http://www.blisslivinghome.com/PDFs/2011_01_DC_bestofonly

2 0

best o f t h e CI t y

1 1

A new decade can redefine an entire city. what’s hip, hot and now for 2011? we track down the best ideas, designs, trendsetters, tipples and bites for the year to come Edited by George W. Stone, with Christina Holevas, Tiffany Jow, Marjorie Korn, Lauren Marie Pritchard & Madeleine Starkey

/11

11 best

of

style

The New Crew of ties and pocket squares, dapper designers Lukas Smith (left) and Scott Permar (right) are launching a major accessories collection chockablock with bags, tie bars, cuff links, hats and shoes. Te 2011 spring tie collection will be blooming with floral prints, seersucker and a light, bright color palette. In stores in NYC and online, the Bloomingdale neighborhood-based brand hopes to nab a DC retailer soon, too.

64 |

|

Jan/Feb 2011

Portrait by greg Powers.

Te guys behind Derringer Friday don’t like to separate work from play. Tese “dandified Southerners1 in-exile” took sartorial matters into their own hands when they couldn’t find the style supplements to fit their ideal. Starting with a line

best

2 0

2

of

style

1 1

“sales are up and leases are stIll retaIl-frIendly, whIch makes 2011 great for expandIng boutIQues lIke mIne.” –kassie ReMPel, owneR of siMPly soles, with locations at national haRboR and GeoRGetown PaRk

3

Three for The roAD

roCK STArS

As if we needed another reason to hit up Tysons Galleria— now we have three! Bountiful boutiques by Elie Tahari, Vineyard Vines and Louis Vuitton will be opening their doors inside the ever-expanding mall throughout the spring.

Few District jeweleristas make a style statement like Couture Saboteur. Each design is individually created on a form and purposely positioned for maximum eTect.

6

ABouT TowN while sorting through urban options, new-to-DC designer Celia Reyer fell for the District. why? “with the city’s history and international culture, my aesthetic will thrive.” As will her clientele—her gorgeous gowns are perfect for DC’s gala-goers.

7

10 01 1

8

BuTToNeD uP! 4

It’s one of Oprah’s favorite things for 2011, and it will be yours, too!

20 02 2

After working in DC politics for years, Rochelle Behrens could never ffnd a blouse without a gape.

So she made it! her line of shirts, featuring a patented doublebutton, comes in four fashionsavvy, suit-ready styles, each crafted in cool stretch-cotton and available in black, white and color.

5

fINe LINeS

“fiink global, act local” just got even more stylish. raid your closet for an old jean jacket and a fab scarf (perhaps grandma’s heirloom hermès), and send it over to Good Jeans Co. for a major mash-up. former Pr exec Kate fralin launched the couture biz after lining her own jackets with aplomb.

30 03 3

04

MULTI-FACETED Locally based Couture Sabatour will make its mark on 2011 with launches for its spring line. 01 Custom bronze and gold tone leather cuff with resin crystals, $375. 02 Gunmetal spheres and blank link necklace with chains, $300. 03 Bronze serpent collar with multi-chain drop, $650. 04 Jumbo ebonized studded wood cuff, $250.

9

MuST Go

MuST See

Born to a Barbadian dad and Trinidadian mom, Dana Ayanna Greaves infuses her paper jewelry and silk dresses with her multicultural background, all available at her new boutique in Chevy Chase.

we’re watching WaPo’s Style section shape up after losing much of its aesthetic team with the departure of fashion editor robin Givhan (to The Daily Beast) and critic Blake Gopnik in December.

10

11

uNZIPPeD fArr froM heAveN

Saks Jandel loves reality Tv. After hosting Christian Siriano and his capsule collection last year, the Chevy Chase boutique brought Isaac Mizrahi and his spring line to DC exclusively.

friendship heights just got friendlier to chic, niche brands at Julia Farr. halston heritage, Tibi and Milly rate at this lawyer’s new boutique.

Jan/Feb 2011

|

| 65

best

of

C u lt u r e

1 1

/11

11

Te BoLD and the BeAuTIfuL A local artist. A local landmark. A newly local family. A national show. first staged at the Miami1 based rubell family Collection, the landmark exhibition 30 Americans is being contextualized for the Corcoran Gallery of Art

this october, featuring the most infiuential African-American artists of the last three decades. Look for eye-popping works from JeanMichel Basquiat, David hammons and performance artist Nick Cave. DC’s Iona rozeal Brown steals the show with Sacriffce (above).

66 |

|

Jan/Feb 2011

iona rozeal brown’s sacriFice courtesy oF the rubell Family collection and the corcoran gallery oF art.

2 0

2 0

best

of

C u lt u r e

1 1

2

To The MAx! fie Kennedy Center’s maximum INDIA festival. “fie great international festivals produced by the

3

worDS froM The wISe

Kennedy Center are one factor in making the DC cultural landscape unique,” says National Symphony orchestra Maestro Christoph eschenbach. “fiis year, the NSo will perform in maximum INDIA, giving us the great opportunity to experience this culturally rich part of the world.”

susan cho PhotograPh courtesy oF the studio gallery. chris martin’s isaac hayes courtesy oF the corcoran gallery oF art. andy warhol image courtesy oF the national gallery oF art.

Musicians Andrew Bucket and Lex Paulson love to rock onstage, but think the

internal life is worth examining, too. So they dreamed up The Folly, DC’s new print literary journal.

An all-star editorial board and inspired submissions from DCites will stretch your intellect while running the gamut of lit: expect poetry, satire, literary criticism, loquacious musings and even some wild art showcases around town.

SMooTh MoveS

fie South Asian folk dance Bhangra has become a bright international phenomenon. on feb. 11, the sensation hits DC in the secondannual Elite 8 Bhangra Invitational, a hot competition at the warner fieatre.

4

ouTSIDer ArT

fie Studio Gallery in Dupont Circle opens The Magic of the Melting Pot: Immigration in America this month, showcasing a set of visionary works inspired and inffuenced by the non-native experience from artists around the globe—and closer to home.

7

wILD ThINGS! 6 Hometown boy

canvases the city with what just may be too cool for the color school.

8

DC-born-and-bred Chris Martin opens his flrst solo show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s NOW Contemporary Art Program on June 18. ever ecstatic and chromatic, Martin will install three original 40-foot-high paintings in a site-speciflc installation in the museum’s atrium, where the artist’s bold— and, let’s face it, trippy—paintings will give a fltting nod to the sculptures in the same light-fllled space. Martin’s Isaac Hayes (above) radiates shafts of vivid color.

exTrA! exTrA!

fie flrst show dedicated to Andy warhol’s tabloid mania débuts at the National

“I’m lookIng forward to seeIng brave, bold shows In 2011—works that –Rachel cothRan, Public Relations challenge patrons and shake thIngs up a bIt.” cooRdinatoR, the coRcoRan GalleRy of aRt 5

10

TrIPLe ThreAT fie Washington Ballet rocks into

the new year with its rollicking February program, featuring Christopher Bruce’s Rooster, set to hits by the Rolling Stones; Trey McIntyre’s High Lonesome, choreographed to Beck tracks; and an electrifying world premiere by Artistic Director Septime Webre.

11

Gallery of Art this fall, with 80 works of sensationalism.

9

DISTrICT uNITeD

Sam Gilliam’s audacious project comes to life this month in the Kreeger Museum’s In Unison: 20 Washington, DC Artists, where a ffock of the District’s flnest creatives show oT their skills in a variety of mediums. It’s a chance to see local works in a uniquely local landmark space.

MATerIAL MATTerS In

february, the Textile Museum kicks oT its yearlong dedication to preservation with Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of Recycling Textiles. fie exhibition features 18 works that demonstrate how textiles can be artfully repurposed, with each use gaining another layer of meaning and cultural importance.

Jan/Feb 2011

|

| 67

best

of

desIgn

1 1

11

/11

The Real DeALer 1 Design-savvy Mei Xu knows how to engage even the most powerful senses. A candle from her high-

end interior accessories company, Blissliving Home, was a white house gift in 2010. Now, she’s turned her sights on another reigning couple with the launch of her London collection—just in time for the royal wedding. Picture applique pillows with red telephone booths and sheets bedecked with the city’s skyscape. while no one can say whether Prince william—or his betrothed—will rest his royal head on xu’s luxe wares, her diplomatic style is Tt for a king.

2

BuILDING The DreAM Nearly Tve years after its ground-breaking,

the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial is on schedule to open this August with a star-studded landmark dedication. Generous landscaping near the Tidal Basin fianks the heroic structure, which will be the Trst memorial to honor an African American on the National Mall.

68 |

|

Jan/Feb 2011

Portrait by greg Powers. mlk Jr. national memorial image courtesy oF the washington, dc martin luther king, Jr. national memorial ProJect Foundation, inc.

2 0

2 0

3

best

of

desIgn

1 1

“washIngton fosters opportunItIes to create great new buIldIngs and landscaped envIronments that can be contextual, human-scaled, transparent and sustaInable statements of the 21st century.”

–daniel J. cinelli faia, ManaGinG PRinciPal, PeRkins eastMan

7

usiP image by timothy hursley. nyu dc camPus and district architecture center renderings by hickok cole architects. double octoPus lamP courtesy oF well built.

LITTLe APPLe?

4

PeACe ShowPIeCe

September brings the much-anticipated grand opening of architect Moshe Safdie’s United States Institute of Peace, a Modernist expression of bended glass and bold diplomatic ambitions. Te uSIP, expected to achieve LeeD Silver status, will consist of three distinct sections, connected with atriums and an undulating roof of steel and white glass, swooping near the Potomac river.

6

Te design-savvy stars at hickok Cole Architects are spearheading their best project yet: New York University’s 75,000-squarefoot building on L Street, Nw, slated to open in 2012. Te ultra-mod space encases oflces, classrooms and a 200-seat auditorium.

MuSeuM MAJor

5

The STYLe hoT SPoT

Just in time for spring, hipsters house-wares giant CB2 will open its accessories-fflled showroom in Georgetown. with a huge expanse of street-side display space for the 12,875-square-foot post, the cutting-edge, contempo shop is set to become the city’s go-to for chic, inexpensive essentials.

Te National Park Service is busy rehabbing Te Petersen House, the site of Lincoln’s death. Slated to re-open this spring with a repaired façade and refurbished interiors, the historic space will resume its invaluable post alongside ford’s Teatre and Museum.

9 CeNTer STAGe If you think design

competitions are hard, imagine facing ofi against 15 DC ffrms to win the task of creating a building about design. hickok Cole Architects did just that, and were awarded the job of erecting the District Architecture Center, set to break ground in March.

Te ffrm’s design connects with the city through broad glass walls.

10

ShowING off!

what’s Kelley Proxmire’s secret? Tis interiors guru and real estate problemsolver ffxes up long-for-sale houses, which are snapped up within weeks. She’s a goto among ffrms such as Gibson Builders and washington fine Properties.

8

SuPerIor INTerIor

Ann Blackwell’s Well Built, one of DC’s top design shops, brings Keeping It Close on Jan. 20, 6-8PM, a panel discussion by area designers promoting local goods and ecofriendly building and design.

11

NeT Zero

for this fall’s Solar Decathlon, Parsons Te New School for Design’s carbonneutral home will be built in Deanwood and sold via a no-interest loan.

Te project is a collaboration between habitat for humanity and DC’s Department of housing and Community Development.

Te home’s energy use is one-tenth of its neighbors.

Jan/Feb 2011

|

| 69

2 0

best

of

n Igh t l I fe

1 1

/11

11

1 “I don’t like to be in competition with myself,” says Michael romeo, whose Dirty Martini is the Trst full-fiedged

restaurant of his nightlife ventures. he could’ve fooled us, upping his game with his latest venture. Aesthetes will swoon over its soaring ceilings and leather-clad club space. But the real joy is for cocktail lovers, who will enjoy a genius drink list that includes three incarnations of the cocktail that inspired the bar. A 4,000-square-foot deck that can seat 600 will be open year-round out back.

70 |

|

Jan/Feb 2011

PhotograPhy by Joshua cogan.

The Bar rAISerS

2 0

2

best

of

n Igh t l I fe

1 1

7

PeNNIeS froM heAveN

8

GoING wILDer!

Hudson’s Alan Popovsky’s new digs are money.

we cannot tell a lie: Lincoln, Popovsky’s new resto-lounge downtown, is sure to have the same boozyschmoozy atmosphere that’s made hudson the perennial washington favorite. But what’s really going to set it apart is local artist Maggie o’Neill’s canvases of honest Abe and the tricked-out log-cabin art instillation fashioned out of some one million pennies.

3

4

abraham lincoln Painting by maggie o’neill. Flaming zola cocktail courtesy oF stir Food grouP.

CheCK IT New BAr ouT! AfiPeeL

Te guys who brought Lima and ultrabar bring Barcode, a suave downtown lounge at its best. Sample its conscientiously crafted eats (don’t think about sharing your grilled calamari!), with inspired cocktails, like Te Green Tea.

5

Club Life’s Jamie hess and Mcfadden’s Martin Corboy bring us Blue Banana, where a bevy of brews (12 tap, 20 bottle), titanic televisions throughout and zero pretension will make this Petworth locale your new favorite neighborhood bar and hangout.

ArT houSe reDux

West End Cinema is the booze-peddling movie house showing hard-toffnd indie flicks and your favorite classic oldies.

SuShI oN The DL

NIGhT AT The MuSeuM 6 Museum, Penn

Quarter’s newest libation destination, shuttered 10 days after opening, but our money— and likely there’s—is on a 2011 reopening.

Anyone who has ever had a truly outstanding cocktail knows a good drink is a work of art. Te creators of Museum seemed to have taken that adage to heart when it opened the event space in late December 2010.

Masterfully crafted Prohibition-erainspired cocktails were on offier, and will likely star once more when the venue decides exactly what framework it will use to reinvent itself. The management worked closely with the DC historic Preservation o-ce on the club’s construction and poured millions into the space, so it’s unlikely it will remain closed for long. Tough plans for cocktail parties, business meetings and gala rentals have been shelved in the short term, we’re watching for the doors to be thrown open once again.

Te owner of Vetro will sacriffce his o-ce space to allow for a doubling of the semi-secret lounge’s square footage. when the hot house reopens, vetro, located atop Lima, will feature a late-night sushi bar, open until 3am.

9

10

hAY uP There!

Te world’s most powerful man will look up to you at Top of the Hay, the swanky new rooftop spot at the white house-adjacent hay-Adams hotel. expect to see all the President’s staffi sipping on signature Smooth orchard Storms.

11

Look for new cocktails at Zola from brothers Ari and Micah wilder. Teir swell swills use 19th-century elements, like gomme syrup of acacia trees.

The New fAN fAve

Redline is where local fans root for the home team in style. It’s part sports bar, part lounge, with beer taps at each table and a tequila bar upstairs.

hAuTefiTeCh

Eden, a bona ffde downtown hot spot with its sweet heated rooftop bar, is seeing a fab hightech expansion of its ffrst floor, complete with interactive screens, imported from overseas.

Jan/Feb 2011

|

| 71

2 0

best

of

food

1 1

/11

11

The Top ChefS and chefs Mike Isabella (left) and fabio Trabocchi (right) are ready to deliver. “Italian restaurants in DC serve the same categories of antipasti, pastas, secondi and desserts. Graffiato’s menu will be Italian-style with small plates, value-priced so guests can enjoy several snacks and dishes—pizzas, pastas, meats, cheeses and desserts,” says Isabella of his Penn Quarter restaurant, set to open in spring. >> Trabocchi made Maestro famous. Now, he’s back with Fiola, an upscale modern trattoria— where the menu changes daily—opening in spring. “fiola is the same location where I started years ago, when I landed from Italy,” says Trabocchi. “DC feels like home. how could I not come back?”

72 |

|

Jan/Feb 2011

PhotograPhy by greg Powers.

1 A rising star. A returning champ. fiey’re both Italian—and they both rock. we’re hungry for action,

2 0

2

best

of

food

1 1

“It’s stIll top-secret, but don’t be surprIsed to fInd a spIcy new restaurant In the west end by summertIme...”

–ashok baJaJ, RestauRateuR and owneR of Rasika, bibiana, aRdeo+baRdeo and thRee otheR dc venues, on Plans to exPand his eMPiRe.

7

New KID oN The BLoCK

What do you do when you own the most proTtable restaurant in town? You

GoNe fIShIN’!

Todd Gray has an appetite for construction! fie equinox chef spent 2010 rebuilding his obamafavored eatery. In 2011, he’ll launch Todd Gray’s Watershed, serving clam chowder, oyster po’ boys and cajunspiced catTsh in the new NoMa ’hood.

3

4

BurGer MANIACS 6 Haute hamburger

helpers will be busy in 2011. Look for openings from celeb chefs and local burger bigwigs.

5

bobby Flay image by noah kalina. Virture Feed & grain image by meshelle armstrong. oysters courtesy oF black restaurant grouP.

ITALIAN STALLIoN

fie man who brought the magic to Teatro Goldoni is bringing his modern Italian touch to Penn Quarter. In spring, chef enzo fargione tapped design Trm Grupo7 to create Elisir, a palace of pasta perfection, Tuscan ffiavors and all the Barolos you can sip and savor.

10

“My favorite thing to eat is a cheeseburger,” says Bobby flay, who will open Bobby’s Burger Palace on K Street in spring. Top Chef ’s blazing richard Blais will Tnally lauch his Flip Burger Boutique in Penn Quarter this spring. Logan Circle gets an esteemed outTt with the launch of Standard Burger. And Passion food will open Burger, Tap & Shake on washington Circle.

whAT’S IN STore

“It’s all about the fun for us.

Picture the perfect lunch, brunch and night scene,” says Cathal Armstrong of Virtue Feed & Grain, his new old Town spot, open in spring.

open another—fast! fie Clyde’s restaurant Group is launching a 35,000-square-foot eatery in the former Borders space on 14th Street—in part to capitalize on the business they turn away from old ebbitt. fie unnamed two-story space, set to open in fall 2011, will feature a classic American menu and room for practically everyone.

9

PeArL worLD

fiis summer, Jeff Black expands his urbane empire with Logan Circle’s Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, a sassy seafood spot on 14th Street. fie spot-on space? It’s upstairs at Black Jack, a pub-style space for brews and boccie!

8

BACKflALLeY BITeS Get ready for a 24-course feast in a secret spot!

okay, so it’s not a very big secret, but former vidalia chef r.J. Cooper is busy planning the spring opening of Rogue 24, his tasting-menu extravaganza serving two dozen bites in a new Blagden Alley space.

KoreAN CrAZe! Anyone who’s tasted

Chef Yesoon Lee’s spicy-savory $11 Korean omelet brunch at Mandu will flip their bibimbop once the restaurant’s bigger, bolder new venue opens in Mount Vernon Triangle. “Gun bae”—Korean for cheers!

11

uNCoMMoNLY GooD

fie Atlas District keeps getting better and hotter! Chef frederik De Pue launches his three-tier culinary destination Smith Commons as an unpretentious restaurant and public house, serving American comfort food (devour the duck leg conTt) and a few Belgian favorites, along with classic cocktails and 40 craft beers. It’s the h-Street haunt you’ve pined for.

Jan/Feb 2011

|

| 73

2 0

r esou rCes

1 1

/11

11 b

o

t

c

e

f

h

i

e

t

s t

y

•

2 0 1 1

•

A new year calls for a new set of priorities! And, it seems, a new set of names, numbers and addresses to remember. But we’re here to make that easier for you. Want to know more about a person, place or product highlighted in DC Magazine’s Best of the City 2011 feature? Here’s where to look.

best of Style

Artaya 1425 Wisconsin Ave., NW, 202.567.7292, artisticaya.com Couture Saboteur couturesaboteur. com. Found locally at: Upstairs on Seventh, 555 12th St., NW, 301.351.8308; Redeem, 1734 14th St., NW, 202.332.7447 redeemus.com Derringer Friday derringer friday.com Good Jeans Company 202.686.5354, goodjeansco.com

74 |

|

Jan/Feb 2011

Julia Farr 5232 44th St., NW, 202.364.3277, juliafarrdc.com Te Shirt

by Rochelle Behrens 202.319.1698, the-shirt.com Tyson’s Galleria 2001 Intl. Dr., 703.827.7730, tysons galleria.com.

Saks Jandel 5510 Wisconsin Ave., 301.652.2250 Washington Post Style washington post.com

best of culture

30 Americans Te Corcoran 500 17th St., NW, 202.639.1700, 30 americans.com Andy Warhol: Headlines Te National Gallery, 4th & Constitution Ave., NW, 202.737.4215, nga.gov Elite 8 Bhangra Invitational Te Warner Teatre, 1299 Penn. Ave., 202.783.4000, elite8 bhangra.com In Unison: 20 Washington, DC Artists Te Kreeger Museum, 2401 Foxhall Rd., NW, 202.337.3050. kreeger museum.org maximum INDIA John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, 202.467.4600, kennedycenter.org NOW: Chris Martin Te Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St., NW,

202.639.1700, corcoran.org Rock & Roll by Te Washington Ballet Shakespeare Teatre/Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St., NW, 202.547.1122, washington ballet.org Second Lives: Te Age Old Art of Recycling Textiles Te Textile Museum, 2320 S St., NW, textile museum.org Te Folly Literary Magazine thefollydc@ gmail.com Te Magic of the Melting Pot: Immigration in America Studio Gallery, 2108 R St., NW, 202.232.8734, studio gallerydc.com best of deSign

Blissliving Home 866.952.5477, blissliving home.com CB2 3307 M St., NW, cb2.com

District Architecture Center 421 7th St., NW, 202.667.5444, wafonline.org Hickcok Cole Architects 1023 31st Street, NW, 202.667.9776, hickokcole.com Kelley Proxmire 4519 Wetherill Rd., Bethesda, 301.320.2109, Kelleyinterior design.com Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial mlk memorial.org New York University Campus 1307 L St., NW, as.nyu. edu/page/ NYUDC Perkins Eastman 2121 Ward Ct., NW, 202.861.1325, eek architects.com Peterson House 516 10th St. NW, 202.426.6830, nps.gov/foth Solar Decathon solardecathlon. gov; parsit. parsons.edu

U.S. Institute of Peace 1200 17th St., NW, 202.457.1700, USIP.org

Museum 915 F St., NW, 202.638.1234, dcmuseum.com

Fiola 601 Penn. Ave., NW, fabio trabocchi.com

Redline 707 G St., NW, 202.543.1724, DCredline.com

Graffiato 707 6th St., NW, grafiatodc.com Mandu 453 K St., NW, mandudc.com

nightlife

West End Cinema 2301 M St., NW, 202.419.3456, westend cinema.com

Bar Code 1101 17th St., NW, 202.955.9001, barcodedc.com

Vetro 1401 K St., NW, 202.789.2800, vetroevents.com

Blue Banana 3632 Georgia Ave., NW, 202.713.5011, blue bananadc.com

Zola 800 F St., NW, 202.654.0999, zoladc.com

Well Built 1541 14th St., NW, 202.299.0597, wellbuilt space.com best of

Dirty Martini 1223 Conneticut Ave., NW, 202.503.2640, dirty martinidc.com Eden 1716 I St., NW, 202.785.0270, edendc.com Hay Adams Rooftop 16th & H St., NW, 202.638.6600, hayadams.com Lincoln 1110 Vermont Ave., NW, lincoln restaurantdc.com

best of food

Clyde’s Restaurant Group clydes.com Bobby’s Burger Place 2121 K St., NW, bobbysburger palace.com Burger, Tap & Shake Washington Circle: 2200 Penn. Ave., NW Elisir 427 11th St., NW

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace 1612 14th St., NW, blackrestaurant group.com Rogue 24 Blagden Alley, NW, Mt. Vernon Square Smith Commons 1245 H St., NE, 202.396.0038, smithscommons dc.com Standard Burger 1801 14th St., NW Todd Gray’s Watershed 1225 First St., NE, 202.408.4870, toddgraywater shed.com Virtue Feed & Grain 106 South Union St., Old Town, Alexandria, virtuefeedand grain.com