04.09 - my virginia bluebell
what’s going on in d.c.
If the cherry blossoms are inspiring your inner flower lover, Blue Run Regional Park in Centreville (about a 45 min weekend drive from D.C.) has you covered with a 1.5-mile loop of freshly bloomed bluebells.
The National Building Museum reopens today after closing for nearly a year and a half (a planned renovation ran into COVID closures). The museum features three new exhibits, including one honoring victims of gun violence.
Georgetown’s GLOW is back with five public art sites that are especially vivid in the evenings.
looking really ahead: Boardwalk Bar & Arcade, a new concept by the Takoda and Cortez owners, is opening later this year at The Wharf (and promising lots of arcade games and cotton candy drinks)
let’s talk food and drinks
my weekly best bite: Mintwood Place’s Eggs Florentine
The weather has been exceptionally cooperative for patio dining. Looking for a new spot? Here are 20 options courtesy of Eater DC. My personal favs from the list - Bloomingdale’s Big Bear Cafe, Dupont’s Iron Gate, H St. NE’s Maketto, and CityCenter’s Centrolina. Another great outdoor spot that reopens this week -Victura Park at the Kennedy Center. Or, step up your game and rent a fun and Instagrammable cabana at one of these spots.
Sunday kicks of Thai Restaurant Week across the DMV with 50+ participating restaurants in the area offering special menus to celebrate Songkran (Thai New Year).
what’s on our minds?
D.C.’s moved up vaccine eligibility for 16+ twice in the past week, with April 12 now the date for mass eligibility. If you fall into that category and haven’t received a vaccine a different way, D.C. is encouraging residents to pre-register and book appointments through their site. Other helpful sources - GetMyVaccine, a site that aggregates available pharmacy appointments (although pharmacies have been told to move their scheduling to D.C’s centralized site), Washington Post’s Julie Zauzmer’s Twitter, as she’s shared an incredible amount of helpful information, and Barred in DC’s Twitter, a formerly restaurant-centric page that has shifted to sharing a slew of D.C.-specific vaccine intel. Also worth keeping an eye on if you’re scheduled for a Johnson and Johnson vaccine next week - the supply to states/D.C. is dropping to 700k from 4.9 million this week, perhaps due to production issues at a Baltimore facility.
Snoop on Kamala Harris’ former West End digs. The property hit the market for $2M earlier this week.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
Inside the Awful World of Young Landlords on TikTok - per The Daily Beast, “Want financial advice for how to prey on your neighbors or friends and live a cushy lifestyle? These influencers have you covered.”
Bill Hwang Had $20 Billion, Then Lost It All in Two Days - per Bloomberg Businessweek, “The fast rise and even faster fall of a trader who bet big with borrowed money.”
The Broken Front Line- per ProPublica, “As the winter’s surge of coronavirus cases overwhelmed Los Angeles hospitals, EMTs like Michael Diaz were forced to take previously unthinkable measures. What lasting impact will the pandemic have on America’s first responders?”
what are we watching/reading?
Basic Versus Baller: Travel at any Cost on Hulu. If post-COVID travel dreams are hitting hard, this 2018 show might do the trick. The premise is kind of clever - two brothers visit a city and one takes the luxury path while the other seeks on inexpensive hidden gems. Tbh, I found the brothers to be kind of boring hosts, but the show still satisfied some wanderlust (and has me pining for a trip to the French Rivera)
Two true crime series on Netflix - This Is a Robbery, a documentary that covers the still unsolved mystery of $500M of stolen art from a 1990 Boston heist (channeling some Ocean’s 11 vibes here) and The Serpent, a drama about a serial killer con man who traveled across Thailand killing tourists along the “Hippie Trail.”