05.21 - d.c. is back, baby?
what’s going on in d.c.
Today is Bike to Work Day, with pit stops across the region for bikers to connect and grab a free t-shirt. If you’re still working remotely, the event urges “virtual commuters” to bike to a nearby pit stop and then head back home.
There’s a giant new outdoor art installation in Alexandria’s Waterfront visualizing the topography of the Potomac River.
looking ahead: some good news from the Marine Corps Marathon for runners- the race, the largest in the region, will take place in-person this fall
let’s talk food and drinks
my weekly best bite: Mantoo shrimp dumplings from Adams Morgan’s Lapis (yes this is a repeat, but they are just too good)
As a reminder, today is the first day that restaurants can operate at full capacity, with social distancing requirements and early closing times also lifted. Be nice out there though - the timing for the change in requirements hit the restaurant community unexpectedly and some restaurants are choosing to more gradually return to “normalcy.” The twitter account Barred in DC is also been tracking restaurants and bars’ plans.
Seafood restaurant Truluck’s, pending opening for a while now, will serve its first meals in its Mt. Vernon location this weekend. The restaurant, which deems crab as its specialty dish, has 11 other well-reviewed locations around the country.
Looking for some boba tea? Here’s a guide (I’m partial to NoMa’s Spot of Tea).
what’s on our minds?
True crime content is all the rage in recent years, with content in the genre spiking across podcasts (My Favorite Murders), Netflix (The Staircase, The Serpent, Sons of Sam), and books. There is a danger though when true crime aficionados switch from enjoying the content to jumping in to “solve” crimes in real time. Last week, members of the Citizen app - an vigilante-inspired app that asks users to report on crime in their area - honed in on a man as a California arson suspect, widely distributing his photo and information. Citizen jumped in, offering a $30k reward for information leading to his arrest. Except - turns out, they had the wrong guy.
In a story that’s been simmering for a bit, the problematic D.C. crime lab is soon to be without a director. Backing up, last month, the D.C. crime lab, tasked with handling the city’s forensic analysis independently from the federal government and prosecutors, lost its accreditation after a national investigation found the lab deliberately concealed information and “engaged in fraudulent behavior.” Now, with the director pushed out, further delays in evidence analysis are expected (but maybe some hope for a much better run and ethical lab?).
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
When No Landlord Will Rent to You, Where Do You Go?- per The New York Times, “How extended-stay hotels and motels became the last housing option for thousands of low-income Americans.”
Selfies, Surgeries And Self-Loathing: Inside The Facetune Epidemic - per Huffington Post, “The massively popular photo-editing app Facetune is driving a generation of young women to extreme and obsessive lengths to look flawless online.”
After the violence in ‘Football City, USA’ - per The Washington Post, “A former NFL player killed seven people, including himself, in South Carolina. Now this football-obsessed town is grappling with the game’s dark side.”
Finders, Keepers- per AFAR, “Deep in southwest Arkansas is a state park that charges visitors $10 to search for gems that can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
what are we watching/reading?
This is not a show I expected to be recommending, but Girls5eva on Peacock is…actually pretty strong and clever? The Tina Fey creation follows an early 2000s girls group that unexpectedly has the change to stage a comeback in present day. If you liked 30 Rock or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, this show has a similar vibe (but fewer problematic elements).