THE IRISH are famous for their alcohol and their music, so combining the two seems like a solid idea. An Irish Seisiun (click here for a more poetic description) is a traditional Irish jam session open to musicians of any creed, age or experience level. It's all about community and a good time, and Cleveland Park's own Nanny O'Brien's holds them every Monday night.
Someone took a rather dark video of a Nanny's Seisiun and posted it on YouTube. The visuals might be lacking but the sound is cheery and impressive. Show up to play or just to listen, and either way, have a pint of everyone's favorite frothy stout.
» Nanny O'Brien's, 3319 Connecticut Ave. NW; every Monday, 9 p.m., free; 202-686-9189. (Cleveland Park)
Photo courtesy of Richard Lipski
LOVE A GOOD April Fools Day prank? Then feast your eyes on the story of the loof lirpa, an "animal" that "escaped" from the "National Zoo" yesterday.
Reports The Post's Allison Klein:
A careless zookeeper had been distracted while the animal's enclosure was unlocked, and the 350-pound lirpa, which has "gazelle-like horns," hurtled off, according to community activist Bill Adler's posting on the Cleveland Park electronic message board.Not surprisingly, some people fell for it, Klein reports — especially after neighbors forwarded on the missive via e-mail and text message. Although anybody who spelled "loof lirpa" backwards cracked the pranksters' ingenious code.D.C. Police Cmdr. Andy Solberg quickly weighed in, alerting residents that a department helicopter was on the case. In his e-mail to the 6,200 people on the neighborhood e-mail list, Solberg added: "If we are not successful in assisting the Zoo with finding the lirpa today, I have the utmost confidence we will probably get him tomorrow."
Gotta love it when the police get involved in a prank. Wonder if Solberg's afraid of being labeled The Boy Who Cried "Loof"?
» "Day of the Loof Lirpa" [WaPo]
With Van Ness Work, Red Line Delays to Continue
Map It:
Cleveland Park Dupont Circle Friendship Heights Tenleytown
Van Ness
Woodley Park
SORRY, RED LINERS — those weekend delays you've been dealing with aren't quite over yet.
Now that complex platform rehabilitation work at the Metro Center station and switch replacement near the Medical Center station have concluded, a new project will soon be getting started at the Van Ness-UDC station and will take place over four upcoming weekends.
Van Ness is home to an interlocking switch that allows trains to travel from one track to another. The two nearest switches are located near the Dupont Circle and Friendship Heights stations, meaning that for inbound and outbound trains to proceed through the work zone, they'll have to share a track through the following stations: Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, Van Ness-UDC, Tenleytown-AU and Friendship Heights. That's a pretty long stretch, meaning that there could be delays of 30 minutes.
The work will start Friday at 9 p.m. and wrap up by closing on Sunday — a pattern that will repeat during the weekends of Feb. 29-March 2, March 7-9 and March 14-16.
The service pattern goes as follows:
Continue Reading "With Van Ness Work, Red Line Delays to Continue" »
Out & About: Eating Cheap, Surrounded by Luxury
Map It: Archives-Navy Mem'l Cleveland Park King Street Smithsonian
MAYBE YOU MADE a New Year's resolution to save money. Or perhaps you're less than excited about dropping a couple hundred dollars on one meal. Whatever the reason, your wanting to save a few bucks doesn't mean resigning yourself to frugal dining when you're craving fancy food and service. It's all in the strategy.
START WITH AN END GOAL: Check out menupages.com or restaurant Web sites for prices and come up with a budget for the evening's meal. And be realistic: Set a drink minimum and plan for the cost of drinks and tip.
LEARN WHERE TO GO WHEN: You don't have to wait for Restaurant Week to score a deal. Head to Restaurant Eve (see map, No. 1) for the weekday Lickety Split lunch, meaning you can taste Cathal Armstrong's cuisine for less than $20. Plan on Sunday dinner at The Majestic (see map, No. 2) — $78 for a family-style dinner for four. Ask for the upstairs menu in the lounge at The Source (see map, No. 3). If you're dying to try lacquered Chinese duckling or anything else on the fancy menu, the entire thing is available in the downstairs casual environs. Sit at the bar of CityZen (pictured above; see map, No. 4), where a three-course tasting menu at one of the top restaurants in town is $45. Hit up Dino (see map, No. 5) on Sundays and Mondays, when wines over $50 are 33 percent off. There are deals like this all over the city; it's just a matter of keeping an ear to the ground.
Continue Reading "Out & About: Eating Cheap, Surrounded by Luxury" »
WHAT DOES SORRISO'S wood-burning pizza oven have that others don’t? A carousel inner shelf that, in theory, ensures pizza cooks evenly.
True, it’s not so hard for the pizza maker to turn it himself, but the Lazy Susan cuts down on soggy centers and burnt crusts, particularly during the restaurant’s busiest times.
» Sorriso, 3518 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-537-4800. (Cleveland Park)
A FEAST FEATURING seven types of seafood may seem excessive. Yet in the final days before Christmas, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is exactly what's featured at several area restaurants in celebration of the holiday, Italian-style.
All across the Old Country, eschewing meat before Christmas Day means savoring dishes such as anchovy lasagna in Piedmont, cod ravioli in Parma and fried eel in Naples.
Though eel and anchovy may not be centerpieces on local holiday menus, D.C. chefs offer opportunities to embrace tradition for the faithful and the excuse for non-Catholics to indulge in the day's catch.
All month long, chef Enzo Fabbraro at D'Acqua is preparing dishes from his Italian childhood, an eight-course tasting menu — seven fish dishes and a dessert — for $75, including ostrica al tartufo (pan- fried oysters and black truffles with a prosecco-flavored sauvignon), strozzapreti (seafood ragout in a lobster-cream reduction) and black-fin tuna salad with cannallini bean and red onion.
Continue Reading "Eating Around: Fishing for Christmas Cheer" »
RUSH HOUR DRIVERS HEADING through Woodley Park and Cleveland Park should find crossing the Connecticut Avenue bridge over Klingle Valley to be clear sailing.
Major reconstruction work has been completed on the bridge, meaning that the awkward lane shifts at Devonshire Place and Macomb Street have ended. But some minor work on sidewalks will continue into the spring and that might lead to lane closures during off-peak hours.
Part of the remaining task will involve the return of some historic trolley poles to the bridge's railing, reminders of a time when streetcars used the bridge to connect Upper Northwest with downtown. According to D.C. Department of Transportation spokesman Erik Linden, those poles are scheduled to be in place by April, when the entire $9 million project is expected to wrap up. By that point, all the lead paint will have been removed from the bridge and its Art Deco lanterns will be fully restored.
» EARLIER: "A Temporary Removal" [Free Ride/Express]
JUST AS ADAMS MORGAN RESIDENTS are voicing their worries about crime and venting their anger over unwarranted parking tickets on neighborhood online message boards, those living in nearby Cleveland Park are furiously dishing out smaller quality-of-life issues on that neighborhood's community forum.
That's nothing new for Cleveland Park, whose message board is known to swim freely in neighborly advice — like how to avoid West Nile virus — and countless referrals for services ranging from nannies to gardeners to plumbers.
But here's a new one — home elevator repair.
Continue Reading "Wanted in Cleveland Park: Home Elevator Repair" »
LOVE IT OR HATE IT, the patio at Lauriol Plaza in Dupont Circle come spring and summer is usually one of the hottest tickets in town. But it's not just a place to see and be seen. For smokers, it's a place to light up.
And as D.C.'s temperatures plummet, many restaurants are rolling out heat lamps and radiant heaters to keep outdoor patios open — and smokers happy.
Mayi Castillo, the manager at Lauriol Plaza, said that the weather dictates whether her establishment will be serving outside. But the restaurant always keeps a couple heaters on by the main entrance. "Smokers tend to appreciate them," she said.
This time of year, smokers are finding refuge at heat lamps across the city, including the patrons of Wonderland Ballroom in Columbia Heights, pictured above. And with the D.C. smoking ban going into its second year, those devices are increasingly more common features on the city's restaurant and bar landscape.
At Marvin at 14th and U streets NW, the roof deck, pictured at right, will be kept open year-round, even on "really cold nights," said Sheldon Scott, the restaurant's manager. The restaurant has installed both propane heat lamps, as well as infrared radiant heaters under its outdoor canopy. Sarah Rosner, a bartender who was dressed in a hat and sweater, acknowledged that it does sometimes get chilly working outside, but said patrons tend to appreciate the option. "A lot of people come here because they can smoke," she said.
Continue Reading "Outdoor Heat Lamps Give Smokers Winter Refuge" »
IN ORDER TO SHOW OFF its vast collection of bottles, Dino has begun to host Wine Wednesdays. Chef Stephan Boillon designs an antipasto trio to accompany three specially selected wines for a reasonable $25 per person.
On Dec. 19, Boillon will be deep-frying up three traditional Italian snacks for a Fritti & Red Wine event. Restaurant owner Dean Gold, pictured here, wants to show that fried food isn't just for beer anymore. He will select three robust Italian reds with low tannins and high acidity to cut through the rich flavor of fried food and refresh the palate.
» Dino, 3435 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-686-2966. (Cleveland Park)
Written by Express contributor Suemedha Sood
Addison Road