Category Archives: The Features

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Food and Drink, The Features
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H &pizza Arrives on H Street NE

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
H &pizza Boxes
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Pizza and politics–two controversial things in this town. Like asking what someone thought of the latest congressional vote, if you inquire about their pizza preferences when it comes to crust thickness, toppings or cheese to sauce ratio, you’ll get an earful. Not to mention there’s that group of people who cop out completely by throwing their hands in the air and exclaiming, “THERE IS NO GOOD PIZZA IN DC!” Well, my fussy friends, there’s a new place on H street that might do the trick for you: H &pizza.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
H &pizza Jenny Pizza
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
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Food and Drink, The Features, Ward 6
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Atlas Arcade: 8-bit Fun on H Street

IMG 4820

It’s a Thursday night and the line at Toki Underground spills out onto H Street. It’s two hours until you can have delicious ramen, so what are you going to do? You can sit down at the Pug or Church and State and pound beers or cocktails, or you can walk up to H Street Country Club at hope to get in for mini golf, or, you can cool your heels and wait. While waiting, you can also play online casino at 666 Casino and use your spare time winning big real money through online casinos.

Starting this week, Atlas Arcade gives you another option. You can now play rainbow riches online with your phone and get your big starting bonus now. This game is surely to give you the best entertainment you are looking for in an online casino.

The space, formerly Eric Holzherr’s Fruit Bat, is now Atlas Arcade, with eight classic 8-bit video games, a claw machine, and a couple video game consoles built into TVs at the bar.

When I was about 12, my friend Paul and I tagged along as his parents went to gamble at the casino just over the state line in Nevada from Lake Tahoe. It was the best day ever, despite the car trouble getting up into the mountains, and the hot weather, because when we got there, Paul’s Dad handed us each a roll of quarters fresh from the bank, and told us we could play as long as we wanted.

Now, granted, I grew up with an NES, and later a Genesis, but arcades had games that none of those systems could touch. Spy Hunter. Galaga. Rampage. Defender. Ms Pacman on those little bar tables like you found at Pizza Hut.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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First Look: The Bistro at Pound The Hill

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Back Patio at Pound The Hill
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Walking out into the back patio at Pound The Hill, it hits you: this is the slice of the outdoors that every Washingtonian wishes they had in their backyard. Even better than having it in your own backyard, is the fact that The Bistro at Pound has plenty of good food and wine to serve you, so you don’t have to be in charge of cooking for yourself. They launched the concept (coffee shop becomes bistro for dinner service) earlier this year and now that’s it’s off the ground running, I headed to Eastern Market to check out it out for the first time and see what they have to offer on their new summer menu, launching today.

The Bistro was born out of the owners’ desire to feature a menu that pulled from the group’s international inspirations. You’ll see dishes with a French influence, due to executive chef Jon Taub’s background, but also some Latin and Asian influences highlighted in the menu as well. Taub was previously the sous-chef at Station 4 and Art & Soul. While you’ll only find The Bistro in Eastern Market for now, owner Karl Johnson hints at future expansion, saying that they branded themselves with the father concept of “Pound [insert neighborhood]” on purpose.

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Duck confit at Pound The Hill
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

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Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Listen Up! 2 albums you should hear.

courtesy of These United States

It’s not super often that I come across albums I can’t stop listening to, can’t get out of my head, and just can’t stop thinking about. If I’m lucky it happens a few times a year, and it’s what I live for. So, for it to happen with two different albums in the course of one week has kind of blown my mind, and I feel it’s my responsibility to share this joy with the world, or at least the We Love DC readers.  The albums are Young People’s Church of the Air by Deleted Scenes, and These United States, self-titled.  Coincidentally both bands have DC connections- Deleted Scenes are based in DC, and These United States started here. These albums have totally distinct sounds, they live in different spots on the musical spectrum, but both are beautiful and brilliant in their own way.

I’ll start with These United States, self-titled. I first became aquainted with the music of These United States several years back, when they were first starting out, and based in DC. I saw them live at Iota, probably around 2007, and their enthusiasm and energy, combined with the charisma of frontman Jesse Elliott was exhilarating. Fast forward five years and just as many albums…the group no longer calls DC home, they are based partly in New York, and spend lots of time on the road. Their fifth studio album, These United States came out in June on Colorado-based United Interests records.

This record makes me want to stomp, holler, daydream and dance. The record is beautifully produced, a shining example of Americana- a lively blend of country sounds, folk, and rock. Jesse Elliott’s lyrics and vocals take you on a journey, weaving and winding from the fast-pasted “Dead and Gone” to the dreamy “Miss Underground” and quiet contemplation of “The Park.”  The sounds that come from J. Tom Hnatow’s guitar and pedal steel are like caramel- so rich, sweet, soulfully delicious. They add a decadence to the recordings that almost makes my ears feel guilty. It’s hard to pick favorites from a record this good (there are no bad songs on this album) but my top songs at the moment are the soulful “Miss Underground”, the classic-rock tinged “Let the River In”, and the jubilant stomp-fest of “Dead & Gone.” But don’t just track-hop this album- it deserves a start-to-finish listening. (Last week I got to ask TUS singer Jesse Elliott a few questions. Check out what he had to say here.) Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – July 13 to 15

Photo courtesy of thisisbossi
2012 06 14 – 2845 – DC – Flag Day
courtesy of thisisbossi

Carl: On Friday I have two events to attend. The first is an open house at The Sphinx Club in DC and after a brief appearance there, Beautiful Girlfriend and I will go to a freind’s birthday party at the Ram’s Head Tavern Savage Mill. Saturday I will be catching up on some photography assignments and also have an appointment with someone who wants to be part of my tattoo photo project. I am looking forward to getting back into this project. I also hope to get together that afternoon with Wayan Vota so he can sample my homebrew, especially the kvass I made a few weeks ago. Sunday will be set aside as a day of rest. And gardening. I have lots of garden work to do.

Photo courtesy of a digital cure
Fringefest
courtesy of a digital cure

Joanna: Fringe, Fringe, Upstate NY, and then some Fringe.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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We Love Food: July 2012 Events Roundup

Photo courtesy of yostinator
Pie eatin’ contest
courtesy of yostinator

The summer: a time when life in general is meant to slow down, so that you have that warm, fuzzy feeling of relaxation that you enjoyed so much as a kid when school let out. But rather than slowing down, the food scene in DC is picking up in the month of July. Here’s our roundup on what’s happening for the remainder of this month. Get your forks ready.

PAUL’s Bastille Day Baguette Race
Saturday, July 14
Break out that French maid costume. PAUL Bakery in Penn Quarter is hosting their 2nd annual Baguette Relay Race where the baton is replaced by the baguette. Racers will be split into four teams of six people, each led by a PAUL employee. The kid’s race starts at 10:30 AM, and adults get to race starting at 11 AM. Be the first team to finish the race around the U.S. Navy Memorial and each member of your team will receive a $25 PAUL gift card. You can sign up for the race on PAUL’s Facebook page.

All-You-Can-Eat Oyster Festival at Pearl Dive
Saturday, July 14, 2 PM to 4 PM
Natalia says: It’s Bastille Day Saturday, and what better way to celebrate the French than slurping oysters and some bubbly? Lucky for you, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and Black Jack are having an all-you-can-eat oyster festival.  Priced at $65 per person (tax and gratuity not included), you can down unlimited oysters along with two varieties of beer and Argyle Sparkling Wine. Rappahannock Oysters and Stingray Oysters from Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC as well as Broadwater Oysters from Broadwater Oyster Company will be featured. If you need some visual motivation and want to become savvy on oyster farming, check out Marissa’s story on the Rappahannock River Oysters here.

Tickets to the oyster fest, starting at 2pm, are available at the door only. Shuck away.

Urbana’s Sixth Birthday
Friday, July 13 to Saturday, July 21
Happy sixth birthday to Urbana! You celebrate your birthday for a whole week, so why shouldn’t they? Starting with an oyster and beer happy hour on Friday, July 13th from 4 to 7 PM, you’ll get to hang out with chef John Critchley and slurp oysters for 50 cents each and drink Port City Revival Oyster stout for $4 per pint. After the happy hour, from July 14th through 21st you can get half a dozen War Shore oysters and a pint of the Port City oyster stout for $6 during happy hour from 4 to 7 PM, $10 glasses of Veuve Clicquot during dinner and at the bar during happy hour. And of course, a birthday wouldn’t be complete without something sweet: during the week all guests get a complimentary ice cream cone with dinner.

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The Features
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Pepco’s Bill Stabilization Adjustment: the most expensive bad PR they could have ever asked for

Photo courtesy of Hoffmann
P.E.P.Co
courtesy of Hoffmann

It’s insult to injury, really, the bill stabilization adjustment. The line item on your next Pepco bill, Maryland readers, that says “bill stabilization adjustment” is the result of the work of the Maryland Public Service Commission and the utilities, and it allows the power companies to charge you for when you didn’t have power as a result of damage to their system.

Translated? They can bill you for when you didn’t have power.

They can bill you for when your refrigerator was off and its contents were quickly spoiling.

They can bill you for when the A/C was off, and you were sweltering in your living room.

They can bill you for when you couldn’t do your laundry, or watch TV, or even run a fan.

They can’t bill you much (according to one expert, it’ll be less than a buck on average), but every penny they collect with that bill stabilization adjustment line item is a penny you pay with a spirit of spite, hatred and vitriol, a reminder that they’re not doing everything they can to make their system more reliable, and they can still benefit from it. One need only read Drew Magary’s epic profanity-strewn rant on Gawker about having to pay the small fee to see that this one’s already out of Pepco’s hands.

So, when does it change around here? When do we get to remind the public utilities that they ought to be serving the public? Soon. I’ve talked with two separate groups working hard to give DC and Maryland customers more options for their power company, one backed by Greenpeace Director of Online Strategy Kevin Grandia, another backed by Robert Robinson (they’re still getting their petition efforts together). Both are gearing up for a long effort to see if they can’t remove Pepco’s monopoly status for the region, and to municipalize the utility’s area of control here in the District, hoping that multiple companies might compete to take over the DC power market and focus on the reliability of the system, as opposed to its profitability.

Friday will be an interesting day, as the Council of DC has called for hearings at the Wilson Building to ask Pepco about the failings surrounding the storm on the 29th of June that left more than half of the city and surrounds without power. That will be fascinating, as both groups of petitioners are working to be present at those hearings and to remind everyone of the 2010 Washington Post analysis that showed that Pepco’s customers suffered from more outages than most other major cities, that outage times were longer than in other cities, and that real reliability efforts were not undertaken.  In the two years since that report was released by the Post, we’ve still seen a high number of outages in the District, as well as a failure on the part of Pepco to underground their equipment for higher reliability. 

If you want to testify at the hearing, you have until the close of business to register with the council and provide copies of your written testimony. There are more details on the hearing page for how to do this and submit your information.

Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: …And We Love Bartenders (RIP, KT)

Photo courtesy of furcafe
035144-02
courtesy of furcafe

A very lovely woman passed away on Tuesday. Her name was KT Robeson. If you met her randomly, you would see she was very statuesque. If you knew her better, you would learn she was sassy and fun — and she loved to dance. She loved to go to places like Marvin, the Black Cat, DC9 and the Rock and Roll Hotel. She also happened to have worked at some of those places.

Like us, she loved music. I personally met her acquaintance because, not too long ago, she worked as a bartender and a manager at the Rock and Roll Hotel and especially DC9. I only ever became a casual friend to her but I enjoyed talking to her. I continued to run into her regularly when she came around to see her true friends and family: her fellow nightlife industry compatriots — the bar owners, bar managers, bartenders, bar backs, bouncers, technicians and DJs who make up that tight-knit community responsible for any successful music venue, dance hall or dive bar with a good ol’ jukebox.

We sometimes take these folks for granted if we don’t work in the industry ourselves because we are all very busy. But they serve as our hosts, entertainers, cooks, protectors, janitors and sometimes our nannies. Sometimes they become our acquaintances, fellow jokesters, confidants or just good listeners. Sometimes they truly become friends. They generally are good people that don’t mind doing a job that essentially ensures *we* get to have a good time.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Girl In A Coma

photos courtesy of Girl In A Coma

This week We Love DC guest writer Greg Svitil got a chance to chat with bassist Jenn Alva of rock trio Girl In A Coma about life on the road, music as catharsis, Amanda Lepore and more.  Girl In A Coma will be playing at Red Palace on Friday, July 13th.

Greg Svitil: You seem to be touring non-stop lately.  How has spending so much time traveling and playing shows grown your connection as band mates and as friends or sisters? 

Jenn Alva: We do tour a lot and luckily, we love what we do. The girls and I have always been great friends from even before GIAC had begun. That was an advantage in becoming band mates. We were able to communicate calmly about band decisions and writing. The amount of time we spend touring has really helped as well. We are a tight team. We are family.

Greg: You manage to squeeze a lot into your time on the road.  Beyond nightly shows, you’ve been doing a lot of radio shows such as NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, and Nina has been playing solo as well.  How do you balance everything and maintain your energy level? 

Jenn: We try to do as much as we can on the road. We actually feel like we should be doing more. Our energy levels remain high because we adore our latest album Exits & All the Rest, and fall in love again with old songs we dust off and place in the set. Which keeps us excited to play day or night. Continue reading →

Farm Fresh, Ward 6
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Farm Fresh: New Tuesday Market at Eastern Market

Photo courtesy of ep_jhu
Eastern Market on a Hot Day
courtesy of ep_jhu

So I have to admit, I really do not love the outdoor farmer’s market at Eastern Market on the weekends. I’m not talking about the flea market with all the mirrors, animal hats and necklaces, I’m talking about the food part. Maybe I’m spoiled, but I don’t think repackaged baby carrots or oranges and bananas (clearly not grown in the Mid-Atlantic region) count as a farmer’s market. See, in the picture above, you see strawberries right next to apples. If you’re growing locally, the strawberries would happen for a few glorious short weeks in early spring and the apples arrive much later in fall.

When I go to a market, I want 100% local. And I want fresh, as in, vine to me in less than 24 hours. And sadly, I don’t see a ton of that at Eastern Market normally. But all this might change today with the announcement of the new “Fresh Tuesdays” farmer’s market at Eastern Market. Continue reading →

The Features
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2012 Capital Fringe Festival

Photo courtesy of a digital cure
Fringefest
courtesy of a digital cure

For anyone interested in an adventure, the Capital Fringe Festival is back with over 130 productions in 15 venues across downtown DC, ranging from highly experimental performance art to staged clown shows for the kids. The frenzy opens this Thursday and runs July 12-29, 2012.

Love it or hate it (and you’ll probably do some of both), the Capital Fringe Festival is where DC’s indie companies and performers come to experiment and test their skills. An incubator for young shows, the festival encourages innovation and self-production. It also encourages the rest of us to go out on a limb and experience theater of all varieties – the good, the bad, and the bizarre. Some performances will leave us thinking, while others will leave us thinking “what the #^$% was that?”

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Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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[Updated] The Uber Conundrum

Photo courtesy of danpeerflix
I’m coming to get ya @patdryburgh cc @uber
courtesy of danpeerflix

Late yesterday, in an email to their customers, Uber’s DC operations group sounded the alarm about the Taxicab Modernization Act that is before the Council today.  The email read, in part, “The Council’s intention is to prevent Uber from being a viable alternative to taxis by enacting a price floor to set Uber’s minimum fare at today’s rates and no less than 5 times a taxi’s minimum fare.”  The language that has Uber riled up here has to do with a new class of taxi service in DC, the sort that Uber provides.  

The new sedan service is designed to build a place for companies like Uber to operate free from intervention from the DC Taxicab Commission’s regulations, which would require the cars have metering systems, GPS tracking, and those godawful advertising systems like you see in New York Cabs, amongst other things. So long as they were to abide by an initial minimum fare that was 5 times the minimum fare of the taxi system, Uber would get to stand free and clear of the taxi system.

One small problem. Uber wants to charge less than their current $15 minimum for their new UberX service which is designed to send less luxurious vehicles (hybrid cars, in fact) to pick you up throughout the city.  This new law would torpedo their plans to charge customers less for the new hybrid service.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of gerdaindc
AdMo fireworks
courtesy of gerdaindc

It’s hard to get a good street photo that includes fireworks. After all, most people don’t want to get too close to something that’s exploding or spouting fire. But Gerda pulled off such a shot nicely. Check out what looks like a couple of families having an impromptu fireworks display on the streets of Adams Morgan. The father and daughter fascinated by the large sparkler in the street; the boy off to the side with his personal sparkler just being lit; and all of the spectators simply enjoying the show. This shot looks like something from a 1950s movie; hard to believe it was taken last week. It’s nice to know that this is still a sight that can be seen on the 4th.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Howard Jones @ The Howard Theatre — 7/5/12 (or “Howard at The Howard”)

Photo courtesy of zannaland
IMG_0139
courtesy of zannaland

Once upon a time, Howard Jones rolled through the DC metro area and played some of his familiar hits.

It was Oct. 3, 2007, actually. He performed at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., and it was frankly not the greatest show I ever had seen. The famously camera-shy Englishman played acoustic piano, strumming keys to lyrics he had written some 20 years previously, only to stop frequently and poke fun at his own songwriting abilities and the occasional curious rhyme. He had become Howard Jones, The Lounge Act. All in all, it was a bit of a disheartening experience.

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Sports Fix
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The Nats at the Halfway Mark: Believe

Photo courtesy of philliefan99
mob on first
courtesy of philliefan99

In April, my friend Elliot asked me, “Is it time to believe yet?” when the club was 10-3 and the Nats were the first to ten wins in the majors. Any team can go 10-3 over the stretch of 13 games.

In May, he asked me again, as the Nationals were 26-17, “is it time yet?” and given that the bats had remained somewhat silent, and the lead in the NL East was tenuous, I couldn’t yet pull the trigger, especially with the injury bug that seemed to affect the Nationals, before it was left in Toronto. 

Last night’s 6-5 victory in the 9th was a tipping point for many fans. At 48-32, the Nationals have the 3rd best record in baseball, the best in the National League, and have a four and a half game lead on the second place Braves.  They posses the 4th best run differential in the bigs, mostly the product of the last week’s worth of offensive triumphs over the NL West.  It’s hard not to look at the pitching staff and just grin, because any series will see one – if not more – of Strasburg/Gio/Zimmermann. The Nationals’ pitching staff carries WHIP (Walks + Hits per inning pitched) rate of just 1.20 – best in the majors, and the lowest opposing batting average at .231.

The numbers aren’t the whole story – in fact, the numbers barely begin to scratch the surface.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A With Pilesar

photo by Ashleigh Mullinax

While Jason Mullinax comes to music originally as a percussionist, his current project Pilesar (pie-LEE-zur) explodes into much more than that, and is bringing DC’s music scene a one-man electro-force that blends keys, synth, guitars, vocodor, noise and loops. And he sings too! His free show Sunday evening at H St.’s Sova Espresso & Wine Bar should show off this noise-artist’s sonic prowess.

A veteran of DC’s Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, Mullinax has been playing around town quite a bit with his new release, “Stereo Space”, which brings to mind a lo-fi 60s/70s techno psychedelic time-warp. His range combines proggy atmospherics with krauty electro-cinematics, and 80s new-wave-hip-hop-samply goodness. On songs like “Absolute Zero”, “Spider Bait”, and “Keith’s Drum Machine”, his playful personality shines over it all, giving the noise a light touch. Throw in a guitarist and all sorts of other sound, and you have something that rewards repeated headphone listens. His extensive back catalog, including his previous release “Radio Friendly”, has less straightforward vocals but the same kind of electronic/noise fun.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina but now living in Takoma Park, Pilesar is another reason to believe that DC music is experiencing some sort of renaissance. I talked to him the other day about what it is he’s doing.

Jonathan Druy: How long did it take you to record “Stereo Space”?

Jason Mullinax: It took over a year, and a lot of that was making the songs, and getting the songs right. I had the thing mastered five times before I signed off on it. I’m really happy with it, and I think this is the first album that is really representative of what I do in this moment. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: July 6-8

Photo courtesy of Dan Dan The Binary Man
Beat The Heat ~ Method #1 ~ Hang Out In A Barrel
courtesy of Dan Dan The Binary Man

It’s so hot we’re moving slower and you’re getting this entry on Friday instead of our usual Thursday. Addison, after last week’s hicksplosion, has not showed up for weekends. We can only assume he spontaneously combusted. You’re missed, Addison.

Joanna: After having no power for almost a week, I’m hoping to spend a good deal of my weekend sitting next to the air conditioner with a glass of ice and a wireless connection. If and when I venture outside, it will be to see some previews for the Fringe Festival (opening July 12!) and catch the opening of the uber-local exhibition Stocking the Fridge. Since my better half is finally back in town, we’ll also be hitting up The Arlington Civitan Open Air Market for some juice glasses and the Arlington Farmers’ Market for veggies with which to make said juice. Continue reading →

The Features
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Local non-profit “hate group” alters engagement photos for political gain

A local non-profit – one classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – based in Falls Church may find themselves in hot water for their use of a New Jersey couple’s wedding photo in a Colorado political attack ad. The photo, originally taken of Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere in New York, was photoshopped to move the couple from New York to a snowy idyll representing Colorado, to attack Republican State Senator Jean White, who voted for same sex marriage in the last legislative session. The photo was used entirely without permission, and the photographer and the subjects are currently seeking legal action.

Public Advocate of the United States (PA-USA) ran the ad in a couple different forms ahead of last Tuesday’s election in Colorado. Based in Falls Church, and run by Republican Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio, the group, despite its innocuous name, works to fight against LGBT issues throughout the US. Delgaudio has made a name for himself locally as the crusader-in-chief against gay rights. Delgaudio has made some fairly hilarious and peculiar statements in this vein, suggesting that TSA patdowns “promote the homosexual agenda“, and that anti-bullying laws threaten religious freedom, while also suggesting that a Tampa pirate festival has been overrun by militant homosexuals. Continue reading →