Going Out Guide

Finding the beach close to home this weekend

Fritz Hahn — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:55:15 GMT

The annual Memorial Day exodus to the Delmarva beaches has begun. Even if highs are going to be in the 60s, we’re expecting tweets and Instagram photos from friends enjoying the first weekend of summer. Unfortunately, not all of us … Continue reading →

Cicada desserts: More than meets the (red, beady) eye

Maura Judkis — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:54:23 GMT

To anyone looking to sample a real cicada — or “flying shrimp” as one Capital Weather Gang reader calls them — don’t look to Del Ray’s Dairy Godmother. The shop is offering a specialty flavor May 31 through June 1 … Continue reading →

Pizza on 14th Street NW, from Manny & Olga’s to Etto

Alex Baldinger — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:41:39 GMT

With three Italian restaurants opening on 14th Street within the past three weeks, the stretch of sidewalk between the neighborhoods of Logan Circle and U Street is earning the nickname “Little Italy.” This means there are now at least seven … Continue reading →

Washington’s great escape

Fritz Hahn — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:16:07 GMT

Maybe you drive through Rock Creek Park on your daily commute. Or you simply know it’s near the Zoo. Maybe you heard that you can hike there. It can be a challenge to figure out just what to do in … Continue reading →

‘Side Effects’ and other new DVDs

Stephanie Merry — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:30:22 GMT

Out this week: Yossi Beautiful Creatures The Last Stand Parker Side Effects Stand Up Guys Struck By Lightning What Washington is watching: Jack Reacher Silver Linings Playbook Texas Chainsaw A Haunted House The Guilt Trip (Source: Redbox, for the week … Continue reading →

El Paraiso in Takoma Park is more Sal-Mex than Tex-Mex

Tim Carman — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:29:46 GMT

It’s not Tex-Mex as advertised, but El Paraiso sometimes hits the mark.

Nine things to do in the D.C. area on Memorial Day weekend

Lavanya Ramanathan — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:55:08 GMT

The weekend’s best in nightlife, music and art. For even more, check out Nightlife Agenda. Friday: Until the National Building Museum and Hill Country began hosting its Friday night barbecues with Hill Country, nothing signaled the arrival of summer in … Continue reading →

This Phish phan had a really good time at last night’s Trey Anastasio show

Amy Joyce — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:37:38 GMT

Sure, it was a National Symphony Orchestra concert at the Kennedy Center last night, but a typical NSO concert? Not so much: Guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish let loose with the NSO Pops, playing a sold-out set which meant more … Continue reading →

AFI Docs begins June 19. Here are four films to look forward to.

Stephanie Merry — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:54:53 GMT

It’s easier for a high school senior to go Ivy League than for a filmmaker to get his or her movie selected for AFI Docs, the documentary film festival formerly known as Silverdocs. A mere 53 films were hand-picked from … Continue reading →

The Capital Fringe Festival begins July 11. Here are 10 things to look forward to.

Maura Judkis — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:39:00 GMT

The Capital Fringe Festival is still two months away, but clear your July schedule for: • 740 performances, mostly by D.C.-area artists. This year, 36 percent of the artists are from D.C. and 25 percent apiece are from Maryland and Virginia. … Continue reading →

Sink into Ceiba for a sinkhole cocktail

Fritz Hahn — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:38:48 GMT

If you’ve tried to travel around the sinkhole that’s currently snarling traffic at 14th and F streets Northwest, you may find yourself craving a drink. Ceiba restaurant, which is located a block north of the sinkhole, has the answer: The bar … Continue reading →

Get your first taste of Hellbender Brewing Company on May 29

Fritz Hahn — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:54:38 GMT

This post has been updated. Get ready, Washington beer lovers: Hellbender, the city’s fourth production brewery, is releasing its debut beer, a Belgian pale ale called “Never Mind the Bollekes,” next Wednesday, May 29, at the Iron Horse Tap Room. … Continue reading →

14 local bars where hipsters haven’t yet ruined cheap beer

Caitlin Dewey — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:25:04 GMT

Hipsters previously ruined irony, thick-framed glasses and — depending whom you ask — large swaths of historic D.C. Now they’ve managed to muck up something else for the rest of us: affordable beer. According to a new report by Restaurant Sciences, an … Continue reading →

Union Kitchen plans live music, happy hours and food trucks in NoMa

Fritz Hahn — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:08:35 GMT

Part Truckeroo, part Union Market, part Crafty Bastards: That might be the best way to describe a new outdoor market proposed for NoMa. The owners of Union Kitchen, a “food incubator” that offers kitchen space for food truck operators, startup … Continue reading →

Ambar’s all-you-can-eat brunch is heavy business

Maura Judkis — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:31:30 GMT

In the food-versus-human struggle that is an all-you-can-eat brunch, food will win. That’s especially the case at Ambar, the Barracks Row Serbian restaurant that recently unveiled a $35 bottomless brunch. It’s a formidable task anywhere, but especially at a restaurant … Continue reading →

A Dozen Weeks of Doughnuts, Week 9: Raulin’s Bakery and Safeway

Cara Kelly — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:00:48 GMT

Our internists are not happy with us. Over the course of the past eight weeks, we have noshed on more than 160 doughnuts in our quest to discover the best the D.C. area has to offer. We have sampled wares … Continue reading →

Glen’s Garden Market makes concessions to ‘local only’ approach

Tim Carman — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:26:09 GMT

Just a month into her ambitious Glen’s Garden Market, which promised to source its products from the states of the Chesapeake watershed, Danielle Vogel has discovered the hard reality of running a business. The upstart grocer has had to add … Continue reading →

Todd English returning to D.C. with MXDC

Tom Sietsema — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:00:24 GMT

This post has been updated. When he took over the former Galileo III space downtown last year, Aziz Safi was mum about his intentions, other than to say the replacement restaurant at 600 14th St. NW would be Mexican in flavor. … Continue reading →

D.C. area fundraisers for Oklahoma tornado victims

Maura Judkis — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:14:51 GMT

This post has been updated. You can help victims of the deadly tornado that swept through Oklahoma on Monday by making a donation to the American Red Cross or other established charities working in the disaster area. We’ll also be … Continue reading →

San Francisco’s Tadich Grill is coming to D.C.

Maura Judkis — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:07:39 GMT

A historic California restaurant has set its sights on becoming a new D.C. power player: The Tadich Grill, the oldest continually-operating restaurant in San Francisco, will be opening a new location on Pennsylvania Avenue early next year. Established in 1849, … Continue reading →

Nightlife Agenda: Daft Punk, Notorious B.I.G. and burlesque dancers

Fritz Hahn — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:24 GMT

Every Tuesday, the Going Out Gurus highlight the week’s best DJs, bands, dance nights and parties. Tuesday, May 21 Daft Punk‘s first album in eight years is kind of a big deal. So much so that there are dueling parties … Continue reading →

Another vegan option for D.C. ramen lovers at Taan in Adams Morgan

Lavanya Ramanathan — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:21:17 GMT

Vegans might have visited Adams Morgan’s Taan to eat ramen this winter, only to find the only way to make the borscht-like vegetarian ramen vegan was to forgo the noodles and the beets. By then, well, it isn’t exactly ramen … Continue reading →

First look at M.E. Swing coffee bar in Del Ray

Tim Carman — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:16:35 GMT

The first thing you notice about M.E. Swing‘s new coffee bar in Del Ray is that the roaster sells cups brewed from single-origin beans only. It’s a total blend-free zone, which is a radical concept for a historic roaster, founded … Continue reading →

Cicada Brood II seems unwilling to deal with Beltway traffic

Alex Baldinger — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:24:05 GMT

Is it time to put away the cicada shovels? Maybe not just yet, but it doesn’t look like D.C. will be getting buried by Brood II, either. Capital Weather Gang’s latest Brood II coverage map shows the most cicada activity … Continue reading →

Etto: A salami bar with a vegetarian draw

Maura Judkis — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:45:14 GMT

Don’t let the pictures of salami on the wall scare you away: Etto is a great new date spot for vegetarians. The newest addition to 14th Street NW boasts a devotion to charcuterie, but if you look past the cured … Continue reading →