Retro Fit – A local landmark harks back to another era as the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club

Posted on by nevinmartell

As you drive along Wisconsin Avenue, the Bethesda Theatre rises like a gleaming beacon on an otherwise drab shoreline. Bright white lights illuminate the marquee, and a rocket-shaped tower juts toward the sky with “Bethesda” emblazoned in baby-blue neon. There’s a timeless grace to the design, making the iconic building look simultaneously like a bygone throwback and a futuristic emblem.

Since its 1938 debut as the Boro Theatre, this eye-catching landmark has hosted thousands of Hollywood hits, headliners and stage productions. Now the storied space is entering a new era as Potomac real estate developer Rick Brown and a group of investors (includingBethesda Magazine publisher Steve Hull, who holds a minor stake) transform it into the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, which was set to open at the end of February.

Ticket-holders will see a diverse roster of performers putting on one or two shows seven nights a week. “We’ll have everything from blues to jazz to country to comedy to Motown to salsa to Celtic,” says the 64-year-old Brown. Right now, the venue is looking into booking top-tier acts such as Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, and Branford or Wynton Marsalis, but for March, mostly area performers have been booked.

Ralph Camilli, a former booker and director of operations at Blues Alley in Georgetown, is in charge of bringing talent to the freshly minted space as director of operations. The 63-year-old industry veteran wants guests to feel as if they’ve taken a step back from the 21st century.

“There’s a chance to embrace a bygone era with a historic space like this,” he says. “I’ll be very happy if our first review is: ‘Bethesda Blues & Jazz takes you back to another time.’ ”

Finish reading this feature on the Bethesda Magazine website now.

Photo courtesy of Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

Share

Washington Post’s Good to Go: Mother Rucker’s Subs

Posted on by nevinmartell

General references to “Godfather” movies are a dime a dozen in Italian eateries. Specific nods to the justifiably maligned “The Godfather: Part III” are less commonplace. However, that’s what you’ll find at Mother Rucker’s Subs in the District’s Carver neighborhood, which welcomed its first customers at the beginning of January.

About half of the 20 cold subs offered at this bare-bones corner shop are Italian-inspired, including the Godfather 3 ($6.50). A too-flimsy eight-inch hoagie roll from Baltimore’s H&S Bakery is packed with nearly half a pound of capicola, pepperoni, ham and provolone cheese. Despite its impressive weight, the sandwich needs a flavor boost. For best results, make sure to pile on toppings and condiments, which include shredded iceberg lettuce, mashed hot pepper relish, mayonnaise, slender tomato rounds, thin-sliced onions, oil and vinegar.

You can also order a Godfather 1 ($6.50), which includes peppercorn-studded Genoa salami, ham, capicola and sharp provolone and is worthy of your allegiance. Naturally, there’s a Godfather 2 ($6.50), sporting mortadella, capicola, ham and provolone. The non-threatening H Street Favorite is a winner, with generous amounts of turkey, ham, roast beef and provolone, and even better when pumped up with lots of hot pepper relish and a few shakes of Italian seasoning.

Finish reading this review on the Washington Post website now.

Share

Jim James – Regions of Light and Sound of God Review

Posted on by nevinmartell

For his solo debut, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James turned to a pair of deeply spiritualized works for inspiration. The first was Lynd Ward’s wordless woodcut novel Gods’ Man, which follows an artist unwittingly lured into a Faustian bargain. The other was Marvin Gaye’s soul searing state-of-the-world takedown What’s Going On. Both are unswervingly bone-bare and uncompromising. James’ heady Regions of Light and Sound of God fits alongside them well. Call it a hymnal for those wandering through the modern age in search of enlightenment.

A slight atmospheric hum ushers in the opening track “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U),” a slow, sonorous lullaby with a dark edge. There’s a nod to a nursery classic as James intones, “And when the dawn brakes/The cradle will fall/And down will come baby/Cradle and all.” The song gradually builds, maintaining its diaphaneity and poise throughout.

For the most part, this entire record is a downbeat affair. At times, it’s so mellow that it makes My Morning Jacket seem like a potential headliner for the next Family Values tour. One exception is “Know Til Now,” a spaced-out disco tune reminiscent of Gaye’s tortured Here, My Dear, which chronicled his failed marriage to Anna Gordy. There’s a continuing parallel to be found with the Motown legend’s darker years on the bittersweet “Actress.” “You’re good at making everyone believe that they love you/A little wink of the eye/A little glimpse of the thigh/And we’re in heaven,” sings James, partly besotted, partly sick with himself for falling in love with a woman he knows is a mirage.

Across these nine tracks, James restrains the soaring, After the Gold Rush vocal work that was his trademark on earlier MMJ songs like It Still Moves’ “One Big Holiday” and “I Needed It Most” from At Dawn. A much wider palate is on display—smoother, more assured—which speaks highly of his growth as a singer over the last decade and a half.

Finisher “God’s Love to Deliver” musically recalls James’ infatuation with George Harrison, which fully manifested itself with 2009’s Tribute To collection of covers released under the since-abandoned semi-pseudonym Yim Yames. Lyrically, this is his Big Message Moment. He begins, “I have a dream/Oh, Dr. King/Well I know what you meant/We were all equal in your eyes, at least/God speaking through you.” It’s a bit much, but it’s somewhat easier to digest since it drips with sincerity.

Taken as a whole, Regions of Light and Sound of God feels almost otherworldly, like James stepped out of space and time for a flash, then returned bearing songs inspired by a place that only he could see. Captivating to its core, it will undoubtedly soundtrack countless mushroom-fueled spirit quests and soul-searching walkabouts for light years to come.

Filter Grade: 88%

This review originally appeared in Filter magazine.

Share

Washington Post’s Good to Go: Thaaja Indian Food Bar

Posted on by nevinmartell

Chalk up another cuisine assembled Chipotle-counter style: Indian, by way of Thaaja, the fast-casual food bar that opened in January in NoMa.

The name means “fresh” in Hindi, and the setup is designed to make Subcontinental cuisine accessible. “Indian food in America is really fragmented,” says 30-year-old owner Shailesh Kumar, an investment banker turned restaurateur who lives nearby in Chinatown and developed all of the recipes. “You have really high-end restaurants, or you’ve got really small mom-and-pop places. But there’s nothing in between.”

To order Thaaja’s salads, wraps and bowls, start by selecting a base: romaine lettuce; a white or whole-wheat tortilla; rice with cumin and cilantro; or flatbread that is made in-house daily and spiced with garam masala and turmeric.

Finish reading this review on the Washington Post website now.

Share

Local Natives – Hummingbird Review

Posted on by nevinmartell

These Silver Lake upstarts garnered considerable—and deserved—praise for the sonorous harmonies, worldly rhythms and Cali melodies of their 2009 debut Gorilla Manor. The animalian titling fixation continues with Hummingbird: a looser, groovier, and vibier set of tunes co-produced by the band and The National’s Aaron Dessner. Like the first album, this 11-song collection slowly, but surely, works to win you over. There is an immediacy to the skittering, shimmering guitar line on the first single “Breakers” and the delicate drum work that drives “Heavy Feet,” but many of the other songs require a fourth or a fifth listen before they come into focus. This is not to say that these are difficult to love, or that they have deviated so much from the band’s original vision that one needs that time to truly decipher a new direction. (All the components that made the band’s first outing so charming are all in attendance—minus bassist Andy Hamm, with whom the band parted ways in 2011.) Opener “You & I” simply begins with a warm organ tone, a languid lick and a keening vocal line. At first, it feels like a sketch, but then builds into a ravishing, barn-burning ballad. The closer “Bowery” starts out equally tentatively, before slowly swirling into a plaintive plea of a song that won’t let go. From start to finish, Hummingbird is a compelling record that warrants your enduring affections.

Filter Grade: 81%

This review originally appeared in Filter magazine. 

Share

Washington Post’s Good to Go: Johnny’s Takeout

Posted on by nevinmartell

Contractual obligation is the mother of invention. For the past five years, co-owner Ann Cashion has operated Taqueria Nacional in the slender space next to her Capitol Hill standby, Johnny’s Half Shell, in the C-SPAN building. Now she and partner John Fulchino are moving the taco shop to a freshly minted location in the U Street corridor, aiming to open in March. However, the pair was required to continue offering a grab ’n’ go option at the original location, which is why Johnny’s Takeout debuted in late January.

When I stopped by in the first week, it was clearly an operation in flux. Reminders of the former concept were easy to spot. Jarritos sodas filled the refrigerated cases, and the receipts still claimed to be from Taqueria Nacional. However, the cuisine had switched tacks. New Orleans standards — including some found on the Johnny’s Half Shell menu — dominate here, supplemented by mainstream fare such as a cheddar and Monterey Jack grilled cheese sandwich ($4) and a hamburger ($6.25). Meals are made to order, which takes about five to 10 minutes.

Finish reading this review on the Washington Post website now.

Share

How to Make Your Own Gin Without Getting Arrested

Posted on by nevinmartell

“I am an alcohol enthusiast,” Joe Maiellano says. “I guess that’s the polite way of putting it.”

The 28-year-old political fundraiser from Arlington and his business partner, 28-year-old Jack Hubbard, a nonprofit fundraiser who lives in Georgetown, are definitely serious about their spirits. So serious that they wanted to start a gin distillery in the D.C. area. Instead, they’ve created the HomeMade Gin Kit, which allows anyone to make their own gin by infusing botanicals into vodka—no distilling required.

The idea was born while they were looking into the logistics of opening a distillery. “The amount of capital required and the number of regulations is just unbelievable,” says Maiellano. “We figured it would take one to three years and over $100,000 to get a bottle on the shelves.”

As they were thinking of ways around those roadblocks, Maiellano and Hubbard worked on a gin recipe that involved infusing vodka with botanicals. Through trial, error, and 10 test batches, the pair fine-tuned the gin’s flavor profile, which was inspired by Hendrick’s Gin and Bombay Sapphire.

“You say, ‘Let’s try a bunch of allspice in this one,’” says Maiellano. “Then you cringe at the final product, because it tastes like Christmas.”

Finish reading this story on Washington City Paper‘s Young & Hungry blog now.

Share

The Ten: Best French Fries

Posted on by nevinmartell

So many choices, so little time. The Ten is your guide to the best of the best that D.C. has to offer.

This week’s installment tackles French fries. Most people are clearly passionate about them, since a recent study found that the average American eats 29 pounds of fries every year. Here are a few top-notch options to make sure you hit your quota in 2013.

Bold Bite

The crispy sea salted fries are great on their own, but they’re even better dipped into one of the house-made whips and dips. The creamy truffle and the perky Cajun ketchup are tops in my book.

Blue Duck Tavern

Triple fried in duck fat, these substantial potato spears take more than 24 hours to make. An epic and iconic take on the fast food favorite.

Bourbon Steak

Fries spiced three ways – garden herb, chili cheese, and pastrami – are complemented by a trio of sauces – pickled ketchup, barbeque and Russian dressing. Mix and match to your hearts content.

Shake Shack

The crinkle cut fries are good, but the cheese sauce they’re drenched in is even better. Think of a mix of aged white cheddar, sharp provolone, and American with the consistency of nacho cheese.

Eamonn’s

Chef Cathal Armstrong does his Irish heritage proud with these thick cut fries. Crisped golden in canola oil, they’re served with your choice of house-made sauces, like curry, tartar, and hot chili.

Find out my next five picks on the CityEats website now. 

Share