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Author: Elise Hartman Ford
Contributor: Colleen Clark
ISBN: 0-9766013-4-6
Price: $17.95
Web Direct Price: $9.95
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| Today’s savvy travelers rely on NIGHT+DAY D.C. — with its opinionated listings, insightful descriptions, and witty, intelligent writing — to get the sophisticated edge in travel. From the trendiest tables, hippest hotels, top shops and galleries, to the hottest nightspots and coolest attractions, NIGHT+DAY D.C. is packed with expert recommendations and insider tips. |
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HOME » DESTINATIONS » D.C.
NIGHT+DAY D.C.
Behind Washington’s buttoned-up facade is a thriving city that rocks late into the night. After touring the world-class attractions, enjoy a fabulous meal, then dance the night away at one of the city’s sexy new lounges.
March Love Letter
Washingtonians, by temperament and territory, are a disputatious bunch. If we’re not debating the pros and cons of a health care bill, we’re trying to best each other on snowfall tallies. Everything is a contest, especially during the month of March. We’re not quite out of the woods of winter, not quite into the warmth of spring, and being neither here nor there, we argue. It’s quite fun, actually.
Pressing questions at the moment include: Who serves the best hot buttered rum? Hands down, it’s the Tabard Inn’s lounge (tabardinn.com)—hang there on a Sunday evening and you’ll also be treated to live jazz. (Others might mention the Adams Morgan bar, Bourbon (bourbondc.com), which, granted, is a worthy second choice.) What’s the best new eatery for amazing food and equally fantastic good times? Some say it’s Zentan (zentanrestaurant.com), for sushi and sophistication; but believe me when I say it’s Kellari Taverna (kellaridc.com), whose upscale Greek fare and effervescent ambience keep everyone very happy. Hottest tickets in town? For soulful pop, it would have to be Alicia Keys at Verizon Center (verizoncenter.com) Mar. 25; for mellower sounds, Ben Folds and a Piano wins, Mar. 26, at the 9:30 Club (930.com).
And then there’s the matter of St. Patrick’s Day: Better to imbibe at a veteran Irish pub, like The Dubliner (dublinerdc.com); go traditional by attending the annual St. Pat’s Parade (dcstpatsparade.com) held on Mar. 14. Or join the wild hordes at Shamrock Fest (shamrockfest.com) on Mar. 13 for live music (The Roots! Train! And assorted other bands, Irish or otherwise), carnival rides, and plenty of Guinness. My suggestion: Why not do it all?
That’s right, do it all. Take in these and other DC highlights all month long. And if you should find yourself in a bar at the end of the day, and the talk turns to a discussion of DC’s best and brightest social scenes, consider yourself an honorary Washingtonian, raise your voice and your glass, and join in the fray.
Elise Ford
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D.C. (2008):
Abe and Irene Pollin (Philanthropists and Community Leaders)
 D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood today is a far, far cry from what it
was just one decade ago, when this downtown district was a place of
office buildings and not much else. Come sundown, most folks got
the heck out of Dodge. Around that time, a couple named Abe and
Irene Pollin, owners of the Washington Wizards basketball team and
the Washington Capitals ice hockey team, decided to build a new
sports center in the heart of downtown, financing the $200 million
cost themselves. The MCI Center, now called the Verizon Center,
opened on December 2, 1997, to a sellout crowd. “I had two goals
when I decided to build this building,” says Abe Pollin. “The first was
that if I was building in downtown Washington, the nation’s capital,
it had to be the best building of its kind in the country.
The second
was to be the catalyst that turned the city around.”
And that’s exactly what happened. By constructing their sports arena
in the middle of D.C.’s desolate downtown, the Pollins gave office
workers an enticement to stay on after dark, and Washingtonians in
other parts of the city good reason to head here. Entre p reneurs took
notice of all this activity and started to set up shop; one savvy shop led
to the next fine restaurant, which led to the next hot bar, which led to
the next chic hotel, and pretty soon, an enormous new convention center
had been built, sealing D.C.’s fate as a top-draw city. Visit the Penn
Quarter today, and you’ll find yourself on the pulse of the capital’s
hippest neighborhood, where fashionistas, urbanistas, and happy revelers
fill the streets night and day. Abe and Irene Pollin, whose
achievements in business, philanthropy, and public service are both
legion and legendary, may perhaps be best known for building the
Verizon Center and in so doing, spearheading Washington’s phoenixlike
transformation from a deteriorating ruin into an urban star.
Check out our choice for the
world's foremost Urbanistas in other cities:
The Urbie Awards.
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