October Restaurants

One of my favorite meta discoveries of how to explore the city this year are the various daily coupon emails I receive. They basically offer half off certificates to a different restaurant every day. I have email subscriptions to about six of them, so there is a pretty good chance I will see one for a place near by or someplace we have heard we need to try at least once a week. I'll summarize these by the month.

Oct 1 - Lupe Cantina - Not Bad. Sam had a salsa and eggs dish and I did the Chicken Mole. Good Marguritas and a good happy hour.
Oct 17 - Kinkeads - This place is amazing. Might be my favorite restaurant. Awesome and eclectic seafood dishes. Sam had a scallop dish with gnocchi and I had some seared tuna with guac
Oct 22 - The Fourth Estate - Pleasantly Surprised. Not much for atmosphere but the food was excellent if a bit on the rich and buttery side. I had scallops and Sam had rock fish.
Oct 24 - Floriana - Neighborhood Gem. Great ambiance in an old townhome. Food was decadent. Sam won with the carrot ginger soup.
Oct 29 - Pizzeria Paradiso - A regular, but with guests in town, a standby
Oct 31 - Penang - I did not win with my order by everyone else's entrees were pretty good.

Rally to Restore Fear/Sanity

I had been looking forward to attending this all month and went with a small group just in time to get situated as it got started. The crowd was immense, overwhelming. While the inauguration had more people, it was also much more spread out. This was more like being in a Rock concert. Sometimes we just had to let the crowd direct our movement. The signs were everywhere and they were hysterical. I felt I did my part by being a number here. I think the rally did a lot to undermine the pompous gravity of the Beck rally.

Anyway, we could only handle it for a little while. After about a half hour, we got some food truck food by the National Gallery and watched the crowd while we ate. Then we headed to a nearby bar to watch and listen to the rally on a big screen. We just beat the crowds as we scored a table before everyone else caught on to our idea.

Mary Stuart @ Artisphere

Artisphere is a new Venue that just opened in Rosslyn to house a community art exhibition space and a couple of Arlington based theatre companies. One of those companies is the Washington Shakespeare Company which I had heard about only in a guide book as having phenomenal to see Shakespeare on the cheap. And that part is definately true. All their saturday matinees are Pay-What-You-Can, but you can order the tix on line instead of having to wait in line for them. I suppose I had mentally set the bar pretty low as I had already seen productions at two other Shakespeare theatres in town (STC and Folgers) so I figured WSC would be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I was very wrong on that last point. This was an excellent production, well worth a full priced ticket (though I think I will stick to the cheaper ones given the number of shows I attend). The set was very spare and did some interesting things with chairs to make it quite a bit more than minimal. The actors were mostly phenomenal, and the pair of female leads were nothing short of outstanding.

I was not familiar with this story but it was very well told and interesting as a way to convey the history of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Queen Elizabeth, the virgin queen. It realistically explains the politics, legal drama, and power implications of all the maneuvering being done by the principals. Very well done.

Hair @ Kennedy Center

I have been hearing about this show for a couple of years as my mom reminisced about seeing it. So I entered with pretty high hopes about it capturing an era that I feel like I know something about, albeit secondhand. My impression after seeing it is that it left me thinking that era was... rather silly. Sort of in an American Monty Python sort of way. Don't get me wrong, the opening and closing numbers of Aquarius and Let the Sun Shine in were phenomenal. And I think the plot, when there was one, had potential. But in between all that, were some musical numbers that had no resonance for me and some scenes that made very little sense.

So I guess I wish there were more recognizable songs, and a little bit more tension building towards the climax. Otherwise, I feel a bit let down.

Songs of the Dragon Flying To Heaven @ Studio

This play was terrible. I am tempted to leave it at that but bad manifests itself in different ways so let me elaborate. The Importance of Being Ernest was bad because the actors were not very good. The director's choice to have opposite gender actors play all the characters made it far worse mainly because the actors were not able to pull it off. I suppose it is possible that if they were better, this choice wold not have been so bad. In Songs, I think the root problem is the script. The actors were mostly superb, in that they all seemed like real people in a shockingly odd situation. The play made me bored, confused, and yes uncomfortable throughout. Bored, as I was looking at my watch waiting for it to end, and was not not engaged enough with anything going on to take an interest. Confused because of the absence of any recognizable plot, and the placement of jarring characters and themes together. Uncomfortable because of the excessive length of certain gimmicks, and my empathy for everyone else in the theatre having to sit through it. I think I can say with certainty that the points made about being a minority in white America were not the source of my discomfort. In fact, I think if the playwright built more upon this theme it would have been a better piece. Reviews I have read give it far more stature than I.

Smithsonian Craft2Wear Festival

If my mom was rich, she would shop here. Beautiful clothing, jewelry, accessories, all hand made. I took some pictures but it does not really give it justice. The prices were a bit on the ridiculous side, with some scarves priced at $400 for instance. Some cool ideas though. There were some cool fabric necklaces, using multiple woven strands of fabric all bound at each end into two magnets which is the fastener. Also saw some beautiful brooches using paper mache new york times (those were priced at a mere $1200).

Wray Herbert - On Second Thought

We had not been to Politics and Prose in what felt like forever, but it has been in the news a lot lately between it being up for sale and the passing of one of the co owners. Sam was intrigued by this book as it purported to provide insight into how we make decisions and hoped we could glean some tips to apply to our own decision making process. It turned out that it was a somewhat disjointed discussion of the roots of moral decision making, as well as several traps our brains fall into. It was more about the science of conscious and sub conscious thought than about the process. Much of this was familiar territory from seeing the talk earlier this year from the author of The Hidden Brain.

Little Ethiopia Food Tour

Sam and I first heard of the idea of a food tour while watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel when he went to the Philippines and did one. We both thought it was a great idea to try to do one when traveling as we love to try the food but it can sometimes be intimidating to know where to go for good food when looking for street food. Anyway we jumped at the opportunity to do it here at home. DC Food Tours is a relatively young company that does food tours in the DC Area and they sometimes have discounted tickets on Goldstar. The Little Ethiopia tour is one I see frequently on Goldstar, and apparently it typically gets more of a local following. The tour faound us walking the neighborhood between U and T Sts between 6th and 9th. We saw an Ethiopian coffee ceremony and had excellent coffee at Little Ethiopia; had brunch at a market, Habesha; and a great lunch including raw beef at a hole in the wall, Zenebech Injera. Along the way, we heard some colorful history of the neighborhood, how the Ethiopian community grew up here, and some of the main ingredients of their cooking.

Circle Mirror Transformation @ Studio

I am apparently now on the regular usher schedule for the Studio Theatre, which is how I caught Circle. This is a play that takes place inside an amateur acting class in Vermont. It seemed to me that there was a lot of inside baseball stuff that an Actor or aspiring actor would enjoy laughing at. Too bad my brother was not in town for this one. I sort of got most of it, but it loses some of its humor if you don't have the personal experience to go along with it. The actors were all very good though, and the tension between them felt very real. I walked away with a smile, albeit a half hearted one.

Blueridge Beer Dinner - Southampton

An old college buddy was in town for the week for work so the two of us met up in Dupont Circle and took the bus out to Glover Park to head to a beer dinner put on by Blueridge. The brewery was Southampton which was apparently a tavern out in Long Island, NY that started doing craft brews back in the 90s. This was their first beer dinner, but the chef seemed to indicate this was a pilot and I hope there are many more to come. It was an excellent deal, at $45 per person plus tax and tip. They were very generous with the pours and all the dishes were large.

All of the beers were good. But the standout here was the food. The first three courses get special props.

Sabrina Fair @ Ford's Theater

I vaguely recall seeing the 1995 remake of Sabrina with Harrison Ford, but other than that, did not know much going in. I was pleasantly surprised by this production. The dialogue and comic timing was excellent, especially from the supporting cast. Tom Story playing David stood out, as he did in STC's Twelth Night. As did the father played by John Dow and . The only weak spot for me was the lead, Todd Gearhart, who I sometimes thought strutted around the stage like a peacock. Craig Wallace, the chauffeur, was also pretty week.

Henry VIII @ Folgers

While the productions put on by the Shakespeare Theatre Company are unrivaled in professionalism, the Folgers Shakespeare Library puts on high quality productions that are cutting edge and intimate. The Elizabethan theatre outdid itself this time around with beautiful and intricate sets. Ian Peakes was amazing I thought. He seemed to exude a barely controlled excitement throughout the piece, breathing life into an admittedly stale script. This was my first "history" play and it was very different from his comedies and tragedies. While I thought the difference was just that, apparently the script is known for being inferior to the Bard's repertoire. Indeed, Henry VIII is one of the most interesting characters in British history and the play really only touches on one of his more infamous episodes (the throwing over of Catherine of Avignon for Anne Bolyn). Nevertheless, I feel like I could see this again just to see Peakes perform, perhaps after reading it first.

Taste of Dupont

Unlike your typical Taste Of... event, where the vendors all setup in a centralized location, this event had me going to each venue to trade in my tickets for a special sample. Just about every venue, all within about 5-6 blocks of Dupont Circle, put together a menu from which I could choose what to trade in a ticket for. There were often accompanying drink specials too. Sam could not make it so I did this one on my own and sent her text message updates so she could experience it as well. Here is the transcription:

6:43 Went to Urbana first. Mediterranean. Eggplant puree, lentils, and lamb shank. Amazing.
6:48 At Scion now. Szechuan beef slider and chocolate bacon smores. Slider is spicy. Had a Herculees IPA for happy hour. Great beer selection. As to the smores, I don't know where to begin. Amazing.
7:06 I am at Firefly now. Fries with trufffle sauce. Very Good. Heavy Seas ale. Their happy hour has $1 drinks from 3 to 4, then add a $1 per hour till 7. On Sunday, half price bottle of wine with entree purchase.
7:38 Now at the Carlisle Suites Hotel on New Hampshire and R. They have an excellent braised lamb shank over israeli couscous. Verrry good. They supposedly have a Sunday brunch here that is highly rated... at least that is what they say. $23 includes all u can drink champagne
7:51 Now at Levelone on R and Corcorran. Braised short rib with truffle mac n cheese. Comfort food with a twist.
7:56 Pretty Good. I think u would like it.
7:57 Final Rankings on food quality: Urbana, Scion, Carlyles, Firefly, Levelone
7:57 On atmosphere: Urbana, Firefly, Scion, levelone, Carlyles
7:59 On Value: Scion, Carlyles brunch, Urbana, Firefly

King Arthur by Synetic

I have come close once or twice to checking out a Synetic Theare production. What makes them unique is that their productions use no dialogue. So essentially, they tell a story using music and motion. I went to see King Arthur to see what it was all about. On top of their normal methodology, this production introduced us to a water stage as well. Essentially, the entire play was performed in about two inches of water. The water is meant to add to the experience of motion, and throwing in some symbology of water as life.

The production is interesting. It gets rave reviews, which I can sort of understand. It is admittedly fairly impressive that this company can tell such an intricate story without any dialogue. And the story is indeed conveyed. I feel like at the end of the day, this is more of a technical feat than a compelling one though. Sort of like being amazed that an artist can use water color to paint something that appears to be a photograph. But beyond being impressed by the accomplishment, I was not particularly moved by the event.