You can see the full designs via the Washington Post, but they feature Frederick Douglas, Benjamin Banneker and Duke Ellington, each in turn. They also feature the more pedestrian DC motto, “Justice for All” instead of the more appropriate “Taxation Without Representation.”

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We broke for lunch late, and headed over to The Overwood in Alexandria. I do their website in exchange for the occasional free lunch, and I hadn’t seen them in a while. So we went over and sat at the bar for a late lunch. Rami, the chef, came out and said hey, and took our order. He also asked how we liked grits, and wanted to know if he could try something out on us. Generally, when chefs experiment, it’s best to be there. They start thinking outside the box, and then they deliver big.

Rami brought out this delight, which my camera fails to adequately capture. It’s a grits cake, in lobster sauce with veggies, crawfish and shrimp. And it was heaven on earth. The grits were perfectly textured and subtly flavored, the lobster sauce creamy, and the crawfish and shrimp moist and perfectly done.

Sometimes it’s good to know the chef. I understand this is on the menu all weekend, DC-folks.

Overwood
220 North Lee St
Alexandria VA
703.535.3340

Yummy — Originally uploaded by tbridge

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Phew, another week in DC! Things never seem to get boring around here do they?

• We’ve got the Wizards pulling off a stunner against Cleveland to survive one more day in the NBA playoffs. Good luck tonight fellas. Let’s hope that Queen James doesn’t decide to open up a can of whoopass and dunk on your heads. Here are some tips for winning: play some aggressive D, drive to the hole, make your foul shots, and rebound for Rodman’s sake!
• Deborah Jeanne Palfrey, the ‘DC Madam’, hung herself with some rope in a shed down in Florida. While suicide is not exactly the best way to solve your problems, I don’t feel sad for Deborah like a lot of people do. She got herself into her mess and then came up with a way to get herself out of it. Now if somehow we find out that there was foul play involved…that’s entirely different.
• Taxis started installing meters. And by ‘taxis’, I mean about six of them. Cabbies are dragging their feet when it comes to installing them, claiming their income will be drastically reduced. And that’s my problem how? I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to trick the system, like taking the long way around town or by choosing streets that are known for traffic jams.
• People lined up like starving wolves for free ice cream cones at Ben & Jerry’s. Baskin Robbins tried to follow that up by selling $0.31 scoops, but don’t they understand that nothing is better than free, and that people don’t want four pennies in change?
• There was a shootout at a school in NE DC. None of the victims died thankfully, but did this make the national news? It’s shame that people are so immune to hearing about shootings in DC. If this had happened in some place like, I dunno, Taos, CNN would have been on the scene faster than Wolf Blitzer’s beard grows.

What did I miss? You know, when some of us move out of DC to some place like, I dunno, Taos…life is going to be pretty boring in comparison. I can’t wait to see what happens next week! Hopefully less shooting and more free ice cream.

Photo by rsplatpc

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It seems like we just got past Easter and now we are heading into the next big commercial season – Mother’s Day. I was greeted by this chalk reminder in front of a florist’s shop in Bethesda this morning.

Are flowers the thing Mom wants? I don’t know. What I do know is that they slowly wilt and die, which is not a good expression of the love we tend to feel for our parents, or the love that florists and card stores tell us we should feel.

This year Mom gets no flowers. I will give her the same thing I always give her – a gift certificate to her favorite bookstore. Mom, if you are reading this, sorry to give away the surprise, but remember that knowledge is the best of companions and books the best of friends.

What are you getting your mother this year? Flowers? Candy? Anybody going for the ever-popular Bacon of the Month Club?

Photo: Remember Mom with Flowers Originally uploaded by carlweaver

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

…but this is a little ridiculous. Spotted at the Shirlington Harris Teeter. I wonder how long this will be there until someone points it out to staff?

I know food prices are going up, but this is ridiculous

Originally uploaded by tiffany bridge

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

To my surprise, DC has an extant, long lasting infoshop!

That may not ring any bells among those of you who didn’t go to college with a bunch of radical anarchists who shouted “fuck the police!” and “smash the state!” Frankly, it’s not part of my world anymore either–once I left college, I slowly drifted away from punks and DIYers who created their own zines and would wheat-paste fliers on walls around town after dark.

I’m not sure what an infoshop is technically meant to be, but the one I hung around in Berkeley, CA was a place where you could stay all day, reading books about ending speciesism or acting up against the military-industrial complex, and then have a meal of second-hand brown bread and vegan soup. And where the shelves were packed with homemade zines about folks’ adventures and thoughts. Kinda like paper blogs. No, make that just like paper blogs.

I’m not making fun of these places. It’s the greatest thing when people’s ideals push them to actually do something rather than just talk about it. It’s just such a walk down memory lane for me, though, that I have to laugh.

So DC’s infoshop is exactly like the one in Berkelely, only smaller. And the people are friendlier! And there are signs on the wall urging support for activists who are now in jail. I don’t remember that from my college years.

Technically this infoshop is called the Brian Mackenzie Infoshop, after a local activist who died while trying to make the place a reality.

Go check it out; smile and the folks there will smile back. It’s in the middle of nowhere, 1426 9th st NW (by P, I think) and it’s generally open noon-9pm Weds-Sun. Call at 202-986-0681 if you want to be sure they’re there before you come.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Why I Hate DC picked up on the new Nationals song that I was trying to explain away this weekend as the result of an auditory hallucination. Here’s the song. I use that term VERY loosely here. And thanks much to the first commenter at WIHDC, who summed it up perfectly:

OMG, it’s like a third-rate glee club and the 1920’s and a marching band’s percussion section had a very slow love child. WTF?

Yes. What the Fuck, Nationals? What the Effing Eff were you on when you decided this was a good idea? I mean, the O’s just got rid of Orioles Magic, and it seems to have gotten them off to a pretty good start? I mean you hired the team that brought us the iconic Monday Night Football Theme. Shouldn’t you have gotten something that resembled that? It’s not too late, Get Your Money Back!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In case you missed it Tuesday, the NHL nominated Ovechkin and two other guys for the Hart Trophy. The Capitals’ captain and centerman is up against Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Calgary’s Jarome Iginla.

Honestly, I’m pretty sure they only added Malkin and Iginla because they had to have three nominees.

Yes, yes, I’m solidly in favor of Ovechkin snagging this trophy, despite being a solid Penguins supporter. But I also acknowledge talent; Ovechkin personifies the essence of the Hart and he deservedly should win it.

It’s indeed fortunate that Washington made it to the playoffs – I highly doubt Ovie would’ve been nominated otherwise, though that travesty would’ve been unforgivable, I think.

We’ll find out for sure on June 12 in Toronto, when the 2008 NHL awards are doled out. And if you didn’t know, Nicklas Backstrom is up for the Calder Trophy for top rookie, too – but he’s going to lose that to Chicago’s Jonathan Toews.

Another Capitals member is an awards finalist – Bruce Boudreau was tagged today as a Jack Adams finalist, which goes to the coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon in late November last year, where the Caps lay belly-up in the Southeast cellar at 6-14-1. Since then, he led the Caps to a 37-17-7 regular season mark (with seven straight wins at the end of the season) and three hard-fought playoff wins before succumbing to the Flyers in Game Seven. He was also the fastest coach to 20 victories (34 games) in Caps history.

Ovie’s already snapped up the titles for most goals (65) and points (112) on the season. The sole reason the Caps even made it into the playoffs by a hair was because Ovechkin carried them on his back. If Ovie wasn’t playing, the Caps would deservedly be in the dregs of the league along with Tampa and L.A.

Ignila makes sense as a nominee – second career 50+ goal season, 98 points total, and spearheading the Flames’ own run into the playoffs. But he didn’t electrify his team or the home crowds like Ovechkin did.

The sole player at a shot of sneaking away with the Hart is the Penguins’ Malkin. And really, despite locking in 106 points with 47 goals – 46 points and 20 goals during a 28 game stretch that kept the Penguins on playoff afterburners when Crosby went down – the only real reason he could skate away with it is if the Penguins win the Cup.

But even I don’t think that’s likely to happen. I foresee quite the Caps ‘sweep’ of the awards in June.

So my heartfelt congratulations to Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Caps for an electrifying season. I truly hope you all keep that fire lit for next year; it’ll make some awesome match ups for me and my Penguin friends to look forward to.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you love Pearl Jam, and were going to buy tickets for their DC show on June 22nd at Verizon Center, you might consider getting them for a donation to Steve Novick’s campaign for US Senate, instead.

Of course, I know squat about Novick’s politics, but this way you get to meet Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, and hang out with him before the show. Of course, maybe this is the best way to get influence in the Senate, as DC’s currently boned on the whole representation deal. Maybe this is a great way to make known the struggle of all District residents when it comes to representation in Congress. You can let Steve Novick just what you think about the royal screwjob that DC residents get.

Or, it’s just a way to get a cool set of tickets to Pearl Jam. $250 for a pair, though, that’s kinda ouchie to my wallet.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Barely a year after she forced a Deputy Secretary of State out of his job by selling her phone records to the media, authorities believe the DC Madam, Deborah Jeanne Palfrey, has committed suicide at her mother’s Florida home.

As DC Metblog alumnus brownpau points out, Palfrey’s Wikipedia page is already seeing a spike in edits.

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We got to head out to the dump in Fairfax County a week or so ago to bid final adieu to a couch that had far outlasted its meager existence. It was just $5 to drop the couch on the cement slab and watch as the awesome garbage hauler equipment just smashed up all manner of trash and shove it down into was appeared to be an endless pit of forgotten furniture, and various other bulk trash.

They’re very meticulous about how you get to dispose of things, there’s a man at the booth where you pay who makes sure it’s the right kind of thing to go to the dump, or whether or not it’s household hazard waste and belongs in the special part of the dump where they store those fluorescent tubes and bulbs, or if it’s a dead refrigerator, what they do with the coolant tanks.

I caught this sign and started to wonder…what sort of citizens can you dispose of at the West Ox Road Facility? Do they have to be Fairfax County citizens? Can I pay extra to drop off Arlington County citizens for proper disposal? Do out of state citizens cost extra?

Citizens Disposal?! — Originally uploaded by tbridge

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Kemper Macon Ware Lodge in Falls Church will be hosting a blood drive for the Red Cross this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until noon. Yep, it’s a Masonic Lodge but you don’t have to be a Mason to come save a life by giving of your own. Come on down and make a difference. The Lodge is located at 411 Little Falls Street in Falls Church.

Not sure about this whole blood donation thing? You can learn more about the process here and get a lot of your questions answered. Saving a life is a great reason to get up and out that early on a Saturday morning. Why not join me?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

One of the most fantastic things about the internet is the way it hooks us up with information and people. Want to know how to build your rain barrel? Instructables has several different articles. Trying to figure out something in Burnout: Paradise City? Watch one of the almost 3,000 videos on YouTube.

Or you can use it to connect a lot of people who want to teach others in person. That’s what the people behing Learnapalooza are doing. There’s currently over thirty sessions scheduled to happen on May 10th which will cover everything from geeky stuff like writing a Facebook application to more granola things like how and why to eat local food. If you wish you weren’t writing facebook apps you can learn some hip-hop dance or more general skills for dancing at a party. The schedule lists 31 events at the moment, all in donated locations.

I agree with their central idea – everyone has something to teach others – and think this is just a great idea. Get out and learn something!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The view from the window at Windows Cafe

–How did Ledroit Park (or Bloomingdale, as some seem to call it) wind up developing? It’s compressed into a small area around 4th and T NW and is very isolated from other developments around town; I rode through there on my bike and thought I was in California for a second–and then whoosh, it was gone.

–What’s up with Ethiopian cafe owners? Seems like all the newish cafes in town are owned by Ethiopians: Cafe Sureia in Brookland, Windows Cafe on 1st and Rhode Island NW, Azi’s on 9th NW, Sidamo Coffee and Tea on H St NE, and I think I saw a new cafe on Georgia around Irving. Oh, and Columbia Heights Coffee was bought by an Ethiopian couple about a year ago. Not complaining, that’s for sure–just curious and impressed.

–What’s going on at the corner of V and 14th street, catty corner from Busboys and Poets? There’s often a big crowd there–mostly black folks, but not the glamorous hipster crowd that hangs out at B&P. I’ve seen that crowd many times but there’s no sign indicating anything interesting there.

–Does Metro have express trains now? And if so, why does the red line express skip the Bethesda station, of all places?

–Why do train operators tell passengers, while the train’s in motion, how many cars the train has (as in, “This is an 8 car train”), when it’s illegal to move between trains?

–Is owning a home really so much better than renting, when you add everything up? If the only affordable houses are so far off in the suburbs that riding metro–post-fare hike–costs up to $10/day, and driving and parking cost double that and climbing, can you really argue it’s so worth it?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, maybe not, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at this sign. I guess with all the computers nowadays and the emphasis on assessment testing, things like penmanship have gone by the wayside. At least it wasn’t done in Crayon.

On a separate note, my lovely wife and I were able to enjoy a few 31-cent scoops this evening after supper. Definitely worth every penny.

Photo: Baskin Robbins Originally uploaded by carlweaver

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It’s halftime in Cleveland, and the Wizards are up 45-43 on the Cavs. I was talking with my bartender yesterday about their chances against LeBron and his gang, and his only response was, “Every time you drive for the basket good things happen.” Either we’ll get through and score, or we’ll get the shallow-benched Cavs on their heels and in foul-trouble.

Here’s hoping they can come up big tonight. Go Agent Zero & The Wizards!

Edit: And it’s DO! Caron scores 32, as the Wiz best the Cavs 88-87.

Onward!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

My friend Ben sent this email today, pertaining to the 219th anniversary of the swearing in of George Washington. In our town, amongst all the scandals and gotchas, the lobbyists and their unlimited cash, the frustration of the common man, and all manner of other injustices, we tend to gloss over, or merely canonize, those who stood on the ragged edge of history and dared to make government about the people, and not about the whims of a tyrant.

On this day in 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington took the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.

Our first and last unanimously elected leader, he had six years earlier resigned as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army – keeping his promise to the American people that he would be no monarch. When told by painter Benjamin West of Washington’s impending resignation, King George III was said to have exclaimed in shock: “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”

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Please join Shara Banisadr and her students to celebrate unconventional ways of painting. They request that youRSVP so they know how many people to expect. You can visit the site about this event here and see others’ works as well.

The above painting is by local artist Kristin Bruch, a very talented and interesting young artist. As I have said before, I am not schooled in such highfalutin’ things as art history or art appreciation, but I know what I like and her work is drenched in it. Come on down and see Kristin’s work and that of many other artists as well. Here are all the specifics:

Reception: Friday, May 2, 2008
Time: 6:30-8:30

Location: Kensington Framing & Gallery
10805 Connecticut Ave
Kensington, MD 2089

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On the heels of Free Ice Cream Day comes Baskin Robbins’ $0.31 scoop night, so you have no excuse not to continue your sucro-lacto overload. I don’t have a snazzy Google Map mashup to share with you but their online store locator will turn up one reasonably close to you, often inside a Dunkin Donuts location.

Maybe only interesting to me, but about ten years ago I did a little looking into Dunkin Donuts franchises. You had your choice at the time to purchase just the DD franchise or you could get a combined franchise with Baskin Robbins and/or TOGO, what they were then calling their sandwich shop. If you went with just the DD franchise you only had to have half a million cash on hand, for the trifecta it was close to a million. Entrepreneur magazine seems to think they’re worth it, though, with rankings consistently in the top 20.

Perhaps it’ll be interesting to the pro-localization set – According to the magazine’s profile not a single one of those Baskin Robbins’ is company owned, so any one you patronize is either owned by an individual or a group with a few stores. If you’re one of those people who gets their dainties in a wad over corporate coffee that might matter to you.
big ole ice cream cake, courtesy of Rakka

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This reeks to me of some sort of graft problem. Like the originators of the project just hadn’t put some form of welfare in their initial proposal to run Metrorail tracks all the way out to Dulles Airport.

But, now that the final bribes and blowjobs have been given to the (in)appropriate people, US Department of Transportation is reversing its non-funding of the Dulles Rail Project. That means, if all the rest of the bribes and other corruption are properly completed on their schedule (included in Appendix B5 of the new plan), we should have a Metro link to IAD by approximately 2025.

Okay, more like 2015. Maybe. If we’re lucky.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs