Written by DCist contributor Meghan Welsh Cultures will collide this weekend at The Kennedy Center as Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company presents the world premiere of "Chico Latino," a work which explores the intersection of Asian American and Latin American communities throughout the Americas. "Chico Latino" is a fusion of Latin and Asian modern dance, and the program will also include classic works by the choreographer, inspired by his experiences, such as a visit... more ›

>> The woman NPR crowned the "Queen of the Acoustic Guitar," Kaki King, takes the 9:30's stage tonight opening for the John Butler Trio. When DCist saw her play last year at Jammin Java, we were floored by "the wild, jazzy, and melodic 'voice' of her guitar." $20 will get you in the door for a great double bill. >> The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay author Michael Chabon will be at the 6th... more ›

Thanksgiving time in Washington means three things: the annual appearance of Art Buchwald’s column explaining Thanksgiving to the French, the president’s pardoning of a turkey who will inevitably ask why he survived while so many bright flowering young turkeys gave their lives, and alcohol. When DCist drops by family gatherings each year, downing a glass of wine or two is all we can do to keep from throttling our big Uncle Gothamist for hitting on our girlfriend or from tearing out our hair over our crazy Cousin Phillyist’s insistence that the pilgrims served cheesesteaks and Yuengling at the first Thanksgiving. more ›

When DCist was in college, the lure of free pizza was really the only inducement we needed to go somewhere. Introductory meeting for the Djibouti Club? Thursdays with Hegel? Piccolo Players for 17th Century Women? The support group for students who were madly in love with their T.A.'s? We went to them all. Now that we're all grown up, we have to pay for a pizza, and we don't get a discussion about dialectical reasoning to go along with it. Not tonight! more ›

Austin Grill) and big-time chains (read Chipotle), Taqueria Distrito Federal is neither of the above. This Columbia Heights taco joint is the real deal. The menu is honed to the bare essentials and specialties with burritos and tacos and homemade soft drinks like tamarind juice and horchata, a cinnamony concoction made of pulverized rice. Nothing exceeds $5. When DCist ventured over there, two ate for $13 -- and it was damn good. more ›

A few weeks back DCist explored downtown Silver Spring, a neatly organized if sterile shopping district populated with the usual suspects -- Chipotle, Starbucks, Potbelly, Borders. We spied what seemed to be a park, full of playful children and couples. We approached. It seemed a little bright to be real grass. A little too well-manicured. Surprised were we to find out the park was nothing more than an expanse of AstroTurf, a carpet of fake grass amidst blocks and blocks of concrete and asphalt. Today the Post informs us that it's actually called SoftLawn, and it's a hit with local residents. Though the faux lawn only cost $96,000 and is a breeze to maintain, DCist is still old-fashioned enough to prefer the real kind. We can, though, only imagine what the National Mall would look like covered in this stuff... more ›

When DCist theorized that Mt. Vernon Square was ripe for hotel development last month, we realized we were stating the obvious. And an article that appeared yesterday on real estate website GlobeSt.com confirmed what many knew was coming: the effort to secure space for a hotel serving the new Convention Center has begun. The Washington Convention Center Authority has purchased a half-acre at 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW, including the offices of the United Association of... more ›

Bono Memorial Park, which we first wrote about last December. The park has long been a curiosity even to District residents, and the mystery behind it (which turned out not so mysterious) was one of the inspirations for this ongoing series. more ›

When DCist met Jessica Cutler a few weeks ago, we were charmed. She e-mailed us after we invited her out to drinks and turned out to be a very nice, down to earth person -- surprising, given the stereotype that Washingtonians are obsessed with their own stature. Maybe it was careful media coaching from her Disney-owned publisher, but we got the feeling that she was a genuine person, caught unexpectedly last year in a media... more ›

FRIDAY: >> All weekend long we've got Filmfest DC! Check out the schedule here, and if you haven't picked up a copy of this week's City Paper, you really should, because they've got some good Filmfest coverage. >> If you're feeling crafty, you won't want to miss the Smithsonian Craft Show this weekend: there are 120 booths exhibiting and selling some of the nation's finest arts and crafts. Just check out, for example, some of... more ›

When DCist checked out Tallula in January, we were expecting the spot to be popular. The combination of cool decor, American comfort food, and a creative "Amuse Yourself" menu seemed a welcome addition to Clarendon. However, the steep incline in the level of the restaurant's popularity has surprised us; diners have reported possible long waits and a noted decline in service. And after Tom Sietsema's two-star review this Sunday, it comes as no surprise that mentions of the newcomer were all over the discussion on yesterday's Ask Tom chat. more ›

With Inauguration Day fast approaching, temperatures in D.C. have taken a dive. According to the Weather Underground, temperatures today will have highs in the low 20s, and snow is likely Wednesday. There is currently a wind chill advisory in effect. more ›

I really like mashups and would love to know if there are any djs in D.C. who have mashup nights. Something like this except in D.C. instead of Cambridge, Mass. Unfortunately DCist can't be too much help here because as far as our knowledge extends (and the knowledge of everyone usually in the know that we consulted) there are no mashup nights in the D.C. area. The best we have to offer is stretching it... more ›

Barracks Row already has already added a fine dining restaurant, a martini bar, and an Irish pub new to its list of offerings on Eighth Street SE. And now comes Graig Glufling, former chef at Matchbox, bringing classic American comfort food to The Ugly Mug, his new bar on the Row. When DCist says new, we do mean new. The Ugly Mug opened on Dec. 30. Tom Sietsema remarked in his weekly chat that when... more ›

The Fraser Mansion at the corner of Connecticut Avenue at 20th and R streets stands out, as you can see in this DCist photo. In a sea of older and newer commercial buildings a few blocks north of Dupont Circle stands the distinguished red stone mansion, its giant porte-cochere meeting the sidewalk with a majestic portal leading inside. It’s also Washington’s Scientology House, and while Clearwater, Fla., might be a more important Scientology center, Washington is where L. Ron Hubbard started Scientology when he was studying at George Washington University. We aren’t sure to call it a religion, cult or a pyramid scheme (feel free to post your thoughts in comments), but that’s not the point of this post. When DCist was in New York before Thanksgiving, we got a chance to interview a former Washington resident, who, on a whim, decided to go on a tour of the Fraser Mansion with friends when they were recovering from a tough hangover. more ›

DCist was watching the Michigan vs. Northwestern football game this afternoon at an L Street bar when ABC interrupted with a news flash that Vice President Cheney, who has survived four heart attacks, was at the George Washington University Hospital undergoing a host of tests due to shortness of breath. When the Wolverines built up a comfortable lead by the fourth quarter (Michigan beat Northwestern, 42-20) we headed over to Washington Circle to see... more ›

Work to transform Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House is wrapping up, with the Jersey barriers and oversized awkward planters being replaced with gray-green fluted bollards and attractive street pavers. For most of the past year, pedestrian access to the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue has been extremely limited. When DCist took this photo on Election Day morning, the street was blocked off, but this morning, the first lady will officially reopen the avenue to pedestrian traffic in a ceremony with the federal highways administrator. more ›

If you haven't gotten a chance to look at D.C.'s newest tourist spot, be sure to get to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metrorail station today before the bulk of the destroyed train cars will probably be carted away this weekend. As has been previously reported, although WMATA has put up a blue tarp to shield commuters from the splintered mess, from the mezzanine, you can see the whole scene of disaster. Seeing such destruction set... more ›

Saturday, after the fog lifted, the weather was warm and nice, but with Halloween and a heated election back to back, being out and about provided its interesting moments. When DCist was traveling to Barracks Row to pick up our costume for Saturday night (DCist photo above), we were traveling on a Blue Line train heading toward Capitol Hill. As the train approached the Capitol South station, a group of Lyndon LaRouche supporters came through... more ›

A large assembly of WMATA track personnel is out in full force doing emergency repairs on the Red Line downtown near the Judiciary Square double crossover, which has caused massive delays into Maryland. WMATA has set up a special shuttle service to bypass the problem. Red Line trains are sharing the same track between Judiciary Square and Farragut North. DCist was stuck at the Tenleytown station trying to get to Union Station. When the train... more ›

When DCist left the 9:30 Club last night, a homeless man on U Street told us to smile. That might best describe our experience with seeing The Libertines live. We expected a lot more, and in the end were disappointed, realizing that a band with such great potential had floundered and came up short. (Perhaps it was the co-mingling of Jamesons and Stella Artois that was shared on stage ... or was the Jamesons actually red wine, which the band has been known to enjoy while chain smoking in their blissful belligerence?) more ›

What do Abingdon, Md., and Pyongyang, North Korea, have in common? Well nothing, really, but if you saw an advanced viewing of "Team America" this weekend, you may have been able to make a connection. When DCist stopped off at a Wawa off Interstate 95 in Abingdon, we noticed that a nearby shopping plaza was called "Constant Friendship." In a nation where suburban developers seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel in... more ›

When DCist heard that a man was jailed after being caught with a massive child pornography cache, we knew immediately where to turn: the vigilant folks at Washington's NBC4 News. more ›

When DCist saw this photo of a kid wading in the Anacostia River during an Earth Day clean-up in 2001, we were concerned. The Anacostia is dirty and who knows what kinds of skin ailments or worse that can develop when you have direct contact with the water. There is no doubt that the river is one of the nation's dirtiest and most neglected. more ›

DCist is a big fan of Five Guys burgers. We're sure there are healthier things out there for you, but damn they're good. (Feel free to chime with your favorite burgers in town.) But the historian in us makes us feel sort of sad with the arrival of Five Guys in Georgetown for a piece of Cold War history has been lost: The Vitaly Yurchenko Memorial Bathroom. It was at the old Au Pied du... more ›

A rundown church used in the filming of 1999's "The Blair Witch Project" near Burkittsville, Md., has now been incorporated into South Mountain State Park, the AP, via WTOP, reports. more ›

When DCist was out for Sunday brunch at the Fort Meyer Officer's Club, we picked up a copy of the Pentagram, the base's newspaper. We often forget about all the news that happens on the area's military bases, partially because base-life is relatively closed off and isolated from the general public. (DCist had trouble finding our way onto the base, with the Wright Gate, adjacent to the Iwo Jima Memorial, closed; we had to enter way over by Washington Boulevard via the Hatfield Gate.) more ›

When DCist swung by DC9 last weekend for the Rock Paper Scissors D.C. National Championship, we didn't see The New York Times' Jennifer 8. Lee up on stage facing off against her opponent. But in the NYT's Sunday Styles section, Lee writes about her experience as a jumping off point to explore the world of Rock Paper Scissors. (In the teaser on the front of the section, it says "I join the cult.") more ›

People living in areas of Northeast and Southeast continue to face high levels of unemployment, according to new data. The Post reports that while D.C. has seen great economic prosperity the past decade, the unemployment rate overall is still high. This is especially the case east of the Anacostia River where there are many neighborhoods where the jobless rate is anywhere between 25 and 83 percent. more ›

When DCist was in Georgetown this past weekend strangers on three occasions came up and asked where they could find the "new burger joint" or "Five Brothers." What they were looking for was Five Guys, the Arlington-based burger chain that is in an aggressive expansion right now, pushing into North Carolina, Delaware and now the District. Five Guys' spot in Chinatown opened earlier this year, and office workers downtown have been making lunchtime runs for their tasty burgers and fries. (A word of warning, their regular-size burgers have two patties, a small burger is regular size.) more ›