Written by DCist Contributor Oscar Bunoan Despite what you’ve read, Vincent Van Gogh was not insane. I mean, what’s the use of an earlobe to a painter anyway? An artist under mental distress, after all, would have immediately deemed his moneymakers a more suitable gift for an unsuspecting prostitute. Why make reference to the 19th century post impressionist? Because, whether James and Miranda Chen—owners of the Asian influenced Sunflower Vegetarian—realize it or not, he serves......

Last week's battle of the orchestras may be eclipsed by this week's. Besides the local symphonic ensembles, there are some visitors in the ring, too. The common theme is the piano concerti of Johannes Brahms, both of them disarmingly beautiful pieces, and here is how we call it. THE ORCHESTRAS >> The week starts strong with the Cleveland Orchestra on Monday (October 15, 8 p.m.) in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Washington Performing Arts Society......

By DCist contributor Elisabeth Grant D.C. can be an expensive place to eat lunch. A meal from Cosi will set you back $8, any sit-down place is at least twice as much that, and even if you're just going for coffee, a grande pumpkin spice latte (the most delicious beverage on the planet) will put you out over $4. While many of the folks who work on or around the Hill, like those with expense......

It's annoyingly cutesy, but still potentially noteworthy: before you head out to grab your lunch today, consider that popular sandwich purveyor Potbelly is celebrating it's 30th anniversary with something they're calling "Random Acts of Potbelly." Can we assume this will include random acts of giving away free sandwiches? Let's friggin' hope so. Because random acts of slaps across the face would be a lot less satisfying. So like we say, there's no guarantee you'll get......

The oven-like heat outside reminds us of summers off from school, which in turn got us into a conversation about the fast food we remember from those days. Maybe it's a good thing that the D.C. area, and the city in particular, isn't overrun with these places, but it doesn't mean we don't remember them fondly -- or, for that matter, dearly wish they had a few outlets closer by at times like these. A......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness – we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

Soft shell crab season is half way over and we can’t believe that we haven’t paid proper tribute to this much-anticipated D.C. delicacy. Now we love our deep-fried crustaceans just as much as the next person, but as with everything we had to put a little spin on the ordinary. We did stick to the sandwich concept, because not only have we not featured soft shell crabs but we’ve yet to do up a sandwich......

It's never a good sign when it's already this steamy this early in the morning, and indeed, the heat index looks like it will near 100 degrees today (actual temps closer to 94). The D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management has some helpful tips to beating the oppressive heat, but this list has a shameful lack of ice cream sandwiches involved. DCist heartily recommends the Ice Cream Sandwich Method of keeping cool today, which involves......

If the results of our poll yesterday are any indication, ordinary people feel pretty strongly that administrative law Judge Roy Pearson is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, and really ought not to be a judge anymore. Finally, the Examiner brings word that Pearson's employer agrees with that sentiment. In a letter to the three-person commission that will decide whether Pearson gets reappointed, District of Columbia Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone T. Butler said Pearson......

Oh, D.C. Madam. You knew we couldn't keep away from you forever, didn't you. Despite you spending so many weeks toying with our delicate emotions, leaving us curled up in the fetal position, sobbing for lack of any kind of clue that you like us as much as we like you, we keep coming back for more. We know, we should try to hold on to any scrap of dignity we have left. But hey,......

Washington, it's time to round up your interns and send them on a lunch run for the office. Give them a metro map (or if they're good interns, cab fare), show them the Potomac Avenue stop, and point them to D.C.'s greatest sandwich shop: Mangialardo & Sons. Forget the overwhelming yeasty aroma of Subway or the turkey sandwich with two paper-thin slices of meat at your local food-by-the-pound, Mangialardos will scratch your itch for a......

What is it about historic D.C. firehouses that spark culinary ambition? A pair of in-the-works restaurants aim to address this burning question. As Express recently reported, a pre-World War II firehouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood is slated to become an eatery called EC-12, whose name references the old Engine Company 12 that used to occupy the building. Architects are currently working on building plans, after which developers will be able to apply for a building......

Corrections In last week's Feed, we mentioned that the unearthing of Eric Ripert's impending move to D.C. was courtesy of Tom Sietsema in a May 2006 TomChat. We were mistaken, however. The scoop on the story goes to the Washingtonian's Todd Kliman, who uncovered the story in his chat first (link is unavailable, sorry, you can read his latest chat though). Apologies all around to you Mr. Kliman; you deserve full credit for your footwork.......

>> There's no doubt that we're relieved that the Metro passenger who was struck by the outbound Blue train at Rosslyn this morning did not sustain serious injury. But, we can't stress this enough, people —don't crowd the edge of theplatform! We'd like to keep all of you around. [Washington Post] >> That said, let's be glad we seem to be made of sterner stuff than New York State Senator Carl Kruger, who'd like to......

FRIDAY: >> January at 9:30 Club tends to be a no man's land of lots of dark nights with the occassional local line-up thrown in for good measure. So we think it's great that Taint, DC9's weekly queer dance night for electro-indie goodness, and Black Cat's popular Bliss have ganged up to create INFAMY, a late-night dance fiesta featuring DJ Will Eastman and New York's DJ Bill Coleman, with special guest Daisy Spurs. Doors open......

Metro may be short $116 million, but they've got irony to spare. Yesterday came the news that Metro was considering hefty fare increases to cover a budget shortfall, provoking ire across the region and forcing members of the agency's Board of Directors to demand that spending cuts be made first. Among those cuts would be 240 administrative positions, 60 take-home cars, a 5 percent raise for non-union employees, and a bevy of outside consultants. Yet......

On the streets of Georgetown, I once had a conversation with a homeless man about tuna fish sandwiches. I was carrying a large box down the street, and he quite logically thought there was a good chance I had a tuna fish sandwich inside, or perhaps many sandwiches, hence my need for a large container in which to carry them. When he inquired as to the existence of the sandwiches, I was forced to inform......

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect it's beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned. They......

MONDAY When it comes to issues of globalization, nobody rocks the field like Joseph Stiglitz, whose last book, Globalization and its Discontents, should be a must-read for everyone who thinks they can change the world with a papier-mâché puppet. Now he’s back to discuss the ways of Making Globalization Work. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, at 7 p.m. TUESDAY She’s short. She’s tenacious. She’s stalking Stephen Colbert. No, we’re not talking about Senator......

Last Call. . . Take advantage of the final days of summer by treating yourself to a pork sandwich and side of broccoli rabe at the Galileo Grill this Tuesday and Wednesday between 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Chef Roberto Donna will also feature pork sausage or chicken sandwiches, cold carrot and tomato soup, and an onion, pancetta, and cheese quiche. As fall nears and the restaurant prepares to close for renovations, this may be......

Georgetown students don't waste their valuable time with the five syllables of Wise-mil-ler's De-li. To them it's just "Wisey's," the prime spot for cold drinks, take-out sandwiches and a few household items next to 1789. But two weeks ago, along came another Wisey's. This time, not seconds from the campus front gates, but gasp—a few minutes away. Not only is the new one a bit farther from campus, it's also farther away from the original......

Outrageous prices for not-so great food -- the issue of stadium concessions is pretty interesting. So interesting that Slate's Daniel Engber wondered and found out what it's like to be a beer vendor. Aside from in airports and on airplanes, where else can you be subjected to a limited number of relatively unappetizing, uncreative, unhealthy concoctions that are sold at unbelievably high prices? Even the July 2006 revamping of RFK Stadium and the new food......

A few weeks ago we were tipped off to what one reader declared was the greatest gyro of all time. Apparently, a pizzeria near the King Street metro station was turning out a monumental version of what was already one of our favorite sandwiches. Upon arriving at Quattro Formaggi in Old Town Alexandria, we proceeded to dine on what was a fine example indeed. But it got us to thinking – is this really the......

In Eating Your Words, former New York Times restaurant critic William Grimes discusses what’s in a sandwich name -- be it hoagie, wedge, muffuletta, Cubano, rocket, garibaldi, zeppelin, or spuckie. Region seems to dictate names as much as anything. Grimes attributes the Philadelphia "hoagie" to flapper-era Philadelphia jazz musician Al De Palma — who apparently said, “you had to be a hog to eat it.” During the Great Depression in 1936, he opened up a......

Today we kick off "Buying Indie," a new series about local and independent businesses written by Vince Wadhwani, the brain behind Buy Indie. Every now and then he'll feature a new business, observing only one rule — it must be local, it must be independent. You don't often see soccer fans heading in groups to the hair salon, so at first the sight may seem strange. But then, just before they get to the......

Under the guidance of Buck’s Fishing and Camping GM James Alefantis, Adam Hasler, Javier Rivas, and Ryan Wisnor have taken over the coffeehouse on the ground floor of Politics and Prose since the store and Sirius Coffee parted ways. The trio -- also known as Coup d’Etat Coffee Company -- set up shop in March and renamed it Modern Times. Hasler, a former server at Buck’s, was encouraged by Alefantis to create the partnership and......

The Nats did a nice thing for 15,000 of their closest friends on Sunday afternoon. After soundly defeating the Phillies, 6-0, on a day perfectly suited to the game of baseball (75 degrees, cool breeze, sunshine), the team had a Picnic at the Park for season ticket holders. Now I have not purchased season tickets, but I was with a friend who did, and so I went along for the ride. This sort of mass......

If DCist hears one more person talk about how great Breadline is, we'll scream. We'll scream a "here's where Cameron goes berserk" scream. Sure, the lunch spot on the 1700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW turns out what it should turn out: decent and sometimes exceptional bread. But the quality of what's inside those breads and what's served alongside them (and, some say, the bread itself) has diminished significantly -- especially since the French chain......

So many establishments abuse their signage with superlatives such as "World’s Best Cup of Coffee" that we typically ignore any such boasting when searching for quality grub. But occasionally some joint will be just dingy and dilapidated enough that a rusted sign proclaiming “Famous Roast Beef” will cause us to reconsider our position. Hodge’s Sandwich Shop may be barely more than a shack, but it easily deserves as much acclaim as other classic slices of......

It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. There’s matzoh ball soup and the apple-and-nut goodness of charoset, but then there’s arid sheets of matzoh and denser-than-dense Passover desserts. If you’re a kosher-for-Passover diehard, forget about eating out—that’s a situation filled with chometz (what’s forbidden on Passover) pitfalls. We can remember many times of being halfway through the breadbasket before realizing that Moses wandered through the desert around this time of......