Washington DC Events - Weekend Picks originally appeared on About.com Washington, DC on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 06:10:24.

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Christmas on the Potomac originally appeared on About.com Washington, DC on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 07:40:09.

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Black Friday - Anti-Mall Bar Crawl in Bethesda originally appeared on About.com Washington, DC on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 15:46:18.

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Free Holiday Music at the Willard Hotel originally appeared on About.com Washington, DC on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 15:38:03.

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Overheard of the Week

At Asylum, Thursday night:

Female Waitress: "For some reason I have wings coming out my ass tonight!"
Male Bartender: "That would be a real selling point for chicks. Dude, if you could shit out buffalo wings, I'd marry you."

After the jump, musical instruments, salad, the winner of last weeks' contest, and more.

Hear anything funny/weird/insane? Send it to us and be the envy of your friends and coworkers! overheardindc(at)gmail(dot)com

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GS stands for Genius Services

In a Federal office building:

Man shouts over the cube wall: "Jack?"
Guy responds: "Yeah?"
Man: "You in?"
Jack: "Uh..."

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Who doesn't? Caesar, Cobb...

Tuesday on Colesville Rd. near East-West Hwy:

One mid-20s woman following another out of an apartment building: "I like to toss salads!!!"

They stop in their tracks as the first woman turns, surprised. They silently stare for 3-4 seconds before breaking into hysterical laughter.

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Great way to start the day

Friday morning on the S2 bus:

A man in his 30s looking a bit rough is speaking to an apprehensive woman dressed in work clothes. He earlier asked if she was married and if the ring she wore was to throw men off.

Man: "So you going to one of those 9-5 work things?"
Woman: "Yes."
Man: "I am glad I don't have one of those."
A few minutes pass.
Man: "I am doing the walk of shame."

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With his eyes?

At the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda:

One 20-something woman to another: "I mean, ethically, he just sees the way an animal sees."

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Flutes, however, are assholes

At the Kennedy Center:

As the 5-minute standing ovation dies down after Joshua Bell's performance of "Symphonie Espagnole":

Guy: "Alright. Maybe I don't hate the violin."

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H1N1 has some strange symptoms

8 a.m. Tuesday morning in Farragut Square:

Middle-aged man on his mobile phone: "I've had at least three incidents this year when I have sneezed and buttons flew off of my shirt... it's no good."

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Nicest wife ever? Or most passive-aggressive?

On the 90 bus on U Street:

Woman on cell phone: "This is your wife calling. I'm just calling to tell you your former wife, Miss Amy, is on her way up so you better get your clothes on. "

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Thanks, Dr. Cheech!

At Vermont and L at12:30 pm:

Young woman on cell phone: "...instead of going to rehab she's working at a pot farm instead..."

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And finally, the contest winner from last week's overheard!

bikerate with "Blue's Clues sex party." Honorable mentions go to Little Donny and cannonsky.

But Herzog has been dabbling in comedy for years now, from the silly mockumentary Incident at Loch Ness to his deadpan turn as "The German" in The Grand. That he's finally directing a movie that plays for laughs isn't as out of left field as it might seeam. Also, his Bad Lieutenant can't properly be called a remake of Ferrara's. It can barely be called a re-imagining, taking from its predecessor only the very general concept of a homicide lieutenant with a weakness for nearly every vice imaginable, seeking redemption as he looks to solve a heinous crime against innocents.

From there, Herzog and screenwriter William M. Finkelstein make an entirely different movie, using New Orleans in the early post-Katrina months as the backdrop for a story of drug abuse, gambling, drinking, corruption, and crime, the majority of which is perpetrated by Cage's Lieutenant McDonagh. Cage hasn't spent this much time playing out altered states since Leaving Las Vegas, as he spends the bulk of the movie drunk, or high on cocaine, heroin, or the prescription drugs he takes for the debilitating back injury he suffers at the start of the movie — an injury which serves as the excuse for his downward spiral, and as an opportunity for Cage to lurch around like a hunchback for most of the film.

McDonagh becomes more and more unhinged as the movie progresses, as he owes more and more money to his bookie (the wonderfully slimy Brad Dourif), as his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mendes) gets in trouble with organized criminals, and he fails to make sufficient progress in solving the murder of a family of Senagalese immigrants whose father was involved in the drug trade. Cage, who has made a career in recent years out of his scene-chewing excess, is given free reign by Herzog to play it as over the top as he wants; the result is a performance as deliriously nutso as his manic turn in Wild at Heart. Herzog, no stranger to bringing out the inner maniac in his leading men after so many films with Klaus Kinski, allows Cage to dance right up to the edge of self-mockery, and then tumble right on over.

McDonagh is a parody of not just Cage's own acting in recent years, but a gaudy exaggeration of every bad-cop cliché out there. He carries a massive hand cannon of a revolver tucked constantly front and center in his pants. He nonchalantly steals drugs from club kids and coerces them into sex to avoid arrest. In one particularly memorable scene, he berates an elderly woman in a wheelchair and cuts off the air supply from her oxygen tank. As things move along, he becomes less a parody and more a bizarre cartoon, having hallucinations of iguanas that aren't there, turning up hidden behind doors using an electric razor as he begins impromptu interrogations, and occasionally affecting a nasally accent that almost sounds like an impression of Edward G. Robinson.

Cage is darkly hilarious, but the problem for Herzog is that it's difficult to make a parody of bad movies without, to some extent, making a bad movie. For a director who usually carries a keen and hypnotic visual sense, Bad Lieutenant is visually flat. As comfortable as the director is in expressing the menace of jungles and wilderness, he seems a little lost in the urban jungle of New Orleans, and the film never really uses its post-Katrina setting to the effect one might expect. There's some of Herzog's usual love-hate commentary on American culture here, but much of it is lost amid the lurid insanity. Ultimately, Bad Lieutenant is pretty smart as satire, but may be forgettable as cinema. While it lasts, though, it's funny as hell.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans opens today at E Street, Bethesda Row, and Shirlington.
View the trailer.

But a hearing on the Hill this week on legislation that could grant the District more budgetary and legislative autonomy showed that even if opponent take their complaints to Congress, they're unlikely to get far. Chief District foe Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) was one of two Republicans at the hearing, and even he admitted that there exists little chance of derailing the legislation once it comes to Congress for its mandatory 30-day review period. "Democrats have the House and the Senate and the presidency," Chaffetz told the Post. "I'm going to try to fight back, but procedurally, they've got us pretty well wrapped up."

Today, DC Vote added its voice to the debate, pleading with same-sex marriage opponents not to take their complaints to Congress. In a statement, Executive Director Ilir Zherka said, "We know that our opponents in the Congress will use every chance they get, including a D.C. law providing for marriage equality, to restrict the rights of D.C. residents. We promise to fight that congressional intrusion. We ask that D.C. residents on both sides of the marriage equality debate refrain from taking this fight to Capitol Hill. Let's stand in solidarity in support of democracy for D.C."

So far, these sorts of arguments have rung hollow with adamant same-sex marriage opponents, who remain angry about what they call a violation of their voting rights for being denied a popular vote on the issue. But even if they organize to petition Congress, conservatives will not likely be able to marshal the votes to stop the District from legalizing same-sex marriage next year.

FRIDAY

MOVIE: The National Portrait Gallery is showing free Western movies by John Ford this weekend. Tonight's movie is Fort Apache, starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Shirley Temple, at 7 p.m. For more of our movie highlights, make sure to consult this week's Popcorn & Candy column.

MUSIC: Former Three Star artist Wayna is performing with Tabi Bonney at Zanzibar. $TBA, 8 p.m.

Fans of New Jersey's The Wrens have been taunted and teased throughout the years with well documented stretches of inactivity. The band's been promising new material for some time and are in town to warm up for its 20th anniversary shows in Hoboken later this year. Poor But Sexy start off the festivities. $15, 9 p.m.

Japan's raucous, insane geniuses, Melt Banana, are at the Rock and Roll Hotel, with The Deserts of Maine, Sugar Dunes and Abiku. $15, 9 p.m.

CLASSICAL: The Haydn Trio Eisenstadt will give a free concert with soprano Lorna Anderson and tenor Jamie MacDougall at the Library of Congress. 8 p.m.

FOOD & DRINK: Did you miss out on the Beaujolais Nouveau parties earlier this week? Well the Alliance Francaise is hosting their own Beaujolais Nouveau Wine & Cheese Party tonight, plus even more cheese: Jerry "The Piano Man" Roman will start the evening by leading some singalongs of standard French hits. Later, DJ Hervé will spin electronic mixes of house music and French covers. 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., $25 for members, $35 for non-members.

SATURDAY:

SHOPPING: National Geographic is having its big Preholiday Warehouse Sale sale at the D.C. Armory, where they'll be offering 25-90 percent off books, apparel, and gift items. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday.

ART: And yet more National Geographic, this time the opening of the Terra Cotta Warriors show this weekend at the National Geographic Museum. Over 100 artifacts are on display from the 2000-year-old sculpted army that guarded China's First Emperor from any dangers as he entered the afterlife. Tickets are $12 (adult) and sold by date and 30 minute blocks; purchase them here. And you can find even more art events in our Arts Agenda.

JAZZ: One of the last surviving members of Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool ensemble, Lee Konitz, will perform 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets on at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Check out our full preview here. Tickets are $35.

MUSIC: "The Greatest Hip Hop Cover Story Ever Told" attempts to offer a look at the world of hip-hop over the past 30 years. The cast of the two nights, two shows Dance Place performance include numerous locals acts, including: Asheru, Tabi Bonney, Hueman Prophets, Maimouna Youssef, XO, Gods’Illa, Syn the Villian, Head Roc, Rosetta Stoned, Tony Moon, The Package, Fatso, Bomani Armah, Mahoganee, Enoch the 7th Prophet, Natural Mystics, Ardamus and Flex Mathews. $20-$50 in advance/$30 at the door, Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m.

Head over to Comet Ping Pong for a record release party celebrating local indie rockers The Jet Age's new release, in "love." Free, 10:30 p.m.

SUNDAY:

MUSIC: The latest concept from Jon Spencer (he of the Blues Explosion) comes to DC9 tonight. Heavy Trash is heavily influenced by rockabilly, with plenty of Spencer's particular brand of weirdness. Elliott Brood opens. 9 p.m., $12.

Best of luck to the DC Agenda as they get on their feet.

UPDATE: @DCAgenda has been tweeting the locations where you can find a copy of the print edition, so head over there if you'd like to pick one up.

Thanksgiving... foodie holiday... blah blah blah. But of course, it is my favorite holiday, not just because of the food, but because of the focus on family. My mother is a fantastic cook. She makes the best scallion pancakes. Her technique is so flawless that family members can tell the difference between the pancakes she rolls out and the ones my aunts roll.

But sometimes my mom likes to "experiment." Now there's experimentation within reason, substituting brown sugar for white sugar, adding a touch of almond extract to a dessert that doesn't call for it. And then there's her special brand of experimentation. She's done fun things like adding hazelnut coffee syrup to chicken stir fry, and dried cranberries in sushi rolls. (We were lucky we got away without that same sushi featuring large chunks of walnuts.)

So what does this have to do with sweet potatoes? As you might have guessed, my mom is not one for "recipes" and tends to wing making sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. That usually meant additions like orange juice, and lots of burned marshmallows. It also meant that I grew up hating sweet potatoes. Though we all know they're really just a vehicle for toasted marshmallows.

Luckily, I've discovered a recipe from my sister's mother-in-law that I love. It eschews the usual marshmallows for a streusel-like pecan topping. And the half cup of butter helps.

Share with us your favorite Thanksgiving dishes, "experiments" and disasters with us in the comments.

Sweet Potato Casserole
29 oz Canned Sweet Potatoes, Mashed
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Butter, Melted
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Topping:
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Flour
4 Tbsp Butter, Melted
1/8 tsp Allspice
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Chopped Pecans

1. Mix yams, sugar and salt. Add 1/2 cup butter and vanilla blending well. Pour into greased 1 1/2 qt baking dish.
2. Mix brown sugar, flour, butter, allspice, cinnamon and pecans. Spread over yam mixture.
3. Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the top is a golden brown.

Small Bites
RIS real soon
The long touted RIS from Ris Lacoste that's been anticipated for the past several years is coming much closer to fruition. According to Zagat, the restaurant should open by November 30. Check the restaurant's Twitter for more updated details.

Cupcakes Moving In
Just when we thought maybe the cupcakes would slow down, we're seeing even more in town. First up is food truck Curbside Cupcake, which is making one last stop before Thanksgiving at Capitol South. You can follow their future whereabouts on Twitter.

Also New York's Crumbs Bake Shop will be getting in on the D.C. action with shops planned for Georgetown, Cleveland Park, Foggy Bottom, Rockville, Clarendon and Reston. Though this seems like just one more newcomer, a perusal of the web site shows a much larger variety of flavor options than any existing D.C. cupcakeries, including flavors like caramel apple, chocolate pecan pie, and cookie dough. [via WBJ]

DC Diner
Tom Sietsema reports that DC Diner, from Jessie Yan and Vanessa Lim, will be taking over the old Cleveland Park McDonald's space. Even though the main focus will be on traditional American breakfast foods, they say they'll also offer some pan-Asian foods as well. Dim sum-type items please!!

Cup O' Sushi
Everyone mourned the demise of the reasonably priced Sushi Taro lunch specials. But now Kaz Sushi is bringing back affordable lunch sushi starting November 23 through New Year's Eve. For $12 you can choose from the Cup Sushi option of three miniature cups of sushi with California, spicy tuna, salmon tartare, tuna tartare, crunch eel, spicy scallop or seaweed salad toppings. If sushi isn't your thing, you can opt for Hot Pot of miso with pork, daikon radish, carrot, sweet potato, ginger and scallions or the Hot Pot of chicken with tofu, shitake mushrooms, spinach, scallions, glass noodles with ponzu sauce, also $12.

Be prepared for the DCist Flickr Pool to be infiltrated by an invading army. These Terra Cotta Warriors have started their advance at National Geographic and scouts have already been spotted in the Pool, like this one by erin m. EXIF.

You can find more Terra Cotta Warriors on display now through March 2010 at the National Geographic Museum. See over 100 artifacts from the 2000-year-old sculpted army that guarded China's First Emperor from any dangers as he entered the afterlife. Tickets are $12 (adult), sold by date and 30 minute blocks, and can be purchased online.

Among this group of talented musicians was alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, who will be performing on Saturday at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Just in his early 20s at the time, Konitz was chosen for the Cool band because of his distinctive sound, in a period when most alto players were trying to emulate Charlie Parker. His warm tone and fluid style not only made him an appropriate choice for Davis's band, but also allowed him to become one of the great exponents of the cool jazz movement. Over the subsequent 60 years, Konitz has maintained a high level of musicianship, recording dozens of albums as a leader and earning the title of Jazz Master from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"I stay fresh by trying to to find another angle and juxtaposition in the music," Konitz told DCist during a recent interview. "Here I am after all these years, and I can still play a different version of 'All the Things You Are.'"

Konitz does not have a full time group, but rather plays with different ensembles from city to city–an approach which he says keeps things interesting for him.

"I don't choose to spend time rehearsing," said Konitz. "It's kind of not a show, so much as an opportunity to experience guys playing together and sounding fresh in the process."

Konitz also mixes things up by consistently surrounding himself with young voices. He performs regularly in New York with up-and-coming pianist Dan Tepfer, and for Saturday's performance, he will be performing with Minsarah, an impressive trio comprised of German pianist Florian Weber, Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz, and D.C. area native Jeff Denson on bass.

Konitz, who is now 82 years-old, canceled several performances this year due to medical reasons, but shows no signs of slowing down over the next several months. He has booked shows through next spring, which include performing Birth of the Cool with a Dutch big band, and residencies at New York's top clubs with the likes of pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Paul Motian.

With such an impressive career, it is no surprise that Konitz is taking some time to look back and reflect on his accomplishments.

"I've been listening to my own music a lot lately," he said. "I'm enjoying experiencing it away from playing it."

Lee Konitz and Minsarah will perform 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Tickets are $35.

The links between Toney and the bribery allegations stem from the same D.C. taxicab industry investigation that already snagged Ted Loza and 30 some odd taxi drivers.

Authorities have not indicated why they raided Toney's house Oct. 2. He does business with Syume but is not named in the indictment. In the newly unsealed court papers, an FBI agent says that wiretaps and other recorded conversations link the former taxi commissioner to the conspiracy.

In November 2007, Toney told Syume in a phone call that he had talked to Swain and that Swain had told him that he "wants us to keep pushing ahead . . . to get this thing done so -- I'm going to do that," the affidavit says. The agent wrote that Toney's comments are a "possible reference to completing their scheme."

Council Seeks Compromise With Church: Last week members of the D.C. Council were expressing annoyance at the Archdiocese of Washington, which had said that sure-to-pass same-sex marriage legislation would force them to stop providing charitable services in the city. This week, a compromise may be on the horizon. The Post reports that council members Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and David Catania (I-At Large) have asked the Archdiocese to follow the lead of Georgetown University and the church in San Francisco, both of which offer benefits to same-sex couples by allowing employees to have add one domiciled resident -- irrespective of gender -- as a beneficiary. Church officials haven't yet said much, but what little they are saying doesn't hint that they're too keen on the proposal.

Virginia Restaurants Prepare for Smoke-Free Future: With December 1 fast approaching, Virginia restaurants are readying themselves for the smoking ban that few thought would ever become a reality. The Examiner reports that health officials are traveling across the state to make sure restaurants comply, but are finding that many already do. Some 66 percent of restaurants in the commonwealth -- many of them in Northern Virginia -- went smoke-free before the ban was passed, and since then the number has risen to 73 percent. The ban allows restaurants to wall off a separate room for smokers, and outdoors spaces remain legal for lighting up. Violations of the law would cost a mere $25.

More Controversy Over Mayoral Exercise Habits: When he was first elected, District residents seemed to marvel at Mayor Adrian Fenty's exercise habits. Now they complain about them whenever they can. According to NBC4, there has been a recent brush-up over lane configuration at the newly renovated Wilson Aquatic Center, with parents arguing that lanes are not set up for the school team's practices and instead for those who train for triathlons. Like the mayor. OK, so it's not exactly Bicyclingate, but an interesting read no less.

Briefly Noted: Nickles says Gray home repairs were kosher ... AOL trims hacks workforce ... Jogger in Takoma Park sexually assaulted ... Kaine asked to restore voting rights for felons.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, Robert Wone's three roommates were indicted on conspiracy charges and Metro announced commemorative SmarTrip cards for Barack Obama's inauguration. In 2007, the Supreme Court announced it would hear the case that became the momentous Heller D.C. gun ban decision.

• BREAKING now: an arrest has been made in the Nov. 7 slaying of liquor store owner Rufina Hernandez, D.C. police are saying. More on this to come after a 7:30 p.m. news conference. [WJLA/ABC7]
• The U.S. Postal service has declared its own War on Christmas: they are dropping the popular national program where volunteers in North Pole, Alaska open and respond to letters addressed to Santa. The decision comes amid fears of the possibility of pedophile infiltration in the program. [AP via NPR]
• Charlene Lugar, the wife of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) was arrested last night by the Fairfax County Police Department for driving while intoxicated and a hit-and-run. Looks like she hit a parked car. No one was injured. [USAToday]
• A lawsuit filed by developer The JBG Cos. designed to halt the groundbreaking of the Convention Center Hotel will be allowed to proceed: "Although the judge has not issued an injunction — an order that would block construction — the suit appears to have succeeded in stalling the project." [Washington Business Journal]
• The grim discovery of a body inside a PG County trash compactor gets so much grimmer: the body was that of a homeless man who had been sleeping in a dumpster when he was picked up and compacted by a recycling truck. [Washington Post]

Gotta concur with DCmud's sarcasm in reporting this piece of news concerning an expected ribbon cutting next year for a new Whole Foods at the Shops at Wisconsin Place development, located at the Chevy Chase/Friendship Heights nexus.

While the Bethesda-Chevy Chase corridor may seem like a scripted stage setting for the Whole Foods phenomenon, Chevy Chasers have until now had to drive all the way down to Tenley for their organic Gruyere, or eke by (gasp) on Giant or TJ's foodstuffs.

Ruth Samuelson made a handy little map over at Housing Complex to illustrate the point: this actually makes the third Whole Foods location on Wisconsin Avenue, all clustered relatively close to one another. Surely some other neighborhood, like say, Capitol Hill, could use a spot to buy organic arugula sooner than this one. Then again, my feelings on the "Fetishism of Whole Foods" are well established, so it's probably wise not to get too worked up about it.

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno

Lost in La Mancha proved that documentaries about aborted films could be compelling films in their own right. Failure is magnified when there are millions of dollars — and million-dollar egos — on the line, so it's no wonder that the drama of dashed filmmaking makes for compelling viewing. In that spirit comes Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea's look into the collapsed production of Henri-Georges Clouzot's L'Enfer (The Inferno). Clouzot had made his name before and after the war as a solid director of French thrillers, the so-called "French Hitchcock." But by the early 60s, his work was seen as old-fashioned, as his generation of filmmakers quickly fell out of favor with the rise of the New Wave. Clouzot felt he could make a thoroughly modern film as well, and set out to break new ground with a story about a jealous hotelier and his young wife. The director was given a blank check by Columbia pictures, who were eager to cash in on the "New Wave" craze, and if they could do it with an established director, even better. But the shoot quickly spiraled out of control and was scrapped after only a few weeks. Clouzot would live for another 13 years, but only completed one more film. Bromber and Medrea managed to get access to all of the film Clouzot did manage to shoot, and show much of that footage to show what might have been, as they tell the story of everything that went wrong during the making of the film.

View the (NSFW) trailer.
Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 7:45 p.m. at the AFI as part of the European Union Film Showcase.

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Reel Portraits: John Ford's Frontier

One of the most prolific directors in film history, John Ford directed 140 movies, including over 60 silent movies during the first 11 years of his career alone. He pretty much defined the look of the American Western, bringing to life the dusty and exotic vistas of parts of the country many Americans had never seen with their own eyes. And few actor-director teams have been as fruitful as the director's work with John Wayne, with whom Ford collaborated on over two dozen projects, including the director's landmark "Cavalry Trilogy," two-thirds of which is screening at the Portrait Gallery this weekend. The first two legs of the informal trilogy are represented here, in Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon; in both, Wayne portrays a cavalry officer at western outposts. The Gallery skips over part three, Rio Grande, in favor of another Ford/Wayne matchup, and perhaps the director's greatest Western, The Searchers, a dark examination of racism and revenge, in which Duke plays a Civil War vet on a lengthy search for a niece kidnapped by Indians.

View the trailers for Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and The Searchers.
Fort Apache screens tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the National Portrait Gallery, with a double feature of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers on Saturday at 2 and 5 p.m. respectively. Free.

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Blood Freak

While it appears that Eli Roth's Thanksgiving — which started as a joke trailer in the Tarantino/Rodriguez double shot Grindhouse — may actually become a reality, until that actually comes to pass, Blood Freak still stands as the closest thing there is to a Thanksgiving-themed horror movie. It's a tenuous connection, since all this classic bit of hilariously awful grindhouse gore has in common with the holiday is turkey, and lots of it. A cautionary tale about the dangers of drug abuse and of animal husbandry as practiced by the criminally insane, Blood Freak is surely the finest film ever made involving a drug-dealer-killing man-turkey hybrid. Forget tofurkey, and forget turducken. Beware the mankey. Or tur-man. We're still working out what to call it. In either case, this befowled biker wants you to say no to drugs, and isn't afraid to take a circular saw to your leg to make sure you get the message.

View the trailer.
Tuesday at 8 p.m. at The Warehouse. Free, $2 donation suggested.

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Herzsprung

The Goethe-Institute's Wende Flicks series has been showcasing work by East German filmmakers from just before the fall of the Berlin Wall into the first years of unification. This week's selection comes from director Helke Misselwitz, who first received notice as the director of a documentary about women during the final years of the German Democratic Republic. In the early years of a unified Germany, she looks at a similar subject, through a narrative rather than a documentary lens. In Herzsprung, she creates a story about a young single mother in a small town who is a victim of the sharp rise in unemployment that plagued the former East Germany after unification. Misselwitz merges the economic commentary with a love story, as her protagonist falls in love with a young man ethnically different enough to cause the rest of the town to take notice.

Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Goethe-Institut. $6.

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Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

If you've watched the trailers for Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant — ostensibly (but not really) a remake of the Abel Ferrara cult classic from 1992 — you're probably thinking this looks like a pretty awful cop movie, and yet another in a lengthening line of awful over-the-top performances by Nicolas Cage. You'd be partly right on both counts. Bad Lieutenant is rather bad, but mostly because in making a satire of stereotypical bad cop movies, Herzog had to go a little native to get his point across. Similarly, Cage's performance, as a New Orleans cop with a taste for drugs, drink, gambling, and rape in the line of duty, seems like a hyper-aware parody of his own scene-chewing excess. The actor makes his own case for the notion that the line between a great bizarre Cage performance (Wild at Heart) and an awful bizarre Cage performance (The Wicker Man) might not be quite as distinct as we'd like to think. The film's distributors seem reluctant to admit that this is fully intended to be a comedy, but it is. Herzog picks an easy target in mocking the worst tendencies of the rogue cop genre, so sometimes it can come across as slightly mean spirited, but it's such a crazy, weirdly hilarious ride that it doesn't really matter.

View the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at E Street, Bethesda Row, and Shirlington.

We've been following the work on the new 15th Street NW contraflow bike lane for a while now, and today the District Department of Transportation and Mayor Fenty hosted a little ceremony to announce its formal completion. But we have to thank IMGoph for tweeting to point out that one of the images DDOT sent around from the ribbon cutting features Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans (D) aboard one of the city's SmartBikes. We're used to seeing the likes of Fenty and famed cycling enthusiast Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) on bikes, but Jack Evans? He looks about as comfortable as a bear on ice skates. Click through to DDOT's Facebook page to scroll through the rest of their images from today's event. DDOT Director Gabe Klein also joined Fenty and Evans for their little ride.

Last night at the budget forum, John Catoe addressed this issue. The conversion of the Smartbenefits program to the new IRS-compliant system has been delayed. An extra year was given for WMATA to come up with a better solution than what was proposed (the three purse system). So rest assured that the SmartBenefits system will remain in its current state at least through the year of 2010. Catoe informed us that this decision was reached on Tuesday, November 17th.

CLASSICAL: Berlin's Vogler Quartet will perform a concert of music with Jewish folk connections this evening in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. All of this music was performed by or composed for the St. Petersburg-based Zimro clarinet sextet, including Profokiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes. Tickets are available for a slight discount ($25 instead of $32) if you mention Promotion Code 45484 when you order your tickets, either online or at the box office. 7:30 p.m.

MUSIC: Or head to the 9:30 Club to catch '90s alt-rock heroes The Jesus Lizard with Noveller opening, $25, 7 p.m.

ART: The Nevin Kelly Gallery opens their second "zeitgeist" exhibit tonight with a free opening reception from 6 - 9 p.m. Curators Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin worked with 14 local artists to create new work based on what they believe are today's most important issues, whether they be political, cultural, environmental or otherwise. Responses from the public, collected via their website and Twitter, are also incorporated.

SHOPPING: Tonight is the 14th and U Streets NW corridor's Third Thursdays in MidCity, where dozens of shops in the neighborhood are staying open until 9 p.m. to offer special deals amid a party atmosphere, along with collecting donations for Martha's Table.

PERFORMANCE: Capital Fringe presents Fall Fringe now through November 22. Catch Terrorism of Everyday Life starring Ed Hamel, winner of the 2009 Capital Fringe Directors' Award, The Shop at Fort Fringe. 10 p.m. for $20, $15 with your '09 Fringe Button, or get a Fall Fringe pass for $30 and save $25 on all three shows on offer.

Charles Ramsey is currently Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Where's a privacy advocate when you need one? First, we can't make out in public. Now, a man can't even take an upright nap on a bench in Malcolm X Park without being captured by Flickr user gerdaindc and her like-minded voyeurs. EXIF.

This month, we have more dogs, plus some of their much anticipated feline friends.

Copper
Copper is a 6-year-old Golden Retriever and Chow mix. He is a very relaxed dog who likes walks and affection. Copper was a stray and came to the shelter very skinny, but has since put on weight and is now a healthy boy. Copper would make a great family pet and is good with other dogs, but not cats. This dog will hang by your side and want lots of love. Copper's eyes show how kind and sweet he is.

Champ
Looking at beautiful Champ, a Shepherd and Akita mix, you would never know that he came from an abusive situation. Champ will listen and sit patiently, and likes to be praised. His history of abuse has led Champ to be a bit nervous, and he doesn't like to share his food, so he will require an owner who can understand his fears. Champ is dog friendly, so he can be in a home with another dog, but not with cats. At only 2 and a half years-old, Champ is still very energetic, but he is past the puppy wiggles stage.

Honey
Honey made a long journey to D.C. She's originally from California, and came cross country with her previous owner, who turned to WHS when they could not find a place to live that would allow dogs. Honey's personality is a little bit puppy, and a little bit surfer cool. She is 6 years-old, but very energetic. She's great with kids, and will be friends with a cat on a case by case basis. She also loves her fellow dogs. Honey is a Pit Bull mix, and I am convinced that the mix is partially meerkat. Honey does a trick where she will sit on her back legs like a meerkat and reach her front paws in the air. It is almost as adorable as she is.

Destiny
The last little dog has a big name, Destiny. Destiny is a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier, a breed that often lives until the upper teens in years. Destiny lived with a family her whole life, but was given to the Humane Society after their daughter moved out and Destiny became stressed by the separation. Despite a few white hairs, Destiny behaves like a much younger dog. She will be a great lap dog at times, but she also likes to play. She can be nervous around other dogs, but will be OK once she meets and adjusts to them. Destiny needs an owner who can manage her nervousness, and then she will be a great family pet.

Dr. Beau
Dr. Beau is a 1-year-old cat whose previous owner was a hoarder. Once Dr. Beau gets comfortable in a situation, all he wants to do is play. He came in with another cat who was adopted, so Dr. Beau is looking for a new buddy. A home with another cat would be ideal.

Kodiak
Kodiak is a 1 and a half year-old who loves getting rubbed. Kodiak likes people, cats and dogs. He is a big love bug. Kodiak is an indoor-only cat who likes to use a scratching post. He's already litterbox trained, so he is ready to be part of a family.

Butch
Our last cat is Butch, who is just over a year old. Butch likes dogs, but not other cats, so he needs a home where he is the only kitty. Butch is not a lap cat; he likes to play and be boisterous. He is also litterbox trained and uses a scratching post.

If you are interested in adopting any of the animals featured, please contact the Washington Humane Society.
All of these dogs are located at the Georgia Avenue shelter:
7319 Georgia Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20012
tel: 202-723-5730

If you want to help but cannot adopt an animal, you can donate to the Washington Humane Society. A $150 donation will cover the average cost of an animal's stay, and help WHS complete their goal of finding a good home for every animal. If funds are tight and you would like to donate some of your time, you can volunteer with the animals at one of the shelters. Lastly, you can also check the list of goods that are on the shelter wish list and to see what you may be able to donate.

Following the dinner, the members of Public Enemy took to the streets themselves, playing a few of their hits on the back of a flatbed truck as it made its way through George Washington University's campus en route to Lisner Auditorium, where the band was scheduled to put on a charity-driven concert (all ticket proceeds went directly to the Sasha Bruce House).

While the show itself was an opportunity for the band to showcase its legendary performances, it was clear from the onset that the evening's goal was to put a spotlight on National Homeless Youth Awareness month. Flavor Flav, never the shy one with a mic in hand, continuously urged those gathered outside Lisner to purchase a ticket and support the cause.

Day Two of the 'Vince Gray Under Fire' Show: Let's see how the D.C. Council Chair is handling himself in the wake of the multiple allegations he faced on Wednesday. First, it looks like being somewhat contrite about his use of Council stationary to raise funds for the local Democratic party has paid off: the Washington Post declined to follow up on its story about Gray's letter to Comcast today (the Examiner does offer a second day wrap-up story of their own, though.)

But Gray has no such luck with the Washington Times, in which Jeffrey Anderson follows up on his original story this morning to report that even a spokesperson for developer William C. Smith & Co. has to admit that the company "would not ordinarily provide construction management services for minor repairs" of the sort they did for Gray. And while Gray insisted on News Channel 8's NewsTalk on Wednesday that the work was merely incidental to a larger architectural development project, the same Smith & Co. spokesperson cast some doubt on that claim, in addition to agreeing that even if that were the case, the work done on Gray's house was still unusual for them. Now, much to his credit, Gray did offer up the actual invoices to the press, which Mike DeBonis has posted on City Desk for your perusal. Does it seem like Gray got a deal?

Anti-Gay Marriage Group Files Suit: Totally expected, but Bishop Harry Jackson and conservative legal outfit Alliance Defense Fund have gone ahead and filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court to try to force a ballot measure on same-sex marriage, as the Post reports. "In the 15-page filing, Jackson and his seven co-petitioners argue that the city's ordinances gives residents the same lawmaking power as the council, except for appropriations." Tellingly, the end of the Post story focuses on how even conservative members of Congress like Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) have to admit they aren't likely going to be able to stop D.C. from legalizing gay marriage.

Briefly Noted: Metro seeks OK for trip already under way ... Pedestrian fatally struck in Silver Spring ... Computer glitch causes East Coast flight delays ... Commercial real estate vacancy rates continue to look grim.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we offered up our recipe for deep fried pumpkin pies, and the year before that, we got our first look at Office of Tax and Revenue embezzler Harriette Walters.

• D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray appeared on News Channel 8's NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt this afternoon to respond to some of the ethics questions raised in two different news stories today.
• Voting rights activist Nikolas Schiller got asked to remove his tri-cornered hat, part of his standard Colonial costume garb at pro-D.C. events, at today's Congressional hearing on District autonomy, WAMU reports.
• Via We Love DC, looks like Top Chef's Richard Blais plans to bring his Flip Burger concept to D.C.'s Chinatown.
• More bike lane news: 5th Street NW is getting a new bike lane between the 1100 and 1700 blocks, via CCCA.
• First Lady Michelle Obama was at Alexandria's Hollin Meadows Elementary today to tour the school's vegetable garden, WTTG/FOX5 reports.
• Chico Harlan, who famously told Washingtonian magazine that he hates sports, is stepping down from the Washington Post's Nationals beat in order to cover ... anything else, apparently. So the Post is looking for a new Nats writer, and Fishbowl DC has the memo.

This is not a race to the finish with a simple two-ingredient gin and tonic or rum and coke. The expectation (though who knows what it will be like when the joint is actually busy) is for you to relax and have a complex cocktail that is crafted to your specifications. This experience will also extend to the back, the Columbia Room, a separate reservations-only 20-seat bar that will be served by Derek Brown. It is still undergoing construction, with the hope that it will open sometime in January. The private room is meant to ensure an unhurried evening that isn't necessarily guaranteed in the main bar.

There is no cocktail menu at the Passenger, so when ordering one, you'll be asked to specify a base liquor and further detail on whether you like a drier or sweeter drink. This is the part where it's important to develop that relationship with your bartender and have a real conversation. It will enable you the opportunity to learn more about what you prefer, and to learn about new things. You may discover that you like vermouth; the dry, rouge and blanc Dolin vermouths are highly quaffable on their own.

For non-cocktail lovers, there is a solid list of wines and beers (four on draft plus an eclectic offering of cans). If you come hungry, food is simple: olives, roasted almonds, beef jerky, and Route 11 chips are available for the slightly peckish, and if you want something a bit more substantial, there are paninis, half smokes and kimchi dogs (take care on that last one, it's spicy acidity isn't for everyone). Both the dogs and jerky come from Nathan Anda's Red Apron Charcuterie.

In addition to Tom Brown working the front bar, expect to see Bourbon Steak's Jamie McBain picking up a few shifts. Both have unique mixing styles and you may decide you prefer one to the other. But that really ensures there's something for everybody.

The Passenger
1021 7th St. NW
Washington, DC, 20001
(202) 393-0220

Metro: Mt. Vernon Square or Gallery Place/Chinatown
Mon - Thurs: 5 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.
Fri - Sat: 5 p.m. - 2:30 a.m.
Sun: 5 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.

MUSIC: One of the most important groups in hip-hop history, Public Enemy, will be at GW's Lisner Auditorium tonight. Tickets are $25 for the 8 p.m. show, but don't forget you can also catch Chuck D, Flavor Flav and the gang performing live on a moving flat-bed truck (map of the route here) starting at 7:45 p.m. Also, concert attendees who bring a new or lightly used coat to donate will be upgraded to VIP.

Fleet Foxes' singer J. Tillman performs solo tonight along with the like-mindedPearly Gate Music at the 9:30 Club. $15, 6 p.m.

Béla Fleck & The Flecktones perform at Strathmore tonight, featuring Victor Lemonte Wooten, Futureman and Howard Levy, 8 p.m., $25-$58.

FOOD & DRINK: Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé! Among your young wine drinking options this evening is the Brightest Young Things Breathless Beaujolais Nouveau party at 1905, and of course the traditional Bistro du Coin blowout. Both parties will get started in the post-dinner hours and offer free wine at midnight.

ART: The Corcoran College of Art + Design's new student work is being showcased at the Renaissance M Street Hotel tonight, accompanied with a free wine and cheese tasting over hors d’oeuvres by Chef John Therres. Reception runs 6 - 8 p.m.

The D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities pairs up with Long View Gallery for another installment of their successful Art Salon series. Starting tonight at 7 p.m., see Poetry in Motion, which pairs local poets with video artists. Free but RSVP to dccahevents[at]gmail.com.

...just visting too follows the mold set by its vinyl-only 2006 predecessor, ...just visiting: take classic tunes and polish them up a little. Included on the seven-track EP are covers of songs made famous by the likes of Bobby Caldwell, Quincy Jones and the Jones Girls. Leading off is D.C.'s own Yahzarah lending her vocal prowess to "Perfect Angel." Considering Minnie Ripperton probably had the most distinct and beautiful voice of her generation, Yahzarah does her darnedest to come close and does an admirable job. Zo! stays true to the Stevie Wonder composition, replicating almost every keyboard stroke and bass strum in this grown-up lullaby.

When a 19-year-old no-name calling himself Prince released his 1978 debut, For You, "Crazy You" wasn't even released as a single, but the simple ballad has found new life in later years. Zo! departs from the original recording by adding some soft piano/keyboard improv on a track that is otherwise dominated by acoustic guitar. Oh, and instead of Prince, Howard alumna Sy Smith fills the Purple One's high heels. Zo!'s take doesn't deviate from the airy-ness of the '78 version, but what made the original "Crazy You" unique was that it by contemporary standards, was stripped down to the bare minimum in terms of instrumentation. This update isn't as naked as its forerunner, it still manages to create the same feeling.

The standout recording is Darien Brockington's interpretation of the Isley Brothers' "The Highways Of My Life (Pts. 1 & 2)." D-Brock has been a rising star vocalist on Foreign Exchange's two albums and, once again, reminds us that he's one of the most underrated singers around. The interaction between Brockington and Zo!'s playing are perfectly complimentary. D-Brock effortlessly rolls down the musical road that's been constructed for him, stepping on the gas to get over the inclines and gliding down the dips. All the elements make the track an audio goody that can be enjoyed multiple times.

Even with so many fantastic voices gracing this album, Zo! is still the star. With the exception of "Highways," he plays every instrument, and managed to strike the right chord on ...just visiting too between paying homage to great musical arrangements of the past while creating enough space to create something that's his own. And in the process, he's likely to have a few people going back to give the original versions another, or maybe a first, listening.

Zo! will be the special guest at "Refuge" with DJ Stylus at Tabaq tonight. Free, 9 p.m.

>> DCAC opens Black this Friday. Presented in conjunction with the Black Artists of DC, the exhibit organizers "asks artists to think introspectively about the emotional and theoretical, the spiritual and cultural, the intellectual and physical aspects of their personal percpetions of blackness." Opening reception is 7 to 9 p.m.

>> The D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities pairs up with Long View Gallery for another installment of their successful Art Salon series. Starting tonight at 7 p.m., see Poetry in Motion, which pairs local poets with video artists. Free but RSVP to dccahevents[at]gmail.com.

>> View contemporary artists' approaches to photography and video in the Arlington Arts Center's new exhibit, IMAGE/Project. See work by a long list of artists from around the country at the opening reception on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.

>> Get in on the ground floor of the next generation of art by checking out the Corcoran College of Art + Design's event tonight at the Renaissance M Street Hotel. See work by the school's most promising students while you enjoy a free wine and cheese tasting and hors d’oeuvres by Chef John Therres. 6 to 8 p.m.

>> At Nevin Kelly Gallery, see and participate in their second "zeitgeist" exhibit, by curators Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin. They asked 14 local artists what they believe are today's most important issues, whether they be political, cultural, environmental or otherwise. Arkin and Judy Byron have also been collecting answers from the public via their website and Twitter, and will present artwork that incorporates those opinions. See it all at a reception on Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.

Image of work by Graham Francoise, courtesy Art Whino.

>> Now that they've finished installing work by the current participating artists, The Phillips Collection officially kicks off Intersections, its new contemporary art series, this Thursday with a panel discussion between artists Tayo Heuser, Babrbara Liotta, and Jennifer Wen Ma, along with Phillips curator Vesela Sretenovic. 6 p.m., by donation.

>> Congrats to Winter Palace Studio Artists, which will have the grand opening of their gallery along with an opening reception for artists and owners Natasha Mokina and Victor Pakhomkin on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Art Notes:

• Tonight hear a Pink Panel at Flashpoint with exhibiting artist Kenny George and some other art folks about "Games, Technology and Creativity." Be sure to play the arcade games in the gallery while you're there. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $10 donation.
• WVSA's ARTiculate Gallery hosts a Third Thursday reception; check out the gallery and see work by D.C. students in It's All About the Journey. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Gallery Neptune will display over 200 small scale, affordable works in their venue for the Neptune Artist Marketplace. Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.
• The Citizen's Association of Georgetown feature member artists in a three-day show at 1209 31st Street NW. Opening reception 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday.
• Learn how the New Deal helped artists and how they, in turn, helped the nation during the Great Depression in a talk at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Thursday, 7 p.m.

A quick glance through the web site indicates that Graham's campaign strategy is simple enough -- prove that he's a damn hard worker for Ward 1 residents. Beyond the frontpage picture of Graham standing next to a tall stack of papers, the "Accomplishments" section of his campaign website details every piece of legislation, ribbon cutting or symbolic gesture that the councilman has made over the years. Seriously – brevity isn't the goal here.

Graham also seems intent on dissuading potential challengers by arguing that the ward's political firmament is already lined up behind him. A press release announcing his re-election bid notes, "Support for Graham across Ward One --the most culturally diverse ward in D.C.-- is indicated by the backing of an overwhelming majority of ANC Commissioners including, in a preliminary list, support from 5 of the 8 ANC Commissioners in Adams Morgan. Tenant leaders in the big buildings lining 14th Street and key Ward 1 business leaders including Kamal Ali of Ben's Chili Bowl, Andy Shallal of Busboys and Poets, and Constantine Stavropolous of Tryst/Diner have endorsed Graham."

Graham was first elected to the Council in 1998, and won easily in his most recent re-election, in 2006. And though he faces continued questions over former Chief of Staff Ted Loza's involvement in the taxicab corruption scandal, Graham has so far only attracted one potential challenger -- ANC 1C Chair Bryan Weaver. The D.C. Republicans have also threatened to throw a challenger at Graham.

Tom already told you about Tim Craig's story in today's Washington Post, which outlines how D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray used council stationery to solicit a $20,000 contribution from Comcast to help pay for Democratic Party activities at last year's national convention. But potentially even worse news for Gray also came today in the form of this story by Washington Times reporter Jeffrey Anderson, which alleges that some questionable work was performed on Gray's Hillcrest home by developer William C. Smith & Co. – a huge company that has a long list of contracts with the District government, and doesn't usually offer basic home repair services.

The allegations laid out by Anderson paint a sort of Ted Stevens-esque picture:

On Tuesday, Mr. Gray's office said that William C. Smith & Co. supervised and received a payment of $5,051.04 for work at Mr. Gray's home in July and August, including power-washing his driveway, painting his family room and installing wiring for a television. Mr. Gray said he paid the company an additional $5,000 for "architectural services for proposed renovation."

Mr. Gray confirmed that he did not pay for the work until this month -- after The Washington Times began asking employees of William C. Smith & Co. about the work, and a month after the paper filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking permits on the property. He declined to show any invoices or receipts.

Could either or both of these stories end up hampering a potential run for mayor by Gray? It's too early to say, but it's starting to be the season when election-seekers need to announce their intentions or give up the ghost. Staring down the business end of the possibility of an ethics investigation could be enough to make any sitting politico think twice about putting themselves in the line of fire.

Meet Kyle. He's one of jim_darling's 100 strangers. Kyle was at the Tweed Ride over the weekend, and Jim coaxed a list of the reasons he came out all dressed up. Kyle wanted to support the group because he wants to encourage people to "express the best part of themselves," because dressing up is "joyful," and, well, because "I dress this way anyway." Take a look at Jim's 93 other strangers, and see how one photographer's eye for portraits has developed over time. (EXIF)

“10 minutes is short. I will tell you, I usually never do cooking competitions that are timed, because it’s not my forte and I hate to be rushed like that when I’m cooking,” said Mina, who has opened 16 restaurants in hotels around the country, the most recent being Bourbon Steak in the Four Seasons in Georgetown. “I might get knocked out in the first round.”

Mina said he was just glad to be able to participate, after he missed last year’s event because it fell smack in the middle of the final push to open Bourbon Steak. He often participates in similar programs in San Francisco—which he calls home—and just finished teaching a class to recently-homeless and rehabilitating students hoping to work in the restaurant industry.

“It’s an amazing cause,” he said of D.C. Central Kitchen. “Feeding hungry people, sure, but also people helping people to get into this profession. It’s great to see a charity that has multi-layers that all weave together.” Mina sat down in the lounge of Bourbon Steak last week to talk with DCist about the first year in D.C., restaurants, the recession and his local favorites.

Bourbon Steak has been open for almost a year now. How’s it going in D.C.?

Everything about it—D.C., the space, this restaurant—has exceeded my expectations. When you’re coming into a market that you’re not in ... There’s many things that you hope for when you open up a restaurant. The first thing is that the restaurant all flows together, the design, style of the food, service, everything down to the uniforms. There isn’t a piece that you’re not worried about. All of those pieces have come together really well. The clientele couldn’t be better, the staff couldn’t be better, and everything has come together really well. We’re far from finished, and being exactly where we want to be, but as far as how the start has been, it’s been great.

You say you’re not finished. What’s still to come from Bourbon Steak? Where would you like to take it in the future?

There’s always a train of thought with a restaurant, and that is that a restaurant is either better or worse every day than it was the day before. So, you have to start there, by making sure that everybody understands that. Where does that come from? It comes from your leaders, from your general manager, and your chef. I couldn’t be happier because I feel like I have a great chef and a great general manager. Every day they’re starting with a platform of ‘we’re going to improve today.’ So what does that mean? Each day we learn another thing that we can do to make this restaurant better.

We’ve got great seasonality, we’ve got return clientele. That’s a big one. When you come into a new market, you always open with a menu that—well, you try to be bold, but you also need to not overshoot. You need to find that balance and then you start to understand your clientele, and they start to trust you, and then you can continue to push the envelope. I feel like that’s where we are now, the chef [David Varley] and myself are at a point now where we can start to push people, because we’ve established a good group of regulars. We’ve really had some fun introducing new, fun things, like in the lounge, the lettuce cups. We now have a completely different lounge menu than we opened with.

What drew you to D.C., and the Four Seasons?

It’s a great restaurant market. When you look at a market, you look at great chefs that are already there, and their success rate. You have amazing chefs that are here. One of the chefs I’ve been following since the beginning, since I also started as a pastry chef, is Michel Richard. What he’s done here is brilliant. You already had chefs here that were at the very highest level of the country. So, there obviously was already that clientele. Between the amazing chefs here locally that have built their own grassroots restaurants, and then chefs like Eric Ripert, Jean Georges, Alain Ducasse coming into your city—I’m fortunate to be able to come in!

You opened right as we were plunging into this economic downturn. How has that affected a restaurant selling $50-$60 steak? How do you address that?

You address that by ... well, we don’t just have $50 steak on the menu. People say to me ‘you come to a restaurant like this and let’s say you order the skirt steak. Does that get perceived wrong in the restaurant?’ Absolutely not. If a chef didn’t think it was a great cut of meat, they wouldn’t put it on the menu. And so, obviously, you have to have a variety. With most major cities there’s a variety in the clientele as well. We focused a lot on the lounge menu as well, and having some things that are affordable in the lounge area. You do have two completely different menus here.

Also, the most important thing with what I do is I partner up with hotels. So you have to pick the right partner to be successful. Opening at that time in D.C., if you take those facts by themselves, it might not seem like the perfect decision. But then you layer in Four Seasons, Georgetown, the history, and what was going on here before. Where we sit today was already a great bar business, so I already knew that there was a clientele.

You’ve won acclaim for both your steak and seafood restaurants. Is seafood the next on your list for D.C.? Are you interested in pursuing any new ventures here?

Right now we’re not actively looking at anything except for Bourbon Steak. And Bourbon Steak is so much more than a typical steakhouse. The menu is so vast, the chef is obviously trained in many different areas. We have all the tools here to do great fish—wood burning oven, all the bells and whistles—and the menu has a lot of fish.

So where do you eat when you’re here—other than your own restaurant?

For sure, Michel Richard. I’ll tell you where I am a lot of times is over there for a lamb burger at the bar. That big basket of fries, that lamb burger ... those are definitely not helping me. And then, all of Jose Andres’s places. Rasika, I’ve been there like five times. Unfortunately, I have to admit, I’m a little bit a creature of habit. I need to venture out, and I will more and more when I’m here, but every time I’m here I end up convincing myself ‘I want to go to Rasika’ or I want to get that lamb burger, or go to one of Jose’s places.

Let’s say you’re sick—battling swine flu or something. What’s your big feel-better food?

Well, first of all, I try to avoid battling swine flu. But no, really, I eat the same thing almost every time I’m sick, and it’s dashi broth, with a little sushi rice and a lot of herbs. I eat that almost every time I’m sick, and I give it to my kids when they’re sick ... it’s our household under-the-weather dish.

But as with seemingly all things streetcars, it's once again our job to warn you not to get too excited. As Tommy Wells' office rightly points out, "there’s still a lot of work left before they are running up and down H Street and Benning Road." The city is busy working on laying the tracks for these two lines, but they aren't expected to be up and running until 2012 at the earliest, and even that date assumes that all the relevant zoning and funding issues get sorted out in a timely manner.

DDOT took some heat for having spent $10 million on these streetcars so many years ago without any place to put them, so where exactly are they going to put them now? They'll be stored at the Greenbelt rail yard, DDOT spokesperson John Lisle said, and DDOT will pay WMATA to maintain them there. Sounds like a good enough plan, but if that was always a possibility, couldn't the city have moved the streetcars to Greenbelt years ago?

>> Israeli born and Boston based drummer Ziv Ravitz has been playing for many top tier musicians since moving to the U.S. in 2000. Tonight, he leads his own group on the Millennium Stage, where it will be performing selections from his debut release, Images From Home. 6 p.m. Free

>> Three Stars alum Brad Linde leads his group in the Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Thursday as part of the Take Five! concert series. The performance is will feature music from his 2009 re-orchestrations of Birth of the Cool, Monk at Town Hall, and other music from the bebop era. 5 to 7 p.m. Free

>> Three Stars alum Thad Wilson will deliver an encore presentation of his live soundtrack to Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows on Thursday at HR-57. 7 p.m. $10

>> Trombonist Rafi Malkiel has already performed all over the world with first-tier musicians, but is now supporting his debut release, My Island. He will be performing on Thursday at Bohemian Caverns, as part of its Israeli jazz series. Tickets to the 8 and 10 p.m. sets are $15.

>> If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times. Go hear Buck Hill. D.C. jazz's elder statesman will be at Jazz Night in Southwest on Friday. 6 to 9 p.m. $5

Kenny Rittenhouse

>> Trumpeter Kenny Rittenhouse is a regular on the local scene, most often performing with the U.S. Army Blues. He will be performing on Friday and Saturday at Bohemian Caverns, leading a quintet that includes saxophonist Lyle Link, pianist Noble Jolley, and other notable area musicians. Tickets to the 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. sets are $15.

>> Bassist James King has long been a staple of the local scene. He will make a rare appearance as a leader on Friday and Saturday at Twins Jazz, leading a group of local all-stars including pianist Bob Butta and drummer Nasar Abadey. Tickets to the 9 and 11 p.m. sets are $15.

>> A pioneer of the cool jazz movement, Lee Konitz is one of the last surviving members of Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool ensemble. The NEA Jazz Master will be performing 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets on Saturday at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Stay tuned for a full preview. Tickets are $35.

>> Bebel Gilberto comes from a dynasty of Brazilian musicians, and has spent her career fusing her native music with pop and dance elements. Her latest release, All in One, is a return to her roots. Gilberto will perform in support of her album on Monday at the 9:30 Club. 6 p.m. doors. $35

>> At just 24-years old, Marcus Anderson is already making a name for himself in the world of smooth jazz. The up-and-comer will be playing 8 and 10 p.m. sets at Blues Alley on Monday. Tickets are $18 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge.

>> Chaise Lounge is a local ensemble that specializes in a brand of pop-jazz that was popular amongst college hipsters in the early to mid-1960s. The entertaining band will be performing 8 and 10 p.m. sets next Tuesday at Blues Alley. Tickets are $20 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge.

>> Rob Coltun leads his band Touch Acoustra, as they back master Malian griot artist Cheick Hamala Diabate on Tuesday night at the Bossa Bistro & Lounge. Call 202-667-0088 for set time and cover information.

Good morning, Washington. Well, it's been out since yesterday, and we're sure that many of you are already most of the way through your copies, doing your best to grapple with the rallying cry of the utterly braindead masses that, despite their arguably justified prominence in the pantheon of "authentically American" culture, actually represent a grave threat to our society and democracy. I'm speaking, of course, about Left 4 Dead 2. Why, what did you think I was talking about?

Ethics Probe Turns to Gray: A note written by city council chairman Vincent Gray asking Comcast for money has caught the attention of the city Office of Campaign Finance, according to the Post. The note asked for $20,000 to help cover lobbying efforts on behalf of D.C. at the Democratic National Convention, and succeeded in securing a $10,000 donation. That obviously exceeds the $5,000 annual cap on donations to a party from a single donor that's imposed by D.C. law. Gray says that he didn't think the donation was a political contribution, but rather a donation to fund lobbying for D.C. voting rights.

Pena Arraigned: The alleged killer of 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes appeared before a judge yesterday, and as WJLA reports, that judge ordered him held without bond. Prosecutors say that they have five witnesses putting Pena at the scene of the shooting, and a sixth who saw him going into his uncle's house with a rifle, which was later found there. Pena is due back in court on December 1.

Briefly Noted: P.G. cab drivers were on strike yesterday, but it doesn't sound like it was very effective... Five year-old saves mom with 911 call... Virginia's budgetary situation gets even worse... Coincidental Montgomery County sub-roundup: Accusations fly in ethics dust-up centering on transgender protection law; county council seeking lower ICC tolls; restaurants will have to print calorie information on menus starting in July ...

This Day In DCist: One year ago GMU got a new mascot, Metro fired a mechanic over a dirty joke, and Davy DCist reacted poorly to news of snow.