What a fun evening out!…read more My daughter gave my guy and I this class as a Christmas gift knowing how much I love to cook and how much we both love DC. The facility was great - clean and well organized. All our tools and ingredients were ready when we arrived and our instructor walked us through our recipes before letting us loose to prepare our meal. There were 3 assistants handy the entire time as well to help out if we had question or just to keep our wine and water refilled. We made drunken noodles, an asian salad with skirt steak and a green tea mousse for dessert. very yummy! I picked up a few new tips and concepts that I have already incorporated into my cooking at home and I can't wait to make these dishes again.

Went here on for a corporate event and it was PERFECT! The week before I chose an appetizer, main…read morecourse (I chose 2 - they're accommodating) and a desert. The seven of us arrived at 6:00 and we were welcomed warmly, directed to the smaller kitchen, and the wine was poured. Sue Holt, the co-owner and well-credentialed chef, introduced the evening. She then spent the next 45 minutes or so teaching us how to make various items on the menu. We didn't make everything because some items, such as the duck, required hours of preparation. Then it was Go Time. We split into groups and attacked various dishes, laughing and having fun the entire time. Sue circulated among to keep us on track and ensure the final product was edible. Music in the background, more wine - we were all enjoying ourselves immensely. Then came time to enjoy the fruit of our labors. We retreated to a table in the back and Sue and her assistant plated and served. Delicious! They are obviously thoughtful about choosing dishes that are tasty and can be prepared well by untrained cooks. We sat, ate and talked for about an hour. Then I noticed that the other kitchen had emptied out (it was around 9:00 by this time) and I said "time to leave". Sue - a delightful hostess - insisted we could stay as long as we like. But the evening had come to an end and it was time to get home. We all agreed it was among the best corporate outings any of us had ever done. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I've always had good experiences at the Kennedy Center! I have been here many times over the years…read morefor various shows and the venue has never disappointed me. How can it with the spectacular view right by the water. The theater really is a magnificent piece of architecture. The grand ceilings are a sight to see. The last time I went was to see the The Book of Mormon. What a fantastic show! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would recommend anyone who like the tv show South Park to see that show. Others I've seen there that I can recall are Lion King the musical and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The center definitely keeps a wide variety of shows coming around. Also for anyone metroing there, there is a red shuttle that can pick you up at from the closest metro stop straight to the theater. How convenient! I will say that I wish the prices for snacks and drinks were a bit less. Two drinks can easily be $20 depending on what you get. Hopefully they will reconsider their prices someday. But overall I always love coming here for a day out and a great show!

Must admit that I was on the fence about attending this event, hosted/sponsored by the…read moreInternational Wine and Food Festival, but was swayed by the Groupon offered that lowered the price almost by half. I'm glad I attended....it was delicious and I was stuffed by the time it was over from sampling all the finalist's recipes inspired by the tomato... ..ranging from main dishes to desserts to beverages/sauces...that were then prepared by various local chefs. And there was wine to compliment the dishes. It was a bit confusing though, as when you walked in, you were just turned loose with no info or guidance...how voting would go, as there was a people' choice award, , in addition to the regular judging, where the different types of foods were located, etc...so they could improve in communication. The judges overall winner turned out to be the bloody mary with cucumber ice...I'm not a bloody mary fan and liked this one. One of the dessert awards went to my favorite, the tomato/goat cheesecake. Good amount of tables available, both sit-down ones and just to stand around..which was a plus. The location at the Ronald Reagan Int'l Trade Center was a convenient choice. From their announcement at the end, it sounds like the "watermelon" will be the themed fruit for next' year's festival and contest.

I can best describe Flashpoint as a cultural complex. Part theater, part art gallery and part dance…read moretheatre. The theater, called Mead Theatre Lab gives the space, lights and sound to the performers for free- it is all funded by the DC theater community at large. The theater is on the small side. It seats maybe 70 people. The art gallery here will be hosting a really interesting exhibition called "Consume." One of my friends is an artist and he gave me a sneak peak of what he will be showing. This particular exhibit starts on Nov 30th. The paintings that will be on display explore how, why and what we eat, drink and buy

I know I shouldn't judge a gallery by a show opening, especially one as popular as DCist's…read more"Exposed" photography show, but there were a few things that disappointed me about my experience this past Friday night. To start with, I understand that friends of the staff get an automatic "in". Heck, I used to pretend I knew the bartenders or DJs because I hate waiting in line. However, when there is a line halfway down G Street, on a night when it's 20 degrees (not including windchill), and most everyone has been waiting patiently in line for well over 45 minutes to get to the front door - don't just wave your friends in through the door when they show up "to say 'hi'". It's rude and disrespectful to everyone that has been waiting all this time. If you must let your friends in, show them the service entrance around back, so you don't cause a riot in the lines. Seriously. Secondly, although it is probably 5 below out, when you have 100+ people packed into a gallery the size of my condo it gets very warm, very quickly. Turn down the heat and crank up the air. Yes, it's cold out...however it's very warm inside! Especially as there is nowhere to hang coats - and everyone is having a drink or two. Although we left after 15 minutes, I had already gotten a couple whiffs of BO. Not pretty. I could only imagine how much worse it got as the evening went on. Finally, have more then one bartender at the bar. Yes, the bar is tiny (the bar I have at home was bigger), but again, when it's a show as popular as DCist, one bartender isn't going to be enough. Especially as tightly packed as that room is, by not having enough bar staff, it just causes further bottlenecking at the front door. All in all - the Flashpoint seemed like a decent gallery. Small, but located between Metro Center and the Chinatown metro stop, it's easy to get to, and there are tons of dining options around. I will probably come back for shows in the future - but probably not for anything as popular as the DCist.

Hubby and I attended because we love The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. We were delighted that…read morewe did, because we had an absolutely fantastic time; even better than we had hoped for. The crowd was amazingly friendly and the signs we encountered were remarkable for their irony, intellect, and wit.

Get excited! The Jon Stewart/Steven Colbert Rally of Fear/Sanity is already drawing a huge crowd on…read morethe National Mall...and it hasn't even started yet! However, I do anticipate live music(whose playing? The Roots), guest appearances(maybe Oprah will show), and general controlled chaos. Just feeling the energy alone is already awesome! People from all over the US are here, and it's a great bonding experience right before mid-term elections. Getting docked a star for doing this Halloween and Marine Corps marathon weekend, but otherwise Restore Sanity/Keep the Fear Alive!

The sight of so many kites flying on the Mall from the Monument to the Capitol is one of the best…read moresights in DC during the beginning of spring and the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival. I wish more people flew kites everyday than just on a specific day dedicated to flying them. It is a tourist event, so the Mall is packed during Kite Festival. Be careful when you're walking; there are kids and adults running around, you can potentially run into kite string, all that jazz. If you're flying a kite, be careful not to run into people or let your kite hit someone. Since it'll be a crowded event and during the Cherry Blossom Festival, you can be sure that the Smithsonian metro stop (closest metro stop to the Kite Festival) will be crowded with people too. If you can, take the metro to L'Enfant Plaza and walk towards the Mall. It'll be much less crowded. Similarly, walk to the L'Enfant Plaza metro station when you want to leave.

I am creating a review for this so people next year can read about it and go!…read more This is an annual event that usually happens in March or April when the weather turns nice. I never had the luck to see it in previous years but I'm so glad I went down to the Mall today! It lasted for about 5 hours but I was there for only about an hour. It was really perfect kite-flying weather, mostly sunny, 45 degrees, moderate wind. I walked up to the Washington Monument and suddenly saw all the kites. There must have been about three hundred of them. Well, math is my weak subject, but there were definitely a lot of kites up there. Small kites, big kites, parachute kites, animal kites, homemade kites, professional kites... have I said "kites" enough? They had stations where you could make your own kites and other stations with art displays about the kite-making process. They also had contests in roped-off areas but they were taking a break when I walked by that area so I didn't see any kite-fighting. Two things made this a worthwhile event for me. One was the colors. The kites had all kinds of designs and colors, red, blue, green, yellow, white, stripes, polka dots, Elmos, and so on. The other was the little kids. There were hundreds of happy babies and toddlers and little kids. It was really cute. Thank you Miriam for sharing this wonderful event!

Chinese New Year Celebration in Falls Church gave me more than I expected except for the number of…read morethe people who attended it. While the Finish bazaar easily gets thousands of people (see my Finish Bazaar review) this event only had hundreds of people. Three large rooms are nicely separated - Market room, Food room and Theater for the cultural program. Market room offered what you expect to see on the Chinese market - clothing, toys, and jewelry with total of about 3 dozen vendors. A few private schools were there as well, like Burgundy Farm School in Alexandria, looking for the opportunity for diversity. There were two tables with calligraphy, so I had to have my name written in two characters (I + GOR) Food met my expectations - only 3 options but all worth the consideration. After getting a plenty of a typical Chinese food (Orange chicken, drunken noodles, Singapore noodles, etc...) the vendor handed me three full food containers remarking, "ONLY $26." That was cute and food was delicious - the best Chinese food I've ever had. Good fruit juice and bubble tea options as well. The theater and its program were great. One has to realize that Chinese communities are not encouraged by the Chinese government to have these events. One has to know about immense loss of the cultural treasure during the Cultural Revolution in China to appreciate the program. The program put had not only the traditional Chinese program including the best dragon dance ever; 2 string instrument (erhu) starting mournful as the bagpipes and later cheerful as the fiddles; very interesting fashion show of the traditional Chinese clothing done in very slow motion with Chinese music; but also had traditional dance from India and Indonesia (while I was there) which showed that the community is inclusive of all, traditional and that we all live in the diverse USA. There is no entrance fee, parking is available and there are kids activities and it is fun for all ages. The festival showed how hard the organizers worked and it brought us closer to the Chinese culture. For that I am thankful that I attended this great event. 谢谢

I stood for two hours in high heels and I did not mind one bit…read more Story District (which as of three days ago was known around the city as Speakeasy DC) resurrects the lost art of story telling and brings it to the masses. I came in expecting to be entertained and giddy, but left with a conflict of emotions. The stories told had me on a roller coaster of emotions that was 10x better than any Kardashian / Scandal / True Blood binge watching weekend I could ever go on. I was really impressed by the wide range of performers who came from all ages, ethnicity, sexual and gender orientations, bodies, health -- everything. Their short stories celebrated their triumphs and hardships and also was a mental reminder that everybody is not as they appear. For those who are obsessed with Humans of NY -- you'll love Story District. Shows are every second Tuesday of the month and tickets were $16 per person. Seating is limited so I recommend coming an hour early if you would like some tush cushion. I highly recommend attending this show if you are looking to have some great post dinner conversation with someone you are looking to know better....or even someone you've known for years. Five Stars all around. Now who's going to the next show with me?!??!?!

I have to give SpeakEasy DC huge props for being an island of humanity in our detached, digital,…read morehollywood age. Want some real, human emotion? Go check out these storytellers. Everyday people (and some a little less everyday than others), get on stage, and candidly tell personal short stories. What's unique and inspiring about it, is the surprisingly intimate peek you get into the mind and thought process of the speaker. These aren't scripted, hollywood stories...they're random, eloquently told tales of life. Most are funny, but some are quite dramatic. Storytelling is rapidly becoming a lost art...and it likely was the FIRST art. Public oration has been relegated to the domain of attorneys, politicians, and motivational speakers. I like these reminders that it belongs to all of us.