A friend is getting a Dubya mask for Halloween, but I feel like there’s so many other D.C. characters and entities that would make for better costumes. Any DC-themed costumes you can suggest? (Please help, otherwise I’m doomed to show up on the 31st as either Jessica Cutler or the Metro!) DCist was staring vacantly into our computer screen thinking of taking the week off of Ask. But when this question came in, we knew…

Guess what? It’s the Tuesday before Halloween! Big deal you say? It sure is a big deal. The Tuesday before Halloween marks one of the District’s flashiest homegrown events, the High-Heel Race. Thousands of District-area residents will line 17th Street (between R and Church) to cheer on the most glitzy, glamorous, and sometimes downright gaudy ladies the city has to offer as this annual tradition marks its 19th birthday. Yes, we realize it is raining,…

Where can I get some kitchen knives sharpened (preferably cheaply)? You are in luck. Sur la Table in Arlington (Pentagon Row) is offering a special sharpening deal during the month of October. You can have three knives sharpened for free, plus $1 per inch for each additional knife. The turn around time is a little longer, about three days, during this special offer, but hey, when you are getting three knives done for free, complaining…

By DCist Food and Wine Writer Michael Mugmon. Like Hall & Oates, DCist is so close, yet so far away. On Tuesday afternoon, we stopped by our local Subway sandwich shop at 20th and M Streets NW for a footlong meatball sub. When we asked for the two Sub Club stamps we thought we’d earned (one stamp for each six odd inches of grunt), the cashier brusquely informed us that the venerable Sub Club program…

By DCist Food and Wine Writer Michael Mugmon. Before putting fork to mouth, DCist considers a restaurant’s prospects by examining the quality of its wine list. If it’s evident that a restaurant owner cares deeply about the wines served with the food, then it’s likely the owner also cares deeply about the ingredients going into the kitchen and the dishes coming out of it. Too often in Washington, a restaurant’s wine list reveals the owner’s…

By DCist Food Writer Melissa McCart. If you haven’t been to Rice, you might have heard that it’s tough to find, that it’s a bit New York, and that it’s too expensive. None of which is true. Though the door is marked by a tiny nameplate on 14th Street between Q and Corcoran, it is more effective to look for a more visible landmark: the bright yellow sign for our favorite jazz haunt-slash-cafeteria, HR 57,…

I recently received a bottle of wine that would normally be way, way out of my range as a gift. Are there are any recommended restaurants that will do a tasting menu based on the wine? The Caucus Room’s Executive Chef Lisa Graves will create a menu to compliment your wine(s). Simply call Isabella at the resturant and she will talk you through the details, including food preferences and the number of courses you envision….

DCist has been sent some unsubstantiated celebrity sightings from this weekend. We put our fact checkers hot on the confirmation trail, but really, celebrity sightings are more intriguing gossip than serious journalistic news, so we’ve decided to go straight to you, our eyes and ears on the ground. So dish already. Here are the details as we know them right now: On Saturday, the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development hosted an open…

By DCist Food and Wine Contributor Michael Mugmon. After work on Friday evenings, DCist ponders our many social options. Head over to the local T.G.I. Friday’s and tell the wait staff that it’s our birthday? Think earnestly about exercising before deciding to watch What I Like About You? More often than not, DCist eschews –- well, postpones –- these alternatives and makes a beeline for the Wine Specialist and its weekly Friday night wine tastings….

If vintage finds pique your passions, Junction should be your lover of choice this week. The U Street vintage boutique unveils recent designer acquisitions at its bi-annual designer sale starting today. Look for Dior, Yves St. Laurent, Chanel and Valentino mingled with more recent designer items from Marc Jacobs, Michael Stars and Betsey Johnson. DCist’s favorite piece? A Saint Laurent jacket (image left) that not only fits perfectly with this fall’s “Victorian” look, but also…