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 ...
Out and about
Sip Into Spring with RAMW’s Spring Wine Fling
I don't really need a reason to drink wine on a regular weeknight, but if you do, here's one for you: it's Spring Wine Fling!!! During this week-long (March 23-29, 2015) celebration of wine programs across the Washington, D.C. region, participating bars and restaurants are offering special flights, tastings and/or parings of seasonal wines. Last night, I sat down at Boss Sheperd's, in part because I had never been and I figured it was a good excuse, to check out their spring wine fling offering. For $15, you can order a flight of three wines, sparkling, white, red or a mix from either category. I opted for the mix, though if you go, I recommend the sparkling wine flight that includes my ...
Gaia Mural & Art Intervention at the W Hotel
We had a blast Friday night celebrating the unveiling of a new indoor mural by street artist Gaia at Pinea, the new(ish) restaurant that replaced J&G Steakhouse at the luxury hotel W Washington D.C. To go along Chef Barry Koslow's southern Mediterranean menu, the mural was inspired by a sculpture of Cesar Augustus and also features birds, a leitmotiv in Gaia's work. I personally love the mural and thinks it not only livens up Pinea's dining room but also really works with what I expect a restaurant at a W Hotel to look like. Wondering where you may have seen Gaia's works before? The 27 years old Baltimore-based street ...
Francophonie Festival, 2015 Edition
The largest celebration of French culture and language in the world—the Francophonie Cultural Festival—is returning to the US capital March 5 to April 1, 2015. Organized by the D.C. Francophonie Committee in association with l'Alliance Française and Smithsonian Associates, the festival engages over 40 embassies for a month of cultural events ranging from lectures to concerts and movie screenings, culminating as usual with la Grande Fête de la Francophonie, a huge foodie bash at la Maison Française at the French Embassy. What I've loved about the partnership with Smithsonian Associates this year is how active Smithsonian at 8 (the 21+ after-hours event planning art of the Smithsonian) has ...
A Year In Champagne at the Angelika Film Center
With its reserved seating, gourmet concessions and interesting mix of blockbuster and special interest films, the Angelika Film Center & Cafe at the Mosaic District is one of my absolute favourite movie theater in the Washington area. Keyword: Washington area. It’s nowhere near the city and pretty inconvenient to get to if you don’t have a car. So I was thrilled when a smaller, albeit temporary version, of the art-house movie theater popped up behind Union Market. It became pretty handy when I was trying to catch up on my Oscar nominated films, showing Whiplash, Still Alice and a couple of other nominated flicks. Eventually, the pop-up Angelika Film theater at Union Market will transform ...
Oyamel Tequila & Mezcal Festival Returns March 2-15
Oyamel's annual Tequila & Mezcal Festival is back with a new theme this year: Mexican chiles! Since it's almost March and we're still getting hit by snow, I'll take a little heat wherever I can get it... and that includes in my cocktails! At last Tuesday's preview party, I got to sample the drinks and dishes that will be served during the festival's opening party on Monday, March 2 . Let's start with the food. It was great, it always is at Oyamel, with various chiles highlighted in every dish, including dessert (chili-infused Mexican chocolate cookies)! If you enjoy the Nopalitos salad on the restaurant's regular menu and enjoy a bit of spice, you'll love the extra kick added to the ...
Sweet! There’s a New Menu at The Grill Room
Wednesday night, I headed off to the Capella Hotel in Georgetown to celebrate its new chef Frank Ruta, and the new menu he designed for its restaurant The Grill Room. I must confess, I never ate at Palena, the Cleveland Park establishment Chef Ruta headed before it closed last year. I also never attended one of his famed Bread Feast supper club dinner at Mark Furstenberg's Bread Furst . And yet, I have an awesome memory of Chef Ruta, one that doesn't involve his food directly. Instead, it involves a panel on which he sat at the National Archives a few years back. A panel of former White House chefs. The soft spoken Chef Ruta sat between former White House Executive Chef Pierre Chambrin and ...
Les Merveilleux de Fred Opens in New York’s West Village
I spent the past week in New York City for a work event, and just had to find some time to visit the newly opened bakery Aux Merveilleux de Fred. HAD TO. The Manhattan version of Frédéric Vaucamps' meringue-shop looks like his many Parisian outposts, with a stunning chandelier, rows of merveilleux in display cases and an open kitchen that allows passers-by on 8th avenue to see how the pastries are assembled by hand. And the pastries? Well, they're just as marvelous on this side of the Atlantic ;-) If you're not familiar with the merveilleux pastry, you're not alone. This traditional northern France sweet had fallen out of fashion until the late 90's, when Fred decided to make it the ...
Postcard from France: Cour Bérard in Paris
Cour Bérard is a small street in the 4eme arrondissement in Paris. It's the home of the Moretti & Moretti, an art galerie which focuses on street art, digital art and installations. I headed to the galerie to check out its Konny Stedin exhibit. If you've been to Paris recently, I'm sure you spotted some of the German street artist's work. Her signature black and white portraits, with the red paint tears, can be seen throughout Paris, like this one below which I snapped a few years ago outside of Beaubourg But the best street art wasn't inside the gallery. It was actually outside, in the street, which was lined with graffiti black cats. Cour Bérard is a small street, but it's ...
Made-in-DC: Vodka & Whiskey at One Eight Distilling
One Eight Distilling is the second distillery to open in Washington, D.C. since prohibition. It happened to open on my birthday, so I thought a little local vodka and whiskey would make for a fun celebration. I wasn't the only one who had the brilliant idea to check out the distillery that day, and the 2,000 square foot tasting room in NorthEast's Ivy City neighbourhood was packed! For now there are only two spirits that can be sampled: the rye-based District Made Vodka and the Rock Creek White Whiskey. We tried both in small One Eight Distilling branded shot glasses while waiting for our tour of the adjoining 7,500 square foot production space to start. Like Green Hat Distillery, One Eight ...
