Even though it only has over 600,00 hits (great numbers, but it’s no Evolution of Dance) the video, Arlington: The Rap, has made an enormous splash locally for creator Remy Munasifi. The video is only the latest in a series of successful rap videos and has caught the attention of just about every media outlet I can think of. All the blogs have raved about it. His profile has grown to the point he was a hot date commodity and he has earned himself a page on Wikipedia. I wish I had a page on Wikipedia.

So I had the honor to ask him a few questions and learn more about the man behind the video.

Patrick:I laughed, I cried, I begged for more when I ran into Arlington: The Rap. I went over to your site (goremy.com) and I wanted to learn more about you. After reading your bio I was wondering, do you consider yourself a comedian? A musician? A filmmaker?

Remy: I’m not sure. I’d probably go with, “entertainer.” That’s mainly what I’m trying to accomplish–to entertain. Usually through laughter though, sure.

Patrick: So do you have a day job or is your art truly what you work on day in and out?

Remy: I’m a full-time YouTuber. I’m a content partner on the site and have been for a year and a half now, which has been great. YouTube and Google have been very generous and supportive of their partners and do a great job creating and maintaining a great environment for filmmakers who want a home for their video content.

Patrick: One of the reasons Arlington: The Rap is so successful is the local appeal, after I saw it I sent it to all my Arlington/DC friends and I got it sent to me by other locals as well. You’ve been in all the local papers and TV stations, but have you seen any interest coming from outside the immediate local area?

Remy: Somehow some folks outside the area do seem to enjoy it. My chief concern throughout the process of making that video was that it had no widespread appeal–that it would be too geographically specific for folks to understand outside a one-mile radius of my neighborhood. I was surprised so many people enjoyed it locally though, I certainly didn’t expect that.

Patrick: Do you find that you’ve now created a big inside joke for all of us to share? Now when I tell people I live I Clarendon they reply with questions on my collection of brown flip-flops.

Remy: Somebody was telling me they had noticed a slight decline in the brown flip-flop levels around town. I haven’t seen the statistics. I suspect we’ll have to wait for the 2010 census.

Patrick: I’ve watched a number of your other videos and I have to tell you they are all great. Has Arlington: The Rap helped you get your YouTube channel more viewers? In other words, have other people started checking your other stuff now that you broke through with one?

Remy: Thank you for saying so, I appreciate that. I can’t imagine the video hurt anything. It’s the 12th most popular video on the channel, so there are some other videos that folks seem to like more, at least by that measurement.

Patrick: Also I noticed you do a lot of raps, is there anything that makes that your genre of choice? I think it’s funny that you have a lot of Raps yet your favorite iPod artists are mostly country artists.

Remy: After I made my first rap video, “Two Percent Milk,” I got a lot of positive feedback from people who said they really enjoyed it. I had enjoyed making the video, so I decided to make another rap and, two years later, it continues I suppose! Still having fun and I hope folks are still enjoying those videos.

Patrick: So I know you are busy with tons of video projects, what should we expect next from Remy?

Remy: I always have a list of ideas in my head, but it’s always tough to pick the next one to go with. I’ll probably decide in the next week and take it from there. I just hope folks will like it!

I have a truth to tell: I really don’t live in Washington DC.

I actually live in Arlington, VA; but lots of DC locals call it their home, and now I’m proud of it thanks to this wonderful video that I found Thursday night (thanks to FamousDC.)

So I hope you learn a little bit about the ‘hood I come from.

Thanks to the phone banks with the Terry McAuliffe campaign, I heard that he and will.i.am will be down the street tonight at Clarendon Ballroom. The event is titled, “A Night with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas” and proceeds will go to McAuliffe’s gubernatorial campaign.

This is less of a political message and more of a, “if you want to see will.I.am and don’t mind throwing money at Terry McAuliffe to do it- here’s your chance!

Terry seems to know a few famous people, later this week he’s holding a rally at NOVA in Annandale with Bill Clinton. Well that makes sense since he ran Hillary’s Presenditial campaign and is a former DNC chairman.

A Night with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas

The Clarendon Ballroom
3185 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia
Monday, May 11, 2009 at 8:00pm
$20 Admission
$500 Co-Host (includes admission to a special VIP reception with Will.I.Am at 8:00PM and recognition at the event)

Velocity Five at Court House before Opening

I was sad to see it go.

Even though many of my co-workers were ho-hum towards King Street Blues on Clarendon Blvd, I was a fan. However it has since closed down, the space bought by entrepreneur Jim Speros so he could use the location to expand his Velocity Five restaurant chain. Even though I was disappointed to see King Street leave, I was anxious for Velocity Five to finish their renovations and open. I was eager to see what the new kid on the Court House block had to offer. The chain’s location in Falls Church appeared to get ok reviews.

I walked up with a friend to the new Court House location after it opened, Speros signed a 15 year lease when he purchased the property from King Street; and it’s proximity to the nearby Metro station made it worth every penny.

Walking inside I was immediately surrounded by rich mahogany.  The ambiance had a more refined feeling compared to Summer’s down the street. The layout of the space remained the same, it looked like King Street with sports memorabilia and flat screen TVs. The place opened right before March Madness and it looked like a place I’d want to go to catch my favorite sports teams.

However those are all the nice things I have to say about this place.

I walked up to an empty hostess station where waitresses openly counted their tips while ignoring our presence. We waited for 10-15 minutes until we were acknowledged by someone on the wait staff. I am a pretty patient person and I wasn’t going to make a big deal of it until I saw during the course of the night, other people walk inside to an empty station and wait like I did- some waited to the point they just sat themselves.

The lack of service didn’t end there- we were served water but then ignored and forgotten by the waitress for almost half an hour. Again I would love to say that the place was packed and we got lost in the shuffle, but my table was only one of three occupied tables in the entire restaurant. The waitress was busy flirting with the guys at the table across from us. I overheard some of their conversation and apparently someone at that table was a pro-athlete:

Guy #1: You have to guess what my buddy here does, I won’t tell you but I will tell you that he’s a professional.

Waitress: Hmm, well your friend is tall- is he a basketball player?

Guy #2: No but I get that a lot…

So while Pro-athlete guy was getting all the attention he needed I was slowly dying from starvation. I ordered a burger but I’ll be honest- the service experience really made the rest of my experience there pretty forgettable.

Now I really wanted to like this place, if I was treated a little better I’m sure I would of had great things to say probably, but Velocity Five at Court House needs to get their ducks in a row. I’m a pretty nice guy and I’ll eventually give you guys another chance- but til then you are on notice!

Velocity Five
2300 Clarendon Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 243-4900
http://www.velocityfiverestaurant.com/

Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg / pool / Getty Images

“Definitely just saw Obama at Ray’s Hell burger. F Yes.”

Those the words I saw yesterday afternoon on Clinton Yates’ twitter account.

As I read those words I thought about dropping my things and running over to the Rosslyn establishment from my Court House office, however logic kicked in: Hell Burger is typically busy on a normal afternoon, what kind of place would it be if Barack Obama and Joe Biden walked in and had lunch? I wouldn’t of gotten anywhere close. At least I’m sure it wasn’t anything like the time a fictional Bill Clinton visited McDonald’s. I do have to say that I am at least jealous of my co-worker Kristen who was coincidentally next door at that time.

Linda Feldman over at the Christian Science Monitor has the best account of Obama & Biden’s last minute lunch out.

According to the daily guidance lunch was supposed to be, “in the Oval Office, closed press.”

But around 12:30 PM the White House Press Pool was assembled and put into a motorcade that took them to Rosslyn. It looked like Obama and Biden wanted to go somewhere new for lunch.

Feldman describes Hell Burger as, “a joint so new it still doesn’t have a sign up.” Ray’s has been opened since July 2008 which made me wonder if it will ever get a sign now that Ray’s The Steaks moved to Court House.

Photo by AP/Huffington Post

Obama and Biden walked in the front door, the press came in the back; and I could only imagine the look on a patron’s face when they see the President & Vice President wait in line with you to order a burger. In what could only be described as classy, Obama turned to the Press Pool and offered to buy everybody lunch and just like a good Commander-in-Chief does, he delegated Caren Bohan of Reuters to take everyone’s orders.

After warning that they were going to order food for here and to-go, Obama let Biden toss in his order: a Swiss cheese burger with jalapeno peppers and a Root Beer. Obama then ordered a basic cheddar cheeseburger with mustard (spicy mustard if you got it), lettuce and tomato. When he inquired about fries he learned what many Hell Burger patrons already knew: they don’t do fries.

I wonder if the President asks for fries, do you just make fries?

Luckily the manager pitched him on the tater tots and he agreed on that instead.

They both paid for their orders in cash- with Obama picking up the tab for the pool.

“We’re paying, or these people [the pool] are gonna write about how we’re free-loading,” Obama said when the management offered to pick-up the bill.

Obama also threw a five-spot into the tip jar.

Photo by AP/Charles Dharapak

They were then served at a table by the chef (curious how there was magically a table free when usually the place is packed at 12:30, but then again when you are the President things can be arranged…), if you take a look at the video they had table tent #42- too bad #44 wasn’t available.

They were back a little after 1:00 P.M- a very efficient lunch if I may say so myself.

Now after remaining on the fence on Hell Burger- I guess I should give it yet another try now that it’s been Obama-approved. However Hell Burger was popular enough pre-Obama, will it go the way of Ben’s Chili Bowl now that it’s been graced by The President?

A truly brilliant Image by flickr User Ian Boyd

The Super-heroes of DC Comics have always taken place in cities vaguely reminiscent of ones in the real world, but with slightly fantastic sounding names:  Gotham, Metropolis, Keystone,… Crystal City?

Yes-just outside our Nations Capitol, criminals fear to walk this summer.  The most accessible metro stop in the city will play home to not one, but 4 Super-heroes and 2 Super-hero teams.  The Crystal City Outdoor Film festival embraces it’s inner geek (although it’s decidedly less geeky now) and pulls 21 titles of spandex and capes off of its DVD shelf and onto the big screen-combining my love of being a hording, comic loving recluse and my love for being outside.  Starting May 4th with Spider-Man, and finishing with the masterpiece that is Batman: The Dark Knight on September 21, Crystal City pulls no punches and ducks no movies.  The good, the bad (Superman Returns; The Hulk) and the somewhere in between (X-men) there is something for everyone…that is if everyone likes comic book movies.

True story:  Last year when Screen on the Green did the original Superman I watched it with someone who, quite literally, knew nothing about Superman.  I mean-nothing.  Didn’t know what he could do, where he came from, what his deal was-nothing.  At one point she said “What’s the glowing green stick”-Uh…Kryptonite?  “Oh…like the song!”  The madness that put into my head…beyond description.  I don’t expect people to be versed in the many different colors Kryptonite, what they do or that it actually originated in the radio plays not the comics-but come on!

So fear not citizens of Northern Virginia, and come get you some education on these, the modern folk heroes of these here United States of America one Monday night at a time.

Click here for full movies and information.

Time: Starting May 4th, Every Monday at Sundown

Location: 18th and Bell Street - Courtyard Across from Crystal City Metro Station & Marriott Hotel

The Ladies of Weismann's Follies (photo courtesy of The Arlington Players)

My friends at The Arlington Players invited me to check out Follies, their Spring production which opened last weekend. I was able to make it out for their opening weekend matinee and talk back.

I’ve never seen the musical by Stephen Sondheim and 1971 Tony award winner for Best Music & Lyrics; so I didn’t know what to expect.  As the Orchestra (conducted by Leah Kocsis) started up with the overture, ghostly figures began to march in as if they were haunting memories of the half demolished theatre where the show takes place in. Was I about to watch a ghost story about a haunted theatre? That’d be a cool musical to do, something like Scooby Doo the Musical: Case of the Haunted Theatre- oh wait that’s already been done.

I quickly realized that the show is actually about a reunion of the, “Weismann’s Follies” a group of girls that performed musical revues back in the day (think Ziegfeld Follies.) The theatre they used to perform in is now abandoned and will soon become a parking lot. The girls and boys come back to say one last goodbye to the stage.

Much like your high school reunion, everybody is eager to come back and reminisce and relive the pleasant (and not so pleasant) memories of yonder. The show focuses on two couples: Sally (Jean Cantrell) and Buddy (Jack B. Stein); and Phyllis (Lynn Audrey Neal) and Ben (Jimmy Payne.)

Jack B. Stein as Buddy Plummer (photo courtesy of The Arlington Players)

The two couples are anything but happy, with Sally still harboring feelings towards Ben, who is still a player in his married life but is still seeking something more. Buddy, a traveling salesman, struggles to rekindle the love that was once there and Phyllis has grown to be a tough shell of a woman, seemingly devoid of any sense of human compassion.

It’s the kind of drama I’d love to see at my own high school reunion.

Follies explores how a group reunites and recollects, but it also take a glimpse at how human relationships mature, change, and evolve in such a setting.

The actors that really caught my eye was Jack B. Stein as Buddy Plummer and Jean Cantrell as Sally Durant Plummer. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Buddy’s vaudevillian number in the second act. Nothing says Vaudeville like wearing a cardboard car for a costume!

Often the supporting cast of actors don’t get enough credit, in Follies each of them had an opportunity to shine and shine they did. I particularly loved Solange La Fitte (Judy Lewis) in her “Ah, Paris!” number. I’m a sucker for accents.

The Number That Makes This Show (photo courtesy of The Arlington Players)

Director & Choreographer Christopher Dykton put together some really lovely dance numbers, “Who’s That Woman?” is worth the price of admission alone. The coordination of one set of dancers is hard enough- but to coordinate a mirror image of their younger counterparts dancing exactly in step is cause for recognition. That number alone is worth the price of admission.

Dykton also played around with the idea of younger counterparts or ghosts in the show- as the main characters would remember or perform, those clone companion were often there reliving their tales, or in some cases haunting their past.  It created lovely images that really added to production. While some would criticize the hit and miss pairings in casting, I applaud Dykton’s decision to create a diverse cadre of actors and concentrated more on the talent of the person.

The second act of the show is where the strongest elements of the production come together. The set magically transforms from a run-down stage to what it was in it’s heyday. The “Loveland” number is the classic folly number with dancers revealed behind a 400lb fan setpiece (kudos to Jared Davis & Bill Wisniewski for designing and building that contraption). What follows after that number is a series of folly numbers that explores each of the main characters’ inner emotions and struggles. Phyllis really shined in her folly, “The Story of Lucy And Jessie”, a number that had a very Chicago like feel to it.

The Arlington Players put together a solid show that features great dancing and singing- their elaborate sets, and large numbers are sure to entertain and take you back to a much simpler time, well at least what we remember was a simpler time.

The Loveland Folly in the 2nd Act Is Sure to Impress (photo courtesy of The Arlington Players)

Follies
Weekends April 17 — May 2, 2009
Thomas Jefferson Community Center
http://www.thearlingtonplayers.org/

So if you haven’t heard, Murky Coffee is closing.

As a nearby resident, I’m sad to hear the news- I’ve had it on my list of possible third places to spend my time, however it was always crowded much to the benefit of Murky.

So what’s going up in it’s place? The Going Out Gurus have the latest on that, it looks like the ownership of nearby Liberty Tavern is teaming up with pastry chef Davis Guas to turn the space into a bakery called Bayou Bakery. The shop will have a southern theme in decor and offerings.  So who’s this Guas person? Well Guas runs a culinary consulting group that’s played a role into the cuisines at local eateries such as  Ceiba and DC Coast. He also has a new cookbook coming out called, DamGoodSweet.

He also knows how to show Kathie Lee and Hoda how to cook a mean Zuchinni pound cake.

In an effort to keep Murky’s coffee crowd, Gaus plans to hire a Batista manager to work on a “coffee program.”

courtesy of Personal Wine Buyer

Type in Hell Burger into Google and you’ll find nothing but great reviews of the place. So I don’t need to write another review on how great the burgers are.

However I did want to try it for myself- and I did last month. My friend Mike and I went down to Hell Burger and took burgers home to enjoy before The Oscars.

The place was exactly as described, an unmarked building next near the old location of Ray’s The Steaks (it’s now across the street from my office in Courthouse.)

We walk in and see the B-Movie posters, the line of fans (even on a Sunday night), and the shots of hot chocolate which are as advertised- to die for.

I ordered the BIG Poppa and I did enjoy the burger. It was a mess to eat but I enjoyed every bite. I ordered the Mac & Cheese side and it was ok but the main attraction was the burger itself.

While the burger as a whole package was delicious- I found the spice crusted burger too spiced up for me to really judge the meat. I hear that the burgers and made from leftover cuts from Ray’s The Steaks and so I wanted to taste what DC’s best burger tasted like. I needed a repeat visit.

That visit happened last week where I ordered the Soul Burger Number One… and now I’m still on the fence.

Don’t get me wrong- I think Hell Burger is great and I’m going to go there again, but maybe I need a third try to really sort my feelings out on the place.

What do you guys think- is there a favorite burger there I should try next?

Ray’s Hell Burger
1713 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 841-0001

It’s official. I am on a Peruvian chicken kick.

After discovering the bliss that was El Pollo Ricoearlier this month, I got a lot of comments from readers including suggestions that I should try Crisp & Juicy. These suggestions came with words such as “better” and “way better.”

Well I couldn’t let the honor of El Pollo Rico be so shamed- and at the same time I am always looking to find good places to feed my indulgences, so I took some time last week to check out Crisp & Juicy.

Even though there is a nearby Crisp & Juicy off of Lee Highway in Cherrydale, I was told that it was worth the extra time to go to the Falls Church location. Well during a “mental health day” last week I did exactly that. The Falls Church Crispy and Juicy had a look that was more similar to the other Peruvian chicken places I’ve seen around town. The storefront resembled what you would expect at any fast-food chain. The shop was empty since I was getting lunch at 2 PM on a Thursday.

I ordered the “Super Platter” because I had a super craving for chicken. The half chicken came with salad, a roll, fries, and a familiar assortment of sauces.

It definitely appeared that the main difference with Crisp & Juicy was with the skin. The outside of the chicken is crusted in an assortment of spices and definitely had a crisper texture. While the chicken itself was very good, I don’t know if it’s better or worse than El Pollo Rico- just different.

What was really good with the platter was the sauces. Their sauce was also creamy but had the strange ability to have a spicy kick- but not leave your mouth hot like other spicy foods. I was dipping fries and anything else I could find in my house with the sauce. This past weekend I went to the Arlington location and found myself eating pretzels with leftover sauce.

After going to the two restaurants I have come to learn the following about Peruvian Chicken:

• It is truly a good cheap eat
• No matter where you go- the fries will always be second rate
• It doesn’t matter if the fries are second rate because the sauce is amazing

I think Peruvian chicken is now a regular part of my weekends- does anybody else have a place I should try?