It's suddenly fall here, or 'autumn', as any good Brit would say! Which has made me hungry - hence the copious restaurant reviews this week! Not to mention our visits to Story League, SpeakeasyDC, Second City, and the DC Shorts Film Festival.
In DC dining, Cork Wine Bar, Sona Creamery and the Bombay Club are a triumvirate of delight. First Cork. The ambience is a delight of cool lighting, exposed brick, and trendy wine-sippers - the sort of place you'd suggest if you wanted to make out of towners think you're cool. The avocado dish is perfection. The other dishes are pretty uniformly good too...
Sona Creamery was a brand new discovery, perched on Pennsylvania Avenue near Eastern Market. I was overcome with delight by Sona - the ambience is cosy and stylish and comfortable and occasion-ish, all at once. The wine and cheese are the stars of the show - and ever since I tasted their mac and cheese, I have been lusting for a second visit. Every small dish I had was glorious. Their cheese was amazing. Their wine and cocktails were lovely. And the price wasn't too bad at all. It's a shame it's all the way across town from my house, because I'm adopting it as my new local anyway!
And the Bombay Club, the white tableclothed, older brother of my beloved Rasika, delivered all of Rasika's pleasure this weekend - and maybe even a tiny bit more. The live piano was a treat. The crispy kale was just as glorious as Rasika's famed palak chaat. The service was attentive. The menu more innovative than I'd remembered (I'm talking about you, brussel sprouts dish!). It feels a little formal, perhaps, but the food is truly excellent.
So yes, I probably should go on a diet after this week's dining... particularly as, aside from a delightful session paddleboarding and a stroll round Roosevelt Island, my focus was on watching things and eating popcorn. During the day it was TEDMED, a giant health and medicine conference - with the added benefit of getting to wander in the beautiful Library of Congress.
And then, to the movies! DC Shorts, probably my favorite DC film festival, has been going swimmingly - I've been to two of their showcases so far, and they're always eclectic and thought provoking. The voting's finished now but there are tons more shows, including free ones at lunchtime at Landmark E St Cinema... what an excellent way to spend lunch, you lucky downtown workers! I also went to The One I Love, and was horrified to have failed to read the plot description carefully and find myself quite terrified... It was quite good, though not a film that excelled at wrapping itself up properly at the end.
Any live performances, I hear you ask? Why of course. Second City are, in my opinion, the best improv/comedy troupe in America right now (though I'm happy to be proven wrong!). Their visits to DC are always a bit subterfuge, through the Smithsonian Associates and tucked into a museum theatre, in this case the Museum of the American Indian. And they were hilarious. What an excellent evening. Also hilarious were the competitors at Story League's grand DC/Philly/NY story showdown. These shows are fantastic, except for early-to-bed girls like me. I knew it wasn't starting til 9:30pm. I braced myself. I drank. I laughed. I appreciated the cool format. And then my eyes started to droop. I was relieved to see I wasn't the only one. I had to slip off home at 11:10, which was when they had their first break. I was exhausted! Am clearly an early-night story girl. Less hilarious but very compelling was Speakeasy DC's special Atonement show at Theatre J - I shed a tear. Fantastic to see these storytelling events completely packed. This is the moment for DC storytelling!
What sounds cool for next week
Well, DC Shorts is all week, and you can still catch the fab Yentl at Theatre J... More date-specifically:
Tue 16th - If you like Upright Citizens Brigade, check out Ronna and Beverly, a comedy show featuring pseudo-Jewish mothers delivering a self-help chatshow, conceived by UCB. It's at Sixth and I and will likely be hilarious.
Wed 17th - Story League brings you their latest funny story contest - the theme is 'Testy Testy'. It starts at 9pm, late birds! Er, night owls...
Thu 18th - It's DASER! This unexpectedly cool free art and science mash-up (why unexpected? Now I think about it, of course it's cool!) focuses this month on deep time. Be cool and clever.
Fri 19th - Two excellent literary options of you this evening - very poor timing for me to be out of town! If you like your literary event British and sit-down, with a touch of lesbianism, Sarah Waters is reading at Politics and Prose. I already read her new book, The Paying Guests, and it was addictively good. Or splash out $50 on the kick off party for Banned Books Week - provocative art and live music abound!
Sat 20th - Spend the afternoon drawing, dancing, learning about museums, music, Shakespeare, public speaking, songwriting, and that sort of thing, all for $25 at Fall for the Arts.
Mon 22nd - Free comedy from Aparna Nancherla at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center at 6 - but try to be there at 5:30 to get tickets (2 per person max).
Tue 23rd - Kramer Books has started doing author readings - have you noticed? Tonight they have Peter Mehlman who wrote for Seinfeld. (you can see the whole list for September at the link)
Wed 24th - There are still tickets left for Mortified, where performers read aloud their most embarrassing diary entries and other musings from the tumult of their long ago youth. The last time I went to this it was hilarious.
Fri 26th - It's the Art4All launch party, kicking off a 3-week art festival around the city, and an participatory art and craft extravaganza in DC all weekend! If you like art, brace yourself...
Sat 27th - We clearly think we're in Paris! It's DC's version of Nuit Blanche, named Art All Night. Go enjoy art events from 7pm til 3am all over town! There's the 'Top Chef of Crafting', SCRAP DC, which also amusingly seems to be called Rebel Craft Rumble. Plus on both the 27th and 28th we have Figment DC, which is a festival all about building the arts community in DC. Here's their Facebook page. Oh, and the annual craft fair to buy pretty crafty things at Union Market, Crafty Bastards. This weekend is art-tastic!
First week of October - get your tickets now:
- Perfect Liars Club - Tickets are on sale now for our next amazing show on October 1st.
- Bentzen Ball - October 1st - 4th is DC's top comedy festival, Brightest Young Things' Bentzen Ball. Get tickets! If you must go on the 1st instead of Perfect Liars Club, email me as I accidentally bought 2 tickets... but I might be busy emceeing... so I can sell them to you at face value.
In DC dining, Cork Wine Bar, Sona Creamery and the Bombay Club are a triumvirate of delight. First Cork. The ambience is a delight of cool lighting, exposed brick, and trendy wine-sippers - the sort of place you'd suggest if you wanted to make out of towners think you're cool. The avocado dish is perfection. The other dishes are pretty uniformly good too...
Sona Creamery was a brand new discovery, perched on Pennsylvania Avenue near Eastern Market. I was overcome with delight by Sona - the ambience is cosy and stylish and comfortable and occasion-ish, all at once. The wine and cheese are the stars of the show - and ever since I tasted their mac and cheese, I have been lusting for a second visit. Every small dish I had was glorious. Their cheese was amazing. Their wine and cocktails were lovely. And the price wasn't too bad at all. It's a shame it's all the way across town from my house, because I'm adopting it as my new local anyway!
And the Bombay Club, the white tableclothed, older brother of my beloved Rasika, delivered all of Rasika's pleasure this weekend - and maybe even a tiny bit more. The live piano was a treat. The crispy kale was just as glorious as Rasika's famed palak chaat. The service was attentive. The menu more innovative than I'd remembered (I'm talking about you, brussel sprouts dish!). It feels a little formal, perhaps, but the food is truly excellent.
So yes, I probably should go on a diet after this week's dining... particularly as, aside from a delightful session paddleboarding and a stroll round Roosevelt Island, my focus was on watching things and eating popcorn. During the day it was TEDMED, a giant health and medicine conference - with the added benefit of getting to wander in the beautiful Library of Congress.
And then, to the movies! DC Shorts, probably my favorite DC film festival, has been going swimmingly - I've been to two of their showcases so far, and they're always eclectic and thought provoking. The voting's finished now but there are tons more shows, including free ones at lunchtime at Landmark E St Cinema... what an excellent way to spend lunch, you lucky downtown workers! I also went to The One I Love, and was horrified to have failed to read the plot description carefully and find myself quite terrified... It was quite good, though not a film that excelled at wrapping itself up properly at the end.
Any live performances, I hear you ask? Why of course. Second City are, in my opinion, the best improv/comedy troupe in America right now (though I'm happy to be proven wrong!). Their visits to DC are always a bit subterfuge, through the Smithsonian Associates and tucked into a museum theatre, in this case the Museum of the American Indian. And they were hilarious. What an excellent evening. Also hilarious were the competitors at Story League's grand DC/Philly/NY story showdown. These shows are fantastic, except for early-to-bed girls like me. I knew it wasn't starting til 9:30pm. I braced myself. I drank. I laughed. I appreciated the cool format. And then my eyes started to droop. I was relieved to see I wasn't the only one. I had to slip off home at 11:10, which was when they had their first break. I was exhausted! Am clearly an early-night story girl. Less hilarious but very compelling was Speakeasy DC's special Atonement show at Theatre J - I shed a tear. Fantastic to see these storytelling events completely packed. This is the moment for DC storytelling!
What sounds cool for next week
Well, DC Shorts is all week, and you can still catch the fab Yentl at Theatre J... More date-specifically:
Tue 16th - If you like Upright Citizens Brigade, check out Ronna and Beverly, a comedy show featuring pseudo-Jewish mothers delivering a self-help chatshow, conceived by UCB. It's at Sixth and I and will likely be hilarious.
Wed 17th - Story League brings you their latest funny story contest - the theme is 'Testy Testy'. It starts at 9pm, late birds! Er, night owls...
Thu 18th - It's DASER! This unexpectedly cool free art and science mash-up (why unexpected? Now I think about it, of course it's cool!) focuses this month on deep time. Be cool and clever.
Fri 19th - Two excellent literary options of you this evening - very poor timing for me to be out of town! If you like your literary event British and sit-down, with a touch of lesbianism, Sarah Waters is reading at Politics and Prose. I already read her new book, The Paying Guests, and it was addictively good. Or splash out $50 on the kick off party for Banned Books Week - provocative art and live music abound!
Sat 20th - Spend the afternoon drawing, dancing, learning about museums, music, Shakespeare, public speaking, songwriting, and that sort of thing, all for $25 at Fall for the Arts.
Mon 22nd - Free comedy from Aparna Nancherla at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center at 6 - but try to be there at 5:30 to get tickets (2 per person max).
Tue 23rd - Kramer Books has started doing author readings - have you noticed? Tonight they have Peter Mehlman who wrote for Seinfeld. (you can see the whole list for September at the link)
Wed 24th - There are still tickets left for Mortified, where performers read aloud their most embarrassing diary entries and other musings from the tumult of their long ago youth. The last time I went to this it was hilarious.
Fri 26th - It's the Art4All launch party, kicking off a 3-week art festival around the city, and an participatory art and craft extravaganza in DC all weekend! If you like art, brace yourself...
Sat 27th - We clearly think we're in Paris! It's DC's version of Nuit Blanche, named Art All Night. Go enjoy art events from 7pm til 3am all over town! There's the 'Top Chef of Crafting', SCRAP DC, which also amusingly seems to be called Rebel Craft Rumble. Plus on both the 27th and 28th we have Figment DC, which is a festival all about building the arts community in DC. Here's their Facebook page. Oh, and the annual craft fair to buy pretty crafty things at Union Market, Crafty Bastards. This weekend is art-tastic!
First week of October - get your tickets now:
- Perfect Liars Club - Tickets are on sale now for our next amazing show on October 1st.
- Bentzen Ball - October 1st - 4th is DC's top comedy festival, Brightest Young Things' Bentzen Ball. Get tickets! If you must go on the 1st instead of Perfect Liars Club, email me as I accidentally bought 2 tickets... but I might be busy emceeing... so I can sell them to you at face value.
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