I’ve realized that one powerful symbol of urban life is the little convenience stores that are on about every tenth corner throughout the District. They’re tiny and the cashiers are often boxed in by bulletproof plexiglass, but the shoppers are regulars and the stores are packed to the gills with necessities and odds and ends. They are a neighborhood institution that only exists in a walking—ie, urban—culture.

I recently had a brilliant idea of doing an irregular series of posts that would investigate neighborhood stores from time to time, looking at who shops there, what they buy, and what the general neighborhood vibe is.

I started at my own neighborhood shop, the Euclid Market, but now I’m not sure how great my idea is. The Korean guy working there, Joe, was happy to talk to me, but the shoppers were not; one of them asked if I was “the police.” Also, while the market sells a very wide variety of goods (sardines, Yellow Tail wine, Van Holten’s Pickles in a Pouch, Luna bars, the obligatory pasta/oil/beans/etc, wristwatches, male enhancement herbal supplements), the best sellers weren’t surprising: singles of IceHouse or Budweiser 211, and Newport cigarettes. I have a feeling those goods might be ubiquitously popular throughout much of the city.

So I’m not sure how well this series is going to proceed, or whether the Logan Circle market I had in mind next will really be much different. Perhaps I need to look under the surface a bit more. Suggestions are welcome!

I was pretty sure that my good friend and colleague Jonny Goldstein (of Jonny’s Par-Tay) was never going to warm up to a city like Washington, DC. He moved here the same time I did, about two years ago, and I could tell that DC didn’t really have the spark he had come to love about the Big Apple after ten years there.

We met up at the Brickskeller with Andy Carvin one summer evening after the three of us had moved here independently within a month of each other and I sensed, from how Jonny described his DC experiences thus far, that he found the place serviceable but not necessarily interesting beyond the obvious tourist sites. I was excited to have moved somewhere with built-in friends and was a bit sad that Jonny may not be satisfied enough with the area to make it his home.

This is why I was happy to see the serene emotions in his post about five really cool things that happened to him in DC within about 90 minutes:

So, for all my griping, DC sometimes surprises me with little moments like these. And I appreciate that this former swamp has turned into a city that every once in a while even a jaded dude like me can appreciate.

Jonny, I know you won’t be here forever, but I am glad you have warmed up to the place a little. Hopefully when you go back to New York, whenever that may be, you will take positive memories with you, not just the occasional soullessness of the city and the bleak strip malls that pockmark the roads and highways. It’s a different kind of high here, but one definitely worth trying and I am glad you eventually inhaled deeply enough to get it.

To anyone lucky enough to have ended up here, like Jonny and me, I offer you this hope – give this city, in fact, the whole area, a fair chance. You’d be surprised how at home you can feel after just a short stay.

Readers, I would love to know what brought you here, what has kept you here and what do you find here in the DC area that you can’t get anywhere else. Please chime in.

Turns out the new Adams Morgan Harris Teeter did indeed open on time this week. Things were pretty low-key there yesterday when I dropped by around 5pm. There were a bunch of folks signing up to get their VIC (Very Important Customer, aka how the supermarkets track our tastes) cards, but otherwise most folks were just going about their business.

The place is pretty swanky, with sushi, lots of happy produce, and a million brands of everything—toothpaste, cereal, canned goods. It’s all regular supermarket stuff, but still in the just-stacked stage and therefore looking extra sparkly. Otherwise I’m not sure it’s that impressive. Yes, there are more produce options and some items are cheaper even than at the old dingy Safeway around the corner, but the selection (of items I buy, that is) didn’t seem enormously better. But I guess people will vote with their feet.

There was a guy picketing outside, a Mr. L. Napoleon Cooper, Jr. (“Coop”), who was willing to take a moment to discuss his gripes, though I had to walk with him in order to comply with DC laws governing demonstrations. It seems that, according to zoning laws, having a 50,000 square foot supermarket that sells beer and alcohol undermines the neighborhood corner shops, but the city provided HT with a license anyway. He was incensed, though I’m not fully convinced he was just doing this out of pure civic duty.

Anyway, the charge didn’t seem too egregious to me. I wandered over to the Dorchester Market, one of the small markets Mr. Cooper had referred to, and chatted a bit with the Ethiopian employees. They weren’t particularly angry about the new HT.

Well, while the Caps made the Flyers work for it, in the end they we lost in overtime 3 to 2. Ovechkin managed to pick up another goal and an assist along the way.

It’s disappointing, but quite frankly this is farther than I think a lot of us - myself included - expected them to get, and I’m happy they did.

Third Fridays at The Rock and Roll Hotel have been a nightlife staple of mine for the past year, as Metblogs own Michael Darpino (he of the perpetual tower of books) has been onboard as one half of Room 429’s Re:sonance DJs, along with Chris Diamond. These two tirelessly spin a relentless onslaught of shoegazer, brit-pop, 80’s/90’s underground, and whatever else the eclectic and diverse crowd cries out for…

My favorite thing about the Hotel is the unexpectedness of any given night’s events - one minute everyone’s chill, the next minute a girl is rocking out on the pool table, and then suddenly there’s a hula hoop dancer going wild in the corner. And yet it all manages to happen without any of the attitude that can plague other nightlife spots in the city - people are just happy, mingling and having a crazy fun time.

So join us this Friday, April 18th for the one year anniversary of Room 429, free upstairs from 9:30pm on. They’ll be giving away Screen Vinyl Image and Soundpool CDs. And don’t forget to say cheers to Darpino and Diamond for a job well done!

This is it, the moment that Vatican Sign Man has been waiting for. Finally, a chance to show the Holy Father himself the homemade sign that he’s been carrying across town and waving at traffic on Mass Ave for years now. You’ve seen him on the Metro with his five foot sign, standing there amidst the crowd as if everything is perfectly normal. He seems like a nice old man but deep inside that brain of his there are probably a few synapses that aren’t quite firing. As the train doors open at the Dupont Circle station, he heads towards the exit at a pace that isn’t quite a sprint but definitely isn’t a walk, on his way to his spot on Mass Ave to let the world know that according to him, the Vatican hides pedophiles. I would love to do an interview with him and find out just where they’re hiding them. In the Holy Basement?

What do you think the chances are that Vatican Sign Man “disappears” over the next few days seeing as how:

“Following a meeting with President Bush at the White House on April 16, the Holy Father will leave the White House in the popemobile at approximately noon via East Executive Avenue, travel west on Pennsylvania Avenue past Washington Circle, and then north on Rock Creek Parkway before exiting at Massachusetts Avenue. He will conclude his trip at the papal nunciature located at Observatory Circle where he will enjoy a lunch with the United States cardinals and others in honor of his 81st birthday.”

Um, happy birthday your Holy Popeness.

Though it’s a bit too chilly today, by midweek, we’ll be into perfect sidewalk cafe weather. I remember many a night spent on the patio either at Boulevard Woodgrill in Clarendon, or at Four Courts in Courthouse, or down on I St at the Bottom Line after work.

There are a ton of great places in DC for drinks on the patio when the weather’s nice and the sun is shining, and everyone’s got a favorite. I know Wayan is addicted to Fox & Hounds, and that I’ve certainly enjoyed a long happy hour after work at Elephant & Castle, and of course there’s the roof deck of pretty much every place in Adams Morgan, or the places in Georgetown that have the pull-back walls to let the air flow in when it’s nice.

Do your friends a solid, though, and tell us where to be this week when it’s nice here below in the comments.

Street in San Juan, Puerto Rico (LOC) — Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

Have you ever been to the George Washington Masonic Memorial? You can get a tour that takes you to the top and from the observation deck you can practically see Europe. Great views. Heck of a building, too, and great displays. Definitely go check it out sometime.

I was just there last week for a meeting and afterward, as I made my way along the platform at the King Street Metro stop, I noticed a gentleman smiling at me as he walked toward me. I returned the friendly gesture, figuring perhaps I just didn’t recognize him - perhaps an old friend or a business acquaintance?

Anyway, as we walked toward each other he started talking about how nice my tie was, asking where I got it and going on about the quality and design.

“My wife got it for me,” I explained. “You can’t trust me with matters of fashion.” The man laughed and went on his way, but not before marveling again at how nice it was.

I find it quite refreshing to be somewhere people would stop someone for a brief conversation and to share such warmth. The last time I had that happen was when I visited my brother back home in Raleigh last year.

When was the last time you slowed down to talk with someone for a few minutes, just to exchange pleasantries? It seems like it’s about time to do it again, don’t you think? More civility, less rudeness - that’s what this area needs.

Photo: George Washington Masonic Memorial Originally uploaded by carlweaver

I couldn’t help but think, as Ryan Zimmerman rounded first, his fist triumphantly thrust in the air, that I would not have written the ending quite as well as it had come out. With the remaining crowd on their feet and cheering, despite the bitter cold and wind, the new ballpark became the Nationals new Home.

I arrived at the Stadium in 40 minutes today, some hour and twenty minutes more quickly than our Saturday debacle, and after making it through a thorough, yet friendly, search of my person and camera bag, it was onward into the stadium. The Braves were taking batting practice. The concourse was full of Nats Pack handing out game booklets and stadium information, as well as a number of photographers taking fan photos and capturing the new ballpark.

I settled into Section 108 to watch the Braves put on a hitting show. The ball was carrying well into the outfield, and several lucky fans got souvenirs to take home. Around 6, I headed up to get a Kielbasa and a Coke from the stand at the top of our section. There was a bit of a line, but 15 minutes later I had dinner and was a happy guy again. Tiff went for sodas around 6:30 and had a bit of a wait, but everything was happy for the most part. My frustration came at 7:15 when I waited 40 minutes for a Half-smoke All-the-way from the Nats Dogs concession. While the Ben’s Chili Bowl line was horrendous, the other hotdog stands still carry the signature half-smoke with Ben’s Chili, but the line was bad. It moved, sure, but sporadically, and it seemed that concession workers were still getting a feel for their roles, as I saw many people bumping into each other. The only thing they seemed to be short on was popcorn. Tasty as the half-smoke was, it wasn’t worth a 40 minute wait.

I hear the other lines were pretty long as well, but I suspect much will get better as we get further into the season.

The Nationals, despite a solid first inning of offense, went 24 batters out in a row, between their last hit in the 1st and Zimmerman’s homer with 2 outs in the 9th. I was hoping for a bit more offense out of the club. But, the pitching held true, and kept the Braves from doing little to catch up to the 2-0 lead. Lo Duca’s passed ball in the 9th was a real heartbreaker, and at least one guy in our row wondered what Rauch was doing on the mound instead of the Chief. But in the end, it didn’t matter. Part of me wondered, as my friend Ben said to me later, if we weren’t all in some shared hallucination, seeing what our minds wanted to happen, instead of some sadder truth. I’m thankful it was real.

Read on for a status report on the ballpark
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If you love wine but only know that it sometimes comes in red and other times in white (and sometimes it comes in a box), you should really think about taking a Wine Class for Beginners at the Whitemore House in Dupont. From the GiraMondo Wine Adventures website:

This class will cover the following topics:

- Where do wine flavors and aromas com from

- How are these aromas categorized

- How to pair food and wine

- What are the main differences between old world and new world wines

- Basic wine etiquette (restaurant, liquor store, party at home)

When it comes to wine etiquette, is there much more than pulling the cork and taking a swig? Well, besides letting the wine breath sometimes? Anyway, tonight’s class has done sold out, but there is another one scheduled for April 16th and 7:00PM. Until then, happy drinking! I know I’m looking forward to the weather warming up so I can crack open my Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. A glass or two of that up on the roof deck, well, it just doesn’t get much better than that.

Photo by F1.4