Brad Pitt Has Your Secret Shit: Rolling DC

Not serious about wanting a gun. Serious about being broke, bored, and bothered. Entertain me please?

hi j. lu

Hi, how have you been?

this election season needs more I DIED

yeah I'd be posting more except that I have tried putting Palin's head on Doctor Casino's other photos and it just doesn't work as well.

http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/3/9/26/f_headm_76efe7d.jpg

case in point

hello, I am in Oslo airport, I shall be here for some time it seems.

holy shit i love you i died

The atomium is not used enough for hilarious photoshops, god work.

Also that is the closest she ever got to foreign parts, I think

WOW.

I have missed the DC thread, frankly. Though not so much the Saturday morning too-many-beers-at-Big-Hunt hangovers.

I miss the photoshopping.

I love everyone.

I'm gonna edit this thread title tomorrow so it has to do with that new coen flick. nobody panic.

when is beers o clock?

There. Go Skins.

last night you could follow the debate walking down 18th, even over the downpour. maybe not such a shocker but slightly odd nonetheless, in person.

i had to be at work during the debate. and today from 11-7:30. all hands on deck until election day!

i will make some photoshops when i am back in the office.

did this the other day
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp127/deanofsomething/flying-dawkins.gif

Wait was that really insane football video from way back (sandbox, maybe?)? Someone flying through the air in a ridiculous manner. I can't remember any other details, sorry. But it was awesome A++ would watch again if someone knows what the hell I am talking about.

OH WAIT IT'S THAT GUY UP THERE INNIT?

YEAH HE DID THAT AGAIN! this video is from last week!!

FLYING DAWKINS

http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/3/9/29/f_partym_13ed283.jpg

Wow.

The cigarette is an especially nice touch!

^^^^what happens when you meet without preconditions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102203346_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008102300047&s_pos=

"She's like one of us, just a normal, hardworking person, not someone from D.C. " said Ivan Capps, a Bureau of Land Management records manager who attended a Palin rally in Grand Junction, Colo.

fuck youuuuuuuu

http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/3/11/5/f_votem_35b8ffb.jpg

the special prize we get for being #1 Obama supporters is that he's gonna come live here!

not just him: On a chain-link fence erected by inaugural construction crews [near the White House], someone hung the sign: "Welcome Home Malia and Sasha!"

from the Post article on last night's partying. U Street was just, wow

http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/3/11/5/f_14um_e357205.jpg

that was my view around 11:30 last night, insane

They call it the White House, but that's a (increasingly) temporary condition.

To each his reach, and if I can't cop, it ain't mine to hang.

hey guys we have to get this thread going again now that DC is the new BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD!

I SO want to move back.

Damnit.

I am officially retired from breakdancing in the street. Ow.

http://www.slate.com/id/2204096/

hey Slate: fuck youuuuuuuu for reprinting a 15-year old column about "life in DC" and saying "it's still remarkable how little of the city's character has changed."

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/3009215557_30259c2b97.jpg
orange line extending to NY? rendering of new 2nd Ave subway entrance.

oh man that would be the best i would buy so many records and work pays the smartrip

that's the part of the upper east side with all the fresh-out-of-college banker types and shitty bars

So, I'm coming to join your cool place-to-be city some time around February. Pretty jammy timing. I've visited before but only for 2-3 days. I think I'll be living somewhere near Dupont Circle/19th, if I take over the apartment of the last incumbent in the job...

cool

our football team is awesome

I get to learn the football rules!
Is that a real TV show embedded in that vid somewhere?

nah.. DC go go band Mambo Sauce had this song out for a while and finally made a video for it, so.. that's what they did. chuck brown shows up at the end to tell the police to let them go, I guess is the gist of it

Even your cheerleaders go on tour!

I'm still trying to get my head around 15K ppl in DC voting for McCain? TOO MANY I DEMAND RECOUNT.

TOMBOT can you embed the mambo sauce vid at the top of the thread? tks.

I'm still trying to get my head around 15K ppl in DC voting for McCain?

http://latenightshots.com/

who all had logins to there? I miss the roffles ;_;

WAU

http://dcist.com/2008/02/06/reality_show_ba.php

oh shit

OH SHIT

awesome

I can give LNS invites if anyone wants

^_^

can read such threads as:

- Stolen undergarments on Saturday
- Manipulating men into LTRs and marriage
- FATTIE, but great in bed. Keeper?
- Is it possible to be super smoke and humble at the same time?
- whats the website to order generic Viagra
- How did you make up for election night depression?
- any hill staffers wanna release some tension?

FATTIE, but great in bed. Keeper?

omg

Is it possible to be super smoke and humble at the same time?

username on this question was "bho choom gang" right?

See I always assumed the LNS crew lived in Bethesda/NOVA and thus would not be fucking with DCs polls.

no much of LNS lives in DC west of rock creek park! Like YOU!

Yeah actually I think some of them live directly below me. PICK UP YOUR CIGGY BUTTS DOUCHES.

who wants to pal around w/ terrorists next week?

Busboys & Poets
Mon, November 17
6.30pm
Author Event, William Ayers

hey whatever happened to stephen x

HE DIED

well, maybe. I don't know.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/no_restaurant_for_you.php

sala thai is fine for delivery and take-out? I don't understand the point about mediocrity somehow profiting from the restriction - if a restaurant truly sucks, it goes out of business, no? As pointed out in the comments, Adams Morgan is packed to the gills with bars and restaurants and I wouldn't say it's any kinda amazing dining district. Brains, tell me how it is.

Sala Thai is eh. I used to eat there plenty before Rice and Regent Thai opened. Now I pretty much just do Rice since the last time I went into Regent Thai it smelled distinctly like rat poison.

This overlay needs to get changed but it's not really a problem as it stands - I know plenty of people looking at opening up in that corridor and they don't expect any problems getting a zoning exception.

I think new building in DC should require all retail on the ground floor without restrictions - this would drive retail rents way down and would negatively impact efficiency of new development somewhat, but it effectively translates to having developers subsidize cheap retail. Because of the building height limits DC retail spaces are overpriced and we lack a proportionate population to support retail, so lower rents could do a lot of good.

Mediocrity does profit from restriction sometimes - like with cabaret laws in NY.

I think the biggest factor in keeping bad restaurants open is lack of reliance on repeat business. Woodley Park is a great example of this - it's got the same demographics and a similar streetscape at Cleveland Park just up the street, but it's got a bunch of shitty places and Cleveland Park has, generally, very good ones. The large hotels in Woodley Park mean there are a bunch of tourists and conventioneers coming through who are going to eat at that random indian place or wherever because it's right between the Metro and their hotel - I don't think it's the locals keeping that row in business.

I don't think Yg's argument is valid here given the current state of development along 14th/U St. There are a lot of older struggling places in that stretch that would actually be less expensive for a restaurateur to buy out and remodel than a new space would be. If Sala Thai is able to stay open despite not doing very much business that just means they'll eventually be bought out by another operator that thinks they can maximize their volume in that space.

our football team is awesome

― T-PALIN (daria-g), Friday, November 7, 2008 4:25 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

RIP

Inauguration Organizers Plan for 4 Million on Mall

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703672.html?hpid=topnews

woah

shit is going to be lunacy

and fucking cold as hell

apparently i don't care about going to the inauguration, but i still want one of these

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/11/20/obamas-mug-on-dc-subway-cards-for-inauguration/

#

Have they done this for previous presidents-elect? If not, this is a blatantly partisan move by an organization funded with taxpayer money.

Comment by Ryan Lile — November 20, 2008 @ 3:33 pm

my favorite part about this is that if you click dude's name it takes you to a site to buy $100 designer dog bowls

I enjoy the fact that this thread is easily found in the search engine by querying for "pitt shit"

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION FOR BRAINS.

when would you be available to check out PROPERTY with your bro me
whenever is fine 'cause we just started looking and I haven't bothered about a lender yet

but tis the season for getting sweet deals on exposed brick & etc

Tombot taking the property-ownership plunge OH YEAH.

I just got back from a very brief visit to your fine fine city and I am still getting over the fact that I'm going to be living near the fabulous Kramers book store rather than here. Though Kramer's website is a bit self-congratulatory, or at least the video is. ETA now some time in February, so will miss the Mall madness...

Kramerbooks is a fairly small bookstore with an OK selection and decent beers and shitty food. And it's open 24 hours on the weekend. That's all.

TOMBOT I am on crazy schedule for the next 2 weeks but should be OK to look at some places after.

I live in Swindon now, so an ok selection and half decent food will do me fine for now :-) I'm afraid I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to cities at the moment...

Recommendations for better bookshops very welcome, thanks in advance...

Second Story Books in Dupont is pretty okay for used stuff. Other than that. . . Olsson's used to be the other big indie bookstore around here, but they shut their doors. So you're stuck pretty much with Borders and B&N's.

Thanks Mr Que. My colleague whom I'm replacing there also recommended Second Story Books, but she worked in Swindon for even longer than me, so I should not rely on her warped judgement...

I'll drop the excited puppy thing now. I'm showing up provincial England. I'm capable of getting over-excited by Whole Foods as well.

oh hey, I will be in DC tomorrow

I should have said something sooner, yeah?

just tomorrow?

yeah

I'll be around! TOMBOT has my #.

i gotta spend the day w/family in the MD suburbs. not really looking forward to it, though prob won't be all that bad. theoretically i would be home about 8, but who knows.

I'll probably get called in to work on some bullshit premise as soon as I get dressed and walk out of my house

goddamn circus.

tom I told you not to take that job with the circus.

US-CIRCUS

Not just tomorrow! J and I will be here thru Saturday.

Email me at djperry @ gmail if you want to do drinky type things

all this time I've spent wondering, who do I e-mail if I want to do drinky type things, and it was BLACK SEINFELD ALL ALONG!!!

ha

City to be renamed "Obama, DC" January 17 - 21, 2009

Obamavegas

hey, the new Day the Earth Stood Still DVDx2 is more fun when you map the chase of Klaatu all the way up Connecticut Ave.

lol those fuckin' irish morons who own the fuckin' jury's hotel shut down for renovations on november 2nd

wait morbius are you describing an actual special feature on the new version or did you just break out the paperwork and a grease pencil while you were watching

Unless I'm mistaken, he's talking about a new release of the original movie (ie the DVD is new, not the movie).

fuck, the jury's isn't gonna be a bargain anymore?

that's my favorite place to stay in town

xxxp: haha, neither, but I said "oh yeah that looks like Columbia & Ct." They did an awful lotta second-unit work in DC.

I'm not sure how much if Klaakeanu lands on the Ellipse, I don't want any part of it...

The D.C. Council Tuesday night voted in favor of extending last call to 5 a.m. during inauguration week.

Hey Dan I am available for post-work gathering tomorrow somewhere in the downtown-ish vicinity (note: my definition of "downtown" is pretty much the whole of the district, plus select MD stops on the red line).

Unfortunately Mr. Que has class on Thurs.

dan went back to boston last sunday, he got sick of waiting for "those ridiculous 'q' people"

you ques, you lose

hahaha OK I should have made note of the date posted, huh?

My baseball covention next summer is at the JW Marriott Pennsylvania Avenue, $179/might + tax, oh fuck that.

uh, that's a good rate

for rich motherfuckers

http://www.marriott.com/specials/senior/default.mi

funny, Que (I'm in the most youthful third in that crowd)

for rich motherfuckers

it's a good rate for a good hotel on the Mall, motherfucker

(you want to do better, check the Tabard or the Jurys Normandy (promotional rate), both of which will require more walking in humid DC on the hottest coupla days of the year)

don't need to sleep on the Mall, assface

tell your fellow geeks not to have a convention there, then

Why the hell are all you non-DC ppl on the DC thread? Get your own damn thread, douchebags!

Mookie is of course welcome as he is a former dcilxor. Gabbneb's time in the District does not count.

there's also these places

http://www.thedupontcollection.com/

WHAT DID I JUST SAY?

did someone say somethng?

;_;

hey dan give us a heads up next time yr in town, would love to hang. sorry we missed you

in fairness, I gave my brother a 72-hour heads-up confirmation that we were, in fact, going to be in town (we'd said we were coming but hadn't actually made plans)

Mookie is of course welcome as he is a former dcilxor. Gabbneb's time in the District does not count.

On which side of this line do I fall?

I lived there for >6 years, during which time I
a) Had lots of drinks
b) Ate lots
c) Met, moved in with, and married Mrs. B.L.A.M.
d) Attended law school

May I continue to post, or am I doomed to remain a deemed lurker of the (Capital) Dome?

if you've been a Hunan patron you don't even have to ask.

BLAM is totally in. Dan is an honorary. Oh what the hell I love all of you, post away.

ok this is kind of random but if anyone is interested in downing good cocktails at christ0pher h1tch3ns's house and donating money to a really good cause (DC youth writing center) pls email me. lolomgwtf at gmail.

I have had scotch with christ0pher h1tch3ns at his house! Really nice apartment. Lots of books.

i am not from dc and will leave immediately so quincie doesn't yell at me, but i just had to stop by to commend Wi11 on winning the awesome gmail address game

ha thanks. i also have development @ gmail. if you want CVs from the subcontinent i got em

my time in dc just about parallels BLAM's, except for the law school. was really ready to leave the city when i did, but now i really miss it. scotch at h1tch3n's place sounds great! i once had breakfast at at table next to him, he looked really hungover and barely said a word.

i'll be visiting again for the 24 hour drinks around inauguration day. yes!

Damnit, I miss DC.

And DC misses YOU.

I may be back for a brief time after Christmas. Stay tuned.

I really do not want to go outside today.

I kind of like this weather.

great winter to be unemployed

Is there really any good season to be unemployed?

winter?

RONG

no I see his point. mr. que posted this on another thread once:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/opinion/25robb.html

The MARC broke down at New Carollton and then my hat blew off on the way from the subway.

Yeah the thing is I sleep better knowing there's a check in the mail.

KKvsG: better get a new hat--cold as tit out there.

dudes have you looked at the "Dirtbike Friends" flickr group lately

:D
:D
:D

sorry quincie.
I wish it were possible to hate darren sproles as much as it is possible to hate pee rivers

we were watching the game at james hobans and right after the final touchdown the jukebox started playing LOVE WILL TEAR US APART. it was http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=77&threadid=286

WTF @ DIRTBIKE FRIENDZ

GUYS

NEXT DOOR to BEN'S is basically OPEN
they will be FULL ON FOR THE INAUG
I have told the head bartender he should get some ALE TO THE CHIEF from avery brewery but anyway
WE SHOULD DRINK THERE

srsly you can just hang out and have la chouffe or allagash in bottles and just eat ben's chili all day watching football at the giganourmous bar with like 9 fuckoff big HDTVs and that shit is like brand name for real all the way

also they apparently hired "chef rock" from teevee who is going to help them formulate amazing kitchen magic but I'm like dude everybody is just going to eat half smokes come on

Being able to drink, watch tv, and eat Ben's in one place should pretty much be illegal or at least highly regulated. But until it is I'll be happy to take advantage of the situation.

Also speaking of inauguration we need to figure out MEGAOBAMAFAP2K9 situation!

yeah I am pretty much sold 100% on hanging for at least some period of time at NEXT DOOR (to BEN'S) sometime during the run-up; as per bro'ng out on the 20th itself things are probably limited for me because I have to show up at 8 FUCKIN AM the next day somewhere on NY ave for INDOCTRINATION TO SERVING THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

R3-V4 still hasn't figured out whether she is gonna be working in an official capacity or not but I am definitely NOT working in ANY capacity from the 16th-on

Here is the thing about the 20th - I think we should fap at a bar during the ceremony and just watch that shit on TV - it'll be early and warm! That's my plan, at least.

of course that is the plan, we all live here, plus, not insane/stupid/insane-o-stupid

I mean the fuck, if I gotta get up at fuckin' morning times and go downtown the 21st anyway, why I'm gonna do that two days in a row?

that made sense when I typed it. seriously though all I mean to do is strongly recommend next door to ben's as the hang-out-place for some day that weekend and the 20th too if we can get some seats

So much Obama at Ben's Chili Bowl coverage

hey guys the list of places going for the later alcohol sales for inauguration weekend is up and it includes HUNAN PALACE?!?

Do you guys have the day of the inauguration off?

yes, but had to work a weekend day to make up for it

http://www.pushback.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/gtowninauguralball.jpg

trenh0lm b0ggs!

lol darcars "his dad's got a dealership man"
I hate white people

oh, god no
guys we know u are all young republicans there is no need to do this

I have the inauguration off because I am quitting my job this friday

you are white despite your ethnic name, El Tomboto.

I might be white but that doesn't mean I'm people

you are a fed now are you even allowed to quit?

I mean your job, not being white

i wasn't going to come down for this, but now...

this article is even more cringeworthy than you can possibly imagine.
Chefs Settle Down in ‘the Real D.C.’: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/14wash.html

Ms. Cashion calls H Street “a kind of post racial Georgetown, as it once was before the national retailers staked their claims there.” She’s consulting on the Mexican menu for the H Street Country Club, which is supposed to open in February. It will feature an irony-laden miniature golf course that requires putters to work through the swinging briefcases of K Street lawyers and shoot around Marion Barry, the former mayor and councilman.

jesus christ on a cracker^^^^

seriously. this was so bad.

i am so not reading that article again tomorrow when i get the paper

let's just start with the hyper-obsession with the race of every person interviewed and each neighborhood in this city. what was this story about - a demographic breakdown by ward? who writes this shit?

and that line about best Belgian beer selection in the city is so laughable. In a city where most restaurants have a strong Belgian beer selection. I feel like she went to one place, saw they had Chimay on tap, was super impressed, and deemed them "the best". an entire article made up of throwaway lines. Congrats NYT!

Some people call it the Atlas District, others call it lower Capitol Hill and still others say it is Trinidad. The area had 22 killings in 2008. “I don’t care what you call it, it’s still the ’hood,” Ms. Clark said.

H St bugs me out, I hardly ever went there even when I lived 5 blocks away, but.. really poor neighborhoods just around the corner & then you have a place like Granville Moore's where you can't get a beer for less than $8. hated worrying about muggings and break-ins but I guess they happen here @ dupont a lot and I just don't pay attention

hey I DIED, did you know Marvin was another quasi speakeasy? LOLOL

i don't understand how playing miniature golf with Marion Berry and briefcases equals irony

see, a bar serving very expensive drinks to hill types is not enough like a country club, that you have to make a theme of it being a country club

a cool, P. M. Dawn feeling

AAAAAAARGH THAT ARTICLE

COULD REFUTE 240% OF IT

FUCK YOOUUUUUUUUUU

?? i have heard a lot of music in there but never heard any p.m. dawn, i dunno. p.m. dawn are okay, it's just not a connection i would come up with.

(x-post) that is the situation as I see it

(x-post) this city needs more PM Dawn

lol NYT articles about DC are always so special

this city needs more PM Dawn

^^ this. more early 90's hip hop/r&b anywhere, i got four compilations of new jack swing not long ago.. hadn't heard some of those songs since 1992 <3 <3 <3

"GILLIAN CLARK calls fried chicken the curse of the black chef"

hmm that is so interesting as your restaurant offered a fried chicken dinner for the four years it was open

Ms. Clark’s parents are from Panama. She graduated from a Long Island, N.Y., high school. She enrolled in a French-influenced cooking school and was first taught by French chefs. But whenever she opens a restaurant, people want her to fry some chicken.

“I’d be more at home making knish,” she said.

wow because you had a fried chicken night but never a knish night

I would like the early 90s fried chicken/r&b dinner why because it look so interesting

Later this year, Ms. Clark plans to open Georgia Street Meeting House in her working-class neighborhood in Northwest Washington.

... in the ground floor of a luxury condo development

knish are superfrançais come on

“It’s such an interesting time for the real D.C., because for years there has been a whole lot of nothing going on,” Ms. Clark said.

yeah the years when "nothing" was going on was when you opened your first restaurant, when property values rose, when chefs planned the outposts they have now, when developers courted restaurant tenants to make an article like this possible.

Diane Gross and her husband, Khalid Pitts, just wanted to live, work and eat out in their neighborhood, which bridges Logan Circle and U Street.

Initially, their brokers didn’t get it. “When we were looking for a space, they all wanted to show us the Hill,” Ms. Gross said.

Diane u a liar I have worked with commercial real estate brokers during this time and it was all DOWNTOWN and GEORGETOWN, the hill was way back on the list.

p.s. I love the drinks at your bar, though

guys you know what I can't WAIT to see what matt yglesias has to say about this article!!! maybe mcardle will weigh in too

hang on did I say I can't WAIT? HA HA I MEANT I CAN'T WHITE

"That not only means black eating next to white, but gay next to straight and young next to old" - NYT on Cork, 01/09

"Black, white, straight, gay, young and not-so-young: They're all gathered on U Street NW in what looks as if it's been around for decades rather than merely one year." - Washington Post on Marvin (three blocks north of Cork), 10/08

I mean seriously

I don't care if you're black, white, that guy in the riddler suit or a gym twink! You can eat chicken in this town.

Downstairs, where a huge folk art image of Mr. Gaye dominates one wall, the restaurant feels like a stylish American speakeasy.

... a speakeasy with wide open windows and a sign. Maybe if you want to write about something you think of as a speakeasy you will write about the place next door. OH WAIT you are writing about that this Sunday.

TOMBOT OTM re: riddler suit

One good way to see the changes around Washington is to jump in Ms. Clark’s car for a tour, which I did last week. She starts out with a stop at Columbia Heights Coffee. Five years ago, Ms. Clark said, good espresso from a La Cimbali machine was unimaginable in this neighborhood.

please to note two people shot within a stone's throw of this place in the last two nights.

yeah, well

the espresso is that good

Ann Cashion, a chef who has helped start many food careers in Washington, including Ms. Clark’s, lives there. The neighborhood, she said, “is truly still black, Latino and Caucasian in almost equal measure, despite the introduction of lots of new housing and D.C.’s only Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.”

No another Bed Bath & Beyond opened three years ago on 7th St. Also the restaurant you sold last year that still carries your name is not very good despite the $25+ entrees.

Columbia Heights vs. the setting of Road House

ed the car toward an even tougher neighborhood, bouncing over a few dozen blocks of rough asphalt northeast of the Capitol. Some people call it the Atlas District, others call it lower Capitol Hill and still others say it is Trinidad. The area had 22 killings in 2008.

“I don’t care what you call it, it’s still the ’hood,” Ms. Clark said.

okay this is actually incredibly OTM, from personal experience

oh shit, are they writing about the place next door this sunday? shit. it was full on a wednesday last time i was around there. what days can you actually go in there without a reservation any more?

who the fuck DOESN'T know that Trinidad is our Little Beirut

One of the most successful is Granville Moore’s, where people line up on weekend nights to work through big, steaming bowls of large mussels simmered with bacon and wine, and dip perfect hot fries into curry mayonnaise. The place also has what might be the best Belgian beer list in the district.

No, Brasserie Beck, which is only a mile away, has the best Belgian beer list within 2000 miles at least, followed by about 5 places in Philly.

lol daria I swear to god maur33n d0wd is going there this weekend

Tina I am very much enjoying your fisking of this horrible waste of everyone's time A+++

Maureen Down is going to Trinidad? Praise the Lord.

Ms. Cashion calls H Street “a kind of post racial Georgetown, as it once was before the national retailers staked their claims there.”

lol. just lol.

It will feature an irony-laden miniature golf course that requires putters to work through the swinging briefcases of K Street lawyers and shoot around Marion Barry, the former mayor and councilman.

FYI this place was supposed to open 18 months ago, and will suck ass when it does.

Just reading the tidbits you've reposted here makes me want to move across the anacostia river or something. Jesus. RIP U ST U USED TO BE COOL

oh no, i despise her. can some people not let her in, maybe? pleeeease?

ny-laden miniature golf course that requires putters to work through the swinging briefcases of K Street lawyers and shoot around Marion Barry, the former mayor and councilman.

“The D.C. culture has evolved now to a point where we can be proud of it,” said Lee T. Wheeler, the artist who designed the course.

u are the problem, not the solution

(xpost) no I am going to hit on her an convince her men are necessary

And no one knows whether the economic downturn will stop the restaurant revival cold.

oh actually everyone knows the answer to this and it is YES

... just based on my experience in talking to many more restaurant and bar owners than were interviewed in this article.

i want to run into her and be like "maur33n who? sorry i don't even know who you are"

also ESPN2 is replaying redskins-niners 1983 NFC title game dudes! john riggins! darrell green! the hogs! JOE MONTANA

daria sundays thru tuesdays are cool there still. No guarantees after inaguration blowout 2k9.

yes! Brasserie Beck. I was going to say that clearly has the best Belgian beer selection in town - but was blinded by my rage from this asinine use of column space. and that is a very high bar to cross on any day with the NYT.

http://www.dcfoodies.com/2009/01/beer-news-good.html

this really sucks for me and Tombot as we enjoy many single beers from a variety of craft brewers. Argh. I live in Ward 1 and not exactly sure which parts of the ward are covered by this.

btw when Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont moves to its new home a block east it'll have a 10 tap birreria!

Wuz reading on the city paper young and hungry food blog about a New York writer for politico.com I think, who was supposed to come up with 10 DC restaurants worth eating at, and she listed only 8. She said that was all that she could come up with that met her NYC standards.

she writes one of those every couple years, no worries

sucks about the single-beer ban. i bought 750ml bottles quite a lot when living in dc. though usually from chevy chase liquors on conn. ave. that's ward 3 right?

i might move back to dc later this year. i miss it more than i thought i would.

yeah that's ward 3

Is that roller derby girl art exhibit at a gallery (forgot the name)worth seeing? How about the Jubilee exhibit at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum? I haven't been there in years. Heard Texas Fred talking about the Jubilee exhibit on WPFW and the NY Times just mentioned it.

Cory Oberndorfer’s paintings combine the visual language of graphic design with the subculture of flat track roller derby. Oberndorfer elevates roller derby players to iconic status with bright colors and simplified, stripped-down forms. While having the look of mass production and silkscreen, these paintings are actually meticulously hand-painted. at the gallery at flashpoint

http://www.flashpointdc.org/venues/art_gallery.html

Is it quiet enough yet to go to Ben's or Ben's next door?

No on Ben's but you can get lucky at Next Door. I was able to poach a couple of seats from a young couple that were on their way home Monday night. Ben's is pretty much our Wailing Wall or the Kaaba at this point.

like, you circle the structure seven times, and then you get a half smoke.

Bill Burton, the press secretary for Mr. Obama’s campaign who is following him to the White House, predicted changes in the Washington restaurant scene’s pecking order.

Already, he said, Cork, a relatively new restaurant in the Logan Circle area of town, is becoming a popular spot for young, incoming administration hands, many of whom have moved to the neighborhood in recent weeks. 1-14 NY Times

please don't get me started again

lol terps

DUKE SUCKS

note - ben's chili bowl has calmed down a little bit, uh.. only about a 20 minute wait to get (vegetarian) chili fries around midnight? i couldn't really eat too many of them. it was nice stopping by though, i used to go there a lot in 01-02. they have a big obama picture on the wall now.

Visiting from 27 Jan-7 Feb, mostly working/compulsory worksocialising but if anyone's free and wants to have a coffee/drink would be great, esp on 30th/31st. Moving out properly at the end of Feb, if the human resources dept manages to work out what I'm allowed to ship before I have to get out of my house. Feel a bit weird announcing my impending arrival since I'm about 9/10ths lurker and 1/10th poster, so consider this spam from some random Britisher.

SOME NOTES

1. a surprisingly good brunch option is sette osteria next to the benetton/G-STAR RAW on connecticut/20th - go there, get the poached eggs on toasted bagel, order a side of mozzarella and a side of proscuitto and stack your own benedict, plus, excellent hot bloody mary and no crowd

2. marvin is okay, I recommend the allagash tripel since their price for it is pretty comparable to what you'd pay in a store. Momo's still has the best burgers around U st for some reason

3. I think everybody officially knows about Next Door now, oh well, more room at the saloon?

4. Carson from Queer Eye was hanging outside Busboys & Poets this afternoon. No idea.

Welcome ljublajana; would be lovely to get a drink with you upon your arrival, just post with your availability/approximate location as the date gets closer. Please note also that ILXDC prefers the term "britishes" to "britisher" and thus expect to be addressed accordingly.

What is this "Momo's" and why would I eat a cooked hamburger when I could eat raw hamburger at Dukem?

xpost - thanks, will do that. Approx location will be Dupont. What's the singular of britishes, or will I exist in the plural?

"britishes" is both the singular AND the plural. As in "LOLbritishes be wanking over soccer again especially that one britishes dude MattDC."

Americanses
Americaners
Amerikles
or simply Americas

Magic People of the Eagles

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/Eisbaer29/34fgmk2.gif

From my predecessor in the job - Hi Ljubljana - I went out for brunch with (future landlady) yesterday and we had a quick chat about things. Firstly, she would like to meet you next week and has suggested a novel outing. Her husband is the executive producer on America's Most Wanted and has suggested dinner on Saturday, plus a trip to the studio to see the show being made - would you like to do this?

Ph - wh - er, yes.

lol a high-school ex of mine used to do re-enactments for AMW

lol yanks

2-3 inches of snow = everyone freaks the hell out, schools close for "winter storm."

welcome to DC, by the way! i will get drinks.

Shortly before a meeting with business leaders on the economy at the White House, Obama said he wanted to make an unrelated comment to the press. In a slightly amused tone, he noted this his daughters' school, Sidwell Friends, was canceled today because of a snow and ice storm that hit Washington.

"Because of what? Because of some ice?" Obama said to laughter around the table. He said Sasha, his 7-year-old, pointed out that in Chicago, not only is school never canceled for snow, "you'd go outside for recess. You wouldn't even stay indoors."

He concluded by saying: "We're going to have to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town. I'm saying that when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things."

oh man I'm sorry I disappointed you by walking slowly on the ice on the way to work today, Mr. President :(

gary williams = insecure asshole, exhibit 5369

"Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything. She is an associate AD."

wow @ all the quotes!

"Yeah, and it wasn't my fault that they're not here. You know, that was somebody else's call"

"Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything. She is an associate AD."

"Why do they jump on me all the time?"

"It's somebody else's call. Who said University of Maryland's call? Nobody. Why can't I say that? This is just giving you guys stuff to make me look bad."

"I don't want to get into that now. No comment."

"Take a look. I coach here. I've got to live here. That's the way it is. I've coached here for 20 years, long before anyone else was here. Nobody was here 20 years ago."

he needs to retire already

3 more years on his contract I think, and the school has no money to buy him out (in this economy).

Sunday anytime for drinks if anyone can make it? I'm at Dupont, but can travel anywhere as long as there's a bus or metro - in fact it would be nice to get to a new area. I only really know Dupont Circle (not even far past the actual circle), bits of Georgetown and the little bit around Ballston metro.

Cultural points so far:

Your cab drivers are friendly but not psycho friendly
People stop and politely offer help if you look lost, this is very very nice
Your hotel breakfasts are extortionate
I do not know what A-1 sauce is
Never inadvertently touch anyone softly with the edge of your coat in a bar

someone take her to a super bowl party

Sorry, forgot about the superbowl! Next week may be fine also one eve.

How's the visit going?

Deeeeeeeeeeee Ceeeeeeeeeeeee. I alway like how Russ Parr says it.

<3 russ parr
did you hear the zodiac sign part?

Nope. I like the friday morning at 8 "wrong song" segment but it wasn't on this a.m.

sorry, I was out of contact. The visit's been going pretty well. New job panic and all that but I've got three weeks to get that under control. I head back to the UK tomorrow and then I'm back here on 26th Feb. Two friends just told me they'll both be in New York that weekend at the end of Feb so even though I'll have just arrived and should be getting ready for work I might have to get that Chinatown bus I've heard so much about...

Yea, and if that one won't work for ya the bus has competition from other bus lines now

just crickets here

I am right now on Skype to Comcast, arguing with them about why they can't just switch the internet service into my name

Good ol' Comcast...Always impressive with customer service

DC Folks be working all the time I guess, when not not going to dj nights and stuff--see the ilm Capital Swamp link
Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

Thanks for the link - maybe the move will get me back out to gigs

Not music:

Sietsema in the Post magazine section only likes expensive restaurants, so why do I keep reading him every Sunday? I think he blogs and/or does a chat too, but I've never bothered.

if you read him every Sunday, why do you think he only likes expensive restaurants?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/urban-burger-company,1135558.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/w.-domku-bar-and-cafe,1111346.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/spider-kellys,1152350.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/bars-clubs/stoneys-bar-and-grill,806077.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/pike-pizza,1145487.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/nava-thai,1131986.html

It just seems that way to me Brian. I guess I exaggerated a bit although I haven't analyzed a year's worth of items. Plus I think I remember reading someone say that in a note to him, so it's just not me. Maybe also I've been just reading more Tyler Cowen lately and he covers all sorts of cheaper Northern VA restaurants that Sietsema never mentions (and he throws 'digs' at Sietsema too re some of Sietsema's dc faves)

yeah, Cowen is valuable but also has a tendency to list places that have been closed for two years, and a lot of his feedback (by necessity) is based on single visits.

Sietsema generally tries to highlight places with the best food, which (not coincidentally) tend to be the higher end places. I think he's largely beyond reproach in his taste and fairness. There are always balancing complaints for him - some readers think he doesn't cover enough cheap places, an equal number of readers get upset when he does cover a mom & pop joint and throngs of people show up. Some complain he doesn't cover enough restaurants outside the beltway, some complain he doesn't cover enough in DC.

Do you read T0dd Kl1man's coverage in Washingtonian? He's very good and does tend to highlight less expensive places, his dirt cheap eats list especially has a lot of worthwhile finds.

Tim C@rm@n, who writes for the CityPaper, kind of specializes in finding the rare or unsung dishes and places on the cheaper side, but often errs on the side of overpraising an establishment based on a compelling backstory rather than the actual quality of the meal or experience (lol typical altweekly review problem, amirite?).

also Cowen mentions too many places he hasn't actually been to (although he does always mention this).

I like Kliman best, then Cowen and Carman. Maybe I need to splurge some time on one of Sietsema's "best Food" places and I would appreciate him more. I kinda feel like he overrates decor.

As a restaurant designer, I may be in the wrong position to judge there.

I shoulda tried a Sietsema fave during restaurant week

oh man restaurant week is the worst time to go to a nice restaurant - they're way overbooked, the menu is typically dumbed down, and the servers are overworked. Better to find a place that has a good pre-theater or special menu (T0sca, R@y's the Ste@ks, 2941) or a lunch deal (V1dalia, Pr00f, Restaurant 3ve).

There is a pretty broad consensus on what the best restaurants are - all four of the Washington P0st's four star restaurants are in the W@shingtonian's top 10, an overlap you'd rarely find with music, movie, or art critics.

Thanks. So have you been to Inn at Little Washington, 3ve or any of the other pricey ones that always top the lists? Do you think they're worth it?

Will I really like them better than the Sichuan food at Hong Kong Palace out in a strip mall near a Home Depot in Falls Church, or Mynamar, a Burmese place out in Merrifield, or any of several Eden Center places?

I have eaten at places all over the map, and the tasting room at Restaurant Eve remains the best meal I've ever eaten. 2941 is second. But those are "occasion" places; I'm not even sure I use the same scale for those as for Eden Center meals (which are also grebt, btw).

I haven't been to Inn at Little Washington - it's 100 miles away and it seems really over the top frou frou from what I've seen. But I have been to the other three and I think two of them (CityZ3n and K0mi) are absolutely phenomenal - the other is very good but I didn't think it hit the same heights.

I don't know if you'd like them better than suburban asian joints. I can tell you they have better food, better service, and better atmosphere - and I say that as a fan of the aforementioned suburban asian joints. The staff at these places is as passionate and engaging as they come, they love what they're doing and they want you to have the best meal of your life. I don't think that's necessarily the case with a lot of older more formal high end restaurants.

Just like with lower end restaurants, you'll get out of the meal as much as you put in. If you go to Hong Kong Palace and don't engage with the server and order the most americanized dishes you're not going to think it's a great restaurant. It's the same with going to a place like CityZ3n - if you're nervous and don't let the sommelier help you with the drinks, don't ask the server about what might fit your tastes, and don't really engage with the meal, you're not going to have a great experience.

Oh and the Sietsema web chat often teases out mentions of / shoutouts to some less hoity-toity places - just because a review is necessarily confined to one place, and the chat is more able to touch on a larger sample.

anyone eaten at brasserie beck? i stopped in there for a drink last week--delicious smells, very friendly bar staff, atmosphere felt very 'this is a goood restaurant'. my stomach was full of teatr0 g0ldoni restro week duck so i stuck to drinks.

I had lunch there on Sunday. They have very very good beers (best Belgian selection on the east coast at least?) but I'm always happier when I think of it as just a bar and ignore the restaurant part.

ah. got any specific beer recommendations?

Ask them if Thor is working and get a suggestion from him - he's great. Otherwise, the De Regenboog Kerst they have on tap now is fantastic. If you sit at the bar when it's not busy they're usually happy to give you a sample of whatever they have on tap to help you decide.

Back for keeps. Have a long 'locked out of apartment' story but too tired and embarrassed to tell it. All well now though. Need for wireless access dictated Cosi as dinner spot.

Not amazing, but some decent photos in dcist.com show at Flashpoint

good luck snow

Aww man, the Feds will only cancel if it goes over 8 inches or something

so i finally went to the gibson last night. great place. had my first vieux carré, very nice. my friend was joking with t1ffany the bartender about quizzing her on ingredients in mystery cocktails, and i asked if she could identify the specific ingredients and brands in a cocktail just by drinking one. she says, "no, but this guy [I DIED's name, i think??] comes in here and does that sometimes." and said you designed the place, too? if so, wow, nice job!

lol I am famous only to bartenders

a good crowd to be famous to imo

that is a+ fame

man this same bartender made my friend what she called an escalade, a manhattan with 23 year willett, dunno if it's a real drink or custom-made, but WOAH that was a good manhattan

oh man anything with the 23 year willett is bound to be great, I have made myself a manhattan with that at home and it is unbelievable. And not really available outside DC!

Where'd that guy go who used to be at brasserie beck with Thor?

idk what this thread even is but brad pitt was rumored to be in new orleans the same week i just was. i didnt see him though :(

(xpost) he's beer director at the de vinos stores now.

How's this Out of Hours thing at the Hirshhorn? Anyone been?

Er, After Hours I mean

generally good, but very crowded and sceney.

better to see most exhibits during regular hours and focus on the special installations/music at the events.

thanks, might give it a go. I saw some of the regular exhibits last week. I loved this:

The NY Times on the Obamas and D.C.

How about a tasty meal? The Obamas have enjoyed white-tablecloth dining at Equinox, Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, B. Smith’s and Georgia Brown’s, and street-corner casual at Ben’s Chili Bowl and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

awww pretzel walrus and his gf gave me THE WAY THINGS GO DVD for my bday in january!

Ummmm, I just don't get the cherry blossom thing.

aw c'mon, they're pretty!

I have similar looking trees in my Arlington neighborhood and no tourists are stopping by to look at them.

I did the compulsory foreign transplant visit to the Tidal Basin on Saturday at 8am and it was already pretty packed. I like them. There's one across the street from my apartment that I can gaze on.

so, i probably won't have at least my same job, or maybe any job at my organization, by the end of may. change is good & all, have an idea of what kind of place i'd like to work for & what field, but on the other hand.. have some time to think on it & wondering if i should take the opportunity to pick up and move out of dc.

Oh noes! To lose you and 69 in so short a span would be too sad!

Is 69 going to Cali or elsewhere?

already gone to SF :(

missin mah doggz

<3

...although this tasty 2.75 BBQ pork bánh mì is easing my grief

(btw amy d sent me a link yesterday about new phở place in columbia heights that is supposedly good but is charging like NINE DOLLARS for bánh mì. UH isnt the point that it's cheap??? stupid TARGET mark-up. it's just gonna end up another place that's shittier than what langley park and annandale and columbia heights potbelly can offer)

DOESNT ANYONE CARE ABOUT MY TROUBLES

dead to us

charging like NINE DOLLARS for bánh mì.

Saw this on dcist.com Apparently they're pushing a combo, the banh mi sandwich and soup and sumptin else for $9, but you can get just the banh mo for half that (but it's not obvious on the menu)

I went to Beijing earlier this year - mid February, so it was still cold and rainy - and actually saw people lining up to take picures in front of multiple fake cherry blossom trees in front of a few department stores on the main shoppig drag of central Beijing.

Crazy.

Also - 69. How's SF treating y'all?

its great! anni3 got a job at UCSF, we got record shelving, we saw I LOVE YOU MAN last night and missed zack and emily, and we're trying out all the local pizza, and it's all like mall pizza so far.

have y'all tried that indian pizza place--shakey mo turned us onto it on the SF thread when we were out there last fall--fucking great

no but we were talking about it on wednesday! which place is it??

shakey mo lives like 1 block from me

zante's

i was suspicious
but
it was delicious

lil young mc over here

Back over here the $20 3-course lunch at Vidalia is still the deal of all deals. James Beard Award winning cooking, pick from the whole menu, oh my gosh.

still goin? is it to become permanent?

yeah dude I tried to hit you up for that today but no luck :(

― suggest bahn mi (I DIED), Friday, April 10, 2009 8:10 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

UH yknow suzy's walkin around with the same handle right dogg

WAHT

had no idea

will modify

if the Vidalia lunch special isn't permanent it's at least running indefinitely.

also a killer lunch deal at Proof, an entree (from a list of six) and a glass of white or red wine for $12.

wowwww that IS a good deal!

guys my next door neighbor is playing music really loud, it is some terrible amy winehouse cover

WHAT CAN I DO

fight back with 'friends in low places' at high volume

to save your village you may need to destroy it, etc etc

do you have any helmet and or jesus lizard

isnt there a split record?

yeah i have LIAR somewhere (prob at work?) and GOAT on vinyl but in a drawer back home b/c i have no turntable

dude has turned off the music though

Where to take visiting Britishers gay friend for best bits of DC scene on a weekend? bar-wise rather than dancing?

I guess you winged it, or got the answer elsewhere.

Is this just taking cheaper food and marking it up in price, asks cheapskate me?

from GOGs washpost blog:

Three years after he sold his popular Breadline downtown, Washington baker Mark Furstenberg is getting back into the retail business, this time with a 70-seat restaurant devoted to his current passion: street food from around the world

Yep, winged it especially as it was thundering and raining - went into the first bar we saw on 17th - no idea what it was called but it was ok, with huge white leather posing sofas.

(xpost) it's taking cheaper food and using better ingredients and paying downtown rent so the prices are higher.

i am dining at minibar in one week.

i am excited.

I haven't been in a couple years but it's AMAZING.

that is just what i wanted to hear. (the second part, anyway.)

later that night, junior boys. cinco de mayo perfecto.

Spirit Catcher @ Muse this Thursday
John Selway @ Muse this Friday
Wolf + Lamb @ Comet this Saturday
Junior Boys on Tuesday

busy week

the only one of those i can attend is jb :(

Obama's making the restaurant rounds--Citronelle with his wife, and now Ray's Hell Burger in Arlington with Biden

i can recommend he check out minibar (though it wouldn't be good for the optics). pretty amazing.

somehow i'm going to that $$$ cocktail party at proof tonight. dropping more dough on food/drinks in one week's time than i usually do in like four months.

excited, though. 10 cocktails on a monday night. yeah.

see you there

lol my username may be very accurate in this case - I lost my phone after the dinner last year, although it certainly didn't help that I went out for drinks afterward, too.

hey guys, i am playing at comet ping pong next month, is it cool?

It is! It's in a kind of residential part of town but it's a neat pizza place with a backroom they've been using to do really great shows & DJs in the past few months.

Yeah, I've really enjoyed myself the few times I've been. Nice, intimate little venue.

sweet. i am definitely going to eat the #4 when we're there.

xpost - cool, i'll keep an eye out for you.

make sure to get the chicken wings at comet. they are...good. very good.

ooh.

cool, i'll post when i find out the date but it'll be sometime between june 17 - 22.

They got back to you, cool. That's great. I've been e-mailing your buddy. Working on a Baltimore show

thx for the help, steve!

i take it back, we're doing thurs. june 18th at chick hall's surf club

huh.

is that a bad huh?

nah, just surprised. place has a lot of history, but mostly as a country/zydeco venue. curmudgeon would know more, i'm sure. i didn't know they did rock shows now.

i don't even know if your band is rock

not rock

it's new orleans brass band music, so that place might be a cool fit

yeah that makes sense

I told them about both Comet and Chick Hall's and both were contacted and alas, only Chick Hall's was interested.

Does anybody have any suggestions on where they could play a quick free set during the day at a streetcorner or something? Like in front of a Smithsonian museum? This is the other idea I am trying to encourage them to try. There used to be (or still?) a House of Prayer gospel brass band that played near Dupont Circle I think. And I think there's still a paint bucket go-go drummer or 2 near Natural History.

Also, any Baltimore ideas? I think 8 by 10 is booked, and An Die Musik has not responded.

These would be in addition to the Surf Club

I bought a condo. Fenty is doing a walk through the hood on the 27th! Have you guys checked out http://dc.everyblock.com/ yet?

two guys bought a diner, the kind you can move on a truck, from a town in upstate ny. they want to open dc's first "real diner" on a bladensburg rd lot that used to be one of those money laundering car dealers. follow the ensuing hijinks: http://twitter.com/capcitydiner (for best results read from bottom up)

(dcra is the dc dept of consumer and regulatory affairs)

dcra is the scourge of my days

i've yet to hear anything positive about them, ever. surprised someone there has a twitter account!

from everything I've heard, the dcra twitter feed is really helpful!

Not sure how they're working out all the code issues w/ the diner - it it possible to get a building relocated from another state grandfathered? What about accessibility/emergency egress path requirements? I have enough trouble getting regular construction to meet the latest codes so it's hard to imagine how an old diner will.

yeah, i have no idea. it sounds like they thought they had everything good to go, but perhaps they were clueless.

are dc's codes particularly tough? or is it more a question of finding out exactly what dcra is looking for to satisfy them? like, where does breakdown occur that seems to stop so many new businesses from opening or existing ones from expanding?

DC enforces code a lot harder than most other cities and the permit office is understaffed and generally screwed up.

I bought a condo.

o_O

I mean I knew about this, but seeing it on ilx is blowing my mind a little bit.

everyblock.com looks like facebook for a neighborhood--mine's even showing party photos at the moment. much easier to scan their crime reports than inspector d3lgado's yahoo group emails.

Anyone signed up for the DC Police Alert texts or emails? It's pretty awesome, nice to get violent crime reports within minutes rather than days.

Parking in DC sucks, guys. Please build a supertrain to pittsburgh, please.

of all people, ed, i would have thought that you'd have ridden your bike

one of my friends from undergrad is on the team that built the everyblock, they started it up in chicago. so cool to see it taking off.

i sort of envy the guy because he didn't come from an IT background at all, but went on to do so much great work for progressive organizations & now has this thing going. most def winning at life right now.

if they could somehow integrate freecycle offers...yeah.

I like how DC was giving out parking tickets in residential neighborhoods to folks whose cars allegedly stuck out too far down from their driveway.

And y'all been following the Adams Morgan issue re pulling liquor licenses from places that don't sell enough food--Bossa and some other place so far.

yeah fuck those places imo - the way DC has gone about enforcement is kind of heavy handed all of a sudden but these places have been operating in clear violation of their licenses for years.

I do not understand how the licensing works for 'restaurants that sell alcohol'--How do they arrive at the percentage of food a place has to sell? How do they decide how many places can only be restaurants with liqor licenses rather than bars with liquor licenses and no food?

And if Bossa is closed, can it only be replaced by an establishment that also has to follow the 'restaurant with liquor license' rules rather than the bar with liquor license and no food rules?

I'm just asking, as I do not know enough about it, but do you think the DC license system is fair and that places in "clear violation" (I read that Bossa claims it came very close last year to meeting the proper percentages) have no reason to complain?

Do we still drink?

File this under "Be careful what you wish for," but I'm getting nostalgic about frat parties and have a hankering to see a bar fight (from a safe distance).

Now here's something to talk about over brews and the right amount of food in a properly licensed establishment--- I see in the Washington Post that the Mayor's former substitute teacher in school is now (as a civilian not employed by DC) driving the mayor around town and getting millions of dollars for his private business from the mayor's administration.

I do not understand how the licensing works for 'restaurants that sell alcohol'--How do they arrive at the percentage of food a place has to sell? How do they decide how many places can only be restaurants with liqor licenses rather than bars with liquor licenses and no food?

The issue is that many bars and nightspots in Washington are operating under restaurant-class licenses, which require businesses to derive either 45 percent of their gross receipts or at least $2,000 per seat in food sales. (The other usual option is a tavern license, which doesn't require food sales. Those are usually limited, though, and some neighborhoods, including Adams Morgan, have a moratorium on issuing new tavern licenses to prevent a buildup of bars.)

Keep in mind that $2,000 per seat per year is very very little - $5.95 per seat per night will get you there.

And if Bossa is closed, can it only be replaced by an establishment that also has to follow the 'restaurant with liquor license' rules rather than the bar with liquor license and no food rules?

Based on the Adams Morgan license moratorium, yes.

I'm just asking, as I do not know enough about it, but do you think the DC license system is fair and that places in "clear violation" (I read that Bossa claims it came very close last year to meeting the proper percentages) have no reason to complain?

Yes - the business owners know what the license class is when they start the business and what the requirements are. Skirting the regulations here isn't doing the neighborhood any good and heavily contributes to Adams Morgan being the hellhole it is.

But aren't some of Adams Morgan's problems caused by "taverns" and not just the 2 "restaurants that sell food" that were shut down--Bossa and Bobby Lews?

And isn't the issue in some way just like the issue is/was in Georgetown--too many knuckleheads (from DC, Md, and VA) who drink too much in both types of licensed establishments, and establishments that are happy to sell more and more drinks to people who should be stopping at say 2 drinks?

So hypothetically an "I Died" designed and promoted establishment in Adams Morgan could meet the food and drink rules and help establish a reason to go to that part of town?! They may be wrong, but Bossa claimed it was not so easy.

I'm going to be in DC for about 24 hours next week (one night). Any recommendations for dinner and breakfast/brunch?

argh, there was an awesome place on U Street that TOMBOT took my brother and me to but I can't remember the name, super awesome brunch spot tho

oh man where to start.

oh I know: ethiopian (Dukem, Queen Makeda, Madjet).

speaking of u street brunch, is hominy any good?

Ooh I love Ethiopian and SF is weak(er) than some cities on it. Do you have a preference on any of those three (it looks like they are all in the same area)?

no hominy

I like Dukem in general - solid performer.
Queen Makeda is sometimes wonderful but very quirky and slow.
Madjet I like, but maybe not as much as Quincie does.

no hominy meaning you haven't eaten there, or it's no good?

But aren't some of Adams Morgan's problems caused by "taverns" and not just the 2 "restaurants that sell food" that were shut down--Bossa and Bobby Lews?

One of the issues is that there are, according to ABRA, 16 places in Adams Morgan licensed as restaurants and operating as taverns - a very substantial total impact. The problem in Adams Morgan isn't that assholes go there, it's that due to the density of the places it crossed the asshole event horizon and attracts those people in general, leading to the marauding hordes looking for anyplace to go. And the places that are supposed to be restaurants are happy to not act as such in order to serve them.

So hypothetically an "I Died" designed and promoted establishment in Adams Morgan could meet the food and drink rules and help establish a reason to go to that part of town?! They may be wrong, but Bossa claimed it was not so easy.

It's not easy to meet the food requirements if you've established an image that doesn't include that, and you have an insufficient infrastructure for it. It's hard for Bossa to sell food because people only think of them as a bar - but that's only because they spent years acting like they were just a bar.

I haven't eaten at Hominy but every restaurant in that space has sucked, and their new chef's previous restaurant sucked. Maybe two wrongs will make a right in this case but I'm not spending my money to find out.

What's the less fancy Ethiopian restaurant right near Etete and DC Nine on Ninth just below U st. called? I kinda liked that about as much as Dukem.

Expo? Axum? There are quite a few on that block!

Rolling DC thread, can I beg a favor?

I'm moving to DC in late June / early July, and I'm looking for a place to live with my gf. We have 4 "wants":

1. Close to metro and/or rail lines surrounding DC (within a 10 minute walk to a train, preferably, since I don't have a car)

2. maximum of 45 minute commute into downtown DC (I'll be working at EPA)

3. A small yard would be cool, to plant a garden, but I realize that might be tricky. Maybe if nothing else, access to a relatively close community garden.

4. Under $1250 a month.

Can anyone recommend a neighbor? Or even another city, Alexandria, etc? We visited Baltimore last month to see a friend and weren't that impressed, plus the commute would be on the very edge of what I could handle each day.

Can anyone recommend a neighborHOOD?

Although neighbor recommendations could come in handy as well!

I'm too new to help ZS, but I'm registering general interest in a drink, maybe when ZS gets here?

argh, there was an awesome place on U Street that TOMBOT took my brother and me to but I can't remember the name, super awesome brunch spot tho

Polly's Cafe, perhaps?

Can anyone recommend a neighborHOOD?

Takoma Park, MD (just outside DC) springs to mind upon reading your wants.

x-post...I think it's Axum that I liked. So many Ethiopian restaurants around there

Okay so I think we are going to try Dukem. Any brunch/breakfast suggestions for the next day? Also anything happening this Tuesday night? Is the Washington City Paper the best place to find events?

Z S--you maybe could find a basement apt satisfying those criteria in the neighborhoods of Shaw (i'm thinking around 7th St NW, fairly close to U Street, which is a popular nightlife/restaurants/retail neighborhood), or Bloomingdale (farther east+south, less developed, maybe too far from Metro). your commute would be easy. dunno how you feel about basement apartments.

the seventh street garden is around there (actually on 3rd st now)
http://the7thstreetgarden.squarespace.com/

just a warning: community garden space hard to come by these days. the one I'm in has a multi-year wait list!

Oh and what is your crime tolerance? Important question, actually.

dunno how you feel about basement apartments.

I lived in one in Chicago for about a year. The only thing that bugged me was the lack of sunshine. I'd be willing to consider living in one again, though, if the price was right and the location was nice.

community garden space hard to come by these days

Yeah, so I've heard. That's why it would be really nice to have a place with even a tiny yard.

Oh and what is your crime tolerance?

I have a decent tolerance, but my gf would probably prefer somewhere on the safe side. Not a gated community suburb or anything, but being able to walk outside at night to a corner store without fearing a beat down would be nice.

Okay so I think we are going to try Dukem. Any brunch/breakfast suggestions for the next day? Also anything happening this Tuesday night? Is the Washington City Paper the best place to find events?

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:00 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Dukem and some of the other Ethiopian restaurants sometimes have live Ethiopian bands on late. White Rabbits, a Brooklyn rock band who Spoon's singer produced, are gonna be at the RnR Hotel that night, thought that place is over in NE. In addition to the City Paper, the Brightest Young Things website lists dc events, as does the Onion's decider column, and on Tuesdays dcist.com and the Washington Post website's Going Out Gurus list recommendations.

Hmmmm, I wonder if there's any reggae happening (dj-wise or band-wise) on U st that night?

"I Died" could probably help with DC breakfast/brunch ideas.

Lunch places around the Capitol/Museum area would be fine too actually.

Live Ethiopian would be great.

I think Dukem has live Ethiopian acts pretty much every night, they also serve late so you can catch dinner & music usually around 11pm.

slim pickings for lunch around Capitol/museums - bunch of hot dog carts, mostly. Mitsitam, the cafeteria in the National Museum of the American Indian is quite good.

Teaism, at 8th & D NW, is pretty kick ass generally.
http://www.teaism.com/Restaurant/PennQuarter7.html

There are a bunch of options heading north on 7th St, Jaleo is probably the best of them fairly close to the Mall.

Oh noes- just noticed Dukem site lists entertainment every night but Tuesday

http://www.dukemrestaurant.com/events.htm

I bet there must be one Ethiopian restaurant open tonight late with music.

Alex, you can go see Chaka Khan Wednesday afternoon for free if you'd like at Wilson plaza near the Reagan bldg from noon to 1:30

So much rain. When did this place become Seattle.

argh, there was an awesome place on U Street that TOMBOT took my brother and me to but I can't remember the name, super awesome brunch spot tho

ULAH BISTRO

I may still be coming to town for baseball con at end of July if UI and family charity keeps me afloat!

All right, asking for advice. Do I have more drinks - I guess I am near the breadsoda - or do I go home and watch this C Breillat film (la derniere maitresse - d'Aurevilly, Asia Argento, Roxane Mesquida FTW)

drinks at Bourbon or Breadsoda!

Lequel? All right, going to the breadsoda since I haven't been. I guess there is this basketball game so there's some justification for having another glass or two.

who needs justification anyway

I might. It's not football season yet.

I'd like to thank all professional sports for making it ok to hang out in a bar. I rarely do fwiw, and I MISS FOOTBALL

^ i agree with all parts of this post

twin peaks tuesdays at velvet lounge starting tomorrow. always meant to watch the entire series and this will finally give lazy fond-of-drinking me the proper means to do so

There is a restaurant called Confit opening a couple blocks from my place oh shiiiii...

i like the sound of that

any lunch recs near dupont circle? on the 18th my band might do some busking over there before the chick hall's gig.

Jordan, you should also consider busking at the Wilson Plaze, near the reagon building after the lunchtime gig ends at 1:30; or maybe before it starts at 12; then metro up to Dupont Circle.

Teaism at 2009 R. St is one idea...
What do you folks think of Malaysia Kopitiam, 1827 M St. NW
or the Greek Deli, 1120 19th or more expensive fare such as...

http://food.theatlantic.com/abroad/why-dc-should-be-a-food-destination.php

xp - i don't live in dc anymore but malaysia kopitiam was one of my favorite restaurants there. curry gluten, laksa noodle soup, satay tofu... yea it's a really good restaurant.

Maybe sticking with vegetarian options is the secret to good meals at Malaysia Kopitam - I've eaten there several times and always walked away disappointed, usually due to the low quality meat in the dishes.

Greek Deli is awesome - there's always a line around lunch, but it moves fast. Teaism is a great suggestion, too.

You can also try C.F. Folks, just a basic old lunch place with very good basic food, or Pizzeria Paradiso, or Zorba's for delicious eat in/carryout greek.

what do you think of the Atlantic blogger's assertion?

I think DC is a serious food city, but I also agree that it's not a destination food city the way even Seattle is. That need not necessarily be a requirement - LA might not be a destination food city either (perhaps only because non-food elements, like sunshine, are that much more attractive there?) (and maybe it is now with all the trucks and such). But I think that size/layout have a lot to do with it. DC is just not very big. Ok, neither's SF, but come on, SF packs a lot more into a small space. And OK, DC metro is pretty big, but if you're not a native, you're probably not going to be predisposed to hound out all the suburban stuff the way you would in even bigger LA, where you're already going to be roaming around and where there is a lot more density and out-builtness in the various corners and spaces between.

In comparison to most similar size cities (Boston, Houston, Philly, Dallas), DC food scene is pretty damn great right now. There's an argument to be made for Philly as a great food city, but it's really a destination as an Italian-American food culture niche in a way that even NY isn't at this point.

I don't think DC's a destination food city because no particular area springs to mind as far as specialties, or at least the ones that do (Ethiopian, Salvadoran, Vietnamese) tend not to be destination cuisines. What DC's food scene does have at this point (and I wouldn't have said this ten or even five years ago) is exceptional depth and breadth. There's amazing dining to be done in and around the city in nearly every cuisine at every price point, especially now that there are finally a slew of good options in the $12-20 entree range (including Central, the only James Beard Best New Restaurant winner outside Manhattan in the last 5 years [there's a whole rant I've been meaning to get to on the Beard awards, btw]).

I think DC is a better restaurant city than it is a food city - we're still woefully short on markets, specialty shops, and an overall food culture the way it exists in SF or Philly, but I also think it's one of the most exciting places in the country to eat and drink right now.

just to sum up my point - DC's non-food-city-ness may have more to do with how DC is laid out and experienced by outsiders than with the actual food

In DC last weekend, I went to Old Glory and ate 1 x Creole Fried Catfish Wrap w/ Lettuce, Tomato, Cheddar Cheese, Frickles & Spicy Tartar Sauce wrapped in a grilled Jalapeno Tortilla, plus a side of BBQ beans

I'd kill you all for another.

you ate at Old Glory?????

this thread!!!!

Are those exclamation marks meaning "yes" or something else.

Is Old Glory supposed to suck? I've never been to DC before, so I wouldn't know, but that wrap was seriously delicious.

oh whew gabbneb is gone. that was the impetus for "this thread!!!!"

Also: Old Glory.

Not awful, just not a place I'd choose given other options.

In G'town my dining option of choice would be Pizza Paradiso.

come back, we will help u

actually, after searching for ilx dc food recommendations, it was a gabbneb post that sent me there.

food aside, i did find my way to Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville courtesy of am0n's expert instructions. that place beats just about any London record store hands down.

Joe Lee should use that quote in an ad. But I don't think he knows of this site, and his website looks to be fairly bare-bones.

So Jordan, good luck with busking today and Surf Club tonight

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/dining-guide-2009/

City Paper's Tim Carman has a new top 50 restaurants list out. He's going with a Silver Spring place near the AFI Silver as his fave Ethiopian choice.

Jordan's brass band may be busking at 4ish in Dupont Circle for those in that area..

after like five trips down this hallway I finally remembered MY PHONE HAZ CAMERA
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3638414625_3ff370710e.jpg

is anybody else thinking of going to the beer+bourbon+bbq fest this saturday at national harbor? $35 for four hours of "tasting"

omg Tom that photo is an instant classic

loooool

hahahah when Mr. Que and I got married there, the marriage bureau office was just past the domestic abuse office.

they should also have a sign that mentions the syphilis test requirement

or just have

SYPHILITIC RETARDS -------->

So Oohs and Ahhhs the U St. soul food joint made the City Paper's recent top 50 restaurant list. I was neither wowed by that place nor Flavors in Falls Church, is it me(I'm either wrong or expecting too much) or are these places overrated, or something else?

Heard on the news that some folks are now avoiding the first and last cars on subway trains, since that Red line accident

where's a good place in dc to get men's clothing (shirts and trousers) of quality? i normally get my workish clothes at like h&m and banana republic but am ready to shell out a bit for well-made stuff that i'll still be wearing in a decade (too optimistic?). rather than try to interpret yelp reviews or whatever, i thought i'd ask here.

I love Redeem on 14th st.

That whole City Paper top 50 list was more bullshit than even old Washingtonian lists were.

i've been to redeem several times and their stuff is cool, tho my memory is of a mostly, uh, casual selection - but maybe that's b/c it's what i was looking for at the time?

I've gotten a number of blazers there, and have also seen a few suit separates. If you're in the market for more formal stuff, Brooks Brothers has been stepping up their game for real! It's amazing how non-preppy their stuff can look if it's just not paired with a pastel shirt.

x-post. Do you not like the CP list because of the way it appears to be done by food categories (new American, Ethiopian, etc) but then arbitrarily has 2 restaurants for certain categories (a Silver Spring Ethiopian and a DC one)and not for others, or do do you not like Poste or whatever choices that are included, or both or something else.
Not enough high-end ones?

x-post to me; So do you guys consider Jos. A. Banks not high quality enough a clothier

i don't know enough about it to have an opinion--i know the name but not whether their stuff is really that good, where they stand in comparison to other comparable brands etc. that's why i asked!

another thing i would like to know is where if anywhere can i try on apc shirts in dc (i know denim bar has their jeans)

I like Jos. A Banks well enough, but I like Brooks Brothers better.

Will, for clothing in general and for APC here you should check Barney's co-op in gtown.

so glad I don't have to wear suits. will have to be doing job interviews prob in the next month & I hate having to find some very boring business casual type of thing to wear. waaah.

I don't like the City Paper list because it's labeled as the 50 best restaurants in DC and it's not - not only are there restaurants that are clearly among the best in the area missing from the list, but there are restaurants that aren't even good, nevermind great, on there.

can i have your old job y/n

xp

I'm gonna just use the CP list as a source of possible restaurants to try, but yea, I can see that it is not definitive as a whole list.

xpost - thanks!

i'm not really looking for suits at the moment. just well-made and -fitting shirts and pants.

my old job won't exist, that's the problem. though i got so mad yesterday i was imagining that i'd just resign. conscience bothering me about direction of things. i guess i can't afford to be all dramatic, though. gotta pay the rent.

sorry. yeah, i'm on the verge of being dramatic

I got the City Paper thing wrong, as flawed as it is, every restaurant on that list is at least decent. They saved the shorty ones for the staff picks on the website.

I think the CP's Carman lives in Silver Spring or nearby and it seemed like to me he used to cover more restaurants from there and from Wheaton then some of the other area reviewers (the same way the Northern VA based Tyler Cowen emphasizes that area). But he's got restaurants from all over so that might be just my perception.

So I'm moving to Takoma Park! Should be signing the lease today.

It's not comprehensive enough, but there are a few funny bits in the latest Onion re restaurant reviews.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u120/kingkonggodzilla/DenverBarry.jpg

yeah, heh, is that actually on the cover of the print ed.?

It is.

The cover quote regarding Marion Barry on this week's City Paper is:

1. Unnecessary and juvenile and insensitive

2. Acceptable and relevant

3. None of the above

4. Who cares

5. I stopped looking at the City Paper years ago

or

6. __________

7. All of the above

"Loose Lips" p. 6

It was out there for little children to see.

7