Smithsonian FolkLife Festival in Washington DC

The great thing about DC is that, even when I can't travel, I can travel. In DC, the world comes to you. Each year the Smithsonian holds the Folklife Festival. They showcase one U.S. culture, one world culture, and one Smithsonian museum. This year they are highlighting Texas, Bhutan, and NASA (for the Air and Space Museum).

The festival is held in tents on the national mall. I spent most of my time in Bhutan. They have performance tents, showcases of different monastic arts, a Bhutanese temple, traditional foods and (of course) a gift shop. They also had places where kids could do arts and crafts Bhutan style.

Highlights included an intricate sand painting, gorgeous textiles, and a natural medicine booth. Lowlights included scorching heat and too many children not on leashes. I'm going to try and go back next week with Chris.

Review of La Tomate

This week I'm taking a break from my quest for a good Mexican restaurant in DC. Instead, I'm going to talk about an Italian place right around the corner from the apartment.

La Tomate is the kind of restaurant where you can go in jeans, but you could also dress up a bit. They have a prime location in dupont and you'll rarely have to wait for a table in the triangular, two-story dining room. They also have a great outdoor seating area in summer.

The service is generally attentive, if occasionally a bit stuffy. The menu is extensive. You'll find a full range of pastas (running about $13 to $18 for the meal or, in some cases, $8 for an appetizer size). Entrees include a pounded pork chop grilled in truffle oil and breast of duck grilled with plum and ginger sauce. I always mean to try new things, but I can never pass up the veal ravioli in tomato basil sauce.

I'm not sure I would travel far and wide to eat at La Tomate, as there are many other Italian restaurants in the city that are just as good or better. But for anyone in the general vicinity, it's a good, reliable choice.

Washington DC BBQ Battle

This weekend was the National Capital BBQ Battle in DC where, in the shadow of the capital building, countless animals sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

It was PETAs worst nightmare. Everywhere you looked there were dead animals on coals with ravenous looking residents staring hungrily at them from seemingly endless lines. The glaze of bbq sauce on everyone's faces was only matched by the glazed look in their eyes as they devoured the flesh - ribs, brisket, pulled pork... Chris had to fight the urge not to club me over the head and carry me home over his shoulder.

The best thing we ate had to be the ribs from Johnny Boy's Ribs, a restaurant in La Plata, MD. Unfortunately, the contestants in the battle were not selling their food, so we could only buy from the few restaurants who had set up shop. I thought the $10 cover charge was a bit much, although I imagine that paid for the bands. Thankfully the beer lines were much shorter than the food lines, otherwise it might have gotten ugly. Speaking of ugly, I wouldn't have wanted to be the cleanup staff at that place. Meat eaters are pigs. (You are what you eat and all that.)

Review of El Tamarindo

Continuing with our Mexican theme (sort of), Chris and I went to El Tamarindo this week. The restaurant is actually Salvadoran and Mexican. It feels a lot more like your typical Latin American restaurant than Guapo's (too gringo-ized) or Casa Oaxaca (not quite casual enough). Picture dark wood with large paintings of wrestlers on the walls. Patrons included young couples, families, and a large table of men in town for DC Pride.

My office mate tipped me off that the Salvadoran food at El Tamarindo is better than the Mexican food. I chose the special combo which included a tamale, a pupusa, rice, beans and whatnot. Chris ordered a plate of dead animals (chicken, steak, and sausage). We also ordered a couple margaritas.

The requisite chips and salsa were good, but again not anything to write home about. DC doesn't seem to be into the salsa fresca. My pupusa was a bit flavorless, but the tamale was good - although it was bizarrely moist compared to Mexican tamales and I think it may have had potato in it. Chris's chicken was a bit dry, but the steak was tasty and so was the sausage. My margarita was probably the best part. It was extra limey and refreshing.

Chris has also eaten their breakfasts and gives raves to the huevos rancheros. I'm not sure we would be heading over much if it wasn't right down the street, but it's a good neighborhood option for those of us in the Dupont, Adams Morgan area.

El Tamarindo, 1785 Florida Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009

The Local Arts Scene in Washington, DC

One of my complaints about living in DC has been the apparent lack of a local arts scene. There are, of course, tons of museums for "high art" and history. Small galleries and bohemian areas seemed to be in short supply. But I'm beginning to think that I just wasn't looking in the right places.

This weekend wrapped up Artomatic, where 1,000 artists shared their paintings, sculptures, films, poetry and whatever else they could come up with. There were dancers, musicians, fashion shows, and lectures. Basically, if it involved creativity, it was welcome. The thing took up ten floors in a cavernous, unused office building.

One of the more interesting (if sparsely attended) events Chris and I went to was a talk by an artist named Serinity Knight. You can see her work on MyArtSpace.com. I knew it was going to be interesting as soon as she brought up the fact that she corresponded with James Baldwin before he died. I am a bit obsessed with Baldwin, in case you didn't know.

Since yesterday I've been nosing around on the internet looking for more clues of DC's secret bohemian life. Turns out there are several websites and organizations trying to build the local arts scene in DC and the Cultural Development Corporation even builds affordable studios/housing for artists. Who knew?

Review of Guapo's

You might think that, after the scombroid poisoning incident, I would be done with Mexican food for a while, but I love it too much. So Chris and I hit Guapo's over in Tenleytown by his work.

Guapo's is your standard Americanized Mexican, but it's not a bad bet if that's what your in the mood for. The crowd was mostly post-work happy hour types. We sat on the patio in the sticky, summer heat where I sucked down a couple nicely frozen piña coladas. Chris stuck with Pacifico.

My Guapo's salad was heavy on the chicken and light on the actual salad. Chris's carne asada fajitas were good, although the carne asada wasn't the usual beaten down bistec. The service was attentive, even though the wait staff kept having to wind their way around a couple uncontrolled bratty toddlers (one of which nearly had a hot tray of food dumped on his head).

All in all, if your looking for fajitas and margaritas, Guapo's isn't a bad option.

Guapo's, 4515 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016

Bowling and Bad Hair in Washington, DC

Washington, DC just got hot. I don't mean slightly warm. I mean hot as balls. It is supposed to be 99 degrees on Tuesday. My hair is HUGE. I spent the winter complaining about the cold weather and how I couldn't wait for it to warm up so I could be outside. Looks like I'll be spending the summer next to the air conditioner lopping on the silicone hair products.

It's been a fairly slow week for me. My office-mate has been on her honeymoon, so I have been bored out of my mind. Had a few great meals, which I'll elaborate on one of these days. Last night, Chris actually got me to go bowling, cosmic duckpin bowling at White Oak Lanes in Maryland to be precise. That's right, I bowled. What of of it? That's Chris kicking all of our butts. Is this really what my life has come to?

By the by, I have another blog now. It's a political blog called Broadsnark. Check it out.

Review of Casa Oaxaca

DC doesn't have a huge number of Mexican restaurant. Many of the ones that are here are more tex-mex margarita and fajita places than Mexican. So Chris and I were very excited to try Casa Oaxaca, which we were told had some of the best Mexican in town.

I think I should start by mentioning that I ended the night lying in bed, waiting for the Benadryl to work on the red splotchiness that had taken over my body. At first I thought I had an allergic reaction (although I never had an allergy before), but it appears that I may actually have gotten scombroid poisening from the fish I ate. I think ending up violently ill after a meal is an important piece of information.

The scary illness was really unfortunate, because Casa Oaxaca is quite popular in town. I know many people who have eaten there without any problems. It is small and intimate, casual enough for a beer and chips by the bar, but nice enough for an intimate dinner for two. The hostess seemed genuinly happy to see us (and not in a desperate, thank god we have customers sort of way). The waiter was slightly slow toward the end of the meal, but generally attentive.

The ubiquitous chips and salsa arrived quickly. Good, but nothing to get too excited about. Chris was happy to see Dos Equis Amber on draft. I ordered a sangria which turned out to be a pretty strong drink, but I didn't mind the extra brandy at all.

Chris's arrachera was tasty, but not as well spiced or swimming in succulent sauce as the arracheras he was addicted to in Mexico City. My tuna in mole negro was cooked slightly more than I like. That was probably a good thing considering that it was the tuna that made me violently ill - a shame because the mole sauce was incredibly good.

For dessert, Chris and I had some churros (bit on the tooth breaking side) and some mango ice cream (a bit on the icy side). We also had some Oaxacan coffee, which was pre-spiced and sweetened and truly delicious. But by the end of our coffee, I was already feeling a little headache coming on. By the time we got home, the heart palpitations and rash set in.

Needless to say, we won't be going back.

10 Best Things About Washington DC

#10 Elevator Conversations - People in DC can be surprisingly friendly. The first few times someone struck up an elevator conversation, I was a bit taken aback. Having been here for a while now, I find nothing odd about a complete stranger in an elevator asking me whether or not she ought to come clean to the car rental company about the ding she put in her rental car.

#9 Great Restaurants - The city has a surprising number of great restaurants and pretty much any kind of food you can think of. The only downside is that the food prices here are high. Forget those cheap $3.00 taqueria lunches like in California.

#8 Walkable Neighborhoods - People in DC actually walk. That came as quite a surprise to at least one overseas visitor I spoke with. In fact, most of the people I work with don't even own cars. The city is smaller than it seems. We can walk from our apartment to anywhere.

#7 Good Public Transportation - Those too lazy (or in my case, too late) to walk can hop on the subway or a bus. The system is clean and generally efficient (although I must admit that I try to avoid it during afternoon rush hour). Even getting to surrounding areas is relatively easy for the car-less.

#6 Unabashed Nerdiness - DC is heaven for nerds. The city is filled with bookstores and coffee shops where eyeglass clad, balding ivy leaguers debate public policy. Even the bar conversations tend toward the nerdy. It is the only place I've ever been where a bar television was on CNN (and not sports) at midnight on a Friday.

#5 Opportunities for Eavesdropping - Due to the nerdiness outlined in #6 above, DC is a great place for eavesdropping. This is particularly true for those of us who are political junkies. You never know what hill staffer, lobbyist, or other wonk is going to be sitting beside you rambling on about the politics of the day. This has been especially fun given the Obamania of the 2008 election.

#4 An Embarrassment of Museums - DC has a population of about 600,000 and yet it has enough museums to keep a population ten times that size busy. Incredibly, all of the Smithsonian museums are free. The museums also host free lectures, free movies, free concerts... The list just goes on. My personal favorite museum is, of course, The Museum of the American Indian. Incredibly, I still haven't been to them all.

#3 Concerts Galore - After living in Miami (where many musicians don't go because it is out of the way) and Santa Cruz (which is a tiny little town), living in DC is like concert heaven. Every week a new concert that Chris and I want to see is listed. We've already seen Pink Martini, Morcheeba, and Eryka Badu. We've got Anthony David, Rahsaan Patterson, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and El Vez coming up - just to name a few.

#2 The World Just a Few Blocks Away - Miami was an international city, but it leaned heavily toward Latin America. In DC, I'm as likely to hear Swahili as Spanish. I've met people from Ecuador to Burkina Faso. Many of the embassies (just a short walk from my house) have cultural events, film screenings, and concerts too. You can learn about or how to do anything in DC. The picture above is of people tango dancing, for no apparent reason, in the middle of downtown.

#1 The Best Cab Drivers - If you really want to have a political conversation or learn about another country, just jump into a DC cab. You never know whose cab you might end up in. You may find yourself being driven around by the former minister of finance for some politically volatile country. DC cab drivers will talk about anything from the politics of Somalia to the recent switch to meters (from the old zone system). Chris has, on at least one occasion, sat outside our apartment in a cab chatting away for twenty minutes with the driver who took him home from work.

And there you have it, all my favorite things about life in the capital.