Good morning. Breezy with a high of 52 today and a low of 26 overnight. If your windshield wipers are still pointed upward in a salute to the snow gods, go put them down ASAP! RIP to Duolingo’s owl. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address at the bottom of this post.
I can’t stop listening to:
Michael Kiwanuka, “Four Long Years.” The closer to last year’s “Small Changes” LP moves slowly, as if it’s underwater, pushing forward nonetheless.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
A day of sheer madness at the Kennedy Center: President Trump is now the chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, after he fired all members who aren’t loyalists and fired Deborah Rutter. (Washington Post) Renée Fleming, Ben Folds, and Shonda Rhimes left the center. (NYT) Did you know Trump wanted to go to film school? (Washington Post)
Fork up: The administration closed its “voluntary resignation” program after a judge lifted a hold yesterday. About 75,000 have taken the deal. (Washington Post)
• Mass firings have begun at agencies. (CNN) The administration wants cuts of “30 and 40 percent, on average” to agencies. (Washington Post)
• RFK Jr. is likely to be confirmed as HHS secretary today. (Washington Post)
• The government will buy $400 million worth of “Armored Tesla.” (Drop Site)
• The feds clawed back $80 million the government awarded New York state to pay for shelter for migrants. (NYT) NYC Mayor Eric Adams has discussed switching parties. (NYT)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen
Eden’s Kitchen
Most drivers tearing into DC on Bladensburg Road miss the ramshackle clapboard house that contains Eden’s Kitchen, though it’s painted in bold orange and gold. It was clearly once a home, and more recently served as the office of a used car lot. These days, it’s a superb Eritrean restaurant that serves cabbies visiting the DC Flyer taxi garage next door and worshippers coming from a handful of nearby Orthodox churches. Chef-owner Eden Woldegiorgis makes her own injera from 100 percent teff flour, giving it a deep brown color and a sour, malty richness. Her veggies are great: multicolored lentils, cabbage, collards, okra, chickpea shiro, all subject to availability. And for something distinctly Eritrean, stop by for traditional breakfast: ful (slow-cooked fava beans), ga’at (toasted barley porridge pooled with spiced butter), or kicha fitfit (a spicy scramble of cubed Eritrean flatbread, thicker and fluffier than injera). (2910 Bladensburg Road)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• A first look at Buffalo & Bergen’s long-awaited Cleveland Park location.
• Four tips for making your home office a place you actually want to work.
Local news links:
• DC Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced legislation intended to help landlords with non-paying tenants. It also makes changes to the DC law that gives tenants’ associations first crack at buying their building if landlords want to sell. Expect to hear more about this one. (WTOP)
• The city has dropped millions of dollars in fines for landlords it says committed housing code violations. (WCP)
• “Airline pilots received more than 100 cockpit warnings over the past decade that they were in danger of a midair collision with a helicopter” near National Airport. (Washington Post)
• What will Trump’s freeze of electric-vehicle chargers mean for local drivers? (Axios D.C.)
• It’s been 25 years since “Remember the Titans.” Some members of the 1971 T.C. Williams football team look back. (Alexandria Times) Flashback: That film took a lot of liberties with the historical record.
• Jolene Ivey unexpectedly dropped out of the race to replace Angela Alsobrooks as the Prince George’s County Executive. (NBC 4 Washington)
• The Watergate Hotel had a data breach. (WTOP)
• The Tysons casino is dead (at least for the moment). (WUSA 9)
• The region has already had its first above-average snow season in six years. (Capital Weather Gang)
• Danny Meyer will take over the former Foxtrot space in Dupont Circle. He’ll open a Daily Provisions there. (Axios D.C.)
Thursday’s event picks, by Briana Thomas:
• What will W. Kamau Bell have to discuss at tonight’s Kennedy Center appearance?
• Enjoy drag performances with your gals at Lyle’s pre-Valentine’s DJ dinner.
• Bob Bartlett’s “Love and Vinyl” premieres at Byrdland Records.
See more of Briana’s picks here.
Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here. If you love your workplace, now’s your chance to nominate it for Washingtonian’s next Great Places to Work contest. Register here to get the ball rolling.
Thursday. Almost there. Courage.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
