Washington City Paper, Author at Washington City Paper https://washingtoncitypaper.com Fri, 11 Oct 2024 01:55:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://newspack-washingtoncitypaper.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/08/cropped-CP-300x300.png Washington City Paper, Author at Washington City Paper https://washingtoncitypaper.com 32 32 182253182 The People Issue 2024 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/751345/the-people-issue-2024/ Thu, 10 Oct 2024 11:45:00 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=751345 More than a decade ago, City Paper’s photographer had an idea. Pick about 20 cool people, take their photos, interview them, and publish the results. It was a celebration of the folks who make D.C. what it is. They called it the People Issue—a simple name for a simple project. The reporters and editors who […]]]>

More than a decade ago, City Paper’s photographer had an idea. Pick about 20 cool people, take their photos, interview them, and publish the results. It was a celebration of the folks who make D.C. what it is. They called it the People Issue—a simple name for a simple project.

The reporters and editors who worked on the first People Issue have moved on, but our photographer, Darrow Montgomery, has remained. Every year, the next generation of staffers pores over a list of names in search of the same celebration.

The People Issue 2024 is similar to those in years past, but with a twist. We found some cool kids again this year, but we also reinterviewed three people we featured back in the first issue from 2013 to ask them what they’ve been up to. Stan Voudrie grew a beard and moved to Annapolis. Joi-Marie McKenzie got married, had a couple kids, and became an editor in chief. And Juan Coronado moved out from behind the bar and co-founded a couple restaurants and a tequila company of his own.

As for the new people, this year you’ll meet an up-and-coming go-go singer, a teacher with a fascinating story, a pastry chef with big plans, a fearless dramaturg, and D.C.’s (likely) new shadow senator among others.

Take a moment to get acquainted (and re-acquainted) with these folks who are each contributing in their own ways to D.C. Because this place is nothing without its people.

Mitch Ryals

Photos by Darrow Montgomery, shot over three days in September at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Academy. Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Donnie Simpson

The Reluctant Icon

Donnie Simpson Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Donnie Simpson doesn’t want to be an icon. He doesn’t want to be called “legendary.” He’s just Donnie. After listening to that smoky, melodic voice on the local radio stations for nearly five decades and seeing those famous green eyes on shows such as Video Soul in the ’90s, D.C. residents can’t help but revere him as a local hero. He makes us laugh. He makes us think. He makes us dance and reminisce. He is that wise and loyal family member—ever the optimist. Maybe he’ll accept the label of “role model”? —Candace Y.A. Montague

You came to D.C. in 1977 from Detroit and never left. Where did your passion for this city come from?

I found D.C. to be a very, very cool city. In the beginning I was kind of taken aback by D.C. because you would be at some parties and people were like, “What do you do? Who are you?” I felt like people couldn’t speak to you unless they saw your card. They needed to know how important you are. And I hated that. Eventually I found the real people of D.C., and that’s what I loved. I would go down to Ben’s Chili Bowl and sit down there, get on the jukebox, and play music. I’d be down there for four or five hours sometimes just playing music and talking to people. It reminded me of my mom’s record shop. D.C. is a real spiritual connection for me.

Your face is on the wall outside of Ben’s. Only icons go there. Do you consider yourself an icon?

I just consider myself to be Donnie. I mean, labels like that and titles and stuff—people put that on you. And I’m honored. I’ve noticed, like, in the last 10 years or so, people always greet me with something like that. It’s never just Donnie anymore. It’s always extra stuff. It’s kind of weird, but it’s appreciated. I used to never do autographs. Then I would say, I’ll give you mine if you give me yours. It didn’t make sense to me that my picture would be worth more than yours. It’s just weird.

D.C. has seen so many tragedies over the years and you’ve lived through them. Yet when people listen to you on the radio, you always seem to remain so optimistic and manage to make us laugh. How do you stay so upbeat? What makes you angry?

I love this journey. I love people. I always have, no matter what the situation. I always have hope for our future. I never give up on us. I always believe in people, and I think that’s what keeps me upbeat. It’s just who I am. Life always works itself out. It has no choice. It’s like a tennis match. You can lose a point and not lose the game. You can lose the game and not lose the set. You can lose the set, not lose the match. You got to keep playing.

What makes me angry is any violations against children. Oh my God, that’s the thing that just twists me. It just makes me so angry. I sit in front of my TV many nights watching the news in tears. The stuff people do to kids. I can’t stomach that. Also, calling our youth “the lost generation.” No, man, you just aren’t talking to them. A lot of them are not lost at all. They know exactly where they’re going.

Local urban radio is losing listeners to subscription-based streaming services. Why do you think that is, and do you have any advice on how to bring those listeners back to local radio?

I don’t know how you could turn this change around. And like you said, I’ve been in it for a long time. I did local, terrestrial radio for 55 years, but it’s dying. There’s no question about it. You talk to any kid and they don’t listen to the radio at all. They have all the music they want in their pockets, like we all do on our phones. But the only thing that makes it different is the presentation of that music. And that’s where that local DJ comes in. I was taught from the very beginning that we all get the same records. The only difference is how you present it. And so I always wanted to be that presenter. 

The money’s gone. It’s not what it was. That whole advertising-based model is hurting. I remember having this conversation with [the late news anchor] Jim Vance. He was in contract negotiations and he said, “I know I’m going to take a cut. I just don’t know how big it is.” I said, “Jim, it’s gonna be big.” I said, “Mine was 67 percent.” So that’s reality. But I thank God that I am one of the very fortunate ones that made a lot of money doing it. So I can then look at it and say, “Well, I’m not going to do this for this dollar. You can’t have me for that. I know my value and this ain’t it.”

If you could go back to 1977, what would 70-year-old Donnie tell 20-year-old Donnie?

I would say, “You’re not gonna believe this trip, brother.” I know you’re scared coming here. Just put your life in God’s hands. … He has plans for you that are beyond any of your dreams.” That’s what I would say to our youth at this point in life. You don’t get big things from small dreams. You gotta dream big. There will be the next Michael Jordan. There will be the next Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. It may as well be you. Somebody’s gonna do it. Why not you?

Chad Clark

The Experimentalist

Chad Clark Credit: Darrow Montgomery

He’s been embedded in D.C. music for decades, and he’s still here after surviving a life-threatening heart virus, an artificial heart recall, and finally a heart transplant. Now in his 50s, Clark has laurels he could rest on: He mastered albums by Black Eyes, Q and Not U, Mary Timony, and, of course, Fugazi; co-produced the Dismemberment Plan’s critically acclaimed Emergency & I, which turns 25 years old this month; and released adventurous and influential records with his own band Beauty Pill. But despite everything, Clark is still chasing high-stakes artistic experiments. As we speak, he’s hard at work on a new Beauty Pill album and a book of essays. —Taylor Ruckle

There’s a new Beauty Pill album that you’ve been working on. What can you tell us about the status?

I’m really excited about this record. It’s not a nostalgic record—it’s a forward-looking record, I think. I feel like there’s a lot of nostalgia running around for D.C. punk. You know, films and books, and all this stuff documenting and celebrating the history of D.C. punk. But I feel like I’m not very comfortable with nostalgia. I don’t like it, and I definitely wanna make a record that, in our own way, moves forward. This record is a collaboration with Arto Lindsay, who is co-producer, who’s a big hero of mine.

[Beauty Pill singer] Erin [Nelson] is a dancer, and she’s a choreographer, and I think that has affected the way I think about music. … The somatic function of music has become more important to me. Inspiring movement is more important to me now. I don’t know that I would wanna ever make a dance record—a club record—but it’s definitely inspiring working with Erin, let’s just put it that way.

I was hoping to have finished it this summer, but I’m still adding songs. I’m hoping to finish it and mix it this coming month, but there’s no guarantee. There’s never any guarantee with art.

As an engineer, what has it been like to see recording change as much as it has in the years you’ve been active with Beauty Pill?

I think the major events in music technology have been really toward portability. I don’t have to use a studio, and it’s easy. I have a kit of some gear, and I have some microphones, and I can make a record anywhere now. I think that’s affected this record as well; recording when inspiration strikes and not having to make a big ceremony out of it. The vocals from this record are recorded in many different places, and I feel like it’s affected the mood. A lot of it was recorded at this place called MidMountain, which is an art residency in Virginia. It has a particular ballroom that makes your voice sound cool.

[The album] could totally fail, you know? Here’s my thing about the word “experimental”: I don’t like the way people use it. People use the phrase “experimental music” basically to suggest a certain kind of music that is going to be somewhat dissonant and challenging on the ear. But I like the idea that experimentation is any time you don’t know the outcome. You’re trying something out. David Bowie’s Let’s Dance is a collaboration with Nile Rodgers, who’s a genius disco producer, and that was an experiment. It resulted in a massive hit record. I don’t think experimentation necessarily leads to marginalization. 

But yes, there’s definitely more experimentation on this record because we can do it anywhere. I can bang my fist on the table, and that can be a kick drum. I can tap a spoon, and that can be the snare drum. All sounds are possible. All textures are possible.

Beauty Pill are one of the rare acts from the latter era of D.C. punk nostalgia that’s still around under their original name. What do you attribute the longevity to and the band’s continued forward-looking-ness?

It’s like a mission. We actually started with a charter. We wanted to do something that was different from the community that we’re associated with. D.C. punk has a pretty legendary sense of austerity. I appreciate that shit, you know? That economy is very important. But I was like, “What happens if we try to make something that’s lush, that’s feminine? Why do we have to adhere to this principle of austerity?” Some of the best Beauty Pill music is pretty wide-screen. I don’t know if people notice that over time, but I do think that we’ve cultivated an audience that seems to be engaged and care about the details of what we’re doing, and I’m really encouraged by that. The lushness of Beauty Pill music, the level of detail, that’s deliberate. I know that that is not what people associate, necessarily, with the scene that we come from, and I just wanna present a diverse perspective.

J’TA Freeman

The Voice of D.C.

J’TA Freeman Credit: Darrow Montgomery

J’TA Freeman has been singing since she was 8 years old. First, with her grandfather in the choir at Ebenezer United Methodist Church. Then, at 15, with Experience Unlimited when they came to do go-go Sundays. She’s sung on the Big Chair in Anacostia for the go-go anthem “You Can’t Mute Us” and on the MLK Library Rooftop; she’s on CCB’s track “Optimism” and has performed at the Kennedy Center. She’s a homegrown star in the homegrown genre, and she’s not stopping here. —Mitch Ryals

You started singing in a church choir, but how did you get into go-go music?

I started singing church with my grandfather, God rest his soul, Joseph William Freeman. And then at the age of 15, the go-go band Experience Unlimited, they used to do go-go Sundays every fifth Sunday at my church, and so I sang with them. That taught me how to perform. Our choir consists of like four people, including myself. So it was a very intimate feel. They allowed me to be free, do what I wanted to do, and find my flow and my energy and my sound. 

How did you start singing professionally?

That was through Ronald Moten. He wanted me to sing on the song that’s out called “Don’t Mute Us.” That was in 2020. I was a youth mayor at the time, and he told me he wanted me to speak on the intro of the song. My mother took me to the studio, and she walked in there and she said, “Oh no, she’s not talking, she’s singing.” And I said, “No, no, no, it’s not my song, Mommy, please.” And she said, “No, you’re going to sing because you can sing.” So I got on the song, and everyone in the go-go community was just kind of like, “Who is this?” 

I was 18 when I recorded this song, so I was one of the youngest performers in go-go. Still, today, I am the youngest go-go singer.

The youngest go-go singer. That sounds like it comes with a lot of pressure.

Sometimes, yes, because people want you to carry the torch and continue to promote the culture and promote the sound. It is definitely something that I want to do. I love go-go. But when you’re trying to navigate your own sound—for example, I do R&B music as well—it’s very difficult, because a lot of people will essentially say, “OK, well, just don’t forget about go-go.” So I think that’s where I feel the pressure. It’s not necessarily performing or being the youngest. It’s only when people feel that I’m going to abandon go-go.

Tell us about the time Wale called you “the voice of D.C.”

OK, let me set the scene. Boom. We’re at the Roots picnic in Philadelphia. Wale gets off stage. We’re chopping it up, and he says, “Is there anybody that you want to see in particular?” And my friend says, “Gunna!” We hop in a little golf cart and pull up to where Gunna is performing, and he gets off his bus, and we go over there, and I’m just in the back, chillin’, vibin’, taking it all in.

I’m not a fangirl. That isn’t really me. So I just was waiting, and while Wale was chopping it up with him, he says, “Hold on, I have somebody that I want you to meet. This is J’TA. She’s the voice of the city, [the] Mary J. Blige, Keyshia Cole, of D.C. You gotta listen to her.”

And Gunna is like, “Oh for real?” And I said, “Oh yeah, all that and one. Anyway, how are you? My name is J’TA. Big fan. I love your music, and you’re so fly. Keep up the great work. You’ll see me soon.”

It sounds like Wale has taken you under his wing. 

He’s literally become a big brother to me. Just from the guidance and everything. He’s just such an amazing godsend of a man. He’s a literal genius.

The first time I met him, I was at a studio with him in New York City. This was my first time ever going to New York to, like, record music, and of course I had a little bit of jitters, because for me, I grew up on Wale. Definitely in my top three rappers of all time.

And so there was a little bit of anxious energy, like, “OK, J’TA, look cute, don’t mess up, be cool.”

I didn’t know what to expect, but he came in there and he just started singing “Optimistic,” which is my song with CCB. And I was like, “Oh, that’s your song, huh?” And then we literally clicked instantly. He wasn’t like, “I’m a celebrity, I’m high and mighty” or “You need to learn this from me.” It was, “Man, I miss you.” That’s the energy that I felt, like, “You remind me of home, and I miss you because I miss home.” 

Do you have a specific process or routine you follow before you perform?

It consists of a lot of tea. I drink tea. And I will do shots of honey. You take a big teaspoon or, like, a cap from a medicine bottle, you pour honey in it, and you take a shot. There’s also a slight vocal warm-up that I do. My favorite one is when you hum in your lowest octave because that warms up your vocal cords. But as far as going on stage, I don’t have a routine. For me, it’s just making sure that my vocal cords are ready. When I get on stage it’s like home, so I don’t necessarily have a routine for going home.

When you go out in D.C., where are you going?

Oh, man, I’m everywhere. I would say, I definitely tried to hit up some karaoke spots. I used to go to Throw Social a lot. If I go to the club, I’m probably going on U Street—maybe find the vibe. I like Rosebar. If I want to get grown and sexy, I like Saint Yves. I just went to this karaoke at TAP at the MGM. Chef’s kiss. I love it.

I’m a very adventurous person. I’m down to do anything, everything, especially if I haven’t seen it before. Because D.C. has a lot of hidden gems, and I want to find all of them.

What’s next for your career? Where are you headed?

My plan is to become a big R&B star. But I’ll do go-go. Then, as I sell out arenas, I’ll have go-go bands open up for me. 

But a lot of times when I say, “Oh, I want to be an R&B artist,” people think I’m saying I’m abandoning go-go.

No! I can be everything. I can do both. Beyoncé just dropped a country music album. Taylor Swift started off as a country music artist and is now one of the biggest pop artists in the scene. There is no box, especially when it comes to creativity and artistry. So why try to place me in one?

Juan Coronado

The Cool Cat in the Hat

Juan Coronado Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Since he was featured in our first People Issue, Juan Coronado has taken on many roles. He was the “cocktail innovator” for Jose Andres’ Think Food Group when we spoke with him in 2013. Now he’s the co-founder of Mijenta Tequila and Tres Tribus Mezcal under the Altos Planos umbrella. (You may have spotted some of his bottles at your favorite bars.) Coronado is also a co-creator of Colada Shop, RAMMY’s 2024 hottest sandwich shop, and Serenata cocktail bar inside La Cosecha; and he’s a partner at the modern French restaurant Bresca. —Crystal Jones

You’re a man who wears many hats. What drives your passion for these diverse businesses, and how do they connect to your personal journey?

I’m someone who can’t stay still. I have many projects and ideas I want to fulfill one day, with constant research and development. Development is key because not every idea will happen. Executing them requires a team that believes in you and your vision. Staying busy with all these projects is natural for me, like a sequence in my head and soul. Coming from the hospitality industry, I’m used to juggling multiple tasks at once. This is the one area where I can truly multitask. I guess I’m wired that way. 

Coronado, circa 2013 Credit: Darrow Montgomery/file

What was your vision behind Altos Planos Collective, Mijente Tequila, and Tres Tribus Mezcal? How has that vision evolved over time?

My vision was to create a traditional tequila made only with water, yeast, and agave. The maturity of the agave, the water quality, and how you treat it are crucial. Yeast delivers the flavor and aroma, so working with the best yeast is key. I aimed to craft a unique culinary profile in traditional tequila. With Ana Maria Romero, the “goddess of tequila,” we developed our Mijente profile, and it’s been a success! We became the first B Corp tequila company in the world (businesses that pledge to meet certain environmental and social standards and commit to accountability and transparency), and Altos Planos are International Wine & Spirit Competition winners. We’re still No. 1—or number “Juan,” as I like to say.

Colada Shop and Serenata have strong ties to cultures. How important is it to create a space that fosters it?

Culture is like a big dictionary, and we all play a part in it. But, there are languages. Coffee from Cuba is a language, a daiquiri is a language. Those are like vehicles for storytelling and hospitality. From the glassware to the way it’s made, it’s an invitation into our culture.

At Colada Shop, we’re a huge onion where we can peel back layers, keeping people intrigued for weeks. In Cuba, drinking coffee is a social moment with friends or family. It’s a few moments to let go of all the things that are bothering you. It’s a social moment, same with food. It takes you away from your bubble.

With Serenata, we try to offer romanticism into cocktails. If you go to Peru, they love pisco and will go to war for it. If you go to the Dominican Republic, it’s rum. It’s embracing everything into one movement. 

What’s the key to maintaining Michelin Star standards at Barmini, where you’re the “Cocktail Innovator,” and Bresca, where you’re a partner?

Being able to coordinate a Michelin career with new opportunities requires humility. There will always be someone more talented. I celebrate bartenders who make a “wow” cocktail and encourage others to do the same. You have to be humble, keep your head up, celebrate the industry, and appreciate how we can all beautifully coexist.

With Michelin and all those big recognitions, I always say they’re a big responsibility. It’s easy to get them. But how about maintaining them? So you have to rely on a team, and make sure you’re all going in the same direction and keeping the boat afloat. 

What’s the most surprising or unusual drink or dish you’ve ever experimented with?

There’s a cocktail still running at Barmini that was inspired by a long 10-hour flight experience. Back then, meals weren’t always provided, so I was left with only a bag of peanuts and water. The flight drained me, but those were the best peanuts I had in my life. I savored each one. By the time we landed, I already had a cocktail in mind. It incorporates distilled roasted peanuts with sugar cane distillate. Then I made a shrub, and added acidity, earthiness, and sweetness. To me, this cocktail is a moment in history—a mini masterpiece that’s delicious and perfect for enjoying one or three.

If you could invite any three people to share a cocktail made with your tequila, who would they be and why?

The first person I’d invite would be Mohammad Ali. I know he will say no, but I would convince him to have one sip, and it will be an extraordinary match right there. I would love to pick his brain, his attitude, and his moments when getting ready for a fight. Every day we have a fight, and I would love to know his approach.

The second would be Barack Obama. Every time he speaks, it’s like addressing a large group. You may not know exactly what to say, but you have something valuable to share. He speaks from the heart. It’s a great quality, especially as a mentor helping to impact others’ careers.

The most important person I’d love to have a cocktail with is Anna Celeste, my grandmother. She is the original mold of my family. Besides me being her favorite grandson (sorry, cousins, she said it), I admire the way she raised our family. Very motherly but in a very unique way. She would not allow us to fail. She would encourage and celebrate us in such a magical way. I never saw her with a cocktail, but I would raise a glass to her for making us the way we are. 

What drinks would you make for each of them?

I’d make a nonalcoholic cocktail for Mohammad Ali. I’d definitely strike Obama with a martini chased by a nice beer because I know he likes them. And my grandma, something very tropical with sweet flavors that she likes, with a low ABV.

Ankit Jain

The Freshman Senator

Ankit Jain Credit: Darrow Montgomery

When Ankit Jain started putting out feelers about a run for shadow senator, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Former At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman told him he was “crazy” for wanting the job, considering its lack of any formal power and his well-funded opposition in longtime politico Eugene Kinlow. But the voting rights attorney threw his hat in the ring anyway—winning perhaps the biggest upset in the entire June primary—and coming away as the Democratic nominee to replace the retiring Michael D. Brown. So long as he beats some token opposition in the general, Jain is poised to become the first Indian American (and Asian American and Pacific Islander candidate of any kind) to win citywide office in D.C., not to mention the fifth person to ever hold the office since it was created in 1991. —Alex Koma

How do you think you pulled off a primary win?

I think people compared my background and my promises and my platform to my opponent’s background and platform and thought I was the better candidate. And what I mean by that is, I think most voters got their ballot in the mail, and they opened their ballot, and they said, “What is a shadow senator, and who are these people running for it?” And they googled both of our names. We had good, clear policy platforms on our website, and we had a good list of endorsers, and we were very clear on what my background was. My opponent didn’t even put up a website until 25, 30 days before the election, after ballots had gone out to people. And then I think they saw some of the allegations against him. I respect the work he’s done, but he had some troubling allegations that might not make him the best person to be in this position.

Kinlow has a decades-long history in D.C. politics, with deep family ties in Ward 8, whereas this was your first time running for anything. How did that affect the race?

People overestimate the degree to which being involved with establishment politics and having that history makes a difference for the average voter. I mean, 99 percent of people didn’t know who I was, and maybe 97 percent of people didn’t know who he was. So we kind of started from a more equal playing field and people were open to both of us. I think, to the average voter, the fact that he had been around didn’t resonate with them, because they didn’t know what he was doing. And I had support from people who were involved in D.C. politics (Silverman and Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau were among Jain’s endorsers), so it wasn’t like I was coming out of nowhere.

You’ve made tackling housing in the District a big part of your platform, even though the bulk of the shadow senator job is about advocating for statehood. Why?

I’m a renter, and so I deal with higher rent costs, and one of the main issues that people in the city confront is how insanely expensive it is to live here. It feels like half of [Prince George’s] County grew up in Washington, D.C. And from an environmental standpoint, I worked for the Sierra Club for four years, so I know that building more housing in cities—dense, walkable communities—is really important. So it’s important to the city, and it’s important to me personally. And I do think there are ways the federal government stops us from building affordable housing, and that is exactly within the ambit of the shadow senator position to address those issues. The Height Act is the perfect example, because it is a federal law. Obviously statehood is the main goal, but I think another important aspect of being a good shadow senator is being involved in these federal issues, laws that directly impact D.C.

The national election looks like a coin flip. How do you feel about statehood’s chances in 2025?

Kamala [Harris] probably gives us a better chance. She actually lives in D.C. [and attended Howard University], so she has some understanding of what it’s like here. I do think statehood will happen in the near- to medium-term future, and I will work hard with Republicans and in the Congress to try to make it happen. I think it’s more likely to happen if Democrats have full control of government, sure, and Kamala being the nominee helps our odds with that. So if we get full control of government, I am very hopeful that statehood will happen.

What would it mean to your community to win this race? There’s certainly a large South Asian population in Northern Virginia, where you grew up, but less so in D.C. proper.

People told me my name wasn’t going to help me, and I think that that is probably true, and I probably had to do a little bit more work to show people that I was someone who would represent them well, just because of my background. But I think it is especially important for young people to realize that they can do this, too, that they can be anything they want to be in the city. If you’re a young Indian boy or a Latina girl, you don’t have to look like everyone else in the majority population in the city to run for office and get elected. D.C. is Chocolate City, and everyone knows that, but what people don’t talk about as much is that we have a large immigrant population. It’s important for that community to have representation and people who understand that perspective. My parents had to work really hard to get citizenship in this country and get on a pathway to vote. Then when I moved across the border from NoVa to D.C., I lost the voting rights that they worked really hard to get for themselves and for me. Having that background and perspective will be important. 

Isabel Coss

The Pastry Artist

Isabel Coss Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Isabel Coss is riding a rocket right now. Perhaps you read one of the myriad rave reviews for Pascual, a love letter to her hometown of Mexico City, which the pastry chef helms with her husband, chef Matt Conroy. Maybe you saw her in Food & Wine when they named her a Best New Chef of 2023. Or you’ve been lucky enough to snag a reservation at Lutèce and experience her head-spinningly creative desserts. She is collaborating, popping up, and headlining events. Lucky for us, the relentlessly cheerful pastry innovator slowed down for a few minutes to chat about her creative process, must-order dessert, and what’s coming next. —Nevin Martell

What’s your creative process for developing desserts?

I need to be moving. I cannot create while sitting. Ideas come to me in two ways: It’s either something I dream or it’s a piece of art I saw—maybe a sculpture or painting—that I want to re-create. The other elements for me are figuring out what pastry technique I can showcase and a good flavor combination. 

Is there a dessert you’ve been working on for a while that you just can’t seem to nail? 

I would love to re-create a Hilma af Klint painting. I’ve tried to do them on meringues, but it always looks like the Target logo, so I stop.

What’s your favorite piece of kitchen equipment? 

I love an X-ACTO knife because it’s never not sharp. You can cut your labels straight, open boxes nicely, and cut plastic wrap just the right size so you don’t waste any. 

Who else do you think is doing interesting desserts in D.C.?

Susan Bae at Moon Rabbit is doing really fun stuff. You can see she has been building her career for a long time, and it’s so pretty to watch. And I love Rochelle Cooper at the Duck & the Peach. She’s involved in her community and her restaurant, and she’s a mom, but she seems to do it all so effortlessly. I’m sure it’s not effortless, but she does it all in such a nice way and stays on top of it.

Is there one dessert that you will always order if it’s on the menu? 

Rice pudding; arroz con leche. I love the creaminess, the textures, and the combinations of flavors that pastry chefs do. 

You’re incredibly engaged and prolific on social media. What’s your advice for staying healthy and fresh in that space? 

I see social media as a tool that’s fun to use. I don’t try to make money from Instagram, so, once I take that pressure away, I can post whatever I want. It’s just a reflection of what I’m doing. I used to not post a lot, thinking I was trying to build a grid or some aesthetic. But when I look at a lot of past desserts I’ve done, which were so beautiful, I wish I had posted them before, but now it’s too late. So now I post as much as I want.

When Pascual opened, you also announced a sister spot, Volcán, which was going to be a coffee shop serving out of a window on the side of the restaurant. When is that going to open?

Pascual got so busy that the space for the bakery got completely overtaken, so we’re currently trying to find a space within the building to make it a bigger thing, but still a traditional Mexican breakfast place. We’re pushing to make it happen this year.

Do you have plots and plans for what comes after that?

The Popal Group (which owns Pascual, Lapis, Lutèce, and Lapop) is currently working on Maison, a wine and cocktail bar across the street from Lapis in Adams Morgan. It’s under construction now.

Stan Voudrie

The Optimist

Stan Voudrie Credit: Darrow Montgomery

When City Paper last interviewed Stan Voudrie in 2013, the development executive tried to guess what a conversation about his work in Anacostia would look like 10 years in the future. “I’m 42, but you’ll probably be having the same conversation with me at 52, and we’ll have a few buildings up and a few buildings to go,” he said back then. Turns out, he was half right. All this time later, Voudrie’s Four Points, LLC is still building pieces of its massive Reunion Square project alongside Curtis Investment Group. The companies have persevered through legal troubles and political squabbling to open the new home for the D.C. Department of Health on Shannon Place SE. Voudrie, however, left the business for semi-retirement in 2019. He still dabbles in smaller scale development with his new firm, Morningstar Community Development, but he’s no longer at the heart of Anacostia’s evolution as the board chair of its business improvement district and its most prominent builder. He’s moved out to Annapolis, but he has no plans to abandon the District anytime soon. —Alex Koma

How have things changed since City Paper last profiled you? 

I didn’t have a beard.

Stan Voudrie, circa 2013 Credit: Darrow Montgomery/file

True enough. What else? Did things turn out in Anacostia like you’d hoped?

Things happen differently than you might think, but it all worked. Was it Marion [Barry]’s vision? Was it [Adrian] Fenty’s vision, [Vince] Gray’s vision, my vision, Curtis’ vision? Who knows. But if you drive there today, it’s radically changed, absolutely. I remember we opened the Big Chair Cafe, the first “restaurant” opened on MLK [Avenue SE] since the ’50s or ’60s, in 2000. Now there’s a Starbucks there and a Busboys [and Poets].

How has that fit into the broader evolution of the Southeast waterfront?

You don’t realize how long some of this stuff takes, but then it happens, and it’s like, “Oh, wow, this is what the vision was all along.” You see the soccer stadium, the baseball stadium, you could walk or ride your bike, go right across the Frederick Douglass Bridge. You could go right across the South Capitol Street Bridge and come back on the Anacostia Park side, and that’s a totally legit bike or jogging loop or whatever else. We were talking about it at the time and it seemed so far-fetched. We were so incredibly young and naive. But it was all possible.

All that being said, affordable developers are warning that they’re nearing a crisis in D.C. As someone who largely spent their career building affordable housing, how do you see things right now?

I’ve been doing affordable housing since 2001, so I’ve seen it go up and down. But it’s a difficult time to be a real estate developer in Washington, D.C., whether that’s affordable housing, office, or anything else. Downtown is not what it was pre-pandemic, right? Some of that’s just the real estate cycle. Some of it is work from home. The costs of construction are way up, and then you couple that with the District’s budget, because of their funding sources being down and constrained with higher interest rates. It’s just a difficult time to try to be doing real estate development in the District of Columbia. I don’t know that it’s a great time to be doing real estate development anywhere, but in the District of Columbia, in particular.

So are you bullish on D.C.’s future, in general? 

In the long run, I am. I’m an investor and a believer in the District. We’re in a challenging cycle right now. But if you’d asked me in the days after 9/11 whether I was optimistic on the District, it would have been harder. If you’d asked me in the early days of the great financial crisis [in 2007 and 2008] whether I was optimistic, it would have been harder. There’s always challenges, but things are going to continue to evolve for the better.

If we call you up again another 10 years from now, what will we be talking about?

It was easier 10 years ago to see things coming together. Clearly, it was the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative that launched things. The Wharf, Navy Yard, a couple of bridges, St. Elizabeth’s [East]. Build a statue of Tony Williams. Now it’s harder to see. Is there going to be a mass wave of office-to-residential conversions downtown? Is that going to be the impetus? Is it going to be a new football stadium? What is going to be the thing that drives it? It’s hard to see. But generally the graph is going to be heading up and to the right.

Alexi Muhumure

The Educator

Alexi Muhumure Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Alexi Muhumure fled his childhood home in the Democratic Republic of Congo at about age 9 due to war. He and his oldest brother ended up settling in New Jersey, but their parents did not join them. For most of his childhood and adolescence, until about age 14, Muhumure didn’t know if they were alive. During that time, he completed high school, earned a bachelor’s degree, and joined the Peace Corps. He now teaches science to middle schoolers in D.C. —Mitch Ryals

Not only did you grow up half a world away from your parents, you and your siblings didn’t even know if they were alive. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.

It played such a huge role in my development. One of the things I learned is how to be independent. I haven’t lived at home since I graduated high school. I didn’t know what to do after college, so I joined the Peace Corps, and when I got back all my siblings were like, “Come live with us, you don’t have to pay rent.” And I was like, “I want to be my own person. I want to forge my own path.”

Even without your parents, it sounds like you had a good family support system in your siblings. 

Yeah, I’m one of 10 kids. I’m the youngest. I had a lot of help, obviously, and a lot of teachers played such a huge role for me.

I always talk about this specific teacher I met in seventh grade, Mrs. Assini. I told her, “Hey I need help with homework,” and she was like, “Well, you do sports after school, so how about we meet an hour before school starts?” She would make tea for us, and we’d do homework in the mornings, and we did that from seventh through eighth grade.

When I got to high school, she helped me edit my resume for college applications, told me what college classes would be like, and helped me figure out what to do after college. That’s what an independent person does: You have to have the willingness to ask for help when you need it.

I would have loved to have my parents around. I’ve had days when I’ve missed them terribly, especially when I was younger. At the end of day, it’s OK to miss them but you have to figure out how to live life. 

The fact that we had no idea if they were alive or not also played a pretty big part. The question I always ask myself is: Would I have been the same if I knew they were still out there, living in Tanzania?

Is that where you reconnected with them?

No. After I graduated college—I was maybe 24?—I joined the Peace Corps, and I moved back to the continent, and I did my service in Rwanda. And my parents were able to come visit me.

What it was like to reconnect and build a relationship with them?

Well, we found out they were alive in, like, 2009, but at the time we didn’t have the means to go visit and they didn’t have the means to come visit us. It’s been really interesting to reshape that relationship and understand what it is. But when I saw them for the first time, and we were actually able to hug each other, my mother was very, very emotional—so was my father. I got a little emotional, too.

Are you close with them now?

Yeah, very much. Even though we haven’t spent a lot of time in person, we speak on the phone a lot. 

You were teaching in Rwanda as part of your Peace Corps work?

Yes, I taught literature to middle school students, and then for high school, 11th and 12th grades, I taught an English class where I got to design my own curriculum. It was kind of like a class to help them as they transition into college or after high school. So we did things like learning how to build a resume, how to conduct an interview, how to prepare for an interview, and how to write a professional email. 

A lot of it was: This is how you do it in English. It was a really nice class, because they were older kids, and they loved talking about American culture, and I got to kind of exchange cultures with them. Sometimes it would show up in lessons, or they wanted to listen to rap music because they wanted to learn the meaning of the songs that they were listening to.

What rap music would you play for them?

It was music they wanted to listen to, mostly older music like Biggie and Tupac and Nas, that type of stuff. They liked Chris Brown, like early Chris Brown. A lot of the girls loved listening to Beyoncé.

And now you teach middle school science at Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy. Did you choose that subject and those grades?

Yeah, I love middle school students. I think they’re mostly just misunderstood. They just want somebody to complain to, somebody to shout at. As one of my mentors taught me earlier on: Just don’t take it seriously. Don’t let it get to you because they don’t mean it. They’ll say something to you, and then the next day they’ll forget, like, “Why would I say that?” Exactly. A little patience goes a long way with them. 

What kinds of things do they say?

They love to comment on my fashion. One time, I was standing outside my classroom, and one of the eighth graders walks by, and she’s looking at me, like up and down, and she goes, “Mr. Muhumure, did you look in the mirror before you left home?” And I said, “Yeah. Why?” She goes, “And you chose to come to school like that?” And I just said, “Get in the classroom, please, don’t start with me.”

What’s one thing that middle schoolers have taught you?

I see the way they treat each other, and I feel like it’s not the way that we were treating each other as middle schoolers. They have a lot more empathy and love for each other, in my opinion. Not to say they don’t get into arguments and bicker sometimes. But it all, to me, comes from a place of love and genuine care for each other.

Joi-Marie McKenzie

The Editor

Joi-Marie McKenzie Credit: Darrow Montgomery

We last spoke with Joi-Marie McKenzie, the “society blogger,” in the heyday of the Fab Empire, her social and nightlife blog. In the decade-plus since, she has held a number of media jobs, from NBC and ABC to Good Morning America and Essence magazine, with a stint at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism squeezed in between. She’s written two books, gotten married, had a couple kids, and is now the editor in chief of Business Insider’s lifestyle division. She lives just outside New York City and took the train down to catch up. —Mitch Ryals

Thinking back to yourself 11 years ago, did you ever imagine yourself in this job?

You don’t ever quite know. But I found a journal from when I was 8 years old, because I was writing back then, and I listed five goals that I wanted to accomplish, and one of those was being editor in chief.

You found a lot of success with your blog, Fab Empire, but blogs don’t exist in the same way anymore. Do you see influencers as the new bloggers?

I often say, if I started the Fab Empire 10 years later, I would be rich right now. 

I do think we’re still blogging today, like even at Business Insider, that’s one of our strategies: taking what everyone was talking about and presenting it in a way that’s conversational and short. So I still think that blogging plays a huge role in media, but I also think, as you said, you can do it in any sort of medium—whether it’s the Micro podcast, which I subscribe to, or influencers on TikTok taking us through their day, which is something that we did at Fab Empire

It’s so embarrassing now. I hope I’ve made all these videos private, but we would go to parties and put it on YouTube. I’m so proud of my 20-something-year-old self, because I don’t think I would have the gumption to do it now, quite frankly, because I know what being such an online personality can do, how much loss you can experience with that.

The Fab Empire ended when you went off to New York for a job?

It continued for a few years afterward. I did a soft goodbye, because it was a part of my identity. And we almost sold, and then we didn’t. 

Why not? 

Something in my gut told me not to, and I’m glad I didn’t.

You come from a long line of journalists and media folks. You’ve said that your grandmother died while working on a scoop. I have to know: What was the story?

No one has ever asked me that, but that’s real. My grandmother was an entertainment editor, and I always say she was an entertainment editor until the very day that she died. She was covering a festival in Baltimore called For Sisters Only, but she was there, and I heard that’s where she passed. You know, someone found her there. 

Were you close to your grandmother?

Yeah, she would take me to those events. She would take me to tea. She took me to my first concert—Immature, for the record, an amazing R&B group. I do think that’s where I get my outgoing personality. She would just float around the room and be able to make connections and take pictures and get her captions. She was very much a society journalist and did amazing interviews, and she passed all those skills down to us at the kitchen table.

How has working in media changed over the past decade?

I try to lead by example in my newsroom. Gen Z has made that easier. I admire how much they advocate for themselves in the workplace. And as a millennial manager, we come with our own stereotypes. I’m up at 7 a.m. every day thinking about stories. But I will schedule that Slack message at 9 a.m. Or if something’s happening at 6 o’clock at night, I really do want to send it, because boomers raised me, however, I’m going to schedule it to send the next day. I try to respect those boundaries because that’s what I would have wanted; we did not get that. But I can also respect that, too, because the news doesn’t stop at 5:30 p.m.

McKenzie, circa 2013 Credit: Darrow Montgomery/file

During your last People Issue interview, you talked about diversity in nightlife reporting—both who’s covering and who is getting covered. As you’ve ascended to upper management, did you encounter bumps along the way because of who you are?

None that I would be comfortable sharing in print. If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I would have given you an answer. I’m in the position of power, yes, but I’m not the majority of our society. So I would much prefer you to ask that question to a person who holds that power, who can make change in a way that I may not be able to because of who I am. That’s where I am with the question.

Fair enough. What about in your own coverage—how do you ensure diversity? What do those conversations look like?

It’s a newsroom effort, and it starts from the top. We have embedded in our ethos at Business Insider to ensure that we are staffing in a diverse way, and that doesn’t just mean by race. That means by religion or location. How are we authentically talking to the Midwest? How are we authentically talking to the South? 

Also, I lead a lifestyle team, and so naturally, a lot of those journalists skew women. Every quarter, I’m thinking: How can we serve men? How can we serve the nonbinary community? How are we being reflective of that, not just in the stories that we tell, but also in the images we’re selecting? These are everyday conversations, and I think that what it requires is to be intentional about it.

Is there a story you’ve wanted but haven’t been able to get?

Like every entertainment journalist, I want Beyoncé.

What would you ask her?

I feel like it’s for Beyoncé, so it’s what she wants to say, right? I mean, when you’re working with someone at that level, she’s going to give you as much as she wants to give you. I almost wouldn’t even ask her a question. Maybe the question would be the last question that every journalist should ask, which is like, what have I not asked? What do you want to say? Or what should I be asking? 

Do you have advice for the 2013 version of you?

I don’t know if she needs advice. She wouldn’t listen to me anyway. But if she were listening, I would say have fun with it.

What about advice for aspiring arts journalists?

I will say I have been dissuaded at every turn. There was one class in journalism school that was about writing for the arts, and we were all in there. We didn’t win the awards at the end of the school year. We’re always at the bottom of the home page. I often think that because it looks easy to do, it’s overlooked. But I reject that. If you love the arts and you want to report for the arts and you want to help artists ensure that the work that they do is in the annals of history and is remembered and is critiqued, then do that. It’s important news. It brings us together.

LilBro YP

The Rap Philosopher

LilBro YP Credit: Darrow Montgomery

After 10 years in the music business, 26-year-old LilBro YP aims to elevate the D.C. drill music scene. More than just an ode to his beloved neighborhood, Sursum Corda, LilBro sees his music as a way to pass on life lessons through entertainment. A young father with a 5-year-old daughter, he is focused on creating a legacy for his child and is motivated by concern for the District’s youth. With a mixtape set to drop in November, LilBro spoke with City Paper about his musical aspirations, love of classic Black cinema, and his hopes for the District’s future. —Suzie Amanuel

How is D.C. drill similar to or different from drill from other cities?

It’s all the same subject, but everybody has their own lingo and style. Drill music is coming from a specific part of every city. It’s parts of cities [throughout the country] that are going through poverty, and the same stuff is going on in every project in every city in America. They all rap about the same stuff, and it became a genre because they’re all going through the same day-to-day hardships. What I feel like is missing is go-go. That’s really what our heart and soul is, but even without go-go, I feel like we stand out from a lot of other cities. 

As a rapper who writes their own lyrics, how do you feel about law enforcement using rap lyrics in criminal prosecutions?

It’s obviously unfair. I feel like artists just have to find a better way around it, but how? We have to figure out a way because they’re gonna just keep making new laws to prosecute you and use it against you. You gotta work around it, but it’s free speech and that’s crazy.

Looking back on your journey so far, what’s one thing you learned that you didn’t expect when you first started out?

That music is really just a business. You’ll start music because you love it, but then once you get a little traction in it [you] see it’s more business than just loving it. It’s a good lesson.

What do you want your listeners to take away from your music? 

It doesn’t matter where you come from. You can always overcome anything and have fun. I make feel-good music, and you can still feel good expressing your hardships.

In your video for “Guns and Butter,” you show a clip from classic Black movie Baby Boy, with a speech about the importance of building wealth. What spoke to you about that scene? 

A lot of people just live for now or want to be the man now, and they don’t really save for later. You can build wealth for your family or spend for your entertainment—like just teaching about the difference between assets and liabilities. It went over my head as a kid, but watching the movie as an adult, that’s what made it stick to me. I watched a lot of movies like that as a kid. You’ll love it not even knowing what you’re watching, and then, like, as an adult, you’ll re-watch it and it’s like, damn. 

Which ones?

Boyz n the Hood. That was the first time I ever heard the word gentrification, but I didn’t understand it. But then my neighborhood was going through it, and I’m learning about it in school, I’m remembering the movie. It was just a surreal thing, seeing the movie as a kid, and  I’m going through exactly what he was talking about in the movie. Gentrification is really changing neighborhoods. 

How so?

I don’t know. I was born in ’98, and right after Mayor Fenty, D.C. felt like a game of Monopoly. Every year, you just look up and it’s, like, five new buildings. Southwest is probably one of the biggest gentrified areas. Back then, we would be outside or at the Boys and Girls Clubs. It was just everything for kids to do, to not want to worry about what else is going on. The neighborhood was bad but you didn’t even notice what was going on because you were occupied. There was so much stuff to keep the kids’ minds off what they were living in. We didn’t know what we were living in until we were of age. Kids these days are waking up and seeing it.

What happened to the Boys and Girls Club in your neighborhood?

They just re-opened the one in my neighborhood but it’s been 10 years. 

What would you do for the community if you had Jay-Z money?

I keep going back to the Boys and Girls Club because I know this really helped me in that age group. In the environments we grew up in, you were in it, but you didn’t really see it until maybe, like, 15. These little kids are maybe 9 and understanding everything that’s going on. I fuck with the young generation to the fullest, I do, but I don’t know, where are they gonna go? You got to start with them now and change the mindset, because they’re the ones who are going to be 15 and 20 within the next 10 years.

Ambrose Lane Jr.

The Father’s Son

Ambrose Lane Jr. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Ambrose Lane Jr. was born with one heck of a name to live up to. His father, Ambrose Lane Sr., was a racial justice activist, newspaper publisher, politician, minister, and, perhaps most prominently, a longtime host at D.C.’s progressive radio station WPFW. You could hardly blame the younger Lane for wanting to chart a different path and escape that long shadow. Instead, he picked up his father’s mantle and pushed into areas all his own. Over the past few years, Lane has become one of the preeminent voices drawing attention to the District’s opioid crisis via his Health Alliance Network, pushing for resources to aid struggling communities east of the Anacostia River. He’s also become a key political activist in his home Ward 7. And, of course, he has his own show on WPFW, too. —Alex Koma

How did you choose public health as a focus?

I was at the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization. I was there when Tom Brown was there, and this was just as Obamacare was being rolled out, and we had several meetings about enrolling people into Obamacare, and I just realized that there wasn’t any type of group to represent residents in terms of health advocacy. So I started asking: What do people need? What are the real issues in health?

You’ve been pushing the District to do more in response to opioid overdoses, specifically. Are people listening?

You know how government works. Government is slow. But they’ve been listening and moving on some things. It’s good that they are distributing Narcan at the rate they’re distributing it, but there are still some real issues. We have maintained our stance that we need more treatment centers in locations where the actual problem is. We have 24-hour treatment centers, but we need them east of the river, because that’s mainly where the issue is. We want youth treatment centers that are also 24 hours, we need a substance use disorder urgent care center.

There’s been a recent drop in overdoses in the city after seeing persistently high rates compared to other states. Why?

We don’t know the actual reason. It could be several reasons, some of them are good, some are bad. One is the distribution of Narcan. That’s one thing the city and community organizations have done very well. Another is the mayor’s crime bill and the drug-free zones. We don’t have the data yet, but how many arrests were made of people that had an opioid use disorder? Because you cannot use while you’re in jail, so that would show, on the outside, that there’s been a reduction, right? It also could have been that all the messaging we’re doing in terms of prevention has begun to seep through. But the last reason, and this isn’t necessarily good, is that addiction has really been concentrated among seniors. It’s trickling down, but it’s mainly among seniors. And there just aren’t more seniors to die.

With Vince Gray and other senior leaders east of the river leaving civic life, how are wards 7 and 8 changing politically? Will the next generation be able to drive attention to these problems?

There is a sense of a changing of the guard, but I have yet to see whether or not that will bring the resources that are needed. That has to come from the executive branch, and there has to be an intention to do that. Now, I know there have been some investments that the mayor has made in the new hospital and some other things. You can say, “I’ve done $2 billion worth of investment,” but that might be in brick and mortar and not in the programs that are needed to lift people out of poverty.

You’ve followed in your father’s footsteps with a new show at WPFW. What’s that been like? 

I actually started at WPFW in the mid-’90s as a host for D.C.’s first progressive hip-hop show. I introduced D.C. to the Roots. I was a show host under the name X Man, and we were very, very popular by the time my show was over, doing Friday nights from midnight to 3 a.m. But there was a change with the program director, and we parted ways. I basically just went to work in D.C. doing various things. [WPFW] asked me to come back about two and a half years ago, because they know my work east of the river. Now I focus on all aspects of life there, from politics to health to art to all of that stuff. I really enjoy it, and it gives voice to the residents east of the river.

Is it hard being in your dad’s shadow?

My dad was such a luminary on WPFW, there for 35 years, and he was all politics. But, interestingly enough, he didn’t focus directly on D.C. politics unless it was a serious issue that came up. He was more focused on federal politics, national politics, and things that affected all communities. He was a progressive, for sure. So following in those footsteps, it’s big shoes to fill. Literally, too, because he was a big guy, 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and 280. But I enjoy it. And you know, being Ambrose Lane Jr. has its benefits, has its perks, and, of course, I’m very proud of that.

You wear so many different hats in the city. What do you do if you ever have free time?

I make award-winning chili. And also top-notch collard greens. It’s been revered.

Lauren Halvorsen

The Drama Queen

Lauren Halvorsen Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Lauren Halvorsen didn’t know what a dramaturg was when saw the term on a poster in college. But she has since gone on to provide research, context, and theatrical tweaks to dozens of productions, as well as serving as the associate literary director at Studio Theatre. In 2020, she moved to working in theater on a freelance basis and launched her widely read newsletter Nothing For the Group, which covers theater locally and nationally, as an art form and an industry. —Stephanie Rudig

How did you start the newsletter?

It was a very interesting time for theater, June 2020. Every theater was basically hemorrhaging staff and on the verge of collapse at the same time that there were all of these long-overdue conversations about racial parity and equity and pay disparity. Since we were on this pause and not caught up in the grind of producing, we [could] actually have conversations about the ways in which this industry is not sustainable. If we’re having to take this huge break, what are we coming back as?

I joked that I was writing Vox explainers, but for theater drama. There are obviously theater critics who write about plays, but there was never any sort of writing around institutional messaging and decision-making, and critiquing it. I was like, “I’m not going to work in a theater for a while, so who cares?”

Do you at all feel shy about putting out the newsletter segment “That’s Not a Living Wage” or talking about pay disparity as a freelancer? 

No. I was surprised when I started getting offers because I figured nobody would want to work with me, but it was actually quite the opposite. It makes contract negotiation easier, because when you write about living wages, you can’t give me a contract for some bullshit amount of money. It gives me a space to advocate for better wages for dramaturgs because if you say no, that’s fine. I have a day job, but it’s for the next dramaturg that comes along. I want them to not have to take a lowball offer.

I was working at a theater and the managing director was asking me about the “That’s Not a Living Wage” section because they had been featured in it. He said, “I just want you to know that we’re working on it and it’s going to take place, probably our next budget year.” That makes me feel like I’m having an impact. It’s not a shaming exercise. I try not to say anything that I wouldn’t say to somebody’s face. Would I tell this person that I think they’re girlbossing too close to the sun? You know what, I would.

What is it about D.C.’s theater scene that keeps you rooted here? And what kinds of work could entice you away? 

I didn’t realize until I got here how big the theater scene is. Not just in volume, but also in geographic sprawl. There’s an actual ecosystem of theaters. You have the space for super niche companies, and then you also have the space for classical and for theater solely devoted to musicals and weird ensemble groups and people who are doing really hyperlocal committed work. One of the beautiful things about working at Studio was working with a lot of the same local actors and also the same designers, so you got to build these beautiful relationships. 

About what would take me out of town? I’ll go anywhere if it’s to work with people, because theater is always about the people. It makes me want to be very selective about when I do a show now. Who’s it with, is it gonna be fun, are these people that I want to sit next to in the dark and watch a show 17 times in a row?

What projects do you have coming up?

What the Constitution Means to Me at Round House Theatre. It’s probably the biggest thing, because the research for that is a lot. [Playwright Heidi Schreck] is recounting her teenage experience, doing all of these different speeches, so the play really dives deep on a lot of these amendments and a lot of portions of the Constitution. Part of the fun of being a dramaturg is you get to become a little mini expert in something.

Heidi wrote it in 2018, and obviously, [today there’s] no more Roe v. Wade, so there are certain sections that need a little bit of a tweak. So we’ve been having some conversations about that, and making sure that the play still feels resonant without it feeling distracting because you’re sad about the result. It opens on Inauguration Day, which is a choice. I guess we’ll be in Bethesda, but I remember January 6. 

How much was the furor around the election a factor as you were researching this ever-evolving situation?

We start rehearsing in December. I almost can’t even think about how I’m gonna talk about it because so much of how this play is gonna be received—and what the experience of working on this play will be—hinges on what happens in November. I saw it in the middle of the Trump  administration, and I actually found it a real rousing call to action.

Miri Tyler, Jael Holzman, and Liam Hughes

The Breakout Act

From the outside, Ekko Astral are having a wild year. The post-punk—or “mascara moshpit”—band released their debut album, pink balloons, in April. They’ve since been featured in outlets from Pitchfork to the Washington Post, and Stereogum named pink balloons one of the best albums of 2024. Paste called them a band to watch. We awarded them Best Local Band to See Before They Hit It Big. But the trio—Jael Holzman, Liam Hughes, and Miri Tyler—aren’t letting the attention change them. —Sarah Marloff

As of September, with the departure of Sam Elmore and Guinevere Tully, you’re a trio. Does it feel different to go from five to three?

LH: At the heart of it, it’s really always been just us three. And in the beginning it was just us three, so in a sense it’s a return to form. 

We’ve been saying you’re the band that’s gonna blow up; now you’re getting loads of press. How does it feel?

JH: We’re constantly reminding ourselves of why we do this. It’s really easy to go into music to get famous and make money—if you think that’s possible, you’re foolish—but there are plenty of people who do. … There was an initial sugar high to it all, but it quickly became, we’re just another thing in the press. I know we can get attention, but what does it mean? What’s the purpose? What’s the impact? I personally enjoy frothing at the mouth about whatever bullshit someone asks me about, but … that’s not why any of us do this.

If anything, it’s shaped the way we behave. Like with [the new single] “Pomegranate Tree,” about October 7 and how our country has swallowed genocide whole and spat it out as piece of waste product—we’re dropping it independently, completely DIY.

MT: I don’t feel like [the press] has changed anything about what we do or why we’re doing it. The goal is to not let that distract you. … If community is the goal, then we want that community to be big enough to support itself and to coexist in the greater community of this country. In that sense, it helps us achieve that goal.

JH: We unfortunately live within a capitalist society. 

LH: We’re still doing our same day jobs. 

JH: Each of us would love the opportunity to get to take off work months at a time and make our income through touring and music—because we love it. We fucking love it. And maybe that day will come, but right now it’s very humbling that we have all this attention.

Ekko Astral are known not just for your music but also for creating community. How do you combine them? 

MT: For me, it’s hard to separate them. I’ve always seen music that way—the earliest concerts I went to, I was in awe [of] … the energy of a room when you’re all there for the same thing. Punk has always been built on community and politics of that community. I’m a Grateful Dead fan—that’s a community in and of itself, and that community rides hard. Hip-hop has its own community. There’s culture that comes from music that you can’t separate, even if it’s not consciously something you’re thinking about, it’s something that’s happening. 

JH: Miri and I are from Montgomery County. I went to Rockville High School. I’m used to this space. Moving back here after college. … I was not entirely enthused … because I had all these predispositions and expectations of what it meant to live in D.C. Through this band, I’ve found community. … I’ve made friends that I wouldn’t have otherwise made.

Y’all have mentioned the band Idles, classical music, jazz, and some other local bands as influences. How do you incorporate all of those disparate sounds into your sound?

LH: We love Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, and sometimes his lyrics are a little nonsensical but have a good flow. She’ll send me “here’s my Alex Turner lyrics”—and they turn out to be great.

JH: Once you read the lyrics in an Alex Turner voice [she demonstrates], it’s like, “oh yeah, here it is.”

MT: As a drummer, jazz is how I first learned how to play. It influences my style of playing in general. When I’m thinking about songs, I’m not thinking about them as rock songs or punk songs. I’m thinking about them as a piece of music that I’m helping to arrange. … Then, because we play really loud, and I end up hitting really hard to match that volume, it comes out sounding like punk. But if you listen closely to my drum parts on pink balloons, there’s some stuff that’s very jazz-influenced.

Also, for anybody who likes Easter eggs, on one song there’s a direct quote on the drum parts to an Elliott Smith song. 

LH: There’s another one, too, that I’m surprised no one’s found yet. We have that song, “Baethoven”; when we were writing it I was like, “I gotta throw in a Beethoven riff.” I thought it would be so obvious, but no one’s pointed it out yet. It’s from Beethoven’s Fifth.  

That’s where my influence comes in when we’re composing. Jael brings me the bones to a song—[Jael imitates a grinding guitar sound]—and I’m always like, “that’s cool, but I think there could be other notes.” … I’m always working with modulation and changing keys, and playing with ambiguity of keys. That’s been a throughline for all of Ekko’s compositions—me playing around with the tonality of music.

What would Ekko Astral like people to know?

JH: This band would not be where it is if it wasn’t for all of the different people that have lifted it up in this city. We started packing shows because people were telling their friends. That’s how we grew and those day ones, those are the people that aren’t gonna get featured in this article that probably should be.

If D.C. was a state, it would easily be the queerest state. Yet the mainstream culture is super cis-heteronormative. … There are very few places for queer people to safely congregate en masse and enjoy music. We are first and foremost a band that is about giving that.

And just because it’s queer does not mean it is political. I think that’s my biggest gripe with the way people write about us is: People are always like, “Oh, you’re a band with a lot of political messages.” And we’re just saying it’s hard to be out. Why is that political? Pitchfork called us progressive and I was like, “OK.”

MT: All of the trans people that live in this area—because there are a lot of us and we don’t get spotlighted in the way we should … There are so many bands with trans and queer members in this city. They’re all doing really good, original things, and also forming and providing space for the community that is so big here and so important to the lifeblood of the city.

We might be poised the best for growth—whatever that means—and it’s cool we can be the ones to help give recognition to that [queerness], but I’d like to take us out of that sentence and just say: The queerness in this city is not here because of us. We are here because of it.

Editor’s note: Due to a boneheaded editing error, we initially omitted Joi-Marie McKenzie’s interview. This version has been updated.

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Best of D.C.™ 2024: Goods & Services https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/744750/best-of-dc-2024-goods-services/ Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:03:52 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=744750 Goods & Services, Best of DC 2024Best of D.C. week ends with our favorite goods and services offerings.]]> Goods & Services, Best of DC 2024

This year’s editorial picks for the Best Goods & Services finds City Paper writers going to Nats games, browsing other people’s treasures online, and getting tattooed. We do it all for you, dear reader, so take a moment to check out our favorites for 2024, and click here to see the results of the readers’ poll, including the Best Best Bookstore, Best Cannabis Dispensary, Best Consignment Shop, Best Plumber, and Best DUI Attorney.

To see what readers selected in our People & Places categories, click here.
To see what readers selected in our Arts & Entertainment categories, click here.
To see what readers selected in our Food & Drink categories, click here.
And in case you missed them, check out our editorial picks for the Best People & Places, Arts & Entertainment, and Food & Drink.


Sections 401 and 402 are in the left field stands. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST DEAL

$5 Nationals Tickets

Here is a list of things you can buy for $5: a pack of gum, a scratch off, a four-pack of toilet paper, a single beer, and one ticket to a Nats game. Depending on your circumstances, there is one clear front-runner. Sure, the Nats are out of playoff contention, but they’ve still got a solid group of talented young players who one day could make up the core of a dangerous ball club. Plus, the reduced cost of entry takes away the sting of the $15 beers they’re hawking in there. District residents can purchase tickets (starting at) $5 for sections 401 and 402 for home games: Prices for “prime” games ($9), “marquee” games ($15), and “diamond” games ($25) still aren’t bad. You can buy them at the box office on N Street NE or online. —Mitch Ryals 


Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST CAR MECHANIC FOR COUCH POTATOES

Roda

It is hard to think of a more loathsome task than hauling your car over to a mechanic, waiting around for a few hours amid the oil cans and windshield wipers, and then forking over a couple hundred bucks for the privilege. Roda to the rescue.

The service, based out of a car dealership in Rockville, will send someone to pick up your ailing automobile (no matter its condition), and then all you have to do is wait—at your house, your job, wherever. Within an hour or two, Roda sends over an online estimate, complete with videos of any problems observed by their mechanics—and thanks to their many promotions, their prices are often better than other auto shops. They’ll even run your car through a quick wash before driving it back. If only every errand could be made so easy. —Alex Koma


Sid, the chiweenie, post-VEG visit. Credit: Darrow Montgomery Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST MIDDLE-OF-THE-NIGHT DOG DOCTOR

Veterinary Emergency Group

If there’s one thing all pet owners can agree on, it’s that going to the animal emergency room is a literal nightmare. Your pet is sick, you’re scared, your pet’s scared, and they’re always taken away from you to be examined behind closed doors. (What happens back there? This keeps me up at night.) 

VEG, aka Veterinary Emergency Group, is saying no more to closed doors and pet parents in waiting rooms. At VEG on M Street NW, you and your pup are ushered into the main room where the staff, vets included, are bustling between exam tables and a computer station. Crates line a couple walls to hold dogs and cats that need to stay overnight for monitoring. While I was there recently, one couple came in with leftovers to sit with their dog who couldn’t go home yet. Other pet owners sit on couches with their fur babies while vets take vitals and blood. Our vet and tech sat on the floor with us to make my 13-pound Chihuahua mix more comfortable. Another dog got a little high on gas, head lolling on his mother’s leg, while the vet tended to a torn claw. No separation required. During our four hours spanning two visits (between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.), the stellar staff worked as a team, jumping in to answer questions, offer water and snacks, and just coo at the scared pups. They made the process much less stressful. Because when you’re at an emergency vet, everyone needs to be taken care of. —Sarah Marloff


BEST DIGITAL THIRD SPACE

D.C. Buy Nothing Facebook Groups

In the age of curated clothing swaps and Instagram Story sales, neighborhood Buy Nothing Facebook groups continue to reign supreme when it comes to helping you obtain literally anything you can think of. But they also help you learn more about your neighborhood. Where else in our beautiful city can you fight with your neighbors for stale Halloween candy, hundreds of hangers, board games, original art, discarded furniture, or a wedding dress? These are all offerings from the past month in my neighborhood’s group; not a single item went unclaimed. Once you pass the rigorous security test (What are the names of the two closest cross streets to your home? Describe in your own words what simmering is), you’re welcomed into a Willy Wonka Factory-esque digital platform where no ask or desire is off-limits. I’ll keep snooping and commenting “Interested!” on Buy Nothing posts until the end of time, or Facebook, whichever comes first. —Serena Zets


A newspaper advertisement for lesbian bar Phase One, which closed in 2016; Courtesy of Rainbow History Project.

BEST PLACE TO GET LOST IN QUEER HISTORY

Rainbow History Project

The Rainbow History Project is a local treasure. The archive lives online and off and contains an endless trove of D.C.’s queer and trans history, all of which is free and accessible to history stans, researchers, and reporters, or anyone else who wants to know more about the folk who paved the way for gay life in the District. Prefer to listen? The entirely volunteer-run nonprofit offers more than 350 audio interviews with people sharing their personal experiences. Want to learn about the first LGBTQIA space in D.C.? Check out their Places and Spaces Database. Looking for photos of old bars and community members? You can find those at the online archives, but also IRL. Since 2008, RHP has housed its physical archives in the DC History Center. In a world where queer and trans histories have so often been discarded—sometimes literally—this project is the definition of awesome. It’s invaluable to have our local histories contained and searchable in one space. —Sarah Marloff


Chris Coles and Simba Nguyen, co-owners of Crybaby Studios. Credit: Darrow Montgomery Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST TATTOO SHOP

Crybaby Studios

For far too long, almost every time you asked someone in D.C.: “What a beautiful tattoo, where did you get it?” The answer would inevitably be New York or Austin or Philadelphia or San Francisco or Not Here. The artwork and artists coming out of the District have admittedly improved greatly in the past few years, and that’s a blessing for all of us looking for tattoos that don’t also require a travel stipend. But I can finally answer that question from personal experience with a prime D.C. spot: Crybaby Studios. I’ve only been tattooed by the shop’s co-owner Simba Nguyen, but I was hooked from the moment I walked in to my first of several appointments with her. Nguyen’s designs are gorgeous, her line work impeccable, and she’s great at taking your ideas and drawing something unique. She’s also seriously invested in your satisfaction with the drawing and its exact placement on your body—this should be the case with every artist, but it’s not. On her table, she’s light-handed, fast, and fun to talk to. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the shop itself is gorgeously ’grammable and BIPOC-owned. —Sarah Marloff


Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST PLACE TO GET EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE ONE THING YOU NEED

FRESHFARM Dupont Circle Market

I admit I was a longtime skeptic of the Dupont Circle farmers market. I would go on Sunday mornings with a list of everything I needed for the week, spend hours taking in the overflowing farm stalls and hordes of people milling in each direction, and somehow always come home with everything on my list except for one essential item. After months of doing this, I realized that this is the real beauty of the farmers market. This isn’t a place to check off your entire list—that’s what the grocery store is for. It’s a place to discover items you weren’t looking for, but now can’t make a meal plan without. Who cares that you can’t get toilet paper when you can get the freshest produce in the city? Do like I do and stop at Safeway just for that one last item. —Serena Zets

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Best of D.C.™ 2024: Arts & Entertainment https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/744747/best-of-dc-2024-arts-entertainment/ Wed, 31 Jul 2024 13:38:29 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=744747 Highlights of the D.C. arts and entertainment scene include a jewel of a movie theater, creative uses of driftwood, and a new music venue.]]>

If this year’s best of the city’s arts scene proves one thing, it’s that D.C. is a music town. From the best live act to the best group to see before they hit it big, there are plenty of sonically pleasing winners, including one for best sonic pairing. We also celebrate a spot where adults can create uninhibitedly, a niche music promoter, and an essential online resource for jazz heads. Want to share your favorite? Drop us a line.

And don’t forget to check out our picks for best People & Places and Food & Drinks.

To see what readers selected in our Arts & Entertainment categories, click here.


Ekko Astral
Ekko Astral; Credit: Kohei Kane Credit: Kohei Kane

BEST LOCAL BAND TO SEE BEFORE THEY HIT IT BIG

Ekko Astral

There’s always a new punk band in D.C., but Ekko Astral stand out among their contemporaries. Their shows are killer (and have drawn the attention of punk stalwarts) and their songs are not mere Dischord copies. The inventive songwriting offers a unique energy and hard-earned snark. So much so that their debut album, pink balloons, earned them an 8 out of 10 review from Pitchfork; Stereogum has called them a “band to watch,” and Paste says they’re the best of what’s next.

When Ekko Astral opened for Ted Leo at the 9:30 Club earlier this summer, their set was as much a tour de force as it was an announcement. Leo even noted how he wished such a band existed when he was growing up. Clearly, Leo was nodding to the crowd, where younger members of the city’s alternative queer scene had pushed to the front of the stage to be closer to singer and guitarist Jael Holzman, who is trans. When a band gets noticed by the cool kids and punk elders (not to mention major music outlets), it’s almost inevitable that they’re destined for more attention and bigger stages. Consider this your warning: See Ekko Astral now before their shows start selling out larger venues. Bragging rights are just a bonus. —Alan Zilberman


El Cousteau, “Redlines”

BEST LIVE PERFORMER

El Cousteau

“I’m in a full Sergio Tacchini sweatsuit/ I’m in Northeast getting money,” El Cousteau raps on his April single, “Redlines.” The stylish trailblazer from the Trinidad neighborhood has been raising eyebrows in the city’s rap scene for his electrifying live sets since 2016. Gradually growing a cult fan base of influential tastemakers in the DMV and beyond, Cousteau is now poised to make major leaps in his music career. He’s already walked in fashion shows for Telfar, gone on multiple tours with New York City’s rising star MIKE, and gotten cosigns from rap stars-turned-OGs Earl Sweatshirt and A$AP Rocky

An El Cousteau live set features high-level lyricism, D.C.-centric lingo, high-end fashion, and an infectious beaming energy. Whether he’s opening for a sold-out MIKE show at Union Stage, or performing at the homecoming stop for Sideshow’s Every Workhorse Goes To Heaven Tour at Comet Ping Pong, El Cousteau has a raw aura that instantly triggers joy-filled mosh pits and uncontrollable head-bobbing. As Cousteau gains a national following, he still firmly reps D.C. wherever he goes. He’s a refreshing reminder that D.C.’s culture is still here and vibrant. —Amari Newman


Flowerbomb and Pretty Bitter; Credit: Kohei Kane

BEST SONIC PAIRING

Pretty Bitter & Flowerbomb’s Split EP

Peanut butter and jelly; gin and tonic; Thelma and Louise; Betty and Veronica. Some things just go together. And as of Aug. 1, D.C. is adding a new duo to the list of perfect pairings: Pretty Bitter and Flowerbomb. The two local indie bands have combined talents to create a new joint EP. Take Me Out takes the lush dream pop of Pretty Bitter and the ’90s alt-rock vibes of Flowerbomb and merges both with their shared indie roots and a bit of emo sensibility. The result is the perfect summer playlist full of bright sounds, fuzzy guitars, driving drumbeats, and alluring vocals. Watch out boygenius, there might be a new supergroup in town. —Sarah Marloff


Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Credit: Darrow Montgomery Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST RETREAT FOR UNINHIBITED CREATIVITY

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop

If you’ve strolled around Capitol Hill, you’ve likely passed the eye-catching Capitol Hill Arts Workshop on 7th Street SE. Swathed in hot pink and bright yellow, the building is hard to miss, and its exterior is a good tease for what’s inside. CHAW is home to a vast swath of classes, workshops, and exhibitions of art, theater, dance, and music. While you might be lucky enough to spot a heartwarming group of kids playing the violin, their offerings are for students of all ages and abilities, and also include artist residencies. CHAW focuses on building community through the arts, and their programming shows it. The beginner drawing class I took might not have proven me an undiscovered artist, but it brought me into a welcoming space that encourages creativity and experimentation for at least a few hours each week. The prices for their courses are generally reasonable, and for a fairly noncreative person this experience was priceless. —Camila Bailey


Nistha Raj; Credit: Adedayo “Dayo” Kosoko

BEST EYE FOR GREAT MUSIC

Nistha Raj of District of Raga

There are some local spaces that host South Asian musicians playing South Asian music—Bethesda’s Gandhi Memorial Center comes to mind—but Indian classical violinist Nistha Raj wanted something more. Raj, who moved to D.C. from Houston in 2007, often attended Brooklyn Raga Massive jam sessions in New York City, and decided to create a similar D.C.-based program with “the intention of creating community,” she says. In 2017, Raj, with the assistance of two other local musicians, brought the idea of Indian classical music jam sessions to promoter Jim Thomson, who was then booking Adams Morgan global music space Bossa Bistro. District of Raga events started there, and while the collective still hosts events at Bossa on occasion, the team behind it has added to their list of venues. District of Raga has an annual series at the Barns of Wolf Trap, and has booked gigs at the MLK Public Library as well as other locations throughout the DMV. In 2019, District of Raga was included in the Kennedy Center’s Cultural Caucus program. District of Raga has brought the likes of Indian classical vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty and tabla and electronica artist Karsh Kale to the Barns. As part of Art All Night, Raj and District of Raga presented Northern Virginia-based harpist Nadia Pessoa with Baltimore-based sitarist Snehesh Nag. On Oct. 2, she’s bringing Pakistani musician Ustad Noor Bakhsh to Bossa, where you can hear him play the Balochi electric benju. —Steve Kiviat


BEST PLACE FOR ALL YOUR ONLINE JAZZ NEEDS

Capital Bop

Since Giovanni Russonello  and Luke Stewart co-founded Capital Bop in 2010, it has been more than just a jazz website with interviews, album reviews, and a comprehensive calendar of D.C.-area gigs. The site also has been a curator of shows. Capital Bop has hosted numerous events, including NEXTFest for several years at Malcolm X Park. While the pandemic, fundraising issues, and the high cost of property have limited Capital Bop’s recent ability to regularly host events, the nonprofit is still offering a stellar online library of improvisational music; City Paper’s Michael J. West can only cover so much in his monthly Swing Beat column, after all. Capital Bop’s listings editor Jackson Sinnenberg manages to get at least four shows per night on their calendar, which includes tuneful jazz vocalists and noisy avant-garde players alike. The website also has an A to Z guide to D.C. jazz musicians and monthly recommendations. Sinnenberg has conducted interviews with artists such as cellist Janel Leppin and her partner Anthony Pirog, and contributor Thomas Stanley penned a detailed history of experimental music collective Rhizome. According to editor-in-chief Russonello, within six months, thanks to a Humanities DC grant, the website will include an archive of live jazz videos compiled by Capital Bop over the years. —Steve Kiviat

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Capital Bop’s co-founder Luke Stewart; we regret the error.

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Best of D.C.™ 2024: People & Places https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/744744/best-of-dc-2024-people-places/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=744744 WCP’s favorite people and places of 2024 include a sweaty dance floor, a Twitter troll, a billionaire, and special spot on the banks of the Anacostia. We’re also showing a little love for our favorite home office away from our home offices and hidden gem of a baseball field. Take a look and then drop […]]]>

WCP’s favorite people and places of 2024 include a sweaty dance floor, a Twitter troll, a billionaire, and special spot on the banks of the Anacostia. We’re also showing a little love for our favorite home office away from our home offices and hidden gem of a baseball field. Take a look and then drop us a line with your own favorite D.C. people and places.

To see what readers selected in our People & Places categories, click here.


BEST PLACE TO GET SWEATY ON A FRIDAY NIGHT THAT ISN’T A CLUB

Hoja Taqueria at Generator Hotel

If you wanna groove on a Friday night but don’t want to pay an outrageous cover, endure a pushy crowd, or deal with guys who will ask you to buy them a drink, then you belong at Hoja Taqueria. 

The distinguished, somewhat quaint space tucked inside the Generator Hotel on Connecticut and Massachusetts avenues NW attracts a classier lad—it’s basically the anti-Decades and a well-kept secret by casual social dancers. Starting at 8 p.m., you can take a bachata or salsa lesson before a night of social dancing that lasts until 1 a.m. 

The lights dim to a cool pink and blue, the floor isn’t sticky, and even if it does get a little crowded, there are plenty of spots to sit and chill until you’re ready to boogie again. The crowds generally fit into two categories: the regulars, who come for dancing, and the wallflower hotel guests. Both seemed to be having fun when I visited in the past few months. I can’t always say the same for the clubs—sorry, Charli XCX.

The best part is you don’t need to be an especially good dancer. The talent typically ranges from beginner to somewhat experienced, in my estimation. And the lessons help! For $5, you get an hourlong lesson and social dancing. And if you’re a lady, you get a complimentary glass of champagne. —Lizzy Rager


A little field of dreams. Credit: Mitch Ryals

BEST UNOFFICIAL WIFFLE BALL FIELD

Brentwood Recreation Center

The baseball diamond at the Brentwood Recreation Center is not the Field of Dreams, but it is my field of dreams. Tucked into the Northeast neighborhood, on the top of a hill and behind a basketball court (and close to my apartment), the field has just about everything: a grass infield, a warning track, dugouts, and a set of modest bleachers (except for home plate, the bases are missing). The only problem is that it can’t really function as a baseball field. The outfield fence, separating the field from the houses that sit behind it, is far too short. But it’s the perfect distance for Wiffle Ball.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, a few friends came over to play the game that dominated my summers growing up in the Midwest. Some of the folks hanging outside the nearby apartments even came to watch for a bit. And a mother who introduced herself as Miss Cookie asked if we could teach some of the neighborhood kids to play. We’d be happy to, we said, and finished the game (but lost track of the score). I’m planning to host another one later this summer. D.C. is full of hidden gems. This one is a reminder that, for some, you don’t have to look far. —Mitch Ryals


The view from the head of the table at WCP’s temporary office. Credit: Darrow Montgomery Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST TEMPORARY OFFICE SPACE

Lyman’s Tavern

It’s been about four years since the pandemic forced City Paper staffers from our downtown office. We now all work from our respective homes, each scattered throughout the District. And sometimes we get a little lonely. Slack cannot replace the buzz and hum of a newsroom. In those moments, when solitude becomes deafening, there is one place we return to again and again: Lyman’s Tavern.

The unassuming corner bar, with its stringy patio lights and cozy indoor confines, has plied us with cold beer, strong mixed drinks, and ample hot dogs to fuel our pitch meetings, boost our brainstorming sessions, and ease, if even for a moment, our incessant cynicism.

There are no desks. The stools aren’t ergonomic. And the facilities? Well, we think they’re perfect just the way they are.

Look for us on a random Thursday afternoon, sliding into the evening as we enjoy each other’s company IRL. If it’s nice out, we’ll probably be on the side patio, all the way in the back, sitting around an upturned wash bin, sipping our beverages, scribbling in our notebooks, and bitching about our local leaders. —Mitch Ryals


FORE! Mayor Bowser attended the Master’s as a guest of prominent real estate executive Jodie McLean. Credit: Darrow Montgomery Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST EUPHEMISM FOR A VACATION

Mayor Bowser’s “Sports and Economic Development Visit”

Why tell your constituents that you’re jetting off on a developer-funded trip to rub elbows with the rich and famous at the Masters golf tournament when you could say you plan to “travel to Augusta, Georgia, as part of a sports and economic development visit”? Mayor Muriel Bowser’s communications team deserves points for creativity with that explanation, delivered to reporters back in April.

Sources in Bowser’s orbit later claimed that she viewed the visit as a chance to drum up support for the redevelopment of RFK stadium, but the more the public learned about the trip, the worse it looked—especially when it came out that she ran into her disgraced former right-hand man, John Falcicchio, just as he was trying to launch a comeback. Plus, the city still hasn’t come through on its promised reimbursement of Bowser’s expenses. This was hardly the worst scandal of Bowser’s tenure, but it certainly ranks among the most amusing. —Alex Koma


City officials’ attempts to schedule swimming events in the Anacostia have not gone as planned. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST BELLY FLOP

Anacostia River Splash

Two things you should know about me before we get into this: I love swimming, and I’m not from D.C. So when the Anacostia Riverkeeper announced the 2023 Anacostia River Splash, I was ready to sign up. For some reason, my colleagues laughed at me. One recommended I buy a wet suit before taking the plunge. There’s poop in the water! they “joked,” or so I thought. Then the swim was canceled, twice, due to inclement weather, which tends to wash more bad shit—no pun intended—into waterways. Next year, the riverkeeper promised, the inaugural swim would go on. And then the first 2024 event was canceled, as was the second, after “water quality samples detected E. coli levels well above D.C.’s recreational standards.” The E. coli and other bacteria levels come from sewage flow that ends up in the river, which makes it unsafe but also just too gross to take a dip. Today, the Splash event page still lives, but it’s noticeably absent of a date. I’d love to see the Anacostia River become swimmable, but I won’t be jumping in anytime soon. Lorde can have it. —Sarah Marloff


Sycamore & Oak in Congress Heights. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST COMMUNITY HUB

Sycamore & Oak

Since Congress Heights’ Sycamore & Oak opened in 2023, the gorgeous space has become a bustling hub for entertainment, good food, exercise, and, most importantly, community. The space located on the St. Elizabeths campus next to the Sports and Entertainment Arena (home of the Mystics and Capital City Go-Go) features a stage, eateries, retail shops, and a playground out back. Sycamore & Oak hosts concerts and karaoke, workout and money management classes, game nights, and other community events. For Tiffany Wilkinson, who grew up in the area and is now the general manager of one of the restaurants, Dionne’s Good Food, the space represents a joyful rejuvenation of the campus. She rattles off a list of prominent guests, including Kamala Harris, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and WNBA star Brittney Griner. “It’s great for the community to have this hidden jewel,” Wilkinson says. —Mitch Ryals


Ted Leonsis is stuck in D.C., and D.C. is stuck with Ted Leonsis. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST FACE-PLANT

Ted Leonsis

“The die is cast,” Ted Leonsis declared in February, channeling his inner Julius Caesar as he sought to downplay concerns that he might abandon his plans to move the Capitals and Wizards to Alexandria. Just over a month later, Leonsis had to issue one heck of a mea culpa instead. 

Leonsis’ clumsy attempts to strong-arm both powerful Virginia Democrats and persistent Northern Virginia NIMBYs to win a $2 billion stadium deal backfired spectacularly, ensuring that the teams won’t be leaving Capital One Arena after all. The billionaire didn’t exactly come out on the losing end of this exchange though, picking up $515 million in city funding just to stay put. Still, there’s little doubt that the three-month kerfuffle damaged his otherwise strong reputation among D.C. sports fans. —Alex Koma


BEST TRAINSPOTTING

CSX Depot Near Fort Dupont in Anacostia Park

Watching a big rusty train slowly chug its way down the track has a way of making you forget your computer and marvel at the tremendous weight of these huge metal beasts. The Class I freight trains move laboriously but inexorably forward. It’s hypnotic, and I always stare. For years, I’ve wandered down toward the far north end of Anacostia Park to watch the freight trains coming off the Anacostia Railroad Bridge, where trains have crossed since 1872. There’s a nice clearing near the woods where you can comfortably soak up all the weighted creaking of the wheels as the tired trains come off the bridge and ease themselves into a slow turn toward Baltimore. Twenty years ago I would bring my daughters there so we could flatten pennies. It’s still just as appealing today. —Vince Morris


BEST ROPE SWING

Potomac Heritage Trail Opposite Georgetown Reservoir

The man doesn’t want people swimming in the Potomac River, but lots of us are in the river all the time. As someone who’s been swimming in the Potomac for many years, I can tell you there are only two good rope swings around D.C. The first is right across from Fletcher’s Cove Boathouse. A favorite summer activity of mine includes fried chicken at one of the picnic tables before kayaking across the river to get to the swing. But the absolute best rope swing is further down river, toward Georgetown. Most folks get there by parking at Potomac Overlook Park and walking south on the Potomac Heritage Trail. You reach your goal after clambering up a big outcrop. The swing is attached to a thin old rope that sends you high, lets you pause briefly to appreciate the view, and plops you down into the cool water below. —Vince Morris


Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST TWITTER TROLL

@DDOTDCDirector

Local D.C. Twitter hasn’t been quite as lively as it was in its late 2010s heyday, especially after a certain billionaire started running things, but at least we have the fake District Department of Transportation director.

An anonymous troll swooped in and scooped up the social media account belonging to the former head of the DDOT before anyone in the D.C. government noticed, and has since managed to trigger Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White and the agency itself with its antics. From blasting Mayor Muriel Bowser’s reversal on Connecticut Avenue NW bike lanes to poking fun at the concerns over the redesign of South Dakota Avenue NE, the account has kept up the fun. The city can’t have an actual DDOT director committed to car alternatives, it would seem, but an entertaining Twitter personality is a decent enough consolation prize. —Alex Koma

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It Is the Best of Times https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/744842/it-is-the-best-of-times/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 15:44:48 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=744842 SponsoredCapitol Hill Auto Service, the Best of D.C. 2023 winner of Best Auto Repair!“We Don’t Just Work On Cars, We FIX Them”. Home | City Lights | Best of D.C. Washington City Paper has big plans. Your contributions will help us execute them. By supporting District Line Daily, you show your commitment to independent journalism. Thank you […]]]>

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Washington City Paper has big plans. Your contributions will help us execute them. By supporting District Line Daily, you show your commitment to independent journalism. Thank you for your continued support.


Even in 6,000 words, it is basically impossible to capture the best of an entire city. And yet, that is the task City Paper staff and contributors set out to accomplish every year for our Best of D.C. issue.

This year, in addition to readers’ picks for the very best of the District, City Paper writers have recommendations for up-and-coming performers and unique shows, for emergency veterinarians and tattoos that don’t suck, and—as we do every year—we blow up some of our favorite hidden gems for dancing, cocktails, and an outdoor athletic field.

We do it all for you, dear readers, because none of us can go anywhere without thinking to ourselves: Is this worthy of a Best of D.C. pick? 

So take a moment with this year’s issue, and bookmark this page so you can refer back to it throughout the week (and year). We’re releasing one section per day, starting with Food & Drink. People & Places comes out on Tuesday, Arts & Entertainment on Wednesday, and we’ll conclude with Goods & Services on Thursday. We hope you’ll continue to return to our picks and use them as a guide to the city. And if you’re feeling some kind of way about a particular winner, leave us a note on Twitter or Instagram or send us an email

Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Amtrak is officially taking over Union Station after the judge in an eminent domain lawsuit allowed it to wrest control of the station from the real estate investment management company, Union Station Investco. Not much will change at first, but an $8.8 billion modernization project is in the works. [Post]
  • Arlington native Torri Huske won gold in the women’s 100-meter butterfly race, beating fellow American Gretchen Walsh by 0.04 seconds. Huske missed out on a medal in the same race during the previous summer Olympics in Tokyo, coming in fourth place by 0.01 seconds. [ARLnow, NPR]
  • The USWNT, with its four Washington Spirit players, won its second game yesterday, securing a place in the quarterfinals. And Prince George’s County native Kevin Durant led Team USA’s basketball team to victory yesterday. [Athletic]
  • Charges against about half of the 25 people arrested during protests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks to Congress have been dropped. Protesters outside Union Station burned an American flag and spray-painted the Christopher Columbus fountain and Liberty Bell reproduction. Police union officials scolded prosecutors for dismissing the charges and expressed frustration that their staffing levels didn’t allow them to arrest more people. [Post]
  • Keanan Turner was found guilty of first-degree murder last week in D.C. Superior Court. Turner, 35, shot and killed the mother of his 3-month-old child, Ebony Wright, and the child’s grandmother, Wanda Wright. Ebony Wright had filed for child support, and Turner shot and killed her and her mother in 2021 when he came to their apartment in Southeast to meet his son for the first time. [Post]

By City Paper Staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • There are still no candidates looking to run for a third of all the advisory neighborhood commission seats on the ballot this year, as even many longtime ANCs are stepping away. Officials blame a persistent lack of resources and the intensity of neighborhood debates for burning people out of the volunteer positions. [Post]
  • Attorney General Brian Schwalb reached a $3.75 million settlement with several local construction firms accused of wage theft. He’s calling it the city’s largest ever enforcement action in this area. [WBJ]
  • Crime may be falling, but D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith has still had an uneven year helming the Metropolitan Police Department. “Crime is down, but not because of her,” griped an anonymous police supervisor, as some department veterans remain skeptical of her leadership. Smith has even had to fight off rumors that she’s been eyeing the exits. [Post]

By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • The Chesapeake Bay’s invasive blue catfish is known to hurt the juvenile crab population, so the Maryland Department of Agriculture is promoting them as sustainable and delicious dining options. Blue cats are already on the menu at some D.C. restaurants (The Salt Line and Dauphines) and are sold in Whole Foods stores nationwide. [Axios]
  • Police are still searching for two suspects who robbed a beverage distributor truck Friday morning. The thieves are said to have made off with $10,000 of products. [WJLA]

By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • D.C.’s emo/pop-punk duo Origami Angel have announced the release date of their new album and dropped two new singles. [Stereogum
  • A group of documentary filmmakers are seeking to tell the story of local but lesser known artist/scholar/curator Jacob Kainen. “Kainen indelibly shaped D.C.’s postwar art scene through both his long-term post in the Smithsonian and his own oeuvre,” writes Coley Gray. [730 DC]
  • If this month’s Swing Beat made you curious about more places to hear jazz in the city, check out this roundup. [WAMU]

By Sarah Marloff (tips? smarloff@washingtoncitypaper.com)


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All Things Best Of D.C.™ https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/182058/best-of-dc/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000 http://best-of-dc Best of D.C.™ 2024 Results Here! If you’d like to discuss a sponsorship to promote you and your business, please contact us, at ads@washingtoncitypaper.com or download our Best of D.C.™ 2024 Sponsorship information sheet. Looking back at Best of D.C.™ 2023 If You’re Interested in Becoming a Supporting Member of City Paper…Nearly 1,440 of our […]]]>

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Best of D.C.™ 2024: Food & Drink https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/744741/best-of-dc-2024-food-drink/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=744741 Best of D.C. week begins with our favorite food and drink picks.]]>


Best of D.C. 2024 kicks off with our favorite places to visit in D.C.’s vibrant food and drink scene. This year, we’re into unique burger collabs, delicious cocktails, and a (non-edible) beautiful stained-glass window.

To see what readers selected in our Food & Drink categories, click here.


Ben Plyraharn’s pad krapow burger. Courtesy of Hill East Burger Credit: Courtesy of Hill East Burger

BEST UNEXPECTED COLLABS

Hill East Burger

Under only one roof can you enjoy a wagyu teriyaki burger from chef Masako Morishita of Perry’s, a chicharron chicken sandwich from Fernando González of 2Fifty Texas BBQ, a lamb burger from Marcelle Afram of Shababi, and a pork belly burger from Angel Barreto of Anju. Not all at once, of course. But Hill East Burger, the little Texas-influenced spot tucked away on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, has a constant and impressive rotation of local guest chefs.

Co-owner Chris Svetlik aims to feature two chefs each month in pop-up collaborations. It’s a tactic to draw in new customers and shake things up for the neighborhood regulars. “Most everyone in the food world loves burgers and has an idea of a burger or a fun spin with the kind of cuisine they cook in,” Svetlik says. The collabs typically run for three days (or more if there are leftover ingredients) and are announced on Hill East Burger’s Instagram. Svetlik says his favorite so far was Ben Plyraharn’s chicken nug larb. The happy hour deals are hard to beat, too. Where else can you eat a fish sauce caramel burger from Kevin Tien (of Moon Rabbit) while sipping a $1 Miller High Life or an $8 old-fashioned? —Mitch Ryals


Mushroom terrine with grilled endive. Credit: Nevin Martell

BEST VEGAN TASTING MENU

MITA

Given the time and expense of committing to a tasting menu, I’m leery when a new one pops up. Is it simply going to be three hours of my life frittered away indulging in a few hits, a couple of misses, and a bunch of things I won’t remember unless I take a photo, all for an obscene amount of money that should probably be applied to my student loans? That’s not the case with the 14-course Latin inspired vegan tasting menu at MITA by chefs and co-owners Miguel Guerra and Tatiana Mora. Priced at a reasonable $150, the gastronomic journey features a succession of dishes I won’t soon forget, including a bread basket brimming with arepas—corn, yuca, wheat, and sweet potato—accompanied by various spreads, ceviche made with watermelon and fermented carrots, and rich mushroom terrine with grilled endive and an umami rich reduction. A meal worth the investment on every level. —Nevin Martell


The Great Hall in the Library of Congress during a recent Live! At The Library happy hour. Credit: Mitch Ryals

BEST PLACE TO DRINK AND LEARN THINGS

Library of Congress

Just about every Thursday for the past three years, the Library of Congress has taken a bit of a risk. The nation’s library has extended its hours, cracked open a few beers, and let revelers loose (more or less) on the historic building. It’s a bold move, considering that, separately, library stacks and alcohol have been known to lower inhibitions and increase romantic urges. But so far, Live! At the Library happy hours have remained fairly platonic—perhaps because there’s so much other stuff to do there.

The LoC event, from 5 to 8 p.m. every Thursday, is the perfect way to drink and learn things. Patrons can purchase drinks and snacks in the Jefferson Building’s gorgeous Great Hall and then peruse the library’s exhibits, collections, and programs. Sometimes organizers bring in authors, bands, or actors for entertainment. Last week, for example, the LoC hosted an EDM dance party featuring French house, disco, and pop in honor of the Paris Olympics. But if you’d prefer something more low-key, you can browse the exhibits on display, including the new Treasures Gallery that features historic items that the library has been keeping safe and only recently has made available to the public. The collection includes original art from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (of the Spider-Man comics), photos and writing of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and the contents of President Lincoln’s pockets the night he was assassinated. I’m told Abe was carrying a confederate $5 bill. Tickets are free, but they sell out fast. You can reserve them at loc.gov/events. —Mitch Ryals


Don’t be afraid to order a cocktail at Pie Shop on H Street NE. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST BAR IN A VENUE

Pie Shop

As a music lover and an arts editor, I go to a lot of shows. So I’ve learned the hard way: never drink the wine, and do not order a cocktail. You’re not there for the drink menu anyway. But when I recently attended a show to raise money for DC Abortion Fund at Pie Shop, I threw caution to the wind. It was a Thursday, I spent 35 minutes in traffic to get there, and it had been a long week. I couldn’t stomach a beer and well liquor did not sound well enough. I glanced at the well-stocked bar, sidled up to the bartender, and took a chance. I was rewarded with a delightful, $13 old-fashioned and a seat on a barstool where I could still see the stage. Suddenly my night was looking up. The band was great, and my cocktail was perfect. —Sarah Marloff


Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST BAR TO WATCH A FIRST DATE

All Souls

If you go to All Souls, the popular Shaw cocktail bar, odds are you’ll see a first date. They’re not hard to spot. The body language is a little eager yet apprehensive, while the two individuals maintain a respectful distance. When you’re close enough, you can even hear “getting to know you” talk and tortured attempts at charm. It’s no wonder so many D.C. singles turn to All Souls. It’s an intimate and busy spot—but not too intimate and not too busy—and bar snacks are the only food offered (a full meal is too much commitment for a first date). First dates are so common there that the chatty bartenders will sometimes share the disasters and successes they have watched unfold over the years. And let’s be honest, people-watching is low-key one of the pleasures of a night out for drinks. Just don’t gawk. The only thing worse than an awkward first date is the creep who accidentally interrupts one. —Alan Zilberman  


BEST NEXT LEVEL CHILI CRUNCH

Chili Crunch by Pho From Home

I am addicted to chili crunch, but it has to offer the right balance of heat and flavor. Too much firepower burns out my palate, while an absence of nuance makes it boring to eat. There’s excellent equilibrium in the one crafted by Khai Nguyen of Pho From Home, which takes its cues from Vietnamese sate sauce. Its ruby red oil is home to an abundance of sauteed shallots, a secret mix of chilies, plenty of peanuts, and mushroom powder for umami oomph. Jars are available at the Palisades Farmers Market on Sundays, as well as Sara’s Market and Dent Place Market, both in Georgetown. I’ve poured the firecracker of a condiment over eggs, spread it on tofu burgers, and wantonly spooned it across myriad rice dishes. Nguyen recommends slathering it on a piece of toast with peanut butter, which sounds so good I need to cut this piece short to go enjoy that right now. —Nevin Martell


A little less conversation in the doi moi basement. Credit: Samantha Ostwald

BEST BAR TO TAKE A DATE YOU DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO

doi moi downstairs 

Walking into a Hinge date in D.C. is always a bit of a gamble. But once in a blue moon, he’s over 6 feet, handsome, and even pulls out your chair. In the warm glow of a candlelit high top at [Insert First Date Spot Name], you flirt while poring over drink choices; it’s all rosy cheeks and stolen glances. And then, he starts talking. Within minutes, he goes from “I’m not very political” to a litany of well-rehearsed, Vivek Ramaswamy-esque talking points disguised as off-the-cuff sociocultural observations. By the time he says that his ex-girlfriend was “too emotional to hold an adult conversation,” you know you’ll never see him again. But it’s a Friday night. You spent 45 minutes blow-drying your hair after work. You’re wearing a miniskirt and pointed-toe, high-heeled boots, dammit. Maybe, you think, you can turn this ship around. You’re drawn to the corner of 14th and S Streets NW by the siren song of that pink neon doi moi sign. You descend the stairs to the basement bar, push past the beaded curtains, and let the sound of vaguely tropical house music and drunk 20-something chatter wash over you. You shout “what?!” at each other a few times before giving up. And just like that, he finally stops talking and you manage to enjoy yourself. If you end up making out with him and he asks you on a second date, please, don’t go. But if you do, don’t blame me. Blame the doi moi downstairs. —Samantha Ostwald


The fixings at Left Door. Credit: Darrow Montgomery

BEST PLACE TO ORDER A BARTENDER’S CHOICE

Left Door

There is nothing sexier than a bar with an unmarked door. Tucked away amid the bustling, fratty beer gardens and scenester restaurants of 14th Street NW, Left Door maintains a sultry, if-you-know-you-know vibe. It dons no sidewalk sign begging for your patronage. Their online presence is practically nonexistent (which usually means an influencer-free evening). And if you’re a 14th Street regular, you’ll probably spot a familiar bartender or two enjoying a post-shift bev. The craft cocktail bar pulls off the Victorian apothecary aesthetic, featuring homemade tinctures and bitters with taped-on labels lining the bar. Antique light fixtures emit a golden glow, there’s green velvet upholstery, stained-glass windows (with a Maker’s Mark logo?), and exposed brick. The first time I went to Left Door, I made the mistake of asking for a drink menu. “Just tell me what you’re in the mood for,” the bartender gruffed. His obvious displeasure at my request didn’t bother me; it only solidified my confidence in his abilities. Where better to trust the bartender than a bar where bartenders drink? When the dark purple juice of an Amarena cherry bled into the pale yellow pool of citrusy deliciousness that filled the (gorgeous, antique) coupe, I was grateful for his snobbery. What was the drink called? I don’t know. What was in it? I don’t know. And I don’t care. —Samantha Ostwald


Pancakes with a cloud of vanilla-laced mascarpone mousse. Credit: Nevin Martell

BEST COFFEE SHOP FOOD

Café Unido (Shaw)

When I walk into a coffee shop, my main goal is quality caffeination. Anything else – good service, great vibes, an excellent playlist – is just the espresso infused icing on the dark chocolate cake. Speaking of noshing, beyond pastries and snacky bites, perhaps a breakfast sandwich, I don’t expect much. But Café Unido’s Shaw location has a substantial, utterly stellar menu spanning breakfast and lunch (brunch is offered on the weekends). I’d keep going back for the burger alone, a Panamanian inspired proposition starring a patty blending chuck, brisket, and short rib, topped off with coffee mayo, coffee husk ketchup, pickles, and cheddar. When I’m in a sweet mood, I get the fluffy pancakes with a cloud of vanilla-laced mascarpone mousse and a drizzle of butterscotch amped up with coffee and chocolate. Don’t worry, they have a superlative breakfast sando brimming with fried eggs, avocado spread, melty mozzarella, and sofrito infused aioli. —Nevin Martell    


The sandwich-themed stained glass is made up of 25 separate panels. Credit Devin Balara

BEST STAINED GLASS (EAT YOUR HEART OUT, WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL)

The Stained-Glass Ceiling at Your Only Friend

The most memorable part of my first visit to Your Only Friend, the buzzy cocktail and sandwich spot that opened in Mount Vernon Square in January, wasn’t the brightly flavored celery gimlet. It wasn’t the creamy caramelized shallot dip. It wasn’t even the main course: a delectable roast pork and bok choy sandwich slathered in mayonnaise and duck sauce. In fact, it wasn’t on the table at all; it was on the ceiling. There, above me and my sandwich, was a stained-glass masterpiece, aglow with afternoon sunlight. It had the nobility of a family crest; the grandeur of a nativity scene—only if Joseph was a tomato, Mary was a loaf of bread, and baby Jesus was a jar of Duke’s Mayo. Devin Balara, the New Orleans-based mastermind behind this sandwich Sistine Chapel, started making stained glass during the pandemic, she tells City Paper. “I was really thankful for the challenge,” she says about the 25-panel piece, which took “five hot months” to make. She’s particularly proud of the ribbons of bacon. The restaurant’s owners, Paul Taylor and Midwest native Sherra Kurtz, thought a stained-glass installation would evoke the neighborhood feel found in Chicago taverns. They asked Balara for something that felt like “sandwich church.” The duo installed the work themselves, panel by panel, with “a ladder that was a bit too tall” and “our hearts in our throats the entire time,” they say—only to find out they installed it upside down. Lauren Winter of the interior architecture firm Edit at Streetsense that was behind Your Only Friend’s design, came to the rescue and fixed the flub before opening. Now, the deconstructed sandwich stained glass is exactly where it belongs: right side up, sitting between us sandwich-eating mortals and heaven. —Ella Feldman

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In the Zone https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/684688/in-the-zone/ Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:54:37 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=684688 drug-free zonesYesterday MPD began enforcing three drug-free zones, areas where enforcement has historically disproportionately affected Black and Brown residents across the country.]]> drug-free zones

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Yesterday D.C. police began their enforcement of three drug-free zones across the city. The measure is a result of D.C. Council’s Secure DC bill, which Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law on Monday. 

The Metropolitan Police Department’s website says drug-free zones are “public space, on public property, from which uniformed MPD officers can require groups of two or more people to disperse if they are congregating for illicit drug activity. The law authorizes the Chief of Police to declare any public area encompassing a maximum of 1,000 feet per side a drug free zone for up to five days.”

According to MPD, the following three areas are considered drug-free zones from now until Tuesday, March 19, at 7:59 a.m.:

Zone 1, located in Ward 2: 

  • The 600-700 block of I Street NW 
  • The 700-800 block of 8th Street NW 
  • The 700 block of G Street NW 
  • The 700 block of 7th Street NW 
  • Gallery Way Place NW 
  • The 700–800 block of 6th Street NW

Zone 2, located in Ward 7: 

  • The 3800–3900 block of Minnesota Avenue NE 
  • The 3900–4000 block of Benning Road NE 
  • The 3900–4000 block of Clay Place NE 
  • The 300 block of 40th Street NE

Zone 3, located in Ward 8: 

  • The 2300 block of Ainger Place SE 
  • The 2700 block of Langston Place SE 
  • The 2300 block of Raynolds Place SE  
  • The 2700 block of Bruce Place SE

These drug-free zones draw concerns over their potential threat to the personal freedoms of many who live in the District. According to Melissa Wasser, policy counsel at the ACLU of D.C., the targeting of loitering across D.C. creates a constitutional problem in the city. “Loitering is a constitutionally protected activity,” Wasser tells City Paper, “and the District can’t make it a crime for a person to stand around or to fail to disperse when ordered to disperse.”

Speaking with community advocate Jay Brown, a social impact consultant at nonprofit organization Community Shoulders, he tells us that the number one way to keep people safe is to make sure that everyone “knows the exact extent of the zones.” 

For more on drug-free zones and how it will affect D.C. moving forward, read our full story online

Cat Sposato (tips? csposato@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Another provision of Secure DC will go into effect on Monday. This time, D.C. Council is cracking down on Metro fare evasion, allowing MPD to stop people for fare evasion within Metro stations across the city. People stopped for fare evasion will be charged a $50 fine. In order to receive the fine, you must show your ID and address. If you refuse to do so, you’ll be fined $100. [Post]
  • Cherry blossoms have officially reached puffy white: the fifth stage of their blooming cycle, which means peak bloom is up next. According to the National Park Service, this is the earliest the blossoms have reached the puffy white stage since 2012. NPS predicts the trees will reach peak bloom next week and last until about March 23 to 26. [WTOP]
  • So long, Sam Howell. It looks like the Commanders quarterback is heading out of the city after a recent trade to the Seattle Seahawks. Hopefully, this move will change the fate of our hometown team, which finished 31st overall in the league last year. It’s another big move from new Commanders owner Josh Harris, who seems eager to make his mark on the team and the town. (WCP owner Mark Ein is part of the Commanders’ ownership group.) [NFL.com]

By Cat Sposato (tips? csposato@washingtoncitypaper.com)

Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Federal Prosecutors Hope the Worst Is Over for Crime in D.C., and They’re Tired of Taking the Blame for It.

Federal prosecutors rushed to call a press briefing with some good news Thursday: Crime is […]

  • Amid questions about the role federal prosecutors play in driving down D.C. crime, there’s new energy around the cause of empowering a local district attorney to prosecute cases and taking that power away from the United States Attorney’s Office for D.C. “Putting prosecution into the hands of a federal appointee is a complete violation of the founding principles this country was built on,” says former Attorney General Karl Racine. [Atlantic]
  • A confidential report commissioned by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration says that the plan to move the Capitals and Wizards to Alexandria is based on some seriously flawed projections about how much attendees would pay for things like hotel rooms and parking at the new Potomac Yard development. Nevertheless, Youngkin seems to be gearing up to try and advance the project once more, despite the objections of key Democrats. [Post, WBJ]
  • D.C. has increasingly been clearing homeless encampments with little to no warning, a process that can make it much harder for inhabitants to get connected to services or simply find somewhere else to go. Advocates believe the city is relying on some questionable legal justifications to support this change. [Street Sense]

By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)

Credit: Nevin Martell

Good Taste: Your Only Friend Shines With Irreverent Takes on Classic Sandwiches and Cocktails

Wanna get down on some of the best sandwiches around? Your Only Friend wants to […]

  • About a decade ago, D.C. had a distillery boom along with the rest of the country, but it’s cooling not with a bang but a whimper: “When we started there were less than 500 [craft] distilleries in the nation and now it’s nearly 3,000. We’re hitting that saturation point,” says Alex Laufer, co-founder of District Made (previously One Eight Distilling), which just closed shop. [Axios]
  • Meanwhile, another local biz is flexing its expansion model: Colada Shop is coming to Clarendon on Monday. [Instagram]
  • Just when oyster supplies are finally rising, it seems demand is waning—a look at how our local oyster population has come back and how the state of the economy and eating out have impacted fisherfolk financially. [WTOP]

By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)

New African Film Festival: 20 Years of Bringing the Continent’s Best to the Big Screen

With 26 films from 16 countries, the NAFF returns to AFI Silver on March 15 through 28 […]

When She Left Is a Bloody Page-Turner With a Soul

Crime thrillers often feature hit men, but the best portray complex personalities rather than mere […]

  • From covering Hillary Clinton’s presidential runs to Max: How Chasing Hillary author Amy Chozick turned her tale into The Girls on the Bus, a new show focusing on the unlikely bonds that can form among women reporters in high-stress situations. [Post
  • D.C. writer James L. Swanson talks about seeing his 2006 book, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer, being adapted into a new Apple TV series that premieres tonight. [Washingtonian]

By Sarah Marloff (tips? smarloff@washingtoncitypaper.com)


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2024 Spring Arts Guide https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/682485/2024-spring-arts-guide/ Thu, 07 Mar 2024 01:03:30 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=682485 2024 State of the Arts Spring Arts GuideD.C.’s State of the Arts You might think that after three years I’d be bored with our biannual arts guides. Haven’t we seen and done it all, you might ask? After all this time steeped in the arts in D.C., am I not immune to her charms? The reality is that each and every time […]]]> 2024 State of the Arts Spring Arts Guide

D.C.’s State of the Arts

You might think that after three years I’d be bored with our biannual arts guides. Haven’t we seen and done it all, you might ask? After all this time steeped in the arts in D.C., am I not immune to her charms? The reality is that each and every time I start sifting through events, assigning shows to preview and artists to profile, I fall in love with this city all over again. What our arts scene offers is vast, welcoming, born of countless cultures, a little (or a lot) queer, and it’s constantly spinning out new ideas, new talents, new icons, new legends, and new ways of seeing the world. 

When I interviewed SleaterKinney’s Corin Tucker for this guide, I was chuffed but not surprised that D.C. remains one of their favorite cities to play. When editing Hannah Grieco’s piece on Kathleen Hanna’s upcoming D.C. event, I was reminded that Bikini Kill once considered D.C. a second home. It’s no wonder up-and-coming local bands such as Birthday Girl and Argo and the Violet Queens (also featured in this guide) are inspired to make music here. 

And that’s just one faction of our thriving arts scene. This spring will also see the introduction of Lovail Long’s latest go-go musical, Chocolate City Records, and the 50th birthday celebration for Ms. Kim, the “Queen of Go-Go.” Duke Ellington’s music will once again reign courtesy of jazz pianist Ellington Carthan, while a new concert production of Fire Shut Up In My Bones offers a new take on the consequential Black opera.

Don’t let these local art scene movers and shakers fly—or play or create—under your radar; Credit Darrow Montgomery, Melissa Cooperman, Samantha Ostwald

When I talk about new legends, I can point to Dance Place’s Anastasia Johnson, Filipino collective the WRIZZARDS, and theater-maker Shanara Gabrielle. Honestly I could talk ad nauseam about everyone and everything included in this guide, but I’ll stop myself here. Instead I invite you to dive in and then head out. —Sarah Marloff

Table of Contents

Music


Theater


Books


Film


Dance and Performance


Comedy


Museums and Galleries

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682485
The People Issue 2023 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/645810/the-people-issue-2023/ Fri, 15 Dec 2023 14:48:47 +0000 https://washingtoncitypaper.com/?p=645810 Over the course of two days, staff photographer Darrow Montgomery and I sat in a room on the second floor of the Hill Center in Southeast. We waited as 10 of the coolest people in D.C. wandered through the Old Naval Hospital and eventually found our pop-up photo studio. While Darrow snapped their photos, they […]]]>

Over the course of two days, staff photographer Darrow Montgomery and I sat in a room on the second floor of the Hill Center in Southeast. We waited as 10 of the coolest people in D.C. wandered through the Old Naval Hospital and eventually found our pop-up photo studio. While Darrow snapped their photos, they would talk a bit about who they are and what they do—giving us a little taste of the accomplishments, personalities, and stories you’re about to read.

This year, you’ll meet a multitalented artist, a dogged and prolific reporter, an outspoken police employee, a once-reluctant runner, a Jerusalem native, a woman doing her damnedest to keep punk rock alive in D.C., and others.

This is our 11th People Issue. It’s consistently one of our favorite annual projects. It allows us to take a break from the churn of the news cycle, step back, and show some love to the people who do the same for their communities and for our city. Because people make this place, and these are some who shine. —Mitch Ryals

Photographs by Darrow Montgomery, taken Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at John Philip Sousa Hall. Interviews have been edited for length and clarity. A big thank you to the Hill Center DC for loaning us the space to complete this project.

Keyonna Jones Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Keyonna Jones

The Artist

Born and raised in Southeast, 35-year-old Keyonna Jones contains multitudes. She studied broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland, received two Edward R. Murrow Awards during her time working as a news producer at WNEW 99.1, and was one of the seven artists commissioned in 2020 to paint the Black Lives Matter Plaza mural downtown. Oh, and she’s also a photographer, a painter, a fashion designer, and a tattoo artist. But out of all of her identities, being the executive director of the Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center has been one of the most important. Jones founded the Center in 2015, and since then it has served as a place for local and international artists to showcase their work, attend classes, and participate in workshops. Dorvall Bedford

Tell us about the Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center. What is its purpose?

To me, it is a house of legacy—it’s come down through my family. But for the community, it’s a safe space. Sometimes on the eastern side of the river, we just deal with a lot of things that the rest of the city doesn’t have to deal with. We are a community that has been forgotten about and underserved. And there aren’t always words that can express how we feel.

Art saved my life. Being born and raised in Southeast and not having a space for artistic expression, I grew up as a creative but didn’t know that until I got out of Southeast. I kind of just felt like I was a weirdo. And so I always say that whatever I want for myself, I want for my community, which means a safe space of expression. We are an art gallery that supports Black and Brown artists. We provide classes, workshops, and rental space for the community. We also have offices for small businesses and a fully functioning kitchen for the community to do what they need to.

You said Southeast has been forgotten. In what ways would you say the community is underserved?

East of the river historically has lacked resources. Till this day, we are still a food desert. We’re the last to be developed but the first to be gentrified.

I had the opportunity to go to school across the bridge growing up. On the long bus rides home, I was able to see what the rest of the city had that we didn’t. I think that’s a reason why I want the Center to act as a middleman for resources, making sure that we can provide our residents with what they need. It’s not only just about art—we have wellness classes, and we bring in professionals and people from the city with resources that our community can connect to, because otherwise they won’t know about it.

Why do this all in the form of an art gallery?

Like I said, art saved my life. For a good portion of my life, I wasn’t being authentically myself. I was told very young that being Black and being a woman and being gay would be problematic for how I showed up in this world. And so I made a conscious decision to be somebody I thought that the world would accept. And by doing that, for so long, I really dug myself into a hole.

Art helped me start my journey of healing. I got the strength enough to go to therapy and learn to accept myself. I feel like that’s what art does for people. It doesn’t discriminate, and you can be from any background and any age. At the Center I like to say we support ages 5 to 105, because art is for everybody. And it’s just a universal language that I think is an incredible tool to use for healing.

Why are you interested in specifically highlighting artists of color at the Center?

I feel like, especially for local Black artists, being an artist is really hard. It’s not an easy gig. So it’s important to create space for other artists like me, because artists are the ones that start revolutions. Artists are innovators and create change. They help heal the community, and it’s important for me to create a space for other healers. Hopefully the Center can be a place for our artists to thrive and eventually literally change the world. As corny as that may sound, I really believe in that.

What makes Southeast special to you?

We just have a lot of flavor, there’s no other way to explain it. When I was creating the brand Soufside Creative, I didn’t want to make it “Soufside Creative D.C.” because I feel like when you’re here, you just know you’re somewhere else. There’s just a swag and a demeanor and a bossiness about us.

I think that same bossiness is what creates the misunderstanding about who we are—it’s seen as aggression and people have this fear of us. But we are some of the most thoughtful people. We are a people who are free, very communal, and very protective of who we are. We have our guard up because we feel like we have to protect ourselves—and we should. This community is special beyond words.

Bshara Nassar Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Bshara Nassar

The Storyteller

Bshara Nassar is the founder and director of the Museum of the Palestinian People, a small museum tucked away from D.C.’s many massive Smithsonians, on 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan. Nassar came to the United States to get his master’s in conflict transformation from Virginia’s Eastern Mennonite University. After graduating in 2014, he founded the traveling Nakba Museum Project, which would later be developed into MPP. He works with artists and contributors to curate exhibits that help to educate locals and visitors on what’s happening in Palestine from a Palestinian perspective.Camila Bailey

Tell us about where you grew up.

I was born in Jerusalem, and I grew up in Bethlehem on a farm that’s been in my family for over 100 years. Palestine has been through many different empires, occupations, mandates, and the history of my family has been that land. In 1991, the Israeli government declared that they wanted to build a settlement on that farm. So my family has been in Israeli courts to try and reclaim the land. Seeing my family struggle through the courts while still inviting others to come and learn about the situation and the farm … my whole life has been seeing my family struggle, so I wanted to keep that legacy alive. 

Is that what sparked the idea for the museum?

When I first came to D.C. in 2011, I did what everyone does visiting the city. I started going to museums, galleries, memorials … and I learned so much. But I felt lost because I couldn’t find a place where Palestinian and Palestinian American stories are told. So that’s where I got the idea. 

I started from nothing really, but as I was trying to figure out how to start this thing, I met with a Palestinian artist from a refugee camp in Bethlehem who was visiting, and I asked him what the project should focus on, and he said, “Art, because art has a way of opening people’s hearts and minds.” Especially with the Palestinian issue, which can be so divisive, artwork has a way of disarming people and communicating the message in a nonconfrontational way.

Were you surprised that there wasn’t already a Palestinian museum in D.C.?

I wasn’t surprised. I think the narrative, especially in the media, has been focused on depicting Palestinians either as violent or victims. Through the museum, we wanted to create a way to say, “Look, Palestinians are humans. We have a rich culture and history that dates back thousands of years. And, we’re a part of the United States. We have Palestinian Americans who are accomplished as chefs, artists, teachers, representatives in Congress.” It’s important to share these stories.

You mentioned the situation in Palestine can be a divisive issue. How does the museum navigate this?

The museum opened in 2019, after beginning as a traveling exhibit. But since October, we’ve had big crowds coming in to learn and ask questions. For us Palestinians, this issue didn’t start on Oct. 7. It started in 1948 and before 1948. We’re here to educate people. We’re not trying to make any political statements; we just want to show them the Palestinian perspective.

How does the current situation in Palestine affect the museum’s mission?

When things started to unfold in Gaza, many people came to grieve with us and stand in solidarity. We had a tour where everyone was crying just hearing what people are going through. Creating spaces for grief is so important. There’s a lot of trauma, and it’s important that we can get together to share it.

Sam P.K. Collins Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Sam P.K. Collins

The Reporter

At a time when local D.C. journalists have been dropping like flies, Sam P.K. Collins has emerged as one of the most prolific reporters left on the Wilson Building beat. What’s more, he’s become the preeminent voice reporting on communities east of the river during his roughly 12 years at the Washington Informer, a family-owned institution in the Black press for the past six decades. Collins got his start in the national media, including internships at NPR and NBC, but as a Brightwood Park native and George Washington University graduate, he has always had a soft spot for District news. The son of Liberian immigrants has also turned his eye to international affairs on occasion, striving to connect District residents to the broader African diaspora via several reporting trips abroad and a book on his personal journey published in 2021.Alex Koma

What brought you to the Informer?

I knew I wanted to be a journalist since the eighth grade when my father directed me toward it. At GW, I was an intern on NPR’s Weekend Edition on the production team, but my ultimate goal was to go into radio as a talent, not as a producer. And they told me that the easiest way to get out from behind the production table, it’s a stack of bylines. That’s when I met Denise Rolark Barnes, the publisher, through one of my faculty advisers and I got to the Informer. And after that, I never went back to NPR, nor did I have any intention of doing so. It was a turning point, an awakening in my African consciousness, in terms of just really being cognizant of who I am.

How so?

It was really just reconciling the conflict that I had been a first-generation American, born a D.C. resident, and reconciling those elements of my identity, having come out of GW seeing the class schisms and seeing the misconceptions that classmates had about D.C. folks. I was always in this identity crisis, going into certain media environments where certain news voices were preferred over others, where I’m certain that certain editors did not appreciate certain news stories because of the cultural misalignment, you know, what they might call microaggressions. So I spent the past 12 years of my career learning about myself. And being at the Informer, you come across people, with D.C. being a cool place, you see that overlap between local, federal, and international. You come across a lot of people who may not seem like newsmakers, but they’re newsmakers in their own special way.

How have you tried to bring your identity to your work?

Every element of D.C. culture has an African side of it. And even with our separation from the continent, we are still African by heritage, despite efforts to balkanize us. So all of my efforts are to show people the similarities in our experiences, showing that we’re all from the same place, we all have a common destiny. And that destiny is tied up in whether neocolonialism will cease to exist. And we have to understand who truly holds power. Why is it that, despite leadership changes, African countries or even majority Black neighborhoods in the Americas never seem to overcome certain hurdles? It’s all tied back to neocolonialism. I try to show bits and pieces of that through these stories because people understand things best when they see it through the prism of their everyday life.

Why stay in local journalism to accomplish this when the industry is under such pressure? What keeps you going?

It’s like a dopamine rush. When I’m writing the stories and I’m balancing things and juggling things, it can get a little frustrating. But that dopamine hit, when I see something that I wrote in the paper, I see people discussing it, I see it leading to some realization that somebody had about a situation, it makes it all worth it. So I do see myself staying in the industry for quite a long time. But I see myself teaching as well. I do that in some capacity now, and in that spirit of Marcus Garvey, I want to keep doing that, just building institutions and passing down knowledge and being very intentional about who’s learning what I’ve got to give.

Lisa Burton Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Lisa Burton

The Black and Blue Mom

Lisa Burton is a mom of three, a former sworn police officer, a current civilian employee at the Metropolitan Police Department, and the leader of the D.C. chapter of Moms of Black Boys United. MOBB United, as it’s known, is dedicated to changing the perceptions of Black men and boys and advocating for policies to improve how they are treated by police. The organization also offers support to parents who have lost their sons to violence. Burton is also one of several Black women who are suing MPD over allegations of race and gender discrimination. —Mitch Ryals

You spent decades in law enforcement. How did you initially get involved with MOBB United?

In 2019, when I had the opportunity to facilitate a roundtable at the [University of the District of Columbia] law school, that’s when I met Valerie Castile (mother of Philando Castile, whose death at the hands of police in Minnesota led to MOBB’s founding). Hearing her story, from her mouth to my ears, it was just heartbreaking. It was really her influence and her mentoring that convinced me. 

You were working as an agent in MPD’s internal affairs division at that time, and you’ve been outspoken about the challenges you’ve faced working there. Did you ever have doubts about continuing to work there?

I really was at a point where I didn’t want to be on the blue side anymore. I was really looking like, is this what I’ve dedicated my life to? There were a lot of things that bothered me inside that unit. We were saying one thing, but we weren’t doing it. And I’m not saying that the ideal wasn’t there to do it. I think [former Chief Peter] Newsham and [former] Chief [Robert] Contee’s vision was there to do it. But we have so much work to do, to root out some of these biases, implicit biases, and microaggressions, and just racist comments and misogynistic things. There’s a lot going on. 

Ms. Castile said, “Baby, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” I laughed, and she said, “No, I’m serious. You have to stay.” 

Why did you want to work in internal affairs in the first place? [IAD is the division responsible for investigating uses of force and allegations of official misconduct.]

I came to IAD with a whole bunch of law enforcement experience, but I was coming as a civilian and as a mom. The reason I wanted to do it was because I am a mom. I just felt like someone needed to be in there to say, “Hey, no, you need to look at it from this perspective.”

They hired three civilian agents in internal affairs to try and turn the corner of not just having sworn investigators because there was a lot of distrust: blue investigating blue, and that was historic. And they did everything they could possibly do to keep me out of the use-of-force cases. Most of the time when there was a shooting, they would find a way to send me back to the office, and it became obvious.

You’ve been an outspoken critic of the department—signing on to a lawsuit and calling out a co-worker for telling a racist joke—all while keeping your job. Has there been any fallout?

They allowed him [John Hendrick] to retire, and then come back and run the Force Investigations Team [responsible for investigating officers’ uses of force]. I think that’s where the frustration comes in. The hammer of discipline and accountability seems to be heavier on people of color, the Black and Brown folks.

He got to stay, but the one who saw something and said something [Burton] was pushed out. Now I’m in the Firearms Registration Branch.

Do you think MPD’s new chief, Pamela Smith, will bring the changes you’re looking for?

I’m happy that there is a new chief. I also wonder: Is this a result of all of the women that filed those lawsuits? Is this a Band-Aid? Because that doesn’t resolve it or take away what happened to the rest of us. I guess we’ve got to wait and see what happens. [Smith was hired in 2022 as MPD’s chief equity officer after Burton and several other women sued the department.]

Have you talked to Chief Smith at all? Do you know her? 

I do know her because when she came on the job, her third day on the job, I met with her as the chief equity officer. And I have met with her to talk about Moms of Black Boys. She was telling me she wanted to get behind the program.

How did that go?

Well, I mean, she said the right things. But after she was sworn [in as chief], I noticed a shift.

How so?

Just the common courtesy of when you walk past and you say, “Hey, how you doing?” There’s none of that. She would speak. Don’t get me wrong. But it was not the same.

Can you elaborate?

I was standing at the elevator talking to another manager. We had called the elevator, and out comes the chief with her new driver. We look up, and I say, “Good morning, chief,” and she says, “Good morning,” but it was kind of curt. I just thought, you know, it was a terrible night, I think we had some shootings. So I didn’t take it personal. Because what she’s up against, it’s terrible.

It’s a big job.

It is a big job. And so I started toward the elevator with the other manager, and she walked in before we did, and as he and I were about to step in, she turned and did this (Burton holds out her hand to demonstrate), and told us to take the next one; she needed to be alone. I was shocked. That had never, ever happened to me.

Was that the chief big-timing you?

For me, it felt like she was, like, poppin’ the collar: “You can wait.” She has a back elevator she could take that’s not going to put her in the crosshairs with us. I’ve ridden on the elevator alone with Chief Contee after we filed the lawsuit. He didn’t care.

So I emailed her. I told her she offended me, and I felt marginalized … I told her exactly how I felt about it. 

Did she respond?

She replied, and she apologized, and said that was not her intent, that she needed to have a private conversation with her driver, and she would chat with me soon. I just thought it was a weird behavior for someone who came in as a chief equity officer because you would think that the forefront of your mind is about making people feel included. But my point is, you can’t just talk it, you’ve got to walk it.

Being a mom is another major part of your identity. Do you ever talk to your kids on how to interact with the police?

Oh yeah. All the time. My little one [14], I make it a joke. My older one, he’s 24, he thinks he knows it all. But both of them I’ve had the conversation with. Avery, he’s the youngest, I always tell him if anything happens, and you start to get questioned, you say, “Call my mom, call my parents.” And if that doesn’t work, just say, “Lawyer.”

But with my older son, who drives, I’m always telling him, “Don’t come over to Virginia.” I tell him that, like don’t come over here because he looks like a target. He’s 6-foot-5, he got tattoos on his face, got the hair, and he gets stopped when he comes over. Like, he got stopped for his light or signal or something dumb, pretextual type things. But I’ve told him to comply, just do what they say. And get a badge number for me. Because I want him to come home.

Dieter Lehmann Morales Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Dieter Lehmann Morales

The Negotiator

When COVID-19 struck in 2020, Dieter Morales was working a job at a law firm that he didn’t particularly enjoy. He wondered why he’d come to D.C. in the first place. Fast-forward three years, and he’s suddenly at the heart of the city’s civic life as a political organizer, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Columbia Heights, and a member of the Washington Teachers’ Union’s bargaining team that’s currently fighting for a new contract. It’s a head-spinning turn of events for Morales, who moved to D.C. after struggling to find a job out of grad school and has become one of the most prominent Latinx figures in local politics in just a few short years. He’s also sought to straddle D.C.’s rising left flank and its more conventional political organizations. He got his start organizing with the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America before transitioning into more established union politics ahead of a bruising battle with D.C. Public Schools over another deal for teachers.Alex Koma

What made you want to become a teacher?

My dream was always to work at the United Nations, to be a diplomat for our country or something like that, and that’s what I went to school for in New York. But I couldn’t find a job, and a friend’s law firm was hiring, so I just took it so that I could have an address in D.C. and try to find something better here. But the pandemic was a very transformative time for me. I really took the time to assess where I want to go in life and where I was going. I really didn’t like the job that I was working at because I was working for the enrichment of corporate lawyers. I was just a cog in the machine. I didn’t feel like I was giving back. That was when I really started applying to DCPS. My mom was a teacher, and it was always an idea I’d considered. It took a while to get my certification and find a job, but now I’m a 10th grade history teacher at the Columbia Heights Education campus. It really ties everything together. I get to work in the same neighborhood that I live in. And I represent the same neighborhood that I live in.

You jumped into union organizing within just two years of working at DCPS. With a lot of negotiating on the horizon, how did you manage that?

I was honestly surprised that they asked me to be on the contract team, given that I felt like I was still wet behind the ears. But I had some experience in organizing from my time with DSA, and I felt like I could provide my fresh, more newbie perspective here and provide fresh eyes. I’ve tried to be raising larger issues that are not just stereotypically sorted with schools, like, climate change is real, and we really do have an opportunity here to take initiative and not be reactionary. And we’ve got to start preparing ourselves for that right here in D.C. We got to make sure that the school buildings themselves are prepped and ready for that and that our kids are getting an education and that they know why this matters, why it’s important to them, why they will need certain skills to go out into the real world once they graduate to be able to tackle these these problems. And maybe once we get this new contract done with all this included, we can use this to push for other legislation across the District to go hand in hand with it.

There’s been a tremendous amount of discussion about the number of kids who are committing crimes and are victims of crime in the city. What needs to change?

Crime is at the top of a lot of people’s minds, but we can’t be so reactionary and so siloed in our thinking that we think that we can only resolve public safety or crime issues by locking people up or putting more money into the police. It takes a village to solve these issues. And we’re a small community here in the District of Columbia. And I think we often forget that, and education is a huge part of that. If we tackle education and fund education adequately, we can go a long way to making people feel safer. I don’t want to say education will be the magic bullet that will solve the issue—we also have to look at transportation and housing and affordability and all these other things that are tied together, but education is at the nexus of all of that.

D.C. has never had a Latinx councilmember, even as the city’s demographics have changed, particularly in neighborhoods like yours. Do you think that’ll ever change? What’s the state of political representation for your community these days?

I think it’s a matter of time. We took a big step in that direction when we passed the noncitizen voting act in D.C., empowering groups who are traditionally disenfranchised due to their immigration status. I was born in Mexico City, and I didn’t become a citizen until six years ago. I was just a witness to democracy for a long time, so I know what it feels like. When I talk to street vendors or other folks in the Latino community here, they are very much aware of what’s going on around the District. They would love to have their voices heard. It’s just really going to take the work of places like the D.C. Latino Caucus and others to build up that leadership. We’re trying to bring together all the people in D.C. government who identify as Latino and give them the leadership training and skills and capabilities that they need. I think Latinos have kind of been lagging behind in that effort, but here in D.C., we’re in a good spot to really take that on and make it a priority for us going forward.

Karen Ann Daniels Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Karen Ann Daniels

The Director 

Storytelling has always been Karen Ann Daniels’ end goal, but it took a while for the self-described ’90s kid, who sang in high school, acted in college, and always loved film, to find her medium. Since 2021, Daniels has held dual positions at Folger Theatre: artistic director and director of programming. She came to D.C. from San Diego (where she was the associate director of Old Globe theater’s arts engagement department) by way of New York, where she led Public Theater’s Mobile Unit and helped launch a theater program in correctional facilities. But the longtime student of William Shakespeare received no less than 18 messages about Folger’s search for a new artistic director. —Sarah Marloff

What is most appealing to you about your position at Folger?

What’s crystallized in my mind is this idea: What is a cultural institution? Why does it exist? Why is it important to have? Most exist with a mission that has something to do with giving access to everybody, preserving their collection for all … and most of them don’t actually do it. 

I care about these [institutions]. I think they have value. Do I always agree with what that value is or should be? Maybe not. But we can all agree it has value. That’s the place I come in and say, “Let’s make good on our promises to actually bring real value to people whose land you’re sitting on, whose neighborhood you’re taking up space in.” Frankly, the Folger hasn’t made good on it in 92 years. But this was an institution that decided they were going to stop and reframe who they are.

If you ask people what is D.C.? D.C. was Chocolate City. It’s still Chocolate City, demographically. Yet, people ignore it. There is culture here. There is art here. So how do we bring those things together? 

Why does Shakespeare’s work continue to resonate and connect with so many different types of people?

I always think of him as—other than slavery—our original import. 

But what he was in his time was radical, fun—[he] really gathered people. He was the popular television—he was Dallas. And he’s wicked. As he gets older, he plays with that more, he gets more political. … It’s embedded in our system culturally, but it is the poetry of it, the language. It’s something we’ve all been able to get legitimized by. 

Wisely, on [Folger’s director Michael Witmore] part, he understands and sees that the value in the humanities has significantly diminished, and that speaks to who we are now and where we’re going. We don’t, in our culture, focus on those intangibles. The humanities and the arts are part of the intangibles that make us who we are, that pull us together, make us agree on what democracy looks like. That’s what theater does. That’s what Shakespeare does…. That’s the thing I’m here for.

So how do you bridge those community gaps?

Most people want to have access…. It’s not that they don’t want it. It’s that they think “we” don’t want them. And some of that’s true—the fear is, “then you’re gonna ruin the thing I love.” [Because] they want everyone to love it the way they love it. That’s not realistic. 

Second, though we build a bigger building, the real work is figuring out what people want. Where are they hanging out? Where are they building culture? How do they want to come in and be part of what’s going on here? Are we willing to allow their opinions, their wants, their needs to impact what we do, and what we care about so that there can be a mutual exchange. 

Because doing this is how we make room for other stories? 

That’s part of it: To be able to interpret it in our own time and find value and meaning for it in our own lives. That’s not to diminish the history or how you like it: I like my eggs sunny-side up; you like yours scrambled. 

Shakespeare teaches us how to tell stories. I think he’s so much more useful than just to recreate over and over. It depends on what’s happening in our time, in our neighborhoods, what’s on the map of who we are. We want to be able to play and have fun with it, but also expand on it, stretch it, evolve it.

Sidney Hui Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Sidney Hui

The Thrifter

Sidney Hui is quick to admit it: “I’m a people pleaser.” It’s part of what has made the Philadelphia native so successful—both in her online vintage store Disco Loft, and the clothing swap series that stemmed from the digital shop. Hui has been thrifting in the area since her freshman year at the University of Maryland. After graduating in 2016, she moved into an Adams Morgan apartment that served as the catalyst for Disco Loft. In 2020, quarantining in the 1,000-square-foot home, her then roommate remarked, “You own a lot of stuff,” Hui recalls. “She was like, ‘You don’t even drink, why do you own three sets of martini glasses?’” She suggested Hui sell some items on her Instagram page, and Disco Loft was born. —Camila Bailey

How did you initially get into thrifting?

It was just something my parents introduced me to. My parents are really great at saving money, and I think that was their drive at the beginning. I never thought much about it. I was just never taught that items had to be new. Fast fashion wasn’t really talked about when I was younger, but with a greater awareness about the industry and sustainable shopping, it’s definitely become more environmentally driven.

Where did you get the idea for the clothing swaps? 

I kept seeing this type of event pop up in Brooklyn, and it seemed like such an amazing vibe. Disco Loft had grown enough to the point that I just decided to host one to see what would happen. I collaborated with another vintage seller [in April 2022]. We didn’t do RSVPs, we didn’t do any graphics, I just posted on Instagram. We were going in blind, and we had probably 50 people come by. We went from doing one every season to doing one every other month because the demand has increased so much. 

And you’re doing preregistrations now. Have you ever had to cap the swaps?

We don’t cap it ever, especially since it’s at a public park. The highest registration we had was around 1,000 in our August [2023] swap. In total, we had roughly 1,300 people come out. 

That’s huge. Does everyone bring items to swap? 

We definitely haven’t had any issues with the amount of stuff. We’ll have a group that comes by and just takes clothes, and we have so many items we’re happy to open it up to everyone. We’ve ended up with 150 trash bags’ worth of unclaimed clothes before. 

I’m overwhelmed just thinking about this. Do you ever get stressed out at these events?

More and more people are looking at these swaps as a social event so it’s pretty casual. I think at some swaps you’re almost bartering and trading, but this is really a drop-your-stuff-and-look-around event. You have people trying things on behind benches, and others shouting compliments; when it’s good weather, people bring picnics to hang out at the park afterward. The swaps are mostly about bringing people together in an unofficial way for [vendors] that also ties in elements of community and sustainable fashion. It’s so nice to see people in this setting and just hang. Plus, I get to find some really cool pieces and see other people’s [thrifting] successes. It really brings me joy. 

Do you have to be an extrovert to get into the thrifting space?

Not at all. I have vintage seller friends who are definitely not extroverted and prefer not to engage with customers at events, or some who run their whole business online. It’s however you want to experience it.

How do you like to experience it?

It gives me the perfect space to be a people pleaser. I get to pay attention to how to make these experiences enjoyable for others, and I’ve met so many people through thrifting. I want people to feel comfortable talking to me. I don’t want there to be a barrier of vendor-customer. I want this to feel like being part of the community. 

Matt Green Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Matt Green

The Captain

Matt Green is many things—a graphic designer, an artist, a DJ—but runner wasn’t always on that list. As a high school wrestler in Hyattsville, running was a way to cut weight. But he grew to appreciate it more during his time at North Carolina A&T State University. After graduating in 2009, he returned to D.C., ready to join the buzzy new creative community he saw taking shape. He jumped right in, launching his own clothing brand, and later co-founding District Running Collective where he is now a Lead Captain. Not your average run club, DRC is a collective whose goal extends beyond PRs and twice-weekly runs. They boast an attendance of up to 150.Camila Bailey

How did you get the idea to start DRC? 

DRC started on my 26th birthday with a midnight 5K on H Street [Northeast] called Midnight on Mars. My Instagram handle is @marsgreen. I already had a big HBCU following, and I had people who were supporting the clothing brand. We had seen a lot of things happening in the national running community so we wanted to test it out. 

When you hosted that first run, did you have a vision for what the running group could be?

At the time, I was going through a health journey, just trying to get into shape. It was definitely not the goal to start something this big. But seeing how people responded, it was sort of an aha moment of, “Oh, I think we got something here.”

How did you decide how you wanted to build out DRC?

It’s the run club versus run crew distinguisher: A running crew is made up of people who might not necessarily look like runners and aren’t just signing up to train. Our motto is “if you don’t run, you cheer,” so we have cheer squads coming out for every race. DRC grew on the concept of: Support people and they’ll support you.

We really based DRC around community needs. We established a paid membership option pretty early on for those who really wanted to buy into what DRC is about. You started to see relationships develop between people that showed it was bigger than running, so we began identifying things to develop this experience: seminars for first-time homebuyers and yoga sessions. We developed community service initiatives and hands-on programs with organizations DRC members are invested in.

When you started DRC, did you think there was space in the city for these “runners who don’t look like runners”?

We’re still trying to find a space to exist in the city’s running culture and have that conversation of “what does a runner look like?” I think we were at the forefront, being a community of color and helping others find the importance of running and the importance of just moving, period. 

What inspired you when shaping DRC and its mission?

What you see in a lot of cities with the [major races] are groups just looking to represent their city and to give visiting runners an authentic experience. We want to create that same initiative here to try and showcase the District and what these different parts of D.C. actually look like.

Trails are great, but we take pride in running through the city. We want people to see us out there. You’re not going to get that if you’re just on the trails. When we’re doing the cheer squads, when we’re running out on the street, folks actually get to see that this is us and see this big community—this community of color—and they get to see us run.

Is D.C. becoming a big running city like Boston or New York City? 

I have hope. We started our own race in 2020, District 19, to create our own spin on a D.C. race. It began as a socially distanced race during the pandemic when we wanted a way to show our support and raise awareness about the social injustices happening at the time. The race gave us the platform to do that in our own way. [Every year since], we’ve continued to take a cause that we feel is important and build a race around it. It’s a resistance race.

Natalia Otero Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Natalia Otero

The Survivors’ Advocate

Natalia Otero co-founded DC SAFE 18 years ago to address the District’s lack of a 24/7 service provider for domestic violence survivors. “Domestic violence is not convenient,” she says. It happens at night and on weekends. A child witness of DV and a survivor, Otero is passionate about this work; she ignored the people who said SAFE wouldn’t succeed and instead helped build an accessible safety net for survivors. Armed with pagers and volunteers, SAFE had 65 calls their first year. In 2022, they answered 41,000 calls. SAFE has come a long way, and the work is ongoing.Sarah Marloff

COVID had a huge impact on domestic violence survivors. Where are we today in the fallout?

Thankfully, the numbers have stabilized. At the beginning of COVID, we kept seeing those numbers go up and up and up. [Now] people are able to get the services they need without a lot of stress. 

A couple of the things do concern me, however: the lethality. If you think about those indicators [extreme isolation, increased issues of mental health, substance abuse, job loss] as creating more excessive violence, those were the things happening in these families during COVID.

It has created a situation where we’re really concerned about the level of violence continuing to happen, along with the number of homicides. We haven’t seen anything like this since the early 2000s. In the decade preceding [COVID], we only lost three clients that were part of our Lethality Assessment Program. I think we’re up to eight—three just this year. 

The other issue is that the majority of our clients are living under the poverty level. Clients that were just a hair from having significant fiscal disturbances are still suffering. We’re seeing a lot more of our clients coming in with chronic homeless issues or chronic employment issues, things that are very difficult and take many years to get resolved. 

Does the lethality assessment refer to the fact that SAFE specifically focuses on high-risk clients? And what does that mean?

We try to determine what’s happening in the relationship and what are the behaviors of the person doing the harm, so that we can determine what percentage of our population is at higher risk for severe injury and/or homicide. We’re not turning people away, but for the majority of the population there are things that can indicate to the person doing harm that the stakes are too high and they’ll stop. For a smaller percentage of clients, that person is not going to stop. 

Of the 12,000 survivors we saw last year—it’s usually around 1,500 a year that are assessed as high risk.

To some degree, we were thinking about domestic violence backward for a very long time: “What can the survivor do [to] keep themselves safe? Why do they stay?” But the devastating, honest truth is that domestic violence is, at its core, a power dynamic issue. It’s our responsibility as an organization to be able to give [high risk clients] a tailored and very different set of resources in order for them to get out safely.

What services does SAFE provide?

The number one thing we provide is information. Our advocates are trained on all sorts of systems and local legislation to help a survivor understand what the landscape is.

The other thing we offer is crisis services… It could be anything from an emergency stay in our apartment-style units within an hour of an incident, to a simple lock change or a ride to your sister’s house. Really anything that helps you be safe for the next 24 hours.

The next thing we offer is a more holistic, coordinated response. Once we get through the immediate urgency, the next question is, “who of our 42 partners can help you?”

We also think about the systems reform piece. We feel very strongly, and I feel personally very strongly, about the fact that our clients are telling us their experiences on the worst day of their life, most of the time. We have to honor that by being thoughtful about their needs, what they’re saying needs to change, and trying to advocate within the different systems of the city to make sure that their rights are being respected. That they’re actually being able to receive the services they’re entitled to without too much red tape. 

Would you like to add anything?

I will say that we know more and have more resources and more amazing advocates than we give ourselves credit for. If we really did want to make a big dent, we have the resources to do it. It’s just a matter of political commitment to doing better by survivors. I think it’s possible.

Christine Lilyea Credit: Darrow Montgomery

Christine Lilyea

The Stage Maker

In the five years since Christine Lilyea bought Slash Run, the Petworth music venue meets burger joint, from Jackie Greenbaum, she hasn’t had much time to contemplate what she’s done for the local music—and burger—scene. Though there’s no shortage of music venues in D.C., few cater to rock ’n’ roll as much as Lilyea’s spots. She has two now, which is one of the reasons she hasn’t had much downtime: She opened her second venue, Brookland’s the Runaway, in March 2022. —Sarah Marloff

How did you come to own two music venues in D.C.?

I came here as a musician [in 1999]. I was signed to an indie label in New York City. Then I  stopped playing music, got married, and became a stay-at-home mom. It was awesome. But then I was getting back into music [managing a new venue for a local restaurant group] when Greenbaum offered me a job to book at Slash Run. She came up to me one day and was like, “I don’t know how to run a music venue, and I don’t really want to, do you want to buy Slash Run?” 

I was like, “I don’t have any money, but yes, I do.” I figured out a way and ended up buying Slash Run in 2018.

Damn, how did you come up with the money?

My father helped me purchase it. He was diagnosed with ALS and knew his time was limited and said, “This will probably be the last thing I will be able to do for you.” So he loaned me the money for Slash Run. I’m very grateful for that. He died months after—in 2018.

When did the Runaway come into the picture? 

Then 2020 and the pandemic hit, but we just kept pushing. I told my staff, “If you don’t want to work, I understand—you’ll always have a job here.” They all stayed and we came out of it. Part of me always wanted to open another bar and the opportunity to have the Runaway, and its two floors, presented itself. There are no partners. It’s really just me and my employees—they’re my rock. I’m very lucky. 

We got the lease in August, and I opened in March 2022. 

What does running and owning two venues entail?

I’m just always putting out fires. That’s what it really is. What does it look like? Putting out fires all day long. Things break, and I gotta be there.

Both spots capture D.C.’s punk-rock roots, which aren’t always visible to the naked eye anymore.

I have to agree. That’s exactly what I was going for. The coolest place, to me, still and always will be the Black Cat. I admire them so much. But I wanted to own one. I wanted a rock ’n’ roll bar in the city. And then I wanted two.

What are your hopes for the venues in 2024? 

You’re probably seeing how a lot of places are closing—it’s like one every week. So us surviving the pandemic, and then opening this really cool place—to be honest, it has not been easy. We’re kind of just trying to survive at this point. Prices of everything are going up. With the Runaway, we’re trying to make it mostly a bar now, less food, more of a music venue. That way we don’t have to disappoint people with raising prices. I’m just hoping that whatever changes we make, it helps us because it’s hard out there for everybody right now. 

[But] we want to be around, we want to stay, and we want to keep putting on cool bands. A lot of bands don’t have this opportunity. With all these bigger venues around, we want to keep an affordable place for them to play.

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