‘Shrimp and grits at Watershed’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
With winter approaching, I’m feeling more in the mood to spend time in the kitchen cooking up warm meals. Chef Todd Gray’s recipe for shrimp and grits is one of those that you can spend a little extra time preparing and will hit the spot when you’re cozy inside on a chilly winter’s day. You can find the dish on the menu at Watershed Restaurant or make it at home with the recipe after the jump.
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‘Todd Gray at Watershed’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’
Juggling multiple restaurants and two catering companies, along with a recent RAMMY award win for 2011 Chef of the Year and several James Beard Foundation Award nominations, you could call Todd Gray a powerhouse of sorts. This year alone, the chef and his wife and business partner, Ellen Kassoff Gray, have expanded their hospitality group to include Todd Gray’s Watershed and Todd Gray’s Muse at the Corcoran just this year. So where did the chef start all of this?
For Gray, who grew up outside of Washington, DC, he knew he wanted to own a restaurant before he knew he wanted to be a chef. While he was studying at the University of Richmond and was working in the front of the house at a local restaurant, he found that he fell in love with the kitchen. “The culinary bus came and I jumped on,” he says.
Flash forward to years of building a successful career, it’s certain that the chef has far more planned for the future. Gray and his wife are working on a book due out in September 2012 with the working title, “Kitchen Conversations: Blending Jewish and American Flavors for Delicious, Easy Meals.” The chef slyly adds that there may be a few more restaurants for him on the horizon, but plays off any specific plans by saying simply, “I’m just going to keep on cooking and having fun.”
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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
In honor of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels’ 25th anniversary of their chocolate chip cookie, they’ll be giving out free cookies from 10 am to 6 pm at Union Station. The Cookie CAREavan from the hotel is making a stop in DC as part of their 10-week, 10,000-mile and 50-city tour and will be giving out the same cookies they give to every guest who checks in to one of their hotels.
The Cookie CAREavan tour is hopping on the food truck bandwagon and is also a sponsor of the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race.
So head over to Union Station today for a little sugar boost in your day or also as a perfect gift thanks to the holiday cookie delivery service they offer.
A small batch, handmade gift shows you care. Not just about the recipient, but about supporting small local businesses. We can work with you to customize so you don’t have to worry about someone not remembering who gave them the amazing cookies.
By Jenn Larsen
Rachel Beauregard in Swampoodle by Tom Swift, presented by The Performance Corporation and Solas Nua. Photo credit: Ciaran Bagnall
“Warning: Swampoodle may contain eye-popping feats, roller derby smackdowns, big-track machinery, brass band music and scenes of a spectacular nature.”
It’s been two days since I’ve seen Swampoodle, the joint production by Irish company The Performance Corporation and DC’s own Solas Nua, a site-specific piece at the historic Uline Arena. I think the warning above that appears on all the press materials needs to be revised as follows:
“Warning: the Uline Arena may contain extreme mold spores, dust mites galore, pitted concrete, peeling paint, and the olfactory remnants of its days as a trash transfer station.”
Joking aside, my allergies are still in an uproar after ninety minutes inside the Uline, and if you suffer from mold allergies, I really do think you should know that it will affect you. But as fellow WLDC author Brian noted earlier, the arena has an amazing history and Swampoodle aims to bring that to life with its promenade style theater experience. It succeeds occasionally with scenes of evocative beauty that take advantage of the arena’s haunting decay.
When the doors roll open and you enter the darkened arena, its majestic demise is both shocking and breathtaking, like a Grecian temple gone to seed. In its heyday the arena could seat some 9,000 people – just glimpses of the bleachers remain as concrete steps in the corners. No wonder it was also at one time called the Washington Coliseum. As your eyes get accustomed to the dark you notice the peeling paint on the immense vaulted ceiling above, as a man in the distance (Michael John Casey as a Greek chorus-style janitor) calls you forward, his voice echoing across the gloom. It’s an impressive sight that will stay with me for a long time.
But as the performance went on and actors raced back and forth shouting about “the show must go on!” and “it’s a wonderful show!” portraying a forced anxiety over the lack of a script, well, I started to turn away from them and look to the Uline itself, its massive decline more evocative than anything else. Perhaps that’s the point, a friend remarked as we walked away afterwards to the gleaming New York Avenue metro, new office buildings and a shining Harris Teeter sprouting up around the dying concrete cavern. Perhaps there’s no point at all. Continue reading
By Rebecca
I was in Union Station this morning, waiting for a train and zoning off, when I noticed a striking difference between the Acela’s DC, Philly, NYC and Boston overhead posters. While all the posters feature a stylized Acela train speeding through each city’s unique skyline and all hang from the rafters in very similar positions, the New York City poster was the only one covered in bird poop, especially towards the bottom of the poster.
Upon noticing this difference, I began looking for some simple explanation for this avian vandalism. Perhaps the NYC poster was simply, and unfortunately, hanging in an already popular bird hang out? No. No birds insight. Perhaps the NYC poster featured some sort of bird attracting color? Nope. Posters were all fairly similar in color scheme.
After surveying the poster scene, I could come to no other conclusion then that the Union station pigeons, sparrows and starling clearly dislike Amtrak’s NYC Acela poster, and NY by association, and they have decided to express their 2nd amendment rights by strategically bombarding it with their poop. Case solved.
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courtesy of ‘TomLeGro’
If you’ve ever been to Rustik in Bloomingdale, you’ve probably noticed that it has this big, gorgeous patio… with nothing but firewood on it. Rustik has a voluntary agreement with the Bloomingdale Civic Association allowing patio seating for reduced hours, but has not yet secured the public space permit required to actually seat people outside. The hearing with the Public Space Management Administration is on March 24, and neighbors are writing letters in support of Rustik’s petition to Juan Amaya at the Space Permit Office.
In Brookland, the 901 Monroe project is moving along through the hearing process. On March 14th, the Zoning Commission held a setdown hearing on the project. The commission seems generally in favor of the idea, but would like to consider setting down a version of the plan with zoning that would restrict its height further. The Commission has asked for a number of additional documents: shade studies on how the proposed development will affect the surrounding area, perspective drawings of how it will look from various points around the neighborhood (12th Street retail, the Metro station, etc.), as well as a copy of the Brookland Small Area Plan. The developers have until tomorrow to turn in this information and the Commission will consider the issue again at their March 28 meeting. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
‘Church and State’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’
Consistency and creativity are the two elements Erik Holzherr strives for in his bars. Add to that the well-deserved cliche of infectious enthusiasm – after just a few minutes of talking to him about his newest venture at the media preview for Church & State, I swear fellow WLDC authors Ashley, Samer and I are ready to go forth and open our own bar! Strike that. We’ll just be content with spreading the cocktail gospel.
Erik already has two popular bars in DC, both serving as outposts in developing neighborhoods. Wisdom was followed by Fruit Bat, and now Church & State is open to the public. Upstairs from Fruit Bat on H Street NE, it’s got such a gothic sensibility I found myself seriously craving a clove cigarette. Next time you feel the need to don the vintage finery, this is the bar to visit. Dimly lit, with reclaimed wood, flickering altar candles, and plenty of stained glass make for a striking effect. Add in an actual confessional room that gave Ashley and I total Exorcist chills, plus a raised alcove with a majestic leather couch that will definitely be fought over, and you have a small temple to the American cocktail. Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
‘Dave Thomas Circle 2010’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’
New York Avenue is a juggernaut of a thoroughfare. At its western end, the Treasury Department and just beyond, the White House. At its eastern end, US-50 and the road to Annapolis and points east. In between, it is an unmatched artery for vehicle transportation throughout the city. Over the last year, it’s undergone some serious construction projects, and things are about to get a whole lot more complicated for the road, and those who commute along it.
This summer, Dave Thomas Circle (pictured above) underwent a traffic reshaping project, wherein the frustrating intersection at New York Ave and Florida Ave near the ATF building was reshaped to allow for better traffic flow, a project that DDOT considers a significant success. They’re about to do something, though, that will lead to a lot of commuter frustration.
By Jenn Larsen
Regen Wilson as Orson Welles in SCENA Theatre's "War of the Worlds." Photo credit: Ian C. Armstrong.
As a child one of my favorite Halloween activities was listening to a taped radio rebroadcast of The War of the Worlds. In my memory it’s always during a power outage, candles flickering, my father scaring us kids even more by playing scratchy old records afterwards on a creepy vintage Victrola. Though the voice of Orson Welles instantly connected me to primal fear, there was always something in that rumbling tone that felt safe, an underlying comic lifeline, a wink. But my father made sure to explain that wink got Welles in a hell of a lot of trouble.
In SCENA Theatre’s recreation of the October 30, 1938 broadcast, Regen Wilson nails that Wellesian voice just right. But the production itself is too faithful to a fault. Simply too much of a recreation, it strangely fails to mine the greater implications of the original broadcast. It feels like a dusty museum piece, playing to an almost empty house the night I visited. Talented actors, a fine production design, all on display for what purpose? When one can download the original in a few minutes and be frightened by Welles himself, what could the intent of such a performance be?
That almost empty house preyed on my mind while writing this review. There is no worse feeling when you love theater. But I have to be honest, all that reverential recreation made for a dry night out. The confines of this conceit are just too restraining for SCENA, which only released itself into what it does best – chaotic surrealism – in the final minute. It all adds up to lost opportunities. And considering this is a remount of their 2006 production, the safe choices are even more mystifying.
At first glance, this seems a respectable production to introduce you to Welles’ infamous prank about a Martian invasion. It’s well-acted with good production values, taking up an easy hour of your time in the H Street Playhouse. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
John Tweel and Madeleine Carr in Solas Nua's "Improbable Frequency." Photo credit: Dan Brick
A spanking new office building behind Union Station’s train tracks is a strange place to find oneself for a night of theater. Ushered through a blindingly white lobby, up the elevator to the sixth floor, greeted by a charming Irish lass asking you, “What’s the password?” Well, that’s the sort of night it was – equal parts improbable, uncomfortable, delightful, and unfinished.
Solas Nua is one of my favorite theater companies in DC. Known for their fearless dives into the Irish underbelly, Improbable Frequency is their first musical foray. There’s an enthusiastic cast backed by a live band in a space best described as cavernous. Sadly, preview night was unable to deliver the promised atmosphere of Todd Thrasher cocktails, vintage costumed extras and burlesque dancers working the crowd to create a 1940’s speakeasy – but when these elements are added (cross your fingers on that liquor license) it could help immeasurably to liven up what’s essentially a concrete skeleton.
Our guide through the musical action is Tristram Faraday, a cruciverbalist whose enthusiasm for and ability to solve crossword puzzles lands him a position as an unlikely spy in Ireland. He’s British, it’s World War II, and though the Irish are professed to be neutral there’s some suspicious codebreaking to be done. That alone could cause serious mayhem. But even stranger things are afoot – people randomly acting out bad puns, songs played on the radio weirdly affecting the weather. Throw in a mysterious double agent, a mad Austrian scientist, and the IRA! Tangling out the plot beyond that would spoil the big reveal, so suffice to say it all begins to resemble a parody of a Doctor Who episode. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
Wednesday night I was graciously invited by Erik Holzherr (owner of one of We Love DC’s favorite bars, Wisdom) to a preview of his new bar, Fruit Bat. Located on H Street NE between 12th and 13th, in the spot formerly occupied by the H Street Martini Lounge, my first impression is that it will quickly become a favorite of Atlas District locals, and certainly is worth the trip for those of us in other parts of the city. Tonight is the official opening; here’s a taste of what you can expect.
Erik is part Colombian, and he wanted to give Fruit Bat a relaxed Latin American feel. The most striking feature of the long narrow room lined with simple tables and a bar is the “living wall” that will develop organically as time goes by. Hung on the exposed brick wall are staghorn ferns mounted on wooden boards with grow lights. They’re just babies now but I can imagine how amazingly lush they will make the space as they grow. Fresh herbs are also grown behind the bar and fruit is everywhere. The scent of fried plaintains drove me mad. It all adds to the tropical feel – I think Hemingway and his daiquiri would’ve been right at home.
Speaking of drinks, as you would expect from the owner of Wisdom the craft cocktail menu at Fruit Bat is thoughtfully delicious. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
Clementine Thomas and Brian Sutow in No Rules Theatre Company's production of "Some Girl(s)" Photo Credit: C. Stanley Photography
It’s Neil LaBute’s birthday next week, so it seems fitting that relative newcomers No Rules Theatre Co. are performing his play Some Girl(s) now through March 21st. Many have called him a psychologist of the dark side of the human soul, others a misogynist (personally, I think he’s an equal opportunity misanthrope). LaBute was responsible for one of my favorite films, Your Friends and Neighbors, scenes of which still sting sharp in my mind. Fellow WLDC author Don and I ventured out to H Street Playhouse convinced we would be at each other’s throats at the end of the play, in fitting tribute to LaBute with a raucous “He Said, She Said” review.
Our bottom line? This is a tight production featuring great performances, guaranteed to cause debate afterwards. The play’s age is showing, and a key character seems miscast, but that shouldn’t stop you from heading out to H Street and laughing cruelly as LaBute holds the mirror up to our blighted interpersonal relationships. It seems a pretty simple plot – watch as a man revisits his most memorable flings and exes before his impending marriage. Fun times! Who hasn’t wanted to gloat a little over the ones you left behind? But it’s not that simple, of course.
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By Katie
I met Matt and Patrick, the owners of Capital City Diner, last September. I stopped by the former used car parking lot on Bladensburg Road to tour the then mid-construction diner. They had a chain-link fence up around the restaurant, and there was a gaping hole in the ground where grass now grows. The guys had been waiting on plumbing inspection by Richtek, and Patrick had decided to dig a hole himself for the water connection, since it would speed up the process. The history of Capital City Diner’s permit getting has been well documented here on We Love DC and over at Young & Hungry. In short, it’s been a mess. “Is it to the point that it’s funny? You guys have had such a tough time, that all you can do is laugh.” I asked Matt in December. “No. It’s definitely not funny,” he replied, looking frustrated. I heard a sordid tale of ridiculous permits, incompetent government workers, and a process so frustrating I probably would have just quit. So when I was invited to a soft opening at the diner over the weekend, I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to belly up to the counter on a stool and get a first look at what Matt and Patrick have worked so hard for.
I couldn’t have asked for more. It is exactly what I had pictured when I heard the vision – Trinidad’s first sit-down restaurant serving true diner food to H street hipsters, city workers and neighborhood folks alike. I remembered listening to Matt and Patrick talk about their vision for who would come by. Matt told me about the city workers shifts, and how there isn’t a good place to grab breakfast at the crack of dawn in the neighborhood. He told me all about the neighbors who have stopped by the diner to inquire about jobs, some of them laid off chefs from DC’s hotels and restaurants, hoping to help out. The guys explained their vision of staffing entirely from the neighborhood so that they kept integrated into the tight-knit community, and were able to employ the people that would keep them in business. The more I heard them talk, the more I believed in what they were doing. And while a soft opening, when a restaurant isn’t yet open (they open tomorrow, Tuesday the 23rd, for the public), is a great time to identify issues, figure out processes, and basically work through the kinks, I saw a huge, burgeoning success story. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
"Bull in a China Shop" by Dana Ellyn. Courtesy of the artist.
What’s most shocking about Dana Ellyn’s paintings?
That they’re truthful.
Opening this past weekend at the Evolve Urban Arts Project in the Atlas District, Divinely Irreverent is an audacious exhibit delivering some hard slaps to myths of many kinds – from religion to what it means to be a woman. These are thought-provoking pieces – sometimes outright painful to process – but always rooted firmly in honesty. They are also at times downright funny.
Dana fell in love with the city as a junior in high school, and has been a DC resident for the past twenty years since attending George Washington University. She now has the luck of living and working in a studio in Penn Quarter. It’s a natural partnership with Evolve, whose mission is to promote local talent in a low-key atmosphere, and her exhibit will run there until January 30, 2010.
I was lucky to have a private tour with the artist and curator Eric Hope, and I have to say – if you like your art to reach out and rattle you, get over there now. You’ll love it. And if you prefer your art to be pretty and decorous, well, go anyway. Open your mind to something different.
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By Donna C.
Soon the holiday shopping season will be in full force — so here’s one way to avoid the crowds at the mall.
Next Thursday, Dec. 3, the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum, headquarters of the historic National Woman’s Party, will hold a holiday bazaar from 4-8 p.m.
You can cruise for gifts from 20 vendors, including female artisans, selling eco-friendly products, jewelry, paper crafts, art, textiles, fine tea and chocolates, plus items from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. There also will be music, wine, refreshments and free gift wrap.
It’s the perfect excuse to sleep in on Black Friday.
By Don
‘Every Food Fits – Fitting Alcohol into a Balanced Diet’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’
Advisory Neighborhood Committee 5B10 wants to clamp down on alcohol sales along Bladensburg Road in NE, so if you want to put in a restaurant along there, well, you’d better have a big conglomerate behind you.
There’s actually two parts behind the request that will be discussed in a public hearing on October 21st from 1 to 3pm; The first part is probably a little more palatable to people, though I think it more negatively impacts the poor. The ANC would like to put a stop to all single sales of alcohol in their area, with the goal of cutting back on “litter, public drunkenness, and loitering.”
The second is more troublesome, I think: they’d like an ongoing moratorium “to prohibit any restaurant that is not a part of an established chain of restaurants from obtaining any temporary, conditional or permanent license to serve and sell alcoholic beverages of any kind on its premises.” Precisely what constitutes “an established chain of restaurants” is unclear and will presumably be hashed out in the public hearing, but I’d say it seems like a rather unpleasant restriction on local entrepreneurship.
By shannon
‘H Street Life’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’
Welcome to another edition of Where We Live. This week we’ll be looking at a whole section of the city that is rapidly changing: the section of Northeast DC north of Massachusetts Avenue and south of Florida Avenue. This area has a LOT of different names: Near Northeast, H Street, the Atlas District, NoMa (for NOrth of Massachusetts Ave), North Capitol Hill, and the list goes on. This part of town is known for the new office buildings in NoMa, the retail/theater/restaurant district on H Street NE, and the quiet, residential neighborhoods that surround them.
History: Florida Avenue was once called Boundary Avenue, and was the northernmost boundary of Pierre L’Enfant’s plan for Washington, so this area was part of the original City of Washington. H Street NE has been the site of major transportation milestones in the history of the city: the Bladensburg Turnpike was a tollgate and entrance to the city, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was constructed in 1835 and the proximity to Union Station transformed this area, in 1849 H Street itself was built, and the H Street Streetcar was opened in 1872. The streetcar spurred a great deal of development in the area, and streetcars were running along the corridor until 1949.
Throughout the 1900s the area was a major commercial hub of Washington, with department stores, theaters, and restaurants lining H Street. However, the riots in 1968 following Martin Luther King’s assassination devastated the neighborhood, and many businesses, theaters, and restaurants moved out to the suburbs. On H Street, the suburban-style, car-oriented development created pedestrian-unfriendly environment, and the lack of a nearby Metro station meant that the area remained a car-focused corridor. However, in the last several years, the area has seen a resurgence in development. It is now home to a thriving theater scene, a variety of restaurants, and a growing number of shops. It is once again becoming a pedestrian-friendly district, and with plans of a streetcar in the future, it may one day regain its status as DC’s main commercial district. Next door, NoMa is also rapidly changing from an old warehouse district to a major employment center with over 1,000 hotel rooms, 8,000 residential units, a new grocery store, and new restaurants and shops.
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courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
Fox and the US Postal Service have collaborated on a new set of stamps featuring The Simpsons. The stamps were designed by Matt Groening himself, which is kind of cool, considering the enormous commercial enterprise built around these characters.
Anyway, the National Postal Museum is dedicating Saturday, July 18th to the Simpsons. The first 1,000 visitors to the museum that day will recieve a first day cover, with the stamps canceled on their first day of issue. (View a sample.)
By Tom Bridge
When a fire decimated the inside of Eastern Market early in the morning of April 30th, 2007, the city lost one of its own best monuments. Built in 1871, architected by Adolf Cluss, Eastern Market was the city’s first enclosed produce markets, a supermarket before Giant, Safeway or Magruder’s were even a twinkle in their founders’ eyes. After 26 months of restoration and renovation, Eastern Market reopened today, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Mayor Fenty, Congresswoman Norton, Council Chairman Gray, Council members David Catania, Tommy Wells and Kwame Brown, and former Council member Sharon Ambrose.
The new interior of Eastern Market features all of the 2007 vendors, from Canales Meats to Calomiris & Sons fruits. The $22M renovation also features, to the relief and delight of all, Air Conditioning and Restrooms. Chief among the renovations, though, is a full fire sprinkler and alarm system designed to minimize damage and alert the authorities.
We’ll have a bigger feature on Eastern Market this afternoon in the 3pm Feature slot.
By shannon
‘The Shape of Colors in DC’
courtesy of ‘Gen Jones (Gen-esis Photography)’
This week we’ll be looking at the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This neighborhood could probably be called the largest in DC, since essentially anything east of the Capitol, north/west of the Anacostia River, and south of Union Station is generally known as Capitol Hill. The area is home to so many great places, from Eastern Market to Barracks Row to Union Station, and it also has some of the best historic architecture in the city.
History: The hill that the Capitol sits on was originally called Jenkins Hill (or was it?). Pierre L’Enfant decided that it would be a good location for the “Congress House”, and before you knew it, it became the center of residential development in our fair city. Because it was so close to the Capitol, congressmen lived in Capitol Hill boarding houses, and because it was so close to the Navy Yard, it was also home to craftsmen and laborers. The neighborhood continued to grow throughout the nineteenth century, and many historic rowhouses in the area date from this era. It was mostly a mixed-income neighborhood for the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, the fringes of Capitol Hill were hit hard by drugs in the 1980s, and as recently as 2000 crime was out of control in Hill East (if you get a chance, check out Jim Myers’ description of that time in The Atlantic). Most of the area has bounced back, and Capitol Hill is now the city’s largest historic district and one of the city’s greatest neighborhoods.
Neighborhood Character: The neighborhood is certainly one of the District’s most diverse. You’ve got empty-nesters, long-time residents, recent college grads, families with small children, and Hill staffers all mixed together in a few square miles. Hill East resident Shaun says, “My fiance and I live in a condo that’s home to Georgetown law students, Hill staffers and a retired woman who’s lived at our intersection for so long, she remembers when the new condo around the corner was a crack house.” Historic rowhouses make up the majority of the housing in the area, with a few apartment buildings and condominiums throughout the area. Commercial development is mostly located along Pennsylvania Avenue, 8th Street SE (Barracks Row), and around Metro stations. The area is quite pleasant to walk around, with brick sidewalks and mature trees and beautiful views of the Capitol.
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