11.19 - cool cats and kittens
what’s going on in d.c.
Smithsonian’s Art + Industries Building reopens this weekend after 15+ years closed. The museum opens its FUTURES exhibit Saturday, commemorating the event with a weekend festival that includes a concert on Saturday night and family day Sunday.
The annual downtown Holiday Market, a harbinger of the season, opens today at its 8th and F St NW location with 70+ vendors. Also marking the season, the National Gallery of Art’s ice rink reopens this weekend.
Local fitness studio Cut Seven is celebrating sweatGIVING with a Union Market rooftop workout on Saturday morning at 10 am. The event is free, but organizers are requesting donations for racial equity-centric nonprofits.
The Washington Spirit play in the NWSL championship game on Saturday at noon - the match will be livestreamed in National Harbor. NoMa’s Wunder Garten, Dupont’s Across the Pond, and Park View’s Midlands are another few of the area spots broadcasting the event.
let’s talk food and drinks
my weekly best bite: mac and cheese at The Smith (a bit of a basic choice, but it’s popular for a reason!)
There’s a new shop in Arlington’s Ballston area with an unusual pairing - sandwiches and flowers. Poppyseed Rye, opening today, features hot and cold sandwiches, as well as local bouquets and gifts.
Plant-based chicken company Daring Foods is partnering with &pizza to offer vegan chicken pizzas at &pizza locations - and free slices at food trucks around the D.C. area this weekend.
Moon Rabbit (Wharf) and Oyster Oyster (Shaw) made the cut for Esquire’s annual list of best new restaurants in the U.S., continuing the accolades for Oyster Oyster in particular (deemed one of D.C.’s best restaurants by WaPo earlier this fall).
what’s on our minds?
The mask mandate ends for D.C. on Monday. There are some caveats (schools, public transit), but other than that, it will be up to businesses to determine if they want to impose restrictions. The decision isn’t without dissenters though - 10/13 members of the City Council wrote an open letter opposing the decision that “would place the District ahead of the science.”
DCist published a photo story of Theodore Roosevelt High School’s homecoming - the pictures documenting some returned normalcy for high schoolers are a fun scroll.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
Vinoda Basnayake Is a Beltway Whisperer for Middle Eastern Royalty—and the Operator of DC’s Sceniest Nightlife Spots - per Washingtonian, “He’s our town’s hookup to all kinds of big-name celebs, but also a super-wired foreign lobbyist. The two lives aren’t as different as you might think.”
Will Real Estate Ever Be Normal Again? - per The New York Times Magazine, “In Austin, Texas, and cities around the country, prices are skyrocketing, forcing regular people to act like speculators. When will it end?”
Who Is Sam Asghari, Britney Spears’s Fiancé? - per The New York Times, “Sam Asghari is working on his own path to fame in a year that has thrust him into the spotlight.” (ed. note - I will read anything Caity Weaver writes. I think she’s one of the funniest and most capable writers out there.)
Singapore’s tech-utopia dream is turning into a surveillance state nightmare per Rest of World, “In the ‘smart nation,’ robot dogs enforce social distancing and an app can claim to neutralize racism. The reality is very different.”
what are we watching/reading?
King Richard in theaters. This biopic traces the upbringing of the Williams’ sisters as they, thanks to the will of their father, defied tremendous odds to become two of today’s most successful tennis stars. The New York Times described the film as “a sports drama that is also an appealing, socially alert story of perseverance and the up-by-the-bootstraps pursuit of excellence.”
Tiger King has probably run its course in American psyche, but if you’re itching for more (or nostalgic about early COVID quarantines), Tiger King 2 is back on Netflix. Be warned though - it’s been dubbed the “least vital docuseries in years” and “a Dull Rehash of a Show That Should’ve Stayed in Quarantine”
Happy early Thanksgiving everyone - we’ll be off next week.