Washington City Paper (April 13, 2018)

2018 FREE VOLUME 38, NO. 15 WASHINGTONCITYPAPER.COM APRIL 13–19, 2018

washingtoncitypaper.com february 10, 2017 spring arts guide

WASHINGTONCITYPAPER.COM SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 1

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THE PATRICIA BARBER TRIO

6 /15

GEOFF TATE’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF OPERATION: MINDCRIME

6/16

JOAN ARMATRADING

6/18

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6/19

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2018 7 FooD & Drink

27 arts & entertainMent

59 gooDs & services

Darrow MontgoMery

81 people & places city list 97 Music 100 Theater 102 Film

Diversions 105 Classifieds 106 Crossword on the cover: illustration by dominick rabrun

1700 Block of H Street NW, April 9

EDITORIAL

editor: AlexA mills Managing editor: cAroline jones arts editor: mAtt cohen food editor: lAurA hAyes city lights editor: kAylA rAndAll loose lips reporter: Andrew giAmbrone housing coMplex reporter: morgAn bAskin staff photographer: dArrow montgomery MultiMedia and copy editor: will wArren creative director: stephAnie rudig contributing writers: john Anderson, VAnce brinkley, kriston cApps, chAd clArk, rAchel m. cohen, riley croghAn, jeffry cudlin, eddie deAn, erin deVine, tim ebner, cAsey embert, jAke emen, jonAthAn l. fischer, noAh gittell, lAurA irene, AmAndA kolson hurley, louis jAcobson, rAchAel johnson, chris kelly, steVe kiViAt, chris klimek, priyA konings, julyssA lopez, Amy lyons, neVin mArtell, keith mAthiAs, j.f. meils, triciA olszewski, eVe ottenberg, mike pAArlberg, pAt pAduA, justin peters, rebeccA j. ritzel, Abid shAh, tom sherwood, Quintin simmons, mAtt terl, dAn trombly, kAArin VembAr, emily wAlz, joe wArminsky, AlonA wArtofsky, justin weber, michAel j. west, diAnA yAp, AlAn zilbermAn

ADvERTIsIng AnD OpERATIOns

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local advertising: (202) 650-6937 fax: (202) 650-6970, Ads@wAshingtoncitypAper.com fiNd A StAff directory WitH coNtAct iNformAtioN At WASHiNgtoNcitypAper.com vol. 38, no. 15 april 13–19, 2018 wAshington city pAper is published eVery week And is locAted At 734 15th st. nw, suite 400, wAshington, d.c. 20005. cAlendAr submissions Are welcomed; they must be receiVed 10 dAys before publicAtion. u.s. subscriptions Are AVAilAble for $250 per yeAr. issue will ArriVe seVerAl dAys After publicAtion. bAck issues of the pAst fiVe weeks Are AVAilAble At the office for $1 ($5 for older issues). bAck issues Are AVAilAble by mAil for $5. mAke checks pAyAble to wAshington city pAper or cAll for more options. © 2018 All rights reserVed. no pArt of this publicAtion mAy be reproduced without the written permission of the editor.

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 3

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Welcome to our most subjective issue of the year.

Every January, we give our readers a list of categories and ask them to name the best restaurants, dry cleaners, hospitals, and music venues. Sometimes City Paper editorial staffers can predict who our readers will pick, as was the case with this year’s winner of Best Karaoke. Other times, we learn about the winning businesses during the fact-checking process. (Would it surprise you to learn that City Paper reporters aren’t so well-informed on D.C.’s personal trainer market?)

Whether the results are predictable or not, each one celebrates a certain aspect of life in D.C. A publication in the nation’s capital must name a best lawyer, of course. And in the staff picks section, the word nerds who make City Paper every week had to call out not one, but three booksellers.

You won’t agree with every opinion and superlative printed in these pages. Maybe your experience with the readers’ choice for best restaurant was less than ideal. Maybe you like the liquor store/coffee shop/bar by your office better than those we named as winners. Hold onto those feelings. Remember, there’s always next year.

—Caroline Jones Photographs by Darrow Montgomery

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 5

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Shaw Main Streets is a designated DC Main Streets program and is funded in part by the Department of Small and Local Business Development, Muriel E. Bowser, Mayor.

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W W W. S H AW M A I N S T R E E T S . O R G 6 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Best Mess: Bogan Bun at Lucky Buns

Darrow Montgomery

FOOD&DRINK

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 7

ReaDeRs’ PIcKs FOOD & DRINK

Best AsiAn RestAuRAnt

Best BRunch

Best New Bar, Staff Pick: 600 T

Thip Khao

Ambar

3462 14th St. NW, (202) 387-5426, thipkhao.com

Multiple locations, ambarrestaurant.com 2nd Place: Le Diplomate 3rd Place: Farmers Fishers Bakers

2nd Place: Beau Thai 3rd Place: Pho 14

Best BuRgeR

Best BBQ

Duke’s Grocery

Federalist Pig

1513 17th St. NW, (202) 733-5623, dukesgrocery.com

1654 Columbia Road NW, (202) 8274400, federalistpig.com

2nd Place: Five Guys 3rd Place: Shake Shack

2nd Place: ROCKLANDS Barbeque and Grilling Company 3rd Place: DCity Smokehouse

Best ButcheR shoP

Red Apron Butcher

Best BAgel

Multiple locations, redapronbutchery.com

Bullfrog Bagels

Multiple locations, bullfrogbagels.com

2nd Place: Harvey’s Market 3rd Place: Stachowski Market

2nd Place: Bethesda Bagels 3rd Place: Bagel Uprising

Best cheF

Best BAkeRy

José Andrés

Baked & Wired

joseandres.com

1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, (703) 663-8727, bakedandwired.com

2nd Place: Erik Bruner-Yang 3rd Place: Michael Friedman

2nd Place: Bread Furst 3rd Place: Buttercream Bakeshop

Best chinese

Panda Gourmet

Best BAR

Boundary Stone Public House

2700 New York Ave. NE, (202) 534-1620, pandagourmetdc.net

2nd Place: Peter Chang 3rd Place (Tie): Great Wall Szechuan House 3rd Place (Tie): Mr. Chen’s Organic Chinese Cuisine

116 Rhode Island Ave. NW, (202) 6216635, boundarystonedc.com

Darrow Montgomery

2nd Place: The Blaguard 3rd Place: The Pub & The People Best BAR With gAmes

The Board Room

1737 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 518-7666, boardroomdc.com 2nd Place: Penn Social 3rd Place: H Street Country Club Best BARtendeR

Nickos Papageorge —The Blaguard 2003 18th St. NW, (202) 232-9005, blaguarddc.com

2nd Place: Hansel Carneiro—Indique 3rd Place: Eddy Silva—The Park at Fourteenth

Best BeeR FestivAl

Snallygaster snallygasterdc.com

2nd Place: DC Brew Fest 3rd Place: Brew at the Zoo Best Bloody mARy

Founding Farmers Multiple locations, wearefoundingfarmers.com

8 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

2nd Place (Tie): Duffy’s Irish Pub 2nd Place (Tie): Buffalo & Bergen Best BReW PuB

Right Proper Brewing Company 624 T St. NW, (202) 607-2337, rightproperbrewing.com 2nd Place: Bluejacket 3rd Place (Tie): Churchkey 3rd Place (Tie): Meridian Pint

Best cocktAil BAR

Copycat Co.

1110 H St. NE, (202) 241-1952, copycatcompany.com 2nd Place: Truxton Inn 3rd Place: Columbia Room Best coFFee shoP

Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters

520 12th St. S, Suite 150, Arlington, (855) 273-9563, commonwealthjoe.com 2nd Place: Compass Coffee 3rd Place: La Colombe

FOOD&DRINK Best CraB Cake

Best fast Casual Dining

Best happy hour

Hank’s Oyster Bar

RASA

Ambar

Multiple locations, hanksoysterbar.com

2nd Place: Rappahannock Oyster Bar 3rd Place: The Park at Fourteenth

1247 First St. SE, (202) 804-5678, rasagrill.com 2nd Place: CAVA 3rd Place (Tie): Arepa Zone 3rd Place (Tie): sweetgreen

Best Craft Beer seleCtion

Churchkey

1337 14th St. NW, (202) 567-2576, churchkeydc.com 2nd Place: Meridian Pint 3rd Place: Pizzeria Paradiso

Best fooD Blog

Bitches Who Brunch bitcheswhobrunch.com 2nd Place: Eater DC 3rd Place: DCFoodPorn

Baked & Wired

1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, (703) 663-8727, bakedandwired.com 2nd Place: Georgetown Cupcake 3rd Place (Tie): Red Velvet Cupcakery 3rd Place (Tie): Sprinkles Cupcakes

Best fooD truCk

Arepa Zone arepazone.com

2nd Place: Peruvian Brothers 3rd Place: Captain Cookie and the Milkman Best frieD ChiCken

Best Distillery

One Eight Distilling 1135 Okie St. NE, (202) 636-6638, oneeightdistilling.com Best Doughnuts

District Doughnut

Multiple locations, districtdoughnut.com 2nd Place: Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken 3rd Place: Sugar Shack Donuts Best Downtown lunCh

Founding Farmers Multiple locations, wearefoundingfarmers.com 2nd Place: Arepa Zone 3rd Place: Zaytinya Best ethiopian restaurant (tie)

Keren Restaurant

1780 Florida Ave. NW, (202) 265-5764

Zenebech Restaurant 2420 18th St. NW, (202) 667-4700, zenebechdc.com 2nd Place: Ethiopic Restaurant Best falafel

Amsterdam Falafelshop

Multiple locations, falafelshop.com 2nd Place: Falafel Inc. 3rd Place: CAVA

Popeyes

Multiple locations, popeyes.com 2nd Place: Blue 44 3rd Place: Bonchon Chicken

2nd Place: The Blaguard 3rd Place: DC Reynolds Best inDian restaurant

Rasika

Multiple locations, falafelshop.com 2nd Place: Five Guys 3rd Place: Le Diplomate Best gay Bar/CluB/lounge

Nellie’s Sports Bar 900 U St. NW, (202) 332-6355, nelliessportsbar.com

Best late night eats

Amsterdam Falafelshop

Multiple locations, falafelshop.com

633 D St. NW, (202) 637-1222, rasikarestaurant.com

2nd Place: The Diner 3rd Place (Tie): &pizza 3rd Place (Tie): Chicken + Whiskey

2nd Place: RASA 3rd Place: Indigo

Best latin ameriCan restaurant

Fado Irish Pub

808 7th St. NW, (202) 789-0066, fadoirishpub.com 2nd Place: Duffy’s Irish Pub

Esencias Panameñas Restaurant & Catering

3322 Georgia Ave. NW, (202) 6887250, esenciaspanamenas.com

3rd Place: The Dubliner Restaurant & Pub

2nd Place: Arepa Zone 3rd Place: Chicken + Whiskey

Best italian restaurant

Best loCal Brewery

Lavagna

539 8th St. SE, (202) 546-5006, lavagnadc.com 2nd Place: The Red Hen 3rd Place: Osteria Morini

Best fries

Amsterdam Falafelshop

2nd Place: TaKorean 3rd Place: Honey Pig

Multiple locations, ambarrestaurant.com

Best irish puB Best CupCake

mandudc.com

Best Japanese

Sushi Taro

1503 17th St. NW, sushitaro.com

DC Brau Brewing Company

3178-B Bladensburg Road NE, (202) 621-8890, dcbrau.com 2nd Place: 3 Stars Brewing Company 3rd Place: Right Proper Brewing Company Best loCal Caterer

Eat & Smile Catering

2nd Place: Daikaya Izakaya 3rd Place: Izakaya Seki

2212 Rhode Island Ave. NE, (202) 7333106, eatandsmilecatering.com

Best kaBoB

2nd Place: ROCKLANDS Barbeque and Grilling 3rd Place: Ridgewells

Moby Dick House of Kabob

Multiple locations, mobyskabob.com

2nd Place: Town Danceboutique 3rd Place: Trade

2nd Place: Ravi Kabob 3rd Place: Kabob Palace

Best gelato/iCe Cream

Best kiD-frienDly restaurant

Best margarita

Oyamel

401 7th St. NW, (202) 628-1005, oyamel.com 2nd Place: El Chucho 3rd Place: El Centro, D.F.

Ice Cream Jubilee

Ted’s Bulletin

2nd Place: Dolcezza 3rd Place: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

2nd Place: matchbox 3rd Place (Tie): &pizza 3rd Place (Tie): Brookland Pint

Lapis

Best komBuCha

2nd Place (Tie): Lebanese Taverna 2nd Place (Tie): Maydan

Multiple locations, icecreamjubilee.com

Best gluten-free menu

Busboys and Poets

Multiple locations, busboysandpoets.com 2nd Place: Rise Gluten Free Bakery 3rd Place: &pizza

Multiple locations, tedsbulletin.com

Craft Kombucha

1305 5th St. NE, (571) 317-0656, craftkombucha.com

Best hangover Breakfast

2nd Place: Capital Kombucha 3rd Place: Bruja Kombucha

Ted’s Bulletin

Best korean

Multiple locations, tedsbulletin.com 2nd Place: The Diner 3rd Place: Florida Avenue Grill

Mandu

Best miDDle eastern restaurant

1847 Columbia Road NW, (202) 2999630, lapisdc.com

Best mussels

Granville Moore’s 1238 H St. NE, (202) 399-2546, granvillemoores.com

2nd Place: St. Arnold’s Mussel Bar 3rd Place (Tie): Belga Cafe 3rd Place (Tie): Bistrot du Coin

453 K St. NW, (202) 289-6899, washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 9

FOOD&DRINK Best NeighBorhood Bar

Best restauraNt

The Pub & the People Hot N Juicy Crawfish 1648 North Capitol St. NW, (202) 2341800, thepubandthepeople.com

2651 Connecticut Ave. NW, hotnjuicycrawfish.com

2nd Place: The Blaguard 3rd Place: Boundary Stone Public House

2nd Place: Ambar 3rd Place (Tie): Rose’s Luxury 3rd Place (Tie): The Dabney

Best New americaN restauraNt

Farmers & Distillers 600 Massachusetts Ave. NW, (202) 464-3001, farmersanddistillers.com 2nd Place: The Dabney 3rd Place: Tail Up Goat

Best restauraNt wheN someoNe else Pays

Pineapple and Pearls 715 8th St. SE, (202) 595-7375, pineappleandpearls.com

Best small Plates

Best trivia Bar

Jaleo

Nanny O’Brien’s

Multiple locations, jaleo.com 2nd Place: Zaytinya 3rd Place: Ambar Best soul food

Oohh’s & Aahh’s

3319 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 6869189, nannyobriens.com 2nd Place: Nellie’s Sports Bar 3rd Place (Tie): The Pub & The People 3rd Place (Tie): Union Pub

Multiple locations, oohhsnaahhs.com

Best vegaN/vegetariaN restauraNt

2nd Place: NuVegan Café 3rd Place: Georgia Brown’s

NuVegan Café

Best souP

2nd Place: Shouk 3rd Place: Fare Well

Multiple locations, ilovenuvegan.com

Best New Bar

2nd Place: Le Diplomate 3rd Place: Fiola Mare

Soupergirl

Chicken + Whiskey

Multiple locations, thesoupergirl.com

Best vietNamese

Best restauraNt wheN you Pay

2nd Place: Prescription Chicken 3rd Place: Daikaya

Pho 14

Best sPice shoP

2nd Place: Pho Viet 3rd Place: Four Sisters

1738 14th St. NW, (202) 667-2456, chickenandwhiskey.com 2nd Place: Moreland’s Tavern 3rd Place: Truxton Inn Best New restauraNt

RASA

1247 First St. SE, (202) 8045678, rasagrill.com

2nd Place: Maydan 3rd Place: Chicken + Whiskey Best Pho

Pho 14

Multiple locations, dcpho14.com 2nd Place: Pho Viet 3rd Place: Pho 75 Best Pie

Dangerously Delicious Pies 1339 H St. NE, (202) 398-7437, dangerouspiesdc.com 2nd Place: Pie Sisters 3rd Place: Whisked!

Best Pizza

Ledo Pizza

Multiple locations, ledopizza.com 2nd Place: Timber Pizza Co. 3rd Place: All Purpose Best Place to have diNNer with live music

Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe 2477 18th St. NW, (202) 4502917, songbyrddc.com

Busboys and Poets

Multiple locations, busboysandpoets.com 2nd Place (Tie): &pizza 2nd Place (Tie): The Red Hen

Best restauraNt with a view

Fiola Mare

3050 K St. NW, Suite 101, (202) 524-1402, fiolamaredc.com 2nd Place: Open City at the National Cathedral 3rd Place (Tie): Sequoia 3rd Place (Tie): The Salt Line Best rooftoP Bar

POV

515 15th St. NW, (202) 661-2400, povrooftop.com 2nd Place: Roofers Union 3rd Place: DC9 Nightclub Best saNdwich

Taylor Gourmet

Multiple locations, taylorgourmet.com 2nd Place: SUNdeVICH 3rd Place: Bub and Pop’s Best seafood

Hot N Juicy Crawfish 2651 Connecticut Ave. NW, hotnjuicycrawfish.com

2nd Place: Hank’s Oyster Bar 3rd Place: The Salt Line Best slice of Pizza

Wiseguy Pizza

Multiple locations, wiseguypizza.com 2nd Place: Duccini’s Pizza 3rd Place: Ledo Pizza

2nd Place: The Hamilton 3rd Place: Boundary Stone

10 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

The SpiceSuite

6902 4th St. NW, (202) 506-3436, thespicesuite.com 2nd Place: Bazaar Spices 3rd Place: Penzeys Spices Best sPorts Bar

Nellie’s Sports Bar 900 U St. NW, (202) 332-6355, nelliessportsbar.com

2nd Place (Tie): Buffalo Billiards 2nd Place (Tie): Duffy’s Irish Pub Best steak house

Medium Rare

Multiple locations, mediumrarerestaurant.com 2nd Place: Ruth’s Chris Steak House 3rd Place: BOURBON STEAK Best tater tots

Sticky Rice

1224 H St. NE, (202) 397-7655, stickyricedc.com 2nd Place: Tonic 3rd Place: Satellite Room Best thai restauraNt

Beau Thai

Multiple locations, (202) 536 5636, beauthaidc.com 2nd Place: Thai X-ing 3rd Place: Baan Thai

Multiple locations, dcpho14.com

Best whiskey selectioN

Jack Rose Dining Saloon

2007 18th St. NW, (202) 588-7388, jackrosediningsaloon.com 2nd Place: Chicken + Whiskey 3rd Place: Barrel Best wiNe Bar

Maxwell Park

1336 9th St. NW, (202) 792-9522, maxwelldcwine.com 2nd Place: The Pursuit Wine Bar 3rd Place: Ruta del Vino Best wiNe list

Maxwell Park

1336 9th St. NW, (202) 792-9522, maxwelldcwine.com 2nd Place: Barcelona Wine Bar 3rd Place: Primrose Best wiNgs

Duffy’s Irish Pub

2106 Vermont Ave. NW, (202) 4629464, dcduffys.com 2nd Place: Ledo Pizza 3rd Place: Boundary Stone Public House

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sTaFF PIcKs FOOD & DRINK

tino can’t stop moving. Your favorite dish will likely be gone by the time you visit again. They’re fleeting so borrow from the restaurant’s motto and “savor the season.”

—Laura Hayes

Best Spot for Pizza and Soda Frankly...Pizza!

Best New Restaruant: Bresca

Best New Restaurant Bresca

1906 14th St. NW, (202) 5187926, brescadc.com

When Ryan Ratino opened his first solo restaurant at age 27, he received a ton of questions. Most were about his age. Mine were about what this talented chef could do without anything holding him back.

It was at Ripple that Ratino first made waves in D.C. He gave the restaurant one last blast of whimsy and creativity before it closed, paving the way for him to quickly rally a dream team, including cocktail virtuoso Juan Coronado, and open a restaurant on one of the most exciting dining corridors in the country.

Bresca’s down-the-rabbit-hole design doesn’t feel like anything else in the city.

Crayola wishes they could capture the green of the living wall at the back of the restaurant. There are golden fish heads jutting out of one wall. Animal prints cover another wall, while the host stand is lit aglow by a bunny lamp. The whole scene is awash in Smurf blue with hints of sun-

ny yellow.

Look around when you first sit down and you’ll see dishes and drinks flying to other tables with more trippy details. Cocktails are served in glass bumblebees, foie gras pops stick out from a ceramic head, and tea steeps through a rubber otter clutching a mug next to a miniature hourglass that signifies when it’s time to start sipping.

The menu spans snacks, medium-sized plates, and two sharable entrees that can easily feed two-to-four people. The smoked paprika pappardelle with lamb ragu, chili streusel, smoked goat gouda, and wispy shreds of torn shiso is a recent highlight. The minty leaf with serrated edges is used liberally in Japanese cuisine, but that’s what makes Bresca’s food so memorable: unexpected flavor combinations and textures that pay no mind to geographical borders.

Then there’s the foie gras negroni, which actually contains all of the elements of the classic cocktail. “A negroni has always been my shift drink, and I don’t foresee that changing,” Ratino says.

12 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Darrow Montgomery

10417 Armory Ave., Kensington, (301) 832-1065, franklypizza.com

To make it, Ratino cures foie gras with gin and sweet vermouth and forms it into a torchon after it’s been sous-vide. Then he combines the foie gras with several textures of gels made out of strawberry and Campari liqueur. The chef finishes the plate off with compressed celery and a few pieces of strawberry. The traditional negroni garnish, an orange peel, works its way into the madelines that accompany the dish.

If all of this sounds prohibitively expensive, it’s not. That’s the true wonder of Bresca. They’re able to make the numbers work so that Washingtonians can try artfully plated, boundary-pushing cuisine featuring premium ingredients without it being so costly that you can only visit once a year. The medium plates start at $14 and aren’t skimpy.

The service is best suited for inquisitive diners. Server Kristen Wilson is particularly well versed in explaining each step that went into what’s on your plate. This is no small feat since the menu is a moving target.

That’s the one pain point at Bresca. Ra-

The pairing of pizza and soda conjures memories of elementary school parties when grown-ups would let you go wild with bottles of Coke and Sprite until the inevitable sugar crash occurred.

These days, the combination of overtly sweet industrial tomato sauce and highfructose corn syrup seems less appealing, but the brilliant minds behind Frankly...Pizza! have turned items favored by 8-year-olds into something refreshing and flavorful. Each of the sodas at the tiny Kensington restaurant are made inhouse and come in delicate, unexpected flavors like vanilla and lemon meringue, but nevertheless stand up to the smoky wood-fired pizza. The Hot Mess, a white pie topped with bacon, caramelized onions, pickled jalapenos, and three kinds of cheese, actually benefits from some fizzy sweetness on the side. And while this sophisticated pizza party does require a journey to Montgomery County, you won’t have to worry about your blood alcohol content. —Caroline Jones

Best Embodiment of Every Current Food Trend RASA

1247 First St. SE, (202) 804-5678, rasagrill.com

RASA represents the next generation.

The brightly colored fast-casual Indian restaurant in Navy Yard is from the sons of the owners of Indique and Bombay Bistro. Rahul Vinod and Sahil Rahman, both twenty-somethings, have their finger on the pulse of just about every 2018 food trend at their build-a-bowl eatery.

First, they’re using fine dining techniques and high-quality ingredients in a quickservice format. Then there are the subtle

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FOOD&DRINK hat tips to regional Indian cuisines. The restaurant’s “home cooking” bowl pays homage to Kerala with its turmeric ginger shrimp, tamarind chili sauce, South Indian rice noodles, green beans, mango salsa, tamarind coconut powder, lentil crisps, tamarind ginger chutney, and mango coconut yogurt. Finally, the restaurant creates Instagram moments. You can order an actual coconut to slurp out of, complete with the RASA logo branded onto the side of the fuzzy drupe.

—Laura Hayes

vegetables you know and others you’ve likely never tasted before. Taking turns dipping and retrieving meat, veggies, tofu, and noodles from the broth is relaxing, communal, and memorable. Hot pot can be booked online through RESY Thursdays through Sundays.

—Laura Hayes

Best Interpretation of a Mocha Mocha Caliente at Killer ESP Darrow Montgomery

Best Brunch in NoVA

1012 King St., Alexandria, (703) 200-3200, killeresp.com

Vermilion

1120 King St., Alexandria, (703) 6849669, vermilionrestaurant.com

The three things I love most in life are my mom, my partner, and Vermilion brunch.

The brunch is so good that it pushed my dad out of the top three. I go to Vermilion for brunch damn near every weekend as evidenced by the fact that the staff recognize me immediately when I come in.

My favorite food combo is a fresh yogurt parfait with granola and local honey as a starter and pan-roasted salmon with celery root, broccoli rabe, almonds, and bagna cauda as my entree. Service is quick and courteous, the food is cooked perfectly, and I always leave full and satisfied. Get a seat by the window so you can enjoy the atmosphere and do some people and dog watching. The restaurant happens to be nestled in an adorable corner on King Street, so make a day of it and do some post-brunch browsing at the local shops.

—Kayla Randall

Best Foodie Double Date Dorjee Momo

317 7th St. SE, dorjeemomo.com

Dinner for four isn’t fun any more. Small plates have ruined the simple joy of group gastronomy. After ordering “two or three plates per person to share,” you always leave hungry and feeling like you didn’t experience what the restaurant has to offer. Enter Dorjee Momo in Eastern Market. The long-term Tibetan popup inside Bullfrog Bagels offers nightly seatings for groups of four to take part in hot pot. You can choose between meat and vegetable hot pot ($45 per person), vegan hot pot ($35), or a mixture of both because the bubbling cauldron of aromatic Sichuan pepper broth has a divider down the center. The meal comes with steamed rice with black sesame, a dipping sauce, sliced meat, and a tray divided into neat little compartments with

Stepping into Old Town’s Killer ESP is like stepping into your best friend’s basement coffee shop experiment. Julia’s Empanadas. Check! A hodgepodge of furniture that is still somehow comfortable. Check! A not-so-super-secret secret menu. Check! I mean you have to love a place that lets you lick the spoon after making your Nutella latte. The Mocha Caliente is one of the more notable offerings on their not-so secret menu.

The drink’s base is a mix of two types of chocolate creating a full richness in and of itself. They literally spice it up with cayenne, nutmeg, and cinnamon creating a heat that is subtle but lingering. The baristas recommend going with regular milk for added creaminess, but the almond milk version has never failed me.

—Hamzat Sani

Best Dramatic Place to Eat Dramatic Desserts Brothers and Sisters

1770 Euclid St. NW, (202) 588-0525, thelinehotel.com/dc/venues

The sweets at Brothers and Sisters inside The LINE DC Hotel are all named after cities. The irony though is that the desserts are out of this world. The lobby restaurant was fortunate to bring on pastry chef Pichet Ong. The ball of energy who can bake like hell made a name for himself in New York where he worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten and operated his own bakeries. Before turning to a career in confections, Ong was an architect. It shows. What reads as a humble cheesecake on the menu arrives at the table as an enormous iceberg that’s impossibly light and airy. At $10, it could treat a family of four. Another stunner is the dessert named after Okinawa, Japan, that folds a sweet, red bean filling into persimmon-colored mochi. It’s also $10.

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Best Pizza Sauce: Vace Italian Deli If you spend enough time in the moody lounge inside Adams Morgan’s sexy new hotel, you’re sure to see Ong dashing about holding enormous trifles and offering scoops to customers.

—Laura Hayes

Best Sandwich Roasted Pork at Cucina al Volo Multiple locations, cucina-alvolo.com

A good sandwich need not be stuffed with expensive ingredients or slathered in sauces. It does not need fancy packaging or cute side dishes. It just needs to taste good. The roasted pork sandwich sold at Cucina al Volo’s farmers market stands is almost deceptively simple—just pork, cheese, some roasted onions and peppers, and a dash of salsa verde on a roll—but it’s executed so well that it’s earned a bit of a cult following. Or maybe people are just entranced by the whole pig roasting slowly behind the counter.

The pig speaks to the freshness of the entire sandwich. It cooks in front of your eyes, and every few minutes one of the guys working in the booth will carve off a little more shoulder meat to fill the next sandwiches. Another employee tends to the grilled peppers and onions and assembles your meal, layering nutty aged provolone and peppery salsa verde on the bottom of the roll before adding the tender pork and sweet veggies. Your only option for personalization comes from packets of hot sauce laid out by the register, but don’t go overboard trying to personalize the sandwich according to your exact preferences. These guys know what they’re doing and you’re not at Jimmy John’s.

In addition to the farmers market stands, the Cucina al Volo team operates an osteria in Adams Morgan, a trat-

toria in Cleveland Park, a pizzeria downtown, and pasta stands at Union Market and Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Marketplace. The offerings at all their businesses are good, but the experience of nibbling on their pork sandwich outside in the sun, while saluting the pig who gave its life for the noble cause of your lunch borders on the sublime. Who cares if you drip oily green sauce down your chin and come back to your office ready for an afternoon nap? This sandwich is worth a temporarily distended belly.

—Caroline Jones

Best Reason To Only Attend NonSunday Football Games in Landover Fab Grill N Seafood 6425 Landover Road, Cheverly, (301) 322-2209

Attending live NFL games is a sucker’s bet. Everything about the in-stadium gameday experience is measurably worse than watching at home, or in a sports bar if you really need the camaraderie. When the stadium is way the hell out in Landover, you need to find some other, non-sports incentive to make the whole wasted day worthwhile. Which is why it’s a criminal shame that Fab Grill N Seafood is closed on Sundays. The shop, located in Cheverly less than 10 minutes from the stadium, is in some ways a standard wings-burgers-subs-fish joint, albeit a good one. But it’s the robust menu of fried foods that makes it perfect for eating the feelings of self-loathing that a local NFL game engenders. In addition to fried fish and chicken, they have carnival mainstays like fried Twinkies and Oreos, as well as fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich-

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FOOD&DRINK es and even fried Pop-Tarts. Nothing prepares your body and soul for a mediocre football game and its overpriced beers quite like a deep-fried brownie. You just can’t do it for regular Sunday games—but on Monday nights and those randomly staged preseason tilts, this restaurant almost offsets the inevitable downsides to driving to Landover to watch a live football game.

—Matt Terl

Best Place For Sushi Happy Hour When You Strike Out at Sushi Taro

Best Pizza Sauce Vace Italian Deli

Multiple locations, vaceitaliandeli.com

I would never be so bold as to claim I know which pizzeria makes the best pies in D.C. But I do know this: Vace Italian Deli makes the best pizza sauce in the District. Order a slice and you might be surprised to find shallow pools of sauce on top of the cheese. “But sauce goes beneath the toppings!” you ex-

many small bars in the labyrinthine restaurant while weaving through groups of tourists and business travelers can feel too chaotic. Enter Union Trust. Tony Tomelden of The Pug and John “Solly” Solomon of Solly’s, who also own Brookland’s Finest, opened the straight-forward spot in late November. Prosecco and a batch cocktail are available on tap but that’s about as fancy as it gets. No food is available. It is, quite simply, just a bar. TVs show sports and cable news, the bartenders make pleasant conver-

Rakuya

These days it’s easy to whiff on Sushi Taro’s happy hour. Only about the first 13 diners in line when the door opens at 5:30 p.m. get seats and access to halfprice sushi and sake. If you round the corner onto 17th Street NW and your heart sinks at seeing a long queue, don’t panic. You can still get a raw deal in Dupont. Rakuya has one of the most generous Japanese happy hours in the city.

Nigiri sushi is deeply discounted, but the rolls are a lot more fun. Get the “Black Snake” with black rice, spicy tuna, avocado, tempura crunch, scallion, pickled jalapeno, truffle oil, and black tobiko for $10 or the the “Fish & Chip” with sea bass tempura, avocado, pepper, fried potato sticks, malt vinegar, Old Bay mayo, and fried leeks for $7. Wash it all down with a $4 Kirin Light.

—Laura Hayes

Best Delivery Soup Soy Bean Tempura Lamen from Reren 817 7th St NW, (202) 290-3677, rerendc.com

Yes, you read that right: it’s lamen, not ramen. Lamen noodles are actually the Chinese precursor to Japanese ramen noodles, and the ones from Reren are freshly pulled right at their shop. Fresh noodles are best enjoyed at the source, but if you must do delivery, you could do much worse than the soy bean tempura lamen soup. The vegetables and shrimp are coated in a thick layer of tempura batter, and they don’t skimp on the other toppings like seaweed salad, fish cakes, and shredded purple cabbage. Smartly, the broth, tempura-coated toppings, and noodles each arrive in their own individual containers so that the noodles don’t overcook and the tempura doesn’t get soggy in transit. The resulting bowl of rich miso broth is colorful, warming, and utterly delectable.

—Stephanie Rudig

Darrow Montgomery

1900 Q St. NW, (202) 265-7258, rakuyarestaurant.com

Best Restaurant: Himitsu

claim. You sweet summer child. That’s only true of lesser sauces that pizza makers hope will go unnoticed beneath layers of dairy and sausage. You don’t hide a sauce this good.

Vace’s homemade pizza sauce expertly toes the line between sweet and savory. Honestly, it’s so good you want to drink it. And you can! You can buy the sauce by the tub to put on your own pizzas or drink with a straw. While you’re in the store, be sure to stock up on pasta, deli meats, and pre-prepared Italian meals.

—Will Warren

sation, and if government workers are hanging out there, at least they’re cool enough to remove their ID lanyards.

Judging by Union Trust’s popularity, D.C. could use more of these spots, but for now, those of us who happen to work in the building directly next door to it will simply remain grateful for this gift.

—Caroline Jones

Best Place to Snack and Read Teaism in Dupont

2009 R St. NW, (202) 667-3827, teaism.com

Best Development for Downtown Drinkers Union Trust

740 15th St. NW

Though downtown D.C. is home to plenty of restaurants with full bars, until recently, it lacked a place where the prototypical office worker could stop for a casual tipple before an event or on the way home. The steakhouses and hotel lobby bars are stuffy and pricey, and while Old Ebbitt Grill is legendary for a reason, trying to find a stool at one of the

16 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

On a rainy or cloudy day, there are few pleasures greater than curling up in front of a window with a book and some tea. When my apartment doesn’t do the trick or I’m already outside, my pick is the second floor of Teaism’s Dupont location. It’s small, never too crowded in the early evening, and cozy beyond belief. Get yourself a square of Hungarian cake and a pot of green tea, then claim a spot in the window nook that looks out onto R Street NW. —Morgan Baskin

Best Late-Night Eats That Doubles as Hangover Breakfast Oohh’s & Aahh’s

1005 U St. NW, (202) 6677142, oohhsnaahhs.com

Imbibing on U Street NW can mean consuming a diverse compilation of alcoholic beverages. After a margarita at El Rey and a whiskey drink at Service Bar, you might move on to a mystery shot at Desperados. Good thing the neighborhood offers numerous late-night food options to soak up some of that liquor before you head home. Oohh’s & Aahh’s stands above the rest. Hungry visitors line up along the wall of the narrow restaurant, which serves some of the city’s best soul food cooked right in front of you as you wait. Fried or grilled catfish, cornbread, and shrimp and grits are a few of the options. The only way you can go wrong is skipping the mac and cheese, arguably the city’s best. Get food to-go or eat upstairs, but do your best to leave some leftovers. The food doesn’t just taste good when you’ve had one too many.

It also saves you in the morning when the full force of a hangover hits you.

—Avery J.C. Kleinman

Best Bloody Steak ANXO Cidery & Pintxos Bar 300 Florida Ave. NW, (202) 986-3795, anxodc.com

You don’t have to pop on a blazer and head to one of the city’s stuffy steakhouses to have one of the most primally satisfying hunks of meat in town. ANXO Cidery & Pintxos Bar sells a 26 oz. bonein ribeye not dissimilar to how Txuleta steaks are served in the Basque region of Spain.

ANXO Executive Chef Alex Vallcorba grew-up in Barcelona and spent time in Basque country, even working at renowned steakhouse Asador Etxebarri.

The restaurant is a frequent flyer on “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list.

“Because I worked in Spain at one of the best steakhouses in the world, I tried to mimic the cut of the meat and the sides,” Vallcorba says. He grills it, rests it for a few minutes, sprinkles it with sea salt, and cuts it into slices making it easier for groups of two-to-four people to fight over it. “I really wanted it to be bone in,” the chef adds. “It gets juicier and has more flavor that way.”

Vallcorba sources the beef from a farmer’s co-op in Virginia’s Shenando-

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Darrow Montgomery

FOOD&DRINK

Best Food Podcast: Shift Drink ah Valley. The meat is antibiotic and hormone free. “It’s very juicy and very buttery,” he says. “We serve it medium rare.

That’s a good temperature for a ribeye.”

If the chef has one complaint, it’s that he has to cook the steak over a gas grill instead of the superior wood-fired variety.

In the past the steak was served with a side salad, but now that spring is here, ANXO is introducing sides based on what vegetables are available such as roasted baby carrots, cipollini onions, asparagus, and rapini.

Vallcorba’s secret is that right before he sends the steak out to tables, he drizzles it with high quality olive oil he brought over from Spain. He says Peter Pastan of 2 Amys taught him about how hunting for premium ingredients pays off.

The steak costs $65 with sides and is a perfect match with any of the bar’s dry, acidic ciders that can cut through the richness of the fat.

—Laura Hayes

Best New Bar 600 T

600 T St. NW

This unnamed bar that’s taken to being called by its address makes things easy.

All you have to do when you have a seat in this cabin-meets-saloon basement watering hole is decide which spirit you’d like to drink. The cocktail menu is organized by booze type from bourbon and absinthe to gin, tequila, and cognac.

Call it beginners luck. 600 T is Stephen Lawrence’s first bar and he’s created one hell of a hideaway. He took the space that was previously an after hours Ethiopian bar and covered it in woodwork he did himself. He also brought a 130-year-old fireplace back to life. Its flickering light gives each patron a Hollywood glow and

makes the bar a prime date spot.

Lawrence tapped bartenders Michael Wetterauer and Bryan Tate to tend bar.

They’ve put together a menu full of drinks that leave a lasting impression and entice patrons to keep working their way down the list of spirit-driven options.

The tipple that shows off amaro calls upon the flavors of Southeast Asia by combining Cynar with Thai tea, sweetened condensed milk, and kaffir lime foam ($12). Another favorite is the drink starring absinthe shaken with vinegar, grapefruit, vanilla, lime, ginger, and mint ($12). If you prefer your liquor neat, peruse the bar’s selection of spirits available in 1 oz. and 2 oz. pours organized by country of origin.

600 T isn’t a bar food destination, but there are enough snacks ($2-$4) to keep you satiated like cheese, cured meats, olives, breadsticks, and nuts. Not every bar should have to stash a chef in the back.

Lawrence says live music is coming in May. Expect jazz sessions to further set the mood and help you relax after whatever D.C. threw at you before the sun started to set.

Visit Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. and arrive early because the bar only has 25 seats.

—Laura Hayes

Best Bar Jackie Lee’s

116 Kennedy St. NW, (202) 882-4000, jackieleesdc.com

Nick Schieber first checked out 116 Kennedy St. NW after talking with a former Jackie Lee’s patron while working behind the bar at Red Derby. “He said, ‘I think this is gonna be my new neighborhood bar.’ I said, ‘What’s your old one? What happened?’

He told me, ‘Oh, Jackie Lee’s,’” Schieber

18 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

said. The Brightwood Park watering hole has opened and shut under several different owners since the 1960s.

Schieber, Amanda Kelsey, and Jason Crafton—all friends from working at Red Derby—had been thinking of opening a bar and moved quickly to bring Jackie Lee’s back to life with executive chef Peter Kloiber.

The history and importance of Jackie Lee’s isn’t lost on them. Patrons from all eras of Jackie Lee’s have told them it was the place to have a good time. “It was a cool thing for us to keep the name and the history that comes attached with it and learn to grow within that instead of just wiping it away,” Kelsey says. Schieber adds, “This is a place for everybody that lives in the neighborhood.”

Serving fun up to the community—and making it affordable—is in every detail of what they do, from the classic Nintendo setup to the quirky vending machines dispensing koozies, ponchos, and pregnancy tests.

At the bar, you can get a steal on beershot combos such as PBR and whiskey or Tecate and tequila for just $6. Or you can have a classic cocktail the way you like it. There are three versions of an Old Fashioned, including Wisconsin-style with 7 Up, all for $7 or $8 each.

“We’re not trying to blow your mind on a cocktail or sell you some beer from Vermont that you’ve never heard of,” Crafton said. “We want to have a drink that you like so you’re comfortable. It’s more like going to a friend’s house.”

Kloiber takes a similar approach in the kitchen. He’s a vet of Marcel’s and Vidalia among others, but it’s his Milwaukee roots that drive his great bar food menu at Jackie Lee’s.

“You just need to give people what they want,” the chef says. “People want crispy French fries. Why make things overly complicated when you just don’t have to? Plates come back empty, people leave happy, and they come back.”

Kloiber does simple well. His hush puppies are savory and extra crispy. The cheese fries glow yellow and green in the dark and, upon first bite, invoke that, “this is just what I needed” feeling late at night.

If you’re hungover, Jackie Lee’s will sober you up during weekend brunch with Wisconsin-style hash browns ($22). The heaping plate of potatoes is topped with four eggs and cheddar cheese and is best tackled with a group.

If you’re short on cash, come on Mondays and get a pulled pork or veggie sandwich with fries for $6 or Sunday nights for “family dinner” that includes chicken and waffles or ribs plus a beer and shot or a rail drink for just $15.

Jackie Lee’s has a clear sense of what

it wants to be and who it serves. Good days and bad days, afternoons and late nights, Jackie Lee’s neighbors can come and find what they need. D.C. has plenty of bars where you treat yourself with crazy cocktails and adventurous food, but here you can just be yourself.

—Justin Weber

Best Food Podcast Shift Drink

shiftdrink.fullserviceradio.org

It’s a total sausage party at Shift Drink, a D.C. food podcast that’s broadcast from Full Service Radio, located in the lobby of The LINE DC Hotel in Adams Morgan. On one recent episode, hosts Eddie Kim and Mathew Ramsey discussed all-things sausage with guests Scott McIntosh and Ana Marin from Meats & Foods. Both are hungover and drinking their favorite shift drinks: a Natty Boh and cheap white wine respectively. For those who don’t know the lingo, a shift drink is the free drink bartenders receive after a grueling night of service.

The podcast picks up on this ingrained tradition by asking guests to pick a drink and enjoy it on-air. While they sip, the conversations flow. On the tube-meat episode, the crew discussed the origins of D.C.’s half-smoke. If you’re an in-theknow eater, you’ll want to listen weekly as Kim and Ramsey talk to D.C.’s most celebrated chefs and bartenders, mixing in equal parts entertainment and nerdy food humor, as well as plenty of musical interludes and air horn sound effects from executive producer Jack Inslee.

—Tim Ebner

Best No Frills Cocktail Bar All Souls

725 T St. NW, (202) 733-5929, allsoulsbar.com

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there’s a serious dearth of “normal” places in D.C. Seemingly every new place has a concept, take, twist, or gimmick used to lure patrons. And they’re pricey to boot.

Sometimes I want to go somewhere that’s not trying to be anything other than a bar. Too many places think that the opposite of high-concept is lowquality. It’s not. It should be possible to enjoy a well made drink in a nice environment that doesn’t break the bank or require putting on airs. At All Souls, that dream comes true.

This Shaw spot markets itself as a “corner bar” and touts its “simple cock-

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2018

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FOOD&DRINK tails.” They may be simple, but they’re delicious and pack a mighty punch.

Thankfully, you can bring in outside food to sop up the alcohol. The patio shines in warmer months, but the cozy indoor bar provides unassumingbut-not-divey digs to enjoy All Souls’ creative offerings and catch up with friends. It’s the ultimate neighborhood bar.

—Will Warren

Best Afternoon Pick-Me-Up Café Chocolat

1423 H St. NW, (202) 827-3057, cafechocolatdc.com

When 2:30 p.m. rolls around and the afternoon slump hits, you can either visit the Keurig machine or opt for something with a touch of class. Café Chocolat has decadence for days, but still comes off as cozy and inviting.

They brew delicious coffee and espresso drinks using La Colombe coffee, but if java isn’t your thing, you can order a thick, rich hot chocolate, in light, dark, or white chocolate varieties. If you need a quick bite, choose from a range of luxury chocolates (such as local favorite Harper Macaw), or high quality pastries, like a chocolate and cream filled suisse, which I am still trying to pronounce.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Place To Scarf Down Food You Can Afford at The Wharf Pearl Street Warehouse

33 Pearl St. SW, (202) 380-9620, pearlstreetwarehouse.com

Since opening last October, The Wharf has quickly become a destination for fine-diners and concert-goers alike. But if you’re attending The Anthem or Union Stage, your choices for a pre-show meal are limited to a couple fast-casual joints and somewhere with the audacity to offer $10 cocktails during happy hour. There’s one notable exception: The Wharf’s only music-venue-meets-diner, Pearl Street Warehouse, which serves American standards along with live Americana music.

Grab a Greek lamb burger or Vietnamese tater tots for $8 and, during happy hour, a $4 Shiner Bock whether you’re fueling up for a concert there or elsewhere.

And if you wash up at the Wharf the next morning, stop by for the most rejuvenating American standard: a diner breakfast.

—Chris Kelly

Best Mess Bogan Bun at Lucky Buns

Multiple locations, luckybunsdc.com

Come with an appetite and don’t dare wear silk because when you’re through with what’s arguably the best burger in the city, it will look like you just finished a Tough Mudder race. Choose the twopatty Bogan Bun at this globally inspired burger joint and then wait for the monstrosity to land at your table. It features Creekstone Farms beef piled high with bacon jam, Gouda cheese, pickles, grilled red onion, arugula, and “Lucky Sauce” on a Lyon Bakery bun ($15). Some argue the Lucky Sauce is what makes the burger so tasty. It’s made with house-made chili sauces, sambal, mayo, and dried spices. But the bacon jam is actually where it’s at. Chef Alex McCoy calls it “an umami bomb based on Hong Kong XO sauce” because it contains Chinese five-spice, soy, smoked bacon, dried onions, and other seasonings.

—Laura Hayes

Best Home Cooking Upgrade Unconventional Diner’s Meatloaf 1207 9th St. NW, (202) 847-0122, unconventionaldiner.com

What if you took a chef who used to lead the kitchen at Citronelle, a hall-of-fame fancy D.C. restaurant, and asked him to make a humble meatloaf? Such is the case at Chef David Deshaies’ Unconventional Diner in Shaw. He sought to open a diner as a tribute to his mentor, Chef Michel Richard. During the many years the duo worked together, they traversed the country and always ate at greasy spoons.

The meatloaf on Deshaies’ current menu features a blend of veal, beef, and pork that’s topped with a Sriracha glaze. The secret is the addition of Gruyère cheese, which adds moisture and a little funk.

The comforting entree is served in a pool of morel mushroom gravy and comes with a side of buttery mashed potatoes that can be employed to sop up all the rich, brown sauce.

—Laura Hayes

Best Improvement of Philly Food Fried Pretzel at Continental Beer Garden

1911 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, (703) 465-7675, continentalpoollounge. com/continental-beer-garden

Don’t tell the obnoxious Philadelphians in

22 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

your life, but a beer garden sandwiched between tall buildings in Rosslyn has improved upon their signature snack.

Chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley of Smoked & Stacked consulted on the Continental Beer Garden food menu and has a secret trick for making the soft pretzels so delicious. “We actually flash fry them for 30 seconds,” she says. “It gives them a really good crust and keeps them really soft on the inside.” The pretzel that tastes like it came from a fry booth at a state fair costs $5 and comes with a cup of spicy mustard for dipping. Do yourself a favor and add an additional cup of beer cheese for $2.

—Laura Hayes

Best Free Bread Service The Dabney

122 Blagden Alley NW, (202) 4501015, thedabney.com

When almost everything seems to carry a hidden fee these days, it’s easy to stop and appreciate a truly exceptional free bread service. That’s what you’ll find at The Dabney, which serves house-made ciabatta bread that gets grilled over the restaurant’s open hearth, giving it a heavy char. The ciabatta is served warm with sweet butter whipped with sorghum molasses. To add even more oomph, Chef Jeremiah Langhorne and his team top the butter with fennel pollen, black pepper, Aleppo chili flakes, and JQ Dickinson salt that’s harvested from below the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia.

It seems there is such thing as Michelinstarred bread service.

—Laura Hayes

Best Place To Get Sandwiches Named After John Wall and Marion Barry MLK Deli

3113 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, (202) 597-5897, mlkdeli.com

The MLK Deli is a welcome and tasty addition in the heart of Congress Heights. It re-opened last fall under new management and the new owner, Tyrone White Jr., made significant improvements to the cuisine. Their signature dish is an amazing all-lump crab cake sandwich, and everything on the menu is amusingly named to reflect the vibrant culture of the neighborhood. There’s the “John Wall Ham Sandwich,” “Big Chair Beef Reuben,” “Marion Barry Salmon Cakes,” and an all-beef chili hot dog creatively coined the “Glizzy,” perhaps after local

Best Spot to Prove You Know What Jollof Rice Is: Zion Kitchen and Lounge

Best Place to Get Sandwiches Named After John Wall and Marion Barry: MLK Deli

FOOD&DRINK rapper Shy Glizzy. The “Mr. Luke’s Fried Chicken Breast Sandwich” is an homage to the original deli owner Gregory Lucas, and who can resist a juicy turkey breast sandwich with king sauce called the “Jive Turkey?” The homemade blueberry, strawberry, and mango flavored lemonades are delicious too. Parking isn’t terrible and as an additional benefit to the community, many MLK Deli employees are returning citizens. White says his mission is to bring “better food and career options to Congress Heights.”

—Sidney Thomas

Darrow Montgomery

Best Spot to Prove You Know What Jollof Rice Is Zion Kitchen Lounge & Cafe

1805 Montana Ave. NE, (202) 6369097, zkafricanloungedc.com

We love rice. Fact is, rice is the most important grain for human consumption on the planet. And while pretty much every culture has its favorite version of the elongated grain, the West African rendition, jollof rice, has suffered from relative obscurity in the western world. D.C.’s potent West African food scene has been slowly but surely weaving the culinary staple into the consciousness of diners in the area. While Kwame Onwuachi’s translation at Kith and Kin is noble in its attempts to connect the diasporic dots between jollof and jambalaya, Zion Kitchen Lounge & Cafe deals in the more familiar and traditional. Oyindamola Akinkugbe’s version at Zion ($15 for an entree) comes from recipes she grew up with in Nigeria, and she has perfected serving those of us far from the western coasts of our motherland. Zion’s take on the fragrant Nigerian dish, made by essentially frying well cooked long grain parboiled rice in a tomato paste-based sauce, creates a fragrant dish that’s delicately sweet yet spicy in flavor. First timers at Zion can get familiar with a platter based around jollof yet complemented with familiar fare like plantains, red stew chicken, and black eyed beans. Once familiar, venture into moi moi, egusi, goat meat, and pepper soup. —Hamzat Sani

Best Restaurant Himitsu

Darrow Montgomery

828 Upshur St. NW, himitsudc.com

This Petworth restaurant’s Japanese name translates to “secret” in English.

But it’s safe to say the delightfulness of Himitsu is one of the worst kept secrets in town. It’s been named as one of the best new restaurants in America by

both Bon Appétit and Eater national critic Bill Addison. Now its chef and co-owner, Kevin Tien, is a finalist for a James Beard Award for “Rising Star Chef of the Year.”

Tien, who gained his skills at Uchi in Houston, KAZ Sushi Bistro, and Pineapple and Pearls, opened the restaurant with Carlie Steiner in the fall of 2016 in the former Crane & Turtle space. Steiner previously tended bar at the highly experimental barmini by José Andrés and has been upping the District’s cocktail game one drink at a time with her use of non-traditional lead spirits, sherry, and savory ingredients.

The youthful owners have created an impossibly cool restaurant where the diner feels supremely cared for as they traverse innovative menus. The drink list is reflective of Steiner’s world travels and the playful food menu leans heavily on Japanese flavors and techniques.

Start with a martini that employs Rujero Singani, a Bolivian brandy, instead of gin or vodka. Steiner stirs it with manzanilla sherry, creme de violette, and orange bitters, creating a drink with the same nose as a floral bouquet ($15). Pair it with what has become one of the restaurant’s signature dishes—hamachi crudo with yellowtail, orange segments, fish sauce vinaigrette, and yuzu tobiko ($16).

The hamachi crudo is one of several raw fish preparations. From there, the menu gets a little heavier. Recent highlights show Tien’s strategy of taking familiar foods and trashing the script. A dish labeled “Buffalo Wings” is actually a cornmeal-fried quail breast served with a chili kosho Buffalo sauce and shiso buttermilk ranch ($18). Another dish features “gnocchi” formed out of rice cakes with white pepper soubise, crispy shiitake, egg yolk, and pickled red onion ($18).

Though most moments at Himitsu are sheer perfection, Tien and Steiner are restless and determined to continue to improve and help employees build careers in the service industry. “In some ways we’ve completely achieved our goal by creating a space that’s a hospitality incubator where we’ve been able to train a lot of people while providing them work-life balance,” Steiner says. The restaurant is closed Sundays and Mondays to give staff ample rest.

“Even though there are a lot of happy people and we’re so proud of what we’ve done, we’re also just as ready to focus and improve,” Steiner says. She also says she and Tien plan to keep D.C. diners on their toes. “You never know what we’re going to cook up.”

With just 24 seats, Himitsu doesn’t take reservations. But there are ample bars in the neighborhood like Petworth Citizen and Hank’s Cocktail Bar where you can

sip a drink while you wait for your table.

—Laura Hayes

Best Neighborhood Joint Slash Run

201 Upshur St. NW, (202) 8389929, slashrun.com

The key word here is “joint.” Slash Run is technically a restaurant, serving deliciously greasy burgers and chicken “nuggs” out of its tiny kitchen a stone’s throw from the Old Soldier’s Home in Petworth. (Unless you go on Tuesdays, when it becomes a taco place.) It is also a killer bar, with an impressive rotating draft selection and thrash-rock, go-go, and Madonna on the jukebox. Also count it as a successful weekend brunch spot; a live music venue, with punk and indie rock hitting its little stage most Friday and Saturday nights; and an occasional DJ dance club. Not to mention the karaoke, movie screenings, and tarot readings that occasionally take place. Manager Christine Lilyea has more ideas brewing, too. For longtime Washingtonians, Slash Run is a repository of art and signage from bygone establishments, notably the weird wall mural from the late Chief Ike’s on which Nixon, Castro, Elvis, and Marion Barry keep company. Most importantly, though, it’s a great hang for the large, terrifically diverse bunch of Petworthians who live within walking distance. What other word can encapsulate it? It’s a joint.

—Michael J. West

Best Southeast Jerk and Jerk-que Carryout Chicken Pimento Grill

4405 Bowen Road SE, (202) 5826595, pimento-grill.com

Pimento Grill, a tiny Jamaican carryout in Anacostia, is named after the tree whose wood is often used to cook jerk chicken and whose fruit is used to make the jerk seasoning that flavors the bird.

At Pimento, owned by Jamaican Gary McNaughton, you can get not only jerk chicken, but a milder “jerk-que” chicken, jerk salmon, jerk tilapia, or a dish called “Rasta Pasta” featuring jerk shrimp served over pasta. The browned jerk chicken has a unique slow-burning spiciness while the milder jerk-que chicken combines sweetness and a little vinegary tang with spice that’s tamer but not bland. The sides, including cabbage, greens, callaloo, rice, and coco bread,

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 23

FOOD&DRINK

Best Wine Bar Maxwell Park

1336 9th St. NW, (202) 792-9522, maxwelldcwine.com

At a wine bar with a 12-page menu featuring bottles plucked from regions spanning the globe, you might expect stuffy service or long-drawn-out stories about the vines and vintners. Not at Maxwell Park. At 5 p.m., the wine bar is playing *NSYNC during “aperitif hour,” which means patrons are sipping free glasses of vermouth alongside half or full pours of wine. Sommeliers Brent Kroll, Daniel Runnerstrom, and Niki Lang are on a mission to snuff out the snobbery. Kroll even named his wine bar after his favorite playground in Detroit. Get ready for a child-like adventure—the menu changes monthly with imaginative staff-picked themes. April is dedicated to The Life Aquatic, wines grown by the sea that bring a distinctly briny bite. Not a fan of high-salinity wines? Ask Kroll, who was named one of Food & Wine’s 2018 sommeliers of the year, to pick from the 500 or so bottles on the menu, or opt for one of his cocktails on tap. This is a serious wine bar that thankfully doesn’t take itself too seriously.

—Tim Ebner

Best Ramen Sidekicks Haikan

805 V St. NW, (202) 299-1000, haikandc.com

Those with big appetites in Japan often order ramen sets that come with a side of fried or white rice and a plate of fried gyoza to accompany big bowls of steaming hot noodles in broth. In the US of A, ramen restaurants typically stick to the script when it comes to side orders, but not Haikan. Chef Katsuya Fukushima flexes his culinary muscles with creative preparations like crab rangoons sprinkled with Old Bay ($7); a play on poutine with fries, mapo tofu, mozzarella curds, ground chicken, and Sichuan peppercorns ($8); and a symphony of vegetables including lotus root and kabocha squash in a soy and sake-based sauce ($8).

—Laura Hayes

Best Reason to Get Out of Bed on Thursdays and Fridays Bagel bites at Pleasant Pops 731 15th St. NW, (202) 347-0938, pleasantpops.com

Pleasant Pops’ downtown location is conveniently located across the street from City Paper’s office, and I spend more of my paycheck there than I care to admit. Despite promising myself I’d cut back on caffeine, I always come crawling back to this small cafe and popsicle joint, especially on Thursdays and Fridays.

Those are the days when you can find Poppy’s Stuffed Bagel Holes as a morning offering. Even if I’ve had breakfast, I can’t avoid picking up at least one of those bites. They’re perfectly portioned with a good cream cheese to carb ratio, and come dusted with delicious herbs and stuffed with fresh cream cheese.

Grab a handful of holes and a large Americano, and you’ve got just about the best breakfast to be found downtown.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Upside to Getting a Parking Ticket Caribbean Citations

1208 Maple View Place SE, (202) 7508744, caribbeancitations.com

There are two prices for every dish on the menu at Caribbean Citations in Anacostia. If you bring in a parking ticket, you’re eligible to pay the prices listed in red. They’re about $1 to $2 less than the full price for each dish. Curry goat and two sides typically costs $14.99, for example, but if you got nailed by the meter militia, you can bring in your pink slip of pain and pay $13.99 instead. Caribbean Citations, which specializes in Jamaican jerked meats and curries, is generous in another way. You can enter your parking ticket into a raffle. If your ticket is pulled, the owner will reimburse you up to $100 of your parking ticket fee. —Laura Hayes

Best Vegetarian Pho Pho Viet

3513 14th St. NW, (202) 6292839, phovietwdc.com

When The Washington Post lauded the beef broth at Pho Viet as the best in town a few months ago, they missed a big secret about this neighborhood spot in Columbia Heights. The veggie pho is just as good, if not better. The laid-back res-

24 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Darrow Montgomery

have a home-cooked taste. Don’t forget to order the cucumber ginger juice drink to quell the heat. Calling your order in first is recommended, but sometimes the busy staff doesn’t get to the phone quickly and you’ll reach voicemail. Keep trying until you get a live person—the flavors here are worth it. —Steve Kiviat

Best Spot for a Secret Business Lunch: 1018 Vermont Ave.NW

taurant attracts a dedicated, if hodgepodge, crew of regulars. Uniformed beat cops, hip hairdressers, and suited feds all share the counter stools. Even the omnivores among them should skip out on the variety of meat options in favor of the veggie pho. Fresh broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and expertly fried tofu are nestled in between noodles, fried onions, and cilantro, plus the traditional trimmings. The star is unquestionably the broth. Its flavor is so complex that I had a hard time believing they didn’t chuck a few bones in there at some point. Soon you too will find yourself at the counter, forgoing a menu and just ordering #22.

—Rachel Sadon

Best Munchies or Drunchies: CHIKO

Best Spot for a Secret Business Lunch 1018 Vermont Ave. NW

The names of the businesses on the second and third floors of this nondescript building on Vermont Avenue NW frequently change. At one time, the second floor was home to D.C. Thai Restaurant and the third floor was home to the ramen spot Kanji-Kana. Kanji-Kana is now closed but its menu is still available one floor down at the renamed District Thai Restaurant. This confusion is part of the benefit and charm of the restaurant—it’s the perfect spot if you need a comforting bowl of noodles while decompressing about office stress because it’s hidden.

Tables can be pushed together if lunch involves a group discussion or pulled apart if it’s a smaller affair, and the sound of your conversation is deadened by the bossa nova covers of yesteryear’s pop hits playing on the stereo. As an added bonus, the service is quite speedy, so you can have your noodles and your conversation completed before anyone realizes you’re gone.

—Caroline Jones

Best Munchies or Drunchies CHIKO

423 8th St. SE, (202) 558-9934, chikodc.com

You know when you’re in a mixed crowd of friends and half of your group is buzzed off booze while the crunchier set is higher than former Bong Appetit host Abdullah Saeed? It can be hard to come to a consensus on what to eat. Enter CHIKO. The casual Chinese meets Korean restaurant on Barracks Row is a welcome middle ground for suffers of the munchies and the drunchies. The food is a textural playground from double-fried chicken wings ($9) to a bowl of chewy rice cakes with savory bulgogi, carrots, and shiitakes ($18). If you’re able to remember, be sure to order the Wagshal’s chopped brisket rice bowl to-go with a soy-brined soft egg and furikake butter ($18). It reheats well and you’ll be so

FOOD&DRINK happy waking up to it in the morning.

Too trashed to leave home? Caviar can bring CHIKO to you. No excuses, eat like a champion.

—Laura Hayes

Best Sunday Lunch Federalist Pig

1654 Columbia Road NW, (202) 827-4400, federalistpig.com

Darrow Montgomery

Even though this Adams Morgan barbecue spot won for best sandwich last year, we’ve found another reason to celebrate it. The best move is to show up on a Sunday afternoon within 30

minutes of noon, so when it opens you have your choice of both seat and food.

Rob Sonderman’s barbecue temple is so popular that the lines grow quickly and many items sell out by the end of the day. On a recent Sunday at 12:10 p.m, the line was still short, but nearly all the seats were occupied. If you’re not an early bird, and you don’t catch worms, there is one benefit to arriving late: You get to watch as the staff greets the majority of customers by name. It seems Federalist Pig has already won over a whole lot of regulars since it opened less than a year and a half ago.

—Alexa Mills

Best Pupusas Gloria’s Pupuseria

3411 14th St. NW, (202) 884-0105

D.C. is a pupusa town, and if you have any doubts about that, please Google

“D.C. PupusaFest.” That’s right: Once a year, D.C. hosts an entire festival devoted exclusively to the stuffed corn cakes of joy. It is one of my favorite days of the year.

But you don’t need to wait for the festival to enjoy delicious pupusas. There are a large number of places serving the Salvadoran snack in the region because of D.C.’s significant Salvadoran population. There’s a number of ace establishments that make a damn good pupusa—shout out to La Casita Pupuseria & Market in Silver Spring and Mount Pleasant’s Don Juan Restaurant—but in my mouth, one restaurant reigns supreme: Gloria’s Pupuseria in Columbia Heights.

Gloria’s is a small hole in the wall on 14th Street NW with only a handful of tables. There’s nothing special or remarkable about the dainty, simple decor, save for its Salvadoran flair, but behind the counter, magic happens. The cooks lovingly churn out classically made pupusas—fluffy, browned, and stuffed with queso, pork, frijoles, loroco, or some combination thereof—that are nothing short of heavenly.

And be sure to get all the fixins’—Gloria’s curtido (a traditional Salvadoran cabbage slaw) is an essential accompaniment to these pupusas. —Matt Cohen

Best Excuse to Mix Beer and Another Drink in the Same Glass Radlers at Dacha

1600 7th St. NW, (202) 3509888, dachadc.com

The beer cocktail is a fickle friend.

Dropping a shot of sake, Baileys Irish Cream, or Jagermeister into a pint of lager might get you smashed but it won’t taste very good, and mixing in another liquid can overpower a beer’s subtle flavors. But the Germans, who know a thing or two about beer, mix beer and fruit-flavored soda into the perfect day drink known as a radler. While premixed canned or draft radlers are nice in a pinch, a freshly poured combination is an ideal patio drink. Shaw beer garden Dacha knows this—they serve lemon and grapefruit options and both are delightful. Day drinking can frequently lead to belly aches and early crashes, so picking the correct beverage is essential. Dacha’s radlers are light and not too boozy, meaning you can enjoy them without fear of becoming the obnoxious drunk patio person.

—Caroline Jones washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 25

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GAVIN DEGRAW PHILLIP PHILLIPS AUG 31

ALANIS MORISSETTE SEP 6

A JOURNEY THROUGH HINDI CINEMA AUG 26

Darrow Montgomery

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Best Oasis, Staff Pick: Rothko Room at Phillips Collection

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 27

REAdERS’ PIckS

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Best One-Stop Contemporary Art Shop: Freer-Sackler

Best Art ClAss

Best Arts And Culture nonproFit

Best dAnCe CompAny

Best go-go BAnd

Sam D’Amico Photography Classes

BloomBars

Princess Mhoon Dance Institute

Rare Essence

2nd Place: Smithsonian Associates Studio Arts 3rd Place (Tie): Capitol Hill Arts Workshop 3rd Place (Tie): The Lemon Collective

Best Comedy venue

7961 Eastern Ave., Silver Spring, (301) 448-1663, princessmhoondance.com

2nd Place: The Chuck Brown Band 3rd Place: Backyard Band

2nd Place: The Washington Ballet 3rd Place: Joy of Motion Dance Center

Best JAzz/Blues venue

(202) 531-2344, samdamico.com

Best Arts & Culture FestivAl

Funk Parade funkparade.com

Nowruz Festival nowruzfestival.org

2nd Place: Turkish Festival Best Arts Blog

A Creative DC acreativedc.com

2nd Place: East City Art 3rd Place (Tie): DC Rocks 3rd Place (Tie): One Love Massive

3222 11th St. NW, (202) 567-7713, bloombars.com

DC Improv

1140 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 2967008, dcimprov.com 2nd Place: The Big Hunt 3rd Place: Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse Best CommerCiAl Art gAllery

Latela Art Gallery 716 Monroe St. NE, Studio #27, latelagallery.com 2nd Place: Touchstone Gallery 3rd Place: Long View Gallery Best dJ

DJ Dirty Rico

instagram.com/djricothenoisemaker 2nd Place: DJ Robbie White 3rd Place: DJ MiGGL

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Best esCApe room

The Escape Lounge on H Street 1322B H St. NE, (202) 399-0900, escapeloungedc.com

2nd Place: Escape Room Live Georgetown 3rd Place: Insomnia Escape Room DC Best Film FestivAl

Washington Jewish Film Festival (202) 777-3210, wjff.org

2nd Place: Environmental Film Festival 3rd Place: AFI DOCS

rareessence.com

Blues Alley

1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, (202) 3374141, bluesalley.com 2nd Place: Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club 3rd Place (Tie): Columbia Station 3rd Place (Tie): Twins Jazz Best KArAoKe

Muzette Karaoke & Restaurant 2305 18th St. NW, Basement, (202) 758-2971, muzette.com 2nd Place: District Karaoke 3rd Place: Wok and Roll

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Best loCAl ChorAl group

Best musiC FestivAl

18th Street Singers

Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival

18thstreetsingers.com

2nd Place: SongRise 3rd Place: Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Best loCAl Cover BAnd

White Ford Bronco whitefordbronco.com

2nd Place: The Reflex 3rd Place: The Legwarmers

kingmanislandbluegrass.info

2nd Place: Funk Parade 3rd Place: Broccoli City Festival Best musiC venue

9:30 Club

815 V St. NW, (202) 265-0930, 930.com 2nd Place: The Anthem 3rd Place: Black Cat

Best loCAl originAl BAnd

stonedriver.com

2nd Place: Batalá Washington 3rd Place: Aztec Sun Band Best movie theAter

E Street Cinema

555 11th St. NW, (202) 783-9494, landmarktheatres.com/washington-dc/e-street-cinema 2nd Place: Atlantic Plumbing Cinema 3rd Place: Uptown Theater Best museum/Art gAllery

National Gallery of Art

4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, (202) 737-4215, nga.gov 2nd Place: National Portrait Gallery 3rd Place: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Best museum oFF the mAll

President Lincoln’s Cottage

140 Rock Creek Church Road NW, (202) 829-0436, lincolncottage.org 2nd Place: National Portrait Gallery 3rd Place: National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum Best museum on the mAll

National Museum of African American History and Culture

1400 Constitution Ave. NW, (844) 7503012, nmaahc.si.edu 2nd Place: National Gallery of Art 3rd Place: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Best neighBorhood FestivAl

H Street Festival hstreetfestival.org

2nd Place: Takoma Park Street Festival 3rd Place: Adams Morgan Day Best night CluB (tie)

The Park at Fourteenth

920 14th St. NW, (202) 737-7275, park14.com

Darrow Montgomery/File

Stone Driver

Best Movie Theater, Readers’ Pick: E Street Cinema

Town Danceboutique 2009 8th St. NW, (202) 234-8696, towndc.com

2nd Place (Tie): 9:30 Club 2nd Place (Tie): Eighteenth Street Lounge Best outdoor movie series

Union Market Drive-In

1309 5th St NE, (301) 347-3997, unionmarketdc.com 2nd Place: Screen on the Green 3rd Place: Capitol Riverfront Outdoor Movie Series Best perFormAnCe Artist

Brian Feldman Projects brianfeldman.com

2nd Place: Holly Bass 3rd Place: Nasim Siddeeq Best perForming Arts venue

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2700 F St. NW, (202) 467-4600, kennedy-center.org

2nd Place: Arena Stage 3rd Place: Atlas Performing Arts Center

Best theAter CompAny (tie)

Best plACe to experienCe loCAl musiC

Shakespeare Theatre Company

Black Cat

1811 14th St. NW, (202) 667-4490, blackcatdc.com 2nd Place: Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe 3rd Place: 9:30 Club Best rAdio stAtion

WAMU 88.5

Best reCording studio

Blue Room Productions

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company 641 D St. NW, (202) 393-3939, woollymammoth.net

4401 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 8851200, wamu.org 2nd Place: WOWD-LP 3rd Place: WERA 96.7

610 F St. NW, (202) 547-1122, shakespearetheatre.org

2nd Place: Studio Theatre Best theAter FestivAl

Capital Fringe Festival

1358 Florida Ave. NE, (202) 737-7230, capitalfringe.org

Multiple locations, (240) 505-5544, blueroommusicstudio.com

2nd Place: Women’s Voices Theater Festival 3rd Place: WOMXN on Fire Festival

2nd Place: Sweet Spot Studio 3rd Place: Airshow

Best visuAl Artist

Best strip CluB

Camelot Showbar 1823 M St. NW, (202) 887-5966, camelotshowbar.com

Sarah Jamison sarah-jamison.com

2nd Place: Marcella Kriebel 3rd Place: Robin Bell

2nd Place: Stadium Club 3rd Place (Tie): Good Guys Club 3rd Place (Tie): Secrets

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 29

STAff PIckS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Farrah Skeiky

Best Jazz Jam Session That Time Forgot: Takoma Station Tavern

Best Jazz Jam Session That Time Forgot Takoma Station Tavern

6914 4th St. NW, (202) 829-1999, takomastation.com

There’s a photo of Wynton Marsalis by the front door. Entrees are named after Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. But Takoma Station Tavern, a neighborhood bar on the District’s upper edge and a jazz destination in the ’80s and ’90s, now mostly offers go-go and R&B on its bandstand. Except on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m., that is, when rotating rhythm sections—usually guitar-bass-drums combinations—occupy its rear stage and get an open jam session rolling. As jazz blow-

ing sessions go, this one is pretty lowkey, at least these days. Some nights you mostly just get the rhythm section sounding off on the standards. But more often than you might think, musicians pack the place, ready to cross swords: Sometimes there’s even a ringer or two ready to blow everyone else not just off the stage, but out of the venue. Most of the time, though, it’s steady traffic of solid jazz, with players whose names you may not know stepping up and surprising you with both their chops and their ideas.

—Michael J. West

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Best Place for Kids (and Grownups) to Get Lit Badlands

5200 Randolph Road, Rockville, (301) 618-0009, badlandsplayspace.com

Full disclosure: I’m a fan of kids’ playspaces.

Some of my favorite childhood memories took place at my local Chuck E. Cheese’s, Exchange City, and the indoor and outdoor playgrounds at my daycare. These are places where kids can have boundless fun without a care in the world. “Oh, what’s that you say? An apocalypse is happening outside? Well, I don’t care because it’s my turn on the rock climbing wall.” According to my birth certificate, I am no longer legally a child. But that doesn’t make Badlands

any less exciting. I love that my young niece and nephew now get the opportunity to make some of those same playspace memories I did when they come to visit me. Badlands is a nature-inspired space which boasts that kids can “take risks, succeed at challenging themselves, and find their own way.” There are tons of programs, a workshop complete with tools and tinkering stations, a big mountain kids can climb, a screening room, an open turf field, a builders room, and a cafe and bar. And here, parents can drink wine by the glass. Though I’m not sure if alcohol should be mixed with child rearing, I have been assured by actual parents that booze is sometimes sorely needed.

—Kayla Randall

Take Metrobus and Metrorail to the...

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Delfeayo Marsalis | Terri Lyne Carrington: Celebrating Geri Allen | Tia Fuller | Frédéric Yonnet Raul Midón | Edmar Castañeda & Grégoire Maret | Fabrizio Bosso | Jeff Parker | Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die AACM Special Ensemble | Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra | Yosvany Terry & Baptiste Trotignon’s Ancestral Memories Washington Renaissance Orchestra Octet | Pharaoh Sanders | Melissa Andana Bill Cole’s Untempered | Roy Hargrove | Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton Allyn Johnson & Paul Carr | Sam Prather Groove Orchestra | Hess Is More | Michael Thomas Quintet | Javier Moreno | AMP Trio feat. Tahira Clayton Rochelle Rice | Mark G. Meadows | Marshall Keys Soulful Path | Eric Byrd Trio | Elijah Balbed | Todd Marcus | Donvonte´ McCoy Quintet Allan Harris: The Genius of Eddie Jefferson | Esther Williams & Davey Yarborough | Brian and Jessica Settles | Veronneau Julia Nixon | The Redd Brothers | Christie Dashiell w/C.V. Dashiell | Liberation Project | Charmaine Michelle Jo-Go Project | Dupont Brass | Tom Teasley | Herb Scott & Aaron Myers | Free Benjamin & Ayanna Gregory | Kris Funn & Cornerstore Jihye Lee Orchestra | John Lamkin III | Vocal Jam at Ivy Smokehouse w/Chris Grasso | Lena Seikaly Tribute to Keter Betts | Benito Gonzalez | Joe Brotherton | Batida Diferente | DC JazzPrix Finalists & more!

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The DC Jazz Festival®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, and its programs are made possible, in part, with major grants from the Government of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, Mayor; with awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment; and, in part, by major funding from Events DC, the Anne and Ronald Abramson Family Foundation, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Gillon Family Charitable Fund, Wells Fargo Foundation, The NEA Foundation, Venable Foundation, The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, The Reva & David Logan Foundation, John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Humanities Council of DC. ©2018 DC Jazz Festival. All rights reserved

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 31

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Best Rising Musical Visionary

Best Rising Musical Visionary: Sarah Hughes

“I’ve always had a problem repeating myself,” Sarah Hughes says of her music. “I equate repetition with being kind of stuck. A person isn’t evolving if they keep repeating themselves.”

The alto saxophonist’s solution thus far has been to experiment. She leans avant-garde, but each time she hits a bandstand the goal has been to do something different—here it’s a night of jazz standards, there an audience-participation improv, elsewhere a free-blowing duo with drummer Nate Scheible. Equally important, Hughes says, “I want what I do to be spontaneous and unplanned.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be in a place with my own projects where I’m rehearsing music—but I can’t see past the phase that I’m in right now.”

No wonder: Her current, exploratory phase is paying big dividends. Hughes is a regular performer at Rhizome, the community arts space in Takoma, and she has a steady stream of gigs at Twins Jazz, Sotto, and others (including several in Baltimore). In February, she netted two mentions in The Washington Post. Last month, a release party for her remarkable, debut recording, Coy Fish, closed the Washington Women in Jazz Festival.

It’s quite a transformation from the shy UMUC undergrad who once worked arrangements in the Thad Wilson Big Band and Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. Her first gig as a leader (in January 2010, when she had just turned 23) was a strikingly un-free set of free-jazz architect Ornette Coleman’s tunes; she was so shy that a bandmate talked to the audience for her. There was little to suggest the daring innovator now tearing up D.C.’s stages.

The difference came when she moved to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory, which famously trains its jazz and improvisation students to ignore convention. Hughes studied with avant-garde pianist Anthony Coleman.

(He pointed out to her that she didn’t like repeating herself.) She also worked with him in the NEC’s John Zorn Cobra ensemble—which performs Zorn’s piece comprising improvisation cues and rules for following them, but no notated music, so that every performance sounds completely different. The experience reshaped her aesthetics.

“I don’t know if I would have gotten there anyway; I really don’t think so,” Hughes says. “I think the people that I met at NEC, especially Anthony Coleman, really showed me a different world of improvisation that inspired the path 32 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Diriki Rice

Sarah Hughes

BEETHOVEN AND MAHLER THU, APR 19 | 8 PM

MARKUS STENZ, PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR JONATHAN CARNEY, VIOLIN DARIUSZ SKORACZEWSKI, CELLO RYO YANAGITANI, PIANO BEETHOVEN // Concerto for Violin, Violoncello and Piano MAHLER // Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Titan” Experience the massive orchestral forces of Mahler's “Titan” Symphony. Beethoven’s Triple Concerto highlights the artistry of BSO Concertmaster Jonathan Carney and Principal Cello Dariusz Skoraczewski.

MOVIE WITH ORCHESTRA: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK THU, MAY 10 | 8 PM

Experience Raiders of the Lost Ark like never before as Jack Everly leads the BSO in John Williams' epic score alongside the classic Steven Spielberg film.

GERSHWIN'S PIANO CONCERTO THU, MAY 31 | 8 PM

MARIN ALSOP, MUSIC DIRECTOR KIRILL GERSTEIN, PIANO STRAVINSKY // Suite from The Firebird (1919) GERSHWIN// Concerto in F SCHUMANN // Symphony No. 2 in C Major Music Director Marin Alsop conducts the BSO in Stravinsky's dazzling Firebird. Pianist Kirill Gerstein performs Gershwin's Concerto in F, a blend of classical and American jazz.

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washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 33

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Courtesy Folger Theatre

Best Place to See an Old Play in an Old Setting: Folger Elizabethan Theatre

that I’ve been on.”

As she develops, Hughes is starting to find value in repetition—specifically, in working repeatedly with the same personnel, as she does with Coy Fish.

It’s clear that she is in pursuit of a vision. The full shape of that vision, however, is somewhat elusive. “I just know how I want to feel, which is, I want to feel connected to the music I’m making,” she says. “I guess I just want to provide an environment for myself in which I can feel infinitely creative.” —Michael J. West

Best Place to See an Old Play in an Old Setting Folger Elizabethan Theatre

201 East Capitol St. SE, (202) 544-7077, folger.edu

At this point in time, you can see the works of William Shakespeare in practically any setting—in a park, in a bar, in an animated film. Sometimes you just want to see 400-year-old drama on a stage, though! The Folger Theatre knows this.

It’s not D.C.’s fanciest venue for the performing arts—it doesn’t have the Kennedy Center’s plush red carpets or Shakespeare Theatre Company’s glass façade or Studio Theatre’s multiple stages. It’s

34 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

simply a room with great acoustics designed to look like an Elizabethan playhouse. Whether you’re looking down from a balcony seat or facing the stage straight on, in this intimate space, you get a great view of actors bringing new life to old lines.

—Caroline Jones

Best Local HipHop Anthem “Crew” by GoldLink

D.C. has long suffered a reputation as a second-rate hip-hop city, lagging behind places like New York and Atlanta that are well known for producing legends of hip-

hop who rap with a distinctly regional sound. “Crew” may just rebuff that notion and be D.C.’s coming out. The song propelled local rapper GoldLink, who has long been beloved by hip-hop heads, all the way to the 2017 Grammys (it was nominated for Best Rap Song) and solidified the reputation of the DMV rap scene—it’s past booming; it has arrived.

The song features two other locals, fellow D.C. rapper Shy Glizzy and R&B singer and Columbia, Md. native Brent Faiyaz, and the music video reps D.C. pride with footage of various neighborhoods, opening with a voice-over that prays “for the DMV to reign for many moons.” Amen.

—Avery J.C. Kleinman

Three years in a row.

We barely know what to say. t @camelotshowbar f /camelotshowbarDC i @camelotshowbar

Voted D.C.’s Best Strip Club www.camelotshowbar.com washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 35

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT The Best Cultural Influencer You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

Best Digital Label

Timothy Anne Burnside

Art and activism are intrinsically linked, especially in the world of music. Music can make an impact for good and help benefit certain issues and marginalized communities. Surfacing Records, the digital label of Hyattsville guitarist and engineer Mattson Ogg, understands that. An online-only label that specializes in releasing longform drone and ambient music, each of Surfacing’s releases 100 percent benefits a different charitable or advocacy organization. Over five releases, Surfacing has put out some truly gorgeous and forward-thinking experimental music, but what’s more impressive is the diversity of organizations to which the artists have chosen to donate proceeds: ISER Caribe, Project Fierce Chicago, JDRF, The Indigenous People’s Power Project, and Planned Parenthood. It’s a fine example of music being a force for good in the world.

—Matt Cohen

Timothy Anne Burnside is a Specialist in Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and her job routinely takes her around the country to collect precious artifacts. Burnside was born and raised in Wisconsin and she moved to D.C. for an internship with the National Museum of American History in 2003.

She began collecting hip-hop and other cultural objects for the Smithsonian when they launched a hip-hop initiative at the NMAH in 2006. Since then, Burnside has acquired musical equipment from famed rap producer J Dilla, costumes from R&B divas En Vogue and Nona Hendryx, and never before seen video from gospel music matriarch Mahalia Jackson. Burnside says visitors to the museum see the final product on exhibit but they don’t see the “hours of site visits, conversations, research, and detailed preparation that happens before a collection is considered,” work that can take months or even years before it comes to fruition. Her latest project is a book called The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap—a collaboration between the NMAAHC and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

—Sidney Thomas

Surfacing Records

surfacingrecords.bandcamp.com

Best Place to Learn About Black History Off the Mall Alexandria Black History Museum

902 Wythe St., Alexandria, (703) 746-4356, alexandriava.gov/blackhistory

Alexandria, Virginia, was once home to the headquarters and holding area of

Franklin and Armfield, the largest domestic slave trading firm in the United States.

That’s a piece of black history that often goes unmentioned. To honor that history and the many contributions and sacrifices of black people to make Alexandria what it is today, the city built the Alexandria Black History Museum. As stated on the museum’s website, “The City of Alexandria would not exist in its present form were it not for the economic, social, and cultural contributions of African Americans both enslaved and free.” The museum tells the story of those who were stolen from their homeland, brought here and enslaved, and what happened to them and the generations that came after them when they got here.

Currently, you can check out Before the Spirits are Swept Away: African American Historic Site Paintings by Sherry Z. Sanabria, an exhibit featuring 20 of Sanabria’s stunning paintings of black historic sites relating to slavery, worship, and education. You can look forward to informative events centered on black issues hosted at the museum as well. Most recently, it hosted an evening of discussion with Brian Stolarz, an attorney who wrote a book about one of his most prolific cases: the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a black man who spent ten years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit.

This is much more than a museum, though, as the area is also home to the Alexandria African American Heritage Park, a 9-acre green space and wetland which also has on its grounds a 19th cen-

The Best Cultural Influencer You Probably Haven’t Heard Of: Timothy Anne Burnside

tury African-American cemetery, offering a space for quiet reflection. Also, be sure to check out the Watson Reading Room next door to the museum, named after early black landowners in Alexandria, Charles and Laura Watson. It currently houses more than 3,000 items—books, periodicals, video and audio tapes—documenting African-American history.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is a wealth of important history and knowledge, and an essential new addition to the National Mall. But the history that the Alexandria Black History Museum houses is hyperlocalized and, as D.C. area residents, essential to learning about our own heritage. It’s high time that we discovered the black history that has happened right here, in our own backyards.

—Kayla Randall

Best Way to Learn About Teens The Wolves at Studio Theatre

If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that we should take some time to listen to teenagers. This winter, Studio Theatre immersed audiences in the teenage experience with its production of Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves, a drama about the inner lives of a team of high school soccer players that was both relatable and revealing. Studio’s wise artistic team doubled down on the young adult theme by installing exhibits from the Museum of Contemporary American Teenagers throughout the complex during the play’s run. It provided insight into everything from gun violence to phone use and allowed the teen creators to lead the conversation. Teach your children well, the old adage goes. In this case, they’re the ones teaching us.

—Caroline Jones

Best Rapper and Flower Store Collaboration

Farrah Skeiky

Flower Crowns and Music Downloads From Urban Stems and 2 Chainz

36 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

For his fourth studio album, Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, 2 Chainz took collaboration—a signature of the hip-hop genre— to the next level. Beyond bringing on a slew of artists like Nicki Minaj, Monica, Pharrell, Drake, Gucci Mane, and Migos to guest-star on his tracks, he wove collaboration into promotion efforts to reach his fanbase. After staging a merchandise pop-up in New York with graffiti artist Trouble Andrew and

KENDALL STREET COMPANY 2 NIGHTS 6/1 + 6/2 $15 IN ADVANCE $20 FOR 2 DAY PASSES

H

H

FRI 4/13 THE PLATESCRAPERS $12/$15 TUE 4/17 DANNY BARNES + CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING $15/$20 THU 4/19 RAY BONNEVILLE $17/$20 FRI 4/20 WOOD & WIRE $12/$15 SAT 4/21 DELTA SPUR $5/$8 SUN 4/22 JASON EADY $13/$15 SUN 4/29 PATRICK SWEANY $14/$18 WED 5/9 ADAM CAROLL $15/$15 THU 5/10 CHRISTIAN LOPEZ W/ PIERCE EDENS $12/$15 TUE 5/15 GURF MORLIX PRESENTS A BLAZE FOLEY EXPERIENCE $17/$20 THU 5/17 CLAUDETTES $12/$14 FRI 5/25 BEARCAT WILDCAT $12/$15 FRI & SAT KENDALL STREET COMPANY $15 IN 6/1 & 6/2 ADVANCE $20 FOR 2 DAY PASSES SAT 6/9 THE CONGRESS $12/$15 THU 6/21 HIGHDIVERS + BIG MAMA SHAKES $12/$15 FRI 6/22 BART CROW $15/$20 SUN 6/24 JOSIAH JOHNSON (HEAD AND THE HEART) AND PLANES ON PAPER $10/$12 THU 6/28 DAN BAIRD & HOMEMADE SIN $12/$15 THU 7/12 DRIVIN & CRYIN $15/$17 SAT 8/18 THE BLASTERS $22/$25 TUE 9/4 SLIM CESSNA’S MOTOR CLUB $15/$20

HILL COUNTRY BARBECUE MARKET

410 Seventh St, NW • 202.556.2050 HillCountry.com/DC • Twitter @hillcountrylive

Near Archives/Navy Memorial [G, Y] and Gallery PI/Chinatown [R] Metro washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 37

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT a nail salon in Atlanta backed by Spotify, 2 Chainz went bohemian: His partnership with D.C.-founded floral startup UrbanStems led to the Pretty Girl Flower Crown, composed of varying pinkcolored roses and a mix of in-season blooms. Available to fans in D.C. and New York City, the crowns ran $35 and came with a code to download a digital copy of the album. While the Pretty Girl Crown is no longer in stock, the team at UrbanStems says they’re always looking for the next occasion for a flower crown, and 2 Chainz has just announced plans to release his fifth album.

—Emily Walz

Best Gallery with a Gallery Dog: Cross MacKenzie Gallery

Best Gallery with a Gallery Dog Cross MacKenzie Gallery

1675 Wisconsin Ave. NW, (202) 337-7970, crossmackenzie.com

D.C. is full of smaller galleries and arts spaces that are showcasing interesting stuff. In the midst of Georgetown galleries peddling above-the-couch fare, Cross MacKenzie has always been a diamond in the rough, featuring outstanding and interesting work from established and up-and-coming artists. Also setting them apart from the rest of the pack is their beloved gallery dog, Zeke, who belongs to gallery owner and artist Rebecca Cross. Zeke got his start hanging out in the gallery window, and has since become emboldened to act as guard dog, occasionally barking an alert that people are about to enter. Zeke makes for a great gallery companion, following visitors around as they take in the excellent art. Fair warning to dog lovers who are rushing out to Cross MacKenzie as they read this: For the sake of work-life balance, Zeke only comes in a few times a week, usually earlier in the week, and spends the rest of his time chasing deer out in the country.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Super Cheap Theater Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse

It costs a shit ton of money to see a movie these days—and that’s an exact figure.

It’s one thing if you’re going to an IMAX showing at the Air and Space Museum, because in that instance you’re not just paying for a movie, you’re paying for an experience. But now, even your regular old local theater sells tickets for nearly $20 a pop, not to mention the $7 it costs 38 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Darrow Montgomery

2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, (703) 4862345, acdh.arlingtondrafthouse.com

OPENING CELEBRATION Sunday, April 22, 1-5 p.m.

ART-MAKING | DEMONSTRATIONS LIVE PERFORMANCES | FREE ADMISSION

Kennedy Center debut

Andersson Dance Artistic Director, Örjan Andersson

in collaboration with Kennedy Center debut

Scottish Ensemble April 22–July 29, 2018 See the pioneering African American artist’s most personal work—hand-carved and assembled sculptures inspired by the materials and traditions of Africa and ancient Greece.

Artistic Director, Jonathan Morton

Goldberg Variations— ternary patterns for insomnia (Andersson /Bach, Sitkovetsky)

Johann Sebastian Bach’s sparkling masterpiece comes to stunning life through a whirlwind of movement and sound in this entrancing collaboration.

Photo by Hugh Carswell

THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART

PURCHASE TICKETS AT ARTBMA.ORG MEMBERS SEE IT FREE—JOIN TODAY

April 26–28 | Eisenhower Theater TICKETS ON SALE NOW! KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG | (202) 467-4600

Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.

This exhibition is co-organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It is generously sponsored by The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation, Suzanne F. Cohen, Anonymous, Heidi and Brian Berghuis, Amy L. Gould and Matthew S. Polk, Jr., Agnes Gund, Guy and Nupur Parekh Flynn, LaVerna Hahn Charitable Trust, Nancy Dorman and Stan Mazaroff, Amy and Marc Meadows, Clair Zamoiski Segal, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Charitable Trust, Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown, Eileen Harris Norton Foundation, Ilene and Michael Salcman, and Hauser & Wirth.

Jack Whitten. Detail, Homage to the Kri-Kri. 1985. Courtesy of the Artist’s Estate and Hauser & Wirth. Photography by Genevieve Hanson, NYC.

For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 39

Darrow Montgomery

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Best Overlooked Museum: Art Museum of the Americas for the smallest imaginable serving of popcorn. Fortunately, Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse loves our broke asses. You can see a movie here on the cheap and there’s a kitchen inside that serves you real food as you enjoy the film. You do have to wait a month or so for new releases to hit the theater, depending on the film, but it’s totally worth it. There’s plenty of other content to consume as you wait, like comedy shows every weekend and vintage classics screening throughout the week, particularly on special occasions and holidays. The theater’s seating is pretty clutch, too: old wheeled office chairs, so you can roll around, adjust your seat, and get comfortable. Seeing a movie for $6 in the year of our lord 2018 changed me. Let it change you, too.

—Kayla Randall

Best Overlooked Museum Art Museum of the Americas 201 18th St. NW, (202) 370-0147, museum.oas.org

The Art Museum of the Americas is located in a bit of a geographical deadzone— not quite the National Mall, and not quite

Foggy Bottom—it’s likely you haven’t found yourself nearby, but you should fix that immediately. Primarily dedicated to showcasing modern art from Latin America and the Caribbean, it hosts both a stellar permanent collection as well as thought-provoking rotating exhibits. It’s a truly educational museum, covering artists, regions, and topics that don’t often get attention in major institutions, but the curation is never stuffy or preachy. Almost as good as the art is the design of the building itself. The museum is a part of the Organization of American States, whose headquarters is located across a sprawling lawn, and the galleries are housed in the former residence of the OAS Secretary General. Inside, you can explore the nooks and crannies of the house, including a room fully covered in incredible aqua tile and terra cotta mosaics.

—Stephanie Rudig

That means you might have to undergo some security measures when you enter. Once inside, you’ll find a fresh breath of Japanese culture that manifests itself in exhibitions, film screenings, art galleries, lectures, and cooking demonstrations and classes. One of their most impressive recent exhibitions showcased vintage netsuke—artfully carved buttons used to suspend items from kimono robes. They also recently hosted a workshop on how to make wagashi—ornate Japanese sweets that date back to the 1800s Edo period. Visit the calender page on the JICC website to stay abreast of all they have to offer. —Laura Hayes

Best Cultural Center

The Birchmere

Best Place to Hear One-Hit Wonders and Other Forgotten or Former Stars

Japan Information & Cultural Center

3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, (703) 549-7500, birchmere.com

The JICC is an extension of the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy of Japan.

That a musician like Edwin McCain has turned two schmaltzy love songs (1998’s “I’ll Be” and 1999’s “I Could Not Ask For More”) into a touring career spanning

1150 18th St. NW Suite 100, (202) 238-6900, us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc

40 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

more than 20 years is quite remarkable.

But if performers are willing to keep playing those hits night after night, one local venue certainly loves hosting them.

The Birchmere frequently hosts these acts who were part of significant cultural moments once upon a time but haven’t moved beyond those moments in the years that followed. Whether you’re a baby boomer (my parents learned how poorly Stephen Stills has aged after seeing him years ago at The Birchmere) or a member of the American Idol generation (runner-up David Archuleta appeared last month), you’re certain to find at least one act on its calendar that fills you with a sense of nostalgia. Among those former sensations scheduled to take the stage soon are Don McLean of “American Pie” fame and Marc “Walking in Memphis” Cohn.

—Caroline Jones

Best Mural Right Proper Tasting Room

920 Girard St. NE, (202) 526-5904, rightproperbrewing.com

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HANDMADE HEAVEN

Opens Saturday, April 14 National Building Museum Free Based on Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer prize-winning book, this exhibition explores the eviction crisis in America.

Visitors confront the devastating fallout of eviction and learn about ways to make change.

Photos by Sally Ryan.

Photos by Sally Ryan.

401 F Street NW Washington, DC 20001 202.272.2448 / www.nbm.org Red Line Metro, Judiciary Square

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 41

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Courtesy Philophon Records

Best Comeback: Hailu Mergia

to drink. But at Right Proper’s Production House and Tasting Room in Brookland, there’s a mural so large and so outlandish, it deserves a special shoutout.

Stretching across two adjacent walls inside the tasting room is an absurdly large mural by artist Patrick Owens depicting numerous humans being totally and viciously mauled by various animals.

In one instance, a giraffe is trampling a hapless man; just above, ostriches attack a fleeing woman. And next to her, a large snake appears to have eaten a woman’s baby whole. It’s a dark mural, for sure, but one that demands respect, lest you become victim to the murderous animals lurking around the corner.

—Matt Cohen

Best Comeback Hailu Mergia

Five years ago, Hailu Mergia was reborn.

At least, his career was. The story goes like this: In the early 1970s, Mergia was

a bonafide rock star in his home country of Ethiopia, where he was the keyboardist and organist of the prominent Ethiofunk/soul ensemble Walias Band. In 1981, Walias band made Ethiopian history as the first modern band to travel to the U.S. to tour, playing with singer Mahmoud Ahmed. After the tour, Mergia, along with three other members of Walias Band, decided to stay in the U.S., rather than head back to Ethiopia, which was ruled under harsh dictatorship.

Mergia took a job as a taxi cab driver, but still wrote and recorded music—lofi tapes of traditional Ethiopian tunes on analog synthesizers, electric piano, and accordion—some of which found its way back to his home country. But for the most part, his solo music just kind of sat around, waiting to be unearthed.

Living in the U.S., Mergia and his former Walias Band bandmates played in a new group, Zula Band, until the early ’90s, when the band broke up. After that, Mergia’s musical career was mostly confined to “jamming at home

42 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

or at somebody’s house,” he told City Paper in an interview in 2013. It wasn’t until Brian Shimkovitz, the founder of the niche reissue label Awesome Tapes From Africa, came across his 1985 album Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument on cassette in a music shop in Ethiopia that Mergia’s musical career gained a second wind.

Shimkovitz reissued that album in 2013 and continued to rerelease the music of Mergia that was seldom known outside of Ethiopia, including Mergia and Walias Band’s 1977 LP Tche Belew and 1978’s Wede Harer Guzo. The rereleases sparked a renewed interest in Mergia’s music and he started playing shows again, through the help of Shimkovitz’s connections.

Fast forward to February of 2018 and Mergia has released his first new album in more than 15 years, the mellow, jazzy instrumental record Lala Belu.

For Mergia, the career resurgence isn’t all that surprising. “Art is a lifetime commitment,” he told Vice. “The more you play the more you know.” But his come-

back is nonetheless a blessing for him.

He’ll be touring all around the world in support of his new album this spring and summer, which he told Vice “... feels like a big comeback. A different kind of audience, playing with a different kind of band and working with a different kind of record company.”

Though his music career isn’t taking as much of a backseat in his life as it has in years prior, in a way, it kind of is: After all, Mergia said that most of his practicing is done in the backseat of his cab, on a battery-powered keyboard in between rides.

—Matt Cohen

Best Way to Get Lit(erature) NoVa TEEN Book Festival novateenbookfestival.com

The most fun I’ve had recently was at a teen book festival in an Arlington high school. That’s a sentence I nev-

Mason Bates’s KC Jukebox

JFK JUKEBOX Julius Eastman

NOW ON VIEW

No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man 17th and Pennsylvania Ave. | Free | AmericanArt.si.edu/BurningMan | #NoSpectators

Saul Williams

The exhibition has been organized in close collaboration with Burning Man Project, a nonprofit public benefit corporation.

Support comes from

FoldHaus, Shrumen Lumen, 2016. FoldHaus Art Collective. Photo by Rene Smith

In Homage to JFK’s Legacy in Civil Rights Performances by: Mivos Quartet with poet Saul Williams David T. Little and his band Newspeak American Contemporary Music Ensemble

In celebration of President Kennedy, this evening of music informed by the Civil Rights Movement includes works by Ted Hearne, David T. Little, Carlos Simon, and recently rediscovered late visionary Julius Eastman.

NOW ON VIEW

Wed., April 25 at 7:30 p.m. | Terrace Theater After-party in the Terrace Theater Lobby with DJ Moose

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG | (202) 467-4600 Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups (202) 416-8400

8th and F Streets, NW | Free | AmericanArt.si.edu | #atSAAM Do Ho Suh, Hub-01, Ground Floor, Union Wharf, 23 Wenlock Road, London N1 7SB, UK; Hub, Main Entrance, 348 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011, USA; Hub, 3rd Floor, Union Wharf, 23 Wenlock Road, London N1 7ST, UK, 2016, polyester fabric and stainless steel armature. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong

Support comes from

For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

JFK Jukebox is presented as part of The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives New Artistic Initiatives are funded in honor of Linda and Kenneth Pollin.

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 43

Darrow Montgomery

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Best Painting Worth Standing in Line For: Former President Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley er thought I’d write, but it’s true. This year’s festival featured panels and oneon-one talks with dope authors like Tomi Adeyemi, who is slaying the world with her new Afrofuturistic young adult book Children of Blood and Bone, and local author Dhonielle Clayton, who has just come out with her own young adult fantasy book, The Belles. Great books were in abundance, and so were games and other fun activities, like an awesome button-making station in which you could cut out a photo of your choosing and have it made into an enormous button. The food was the cherry on top of an amazing book-filled sundae, with delicious doughnuts made from scratch and popular local food truck Over the Rice serving up great rice bowls. And here’s the best thing about the festival: It’s free! You can’t beat that.

—Kayla Randall

Best Painting Worth Standing in Line For Former President Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley 8th and F streets NW, (202) 633-8300, npg.si.edu.

The truth of the matter is that I was more excited to see Amy Sherald’s regal rendering of Michelle Obama in person. And indeed it is a testament to the Baltimore painter’s extraordinary use of color and composition to literally paint her subjects in a new light.

But a month after visiting the National Portrait Gallery, it’s Kehinde Wiley’s glowing depiction of President Barack Obama that I can’t stop thinking about.

For several seconds as I walked into the gallery, I thought that curators had somehow backlit the canvas, such is its luminosity. Look for the shimmering

44 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

green reflecting off Obama’s suit. Take a second to get lost in the foliage. Try to figure out how Wiley managed to make a painting that is just as magnetic as 44 himself. Go see it for yourself, however long you need to wait (and you may well need to wait; museum officials say they’ve seen their highest traffic in years). Digital images don’t even begin to do it justice.

—Rachel Sadon

Best Homecoming Concert Oddisee at 9:30 Club

Oddisee made a name for himself as a rapper in the DMV hip-hop scene but, as many local musicians have unfortunately been wont to do, he left the area and moved to New York City. His local pride never left his music, though, and

he makes frequent visits to D.C. to perform—like on April 20, 2017 at the 9:30 Club in support of his most-recent album The Iceberg. There’s something special about performing songs that celebrate the DMV in front of a DMV crowd, like the track “NNGE (Never Not Getting Enough)” with the lyrics “This if for the county and the areas surrounding/ D.C., Maryland, and Virginia know I’m with you.” And with us he was—there were moments of go-go, shout-outs to family members in the audience, and Oddisee even brought on stage the other members of Diamond District, the local rap trio he was once a part of. Oddisee later tweeted: “Hands down my favorite show of the tour was our homecoming at the @930Club in Washington, DC. The hometown energy was a true reminder of where I’m from & why we do it.”

—Avery J.C. Kleinman

COMEDY at the Kennedy Center

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For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

Comedy at the Kennedy Center Presenting Sponsor

HYATTSVILLEARTS.COM washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 45

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Best Interpretation of Civil War Art: Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge at the Hirshhorn Musuem and Sculpture Garden

Best Interpretation of Civil War Art

The Best Excuse To Wear a Durag in 2018

Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

White Durag

7th Street and Independence Avenue NW, (202) 633-1000, hirshhorn.si.edu

Many artists have come through the Hirshhorn to create site-specific pieces for the museum’s round walls. Among them, Mark Bradford’s current show, Pickett’s Charge, stands out for the way it responds to the space within the museum and the museum’s location on the National Mall. Composed of eight abstract paintings, Bradford’s work plays off of Paul Philippoteaux’s cyclorama that depicts the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg. But in creating it, Bradford was also taken with the Hirshhorn’s proximity to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the land where the March on Washington took place. The colors and textures of Bradford’s work allow viewers to get lost in the room. His message allows the experience to linger long after you’ve stepped outside.

—Caroline Jones

whitedurag.com

Local promoters Jonathan Ferguson and Marcus Perkins are the creative geniuses behind the White Durag party, a semiannual bash that combines elite DJs (Jerome Baker III, Little Bacon Bear, Coach Bombay, and Dj Alizay), with great food from Bubba Ferg, along with an incredibly nostalgic fashion trend. Ferguson and Perkins specialize in throwing exclusive events. They originally came up with the “white durag” concept for a birthday party, but quickly realized it was bigger than a one-night affair, and three years later the event has evolved into something unique. The DJs spin a wide variety of dance music—heavy on classic R&B and hip-hop—and the patrons are totally committed to the theme. When you enter the venue they hand you a brand new white durag and 99 percent of attendees put it on right away. This is an oldschool house party; this is not the place for poseurs or wallflowers, or a chance to show off your new outfit. But there’s a

46 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

deeper meaning to the party. According to Ferguson, “people who wear durags are a marginalized part of society and we want to create a movement where every group gets represented.”

—Sidney Thomas

Best One-Stop Contemporary Art Shop Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Jefferson Drive and 12th Street SW and 1050 Independence Ave. SW, (202) 633-1000, freersackler.si.edu

Lining up to see Do Ho Suh at the Smithsonian American Art Museum? Another museum had him in 2004. Get your ’gram of Yayoi Kusama at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden? She was showing down the National Mall 15 years ago. For more than a decade, the lobby pavilion at the Freer | Sackler, the Smithsonian Institution’s museums for Asian art, has showcased some of the biggest names in contemporary painting, sculpture, and media. The long-running “Perspectives” series has brought household

names and emerging artists alike to one of the city’s quieter museums, from Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor to Lu Chunsheng and Chiharu Shiota. With its focus on contemporary art from across Asia, it’s a wider reaching version of the more-familiar “In the Tower” series at the National Gallery of Art. —Kriston Capps

Best Italian Import Gianandrea Noseda

The Washington Post’s classical music critic Anne Midgette had some biting words for the National Symphony Orchestra in 2015: “Why,” she wrote, “is the National Symphony Orchestra so lackluster, haunted by the curse of mediocrity?” And while critics, as their job title suggests, can lean toward the overcritical, often to a hyperbolic degree (a negative review generates more of a response than a positive one, after all) her question rang true. Despite the international prestige of the Kennedy Center as a world-class performance hall, its main performance group, the NSO, lacked mu-

must close april 22

The “in-all-ways sensational” (New York Times) 2017 Obie Award Winner for Best New American Theatre Work

ALL SEVEN HARRY POTTER BOOKS IN SEVENTY HILARIOUS MINUTES! “CASTS THE PERFECT SPELL OVER THE AUDIENCE!”

“HAD US ROARING WITH LAUGHTER!” Washington Post

The New York Times

BY JENNIFER KIDWELL AND SCOTT R. SHEPPARD WITH LIGHTNING ROD SPECIAL DIRECTED BY TAIBI MAGAR

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Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123. washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 47

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT sical acclaim.

Two years later, enter, with a disarming smile and a charming joke, Gianandrea Noseda. If you haven’t seen him at the Kennedy Center, you may have seen him on an advertisement on the Metro: The Italian conductor started in 2017 as the NSO’s seventh music director. It’s an important position that not only leads the orchestra in the literal sense (so far, he’s conducted them through various well-received performances, including Beethoven’s Third Symphony and the overture from Candide by Leonard Bernstein), but also in the broader sense, as a creative innovator pushing the group forward.

Noseda comes to D.C. with an impressive resume. He was named Conductor of the Year in 2015 by Musical America, and maintains high postings at various other international performance groups: music director at opera company Teatro Regio Torino in Turin, Italy; principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Despite his varied obligations and the pressure of reviving a so-called “lackluster” orchestra, Noseda has managed to impress most of Washington, including the musicians he conducts, his colleagues at the Kennedy Center, audiences, and even the critics. Midgette wrote of his opening night, “the conductor, and the orchestra, and the season, got off to a very good start — leaving those who were there wanting more.”

Whether he can lift the NSO’s reputation up to the level of first-rate orchestra remains to be seen, and is certainly a lot to ask of one person. But he’s undoubtedly helped that reputation rise, all with a personality you’d more expect to find at the neighborhood bar than a high class performance hall. An interview with Washingtonian detoured into sports talk, until the reporter righted the course back to classical music. Don’t let the tuxedo and the Italian accent fool you—Noseda loves to joke around and he loves to have fun, two things that have traditionally not been associated with symphonies, but may be exactly what they need.

—Avery J.C. Kleinman

Best Up-and-Coming Portrait Artist: Kenadi Johnson

Best Up-and-Coming Portrait Artist Kenadi Johnson

With the arrival of the Obamas’ portraits to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald reminded us of the power of art and the absolute necessity of cultural represen48 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Farrah Skeiky

instagram.com/kenadisart

Small ClaSSeS. huge OppOrtunitieS.

ALWAYS & FOREVER

An Evening Of Luther Vandross Starring Ruben Studdard

May 5, 2018, 8 p.m.

500 17th Street, nW Washington, DC 20006 202-994-1700 • go.gwu.edu/ce Summer 2018 registration is now open.

Tickets are $50 Regular, $40 for Faculty and Staff, and $35 for Students with ID

ROBERT E. PARILLA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Montgomery College • 51 Mannakee St., Rockville, Maryland 20850 www.montgomerycollege.edu/pac • Box Office: 240-567-5301

100 YEARS

OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE FREE CONCERTS!

Monday, Apr. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Apr. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

D.A.R. Constitution Hall Washington, D.C.

The Music Center at Strathmore North Bethesda, MD

The U.S. Air Force Concert Band & The Central Band of the Royal Air Force

The Airmen of Note & The Royal Air Force Squadronaires

FREE! Tickets Required. For ticket info, please visit our website: www.usafband.af.mil

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 49

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Farrah Skeiky

Best Six-String Electric Cellist: Wytold

tation through paintings. Meet Kenadi Johnson. This 21-year-old just launched her first ever art show at local apparel store Lettie Gooch. She is also poised to be the future of the artform. Johnson studied at the Delaware College of Art and Design where she majored in fine arts. She currently works full time on her craft out of an apartment she shares with her mother in Navy Yard. Her portraits are done in layers with whatever happens to be on hand—colored pencils, charcoals, paints, and recycled paper.

This mixed-media approach, combined with classical training, results in vibrant, expressive depictions of figures.

—Kaarin Vembar

Best Six-String Electric Cellist

monikered musician grew up in Northern Virginia studying classical cello privately and playing in area youth orchestras, and had planned on pursuing a conservatory degree until his wrists gave out.

He eventually tried guitar, and then slowly experimented with strumming chords and improvising on an electric cello. Now he specializes in live looping electronic music, and has become D.C.’s go-to guy for composing original dance scores.

Last month, Wytold and Christopher K. Morgan debuted their latest collaboration at Dance Place, and in February, he and local beatboxer Christylez Bacon released an album called Beats, Bows and Remixes. Members of the National Symphony Orchestra joined them onstage for their Kennedy Center record release party. Not bad for a guy who abandoned classical music in high school.

—Rebecca J. Ritzel

Wytold

Carpal tunnel syndrome shouldn’t derail a career of an 18-year-old, but that’s what happened to the cellist known as Wytold, who declined to share his real name with City Paper, even though we are honoring him in this issue. The single-

Best Reissue Label Federal Green Records

federalgreenrecords.com Long before harDCore made Washing-

50 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

ton a haven for DIY punk, the city’s R&B scene was full of independent musicians that worked outside mainstream channels, releasing their own records in elusive limited editions. Historian Kevin Coombe, who founded DC Soul Recordings to help preserve this musical history, has long championed these often forgotten releases. Coombe has produced reissues of local R&B for Omnivore (The Ru-Jac Records Story) and Numero Group (Father’s Children), and in December he launched his own imprint and expanded his scope. Federal Green Records has only released a handful of LPs and 45s so far, but these remastered and fully licensed releases (available in vinyl and digital form) include the 1969 album Words Never Said, which folk group Vos Cantu Monemus originally released in an edition of 200. And of course, a classic funk 45 from Coque, with the ever-timely message, “People Let’s Communicate.”

—Pat Padua

Best Street Corner Percussionist Malik Stewart

Since 2013, Malik Stewart has been performing regularly on seemingly every street corner near U Street NW and at Gallery Place, flipping and spinning his drum sticks with precision in between high-speed taps of his snare. Stewart’s flashy style has garnered him thousands of views on YouTube and Instagram. The 25-year old beatmaker began learning go-go percussion at age 12, and later strutted in the Northwestern High School and Howard University marching bands. But now Stewart, who goes by the moniker D.O.P.E. Drummer, says his outdoor playing in D.C. has changed in recent years. “Anytime I play now I get bothered by a certain type of resident who don’t want me playing or sometimes the police come [and say to turn it down],” Stewart says. He electronically amplifies his music and says that he attracts smaller crowds and gets less money dropped in his bucket when he lowers the sound.

With opportunities for streetwork wan-

ROBERT E. PARILLA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

By Anne Washburn

2017-2018 College Performing Arts Series

April 18–21, 2018, 8 p.m.

April 22, 2018, 2 p.m.

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play explores what it would be like to take a TV show and push it past an apocalypse, to see what happens.

Tickets are $10 Regular, $8 Seniors, and $5 Students w/ Student ID

ROBERT E. PARILLA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

MONTGOMERY COLLEGE 51 Mannakee Street • Rockville, MD 20850 www.montgomerycollege.edu/pac Box Office: 240-567-5301

2017-2018 College Performing Arts Series

April 18–21, 2018, 8 p.m.

April 22, 2018, 2 p.m.

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play explores what it would be like to take a TV show and push it past an apocalypse, to see what happens.

PERFORMANCE ON MLK JR AVE DURING FLOWER POWER

Tickets are $10 Regular, $8 Seniors, and $5 Students w/ Student ID

THE HUT featuring Julie Outrage & Melanin Magic and The Out Of Water eXperience at We Act Radio

MONTGOMERY COLLEGE 51 Mannakee Street • Rockville, MD 20850 www.montgomerycollege.edu/pac Box Office: 240-567-5301

2017–2018 CONCERTS

Dumbarton Concerts

Live Painting by Zsudayka Nzinga and Turning Natural Jazz in the Garden at Cheers at the Big Chair

MUSIC BY CANDLELIGHT 2017–2018 SEASON

Upcoming Dumbarton Concerts The final two shows of the 2017–2018 season!

April 21, 2018 at 8pm The Music of Dumbarton May 5, 2018 at 8pm Judy Kuhn: A Broadway Cabaret

Family art activities with Ibé Arts at Mama’s Pizza Kitchen

Customer Appreciation Day at Caribbean Citations Mantra’s Affirmations & Meditation at The Madison House

All Events are sponsored by Anacostia Arts Center

ALSO COMING UP IN APRIL 4/13-4/15 | TIMES VARY | $15-$30 A 90’s J.A.M.-A Dance Revue 4/24 | 7PM | FREE All The Way Live Tuesday’s presents CECILY 4/27-4/29 | TIMES VARY | $20 Freshh Theatre Company presents The Next of Kin Festival

ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY: dumbartonconcerts.org 3133 Dumbarton Street NW Washington, DC 20007 • 202-965-2000

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 51

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Darrow Montgomery

Best Oasis: The Rothko Room at The Phillips Collection

ing, Stewart is now looking to get his drumming into dance classes, schools, and clubs through his own company, D.O.P.E. (Definition of Percussion Entertainment).

—Steve Kiviat

Best Oasis The Rothko Room at The Phillips Collection

1600 21st St. NW, (202) 387-2151, phillipscollection.org

When Duncan Phillips set about designing an attachment to his Dupont Circle mansion to house his growing modern art collection, he specifically reserved a room to hang works by Mark Rothko. Phillips described the space as a sort of chapel, and he wasn’t wrong—Rothko’s paintings of swaths of color are famous for inducing intense emotions, and in this tranquil refuge, the experience borders on the divine.

There’s nothing but a painting on each of the four walls and a bench in the middle, making the vibrant and evocative hues the focal point, and even if the rest of the Phillips is buzzing with tourists hungry for their Toulouse-Lautrec fix, visitors generally respect the request for silence. Grab a seat and let the waves of color crash over you, or take Rothko’s own advice and stand about 18 inches from the works for a truly immersive experience. Either way, it’s an excuse to get lost for a few minutes and let the rest of the world slip away.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Free Bachata Lessons Cafe Citron

1343 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 530-8844, cafecitrondc.com

Cafe Citron’s salsa nights have drawn

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steady crowds for years, but it’s bachata’s star that’s now on the rise. A newer addition to the cafe’s Latin dance rotation, bachata is often billed as the easier of the two eight-count dances to learn, with fewer complicated turn patterns than its salsa cousin. It’s been two-anda-half years since Citron introduced the Dominican Republic-born bachata to its rotation, and if interest lagged at first, lately that’s changed. “We found that there’s a lot more demand,” says general manager Jackie Rocha Courbois, an uptick that has Cafe Citron reshuffling its weekly schedule. In addition to its combination Monday night salsa (8 p.m.) and bachata (9 p.m.) with teacher Hugo Mussenden, the cafe is unveiling a new, dedicated bachata night on Tuesdays. Classes with teacher Oriana Gabriela will start at 8 p.m. with music from house DJ DVJ King, aka Roberto Heredia continuing into the small hours.

—Emily Walz

Best Local Gallery for Emerging Art VisArts 155 Gibbs St, Rockville, (301) 3158200, visartscenter.org

Walking into VisArts can feel like stepping into a farmers market or mini-mall, where sculpture and painting take the place of all other wares. With five different gallery and exhibition spaces, the Rockville art space’s roster of shows is constantly changing. VisArts mounts more than 30 shows a year, in fact, including regional exhibits and student surveys. The place offers more services still: artist studios, continuing education for adults, summer camp for students, even childcare for kids attending summer camp.

From the cocktails-and-canvas classes popular with bachelorette gatherings to summer daycare for arty tots and

ROBERT E. PARILLA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER College Performing Arts Series

SPRING Based on GregDANCE Kotis’ book of the same name Music and lyrics by CONCERT

SUMMER

Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis

April 27–28, 2018, 8 p.m.

April 29, 2018, 2 p.m.

The Montgomery College-Rockville Dance Company continues its annual tradition with a program of exciting and original dance works by Montgomery College students and faculty, as well as Washington, D.C.-area choreographers.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

SongRise STEVEN TYLER AND THE LOVING MARY BAND

HALSEY

JESSIE REYEZ

THE SISTERHOOD BAND

HOPELESS FOUNTAIN KINGDOM

JUN 21

JUL 15

TROMBONE SHORTY, GALACTIC, PRESERVATION HALL, AND MORE!

ALANIS MORISSETTE

Tickets are $10 Regular, $8 Seniors, and $5 Students w/ Student ID

MONTGOMERY COLLEGE

51 Mannakee Street • Rockville, MD 20850 www.montgomerycollege.edu/pac Box Office: 240-567-5301

AUG 17

NILE RODGERS & CHIC CHAKA KHAN JUN 5

HARRY CONNICK JR.

A NEW ORLEANS TRICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

JUN 14

THE LIFE TOUR

BOY GEORGE & CULTURE CLUB THE B-52S

SEP 6

DISNEY BEAUTY & THE BEAST IN CONCERT FILM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA & SINGERS AUG 8 + 9

BOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD AUG 26

GAVIN DeGRAW PHILLIP PHILLIPS

THOMPSON TWINS’ TOM BAILEY

AUG 31

HANSON STRING THEORY

TRIBAL SEEDS

JUL 18

ZIGGY MARLEY STEEL PULSE SEP 1

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AUG 4

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 53

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Best Theater Ads Mean Girls Bus Wraps

When’s the last time you enjoyed a bus ad? For me, it was when I first caught a glimpse of an advertisement for the musical production of Mean Girls at National Theatre. Those who were obsessed with the original film and can quote it at length were no doubt familiar with one of the film’s best visual gags, a shocking bus crash near the film’s end. When I saw this hilarious in-joke manifested in public transit, it hit me, well, like a big, yellow school bus.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Aerial Art

Best Physical Label: Atlantic Rhythms

Crystal City Building Wraps

Crystal City’s architecture is not what one would call beautiful. The angular beige office buildings, hotels, and apartment buildings house defense contractors and tourists and look pretty unremarkable when you glance at them. In an effort to make its properties stand out a little more, real estate developer JBG Smith decided to wrap four of its buildings in colorfully patterned translucent canvas. According to CEO Matt Kelly, the wraps give the neighborhood a sense of place. That’s still not enough incentive to actually go see them in person, but if you happen to be taking off or landing at National Airport on a clear day, open your window shade and take a look. From above, they look like tiny gems, bright spots in a sea of gray. For a brief moment, while you’re suspended in the air and looking down, you just might believe that Crystal City is cool.

—Caroline Jones

Best Arrival for D.C. Dance Gabriel Mata

Many dancers and choreographers come and go in D.C. They perform impressively once or twice, finish a degree/marry someone who is moving and—BAM!— they’re off. That’s what makes Gabriel Mata’s arrival last fall so significant: He moved here for love, and is staying for the dance. The 25-year-old Mexicanborn dancer and choreographer trained in California and was most recently a member of Zenon Dance in Minneapolis. He has already appeared with ClancyWorks, and will perform with Agora Dance at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on April 29. There are also three upcoming chances to catch his solo piece, “Boundless Trajectory:” May 26 at Dance Place and June 9 and 10 at the Washington Ballet’s Joseph C. Coleman Studios.

Let’s hope, pray, and protest that he gets to stay: Mata is a DACA recipient, and just the sort of dreamer that D.C.—and America—needs.

—Rebecca J. Ritzel

Best Physical Label Atlantic Rhythms atlanticrhythms.com

It’s safe to say that after his last label, Sockets Records, folded, the last thing Sean Peoples wanted to do was start a new record label. But that’s exactly what he did. “Making a record label sustainable (not necessarily profitable) is expensive,”

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Farrah Skeiky

tweens, VisArts casts a wide net. The gallery’s family-friendly programming— plus its distant station on the outer orbit of the Red Line—would seem to doom it to irrelevance in an art world that lives by a buzzy social calendar. Yet VisArts has amassed a solid record of showcasing some of the best emerging talents in the area. In the last year alone, this includes cutting-edge work by Anahita Bradberry, Alex Braden, Brandon Morse, and more. VisArts prides itself on exhibiting art that is as challenging as its programs are accessible.

More unlikely still—in fact, it’s almost unheard of anywhere—VisArts hosts a critical curatorial incubator. The gallery works to match up emerging curators (such as Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Eames Armstrong, and Ashley D. DeHoyos) with more established mentors (Laura Rolet, Jackie Milad, José Ruiz) to build out shows and spotlight new voices. This makes VisArts more than a place to take in art: It’s an engine for turning out professionals who, with any luck, will go on to launch new wider initiatives in the D.C. area (and maybe even stick around).

Across the region, it’s hardly the case that the suburbs lack for art. The Greater Reston Arts Center, Arlington Arts Center, Torpedo Factory Arts Center, Gateway Arts Center, and others serve to bring art home, wherever home is. In fact, thanks in part to the fact that the DMV comprises two states and multiple cities and counties, the D.C. metro area has never had the most pronounced hub-and-spoke scene (where people go downtown to find local art). But as rents soar in the District and galleries clear out, the reverse track is taking hold: Residents of the city need to head out to see locally grown contemporary art. Under gallery director and curator Susan Main, VisArts is an essential destination for anyone looking to see what the best emerging artists around are making right now.

—Kriston Capps

he told City Paper in 2012, when he opted to retire Sockets. “And, at this point, sustainability requires the kind of resources that neither Sockets, nor the bands currently have banked.”

But with Atlantic Rhythms, Peoples’ now two-year-old experimental tape label, things were done differently, and the result is one of the D.C. area’s best—and most visually striking—music labels. So what, exactly, did Peoples do differently? “I learned a lot with [Sockets],” he tells City Paper.

“Being open and human is important,” he says of Atlantic Rhythms success.

Of course, it’s more than just that, but the humanity and openness Peoples

speaks of definitely oozes out of each of Atlantic Rhythms’ releases; a thoughtful curation of some of today’s most forward-thinking music in the experimental music world—the stark free jazz improvisations of TOWN (Arto Lindsay and Sam Hillmer), the smooth and otherworldly beats of Jack Propane, and Jadelain’s meditative, mystical ambient compositions. But what really defines Atlantic Rhythms as much as its music is its visual identity, which comes from designer Nick Apice.

Having a strong visual identity “was one of the earliest ideas,” Peoples says.

“It came from a lack of visual identity in

HANDEL

L AU DAT E P U E R I D O M I N U M FI NZI

M AG N I F I C AT B A RTO L D U S

M AG N I F I C AT selections

WOR L D PR EMIER E

CHARPENTIER

TE DEUM Sunday, April 22, 2018, 4:30 p.m. • National Presbyterian Church

TODD BARKAN

JOANNE BRACKEEN

PAT M E T H E N Y

DIANNE REEVES

Robert Shafer, Artistic Director and Conductor Featuring Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes

FREE CONCERT!

NEA JAZZ MASTERS TRIBUTE CONCERT Thank you for choosing Karma Home Designs!

Best Handyman 2018 Best Contractor 2018 Best Roofer 2018 202-642-HOME w w w .K a r m a H o m e D e s i g n s .c o m 1990 M Street NW #250 Washington, D.C. 20036

A P R I L 1 6 A T 8 P. M . | C O N C E R T H A L L The National Endowment for the Arts will honor the 2018 NEA Jazz Masters— club owner, producer, and artistic programmer Todd Barkan; pianist, composer, and educator Joanne Brackeen; guitarist, composer, and educator Pat Metheny; and vocalist Dianne Reeves—with a free concert hosted by Jason Moran.

RESERVATIONS AVAILABLE NOW! KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG | (202) 467-4600 Reservations also available at the Box Office.

For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

This concert is presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Licensed in DC, VA, MD NARI CotY Awards, Best Residential Interior, Kitchen and Bath 2015 & 2016

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 55

Darrow Montgomery

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Best Venue That Could’ve Gone Very Awry: The Anthem

the last label.” Each Atlantic Rhythms release is defined by Apice’s chic abstract illustrations used for album art. “The art flows from the music,” Peoples says, “it’s a really important idea [with the label].”

As Atlantic Rhythms gears up for its next release, the debut of Blacks’ Myths— the D.C. duo of Luke Stewart and Warren G. Crudup III—Peoples considers where his label is and where it’s going: He plans to graduate from just cassettes and release some music on vinyl in the future, but he’s learned to not be as concerned with the pace and business that he once was with Sockets. To him, the most important thing is the community built around the music he releases. “I feel like we’ve created a community and I love it,” he says. “We have a shared language.”

—Matt Cohen

Best Movie Theater Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater at the National Air and Space Museum

8th Street and Independence Avenue SW, (202) 633-2214, airandspace.si.edu/theatertype/lockheed-martin-imax-theater

The Air and Space Museum is far and away the most visited Smithsonian, but the best thing to see there isn’t the aviation exhibits—it’s the movie theater.

You can reliably bet that anything with a space or sci-fi focus will be screening there, and there’s nothing to get you in the mood for something far out like walking through a lobby full of space shuttles. The visual and sound quality, as is to be expected from IMAX, are unparalleled. The stadium-style seating guarantees you’ll get a great view regardless of

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where you sit, and the chairs are plenty comfy. Hell, it’s even worth going through a metal detector and sitting through the military propaganda that runs in lieu of trailers.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Venue That Could’ve Gone Very Awry The Anthem

901 Wharf St. SW, (202) 8880020, theanthemdc.com

It seemed a foregone conclusion, in my mind anyway, that The Anthem would be a disappointment. I.M.P. couldn’t possibly capture the magic of the 9:30 Club in a venue five times its size, much less at The Wharf, right? I’m rarely delighted to be so wrong. While the rest of the spar-

kling Southwest development feels like a high-end urban theme park, where even the alleyways are brightly lit and carefully manicured, The Anthem retains much of the soul and intimacy of its beloved sister venue. It’s a grown-up version of 9:30, with oversized chandeliers dangling from the exposed ceilings, angled upper tiers facing the enormous stage, and draped metal curtains leaving you with the distinct impression of being in the world’s most punk opera house. But at the end of the day, it’s about the music, and I.M.P. knows it. I’ve stood as far away from the stage as I could find—the very back of the third tier—and could hear and see just fine. It’s always felt bittersweet when my favorite bands outgrew the 9:30 Club, with their success taking them on to bigger and worse venues.

Not so anymore.

—Rachel Sadon

A Chinese Home

KRONOS QUARTET & WU MAN, pipa THU, APR 19, 8pm • LISNER AUDITORIUM

In the collaborative work A Chinese Home, Grammywinning innovators Kronos and pipa virtuoso Wu Man bring centuries of Chinese cultural history to life, uniting concert performance, theater, and video. Plus works by Wu Man, Terry Riley, and more.

Special thanks: The National Endowment for the Arts; The Abramson Family Foundation

TICKETS: WashingtonPerformingArts.org • (202) 785-9727

CELEBRATE THE VIEWS WITH UNLIMITED WINE, BEER, & CIDER APRIL 14 & 15, 2018 CHERRYBLOSSOMWINEANDBEER.COM

PROMO CODE: BLOSSOM18 FOR $30 TICKETS

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 57

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Darrow Montgomery

GOODS&SERVICES

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 59

ReadeRs’ Picks GOODS & SERVICES

Best Accounting Firm

Best cABle provider (tie)

Best contrActor

Best dry cleAner

PwC

Comcast

The Press

2nd Place: KPMG LLP 3rd Place (Tie): Culinary Accountants, Inc. 3rd Place (Tie): Myrick CPA

Verizon Fios

Traditions General Contracting

pwc.com

Best Architecture Firm

//3877

3333 K St. NW, Suite 60, (202) 3504244, 3877.design 2nd Place: Old City Design Studio 3rd Place (Tie): FOX Architects 3rd Place (Tie): Saul Architects Best Arts & crAFts supply store

Artist & Craftsman Supply Washington DC

1201–1203 Brentwood Road NE, (202) 526-4446, artistcraftsman.com 2nd Place: Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing Washington DC 3rd Place (Tie): Michaels Best BAnk/ credit union

Industrial Bank

Multiple locations, (202) 7222000, industrial-bank.com

2nd Place: Navy Federal Credit Union 3rd Place: Signal Financial Federal Credit Union Best BArre studio

comcast.com

fios.verizon.com 2nd Place: RCN

Best cAr shAre service

Lyft

lyft.com 2nd Place: Uber 3rd Place: car2go Best cell phone provider

Verizon Wireless verizonwireless.com 2nd Place: T-Mobile Best cigAr shop

W. Curtis Draper Tobacconist

Multiple locations, wcurtisdraper.com

2nd Place: Civil Cigar Lounge 3rd Place (Tie): Georgetown Tobacco 3rd Place (Tie): Casa de Montecristo by JR Cigar 3rd Place (Tie): TG Cigar & Lounge

(202) 536-4769, traditionscontracting.com

2nd Place: Federalist Builders 3rd Place: Karma Home Designs Best crossFit gym

CrossFit Balance

Multiple locations, balancegym.com/ crossfit

Chandra Hampton of CHampion Lifestyle Fitness Multiple locations, championlifestylefitness.com 2nd Place: Eric Ruiz Dance DC 3rd Place: 305 Fitness

Best delivery service (non-Food)

Amazon Prime

amazon.com/amazonprime

Best dentist

The DC Dentist

509 11th St. SE, (202) 544-3626, thedcdentist.com

2nd Place: Ezra Paul Clothing 3rd Place: Willow

2nd Place: Biker Barre 3rd Place: Flywheel Sports FlyBarre

Best comic Book store

2nd Place: Nishan Halim DMD 3rd Place: Capitol Hill Dental Group

Big Planet Comics

Best doctor

BicycleSPACE

Multiple locations, bicyclespacedc.com

2nd Place: Fantom Comics 3rd Place: Third Eye Comics

2nd Place: The Bike Rack 3rd Place: City Bikes

Best consignment shop

Best Bus to new york

Current Boutique

Megabus

50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, megabus.com

Multiple locations, currentboutique.com 2nd Place: Secondi 3rd Place: Buffalo Exchange

2nd Place: BestBus 3rd Place: BoltBus

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Multiple locations, georgetownoptician.com

Best FAciAl

Violet

Multiple locations, bigplanetcomics. com

Dr. Ali Matini, Georgetown Optician

Best dAnce clAss

barre3

Best Bike shop

Best eye doctor

2nd Place (Tie): Dr. Hannah Yecheskel, All Eyes On Rockville 2nd Place (Tie): MyEyeDr.

2nd Place: UrbanStems 3rd Place: Postmates

Multiple locations, barre3.com

2nd Place: ZIPS Dry Cleaners 3rd Place: Georgetown Valet

2nd Place: CrossFit MPH 3rd Place: CrossFit Hierarchy

Best clothing Boutique

1924 8th St. NW, Suite 115, (202) 6219225, violetdc.com

Multiple locations, thepressdc.com

One Medical

Multiple locations, (202) 697-5520, onemedical.com 2nd Place (Tie): Dr. Bruce Rashbaum 2nd Place (Tie): Dr. Gregory Jones 3rd Place (Tie): Barry Clark, MD 3rd Place (Tie): Christopher McMackin Best dog wAlk service

Wanderpups

(202) 688-1296, wanderpups.com 2nd Place: Patrick’s Pet Care 3rd Place: Rover

Jenny Luu Skin Care 5480 Wisconsin Ave., Suite LL6, Chevy Chase, (301) 533-7546, jennyluuskincare.com

2nd Place: Green Revolution Skin Studio 3rd Place: Unwind Wellness Center Best FinAnciAl services

Charles Schwab

Multiple locations, schwab.com 2nd Place: Merrill Lynch 3rd Place (Tie): Industrial Bank 3rd Place (Tie): Morgan Stanley Best Flower shop

Lee’s Flower and Card Shop

1026 U St. NW, (202) 265-4965, leesflowerandcard.com 2nd Place: UrbanStems 3rd Place: Little Shop of Flowers Best Food mArket

Glen’s Garden Market 2001 S St. NW, (202) 588-5698, glensgardenmarket.com 2nd Place: Union Market 3rd Place: Eastern Market Best gArden store

Ginkgo Gardens 911 11th St. SE, (202) 5435172, ginkgogardens.com

2nd Place: Frager’s Garden Center 3rd Place: Johnson’s

GOODS&SERVICES Best Hospital

Sibley Memorial Hospital

5255 Loughboro Road NW, (202) 537-4000, hopkinsmedicine. org/sibley-memorial-hospital 2nd Place: George Washington University Hospital 3rd Place: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Best inDoor cyclinG stuDio

Off Road DC

Multiple locations, offroaddc.com 2nd Place: Zengo Cycle 3rd Place: Flywheel Sports Best lanDscape/GarDen DesiGn

Best Getaway/escape From D.c.

Shenandoah National Park

(540) 999-3500, nps.gov/shen/index.htm 2nd Place: Annapolis 3rd Place: Rehoboth Best Green Business

Community Forklift

Farrah Skeiky

Best Flower Shop, Readers’ Pick: Lee’s Flower and Card Shop 2nd Place: Mickey Bolek 3rd Place: Ryan Payne Best HanDmaDe accessories (tie)

All Things B. Alexis 1231 Good Hope Road SE, allthingsbalexis.com

Stitch & Rivet

716 Monroe St. NE, Studio 24, shopstitchandrivet.com

4671 Tanglewood Drive, Edmonston, (301) 985-5180, communityforklift.org

2nd Place: Tanglewood Works 3rd Place: Shop Made in DC

2nd Place: Glen’s Garden Market 3rd Place (Tie): Casey Trees 3rd Place (Tie): Tanglewood Works

Best HanDmaDe eco-FrienDly proDucts

Best Grocer

Trader Joe’s

Multiple locations, traderjoes.com 2nd Place: Whole Foods Market 3rd Place: Glen’s Garden Market Best Hair salon

Thomas Shelton Hair Design

2122 P St. NW, (202) 800-8816, thomassheltonhairdesign.com

2nd Place: Michael Anthony Salon 3rd Place: Bang Salon Best Hair stylist

Carlos Reyes at Thomas Shelton Hair Design

2122 P St. NW, (202) 800-8816, thomassheltonhairdesign.com

hunnybunny boutique

311 8th St. NE, (202) 792-5209, hunnybunny.boutique 2nd Place (Tie): Handmade Habitat 2nd Place (Tie): Lush 2nd Place (Tie): Tanglewood Works 3rd Place (Tie): BicycleTrash 3rd Place (Tie): Efua’s Baby 3rd Place (Tie): Glut Food Co-op 3rd Place (Tie): JSquared Candle Co. 3rd Place (Tie): Steadfast Supply 3rd Place (Tie): Swapples Best HanDmaDe Home Decor

Tanglewood Works

5132 Baltimore Ave., Hyattsville, (415) 595-9839 tanglewoodworks.com 2nd Place: Salt & Sundry 3rd Place: Shop Made in DC

Best HanDmaDe proDucts For KiDs

Oh Bessie!

(240) 324-8054, ohbessie.com 2nd Place: Yinibini Baby 3rd Place: Shop Made in DC

Hawthorne Garden Design

2908 32nd St. NW, hawthornegarden. com 2nd Place (Tie): Behnke Nurseries 2nd Place (Tie): Ginkgo Gardens 2nd Place (Tie): Love & Carrots 3rd Place: Moody Graham Best lawyer

David Benowitz

Best HanDyman (tie)

Hourly Husbands

906 Euclid St. NW, Suite A, (202) 4559100, hourlyhusbands.com

409 7th St. NW, (202) 517-6810, criminallawdc.com

Karma Home Designs 1990 M St. NW #250, (202) 6424663, karmahomedesigns.com

2nd Place: Gary Altman 3rd Place (Tie): Mary Greer 3rd Place (Tie): Nicholas J. Boyle 3rd Place (Tie): Peter Glazer 3rd Place (Tie): Steve Hessler

Best HarDware store

Best liquor store

Frager’s

1323 E St. SE, (202) 543-6157, fragersdc.com

2nd Place: Annie’s Ace Hardware 3rd Place: Old Takoma Ace Hardware Best Home GooDs store

Home Rule

1807 14th St. NW, (202) 7975544, homerule.com 2nd Place: Salt & Sundry 3rd Place: Tabletop

Schneider’s of Capitol Hill

300 Massachusetts Ave. NE, (202) 543-9300, cellar.com 2nd Place: Calvert Woodley 3rd Place: Harry’s Reserve Best maKeup artist

Erwin Gomez

1104 24th St. NW, (202) 293-3333, karmaerwingomez.com 2nd Place (Tie): Amber Singletary 2nd Place (Tie): Beauty with Liv Best mani/peDi

Mimosa Salon

Multiple locations, mimosasalondc.com 2nd Place: nailsaloon 3rd Place: Cabana Day Spa

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GOODS&SERVICES Best Martial arts Classes (tie)

Best pet shop

Best plaCe to Buy instruMents

Best plastiC surGeon

District Combatives

Howl to the Chief

House of Musical Traditions

Paul Ruff

Seichou Karate Dojo

2nd Place: Wagtime 3rd Place: The Big Bad Woof

1525 Half St. SW, (202) 769-1831, districtcombatives.com

807 North Royal Street, Alexandria, (571) 257-5401, seichoukarate.com 2nd Place: Aikido Shobukan Dojo Best Med spa (tie)

Jenny Luu Skin Care 5480 Wisconsin Ave., Suite LL6, Chevy Chase, (301) 5337546, jennyluuskincare.com

Unwind Wellness Center

Multiple locations, unwindwellness.com 2nd Place: Blush Med Spa Best Movers

Bookstore Movers

(202) 570-4697, bookstoremovers.com 2nd Place: JK Moving Services 3rd Place: My Truck Buddy Best personal trainer (GyM)

FIT Personal Training 1633 Q St. NW #110 Downstairs, (202) 255-7814, fit-dc.com 2nd Place: Cassia Denton 3rd Place: Benjamin Drader Best personal trainer (non-GyM)

Delvin Tyler

(301) 640-1177, bestofdelvin.com 2nd Place: Andy Shin Fitness 3rd Place: Michael Everts Best pest Control

Connor’s

Multiple locations, (703) 879-2145, connorspest.com 2nd Place: PestNow 3rd Place (Tie): American Pest 3rd Place (Tie): Innovative Pest Management Best pet serviCes

Sit-A-Pet

(202) 362-8900, sitapet.com 2nd Place: Patrick’s Pet Care 3rd Place: Wanderpups

733 8th St. SE, (202) 544-8710, howltothechief.com

Best photoGraphy serviCes

Jon Fleming Photography

(703) 209-0175, jonflemingphotography.com 2nd Place: Chris Ferenzi Photography 3rd Place: Anne Giebel Photography

7010 Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park, (301) 270-9090, hmtrad.com

2440 M St. NW Suite 200, (202) 7854187, westendplasticsurgery.com

2nd Place: Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center 3rd Place (Tie): Atomic Music 3rd Place (Tie): Music on the Hill

2nd Place (Tie): Dr. Regina Hampton 2nd Place (Tie): Dr. Michael Olding 3rd Place (Tie): Dr. Barry Cohen 3rd Place (Tie): Dr. Adam Tattelbaum 3rd Place (Tie): Dr. George Bitar 3rd Place (Tie): Dr. Michael Somenek

Best plaCe to Buy Jewelry

Best pluMBer

Tiny Jewel Box

1155 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 3932747, tinyjewelbox.com

Spartan Plumbing

(800) 882-0194, spartanman.com

Best pilates studio

2nd Place: I. Gorman Jewlers 3rd Place: Lou Lou

2nd Place (Tie): Aspen Hill Plumbing, LLC 2nd Place (Tie): Magnolia Plumbing 3rd Place: J.C. Bauer, Inc.

District Pilates

Best plaCe to Buy wine

Best real estate aGent

Multiple locations, districtpilates.com 2nd Place: Fuse Pilates 3rd Place: BalanceBurn Best plaCe to Buy Beer

Craft Beer Cellar 301 H St. NE, (202) 846-7585, dc.craftbeercellar.com

Schneider’s of Capitol Hill

Silvana Dias

2nd Place: Trader Joe’s 3rd Place: Calvert Woodley

2nd Place: J. D’Ann Faught 3rd Place: Robert Fritzman

Best plaCe to Buy a suit

Best real estate Group

300 Massachusetts Ave. NE, (202) 543-9300, cellar.com

2nd Place: Fenwick Beer and Wine 3rd Place: Calvert Woodley Fine WInes & Spirits

Ezra Paul Clothing

Best plaCe to Buy eyeGlasses

2nd Place: Suitsupply 3rd Place: Nordstrom’s

Warby Parker

Multiple locations, warbyparker.com 2nd Place: Georgetown Optician 3rd Place: All Eyes On Rockville Best plaCe to Buy Fur handCuFFs

Secret Pleasures Boutique

1510 U St. NW, (202) 664-1476, secretpleasuresboutique.com

1608 17th St. NW, (202) 518-7285, ezrapaul.com

Best plaCe to Get waxed

Dupont Threading

Multiple locations, dupontthreading. com 2nd Place: Unwind Wellness Center Georgetown 3rd Place: European Wax Center Best plaCe to Get your Bike Fixed

2nd Place: Lotus Blooms 3rd Place: Bite the Fruit

BicycleSPACE

Best plaCe to Buy hoMe FurnishinGs

2nd Place: The Bike Rack 3rd Place: City Bikes

Miss Pixie’s Furnishings & Whatnot

Best plaCe to Get your CraCked phone sCreen Fixed

1626 14th St. NW, (202) 2328171, misspixies.com 2nd Place: Hudson & Crane 3rd Place: Room & Board

Multiple locations, bicyclespacedc.com

uBreakiFix DC

Multiple locations, ubreakifix. com/locations/washingtondc 2nd Place: District Repair 3rd Place: Apple

4910 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 119, (202) 362-1300, longandfoster. com/silvanadias

City Chic Real Estate

(202) 499-4284, citychicrealestate.com 2nd Place: Fulcrum Properties Group 3rd Place: Compass Best reCord store

Joe’s Record Paradise 8700 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, (301) 585-3269, joesrecordparadise.com 2nd Place (Tie): Smash Records 2nd Place (Tie): Songbyrd 3rd Place (Tie): Joint Custody 3rd Place (Tie): Red Onion Records 3rd Place (Tie): Som Records Best ride share

Lyft

lyft.com 2nd Place: Uber 3rd Place (Tie): Capital Bikeshare 3rd Place (Tie): Via Best rooFers

Roof Solutions

Multiple locations, roofsolution.com 2nd Place: Karma Home Designs 3rd Place: Samuel Boyd Best yoGa studio

Yoga District

Multiple locations, yogadistrict.com 2nd Place: Yoga Heights 3rd Place: Flow Yoga Center 62 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

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STaFF PICkS

Darrow Montgomery

GOODS & SERVICES

Best Physical Manifestaion of Black Excellence: Nubian Hueman

Best Physical Manifestation of Black Excellence Nubian Hueman

1231 Good Hope Road SE, (202) 3943386, nubianhueman.com

Do you, like me, have a Black Panther hangover? I’ve been itching to go back to the world of Wakanda since I last saw Ryan Coogler’s epic film. Thanks to Nubian Hueman, a black-owned boutique in the Anacostia Arts Center, it’s like I never

left. Whether you’re in the market for African-themed printed maxi skirts or Muhammad Ali tees or Shaka Zulu pullover sweaters, Nubian Hueman will have you looking fly as hell. And that’s just the apparel. You can also pick up lotions, butters, and amber jar candles hand-poured in Baltimore and made from domestically grown soybeans. You can even trace your African ancestry with a MatriClan Test Kit that, with one swab, will allow you to determine which present-day African country and ethnic group you share ancestry with on your maternal side. Unfortunate-

64 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

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With Nubian Hueman, owner Anika Hobbs has created something of a safe haven, a space in which black people can celebrate Pan-Africanism and the global reach of their blackness, and do the Wakandan salute in peace. Southeast D.C. proved to be the perfect place for Hobbs to showcase the beauty of black culture in the city. “Anacostia was one of those places where it just felt like the heart of Nubian Hueman, which is community,” Hobbs said in an interview with Live An-

acostia. “We felt at home here.”

As a customer, it’s hard not to feel at home when you’re in the cozy confines of the store. In addition to selling amazing goods, Nubian Hueman also hosts a big bash every year called The Black Love Experience, a celebration of D.C.’s creative community that features art, live music, and food, and promotes all things black and local. If putting your arms across your chest and shouting “Wakanda Forever!” is something you often feel the urge to do, Hobbs and her staff have got you covered.

—Kayla Randall

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GOODS&SERVICES

Darrow Montgomery

Best Expansion: Politics and Prose

Politics and Prose

5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, (202) 364-1919, politics-prose.com 70 District Square SW, (202) 4883867, politics-prose.com

We’ve sung the praises of the D.C. institution that is Politics and Prose in these pages before. That it’s the best bookstore in the region kind of goes without saying at this point. But its graceful growth this year deserves mention, goshdarnit! Opening a new location at The Wharf made the Southwest megadevelopment feel like a real neighborhood as opposed to a massive string of restaurants and condos. After all, those residents need $5 greeting cards and hardcover books as much as anyone.

The additional decision to expand its Connecticut Avenue NW flagship when the dry cleaner next door closed has improved the flow of its upper and lower levels. Sale books have moved up from the basement and individuals that used to work out of a rented property down the block now have office space in the store. The readers and writers enrolled in the store’s numerous classes also got a dedicated space below ground.

Politics and Prose is a “third place” for many—the place, beyond the home and office, where people find a sense of community. The expansion across the city allows even more individuals to take advantage of it, whether they’re shopping for a gift, discussing their favorite books, or attending a reading.

And the expansion hasn’t even ended yet. The upcoming opening of a third store, near Union Market, will give Politics and Prose a presence in three of D.C.’s four quadrants and another venue for the hundreds of author events it hosts every year. As other independent

thing. Someone in her shop once referred to her as “an Irish Yoda.” It’s an apt description. She takes care of everyone who wanders into her Irish specialty goods store. Whether you’re looking for Irish dancing shoes, hats, sweaters, Celtic jewelry, or just taking it all in, The Irish Walk has got it all, and being there is always a good time. The jewelry is especially nice, and Theobald can explain everything about it—like making sure you’re wearing your claddagh ring on the correct finger and that it’s facing the correct way. She is the wise fairy godmother you didn’t know you needed, but once you find her, you keep coming back to her for guidance. I certainly have. She once extensively coached me on what size ring I should get, based on the weather conditions and how my hands respond to

retailers struggle to pay the rent or even open in the District, Politics and Prose is proof that everyone hasn’t sold out to Jeff Bezos just yet.

—Caroline Jones

The Best One-Stop Place to Fix a Bike Flat, Drink Coffee and/ or Beer, and Buy that Lightbulb That’s Been Out For Three Weeks District Hardware and Bike 730 Maine Ave. SW, (202) 6598686, districthardware.com

Rows of bikes and bike parts, paint cans, light bulbs, bolts and batteries, cups of fresh-brewed coffee, and a half-dozen regional beer taps.

All under one roof.

District Hardware and Bike occupies a unique retail space in the city. At nearly 50 years old, it’s one of the oldest continuously operating hardware and bicycle shops here. And since moving last October from Foggy Bottom to The Wharf in Southwest, the family-owned enterprise has added The Velo Cafe, serving coffee and pastries all day and regional beers in the afternoon and evening.

“Where else can you shop in a hardware store while drinking a beer,” says owner Neil Conway, scurrying one recent busy Sunday around the shop at 730 Maine Avenue SW, locating rubber bands for one customer and greeting another purchasing a bike for her 18-month-old child. “We’re proud to be a Washingtonbased business. We’re a family affair.”

It’s been a family affair for decades.

Stanley Conway, Neil’s father, first emigrated in the 1950s with his family from

66 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Best One-Stop Place to Fix a Bike, Drink Coffee and/or Beer, and Buy a Lightbulb: District Hardware and Bike man’s expressed goal of welcoming local restaurants and shops into the $2 billion Wharf project. Hoffman said he wanted a place local Washingtonians could live, work, and play, not just a commercial office and tourist destination. Politics and Prose, for example, also opened a small store in the complex.

“We are very happy in this location,” Neil Conway says, adding that many customers from Foggy Bottom followed them here. But he admits he’s barely seen the popular Wharf promenade itself. “I’ve had a little bit of a walk around,” he confesses, “I tend to spend pretty much all my time in the shop here.”

—Tom Sherwood

Best Representation of Ireland The Irish Walk

415 King St., Alexandria, (703) 548-0118, irishwalk.com

Patty Theobald seems to know every-

Darrow Montgomery

Best Expansion

Britain to Washington, buying a small hardware store near Dupont Circle. It later added bikes and bike repair. Still later it moved to Foggy Bottom. Neil Conway, 6 at the time the family emigrated, is now 67. His brother Simon, 65, works the hardware section. Neil’s daughter Lauren runs the cafe and his son, Jared, oversees general business, marketing, and the shop’s educational seminars.

The simple layout of the Velo Cafe sits between the bike and hardware sections, although all three kind of blend together.

“We were very careful about where we want to go,” Neil Conway says about the decision to relocate from the smaller Foggy Bottom shop. “We did have some other opportunities.”

District Hardware and Bike may be the best example of developer Monty Hoff-

hot and cold temperatures. You won’t find that kind of excellent tutelage anywhere else. As a bonus, there’s always some great Celtic bops playing in the store that you can jam to. If tickets to the Emerald Isle are out of your price range right now, a visit to King Street will let you pretend you’re there for a few minutes.

—Kayla Randall

Best Ride to NYC BoltBus

50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, (877) 265-8287, boltbus.com

Even if Amtrak were affordable and hadn’t been in the news for deadly crashes recently, let’s face it: It smells awful. The scent of mothballs and antiseptic fills many a car on the Northeast Regional, and if you attempt to discern what the chemical cocktail is covering up, your nose may horrify you by detecting a faint trace of urine, or perhaps

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GOODS&SERVICES

Best Way To Feel Like a Kid While Getting a Workout: TRAMP Class at Fuel Body Lab

Best Way To Feel Like a Kid While Getting A Workout TRAMP Class at Fuel Body Lab Multiple locations, fuelbodylab.com

Bouncing on a trampoline is kind of like skipping—it’s really hard to do without laughing. Why would you even try? Because you’re at TRAMP class at Fuel Body Lab, and giggling through a 45minute workout is not the best way to get your money’s worth. Instead, follow the instructor’s movements as she guides you through choreographed and precise bouncing movements on your individual trampoline (with some core and arm exercises too). The class takes you back to childhood, jumping on the backyard trampoline and experimenting with the limits of gravity, except instead of playing with friends, you’ve got a very fit babysitter telling you to jump to the beat until you’re drenched in sweat. You laugh today, but your glutes and quads will be crying tomorrow.

—Avery J.C. Kleinman

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Farrah Skeiky

leftover food. It may be neither of those things, but regardless of the source, if you’re committed to rail travel you have two ways to avoid wondering for threeand-a-half hours.

The first option is to pay for the faster Acela Express, which may not be as significant a cost differential as you would expect. A Friday evening ticket from D.C. to NYC on the Northeast Regional often costs about $185. On some occasions, you can score an Acela ticket for less than $20 more. The second option is to stick with the Northeast Regional and pray you find a seat in one of newly upholstered cars, which smell fine.

You’re better off saving $150 by booking a ticket on BoltBus. It’s usually running only 15 or 20 minutes behind schedule (unlike Amtrak, which, when it’s late, is very late). The bus driver almost always gives a funny speech at the beginning of the ride, and the internet works about 80% of the time. When it doesn’t, you can spend your four hours thinking.

The drivers make passengers keep quiet. It parks at a rest stop in Delaware for 15 minutes, unless its running late. In that case, the driver usually (and wisely) skips the stop. If you get off at the 6th Avenue stop, you’ll be a block from the Canal Street subway station in lower Manhattan.

The double-decker Megabus always looks like it’s going to tip over, and sometimes it does. Greyhound, even though it owns BoltBus, is worse than BoltBus by a degree in every way.

Want to rent a car? Here are the downsides: Tolls on I-95 are going to be about $40 each way (a one-way BoltBus ticket is usually between $15 and $40); I-95 is one of the worst roads in America; you’ll need to find a parking spot in NYC; and you have to drop the car off at a rental place when you get back.

Want to fly? The airlines are much likelier to cancel flights for weather, and the additional fare to your final destination in NYC can cost more than a one-way BoltBus ticket.

All that said, a recent email promotion from BoltBus had the subject line, “Treat yourself - You’ve put in the time and deserve a vacay,” and suggested trips to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as well as NYC and Richmond. Distance travel on the BoltBus is not likely to be pleasant. Spring for the flight or rent that car if you want to get more than 300 miles away.

—Alexa Mills

Best Local Clothing Collection EAT

re-design their classic 990 track shoe in a red, yellow, and blue EAT colorway.

—Sidney Thomas

allhomage.com

If you notice people around the city wearing clothing emblazoned with large lowercase red, yellow, and blue letters that spell the word “EAT,” it’s the handiwork of Malik Jarrett, a photographer, DJ, entrepreneur, and the founder of the All Homage brand. Jarrett started the movement by happenstance when he began tagging his photographs with the now ubiquitous EAT (Elevate All the Time) watermark. So many people were asking about the eyecatching logo that Jarrett printed a few pieces of EAT apparel, and the merchandise sold out almost immediately. Pretty soon, the brand was the hottest thing on the streets. Rappers like Wale, 21 Savage, and Rae Sremmurd began sporting EAT gear on stage during their performances. To meet the demand for his products Jarrett runs weekly pop-up shops where customers can purchase his latest designs. All Homage is successful as a company because Jarrett has consistently made savvy business moves. He recently made a deal with athletic wear retail giant Shoe City to carry his EAT collection, and he collaborated with the New Balance footwear corporation to

Best Independent Bookstore in the ’burbs One More Page Books

2200 N Westmoreland St. #101, Arlington, (703) 300-9746, onemorepagebooks.com

One More Page Books is dedicated to making book culture fun. The store is women-owned and women-led, and its enthusiastic, book-loving staff hosts engaging events every week, like themed book club meetings and book talks with great local authors. Their free Frequent Buyer Club rewards repeat customers with discounts—if you’re a book hoarder like me, this might lead you to become even more of a hoarder.

But hey, spending your disposable income on books is healthier than most other things you could be spending it on. Not limited to bookselling and author events, One More Page also hosts wine and chocolate tastings, sponsors book giveaways, and visits area schools and libraries to get kids reading. Any place that celebrates wine, chocolate, and literature is a winner in my book.

—Kayla Randall

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Visit us at tanglewoodworks.com for all the latest news or in store at 5132 Baltimore Ave. in Hyattsville, MD washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 69

GOODS&SERVICES the pens and pencils can be purchased individually, with prices starting at $1.

Cherry Blossom Creative also carries a thoughtful selection of project planners, scissors, sticky note tabs, and erasers.

It’s a store that will completely delight the shopper who swoons over the presence of a Leuchtturm journal. You know who you are.

—Kaarin Vembar

Best Non-Alcoholic Happy Hour Lee’s Flower and Card Shop

Darrow Montgomery

1026 U St. NW, (202) 265-4965, leesflowerandcard.com

Best Store That Distracts Us From Utter Chaos: The M Shop

Best Store That Distracts us From Utter Chaos The M Shop

12th and F streets NW, wmata. com/business/shop.cfm

It’s easy to feel like every trip on Metrorail is a gamble: Will my train be on time? Will it be single-tracking for 12 stops? Will it catch on fire? The odds are not ever in your favor. But while WMATA can’t fix things overnight it can distract you from the hell that is Metro with some sweet Metro socks. Or yoga pants. Or one of the dozens of other pieces of sweet Metro swag you can find in their new store, The M Shop.

Sure, the idea of a Metro store is dumb as shit, but you have to agree that some of their swag (a model X2 bus!?) is pretty cool.

—Matt Cohen

Best Downtown Liquor Emporium A-1 Wine & Liquor 1420 K St. NW, (202) 216-9463

The liquor store near your office fills a different role than the one near your home or the massive suburban empo-

As we speak, the powers that be are rebranding mocktails as “zero proof” cocktails. But the best non-alcoholic happy hour in D.C. isn’t a trendy imitation of booze. No, the best non-alcoholic happy hour in the District isn’t even in a bar.

Every Friday, from 3 p.m. until it closes at 7 p.m., Lee’s Flower and Card Shop hosts its Flower Power Hour. During this magical window of time, fresh cut flowers are half off at the U Street NW shop.

You can grab a pre-assembled bouquet and skip on home, or you can work with the friendly and knowledgeable staff to design your own celebration of nature.

Better yet, treat this weekly event like you would an 80 proof happy hour and meet up with friends at this D.C. institution. You can all purchase different arrangements, compare them, realize you wish you had ordered what your friend did, and tell yourself you’ll get it when you come back next week, just like at a “regular” happy hour.

—Will Warren

rium where you stock up for parties. It should have a wide selection of booze that can be kept at room temperature in, say, the back of a filing cabinet, beers in a variety of sizes and at a variety of price points, and cheap wine that won’t look totally out of place should you bring it to a dinner party. A-1 Wine & Liquor has all that in spades, as well as a helpful (but not pushy) staff that make special orders and keep its snack shelf well-stocked. It’s larger than other downtown booze sellers and its prices are reasonable. Because really, if you’re planning to drink at work, do you need anything fancy?

—Caroline Jones

plants adorn every corner. At the annual sale, curious shoppers have the opportunity to share in their botanical bounty. Monastery-grown herbs, veggies, flowers, and other plants are for sale, and craft and food vendors make the trip all the more pleasant.

—Matt Cohen

2128 8th St. NW, (202) 319-2979, cherryblossomworkshop.com

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Best Place to Purchase Some Greenery

Picture it: You reach for the pen and it’s the perfect weight in your hand. When you start writing on a fresh sheet of creamy paper it doesn’t merely scratch out letters—it glides smoothly across the page, beckoning you to continue. You suddenly can’t remember why you own a computer or a smartphone. You make a decision to (gasp!) handwrite a letter just so you can have an excuse to further utilize that pen.

Cherry Blossom Creative is a small space that packs a big punch for pen and bullet journal enthusiasts. A section of one wall is devoted to writing instruments imported from Japan, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. Most of

Tucked behind a tiny, corrugated metal door along First Street NE between G Street NE and Massachusetts Avenue NE is the entirety of the D.C. Amtrak Express Shipping office: A concrete slab big enough to fit two cars, a weighing station, and a dingy office.

In the winter of 2016 I moved from D.C. to California with precisely 14 boxes, three suitcases, one cat, and zero clue how I’d pull the thing off without spending an obscene amount of money. Just over a year later, I moved back.

Enter Amtrak Express Shipping, which I discovered after hours of trolling the depths of mommy blogs and travelogues online, looking for the cheapest

Plant & Herb Sale at the Franciscan Monastery

1400 Quincy St. NE, (202) 526-6800, fmgg.org

There is no shortage of places in the DMV to buy plants of all varieties.

But once a year, there comes a magical event that’s kind of like Christmas for plant and flower enthusiasts: The Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild’s Plant & Herb sale. If you’ve ever been to this Brookland monastery, you know how gorgeous its gardens are— lush and colorful flowers, herbs, and

70 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Best Place for Bullet Journalist Enthusiasts Cherry Blossom Creative

Best Moving Service Amtrak Express Shipping

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Logan | Frager’s | Glover Park | Tenleytown | 5th Street | Woodley Park | Adams Morgan | Old Takoma | Old Town Alexandria washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 71

GOODS&SERVICES dios. Her wish was to expand the concept of her store with a more diverse range of product offerings while acting as a self-care encourager. When she found the light-filled retail space on Wisconsin Avenue NW, she knew she had a new home.

The store focuses on all-natural skincare, beauty, and lifestyle products. But one of Take Care’s most delightful offerings is the DIY bath bar. Here customers can take a jar and fill it with a mixture of dried rose petals, lavender, or chamomile, and top it with one of three offerings of salt—Dead Sea, gray, or pink Himalayan. Waddell emphasises that taking a bath is one way to exist in a protected space. “We are so bombarded with ads,

Best Place to Prep for a Bath: Take Care

with other people’s feelings, with noise.

That ability to be alone in a bath, even for a few minutes, is crucial for keeping a level head,” says Waddell.

Those people already initiated into green beauty will find a familiar array of brands including Josh Rosebrook, Osea, and RMS. Shoppers who are interested in switching over to natural beauty are encouraged to explore and ask questions. Water is used in a practical way within the store. A sink is available so customers so can try on (and take off) different brands. “The sink is so important here,” says Waddell. “It allows people to step into the products more and create a connection.”

Waddell also offers refillable home

Darrow Montgomery

Best T-Shirt Company to Rep the 202: Bailiwick Clothing Company

Best Place to Prep for a Bath Take Care

1338 Wisconsin Ave. NW, (202) 7172600, takecareshopdc.com

Walking through the doors of Take Care is transformative. The transition moving from the sidewalks of Georgetown to inside the retail space is abrupt and very, very welcome. The store is calm. Sunlight streams through big windows. Natural beauty products are lined up on shelves in a tidy order. In this space customers start to unwind and think about how to tend to themselves a little more.

Take Care is the passion project of founder Becky Waddell. Waddell once had another space devoted to green beauty called Be Clean at the 52 O Street Stu-

72 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Darrow Montgomery

and least painful way to move the contents of a small studio apartment across the country.

I have since preached the services of Amtrak Express to all of the people in my life, as well as some total strangers. You can ship boxes no larger than 3 feet by 3 feet that weigh no more than 50 pounds each, to any one of the more than 100 Amtrak Express Shipping sites in the country. They’ll ride cargo to your destination, where you (or a generous friend) can pick them up. The station will even hold boxes for 48 hours upon arrival, free of charge. It’s .75 cents per pound—a nearly unbeatable deal—and every $1 you spend on insurance will get you $100 of coverage. You can’t ship fragile items or large furniture, which insurance won’t cover, but the rest of your items will be well taken care of.

—Morgan Baskin

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GOODS&SERVICES cleaning supplies as a means to build community. Customers are able to fill reusable jars with natural hand soap or laundry detergent. It may sound like a small offering on the surface, but this type of purchase has a deep impact. It’s a simple way consumers can switch over to green cleaning, which means fewer chemicals are used within a home.

Buying a jar and refilling it keeps plastic out of landfills. Purchasing cleaners from Take Care means the money spent goes to an independent business rather than a large corporation. And most importantly, there is a rhythm to customers coming back to refill their jars. They are welcomed once again into the soft space of the shop. They get to chat with Waddell, her employees, and each other. It’s a personal shopping experience.

And it’s a wonderful way to take care.

—Kaarin Vembar

Best Salon for Millenials and Those Who Love Them

Best Canna Company: Coco Canna

The Burrow

1907 9th St. NW, 2nd Floor, (202) 516-4921, theburrowdc.com

The Burrow, as the name implies, is a small, cozy space. Its intimate vibe starkly contrasts some of the sprawling salons housed inside of gyms that employ dozens of stylists but still lack the personalization that millennials are compelled to crave. Former Bang employees founded the salon, which opened in October. When you enter The Burrow, one of the stylists or receptionists offers you Champagne or wine before whisking you off to one of the most luxurious shampoo sessions you’ve ever received. Coowner Ryan Payne’s friendly dog fre-

Darrow Montgomery

Best Salon for Millenials and Those Who Love Them: The Burrow

quently roams the salon and if your pup doesn’t lose his shit over the sound of a hair dryer, you can bring him with you and he can camp out on a pillow during your appointment. Prices aren’t cheap, but they come in far below a certain salon on 14th Street NW. Reservations can be made online and if you forget cash for a tip, the stylists allow you to use the Venmo app to digitally wire them some bucks for making your fringe look so fly.

—Laura Hayes

Best Canna Company

Farrah Skeiky

Coco Canna

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Presentation, they say, is everything, and Coco Canna has presentation down pat. Their crown jewel is their super cute stash boxes, tailored to give you a specific mood or experience, such as “get up and go,” or “sit back and relax.” Inside an adorable gold embossed box, you’ll find scented candles, smoking accessories like flavored rolling papers, chocolates, and a free gift of organical-

ly farmed cannabis. About those chocolates: They come in a variety of flavors (some are even pressed with gorgeous dried fruits), their wrappers are just as well designed as the rest of the box, and they can be made into a “special” gift upon request. Most special treats tend to taste, well, like they’ve got a bunch of plants in them, but Coco Canna doesn’t have any of that mossy taste. Ordering online is a breeze, and there’s the option to pick up or have a box delivered right to your door.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best D.C. T-shirt Brand to Rep the 202 Bailiwick Clothing bailiwickclothing.com

While the two-man band of J.C. and Jeff Smith at Bailiwick Clothing has only been whipping up D.C. pride in Tshirt form for all of about three years, they’ve already amassed a following from Nats Park to the Wilson Build-

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GOODS&SERVICES

Darrow Montgomery

Best Place to Learn a Cool New Skill in a Weekend: Weisser Glass Studio

ing. And while your cousin from Nebraska will be just fine with his souvenir truck-purchased “I Heart DC” tee, you live here and we don’t take kindly to generalized overtures around these parts. Bailiwick brings it with insider references ranging from the country’s second oldest area code—202—to D.C.’s centuries-old fight for statehood.

You’ve got to respect a brand dexterous enough to create items highlighting missing black girls and Interstate 295, the traffic-filled bain of your existence. Everytime you run into the brothers selling their wares, a new and relevant design seems to be on their tables, but if you can’t wait, hop online and cop your favorite reminder of what makes you love this city.

—Hamzat Sani

Best Place to Learn a Cool New Skill in a Weekend Weisser Glass Studio

4080 B Howard Ave., Kensington, (301) 571-8966, weisserglass.com

Your hands are capable of so much more than using software other people wrote to add sepia tones to the grilled cheese you made for breakfast but just had to share with the world. What else can your hands do? Can they cut glass and solder metal into a stained glass portrait of your dog just to make sure everyone is clear that you really like dogs? Can you attain the skills required to create a set of fused glass plates depicting Ruth Bader Ginsburg riding atop a giant koi fish? It’s all possible, peo-

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ple. Even novices can briefly turn their worthless phone hands into artisanal hands with a class at Weisser Glass Studio. Prices start at $110 for a few hours of making fused glass plates and swell up to $695 for a three day class on glass drawing. You won’t even miss spending all weekend binging on Netflix as a means of distracting yourself from creeping existential dread when you are busy working on your stained glass window transom of cherry blossoms. While learning new skills under the guidance of working artists, students can listen to cool music with new friends and appreciate that it is never too late to learn new skills or get in touch with your creative side.

—Tom Hayes

Best Plaintive Dockless Bikeshare Sob LimeBike

With its built-in locks, Jump may have the best all-around security of any of the dockless bikeshare companies—the fuchsia electric bikes are reasonably unfuckwithable when they’re locked up. But Jump’s locks are far from the most entertaining dockless anti-theft features. That honor belongs to LimeBike, whose dockless bikes emit a helpless plea when they’re used incorrectly. Pick up an orange Mobike and carry it a few feet, and it will squeal with a trill siren. Pick up a LimeBike, though, and it will holler: “Please unlock me to ride, or I’ll call the police!” If you must steal a dockless bike—and there’s no evidence that riders in D.C. frequently do—make it a yellow

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GOODS&SERVICES Karhu and Paterson. With spots like Sport Zone Elite closing a few doors down, Ubiq is a worthy addition to the city’s retail scene in D.C. —Hamzat Sani

Best Way to Make Dinner Guests Think You’ve Traveled Extensively in India Pansaari cooking classes

Laura Hayes

1603 17th St. NW, (202) 847-0115, pansaari.com

Best Thrift Shop for Pet Lovers: Wagging Tails Thrifts and Gifts

ofo, whose only defense against thieves is silent contempt.

—Kriston Capps

Best Thrift Shop for Pet Lovers Wagging Tails Thrifts and Gifts

Best Selection of Exotic Plants You Can Have Delivered To Your House, If That’s Your Thing

1310 East Gude Drive, Rockville, (301) 279-0345, mchumane.org/support/thrift-store

Urban Jungle

The 12,000-square-foot shopping area at Wagging Tails has the exuberance of a Pride flag. Row after row of antique glassware is arranged by color, creating a beautiful rainbow effect. But that’s not the best part about this thrift shop in Rockville. Every dollar you spend on vintage finds goes to the Montgomery County Humane Society. In addition to Mad Men-era cocktail sets that will impress your friends when you host your next cocktail party, you can also find clothing, jewelry, books, recordings, framed prints, and electronics in the mix. Dig deep into the shelves and you just might find purses converted from an old cigar box that could become your next statement piece.

—Laura Hayes

Look, I love plant shopping as much as the next person, but sometimes you just don’t have the time to traipse around the District searching for the perfect succulent. Or perhaps you find yourself in a situation where you need an orchid delivered pronto. OK, I’ll be honest: I’m not exactly sure in what situation you might need exotic plants delivered, as opposed to picking them up yourself, but should such a situation occur there’s Urban Jungle. This Park View plant shop specializes in some unusual and exotic plants that are often hard to find in nurseries and garden shops—orchids, succulents, bonsai, cacti. But it’s also known for the delivery of said specialty flora, if that’s your thing.

—Matt Cohen

2603 Sherman Ave. NW, (202) 7408483, urbanjungledc.com

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Best Haven for Limited Release Sneakers Ubiq 3124 M St. NW, (202) 333-8700, ubiqlife.com

While D.C. is not known for having a particularly Hypebeast culture, we have our moments. And when Kendrick Lamar sought an ample venue to host a pop-up shop last summer, Ubiq in Georgetown was the logical choice. Local vendors MAJOR, Commonwealth, and Solbiato have earned followings in the area, but Ubiq’s curatorial approach is unique. Blessed with a design aesthetic dynamic enough to hold the attention of shoppers without overcrowding your senses, Ubiq feels like a streetwear art installation without the “please don’t touch the art” pretense. The visual presentation of the store itself is retail mastery, breathtakingly curated yet approachably raw, with mixed media fixtures that effectively showcase the store’s premium offerings.

It’s always nice to see an active third place worked in, and Ubiq doesn’t disappoint with a magazine library decked with leather seating and small batch editorial offerings.

Brands like Stone Island, wings+horns, and Jordan helm the product offering without overwhelming more obscure brands like

There’s a misconception that Indian food— at least restaurant-style Indian food— is really hard to make. The truth is that homestyle Indian food is pretty easy and not at all intimidating—and that’s the knowledge that Rano Singh, owner of the Dupont Circle’s Pansaari, wants those who sign up for one of her numerous cooking classes to walk away with. Over a variety of specialty classes, including cooking workshops on vegetables, meat, lentils, and paneer, Singh teaches students how to make easy and delicious traditional Indian dishes with herbs and spices you can find in most grocery stores. But Singh’s classes are as much a history and culture lesson on Indian cuisine as they are cooking classes, meaning you can impress guests with food and knowledge at your next dinner party.

—Matt Cohen

Best Sign That Email Isn’t Dead Cleveland Park Listserv cleveland-park.com

Back in the pre-social-media days, D.C.’s many neighborhood email listservs were the top resource for crowdsourced local news. Had the freezers at the Safeway stopped working? Was the sandbox at the park poorly maintained? Did someone leave a free table on the curb? Listservs told the tale. While many local mailing lists have declined in relevance since their heyday, the Cleveland Park Listserv is somehow stronger than ever. On any given week, its thousands of members take to the list to empathize over car burglaries, debate political topics, recommend restaurants and cardiologists, and, yes, give away free tables. Co-publisher Peggy Robin even writes a fun weekly column for the listserv, “Still Life with Robin;” one recent entry ranked the “dopey” names that the Weather Channel gave to the season’s winter storms. In the Facebook age, the continued vibrancy of an old-fashioned neighborhood email list is a story in itself.

Some things never change.

—Justin Peters

GOODS&SERVICES ever the hell you want! Tucked into what was once a deli, The Lemon Collective now serves as a space for workshops and community events. Want to upholster your own furniture, learn everything there is to know about tarot cards, or make a replica of your pet out of felt? If those aren’t your thing, how about paper marbling, constructing a terrarium, or making a pair of espadrille shoes from scratch? If you’re one of those sad sacks who insists you “can’t make anything” and “aren’t creative,” you’re wrong, and the laid back instructors will patiently walk you through whatever process you’re learning. (Shoutout to Lily Cox of A Strange Flower DC, who held my hand through making kokedamas, or plants with roots contained in a ball of soil wrapped in moss.) The studio itself is cozy and inviting, and the front functions as a display room, where you can also pick up some handcrafted wares after class. Like me, you may well find yourself in love with The Lemon Collective—pucker up.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Spot to Pick Up a New Hobby: The Lemon Collective

Best Place to Take the Next Step Alexandria and Company

121-B South Royal St., Alexandria, (703) 548-0659, alxandcompany.com

Laura Hayes

When I (finally) got my act together and made plans to buy an engagement ring, I didn’t know color from clarity. Here’s an example of my ignorance: I first asked if the ring could be set in silver. Engagement rings are not

velofix (855) 835-6349, velofix.com

Let’s face it, fixing your two-wheeled best friend is a pain in the ass. How are you supposed to get it to your local bike shop when it’s the only way you get anywhere in the first place? Cancel your Lyft ride and slip on your fuzzy housecoat because now you can have a bike mechanic come to you, ready to fix your pedal-powered commuter with coffee in tow. Velofix makes it easy. Hop on the website, enter your zip code, select your desired service, and schedule

Best Place to Take the Next Step: Alexandria and Company

a time for the mechanic to address that weird sound that happens when your foot hits your pedal just so. Outside of the casual tire change and tune-up, the crew onboard Pam, their fully equipped sprinter van, can also build your bike from scratch, box your bike for travel, and even make sure your bike actually fits you—yes, that is a thing.

—Hamzat Sani

Best Spot to Pick Up a New Hobby The Lemon Collective

3015 Georgia Ave. NW, wearethelemoncollective.com

When life gives you lemons, make...what-

Darrow Montgomery

Best Way to Get Your Bike Fixed in Your Bathrobe

supposed to be set in silver, I’ve since learned (it’s too soft), but rather platinum or white gold, both of which look silver, in my defense.

I may have required more handholding than most, but one thing holds for everyone looking to take the next step with their partner: If you’re about to spend a lot of money on a mineral imbued with immense symbolic value, you want to be working with someone you can trust.

From the moment I stumbled into Alexandria & Company and stammered out my intentions to propose, I was taken care of. In my first meeting with store co-owner Tim Shaheen we covered the basics.

Did you know that diamonds come in different colors? And that some stones have little imperfections in them? Now I do.

In later meetings, something even more miraculous happened. Diamonds are graded on so many different criteria that I thought it would be impossible to pick one, but somehow Alexandria and Co. got me to a level of competence where I knew what I wanted and could pick between diamonds. More importantly, Shaheen was honest and upfront about what mattered and what, for example, was only visible to a trained eye looking through a magnifying glass.

When I finally made a decision the store designed a custom setting and sent me on my way.

A business that will patiently wait as you cycle through periods of confidence and fear, explain the different cuts for the 12th time without judgment, and empower you to make decisions is one you want by your side when you decide to take the next step.

—Will Warren

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Darrow Montgomery

PEOPLE&PLACES

Best Storefront, Staff Pick: Craig Kraft Studio washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 81

ReadeRs’ Picks PEOPLE & PLACES

Best ApArtment Building

Best loCAl instAgrAm ACCount

Dock 79

@wethepeopledc

79 Potomac Ave. SE, (202) 836-8799, dock79.com 2nd Place: The Apollo 3rd Place (Tie): Capitol Yards 3rd Place (Tie): Highland Park

2nd Place: @acreativedc 3rd Place: @ operationpawsforhomes

Best B.i.d./mAin street

Best loCAl sports plAyer

Main Street Takoma

Bryce Harper

2nd Place: Capitol Riverfront BID 3rd Place: Georgetown BID Best ChArity event

City Dogs Rescue & City Kitties “Dining Out With Dogs”

2nd Place: DC Central Kitchen’s Capital Food Fight 3rd Place: Lucky Dog Animal Rescue Casino Night Best College/university

Georgetown University

3700 O St. NW, (202) 687-0100, georgetown.edu 2nd Place: American University 3rd Place: George Washington University Best Community Blog

PopVille popville.com

2nd Place: Babyfriendlyamerica.com 3rd Place: Petworth News

Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner: National Bonsai & Penjing Museum

Georgetown Law

600 New Jersey Ave. NW, (202) 6629000, law.georgetown.edu 2nd Place: Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU 3rd Place: Howard University School of Social Work Best high sChool

DC International School

1400 Main Drive NW, (202) 808-9033, dcinternationalschool.org 2nd Place: Woodrow Wilson High School 3rd Place: Blyth-Templeton Academy Best house of Worship

Best elementAry sChool

Washington Yu Ying PCS

2nd Place: Sixth & I Historic Synagogue 3rd Place: All Souls Episcopal Church

2nd Place: Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS 3rd Place: Powell Elementary School

2nd Place: John Wall 3rd Place: Alex Ovechkin Best loCAl sports teAm

Washington Nationals mlb.com/nationals

Best grAduAte progrAm

World Mission Society Church of God

220 Taylor St. NE, (202) 6351950, washingtonyuying.org

Darrow Montgomery/File

6909 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park, (301) 891-6789, mainstreettakoma.org

700 A St. NE, (202) 506-4220, washingtondcwmscog.com

Best life CoACh

Sara Oliveri

(202) 681-5483, saraoliveri.com 2nd Place: Bonny King-Taylor 3rd Place: Eduardo Soares

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2nd Place: Washington Capitals 3rd Place: DC United Best mArAthon

Marine Corps Marathon

(703) 784-2225, marinemarathon.com 2nd Place: Rock n’ Roll Marathon Best middle sChool

DC International School

1400 Main Drive NW, (202) 808-9033, dcinternationalschool.org 2nd Place: Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School 3rd Place: Alice Deal Middle School Best nonprofit

City Dogs Rescue & City Kitties

2121 Decatur Place NW #3, (202) 567-7364, citydogsrescuedc.org 2nd Place: Food & Friends

Best plACe to dAy trip

Annapolis

2nd Place: Shenandoah National Park 3rd Place: Baltimore Best plACe to find A one-night stAnd

Professionals in the City

2950 Van Ness St. NW, (202) 6865990, prosinthecity.com 2nd Place: Wonderland Ballroom 3rd Place: The Brixton Best plACe to tAke An out-oftoWner

National Bonsai & Penjing Museum

3501 New York Ave. NE, (202) 3963510, bonsai-nbf.org 2nd Place (Tie): National Museum of African American History and Culture 2nd Place (Tie): National Mall 3rd Place (Tie): Eastern Market 3rd Place (Tie): Union Market Best plACe to volunteer

City Dogs Rescue & City Kitties

2121 Decatur Place NW #3, (202) 5677364, citydogsrescuedc.org 2nd Place: Food & Friends 3rd Place: Lucky Dog Animal Rescue Best presChool

Toddlers on the Hill 800 11th St. NE, (202) 397-1562, toddlersonthehill.org

2nd Place: Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School 3rd Place: Amazing Life Games Best summer CAmp

Valley Mill Camp

15101 Seneca Road, Darnestown, (301) 948-0220, valleymill.com/2018 2nd Place: Trapeze School New York— Washington D.C. 3rd Place: DC Way

Staff PickS PEOPLE & PLACES

Best Place to Restore Moisture to Your DriedOut Winter Skin and Get a Taste of the Tropics United States Botanic Garden

Somewhere between false spring and second winter, when the cold has sucked every spare drop of moisture from the air, even slathering on extra moisturizer isn’t enough. Skip buying a humidifier and head to the United States Botanic Garden’s glassed-in conservatory, where summer reigns eternal. Built in 1933, the historic Lord & Burnham greenhouse holds 10 micro-climate-controlled garden rooms. Some plants date back centuries, including several from the 1842 Wilkes Expedition that founded the collection, while others are rescues that customs agents seized at the border. The center section, The Tropics, is where you’ll feel your pores re-opening, sponge-like, to soak moisture in from the air. The room is designed to look like a rainforest overtaking an abandoned plantation, with pale stone balustrades lining walkways on the ground floor. Climb up to the mezzanine overlooking the jungle canopy and you may start to drip with the rising heat and automated misting system.

If it’s too much, duck out the back to visit the World Deserts room for a breather before walking on to find a little corner of Hawaii tucked in the back behind the Garden Primeval.

—Emily Walz

Best Metro Improvement Promise All Low-Floor Buses

Your Metro bus pulls up. It’s an old one with stairs, and the bus driver looks at you with this sympathetic smile and a helpless shrug—before it rumbles away, leaving you stuck at the bus stop as your peers settle into their seats. That is so last year. Finally, you can enjoy the all low-floor fleet of Metro buses in service today, a bright spot amid the wellknown woes of D.C.’s public transit system. Our city’s accessible buses are the result of routine replacement ever since,

Darrow Montgomery

100 Maryland Ave. SW, (202) 225-8333, usbg.gov

Best Place to Get a Taste of the Tropics: United States Botanical Garden more than 10 years ago, Metro “made a commitment” to every new bus being a low-floor model, according to WMATA spokesperson Richard Jordan.

The new buses are also, fundamentally, the result of decades of brave, arduous activism for disability rights across the country. People with disabilities and their allies battled ignorance, inertia, and cruelty to be free to integrate into American society rather than kept outside of it. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 mandated, in part, that public transportation be accessible. The law was modeled on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Low-floor buses allow people with mobility impairments to literally go in the same door of the bus as anyone else. We no longer have to wait by a back door for a driver to let down the lift,” says Cara Liebowitz, a development coordinator for The National Council on Independent Living. “That’s a powerful symbol of equality.” She is an active member of the D.C. area chapter of ADAPT, the disability rights organization that started in Denver

in the 1970s to fight for accessible transportation, particularly buses. ADAPT was the group that organized a historic demonstration on March 12, 1990, of disabled people painstakingly crawling up more than 80 steps to the U.S. Capitol building, spurring passage of the ADA. The kneeling buses allow walking people with mobility aids—for whom onehand death-gripping the lift, as it creakily rises, is obviously not a safe option—to get on the bus. These busses make life easier for people with temporary injuries, parents with strollers, and travelers with suitcases. According to Jordan, low-floor buses have become the industry standard for urban transit systems.

It isn’t just about buses (and efforts to make more bus stops accessible). All Metro subway stations have elevators, as well as escalators, that usually function.

In New York City, mostly stairs-only subway stations mean people with mobility impairments are SOL. “It’s so refreshing, as a wheelchair user, to be able to hop on the Metro and go wherever I want,” says

Liebowitz, a native New Yorker who chose to move to D.C. Another WMATA option is MetroAccess, though paratransit services, almost by definition, can be unreliable.

“Accessibility is a core aspect of all investments Metro makes,” says Jordan.

“There is not a separate line item for accessibility features, as we consider accessibility to be an essential part of what we do.”

—Diana Michele Yap

Best Reason to Watch the Nats This Season Victor Robles

This is a touchy one because Robles—a 20-year-old phenom from the Dominican Republic—is starting the season in the minor leagues, and the Nats’ front office has suggested that he won’t be back in The Show unless there’s an injury to one of the team’s other outfielders. Let’s be perfectly clear, though: Nats fans know exactly what to expect from Bryce Harper, Max

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 83

PEOPLE&PLACES

Darrow Montgomery

Best D.C.Government Self-Own: Ballou Graduation Rate

Best D.C. Government Self-Own Ballou Graduation Rate

It was the feel-good education story of 2017: For the first time ever, the seniors at Ballou High School in Ward 8 had all applied and gotten into college. Joyous day! If only their grades and attendance met District policies on school promotion. Half-a-year later, WAMU’s Kate McGee burst the public school system’s bubble with a report revealing that half of the graduates had missed more than three months of school—leading to similar system-wide revelations. D.C.’s Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Education, and even the FBI are now investigating the inflated graduation rates.

Doh! —Andrew Giambrone

Best Way to Kill Time at the Airport BWI Cardio Trail

7035 Elm Road, Baltimore, (410) 859-7111, bwiairport.com

If you’re flying out of BWI and coming

from the District, you’ll almost certainly arrive early, depending on the schedule of the bus or train that ferried you to the airport. You could rush through security to kill time at one of the crowded sports bars or sample a funky smelling crab cake at Obrycki’s, but why stay stationary when you’re going to be forced into a small plane seat for the next two to seven hours? You’re better off stretching your limbs by walking the BWI Cardio Trail, known to casual airport visitors as the pre-security area of the terminal’s upper level. The 1-kilometer loop is actually approved by the American Heart Association and marked with signs touting the benefits of walking. But why stop with walking when you can turn the airport into your personal gym? Why not push your suitcase like CrossFitters push weighted sleds? Benches can be used for tricep dips or to simulate box jumps. Will you look goofy? Absolutely. But since shopping malls are dying, you’ve got to take advantage of the remaining fluorescent lit, air conditioned places where you can rush past people in the name of fitness.

—Caroline Jones

Best Place to String a Hammock Malcolm X Park 16th and W streets NW

Spending a day reading or catching up with friends in Malcolm X Park is like being transported to that study abroad stint in Europe you never got to take.

But before you throw a too-thin blanket on the grass and bust out your hoagie,

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Best Hotel Lobby

Best Micro-level Activism: No Dacha on S Street

Washington Plaza Hotel

Darrow Montgomery

Scherzer, Anthony Rendon, and the rest of this talented and seasoned team. They’ll win 90 to 100 games and march into the playoffs, where soul-crushing results are always possible. If there’s any chance for truly unbridled, open-ended fun, it could come from watching Robles bring a jolt of energy to South Capitol Street sometime in the summer.

—Joe Warminsky

the No Dacha on S Street movement. For those unfamiliar, this crew’s particular beef is the addition of a beer garden to an already bustling nightlife corridor that houses dozens upon dozens of bars and restaurants. Can you even imagine such an atrocity? Opponents fought the creation of Dacha’s second beer garden on S Street NW, citing safety and noise concerns, which would surely upend the quiet sanctuary at the intersections of 14th and U streets NW. They went so far as to create a wide-reaching yard sign campaign around the issue, with one Popville commenter counting 17 signs on a stretch of S Street NW during the movement’s peak. Sadly, the No Dacha cohort won the day with a logo seemingly modeled on Yo! MTV Raps and a heaping dose of entitlement, so Dacha 2.0 will have a capacity of 200 instead of the original 600.

Congratulations, joyless yuppie squares.

You won this round. —Stephanie Rudig

look around to spot dogs of all shapes and sizes doing their business on Earth’s pee pad. The solution? A hammock. Purchase one at REI (prices start around $50) and string it between two trees.

There are ample pairs of trunks in the park, so you won’t have to fight couples trying to get their very-public nuzzle on.

—Laura Hayes

Best Micro-level Activism No Dacha On S Street

Our current national nightmare has provided an endless stream of protest fodder, with barely a day passing without something to be outraged about. If you’re somebody who wants to create lasting change, it can be hard to know where to begin: Education? Gun control?

Protection for DREAMers? Police brutality? Luckily, there’s an activist group in D.C. that really has its priorities in order:

Every hotel lobby tells a story. Most of the time, these stories are very boring: “You’re Probably Here for a Conference,” for instance, or “We Really, Really Want You to Follow Us on Instagram.”

But there’s nothing banal about the lobby of the Washington Plaza Hotel, the bright white parabolic behemoth that dominates Thomas Circle. Unlike most of D.C.’s downtown hotels, the lobby of the Washington Plaza offers a distinct, unusual point of view that evokes a very specific place and time. The place: Miami Beach. The time: 1962.

The Washington Plaza was designed by midcentury architect Morris Lapidus, a master of modernist kitsch, who also built the famed Fontainebleau and Eden Roc hotels in Miami Beach. In an era defined by stylistic reticence and Mies van der Rohe’s dictum “Less is more,” Lapidus proudly proclaimed that “Too much is never enough.” He loved dramatic curves, squiggly amoeboid design features, and vast, theatrical lobbies that made all those who entered feel like they were stars in some big-budget Hollywood production.

The Washington Plaza’s lobby is the perfect place to spend an afternoon adrift in a Mad Men fantasy of your own.

While more restrained than Lapidus’ Floridian lobbies—D.C. ain’t Miami, after all— the lobby of the Plaza is no less exuberant for its minimalism. The key feature is its intelligent use of space. The lobby is very big, but it’s also uncluttered, so your attention is naturally drawn to

Silvana Dias VOTED BEST OF DC #1 REAL ESTATE AGENT 2016, 2017, & 2018!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY LOYAL CLIENTS FOR YOUR VOTES! I COULD NOT HAVE WON THIS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WITHOUT YOU ALL! With more than 10 years as a full time residential real estate veteran, Silvana is one of the top agents in the Washington metropolitan area. The top overall agent for the prestigious Long & Foster Co., she was also voted #1 Real Estate Agent in the Best of DC Washington City Paper poll in 2016, 2017 & 2018. She also won BEST of WASHINGTONIAN Real Estate Agent in 2016 & 2017. She has sold over $100 million in real estate in the DMV. Top notch negotiation skills, Silvana gets offers accepted and homes sold. She has put together what she calls her “dream team” to make certain her clients’ experience is the best it possibly can be for both buying and selling. Silvana has experience on the investment side of real estate and her knowledge of renovation allows her to look at homes in a different light, explaining and guiding her clients through renovation costs and potential. For Silvana, real estate is about providing her clients a level of service guaranteed to exceed their expectations, while helping them achieve their personal and financial goals.

If you ask anyone who has worked with Silvana in her capacity as a Realtor, one common message is loud and clear—Silvana cares and always has her clients’ best interest at heart, building relationships which last far beyond the settlement table. Her energy, positive spirit and passion for her career and clients allows for an incredible experience in the homebuying/selling process.

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PEOPLE&PLACES guests traversing the orange-hued floor between the check-in counter and the elevators. This endless red-carpet effect was likely an intentional design choice.

As Lapidus once said, “my whole theory [is that] people love the drama and excitement of being a part of the scene.”

There are several mid-century chairs and sofas—perches from which loungers can either take in the scene or stare out the big windows overlooking the pool deck. (The pool was once covered by a large dome; no longer, sadly.) Other design features deserve notice, too: an incongruous aquarium, an undulating scrim pocked with Lapidus’ signature circular “cheese hole” cutouts. The lobby’s centerpiece is a massive cheese hole ceiling cut-out that gives the impression of a skylight, or perhaps an interdimensional portal. Like all good stories, the lobby of the Washington Plaza transports you to another world.

—Justin Peters

wrong. It’s Academic, the nation’s longest running quiz show, films in Studio A most Saturday mornings, and watching local teenagers puzzle over equations and historical facts is much more compelling than listening to elected officials blather on about the downfall of contemporary democracy while wondering if Chuck Todd will ever shave his stringy goatee. In one 30-minute It’s Academic game, you’ll see the full range of human emotion travel across the faces of awkward 17-year-olds: elation when they earn a 25-point bonus, horror when they confuse Shakespearean characters,

eased rider congestion on the other 14th Street NW lines, but one thing is clear: For anybody who needs a straight shot up and down that busy corridor, it’s a blessing to at least have the option of avoiding the ponderous, notoriously crowded 52 or 54. Launched in January of this year, the 59 favors major intersections for its stops—P Street NW, U Street NW, Columbia Heights, and so on—and for middleschoolers and high-schoolers heading to campuses away from downtown in the morning, it can be the difference between a rush to homeroom or a leisurely stroll in the door.

—Joe Warminsky

Best Dog Beach to Watch Derp Dogs Play in the Water: Matapeake Dog Beach

Best Dog Beach to Watch Derp Dogs Play in the Water Matapeake Dog Beach

Find the Matapeake dog beach just over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Stevensville, Maryland. On a good day with no traffic on Route 50, you can get there in as little as 45 minutes from downtown, D.C. Put Matapeake Clubhouse & Beach into your GPS and then follow the signs to the dog beach reached through a small swath of woods. If watching labs retrieve balls out of the shallow water or off-leash corgis rolling in the sand in full derp mode isn’t enough of a reason to make the trip, Stevensville Crab Shack is just minutes away from the beach. Don’t miss their moist, puck-sized crab cake sandwiches, fried scallops, and hushpuppies. Outdoor picnic seating makes it possible to bring along your fourlegged friend before or after his swim.

—Laura Hayes

Best Local TV Production It’s Academic

Darrow Montgomery

1112 Romancoke Road, Stevensville, Maryland

and confusion when host Hillary Howard inevitably misreads a question. OG It’s Academic fans will tell you that Howard is no Mac McGarry, who hosted it for its first 50 years, and they’re right, but the competition has never been about the hosts. It’s about the future leaders, who wake up early on the weekends to compete for pride and tickets to Shear Madness, and are so nervous in front of the camera that they can’t remember their names.

—Caroline Jones

itsacademicquizshow.com

Political nerds will try to tell you that the best program taped in Studio A at NBC’s Washington bureau on Nebraska Ave. NW is Meet the Press. They are

Best New Bus Line The 59

There isn’t much public data yet on whether the new MetroExtra 59 bus has

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Best Corporate Welfare D.C. Amazon HQ2 Incentives

Jeff Bezos is the richest man alive (and by some measures, of all time). But he’s likely to get even richer if the District grants Amazon tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives to locate its second headquarters here, which the company says will produce 50,000 jobs and a boatload of tax revenue. Many of the incentives are unknown, kept under wraps by Mayor Muriel Bowser’s economic development officials. Bezos already owns The Washington Post and a giant mansion in Kalorama, so City Paper wants to know: What more will whet the appetite of a tech overlord?

—Andrew Giambrone

Best Pop-Up Femme Fatale

In a city suffering from pop-up fatigue, the mere word can inspire eye rolls. In the case of Femme Fatale, it was clear from the outset that this pop-up was not a thirsty attempt at self promotion or a cash grab, but a veritable hang out spot. The first iteration launched in a former Salvation Army on H Street NE last May, taking a brief hiatus before reopening in a former restaurant in NoMa for the fall and winter. Primarily created as a venue for female entrepreneurs to hawk their wares, it became a genuine community space thanks to a warm and inclusive vibe and a slate of incredibly fun events.

Femme Fatale highlights a plethora of women makers and business owners, selling vintage clothing, handmade skincare products, psychedelic leggings, vegan baked goods, feminist art, CBD infused treats, custom journals, and so much more. Walking into the shop, you never knew what you might find in addition to the merch on display, but it was sure to be unique and interesting. There could be a spoken word poetry slam, performers with light up hula hoops, a catwalk, live body painting, or a tutorial on crystals. Frequent happy hours, movie nights, yoga classes, and themed brunches rounded out the schedule, with something planned for nearly every day of the week.

At both locations, the space was designed to encourage relaxation and lingering, even if there wasn’t an event taking place. Outfitted with plenty of couches and corners full of floor pillows and poufs to lounge on, visitors were expected to kick their feet up and stay a while. The vendors and staff contributed to this laid back environment, more interested in chatting and becoming your friend than closing on a sale.

The best part of Femme Fatale may have been the existence of an unapologetically feminine and female-supported locale: Though all are welcome regardless of identity, it is decidedly ladies first, with all the glitter and embroidered uteruses that entails.

If you’re already bemoaning the loss of this enchanted womyn wonderland, don’t fret: Details are scarce for now, but Femme Fatale promises they’ll be back in another location this spring, and this time, you better pack your mermaid tail and seashell bra.

—Stephanie Rudig

“I felt a closeness to history I never felt before.”

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APPLIED ECONOMICS washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 87

PEOPLE&PLACES Marion Barry Statue Unveiling

On a bright Saturday at the beginning of March, the District commemorated the legacy of Mayor Marion Barry with speeches and a new bronze statue outside of the Wilson Building. This fête was a who’s who of D.C. politics, featuring current and former mayors and councilmembers, the city’s Democratic operatives, Barry’s widow Cora Masters Barry, and new and old members of the local press corps. But it was also a grand old time. When “Bustin’ Loose”

by Chuck Brown played on the sound system, the crowd broke out in dance.

Ward 8 representation was strong.

—Andrew Giambrone

Best CrossJurisdictional Bus 16Y

Living in Virginia and working in D.C. is great—except for the whole transportation thing. As a non-car owner, I have to evaluate the many other options, most of which are trash. But you know what isn’t trash? The 16Y. I love me a cross-jurisdictional bus, and this one is just the cream of the crop. The bus hits pretty much every stop you could ask for in both Virginia and D.C., from Barcroft to McPherson Square. Luckily for me, it stops close to my place and takes me basically to my office door, and that’s the case for many riders. It doesn’t get better than that.

Sure, it takes a while, but it’s a $2, 30 to 40 minute ride and that’s the best deal around. The other 16 buses are great too, but 16Y is the best.

—Kayla Randall

Best Theft PoPville

The Metropolitan Police Department is pretty good at recording crimes, but there was one theft this year that they missed: PoPville’s robbery—or, rather, attempted robbery—of DCist’s cherished “Overheard in D.C.” column. To wit: DCist, along with its various sister sites, was unceremoniously shuttered late last year when its billionaire owner Joe Ricketts decided he didn’t want his journalists to unionize; in February, WAMU announced it had acquired DCist and was reviving it. But in between that time, PoPville’s prince of pettiness Dan

Silverman, answering to readers’ requests, said he was reviving Overheard in D.C. Did he reach out to the DCist staffers and contributors—including the column’s longtime author, Andrew Wiseman—who lost their jobs to see if they were cool with it? Nah, he scavenged it like a vulture at a junkyard. Brutal.

—Matt Cohen

Best Chef: Amy Brandwein

Best Place to Deer Watch Fort Totten Metro/Fort Totten Park

Though D.C. has a good amount of green space for an urban area, there’s usually not a lot in the way of wildlife beyond some squirrels and pigeons. Fort Totten Park, typically crawling with deer, is the exception. From the vantage point of the Red Line platform at Fort Totten station, you can get a good aerial view of all the first-half-hour-of-Bambi stuff. If you’re passing through the park, chances are high that you’ll glimpse at least two, but if you’re lucky you can catch six or eight at a time. Hot tip: Right now, there’s a bunch of fawns who will all too quickly be turning into surly teenagers, so visit them while you can. —Stephanie Rudig

Best Chef Amy Brandwein, Centrolina 974 Palmer Alley NW, (202) 8982426, centrolinadc.com

Hopefully Chef Amy Brandwein likes deep-dish pizza, because she’s headed back to Chicago in May as a James Beard Award finalist. The chef and owner of Centrolina is up for “Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic” for the second time in two years.

Her restaurant in CityCenterDC specializes in pasta and wood oven-roasted meat, seafood, and vegetables. A meal could start with a semolina-crusted fried soft shell crab with arugula and shishito aioli ($16) followed by gnocchi flavored with rabbit, Nebbiolo wine, olive ragu, and parmesan cheese ($26). Another day you could spring for a dry-aged Shenandoah rib eye with roasted baby carrots, saffron frittelle, and salsa verde ($38).

What makes Centrolina unique is its ability to improve with every visit, and that’s partially because Brandwein is obsessed with sourcing and tirelessly hunts for the best produce, meat, and seafood available. She uses local when it makes sense and purchases a significant portion of her vegetables from DC Urban Greens, which has urban farms in Fort Stanton and Fort Dupont. The orga-

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Darrow Montgomery

Best Block Party Disguised as Public Ceremony

nization works to make produce more affordable and accessible for low-income residents. Brandwein’s purchases help subsidize their efforts.

And despite opening almost three years ago, Brandwein hasn’t gotten that restaurateur’s itch to build an empire. “I like being in my kitchen,” she says. “I’m actually excited about all of the time I get to spend at Centrolina with the staff creating new dishes.”

She describes her initial vision: “When I was thinking about the kind of place I wanted to open, I wanted a place that was invigorating, modern, hip, clean, fun, interesting, and dynamic,” she says. “I felt like there was a need to have an Italian place that wasn’t so stuffy and formal and let people relax. It’s exactly what I intended it to be.”

In the coming months, Brandwein says she will be focusing more on seafood. “I’ve been concentrating on making sure everything is sustainable,” she says, pointing to the Hawaiian long linecaught tuna she’s currently featuring in a crudo.

Because Centrolina also has a market attached to it, it’s possible to take Brandwein home with you. She’s put a chef stamp on everything that goes into your shopping bag from fresh pasta and sauces to apple butters, fish filets, and spices. “We’ve got great spices out of New York from La Boîte,” she says.

“It makes it easier for people to put together a meal.”

People actually cook in this town?

That’s a surprise with chefs as talented as Brandwein.

—Laura Hayes

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PEOPLE&PLACES Best Change at the DMV Adding Non-Binary Gender Options To Licenses

Best Church Sign Board: King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Darrow Montgomery

One morning late last June, a group of people started lining up before daybreak.

It wasn’t for the opening of a trendy new restaurant or to snag a seat for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

Nope, they were waiting for employees at the Department of Motor Vehicles on Benning Road SE to open its doors. Inside was the promise of something previously unattainable in the United States: official government identification recognizing the gender identity of those who

don’t identify as either male or female.

While Oregon officials were the first to announce the state would begin issuing non-binary licenses, the District beat them to implementation by a few days.

“There’s many different kinds of non-binary people. But what many folks feel in common is the sense of erasure, of not being recognized for who they are,” said Nic Sakurai the day before the DMV added a third gender option, “X.” There’s no requirement for medical or legal documents to “prove” what many Washingtonians already know: They aren’t exclusively male or female. With a check of the box, their licenses can now reflect that.

—Rachel Sadon

Best Storefront Craig Kraft Studio

1239 Good Hope Rd. SE

In a world consumed by online shopping and soulless big box stores, the simple pleasure of window shopping is often overlooked. But if stealing a glance at treasures through a pane of glass is your thing, there’s nowhere better to peep than neon artist Craig Kraft’s studio. Kraft regularly hangs finished works right in the window (right now, there’s a sign reading “OBAMA”), but the real treat is getting a glimpse of works in progress. You’ve probably spotted his work around town, like the “on air” signs at Full Service Radio’s studios, but seeing the artist’s workspace and the evolving works is truly eye opening.

You never know what cool design might be in the works: something from his ongoing series of cave art inspired imagery, word art, or crazy abstract tangles of light and shape. For a really enlightening view, stop by at night: It’s lit.

—Stephanie Rudig

Darrow Montgomery

Best Church Sign Board King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Best Storefront: Craig Kraft Studio

90 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

The American church sign board is the laziest and cheapest form of evangelism—the Captain Obvious of Christianity. That’s why King Emmanuel Baptist

Church’s sign board in Adams Morgan is so special. It nobly eschews recruitment in favor of more global thinking related to the news. As the teens marched for gun control in April the sign board said, “Dear Mr. President, Congress, Senate et al. Now is the time to make school safe again! If not now: When?” It was signed, “The Children.” And in the height of the fake news frenzy, around Christmas 2017, the board read, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ occured over 2000 years ago: It was called ‘fake news!’” As one astute Twitterer wrote, with a photo of that sign, “Makes you think.”

—Alexa Mills

Best Place to Get Your Hands Dirty Wangari Gardens

Kenyon Street, Irving Street, and Park Place NW, (202) 670-5459, wangarigardens.wordpress.com

In the shadow of Washington Hospital Center sits a 2.7-acre plot of greenspace known as the Wangari Gardens.

One of the highlights of the community garden is a dense orchard with fruit trees bearing figs, apples, and persimmons.

There’s also an herb garden, medicinal garden, berry bushes, and a strawberry patch. These areas can all be accessed by the public. But if you show up regu-

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PEOPLE&PLACES

Best Public Neighbor Battle

Best Bartender: Megan Barnes

Darrow Montgomery

Dueling Trump, Nope, and RESIST Balcony Banners

Best Welcome Home Legal Sea Foods at National Airport

The great joy of a terrible flight is finally getting home, having a hot shower, and eating well. But some flights are so terrible that the traveler needs instant relief. In those special cases, Legal Sea Foods at National Airport plus a friend proves the winning combination.

If you’re picking up a sweaty and dispirited version of your best friend at National, get two seats at the bar at Legal.

Sit with your back to the concourse and your face to the window, and when you get word that your friend has touched down, place your order: maybe two glasses of Champagne and the smoked salmon plate to share. When the ragged

traveler emerges, you’ll be offering food, drink, a view of the airplanes, and a big hug.

—Alexa Mills

Best Bartender Megan Barnes, Espita Mezcaleria

Doozydog! Club

In a world of allergies, small apartments, and domestic partners who prefer the moody standoffishness of cats, where can a person get a quick canine fix? Unfortunately, until technology progresses to the point that we can all become dogs ourselves—and receive nothing but ear skritches and tummy rubs after day-long naps—staring longingly through the glass at the happy pups frolicking at Doozydog! Club will have to suffice. Even if you don’t have a dog who needs supervision in a stimulating environment, there are (currently) no rules against spending your human lunch break regarding their joie de vivre through the floor-to-ceiling windows at 14th Street NW and Florida Avenue NW. Sure, you can’t interact with the dogs in any way besides projecting a visceral jealousy of their constant happiness, but just gazing upon their complex social interactions like the transition between self-hygiene and licking another dog in the face will make you wonder if dogs really do have it all figured out.

For the forlorn person looking for a lunch place to eat a fast-casual card-

Best Place to Creep on Dogs on Your Lunch Break: Doozydog! Club

1250 9th St NW, (202) 621-9695, espitadc.com

When Megan Barnes was working her way up the ranks at bars like Bar Pilar, Columbia Room, and McClellan’s Retreat, she didn’t think she’d end up devoting her career to a single spirit, let alone become the face of mezcal in D.C. But when she landed at Espita Mezcaleria, where she is both beverage director and a partner, the agave spirit entered her soul. What makes Barnes a bartender worthy of this superlative isn’t her ability to spout facts about the spirit’s nuances. Rather, it’s how passionately she talks about it and how she draws you in with creative, memorable cocktails. When Barnes builds drinks, she says her strategy is always to “let the spirit speak.” While other bartenders contribute to the drink list at Espita, look for the cocktails that are stirred and boozy or variations on martinis. “I hate sweet cocktails, none of them will ever be sweet,” she says. The bar’s new menu plays with an unlikely pairing that works—earthy mezcal and bitter amaro.

—Laura Hayes

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Darrow Montgomery

larly to pluck fruits and veggies, consider getting your hands dirty from time to time. Every Sunday Wangari Gardens solicits volunteers for garden upkeep, according to board chair Ben Schifman. It’s a great way to unwind on the weekend and catch some Vitamin D. Those who live within 1.5 miles of the gardens can also apply for a private plot of land inside the fenced-in area. There’s currently a waitlist, but Schifman says people often drop out due to the transient nature of D.C. —Laura Hayes

In politically engaged D.C., almost anywhere can become the breeding ground for a political debate, from the standard places like bars and community meetings to the less-common places like apartment building balconies.

Since its opening in 2013, residents of the 11-story Camden South Capitol building took advantage of their location (within the sightline of fans at Nationals Park) to express themselves through signs they hung from their balconies. Things remained relatively conflict-free—a Nationals flag here, a Red Sox flag there—until April 2017, when one building occupant decided to show their support for the new President of the United States. Shortly after the Trump flag was hung, the neighbor below hung one with the word “Nope” and an arrow pointing straight up. It’s unclear if the neighbors fought indoors, too, or if it was all in good humor, but the building management eventually chose to implement a previously unenforced rule banning balcony signs rather than let the public battle stew.

—Avery J.C. Kleinman

Best Place to Creep on Dogs During Your Lunch Break

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The EHLS Program is an initiative of NSEP. washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 93

PEOPLE&PLACES board bowl of pan-continental fusion cuisine with extra avocados before returning to work, the benches in the vicinity of the windows make an excellent place to doggo-gaze before the break ends and your doglessness begins anew.

—Tom Hayes

Best DMV Rhode Island Ave.

2350 Washington Place NE #112N

After eight years of District residency, my Wisconsin drivers license was finally expired and I needed to trade it in. I reserved the morning off of work, bracing myself for what was sure to be an arduous, or at least tedious, process.

But when I arrived at the ticket counter, I was greeted like an old friend. Seeing that my ticket number was a long ways off I settled in for a wait, but then I was called almost immediately, and in fact, the whole thing only took me 20 minutes. Every person I interacted with was exceedingly polite and friendly, making what is so often an uncomfortable chore genuinely pleasant. I’m almost looking forward to my next visit, which will be in 2025, when my license is again up for renewal.

—Stephanie Rudig

Best Barroom Signage

Best Hate Read The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful

Eric Falquero

Like many District residents, I scrupulously avoid the Hill and the people who work there the majority of the time, mostly managing to forget that our federal government is located in my city. But once a year, I take the time to learn about this so-close-and-yet-so-far subculture of government workers, and hate-read The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful list. The people who are selected are almost universally horrible (Ivanka and Melania made the cut last year), and the quotes that are chosen to round out the bios are agonizingly vapid. A sampling: “My co-workers say I’m one of a kind. Like a fountain, not a drain.” “I love memes. I just tag people in memes all day, actually.” “Always wear lipstick, even if you don’t have any makeup on.” “‘I just look in the mirror every morning,’ he says when asked his secret to looking good.” It’s a roundup of people who seemingly got into politics by way of the “pageant circuit,” and the interviewers can’t be bothered to ask about anything more insightful than exercise routines and skin care regimens. I don’t think I’m reading this list for its intended purpose, or that I’m the target demographic (that would be creeps who really want to bang interns), but I will faithfully read this annual roundup until the day I die, ugly and alone.

—Stephanie Rudig

The Saloon

1207 U St. NW, (202) 462-2640

From the moment you approach The Saloon, the long-lived pub on U Street NW, it’s clear that the place has something to say. The building’s brick façade is covered with the names of patrons who have supported Saloon owner Kamal Jahanbein’s charitable works—including, full disclosure, the name of this writer. Near the front door hangs another sign: “Absolutely No Public Restroom No Tricks.” Inside, you’ll find plenty more cantankerous written commentary, from the pithy slogans painted onto the bar chairs (“No Martinis,” “No Pretending,” “No thick lipstick”) to the intricate list of fees that Jahanbein levies those customers who ask him questions (“My professional opinion about Winos and/or Martini drinkers: $5”). Another sign suggests that you order your beer “before you start playing with your smart phone.” Our suggestion: Put your phone in your pocket and choose to be present in the space Jahanbein has created. The Saloon has turned barroom signage into an art form.

—Justin Peters

Best Issue-Focused Journalist

Best Longform Sports Writing About D.C

Ask Street Sense editor-in-chief Eric Falquero about the things that he’s most proud of and he’ll tell you about other people’s successes: a homeless vendor who has become an accomplished photographer, an intern who won a prize for her reporting. His humility belies a ceaseless effort to shed light on the city’s homelessness crisis and give voice to those most directly affected by it. Over the course of Falquero’s seven-year tenure (the last three as chief editor), Street Sense has enabled digital payments, hired a case worker, and undergone a major brand refresh. He’s reported on incidents like the clearing of a prominent homeless encampment in between editing stories written by vendors and volunteers. And Falquero doesn’t stop there; his goal is to extend the reach of coverage—and empathy for those experiencing homelessness—as far as he can. To that end, he’s brought together street papers around the country to collaborate on 24/7 coverage of Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. And for the past two years, he has organized a “news blitz,” a day in which D.C. outlets devote special coverage to homelessness (which, full disclosure, City Paper participated in, as did I as chief editor of DCist). “We take a lot of pride in doing fair reporting,” he says. “But we have an obvious bias that we want to see an end to homelessness.”

—Rachel Sadon

Dave McKenna in Deadspin

Best False Narrative

It seems weird, given the vast number of local outlets covering D.C.-area sports, to be giving this title to a national sports blog, but here we are. Longtime WCP sportswriter Dave McKenna uses his platform at Deadspin to write longform stories about hyperlocal D.C. sports stuff.

In the last few months alone his stories have included pieces asking if Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s high school alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Chevy Chase, is getting preferential treatment in games; chased down the real age and backstory of an alleged 16-year-old basketball phenom in Rockville; memorialized a one-armed D.C. sports legend and a legendary DeMatha Catholic High School star and even an unsung horse; all while still keeping his knives sharp for Dan Snyder. Not many people are writing these kinds of D.C.-centric sports stories, especially not at the length McKenna is, and we’re lucky Deadspin is giving him the place to do it.

—Matt Terl

The Wizards Are Better Without John Wall

94 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Over the summer, John Wall committed to being the face of The Wizards through 2023. The Wizards committed to paying him $207 million dollars. Rather than picking up on a promising playoffs run, John Wall and Co. struggled out of the gate, hovering just above .500. When Wall left the lineup to address knee troubles that had plagued him throughout the season, something incredible happened. The Wizards rattled off five wins, their longest streak of the season, in convincing fashion. Like clockwork, the basketball ignoranti fired up the hot take machine and asked, “Are the Wizards better without John Wall?” Wall’s teammates no doubt fueled this line of inquiry. “Everybody eats,” shooting guard Bradley Beal said of the offense sans Wall. Center Marcin Gortat used scare quotes to great effect on Twitter and Wall responded. What a mess.

That the Wizards are better without John Wall was stupid during that win streak and it hasn’t aged well. After those five wins the Wizards lost more games than they won. Not that we needed to wait and see to determine what impact Wall has on the team. Were these national outlets forgetting Wall’s dominant work in the playoffs last year?

Rather than blaspheming against Optimus Dime, why not revel in the discovery of a strong backup in Tomas Satoransky and the possibility of falling far enough in the playoffs to avoid LeBron James until the conference finals.

—Will Warren

Best Robot The Robot that Committed Suicide

We’ve all seen the Terminator movies; we know what’s coming. And every technological “breakthrough” in the world of robotics is just a step closer to our inevitable doom at the hands of our future robot overlords. But maybe not! A minor news story from last year involving a robot security guard at a building on the Georgetown waterfront gives us hope that, just maybe, robots won’t eventually become sentient and annihilate all of us.

In July of last year, a Knightscope securi-

PEOPLE&PLACES ally browse. Registration to the fair also includes access to behind-the-scenes tours of the books collections at several museums around town. There is nowhere else in the area, and probably the universe, where you can meet the maker of the world’s largest functioning popup book, learn how to tool gold leaf, buy a one-of-a-kind hand-bound book, and hold a journal made out of human hair.

Bookworms, rejoice. —Stephanie Rudig

Best Use of a Parking Garage That Doesn’t Involve Your Car: CrossHairs Garage Races

Best Official Resignation

Farrah Skeiky

Antwan Wilson

ty robot programmed to patrol the building ended up rolling into a fountain and drowning. Look, if this is the best that the robots can do, well, the coming human/ robots war will be an easy one for us to win.

—Matt Cohen

of watching the team win. And you can go for cheap: Tickets prices max out at $20. Plus there are promotions for nearly every game, too, like $1 popcorn night and free post-game shoot-arounds for kids. One of these years the guys will get it together. Until then, Go Lady Terps!

—Rebecca J. Ritzel

Best Way to Watch Good Basketball From Center Court

Best Gathering for Nerds

University of Maryland Women’s Basketball

4318 Gallatin St., Hyattsville, (301) 6089101, pyramidatlanticbookartsfair.org

We aren’t living in the glory days of D.C. men’s basketball. The Wizards have only made the playoffs three out of the past 10 years. The Georgetown Hoyas won just five Big East games under new celebricoach Patrick Ewing. And the Maryland Terrapins? They just finished an 8-10 conference season and are losing two of their top players. To back a consistent winner, you have to back ladies hoops, and the place to do that is Xfin ity Center, home to the Lady Terps. Under coach Brenda Frese, the Maryland women have made 15 NCAA tournament appearances, sitting out only two years, with an overall record of 403-111. So if you go, you’ve got a 78 percent chance

Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair

The Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair appeals to a niche but fervent base: people who love artist’s books. If you’re not a part of this strange subculture, you may be wondering what an artist book is. This nebulous categorization includes everything from zines to sculptural paper folding experiments to limited edition works (essentially, anything in a bookish form that you won’t find at your neighborhood bookstore), and the PABAF rounds up some of the best and weirdest in a weekend long celebration of book nerds.

There’s an exhibitor hall, demonstrations, galleries, and lectures, allowing attendees to pick and choose whether they want to hit an event or just casu-

He barely made it a year. Former D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson came to the District from Oakland, California, with high expectations at the start of February 2017. Then, at the end of February 2018, he resigned following a scandal. Wilson had sought and received a special school transfer for his teenage daughter from Jennifer Niles, the former deputy mayor for education, who also stepped down after this revelation.

If their actions sound innocuous or like what any well-intended parent and supervisor would do, consider that hundreds of DCPS families have their children on waitlists for competitive schools.

Those families spend hours and hours carefully researching and applying for schools, and then anxiously wait for school lottery results. They do not run the school system, however.

What’s more, Wilson violated a policy he had set himself, which banned special school transfers for the children of District officials. The policy came in response to the disclosure that several officials had sidestepped the school lottery under former DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson, whom Wilson replaced. He was one of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s biggest hires, and relocated to the District after a nationwide search process.

In a way, Wilson did himself in. He stepped down after a media frenzy and pressure from the D.C. Council snowballed. Most of the 13 councilmembers called for his resignation, citing the public’s broken trust.

Story over, right? Nope! After Bowser announced an interim chancellor, Wilson told media outlets that Bowser had known of his daughter’s school transfer for several months, even though she said otherwise when addressing his and Niles’ resignations. The mayor maintains that she had no awareness of the situation before the D.C. Inspector General notified her that he was looking into the

matter in February.

The people of D.C. thought they’d get the truth at an “emergency hearing” AtLarge Councilmember and Education Committee chair David Grosso said he would hold. But then Grosso backed off after talking with Bowser and meeting with her legal counsel, Mark Tuohey. The councilmember said he wanted to focus on student achievement and would revisit the matter following the inspector general’s investigation and another by D.C.’s ethics board.

In the meantime, the public still doesn’t know precisely what happened, and Bowser and the Council seem happy to move on. Niles hasn’t publicly commented since her ousting. Will we ever know who knew what when? It seems up to Inspector General Daniel Lucas to find out.

—Andrew Giambrone

Best Use of a Parking Garage That Doesn’t Involve Your Car Crystal City CrossHairs Garage Races 201 12th St. S, Arlington, crystalcity. org/do/crosshairs-garage-races

If your friend or favorite barista regales you with tales of weeknights spent lurking in dimly lit parking garages, screaming at complete strangers, curb your somewhat valid instinct to dial the closest precinct. Instead wait for them to name drop the CrossHairs Garage Races in Crystal City, a five-week series of subterranean races open to pretty much anyone with a bike that pedals.

The great thing about the series is that it strips away all the spandex bound seriousness of competitive cycling to reveal the sheer joy of pedaling anything you can get your hands on as fast as you possibly can. You’ve got to love a race where the starting lineup includes a man in a donut suit, a woman on a pennyfarthing, a gender non-conforming couple on a tandem and, sure, a racer in spandex. The “get in where you feel like you fit in series” typically features a beginners, while the women’s only and open race are for those training for the more competitive cycling season. But things really turn interesting in the finale: a feds vs contractors relay race, a no gears allowed event, and a cargo bike/ bikeshare/tandem showdown, open to anything that spins without a motor. A new “we’ll see how this goes” electric skateboard category makes this a reason to schlepp to Crystal City. Bring your bike and helmet, just in case, because there will be Acme pie and beer and, well, you know how you get after a few rounds.

—Hamzat Sani

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 95

96 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

CITYLIST

thh

NEW MUSIC VENUE

NOW OPEN THE WHARF, SW DC

DINER & BAR OPEN LATE!

Music 97 Theater 100 Film 102

Music

CITY LIGHTS: FRIDAY

FRIDAY DJ NIghtS

Ten Tigers Parlour 3813 Georgia Ave. NW. (202) 506-2080. Josey Rebelle. 10 p.m. $15–$20. tentigersdc.com.

ELEctRONIc

echosTage 2135 Queens Chapel Road NE. (202) 503-2330. Victor Calderone. 9 p.m. $35. echostage.com. u sTreeT Music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Opiuo. 10 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.

FuNk & R&B

APRIL CONCERTS

BirchMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. The Dramatics featuring L.J. Reynolds. 7:30 p.m. $45. birchmere.com.

POP

union sTage 740 Water St. SW. (877) 987-6487.

Mansionair, Mikky Ekko, and NoMBe. 7 p.m. $13–$23. unionstage.com.

ROck

9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Perpetual Groove. 8 p.m. $20. 930.com.

Barns aT Wolf TraP 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Pat McGee Band. 8 p.m. $30–$35. wolftrap.org.

The haMilTon 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Keller Williams. 8 p.m. $29–$35. thehamiltondc.com.

WORLD

TroPicalia 2001 14th St. NW. (202) 629-4535.

Anbessa Orchestra. 8 p.m. Free. tropicaliadc.com.

SAtuRDAY ELEctRONIc

u sTreeT Music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Maya Jane Coles. 10 p.m. $20. ustreetmusichall.com.

TH 12

DAN LAYUS w/ CHRISTIAN LOPEZ

F 13

LOVE CANON w/ JACK DUNLAP

SA 14

JOSEY REBELLE

SU 15

“I hate being the centre of attention with a passion,” Josey Rebelle told Mixmag last year. “If I play the last set and people clap at the end, I feel so uncomfortable. I pretend I’ve dropped something or I’m putting my records back in my bag, and duck down.” Unfortunately for the London-born DJ, applause comes with being as good on the decks as she is. For much of the decade, Rebelle has been a fixture on Rinse FM, the formerly pirate radio station that sets the tone for electronic music in the UK and around the world. Her soulful Sunday shows are a godsend for clubbers on the comedown. Over the past few years, she has gone from an underrated talent to a highly rated one, effortlessly moving back and forth through disco, funk, house, and techno. Rebelle’s impeccable tastes and immaculate selections make her one of the world’s best DJs. When you see her live, get ready to dance, and, sorry Josey, clap at the end. Josey Rebelle performs at 10 p.m. at Ten Tigers Parlour, 3813 Georgia Ave. NW. $15–$20. (202) 506-2080. tentigersdc.com.

—Chris Kelly

TH 19

SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS PRESENTS ANNA AND ELIZABETH w/ MARK FOSSON THE BIG LEBOWSKI EXPERIENCE

F 20

THE LAST REVEL w/ THE NOVEL IDEAS

SA 21 SU 22

MOTEL RADIO & QUIET HOLLERS TODD WRIGHT & LAURA TSAGGARIS w/ KATHRYN RHEAULT THE HEAVY PETS w/ MAGNOLIA BLUE

W 25

JAzz

BeThesda Blues & Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. The Blackbyrds. 8 p.m. $30. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

OPERA

Music cenTer aT sTraThMore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte. 8 p.m. $30–$76. strathmore.org.

ROck

BirchMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Don McLean. 7:30 p.m. $55. birchmere.com. sTaTe TheaTre 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church.

(703) 237-0300. Almost Queen. 9 p.m. $23–$25. thestatetheatre.com.

VOcAL

Barns aT Wolf TraP 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. 4 p.m.; 8 p.m. $40–$45. wolftrap.org.

The haMilTon 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Red Molly with Marc Douglas Berardo. 8 p.m. $19.75– $42.50. thehamiltondc.com.

SuNDAY

MONDAY

BirchMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. SGGL Speidel, Goodrich, Goggin & Lille, and The Sherpas. 7:30 p.m. $35. birchmere.com.

BirchMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Incognito with special guest Maysa.

7:30 p.m. $59.50. birchmere.com.

FOLk

hIP-hOP

cOuNtRY

9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Hurray For The Riff Raff & Waxahatchee. 7 p.m. $25. 930.com.

POP union sTage 740 Water St. SW. (877) 987-6487. U.S. Girls. 7:30 p.m. $13–$15. unionstage.com.

Warner TheaTre 513 13th St. NW. (202) 783-4000.

Engelbert Humperdinck. 8 p.m. $46–$86. warnertheatredc.com.

VOcAL Music cenTer aT sTraThMore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Young Artists of America & Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras present RAGTIME in Concert. 4 p.m. $18–$68. strathmore.org.

FuNk & R&B

union sTage 740 Water St. SW. (877) 987-6487.

Dumbfoundead. 7:30 p.m. $20–$65. unionstage.com.

JAzz Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. U.S.A.F. Airmen of Note. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. Free. bluesalley.com.

Kennedy cenTer concerT hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert. 8 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

POP caPiTal one arena 601 F St. NW. (202) 628-3200.

P!NK. 7:30 p.m. $244.95. capitalonearena.monumentalsportsnetwork.com.

COME FOR THE WHITE RUSSIANS, STAY FOR THE INTERPRETIVE DANCE!

TH 26

SARAH SHOOK AND THE DISARMERS w/ ZEPHANIAH OHORA

F 27 SA 28 SU 29

THE JUDY CHOPS CD RELEASE THE RIVERBREAKS w/ SUSPECT CLASS JON STICKLEY TRIO w/ ADRIAN AND MEREDITH

FOLk

union sTage 740 Water St. SW. (877) 987-6487.

Tyrone Wells. 7 p.m. $22–$35. unionstage.com.

TOMMY CASTRO AND THE PAINKILLERS

w/ RISA BINDER

MAY CONCERTS W2 TH 3

JONNY GRAVE FREE SHOW! SHAWN JAMES

F4

DEAD WINTER CARPENTERS

SA 5 SU 6

CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND RUBEN MORENO AND ZYDECO RE-EVOLUTION

w/ SOUTH HILL BANKS

3PM ZYDECO DANCE PARTY!

TICKETS ON SALE! pearlstreetwarehouse.com

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 97

3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA • 703-549-7500

CITY LIGHTS: SATURDAY

For entire schedule go to Birchmere.com Find us on Facebook/Twitter!

Tix @ Ticketmaster.com 800-745-3000

Apr 12

A Celebration of

RORY GALLAGHER “Band of Friends" featuring

DAVY KNOWLES, GERRY, McAVOY, TED McKENNA

THEfeaturing DRAMATICS L.J. Reynolds

13 14

An Evening with

DON McLEAN INCOGNITOThird Nig!ht

17

featuring

19

MAYSA

Added

Dean LOS LOBOS Rosenthal

20

KENNY LATTIMORE 24 BRIAN CULBERTSON 22

'Colors of Love' Tour

NAJEE

27

JANIS IAN 29 HERB ALPERT & LANI HALL May Carsie 3 MADELEINE PEYROUX Blanton 4&5 THE WHISPERS 6 MARCUS MILLER 10 UNDER THE STREETLAMP 28

11 2nd Annual Desperados/Wax Museum Reunion! feat.

NRBQ, NORTHSTAR BAND with Ratso & Johnny Castle,

CHARLOTTESVILLE ALL-STARS with Mark Wenner

12 13

GARY TAYLOR RENAISSANCE “A Symphonic Journey”

BoDEANS 18&19 KINDRED THE FAMILY SOUL 20 KIEFER SUTHERLAND 23 RAUL MALO 24 MARC COHN 25 RAHSAAN PATTERSON 26 WALTER BEASLEY 27 10,000 MANIACS 17

29 98 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Lily JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE Hiatt

SABA

Back in 2013, a then 18-year-old Saba scored his first big break with a guest verse on Chance the Rapper’s breakthrough mixtape Acid Rap. Since then, the Chicago rapper has followed Chance’s lead in crafting left-of-center, back-to-basics hip-hop with a focus on spirituality and storytelling (in an earlier time, his music would be tagged as “conscious”). He’s a loquacious lyricist who tells true life tales about heavy topics—poverty, gentrification, mental health—but couches them in soothing beats that draw from neo-soul and jazz. And while Chance has leveled up and won Grammys, Saba has quietly built his own body of work, including 2016’s high concept Bucket List Project and the just-released CARE FOR ME. The album is a poignant portrait that is focused on the aftermath of his cousin’s murder, but there are comparatively lighter moments, too, like “LOGOUT,” a song about the ills of social media that features none other than Chance the Rapper. Saba performs at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $16– $55. (301) 960-9999. fillmoresilverspring.com.

—Chris Kelly

CITY LIGHTS: SUNDAY

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

While Swedish director Ingmar Bergman put his knight into battle with the personification of death in a game of chess, British cinema took a more romantic approach to wrestling with fate. In Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 fantasy A Matter of Life and Death, Peter, a downed Royal Air Force pilot (David Niven at his most dashing), falls in love with June (Kim Hunter), an American Women’s Army Corps radio operator who makes radio contact with his doomed plane. When Peter escapes death as his escort to the afterworld loses him in the English fog, he gets the rare chance to plead his case to stay alive. Screening in a new 4K digital restoration, the film’s most dazzling aspect, an escalator carrying souls from Earth to heaven, gives this Technicolor masterpiece an alternate U.S. title that you may be more familiar with: Stairway to Heaven. The film screens at 11:30 a.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $8–$10. (301) 495-6700. afi.com/silver. —Pat Padua

Merriweather Post Pavilion • Columbia, MD JUST ANNOUNCED!

.....................................FRI JULY 6

On Sale Friday, April 13 at 10am !

FEST M3 ROCK FESTIVAL 2018 METAL

THIS WEEK’S SHOWS

Thirdstory w/ Grace Weber .................................................................... Th APR 12 ALL GOOD PRESENTS

Perpetual Groove w/ CBDB ........................................................................ F 13 ALL GOOD PRESENTS

Hurray For The Riff Raff & Waxahatchee w/ Bedouine ................... Su 15 Sofi Tukker w/ Kah-Lo & LP Giobbi ................................................................ W 18 APRIL

MAY (cont.)

ALL GOOD PRESENTS

Lotus (F 4/20 - w/ Staycation) ..F 20 & Sa 21 The Weepies Hideaway 10 Year Anniv. Tour w/ Curtis Eller’s American Circus .Su 22 Stars w/ Dan Mangan .................M 23 The Cadillac Three w/ Sam Grow ...............................W 25 Unknown Mortal Orchestra w/ Makeness ................................F 27 Echosmith w/ The Score & Jena Rose ..........Su 29 Kate Nash w/ Miya Folick .........M 30 MAY

Sango w/ Kaelin Ellis Early Show! 6pm Doors .....................Tu 1 U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS

Carpenter Brut w/ Gost Late Show! 10pm Doors ....................Tu 1 ALL GOOD PRESENTS

TAUK w/ Of Tomorrow & Deaf Scene ......F 4 Ani DiFranco w/ Gracie and Rachel ..................Sa 5 Bahamas ....................................Su 6 Panda Bear w/ Geologist ...........M 7 Marian Hill w/ Michl ..................W 9 Wye Oak w/ Palm .......................F 11 D NIGHT ADDED!

FIRST NIGHT SOLD OUT! SECON

ALL GOOD PRESENTS

Trampled By Turtles w/ Hiss Golden Messenger .........Su 13

Jukebox the Ghost w/ The Greeting Committee .......Th 17 Andrew W.K. w/ Moluba ........Su 20 Tune-Yards w/ My Brightest Diamond ............M 21 ALL GOOD PRESENTS

Rising Appalachia .................F 25 Lissie w/ Van William ...............Sa 26 Japanese Breakfast w/ LVL Up & Radiator Hospital ....W 30 U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS

Flight Facilities ....................Tu 31 JUNE

Dirty Projectors Early Show! 6pm Doors .......................F 1 Real Friends?: Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Kanye West,

Rihanna, and Drake Dance Night with DJ Dredd and Video Mix

by O’s Cool Late Show! 10pm Doors ..F 1

The Glitch Mob w/ Elohim .......Sa 2 Hop Along w/ Bat Fangs & Bad Moves ...........Tu 5 Francis and the Lights ..........W 6 Parquet Courts w/ Goat Girl ...Th 7 White Ford Bronco: DC’s All-90s Band .......................F 8

Chromeo w/ Pomo ....................M 11 Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite ...........W 13

MANY MORE SHOWS ON SALE!

9:30 CUPCAKES

930.com

The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. | www.buzzonslaters.com

9:30 CLUB PRESENTS AT U STREET MUSIC HALL Yung Gravy Twin Shadow w/ Yuno ......................... F 27 Jeremy Loops w/ Ethan Tucker ......... Sa 28 w/ BBNO$ • Global Dan • Kamiyada 18+ to enter. ....................................M APR 23 Geographer w/ So Much Light .... Th MAY 10

Queensryche • Kix • Tom Keifer • Ace Frehley and more! .. MAY 4 & 5

M3 SOUTHERN ROCK CLASSIC FEATURING HERN

SOUT !

CK FEST RO

Marshall Tucker Band • Blackberry Smoke and more! ..... MAY 6

Dierks Bentley w/ Brothers Osborne & LANCO ................................................. MAY 18 Jason Aldean w/ Luke Combs & Lauren A laina ................................................. MAY 24 CAPITAL JAZZ FEST FEATURING

Earth, Wind & Fire • Smokey Robinson • Anita Baker and more! ..JUNE 1-3

Florida Georgia Line .................................................................................... JUNE 7 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters w/ Sheryl Crow & Seth Lakeman ..................................................................... JUNE 12 Luke Bryan w/ Jon Pardi & Morgan Wallen ................................................. JUNE 14 Ray LaMontagne w/ Neko Case................................................................ JUNE 20 Paramore w/ Foster The People ............................................................... JUNE 23 Sugarland w/ Brandy Clark & Clare Bowen ......................................................... JULY 14 Dispatch w/ Nahko and Medicine for the People & Raye Zaragoza ............. JULY 21 David Byrne w/ Benjamin Clementine ................................................................ JULY 28 VANS WARPED TOUR PRESENTED BY JOURNEYS FEAT.

3OH!3 • August Burns Red • Less Than Jake and more! ......................... JULY 29

Lady Antebellum & Darius Rucker w/ Russell Dickerson..........AUGUST 2 CDE PRESENTS SUMMER SPIRIT FESTIVAL FEATURING

Erykah Badu • Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals • Nas • The Roots and more!..................................................................... AUGUST 4 & 5

Jason Mraz w/ Brett Dennen .....................................................................AUGUST 10 AUG 11 SOLD OUT!

Phish .................................................................................................................AUGUST 12 CAKE & Ben Folds w/ Tall Heights ........................................................AUGUST 18 Kenny Chesney w/ Old Dominion ............................................................AUGUST 22 • For full lineups and more info, visit merriweathermusic.com • 930.com

Pimlico Race Course • Baltimore, MD PREAKNESS BUDWEISER INFIELDFEST FEATURING

Post Malone • 21 Savage • Odesza • Frank Walker and more! . SAT MAY 19 Preakness.com

Lincoln Theatre • 1215 U Street, NW Washington, D.C. THIS WEDNESDAY!

Rick Astley ................................APR 18 The Kills w/ Dream Wife .............MAY 14 ALL GOOD PRESENTS Gomez: moe................................................APR 20 Bring It On 20th Anniversary Tour ....JUNE 9 Calexico w/ Ryley Walker ............APR 27 Eels ..............................................JUNE 11 Yann Tiersen ..........................JUNE 17 Robyn Hitchcock New date! All 12/5 tickets will be honored. and His L.A. Squires w/ Tristen .......................................APR 28 Animal Collective Performing Sung Tongs

Radiotopia Live ....................... MAY 9 w/ Laraaji ..................................... JULY 21 Jessie Ware AN EVENING WITH w/ Albin Lee Meldau ..........................MAY 11 The Tallest Man On Earth . NOV 9 • thelincolndc.com • U Street (Green/Yellow) stop across the street!

• Buy advance tickets at the 9:30 Club box office • 930.com

TICKETS for 9:30 Club shows are available through TicketFly.com, by phone at 1-877-4FLY-TIX, and at the 9:30 Club box office.

9:30 CLUB BOX OFFICE HOURS are 12-7pm on weekdays & until 11pm on show nights, 6-11pm on Sat, and 6-10:30pm on Sun on show nights.

HAPPY HOUR DRINK PRICES impconcerts.com AFTER THE SHOW AT THE BACK BAR!

PARKING: THE OFFICIAL 9:30 parking lot entrance is on 9th Street, directly behind the 9:30 Club. Buy your advance parking tickets at the same time as your concert tickets!

930.com washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 99

tuESDAY cLASSIcAL

Music cenTer aT sTraThMore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Maryland Heroin Awareness Advocates Spring Concert Benefit. 8 p.m. $50–$150. strathmore.org.

CITY LIGHTS: MONDAY

hIP-hOP

APRIL F13

Arrested development

s 14

the BlAckByrds

su 15 the dynAmic superiors And vintAge 18 W 18

pAtty reese BAnd And Friends FeAt tommy lepson, dAve chAppell, sonny petrosky And deren BlessmAn

th 19 tito puente BirthdAy celeBrAtion with tito puente, Jr. JAzz BAnd F 20

luther’s BirthdAy celeBrAtion

s 21

Freddy cole w/ BethesdA Blues & JAzz youth orchestrA FundrAiser

su 22 Freddy cole 2pm su 22 kim JordAn’s “triBute to gil scott heron” A musicAl exposé W 25 greg cooper’s triBute to soul legends with mousey thompson

Just Announced thu, MAy 3

Jody wAtley And srl

sun, MAy 6

millie JAckson

sAt, MAy 12

stokely oF mint condition

thu, MAy 17 eddie levert tue, June 5 midge ure And pAul young http://igg.me/at/bethesdablues 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD

(240) 330-4500 www. BethesdaBluesJazz.com

Two Blocks from Bethesda Metro/Red Line Free Parking on Weekends

fillMore silver sPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Eric B. & Rakim. 8 p.m. $45. fillmoresilverspring.com.

JAzz

Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. The One O’Clock Lab Band. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $25. bluesalley.com.

POP

caPiTal one arena 601 F St. NW. (202) 628-3200.

P!NK. 7:30 p.m. $232.45–$302.50. capitalonearena. monumentalsportsnetwork.com.

VOcAL

BirchMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. The Puppini Sisters. 7:30 p.m. $35. birchmere.com.

WEDNESDAY ELEctRONIc

9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Sofi Tukker.

7 p.m. $26. 930.com.

FuNk & R&B

Barns aT Wolf TraP 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. The Suffers. 8 p.m. $22–$27. wolftrap.org.

ROck

fillMore silver sPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Kamelot with Delain and Battle Beast. 8 p.m. fillmoresilverspring.com. union sTage 740 Water St. SW. (877) 987-6487. Jeff Rosenstock. 8 p.m. $15–$25. unionstage.com.

WORLD

Mansion aT sTraThMore 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Chao Tian. 7:30 p.m.

Free. strathmore.org.

thuRSDAY BLuES

union sTage 740 Water St. SW. (877) 987-6487. Son Little. 7:30 p.m. $20–$30. unionstage.com.

cLASSIcAL

gW lisner audiToriuM 730 21st St. NW. (202) 9946800. Washington Performing Arts presents Kronos Quartet. 8 p.m. $30–$50. lisner.gwu.edu.

Music cenTer aT sTraThMore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Mahler’s Titan. 8 p.m. $35–$99. strathmore.org.

cOuNtRY

The haMilTon 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Steep Canyon Rangers. 8 p.m. $15–$39.75. thehamiltondc.com.

ELEctRONIc

fillMore silver sPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. AJR: The Click Tour with MAX and Hundred Handed. 8 p.m. $20–$79. fillmoresilverspring.com. u sTreeT Music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889.

Fisher. 10 p.m. $10–$12. ustreetmusichall.com.

FOLk

Barns aT Wolf TraP 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. John McCutcheon. 8 p.m. $25–$28. wolftrap.org.

JAzz

BeThesda Blues & Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Jazzy Blu. 8 p.m. $20. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

ROck

BirchMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Los Lobos. 7:30 p.m. $49.50. birchmere.com.

WORLD

Bossa BisTro 2463 18th St NW. 202-667-0088. La Marvela and Kiko Villamizar. 9 p.m. $10. bossadc.com.

100 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

NEA JAzz MAStERS tRIButE cONcERt

The stakes for the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters have been raised recently. Last year, for the first time, a federal budget proposal suggested that the endowment be cut completely. The latest appropriations have renewed the National Endowment for the Arts’ lease on life, but with no guarantees. Of course, even in the worst-case scenario, it won’t be the last accolade that this year’s honorees, pianist Joanne Brackeen, guitarist Pat Metheny, vocalist Dianne Reeves (pictured), and producer Todd Barkan, receive. Each is a living master of the music with transcendent influence on the art form. Still, for those who appreciate the opportunity to see the titans of America’s great musical contribution celebrated with the country’s highest jazz honor and given tributes from their musical comrades-in-arms, this year including Christian McBride, Eddie Palmieri, and Terri Lyne Carrington, among others, concerts like these become something akin to life-or-death events. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW. Free. (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org.

—Michael J. West

Theater

The caucasian chalK circle From playwright Bertolt Brechtin and with an English translation by Alistair Beaton, The Caucasian Chalk Circle presents the story of a young servant girl named Grusha who is caught in a social revolution. Soon, she must risk everything to save an abandoned baby. Constellation Theatre at Source. 1835 14th St. NW. To May 13. $25–$55. (202) 204-7741. constellationtheatre.org.

The cruciBle This Eleanor Holdridge-directed adaptation of Arthur Miller’s classic play about the Salem witch trials features Chris Genebach from Carousel starring as John Proctor. Coming to the Olney stage for the first time, this tale focusing on an unseeable evil tearing a colonist town apart aims to speak truth to power much like the 1953 original did. Olney Theatre Center. 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. To May 20. $49–$74. (301) 924-3400. olneytheatre.org. en el TieMPo de las MariPosas (in The TiMe of The BuTTerflies) Based on the novel by Julia Álvarez, playwright Caridad Svich adapts this account of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic. Using the code name “butterflies,” they lead the resistance against the dictatorial regime of General Rafael Tru-

jillo—until their brutal murder. Presented in Spanish with English subtitles. GALA Hispanic Theatre. 3333 14th St. NW. To May 13. $25–$95. (202) 234-7174. galatheatre.org. girlfriend Todd Almond and Matthew Sweet’s vibrant coming-of-age musical duet makes its D.C. premiere. In 1993 small-town Nebraska, collegebound jock Mike and aimless Will find themselves drawn to each other. What follows is a rush of firsttime love, full of excitement, confusion and passion.

Signature Theatre. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To June 10. $40–$84. (703) 820-9771. sigtheatre.org.

John When a young Brooklyn couple Elias and Jenny escape on a getaway to a cozy bed-and-breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a ghost seems to haunt their troubled relationship. This hyperreal transfixing work from playwright Annie Baker makes its D.C. debut. Signature Theatre. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To April 29. $40–$80. (703) 820-9771. sigtheatre.org.

TWo Trains running August Wilson’s masterpiece about everyday lives makes its way to Arena Stage. At the heart of the story is Memphis Lee’s diner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, confronted with a changing world during the Civil Rights Movement in 1969.

Arena Stage. 1101 6th St. SW. To April 29. $56–$91.

(202) 488-3300. arenastage.org. underground railroad gaMe Two teachers get shockingly down and dirty with a lesson about race, sex, and power at Hanover Middle School in this unflinching Ars Nova production of the fourth wall-

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 101

Do You Use Cocaine?

CITY LIGHTS: tuESDAY

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GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON D.C.

SMALL ENSEMBLES EXTRAVAGANZA

TWO SHOWS!

Earn up to $1,350 for a 15 day inpatient stay involving cocaine administration, withdrawal and brain imaging.

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CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS

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Thursday, April 12 VIP: 6:00 P.M. GA: 7:00 P.M.

Celebration 2018

The Organization of American States Headquarters 200 17th Street NW

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 102 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

ERIc B. & RAkIM

Younger hip-hop fans may not understand how monumental this reunion tour is (looking at you, kids born after 2000). Today’s hip-hop is at times unrecognizable to fans of the genre’s ’80s and ’90s sounds. It’s now filled to the brim with melodic sing-songy vocals over trippy trap beats being sung by a bunch of similarly named rappers, each sporting an array of candy-colored dreads. But current hip-hop, as ever the influential cultural medium that we now know it to be, may not exist without one of its most legendary duos: Eric B. & Rakim. The Long Island pair set the foundation for rap as an art form with funk-driven tracks, crafting some of the all-time best music of the genre in the late ’80s. You could turn on any of their classics right now, like “Don’t Sweat the Technique,” “Paid in Full,” and “I Ain’t No Joke,” and still feel the weight of the whole hip-hop universe they would create through song. Listening to them today is like time traveling. And after 25 years, the duo are back on tour together. The days in which they dominated, days of Kangol hats and super thick gold rope chains, may have gone by the wayside, but Eric B. & Rakim are bringing it back—if only for a night.

Eric B. & Rakim perform at 8 p.m. at the Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $45.

(301) 960-9999. fillmoresilverspring.com.

—Kayla Randall

breaking play. Going round after round on the mat of America’s history, the teachers bare it all, in R-rated, far-reaching fashion. Woolly Mammoth Theatre. 641 D St. NW. To April 29. $20–$69. (202) 393-3939. woollymammoth.net.

WaiTing for godoT Director Garry Hynes brings a fresh and funny take on playwright Samuel Beckett’s absurdist exploration of time in this play about two characters waiting for the arrival of someone who never shows up. In Waiting for Godot, life is both vaudeville and tragedy, philosophy and confusion. Lansburgh Theatre. 450 7th St. NW. To May 20. $44–$118. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.

The Wiz This Tony-winning musical, famed for its soul-pop reimagining of the classic novel and movieThe Wizard of Oz, comes to Ford’s Theatre. Ford’s Theatre. 511 10th St. NW. To May 12. $27–$71. (202) 347-4833. fords.org.

Film

aardvarK A therapist’s patient has increasingly violent hallucinations as she begins a romance with his brother. Starring Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, and Sheila Vand. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) BlocKers Three parents attempt to block their young daughters’ joint plan to to have sex on prom night. Starring Leslie Mann, John Cena, and Ike Barin-

holtz. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) lean on PeTe Charlie Plummer is a teenager who befriends a fading racehorse after getting a summer job with a horse trainer. Co-starring Travis Fimmel and Chloe Sevigny. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) The Miracle season Helen Hunt stars as a volleyball coach who rallies her team following the tragic death of its star player. Co-starring Erin Moriarty and Tiera Skovbye. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) a QuieT Place A family must live in silence to evade and defeat creatures that hunt by sound. Starring John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, and Noah Jupe. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) raMPage A genetic experiment gone wrong transforms a gentle ape into a raging creature, leaving a scientist to try to find an antidote. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Malin Akerman.

(See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) TruTh or dare A friend group’s game of truth or dare becomes fatal when players begin to receive punishments for lying or refusing a dare. Starring Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, and Violett Beane. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) you Were never really here Joaquin Phoenix stars as a a veteran who attempts to find missing children for a living. Co-starring Judith Roberts and Ekaterina Samsonov. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)

washingtoncitypaper.com april 13, 2018 103

Fri & Sat, Apr. 13 & 14 at Midnight!

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CITY LIGHTS: WEDNESDAY

ALEX WAgNER WIth VANN NEWkIRk II

Alex Wagner’s Futureface is a meditation on what it’s like to become obsessed with one’s own identity. Wagner, co-host of Showtime’s The Circus and contributor to CBS News and The Atlantic, is the daughter of a white American father and a Burmese mother. She herself is a “futureface,” a brown archetype in an idealistic racially merged society. Or so she thought. The more Wagner discovered about herself, the more she realized that identity wasn’t that simple and that perhaps her post-racial ideals were a farce. In writing Futureface, she was taken on a journey from Burma to Luxembourg, investigating her own heritage and tracing her genealogy. The book asks tough questions, questions deeply rooted at the center of American perceptions of race, identity, and immigration. Who am I? Where do I belong? Who are my people? And, most importantly: Does any of this matter? Wagner will be in conversation with the always fabulous Atlantic staff writer Vann Newkirk II to parse it all and maybe find some answers. The talk begins at 7 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. $14–$40. (202) 408-3100. sixthandi.org.

—Kayla Randall

CITY LIGHTS: thuRSDAY

uNEXPEctED ORIgINS

We all want to know where we come from. The true genesis and evolution of human ancestry is an omnipresent enigma in our lives, and for some, like me, a source of existential dread. Though we’ll probably never really understand who and what we are, there are fortunately people who have dedicated their lives to discovering as much about humanity’s inception as possible. Four of those people—biological anthropologist Marina Elliott, paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, evolutionary biologist Ryan Carney, and documentary artist and photographer Matthew Cicanese—are bringing answers to, or at least conjectures on, some of the most burning questions related to the mysteries of our planet and ourselves. As part of Nat Geo Nights, which includes a happy hour and free admission into the National Geographic Museum, the group will be tackling everything from the origins of written language to the biological beginnings of Earth’s ecosystems to the evolution of bird flight. Thank you, science. The talk begins at 5:30 p.m. at the National Geographic Campus, 1145 17th St. NW. $20. (202) 857-7700. nationalgeographic.org/dc.

—Kayla Randall

104 april 13, 2018 washingtoncitypaper.com

Notice to Unknown Heirs, Beverley Wheeler, whose address is Adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Livelinks - Chat Lines.

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(844) 359-5773 Marketplace . . . . estate .Robinson . . . .of . Ida .(supervised . . Cammon . . . . 42 Community . . . . . by . . the . . .court), . . . . .who . . . 42 died on February 6, Employment . . . . with . . . .a .Will. . . . All . 42 REQUEST FOR PRO- . . . . 2017, POSALS: Janitorial unknown heirs and heirs Health/Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Services. KIPP DC is whose wherabouts are soliciting proposals Body & Spirit . . . . unknown . . . . . . .shall . . . enter . . . 42 from qualified vendors their appearance in this Housing/Rentals . . . . . . . . Objections . . . . . 42 for Janitorial Services. proceeding.

The RFP can be found to such appointment Legal Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 at http://www.kippdc. shall be filed with the org/procurement.

All Row .

Register Music/Music . . . . . of . .Wills, . . . .D.C., . 42 proposals should be 515 5th Street, N.W., Pets . . .website . . . . . . . . 3rd . . .Floor, . . . .Washington, . . . . . . 42 uploaded to the no later than 5:00 PM Real Estate . . . . . D.C. . . . .20001, . . . . .on . .or . .be42 EST, on May 5th, 2018. fore 9/29/2018. Claims Questions can be adShared Housing . against . . . . . the . . . decedent . . . . . 42 dressed to donna.macalshall be presented to Services . . . . . . . . the . . .undersigned . . . . . . . . with . . 42 ester@kippdc.org. a copy to the Register of TWO RIVERS PUBLIC Wills or to the Register CHARTER SCHOOL of Wills with a copy to REQUEST FOR PROthe undersigned, on or POSALS, SCHOOL before 9/29/2018, or be UNIFORMS forever barred. Persons Two Rivers PCS is believed to be heirs or soliciting proposals/price legatees of the decedent quotes from custom who do not receive a apparel companies to copy of this notice by produce school uniform mail within 25 days of tops. To request a copy its publication shall so of the RFP, email proinform the Register of curement@tworiverspcs.

Wills, including name, org. Proposals are due address and relationby May 1, 2018. ship.

Date of first publication: TWO RIVERS PUBLIC 3/29/2018 CHARTER SCHOOL Name of Newspaper REQUEST FOR PROPOSand/or periodical: WashALS - Athletic Resilient ington City Paper/The Flooring Daily Washington Law Two Rivers PCS is Reporter soliciting proposals from Name of Person Repqualified and experiresentative: Beverley enced flooring instalWheeler lation companies to TRUE TEST copy provide the full replaceAnne Meister ment of a 60’x55’ indoor Register of Wills resilient athletic surface Pub Dates: Mar. 29, Apr. for school gymnasium.

5, 12.

To request a copy of the RFP, email procureSUPERIOR COURT ment@tworiverspcs.org.

OF THE DISTRICT OF Proposals are due by COLUMBIA May 1, 2018.

PROBATE DIVISION 2018 ADM 000216 The DC Public Charter Name of Decedent, MiSchool Board (DC PCSB) chael Andrew Carisetti, gives notice of its intent Notice of Appointment, to hold a public hearing Notice to Creditors and on 4 new charter school Notice to Unknown applications received by Heirs, Maria Carisetti, the 3/13/2018 deadline whose address is 3723 at the board meetSW Durham Drive, ings on 4/23/2017. DC Apt 304, Durham, NC PCSB will hold a vote 27707 was appointed on 5/21/2017. For more Personal Representative info on all applicaof the estate of Michael tions please visit www.

Andrew Carisetti, who dcpcsb.org. Questions, died on December 4, please contact 202-3282017, without a Will 2660 or applications@ and will serve without dcpcsb.org.

Court Supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs SUPERIOR COURT whose wherabouts are OF THE DISTRICT OF unknown shall enter COLUMBIA their appearance in this PROBATE DIVISION proceeding. Objections 2017 ADM 246 to such appointment Name of Decedent, Ida shall be filed with the Cammon Robinson, Register of Wills, D.C., Notice of Appointment, 515 5th Street, N.W., Notice to Creditors and 3rd Floor, Washington,

Contents:

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D.C. 20001, on or beAdult Phone fore 9/29/2018.

Claims against theEntertainment decedent shall be presented to Livelinks - Chat Lines.with Flirt, chat the undersigned a and date! sexy real singles copy toTalk thetoRegister of in your area. Call now! (844) Wills or to the Register 359-5773 of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or Legals before 9/29/2018, or be forever Persons NOTICE barred.

IS HEREBY GIVEN believed to be heirs or THAT: legatees of the decedent TRAVISA OUTSOURCING, INC. (DISTRICT OF receive COLUMBIA who do not a DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER copy of this notice by AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS mail within 25 days of FILEpublication NUMBER 271941) its shall soHAS DISSOLVED EFFECTIVE NOVEMinform the Register of BER 27, 2017 AND HAS FILED Wills, including name, OF ARTICLES OF DISSOLUTION address relation-CORDOMESTIC and FOR-PROFIT ship.

PORATION WITH THE DISTRICT Date of first CORPORATIONS publication: OF COLUMBIA DIVISION 3/29/2018 Name of Newspaper Aand/or CLAIMperiodical: AGAINST TRAVISA WashOUTSOURCING, INC. MUST ington City Paper/WashINCLUDE THE NAME OF THE ington Law Reporter DISSOLVED CORPORATION, Name Person INCLUDEofTHE NAME OF THE Representative: CLAIMANT, INCLUDE AMaria SUMMACarisetti RY OF THE FACTS SUPPORTING TRUE TEST copy THE CLAIM, AND BE MAILED TO 1600 INTERNATIONAL DRIVE, Anne Meister SUITE 600, MCLEAN, Register of Wills VA 22102 Pub Dates: Mar. 29, Apr. ALL CLAIMS WILL BE BARRED 5, 12.

UNLESS A PROCEEDING TO ENFORCE THE CLAIM IS COMMENCED WITH IN 3 YEARS OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE 4000 Marlboro IN ACCORDANCE WITHPlace SECTION NW. 2 Bedrooms & LoftOF 29-312.07 OF THE DISTRICT Hardwood COLUMBIA Floor ORGANIZATIONS ACT. Modern Kitchen Walking Distance Two Rivers PCS is to soliciting Metro proposals to provide project manStreet Parkingfor a small conagement services HVAC structionSystem project. For a copy of the RFP, please&email procurement@ Washer Dryer tworiverspcs.org.

Deadline for $2,200 Per Month submissions is December 6, 2017. $1,000 Security Deposit NE DC room for rent. $700/mo. utils included.

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include: W/D, WiFi, Legals Kitchen use, and shared bathroom. All utilities DC SCHOLARS PCS REQUEST included. Close to X2 FOR PROPOSALS – ModuBus, Trolley, and Union lar Contractor Services - DC Station subway.

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