ambivalent images

Good Earth Market

Good Earth is the community “health food” store in Billings. It's a cooperative, which means you can be a member and get discounts that way. You can also volunteer there as a member to get additional discounts, I think, and to help ensure the success of the store.

Good Earth features lots of organic and locally-grown produce, meat, and dairy goods. It also has a wide selection of eco-friendly and organic products from around the country. Plus it has a deli/cafe where you can get some really great hummus, among other things. Prices are often a bit higher than you'd pay at a regular grocery store, but most of the time that's because you're paying for the fact that the items were produced responsibly -- in ways that don't destroy the environment and by workers who have decent wages and are treated humanely. In other words, it costs more, but it's worth it.

Hank's Place

A diner in Red Lodge, Montana. We stopped in for breakfast here and were very pleased w/the food, even if the service left something to be desired in terms of speed. Life just moves more slowly in Montana, I think, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It can be frustrating sometimes when you forget to take off your “rush rush rush” city hat, but otherwise it can be quite refreshing.

Western Hip Hop Wear & Tack

Two storefronts side-by-side in downtown Billings, MT. Where else are you going to see something like this?

If the Western Wear shop looks empty, that's b/c it is. I'm not sure if it moved or just closed down. Maybe it just couldn't compete w/Classic Kicks.

Rocket, Please!

A travel agency sign on U St. NW. I guess you can book trips there to travel by rocket. I haven't checked on the details b/c I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to afford it.

Table Graffiti

Graffiti on a bar table at Cafe Deluxe. We went there again for brunch last weekend—big mistake. It was mother's day and the place was mobbed, even though we arrived only minutes after it opened. We ended up sitting at the bar where the tables have been covered by graffiti of the sort pictured here. I thought this list of ten things to do before you die was not bad, and I especially enjoyed the quotation from Lloyd Dobler.

Glazed

A Krispy Kreme doughnut glazer spins away inside the store at the corner of Dupont Circle and Connecticut Ave. The white stuff you see is mostly frosting and that's a conveyor belt of some sort. This this is always spinning but I don't think I've ever seen any doughnuts in the midst of being glazed so I can't say I really understand how it works.

Burrito Board

A Chipotle ad near 19th and J I St. NW. That's a lot of burritos. There was a time when I thought Chipotle was a pretty good thing to have around for a tasty lunch, but not so much anymore. Perhaps I just had too much of a good thing, but for some time now I have not enjoyed my burrito bowls that much. Plus, the last time I had one I bit down on a big chunk of plastic that was nicely hidden by all the beans and rice and beans and salsa—I thought I'd broken a tooth! I don't think it did any permanent damage, but you know, just not something I'm really going to miss when we live where there's not one on every corner.

Open City Camel

An animal cracker camel floats through the air (mysteriously!) at Open City in Woodley Park. L. and I went there for dinner a few weeks ago and just tried it for brunch last weekend. It's a lot like The Diner with a more Tryst-esque atmosphere. No surprise there—all three properties are part of the Tryst empire. Open City even uses the same coffee mugs and napkins as Tryst. The food at all three places is fine—nothing special, but you know it will be satisfying—and it's great to see a place like this in the Woodley Park area. I'm sure it's going to make a mint.

Busy Borders

Every cash register is busy at Borders. This was on a Thursday at the the 18th & L St. NW location downtown. I was there picking up one of the last books I'll ever have to buy for law school.

Early Morning Tryst

Looking across a mostly empty Tryst at about 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday morning. This is a rather rare sight because by about 9:15 a.m. the place is packed and it seems to stay that way pretty much all day from there. Despite my initial reluctance to like Tryst b/c of its ultimate hipness, I sort of can't help liking it. It's a good place to relax and write or talk with friends, and the Chaipuccino is awesome. Of course, you have to find a seat before you can begin enjoying yourself, but if you're at the door the minute it opens in the early morning, you'll be fine.

Pasta Mia Queue

Looking into Pasta Mia as we waited in line for it to open. Pasta Mia is an Italian restaurant in Adams Morgan that it somewhat notorious for having great food at a great price that's kind of hard to get. It's hard to get because the place doesn't ever open until 6:30 p.m., and it closes at 10:30, M-S. People are generally lined up by 6:00 p.m. or a little after. On the night we went, getting there so early wasn't really necessary; we did get there by a little after 6:00 and were the third party in line. We were seated immediately at 6:30, service was great, the food was awesome (huge portions; fresh ingredients, great spices), and by the time we left at something like 7:15 there were still tables available. Recommended, though, if you're in the area and hungry during those hours. Entrees generally cost around $10-15 and you'll have plenty to take home for a second meal.

Dupont Loft

Fall fashion on display at Ann Taylor Loft in Dupont Circle. Someone I know really really likes this store.

Smoking Tryst

The scene at Tryst on a Saturday night as viewed through an ashtray.

Tysons Addition

The new addition to the Tysons Corner Mall megaplex, looking toward the “old mall” from the second floor with the new movie theater behind us. It's actually kind of neat looking, for a mall, but the second floor shook and bounced disturbingly under the weight of the people just walking around. As I stood there bouncing I thought of how building quality just doesn't seem to be what it used to be and wondered how long it would be before the floor collapsed and killed a bunch of people. Morbid, huh?

AMC Tyson's

The AMC sign at the new addition to the Tyson's Corner mall. We trekked out to this theater on its opening night because it was also the opening night of Serenity. The theater was nice (and they were giving away free popcorn, so that was cool), and the movie was awesome. A space western? What could be better? If you liked “Firefly,” you'll almost certainly love this movie, and if you've never seen or heard of “Firefly,” I still think you'll enjoy this show.

Dr. Dremo's

The unusual sign outside Dr. Dremo's Taphouse in Arlington, VA. We visited Dremo's for the first time a couple of weeks ago for a charity poker tournament and found it to be a supercool place to hang. It's got three levels, lots of pool tables, dart boards, comfy chairs, big screen tvs, and a really relaxed atmosphere. Apparently it also use to feature some awesome beer pong games but “drinking games” are illegal in Virginia so that had to stop.

La Fourchette

Looking out the windows of La Fourchette onto 18th St. La Fourchette is a little French restaurant that serves a pretty good omelet, and I'm a sucker for a good omelet. Be warned that just about everything you order here will be very buttery; this is not health food. Frommers says of La Fourchette “the ambience is as Parisian as you'll get this side of the Atlantic — as is the food.” When we were last there we got to sit next to Jonetta Rose Barras, whose voice I immediately recognized from listening to the D.C. Politics Hour with Kojo and Jonetta Fridays on WAMU. Yeah, I'm an NPR geek, but you probably knew that already.

Safeway

Staring at my cart while waiting in line at the swamped Safeway in Adams Morgan. The small shot at the right gives a glimpse of the crowds in line to checkout. I learned that Saturday afternoon is probably the worst time of the week to go shopping at this store.

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PIWIT: Hankins Photography has a gorgeous shot of the mountains in Norway today, as well as a shot titled “New Orleans Rainstorm,” which is kind of ironic considering the hurricane that plowed by there yesterday (Katrina).

Closer to home, Drew McDermott offers cool shots of Metro Doors, the scene Under Pentagon City, Metro Escalators 4, and this shot of the Hirshhorn museum. McDermott had ACL reconstruction surgery a month ago but he seems to be recovering nicely. He also just posted his 500th photo on his site—Congratulations, Drew!

Also close to my current home, D.C. In B&W has some really terrific shots of the D.C. area. For some reason I especially like the two most recent photos— D.C. Encampment and World's Best Coffee.

Farther away, anothertimes has a sweet shot of a U2 show and a great reflection self-portrait with an interesting city backdrop (somewhere in Spain, I think). Also, doesn't this make you want to go to the beach?

Finally today, Learn Ignorance features a shot taken in Eastern Wyoming just before the tornado a few weeks ago that did damage there. Scenes like that are the scenes of my childhood and youth. Not that tornadoes were ever common in Wyoming, but the prairie and sky can look like that any time a storm is blowing in. It so makes me long to be back there!

Rosemary's Thyme

Rosemary's Thyme restaurant at 18th and S. Possibly the best French toast in town (according to L.) and some great Turkish specialties, too.

Andale

Andale mexican restaurant at 7th and D in downtown D.C. Our book club met here last night to talk about “Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D. Scottish Public Health Officer” (Harcourt) by Alasdair Gray. I haven't finished the book but I've read enough to highly recommend it. If you read blurbs or reviews it might sound pretty unlikely for a good read, but trust me—it's an excellent book!

Oh, Andale was good, too. Way way way too expensive for a law student (I just had an appetizer and a coke), but tasty. Great tortilla chips!

Any suggestions for D.C. area places to meet mid-week evenings for a book discussion? It would be nice to find someplace a bit quiet where we can talk, but that has either good food or drink or both, and which doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Oh, we need to be able to seat 4-6, too. That seems like a pretty tall order for this city, but I admit I'm not the most familiar w/all the little hideaways...

Swatches

A display of watches at the Swatch store in Pentagon City mall. I probably just haven't been paying attention but this seemed like the first swatch sales place I've seen in a long time. I remember in the '80s when Swatch was all the rage and only the cool kids had them and, of course, I wanted one. The funny thing was, by the time I even knew what a Swatch was, the fad had probably already peaked and mostly passed. So by the time I wanted one, it wasn't cool anymore. That's my fashion life.

Who wears a Swatch today? Do you?

Wigs for Him

A display of wigs for men in the same storefront as yesterday's pic. These shots make me wonder: Is there a good way to display wigs for sale? Or would it be better to just have a sign in the window that says “wigs”?

Wigs for Her

A display of wigs for women in a storefront in downtown Alexandria, VA.

2 Amys

2 Amys pizza just off Wisconsin Ave. NW. According to many DC pizza lovers, 2 Amys makes the best pizza in the area. L. and I had gone looking for this place a couple of times but were never able to find it because for some reason we thought it was in Georgetown when actually it's not too far from the National Cathedral. Once we figured out our mistake, 2 Amys was easy to find.

So is it the best pizza in D.C.? As far as I'm concerned, no. The crust is great and the toppings seemed fresh and high quality—it was great pizza, no question. But the best best best pizza in D.C. is at Alberto's. Unfortunately, Alberto's has been closed for the last couple of months after they had a bit of a fire. Their recording says the place will open up June 20, so I'm thinking I'll be having some yummy pizza that day.

It's possible that 2 Amys and Alberto's aren't really comparable because they're doing different things. 2 Amys does “gourmet” Neapolitan pizza, while Alebert's does Chicgo style. Still, strictly on a gourmet pizza comparison, what makes 2 Amys better than Paradiso?

Profiteroles

A huge plate of profiteroles topped off our dining experience at Maggiano's last week. The Maggiano's menu describes profiteroles as:

Pastry shell filled with vanilla bean ice cream and topped with our own hot fudge and fresh whipped cream; dusted with cocoa powder and powdered sugar

We're talking good. I have since been told that the “Warm Apple Crostada” is possibly the best desert available in all of D.C.—something I'll have to try to remember if I ever make it back to Maggiano's.

Corporate Coffee

A big chain coffee counter waits for customers around the corner of F and 8th Streets, or something like that. I was waiting around for a meeting the other day and wandered in for a warm and comfy place to sit. Coffee shops are generally good for that, even corporate coffee shops. Speaking of coffee, how cool is htis latte art?

The Diner, Adams Morgan

The Diner on 18th Street. L. and I had dinner here last week for the first time. We've often considered it for a weekend brunch, but the line is always insane on weekends. We generally eat dinner earlier than most DC peeps, so we usually beat the crowds for dinner when we go out. If the constant lines at The Diner aren't enough to recommend it, I can tell you that the lines seem to be justified. The food was quite good (standard American fare, mostly) and the atmosphere is relaxed and open. Prices are similar to other options in the neighborhood—plan to pay about $8-12/person, more or less. If the lines are too long, try The Left Bank right across the street. The atmosphere and menu are a little more avant-garde, but still comfy, and the prices are similar.

Fadó St. Pat's

St. Patrick's Day celebrants line up outside Fadó, the Irish bar near 7th and H streets in DC. I took this picture at about 5 p.m., so things were getting off to a fairly early start. One of my classmates in a 10 a.m. class said he'd started the day with cocktails, so I guess a lot of people were taking the drinking aspect of St. Patrick's Day seriously. PIWIT: Yakusha features a great shot of the train and metro tracks in Alexandria today. The black and white format seems very appropriate for a photo like this with such strong lines.

Hearts for Sale

A card and gift shop near the Woodley Park Metro attempts to draw in the love-dove crowds to buy hallmark holiday wares. I like this shop; there are lots of cool things inside (most of which I'd probably never buy, but they're fun to look at). The manufactured holiday of v-day is also fine, except that it has become some sort of guantlet-running period for too many people who are not partnered and feel especially at this time of year that maybe they should be. Speaking of which, I'm surprised legislatures all over the country aren't trying to pass bills that say “Valentine's Day is between a man and a woman.” I mean, they seem really happy to legislate love in the context of marriage, so why not v-day? Oh, and sort of in the spirit of this perspective on v-day, here are last year's ideas for the holiday, one of which will work just as well this year. Unfortunately, youyesyou seems to have gone the way of the dodo...

Calvert & Connecticut

The Chipotle at the corner of Calvert & Connecticut, with the Marilyn Monroe Mural peering out above. The thumbnail at right is the same shot from across the street so you can get a bit more perspective. Chipotle needs little explanation—it's McDonald's foray into mexican food (and its burritos are super-yummy, if possibly very bad for you). The Marilyn Mural is a different story. Apparently it was “[c]ommissioned in 1981 by Roi Barnard of Salon Roi, and painted by John Bailey. ”A bronze plaque was installed at 2604 Connecticut Avenue naming the artist.“ Good to know...

Gallery Place Cinema

The marquee and concession stand at Gallery Place's new movie house. L. and I saw the new Bridget Jones there last week and found both the theatre and the movie mostly pleasing. Although critics seem to have decided Bridget just isn't as good this time around, I enjoyed the second movie almost more than the first b/c Bridget's foibles were all the more frustrating (and endearing) in light of the fact that she'd supposedly learned and grown so much in the first picture. She's an easy character to care about, plus she's refreshing in her candid approach to the world. She needs new friends, and she needs to stop listening so much to what they say, but... Oh, and one of the main conflicts in the new movie is a class conflict, which is fun, and interesting, because movies don't address such things often. As for the theater, it's fine—your standard new multiplex. This one's a little different in that the ticket booth is on the ground floor (pic at right), but the concession stand and screens are all two floors up. The first and second floors seem incomplete and empty at this point, but it looks like they're going to hold mall-like retailers, so this place will soon be something of a one stop entertainment and consumer mecca. The best thing about that is that it's so accessible—exit the metro at Gallery Place and walk one block and you're there. I have a feeling Georgetown's multiplex is going to see a serious drop in business; it's not metro accessible, and it seems like every time we go there a cab gets into the picture at one point or another. I'd rather stick to the metro any day, and I'll bet I'm not alone.

Chaipuccino!

A steaming hot cup of Tryst's chaipuccino, a delicious mix of chai tea and cappuccino. Of course, like all Tryst's coffee drinks, it comes with two little animal crackers, just because. If there is still anyone out there who is not familiar with chai tea, it is an Indian “blend of freshly ground spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves, added to a boiling pot of loose leaf tea and milk to make a hot, delicious, satisfying beverage.” Add some cappuccino in there for an extra zing! (Here's a recipe for making a cappuccino-like drink at home in your blender; haven't tried it, but it sounds good to me.)

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Pics I Wish I'd Taken: Probably anything by Drew McDermott, who takes great, mostly B&W photos of the D.C. metro and other D.C. sites and events. Lots of shots of other things, too. Elsewhere, isn't this a serendipitous picture? Do you think the woman was posing, or was this purely an accident?

Enter Tryst

These overstuffed chairs are the door pull handles on the entrance to Tryst, the D.C. coffeehouse. Ok, perhaps I exaggerate, but it's definitely the Adams Morgan coffeehouse! And while it's almost too precious for mere mortals, it's touches like this that make you see why people love the place. It's the anti-Starbucks, since at the megachain (which apparently plans to open four shops a day in 2005) you'll find the same door pulls, chairs, tile, paint, shelves . . . everything in every single store across the country. Generic, mass-produced, and created for one thing and one thing only: to make money for Starbucks. Tryst and independent shops like it are different. They're filled with found furniture, the walls are decorated with ever-changing art by local artists, the menus are unique, varied, interesting, experimental. Oh, and the door pulls rock. Oh, and one more thing: Wireless Internet access is completely free and open to anyone at Tryst, while at Starbucks you'll have to register and pay some crazy fees if you want to surf or check your email with your coffee. Again, Starbucks is doing everything it can to make a buck, while Tryst is doing anything it can to make Tryst a cool place to hang out. And yeah, that will help Tryst make a buck, but...

The Left Bank

Inside the Left Bank on 18th St. in Adams Morgan. AOL Cityguide calls it "achingly hip" and that's probably a good description. But the herbed fries are incredibly good and they offer fresh omelets in the morning made-to-order right at your table. L. and I had brunch there a while back, then coffee w/The Scoplaw and In Limine the other day, and while the place seems a bit too precious, that doesn't have to stand in the way of it being a good place to hang out. So far it's never been too busy when we've been there so you're free to chill, listen to the great music (and they do play excellent music), and, apparently, surf the web. (According to AOL, they have WiFi access, although I don't know if it's free.) Try it the next time you find Tryst too packed...

Ethiopian Feast

Our vegetarian sampler at Meskerem on 18th Street in D.C. I'm a little ashamed to admit this was my first experience with Ethiopian food and it was terrific. For the uninitiated, everyone in your party gets food served on the same plate, and rather than eating with utensils, you eat with your hands by scooping up food with pieces of a spongy flatbread that you tear off of folded round loaves. (In the picture above, all the food is sitting on a "loaf" of flatbread that's lining the large plate. We've already eaten a lot, so some of the bottom flatbread has been torn away. Yum!) Not only is Ethiopian food tasty, but the eating experience is fun, as well.

Humidors

Personal humidors at a cigar bar in D.C. I can't remember the name of this place, but I think it's on F Street downtown and it's an "all smoking establishment." We stopped in for a drink and were amused to see the "personal humidors" of the regular customers. Apparently you can put whatever label you want on your humidor, including company logos and strange sayings. One said "We are those men." What does that mean?