Thursday, July 31, 2008

Mid City-Dog Days Of Summer Sidewalk Sale

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Get your cheap on, this weekend at the 9th annual Dog Days Of Summer Sidewalk Sale in Mid City, (14th and U St NW). Aug 2nd and 3rd, smack in the middle of DC's eclectic art/shops district. They'll be tons of participating retailers selling hand-made clothes, accessories from local independent designers, off the wall unique shoe stores, and all kinds of funky shops selling things like magnets to one of a kind items.
There will also be a Saturday Farmers Market that supports local growers. Eat, drink and shop at discount prices. Also this weekend is DC's Tax Free Holiday!!
For a complete list of participating shops, restaurants, bars, galleries and events go to midcitylife.com. For the official Dog Days map, click here.

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

MOJO HD

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If your one of the 30% of American households with a high-definition television, and your receiving those glorious HD channels, you should be familiar with MOJO. A free, dedicated HD channel that blasts out mostly original, unscripted programming, all content in high definition 1080i format and 5.1 audio! More so than any other channel, their content is jaw-dropping in clarity and definition. One of the great reasons to consider the switch to the HD way of life.
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a bus stop poster promoting the upcoming broadcast of the movies on Spike TV.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Oyster Po' Boy at Bread Line

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If your from D.C. and you haven't heard of Bread Line, it's like being from Orlando and not have heard of Mickey. Usually packed by White House staffers, they've been flat-out called the best sandwich makers in Washington D.C., oh, and their small industrial-like bread factory cranks out some pretty good bread too. Sandwiches like soft shell crab, the Cuban on Thursdays are the talk of the place, and from what I've read, EVERYONES favorite egg salad sandwich.

Today for me, the Oyster Po' Boy. Six huge pieces of fried oysters, very good, two were a little soggy,..I don't know what that means,..the other four or so, crispy. A very tasty, spicy remoulade, a little too heavy on the Bermuda onion. All sitting on a layer of seasoned, vinegar marinated cabbage. It was good they carved out the middle of the bun, or were looking at me falling out of my chair and collapsing, leaving me with food in my mouth and convulsing. This Po' Boy was tasty but seemed a little over complicated with flavors taking away from the prize, the oysters. I'm not daunted though, they're know for great sandwiches and am looking forward to trying them all.

Bread Line1751 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington DC a202.822.8900

Banh Mi at Song Que

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My pork meatball Banh Mi sandwich at Song Que in Eden Center, Falls Church Va. There are plenty of shops in there selling these signature Vietnamese sandwiches, but everyone knows that "The Song" is the place for the best. And yes, it does beat out a very good sandwich at Banh Mi DC (3103-C Graham Rd., Falls Church). Here the baguette and the crisp veggies are fresh but are a standard. But the pork meatball filling was so delicate and sweet, along with the light, creamy pate dressing made it the best Banh Mi I've had,..really. The mouth was definitely happy here. Their wide variety of frozen Bubble Tea's are also very popular, did not see anyone there without one, I had the melon and it kicked ass.

The owner also told me I missed chef Anthony Bourdain by a couple of days, he and his No Reservations crew stopped in exclusively for sandwiches, and taped a segment that will feature the restaurant for an episode airing in about 3 months.

Song Que • 6773 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, Va a703.536.7900

Sunday, July 20, 2008

FLYING RODENT

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Ha ha ha ha ha ha haha haHa haHa ha Ha Ha
Just saw it, I thought Heath Ledgers Joker in The Dark Knight was more than I expected. His version of the Joker is the meanest, coolest, clearly the freshest comic book movie villain I've ever seen. Watching him, I was going back and forth thinking about what would of been, or the accolades he would of experienced from this. It's a bittersweet feeling, no doubt.

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

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we've all seen him a hundred times. he's my guy on the internet, he's crashed.
he has broken through the level of content not known by us homo sapiens.
he is "passed-out corgi".

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Gustav Klimt

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" Klimt became one of the founding members and president of the Wiener Sezession in 1897. The group's goals were to provide exhibitions for unconventional young artists, to bring the best foreign artists works to Vienna, and to publish its own magazine to showcase members' work. The group declared no manifesto and did not set out to encourage any particular style - Naturalists, Realists, and Symbolists all coexisted. "

The innovative and timeless turn-of the century art of painter Gustav Klimt.

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"Tree Of Life", Stoclet Frieze, c. 1909

iklimt
capitol of culture -bbc

HippieFest 2008

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The second annual rock-revival HippieFest '08 will be making a stop here at Wolf Trap on July 30, 2008. So go on down and become a hippie for the day. Some of the line-up will be The Turtles, Country Joe McDonald, Badfinger, Iron Butterfly, Eric Burden, Melanie... The line-up will vary from stop to stop. They'll be a full line of flower power paraphernalia available for sale such as tie-dye T-shirts, caps, skirts, caps, bags, stickers and posters.

Wolf Trap Center For The Performing Arts aPURCHASE TICKETS

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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If someone asks you "give me one good reason I should watch the LPGA" you can say Natalie Gulbis.

Good Stuff Eatery

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Spike Mendelsohn cracked the top 5 on the brilliant Top Chef on Bravo. I've watched the last two seasons religiously, and happen to think it's the most purposeful show on all of television. So it was pretty cool to see him slinging the grub today at his Good Stuff Eatery. With local ties and with his family, he's opened a burger joint in Capitol Hill. He's also our newest Caps fan.

Their beef is organic, he uses Vermont cheddar, Ruby tomatoes, dairy fresh cheese, home-made ice cream and shakes, and salads are on the menu served with cornbread. With the new restaurant buzz, I waited 45 min. to order my burger, I was gonna get something light but I said screw it, I waited all this time I needed satisfaction, the "Spikes 5 Napkin" (Vermont cheddar, Applewood bacon, egg, on toasted Brioche), with onion rings, (pictured in the cup), with various dipping sauces that are available. The entire meal with drink, $13.

The burger was rich, lovin the egg, not as greasy as it looks in the pic, the patty was alittle undercooked, the seasoned bacon and cheese helped it along, with the light Brioche. The Vidalia onion rings,..more like petals, were crispy in parts and soggy and undone in others,..it means well but it needs work,...or the resaturant needs time to recover from the massive lines resulting in backed up orders in the kitchen. They have interesting specialty burgers on the menu, one with Daikon and carrots, will have to try another time,..like in two months when the lines are gone.

The place is clean, cool, trendy, distressed wood along with chrome features, the music is cranked, looking forward to going back when it's not so hurried for the customers and their crew.

Good Stuff Eatery • 303 Pennsylvania Ave. SE., D.C. a202.543.8222

Monday, July 14, 2008

Taqueria Nacionale

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James Beard Award winner Ann Cashion's Taqueria Nacionale in Capitol Hill. A strictly carry-out joint, tough to find, (sits next to her upscale Johnny's Half Shell). Here I tried two out of her four signature tacos, the beef carnita and the fish taco. Simple flavors and good! Very similar in prep and taste of all the roadside taco stands I've visited in southern California and Rosarita and Ensenada Mexico.

The beef taco, grilled steak, chopped onion, cilantro, done. The fish taco, Alaskan pollack, cabbage and a light creme salsa. I've read complaints about the "2 thick tortillas" it comes on but every authentic taco I've had out west have them this way. These tacos are alittle over 2 bucks apiece, not bad. I had two but three would of completely satisfied me. You can also take as many small containers of their 3 killer homemade salsa's as you like. Didn't try their horchata (a very common almondy milk drink) but I did have one of their aguas frescas drinks, I chose the watermelon over the sweet mango and orange. Open Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch.

Taqueria Nacionale • 400 N. Capitol St., NW D.C. a202.737.7070

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Baked & Wired vs. Georgetown Cupcake

Baked & Wired
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The two D.C. heavyweights. No hype or build up, for what it's worth let's just taste the things and pick a winner.

B&W: pictured clockwise • Carrot Cake - a super miniature version, a very, very fluffy semi-sweet icing, moist cake • Coconut - a very rich icing, light coconut flavor, super moist cake • Chocolate - great creamy milk chocolate icing, flavorful but crumbly cake

GC: • Key Lime - Best of the 6, perfect sweet to tart icing, fluffy cake • Red Velvet - icing is a sophisticated cream cheese/buttery flavor, a somewhat dry cake • Chocolate Ganache - a deep dark chocolate flavor, thin layer of ganache, semi-moist cake

I'm not really big on sweets but first I have to say all 6 of these cupcakes were OUT OF THIS WORLD. I was ready to like Baked & Wired because of so many positive reviews but I have to be honest and in my completely novice opinion, on this day I gotta go with Georgetown Cupcake. The Key Lime destroyed. Look at it, so smug.

Baked & Wired •1052 Thomas Jefferson St., NW D.C. a202.333.2500
Georgetown Cupcake •1209 Potomac St., NW D.C. a202.333.8448

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Capitol Hill Books

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Morton "Jim" Toole: "....so do you think you got it? The most important thing to do is.... not to panic. If you need to make a decision,....make it. Now I'm going to lunch." he barks out, turning over the reigns of his store to a wide-eyed staffer. Then a quick friendly wink at a customer and he's out the door in his lime green Bermuda shorts.

He is the elderly owner of Capitol Hill Books, near Eastern Market in Washington DC, a brownstone turned new and used book store. If you're not into a book store with very tight quarters or mounds and mounds of books that teeter and looks as if there about to fall on you, this isn't the place for you.

Every city would love and cherish a store like this, a maze of books stacked to the ceiling with corridors often two feet wide. The foreign language section is in the bathroom, autobiography's fill a closet and spill out into the hall. There are bare bulbs to chandeliers to light the way, and classical music is piped in from every corner of the place. They sell novels to encyclopedias to trade publications to first editions and rare books. Every nook and cranny of the property has stacks of books, often eliciting snickers from customers because of it's fantastically organized clutter. Worth a visit. And they have free wine and cheese on the second Saturday of the month starting at 4pm.

Capitol Hill Books. 657 C St. SE • Washington DC • a202.544.1621

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Mandu

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Mandu (Korean for dumpling) is a Korean restaurant on 18th St. NW D.C. This is my second visit, and again it does a great job. Located in the trendy district of Dupont Circle, and just south of Adams Morgan. The streets are pretty busy, theres always a hungry crowd here and I heard they can pack it in for dinner. Long-time Virginia native & owner-chef Yesoon Lee and her son seeks to introduce casual/upscale Korean fare to downtown.
I've tried the Bi-Bim-Bap, a traditional Korean dish that incorporates fresh vegetables with rice. Here it's a winner. This dish can always be used to gage the freshness of a multitude of the restaurants ingredients, because it contains just that. This time around I ducked in for a quick beer and some apps. I had the pork and beef Mandu $5, and the DooBu (pan-seared tofu with egg) $4. (my meal today pictured above for 9 bucks.) I have to tell you, very delish, very good portions, the sesame/scallion soy dipping sauce tasted very genuine, it hit the spot with a cold Sapporo. I grew up weened on these dishes and everything I taste will be compared to my mothers brilliant cooking, and I have to admit, I can strongly recommend the flavors here in the three dishes I've tried. But next time I'll try the Bulgoki, and if it's not up to par??, I'll burn this pompous Kimchi stand to the ground. Mandu has a very small menu, which I think is a good thing here, and the waiters I've had are very young, laid back and very, very knowledgeable of the dishes. The place is small, it's fun/chic, and the prices are great for the District.

,$$$$$ ,20 min lunch wait
Mandu. 1085 18th St. NW • Washington DC • a202.588.1540

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Paprika


Just caught my third viewing of Satoshi Kons ... PAPRIKA. The director of the epic Tokyo Godfathers. It's a tough one to grasp, but it's brilliant. It's worth at least one look because you've never seen anything like it.


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

A War Memorial

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I had alittle time today the weather was bright and warm, I wanted to spend some time and enjoy Washington D.C. without even thinking about where specifically to go. The west end of the National Mall was where I was drawn to. As I got onto Constitution Ave., an always coveted parking space opened up right away, I parked, got out and knew immediately I was in the neighborhood of the few of the most important war memorials in the country. If you've ever been here there is a familiar winding path that starts at Constitution Ave. and leads to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A minute walk and I was descending down that familiar marble walk with the names of the fallen soldiers opening up in front of me, an on-going ocean of names.
And as anyone will tell you who have visited this site, each name seemed great, and important. Focusing in on any one of the names on that wall was moving. And as quick as lightning I realized today, in the unfortunate time when we inevitably construct future war memorials, there can only be one way for us to honor our soldiers killed in wartime. Display their names. I cannot speak for family and relatives who have suffered loss. But to me, sculptures and gardens, fountains and concrete structures moves me less than to read one name, and another name, of a soldier who lost their life fighting. If a soldier is killed in a war past this day, today, and we honor him in memorial, to know his name is to know his life.