.
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 8/3-8/5

Photo courtesy of wolfkann
DSC06426
courtesy of wolfkann

It’s August! Most of us are either on vacation or “working.” I’d say kick back and keep Monday at bay, but this month Monday is kept at bay by little work. Instead I will say: watch yourself out in that heat, be sure to stay hydrated, and, if you must do work this month, do as little as possible. To help with that, here’s the pictures in the Weekend Flashback. Enjoy! Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Aug 3-5

Photo courtesy of mosley.brian
Penn Quarter – Half Mirage – 4-26-10
courtesy of mosley.brian

So it’s the weekend soon and the We Love DC writers are planning outings involving music, food, booze, and baseball. Shocking, I know, but the devil’s in the details. Which are below. You didn’t think we’d keep it a secret, did  you?

Rachel: This weekend will be one of good friends, live music, and Nationals baseball all starting with drinks at Iron Horse on Friday night to celebrate a friend’s new beginning. Can’t be out too late though! I’ve got a hot date with The Fashion District Stage as a performer at the MidCity Dog Days street festival down around the U Street area at 1 p.m. Listen Local First DC rallied all the performance artists for the festival and there are some great local names on the bill for both Saturday and Sunday so be sure to checkout the listing’s on their webpage for who’s on which stage and when. Then it’s back to Nats Park on Sunday for Michael Morse Bobblehead Day aka the Nats vs the Marlins for some day baseball at 1:35 p.m.

Photo courtesy of JAMES ANTHONY CAMPBELL
afi silver theatre
courtesy of JAMES ANTHONY CAMPBELL

Mosley: To paraphrase: “SPACEBALLS!!!  Of crap; there goes the AFI on Saturday.”  Other than that I’m hoping to try to do some museum going this weekend.  I’d like to get back over to the American Art Museum to see the Art of Video Games exhibit again.  And I still haven’t tried my hand at the National Building Museum’s Mini Golf course.  Both are things I want to do before the end of the summer.

Photo courtesy of MudflapDC
20100911-DSC_0261
courtesy of MudflapDC

Tom: Bring me your finest weekend, DC! I’ll start Friday by catching the Nats doubleheader against the Marlins, hopefully, after an afternoon strategy session on the upcoming redesign of our beloved site at Boundary Stone. I’m hoping to find some lane-swimming time at Turkey Thicket Rec Center, as well as a stock-up trip to the Wegmans, as our house is desperately short on standard provisions.

Photo courtesy of Montgomery County Planning Commission
Willow Creek Farm Market
courtesy of Montgomery County Planning Commission

Marissa: So few summer weekends left, so much to accomplish. It’s the MidCity Dog Days this weekend, so I plan on checking out all the good sales that are happening over on 14th street, specifically the Studio Theatre Garage Sale. Then Saturday night I’m headed out to Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm for their 10th Annual Slow Food Dinner. No, that doesn’t mean waiters serve food in slow motion. Rather, the slow food movement pays homage to the heritage, traditions and culture behind good food. Come Sunday it’s time to take it easy before a whirlwind trip up north to New York City to see some of our best and brightest chefs cook at the James Beard House. Stay tuned for that post and a zillion photos that will accompany it!

Photo courtesy of Jenn Larsen
Rickey Month tickets
courtesy of Jenn Larsen

Fedward: My big weekend plans are for the Rickey Month party at Jack Rose. Despite having eleven stamps on my passport I’ve only tried three of the finalists, so this will be a good chance for me to catch up.

Photo courtesy of meg linehan * part deux
[JUNIPER LANE] IOTA 08 OCT 11
courtesy of meg linehan * part deux

Don: My weekend starts promptly after work on Friday. My darling wife and I are off to Arlington’s Lubber Run Amphitheater for one of their free Summer concert events. This Friday it’s Juniper Lane, the band that’s 20% We Love DC designer extraordinaire John Athayde and 99% awesome. (I’m inclined to say they’re 100% awesome but I want to leave them some room for aspiration, you know?) I’d like to finally get out to one of Studio Theater’s garage sales but we’ll see how that actually works out. Ditto for Sunday night’s Rickey shindig.

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, We Love Music
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Q&A with Millie Jackson

photo courtesy of Weird Wreckuds

Readers here might not know much about her, but Millie Jackson was a giant in the R&B world in the 70s – a skilled, smokey-voiced singer as famous for her raunchy on-stage monologues as she was for her lush, beautifully produced albums for Spring Records, most of which were recorded in storied Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama. While 1973’s “It Hurts So Good” was one of her biggest hit songs, appearing on the soundtrack to the blaxploitation hit Cleopatra Jones,  her breakthrough album Caught Up was a rule-breaker –  a soul concept-album with a cohesive gender-war narrative threaded through the covers and self-penned originals.    That and two of her other albums from that period went gold; Feelin’ Bitchy and Get it Out’cha System.  While these came out years before the beginnings of hip-hop, the genre eventually drew on Jackson for influence, as her spoken-word style and fierce, don’t-fuck-with-me energy laid the groundwork for decades worth of female rappers.

Her show Friday night at the Howard Theater is her first ever at the venue, since it had already been shuttered during her heyday.  It should be a good one, since the 68-year-old legend still knows how to throw down in her live set.  She tours with a large band, sings her old-school hits, as well as more recent songs (she never really stopped recording until 2001), and is always ready to break it down with stories or advice in her monologues, which draw her songs out into extended jams, and make her shows as comedic as they are soulful.

I spoke with Ms. Jackson on the phone the other day.  She can be as funny in an interview as she is serious, telling me about the state of R&B music, and laughing at contemporary production technique.  She just recently ended a 13 year run as drive-time host on a Dallas soul station, so messing around with her interviewer is second nature…

Jonathan Druy: Have you spent a lot of time in DC at all?

Millie Jackson: My horn players are from DC.  And Bill Washington used to bring me into Constitution Hall all the time. I played the Warner.  I think I played, what club used to be under the Warner?  Encore?  I can’t believe I remember that.  The name of the club! I had my strawberries today!

JD: How often have you been touring lately?

MJ: Usually I do some weekends with a Summer Soul/Blues Tour, but this year I did four weeks with them, so I’ve worked more this year already than I did all of last year. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features
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Summer Loving, and Eating

Photo courtesy of kimberlyfaye
courtesy of kimberlyfaye

Dates. Those awkward, exciting, beautiful things we all go on at some point. I am by no means an expert in this field- quite far from it- and I don’t have a magical solution for how to make your next date the best you ever had, so unfortunately you won’t be finding the next We Love DC dating service here (sigh). The inspiration for this post really came from a conversation with a friend of mine the other day. He asked me where he should take a girl out, wanting to strike the right balance between serious young professional, trendy and casual. I realized many of us have gone through this mental exercise before. The exhausting over-planning and over- analyzing we do: choosing the right spot for that first interaction (or second or third), focusing on every detail from time, to dress code, to the big goodbye, mulling over tiny logistics as a method of defense to shift our thoughts away from the weirdness that could ensue.  But enough of that.

I think a shared meal is the perfect way to break the ice, a way to bond over something simple that brings anyone, no matter what level of culinary expertise you may have, together. We all share stories around a dinner table, have memories of a favorite meal, and can reveal oneself through a dish. So for me, sharing a meal is a perfect way of getting to know someone, whether it be a sit down dinner or a casual picnic. I decided to write some recommendations for where you can break bread and the ice along the way, in case you need to outsource thinking on the next time your big date is lined up. I polled some of the We Love DC crew for their suggestions as well, as not all of us are food focused daters.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Ann Cashion of Johnny’s Half Shell (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Scallops with beets at Johnny’s Half Shell
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

We’ve done a a couple of scallops recipes on here by now, all ranging in difficulty. I’ve come to find that chefs in this town are really into scallops recipes for whatever reason. Maybe it’s because scallops are versatile, maybe it’s because the home cook can make them with minimal effort but still look fancy.

This recipe for scallops with bacon, roasted beets and a rice wine vinaigrette from Ann Cashion is completely accessible. The bacon adds a nice smokey flavor, and the beets in season right now are pleasantly sweet. That should count for something extra coming from someone that doesn’t think of herself as a big beets fan. Plus, the fried ginger slices and fried red onions for garnish make the dish stand out more. I had never had fried ginger before trying this dish and now I could see myself going hog wild with it as a garnish. It’s got that really nice bite to it.

After the jump you’ll find the full recipe. Enjoy.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Ann Cashion making vinaigrette
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Ann Cashion of Johnny’s Half Shell (Part 1)

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Chef Ann Cashion
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

If I were to ever ditch the desk for a kitchen, I think I’d want to work for Ann Cashion. There’s a certain warmth about her–several of her staff call her “Ann” rather than “chef,” and the way she interacts with all of them you can see that she cares about everyone in her kitchen. In return, she doesn’t even have to breathe a word and the right prep bowls and ingredients wind up at her station when she needs them. “I’m very hands-on and I’m willing to do the same things others are doing,” says Cashion about her style in the kitchen and referring to some of the more “drudge” tasks.

For the chef and part owner of Johnny’s Half Shell,  leading and developing her staff is one of the most rewarding parts of her job. In fact, if you take a look around the city you’ll see more than a handful of chefs, such as Teddy Folkman, who have trained under Ann and have gone on to open their own restaurants or run their own kitchens. From our conversation, Ann’s approach to leading in the kitchen seems so nurturing and down to earth that if she were your boss, she’d be the last person you’d want to disappoint. “You can’t over-demand from your staff. I had to learn that,” she says. “I’m a perfectionist and perfection is something to aspire to. But if you don’t achieve it every time, that’s okay too.”

With her attention to mentoring other chefs and developing culinary talent, it comes as no surprise that the people behind the food are part of why Ann became a chef in the first place. “Food is a very wide open field. It’s a very human field,” she explains. “Everybody connects to food.”

In addition to the human factor, Ann liked that food “wasn’t so specialized,” unlike her doctoral program in English Literature at Stanford which she left early to pursue cooking. There are still instances when her background in literature peeks through in conversation though. “I think of food as a language–if you don’t have the vocabulary and syntax down, it’s hard to write poetry,” she says, explaining why traditional Western training is important for aspiring chefs. “Italian food was my first love. It formed the basis for my aesthetic,” she adds. “I liked the non-fussiness of it, the emphasis on the quality of ingredients and the idea of the slow food movement.”
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Sports Fix
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The Old Fox of Washington Baseball

Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress
[Clark Griffith, Cincinnati, NL (baseball)] (LOC)
courtesy of The Library of Congress

In order to earn a nickname like, “The Old Fox,” one cannot be anything close to what a prototypical pitcher is thought to be, and that is what Clark Griffith was as a player. He amassed 453 wins to 372 losses with a 3.31 ERA over 20 seasons. Clark Griffith lived up to his nickname using deception instead of speed to get players out, and after his playing career was over it would be slightly ironic that one of the greatest finesse pitchers would own the team that was home to one of the games greatest power pitchers.

Clark Griffith as a player has only a small role in Washington baseball history, but it is an important role. It was Griffith who while representing the players in a salary dispute with the NL had worked out a deal with Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey to turn the American League into a major league with Washington being one of 8 charter cities. The city of Washington had had a professional franchise for a brief period of time when the NL Washington Nationals called Washington home from 1886-1889 before being folded due to poor attendance and overall mismanagement. When the leaders of the NL turned down Griffith’s and the players request for more money Griffith quickly wired Johnson and Comiskey to let them know the players were on their side.

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Paint The Music

Photo Courtesy of Paint The Music

Bringing two different art forms together for one performance is Dan Fisk’s goal with his new Paint The Music performance series. The concept is simple: four painters are matched with a performance artist and each painter has the duration of a full night’s worth of music to complete the visual interpretation of the performer’s first song.

The idea came to local singer-songwriter and program organizer Fisk who was inspired by a story he heard from a DJ friend in San Diego. “I remember her telling me about a show that she did years ago where an artist was painting whatever he felt like during the show,” Fisk said. “He let the music inspire his art. I thought it was a great idea!”

It has always been something Fisk wanted to bring to DC but – according to him – it had to wait until he had enough time to give the project the attention it deserved. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals can’t touch Phillies, lose 8-0

Photo courtesy of philliefan99
before the warmup
courtesy of philliefan99

Baseball’s a funny game. You can face a team that you’re 16.5 games behind you in the standings and have a complete offensive meltdown, a disastrous night on the mound, and still sneak out sharing the best record in baseball.  On a night when they were short five of their starters due to injury (Ramos, Desmond, Werth, LaRoche and Zimmerman), even facing a team as hapless and gutted as the Phillies, the Nationals were playing far below their weight.

In the third inning, already trailing by 4, Bryce Harper went to make an athletic catch instead of playing a Jimmy Rollins double off the wall, and gave up the first inside-the-park home run at Nationals Park this season, putting the lead out to six.  Stephen Strasburg came up with a dud of an outing on the night, going just 4 IP, and surrendering 6 earned runs on 8 hits. He had just 3 strikeouts and allowed only one walk, but not once did we see the fireballer who was indomitable early in the year. At times, Strasburg looked frustrated, and since the All-Star Break, he has been: since the All-Star Break, he’s put up a 4.43 ERA in four starts, each time looking less and less in control.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals stand pat at trade deadline

Photo courtesy of Images_of_Money
Poker hand and Chips
courtesy of Images_of_Money

Looking at the Nationals public posture was all you needed to do, it turned out, in the run-up to the trade deadline. As far back as a week or so ago, manager Davey Johnson had said that the team was in good stead, and compared favorably to the 1986 Mets team that Johnson managed to a World Series trophy. It’s hard to blame the Nationals for refusing to engage in deadline brinksmanship when they’ve had such a successful season. Currently, the squad possesses the best record in baseball after 101 games, and will likely be piling on in the coming weeks as they face depleted squads from Philadelphia and Miami for a home stand.

Moreover, it’s hard to see what they were supposed to move for. Geovany Soto, a veteran catcher? Sure, that’s possible, but the Nationals don’t have the AA pitcher to spare for the Rangers to help them fill out their minor league pitching roster as it stands. Marco Scutaro, to give them another infield option? It doesn’t make sense for the Nationals to pay cash – and another infield prospect – when they’ve got some solid options available to them at the current.

As it stands, the armchair GMs of Washington may be grousing casually, but I think all you should do is point at the standings, and the return of Jayson Werth this week, as well as Chad Tracy today, as worth standing up for, especially when there was a paucity of good trade options that would benefit the Nationals in the long term as opposed to serving as a rental agreement for talent that the team just isn’t that desperate for at the time.

There are times to be buyers, and times to be sellers, but both of those depend on the time and price being right. This time, it wasn’t.

The Features
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Politics and Prose, Go-Go, and the Rashomon Book Signing

Photo courtesy of farrelley
Politics & Prose
courtesy of farrelley

Turns out, maybe Chevy Chase is ready for Go Go after all?

Natalie Hopkinson, author of Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City was invited to sign her book and speak at a reading at Politics & Prose in Chevy Chase this past week. As Go Go music is integral to her book, she assembled a playlist heavy on DC favorites and brought it with her to be the soundtrack for her signing. She gave the disc to Politics & Prose, they put it in, and that’s where everything went haywire.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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We Love Food: Farmers Market Tips

Photo courtesy of ekelly80
fruit & vegetables
courtesy of ekelly80

Spring and summer: every locavore’s dream. The fresh produce is abundant, the options in the kitchen are endless, and all the colors and smells are so great that you almost forget about the scorching hot sun.

So I started to think about all the different farmers markets and what I had heard about each one–the tips and tricks for stocking your fridge and pantry with local eats. After the jump, you can find out what DC eaters and chefs have to say about some of our local farmers markets. You can follow my Twitter list of DC-area farmers markets and some of the vendors and give me a holler if there are any I missed adding to the list. And feel free to share any of your farmers market tips in the comments section.

A big hat tip to Cathy of Mrs. Wheelbarrow who sparked the idea.

Photo courtesy of
‘170/365’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’
Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of furcafe
0920-12Crop
courtesy of furcafe

Random sights of the city; they seem to becoming rarer and rarer. I remember growing up and driving along New York Ave and North Capitol Street, seeing unusual remnants of buildings all of the time. But as DC has gone through it’s renaissance over the last two decades, these sights have become harder to find. Chris found this fascinating building, or what’s left of it, in the H Street/Capitol Hill area. A building at least twenty years old, judging by the no area code on the phone number, but probably hasn’t seen a good day in at least thirty (and what’s with the “or 98”?). The contrasting types of bricks and colors draw the eye and make the viewer wonder what happened to the people who used (or use) this building. Quite the sight indeed.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, People, The District, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Black Hills at Rock & Roll Hotel, 7/30/2012

photo by Stephanie Breijo

DC’s own Black Hills play tonight at Rock & Roll Hotel. They are opening for British electronic-rock duo The Big Pink.

Black Hills is the dreamy electronic project of Aaron Estes, former front-man of the now defunct DC indie-rock group Bellman Barker. If Air, Royksopp, and Goldfrapp had a beautiful, iridescent love-child, it would be Black Hills. A few months back I interviewed Estes- you can check that out here. I also couldn’t stop gushing in my review of Black Hills’ performance at the Black Cat in May- read that here. While the songs on the EP Black Gold (which you can hear here) are all written/produced by Estes, the live show features a full band, and is a must-see/hear. Do your ears, heart, and soul a favor and go check out Black Hills tonight!

Black Hills

opening for The Big Pink

doors 7pm/show 8pm

$13 advance/$15 door

Rock & Roll Hotel