Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Arlington County.
In a passage that reads as if a young, enterprising reporter headed out to interview Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa and realized he'd met his subject for drinks at the Fountain of Youth, Slate's Chris Beam profiled David Brooks for New York and found Bourgeois Bohemia along the way. And found it in Arlington, Va., to be exact. Beam writes:
We’re sitting at the Best Buns Bread Company in the Village at Shirlington, a sort of prefab town square in Arlington, Virginia, designed to be quaint and homey. The streets are fresh red brick. The lampposts are faux antique. The trees are evenly spaced. A color-coded map explains the area’s layout, like a mall. The neighborhood’s culinary diversity—Aladdin’s Eatery abuts Bonsai Restaurant abuts Guapo’s—is matched only by its patrons’ ethnic lack thereof. We are sipping coffees and munching on identical Ginger Crinkle cookies, when it occurs to me: I am in a David Brooks book. We are Bobos. This is Paradise.
The concept, and the portmanteau, of bourgeois and bohemianism in Brooks' 2000 book about educated, consumption-oriented cosmopolitan elites Bobos in Paradise helped make his reputation. It's true that the Village at Shirlington's got brick, fountains, a Busboys and Poets and a CakeLove (two terrific local examples of bourgie bohemianism). There's even a jazz series running on Thursday nights until July 19. But without a Starbucks or a Restoration Hardware, can Shirlington really be Bobo Eden? Is the existence of Le Village Marche really enough to up the Bobo Quotient? Or will Brooks and Beam just have to keep looking?
If they continue their quests for Paradise, I'd like to recommend the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville as a contender. There are enough brunch spots, funky antique shops, bookstores selling first-edition Freddy the Pig books, brick walks, and even a chalk board to keep even the most ardent Bobo set on self-expression.
Bobos in Arlington?
Is the Village at Shirlington Bourgeois Bohemia?
In a passage that reads as if a young, enterprising reporter headed out to interview Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa and realized he'd met his subject for drinks at the Fountain of Youth, Slate's Chris Beam profiled David Brooks for New York and found Bourgeois Bohemia along the way. And found it in Arlington, Va., to be exact. Beam writes:
The concept, and the portmanteau, of bourgeois and bohemianism in Brooks' 2000 book about educated, consumption-oriented cosmopolitan elites Bobos in Paradise helped make his reputation. It's true that the Village at Shirlington's got brick, fountains, a Busboys and Poets and a CakeLove (two terrific local examples of bourgie bohemianism). There's even a jazz series running on Thursday nights until July 19. But without a Starbucks or a Restoration Hardware, can Shirlington really be Bobo Eden? Is the existence of Le Village Marche really enough to up the Bobo Quotient? Or will Brooks and Beam just have to keep looking?
If they continue their quests for Paradise, I'd like to recommend the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville as a contender. There are enough brunch spots, funky antique shops, bookstores selling first-edition Freddy the Pig books, brick walks, and even a chalk board to keep even the most ardent Bobo set on self-expression.
Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Elon Musk Starts What Is Likely the First Party of His Life, Nationals Fire Longtime Management Team, and Washingtonians Got Carried Away With the Fireworks
Speaker Johnson’s Megabill Prayers Likely to Be Answered Before Holiday Weekend, Wrongly Deported Maryland Man Faced Abuse in El Salvador Prison, and We Found Some Yummy Nepalese Food
Pardoned J6er Will Join Ed Martin’s Justice Department Office, Trump Outlines Hypothetical Alligator Escape Plan, and We Have Fireworks Show Recommendations
The “World’s Largest Outdoor Museum” Is Coming to DC. Here’s a Preview.
A Cult Classic of Cannabis Brands Is Making Its DC Debut