Will Rast of Funk Art
@ Fort Reno
Q:What's your song for summer?
A:"'I Ain't Nobody's Baby' by Sharon Jones."
WEDNESDAY: Free shows are becoming harder and harder to find lately. Back in the D.C. punk scene's heyday, one couldn't throw a stick without hitting a free D.I.Y punk show. These days, not so much.
Of course, there are a few exceptions — the Fort Reno summer series or the Petworth house show circuit among them — but it looks like the trend of ponying up $20-$30 to see your favorite band will continue.
Fear not, though. On Wednesday, Crooked Beat Records in Adams Morgan will be throwing a free, all-ages show featuring Baltimore drum-and-bass punk rockers Double Dagger. They don't rely on the electronically tweaked guitars endemic to most punk; their sound sticks to crashing drums and thumping bass.
They are fast, rude — everything a good punk band should be. You won't even miss the guitars.
» Crooked Beat Records, 2318 18th St NW; Wed., June, 17; 7 p.m., free; 202-483-2328. (Woodley Park)
Written by Express' Brian Austin
Photo courtesy Bruce Willen
WITH WARM WEATHER on its way, barbecue season can't be far behind. Be the star of the picnic with delicious homemade macaroni and cheese. Express took to 18th Street NW, a place known for bar crawls where there also happens to be a trove of excellent mac and cheese spots to find tips.
Whether you're starting from scratch or want to update your recipe, chefs offer advice for creating a master side dish.
At Madam's Organ, the buttery dish is served as a side, though it's filling enough for a meal. Chef Alvin Trice's secret is to make sure the macaroni is cooked "just right — definitely don't overcook it or undercook it." He also seasons the boiling water with salt and olive oil before cooking the pasta, for extra flavor.
WITH THEIR DAZZLING stars and radiant sunflowers, Vincent van Gogh's paintings can lighten up the most depressing of rooms. But, sadly, the artist's life itself was marked by darkness. "Vincent" — playing through March 28 at the D.C. Arts Center — implores audiences to ponder this contrast as it questions the meaning behind van Gogh's work, the relationship between insanity and creative genius, and the demands that society makes on an artist.
The moving and meditative play was written by "Star Trek" alum Leonard Nimoy (a man who's dealt with his own artistic identity issues) and is based on both an earlier Phillip Stevens show ("Van Gogh") and hundreds of letters exchanged between the illustrious painter and his brother, Theo.
Continue Reading "Brotherly Love: 'Vincent' at D.C. Arts Center" »
BRANDON GREEN RESOLVED to try his hand at real estate after watching a late-night infomercial in 2000. Bored with his job in sales as an IT recruiter in Silver Spring, Green paid $19.95 for Carlton Sheet's "No Down Payment" video, and applied himself. "My first project was a complete overhaul of a house, 727 11th Street, NE," he recalls.
He financed his first purchase with a federal renovation loan. He flipped the Capitol Hill house for a tidy profit. He was 22, and he was hooked.
Brandon Green is now the principal broker at Brandon Green & Associates (Brandongreenandassociates.com; 2410 17th St. NW, Suite 200; 202-318-1623), a real estate firm affiliated with Keller Williams Realty in trendy Adams Morgan. Like the rest of the BGA staff, he's young (31; the median age of real estate agents nationwide is 52) — and he Twitters. He counts his age and his tech saavy as an advantage.
"Many of my competitors are still strugging with e-mail."
OVER THE PAST couple years, in-the-know foodies have burrowed into underground dining at secret restaurants in New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
In Washington, though, it's drinking on the DL that's catching on. Since Todd Thrasher began shaking and stirring at the speakeasy-style Alexandria lounge PX in 2006, a wave of underground watering holes has surfaced. These bars are featured everywhere from local food blogs to the New York Times, and while some establishments are grateful for the attention, others have a more complicated relationship with the press. On one hand, mixologists want to share their craft with as many people as possible; but, they also want to encourage quality over quantity.
Continue Reading "Undercover Cocktails: DC's New Speakeasies" »
THE PHRASE "Mardi Gras party" can bring the bleary-eyed bead-chucking bonanza on New Orleans' Bourbon Street to mind. Sigh. That drunken debacle is often the most-talked-about attribute of the holiday. But let's mix it up, shall we? Try this: the King Cake.
Ask any native New Orleanian and they'll wax nostalgic about the baked treat served on Fat Tuesday. It's a bready cake that's stuffed with a cream cheese or fruit filling, and topped with vanilla icing and sprinkles of gold, purple and green sugar. Oh, and there's a wee, plastic baby baked inside. Chomping on the baby is rumored to bring good luck — provided you don't choke on it.
Hungry? (Because the thought of eating a plastic tot always whets the appetite.) It's a good thing several local spots are serving this sweet. Bardia's New Orleans Cafe (2412 18th St. NW; 202-234-0420) and Buzz Bakery (901 Slaters Lane, Alexandria; 703-600-2899) sell them for $25 and request 48 hours' notice. Cafe owner Bardia Ferdouski adds that folks who come in Tuesday get a free slice with their meal. Cakes are $20 at Louisiana Kitchen & Bayou Bar (4907 Cordell Ave.; 301-652-6945, 24 hours notice). At Acadiana (901 New York Ave. NW; 202-408-8848) pastry chef Chris Hutcheson is doing them doughnut style (four for $8), with cream cheese filling and a side of icing. But what about the baby?! "I am debating about nestling them in between the stack of donuts," he says. Whew.
IF U STREET is Little Ethiopia and the Northern Virginia suburbs are Little Asia, then Adams Morgan is now Little Mideast.
Brief history: First, there was 18th Street's Amsterdam Falafel, wafting in intoxicated bar-hoppers with the smell of double-fried fries and bundles of breaded chickpeas.
Around the corner on Columbia Road, a former chef at Amsterdam opened up Old City Cafe, which offers a wider menu (breakfast all day!) plus the standby toppings to crown your falafel-filled pita.
Then back at 18th, the crew from Amsterdam opened up Shawarma Spot, padding the menu with shawarma sandwiches, rice side dishes and Mediterranean-themed salads.
But now Amsterdam Falafel and co. has a threat to its monopoly on Mideast treats in Adams Morgan. Enter Shawarma King.
Continue Reading "Shawarma Wars: An Eatery Serves Falafel for All" »
WEDNESDAY: Every Thursday, you log onto washingtonpost.com/gog and beg for their advice. They know where to dance, where to drink and where to take your vegan aunt with a peanut allergy to brunch. They are the Going Out Gurus, and tonight is your chance to hit up their first ever happy hour.
Guru Rhome Anderson (aka DJ Stylus) will be spinning, $3 beers and $4 bourbons will be for sale, and two tickets to Thievery Corporation's Jan. 30 show will be given away.
You didn't know there was a Jan. 30 show, did ya? Those sneaky, omnipotent GOGs.
» Bourbon, 2321 18th St. NW; Wed., Jan. 7, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., free; 202-332-0800. (Woodley Park)
Photo courtesy DJ Stylus
DON'T KNOW MUCH about Scientology? Well, after seeing "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant," you probably won't have a lot more information. But you'll definitely have laughed. The Christmas season may be over, but the Scientology season lasts all year!
» D.C. Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW; through Jan. 2, $25; 202-462-7833. (Woodley Park)
Photo by Amanda Williams Photography
LOTS OF BABIES come into the world bald and wrinkly, but in the new movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," the title character arrives looking less like an infant and more like an old folks' home resident. Which is what he becomes. And instead of growing up, he goes through life getting younger.
As it turns out, that idea actually isn't so curious. "We look at aging as a progressive thing, but it's not," says Michael Roizen, who launched the RealAge concept in 1999 with his bestselling book "RealAge: Are You As Young as You Can Be?" His Web site welcomes visitors to take the RealAge Test — as 25 million people already have — to find out how their choices are affecting their energy levels and life expectancy.
Making the right decisions means rolling back the clock: Quitting smoking can knock off 10 years, maintaining a desirable weight is good for up to six and regular exercise might equal nine. So a person with a chronological age of 75 is able to have a RealAge that's 27 years younger, according to Roizen's formula. "It doesn't mean you'll live 27 years longer," he says. "But we can predict your quality of life."
Of course, making bad calls about your health ups your RealAge, which can serve as a motivator to reverse the trend. "To drop eight to 12 years is as easy as substituting walnuts for potato chips, flossing and walking 10,000 steps a day," Roizen says. His most surprising tip: Make sure your environment has yellow lights and red and green walls. It'll make you more productive.
Continue Reading "Ain't Nothing But a Number: How to Stay Young" »
Addison Road