H Street Festival

I have no idea if there really was 100,000 in attendance at the H Street Festival this year, but I've got to say, it was crowded even on a less than sunny day. Who knows how many more would have turned out if the weather had been 80 degrees and sunny. But the ten blocks were full, vendors were plentiful, good food, great restaurants, great music. Justin Trawick was a great folksy find. It's really a fantastic neighborhood. I was glad I could buy some local neighborhood art courtesy of Cherry Blossom Creative. It was about time H Street made the neighborhood maps, alongside the Noma print I also purchased.

I am already looking forward to next year's neighborhood fest.

H Street Festival

Oh, how I wish my hometown could have street festivals like this one. I can't wait for the H Street Festival. Hopefully, the weather is good.

Block Party Time

For the second year in a row, we had nice weather for block party 2013. I mean, the pictures tell all, but it was a great day of neighborhood pride, fun, friends, meeting new people, eating, food, competition, drinking, matching t-shirts, and revelry. It reminds me of those days in Detroit, where you knew everyone family on the block. Where kids could ride their bikes in the streets, blow bubbles and get their faces painted and play cornhole and meet who lives next door to them. It's a different time, now, but I hope those children will always have fond memories of days like Saturday where a little piece of 1985 or 1965 still existed. So much fun. And I felt like I could pay it back by finally working on my flowers and tree box just a little yesterday. It's been exhausting to find time to do all of this! So busy lately, right?

Local Flavor

The Post Style section featured a neat profile of Brian Weitz from Animal Collective on his life in the H Street corridor (he lived three blocks from us!). I thought it was interesting that he kept his Hill job while he was starting with the band. You have to pay the bills somehow, right? I also thought it was interesting how rarely he was recognized in DC. Perhaps I've seen him on H Street or Eastern Market, right? I guess this is another indication we're up for the hipsters.

And this is a neat anecdote:

But most interactions have been harmless, even sweet. Weitz remembers the shock of his first encounter with an excited fan. He was buying bagels in Brooklyn when the clerk blurted out a question about Animal Collective’s next gig.
Years later, Weitz was at a Williamsburg bar where Chris Taylor, bassist for the band Grizzly Bear, approached him: “ ‘I don’t know if you remember me, man, but I was working at this bagel place . . .’ ”

And this:

He didn’t always love it. After a Philadelphia childhood (he’s loyal to the Flyers), a Baltimore adolescence and his studies in New York, Weitz says he’s struggled to find his footing in the transience of Washington.
“I just decided if I’m going to be here, I should stop complaining about it and engage,” Weitz says. So he bought a house and signed on as investor in Toki Underground, the ramen shop on H Street NE.
“He’s just very polite, quiet and to himself,” says Erik Bruner-Yang, chef and owner of Toki. “But when he does say something, you should pay attention. . . . He understands the balance between doing what you love and trying to be able to make a living.”

Weekend Part II: H Street Festival

Wow. That's all I can say. If estimates of 65,000-70,000 are to be believed, and I do, that was one hell of a street party. We blow Adams Morgan Day away, absolutely. I've never seen crowds like that, and it was nearly impossible to move down the street. The sun was hot and we all got some color, so staying out for more than a couple of hours wasn't feasible when you could not move around much and the lines were so long. Next week, I think they need to extend it down to 6th or 7th, at least, to give folks some breathing room.  And I have no doubt they could fill that street space.

All of the credit goes to the organizers, to the fantastic music--I was impressed by the Michelle Raymond Band, to the food, to the new restaurant previews like Newsom,  to the entertainment, to the vendors and stands representing everything from the fabulous Union Market to information about the trolley.  It was utterly amazing.

If the worst criticism is that it was too crowded, well, that says a lot. Til next year!

H Street History

I love the idea of this historical walking tour through my neighborhood of H Street. The history of the 600 block of H, near the old Safeway and where the riots waged, near the historical black churches and the old barbershops, near the old Ourisman Chevrolet, is particularly fascinating.With Union Market reopening, the neighborhood grows even more fascinating by the day.

Top Ten from the Weekend

1. Breakfast cookies.
2. Terrible service at Tru Orleans, though great food all around, particularly at the Atlas Room and the Argonaut. H Street classics. OMG that beef two ways was amongst the best of what I've eaten this year.  And the lamb ragout and desserts...
3. Making like six pots of coffee. And brunch at home!
4.  A fun game of Loaded Questions. Ridiculous.
5. Long walks and aching backs because we are getting old.
6. Spies and museums.
7.  Lots of lesbian talk.
8.  Our very high, hopefully, yelp rating.
9. Hanging out around the island and just talking.
10.  A weekend with good friends in DC. Gosh I already miss those guys.

Three Reviews

On Friday night, we finally made it to the Big Board. Very, very tasty.  Granted, I cannot eat red meat like I used to, but occasionally a juicy burger is called for. We received ample amounts of fries, old bay seasons, and super good garlicy, parmesan coated sweet potato fries. We shared the "Le Burg-aire au Poivre Seared with cracked black pepper, topped with Great Hill blue cheese & a cognac cream sauce" and the "Memphis Blues Topped with Colby-Jack cheese, house BBQ sauce & crispy "tobacco" onions."  Both were great, and we'll be back.

Sunday, I brunched at Granville Moore's, where I haven't dined in quite a while. Also good.  I had a very garlicy mushroom omlette with home fries. And two cocktails, including a peach bellini and the house mimosa, which had all sorts of alcoholy goodness in it.

And finally, we watched Pearl Jam 20 on Saturday evening. I sort of knew some of the history of the band, including the back story of Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog.  It was striking at how quickly the group synthesized, how naturally Eddie Vedder just blended in and how great their early songs were (Alive in 1990, just weeks after they officially hooked up).  It was remarkable that even though they had a good time performing, they avoided that awful drug scene that ended MLB.  I don't think Cameron Crowe interjected himself too much at all, and I found the anecdote about how Pearl Jam just totally phoned it in and drank themselves to oblivion during the Singles party pretty funny.  Pearl Jam became so big so fast, and lived long on after the tragedy and rivalry of Nirvana.  Terrific flick. Oh, and favorite piece of trivia was that first album "Ten" was after Mookie Blaylock's number, the NBA player that the band was initially named after.

Oh yes, the rest of the week was spent watching football.

Weekend

It was a dull one. The husband worked most of it, and the highlight was seeing Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey at the Red Palace.  It was about time we saw a bizarrely ridiculous burlesque type show at the Club with Danielle and crew. It was absurd but I think we needed to get out like that.

I did miss Joey's big birthday party and Mother's Day. Makes me sad to think about it :-(

New Furniture

After a fun Saturday night at Cava, we got furniture today! The Axis sofa at Crate and the Steamer. Yes, it was a bit extravagant, but we splurged. We don't splurge often. It will be delivered in August and then we need a new tv, a rug, a coffee table, and a dining room table. Not to mention accessories. But yes, we needed it. We needed furniture for our 30s, not our early 20s. Like we have now. Like this ugly green sofa.

In sadder news, the Argonaut had a horrible fire this morning. We saw fire trucks enroute to the gym, and apparently, this was it. I hope it can reopen soon and DCRA doesn't put it through too much red tape. A great place.