RestaurantPalaver: Rick Eats DC 19 Aug 2018 12:19 PM (6 years ago)
Since I've been blogging less frequently than Roger Federer wins majors, I thought the least I can do is refer you to my friend Rick's terrific blog on the DC food scene. Rick Eats DC reviews the latest hot spots, hidden gems, and old favorites, and he has great taste and a thoroughly entertaining style. His "best of" lists are my go-to resource when I'm trying to think of new places to try. And he's so thorough and dedicated he once asked me if I wanted to have lunch at a certain pizza place "to see if it's still terrible" (I said yes, obviously). His reviews are always candid, so he won't steer you wrong.
RandomPalaver: Merry Christmas from Middletown, Ohio! 25 Dec 2017 5:44 PM (7 years ago)
Santa wetting his whistle at Gracie's in Middletown, Ohio. Who can blame him?
IrishPalaver: Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake 16 Mar 2017 7:58 PM (8 years ago)
Hi all -- long time no blog! But I had to come back to wish you a happy St. Patrick's Day, and to suggest this delicious chocolate Guinness cake, courtesy of Nigella Lawson. You bake the moist cake -- made with cocoa, butter, Guinness, and sour cream -- in a springform pan, and then top with icing made from confectioner sugar, cream cheese, and heavy cream, so that, as NIgella says, "it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness." Cheers!
TheaterPalaver: Little Thing, Big Thing 21 Nov 2016 7:19 PM (8 years ago)
If you're sticking around DC for Thanksgiving weekend, you have four chances (Friday, twice Saturday, and Sunday) to experience Solas Nua's latest production, Little thing, Big Thing. Two actors take on a dozen or more roles in this funny, suspenseful, and insightful buddy caper (involving a petty thief and a Scottish nun in Ireland via Nigeria). The play is staged in a theater in the back of a gallery on G Street near Gallery Place. These performances are too good not to be given to packed houses. And the theme is timely, focused on the importance of taking what little steps you can to effect big changes in the face of corruption. You can find tickets here.
SportsPalaver: Tennis Still Life 11 Sep 2016 6:35 PM (8 years ago)
Tomorrow is September 12, which means two things: I have 2 hours to post something to avoid going a full year without a post, and my GEICO payment is due tomorrow. I also have that empty feeling I get every year when the last ball of the US Open is struck, though even if the pros are mostly done with 2016 I've got four more months of playing at Rock Creek Tennis Center, above. I just need to figure out a new way to get there once the multi-year Beach Drive project gets underway as soon as next week.
Congrats to Angelique Kerber and Stan the Man Wawrinka for their US Open victories. Kerber beat Pliskova yesterday, after having lost to her in the final at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio last month. My brother and I saw that match, shown below, and Cilic's win over Murray thanks to Ramona from Toronto, who happened to be sitting next to me earlier in the week and sold me her tickets to the finals. One of my favorite things in life is random interactions with strangers. Even more so when tickets to the finals are involved.
I pledge to do better by mbpalaver in the coming months. But not until after I make that GEICO payment.
SportsPalaver: After you, Alphonse 12 Sep 2015 7:44 AM (9 years ago)
A few years ago a colleague referred to a turf battle at work as less of a turf grab and more "after you, Alphonse." I didn't know what he was talking about, but found out it was a reference to this early 20th century comic strip, featuring two bumbling Frenchmen taking politeness to ridiculous levels. I asked my father if he'd ever heard of it and he said he didn't know the comic strip, but that baseball announcers sometimes refer to two outfielders letting a ball drop between them as an "Alphonse Gaston move." It made me wonder why no one ever says this when two doubles players let a ball pass between them. Maybe it's because doubles isn't covered much on TV. Maybe it's because the Bryan brothers do this less often than I do. Whatever the reason, this seems like a job for Brad Gilbert, who, along with Patrick McEnroe, is announcing today's US Open men's doubles final between Jamie Murray/John Peers and Nicolas Mahut/Pierre-Hugues Herbert on ESPN3 (aka the Internet)) at noon. I would be completely disheveled if @bgtennisnation said this.
And speaking of Brad Gilbert, I am loving these Voya ads:
Photo credit:
"Alphonsegaston" by Opper, Frederick Burr - American Journal Examiner Retrieved from Scoop. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.
TheaterPalaver: Prince Achmed is Back at Constellation Theatre 10 Aug 2015 7:28 PM (9 years ago)
Constellation Theater will be presenting, Thursday through Saturday, another production of "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" at The Source on 14th Street. (Thursday is sold out online, but you can put your name on a waiting list at the box office.) I loved it when I saw it 3 years ago -- check out my previous rave. You can also take advantage of the relative quiet in Washington to grab a bite before or after on the patio at Etto, Le Diplomate, Cork, or Doi Moi (or, as my friend Judi calls it, Boy Toy).
SportsPalaver: Bjorkman (and Murray) at Citi Open 2 Aug 2015 7:20 PM (9 years ago)
It's probably safe to assume not too many people were aiming their cameras at Andy Murray's coach Jonas Björkman on the practice court at the Citi Open today. But I was a fan of the former top 10 Swede, and not just for his tennis. Here he is doing imitations of top players from the '80s. I found another version with better video, but somehow the French commentary on this one seems like a bonus.
SportsPalaver: Citi Open 2015 1 Aug 2015 7:33 PM (9 years ago)
DC's annual lead-up to the US Open started today at the Rock Creek Tennis Center. Though the major matches in the Citi Open don't get started until Monday, this weekend for $10 online ($15 at the door) you can wander the grounds and see qualifying matches, watch the pros practice, and gawk at players as they go about their business. Today I saw the temperamental Marinko Matosevic beat USA's Austin Krajicek in a third-set tie-breaker, then saw Matosevic -- after playing for a couple of hours in 90 degree heat and humidity -- jogging around the adjacent soccer field. (It reminded me of Agassi's complaint that Jim Courier would do that after beating him back in the day.)
You can buy tickets and find information at the tournament website and find practical tips at the Washington Post. It costs $15 to park on the grounds and the lots there get filled up later in the week. Neighborhood parking is restricted during the event. If you haven't used uber before, you can get "up to" $20 off and get dropped off at the back entrance. Whatever you do, don't try driving up 16th Street during the evening rush and expect to take a left into the parking lot without an excruciating wait. Pudding Man and I did that once and after all that wait we got shunted to an off-site shuttle lot anyway.
The northeast court is a great (and shady, in the afternoon) place to see top players practice. Above I'm trying to pick up tips from Sam Groth for how to up my service speed to approach his ATP record-breaking 163.4 MPH serve (hit in a tournament in Busan in 2012). I've got a ways to go. Groth was practicing with fellow Aussie Lleyton Hewitt. I also saw Kei Nishikori and Kevin Anderson hitting today, and ran into friends who saw Grigor Dmitrov and Andy Murray on the practice court (not necessarily together). I almost accidentally photobombed a kid's selfie with Richard Gasquet. No sign of Tommy Haas today, but if you're a fan check out the Citi Open's announcement on facebook on Thursday that Denis Kudla and Haas got wild cards -- clearly whoever is running that facebook page is a Haas admirer.
Edited to add that tomorrow (Sunday, August 2) is National Parks Kids Day:
National Parks Kids Day
Come out and join us for our National Parks Kids Day, which will include a USTA Play Day, DC Public Library Story Time, Platform Tennis, appearances by local mascots, face painters, and more! All kids 14 and under will receive a complimentary reserved ticket for Session 2 and a lunch voucher courtesy of Guest Services, Inc.
The complimentary tickets for kids 14 and under and the lunch voucher are only redeemable at the Box Office, which will open at 8am on Sunday, August 2.
BooksPalaver: Bloomsday reading at Petworth Citizen 16 Jun 2015 4:49 AM (9 years ago)
You still have about 15 hours to drop in on a marathon 30-hour reading of Ulysses at the Petworth Citizen and enjoy a coffee, a whiskey, or a bite with other Joyce fans on the 111th anniversary of the day Leopold Bloom wandered around Dublin. Who knows what other Ulysses fans you might run into?
Photo by Eve Arnold, from openculture.com.