Volume 7, Number 4
April 21 - May 4 2010
All the News you can use!
Mother’s Day Brunch - In Country
Walter Nicholls’ Vanilla - Food & Wine
Earth Day
at40:
What’s in store for Mother Nature
Like Mother, Like Daughter - Body and Soul
Washington, City, State DC
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Serving Washington, DC Since 2003 THE
DOWNTOWNER
Vol. 7, No. 4
GM G georgetown media group
Publisher Sonya Bernhardt Editor at Large David Roffman Feature Editors Garrett Faulkner Gary Tischler Publisher’s Assistant Siobhan Catanzaro Contributors Alexis Miller Andrew O’Neill Amanda Gokee Jack Evans Jody Kurash Bill Starrels Linda Roth Jordan Wright Mary Bird Kathy Corrigall Claire Swift Ari Post Pam Burns John Blee Michelle Galler Jennifer Gray Lauretta McCoy Donna Evers Photographers Yvonne Taylor Tom Wolff Neshan Naltchayan Jeff Malet Malek Naz Freidouni Robert Devaney Advertising Director Charlie Louis Graphic Design Alyssa Loope Jennifer Merino Counsel Juan Chardiet, Attorney Published by Georgetown Media Group, Inc. 1054 Potomac St., N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Phone: (202) 338-4833 Fax: (202) 338-3292 editorial@georgetowner.com www.georgetowner.com Find us on Twitter (SonyaBernhardt) or Facebook (I Love The Georgetowner) The Georgetowner is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The Georgetowner newspaper. The Georgetowner accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The Georgetowner reserves the right to edit, re-write, or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright, 2009.
“All The News You Can Use”
About the Cover: It’s the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Where does our environment go from here? Page 16.
About our
contributors Body and Soul columnist Katherine Tallmadge is nationally recognized and respected in the nutrition and weight loss field. She is also prized and sought after by the media for her expertise, which is why her name or face may be familiar to so many of you. Author of “Diet Simple” and media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, she regularly appears on CNN, Fox News, ABC Nightly News and NBC’s Today Show, and has been featured on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, The Emeril Lagasse Show and the Diane Rehm Show. She is also an award-winning journalist and has written columns for The Washington Post, Shape Magazine, Vegetarian Times, Eating Well and Politico. She has been named the best nutritionist by The Washington Post and Harpers’ Bazaar. Katherine, based in Georgetown’s East Village, is passionate about helping people transform their health and their lives, prides herself on keeping up with scientific research in the nutrition and weight loss fields and has been sharing her insights through counseling, corporate wellness programs, speaking engagements and the media for 20+ years. Page 24. Veena Trehan has reported for Reuters, Bloomberg News, and National Public Radio on public policy issues. A D.C.-based freelance reporter, she has written over 50 profiles of the most fascinating Washingtonians for the Georgetowner. After working as a technology consultant for over a decade, she received her Masters in Journalism through a Reuters Fellowship, adding to a Masters in Business Administration from Darden and an electrical engineering degree from MIT. Page 16.
contents 4-5 — DT Observer 6-7 — Education A Capital Experience 8-9 — Editorial/Opinion 10-11 — Business The Bottom Line Girl
Veena Trehan has reported for Reuters, Bloomberg News, and National Public Radio on public policy issues. A D.C.-based freelance reporter, she has written over 50 profiles of the most fascinating Washingtonians for the Georgetowner. After working as a technology consultant for over a decade, she received her Masters in Journalism through a Reuters Fellowship, adding to a Masters in Business Administration from Darden and an electrical engineering degree from MIT. Page 16
Jack Evans, councilmember for Ward 2, was first elected to the Council of the District of Columbia in a 1991 special election and has been re-elected ever since. When not working on balancing D.C.’s budget or approving legislation, Jack spends his time addressing the dozens of goals and challenges which arise daily in the 13 distinct neighborhoods of Ward 2. Jack and his children (the triplets Katherine, John and Christine – age 13) live in Georgetown with their golden retriever Kelly. [Editor’s note: We’d like to congratulate Jack on his recent engagement to interior designer Michele Seiver!] Page 9.
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12-13 — Real Estate Mortgage Ask the Realtor DT Featured Property 14-15 — Performance/Arts 16-17 — Cover Story Earth Day at Forty 18-19 — In Country 22-23 & 29 — Food & Wine 24 — Body & Soul 25 — Calendar 28,30,31— Social Scene Eric Lax Book Reception Rugby Benefits Nest Leading Friends Back Jack Kitty Kelley Book Party Corcoran Ball Fashion for Paws
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1 gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 3
dt
observer
Is vince Finally Nailing Down His Platform? By Gary Tischler
D.C.
city council Chairman Vincent Gray is known to be a careful man — he likes discussions, debates, he thinks about things before making up his mind. After months of rumors, prodding and thinking, Gray finally announced that, yes, he was going to run for mayor against incumbent Adrian Fenty. Here’s a bit of a surprise: Like the kid on the long-ago Mapo commercial, he likes it. “I’m really enjoying this,” he said after spending well over an hour or so talking to a gathering of the Kalorama Citizens Association in Adams Morgan. “I’m in this for the long haul. I aim to win. I love this city, that’s why I’m running.” This wasn’t a fire-and-brimstone, kick-theother-guy’s-behind kind of talk. In a lot of ways, this appeared to be Gray feeling his way, like trying on a new suit he never thought he’d wear. This sort of event — communing with citizens groups, political gatherings, neighborhood groups — are going to be and already have been heavily on the chairman-candidate’s schedule as the campaign moves inevitably onward. When it came to Fenty, he said “I’m not big on going negative on people, of attacking people.” He didn’t need to. Fenty was in the vicinity of several controversial fires brewing, including a parks and recreation contracting investigation and a battle between D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Chief Financial Officer Natwar N. Gandi. Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham came to announce that “Gandi wrote a letter saying
there is no surplus,” referring to a newly disneeded badly. I would not, and I’ll say this right covered surplus that could be used to pay for a now, bring the school board back as it was. Not proposed raise for teachers. in any way would I do that. We needed that tool Gray wasn’t here to bash people, or get lost in to effect change. My difference is in the arena the thicket of the back and forth verbal battles of process, of how things are done, of respect.” that have broken out Gray said that, while he during budget talks and and Fenty barely commuin the aftermath of an nicate with each other, he apparent settlement of talks and meets a lot with the teacher contract neRhee. “I had a productive gotiations. “I will have talk with her right after to say when I heard she testified this week. We about the surplus this have our differences but week, I almost fainted we do communicate.” it was such a surprise,” “I think our emphasis on he said. education should be much Gray appeared to be broader, more visionary,” in front of a mostly he said. friendly, if not very “We’ve got to think about large crowd, and so his pre-K and starting earlier, is speechifying tended and then we have to think to be on the eloquent, about vocational school visionary and positive emphasis, about UDC, side. “I’m about discloabout getting a first-class sure, about clarity, about two-year effort here also. airing things out, about “You know, I will say this working together with much,” he said. “I’m here Vincent Gray people,” he said. “I’m to win, but I may not. I know about maturity, pragmatism, bringing people the risk here. I’m giving up the chairmanship, together.” Maturity comes up a lot in Gray’s in essence, and I’m pretty sure I could win that talking these days. It’s his way of contrasting if I had decided against running for mayor. But himself with the much younger Fenty, who’s in what’s important here is that in the courses of his late 30s, as opposed to Gray’s 60s. He sees the campaign that we have a chance for real deFenty as impulsive, someone who doesn’t play bate that will benefit the city, about the schools, well with others. about how we do business here, about our fu“I want to set the record straight here,” Gray ture, the government. If we get that, if people said. “I’m not here to oppose school reform. I’m come away from this campaign no matter who for school reform, which is something we’ve wins with a better understanding of the city, of
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what we need and how do go about doing it, then that’s a positive, all the way. “Not that I won’t win,” he said. “I’m not saying that. I intend to win. ‘When I’m mayor…’ I like saying that.” Asked how much money he’d raised for the campaign, he paused. “You know,” he said. “I don’t know. I really don’t know right now. We do have a lot of signs getting set up.” That answer appeared to so startle people for its refreshing candor that there was no followup. “My staff tells me I talk too much at these things,” he said. “But I like to have discussions. People need to know things. So, ask away.” Gray began by artlessly hitting on the difficulty of running a campaign while maintaining his role as council chairman. “We’re in a difficult time,” he said. “We’re considering the budget now. All sorts of things can happen, as you can see already. We’ve got the teachers contract. “It feels sort of schizophrenic to me,” he said. “I’m a candidate, I’m the chairman. Sometimes it’s both. Everything you do is seen in a couple of ways by other people. But I think everything I do is going to be because I love this city and the people of this city.” Which may explain that on his campaign website, Vincent Gray has morphed into the more informal Vince. “Well, it’s both,” he said, laughing. “Believe it or not we had quite a discussion about that. In high school, people that knew me called me Vincent. But that was then.” And this was no, a thumbnail night out of a candidate’s life, morning coming for the chairman, when it would be another round of budget talks, when it would be Emancipation Day.
Coming up Downtown: If you want to know about what’s going on in the Downtown and Penn Quarter areas, and what’s in store for the future, check out the Downtown BID’s annual State of Downtown public forum April 27 at 8 a.m. at the W Hotel (515 15th St.). The 2010 theme is “Creating Confidence in the Future,” a hopeful view, given the state of the national economy. The forum will have a panel discussion with highlights from the 2009 State of Downtown report and reports on the economic future. Panelists will include William B. “Bart” Bush, regional commissioner of the U.S. General Services Administration National Capital Region, David Mayhood, president of the Mayhood Company, Valerie Santos, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Mitchell N. Schear, president of Vornado/Charles E. Smith. Downtown BID President Richard Bradley will be the moderator. Go to www.downtowndc.org/state for information. Sculpture Project Also on the downtown front, you might have seen some very big and beautifully colorful sculpture going up at the National Museum of Women in the Arts outside at the New York Avenue Medium from 12th to 13th Streets. It’s the work of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, and its all a part of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project, a four-phase project showcasing outdoor sculptures, all of them the work of world-class contemporary art by women. The dedication of the first phase, featuring the works of Saint Phalle, will be held April 28, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:30 p.m. and a big grand evening fundraiser and celebration inside the museum. (For more information, visit www.nmwa.org/sculptureproject).
Niki de Saint Phalle “Nana on a Dolphin,” 1998 Photo by Lech Juretko Courtesy 2010 Niki Charitable Art Foundation
Niki de Saint Phalle “Arbre Serpents (Serpent Tree),” 1999 Photo by Lech Juretko Courtesy 2010 Niki Charitable Art Foundation
Shakespeare’s Birthday Bash at the Folger The ever-popular and ever-young master William Shakespeare will once again have a birthday celebration at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill (201 East Capitol St. S.E.), in an event that’s become a major attraction with tons of visitors. The birthday party will be held April 25 from 12 to 4 p.m. inside and outside the Folger, including tours of the library, music, dancing a portrait contest, story-telling, clowns (no doubt) and fools, fortune telling, quill pen writing, garland making, student performances and scavenger hunts. Feel free to dress up in Elizabethan dress and participate in “Spontaneous Shakespeare,” hosted by Mistress of Revels Cam Magee. As always, the queen, Elizabeth I will host a cake-cutting ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Attendance is free.
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Georgetown Garden T
O
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S AT U R DAY M AY 8 , 2 0 1 0 10 AM TO 5 PM
education
A Capital Experience By Amanda Gokee
Tickets $30 (if purchased before May 2) $35 thereafter
By mail: 3313 P Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 By phone: (2020) 965-1950 Tickets can be purchased the day of the tour from Keith Hall at Christ Church 31st and O Streets, NW Washington, DC Watch for Tree Box commendations the week of May 3.
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here I come from, you’re just as likely to make a bovine acquaintance as a human one, and if you’re trying to get to a gala, you’re probably in the wrong state. But Vermont’s claims to fame don’t end there; the home of Ben and Jerry’s, great east-
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ern skiing and real maple syrup, this small state has one big personality. Growing up in the rural countryside of Vermont, I decided that my senior year was the time to explore. I packed up my trusty Subaru and hit the road, heading down I-95 toward Washington to write and work for The Georgetowner, living and breathing the
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6 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
culture, people, sights and essence of D.C. My first day on the job, I was immediately swept up in the craziness that defines deadline. Proofing, copy editing and finding pictures like there was no tomorrow, by the end of the day I was already right at home in the second-story converted house office. But it wasn’t until my second day that I started to realize exactly what I had gotten myself into. Expecting a call for coffee, I sat down at an editorial meeting (my first) and got my assignment. Cover story. Research classes that are offered in the area; cooking, art, language. Talk about jumping in with both feet; there really was no turning back, and so with an excited apprehension I started researching right away, finding local classes and weeding through the information to pick out the best and brightest. But those first two weeks were just the beginning. Taken under the wing of all the GMG staffers, soon I was attending my first event, a book signing in Bethesda. The book, “The Overnight Socialite,” certainly drew an interesting crowd. I weaved my way through a maze of legs clad in leather pants, encountering the blonde, buxom and Botoxed, all the while taking pictures and recording names for the paper. “Champagne? Cheese?” the hostess offered. Certainly a contrast from the granola-crunchers we love in Vermont. Cultural differences aside, D.C. presented to me a mecca for all things artistic and theatrical and, best of all, affordable on my nonexistent student/intern’s budget. Perusing a free publication at a Metro stop, I was soon overwhelmed with the variety of local free events. Ah, the choices!
With a pocketbook that was light at best, the free events and performances held a special place in my heart. I selected one, a dance group that was performing at Sydney Harman Hall for one of my first ventures to the downtown area. Feeling quite independent, I walked down the street in my new Steve Madden boots, hopped on a bus and then took the red line Metro to the Verizon Center, all the while inwardly extolling the virtues of public transportation. Speaking of public transportation, I must admit that I have fallen hard, first figuratively and then literally. Head over heels, I admired Washington’s bikers from afar at first, from my safe vantage point on the curb, with an expression of awe. Then, gaining confidence on my own bike,
I proceeded to attempt a curb-hop that ended in disaster (and a dazed phone call home that scared my mother more than she would admit), but also to the detriment of a certain unsuspecting med student who had the misfortune to jump out from behind a parked car, right into my projected trajectory. Given these biking fiascos, I have adopted a more cautious stance, banishing my dare-devil biker to the back seat. Now I play it safe on the C&O Canal, the Capital Crescent Trail and wide, wide sidewalks (plenty of room for walkers to pass unharmed). But working for the paper, I have gotten to know the city not only from the seat of a bike, but the seat of a delivery van. “Oh no!” you may be thinking. Ohh yes. With the publisher behind the wheel, we set out in our rented van with two pallet-
fuls of papers in the process of “revamping” the paper route. No street corner was left unturned, no coffee shop without its allotted bundle of Georgetowners or Downtowners. With papers quite literally hot off the press, every other week delivery time came; I laced up my running shoes, and proceeded to help deliver a distribution of over 40,000 papers. Many a surprised business owner gave me a quizzical glance, remarking “You don’t look like the usual delivery man!” Far from it. From close scrapes with the rental van, to delivering the up-and-coming Southwest waterfront, to exploring the haunts of Bethesda, we have done and seen it all. Oh, and expect us again in two weeks. Delivery incidents aside, through my semester at The Georgetowner I have gotten to know Washington inside and out (Sonya, the publisher, is a self-proclaimed “alley queen,” after all), learned the innermost workings of a newspaper and found half a dozen of the most devoted, inspiring people that make the paper what it is. Call them crazy for working at a paper in this day and age (Internet, blogs, Kindle, oh my!), but they love what they do and they do it like no one else can, 26 times a year with fresh content and a devoted following. Recently, Siobhan, the publisher’s assistant (and all-around Georgetowner guru) smiled at me, laughing as she told me “Amanda, I feel just like a proud parent!” But just because I’ll be leaving them next year for college, doesn’t mean I won’t consider The Georgetowner a sort of home, the birthplace of my involvement in the publishing world, a place unlike any other.
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Editorial/opinion
GU Campus Plan a Joint Effort
A
fter April 19’s rather turbulent CAG meeting to discuss Georgetown University’s 10-Year Campus Plan, Jennifer Altemus, a Georgetown alumna whose staunch opposition to the plan has earned her the (too often excessive) vituperation of University students across campus, seemed to have the most even-handed approach of the night. “I just hope we can reach a compromise,” she said. It seems like the obvious solution, but in a dispute where passions tend to rule the day, it was a refreshing break from the usual back-and-forth finger pointing. Joining a long tradition of town-and-gown clashes, the campus plan debate, which has raged since the University released their tentative draft
last fall, threatens to widen the already tender schism between students and neighbors. It’s an ugly and, we believe, unnecessary reality. Part of the allure of Georgetown is its incredible proximity to a top-notch university and the up-and-coming cosmopolitan center of the country. To be tangled in such a fractious dispute cheapens that magic. Which is why, despite the valiant efforts of both sides to advance their claims, they must make reasonable concessions. The University should take its cue here. As the entity in this dispute with the most funding, the scrappiest legal team and, arguably, the bulk of public favor outside Georgetown, it has the upper hand in the matter and, therefore, the responsibility to account for the needs of residents more than it has done in the past. The school’s half-hearted attempts to provide more on-campus housing have seemed perfunctory at best, which will inevitably lead to greater congestion within the neighborhood as the graduate student count rises. As for policing efforts, the University should step up and pitch in to Georgetown’s successful reimburs-
able detail program, which will benefit students and neighbors alike — especially given the recent string of robberies in the West Village — and will allow for more thorough policing where University DPS officers have limited jurisdiction. That said, residents must learn to better steel themselves to the realities of living in an urban center near a college campus. There will be noise, and there will always be noise, and demanding that students be arrested or escorted home from bars, as several advocated Monday night, is an excessive measure that will incite further bad blood. Nobody expects neighbors to put up with another Philly Pizza, but rowdiness has been the touchstone of the college experience throughout the history of universities worldwide, and students, though they should be held accountable for their actions, should not be presumed criminals. We urge residents to participate in the University’s forum on April 25. We urge students to join the discussion. And yes, we urge the University to listen. In the end, it’s a team effort.
letter to the editor To the editor:
T
his morning walking the footpath leading from Foxhall Road into Georgetown I observed a variety of wildlife making use of the canal: a great blue heron, a mallard, a duck with its ducklings and fish all in the polluted water of the canal. To the naked eye it seems the canal is polluted by aluminum cans, bottles and oil. The footpath is not equipped with trash cans. I recommend that the city install waste cans (better yet, recycling cans) every several hundred feet along the footpath to encourage proper disposal of waste, and positively impact the environment for these lovely animals to live healthier. Needless to say, it was sad, and I believe that would be a good start.
Taylor Cowles Foxhall Village
Local Politics, National Implications
T
ip O’Neill, the late and legendary Speaker of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts, once said “all politics is local,” a phrase that every man and woman running for office has remembered as holy writ ever since. A slightly different version of the phrase is operative in Washington in 2010: “everything that happens locally becomes automatically political.” This is the year when Mayor Adrian Fenty is running for re-election and is being challenged by Vincent Gray, the chairman of the D.C. city council. The two biggest local events on the public stage interact like cousins who shouldn’t be kissing. That would be the FY 2011 budget, a $5.3 billion little packet presenting the ways and means to address a $523 million deficit. Just two days before Fenty presented the budget to the council, Gray at long last made his announcement to run for mayor, which instantly gave them the dual roles of electoral rivals as they sat across from each other, meeting for the first time in months. When Fenty presented his budget, it included the possibility of social service cuts, over 300 D.C. government job cuts and increases in parking fees, among many other proposals. Fenty also told the press that the budget would have sufficient funds to cover District schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s proposals in the still-unresolved contract negotiations with District teachers. On April 6, the other shoe dropped. Fenty and Rhee gathered together with Washington Teachers’ Union President George Parker and
8 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
National Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten triumphantly announced a tentative agreement after two years of heated, tough and often bitter negotiations. The package included a 20 percent pay raise package for the teachers spread over five years, some of which would include private financing. Rhee would get greater latitude in hiring and firing teachers in case of declining enrollment or budget deficits, although Rhee had already exercised quite a bit of that latitude last fall when nearly 300 teachers were fired because of “budget pressures.” The proposed contract resolution was not good news for Gray, whose critique of Fenty’s management style was rooted in the mayor’s and the chancellor’s high-handed, bypass-the-council method of operations. Fenty has always placed most of his political capital on improving education in the city, an all-in gamble that seems to be paying off with higher test scores and the appearance of overall improvement. But wait, as they say on local news, the news doesn’t stop here. Only days later, prodded hard
by Gray, neither Fenty nor budget officials could answer exactly where the numbers for the teacher pay raises were coming from. But the following day, Chancellor Rhee did: “I have good news,” she told the council. “There is a surplus.” You’d think good news like that would make people happy. But the figure — arrived at by an apparent error in estimating the average teacher’s salary — had the exact opposite effect and ignited a firestorm that still spitting out ash like an Iceland volcano. It’s still hard to completely say with confidence that the teacher’s contract, still to be ratified by the union and then the council, will actually fly. The figure of the surplus — anywhere from $34 to $40 million — seemed to angry teachers to be right around the figure saved by the firing of nearly 300 teachers in the fall reduction in force, a mass firing disputed then by the union, which unsuccessfully sued. That bitterness spilled out all over again. Worse confusion followed: Gandhi returned to announce, with some chiding of Rhee to boot, that the surplus wasn’t there, which resulted in a lot of e-mail and press back and forth over the issue. Rhee insisted later that she had found additional sources of funding for the pay raises to the tune of $29 million. The union now has re-filed a suit to re-instate the fired teachers, as Gray and others have also urged, even while pursuing the contract agreement. One thing’s certain: Nobody seems with any certainty exact funding numbers and sources at this writing. The final outcome of the contract, the raises, the numbers are, of course, all weighted heavily in terms of the politics of the results, even as the phrase “for the children” pours from everyone’s mouths. Fenty and Rhee most obviously have a lot at stake in the successful conclusion to the contract negotiations as another illustra-
tion of validation of their straight-ahead reform efforts. Gray, who’s acknowledged the trickier aspects of his position, will have to tread carefully through this new budget-school thicket. The union is in the midst of an election, too, with Doug Sanders challenging Parker for the president’s job. The stronger and longer the fallout from these confusions and controversies, the more of a national political issue the budget and schools become, especially for the Obama administration, which has promoted school reform efforts similar to those initiated by Rhee nationally. Round and round it goes, to the point that in Washington, the adage may end up being turned on its head: all local politics eventually become national.
errata Photo by Greg Tinius/Tinius-Arts Photography
By Gary Tischler
In our April 7 cover story on the Georgetown House Tour, a photo of the Carriage House at 3316 P St. shows a different home. The correct photo is reprinted here.
Opinion
Jack
Evans
Remembering Dixie Carter
Report
T
he D.C. Public School system and Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s decision back last September to fire 266 teachers and administrators in order to close a budget shortfall has been back in the news. As background, the teacher’s union and DCPS have been negotiating a new contract for over three years. The crux of the issue is that Chancellor Rhee wants to reward good teachers with more pay and get rid of ineffective teachers. The mechanism focuses on tenure and giving up a guarantee of job security for more money. After years of discussions, an agreement was reached two weeks ago. As part of the new agreement, all teachers would receive a salary increase of 3 percent and more over five years. Since the 2011 budget had already been submitted to the Council, the question was how we afford the additional $140 million needed to finance the teacher raises. At a city council meeting with Chancellor Rhee last Tuesday morning, following an eight-hour hearing the day before, Chancellor Rhee reported that the raises were covered in the 2010 and 2011 budgets because there was a $34 million surplus as a result of a miscalculation by the CFO’s office when the financials were switched from the old SOAR system to the new PeopleSoft. The question then arose as to when this information was known, because back in September 2009 the Chancellor was told by the CFO that DCPS had a shortfall of approximately $40 million. As a result, 266 teachers were dismissed. The contention is that if there was no shortfall, the teachers should not have been let go. To further complicate matters, the CFO is asserting that DCPS has a current $30 million shortfall and as such, there is still no surplus. My observation is that all parties are acting in good faith and there is no attempt to mislead here. The only question is how much additional money, if any, needs to be added to the 2011 budget to pay for the proposed contract. I am hopeful that this latest flap does not undo the agreement. I feel we are once again losing focus on what is the goal. The goal is to improve the education of our children. We must keep the focus on doing what is best for our kids. The contract must first be approved by the union and then by the city council before becoming final. The author is a city councilmember representing District Ward 2.
L
ong before I ever knew I would encounter her wearing a blinding red gown in an Oscar Wilde play at the Shakespeare Theater Company, I first experienced Dixie Carter on the hit and somewhat high-minded television sitcom “Designing Women,” on which she shared star billing with two other female stars.
There was never a question that she was the star of this series, which aired during the Clinton era and was directed by the president’s friend Linda Bloodworth Thomson. The series centered around the lives of four woman, all part of an Atlanta interior design company, and Carter played Julia Sugarbaker, who ran the company. Julia was a delicious part, a regal, liberal and liberated modern Southern woman
who skewered bigots, sexists, racists, most men and magnolia ladies of the South with the imperiousness of an Old South aristocrat. Of course, this kind of overweening selfconfidence was continually deflated by the down-to-earth, more populist problems of her partners in Southern womanhood, which was the fun of the show, never mind its bleeding heart worn on every sleeve. The role also served Carter well for her occasional forays to the theater — her real love — and especially her two appearances at the Washington Shakespeare Theater Company, where she played two Oscar Wilde heroines in “Lady Windermere’s Fan” and “A Woman of No Importance.” She was scheduled to play the title role in “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” by George Bernard Shaw here in June, but dropped out due to illness. Last week came the news that she had died of cancer at the age of 70. Michael Kahn, the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theater Company, said that “We mourn the loss of a brilliant performer and wonderful friend. Dixie was not only a brilliant portrayer of the plays of Oscar Wilde, but a warm, witty and dedicated person. She made every encounter a personal delight. Our hearts and prayers are with Hal and the family during this sad time.” Elizabeth Ashley, who starred in “The Little Foxes” and “Sweet Bird of Youth” at the Shakespeare Theater Company, will take over the role of Mrs. Warren. - GT
Dorothy Height: Civil rights titan By Gary Tischler
T
o many, it seemed that the history of the Civil Rights movement was all about the 1960s, the marches down South, freedom riders and confrontations in Selma, and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the National Mall in front of thousands. But all along, we had a civil rights giant in our midst right here in Washington, often working in glorious obscurity, but always present, always strong, always moving forward. Sadly, that’s no longer true. Dr. Dorothy L. Height, the former president of the National Council of Negro Women and the founder of the Black Family Reunions, died Tuesday of unspecified causes at the age of 98. She had been ill for the last two months. Dr. Height sat on the dais with King on the day of his famous speech. She did not speak that day because women speakers were not on the agenda, but she was there, as she was present at all of the key moments and events of the Civil Rights movement, even long before the movement had a name. She marched with King, with Farmer, with the Rev. Lurie, with all the male leaders in those dra-
matic days in the South, every bit as strong and important as her male counterparts. The National Council of Negro Women, founded by her mentor and role model Mary McLeod Bethune, has worked for equal rights since 1935. Even before that, Height, a Richmond, Virginia native, protested against lynching in the 1920s. She led the fight to integrate the YWCA, and was also a leader in the fight against poverty and drug abuse. The Black Family Reunion remains a singular legacy of Height’s work. The annual events became a vehicle for promoting health, nutrition, and most importantly, the black family as the center for African American life. “The black family in the future,” she said, “will foster our liberation, enhance our self-esteem and shape our ideas and goals.” One civil rights activist said that Rosa Parks was the mother of the civil rights movement and Height was the queen. This writer had the good fortune of interviewing her twice in person before and once on the phone after the election of Barack Obama, to which, like many African Americans of her generation and experience, she reacted with joyful, measured pride and some astonishment, saying
that she “never thought I would live to see the day.” In her presence, there was a tremendous strength and awesome grace, as she was ever mindful, meticulously putting herself together for a striking effect. She was famous for wearing large, primary color hats, complimented by graceful strands of pearls. Height was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993. She once said that “I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to work for justice and freedom…I want to be remembered as one who tried.” She did more than try. Often in the shadows, without much fanfare, she achieved and tirelessly worked for African American women, and African Americans and women. All of us were the beneficiaries of her achievements and her spirit. Even now, the belief remains that she “keeps on keeping on” and moving forward, as the preacher said. Washington is lessened by her passing, but richer for all the years of her presence here. gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 9
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the Bottom line girl Jeanne jennings on modern marketing By Ari Post
J
eanne Jennings was laid off in 2001. She had been the head of e-mail product development for the largest business-to-business publisher in the country. The company shut down its entire online team due to shrinking ad revenue. Later that week, Jennings received two phone calls to consult with smaller companies about online marketing and development. â&#x20AC;&#x192; Initially, Jennings took the consulting gigs for
Communications, Hasbro, and the US Chamber of Commerce, Jennings is among the Jerry Maguires behind successful online businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x192; The first question I throw at her is a longstanding elephant in my room: what is Twitter actually good for? Her answer immediately sets her apart from the crowd. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the thing about Twitter is people are playing there now and trying to figure out how to use it,â&#x20AC;? she says, almost theoretically. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always good to play
â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to be on LinkedIn, & Twitter and Facebook, & then you need to track the response and narrow it.â&#x20AC;? interim cash flow between jobs. Fast forward to 2010, and it is clear that she never looked back. Jennings, now a renowned marketing and development consultant, specializes in interactive and email marketing strategies, helping clients become more effective and more profitable online. With clients such as Siemens AG, Verizon
in new mediums.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x192; Jennings is keenly observant of the evolving, exploratory nature of the online marketing game. Constantly dabbling in new forums, she is like a sculptor trying out new materials. This
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curiosity is coupled with the focused intention of each given experiment, understanding the desired goals and directing her efforts accordingly. “I’m a bottom line girl,” she says. “If you have a business plan for it, of course dive in and try it.” While online marketing has basic guidelines and parameters, Jennings sees that it is still a rapidly evolving beast. Social networking sites such as Facebook offer businesses — and in particular, small businesses — the opportunity to turn their offerings towards virtual communities, and express a very real brand personality. Sometimes this requires approaching marketing in unique, and often backward, ways. An example of an unorthodox marketing success that Jennings frequently offers at speaking engagements is the long-established Dupont Circle beer dungeon, the Brickskeller. Their enewsletters, promoting beer dinners and other events, have the aesthetic appeal of a milk carton. The messages are all text — no images — and the rambling, conversational paragraphs have not been broken up. The Brickskeller’s emailer is a large jumble of words. According to common business standards and practices, this marketing strategy is in dire need of reconstruction. However, when the Brickskeller’s owner, a long-time friend of Jennings, approached her for help, she refused. “I said, ‘are you selling out those beer tastings?’ And he goes, ‘oh yeah, every time.’ So I told him I’m not gonna touch it. I will destroy it.” She explains that the mailer, however seemingly obsolete, brings customers into contact with the personality of the business. The biggest trouble businesses have on the web is getting across the brand’s personality.
“I can tell you standards and best practices, I can tell you what’s working for my other clients, but you’ve gotta test it with your audience. And it has to fit in with your brand.” This goes twofold for small businesses. “It’s the quirky stuff. It’s the fact that you’re real. It’s the personality. And that’s the thing we all love about the local places.” As expansive as the internet is, Jennings observes, it has become a major resource for hyperlocal activity. Hyperlocal is the idea of creating websites that are focused on a very small geographic area. “And I love it because it’s the idea of using the Internet, which is this big, huge, international thing, to make connections next door.” It is always helpful to know people in your community. The beauty of social networking sites like Facebook is the ease in which one can build relationships with a large audience. A simple status update is guaranteed to reach the relative masses. Marketing through online social media allows a business to build personal relationships and experiences wherein a brand and personality gets across, which was previously only possible through commercial advertising. However, as these networks are foremost social forums, it is important that a business not put too much pressure on its audience for a product or service. Too many ads or updates, and a brand can become an invasive bombardment of its audience’s virtual world. The advantages for businesses are in the opportunities to pave pathways for conversation and social events, and to integrate themselves into shared virtual experiences among mass audiences. The challenge, and often the confusion, in a business’s decision to foray into online networks is in gauging its success. “I think that’s one of the frustrations people have with online marketing. You just don’t know if it’s working,” Jennings says. “So I don’t like to expend resources unless there’s a way to track the response.” Jennings’ theory is that when a business is starting out, it needs to plug itself into every resource available. “You need to be on LinkedIn, and Twitter and Facebook, and then you need to track the response and narrow it.” LinkedIn, for instance, a business networking site, is better for businesses to business relationships, whereas Facebook is generally more advantageous for a consumer-oriented business. With various email service providers, such as Constant Contact, it has become significantly easier to gauge success in online marketing efforts through tracking user interface. “It’s what percentage of people are on your list as friends and what percentage are you converting to come in,” Jennings explains. Although, she admits, “That’s the biggest problem when you’re a small business, you’re wearing so many hats. And this is another hat.” But if a business can make online networking work for them, the bottom line is never so emboldened.
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mortgage/ask
Inflation Remains Tame By Bill Starrels
T
here is much concern about the direction of bonds and, ultimately, interest rates as the economy continues to recover. Bond traders make money when there is volatility to the bond markets. What this means is the traders make more money when news events drive rates higher or lower. This is one of the reasons why news on the economy or world events tends to be amplified to degrees that seem out of proportion to the event. This precipitates larger movements in the markets. The unrelenting chatter over the last several weeks has been about the deficits, the expending economies and the pending rise in interest rates. One cannot turn on CNBC without hearing the unforgiving drumbeat of much higher interest rates just around the corner. What the talking heads fail to highlight is the fact that there is little or no inflation in recent economic statistics. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of March showed the CPI, excluding food and energy, was up only 0.6 percent annually. This is the slowest speed in 50 years. Other government inflation indexes registered their lowest increases since 1983. An index used by Goldman Sachs, which tracks a 12-month moving index, recently fell to its lowest level on record. Other economists, lead by the Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke, have stated repeatedly that the jobless rate will stay stubbornly high for months to come. When there is a disproportionate amount of people out of work, those who have jobs usually cannot demand higher wages. There are simply too many qualified folks who could take their jobs. This means there is no wage inflation. The times in our economy when there were bouts of inflation, commodity prices and wages were the primary drivers of the inflationary cycles. This economy is absent of both. There is no wage inflation. Commodity prices are volatile, but not that high. The Federal Reserve, in its most recent statements, continues to state that they intend on keeping historically low rates in place for an extended period of time. The Fed is likely to keep the federal funds rate target in its current range of 0 to 0.25 percent well into 2011. The bond market will continue to fluctuate. Bond traders will continue to try to push rates higher. This is not a time to stress over rates. The talking heads on CNBC and other business shows like to be dramatic as this increases ratings. Spend time looking at underlying statistics and listen to the Fed. Bill Starrels lives in Georgetown. He is a mortgage loan officer who specializes in purchase and refinance mortgages. Bill can be reached at 703-625-7355 or bill.starrels@gmail.com.
Great times.
the
r e a lto r
is it the best time to buy?
Dear Darrell,
I
keep thinking that now is a good time to buy a place, but then have second thoughts about it when it seems to me that the economy isn’t “healed” yet, and that prices might still go down. So, is now the best time to buy? — Earl E., Adams Morgan Dear Earl,
T
hat seems to be the eternal question, and it isn’t an easy one to answer given the complexity of reasons why any given person thinks about buying or not buying. But as to whether or not it is the best time: it certainly is a good time to buy. Interest rates are still very, very favorable. For many buyers, the $8,000 tax
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credit is still available (until April 30, unless it gets extended again). Prices have come down, and in some areas have come down a lot. There are also short sales and foreclosures, which are potentially great bargains. It’s hard to imagine a better scenario in which to buy a property. Of course, all of this assumes that you want to settle down in one place for a while, that you have the resources to buy without putting yourself in financial straits, and that you are ready to take on the upkeep of a property. No one knows, of course, whether we have reached the “bottom” in the economy or the real estate market. The reality is that we won’t know we’ve reached that point until we are on the way up. Even if you think we haven’t bottomed out yet, there are many good reasons to buy now. Waiting for the possibility of lower prices is probably not going to gain you anything. And if interest rates were to rise over the coming months, the advantage of a further drop in house prices would likely be nullified by the higher cost of mortgage money. Finally, your life circumstances are a very important piece of the puzzle. A house is not purely an investment. Historically, owning a house has been a wise financial investment, but it is also an investment in one’s quality of life. Too often we ignore that side of it. Depending on your reasons for buying, it is worth weighing the quality of life value against the financial investment value.
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Theater shorts: ‘Fiddler on the roof,’ ‘Hamlet’ By Gary Tischler
N
o question about it: “Fiddler on the Roof,” the Jerome Robbins master musical now nearly a half a century old, is invincible. It has survived time, new trends in Broadway musicals, the arrival of Disney, rock and roll, hip hop and sundry other invasions of the new to remain mysteriously affecting, emotionally powerful and mightily entertaining, a sure bet to be both a staple of regional, local, dinner and high school theater groups and a candidate for revival. The current production of the Broadway classic now at the National Theater is no exception. It even manages to survive the frequent forays into hamming and mugging by star Harvey Fierstein, who trudges in the heavy footpaths made by previous actors, assaying the role of the much-put-upon Tevye the milkman in a small Jewish shtetl in Russia at the turn of the 20th century. There is a mystery to this particular survival of this particular show, even a revolutionary quality to it all. That a musical based on folk tales by the Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem has become a universal smash hit, one that goes on and on and stays in the mind like the location of a safe place, is a mystery. There is nothing like shtetl life in anti-Semetic Czarist Russia, with its hard-scrabble existence, its emphasis on tradition, its cultural knickknacks. Today, you’re not likely to meet Tevye the milkman, his daughters, Wolfe the butcher, the match-making Yente, the meek tailor. Yet “Fiddler” has succeeded in making these characters universal and treasured, in ways Aleichem never imagined, and in ways that other enduring works of the musical stage have not managed to do. There’s something to be said for familiarity, of course, in a time when attention must be paid to the next new thing during the run-time of a new YouTube entry. “Fiddler” delivers the goods because no one has fiddled with it. You can’t. It still takes in the Anavetka, the small village were Tevye, his wife and five daughters live with their fellow villagers of mostly traditional Jews. They still scrap to make a living and survive, and Tevye milk-horse still goes lame, and the threat of displacement and pogroms hangs heavy over them. Tevye is still buffeted by change in the form of his three daughters who don’t follow traditions in their romantic and marital choices. And the show is still full of great songs and music, (“Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “To Life”) most of which flows organically from the story. Is it the greatest “Fiddler on the Roof” ever? Probably not, especially for those lucky enough to see Zero Mostel in the original. But it will more than do. I don’t mean to knock Fierstein, but he’s limited by two things: a scratchy (and familiar) bass voice that, when encountered, gives you the feeling that you’ve found a door to the basement in the cellar, and by his penchant for over-clowning the henpecked aspects of Tevye. There is real anguish in Tevye’s life, especially his estrangement from one of the daughters who’s gone and married a Russian, and getting a laugh in a moving moment isn’t the best choice.
This “Fiddler” is marked by a vivid setting, by enthusiastic playing and by a believability that there are human hearts beating up there on the stage. Knowing what we know of history, we still see ourselves in the citizens of Anatevka as they trudge toward an uncertain future. “Fiddler on the Roof” runs through May 9 at the National Theatre. Scena Theater, one of Washington’s more interesting, and still roving theater groups, brings a touch of the Irish, a touch of Jimmy Cagney and a touch of Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh to the H Street Playhouse at 1365 H Street N.E., now through May 16. That would be Scena director Robert McNamara’s production of Branagh’s play “Public Enemy,” a very Irish-Troubles take on the famed 1930s Warner Brothers gangster movie that made Cagney a star. Branagh’s play is set in Belfast and centers on Tommy Black, a young man with a dangerous gift for imitating Cagney’s “you dirty rat you” gangster mannerism. It’s a coup for Scena, mainly since acclaimed Irish stage and screen actor Barry McEvoy will star. Included in the run are “Speakeasy Saturdays” and “Thirsty Thursdays (is this Irish or what?). For more information, go to www. scenatheater.org. To Be, Or Not to Be, it’s Hamlet Everywhere First off, there’s a major Hamlet festival at the Folger Theatre, where a production of “Hamlet” will wrap up the season there and will run through June 6. The production is part of a Folger Hamfest, a series of programs complementing the play. Included are: “Hamlet: Now I Am Alone,” with actress Kate Eastwood Norris presenting her one-woman workshop performance of “Hamlet” May 17 and 24; “Maidens Who Don’t Float” on May 21, with Sarah Schmelling, author of “Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don’t Float,” discussing her book, inspired by Facebook; “Hamlet in Voice and Verse” on May 25, in which actors from Folger’s production and singers from the Washington Opera production of the opera “Hamlet” are on hand; and “Discovering Hamlet” on June 17, in which famed actors Derek Jacobi and Richard Clifford talk with filmmaker Mark Olshaker about his documentary “Discovering Hamlet.” If that’s not enough, there’s Ambroise Thomas’s “Hamlet” to be performed by the Washington National Opera May 19 to June 4 at the Kennedy Center, directed by Thaddeus Strassberger, with Diana Damrayu as Ophelia and Liam Bonner and Michael Chioldi sharing the title role.
wrap Puryear
art
The Art of Crafts at the Smithsonian Craft Show By John Blee
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he 28th annual Smithsonian Craft Show is coming to Washington, perceived by many in the field to be the most prestigious in the country. The venue of the show is the National Building Museum, modeled after the Palazzo Farnese, where the selected pieces will be displayed April 22 through 25. Over 1,300 artists applied and 120 juried in, all of whom work in diverse categories including basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art and wood. The eminent jury included Michael W. Monroe, former curator at the Renwick Gallery. Quality speaks in many tongues at the craft show, and to get a preview of what will be featured, the Web site of the show features amazing fare. I was able to speak to several of the artists on display and all stressed it was an honor to be in the show, and how exciting the show is. One of the artists is Michael Puryear, who grew up in Washington, D.C. alongside six siblings. Michael recalls his family all taking advantage of the free museums on the mall, including the “Mellon Gallery.” It’s a real Washingtonian who refers by that name to the National Gallery. But that’s where his brother, Martin Puryear, exhibited his amazing retrospective in 2008! Michael Puryear is a fantastic furniture maker now living in New York’s Catskill region. He had trained in cultural anthropology and moved to New York City to pursue photography. He got a serendipitous start in his field when a contractor in Brooklyn asked him to build cabinets. “I don’t fit into any neat style, but I like what is simple and elegant,” says Puryear. “The relation of elements to one another is critical in my work.” There’s a very strong Japanese influence on his work and he has a great sense of flow, using color and the contrasts of finishes. Puryear’s work is diverse, but it holds together with its elegance and refinement. He will be part of a panel, “Making Conversations,” discussing process and inspiration on April 23 with Dr. Diana N’Diaye. Another artist who combines East and West is
A. Sigethy Over Time - Photo by Pete Duvall Ani Kasten, who creates her ceramics in Takoma Park, MD. Kasten’s work stands out not just for purity of form, but also its highly articulated sensitivity to surface. She spent five years in Ne-
Black Striations - Courtesy Ani Kasten
of art, and the beautiful glasswork of Alison Sigethy starts with that premise. Sigethy traveled to the Arctic and fell in love with ice and the dramatic starkness of the northern landscape. Her work has the appearance of that landscape and, perhaps, snow flowering. Sigethy melts down the glass and forms it without using molds. Color is added to the glass by abrading the surface and applying it on top. Some of her paperweights will be on sale at the show at twenty dollars, a real bargain. Sigethy works at her studio in Alexandria, VA. Admission to the Smithsonian Craft Show is $15, seniors $12. Hours are Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Proceeds from the craft show are distributed annually by the all-volunteer Smithsonian Women’s Committee to support education, outreach and research at the Smithsonian Institution.
Pad Thai Muay Thai Ram Thai and more...
Bottle Still Life - Courtesy Ani Kasten pal developing a line of ceramics now produced by Nepali artists. Kasten’s ceramics are often described as minimal, but they have a complexity that goes well beyond that label. She mostly works with the wheel, but has recently started doing larger pieces that are hand built and she formulates her own glazes. Her work sells into the thousands of dollars, but she will have some tea bowls in the show for a few hundred. Recycling is becoming part of the medium
Thai Open House 2010
Discover the Pride of Thailand Royal Thai Embassy
MAY 1, 2010
10 am-8 pm
Venue: Royal Thai Embassy 1024 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007 Date: Saturday, May 1st, 10am-8pm Metro: Rosslyn or Foggy Bottom Info: www.thaiembdc.org Tel. 202-944-3600 or www.culturaltourismdc.org Map and parking: www.thaiembdc.org/AboutEmb/EmbMap.aspx
FREE ADMISSION
“Thai Open House” is organized by the Royal Thai Embassy, in association with Cultural Tourism DC, as part of the “Passport DC”program.
gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 15
Cover
Story
Earth Day
at40:
Our environmental crossroads Earth Day festival 2010. Photos by Jeff Malet
By Veena Trehan
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n late January 1969, an offshore oil well in Santa Barbara suffered a blowout, leaking 200,000 gallons of crude oil directly into the ocean. Over the course of 11 days, oil gushed from the seafloor and spread across 800 square miles of California coastline, killing near entire populations of local marine life and seabirds. Five months later, in June, Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River blazed alight when surface oil and chemicals caused flames five stories high. A few years earlier, Rachel Carson’s novel, “Silent Spring,” vividly described the effects of pesticides on birds. Satellite images from the Apollo 11 moon landing showed an integrated and fragile Earth. So on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans gathered from coast to coast for a national teach-in on environmental issues. Cities, rivers and forests were being devastated by pollution, motivating a diverse group to rally for the cause. “Our goal is an environment of decency, quality, and mutual respect for all other human creatures, and for all living creatures,” said Wisconsin Senator and Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson on the first Earth Day. “The battle to restore a proper relationship between man and his environment, between man and other living creatures will require a long, sustained, political, moral, ethical, and financial commitment far beyond any commitment ever made.” The modern day environmental movement was born. Law during the next decade would establish the infrastructure for protecting America’s land, air and water. It would ban DDT pesticides. It would create agencies to set standards for drinking water and our oceans. “Basically,
16 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc. 1
we wrote the entire framework of environmental law in the 1970s,” says Robert Nelson, an environmental professor at the University of Maryland. “We passed a major environmental law virtually every year.” However, though the legislation had a meteoric beginning, the implementation of these laws led to resistance by the American public and business community. The public at large seemed unwilling to compromise economic growth for safer environmental practices. Under proposed environmental regulations, states that did not meet emissions standards could lose highway funds and businesses were forced to adopt costly new technologies. “They thought it was great to protect the environment [until] the government tells them to do something they don’t want to do,” explains Nelson. The result was real pressure. The rubber of the American vehicle squealed to a near halt on the road of environmentalism. Ronald Reagan came to embody this backlash. He took action as environmental issues became contentious, dismantling existing regulations and slashing agency budgets. An era of stalemate and gridlock commenced. With the exception of the amendments to the Clean Air and Water Acts, implemented to deal with acid rain and cleaning of the Great Lakes, virtually no major environmental legislation was passed until recently.
The Damage Done
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he Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mass of marine litter in the Pacific Ocean, is estimated to range in size between the state of Texas and the continental United States. Scientists have predicted the collapse of up to 10 percent of the fish population at large by the year 2048. The United Nations estimates that some 50 million people worldwide have been forced to evacuate their homes due to unlivable environmental conditions. Drought, extreme weather, and flooding are predicted to result in at least 100 million more “environmental migrants” in the near future. Current carbon dioxide concentrations are already over 10 percent higher than the levels projected by leading environmental and sustainability scientists in 1990. And as developing nations expand at the expense of energy conservation, and America steadily increases energy
NASA’s Dr. Thomas Wagner gave a presentation entitled “State of the Science,” which featured the latest observations on shrinking arctic sea ice and the rapidly-changing Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets
Employees of People Power Co., which makes sensors that can be deployed around a house, monitor electricity use, and power down appliances where appropriate, is embarking on a cross-country trip from Palo Alto to Washington, D.C. CEO Gene Wang (rt), who’s also an amateur musician, will lead his People Power Band to perform on the National Mall during Earth Day activities. The group will travel to D.C. in a “People Power Bandwagon,” a vehicle that will emit three times less carbon pollution compared to flying.
Director Robert Stone produced “Earth Days,” a feature documentary that recounts the history of the modern environmental movement from its beginnings nearly four decades ago. It recently appeared on PBS (April 19).
Cover Earth Day Volunteers Bobby Pierson (PA), Kate Williams (NC), Emma Kerr (MA), Kevin Devlin (MA)
A group of au pairs celebrate Earth Week.
consumption, the world will continue to decay. This status quo — business and life as usual — is not sustainable.
The Right Foot Forward
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ractical environmental change will always be tempered by the need to satisfy consumers and businesses — the inevitable expectations of a self-entitled economy. Even the most impassioned and hopeful environmental advocates of climate action admit significant challenges lie ahead. However, it is a gross misconception that an economy cannot simultaneously progress and make sacrifices to benefit the earth. “Particularly in a difficult economic time, people are back to the notion … that you can’t have a clean environment and a thriving economy, which is rubbish,” says Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “A lot of the opportunities for economic growth in the next few decades are in a cleaner economy.” So-called “green collar” jobs are even seen as a way to potentially boost the economy, especially as renewable energy has become such a hot topic. Engineers are needed to design and implement solar and wind technologies. Moreover, programs such as the Green Jobs/Green New York Act of 2009 have been created to improve the energy-efficiency of New York homes, which means over 14,000 environmentally friendly jobs. However, even if Americans accept this message again, resonance requires more than raising awareness using recycled arguments of the last few decades. With growing environmental knowledge, technology, and opportunities must also come a more responsible, educated public. “These are huge geopolitical questions. It’s not just an environmental question,” says Kirk Davies, research director of Greenpeace. “The dialogue about a question as complex about climate change or global warming is so different from a dialogue about a dirty river or a forest being cut down.” This difficult situation has been somewhat offset in by heightened indi-
vidual, governmental and even corporate environmental sensibilities. Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” brought immediacy and urgency to the issue of climate change, winning an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The recent stimulus bill put forth an estimated $100 billion toward green projects. And, while effective climate solutions require global coordination, it has become clear to individual Americans that reducing personal waste — currently averaging around four pounds per person daily — and steadily reducing greenhouse gases is quite possible. As a result, corporations have been aiming their advertising efforts, products, and practices at environmentally conscious consumers. Starbucks, for example, buys exclusively Fair Trade Certified coffee. Chipotle, the ever-expanding chain of burrito restaurants, uses only hormone free, farm raised, organic meat, which supports hundreds of organic farms around the country. Individuals are increasingly loading up with local and organic food, adopting vegetarian practices, and buying natural cleaners and makeup. In celebration of the upcoming day, the Earth Day Network and President Obama are urging individuals to do more for the environment. Obama has appealed to the public to take action in their own homes, communities, schools, and businesses. But many common actions have a limited effect on pollution and climate change, raising the question of goals. Are Americans striving to create little or no trash like documentary filmmaker and star of “No Impact Man,” Colin Beavan? Do they want to half greenhouse gas emissions to match other developed countries? The lack of consensus often leads to confusion. Corporations “greenwash” — spinning minimal reductions from massive energy use as environmentally-friendly — and individuals may pat themselves on the back for climate-friendly actions like recycling paper and plastic, while not contemplating trading in their motor vehicle, whose daily carbon impact is many times higher, for something more fuel efficient like a hybrid car. Efforts to date that have left a huge
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pollution and energy footprint, are clearly inadequate.
The Planet’s Future
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ne billion people worldwide are expected to celebrate Earth Day. Sting, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Roots and a variety of other public figures will motivate those on the National Mall on Sunday, April 25. The events of this day can raise the consciousness of those tuned in as well as pull in more of the mainstream drawn to the entertainment. “We are putting a premium on bringing individuals that don’t necessarily consider themselves environmentalists and show them how the movement needs them because ultimately our major theme this year is the fight against climate change,” said Nate Byer, campaign director for Earth Day Network, whose group organized the National Mall events and coordinates other global activities. But while the day — mocked even by some environmental groups — can give the movement a nudge in the right direction, real change resides with the political leaders and interest groups. And the inconvenient truth is that today’s political climate is completely polarized, making environmental movements and petitions less likely to be effective, and assuring policy fights to be more difficult. The 2005 Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement with binding emissions targets for developed countries, expires in 2012. While it was hoped that the Copenhagen Climate Conference would produce a comprehensive, legally binding deal, the resulting accord does not offer specific targets or timeframes. This development may lead to a paradigm shift, where international action becomes more incremental and cooperative. A good prototype might be the recent nuclear conference, where many countries pledged action to secure their nuclear stockpiles. “They’re all under a lot more pressure because Obama has raised the profile of this issue and they want to look good internationally,” says Nelson. “But ultimately it’s all voluntary. Countries are doing things that they probably wouldn’t be doing if the whole profile of the issue hadn’t been raised by this conference.” There are still major roadblocks. Domestic legislation will fall short of some of President Obama’s early goals for the bill, and cut just a fraction of the emissions from what scientists believe represents a return to a sustainable path. Last year’s Waxman-Markey bill resulted from negotiations with key concessions to big oil, coal and agriculture. Some speculate that Obama used too much leverage and goodwill to pass the health care bill. Democratic congressmen, bracing for tough midterm elections, are sensitive to criticism. The oil and gas industry, which spent a record amount lobbying, are ramping up further efforts. But change also happens on the grassroots level. Companies, students and environmental groups are raising awareness and pushing for change in their communities. Student activists are organizing nationally and on campus. The campaign director for the Clean Energy group at the University of Maryland — which has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050, and sponsors dorm competitions to reduce energy — describes the student movement as growing, but strong only when, “a senator in a swing state fears the movement enough to come out in support of climate legislation.”
Bolivian Folkloric Dance “La Diablada” Greenpeace USA on Facebook has tens of thousands of fans receiving campaign updates, and an order of magnitudes more around the world. “The Story of Stuff,” a short video that describes the hidden costs of consumption, has been viewed 10 million times. And iPhones can run an application to select the “greenest” paper products. More than ever, outreach efforts are targeting the mainstream. Around 75,000 employees from several corporations will soon have access to a carbon calculator, energy reduction recommendations, and local recycling programs thanks to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change’s “Make an Impact” program. Modern recommendations aim for more practical, tangible approaches to conservation, emphasizing energy and economic savings. Switching to more energy-efficient appliances can substatially reduce electric bills while minimizing the carbon footprint of a household. Reducing energy consumption or buying a hybrid are both ways to cut down on individual fuel usage. The sheer complexity of modern environmentalism, its lack of leadership, and recent economic hardships have caused the environmental movement to stagnate. The current path is unlikely to take the planet to total sustainability. But the combined actions of governments, corporations and responsible individuals working together seem, at present, the brightest pathway to ensuring our planet’s safety. If individuals, corporations, and governments were to perform just one act a day for the good of the environment — if one more person in each city rode a bicycle to work and one extra family in each neighborhood bought local produce from their neighborhood farmer’s market, one more local business in each town started using recyclable products and one major corporation set a goal to cut their carbon footprint, and one government vowed to educate their children on the benefits of environmental protection — we might be left with one cleaner, healthier world. Washington, D.C.-based freelance reporter Veena Trehan has written for Reuters, Bloomberg News and National Public Radio on public policy issues. Ari Post and Amanda Gokee contributed research to this article.
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in
country
Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day in the Virginia Countryside All photos by Ian Corrigall
By Kathy Corrigall
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nna Jarvisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; passion and perseverance paid off. After her mother passed away in 1905, she took on the tireless challenge of pursuing her motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream to create a nationally recognized day in appreciation of mothers that would bring families together and honor peace, which was particularly important after the country had been so divided during the Civil War just 40 years earlier. Anna petitioned state governments, prominent business leaders, and any other organization she thought would support her effort. The dream became a reality when President Woodrow Wilson declared May 9, 1914 as the first Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. Shortly thereafter, Congress signed legislation designating Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day as a national holiday. Today, Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day is observed in over 40 countries at various times throughout the year. In the United States, the second Sunday in May is the day thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about Mom, and one of the many ways we try to make her day special is by giving her a break from the daily routine and treating her to a delicious outing in a relaxing atmosphere. In Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hunt country, there is no shortage of great places to pamper Mom.
Brunch in Historic Middleburg For a truly unique dining experience, plan to surprise Mom with Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day brunch in the village of Middleburg at the Red Fox Inn. Built
in 1728 and on the National Register of Historic Places, the Red Fox Inn exudes the understated elegance of Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hunt country. As you step through the front door at the Red Fox, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be drawn to its extraordinary ambience. Low ceilings with hand-hewn beams, fieldstone walls and original fireplaces take you back to another time. You can almost feel the history â&#x20AC;&#x201D; if the walls of this beautiful old structure could talk, what a story they would tell. First known as Chinnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ordinary, the tavern was originally a mid-way stopping point for weary travelers making their way from Alexandria to Winchester. During the Civil War, the Confederates used it for not only their headquarters, but also as a hospital to care for wounded soldiers. After
FOLDED PERFECTION Northern Virginia Recumbent Brompton Folding Bike Headquarter
the war, it became the Beveridge House, Middleburg Inn. Then in 1937, a local resident saved it from demolition and turned it into the Red Fox Inn. The inn offers contemporary American cuisine that varies with the season and often includes locally produced ingredients. This year, the inn will be serving a two-course Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day brunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., featuring country favorites such as eggs Chesapeake and smoked trout crepes. If you prefer to dine a bit later, make a reservation for their three-course dinner that evening, where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have the difficult task of choosing between their scrumptious Red Fox crab cakes or chicken cordon bleu. While in Middleburg, be sure to take some time and stroll through the village where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find exceptional shopping opportunities, from upscale clothiers and home accessory boutiques to that special little something that will make a perfect gift for Mom. Brunch in England Located just a few minutes west of Middleburg in the town of Upperville, Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Head Tavern is an out-of-the-ordinary English-style pub serving up food that is not only delicious, but
prepared with ingredients that were raised and cultivated with a reverence for Mother Earth. Dating to 1750, the charming old Carr House is home to the tavern. While it was purchased in a state of extreme disrepair, it has been carefully restored, and today its original log cabin walls, mantels, and fireplaces grace the main dining areas of the restaurant, along with period furniture that make this a truly remarkable place to dine. The outdoor spaces are just as lovely as the interior, so if weather permits, you may want to consider dining in their courtyard garden. Affiliated with nearby Ayrshire Farm, one of the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prominent organic farms specializing in rare breeds of livestock and heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables, Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Head
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128A Church St, NW Vienna, VA 22180 www.bikesatvienna.com 703.938.8900 18 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
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in Tavern was the first restaurant in the United States to be certified organic and humane. Traditional pub fare as well as full-course dinners are available, with numerous dishes suitable for vegetarians. On Mother’s Day, Hunter’s Head will be serving Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., pub fare from 3 to 5 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Brunch in Ireland Also in Upperville, and situated upon 45 emerald acres at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the luck of the Irish awaits you at the
Blackthorne Inn and Restaurant. Once owned by George Washington, this 250-year-old stone house is the perfect place to relax, enjoy the views from the main dining room overlooking the pond and gazebo, and partake in some delicious classic Irish fare. This year, a Mother’s Day brunch buffet will be available from 11:30
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a.m. to 4 p.m. If you happen to make your way downstairs, you’ll find yourself in a cozy, intimate tap room, Wolftone’s Pub. This is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat, have a pint of ale, and hang out with family and friends — and on most Friday evenings, there is great musical entertainment for all to enjoy. On fair weather days, you’ll definitely want to snag a spot outside on the back patio. Brunch in Paris How about going to Paris for Mother’s Day?
Yes, you can do it, and it doesn’t even require airfare. Just hop in the car and head west from D.C. and you’ll be there in just over an hour. While you won’t end up in Paris, France, you will arrive in Paris, Virginia, a town with fewer than 100 residents and, according to many, often more charming than its sister city in Europe.
In a dwelling that dates to 1829, The Ashby Inn and Restaurant is nothing short of enchanting, and the perfect place to indulge Mom with a delicious meal. Meticulously manicured grounds that seem to go on forever, flowering gardens of every color, and one of the coziest outdoor dining patios you’ll ever find await you — not to mention a dining experience that will have you planning your next visit before you finish dessert. Serving brunch from noon until 5 p.m. on Mother’s Day, with a menu that draws its inspiration from the freshest seasonal ingredients sourced from the local farmers in the region, the Ashby Inn and Restaurant is sure to make the day a memorable one.
Make Your Reservations!
Decisions, Decisions So how will you decide? With so many great places to take Mom, the only solution is to pick one, call for a reservation, and then plan to visit the others sometime in the near future. For it is imporant to remember that, although there is only one “official” Mother’s Day, that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge Mom numerous times throughout the year.
Hunter’s Head Tavern 9048 John Mosby Highway, Upperville 540-592-9020 www.huntersheadtavern.com
B
ook that special day with Mom in the beautiful Virginia countryside before your venue of choice fills up. The following are just a few of the many taverns and restaurants offering up fine fare for this very special occasion. Red Fox Inn and Tavern 2 East Washington Street, Middleburg 540-687-6301 www.redfox.com Blackthorne Inn and Restaurant 10087 John Mosby Highway, Upperville 540-592-3848 www.blackthorne-inn.com
Ashby Inn and Restaurant 692 Federal Street, Paris 540-592-3900 www.ashbyinn.com
$0 gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 19
Your Dining Guide to Washington DC’s Finest
1789 RESTAURANT 1226 36th St, NW With the ambiance of an elegant country inn, 1789 features classically based American cuisine – the finest regional game, fish and produce available. Open seven nights a week. Jackets required. Complimentary valet parking. www.1789restaurant.com
BANGKOK JOE’S
Bistro Francais
3251Prospect St, NW
3000 K St NW
3124-28 M St NW
Come and enjoy contemporary Thai cuisine & Sushi bar deliciously prepared at Bangkok Bistro. The restaurant’s decor matches its peppery cuisine, vibrant in both color and flavor. Enthusiasts say we offer professional, prompt and friendly service. Experience outdoor sidewalk dining in the heart of Georgetown.
(One block from Georgetown Lowe’s theatres)
A friendly French Bistro in the heart of historic Georgetown since 1975. Executive chef and owner Gerard Cabrol came to Washington, D.C. 32 years ago, bringing with him home recipes from southwestern France. Our specialties include our famous Poulet Bistro (tarragon rotisserie chicken); Minute steak Maitre d’Hotel (steak and pomme frit¬es); Steak Tartare, freshly pre¬pared seafood, veal, lamb and duck dishes; and the best Eggs Benedict in town. In addition to varying daily specials, www.bistrofrancaisdc.com
BANGKOK BISTRO
Open for lunch and dinner. Sun.-Thurs.11:30am - 10:30pm Fri.-Sat. 11:30am - 11:30pm
Georgetown introduces Washington’s first “Dumpling Bar” featuring more than 12 varieties. Come and enjoy the new exotic Thai cuisine inspired by French cooking techniques. Bangkok Joe’s is upscale, colorful and refined. Absolutely the perfect place for lunch or dinner or just a private gathering. www.bangkokjoes.com
www.bangkokbistrodc.com (202) 965-1789
(202) 337-2424
(202) 333-4422
CAFE BONAPARTE
Café La Ruche
CAFE MILANO
1522 Wisconsin Ave
(202) 333-8830
CIRCLE BISTRO One Washington Circle, NW Washington, DC 22037 Circle Bistro presents artful favorites that reflect our adventurous and sophisticated kitchen. Featuring Happy Hour weekdays from 5pm-7pm, live music every Saturday from 8pm-12midnight, and an a la carte Sunday Brunch from 11:30am-2:30pm. Open dailyfor breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Come and see for yourself why Bistrot Lepic, with its classical, regional and contemporary cuisine, has been voted best bistro in D.C. by the Zagat Guide. And now with its Wine bar, you can enjoy “appeteasers”, full bar service, complimentary wine tasting every Tuesday and a new Private Room. The regular menu is always available. Open everyday. Lunch & dinner. Reservations suggested. www.bistrotlepic.com (202) 333-0111
CHADWICKS
HASHI RESTAURANT
3205 K St, NW (est.1967)
1073 Wisconsin Ave., NW Hashi Sushi Bar
Cafe Milano specializes in setting up your private party in our exclusive dining rooms. Our detail-oriented staff also will cater your corporate meetings & special events at your office, home or other locations. Check out our website for booking information or call 202-965-8990, ext. 135. Cafe Milano is high on the restaurant critics’ charts with excellent Italian cuisine & attention to service. Fresh pastas, steaks, fish dishes, & authentic Italian specialties. Lunch & dinner. Late night dining & bar service.
A Georgetown tradition for over 40 years, this friendly neighborhood restaurant/saloon features fresh seafood, burgers, award-winning ribs, & specialty salads & sandwiches. Casual dining & a lively bar. Daily lunch & dinner specials. Late night dining (until midnight Sun.Thu., 1A.M. Fri-Sat) Champagne brunch served Sat. & Sun. until 4P.M. Open Mon-Thu 11:30A.M.-2A.M. Fri-Sat 11:30A.M.-3A.M.Sun 11A.M.-2A.M.Kids’ Menu Available. Located ½ block from the Georgetown movie theatres, overlooking the new Georgetown Waterfront Park
(Georgetown Chopsticks)
www.CafeMilano.net
ChadwicksRestaurants.com
(202) 965-2684
(202) 333-6183
(202) 333.2565
CITRONELLE
CLYDE’S OF GEORGETOWN
“Outdoor Dining Available” www.cafelaruche.com
(The Latham Hotel) 3000 M St, NW Internationally renowned chef and restaurateur Michel Richard creates magic with fresh and innovative American-French Cuisine, an exceptional wine list and stylish ambiance.
3236 M St, NW This animated tavern, in the heart of Georgetown, popularized saloon food and practically invented Sunday brunch.
Open for Dinner.
Clyde’s is the People’s Choice for bacon cheeseburgers, steaks, fresh seafood, grilled chicken salads, fresh pastas and desserts.
Valet parking.
www.clydes.com
www.circlebistro.com
www.citronelledc.com
(202) 293-5390
(202) 625-2150
20 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
1736 Wisconsin Ave., NW
3251 Prospect St. NW
1039 31st Street, NW
Captivating customers since 2003 Café Take a stroll down memory lane. Bonaparte has been dubbed the “quintes- Serving Georgetown for more than 35 years - Since 1974 sential” European café featuring award winning crepes & arguably the “best” Chef Jean-Claude Cauderlier coffee in D.C! Located in sophisticated A bit of Paris on the Potomac. Georgetown, our café brings a touch Great Selection of Fine Wines Fresh of Paris “je ne sais quoi” to the neighMeat, Seafood & Poultry Chicken borhood making it an ideal romantic destination. Other can’t miss attributes Cordon-Bleu *Duck Salmon, & Steaks Voted Best Dessert-Pastry in are; the famous weekend brunch every Sat and Sun until 3pm, our late night town, The Washingtonian Magazine weekend hours serving sweet & savory FULL BAR crepes until 1 am Fri-Sat evenings & the alluring sounds of the Syssi & Marc jazz Open Daily from 11:30 a.m. Open Late ‘til 1 am on Friday & duo every other Wed. at 7:30. We look Saturday night forward to calling you a “regular” soon!
www.cafebonaparte.com
(202) 338-3830
BISTROT LEPIC & WINE BAR
(202) 333-9180
DAILY GRILL
1310 Wisconsin Ave., NW Reminiscent of the classic American Grills, Daily Grill is best known for its large portions of fresh seasonal fare including Steaks & Chops, Cobb Salad, Meatloaf and Warm Berry Cobbler. Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.Visit our other locations at 18th & M Sts NW and Tysons Corner. www.dailygrill.com
(202) 337-4900
Our Special 3 Rolls $10.95 Monday- Friday 12-5PM All rolls are seaweed outside! (any kind of combienation) Tuna Roll Salmon Roll Shrimp Roll Avocado Roll Cucumber Roll Asparagus Roll White Tuna Roll Kanikama Roll Spicy Tuna Roll Spicy Salmon Roll (No Substitution, togo, or extra sauce)
Mon-Thur & Sun noon-10:30PM Fri & Sat Noon-11:00PM (202) 338-6161
FILOMENA RISTORANTE 1063 Wisconsin Ave., NW One of Washington’s most celebrated restaurants, Filomena is a Georgetown landmark that has endured the test of time for almost a quarter of a century. Our oldworld cooking styles & recipes brought to America by the early Italian immigrants, alongside the culinary cutting edge creations of Italy’s foods of today, executed by our award winning Italian Chef. Try our spectacular Lunch buffet on Fri. & Saturdays or our Sunday Brunch, Open 7 days a week for lunch & dinner. www.filomena.com (202) 338-8800
FAHRENHEIT Georgetown 3100 South St, NW Restaurant & Degrees Bar & Lounge The Ritz-Carlton, As featured on the cover of December 2007’s Washingtonian magazine, Degrees Bar and Lounge is Georgetown’s hidden hot spot. Warm up by the wood burning fireplace with our signature “Fahrenheit 5” cocktail, ignite your business lunch with a $25.00 four-course express lunch, or make your special occasion memorable with an epicurean delight with the fire inspired American regional cuisine. www.fahrenheitdc.com 202.912.4110
M | STREET BAR & GRILL & the 21 M Lounge 2033 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-3305 M Street Bar & Grill, in the St. Gregory Hotel has a new Brunch menu by Chef Christopher Williams Featuring Live Jazz, Champagne, Mimosas and Bellini’s. For Entertaining, small groups of 12 to 25 people wishing a dining room experience we are featuring Prix Fixe Menus: $27.00 Lunch and $34.00 Dinner. Lunch and dinner specials daily.
www.mstreetbarandgrill.com
(202) 530-3621
Garrett’s Georgetown 3003 M Street N.W., Washington, DC 20007
JETTIES
1609 Foxhall Road, Intersection Foxhall & Reservoir
Celebrating over 31 years of keeping bellies full with good food and thirsts quenched with tasty beverages.
Jetties serves freshly-made sandwiches, and houses a salad bar. Indoor & outdoor seating. Open every day of the week, Jetties is a great for lunch and dinner.
· Fantastic Happy Hour · Free WiFi Internet · Buck Hunter · Trivia Night Tuesdays
Jetties serves 25 flavors of ice cream. Freshly made coffee is served, too.
Including: Terrace Dining Upstairs
Parking Available on Foxhall Mon.-Fri. 11am-9pm. Sat & Sun 9am-9pm.
www.garretsdc.com
www.jettiesdc.com
(202) 333-1033
Panache Restaurant 1725 DeSales St NW Tapas – Specialty Drinks Martini’s Citrus - Cosmopolitan - Sour Apple - Blue Berry Summer Patio – Open Now! Coming Soon. “New” Tyson’s Corner Location Open NOW! Dining Room Monday - Friday: 11:30am-11:00pm Saturday: 5:00pm-11:00pm Bar Hours Mon.-Thursday: 11:30am-11:00pm Friday: 11:30am- 2:00am Saturday: 5:00pm- 2:00am (202) 293-7760
(202) 965-FOOD 965-3663
La Chaumiere 2813 M St. Northwest, Washington, DC 20007 Whether it’s a romantic dinner or a business lunch, enjoy wonderful Boudin Blanc, Fresh Dover Sole Meunière, Cassoulet or Pike Quenelles by the fireplace in this unique “Country Inn”. Chef Patrick Orange serves his Award Winning Cuisine in a rustic atmosphere, where locals and celebrities alike gather. La Chaumiere also offers 2 private dining rooms with a prix-fixe menu and an affordable wine list. Washingtonian’s Best 100 restaurant 28 years in a row. www.lachaumieredc.com
SEA CATCH
Established in 1991, Peacock Cafe is a tradition in Georgetown life.
Lovers of history and seafood can always find something to tempt the palette at the Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar. Sea Catch offers fresh seafood “simply prepared” in a relaxed atmosphere. Overlooking the historic C&O Canal, we offer seasonal fireside and outdoor dining. Private party space available for 15 - 300 Complimentary parking Lunch Monday - Saturday 11:30am - 3:00pm Dinner Monday - Saturday 5:30pm - 10:00pm Closed on Sunday Happy Hour Specials at the Bar Monday - Friday 5:00pm -7:00pm www.seacatchrestaurant.com
The tremendous popularity of The Peacock Happy Day Brunch in Washington DC is legendary. The breakfast and brunch selections offer wonderful variety and there is a new selection of fresh, spectacular desserts everyday. The Peacock Café in Georgetown, DC - a fabulous menu for the entire family. Monday - Thursday: 11:30am - 10:30pm Friday: 11:30am - 12:00am Saturday: 9:00am - 12:00am Sunday: 9:00am - 10:30pm (202) 625-2740
1054 31st St, NW
(202) 337-8855
Sequoia
SMITH POINT
THE OCEANAIRE
TOWN HALL
3000 K St NW, Suite 100 Washington, DC 20007
1338 Wisconsin Ave., NW (corner of Wisconsin & O St.)
1201 F St, NW
2218 Wisconsin Ave NW
Eclectic American cuisine, Coupled with enchanting views of the Potomac River make Sequoia a one of a kind dining experience.
Smith Point has quickly become a favorite of Georgetowners. The Washington Post Magazine calls Smith Point “an underground success” with “unusually good cooking at fair prices.” Chef Francis Kane’s Nantucket style fare changes weekly, featuring fresh combinations of seafood, meats, and farmers market produce.
Ranked one of the most popular seafood restaurants in , DC, “this cosmopolitan”send-up of a vintage supper club that’s styled after a ‘40’s-era ocean liner is appointed with cherry wood and red leather booths, infused with a “clubby, old money” atmosphere. The menu showcases “intelligently” prepared fish dishes that “recall an earlier time of elegant” dining. What’s more, “nothing” is snobbish here.
Town Hall is a neighborhood favorite in the heart of Glover Park, offering a classic neighborhood restaurant and bar with contemporary charm. Whether its your 1st, 2nd or 99th time in the door, we’re committed to serving you a great meal and making you feel at home each and every time. Come try one of our seasonal offerings and find out for yourself what the Washington Post dubbed the “Talk of Glover Park”Make a reservation online today at www.townhalldc.com
Offering a dynamic atmosphere featuring a mesquite wood fire grill, sensational drinks, and renowned River Bar. No matter the occasion, Sequoia will provide an unforgettable dining experience. www.arkrestaurants.com /sequoia_dc.html (202) 944-4200
Open for dinner Thurs- Sat from 6:30 pm-11pm. www.smithpointdc.com (202) 333-9003
Lunch: Mon-Fri- 11:30am -5:00pm Dinner: Mon-Thur 5-10pm. Fri & Sat 5-11pm. Sun-5-9pm. www.theoceanaire.com (202) 347-2277
TO PLACE AN AD IN OUR DINING GUIDE. siobhan@georgetowner.com
202.338.4833
(202) 338-1784
Peacock Cafe 3251 Prospect St. NW
CONTACT Siobhan
Serving Dinner Daily5PM-10:30pm Brunch Sat & Sun 11:30AM-5PM Free Parking available (202) 333-5640
SETTE OSTERIA 1666 Conn. Ave at R St. NW (Dupont Circle) Edgy. Witty. Casual. THE patio near Dupont Circle for peoplewatching. Pizza masters bake delicious Neapolitan thincrust pizzas in a wood-fire oven. Menu favorites include pastas, salads, lasagnas, Italian specialty meats and cheeses, and lowcarb choices. Daily specials, Lunch & dinner. Late night dining & bar service. www.SetteOsteria.com
(202)483-3070
Zed’s 1201 28TH St, N.W. ETHIOPIAN IN GEORGETOWN Award Winning Seafood | Poultry | Beef Vegetarian Dishes also available 100 Very Best Restaurants Award 100 Very Best Bargains Award Also, visit Zed’s “New” Gainesville, Virginia location (571) 261-5993 At the Corner of M & 28th Streets 1201 28th Street, N.W. Email: zeds@zeds.net (202) 333-4710
gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 21
Food & wine
the pure taste of Vanilla 1SPTQFDU 4U /8 ] 8BTIJOHUPO %$ 1IPOF ] XXX QFBDPDLDBGF DPN
Micky invites you to
By Ari Post
"Art, Mothers and Children's Rights" EVENT: Art, Mothers and Children's Rights WHAT: Fundraiser WHEN: Wednesday, May 5, 6-8pm WHERE: Peacock Cafe 5P TFF NPSF EFUBJMT BOE 3471 WJTJU BOE TFBSDI "SU .PUIFST BOE $IJMESFOhT 3JHIUT
I
t has taken three yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; maturation for the vine to bear a small, pale orchid. Each greenyellow bud blooms and matures in sequence at different times, and each must be hand-pollinated within 12 hours of blooming or it will wilt and fall to the ground. A bean grows quickly from its stem, but must ripen on the vine for nine months. The harvest is a threeweek scavenger hunt for perfectly developed beans: yellow on the tips, and beginning to split at the ends. If picked too green, it will lack flavor and develop molds. However, if left to age properly, â&#x20AC;&#x153;vanilla rustlersâ&#x20AC;? commonly ransack the fields at night, abducting the lucrative beans from their vines. Harvesting vanilla is no small feat. Yet this rare bean, sustainable only in the delicate climate of the tropics, has long been a common international commodity. As a result of its popularity and extensive usage, Walter Nicholls, a veteran food writer for the Washington Post, says that the current bulk of retail vanilla is filled with additives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They cut the actual extract product with filler.â&#x20AC;? Vanilla is pricey and finite, and, subsequently, retail vanilla is often tampered with in order to generate greater product output from each plant. The quality is rarely up to par with the rising stan-
Walter Nicholls slices open a Cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vanilla bean.
dards of present-day, fastidious foodies. For this reason among others, Nicholls has quite literally made it his job to champion quality vanilla. He is now the East Coast wholesale representative for Cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vanilla. Cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, for almost a century, has been producing some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest vanilla out of Tonga, a small Pacific island clustered among the Fiji Islands and American Samoa. A small, family-run company, their vanilla and extracts are among the most acclaimed of its kind, collecting a bevy of major clients, including Starbucks Coffee.
Continues Page 29
DISCOVER THE TASTE OF FRESHNESS AT THE SEAFOOD LEADER
WASHINGTON, D.C. WASHINGTON, D.C. CRYSTAL CITY/ K STREET F STREET ARLINGTON (202) 861-2233 (202) 639-9330 (703) 413-6400 TWO BETHESDA RESTON TYSONS CORNER/ NATIONAL METRO CTR TOWN CENTER MCLEAN HARBOR (301) 961-2626 (703) 787-7766 (703) 848-8000 (301) 567-6224
Online Reservations: www.McCORMICKandSCHMICKS.com/DC
Publication Name Size Color Run date:
222010-04.21_BrandAd April 21, 2010HalfPge-H gmg,4c.indd Inc.
1
4/19/2010 2:21:07 PM
c o c k ta i l o f t h e w e e k
Cocktails, Sub-zero
Barton G’s food has garnered rave reviews for its innovative presentation. My lobster poptarts were served in a retro toaster and my mahi mahi entrée was whimsically arranged on skewers to resemble a playful sculpture of a swimming goldfish. While the unique dining options earn priase from diners, the restaurant’s over-the-topnitrogen cocktails steal the show. The waiter arrived with my cocktail, looking like a mad scientist from a science fiction movie. Steam poured out of the oversized martini glass, creating an impressive cloud that floated across the table. As the fog began to clear, I got a closer look at my drink, the Pink Elephant Nitro-tini, which featured a frozen Absolut Red vodka popsicle swirling in a mixture of ruby red grapefruit juice and fresh grapefruit segments. Upon first sip, the flavors were difficult to make out due to the ice-cold temperature, but like a typical martini, the drink loosened up. One big difference with the nitrogen cocktails is that the alcohol is the cooling agent as opposed to ice, which dilutes a drink. So as the alcohol melts, the drink gets stronger. According to Barton G’s website, since their 2006 debut the Below Zero Nitro Bar cocktails have become a hallmark. They come in many forms and flavors. The classic Nitro-tini sports vodka garnished by a nitrogenized vermouth swizzle stick, as well as frozen olive and blue cheese pearls, while the Zen-tini consists of Absolut raspberry vodka, triple sec and fresh berries. The Diamonds Are Forever is a concoction of Grey Goose Citron vodka, triple sec and lemonade with a vodka popsicle and sugar stick for a swizzle.
While the drinks provide an over-the-top and multi-sensory experience, they ring up at over $30 a pop — enough to be included on the Forbes.com list of the world’s most decadent cocktails. To make reservations, visit Barton G’s Web site at www.bartong.com.
By Miss Dixie
W
hile it is no surprise that Miami’s dazzling South Beach is one of the hottest spots in the land, with summer temperatures year round, I was interested to learn that one Miami nightspot is home to one of the coldest cocktails in the world. Barton G’s, one of the most unique and flamboyant spots in town, offers cocktails infused with liquid nitrogen, a cryogenic fluid with a temperature of -320 degrees Fahrenheit that causes alcohol to freeze. The frozen slush effervesces with a captivatingly mysterious fog as other ingredients are added and begin to melt the frozen spirits.
A visit to Barton G’s starts off unassumingly. The nightspot is the brainchild of Barton G. Weiss, who is one of Miami’s best known and most lavish event planners. The restaurant is set away from the glamorous Ocean Drive, tucked away like a speakeasy on a residential street on the western side of the island. One could easily miss the entrance. Once inside, diners are transported into a beautiful oasis of style. Tables are decked out with fresh orchids surrounded by a décor of elegant wood, luxurious fabrics, and warming golden hues. Outdoor diners are pampered in a tropical garden with private tents for alfresco meals.
gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 23
body & soul
Like Mother, Like Daughter
By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
D
uring occasional moments of frustration, mothers the world over sometimes wonder if they have any influence over their children on any issue. But we all know from our personal experiences how important our moms (and dads) are. They profoundly influence what we think, what we do, what we enjoy, what we dislike, whom we date, and how we live our lives.
24 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
Moms particularly influence what and how much we eat and, more broadly, how we regard food. Even children agree: moms have a powerful effect on their behavior, including their eating habits. Parents - with mom being number one - outranked sports celebrities as the person children aged 8 to 17 “would like to be most,” according to the Family Nutrition and Physical Activity survey conducted by the American Dietetic Association Foundation. “Like mother, like daughter,” is a phrase with deeper meaning than we appreciate. Studies show daughters copy their mother’s eating habits — whether they like it or not. Early in life, children learn about eating and foods. Mom provides most of the information absorbed by the child concerning what to eat, when to eat and when to stop. Problems occur when Mom gives faulty signals, often inadvertently, possibly because she has eating and weight problems of her own, which create eating and weight problems in her children, particularly daughters. Parents, typically mothers, provide the structure, choose the food and reinforce certain eating practices, either by reinforcement or through modeling. The mother’s dieting and weight control experience influences the children in ways they may not even realize. Moms who eat in response to the external cues of, for instance, the presence of tasty foods, as opposed to hunger, have children who do the same and are often overweight. Weight problems are on the rise and so are behaviors such as dieting, restricting, bingeing and eating disorders. Not only is rigid dieting harmful to the mother, it can be dangerous for children and could effect their eating habits and weight in a negative way. These behaviors start as early as preschool. Researchers recently discovered that half of five-year-old girls know all about dieting. And when researchers look further, they find it’s easy to predict which girls are diet-savvy. They’re the ones with mothers who are dieting. Several things can influence your child’s eating and weight. For instance, when Mom tries to control intake by restricting a food which is available in the home, that food becomes more desirable to the daughter and can cause her to binge — followed by feelings of remorse and negative self-image. When Mom tries to have too much control over a child’s eating, this prevents the child from understanding naturally when to eat and when to stop. Moms who have weight problems tend to try to control or restrict inappropriately, thus set-
ting up eating and weight problems in their children. It’s ironic, because Mom actually fosters the very problem she is trying to prevent because of her over-control, which limits the child’s natural abilities for self-control or selfregulation. How you reinforce your children can undermine their ability to self-regulate, for instance, encouraging them to “clean the plate,” to eat at certain times, to eat in response to feelings and emotions, or rewarding them with sweets and tasty food. These patterns start the child on a course of life long eating habits which will serve her well — or not. In studies conducted at Pennsylvania State University, kids’ fat preferences and fat intakes were linked to parental fatness, so the heavier parents had kids who preferred and ate diets that were higher in fat, said Leann Birch, professor and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State. Parents modeling healthful dietary behaviors is associated with lower fat eating patterns and lower dietary fat intake in their children. “Kids really will learn to prefer calorie-dense foods, and this could in fact be one of the factors that contribute to diets that are too high in calories and too high in fat,” said Birch. Studies also demonstrate the strong influence of modeling. If parents don’t eat vegetables, children don’t. If parent don’t drink milk and drink sodas instead, children replace milk with sodas. Even if parents try to encourage their children to eat healthier than they do, the studies clearly find that children do not respond by eating healthfully, unless their parents actually do it themselves. “Do as I say, not as I do,” is not effective at shaping healthy eating habits in children. What moms eat and make available in the home shapes food preferences and eating habits from the womb until adulthood. Women who eat a wider variety of foods during pregnancy or breast feeding give birth to children who are more accepting of new foods. One study found that women who drank large amounts of carrot juice while pregnant gave birth to babies who responded more positively to carrots! Fruit and vegetable eating is a behavior often studied because science has found people who eat more fruits and vegetables are significantly healthier. Scientists want to learn what behavior will help children love fruits and vegetables naturally. What they have discovered is remarkably simple. “Children choose to eat the foods they are served most often and they tend to prefer to eat the foods which are available in the home,” says Theresa Nicklas, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Moms who regularly eat vegetables and offer vegetables to their daughters have daughters who prefer vegetables. If, on the other hand, Mom encourages eating vegetables but doesn’t personally model the behavior, those daughters will not prefer vegetables. Also, it can backfire if you induce your child to eat fruits and vegetables because they are good for them. The only factor which will convince kids — or adults for that matter — to eat anything, is taste. You will be most effective if you simply eat and enjoy fruits and vegetables, convincing your child
that they are absolutely yummy, and make them easily available to your children. These studies have been repeated with various eating behaviors. Since childhood milk drinking is predictive of calcium intake and bone mineralization in girls and bone fractures in older women, it has been studied extensively. Scientists have found if Mom drinks milk, daughters drink and prefer milk. But if Mom drinks soda instead, the daughter prefers soda, meaning she gets less calcium and suffers lower bone density. Interestingly, if Mom encourages the daughter to drink milk and drinks soda instead, it doesn’t fly. The daughter will still prefer and drink sodas. With the strong practical and emotional support from Mom and the whole family, it is very possible for children to live in a balanced, nutritionally sound and healthy way. But without it, it’s close to impossible to do so. The family environment Mom creates is a very powerful force that fosters early habits, shapes daily routines, and molds lifelong expectations. The family unit is where good things can happen and where you can build a strong foundation for good health and good food that will allow your family to overcome the negative influences of the outside world. Harness your considerable power to help your children love eating healthfully: 1.Children eat what is available to them and learn to prefer vegetables and healthy, wholesome foods if they are frequently and positively offered and enjoyed by the whole family. Studies show children sample new foods more often when they observe their parents (and peers) eating it, especially if coupled with parental attention and encouragement. 2.Regardless of your weight, if you model healthy eating behavior, this will have a positive effect on your child’s eating and weight. 3.Never put your child on a diet, never tell her she is overweight, never restrict her access to any foods in your house. Don’t single her out or treat her differently than anyone else in your family. This backfires and could make what may be a temporary phase of chubbiness in your child’s life to a serious weight problem. 4.Instead of restricting access to unhealthy or high calorie foods, get rid of them! Children learn to love foods that are available, and if there are only healthy foods available, no restriction will be necessary. 5.The solution to your child’s weight problem is to make subtle changes your child won’t notice: change your eating habits, slowly change what’s available in the home to where only healthy food is around (except for the occasional Sunday night dessert offered to everyone), and make eating a positive experience. For a child to lose weight, it involves the entire family’s participation; everyone needs to change a little bit and there has to be some compromises. Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D. will customize an easy, enjoyable nutrition, weight loss, athletic or medical nutrition therapy program for you, your family or your company. She is the author of “Diet Simple: 192 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations,” and National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Contact her at katherine@katherinetallmadge.com or 202-833-0353.
calendar April 24th 6th Annual Rose Park Spring Celebration. Sponsored by Friends of Rose Parks & Proper Topper, Rose Park will be having their annual park celebration. The event will take place Saturday morning, April 24th, from 10:30 to 12:30. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entertainment for the whole family: pony rides, face painting, bonnet trimming for boys & girls, a baby farm animal petting zoo, and live rock â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;n roll music from great locally-based band Vandaveer. P St & 26th St Washington, DC
April 25th United States Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sea Chanters The Sea Chanters is the official chorus of the United States Navy and are one of the preeminent professional choral ensembles in the country today The Sea Chanters will appear in concert on Sunday, April 25, 2010 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; beginning at 4 pm, free admission. Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church 3401 Nebraska Avenue. 202-363-4900.
April 26th Georgetown University Campus Plan Spring 2010 Community Meeting Final Plan Community Meeting will meet Monday, April 26 from 6:30 to 9pm at Georgetown Visitation Heritage Room. The purpose of the meeting will be to overview the final plan, share information that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gathered as a result of community comments/requests, and discuss the anticipated filing schedule. Georgetown Visitation Heritage Room first building on the left, 2nd floor, 1524 35th Street Washington Dc If you have questions or comments, please email gucampusplan@georgetown.edu. April 28th 6PM 13th Annual NFTE Dare to Dream Gala NFTE provides entrepreneurship education programs to young people from low-income communities. NFTE-Greater Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dare to Dream Gala is one of Washington DCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest and most exciting networking events that supports youth entrepreneurship. In addition to networking with top entrepreneurs and business leaders in the Washington area, you will have the opportunity to purchase products and services from the student-owned businesses while enjoying cocktails and hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oeuvres. For sponsorship and ticket information visit: www.daretodreamdc.org or contact: Erika Langhart 970-749-3963
Marriott Wardman Park 2600 Woodley Road, NW elanghart@smithfairfield.com April 29th Madeira Wine Tasting with the Ambassador of Portugal, featuring author David Hancock 6:30 PM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8:30 PM Celebrate Portuguese culture at the residence of Ambassador JoĂŁo de Vallera. Author David Hancock, Professor of History, University of Michigan, will present his book Oceans of Wine, examining how, between 1640 and 1815, the Portuguese Madeira wine trade shaped the Atlantic world and American society. A reception will follow, featuring a unique selection of Madeira wines Residence of His Excellency JoĂŁo de Vallera 2125 Kalorama Road NW Washington, DC 20008 Admission: $50.00 Couples Admission: $90.00 Admission/Signed copy of Oceans of Wine: $90.00 Couples Admission/Signed copy of Oceans of Wine: $130.00 202-293-1051 April 29th DC Council Finance and Revenue meeting Ward 3 Democrats will be meeting on April 29th at 7:15PM at the St. Columba Episcopal Church. The Ward Three Democratic Committee will hold a Community Dialogue with Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, chairman of the DC Council Com-
mittee on Finance and Revenue. Attendance is encouraged. The Great Hall St. Columba Episcopal Church 4201 Albemarle Street NW Contact Chair- Tom Smith 202 364-7130 or tmfsmith@starpower.net www.dcward3dems.org May 8th The Georgetown Garden Tour The annual Georgetown Garden Tour of nine beautiful, secluded gardens takes place on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Six gardens were designed by prominent landscape architects and include water features, one a geothermal swimming pool. Tickets are $30 before May 1.Tour tickets can be purchased the day of the event at any of the gardens (watch for clusters of green and white balloons) or at Keith Hall, Christ Church, 31st and O Streets, NW for $35. A tea for ticketholders takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. at Keith Hall For more information call 202.965.1950. or visit www.georgetowngardentour.com.
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Since 1914
Chapel Hall, restored 1999
Gallaudet University
A Cleaning Service Inc Since 1985
l5-$
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*OTVSFE l #POEFE Residential & Commercial Insured, Bonded, Licenced - Serving DC, VA, MD
703.892.8648 - www.acleaningserviceinc.com
gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 25
WWW.GEORGETOWNER.COM
CLASSIFIEDS
202-338-4833
cleaning services
for lease
health & beauty
moving
REMEMBER CLEAN?
OFFICES & SUITES WITH POTOMAC RIVER VIEWS!
INVISALIGN
GULLIVER’S MOVING & STORAGE
Maid to Clean® does. We get on our hands and knees, roll up our sleeves, and scrub until it sparkles. Everywhere. Every time. Call 202-270-2967 or visit www.maidtoclean.com today!
Large suite with balcony overlooking C&O canal also available. Conference rooms, telephone answering, garage parking & more. Emma Dingle: 202-625-8300 www.dccenters.com
Wireless braces! Have the great smile you always wanted without the painful and unsightly metal. Very affordable - Financing available. Call NOW for FREE Consultation. Dr. Tirdad Fattahi: 202-338-7499 MacArthur Blvd., NW, 1st Floor Washington, DC 20007
FOR LEASE IN GEORGETOWN
Advanced Acupuncture of MacArthur
3210 Grace Street Retail Suites ranging from 1,000 to 2,000sf. Office Suites from 3,600 to 9,500sf. Call Jamie Connelly, Lincoln Property 210-491-5300
Got Pain? Get Acupuncture. It Works! Arthritis/joint pain, Headache/insomnia, Low-back pain, Neck pain, and other chronic symptoms. Call 202-669-8566. 5100 MacArthur Blvd 2ndFL, NW, Washington DC 20016
Enjoy teaching children and adults, beginners or those returning to the piano. Parking at NW DC Studio for students. Near Metro. 202-234-1837
ORIENTAL PERFECT TOUCH
CHERYL’S ORGANIZING CONCEPTS LLC.
CLEANING SERVICE Twentieth Anniversary European Style family owned and operated. Specializing in cleaning your prized antiques and your private residence. Best rates. Excellent referances and insurance. Call for free estimate. 703-869-5629
education/tutor
SHARED OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE!
LEARN THE “LANGUAGE OF MATH”
3307 M St, NW 2 offices, 4 cubicles for lease. LPC Commercial Services Adam Biberaj: 202-513-6736
Get OUTSTANDING Mathematic Tutoring from a well-respected coach with M.ed and over 20+ years of experience as a classroom teacher and tutor. Contact BG-7 MATHEMATICS TUTORING, LLC: 240-601-6677 or BG-7@live.com.
LANGUAGEONE 202-328-0099 Free Language Evaluation Class Offering onversatonal English and foreign language instruction and speacializing in Advanced Discussion Groups, Private, Semi-Private and Small Group Language instruction Including: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese. No Registration Fee. Classes forming all of the time. Email us at classes@languageone.com
FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHER Beginners to advance-level classes, and conversation classes. Enthusiastic and very patient. Years of teaching, Washington, DC. Contact: 202-270-2098 or getfrench@gmail.com
TOPS IN TUTORING Supportive Language Arts Tutoring Tailored to your Child’s Needs, Grades K-9 Aileen M. Solomon, M.Ed. Reading Specialist for over 25 years in public/ independent schools reading (decoding, comprehension, literature study, note-taking, phonics, fluency), enrichment reading, writing (early writing through essays), word study (spelling), vocabulary, study/organizational skills, homework support. Excellant references Amsolomo@gmail.com 202-368-7670
26 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
for sale Rare Signed and Remarqued!
JOHN STOBART’s First Georgetown Lithograph (1976) “Water Street in 1845” (17 x 28) Edition of only 750, 200 remarqued. Museum-quality framing by The Atlantic Gallery $2,000 email interest to: cv02cv@aol.com
CUBAN SILKSCREEN MOVIE POSTER SALE! 10-7 Saturday/Sunday April 24-25 3319 “O” Street NW 100+ posters! Fabulous gifts, $59-$129. Prefer private showing? Contact Bill brubakerDC@msn.com
2009 FORD MUSTANG Torch Red Clearcoat exterior, with a light graphite interior color. Priced to sell at: $16,999.00 ONLY 23K Miles-WOW! Automatic Transmission VIN: 1ZVHT80N095103078- And the best news of all- STILL COVERED UNDER FORD NEW CAR WARRANTY!! One owner CLEAN carfax. NON-SMOKER car. Call: Daniel at 703-362-0165
MT. PLEASANT/ QUIET RETREAT Yet close to everything. 1/1, small building, courtyard view, wood floors, great closets, storage, low fee, pets ok. $299K 1615 Kenyon St, NW; Apt. 22 Bill Panici 202-277-4675 Weichert, Realtors 202-326-1300
Licensed & Insured Local/Long distance, packing, pianos, & antiques. Swift and gentle relocations. 202-483-9579 or 703-838-7645 www.gulliversmovers.com
MUSIC
GRAND OPENING at 1624 Wisconsin Ave, NW in Georgetown. Professional Massage Therapy. Full Body Acupressure, Relaxation, and Relief of Your Stress and Tension. Incall/Outcall 703-237-6666
home improvement Creighton’s Kitchen, Bathroom, Basement, Attic Remodeling, Deck Building and Preservation, Special Project Requests. www.creightonshomeimprovements.com 202-363-0502 Licensed, Bonded, Insured - Serving N.W. DC Government secured background clearance
JHI CONTRACTING Renovations, Remodeling, Painting, Concrete, Masonry, Waterproofing, Excavation, Demolition. All work guaranteed. Licensed, bonded and insured. Member BBB and Member of Angie’s List. DC License #3044. John Himchak 202-528-2877.
insurance CAR INSURANCE WITH PERSONAL SERVICE NO EXTRA CHARGE State Farm Insurance Michele A. Conely, Agent, 4401 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington, DC 20008 Please Call for a quote 24/7: 202-966-6677
limousine
Patient Piano Teacher
organization
Home and Small Business Organizing Including Senior Move Management and Paperwork Assistance. Serving Washington Metro Area since 2002. Member NAPO, NSGCD, AADMM. www.cherylsorganizing.com 301-916-9022
ENERGY WORK-SPACE CLEARING Release and clear attachments, blockages, negative energies both metaphysical and physical in homes, work enviroment, land and personal. Contact Juliette at JulietteTahar@earthlink.net or 202-337-0362
OFFICE ORGANIZATION What does disorganization cost you? Time? Energy? Hundreds or thousands of dollars? Take back control today with Profound Impact, LLC, THE home and small business resource for your productivity and organizing needs. Call Julie at 703-517-2449 and visit www.profound-impact.com
personal shopper STYLE CONSULTANT/ PERSONAL SHOPPER Now back from Manhattan, Sarah Pauley is here to help you develop the image you’ve always desired. Contact Sarah Pauley for a complimentary consultation at 646-382-0116 or visit www.sarahpauley.com
professional SUNRISE LIMOUSINE SERVICE Luxury Limo / Sedan Service. Serving Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Airport Transportation, Business Meeting, Weddings and other Occasions. Get 10% Discount on all Online Reservations. www.sunriselimousines.com Phone: 301-260-1069 email: info@sunriselimousines.com
PRESERVE YOUR LIFE STORY (Or that of a loved one) as an attractive hardcover book - without writing a word! All you have to do is talk! Call Vitagraph®, 410-666-8632 or go to www.myvitagraph.com Vitagraph® Quality preservation of priceless memories.
SERVICE DIRECTORY Your
When you go out of town, Send Your Dog to Camp!
Adventure Begins Here
Wouldn’t you rather have your dog running outside while you’re away?
Quality Sport & Trail Horses For Sale Open Year-Round
Lessons
Competitive with standard kennel rates but our Country Dogs spend lots of time outdoors in safe, monitored social time with other dogs. Plus we pickup and deliver right to your door! We’re also open year-round.
Training
Mention this ad and get a FREE Country Dogs mug with your boarding. Serving Metropolitan DC since 2004. www.country-dogs.net
Call Mark @ 888.711.7833 x1
Trail Rides
*5)064&
Special Events
Computer Service and Consulting
www.therockingsranch.com 540.678.8501
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A. Schopenhauer
General Manager
3712 Columbia Pike Arlington VA 22204 703-946-2032 ahalob@ithouse.us
Brigitte Ziebell Ceritified and Trained by Romana Kryzanowska
“To neglect ones body for any other advantage in life is the greatest folly”
Pilates One on One
202.338.4676 3140 Wisconsin Ave. NW Washington, DC 20016
Lucas Custom Tailors Expert Alteration (Master Tailor, Lucas, Kim, Clara)
-Tuxedo Rental/Sales
Dependable Business Systems ax
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Lawnmowing Gutter Cleaning Leaf Removal Call Marty Touhy 703-538-5869 Licensed & Insured
If you want to place an ad in the service directory or classifieds please call Jen @ 202-338-4833 or email jen@georgetowner.com gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 27
social
scene
Lax Questions His Faith, But Not His Friends
A book-signing party for Eric Lax and his memoir, “Faith, Interrupted: A Spiritual Journey,” was hosted by Edward and Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld, by Cathy Sulzberger and Joe Perpich and by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman and Peter Ackerman at the Weidenfeld’s Q Street home, April 9. Son of an Episcopal priest, Lax re-examines his life and relation to his faith in God, once so strong, slowly ebbing away and now lost, as he remains neither total unbeliever nor believer. —Robert Devaney
Author Eric Lax, embraced by hosts Ed and Sheila Weidenfeld
Jesus Daniel Hernandez, who served with the U.S. Army in Irag, and now a tenor in the Washington Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, serenaded the crowd
Juliana and Robert Pilon with Maddalene Lecce
Robin Smith with husband Bill Plante and Amy Bartscherer
Rugby Benefits Nest
THE #1 MUST READ
On April 8 Rugby in Georgetown hosted a benefit for Nest, a nonprofit organization that empowers women artisans around the world.
FOR BUSINESS OWNERS AND ENTREPRENEURS
“Jack Garson makes Business: Possible”
—Marc Summers, TV Producer and Food Network Host
“Entertaining and Informative” —Publisher’s Weekly
Author Jack Garson gives you the knowledge to overcome short-term business problems and instead position your companyfor long-term success—right up to the day you sell. It’s MBA meets Main Street, with a combination of inspiration and invaluable practical advice. Read the 1st chapter at www.businessbygarson.com
28 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
Finny Akers, Mackenzie Cox, Shaunna Bailey
Vintage Hats Mae’s Millinery Shop in Philadelphia will one day be on view at the Smithsonian Museum for a future fashion exhibit. In the l930’s, Mae Reeves secured a $500 loan to launch her designs. On Apr. 14, the still vital 97-year-old was celebrated by her daughter Donna Limerick Pitsenberger, who gathered friends at the George Town Club for a reception and fashion extravaganza of vintage elegance. Mrs. Reeves was delighted at the news that the Smithsonian will acquire much of her collection thereby allowing others to learn about millinery design as “Mae’s Millinery Shop will be preserved for history.” — MB
Left: Donna Pitsenberger in a Mae creation
Pat Trueman, Anna Schmidt
food
&
wine
Continued from Page 22 “I’ve been using the product for 15 years,” says Nicholls. As an old friend of Carolyn Lochhead, whose family founded Cook’s Vanilla in 1918 and still owns the small company, Nicholls is a long-time customer. And having traversed every corner of the globe in search of the world’s finest foods and ingredients, few understand quality cuisine as extensively as
Nicholls. Thus, what ultimately inspired him in his succulent pursuit was seeing the vanilla bean itself. “When Carolyn showed me the beans, I thought I’d seen beans in stores before. And there’s a lot of good vanilla extract makers, but when you see the beans, they’re not very inviting looking, or they look like little dried-
up twigs. But when I saw these,” he says with a naked enthusiasm, unveiling a redolent bushel of plump vanilla beans, “I thought I could really excite people with these … and immediately people responded.” Even in just a few short weeks on the job, the client list speaks for it-
self. “These beans are more plump and fragrant as compared with other beans in the past,” says Amanda Cook (no relation to Cook’s Vanilla), the pastry chef for the Mandarin Oriental’s CityZen and Sou-Wester. “You go to most grocery stores and even just look at the beans, and you can see how leathery and dried out they look.” Cook uses her beans copiously in crème brulee and house-made ice cream, drying and grinding up the used beans for vanilla sugar and syrup for the bar. Ruth Poupon, of Wisconsin Avenue’s Patisserie Poupon, is a fellow enthusiast and client. “We’re picky,” she says. “We’ve been in business 25 years. We look for the best product. If we say it’s good stuff, it’s good.” Georgetown Cupcake has also jumped on the bandwagon, using Cook’s vanilla in their artfully crafted treats. Clients further include the restaurants of Robert Wiedmaier, Baked & Wired, Buzz Bakery, Kendall’s Cakes and Central Coffee Roasters. Popular as vanilla is among bakers and pastry chefs, it has become a long-term goal of Nicholls to pioneer vanilla as more than just a confectionary supplement. He submits that vanilla has near as much potential to be savory as it does sweet. “I’d like to see them used as skewers,” he says for example. “I would love to see someone make a fish dish with perhaps chunks of fish on the skewer, or maybe baked right into a product.” Laura Bonino at The Griffin Market, where Nicholls’ vanilla beans are available in chic glass vials, is among those working out solutions. Stop by and ask for her vanilla rhubarb soup recipe. Chef Robert Wiedmaier has submitted a coriander- and fennel-encrusted wild Alaskan salmon in a vanilla citrus emulsion (www.walternicholls.com has the recipe). Swayed by Nicholls’ enthusiasm, and graciously gifted with a handful of vanilla beans, I decided to take it upon myself to feature vanilla in a three-course meal. To start: arugula salad with manchego, oranges and candied walnuts, in a vanilla vinaigrette. Followed by broiled butternut squash brushed with brown sugar and vanilla extract, tossed with slivered almonds. Then, braised chicken thighs with rosemary and a vanilla bean, seeded and diced, simmered in a chardonnay reduction. It was good. Very good. We pass the torch to you, folks. Cook Flavoring Company’s vanilla extract, puree, and beans are available at Griffin Market (1425 P St.), Lebanese Taverna Market, (4400 Old Dominion Dr., Arlington) and R.H. Ballard, (307 Main St., Washington, VA). Coming soon to Butcher’s Block (1600 King St., Alexandria).
gmg, Inc. April 21, 2010 29
Social
Leading Friends Back Jack It has been a memorable month for Ward 2 member Jack Evans. He announced that he would seek the chairmanship of the D.C. Council, and it was first reported in the Washington Post, two weeks ago, that he is engaged to Michele Seiver, an interior designer. (Evans’s wife, Noel Soderberg Evans, died of cancer in 2003.) Meanwhile, he is still looking after his constituents. Swanky F.Scott’s -- part of 1789 Restaurant and the Tombs -- was the scene for an April 7 fundraiser by Evans and his staff for its constituent services fund, which assists D.C. and Ward 2 citizens in paying for medicines, rent and even funeral bills. (It was noted that Ward 2 contains most of the hotels and upscale restaurants in the District.)-- Robert Devaney
Scene
O, Have You Heard? Our Neighbor Kitty Has a New Book Out “Thank God for the Internet,” Kitty Kelley said at the end of the first week promoting her latest revelation, “Oprah: A Biography,” released April 13 by Crown Publishers. The famous and feared Georgetown author was referring to various media shunning her because of Oprah Winfrey’s influence. “If I had to rely on the mainstream media . . .” said Kelley, who added she considers talk show phenomenon Oprah “the most powerful woman on the planet” and really admires her. Kelley was among supportive local media and business types at an April 16 book party at the Palisades home of her publicist Marina Ein. “She has tackled fearlessly” her literary subjects, Ein said of the unstoppable biographer. A truly friendly and charming neighbor, Kelley will also be signing books on Sunday afternoon, April 25, at the parish hall of St. John’s Church on O Street. -- Robert Devaney
Surrounding Jack Evans: Emily Durso, president, Hotel Association of Washington, Georgetown Business Association president Joe Giannino, general manager of The Latham Hotel, the Clyde’s Restaurant Group’s Ginger Laytham and Lynn Breaux, president of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.
Bolero(+) The Washington Ballet was at the Harman Center for its latest program of dance. Artistic Director Septime Webre expressed appreciation to Rick Kasten, who underwrote the world premiere of Brahms of Edge. At the reception following the Apr. 15 performance, Ballet Board Chair Sylvia de Leon said “tonight belongs to our dancers.” She thanked Septime for “being at the peak.”- MB
Larry Skantze, Mayra Addison, Septime Webre, Pat Skantze
Sister Carol Keehan (Daughters of Charity), presi- Susan and Stephen Porter hail the book and author dent and CEO of Catholic Health Association, with her close friend Kitty.
Four-footer Fashionistas Cutting edge styles on the runway extended to canine companions, who paraded like polished pros amid deafening sound, flashing cameras and popping corks at the Italian Embassy on Apr. 10 at the Fashion for Paws Runway Show. Media personalities Pamela Brown, Nikki Burdine, Steve Chenevey, Angie Goff, Carol Joynt and Will Thomas were on the catwalk (excuse the expression) as were Philippe Cousteau, Joseph E. Robert III and Ashley Taylor. Amanda Polk served as F4P Chair with Pamela Sorensen as Mistress of Ceremonies at an event which has mushroomed over four years under F4P Executive Director Tara de Nicolas, raising close to $350,00 for the Washington Humane Society— bow bow! -MB
Sylvia de Leon, dancers Morgann Frederick, Jack Hakstock, Maki Onuki Anna and Scott St. John, Randy Brater, Erik Barnes
30 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc.
Maryanne and David Forward
Social
2010 Corcoran Ball
Vibeke Lofft and Paul Carp
Jack Quinn and Susanna Quinn
Photos by Neshan H. Naltchayan
Politico’s Fred Ryan
Kathleen Callahan, Griff Jenkins and Kathleen Jenkins
Scene
Fashion for Paws
Washington Redskin, Clinton Portis with WUSA’s Angie Goff
Andrea Rodgers and her dog Scarlett
Joe Robert lll with Tara de Nicolas
Kiki Ryan and Lani Hay
“
3100 South Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20007 202.912.4100 www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Georgetown
Photos by Neshan H.Naltchayan
No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow” an ancient philosopher once said, and with the spirit of the arrival of this enjoyable season, The Ritz Carlton, Georgetown is celebrating. As the warm summer sun goes down and evening sets in, we invite you to join us for a complimentary cone of our Signature S’more gelato. Similar to rocky road ice cream, this rich combination of chocolate gelato and homemade marshmallow garnished with graham cracker cookie topping will be scooped into mini cones and butler-passed every evening from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Tasty, revitalizing mini S’more-tinis, chocolate martinis garnished with marshmallow then lit on fire (optional) in distinctive tasting glasses will be presented to adult lobby guests, who wish to enjoy a unique taste of The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown as a special start to their evening. As well, the hotel’s famed S’more-melier will be at your service to recommend wine and cocktail pairings throughout the summer months. The S’more gelato and the S’more-tini are also available to order from the lobby menu at any time throughout the day.
As Mother’s Day is just around the corner, I want to wish all Mother’s a very Happy Mother’s Day. Fathers and children, you can treat Mom to a special day with a three-course prix fixe Mother’s Day brunch with dessert buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in our Fahrenheit restaurant. Or give Mom the gift of relaxation and beauty with one of our Spa Gift Cards. Beginning April 30th ‘alfresco dining’ will be offered in the courtyard area off the main lobby. This intimate Mediterranean-style patio easily seats up to 20 people, and will present light bites such as Quesadillas, Sliders and Mini Crabcakes. We welcome you to enjoy an afternoon or evening reprieve with an array of refreshing summer cocktails including Sangria, Mojito, and the classic Margarita. I hope you will join me as we celebrate the onset of sunny days, beautiful blooms and tranquil evenings during spring 2010! Best wishes,
Grant Dipman General Manager
April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc. 31
SOLD Elegant Estate
Wesley Heights. Magnificent fieldstone colonial on one acre landscaped grounds with pool and tennis court; spacious rooms. 6 Brs 5.5 Bas office suite, extra buildable lot. $4,299,000
Pat Lore- 301-908-1242; Ted Beverley- 301-728-4338
SOLD
Timeless Treasure
Cleveland Park. Grand spaces, high ceilings, fine renovated classic: chef’s kitchen + sunny family room, 6 Brs, 3 Bas, front & back staircases; garage; decks and pircturesque garden. $1,995,000
Mary Lynn White- 202-309-1100; Melissa Snowden- 301-325-9843
Secluded Retreat
Arts & Crafts Gem
Chevy Chase. Gorgeous 8-yr young colonial w/ 9 ½’ ceilings, wonderful open 1st flr, fam rm w/ stone FP, gourmet kitchen _ brkfst rm, 6 Brs, 4.5 Bas, incl luxe MBR suite; lowere lvl rec rm. Walk to Metro, restaurants, shops. $1,789,000
Foxhall/Berkley. Over 4000 sf of gracious living space w/ 5+ Brs, 4 Bas, renovated kitchen, lg fam rm, den/library, MBR suite, 2 FPs, 2-car garage; beautiful pool, gorgeous gardens, quiet cul de sac. $1,595,000
Suzy Hubbell- 202-607-5688
Bonnie Lewin- 301-332-0171
SOLD Normandy Tradition
Craftsman Classic
Sophisticated Living
Hip & Historic
Hallmark home with traditional elegance: beautiful renovation features chef’s kitchen and brkfst room and dazzling MBR suite with spa bath; 3 Brs, 2 bas up, finished lower lvl, parklike garden, exceptional location $1,225,000
Chevy Chase, DC. On a quiet street close to Metro and Friendship shopping, fabulous renovated 1913 bungalow w/ lg open liv rm, din rm, chef’s kitchen, 3 Brs, 2 Bas, front porch, wrap-around deck, prof landscaping. $969,000
Wesley Heights/ Westover Place. Stately TH in beautiful gated enclave: entry foyer, renov kitchen, din rm, step-down liv rm w/FP, Fr drs to patio; ¾ Brs, 3.5 Bas. $948,000
Capitol Hill. Fabulous renovated TH with gourmet kitchen, liv rm , din rm, powder rm on 1st; 2 MBR suites up; lower lvl apt w/ Br and Ba. Walk to Union Station. $949,000
Guy-didier Godat- 202-361-4663
John Nemeyer- 202-276-6351
Eric Murtagh- 301-652-8971
Nancy Holway- 202-537-7262
SOLD Sears Sweetheart Palisades. Picturesque Sears colonial on beaut crnr lot: wntry foyer, liv rm w/FP, din rm, lg kitchen, half Ba; 3 Brs, 1 Ba up; sunny grdn. $859,000
Nancy Hammond- 202-686-6627
SOLD Fabulous Kitchen Forest Hills/ Van Ness N. Big apt w/ pretty views, incredible new kitchen, 2 Brs, 2 Bas, lg liv rm/ din rm; parking. Walk to Metro, pool, shops. $495,000
Bonnie Lewin- 301-332-0171
Dramatic Penthouse
Best Address
So Charming
U Street. Exciting design, open LR w/ Kalorama/ St. Nicholas. Elegant bldg, FP, din rm, gourmet kitchen, 2 Brs + great 2 br, 2 Ba apt w/ FP, balcony, den, 2 Bas, stiars to fam rm w/ wet bar, renovated kitchen, lg liv rm, din rm, deck w/ fabulous city views, private hardwd flrs, laundry, parking. $815,000 elevator; garage parking; 2 blks to U St Susan Berger- 202-255-5006; Metro. $799,000 Ellen Sandler- 202-255-5007
Bethesda/ Wakefield. Renovated, expanded colonial w/ lg foyer, big beautiful kitchen, din area and fabulous great room, sunrm, fin lower lvl; lg deck, pretty, fenced yard. Walk to Friendship Metro, shops. $669,000
Ellen Abrams- 202-255-8219; Anne-Marie Finnell- 202-329-7117
Nancy Hammond- 202-686-6627; Andrea Evers- 202-550-8934
SOLD
SOLD
Beautiful Bayfront
Sleek Renovation
H Street. Complete renovation, stylish Petworth. Complete redo of spacious rowhouse w/ 3 finished lvls; 3 Brs, TH: foyer, LR, DR, kitchen & sun rm 2.5 Bas, high ceilings, hdwd flrs, great + 3 brs, 1 Ba & sun rm up; big fam rm, Ba laundry on lower lvl. kitchen & baths. $489,000
Melissa Chen- 202-744-1235; Andrea Evers- 202-550-8934
Own/Agt. Shawn Goldstein- 202-329-1493
Sunny Side
Adams Morgan. Sunfilled city apartment w/ 2 brs, 1 Ba, hardwd flrs, renovated kitchen,granite, travertine, spa shower. Great Views of Pierce Park & Cathedral. Walk to Metro, restaurants. $469,000
Leslie Suarez- 202-246-6402
32 April 21, 2010 gmg, Inc. 1
Glamorous & Sleek Columbia Hts. High style duplex apt w/ wd flrs, 3 balconies, 2 brs, 2 ½ luxurious baths; grat liv rm, din rm, fabulous kitchen. $565,000
Laura McCaffrey- 301-641-4456
Chic & Special Cathedral. Updated apt with its own entrance has high ceilings, sophisticated interior, sep entrance, w/d combo in unit, low fees. Pets OK; great dog park, too! $269,000
June Gardner- 301-758-3301