The Georgetowner 11 17 10

THEGEORGETOWNER

November 16 - december 1 2010

georgetowner.comSince 1954

volume 57, Number 4

Across The Cutting Board with Ris Food & Wine

Holiday Performance Preview

Cheryl Masri & Jill Sorensen

The Player

Lombardi GaLaSocial Scene

CLeo’S DinneR Table Revolution

The Taste of

ConSeRvaTion

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www.ttrsir.com Georgetown, Washington, D.C. 202.333.1212

McLean, VA 703.319.3344

Chevy Chase, MD 301.967.3344

© MMX Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. All Rights Reserved. Les Bords de l’Epte a Giverny, used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity . Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

Georgetown, DCSensational condo of over 4,162 sf & 2,700 sf of outdoor terraces with views of Potomac River, Kennedy Center & Gtown Waterfront. Open floor plan, walls of glass & floor-to-ceiling windows. Custom Poliform built-ins, chef ’s kitchen with top appliances. 3-car parking & additional storage. Building offers 24-security concierge services & fitness center. $3,550,000.Michael Rankin | 202.271.3344Michelle Galler | 703.217.9405

Kalorama, DCFabulous panoramic view of DC from the roof top terrace. With sophisticated, sleek & stylish interior & “old world” exterior, this residence is on one of Kalorama’s most desirable Streets. Renovated in 07’, this 4 BR, 4 full, 2 half baths is one of 2 masionette’s in the former Kingsbury School. Tastefully appointed with modern amenities / luxury features. 2 car gar. $2,899,000.Lauren Herberghs | 703.625.3590Robin Waugh | 703.819.8809

Logan Circle, DCThe Willison - 1,700 sf of luxurious space offering 2 BR, 2 baths, hardwood floors, fireplace, granite and stainless kitchen, ‘smart wired’ for high speed internet, private balcony and 2 zone HVAC. Located just steps to the vibrant 14th St corridor. $759,000.

Michael Moore | 202.262.7762

Georgetown, DCThe perfect blend of home and garden in the city, this freestanding gambrel roof Dutch colonial is on a one quarter acre lot in the vibrant East Village. A detailed renovation was completed in 2010. Features include double living rooms, gourmet European kitchen with top appliances, 7 BR, 4.5 baths, pool and private garden w/ pond & lap pool. Parking. $2,795,000.Julia Diaz-Asper | 202.256.1887Michael Rankin | 202.271.3344

Kalorama, DCSpacious 874 sf, 1 BR located in ‘turn of the century’ Victorian rowhouse. Features include hardwood floors, fireplace, custom granite and stainless kitchen, private patio, low condo fee all in a stellar Kalorama location. $429,000.


Georgetown, DCBeautifully restored C 1840 townhouse with exceptional 25x24 ft living room with 10ft ceilings and row of French doors overlooking a rear terrace/garden. Master suite with dramatic ceiling opens to private terrace with southern views, 2 addition guest rooms, formal dining room and wonderfully renovated kitchen. $1,795,000.

Michael Rankin | 202.271.3344

Chevy Chase, MDBeautiful 10 years young 5 BR, 4.5 bath Arts and Crafts home. Impeccably maintained, offering oak flooring, 1st floor Library with custom cabinetry and gourmet kitchen that opens to family room. Exquisite landscaped grounds and superb location, walk to Friendship Hts or downtown Bethesda. $1,650,000.


Georgetown, DCUpdated semi-detached three level commercial oriented property with residential possibilities. The property boasts: 2-car garage plus additional off-street parking, hardwood floors, large patio, high ceilings, certificate of occupancy and a location that is second to none. $1,559,000. Michael Brennan | 202.330.7808

Georgetown, DC The Flourmill. Canal Front 2 BR, 1.5 bath Condominium with a stunning view. 1,700 sf of sun-filled professionally renovated space with top of the line finishes throughout. Nestled between the Potomac River and C & O Canal, the location is ideal. $799,000.

Michael Brennan | 202.330.7808

Kalorama, DCCharming 1910 bay front Federal featuring 5 BR, grand living room with fireplace, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen with double height ceilings, master suite, spa inspired baths, and a gorgeous slate terrace and garden. Ideally located just off Embassy Row in the heart of the highly desirable Kalorama neighborhood. $1,995,000.Jeff Lockard | 202.246.4433 Daniel Miller | 202.669.6478

Georgetown, DCMeticulously restored to preserve architectural details while adding state of the art upgrades. 3 BR, 2 bath + office has chef ’s kitchen that opens to private courtyard garden. Family rm w/gas fireplace can double as dining rm. Elegant living room plus bonus upper level home office fitted w/ custom built-in’s. Waterworks baths & plantation shutters. 2 car parking. $1,375,000. Liz Dawson D’Angio | 202.427.7890

ShawTop floor 2 BR, 1.5 bath located in 3-unit Condo building offering hardwood floors, fireplace, kitchen with stainless and granite, separate dining room, off street parking and a very low fee. 1 block to Metro. $419,000.


TTR Georgetowner 11.11.10.indd 1 11/15/10 3:15:38 PM

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The GeorGeTowNer is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and col-umnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The GeorGeTowNer newspa-per. The GeorGeTowNer accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The GeorGeTowNer reserves the right to edit, re-write, or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright, 2009.

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Cleo Braver, organic farmer and activist for Bay conservation, at her Cottingham Farm in Easton, Maryland.Photo by Yvonne Taylor

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Vol. 57, No. 4

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6-7 — Georgetown Observer

8 — Editorial/Opinion

10 —All Things MediaReading Tea Leaves At TBD

12 -13 — Real EstateMortgage

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14 — Art WrapAri Post at the Parish Gallery

15-16 — Performance Preview

17-19 — Cover StoryThe Dinner Table Revolution

22-23 — Food & WineAcross the Cutting Board with Ris

Cocktail of the Week

24 — Holiday Gift Guide

25 — Body & SoulMurphy’s Love

27— Haute & Cool

28-29 — Social Scene Lombardi Gala

Fight NightNational Rehabilitational

Hospital GalaWashington Ballet Fashionistas

30 — The PlayerCheryl Masri & Jill Sorensen

ABOUT THE COVER

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Former Editor & PublisherDavid Roffman & Amy Stewart

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however

humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of

time. Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

—Max Ehrmann

Warm wishes to you and your family this holiday season from The Georgetowner.

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ARTS & SOCIETYGalleries at a GlanceVisit www.Georgetowner.com for the full listing.

Simply Irresistible: Knock Out Abuse Rocks the Ritz

Casino Jack Washington, DC Premiere

Washington Women & Wine

Love Ball The Washington Ballet’s Romeo + Juliet

Combing “Hair”An interview with the cast of the Kennedy Center’s musical revival of “Hair”

Ravi ColtraneSitting down with Ravi Coltrane, performing this Saturday at Sixth and I Synagogue

Scan Here For More of...Thanksgiving Recipes from Ris Lacoste Holiday Performance Previews


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NOVEMBER 18

“Every Dog Has Its Day: Celebrating Our Canine Companions”

Sponsored by VCA Animal Hospitals, the VSA Washington D.C. ARTiculate Gallery will “un-leash” its 4th exhibition for pet owners and dog lovers alike. The show will feature one-of-a-kind portraits of our furry, four-legged friends created by VSA Washington D.C. ARTiculate ARTist Apprentices. This event is free, open to the public, and directly supports the Washing-ton D.C. pet community as well as artists and youth. For more information call (202) 261-0204.

NOVEMBER 18-DECEMBER 31

Odessa Foundation Christmas Holiday Tours

This holiday season, visitors to the Historic Odessa Foundation’s Corbit-Sharp House will be transported to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and the home of the Banks Family for a “jolly holiday”. P.L. Travers’ clas-sic children’s stories, “The Adventures of Mary Poppins”, set the literary theme for this year’s Historic Odessa Foundation’s Christmas Holi-day Tours. Tickets cost $10 for adults. Children 12 and under are free. For more information call (302) 378-4119.

NOVEMBER 20-JANUARY 2

“A Christmas Carol”

Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future at the Ford Theatre for this holiday clas-sic as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemp-tion. Michael Baron returns to direct his origi-nal staging that captures the magic and joy of Charles Dickens’s classic. Tickets cost $30-$67. For more information or to purchase tickets call (202) 397-7328.

NOVEMBER 26-28

Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees

Kennedy Krieger Institute’s annual Festival of Trees will be held Friday, November 26 through Sunday, November 28, 2010. With Santa and all of his helpers on hand at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, a flight to the North Pole has never been easier or more fun. A family tradition since 1990 and the largest

holiday event on the East Coast, this year’s Fes-tival of Trees will feature a fairyland forest with nearly 600 decorated trees, wreaths, and ginger-bread houses. The Maryland State Fairgrounds transforms into a winter wonderland with the ever-popular train garden, hourly live family entertainment, and Santa Land’s crafts and car-nival games for children ages 1 to 92. Addition-ally, Festival of Trees showcases more than 100 craft boutiques and a silent auction, making it the best place to kick-start the holiday shopping season. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-12 and seniors. Children 4 and younger are free.

NOVEMBER 26

Reston Holiday Parade

The 20th annual Reston Holiday Parade will

have Macy’s-style balloons, marching bands, dancers, antique cars, entertainers, community groups, and much more in a one-hour, festive procession, welcoming the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus in a horse-drawn carriage along Market Street. Visit Santa & Mrs. Claus in the afternoon, and stay for the tree lighting and sing-along at 6 p.m. You can also enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides from 6:30-10 p.m. and ice-skating all-day, everyday from November until March.

NOVEMBER 30

Gingerbread House Making Class for Adults

Chef Weber will share his gingerbread decorat-ing secrets with adults as they create their own holiday gingerbread house at The Fairmont. The class includes all materials, instruction, holiday hors d’oeuvres, and libations. For more information or to RSVP contact Dian Bulger at 202-457-5019.

Michael Buble at the Verizon Center

Grammy Award-winning artist Michael Buble will perform at the Verizon Center at 8 p.m. as part of his tour “Crazy Love”. Buble has been called one of the most likeable performers on earth for his heartfelt songs of love found and lost. Buble’s not only a great performer but a great songwriter, best known for his composi-tion of “Home.” Tickets start at $58.

NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 5

“The Nutcracker” at Bowie Center for the Performing Arts

Featuring an International cast of artists, chil-dren from the National Ballet School, and beautiful costumes and scenery, the National Ballet Company celebrates the holiday season by presenting the full-length holiday favorite “The Nutcracker” at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts November 30-December 5. Tickets are $25-$30. For more information call Pamela A. Moore at (301) 218-9822.

DECEMBER 3-5

Handel’s Messiah at the Washington Nation-al Cathedral

Handel’s masterpiece in the Cathedral’s setting is a long-standing holiday tradition in the na-tion’s capital. A Baroque-period orchestra and guest soloists join the Cathedral’s combined boy, girl, and men’s choirs under the direction of Michael McCarthy. Tickets cost $25-$85. For more information call (202) 537-2228 or visit www.nationalcathedral.com.

DECEMBER 4

Swedish Christmas Bazaar

Listen to Swedish Christmas carols, enjoy home baked goods, traditional arts and crafts, and fun raffle prizes at the House of Sweden (2900 K St. NW). This free event is organized by SWEA Washington, D.C. and supported by the Embas-sy of Sweden. This will be the ONLY Swedish Christmas Bazaar in the area this year. For more information visit www.swea.org/washingtondc or contact Cecilia Browning (703) 628-6517 or [email protected]


G T O B S E R V E RBy Robert Devaney

POLICE UP PRESENCE IN AND NEAR G.U. CAMPUSMore than the usual number of Metropolitan

Police Department squad cars and Georgetown University police have been traveling around 35th & Prospect streets as well as parked there, neighbors report. Here are a few crime notes:After Georgetown University’s Department

of Public Safety set up new security measures after a series of burglaries in the dormitory known as Village A, according to The Hoya, a student reported Nov. 9 that upon returning to his apartment at 9 p.m. he found that it had been burglarized and his laptop stolen. Between Oct. 16 and Oct. 31, four burglaries and an attempted burglary occurred in Village A, the newspaper reported. “Following the incidents, campus police increased night patrols and mon-itoring of overnight vehicular access to campus. DPS has also promised to provide personal safety consultations for Village A residents and set up brighter lighting features.” Village A is the dorm on the western end of Prospect Street between Lauinger Library and the New South building.Highlighting the issue of students’ careless-

ness regarding the threat of crime, it was also reported that one Hoya left his room unlocked in Copley dormitory and an Xbox was stolen.Seeming to say, “We are here,” Metropolitan

Police questioned a neighborhood regular on Nov. 11 for fraudulent panhandling. He had been telling passers-by at 35th and Prospect streets that he was collecting donations for the Boys and Girls Club of Washington. A resident had called the 2nd District to complain, accord-ing to officer on hand, prompting the individual to be put in the back of the squad car. After let-ting this “person of interest” go along his way, one neighbor said that the panhandler, dressed in a peacoat wearing a traditional skullcap, had a house arrest ankle bracelet on, and that his step brother, walking around with him, had an expired arrest warrant.Also in crime news: The District of Columbia

Crime Policy Institute, published through the Urban Institute, released a report showing crime levels for each census block in the city. The worst spots are well known: the center of the city and the eastern end of the District. According to the report, “More than one-fifth of the blocks in the District did not experience any crimes, and more than half saw fewer than five crimes in any given year. On average, then, these blocks saw crime occur less frequently than once every other month. Most crime is concentrated in a relatively small number of blocks in the District—in any given year, more than one-quarter of the crimes occur in just five percent of the blocks.” As for Georgetown,

its less-than-best blocks were indicated in the report: around Wisconsin and M, below the C&O Canal to the Potomac, and within the Georgetown University campus.

GEORGETOWN SENIOR CENTER TO CLOSEThe Georgetown Senior Center, founded by

the late Virginia Luce Allen almost 30 years ago and located in the Parish hall of St. John’s Church on O Street, will close on Nov. 24.Allen and her seniors met for years for lunch

prepared by residents or donated by local restaurants. Educational or musical programs followed the Monday, Wednesday and Friday lunches. Once a month, there was usually a field trip to a museum or historic home. The seniors, who were regularly picked up and dropped back at their homes by the center’s bus, had visited the Washington Nationals sev-eral times this year.The future of the non-profit, maintained by

Allen for many years, was in question immedi-ately following her death in October 2009. She was the energy and spirit of the place, many of her friends said. With declining member-ship and its most persuasive fundraiser gone, the center decided to close and will meet one last time for a lunch to be prepared by 1789 Restaurant.

JOHN OLSSON, FOUNDER OF OLSSON’S BOOKS AND RECORDS, DIES AT 78 John E. Olsson, founder of the beloved and

once-famous Olsson’s Books and Records, died Oct. 28 at the age of 78 in Silver Spring. He started his stores in Dupont Circle, eventually controlling a chain of nine shops, the best of which was on Wisconsin Avenue at Prospect Street (near the site of the Apple Computer store).A graduate of Catholic University, Olsson

made the merchandising leap to combine the love of music and reading in one place. His stores were popular for years, known for the ease of just walking along the aisles, of getting knowledgeable answers from the store staff and of possibly spying a famous politician or celebrity perusing the shop.Bookstore chains, Internet shopping and

downloadable tunes led to the demise of the Olsson’s empire, with the Georgetown store falling in 2002. Its last five stores closed two years ago.

BURLEITH RESIDENTS CALLING OUT ILLEGAL RENTALSA Burleith neighborhood group is checking

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properties for illegal rentals. It has reported what it believes are 134 illegal basement rent-als to the DC Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs. Property owners without a proper occupation license may face a fine.According to a comment on the website

Urban Turf, Mike Rupert, DCRA commu-nications manager, advised, “This effort is in direct response to concerns of neighbors. Like we have seen in basements across the District—and most publicly when a student at Georgetown died just a few years ago—some of these apartments are unsafe and potentially deadly.”Earlier this year, The DCRA contacted 125

Georgetown landlords who had allegedly rented properties without a valid license. At the time, DCRA stated: “We have sent letters to each of the property owners identified on the list asking them to please respond. If you are renting your property, please contact us immediately and we can assist you in getting your property licensed and, most importantly, inspected. We will not assess fines if you voluntarily come in and begin the licensing and inspection process.”

TO COLLEGE MEDIA, BILL STARRELS IS ALSO A VERB Advisory neighborhood commissioner Bill

Starrels seems to be a verb, according to a Nov. 11 Georgetown Voice headline. In an editorial, the student newspaper cited the eagle eye of Bill Starrels, who challenged student voters’ eligibility at American University. The new-est phrase to enter our lexicon is “Starrelled Down.” Hey, if Sarah Palin can get listed in the Oxford English Dictionary for “refudiate,” why not our own Bill Starrels? “Starrelled Down” just might catch on, but we’re not sure if some-thing like “Solomoned Up” would.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR:

November 19, 5 to 8 p.m.—Georgetown Gallery Gaze (Various art galleries along Wisconsin Avenue and M Street)—for more info, visit www.GeorgetownGalleryGaze.com

November 19, 6 to 8 p.m.—Opening: “Place Names”: An Exhibition with Painter Ari Post, Parish Gallery, 1054 31st St., N.W., 202-944-2310

November 19, 6 to 8 p.m.—Fall Fashion Event with Wink Boutique and Hugh & Crye Wink, 3109 M St, N.W., 202-338-9465

November 20, 5 to 8 p.m.—Beer Tasting at Dixie Liquor with Harpoon Brewery, Dixie Liquor, 3429 M St., N.W., 202-337-4412

November 20, Noon to 6 p.m.—LUSH Grand Re-Opening Cocktail Party, Lush, 3066 M St., N.W., 202-333-6950

December 2, 7 p.m.—Film Screening: “Les Beaux Gosses,” Letelier Theater, 3251 Prospect St., N.W., 202-338-5835

December 5, 2 to 5 p.m.—Third Annual Merriment in Georgetown, a holiday shopping and family event in the heart of Georgetown, Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, N.W., with performances, book signing with “American Girl” author Valerie Tripp, horse-drawn car-riage rides and, of course, Santa Claus.

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E d i t o r i a l s / o p i n i o n

This letter is in response to Gary Tischler’s editorial of November 3rd, “Congrats to Gray: Election

Day and Beyond.” As a Georgetowner myself, and as the founder of the Facebook page Mr. Tischler referenced, “Run, Fenty, Run”, which helped jump-start the write-in campaign, I thought it would make sense to address some of the points Mr. Tischler made regarding that effort. Overall, there are a lot of good points made in the piece, and we too have joined in congratulating Mayor-Elect Gray on his November 2nd victory. We’ve posted it right on the page, and even offered Gray use of the page to reach our sup-porters. My only quarrel with Mr. Tischler’s piece was with the section apparently ghost-written by George Orwell: “It is a peculiarly undemocratic approach that says: We won’t accept the election results that we don’t like and we’re going to try and change them.” It’s hard to know where to begin with this sentence. First, when this was writ-ten (as Mr. Tischler notes), the election for mayor hadn’t actually happened yet. The September election was a primary to choose party nominees. The November 2nd election was when the mayor was chosen. That’s why they called it an “election.” Call me old fashioned, call me sentimental, but I kind of like the quirky American tradition of waiting for the actual vote before declaring a winner. The truly confusing part, however, is

The FenTy WriTe-in: A DemocrATic SucceSS STory

Last Tuesday, we elected the people who will lead the District of Columbia starting in January. My colleague, Vince Gray, will take office as our new

Mayor and Kwame Brown as Chair of the Council. The challenges before elected leaders are tremendous, and the next several weeks will be crucial in determining the fiscal future of the District. Although the city is in good financial shape overall, we learned from Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi in September that we are facing a $175 million shortfall for the fiscal year that began October 1. This shortfall comprises approximately $50 million less in sales tax revenue, $50 million less in income tax rev-enue, $35 million in federal stimulus money the city anticipated but did not receive, $25 million in spending pressures in our public schools, and other costs. We face another $135 million shortfall in fiscal 2012, when one-time stimulus money is no longer available. When the mayor and council faced similar shortfalls over the past three years, we relied largely on spend-ing our reserves to close the gap. This was possible because by September 2005 the District had built up reserves totaling $1.6 billion. But year after year, as revenue slowed and spending increased, we drew down our savings. Over the past three years, the District has spent almost $1 billion in reserves, leaving us only $611 million today. No more of this amount can be used because it supports our revenue bonds and other debt commitments. The District also continued to borrow for capital investments and has increased its outstanding debt to the legal limit of 12 percent of annual debt pay-ments to revenue. Without reserves available to close our spending gap, and no more room to borrow, we must either raise rev-enue, cut spending, or both. Because our rates in com-mercial property tax, personal and corporate income tax, and sales tax are already the highest in the region, and in some cases the nation, it is difficult to ask our residents and businesses to pay more, particularly in these tough economic times. Raising taxes might help to close the shortfall now, but it will also put us at a greater com-petitive disadvantage with Maryland and Virginia in the future. It’s no secret that new residents and businesses that relocate to the region go elsewhere to save money. This hurts our long-term ability to expand our revenue base and pay for government — including the social safety net — that we want and need. On the expenditure side, more than 85 percent of our budget is dedicated to social services, education, public safety, and debt service. Reductions in these areas are very difficult, again because of the times. But these areas must be reduced if the city is to balance its budget. Keep in mind that we spend more money on education per student, and on social services and public safety per resident, than most cities and states, and we are consistently ranked as having one of the highest rates of government employees per capita. We cannot afford to jeopardize all the progress we have made with our bond ratings and investment cli-mate. Now is the time to right-size spending, no matter how painful the decisions might be. Postponing this downsizing by using tax increases and one-time fixes will only lead to larger deficits. I continue to assert — as I have for the past 3 years — that this revenue downturn is not a one year phenomenon. I believe the economy will continue to grow anemically, and we certainly cannot count on a big turnaround in revenues to save the day. The experience of the District in the 1990’s continues to serve as a cautionary tale. Back then, we used one-time fixes and ended up with a control board. The board then made the hard decisions that the elected govern-ment would not make. I will not allow something like that to happen to the city on my watch.

JAck evAnSreporT

By Bob vom Eigen, President of Friends of georgetown Waterfront Park

The Georgetowner’s editorial, “The Perpetually Delayed Waterfront Park Turns to the Community for

More Money”, (November 3, 2010) could not be more wrong. The funds are in hand to complete the Georgetown Waterfront Park in the Spring of 2011. In the past several months, work on Phase 2 of the park has been moving full-steam ahead. The river steps are in place, the pergolas have been erected, and a construction of the fountain, pathways, and riverside promenade is well underway. Despite the progress, the editorial mistakenly reported that Friends of the Georgetown Waterfront Park continue to seek additional donations from the com-munity to complete Phase 2 of the Park. Not true. The Friends continue to recruit new members and to solicit efforts, but thanks to the Federal and District govern-ments and private donors, sufficient funds

have been raised to complete construction of the entire Park. The editorial posed the rhetorical ques-tion: “Is this troubled park currently worth the efforts and resources of an ailing econ-omy?” First, the Georgetown Waterfront Park is not “troubled.” The Park has been a long time coming, and the path forward has not always been straight. But with full funding the park will be completed, as planned, by mid-2011. More importantly, is the Georgetown Wa-terfront Park worth the effort and resources, particularly during the current recession? Absolutely, unequivocally, “Yes.” In times of economic hardship, when recreation budgets are stretched, city residents and visitors rely increasingly on public parks and recreation areas. Were the resources of the Federal and District governments and corporate and individual donors that have been used to build the Georgetown Water-front Park well spent? Take a walk through the park along the glistening Potomac, on a crisp November morning. Priceless.

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the claim that this effort was somehow “undemocratic.” Which part was undem-ocratic? The part where we tried to get more votes in the actual election? The part where we tried to run a campaign for our preferred choice for mayor? The part where volunteers stood out for 10, 12, 14 hours or more, trying to convince other voters to consider writing him in as well? Now, in fairness, I was out of town for a few days, so I apologize if I missed the part where write-in supporters rolled out the tanks and declared a coup. And if they made Fenty “Generalissimo for life” in my absence, well, my bad. But otherwise, it’s hard to see how this was anything but profoundly democratic. A group of grassroots supporters rallied behind their preferred candidate, and, with almost no budget, miraculously con-vinced 23% of voters to write in the name of that candidate. No, Fenty wasn’t on the ballot, and wasn’t running. But that’s the whole point of having a write in. If a voter thinks the best choice for that office is not on the ballot, he or she writes in the person they think is best, even if that person would need to be “drafted” to accept the office. The vast majority of people written in on Election Day are in fact not running. Was it a long shot? Absolutely. Was it a pain in the neck for Mayor-elect Gray, and even Mayor Fenty himself? Almost certainly. Was it undemocratic? Well, since when is democracy “undemo-cratic?”

Seven elecTion leSSonSBy Veena Trehan

“Save Your Pennies.” Families save for big purchases or tough times. States similarly cre-ate “rainy day funds,” and the federal govern-ment spent less in prosperous times and more in difficult ones (per Keynesian theory). The New Deal, with its creation of jobs in the Great Depression to rebuild and restore America’s in-frastructure, typified this approach. President Bush came to D.C. with projections of a federal government surplus but eliminated it by cutting taxes and starting two wars. With 20 percent of citizens un- or underemployed, now would be the perfect time to use savings. Its absence allows Republicans to create an is-sue of debt reduction rather than recognizing the cyclical nature of our economy.“make good Choices.” Brutal war actions like drone attacks, nighttime raids and random civilian killings led Afghani and Iraqi leaders to ask America to shrink its presence overseas. For Democrats, America’s continued involvement is a regular sucker punch. President Obama’s lack of haste in exiting the wars dampened the enthusiasm of these ardent supporters, whose energetic canvassing led to 2008’s record voter turnout. “How Did You Do?” Government agencies and businesses have their own report cards, measures and plans. But somehow this seems to break down for our country as a whole. American’s lives are affected by unemploy-ment, excessive bank fees, growing difficulty in paying mortgages, health care expenses and coverage surprises. These were tackled through major legislative initiatives, though it’s gener-ally agreed all areas need more work. Many candidates ran on shrinking govern-ment and repealing health care. But these steps won’t improve most daily realities. In fact less protection through less regulation, less help to the states, and lower budgets will make things much worse for most middle-class Americans.“Let’s Ask the …” We seek help for kids from doctors or coaches, and for ourselves from plumbers or attorneys. There is a great deal of expertise and consensus among researchers and economists. As an example: most economists say extending the tax cuts are a relatively inef-fective way to create jobs, with tax cuts for the rich being far worse. Experts also recommend short-term government investment to create jobs, and investments in renewable energy and infrastructure. But candidates relied very little on these experts in the past election cycle.“What’s The Teacher’s Pet Doing?” Imitat-ing and measuring oneself against a good set of peers can make one soar, while a bad peer group can sow the seeds of destruction and failure. Businesses speak regularly of “best practices” or being “world class.” Governments also look for leaders to emulate. But the election featured surprisingly little discussion of the priorities and programs of growing, successful countries overseas. For example, China and India are investing in high technology, transportation, education, and health care. Yet many successful candidates ad-vocated cutting the same areas that are helping these countries thrive.“Sticks and Stones …” Actually, names do hurt. Calling health care reform “Obamacare” was critical to turning people against it. People aren’t refusing to put their unemployed child on their insurance, or insisting that their can-cer treatment not be covered by their insurance company. “Death panels,” Obama as a Muslim and the demonization of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi galvanized a frustrated base that agreed with the substance of many recent reforms.


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The announcement of Jim Brady’s depar-ture from TBD is not just the old “differ-ent direction” story. It is akin to Roger

Ailes leaving FOX, Aaron Sorkin leaving the West Wing, or Steve Jobs leaving Apple. TBD, Brady’s visionary idea for the next great media thing, was a truly online local news organiza-tion that leveraged all those much-ballyhooed elements of new media — blogs, linking, social media etc. It really was a different concept.Brady was not just the head of TBD but its

guiding light. Previously the online editor for the Washington Post, he made his reputation by nurturing the old media dinosaur into a viable new media incarnation but moved on when new management took a left instead of the right he was trying to steer. Brady is an unrecognized pioneer of modern media.Then Roger Albritton, backer of Politico and

arguably the most imaginative and inventive media executive working in the American me-dia business, had the foresight and brilliance to buy into Brady’s idea for TBD about two years

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ago, putting his money where everybody else’s mouth is. So here is what rings hollow about Brady’s de-

parture. Brady was said to be a technology guy, while Albritton wanted to focus on content genera-tion. But Brady actually is that rarest of beings: the content guy who is equally as comfortable with its technology. Was it simply a personality conflict, a financial equation, or Albritton’s looking for a right when Brady was going left? Was it literally a rejec-tion of Brady’s vision by the paymaster? It’s all pos-sible and just business.But I would suggest that this is now a critical mo-

ment for the new TBD idea, which was a truly new concept in online-driven, locally focused journalism in a sustainable form. Just as Politico is the personi-fication of its leaders John Harris and Jim VandeHei, TBD was Jim Brady. Albritton seems more than committed to growing his newest adventure, but TBD runs the risk of so many other new media in-carnations today: To start with a promise and an idea but evolve into something not much different from traditional legacy media, just with fewer unions for bosses to worry about.


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A couple of years ago, if a homeowner was offered a jumbo-sized mortgage for a home in Washington for 4.375% they

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levels. With the stimulus program, the Feds also are attempting to keep interest rates down. In early November, before the Treasury start-ed its pre-announced buyback, rates reached the lowest levels that the markets have seen since the 1950s. Unfortunately, even when interest rates hit new lows, perspective mortgage clients can let greed take over. Some folks are always hoping for still lower rates. There are a few reasons why rates have moved higher since the Treasury buyback was announced. First, everyone on Wall Street and elsewhere knew what the Federal Reserve and its Chair-man Ben Bernanke were planning on doing. The prices of the 10-year Treasuries and those of the mortgage market reflected the anticipated program. Others are talking about the potential inflationary effects of a devalued dollar. Since the buy back program was announced, the rate on the 10-Year Treasures has gone up and interest rates have also ticked up. Interest rates should stay in a relatively narrow range for the near term. If you can save hun-dreds of dollars now, go ahead and pull the in-terest rate trigger. Your next worry will be how to spend the money you will be saving.

Bill Starrels lives in Georgetown and is a mort-gage loan officer. He can be reached at 703 625 7355 or by email, [email protected]

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Ari Post at the Parish GalleryBy David Richardson

Ari is a trained draftsman, and it shows in his series, “Place Names,” showing at the Parish Gallery in Georgetown, November 19-30. Ari’s paintings are

“old school”—stripped of flash, subject mat-ter irony and mixed media techniques of many painters showing today. The work is straight oil paining: pigment, linseed oil, turpentine and board, all applied with earnest, grit and hard labor. This body of work is partially inspired by a combination of the painter’s Jewish heritage, a recent trip to Israel and a search for universal spirituality. Ari comments: “My great grandpar-ents on both sides were born in small villages scattered throughout what is now Latvia, Poland and Russia, almost all of which were wiped out over the last century. When even these scraps of history are lost, what becomes of the ancestral traditions and beliefs? And what do they then mean? With cultures so violently uprooted and jostled, what is there to look back to?’’ Ari’s family history is one of migration, and his pieces are an expression of this background. He addresses the tragedy of these vanished places directly. As the show’s name implies, the titles of these paintings are largely drawn from Jewish Shtetls, or townships, from Latvia and Poland, most of which were wiped out during the Bolshevik Revolution and World War II. Along with the towns, centuries of tradition and heritage were lost to its people. One of two larger pieces, “Bauske,” features three well-placed figures that crowd the space of the canvas. Two of the figures, contemplative in appearance, are juxtaposed and nearly mirror each other. A third, more youthful figure casts an open gaze that creates a psychic and visual contrast, which I read as knowledge of a fate that the two dominant figures are resigned to or unaware of. The reddish circular areas above each figure reflect an eternal presence, perhaps their souls. This sense of displacement sits deep in Ari. His mother hails from South Africa, where her grandparents migrated from Eastern Europe. Immigrating to this country, she brought with her African masks, carvings and paintings, which Ari has viewed since childhood. Carried dormant in his memory for years, remnants of these images are revealed in his own paintings. This element of Ari’s work causes me to recall Richard Deibenkorn’s comments about com-posing from recollections of Bayeux Tapestry reproductions given to him in his childhood by his maternal grandmother. Ari paints the gnarled hands and contempla-tive faces in the pictures in a direct manner. The

HANDEL’S MESSIAHDecember 11, 2010, 8:00 pmDecember 12, 2010, 3:00 pmStan Engebretson, conductorAudrey Elizabeth Luna, sopranoYvette Smith, mezzo-sopranoDon Bernardini, tenorDon Bernardini, tenorChristòpheren Nomura, baritone

The Music Center at StrathmoreTickets from $32; Kids 7-17 FREE! FREE Parking.Visit nationalphilharmonic.org or call 301-581-5100.

VIVALDI’SFOUR SEASONS &TCHAIKOVSKY’S SERENADEfor STRINGS January 8, 2011, 8:00 pmJanuary 9, 2011, 3:00 pmPiotr Gajewski, conductorPiotr Gajewski, conductorChee-Yun, violin

National Philharmonic Holiday Concerts

anatomical aspects of the paintings are modeled to volume using interlocking and flowing flat planes, accented by strong graphite or etched lines. There is a sense of wood carving simply in the manner that Ari builds dimension in his figures. Additionally, much of the color of the work is earthy, perhaps akin to the colors of his mother’s African pieces. Ari’s work resonates with a viewer familiar with expressionist and possibly cubist work done before 1930, yet the style is unique and surprising. Aside from the mystical intrigue of the con-templative figures and the unique manner that Ari paints, his painting “Zagare” stands out for its color composition of black, red and green. The figure’s massive blue-black beard and head covering weigh well against the carefully craft-ed red shape of the garment and the receding greenish-blue background, which are painted with equal thoughtfulness and care. The overall effect Ari creates in this and other pieces is one of separate elements subordinated to the organic whole of the image. One almost overlooks the delightful way the fingers of the sitter in “Za-gare” rest on the cane he is holding. This series of paintings provides a first look into the work of a young, ambitious painter. With unlimited potential and a deep reservoir of talent, Ari will no doubt produce much more work. Ari Post’s exhibition, “Place Names,” will be showing at the Parish Gallery in Georgetown from November 19-30, with an opening recep-tion on the 19th from 6-8 p.m. For more infor-mation visit www.ParishGallery.com.

www.strathmore.org (301) 581-5100Strathmore Ticket Office

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The 2010 Kenny G Holiday ShowCO-PRESENTED WITH AM PRODUCTIONSGrammy-winning jazz superstar Kenny G performs favorites from his best-selling holiday albums. Tickets: $38–$125 (Stars Price $34.20–$112.50)

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Dave Koz & Friends A Smooth Jazz Christmas 2010With special guests Jonathan Butler, Brian Culbertson and Candy DulferCO-PRESENTED WITH BLUES ALLEYThis holiday tour is a cherished tradition now in its 13th season. Enjoy high-energy, soul-inspiring music by Koz and his guests as well as holiday standards for the whole family. Tickets $35–$65 (Stars Price $31.50–$58.50)

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Bowfire: Holiday Heart StringsBowfire will bowl you over with a virtuoso string performance that spins across genres from Celtic to Gypsy to bluegrass and beyond in this high-energy, dramatic and powerful stage show that also features seasonal holiday favorites!Tickets $30–$65 (Stars Price $27–$58.50)

Give the Gift of StrathmoreNot sure what to get your friends and family? Stuff their stockings with gift certificates to Strathmore. Good for use in the Shop and Tea Room at Strathmore as well as for tickets to ANY performance in the Music Center or Mansion and joining or renewing the Stars program. Gift certificates are always a perfect fit for any art or music lover on your list. Call (301) 581-5100 or visit the Ticket Office.

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You know the drill. It’s time to cel-ebrate the holidays. Not Thanks-giving. That’s practically yester-day. We’re talking about THE HOLIDAYS, when families re-

unite, and the grandparents will inevitably come bearing sweaters for everybody. THE HOLIDAYS are a period of non-stop en-tertainments, and nothing is a better example of the schizophrenic nature of THE HOLIDAYS than the world of performance entertainment. It is a time of ongoing recitals in concert halls, ca-thedrals, small and large churches, and theaters — the music being pop and popular, secular and spiritual. We promise nothing as expansive as a com-plete listing. For those left out, we apologize, and instead offer the most Christmas of bless-ings: “God bless you, everyone!” courtesy of Tiny Tim. And a happy HOLIDAYS to you.

The Kennedy Center and StrathmoreThe Kennedy Center is practically a Christmas Mecca. Not only is the Nutcracker Ballet com-ing to town Nov. 24 and 26-28, but a version of Handel’s “Messiah.” The National Sym-phony Orchestra, under the baton of Rinaldo

Alessandrini, will perform Handel’s classic with soloists Klara Ek, Alisa Kolosva, Michele Angelin, Joan Martin Royo, and the University of Maryland Concert Choir on December 16. In addition, on December 23 the Concert Hall will host the free “Messiah” Sing-Along, a Kennedy Center tradition featuring guest conductor Barry Hemphill leading the KC Opera House Orchestra, a 200-voice choir, and audience members all performing Handel’s masterpiece. Check out National Public Radio’s “A Jazz Piano Christmas”, on December 11 at the Terrace The-ater, the NSO Pops “Happy Holidays” with Marvin Hamlisch and special guests, on December 9 at the Concert Hall, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing a Creole Christmas, at the Terrace The-ater on December 17. What’s more, you can always come to the Millen-nium Stage where everything is free daily. Samples include “An Irish Christmas” December 14, a Mer-ry Tuba Christmas December 8, the DC Youth Or-chestra December 12, Holiday Vaudeville Decem-ber 26, and the All-Star Christmas Day Jazz Jam. At Strathmore in Bethesda, there’s “O Come Let Us Adore Him” with the Mormon Orchestra and Choir of Washington, DC November 27, a major concert event. On December 1, the King’s Singers present their holiday event “Joy to the World.” The group will perform traditional and popular Christ-mas carols and songs and readings in a genuine sea-sonal performance. On December 2 comes the 2010 Kenny G Holi-day show, a popular pop-flavored performance. On December 7, the National Philharmonic and DC Concert Ministries will present “It’s a Wonderful Christmas”, with Michael W. Smith, a bestselling singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian mu-sic. Not to be missed is the December 10 concert “Bowfire: Holiday Heart Strings.” “Bowfire” is an increasingly popular group specializing in string instrumentals and led by Lenny Solomon. Prepare to be happily strung out by a virtuoso group.

Holiday Performance Preview By Gary Tischler

Merry Tuba Christmas! at The Kennedy Center. Photo by Mark Buenaflor

On December 11 and 12, there’s the National Philharmonic performing “Handel’s Messiah”, under the direction of founder and creator Piotr Gajewski.

Musicals this SeasonIn the 1940s, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Ham-merstein changed the American musical land-scape altogether by injecting a dose of theatrical seriousness into a string of drama-infused musi-cals, beginning with “Oklahoma!” You won’t find such a hit streak as enjoyed by this partnership: “Oklahoma!”, “Carousel”, “South Pacific”, and “The King and I.” Washingtonians can see what all the fuss was about with two dead-perfect revivals. “Oklahoma!” re-imagined and recreated for our times by Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith, was the perfect launching pad for the new and stunning Mead Center for American Theater. Smartly cast, hugely entertaining, and fresh as a land-rush morning, this production is even ru-mored to be a possible candidate for a Broadway bid. The production repeats the rush of excitement and satisfaction generated by the original. See it if you can. It runs at the Fichandler through De-cember 26. Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center’s Opera House has the road company of the Lincoln Center’s award-winning revival of “South Pacific,” which held the longest-running title for a long time. Great songs like “Some Enchanted Evening” ripple through the World War II Pacific settings, where mismatched lovers try to find their way to each other’s hearts. Speaking of a different kind of musical, “Can-dide” is landing at the Shakespeare Theatre Com-pany in a new co-production with the Goodman Theater in Chicago. Music by Leonard Bernstein and additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, based

Continues on page 16


THE TALL I S SCHOLARS

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Michael McCarthy conducts the Cathedral Choir and Baroque orchestra in this essential Christmas music experience. With soloists:

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on the novel by 18th century French philoso-pher Voltaire. “Candide” is about an aristocratic, cockeyed op-timist, who is disabused of some of his naiveté by bouts of life experience. Based on past produc-tions, the musical is a creation that manages to be challenging, sumptuous, engaging, cerebral, and witty. “Candide” starts November 26. The Christmas offering at the Olney Theater Center in Olney, Maryland is something for the whole family. You can’t get more optimistic than “Annie”, a huge hit musical when it first surfaced on Broadway in the 1970s and perfect feel-good stuff for the season. Directed by Mark Waldrop, “Annie” runs now through January 7.

Nuts & Scrooges

When it comes to holiday performance offer-ings, there are two things you can count on: Nutcrackers and Scrooges. There is no escaping “The Nutcracker,” Tchai-kovsky’s omnipresent vision of a kind of Vic-

torian Christmas with a sinister figure bearing gifts and a dream landscape where toy soldiers are deployed to battle the king of the rats. On top of which, “The Nutcracker” contains some of the most beautiful music in the world. Here in Washington, there are no doubt dozens of “Nutcrackers” in the area. Closer to home, there’s the yearly presentation by the splendid Washington Ballet and Artistic Director Sep-time Webre’s version, which features George Washington as the heroic nutcracker and George III as the rat king. It’s also a thickly-populated production, using more than 300 dancers over the course of its four-week run at the Warner Theater. There will be special guests taking part in the production on December 10: the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents. This “Nutcrack-er” will run at the Warner Theater from Decem-ber 2 to the 26, as well as THEARC Theater on November 27 and 28. Meanwhile, the world-renowned Joffrey Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center’s Opera House for its version of “The Nutcracker,” designed by company founder Robert Joffrey, November 24 through the 28. On a smaller scale, but trailing just as much magic, is the annual “Nutcracker” put on by the Puppet Company at Glenn Echo Park, No-vember 26-December 31. The show has been an enduringly popular production from the Puppet Company founded in 1983, using hand puppets, rod puppets, marionettes, and shadow puppets to stage full productions of popular and landmark tales for children. The company is the work of Allan Stevens, Christopher and Mayfield Piper, and Eric Brooks. Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” which Dickens performed in music halls and theaters throughout England and America, is said to have been the spark that became Christmas as we know it today. The story works like a well-oiled machine and is on the holiday calendar of

hundreds of American theater companies. The long-standing yearly production at the Ford’s Theater is always one of the best offer-ings, especially now that Ed Gero, one of Wash-ington’s very best actors, has taken up the part of Scrooge again for this year’s run, November 20-January 2. At Olney on December 16, actor Paul Morella takes up Scrooge in a one-man show, using only the words of Dickens’ novel to tell and make the audience feel the story. In a less reverent version, but one that promises to be great fun, there’s “A Broadway Christmas Carol,” November 18-December 19, at Metro Stage in Alexandria. This comedic version, mixed with parodies of Broadway show tunes, is a creation of Cathy Feiniger, directed by Lar-ry Kaye, and featuring Peter Boyer as Scrooge. Let’s give a shout-out to the Adventure Theater staging of “The Happy Elf” by Harry Connick Jr., a fully-produced workshop production at Montgomery College’s Robert E. Parilla Per-forming Arts Center in Rockville, through No-vember 28.

Folger Consort Teams up with The Tallis Scholars for a Renaissance Christmas at Georgetown University Robert Eisenstein is a musical scholar and teach-er of considerable renown, so you listen when he tells you that music composed in the 18th and 19th centuries is modern. “I don’t like the term ‘classical music’,” Eisenstein says. “It’s not entirely accurate, and it’s limiting, too.” Eisenstein is a founding member of the Folger Consort (with Christopher Kendall) considered to be a model national chamber music ensemble with a worldwide reputation. When he talks about classical music as a fairly recent develop-ment, you have to take it in the context of what

kind of music the Consort performs. “We play what’s called early music,” he said. “That means it ranges from music composed from around the 12th century through the 18th Century.” It’s music like that which will be played by the Folger Consort and guest singers, The Tal-lis Scholars, in “A Renaissance Christmas” at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall, Decem-ber 10-12. “When we’re talking Renaissance here, we don’t mean Italian Renaissance,” Eisenstein said. “We’re talking essentially Eng-lish Renaissance and English compositions.” The Consort, which does about four concerts a year from various periods and on various themes, is usually in the company of guest art-ists, and in The Tallis Scholars they have what critics call “rock stars of early music.” They have performed in China, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, and celebrated their 25th anniversary at London’s National Gallery. Said Eisenstein, “The music…is on the sur-face exquisitely beautiful but also conveys the meaning of the season with great depth.” Expect a moving performance.

For more holiday performance previews, visit us on the web at www.Georgetowner.com

Jade Payette and Corey Landolt by Steve Vaccariello

(L-R) Folger Consort artistic directors Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall


By Ari Post

Walking around Cleo Braver’s backyard, looking out onto the Goldsborough Creek as hundreds of geese accli-mated to their winter stead,

it was easy to get lost in the crisp afternoon warmth. The East Coast and Bay area is a place of surprising beauty, even to those of us who have lived here all our lives. But it takes a cer-tain kind of person to grow something out of that beauty. Leaving your job to start your own organic farm and promote Bay awareness and safe farming practices may not seem to be the most practical decision for most people, but for Braver, it was the only option. Originally an environmental lawyer, Braver and her husband bought Cottingham Farm, a 156-acre property resting on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, for but the joys of living on such a property. Like the majority of farmland in the area, her land was tenant farmed. “It’s an owner like me who goes to her job during the day, and there’s a farmer, called the operator, who comes in and works the farm. You’re shar-ing the cost and you’re sharing the benefit, but you’re not really getting involved in it.” Also like most farmland in the area, her 90 acres of tillable fields exclusively grew corn and soy for animal feed, notably for chickens in the industrial farmlands on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. “We were a quintessential post-World War II farm,” she said, with more than a hint of cynicism. Having been an environmental lawyer, and her husband a serial environmental entrepreneur currently involved in the water and wastewater treatment business, the nature of agricultural wasn’t alien to Braver, but as she said, “We were just living here. But we weren’t involved in what’s going on with the farm. We were liv-ing on the land, we were enjoying the land. We used it a lot, but we didn’t run the fields. We had no understanding of farming because we’re not farmers.” However, as a lawyer is prone to do, Braver began to read up on farming, modern nutrition and the environment. Slowly, over five years, she digested information about the impact of industrial farming practices on the Chesapeake Bay and its effects on topsoil, animal health, human health, and the economy. “There is so much information available if you seek it out,” she said, rattling off a slew of books and infor-mation centers, among them Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and John Robbins’ “Food Revolution.” She grew greatly passionate for the state of the

environment and the health of her community, and decided to take matters into her own hands by converting her farmland to an eco-friendly, organic farming operation. Initially, her mission was purely environmental, not humanitarian. The first step she implemented was the addi-tion of buffer strips around the perimeter of the property to protect the water. A buffer strip is a 100-foot wide strip of land surrounding the farming fields that uses deeply rooted, perenni-al, warm season grasses to help control soil and water quality, trapping sediment and enhancing filtration of nutrients and pesticides by slowing down and absorbing runoff that would otherwise enter local surface and ground waters. There is additionally a 120-foot wide native tree and shrub riparian buffer on the edge of the Creek, which is comprised of thousands of native trees and shrubs. Her farmer at the time did not want to do it, as it took away from tillable land. So Braver decided to take control of the farm on her own. “You may think they’re meaningless, these little buffer strips. But a 100-foot buffer strip, along the outside of the fields, adds up.” It ended up being 30 of the 90 acres. The next thing she did was convert a hydric or wet field to a 20 acre shallow wetland. All these installations were done with the help of Chesa-peake Wildlife Heritage, a local nonprofit or-ganization which installs grasslands, wetlands, woodlands and other habitat in Maryland, Vir-ginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Each year, she discovered, five tons per acre of sediment, and 10 pounds of phosphorus and 100 pounds of nitrogen would be carried off the land into the water, causing dead zones in the water where no life can be supported. She found subtle but important signs that something was amiss below the surface: Fish attempting to aerate the water between dusk and dawn, when dissolved oxygen levels are lowest; dis-appearing submerged aquatic vegetation; and the disappearance of all but the last one or two percent of historic oyster populations in the Chesapeake. After Braver put in the buffers, there was no sediment-laden rainwater leaving the farm, a sign that things were moving in the right direction. Another big piece of the puzzle was the utiliza-tion of cover crops. A cover crop, such as winter wheat or rye, is planted in the fall, and it stays in until spring. Its job is to hold the soil together when it needs it the most; when the winter winds and tremendous precipitation is scouring the land. “The whole point,” says Braver, “is you’re not making the land work yet another crop that year. You’re trying to rejuvenate the soil with a

Cleo Braver, a once environmental lawyer living Easton Maryland, has taken it upon herself to change the way her community eats. And it’s actually working.

Cleo’s Dinner Table Revolution

Continues on page 18

The Taste of Conservation

Photos by Yvonne Taylor


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high nitrogen crop, and then you till it in. That’s how you build and till the soil. Not by using synthetic fertilizers in the springtime.” Acting quickly (almost precipitously, as she’ll tell you), Braver decided that what Maryland needs is a new green industry that grows real food containing no pesticides or herbicides. The food would be grown by locals and purchased by locals to take the place of food grown by California, Florida, Canada and Mexico. On top of the health benefits, the jobs it would create and the revenue it would keep within the area, this plan would cut down on the global warm-ing and other impacts of food, which travels an average of 1500 miles to get to our plates. While this may not seem practical, organic farming as she explains it does much more with much less. An acre of organic farmland can eas-

ily employ four workers, and produces far more fruit and far less waste than an acre of non-organic farmland. “I was growing heirloom to-matoes (bred for nutrition and taste rather than for transportability, uniformity and shelf life) for local restaurants and for an Annapolis and Baltimore Whole Foods on an acre of land,” she said. “That’s all. What it takes is people. I had seven people working with me working on a little less than two acres. “This kind of agriculture does not take up a lot of land. It can be done anywhere. It can be done in the city. It is being done in the city. It’s fallacious to say we can’t feed the country on our land. What this movement needs now is the infrastructure to support it. We need to build a local sustainable food integration facility where sustainable or organically raised vegetables, meats, fruits and dairy can be processed, pack-

aged, sold and distributed within a hundred or so mile radius, and where families can learn cooking, nutrition and wellness, and come to-gether around food five days a week year round. This is as necessary to us today as the highway infrastructure of the 1950’s.” She wanted to learn firsthand some of the pro-duction, marketing and distribution issues. Un-til early 2009, her sole foray had been to grow heirloom tomatoes for a local farmer’s market in Easton. “I considered it a grand success since my tomatoes were photographed by two food stylists and then were invited to a wedding.” she said. In a few week period in January and Febru-ary of 2009, Braver attended an intensive con-ference on sustainable farming and purchased two 96-foot long high tunnels, or plastic green-houses, to build on Cottingham Farm. On June

9 of that year, she had made her first delivery to Whole Foods. “My mission started out as being strictly en-vironmental,” said Braver. “But what I’ve learned over the course of doing this for the last 18 months has blown my socks off. The health care issues are just as big, if not bigger.” For

instance, she sites the difference between eating a free-range chicken egg and a CAFO chicken egg (industry abbreviation for Confined Animal Feeding Operations). A CAFO chicken is fed almost exclusively corn and grow under such harsh conditions that they require regular non-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to survive. A free-range chicken egg has high levels of the


“good cholesterol”, vitamin D and Tocopher-ols, because the chicken has been able to roam around outside. A CAFO egg has less of the good and high levels of the bad cholesterol. Needless to say, Braver plans to put up a chick-en coop in the spring, as well as raise heritage turkeys, ducks and geese.

Her mission has become an education agen-da—one to inform landowners and the public about playing a role in the change from indus-trial agriculture to a food supply system where food is produced sustainably and distributed lo-cally. “Most families don’t know that corn-fed red meat has seven times the level of saturated fats as the meat from a pastured animal. But the eating public can change the industry and their lives, by voting with their forks.” However, the lack of knowledge stems deep.

The vast majority of American physicians, she explains, no longer receive nutrition training in school. “And the American family doesn’t get it,” she said. “I didn’t know that if you apply pesticides to a vegetable it stops producing an-tioxidants, and that you can lose six pounds a year just by switching to grass fed meat.” Braver’s farm now grows a vast assortment of seasonal produce. Her current offerings include a peppery Arugula, Mizuna, Tatsoi and other Asian greens, red, green, orange, yellow and silver Butter Chard, green, red and blue Kale,

Spinach and Collards, three colors of Beets, red, yellow and orange Sweet Carrots, and other of-ferings like French and Asian Heirloom Winter Squashes and radicchio, dandelion and chicory. She grows this all on about two acres. She distributes to seven restaurants, including the Bartlett Pear and the Out of the Fire (where her produce is highlighted on the menu), as well as Whole Foods and two local markets. If visit-ing Easton, her produce can be purchased year round at the European style Market House at Easton Market Square (open Thursday through Sunday). Braver’s first step was becoming a food pro-ducer and learning the markets, and in the pro-cess she learned how tremendous the demand is for healthy food, including within hospitals, schools and prisons. The next step is to help this industry grow. “I want to build a facility with the help of policy makers in a visible place where food gets in-tegrated. So whatever landowner wants to sus-tainably grow food, whether it’s meat, dairy, vegetables, we would try to create an infrastruc-ture to help people do that on their own proper-ty, even providing the staff to do it. And then it gets integrated into this food production facility, where the produce gets washed and packaged, so there’s a retail facility, where people know they can go buy food that is healthy and clean. There’s a distribution facility distributing with-in a hundred miles—a sustainable food chain.

There will be cooking classes, wellness classes, nutrition classes…” As she rambled on, brimming with excitement and filled with conviction and industry knowl-edge, it became clear that this farmer is more than an idea woman. She has her money where her mouth is—and I don’t mean that proverbial-ly. This project, like her others up to this point, will reach fruition. The cost and hardships are of no concern to her, for the toll it takes is neg-ligible when compared to the cause for which she is fighting: the health and wellbeing of her community at large. “The cost of industrial ag-riculture is not included in the cost of food,” she warned, “but be sure that we pay it in the end.”

Cleo’s Dinner Table Revolution

The Taste of Conservation


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CAFE BONAPARTE1522 Wisconsin Ave

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(202) 333-6183

CHADWICKS3205 K St, NW (est.1967)

A Georgetown tradition for over 40 years, this friendly neighborhood restaurant/saloon features fresh seafood, burgers, award-winning ribs, & specialty salads & sandwich-es. Casual dining & a lively bar. Daily lunch & dinner specials. Late night dining (until midnight Sun.-Thu., 1A.M. Fri-Sat) Champagne brunch served Sat. & Sun. until 4P.M. Open Mon-Thu 11:30A.M.-2-A.M. Fri-Sat 11:30A.M.-3A.M.Sun 11A.M.-2A.M.Kids’ Menu Avail-able. Located ½ block from the Georgetown movie theatres, over-

looking the new Georgetown Waterfront Park

ChadwicksRestaurants.com

(202) 333.2565

CIRCLE BISTROOne Washington Circle, NW

Washington, DC 22037

Circle Bistro presents artfulfavorites that reflect our adventur-

ous and sophisticated kitchen.

Featuring Happy Hour weekdays from 5pm-7pm, live music every Saturday from 8pm-12midnight, and an a la carte Sunday Brunch

from 11:30am-2:30pm.

Open dailyfor breakfast, lunch and dinner.

www.circlebistro.com

(202) 293-5390

CITRONELLE(The Latham Hotel)

3000 M St, NW

Internationally renowned chef and restaurateur

Michel Richard creates magic with fresh

and innovative American-French Cuisine, an

exceptional wine list and stylish ambiance.

Open for Dinner.

Valet parking.

www.citronelledc.com

(202) 625-2150

CLYDE’S OF GEORGETOWN

3236 M St, NW

This animated tavern, in the heart of Georgetown, popular-ized saloon food and practically

invented Sunday brunch.

Clyde’s is the People’s Choice for bacon cheeseburgers, steaks, fresh seafood, grilled chicken

salads, fresh pastas and desserts.

www.clydes.com

(202) 333-9180

DAILY GRILL1310 Wisconsin Ave., NW

Reminiscent of the classicAmerican Grills, Daily Grill is best known for its large portions of fresh seasonal fare including

Steaks & Chops, Cobb Salad, Meatloaf and Warm

Berry Cobbler.

Open for Breakfast,Lunch and Dinner.Visit our other locations at 18th & M Sts NW

and Tysons Corner.

www.dailygrill.com

(202) 337-4900

FAHRENHEIT Georgetown 3100 South St, NW

Restaurant & Degrees Bar & Lounge The Ritz-Carlton,

As featured on the cover of De-cember 2007’s Washingtonian magazine, Degrees Bar and Lounge is Georgetown’s hidden hot spot. Warm up by the wood burning fireplace with our signa-ture “Fahrenheit 5” cocktail, ignite your business lunch with a $25.00 four-course express lunch, or make your special occasion memorable with an epicurean delight with the

fire inspired American regional cuisine.

www.fahrenheitdc.com

(202) 912-4110

CAFÉ LA RUCHE1039 31st Street, NW

Take a stroll down memory lane. Serving Georgetown for more than

35 years - Since 1974

Chef Jean-Claude CauderlierA bit of Paris on the Potomac.Great Selection of Fine Wines Fresh Meat, Seafood & Poultry Chicken

Cordon-Bleu *Duck Salmon, & SteaksVoted Best Dessert-Pastry in

town, The Washingtonian MagazineFULL BAR

Open Daily from 11:30 a.m. Open Late ‘til 1 am on Friday &

Saturday night Now Offering Happy Hours

Mon-Fri 4-7PMHappy hour appetizers and Specialty Drinks

www.cafelaruche.com(202) 965-2684

FILOMENA RISTORANTE

1063 Wisconsin Ave., NW

One of Washington’s most cel-ebrated restaurants, Filomena is a Georgetown landmark that has endured the test of time for almost a quarter of a century. Our old-world cooking styles & recipes brought to America by the early Italian immigrants, alongside the culinary cutting edge creations of Italy’s foods of today, executed by our award winning Italian Chef. Try our spectacular Lunch buffet on Fri. & Saturdays or our Sunday Brunch, Open 7 days a

week for lunch & dinner. www.filomena.com

(202) 338-8800

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NICK’S RIVERSIDE GRILLE

3050 K St. NWWashington, DC 20007

Nick’s Riverside Grille is a fam-ily-owned waterfront restaurant serving great American fare, fine steaks, authentic pasta dishes and the freshest seafood! Our George-town waterfront dining room has spectacular views of the Potomac River, Kennedy Center, Washing-ton Monument, Roosevelt Island, the Key Bridge, the surrounding Washington, DC area, plus our spa-cious outdoor terrace is a great din-ing spot to take in all the waterfront scenery!

www.nicksriversidegrille.com(202) 342-3535

SEA CATCH1054 31st St, NW

Lovers of seafood can always find something to tempt the palette at the Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar. Sea Catch offers fresh seafood “simply prepared” in a relaxed at-mosphere. Overlooking the historic C&O Canal, we offer seasonal fire-side and outdoor dining. Private party

space available for 15 - 300 Complimentary parking

Lunch Monday - Saturday 11:30am - 3:00pm

Dinner Monday - Saturday 5:30pm - 10:00pmClosed on Sunday

Happy Hour Specials at the BarMonday - Friday 5:00pm -7:00pm

www.seacatchrestaurant.com

(202) 337-8855

SETTE OSTERIA1666 Conn. Ave at R St. NW

(Dupont Circle)

Edgy. Witty. Casual. THE patio near Dupont Circle for peoplewatching. Pizza masters bake delicious Neapolitan thin-crust pizzas in a wood-fire oven. Menu favorites include pastas, salads, lasagnas, Italian specialty meats and cheeses, and lowcarb

choices.

Daily specials,Lunch & dinner. Late night dining

& bar service.

www.SetteOsteria.com

(202)483-3070

GARRETT’S GEORGETOWN

3003 M Street N.W., Washington, DC 20007

Celebrating over 31 years of keeping bellies full with good food and thirsts quenched with

tasty beverages.

· Fantastic Happy Hour· Free WiFi Internet

· Buck Hunter· Trivia Night Tuesdays

Including: Terrace Dining Upstairs

www.garrettsdc.com

(202) 333-1033

PANACHE RESTAURANT1725 DeSales St NW

Tapas – Specialty Drinks - Martini’s

Citrus - Cosmopolitan - Sour Apple - Blue Berry

Summer Patio – Open Now! Coming Soon.

“New” Tyson’s Corner Location Open NOW!

Dining RoomMonday - Friday: 11:30am-11:00pm

Saturday: 5:00pm-11:00pm Bar Hours

Mon.-Thursday: 11:30am-11:00pmFriday: 11:30am- 2:00am

Saturday: 5:00pm- 2:00am

(202) 293-7760

LA CHAUMIERE 2813 M St. Northwest, Washington, DC 20007

Whether it’s a romantic dinner or a business lunch, enjoy wonder-ful Boudin Blanc, Fresh Dover Sole Meunière, Cassoulet or Pike Quenelles by the fireplace in this unique “Country Inn”. Chef Pat-rick Orange serves his Award Winning Cuisine in a rustic atmo-sphere, where locals and celebrities alike gather. La Chaumiere also of-fers 2 private dining rooms with a prix-fixe menu and an affordable

wine list. Washingtonian’s Best 100

restaurant 28 years in a row.www.lachaumieredc.com

(202) 338-1784

M | STREET BAR & GRILL& the 21 M Lounge2033 M Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20036-3305

M Street Bar & Grill, in the St. Greg-ory Hotel has a new Brunch menu by Chef Christopher Williams Fea-turing Live Jazz, Champagne, Mi-mosas and Bellini’s. For Entertain-ing, small groups of 12 to 25 people wishing a dining room experience we are featuring Prix Fixe Menus: $27.00 Lunch and $34.00 Dinner.

Lunch and dinner specials daily.

www.mstreetbarandgrill.com

(202) 530-3621

PEACOCK CAFE3251 Prospect St. NW

Established in 1991, Peacock Cafe is a tradition in Georgetown life.

The tremendous popularity of The Peacock Happy Day Brunch in Washington DC is legendary. The breakfast and brunch selections offer wonderful variety and there is a new selection of fresh, spectacular des-serts everyday. The Peacock Café in Georgetown, DC - a fabulous menu

for the entire family.

Monday - Thursday:11:30am - 10:30pm

Friday: 11:30am - 12:00amSaturday: 9:00am - 12:00amSunday: 9:00am - 10:30pm

(202) 625-2740

CONTACT Elle

Fergusson TO PLACE AN AD

IN OUR DINING GUIDE.

[email protected]

202.338.4833

SMITH POINT1338 Wisconsin Ave., NW

(corner of Wisconsin & O St.)

Smith Point has quickly become a favorite of Georgetowners. The Washington Post Magazine calls Smith Point “an underground suc-cess” with “unusually good cook-ing at fair prices.” Chef Francis Kane’s Nantucket style fare chang-es weekly, featuring fresh com-binations of seafood, meats, and

farmers market produce.

Open for dinner Thurs- Sat from 6:30 pm-11pm.

www.smithpointdc.com

(202) 333-9003

THE OCEANAIRE1201 F St, NW

Ranked one of the most popular seafood restaurants in , DC, “this cosmopolitan”send-up of a vin-tage supper club that’s styled after a ‘40’s-era ocean liner is appointed with cherry wood and red leather booths, infused with a “clubby, old money” atmosphere. The menu showcases “intelligently” prepared fish dishes that “recall an earlier time of elegant” dining. What’s

more, “nothing” is snobbish here.

Lunch: Mon-Fri- 11:30am -5:00pm Dinner: Mon-Thur 5-10pm. Fri &

Sat 5-11pm. Sun-5-9pm.www.theoceanaire.com

(202) 347-2277 (202) 333-5640

TOWN HALL2218 Wisconsin Ave NW

Town Hall is a neighborhood favorite in the heart of Glover Park, offering a classic neighborhood restaurant and bar with contemporary charm. Wheth-er its your 1st, 2nd or 99th time in the door, we’re committed to serving you a great meal and making you feel at home each and every time. Come try one of our seasonal offerings and find out for yourself what the Washing-ton Post dubbed the “Talk of Glover Park”Make a reservation online today

at www.townhalldc.com

Serving Dinner Daily5PM-10:30pmBrunch Sat & Sun 11:30AM-5PM

Free Parking available

57 57DELICIOUS SEAFOOD WITH A VIEW

Dive into Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place this summer and enjoy the best seafood dining Georgetown has to offer. Make your reservation today and mention this

ad to be entered to win a FREE Brunch for Two!

202-944-4545 | www.tonyandjoes.comWashington Harbour | 3000 K Street NW | Washington, DC

Tony and Joe’s | @tonyandjoes

NICK’S

RIVERSIDEGRILLE

nicksriversidegrille.com cabanasdc.com

VISIT OUR FAMILY OF DC RESTAURANTS57 57

thedancingcrab.com

CRAB CRAB DancingThe

(202) 944-4545

TONY AND JOE’S SEAFOOD PLACE

3000 K St, NW If you’re in the mood for fresh delica-cies from the sea, dive into Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place at the George-town Waterfront. While enjoying tempting dishes such as Maryland crabcakes, fresh lobster and shrimp scampi you have spectacular views of the Potomac River, Kennedy Center, Washington Monument, Roosevelt Island, and the Key Bridge. Visit us on Sundays for our award winning brunch buffet. Come for the view,

stay for the food!Sunday thru Thursday: 11AM -10PMFriday & Saturday: 11AM - Midnight

Beverage Service until 1:30AM every night

www.tonyandjoes.com(202) 333-4710

ZED’S1201 28TH St, N.W.

ETHIOPIAN IN GEORGETOWN

Award Winning Seafood | Poultry | Beef

Vegetarian Dishes also available

100 Very Best Restaurants Award 100 Very Best Bargains Award

Also, visit Zed’s “New”

Gainesville, Virginia location(571) 261-5993

At the Corner of M & 28th Streets1201 28th Street, N.W.

Email: [email protected]

SEQUOIA3000 K St NW, Suite 100 Washington, DC 20007

Eclectic American cuisine, Coupled with enchanting views of the Potomac River make Sequoia a one of a kind dining experience.

Offering a dynamic atmosphere featuring a mesquite wood fire grill, sensational drinks, and

renowned River Bar. No matter the occasion, Sequoia will provide

an unforgettable dining experience.

www.arkrestaurants.com/sequoia_dc.html

(202) 944-4200


FOOD & WINE

By Ari Post with Recipes by Ris Lacoste

To Ris Lacoste, Thanksgiving should be a simple affair. The dishes featured on her restaurant’s “To Go Sides and Pies” menu are effusive and original, yet comforting and familiar. The cui-

sine goes beyond unique spins on old favorites, recalling brilliant tastes or textures and producing them in an entirely new context. But Thanksgiv-ing isn’t about reinventing the wheel, as she makes clear. To her, Thanksgiving is the raw, savory, un-fettered beauty of the fall harvest and family. “I dedicate Thanksgiving dinner to my mother,” she says. “I still can’t do it like she can.” Preparing Thanksgiving dinner in a cramped kitchen with an undersized oven and limited counter space, Ris’ mother had a graceful chore-ography and skill. Wielding casseroles, turkeys, stuffing, gravy, and everything in between, she singularly churned out unforgettable, steaming hot Thanksgiving dinners year after year for her large family. The love in Ris’ voice, as she recalls these moments, illuminates the role her mother surely played in her initial passion for cooking. What makes this holiday Ris’ “absolutely favor-ite all time meal,” is the patience and warmth it instills within us all: a long preparation, the slow gathering of guests, the cooling effect of the fall weather and the brightness and energy it brings with it, and the football game whirring in the back-ground. It is perhaps the only holiday not crowd-ed by commercialism she says. It’s the calmest American holiday, where you’re free to sit back and “enjoy the tryptophan buzz.” Now, this isn’t to say that it’s a cakewalk in the kitchen. While the food should be simple, rich, and balanced, a Thanksgiving dinner is a tremendous undertaking. When she ran 1789 Restaurant, Ris began Thanksgiving preparations ten days out for 700 guests, and through her years of experience, she punches one point above all others: Have your MISE EN PLACE. For those who don’t know, this effectively means to keep organized, be ahead of the game, and THINK. Dice all your vegetables, measure all your ingredients, get out your cooking tools, sharpen your knives, and have everything laid out before you begin cooking. “Everything you can do ahead of time,” says Ris, “do it.” She advises to start prepping a week in advance. Get your turkey, which will probably need to thaw. “Thaw it outside on your back porch if you have to,” she suggests. The nighttime weather is perfect this time of year for thawing a bird. Get all your non-perishables: potatoes, cranberries, marshmal-lows, onions, and squash. Think and plan ahead. Turkey, for example, takes a lot of oven time. So what to do about all those other dishes that need to be baked or broiled? If they are dishes that can be warmed up, like cas-

serole or stuffing, make them a couple of days before and reheat them on Thanksgiving Day. “Work it out so all you have to do on Thanksgiving Day is cook the turkey, make the gravy, mash the potatoes, and cook the green vegeta-bles,” she says. Ris and I decided to focus on anything but the bird. De-bates will always rage on the best method to cook a turkey.

Some brine it. Others insist upon smoking it. Some stick a Budweiser in its back end and deep-fry it in an oil drum. All of these methods can be rather delicious, and all require different techniques and equipment. But birds aside, a Thanksgiving meal should strive to find a perfect balance: the savory and the tart, the bitter and the sweet, the rich and the light. The brightness of Thanksgiving dinner is the interplay of its components, the harmony and orchestration of flavors, says Ris, “as if all the dishes grew up together and played in the sandbox and complemented each other, bring-ing out each other’s best.” In our case, the dishes were bread stuffing with sausage and sage, sweet potato gratin, and cranberry sauce with vanilla, maple syrup, and cassis. Stuffing, she tells me, can be loaded with any bread you want: crusty white, rye, pumper-nickel, wheat, whatever. Cornbread, she says, is especially good. Oysters, Cajun spices, grains, and nuts all make nice additions. The possibili-ties are endless. Hers is fairly traditional, but as this recipe proves, a little goes a long way. A bit of cayenne brightens up the juices from the sau-sage, and the sage and thyme compliment the cranberry sauce brilliantly. You’ll be eating the cranberry sauce straight with a spoon. The orange cuts the tartness, and the maple and cassis add a wonderful depth to what is usually a very plain sweetness. She showed me that the cranberry sauce doesn’t re-quire much liquid. Cranberries are filled with a great deal of pectin, a natural gelatin that acts as a gelling agent, such as in jams and jellies. When cooking the cranberries, they begin to pop, and the pectin gets to work. A refreshing spin on sweet potato casserole, the gratin would be a welcome addition to any Thanksgiving table. I watched her slice the sweet potatoes very thin, not much thicker than a wa-ter cracker. Thicker potatoes will slide around, she explains. They won’t stand up when plated, and the presentation will be sloppy. Thinner slices will bind better, as more of the starches will release and act as glue. “Like the mortar in between the bricks,” she said. Thanksgiving, says Ris, is a true fall harvest, highlighting the season’s choice offerings: root vegetables, potatoes, cabbage, pumpkin, greens, herbs, and grains. As a cook, you should enrich the traditions by using as many fresh and locally grown ingredients as you can get your hands on. While some of the smaller farmers’ markets may have begun to close, Dupont Circle and Arlington’s markets are open year-round, and Whole Foods is always a good place to check for organic, local produce. Freshfarmmarkets.org is a helpful site if you’re looking for places to find local produce or fresh markets.

ACROSS THE CUTTING BOARD WITH RIS

57 57THANKSGIVING WITH A VIEW

202-944-4545 | www.tonyandjoes.comWashington Harbour | 3000 K Street NW | Washington, DC

Tony and Joe’s | @tonyandjoes

NICK’S

RIVERSIDEGRILLE

nicksriversidegrille.com cabanasdc.com

VISIT OUR FAMILY OF DC RESTAURANTS57 57

thedancingcrab.com

CRAB CRAB DancingThe

This year, enjoy Thanksgiving with a view at our traditional Thanksgiving Buffet for only $40 per person. Menu items include Roasted Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Pumpkin Pie, and much more! Visit our website to reserve now and to view our complete menu.


JAMESON, DUBLIN STYLE

By Miss Dixie

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Whisky is liquid sunshine.” If that is the case, then the Emerald Isle of

Ireland would be one of sunniest places in the world. While the land of James Joyce has a rep-utation for rainy weather, the friendly country makes up for its meteorological woes with its world-renowned whiskey.From the Bushmill’s distillery north of Belfast

to the lyrically named Tullamore Dew, tourists have a wide choice of whiskey distilleries and museums to visit in Ireland. One of the most frequented spots is the old Jameson Distillery in Central Dublin.I head to Jameson’s Old Bow Street distill-

ery on a notably overcast morning looking for a way to brighten my day and ease my jetlag. Even though the sky is gray, I feel my spirits lighten as I reach the front entrance, which is tucked away in a courtyard on the West side of the River Liffey.The visitors’ center is located inside the origi-

nal Jameson distillery. Whiskey was made here for nearly 200 years, until its closure in 1971. Jameson is now distilled in Southern Ireland in Middleton, in County Cork. The center has recreated the old distillery on a

smaller scale. A cordial guide walks us through every step of the whiskey-making process, from malting and storing barley, to mashing and fer-mentation, to distilling and maturation.While I find the tour both interesting and edu-

cational, I am eager to enjoy the tasting sessions that follow. For the first part, we are presented

with three distinct whiskeys—a Scotch (Johnnie Walker Black), an American bourbon style-whiskey (Jack Daniels) and Jameson.We’re encouraged to savor and

compare each one. The scotch has a dry, slightly smoky taste, while the American whiskey comes in with a sweet, faintly harsh finish. Fi-nally we try the Jameson. It boasts a smooth and full taste with floral and fruity characteristics. It finish-es with a hint of vanilla. I feel like Goldilocks eating porridge, pro-claiming, “This one is just right.”Before bellying-up to the bar for

another sample, we are shown a flashy commercial about the different ways Jameson is served throughout the world. In Moscow Jameson is popular on the rocks while New Yorkers prefer theirs neat. Londoners drink it with ginger ale, and in Paris Jameson and Coke is a fashionable tipple. The most popular mixer in Dublin is cranberry

juice. Although this seems like and odd combi-nation, I order my drink this way.I am pleasantly surprised. The twang of the

cranberry works as a delicious foil to the rich sweetness of the whiskey while not covering up its slightly oaky flavor. A squeeze of fresh orange adds a touch of warmth. This simple highball would make a great Thanksgiving or Christmas cocktail.When I leave the visitors’ center, I feel a slight

spring in my step, I am ready for my remaining day of seeing the seeing the sites of Dublin – cloudy or not. As the weather in Washington begins to turn

chilly and darkness comes earlier in the day, I’ll catch myself peeking over to my liquor cabinet and eyeing up my bottle of Jameson I brought home as a souvenir. Just a quick glance, gives me warm and sunny feeling.

JAMESON, DUBLIN STYLE

I part Jameson2 parts cranberrySqueeze of orange or tangerinePour Jameson into a highball glass. Add ice

and cranberry juice. Squeeze fruit. Stir to mixJameson Irish Whiskey may be purchased at

Dixie Liquor at 3429 M Street in Georgetown.

COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK If you can’t find the time to prepare a complete Thanksgiving meal, these dishes and more will be available right from Ris’ kitchen for your ta-ble, including pies, sides, gravy, and cranberry orange bread. Call the restaurant as soon as pos-sible to place your order or go to www.RisDC.com.

For Ris’ Sausage-Maple Bread Stuffing recipe and more photos, go to Georgetowner.com

Cranberry Sauce with Vanilla, Maple Syrup & Cassis(Yields about 4 cups)

6 cups (about 1 1/2 lbs.) fresh or frozen cranber-ries, picked over and rinsed2/3 cup granulated sugar1/3 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)1/3 cup crème de cassis black-currant liqueur)1/4 cup maple syrup1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest (from 1 or-ange)Half a vanilla bean, split and scraped1 cinnamon stick

Put 3 cups of the cranberries and all the remain-ing ingredients in a 4-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the

cranberries h a v e

popped and broken down and the juices look slightly syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the re-maining 3 cups cranberries and cook until these have popped, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean and cin-namon stick, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate if not serving right away.

Ris Tips: The cranberry sauce can be made up to one week in advance if refrigerated.

Return to room temperature before serving.

Sweet Potato Gratin with Caramelized Onions(Serves twelve)

2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more for the bak-ing dish2 lbs. yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)1/4 cup sherry1/2 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more to taste

2 cups heavy cream3 sprigs fresh thyme1/2 Tbs. freshly grated orange zest (from 1 or-ange)1/2 tsp. cayenne4 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 5 medium)1/2 cup freshly grated Parmiagiano-Reggiano1 bag of marshmallows1 cup (4 oz.) pecan halves, toasted and chopped

Heat the butter in a heavy-based 12-inch skillet over medium heat until it begins to foam. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the on-ions are soft and nicely browned, about 30 min-utes. Deglaze with the sherry and let cook until liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Season with the 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, put the heavy cream, thyme, or-ange zest, and cayenne in a 2- to 3-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and steep for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. While the cream is steeping, peel and cut the sweet potatoes crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Position a rack in the center of the oven and another rack directly below. Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Ar-range about one-third of the sliced sweet pota-toes in a double layer on the bottom of the dish, slightly overlapping the slices in each layer. Sea-

son lightly with salt and pepper. Spread half of the onions over the potatoes and drizzle

about one-third of the cream (2/3 cup) over the onions. Sprinkle one-third

of the grated parmesan cheese. Arrange another third of the

potatoes in two more over-lapping layers and season lightly with more salt and pepper Spread the remaining onions over

the potatoes and drizzle another third of the cream

over the onions. Sprinkle another third of the grated par-

mesan. Use the remaining sweet potato slices to make two final lay-

ers, pressing down with your hands to compact them. Season lightly with

salt and pepper, and drizzle the remain-ing cream over the potatoes, trying to cover

them as much as possible. Sprinkle with the remaining grated parmesan. Put a foil-lined baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drips. Cover the gratin tightly with foil and bake on the center rack until the pota-toes are almost tender but still offer a little re-sistance when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake until the sweet pota-toes are completely tender and the top is lightly browned and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 375°F. Cover the top of the gratin with a single tight layer of marshmallows and sprinkle with all of the chopped pecans. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake until the marshmallows are beau-tifully toasted to a golden brown, about 5 min-utes or less. Keep an eye out not to burn them.

Ris Tips:

The onions can be made up to 3 days in advance, if refrigerated in a bowl covered with plastic.

The gratin can be baked up to 1 day ahead to the point of adding the marshmallow topping; reheat at 375°F until bubbling hot throughout, about 20 minutes, add the topping, then bake 5 minutes or less.

Heating the cream beforehand will speed up the gratin’s cooking time.


GIFT GUIDE

mon-fri 5-7 pm

$6 Boutique Beers&

$4 Fromage Selections

1522 wisconsin ave nw 202.333.8830 cafebonaparte.com* *

Featuring select ales from European distilleries and the finest cheeses from France, Spain,

Italy and Switzerland (Our staff is pleased to Assist with pairing options)

boutique beer, wine & fromagehappy hour

Café Bonaparte

Yves' Bistro is brought to Alexandria by Yves Courbois who founded and ran

the late night Georgetown landmark Au Pied De Cochon,

and Oyuna Badan who managed Cafe La Ruche

in Georgetown for 12 years.

YYves' Bistro235 Swamp Fox Road

Alexandria, VA 703 329 1010

www.YvesBistroVA.comOPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

This holiday season let your loved ones know how much you appreciate them with the gift of consideration, experi-ence, emotion, and stimulation. It’s worth finding a gift that won’t soon be forgotten. With gifts like these, your loved ones will be thankful all year long. Price tags, labels and fads become obsolete in the presence of individu-ally tailored, experiential endowments. No matter what, remember that a little thought with a touch of sentiment al-ways prevails over the tangible. May the holidays provide you joys that su-persede your credit card statement!

by

Adra Williams

Sales and Marketing

Director of GMG inc

FOR HERYear’s worth of flower deliveryA gift she’ll remember all year long and constantly remind her of the beauty she brings to your life.Special packages available at Ultra Violet- 1218 31st st NW (ultravioletfolwersdc.com)

Blue Prints with a Bow—Home additions that enhance her spacesProvide her with the peace of mind that comes from organization,

personalized space, and home aesthetics. Assure her that you under-stand the sacrifice of her nurturing and simultaneously provide her a creative outlet.Canal Builders expands and enhances the feeling you’ve

worked so hard to create in your home- #1 in Georgetown (www.canalgroupbuilders.com)

FOR HIMVirtual Golf

Take a few swings off of his golf handicap by bringing his ulti-mate relaxation right to your home. He will love you for this one! www.virtualgolf.com

Gift Certificate for tailored suit from Everard’sWhether it’s his first or his umpteenth, the Everard’s experience is un-matched. By appointment, he will feel like the superstar he is and be comforted with over twenty years of experience and the best tailoring in DC. Wine in hand to accompany his favorite snack, he’ll relish in selection of ties, cuff links, and pocket squares to compliment the most perfectly fitting suit he’ll ever own. Everard’s Fine Clothing www.EverardsClothing.com, 1802 Wisconsin Ave, NW

KIDSPhilips 3DStimulate the mind with education and entertainment with a Phillips 3D television compli-mented with educa-tional 3D DVDs such as Man Walks the Moon, Oceans, and IMAX’s Journey through space all available at Amazon.com or at Best Buy.

After years in the fashion industry, working as a stylist and a fashion editor, Adra has now focused her expertise and business experience into the field of marketing and events. Accord-ing to Adra, “it’s all in the presentation.”

THE FOREVER CUFF

AAROGRAPHY.

HEADSHOTSPackages start at $100

com


BODY&SOUL

Dear Stacy:

My girlfriend is pressuring me to get mar-ried, and I don’t know what to do. We’re both 28 and have been dating exclusively for five years. She is the love of my life, but I just don’t see the need to get mar-ried, at least not yet. Both her parents and mine are divorced—less than amiably—and I always promised myself I wouldn’t get into that situation. My girlfriend and I each have our own places but spend most nights together. I think moving between houses is kind of fun, but she hates it. We have all the commitments of a married couple—holidays, vacations, friends in common—but without the messy issues of combining households and finances (which she’s not so good at, by the way). I don’t want to ruin a good thing by forcing myself down the aisle. How can I explain this without sounding like a commitment-phobic jerk? So far, I’ve avoided the issue as much as I can.

– Anonymous

Dear Anonymous:

I’m curious why you find nightly slee-povers to be so fun. Are you a camping nut, or is it just easier to commit on a part-time basis? If you’ve both been together for five years and this drop-in arrangement hasn’t started to wear thin, I’d guess that more is going on here than you’re letting on, maybe even to yourself.

You offer a few clues: two children of di-vorce, lingering conflicts between both sets of parents, concerns about Girlfriend’s financial savvy. At the same time, thinking that you are fulfilling the most important commitments of a married couple, yet not living together, suggests that your ex-pectations about marriage are off. If you didn’t have a great model for marriage growing up, that certainly might help ex-plain things. But if you want a healthy marriage—whether in name or in spirit—it means agreeing to a life that embraces it all: moving under one roof, communicat-ing even when you don’t want to, making money decisions together and helping each other with common goals.

This kind of commitment comes with big risks but promises big rewards as well. You might feel uncertain whether you’re ready to invest the kind of emotional capi-tal it takes to build a healthy marriage, but it sounds like Girlfriend wants to try. Ad-mitting that you’re worried is admirable, but protecting yourself by avoiding the is-sue is downright cruel. Talking with your partner is the next step you need to take — to share your worries over sharing the same fridge, your fear of repeating your parents’ divorce, and the anxiety you feel about her shopping sprees. Whatever you do, you need to stop playing possum. It’s disrespectful to you both and prevents you from hearing her vision of a happy mar-

riage. You might be surprised to find out that it’s not far from your own.

Dear Stacy:

I’m a newlywed. My husband and I dated for three years before we were married last spring, and I get along great with his family. His sister is several years younger than we are and lives in the area. Up un-til the wedding, she and I had no issues, but ever since my bachelorette party, I haven’t been able to shake her. She has friended all of my bridesmaids on Face-book and has insinuated herself into my circle of girlfriends. She shows up for our ladies’ nights and is constantly ask-ing questions about how my marriage is going. She’s really a nice person, just so much younger and clueless about what’s appropriate and what is not. I want my friends to be my friends and my family to be my family. How do I disinvite her with-out being disowned?

–Crowded in Clarendon

Dear Crowded:

Defriending a family member sounds like a topic for Oprah to address. But I sym-pathize with your situation. Breaking up with a friend can be treacherous; breaking up with family can require a lawyer. Hope-fully we can come up with something a little less dramatic.

It sounds like Sister-in-Law (SIL) looks up to you and your friends, admires your mar-riage, and generally wants to be close to you. This is not unusual Little Sis behavior when you’re in grade school, so I’m going to prescribe a grade school-type interven-tion: boundary-setting. Kids need limits so they know what to expect and won’t launch into worry-based over-functioning. It sounds like SIL may be a little anxious and trying to figure out what’s appropriate SIL behavior. Tell her. Show her. Help her. I don’t mean that you block her from your life. Just be gentle and firm about who is invited to ladies’ night and who is not.

Also, show an interest in how she’s relat-ing to people her own age. She may really be after your wisdom and advice but just doesn’t know how to ask for it and has opted to try osmosis instead. With some sisterly guidance and some time, you may not need to delete your Facebook account entirely.

Stacy Notaras Murphy is a licensed profes-sional counselor and certified Imago Rela-tionship therapist, practicing at the Imago Center of DC in Georgetown. Her website is www.therapygeorgetown.com. This col-umn is meant for entertainment only and should not be considered a substitute for professional counseling. Please send your relationship questions to [email protected].

MURPHY’S LOVE“OKLAHOMA!” A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEBy Jeff Malet

The 60 year old Arena Stage and its Artistic Director Molly Smith have recently opened the doors to its architecturally majestic new Mead

Center for American Theater to rave reviews with a revival of the great American classic, Rodger‘s and Hammersteins‘s “Oklahoma!” This has prompted my look back to the inception of an important mile-stone in the history and development of the American theater.

Opening night was March 31, 1943 at the St. James Theater on 44th St. It had been only 16 months since the attack on Pearl Harbor. The curtain opened to a simple scene of the American western frontier. The theater was not sold out. Success was not assured.“Oklahoma!” was Richard Rodgers’ first collabora-

tion without his long time partner, lyricist Lorenz (Larry) Hart. The prolific team of Rodgers and Hart had lasted a quarter of a century, giving birth to some of America’s greatest songs. But Hart was a chronic alcoholic and lately had become more difficult to work with. He would mysteriously disappear for long stretches. Hart’s lyrics for their last collaboration, “By Jupiter,” were written while he was drying out in a hospital room. His health was deteriorating. In less than a year, Larry Hart would be dead from pneumo-nia at the age of 48.The initial concept for the show “Oklahoma!” came

from Theresa Helburn, a co-director and founder of the Theater Guild, which was suffering financially at the time. She had known and admired Richard Rodgers since 1925, when the Guild produced the first Rodgers and Hart hit show, “The Garrick Gaieties.” The premise for “Oklahoma!” spawned from a 1931 play by Lynn Riggs, “Green Grow the Lilacs,” which had not done very well, running only 62 perfor-mances. The play was set in the area where Riggs was born and raised, the Indian Territory of Oklahoma at the turn of the century. In July of 1940, there was a revival of the play at Westport, Connecticut. After that revival, Helburn began to promote the idea of the play as a musical. Both Rodgers and Hammerstein became interested in the idea separately.During tryouts, there had been an air of pessimism

surrounding the show. Oscar Hammerstein II at the time was at a low point in his career. He had not scored a hit in years. The new team of Rodgers and Hammerstein as a pair was untested and had trouble raising funds to get the production to Broadway. Money was scarce during the war, and few had faith in a musical based on “cowboys and farmhands.” Conventional wisdom held that a show could not be a hit if it had a murder in it. The new team had to economize, and the young cast, though talented, was made up of then relative unknowns that included Alfred Drake and Celeste Holm. Prior to that time, roles in musicals were filled with actors who could sing. Rodgers and Hammerstein operated in reverse, choosing to cast the show with singers who could act. Helburn wanted Groucho Marx for the peddler and Shirley Temple for Laurey, but RH insisted on legitimate Broadway performers.Agnes De Mille’s choreography was one of the

show’s major innovations. But she had a quarrelsome temperament and insisted on hiring dancers for their abilities, not their looks. Powerful gossip columnist Walter Winchell had written that noted producer Michael Todd was overheard in the lobby during the New Haven tryout saying, “No legs. No jokes. No Chance.” (What Todd actually said used a different word for “legs” but both Winchell and I have cleaned it up for print.When the show was trying out in New Haven it

was titled “Away We Go.” Hammerstein had origi-nally wanted to call it “Oklahoma,” but the name was rejected because it was felt that the audience might confuse it with “Oakies” in the Grapes of Wrath. When the show arrived on Broadway, the title was changed back to “Oklahoma!” this time with an exclamation point for emphasis.

Oklahoma’s record run of five years and nine months on Broadway was unbroken until My Fair Lady, opening in 1956, finally broke it in 1961. The original production of Oklahoma ran 2,248 perfor-mances, including over 40 special matinees for peo-ple in the armed forces. It played to nearly 5 million people during the original run, and to over 10 mil-lion in its first national road tour, which lasted from 1943 to 1954. The London show set another record. ‘Oklahoma!’ brought great financial reward and fame to the new team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. In its first 10 years, it made a profit of $5 million on an initial investment of $83,000. A special Pulitzer Prize was awarded to the new team in 1944. The new partnership would last until Hammerstein’s death in 1960.What made “Oklahoma!” a success?The “Broadway musical” was the first major the-

atrical form developed in the US, but in 1943 it was caught in a stylistic rut. Prior to Oklahoma, most hit shows were essentially vehicles to showcase the talents of its stars. They had little serious to say and there was no need to integrate the songs, dances, comedy routines and the spectacular chorus girl num-bers. Shows were expensive to mount and money was scarce during the Depression, so producers became increasingly conservative and stuck largely to formu-las that had driven past successes.In “Oklahoma!” the musical found a new form. This

“integrated musical” marked a revolution in American theater. “Oklahoma!” was the complete synthesis of music, libretto, lyrics, dancing and staging. The show had structure and a sense of dramatic build that until then had been present only in a straight non-musical play. Even the dance numbers became integral to moving the story and developing the characters.Certainly the great words and music had a lot to do

with the success. The score was so popular that it became the first musical to have a complete original cast album by a major label, beginning the trend of recording original cast albums. Decca’s heavy 6 record set sold over 1 million copies in its first year. Later it was one of the first recordings of a musical to be released on CD. Oscar Hammerstein II has been called the premier

poet of the American musical theater. From the begin-ning, Hammerstein proposed writing the lyrics before the music, allowing him to shape the overall concept of the musical. For Rodgers, this was in the reverse order from the way he had worked with Larry Hart. But Rodgers’ mastery of the genre is illustrated by this short anecdote: It had taken Oscar Hammerstein three weeks to write the lyric to “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” As the story goes, he took it to Rodgers, who was then at his home in Connecticut. To his amazement, it took Rodgers only ten minutes to write the music. Rodgers said it was almost a reflex. His musical thoughts were so conditioned by the words that it took about “as long to compose it as to play it.” It became one of the most famous of Rodgers’ songs. Julie Styne, one of the great American Songwriters, wrote, “No one ever wrote a piece of music to already written words better than Rodgers. He always made it sound as though the music was composed first.” The time and the mood of the country were also

contributing factors to the success of “Oklahoma!” The show hit a nostalgic chord with audiences just out of the Depression and into World War II. The show was a favorite date for servicemen on leave. In 1943, when the show opened, Oklahoma the state was only 36 years old. It reminded many of their pio-neer past, of immigrants struggling to put down roots in a new world. America suddenly found itself at war with three fascist powers and its people longed to believe in a brighter future. “Oklahoma!” was about home, family, love, and the triumph of good over evil—precisely what Americans were fighting for.

You can enjoy “Oklahoma!” directed by Molly Smith, now thru December 26, 2010 at the Arena Stage (www.ArenaStage.org)

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KNOCK OUT ABUSEA NIGHT FOR FASHION BY PAMELA BURNS OF PAMSHOPS4YOU

ROCK & ROLLSharon Bradley knows how to spice up the, sometimes, dull little black dress. She rocked her edgy Herv’e Leger cut- out black dress and sexy black Prada heels. No color needed here.

ONE OF A KINDThe ultra-stylish Sisy Lates looked stunning in her silver Halston dress with crystal neckline at the Ritz on Thursday night. The peep-toe Christian Louboutin shoes and sparkle drop earrings added to the elegance. This is style at its best.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD

Caroline Horrigan, a committee member for the Knock Out Abuse event Thursday night, was gorgeous in gold. Her strapless Aidan Maddox dress was the perfect cocktail party dress. Holidays, here we come.

MIX AND MATCHSometimes dresses can miss as a fashion statement. This dress is one of these times -- a shirt with a skirt, turned into a dress whose patterns do not match. If in doubt, please stay simple -- it is always best.

GREEN GODDESSDenyse Aaron had the ladylike look down to perfection in her green jeweled-tone Dolce & Gabbana dress. Top that with her super cool Vera Wang strappy heels and you have sheer sophistication. Mad Man, here she comes

INTO THE WILDI love animal prints, but a little goes a long way. This glitzy Zebra jacket/ dress over powers this woman. Maybe a much shorter jacket and a cute red bag would suit her better.

TIMELESS BEAUTYThere are super models and then there are legends -- Lauren Hutton is both. She was a standout Thursday night at the Knock Out Abuse dinner in her vintage Georgio Armani navy pinstripe suit and 1930s Joseph of Hollywood statement pin. Now, if the only rest of us could take beauty lessons from her.


S O C I A L S C E N E

NATIONAL REHABILITATION HOSPITAL GALAShahin Mafi and Mona St. Leger co-chaired the National Rehabilitation Hospital’s Nov. 10 Gala Victory Awards at the Organization of American States. The evening featured a buffet of North and South American specialties as well as silent and live auctions, which included a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 provided by Windows Catering Company, an air combat mission and a week for two at the Half Moon in Jamaica. This year’s recipients of the Victory Awards celebrating exceptional strength and courage in the face of physical adversity were Cheryl Douglas, a quadruple amputee as the result of a rare bacterial infection, and Tim Strachan, who suffered a spinal core injury during a beach ac-cident before his senior year in high school. He praised the staff at NRH for instilling “the belief that you can move on despite a disability.” He went on to say: “You give a gift.” -Mary Bird

Georgi Petrov, Gala Co-Chair Shahin Mafi, Ambassador of Bulgaria Elena Poptodorova

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain Houda Nonoo, Faye Rokni, Idy Marcus

FIGHT NIGHT photos by Neshan H. Naltchayan

FOTO WEEK DC photos by Neshan H. Naltchayan

LOMBARDI GALA photos by Neshan H. Naltchayan

Victoria Davidson and Oksana Krivitsky at the House of Sweden Foto Week DC event

Theo Adamstein, founder of Foto Week DC and Stacy Gold

Legends of Boxing.

Fight Night Chairman Richard Kay DC Mayor-elect Vincent Gray watches the fights with Fight for Children Chairman Joe Robert, Jr.

Carol and Ronald Crawford, recipients of the Margaret Hodges Leadership Award.

Muffie Potter Aston, President of Georgetown Uni-versity Jack DeGioia and Debra Jean Overholt.

Washington Redskins, John Riggins, Charley Taylor, DeMaurice Smith, Bobby Mitchell and Brig Owens

Dr. Thomas Magovern, Laurie Hodges Lapeyre, Margaret Hodges and Bruni Magovern.

Dr LaSalle Leffall, Frank Carlucci and Dr. John Potter.

S O C I A L S C E N E

THE GEORGETOWNER

HOLIDAY BENEFIT& BAZAAR

Toast the 2010 Holiday Season with us at historic Halcyon

House in Georgetown. This 18th-Century Georgian home

of great dignity, built by Benjamin Stoddert, first Secretary

of the Navy, and restored by John Dreyfuss and Prospect

Associates in the 1990s will provide the backdrop for the

evening’s festivities. Shop for unique gifts from select

vendors to benefit others. Warm your senses with seasonal

cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and gather in the joy of

giving this holiday season.

EVENINGS PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT:Combat Soldiers Recovery Fund

Georgetown Ministries

Lombardi Cancer Pediatrics (on behalf of Living in Pink)

3400 PROSPECT STREET | WASHINGTON, DC 20007

CATERING: SPONSORS:

Advance Tickets: $50 Buy tickets online at

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DECEMBER 14th 2010TUESDAY 6-9 p.m.

HALCYON HOUSE

WASHINGTON BALLET FASHIONISTASBarbara McConaghy Johnson and Staci Capuano co-chaired Runway en Relevé Troisieme, the third annual fundraising fashion event of the Women’s Committee of the Washington Ballet at Blooming-dale’s Chevy Chase, on Nov. 12. Company dancers, with members of the Women’s Committee, Board of Directors and Jeté Society, modeled fashions capturing the 60s look of Mad Men. The eve-ning’s Parisian theme heralded Jackie Kennedy’s triumph of European fashion and diplomacy. The raffled “Grand Prix” was a Las Vegas package highlighted by a stay at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, the newest member of the Marriott Autograph Collection. -Mary Bird

WC member Linda Awkard. WB Artistic Director Septime Webre

Ballet Board member Tim Bork and WC member Shigeko Bork

WC member Janet Shatz-Snyder, Bloomingdale’s Chevy Chase PR Dir. Heather Guay, event co-chair Staci Capuano

THEARC Dir. Katrina Toews, WB Exec. Dir. Russell Allen

Ben and WC member Natasha Watkins

SCAN ME FOR MORE

SOCIAL SCENE



T H E P L A Y E R S

Photo by Patrick Ryan

CHERYL MASRI & JILL SORENSENBy Veena Trehanwith WTOP’s Bob Madigan

D.C. fundraisers are often de ri-gueur, but “Knock Out Abuse” kicked it up several notches. The invitation to the November 11 event showcased a design by

Shepard Fairey, the creator of President Obama’s iconic “HOPE” portrait. Over 700 women cel-ebrated the ultimate girls’ night out—beaming as men cooed through a megaphone, piling in photo booths, and conga dancing their way into a stunning Ritz Carlton ballroom. They soon gasped, as New York Times best-selling author Leslie Morgan Steiner recounted the turning point in her first marriage: the night when her husband smashed a photo frame over her head, kicked her in the ribs and choked her.Yet, they recovered for the live auction, fawn-ing over a labradoodle and bidding up dinner with Redskins Running Back Clinton Portis. The lovely ladies finished the evening by danc-ing with tux-clad men who arrived after the all-male Fight Night fundraiser. “The best movies are those where you laugh and cry and laugh again,” mused “Knock Out Abuse” co-founder Jill Sorensen at a lunch with co-founder Cheryl Masri, WTOP’s Bob Madi-gan and myself. “That’s what we try to do, we try to entertain.” Entertain they have, time and again, earning them a spot in the top 10 DC events, accord-ing to ‘Washingtonian’ magazine. At an inter-view at Ris Restaurant eight days earlier, they recounted highlights: celibate rock god Lenny Kravitz belting out “American Woman”, a 60’s extravaganza of love-beaded, Levi-clad es-corts and peace trees, and the fun of catering to pumped up and glammed up women. A bit of reverse sexism? Absolutely. “Some women will pay $1500 for a man to take his T-shirt off,” exclaims Sorensen. Former Ford model Sorensen, luminous in a cowl neck sweater and skinny jeans, is more raw emotion. Her image and enthusiasm are consistent with her acting and interior design career. Masri, clad from head to toe in sophisti-cated black under a checked jacket, more calm-ly cites statistics and inspiration. Her compo-sure seems to reflect her work with Tomorrow’s Youth, a high-profile nonprofit she runs with her husband that helps at-risk Middle Eastern communities. Their gala last month recognized President Clinton and Cherie Blair. Partners of almost two decades, Masri and Sorensen tell stories together, eagerly sharing their enduring motivation and their journey to the present.

Knock Out Abuse’s fundraising total—over $ 7 million—belies its humble start.

Sorensen, new to DC and the domestic abuse trials of two friends, met then-graphic designer

Masri in 1994. The two organized a $45 dinner for friends on Fight Night, the all-male benefit for chil-dren’s charities. “At Café Milano we had 20 peo-ple—was it 20 people?” asks Soren-son. “It was a little bit more,” answers Masri, describing the event. “At the end there were some fellows next door who came in from Morton’s. So one of the gals at the table picked up a hat and went around the bar and collected about $5000—much more than what we raised on our own for the dinner.” “It was very sophisticated fund-raising,” jokes Sorensen. The next year’s nonstop OJ Simp-son trial coverage boosted aware-ness, and the two slowly realized the event’s potential. 2,000 women distinctly uninvited to the macho Fight Night + a great cause could = a huge turnout. Then they stepped it up, moving to the Ritz-Carlton in 2000.

This is a watershed year. The press is buzzing with the high-profile cases of Rihan-

na, Charlie Sheen, and Mel Gibson. The ‘National Enquirer’ ran a cover story on the many Hollywood ce-lebrities with a history of domestic abuse. Local papers covered mur-der-suicides rooted in domestic vio-lence almost weekly. The statistics are shocking. One in four women experience domestic violence in their lifetime, and 15 million children witness violence each year. But it is the stories of drawn out, lived-in abuse—of the women who suffered silently for years—that bring a sobering reality. The effects deeply traumatize indi-viduals, often causing post-traumat-ic stress disorder. “The scary thing about domestic violence is you become a prisoner in your own mind,” says Sorensen, describing the victimization of women of strong educational and economic backgrounds. A statement by medita-tion teacher Sally Kempton, on how individuals control others, resonates with her. “It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head,” she quotes. Victims slow to take the advice of family and friends often find nowhere to turn. So outside help, like shelters and educational programs, are imperative. But government resources are being slashed even as the need for them is growing. During economic downturns, people

who should split up stay together, and alcohol and drug abuse rises, which are all major con-tributing factors to domestic violence. And the problem could grow as teenagers lose parental oversight with Internet and texting technologies and bullying increases. “Twenty-five percent of [sixth grade] students think it’s okay for boys to hit girls,” cites Sorensen. Sorensen and Masri aspire to expand the scope of Knock Out Abuse. They want to teach teens the boundaries of acceptable behavior, expand to other cities, and enlist sane and sexy stars like

Pierce Brosnan. They also envision growing “Sharing Spaces,” a framework of women who donate furniture and time to transform shelters into more welcoming, attractive environments. Looking back, the two agree on the best part of the two decades: “Extraordinary women that I never would have had the opportunity to meet,” says Masri. “A giant sisterhood of support,” says So-rensen, “to have all these women come out in solidarity.” Keep knocking it out of the park, ladies.


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22 west, west enD, washinGton, DCNEW LISTING! Spectacular upper-level apt on the coveted Southern corner of the award-winning 22 West Residences. Large entertaining spaces, walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, breathtaking views of Washington Circle. $2,770,000Patrick Chauvin 202-256-9595Richard Newton 202-669-4467

Foxhall, washinGton, DCHandcrafted Williamsburg brick Georgian masterpiece featuring gracious principal rooms, 3-car carriage apartment, private garden with pool and widows walk with spectacular views of monuments. $2,725,000William F. X. MoodyRobert Hryniewicki 202-243-1620

GeorGetown, washinGton, DCWonderful brick 1812 Federal with garage, up to five bedrooms, terrace off living room with landing overlooking deep garden, fireplaces and original details and superb floor boards, full of light lots of extra space to improve. $2,395,000A. Michael Sullivan, Jr. 202-365-9000Jamie Peva 202-258-5050

GeorGetown, washinGton, DCNEW LISTING! Awash in sunlight, this fabulous semi-detached, 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath 7-year-old townhome with gated parking, fully updated, has the best of it all in the East Village near Park and Pennsylvania Avenue! $2,395,000

Eileen MGrath 202-253-2226

GeorGetown, washinGton, DCBeautiful 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath corner townhome with a renovated kitchen with Viking, Subzero and granite countertops, Waterworks baths, 5 fireplaces, private brick patio and gated parking. Don’t miss the basement under the main hall perfect for extra storage! $1,995,000

Nancy Taylor Bubes 202-256-2164

GeorGetown, washinGton, DCNEW PRICE! Semi-detached Historic Federal completely updated. Gracious principal rooms, gourmet chef ’s kitchen, master suite with walk-out garden. 4 BR, 3 full, 1 half BA. $1,995,000John Eric 703-798-0097William F. X. Moody 202-243-1620Robert Hryniewicki 202-243-1622

GeorGetown, washinGton, DCFantastic semi-detached Victorian! Bright for-mal living room with fireplace, dining room with pine floors. Oversized kitchen with island and dining area opens to family room with fire-place and wet bar. Finished lower level. Patio and 2 car parking. $1,600,000

Mark McFadden 703-216-1333

mass ave heiGhts, washinGton, DC2 bedroom, 2.5 bath with 2,500+ square feet. Master bedroom suite with dressing rooms and full baths. Hardwood floors, large SW balcony, 2-car parking! Utilities, property taxes and services included in fee! $1,399,000Ellen MorrellMatthew B. McCormick 202-728-9500

GeorGetown, washinGton, DCBeautiful 3 bedroom, 3 bath + office on a quiet street in the heart of Georgetown. Features original hardwood floors throughout, a separate dining room, a spacious living room opening to a private, deep garden and patio, perfect for entertaining. $1,375,000


GeorGetown, washinGton, DCCharming Federal in the heart of Georgetown with a private and multi-tiered patio & garden in rear perfect for entertaining. Features hardwood floors, crown molding, living room with separate dining room, spacious bedrooms and master suite overlooking garden. $1,225,000


GeorGetown, washinGton, DCNEW PRICE! Charming 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath Carriage house on two levels with hardwood floors and high ceilings throughout. Features a renovated kitchen with granite countertops, a spacious loft-style bedroom with plenty of light and renovated full bath. $435,000


WASHINGTON, DC 202.944.5000GEORGETOWN 202.333.3320 BETHESDA/CHEVY CHASE 301.222.0050POTOMAC 301.983.6400NORTHERN VIRGINIA 703.317.7000WFP.COM



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