Category Archives: Around Town

June 14, 2012 · 10:00 am

Prettiest Block in Georgetown?

GM has long admired the 3200 block of P St. just west of Wisconsin. But now that the street rehab is mostly over for this block, he now believes it’s the prettiest block in Georgetown.

What’s not to like? It’s got the historic cobblestones with the newly restored trolley tracks. It’s got a beautiful tree canopy. It’s got a great collection of little shops ranging from a used book store, a stationary/tea store, Ed Solomon’s bridal boutique, a gourmet chocolate shop, to a high end antiques store. And it’s got the majestic Addison school anchoring the south side.

Little mini-neighborhoods like this, with their daily rhythms, are the building blocks to a great neighborhood. That it’s absolutely picturesque is gravy!

If you don’t agree, what block do you think is the prettiest?

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May 8, 2012 · 10:00 am

Stachowski Charcuterie Opens

Last week, Jamie Stachowski’s new charcuterie store opened in the old Griffin Market space, and its a fantastic new addition to the neighborhood.

Stachowski should be familiar to many east Georgetowners since he’s been bringing his sausages to the Rose Park Farmers market for years. Or maybe you saw him on the History Channel:

Right now, the market is just starting to fill out, but it’s already got a great selection:

On the right side are Stachowski’s sausages and cured meats, including drool-inducing whole logs of pancetta and prosciutto.

The left side has more traditional fresh meat. GM bought a nice skirt-steak cutlet, it was quite tasty.

GM asked Jamie what he planned to do with the big empty space in the center of the shop. He responded that he would add some seating for customers (the shop sells sandwiches and drinks). He also mentioned that they would likely sell cheese and other charcuterie-complimenting products. Continue reading →

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April 5, 2012 · 10:00 am

Tip: Get a Season Pass to Dumbarton Oaks

While GM certainly has an occasional complaint about the way Dumbarton Oaks can seem to begrudge visitors, he nonetheless thinks the estate is an amazing asset to the neighborhood and he visits it often. Often enough that he typically buys a season pass each summer, and you should too.

Here’s why: season passes are $55 for an individual, $75 for a couple, and $85 for a family (couples with children under the age of two can use a couple’s pass). Normal tickets are $8 a pop. So if you’re a couple and plan to visit the gardens at least five times between March and November, the pass pays off. If you’ve got older children, it pays off even faster. Continue reading →

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March 26, 2012 · 10:00 am

Georgetown in Motion: Dumbarton Oaks

GM’s back with some more cinegraphs from around Georgetown. Today he captured the pebble garden from Dumbarton Oaks. Enjoy!

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March 7, 2012 · 10:00 am

Georgetown Theater Scene

When proselytizing for Georgetown, one of GM’s primary arguments is that what makes Georgetown great is how incredibly diverse its offerings are. In approximately one square mile, Georgetown has over 500 stores and restaurants, with an incredible variety of offerings, four fantastic city parks, perhaps the most beautiful gardens in the country, and a world class university. But today, GM wanted to focus on a less known facet of Georgetown: its theater scene.

Georgetown is hardly the White Way, and it’s not like DC’s downtown “theater district” either, but it’s got several solid theatrical resources right here.

Georgetown University

One thing that GM greatly laments about the endless town-gown conflicts between GU and its neighbors is that Georgetown’s non-students take so little advantage of what a great resource GU is. And GU’s theater offerings are among those great resources.

Georgetown has five different theater troupes: the Mask and Bauble (one of the country’s oldest college theater companies), the Black Theater Ensemble, Nomadic Theater, the Georgetown Improv Association, and (perhaps a future favorite of GM’s) the Georgetown University Children’s Theater.

Sure, GU isn’t Julliard or Tisch, but these troupes produce quality live entertainment throughout the year. And hey, Bradley Cooper and Carl Reiner went to GU, so you never know… Continue reading →

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November 15, 2011 · 10:00 am

Head West, Young Man

Photo by Marion Doss.

This coming weekend, GM is going to be pulling up stakes and moving into a new place. It’s still in Georgetown, so publication of the Georgetown Metropolitan will continue under current management.

While GM is only moving a handful of blocks to the west, it means he’s moving from the East Village to the West Village. GM weighed in on the differences between the sub-neighborhoods a while ago. Not surprisingly, as a East Village resident at the time, GM came down on the side that living on the east side was better. But GM looks forward to settling into his new immediate neighborhood and learning the charms of the west side.

So in the interim, GM will try to keep up the daily feed, but apologizes in advance if the moving process causes any bit of radio silence.

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November 7, 2011 · 10:00 am

Dumbarton Oaks Doesn’t Open Till 2:00

Dumbarton Oaks gardens and museum don’t open until 2:00 pm (and not at all on Monday). This is evident right on their website, and this information is probably listed in most tour guide books. Yet despite the fact that this information is readily available, almost every time GM passes Dumbarton Oaks on Saturday or Sunday mornings, there’s a group of visitors standing by the gate with a “well-what-the-Hell-are-we-supposed-to-do-now?” look on their faces.

So GM is just hoping that by putting this information out there into the SEO biosphere, a few more people will get the message and wait until 2:00 to show up on R St. Continue reading →

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November 1, 2011 · 10:00 am

October Snow in Montrose Park

Snowfall while there’s still fall foliage around is pretty rare, particularly around here. So when the snow started falling, GM grabbed his camera and hit Montrose Park (and Dumbarton Oaks Park). Enjoy.

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October 20, 2011 · 10:00 am

Georgetown: In Motion

GM had a story idea fall through, so he decided instead to run one more “cinemagraph” that he left out of his series over the summer. It seems appropriate given all the O and P St. construction. Enjoy.

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October 18, 2011 · 10:00 am

Post Relates Evermay Family’s Eventful Past

The Post published a touching article on Sunday about the eventful past of the Belin family, which owned the grand Evermay estate from the 1920s until this year. It was initiated by the journalist’s desire to tell the story of Harry Belin, who, faced with a massive real estate tax and maintenance bill, was forced to sell his family’s jewel. But in catching up with Harry, the writer, Ian Shapira, found a man excavating fascinating stories of the family’s past.

Shapira writes:

The weather for Peter Belin’s flight home from Europe was largely serene. It was early in May 1937, and as touchdown in New Jersey approached, the recent Yale graduate snapped photos of the airport’s three-story hangar, the ground crew, and the stark, oval shadow of his mode of transportation, the Hindenburg zeppelin.

Moments later, after the crew flung down the landing ropes, an explosion rocked the Hindenburg’s rear. Peter grabbed his things — his datebook, his camera — and leapt from the doomed craft. He survived the 30-foot plunge…“He landed on a sandbank!?” Harry marveled, standing amid his basement archives, after finding a family letter. “I never heard about the sandbank.”

Having a father dramatically survive the Hindenburg disaster is just the start. Later Shapira writes that Harry’s grandfather bought a ticket on the Titanic before changing plans. Continue reading →

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