TWO WEEKS AGO, after 29 uninterrupted years in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, I finally moved within the D.C. limits.

In an attempt to fully explore my new urban existence, I decided to chronicle a typical late spring Friday night along the 18th Street corridor in my new neighborhood, Adams Morgan.

I knew I was in for challenging sidewalk navigation, rampant bralessness and lots of discarded pizza. I thought I might witness a drunken scuffle, some particularly egregious sexual harassment and a sobbing girl or two.

But I underestimated Adams Morgan.

Suffice it to say, the bodily fluids I had feared I would encounter turned out to be a lot less menacing than the one that I did.

(And even though 12 a.m. is technically Saturday, not Friday — please, just roll with it, people.)

Continue Reading "A.M. in the A.M.: A Friday Night in Adams Morgan" »

IF YOU HAVE the kids this weekend, try the National Zoo's Weekend Family Festival in celebration of International Migratory Bird Day. You will learn about birds and how they ... you know ... migrate. Or something. They're pretty!

In the meantime, you (and the kiddies) will learn about global warming, bird banding, and how to help migratory birds.

» National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW; Sat. and Sun., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., free; 202.633.4800. (Woodley Park)

Photo by Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian's National Zoo

LOVESOME THING jazz trio plays at Tryst every Wednesday. Bring a friend (or a laptop) for a mellow night at Adams Morgan's coziest cafe, where the couches are soft and the drinks are $9. Tryst is full of people tapping away on their laptops, falling deeper and deeper into the recesses of the myriad couches and ordering chai milkshakes, while Lovesome Thing plays their slightly funky jazz.

» Tryst, 2459 18th St. NW; Weds., 8 p.m., free; 202-232-5500. (Woodley Park)

MOST HAPPY HOURS are already zoos, you say? The Smithsonian National Zoo's Great Ape House presents "Grapes With the Apes" on Thursday at 6 p.m. Join FONZ Young Professionals in tasting and learning about local wines from Virginia and Maryland wineries.

Area restaurants will provide the hors d'oeuvres and jazz/blues band Ready, Set, Go! will provide the live entertainment. All this -- plus a commemorative glass -- for $55. (FONZ members have to pay only $40.) Proceeds will benefit the zoo's conservation efforts.

» Smithsonian's National Zoological Park, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW; 800-551-7328. (Woodley Park-Zoo)

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.

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]

IF THE KIDS ARE STILL home on a poorly timed spring break, today might be a good day to take them to the National Zoo.

The Zoo is hosting its annual African American Family Celebration day, with attractions and activities that include storytelling, arts and crafts, dance troupes, an Easter egg hunt and, of course, the ability to ogle giraffes, zebras, elephants and the like.

Admission is free, and the festivities last until 4 p.m.

» African American Family Celebration [National Zoo]

IT'S A SIGN OF THE TIMES. As global food prices continue the rise and U.S. consumers worry about inflation, the price of one reliably low-cost snack has increased locally.

According to signs posted at local chain Julia's Empanadas, as of Monday, the price of the meat- and vegetable-filled pastries jumped by 23 cents, the first such increase in three years. So get ready to dig out some extra change for a saltenas empanada with chicken, potato, green peas, hard-boiled egg, green olives and onion, or a Chilean-style beef empanada with raisins, hard-boiled egg, onion and olives.

Perhaps such a price bump was inevitable as the nation frets about the state of the economy. As MSNBC reported late last month, the price of cheap eats — from pizza to bagels to even the famous "Recession Special" at Gray's Papaya in New York City — has been increasing.

And now, too, the simple empanada. Still, the stuffed pastry remains one of the cheapest options out there.

» 2452 18th St NW, 202-328-6232 (Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan)
» 1221 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-861-8828 (Dupont Circle)
» 1000 Vermont Ave, NW, 202-789-1878 (McPherson Square)

Photo by Michael Grass for Express

THE VENERABLE VENDING MACHINE has come a long way from its days as a dispenser of caffeinated beverages and sugary snacks to D.C's office workers. First, there was the arrival of high-tech machines at Dulles International Airport that allowed flight-boarding commuters and travelers to purchase Apple iPods and accessories with the swipe of a credit card. Now, Alexandria-based LHD Vending Systems has its eyes set on a new and unusual, product: freshly grilled hot dogs.

The company's machines have been popping up at locations around the nation's capital. As of last week, there were three on Capitol Hill — including in the Cannon and Longworth office buildings — and two at the National Zoo. And they've been attracting plenty of consumer interest, and subsequent quarters, since their arrival last fall.

"They've been hugely popular," said Andrew Shoaff, LHD's vice president of sales and marketing. "This city has never seen a vending machine that produces a fresh, hot meal before."

The Washington-Baltimore area was the third-largest consumer of hot dogs in the United States last year, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. "Hot dogs are local," Shoaff said, which means that while New Yorkers favor Sabrett, residents here are more into Oscar Meyer and Nathan's. His company's machines offer three options: a Hillshire Farms Cheddarwurst, a Kunzler smoky all-beef and a standard Oscar Meyer. They range in price from $2 to $3.

How does it all work?

Continue Reading "Vending Machine Hot Dogs: Grilled, Ready to Go" »

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" »

REMEMBER THOSE FRISKY FREEZING FLAMINGOS we wrote about on Monday? Well, apparently when we stumbled upon and photographed the flock early Saturday morning, they were most likely involved in a noisy mating ritual.

After seeing our post, Sarah Taylor, a public affairs specialist at the National Zoo, let us know that this is the time of year when the flock starts its courtship display:

They'll puff up their feathers, hold their heads high and slowly strut together (kind of like a chorus line). At some point, they all begin squawking and extending their wings before burying their heads underneath. The behavior serves to synchronize the flock so the birds all come into breeding behavior at the same time, assuring the chicks will hatch when food supply is optimal.

» "Around Town: Rise and Shine With Cold Flamingos" [Free Ride/Express]

Photo by Michael Grass/Express