Weekend Notes: Pork Buns, Supper Clubs, and Beuchert's Saloon

The Mount Pleasant Farmer's Market opened for business this Saturday, and even though it's held on a piece of pavement about the size of the postage stamp, it really makes the neighborhood a special place.

Photo via Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market Facebook

Flash backward to the last day the market closed in fall 2012. Joe and I stood in line for the pork bun vendor. The pork buns are from the People's Bao and they are a pretty great market lunch. Joe is majorly obsessed with them, which makes what happened even sadder. The line was about 10 hipsters/yuppies deep, and we watched with bated breath as the pork supply dwindled. Sure enough, it was our turn and the guy said, "Whoops, ran out of meat." 

Now here it is, six months later, and we're back in line to try our luck again. Of course, the same ​thing happened and the pork runs out exactly when we're at the front of the line. It was a nice bookmark to close and open the pork bun season.

​Joe was silently fuming as we walked away. But there was nothing I could say to make up for the injustice of it all.

​We kept walking down the block and then an older lady in a wheelchair stopped us. "I hope you two are still holding hands 10 years from now," she said. "I hope so," Joe told her. I hope so too.

It was such a nice day that we walked to the zoo. A few of the animals were out, namely a pair of squabbling sea lions that I could've literally watched ​all day. They fought over control over the same rock, and it was quite exciting.

That night for dinner I went with my in-the-know friend Carolyn to her friend's Columbia Heights supper club for his catering business. I ate many courses of yummy Vietnamese food and chatted with amiable strangers. Unfortunately, I also drank wine and talked about 2 Chainz.  A lot.​ Sorry, amiable strangers.

The next day, we went to a fun dinner at the new Beuchert's Saloon in Capitol Hill with my friend Betsy and her husband. I told Joe where we were going over the phone. "A balloon?" he said. "No, a saloon!" It was appropriately old-timey, with a guy wearing a bow tie and two buffalo heads stuck on the wall. The food isn't inexpensive, but we definitely enjoyed it. I recommend the oxtail tagliatelle, any of the root vegetables, and the fries — you know you want to order them. Next time, I'm getting the burger with the fried egg to accompany. 

So Sad About Roger Ebert

I cried earlier in the week when I heard that Roger's cancer had returned, and I cried again when I heard he had passed. I can't even read retrospectives of his life, it makes me too sad. Of course, I'm not alone in this reaction. Everyone recognized his genius as a writer. 

There are many of Roger's books and essays that I can go back to, thankfully, but I will so miss his voice in our world now. Whenever I watched a movie, I immediately wanted to know what Roger Ebert thought about it. And talk about prolific: he's written about nearly every movie out there. I always love to know what smart people think about a work of art, and his opinion was everything to me. For example, I just watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the review he wrote crystalized what I loved about the film. His writing was accessible, thought-provoking, laugh-out-loud funny, and most of all, life-affirming. Rest in peace, Roger, and thank you for your work.

Tunes Tuesday, "If You're Never Gonna Move," Jessie Ware

I feel like this song is an answer to Robyn somehow.​ 

Debut album Devotion available now from iTunes http://bit.ly/devo-13 & Amazon http://amzn.to/UhfPNS https://www.facebook.com/jessiewaremusic https://twitter.com/Jessie_Ware http://www.jessieware.com/ Previous singles including Wildest Moments, Night Light Running, & Strangest Feeling available on iTunes http://bit.ly/JWiTunes Directed by Kate Moross PMR Records

It took me awhile to get into Jessie's music, but two bazillion plays of this song later, I get it.​

Tunes Tuesday, "Party Kids," Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

I mentioned that Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside opened for Thao & The Get Down Stay Down last week (that's a lot of ampersands). I've been obsessed with Sallie Ford's  single "Party Kids" since then. Fans of Alabama Shakes will definitely want to press play.

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside will release their second album, "Untamed Beast," on Feb. 19, 2013 on Partisan Records. "Party Kids" offers a preview of the album, recorded at Jackpot! Studios in the band's hometown of Portland, OR.

​Photo via Sallieford.com

Sallie's voice will knock you over, but even though she's singing about not giving a shit and knowing where the party's at, she still sounds more Portland cute than badass to me. Maybe it's because I saw her in person with her adorable retro glasses. Maybe it's because the lyrics mention "dancing in the living room, drinking white wine." Whatever it is, this song is rootsy fun.

Weekend Notes: Le Grenier and a Practice Pup

Shameless self-promotion first: ​I compiled a long list of restaurants with special Easter menus, so check it out on Eater if you need Easter plans! There are so many delicious-sounding brunch items. I've been tasked with finding a restaurant for my family on Easter Sunday, but the caveat is that it needs to have dog-friendly patio seating. This twist surprises no one who knows my parents. I actually might have an answer: perhaps Art and Soul's puppy patio could fit the bill? I'm worried it will be too cold to eat outside though. This has been such a cold spring.

Speaking of Easter, have you seen this marketing tactic on H Street? It's for a leasing office, I think, and they've set out baby chicks in the window as a "live peep show." The chicks looked so anemic and helpless, it mainly made me sad. And I wondered what would happen ​to them after Easter is over. I don't think this is PETA-approved.

On Saturday, I went to our friend's charity chili cook-off, and in between all the crockpots of chili, there was a tiny, fuzzy puppy napping in the corner. I took a picture for posterity. Here is Alex, with a plastic spoon in his blazer pocket at the ready for chili sampling. It looked quite jaunty. Not pictured: a Miller Light in the other pocket.

Then we high-tailed it over to Le Grenier, the new French bistro on H Street. The Le Tigre menu is charming, oui? It's sort of obvious to use the adjective "charming" to describe this place, but it's definitely fitting. We sat at the bar and snacked on a little bowl of frites and an assortment of five cheeses, with chutney and a yummy pate. But the best part is the bartender kept serving us piping hot baguettes straight from the oven. Keep it coming, I say! 

​Joe is dog-sitting for a whole week, so we said it's a good way for him to experience a taste of the responsibility of dog ownership. This is his practice dog. She is very sweet! Meanwhile, I had lunch with my dad on Saturday. We had to eat outside, of course, because Dad brought the dog along. While we were eating, Rain the dog took her nose and knocked my dad's plate out of his hands, then proceeded to eat all the food that landed on the ground. It was diabolically clever, and I have to give Rain props for that one.

Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down at Black Cat

This is embarrassing: I was totally focused on working on my R29 Thao Nguyen story, yet I neglected to buy tickets to her show at the Black Cat and it sold out! But there's a happy ending. My friend Carolyn was my indie rock fairy godmother and her boyfriend Alex graciously gave his ticket to me. So I got to see the show after all!

​They sounded so great, and played nearly all the songs on the new record. Thao really gave it her all. Plus, she busted out a Ludacris rap ("What's Your Fantasy"), and talked about her summer gigs pre-fame, like playing Potbelly restaurants all around NoVa and working as a bouncer at Guitar Center. The show ended with a rendition of The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" sung by both Thao and Sallie Ford, who opened the show with her band The Sound Outside. Really good vibes!