06.04 - L is for the way...
what’s going on in d.c.
A combo of summer weather and waning COVID restrictions/cases means there is a lot going on this weekend. Here are some ideas, broken out by location:
NW: Trivia at Dupont Circle’s Dumbarton House tonight at 7 p.m. Or, celebrate pride at the Kennedy Center this weekend with events throughout the weekend as part of The Wig Party: A Capitol Drag Festival. Also in honor of pride month, check out a new rainbow lawn mural at the National Building Museum (created by the same artist of the iconic Blagden Alley “LOVE” mural).
NE: A free walking tour of H St NE, focused on the area’s gentrification, at 10 AM Saturday. Union Market’s La Cosecha is hosting an In The Heights themed weekend of events to promote the upcoming movie.
SE: The Yards is hosting a garden party (promised to be grammable chic) throughout the weekend featuring food from Navy Yard restaurants. Tickets are $25 and include two drinks.
City-wide: It’s the 125th birthday of the D.C. Public Library, so each branch is giving away some celebratory merch and most locations are offering special programming as well.
Alexandria: It’s the Taste of Del Ray this weekend - an annual event that’s been modified a bit due to COVID. Head to the area to purchase $5 tastes from neighborhood restaurants, then vote on your favorite noshes.
Suburban Maryland: Weber’s Cider Mill Farm in Parkville is hosting its annual strawberry festival this weekend, with music, animals, and strawberry picking.
let’s talk food and drinks
my weekly best bite: Labneh & Flatbread at 14th Street’s Gypsy Kitchen
A sizable new microbrewery, City-State Brewing Co., opens in Brookland today with seven D.C. themed beers and a mix of arcade games.
looking ahead: The former Dean & DeLuca space in Georgetown may become the next offshoot of Le Diplomate/St. Anslem owner Stephen Starr’s restaurant group. In a meeting last week with the neighborhood’s ANC, Starr described his plan to turn the venue into a “mega Italian concept” with a well-known chef. Per the ANC commissioner, the neighborhood is “united in delight” with the plan.
what’s on our minds?
If you’ve been looking at real estate in the area over the past year, this likely won’t surprise you, but the market is insane right now. In a story emblematic of the sellers market, a home in Chevy Chase, MD recently sold for over $1M above its asking price. There’s a combo of reasons - high demand for houses (especially among the highest-income Americans who, generally, saw their wealth rise significantly during the pandemic), shortage of homes for sale (as well as rising housing construction prices), and low interest rates. D.C. isn’t alone amid the crunch - Bay Area homes are selling for $1M over asking, and “small town” America listings are increasingly competitive.
In a doozy of a nightlife story, Dupont’s Eighteenth Street Lounge, which closed last summer, is threatening to sue a group planning to open “The Lounge” within the same space. Per the Eighteenth Street Lounge group, the new operators are attempting to profit off of Eighteenth Street Lounge’s reputation (and designed quite a similar logo). More here.
Will streateries survive past their pandemic pilots? Washington City Paper dug into the issue.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
The ugly truth behind your fancy rewards credit card - per Vox, “America’s poor foot much of the bill for credit card points, miles, and cash back.”
Heat Listed - per The Verge, “Chicago’s predictive policing program told a man he would be involved with a shooting. But it couldn’t determine which side of the gun he would be on. Instead, it made him the victim of a violent crime — twice.”
The Plot to Kill the Olympics - per Outside, “When Konstantin Grigorishin—über-wealthy Ukrainian businessman, aspiring philosopher, former pal of Russian oligarchs—introduced the upstart International Swimming League in 2019, he made the first move in an ambitious plan that could blow up Olympic sports and usher in a new era of athlete fairness. He also commenced a game of chicken with some of the world’s most powerful and dangerous men, including Vladimir Putin. And he just might win.”
what are we watching/reading?
Mare of Easttown on HBO Max. This Kate Winslet and Evan Peters mystery/drama miniseries is so good and twisty, that, as someone halfway through the show, I’m reluctant to click on any link about it in fear of accidentally spoiling the ending. Winslet stars as a detective (named Mare - she’s not the mayor…common mistake, right?) in small town Pennsylvania investigating a series of murders as her own life unravels. If you, like me, missed this show as it as aired weekly over the past month (but then couldn’t stop hearing about it!), you can now binge straight through the series.
Changing the Game on Hulu. This documentary features transgender athletes’ struggles (navigating discriminatory rules and laws, bullying, and heavy media attention), as well as their joys and triumphs in playing and competing in the sports they love. Well worth the watch, especially as Pride Month kicks off.
MIDC will be off next week, so look out for us in your inbox again on June 18