Biscuit Bash, a biscuit-themed friendly cook-off benefiting D.C. Central Kitchen and Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign, returned to Art and Soul's patio last night. For its second year, the fundraiser sold out quickly (obviously, word got out that this is a can't-miss delicious event for an awesome cause!) prompting the organizers to close off the restaurant for the evening to allow more people to attend. Chef Hamilton Johnson of Vidalia, whose biscuit took the top prize last year, returned to defend its title. Otherwise all the restaurants and chefs biscuit bashing yesterday were new to the friendly competition. This year, Vidalia's biscuit was slightly less messy, though is was ...
Better know the district
Five (French) Reasons to Visit City Center DC
I've lived in downtown-DC long enough to have seen multiple incarnations of the area now known as City Center DC. First, it was the former convention center, which I saw being demolished back in 2004. Then it was a municipal parking lot, where Megabuses and Bolt Buses would load and unload passengers. It was the site of Cirque du Soleil, Kastles tennis matches and a Trapeze school. And then it was a construction site for a while... Today, it's a luxurious mixed use space, with more than 185,000 square feet of retail space situated on the ground floor of six buildings that include both rental apartment units and condominiums, as well as office space. Seattle-based Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, ...
Retail’s Night Out @ City Center DC
The National Retail Federation knows a thing or two about shopping, and in an effort to highlight retail’s entrepreneurial spirit, the trade association is hosting Retail’s Night Out at City Center DC on May 6, 2015. The one night only event featuring pop-up shops from local merchants and national brands is part of Small Business Week (May 4-8, 2015) and will also feature live music, local food trucks and a red carpet. Participating retailers include: ALEX AND ANI, ArtJamz, Bull and Moose, JRINK Juicery, Salt & Sundry, stubble & 'stache, Hugh & Crye, Potomac River Running Store, proper topper, Milk Cult, Ah Love Oil and Vinegar, LiLi The First, UrbanStems and ...
VinoFest DC: Music, Wine, Food, Charity
My! How Vinolovers has grown? It feels like not too long ago, I was attending the D.C. startup's launch party at 1776 (see pictures below) and now they're throwing VinoFest DC, a huge wine and music festival at a venue so cool I haven't even heard of it yet. Let me backtrack... Vinolovers is a DC-based personalized wine subscription and delivery service and this is their second year hosting VinoFest DC actually. Last year's event was held at Union Market, and on Saturday, May 9, wine producers, musicians, DJs and of course, vinolovers, will take over Storey Park in NoMa. If you've been in the city for a while like I have you may remember that place as the former Greyhound bus station. ...
DC en rose: Cherry Blossoms Season in DC
I don't typically gush up over a few pink petals like this, but I've been pretty swept up in the citywide cherry blossoms celebration this year. I blame my eagerness to switch from red wine to rosé at the end of a long winter ;-) Usually, I find the whole festival annoying: local restaurants and bars stretch their menus to add cherries to everything (need I mention the cherry trees in DC don't actually produce cherries?), tourists take over the streets with their selfie sticks and, worst of all, my sinuses go nuts from the pollen influx. But this year, I'm got really into it and I just can't get enough pink. I too have caught cherry blossoms fever! Here is some of what I enjoyed this ...
April in Paris Washington
April in Paris may be a feeling that no one can ever reprise but if you were in Washington this past weekend you probably met the charm of spring directly in the face too. Paris may have "chestnuts in blossoms" but we've got stunning cherry trees given as a sign of friendship by Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki back in 1912. I don't know if I was starved for spring after a long winter that kept dragging on... or if I was lured to the Tidal Basin by an unlikely combination of peak bloom time coinciding with a weekend which also happened to be an absolutely stunning spring day, but I definitely caught cherry blossoms fever over these last 2 days! Here are a few pictures I snapped during sakura on ...
Equal Pay Day at DCanter & Around D.C.
There's not much to cheer about the fact that, in America, women still earn 78 percents of what their male counterparts do. Equal Pay Day illustrates this inequality by marking the point at which women’s earnings finally equal those of men’s from the previous year. This year, that's April 14, symbolizing that woman must work 3 months and 14 days into the next year to make as much as a man. To call attention to the Gender Pay Gap, a number of local businesses are offering a 22% discount for women (and their advocates) on Tuesday. One of these is DCanter, a wonderful Eastern Market wine boutique owned by Michael and Michelle Warner. To shed a light on the 22% pay disparity between men and ...
Saint Paddy’s Day Treats at The Sweet Lobby & Olivia Macaron
Two of the best macarons shops in Washington have cooked up special Saint Patrick's Day treats! Obviously both are going green, though Olivia Macaron's Irish Cream macaron has a hint of gold dusting too! What would your ultimate Saint Patrick's Day macaron flavour be? I love Bailey's so I think that's be a great flavour... but I also think an Irish Whiskey Caramel macaron would be pretty awesome! Images courtesy of Olivia Macarons' instagram and The Sweet Lobby's Instagram. ...
Bread Furst Loaves Now Available at Whole Food P Street
Occasionally, I'lI venture out to Van Ness for great bread at Mark Furstenberg' Bread Furst... but if I can get his loaves closer to home... well, that's definitely something I'm excited about! And, as of last Friday, four of his loaves are now available at Whole Foods on P Street: corn rye, whole wheat, multigrain, and teff rye. Hurray! Too bad they're not selling his croissants too :( ...
DC’s Crumbs and Whiskers off to a Great Start
I've been making the cat café rounds lately. Last November, I visited both Café des Chats locations in Paris. More recently, I swung by Meow Parlour in New York City, and enjoyed a Hello Kitty themed macaron while hanging out with a bunch of adoptable cats. So, obviously, while I have my own BFF (Best Furry Friend) already, I'm thrilled that there's a plan to bring a cat café concept to the D.C. area. And apparently, I'm not the only one. Last Sunday, some 50 people showed up at Penn Social for the launch of Crumbs & Whiskers' kickstarter campaign. A campaign which, by the way, reached its goal within 24 hours and has already surpassed its stretch goal (update: it's currently at ...