Photograph of Spacey by DFree / Shutterstock.com. Photograph of Washington courtesy of Shutterstock.
Not that we’re excited or anything, but the countdown to the annual celebrity deathmatch that is the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner has begun. The main event happens April 27, which means in less than two weeks you won’t be able to walk through Georgetown or casually sip a coffee at Starbucks without tripping over the likes of Dakota Fanning (she’s teeny and easy to miss), Charlize Theron (she’s not), or Eliot Spitzer (the only person I wasn’t too scared to ask for a photo in 2012).
We’ll have lots more coverage over the next couple of weeks, but for now, here’s a
list of the confirmed guests attending the dinner, and whom they’re going with. We’ll
update as we learn more.
NPR
George Lucas and his fiancée, Mellody Hobson
Actress Sophia Bush and Invisible Children’s Jedidiah Jenkins
Comedian Tracy Morgan and his fiancée, Megan Wollover
Author Khaled Hosseini and his wife
Musicians Ben Ruttner and James Patterson of the Knocks
Actress Jessica Alba and her husband, Cash Warren
ABC
Actress Connie Britton
Actress Hayden Panettiere
Actress Kerry Washington
Actress Sofia Vergara
Actor Eric Stonestreet
Daily Beast/Newsweek
General Lawrence D. Nicholson
Actress Nicole Kidman
Actress Olivia Munn
Producer Harvey Weinstein
Former White House speechwriter Jon Favreau
Former congresswoman Jane Harman
Senator Claire McCaskill
We’ve been looking forward to the debut of Mike Isabella’s 14th Street sandwich shop, G, since the toque divulged details and the upcoming menu back in February. Now it looks like Jerseyites in his home state will get first dibs on a similar concept, as a new eatery, G GrabandGo, was just announced for an opening in Edison, New Jersey, this spring. The Washington version is slated to debut later in the summer.
Isabella partners with sister Diana Isabella and brother-in-law Rob Wetchkus for the 20-seat spot, which promises to combine aspects of both Graffiato and the upcoming G. Both sandwich spots will serve breakfast creations such as the Jersey Mac—duck egg, ham, and Muenster cheese tucked between fresh-baked English muffins—and a variety of Italian classics like chicken Parm and an Italian hero.
Isabella isn’t the first Washington toque to expand to the Garden State. The Revel in Atlantic City drew Robert Wiedmaier and Michel Richard to set up outposts of Mussel Bar and Central, respectively.
José Andrés with Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.
It was barely possible for superstar chef José Andrés to eat, drink, or talk at his 20th anniversary party, because so many well-wishers crowded around to give him hugs and kisses. They included Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, US senator Mark Warner, Spanish ambassador Ramón Gil-Casares, and DC mayor Vincent Gray. The party, held Tuesday night at Andrés’s flagship Penn Quarter tapas restaurant, Jaleo, was described as only the beginning of a yearlong series of celebrations.
Working the room along with Andrés was his business partner, Rob Wilder, and other members of Think Food Group, which owns Jaleo, Oyamel, Zaytinya, and Minibar in DC, in addition to several other restaurants in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, and Miami. But Jaleo came first, in 1993, setting a new standard for Spanish cuisine in the capital.
The party was virtually all Spanish—the food and the drinks. The evening’s cocktail was a gin and Aperol concoction, the red and white wines were from Spain, and the passed food included oysters in gin and tonic and cones with salmon roe. Midway through the party, the kitchen staff brought out a jumbo dish of paella.
Pisco Sours will be among the liquid offerings at Del Campo. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
When chef Victor Albisu first conceived of Del Campo, he imagined a cozy rowhouse restaurant with exposed-brick walls. Then he toured the 5,800-square-foot space at 777 I Street, Northwest, the former home of PS 7’s. He says immediately his vision for the place changed into something larger, a restaurant that captured the rustic-elegant charms of dining in countries such as Peru and Argentina.
Entering PS 7’s, guests traversed a dark, closed-off hallway with walls dividing the dining room from the bar area. At Del Campo, however, the entranceway is flanked by half walls, opening up the entire space. Enormous antique chandeliers hang down from the ceiling, and there are lots of ornate mirrors, wood, and earth tones. The restaurant is big enough to house an asado bar—get ready for flights of grilled meat—and an adjacent wine bar where staff can decant the full-bodied red wines that wine director Morgan Fausett selected for the bottle list. There is also a 36-seat bar with its own menu—a casual counterpart to the fine-dining one you’ll find in the rest of the restaurant. A big fan of all things smoked and charred, Albisu even found a way to incorporate the grill into the cocktails. Read on for all the details on Del Campo’s exciting bar plans.
Pillowy beignets at Bayou Bakery. Photograph courtesy of Bayou Bakery.
Greetings, derbyers. Cashion’s won Tuesday’s contest, beating out Seasonal Pantry for a spot in the elite eight. There are just two slots lefts before we move on to the next round, so be sure to weigh in as we move toward selecting the best doughnuts in all of Washington.
Up now: Palena Market, sister store to Frank Ruta’s acclaimed restaurant, where the fritters are a weekend favorite for much of Northwest Washington. Palena takes on Bayou Bakery, home to chef David Guas’s buttermilk beignets. Who wins? The decision is in your hands. Be sure to vote before 5.
Happy hump day, food truck followers! It feels like we skipped spring and went straight to summer, so get outside for specials like spicy salmon salad from Go Fish, apple crisp doughnuts from Mama's Donut Bites, and coconut curry and noodles aboard Fojol Bros. (Volathai).
Among the offerings at FilmFest DC is Norway’s Kon-Tiki, nominated for an Oscar this year. Photograph courtesy of Filmfest DC.
Filmfest DC returns for its 27th year— April 11 through 21—and after almost three decades of reviewing more than 300 submissions annually, founder Tony Gittens has a definite idea of what makes a good film: “Ultimately, it comes down to the story. The stories seem to be pretty much about the same thing—people understanding their place in the world, trying to have connections with other people, and finding themselves with obstacles to overcome.”
This year’s roster encompasses 81 features, documentaries, and shorts from around the world. Films are grouped thematically, including an espionage-and-thriller category called Trust No One. Among the festival’s highlights are the US premiere of Underground: The Julian Assange Story, an Australian movie starring Alex Williams as the WikiLeaks founder and Rachel Griffiths as his mother. Also on the roster: Stories We Tell, an autobiographical documentary by Canadian actress turned director Sarah Polley (Away From Her, Take This Waltz); Kon-Tiki, the Oscar-nominated Norwegian drama about Thor Heyerdahl’s groundbreaking voyage across the Pacific Ocean; and The Attack, a Lebanese film about a middle-class man who learns his wife is a suicide bomber. “A number of things have changed in 27 years,” Gittens says. “We’re seeing a lot more variety and more diverse voices. But we have a loyal audience and they’re very knowledgeable. To know we’re making a contribution to the city’s cultural scene is a good feeling.”
Filmfest DC. April 11 through 21. For schedule, venues, tickets, and other details at the festival’s website.
This article appears in the April 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.
Nathan Davis, 12, of Frederick won this year's Cherry Blossom 5K in an astonishing 17:22. Photograph by Nicole Davis.
It’s not hugely unusual that the winner of Sunday’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K is a science whiz with an eye for wind patterns. But what’s really surprising is the fact that the winner, Nathan Davis of Frederick is only 12 years old. The seventh-grade running prodigy schooled veteran runners with an impressive 17:22 finish (for those counting, that’s a 5:35-per-mile pace). I personally ate his dust just after mile one on the out-and-back loop, and I saw him blaze past mile two, trailing a lone 27-year-old runner who was clearly losing steam.
But this soft-spoken tween, who celebrated his win with a cheeseburger at the American History Museum, isn’t about to let running define his life—at least not yet. Nathan recently won second place in a science and engineering fair for designing three solar-powered windmills as a school project, and he dreams of being an inventor when he grows up. He’s shy, rarely watches TV or plays video games, and hesitates when asked to identify his favorite movie, but he opens up when talking about his passion for science and the environment. No surprise: His favorite subjects are science and math. And as with running, he’s really good at both.
Cathy (Erin Weaver) and Jamie (James Gardiner) in The Last Five Years. Photograph by Teresa Wood.
“You made it to Ohio. Who knows where else we can go?” sings Cathy (Erin Weaver) toward the beginning of The Last Five Years, Signature Theatre’s moving, neatly staged production of the cult 2001 musical by Jason Robert Brown (currently also enjoying a revival at New York’s Second Stage Theatre). As statements go, it isn’t the greatest endorsement of the Buckeye State, but it isn’t the greatest endorsement of Cathy’s husband, Jamie (James Gardiner), either. Al Jolson famously boasted he’d walk a million miles for one of Mammy’s smiles; Jamie can barely be bothered to catch a redeye from Manhattan to the Midwest to save his marriage.
Herein lies the interesting conflict in The Last Five Years, whose two characters meet only once, in the middle of the play. (Jamie’s story goes chronologically from the beginning of his relationship with Cathy to the end; Cathy’s starts with the heartbreaking ballad “Still Hurting” and progresses backward to her cheerily hopeful “Goodbye Until Tomorrow” at the end.) Cathy is without a doubt the sympathetic one—so much so that I’d wager my life savings nobody in the history of theater has ever pondered silk-screening a “Team Jamie” T-shirt. Cathy struggles through bad auditions, summers taking acting jobs in Ohio, and a marriage in which everyone (including her husband) is obsessed with her husband. Jamie finds success as a prodigy novelist at 23 and never stops congratulating himself for it.
Even with the sweet-faced, charming (if sometimes hyperactive) Gardiner playing Jamie, the disconnect between the two characters is hard to bridge. Director Aaron Posner, who pulled together The Last Five Years in what feels like the last five minutes after his planned production of Crimes of the Heart at Signature was canceled, has created a lovely production in record speed from a show that doesn’t have a lot of heft to it. Weaver, Posner’s real-life wife, is winsome and effortlessly engaging as Cathy, belting out some numbers with perhaps even more emotion and heart than Sherie Rene Scott did in the original run. But with the characters apart for the overwhelming majority of the brief show, there’s no chance for them to build chemistry, or to convince the audience they once had a profound connection.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Calling all inquisitive, style-loving Washingtonians: Wondering what to pair with your new pair of laid-back boyfriend jeans? Clueless about what you should be wearing to a summery black-tie wedding? Or perhaps you’re curious about picking a fab spring fragrance. Regardless of your fashion inquiry, we’re here to help! Introducing Style Q, our new advice series, at your service to offer up outfit suggestions, divulge our best styling tricks, and scour the Web for just about anything. Got a burning style question? Ask us! Send us an email, or tweet us your Q—and then watch for your questions to be answered each Wednesday.
