Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins
Forum Rules and Guidelines

D.C. Culture/History Thread

thebluefood

By thebluefood
in The Tailgate

 Share

Recommended Posts

PleaseBlitz

PleaseBlitz

Posted
Posted
Just now, thebluefood said:

1.) Prefer D.C. proper but I wouldn't mind suggestions for Maryland especially since my family in the area primarily lives there. 

2.) Either/or. I feel more at home at a greasy spoon or a pub but sometimes it's nice to be a nice sit-down kinda place. 

 

Bub & Pops for sandwiches:  http://www.bubandpops.com/daily-menu-and-catering.html

 

Beefsteak (Jose Andres' fast casual place near GW)

 

District Rico (Peruvian chicken)

 

District Taco is always solid.  

 

When I was a broke grad student, all of the sit-down places I went to were in VA because I lived in FFX. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcsluggo

mcsluggo

Posted
Posted
On 2/9/2018 at 3:12 PM, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

I've been gone for nearly 10 years, but I was pretty active with the theater crowd when I was there. I do think that outside of NYC and maybe Chicago, DC has the best theater scene in the country. Arena Stage is a treasure and it's one of the few regional theaters that seems to have actually lifted all boats around it.

 

I tend to put the Shakespeare Company and especially Ford's in their own boxes, but the point is you can see really interesting stuff in either a world-class facility or in the back of a bar.

 

I was probably slightly too old when I moved to DC to really dive into it, but I do think the local music scene was on the lame side when I lived there. Which was sad, because I grew up reading up the DC scene when I was a kid.

 

I think gentrification kills music scenes while it sustains theatre scenes. I'm pretty much of the opinion that another great band will never come out of Manhattan and will probably never come out of Brooklyn because there is no place to practice or perform on the cheap.

 

The food scene...Is there a city in the country without a burgeoning food scene? I have a friend from freaking Frederick who swears they have a food scene. Zoony is going to stop by here at some point and tell us all about the Knoxville food scene. Celebrity chefs + downtown renovations mean that any recent culinary grad can find a tax-free space to open a kitchen and present his or her version of Creole/Thai fusion.

 

If there is an issue with DC, it's that so so so much of the interesting history and culture is black history and culture, and it still felt very segregated on that level in 2010.

 

 

 

I'm never been very interested in spending much money on a fine dining experience .... "pretty good and interesting" is frankly good enough for me.  (so, yeah...try that Persian place, or that Turkish place occasionally... but nothing that is going to hurt my wallet much.    And my wife would be happy to never eat out again.  ever.  (its crazy).

 

On the other hand... my wife has been expressing some interest in hitting up the theater scene occasionally, and i would like to encourage and follow-through on that.   But i have no idea where to begin.   as a kid/teen/college kid  my mom LOVED the theater (plus opera/symphony/ballet...all lumped together), and would beg for me to come with her all the time, and she had some level of season pass alternatively at Wolf Trap, Kennedy Center, National and Warner.  But other than occasionally going to productions on campus in grad school, or shows oriented towards kids (lion the witch and the wardrobe type stuff) i have never done any theater-ing on my own.   

 

where would you recommend most?   for a surprise visit for her?   I know we can get the grand opera-house experience at Kennedy... but a more intimate setting? 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcsluggo

mcsluggo

Posted
Posted
On 2/8/2018 at 12:41 AM, Kosher Ham said:

.....

 

The construction of the new one made my property value more than double. Barry was a good dude. He was re-elected because he did care about the city and the citizens. 

 

Barry was AWFUL.   I think he was probably very good as an activist and a council member, and may have even started out relatively decent as mayor.. but he got corrupted and sucked donkey nuts.   He behaved like a banana-republic dictator and greased the palms of his political connections as if the city was his private inheritance.   He sucked.    

 

 

hell... perhaps he was even good on the city council member AFTER he was mayor..?   i dunno.... ?   but he is impossible to defend in his tenure as mayor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

Posted
Posted (edited)
40 minutes ago, mcsluggo said:

 

 

I'm never been very interested in spending much money on a fine dining experience .... "pretty good and interesting" is frankly good enough for me.  (so, yeah...try that Persian place, or that Turkish place occasionally... but nothing that is going to hurt my wallet much.    And my wife would be happy to never eat out again.  ever.  (its crazy).

 

On the other hand... my wife has been expressing some interest in hitting up the theater scene occasionally, and i would like to encourage and follow-through on that.   But i have no idea where to begin.   as a kid/teen/college kid  my mom LOVED the theater (plus opera/symphony/ballet...all lumped together), and would beg for me to come with her all the time, and she had some level of season pass alternatively at Wolf Trap, Kennedy Center, National and Warner.  But other than occasionally going to productions on campus in grad school, or shows oriented towards kids (lion the witch and the wardrobe type stuff) i have never done any theater-ing on my own.   

 

where would you recommend most?   for a surprise visit for her?   I know we can get the grand opera-house experience at Kennedy... but a more intimate setting? 

 

 

If you really want to be a hipster, I would go to Studio.

 

https://www.studiotheatre.org/

 

It's actually doubled in size and been thoroughly remodeled since I've been there. And that part of town is now filled with zillionaires instead of crack dealers. But it's still intimate, hip, and generally excellent.

 

Most of the actors are young and are probably students there. The goal of all of them is to get to Arena Stage - some of them probably already have.

 

I would absolutely see this:

 

https://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/play-detail/2017-2018-translations

 

Now, if you want to go beyond hipster and just take off into the ether of artsyness, go here:

 

https://www.capitalfringe.org/

Edited by Lombardi's_kid_brother
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BatteredFanSyndrome

BatteredFanSyndrome

Posted
Posted
On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 3:41 PM, PleaseBlitz said:

Your friend is Frederick is probably specifically referencing Volt, which is owned by a Top Chef-type celebrity chef* who for whatever reason decided to go to Frederick.

He's from Frederick.  I believe he opened the first Family Meal restaurant in Frederick too.  While obviously the Frederick food scene isn't going to show up on any lists that span the country, there are quite a few great places to get a bite to eat from holes in the wall to fine dining.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcsluggo

mcsluggo

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I think Marion Barry's tenure has been a lot more complex than Robert Mugabe.  Just sayin'.

 

Mugabe didn't start as a completely awful leader... he raised literacy from 60% to 80% in one decade and raised immunization rates from 20-ish% to over 80%, while leading a government of national unity (including across races). 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kosher Ham

Kosher Ham

Posted
Posted

I love going to the Mall. When I say that to anyone from outside of DC... confusion is clearly on their face, or reaction. 

Just walking around down there and realizing how amazing DC is. 

I took my wife to the Mall 2 years ago. Her first time in DC. She made me realize why I miss living in DC. 

Then I come back here and realize...Come on man, traffic, weather... I'll stay in this new South... for now. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
thebluefood

thebluefood

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah when we're talking about tenures of folks like Mugabe and even domestic leaders like Marion Barry, we're talking about some complex and interconnected socio-economic factors that would require a whole different thread altogether. Barry is not at the top of my "most admired political leaders" list but there were a lot of people in high places that wanted to see him and the "Home Rule Experiment" as a whole fail.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PleaseBlitz

PleaseBlitz

Posted
Posted (edited)
22 minutes ago, mcsluggo said:

 

Mugabe didn't start as a completely awful leader... he raised literacy from 60% to 80% in one decade and raised immunization rates from 20-ish% to over 80%, while leading a government of national unity (including across races). 

 

You could point to any tyrant in history and note some positive accomplishments.  Mussolini made the trains run on time and all that (which is actually a myth).  Hitler oversaw an incredible transformation of the German economy during the Great Depression.  That doesn't make them not awful.  

 

Marion Barry, on the other hand, had significant personal failings and didn't follow a lot of the rules, but for the most part did things to benefit the citizens of DC, even if they were unpopular with people from outside of DC.  He has also never, to my knowledge, been accused of human rights abuses or crimes against humanity.  

Edited by PleaseBlitz
Link to comment
Share on other sites
PleaseBlitz

PleaseBlitz

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, Kosher Ham said:

I love going to the Mall. When I say that to anyone from outside of DC... confusion is clearly on their face, or reaction. 

Just walking around down there and realizing how amazing DC is. 

I took my wife to the Mall 2 years ago. Her first time in DC. She made me realize why I miss living in DC. 

Then I come back here and realize...Come on man, traffic, weather... I'll stay in this new South... for now. 

 

When people come to visit DC and ask me what they should do (including one of our intrepid mods), I tell them to start at the Lincoln Memorial and walk east.  See the Vietnam Memorial, WWII, White House, Washington Monument, all of the Smithsonian buildings (if you have time, stop in American History) and finally the Capitol.  Depending on when you start, you should be starving at this point.  It's then a short walk to Good Stuff Eatery for burgers.  

 

When it's nice I leave work and head down to the Mall for a jog.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcsluggo

mcsluggo

Posted
Posted (edited)
26 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

You could point to any tyrant in history and note some positive accomplishments.  Mussolini made the trains run on time and all that (which is actually a myth).  Hitler oversaw an incredible transformation of the German economy during the Great Depression.  That doesn't make them not awful.  

 

Marion Barry, on the other hand, had significant personal failings and didn't follow a lot of the rules, but for the most part did things to benefit the citizens of DC, even if they were unpopular with people from outside of DC.  He has also never, to my knowledge, been accused of human rights abuses or crimes against humanity.  

 

agreed, agreed, and agreed (my point in bringing up Mugabe's meager accomplishments wasn't to laud him with acclaim.. but to point out that even the very worst leaders have SOME accomplishments, and that all of these corrupt leaders tend to be better early on, before the power FULLY corrupts)

 

 ... but the MAIN difference between the situation facing Barry and Mugabe was the oversight that Barry was subjected to, but was absent or ineffective for Mugabe.   The trajectory that Barry took gave every indication that he was willing to skip right along the Mugabe path, if no-one was there to stop him.   

 

(and ... this is what gives us all hope in the era of Donald ****ing Trump)    

Edited by mcsluggo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
China

China

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

When people come to visit DC and ask me what they should do (including one of our intrepid mods), I tell them to start at the Lincoln Memorial and walk east.  See the Vietnam Memorial, WWII, White House, Washington Monument, all of the Smithsonian buildings (if you have time, stop in American History) and finally the Capitol.  Depending on when you start, you should be starving at this point.  It's then a short walk to Good Stuff Eatery for burgers.  

 

 

You don't send them to the Tune Inn?  :ols:

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
thebluefood

thebluefood

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Something I used to do a lot when I lived in North Carolina and got homesick was learn about the various neighborhoods in the city. This one always fascinated me especially:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampoodle,_Washington,_D.C.

 

"Swampoodle" - such a strange name.

 

D.C. first National League team played there (like most D.C. baseball teams, they were awful) but what fascinated me most was that it was a largely Irish neighborhood during and immediately after the potato famine. You always hear about the Irish neighborhoods in NYC, Boston, Chicago and Philly but never in D.C. Washington's been an enclave for immigrants but you don't hear that as much as you do about other cities on the East Coast or the Midwest. 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...