founding farmers

you know you’ve finally settled into a new city when you discover your favorite restaurant.  it’s more than a little like falling in love — it doesn’t happen when you intend for it to, or when you expect for it to, but suddenly you just know.  well, tina finally became a DC resident for real this week when she discovered her favorite restaurant: founding farmers.  it’s a restaurant with an enticing backstory (a co-op owned by 42,000 farmers across the united states) and an eclectic, enthralling menu.

counterpoint premiere

had the amazing opportunity to shoot the premiere performance of CounterPoint, a new ensemble that was co-founded by tina’s old friend jory herman.  you run into people in the craziest places, and sometimes that place is onstage at the kennedy center.  jory invited me to take some photos during a benefit concert at the Embassy of Pakistan which would raise money for the flood victims in pakistan.  great cause, great music, what’s not to like?

Napoleon [Bistro and Lounge]

I don’t think anybody really calls Napoleon Bistro & Lounge in adams morgan by its full name, just as I doubt anybody called Ol’ Boney by his full name back in the day.  personally, I like to think of Bonaparte’s sister restaurant as Napoleon Dynamite.  because that’s what it is.  besides having one of the coolest restaurant websites ever, it’s got the food to back up the hype.

2010 Smithsonian Craft Festival

tina had the wonderful idea of going down to the national building museum to check out the 2010 smithsonian craft show.  it’s long over by now, but if you’re in town and around for it in the future, it’s worth checking out.  apparently craft shows aren’t just open to any hippie with a bad whittling habit who wants to set up a stand.  these things are deeply competitive and the intensity of the artists is palpable.  even better, the quality of work on display really does reflect that.

we mortals are but shadows and dust

there is a quiet little plaza across the street from the National Building Museum that few people walk through and few people think about.  it suffers from a disease pervasive in DC known as memorialitis:  when everyone and everything has a statue, plaque, or monument in its name, nothing really stands out.  the irony of america is it demands that everyone be deemed special, without realizing that when everything is special, nothing is really special anymore.

Mandarin Palace

if that doesn’t make you want to smack your grandma and say yeehaw, you should consult a medical professional immediately.  appreciating a good peking duck is universal.  even vegetarians have to act like they’re not just a little interested.  don’t drool on your keyboard there, your spacebar is going to stick.  do your tastebuds and slightly bruised grandma a favor and take them both to Mandarin Palace down in chevy chase.

AGAINN

doing it Againn … for the very first time.  before eating here, Tina and I debated what, pray tell, the term “gastropub” really means.  I mean, yeah, I get that its supposed to be pub food that actually makes your stomach murmur and smile, as opposed to standard, mindless, greasy pub fare that’s really barely a rung above venerable ol’ Mickey D’s.  but that’s like Hyundai building a car that doesn’t look like an alien with a birth defect … wait what

dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants

today Tina and I are on our way up to New York City as you read this, but thanks to wordpress’s nifty delayed-publish option I don’t have to attempt to drive and blog simultaneously (would that fall under the no-texting law, or just reckless endangerment?).  I wanted to put up a series I took in union station last weekend, some thoughts regarding the post title, and another shot that is far less austere and really makes me smile.

manfred von richthofen flies again

during his truncated career the red baron was credited with 80 confirmed air victories, and this saturday he took to the skies for a brief victory tour.  definitely my favorite kite from this saturday’s smithsonian kite festival (although the sharks were a pretty top contender … who doesn’t dream of seeing sharks gliding through the air?)

Hank’s Oyster Bar

I was going to do a kite series today but Tina talked me into teasing you all with a restaurant review instead.  while Hank’s Oyster Bar in DC (there’s one in alexandria as well for those of you living south of the potomac) fell off the washingtonian’s top 100 this year and so it won’t count toward our fooding mission, we’re a sucker for raw bar and luckily Zee is too.

Hank’s boasts a great off-Dupont location that comes with a strong reputation for classic dining, but there have been a lot of falling stars in the area lately and that left some doubt in my mind as to whether we were on the wrong end of the curve.  then again, it’s never a good idea to think on an empty stomach.