Posts Tagged ‘4th of july’
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
July 5, 2011
Happy day after the 4th! Hope you all didn’t roll into work too, too late this morning (although I’m guessing you did because my commute was a breeze).
In honor of the holiday, Harvard released a study showing that attending July 4th celebrations raises children’s chances of becoming Republicans. I think you’ll find the logic on this one interesting. Read here.
Comedy Central announced this morning that it will host a Charlie Sheen roast. It will be taped September 10 and air September 19, which just so happens to be the night that the first episode of Two and a Half Men with replacement Ashton Kutcher will air. With all the craziness that is Charlie Sheen, this roast has potential to go on for many, many hours.
Prince William and Kate had a fun weekend in Canada! They competed against each other in a dragon boat race at Prince Edward Island. Will won. His prize: a bottle of champagne. Check out People magazine’s photo gallery to see what else the royal couple did this weekend!
This is the reason I stick to non-risky hobbies like singing Disney songs and watching chick flicks: A Boise woman has been banned from all WalMarts in America because of her “extreme couponing” hobby.
I’ve always wondered about this… Are expiration dates really accurate or is the company just trying to get me to throw stuff out and buy more? Good Morning America did some mythbusting! Watch:
-Rebekah Lowe
Belgian Restaurant Week is Back!
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, July 1st, 2011
(Image: Korolevskaya Nataliya/Shutterstock)
Some of the area’s culinary luminaries, including Chef Robert Weidmaier (Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck, Mussel Bar, and BRABO) and former Restaurant Eve Pastry Chef Niel Piferoen (Locolat Cafe), are joining forces from July 15 through July 21 to bring the region a taste of Belgium in celebration of the country’s National Day.
The week will commence with the annual Brew at the Zoo event, where Belgian restaurants will host a VIP tent. During the remainder of the week, the following events are scheduled to festively showcase Belgian culinary tradition and heritage:
Belgian Prix Fixe Menu (Thursday, July 15)
Mussels Throw Down at Eastern Market’s North Hall (Friday, July 16)
Belgian Waffle Brunch (Saturday, July 17)
Chocolate & Champagne Brunch (Sunday, July 18)
Seven-Course Belgian Beer Dinner hosted by Ambassador Jan Matthysen (Monday, July 19)
Duvel Happy Hour Events (Tuesday, July 20)
Belgian National Day Celebratons sponsored by Latis Imports (Thursday, July 21)
To further entice you (as if the above weren’t enough), here is a list of the Restaurant Week participants:
Belga Café
BRABO
Brasserie Beck
Et Voila!
Granville Moore’s
Locolat Cafe
Le Pain Quotidien
Marcel’s
Marvin
Mussel Bar
For more information about both scheduled events and menu offerings at the particpating restaurants, click here or visit the Belgian Restaurant Week Facebook page.
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!
-Johnisha M. Levi
Blue Crabs are Delicious and, Consequently, Stupid Expensive
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
(Image: Shutterstock/Aleksey Klints )
Crabs are horrifying little creatures—all covered in spikes and pincers, permanent scowl etched into their horrible, armored faces. They’re devilish looking beings, prone to striking intimidating poses when facing a human ten times its size. They’re also delicious. So to put them in their place, us humans have a summer tradition of tearing them open and chowing down on their tender white flesh, laughing the day away about how dumb crabs are.
It’s a superiority thing, which makes crab picking all the more appropriate for the Fourth of July, a holiday where Americans get together and toot our own horn–not that we don’t do that pretty much every other day of the year. But crabs, being the smug little brats that they are, are having one last revenge on us humans before we steam them alive and smash them with hammers: good lord are they expensive or what?
A bushel of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are crazy expensive! The average price for a bushel of medium Jimmy crabs this time of year is over $200. Usually these kinds of prices would indicate a shortage of crabs—either brought on by a cold weather or over-crabbing—but, according to The Baltimore Sun, this year’s crab crop is the highest the area has seen since the late 90’s.
All together, now: BOOOOOOOOOO!
The reason for the jacked up prices is, well, everyone wants crabs this weekend. The article says that Maryland crab vendors ran dry on Memorial Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and expect the same this weekend. Lord knows that D.C. had a demand for crabs on Memorial Day—after waiting in a cook line at for nearly an hour at the Maine Avenue Fish Market, this blogger paid over $100 for half a bushel a medium and small crabs. Life is not fair, I tell you.
We’ve poked around a bit at some of Northern Virginia’s crab providers to see what you can expect to pay this weekend for a bushel of crabs (all crab counts are a rough estimate, prices may change as vendors see fit).
Get ready to get sad.
Captain Pell’s Fairfax Crabhouse
10195 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax, Va; 703-560-0060
$225 – Medium/Large Jimmies (5 dozen)
$160 – Medium Jimmies (6 Dozen)
Blue Ridge Seafood & Crab
15704 Lee Hwy, Gainesville, Va; 703-754-9852
$199 – Medium Jimmies (6 Dozen)
$129 – Small Jimmies (7 Dozen)
Crosby’s Crab Co.
14718 Bristow Road, Manassas, VA; (703) 791-5804
$220 – Medium/Large Jimmies (7 to 8 Dozen)
$150 – Mixed Lighter Jimmies (8 to 10 dozen)
$150 – Females (Closer to 10 Dozen)
- Kris King
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
For many of us, today is the final day in the work week. With tomorrow being an “official holiday,” how do you plan to spend your three day weekend? If you haven’t taken a look at our 4th of July guide, please do. In it you’ll be able to find any information you’d need on local fireworks, festivals and restaurant specials.
So, the question is, what are you doing this 4th of July? Let us know in the comments section below!
