DC VegFest is September 28

Yards Park, looking west.

I'm all hyped up over vegan food this week after recently eating Todd Gray's Muse vegan brunch at the Corcoran, enjoying a great dinner of vegan small plates at Zengo, and snagging a quick vegan lunch at the Woodlands Vegan Bistro (aka Everlasting Life) food truck. SO much easier to eat vegan in DC that it was 10 years ago. I mean, multiple vegan food trucks... come on now.

Now, DC VegFest has set a date for its awesome annual event: Saturday, September 28. 

VegFest transitioned from a niche, but quality, smaller event on the GWU campus to a full on summer festival at Yards Park in Southeast. The event is a mix of food vendors, vegan related non-profits & for-profits, government agencies, speakers, and other presenters. This year, the event returns to Yards Park on September 28 from 11:00am - 6:00pm. Organizers haven't released the full schedule yet, but the speakers include Paul Shapiro (Humane Society of the Untied States), Doron Petersan (Sticky Fingers), and Wendy Rieger (NBC 4). Very cool. See you there.

Canal Park

Wow. Yards Park: Photos

This won't be one of DC's best kept secrets forever. Yards Park is a gem in Southeast DC. It is a few blocks from Nationals Park and about a 5 minutes' walk from the Navy Yard Metro station. Yards Park gives any DC park a run for its money including two of my favorites Meridian Hill and Georgetown Waterfront. The rest of the neighborhood development, also named "The Yards," is slowly taking shape, but the park stands mostly alone for now for public attractions in near SE. 

Here are a few photos that don't really do the park --developed through a public/private partnership-- much justice at all. The landscaping, seating, views and amenities help create several distinct "neighborhoods" including a wading pool & waterfall, terraced lawn, forested lounge area, shaded Anacostia River overlook, and boardwalk. It is also part of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (PDF). This place is ready and waiting for the crowds, retail and special events. Really amazing. Get down there before summer is over and before the rest of the metro area catches on to this great addition to DC's public spaces.

Downtown Market + DIY Shopping

For the 5th year, the Downtown Holiday Market will operate on the sidewalk in front of the National Portrait Gallery. It opens today at noon and runs until 8:00pm daily until December 23. That's pretty close to Christmas for all the late blooming shoppers. The location is F Street NW between 7th and 9th. Free entertainment on tomorrow including three bands playing blues and rock throughout the day.

Expect the usual; lots of hand made jewelery, crafty items, various mediums of art, clothing and artisan foods. Not all of the artists will be at the market each day. Some are there the first two weeks, then leave, others aren't here now, but come later. Check the website to see what may look interesting to you and plan your visit accordingly.

Downtown Holiday Market won't be the only place to shop while avoiding malls, department stores, DCUSA and Georgetown. Here are a few other ways to get unique or local gifts for yourselves and others.

Rock-N-Shop at the Cat
Recently reached favorite holiday tradition status among our circle of friends. This is sort of a free for all for dealers or collectors of old records, video games, screen printed shirts, crafty art, vintage clothes and other stuff I can't even imagine right now. Drink beer, walk around, listen to sweet DJs and maybe buy something from a person you probably already know. This party has gotten increasingly crowded over the years, so come early. December 19. 8PM until. Black Cat Mainstage. 1811 14th Street NW.

Cheap Art Sale at La Casa
A longer write-up from earlier this week is here. But, basically this is a STELLAR art sale with STELLAR artists, many from Mount Pleasant. The prices happen to be CHEAP. They are trying to provide great art at affordable prices (nothing over $100) and help out Neighbors' Consejo by donating the proceeds. Tomorrow! 1-5PM. La Casa. 3166 Mount Pleasant Street NW.

The Gift of Fab at Past Tense

Mount Pleasant is doing double duty DIY shopping this weekend. Also happening tomorrow is the cleverly named Gift of Fab holiday sale at our very own Past Tense Studio. This is not just a sale for enthusiastic yogi. The studio will have several booths/tables set up inside with unique gifts like hand made holiday cards, organic skin care products, photography and more. And yes, if you want to buy a yoga mat, you can do that, too. Past Tense will have it's own booth. Tomorrow, too! 1-5PM as well. Past Tense Studio. 3253 Mount Pleasant Street NW.

Capital Riverfront Holiday Market at Navy Yard
This is a rather new one. Two years old this year, the Capital Riverfront (neighborhood near Nationals Ballpark) is hosting a holiday market that looks promising, but won't quite rival the Downtown Market. Not this year anyway. Sounds similar though; live music, crafty exhibitors, lots of jewelery, and you can bet someone's selling ceramics. December 15-18. 12-6PM. Canal Park. 2nd and M Sts SE. (PDF)

The Flea at Eastern Market
The old standby Eastern Market and accompanying flea market is a weekly delight, but I haven't been in a while. Specifically, the Flea Market operates on Sundays and there you can find various items from copper-plated cups to curios. The Flea operates out of the parking lot behind old Hines School, across the street from the historic Eastern Market building. Every Sunday. 10AM-5PM. Eastern Market. 7th and C Sts SE.

Photos: Getting Ready

Nationals Tickets, Park a Bargain Compared to Others

Many sports fans in metro DC, myself included, have chided the Washington Nationals this year over ticket prices at the new Nationals Park. A team with a short history in DC and not much to offer on the field, opened a new publicly financed stadium in the center of a major construction zone with promises of only half smokes and free T-shirt nights. The jury is still out on whether or not the investment by the city is worth the payoff. Years will pass before we can make that call. WTOP recently offered a mostly rosy view.

Baseball purists and plain old general fans are balking at the idea that the sport is a luxury activity spiraling out of financial reach for families and the common spectator. The Presidential seats behind home plate are currently $325 per game and center field sections, where most teams put their cheap "bleacher seats" are $47-$67. The ownership group paid roughly $450 million for the team and (are supposed to be) renting the stadium for $3.5 million a year. The player payroll is currently $54,000,000 for the 2008 season.

To cover their expenses and, I'm assuming, secure a profit, the Nationals price tickets accordingly. As do most teams. However, we've got it made compared to the fans in the New York market. They currently have three new stadiums on line. CitiField (Mets) is scheduled to open in 2009. New Yankee Stadium also opens in 2009. New Giants/Jets Stadium opens in 2010. Each was privately financed, to the combined tune of $3,700,000,000. Yes, nearly 4 billion dollars. The $700 million dollar Nationals Park seems like a bargain compared to $1.3 billion New Yankee Stadium. Those with the best seats in Nationals Park won't pay even close to the $2,500 per game best seats at New Yankee Stadium. Cash strapped Mets season ticket holders apparently can't trade down on their ticket plans, leaving them with two choices; pay up for the more expensive seats, or get locked out of season tickets all together next year.

NY Giants fans are arguably getting the worst of it. Season ticket holders now have to buy a PSL (personal seat license) in order to secure the right to purchase season tickets. The fee to acquire the right to buy season tickets is anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000. Then you have to actually purchase the tickets.

Not to compare apples to oranges, (and I know Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington football team, would enact a PSL scheme if he could) but the Washington market luckily isn't close to New York in this stadium nonsense. The Nationals just released their 2009 ticket plan pricing and they've actually lowered prices on some seats. Granted, several sections were substantially over-priced (like the center field red seats), but the team is trying to yield to local market conditions. The Giants won a Superbowl last season and they have a storied history and storied family ownership. The Yankees, for better or worse are the Yankees. They had Babe Ruth and Mantle, plus 26 championships. The Mets get a free pass just because they are in the same market as the Yankees. And the Jets, well, they had Joe Namath.

What do the Nationals have to offer? Well, they are working on it. Not much to show at this moment in time, but effort goes a long way, and I'm not just talking about on the field. So, Nats fans, take solace, if in anything this year, the fact that once again, we have it better than New Yorkers. Generally always the case, but this was a particularly easy case to prove.

Foul Ball

Oh jeez. Who knew that we'd look back on 2005 as the glory days of the Washington Nationals. How did a feel good story like this transform into an ugly rent strike putting millions (no, billions) of dollars in political limbo.

See, I love baseball, and I'm trying to love the Nationals. I bought a season ticket plan. I supported the new stadium, drawing the ire of 99% of my friends and neighbors. I follow the players, cheering for them when others in the stadium boo mediocre performances. I talk the stadium and team up to my out of town friends. I spend $$$ on the limited vegan food options, but great beer selection at the field.

I stand by when the team lets good players like Ryan Church, and Alfonso Soriano walk out the door. I stand by when they virtually fire the only manager who guided us into first place and gave us our best year-end record. And I marveled when the design-build stadium (yes, a city project) was completed on time, in a record 18 months, and relatively on budget, in time for the big show on March 30, 2008. I there with 40,000 of my closest friends. The Nationals (and the owners, the Lerner family) were made to look competent and ready for a national TV audience, in large part because of the city.

Somehow, all the good will press conferences and dirt shoveling ceremonies of 2005 are distant memories. In a city struggling to find good teachers, honest municipal workers, viable small businesses, and home ownership options for normal people, it's reprehensible and quite disgusting that the team owners are withholding the $3,500,000 in rent from the city. The Nationals claim that the ballpark was not "substantially" complete on opening night, but I have to disagree as a paying customer who explored most of the "substantial" parts of the park that night; and for 15 or so subsequent nights since. At the center of the dispute are team offices that were kept at RFK while the new offices adjacent to the field at the new stadium were being finished.

The term "over a barrel" comes to mind. Not only did the Nationals get a $611,000,000 million dollar, on time, fastest ever built stadium from the city, they got it without having to live up to any future performance evaluations or quality control. Now they refuse to pay rent and want to fine the city $100,000 per day for the "unfinished" stadium to boot. And for the fans, its really too bad. With $325.00 seats, $40.00 valet parking and rumors that we'll be going to see Nationals games at ExxonMobile Field in 2009, some are grumbling that the city should lock the team out of the stadium until the cough up the rent. Just think, we could go undefeated at home for the rest of the year.

Are Nationals Tickets Too Expensive?

Earlier this year ads placed by the Washington Nationals declared Nationals Park to be "Washington's Newest Monument." It may be a little premature to declare it a monument to baseball, with Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium and Fenway all having slightly more history in the books. It can, however, be declared a monument to capitalism. Its a money making venture to be sure. With 41,888 seats that range from $325.00 to $5.00, three tiers of luxury suites, 4 full service clubs, Build-a-Bear, several local restaurant chains, and beer, beer, beer. And oh yeah, I bought in. Full disclosure: I own a partial ticket plan. I love baseball, and believe it can work in DC. I disagreed with the all-out public financing plan for the stadium; $611,000,000, give or take $10 million depending on who's supplying the numbers. Despite fear-mongering, we weren't close to ending up like Seattle. The Nationals' owners, the Lerner family, are entertainers first and baseball folks second. They know how to make bank, but are still learning how to plan for success on the field.

That being said, what's the value of a ticket? Is paying for a ticket worth the stretch? Are Nationals tickets too expensive? Last week we sat in Section 109U. Its on the field level in the lower bowl (more than half of the seats are in the lower bowl). Third base side and about 50 rows back. Under an awning, about a 2 minute walk form the main gate and a 20 second walk to Ben's Chili Bowl which is located directly behind the section. The massive scoreboard is clearly visible, as are the mostly empty Diamond and Presidential seats (note the blue patches behind the plate in my photo). The walk up price for a seat in Section 109U is $36.00. Where does that rank us among prices for comparable seats around MLB? Glad you asked. I did some research and came up with this chart. These are walk-up prices for regular-priced games in each Major League Baseball park. Since each park has a different configuration, I chose the seats which most closely matched the location Nationals Park Section 109U.

PNC Park: Pittsburgh Pirates Sec 129 $20.00
Tropicana Field: Tampa Bay Rays Sec 131 $24.00
Chase Field: Arizona Diamondbacks Sec 135 $25.00
Progressive Field: Cleveland Indians Sec 175 $26.00
Oriole Park: Baltimore Orioles Sec 70 $27.00

Dolphin Stadium: Florida Marlins Sec 107 $28.00
Angels Stadium: LA Angels of Anaheim Sec 204 $28.00
Kauffman Stadium: Kansas City Royals Sec 137 $29.00
Metrodome: Minnesota Twins Sec 137 $30.00
McAfee Coliseum: Oakland Athletics Sec 129 $30.00

Rogers Centre: Toronto Blue Jays Sec 130C $30.00
Comerica Park: Detroit Tigers Sec 141 $32.00
Rangers Ballpark: Texas Rangers Sec 112 $33.00
Great American Ballpark: Cincinnati Reds Sec 108 $34.00
At&T Park: San Francisco Giants Sec 132 $35.00

Turner Field: Atlanta Braves Sec 126 $36.00
Nationals Park: Washington Nationals Sec 109U $36.00
Miller Park: Milwaukee Brewers Sec 129 $36.00
U.S. Cellular Field: Chicago White Sox Sec 154 $36.00
Coors Field: Colorado Rockies Sec 147 $38.00

Minute Maid Park: Houston Astros Sec 107 $39.00
Busch Stadium: St Louis Cardinals Sec 167 $39.00
Citizens Bank Park: Philadelphia Phillies Sec 138 $40.00
PETCO Park: San Diego Padres Sec 122U $43.00
Safeco Field: Seattle Mariners Sec 148 $44.00

Wrigley Field: Chicago Cubs Sec 104 $50.00
Shea Stadium: New York Mets Sec 258 $56.00
Dodger Stadium: Los Angeles Dodgers Sec 47 $60.00
Yankee Stadium: New York Yankees Sec 24 $60.00
Fenway Park: Boston Red Sox Sec 163 $90.00

Average price for these seats is $37.80. The Nations are right in the middle of the pack. Not surprisingly, teams in larger markets have higher prices. The most expensive seats also belong to teams whose stadiums have attained iconic status within pop culture. Fenway, Wrigley and Yankee Stadium will survive as enduring images long after most of their players have come and gone. Only time will tell if the Nationals will ever get to that place.

Here's another comparison; payroll. While the Nationals rank 18 out of 30 in this ticket pricing exercise, they rank 26 out of 30 for MLB payroll. Which teams have a cheaper payroll? You guessed it, teams which charge less for tickets than the Nationals.

Where it counts; the record. Last year the Nationals finished 73-89, 21st out of 30 teams and next to last in the division. As of today they are 9-17, the worst team in all of baseball.

We do live in a wealthy market. And while I don't buy the idea that $325 seats are necessary anywhere in a baseball stadium, I know that the competition for the sports and entertainment dollar in DC is intense. Good local reviews continue to roll in and even out of town critics have been generally positive about the stadium. As for Section 109U, it seems to have decent value for the price. A good seat on the field level with an average price in relation to the other MLB ball clubs. No Capitol views, but all of the field is clearly visible and you're shielded from the intense sun and any sprinklings of rain. Easy access to Ben's Chili Bowl: I'll let you decide if that's a blessing or a curse...

From the Cheap Seats

Out and About: Nationals Ballpark

November
















March
















Closer...

Out and About: Barracks Row

After hitting up Eastern Market last week, I decided to give its buddy to the south a run through before I hoped on the Metro back to Mt Pleasant. The extra time was worth the stretch. The Baltimore Sun called it the "new place to go in DC." CBS called it "ritzy," albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Barracks Row, like Eastern Market has roots in the early formative years of the District. The Marine Barracks, which still stand and are fully functional, anchored the site for many years near the Navy Yard. Thomas Jefferson made the decision to place the first District post of the Marines at this location in 1801. Its proximity to the Navy Yard and the river were key to his decision. Its the oldest active Marine post in the United States. The Marines also claim that the Commandant's House is the oldest continually occupied house in the District having been completed in 1806. I guess they're counting the years Truman was out of the White House (finished in 1800) during its renovation. Still a neat and historic distinction.

The area around the Navy Yard and Barracks Row were the military and commercial hub of the District for years. However, Barracks Row is now becoming known for its shopping, dining, watering holes and other services. The main, and only commercial strip is located on 8th St SE, closer to the Eastern Market Metro stop than Eastern Market itself. Visitors are greeted with a sight which may become more common around town, a Dunkin' Donuts across the street from a Starbucks. The nearby FedEx Kinkos gives the initial impression that the strip is all chain stores and not unique to any other part of the city with commercial activity. However, keep strolling down 8th Street and you'll find a neat array of independent businesses to keep you occupied.

I was impressed with the number of restaurants located on the strip. Just to name a few: Belga (Belgian), Banana Cafe (Cuban), Jordan's 8 (steak, nothing else. not even vegetables. ok, that was a joke. there are fries), Fusion Grill (Chinese), Las Placitas (Salvadorean, and my favorite for the neighborhood), and The Old Siam (Thai). That's not even really the half of it. Impressive list for an in-town neighborhood without the regional cache of an Adams Morgan, Georgetown, or even Bethesda (sorry! they have good food). The Barracks Row MainStreet does a good job of listing and promoting its businesses. Check the site for a more comprehensive list.

The commercial strip is surrounded by the quaint and quiet Capitol Hill streets, not giving away the fact that its pretty close to walking distance from the new Nationals stadium and the rest of "Near Southeast." There are some neat independent businesses, which somehow coem together to form a working retail center for this part of Capitol Hill. There's Capitol Hill Bikes (who I'd stack up against City Bikes any day), Pawticulars (animal puns are fun!), Backstage (just go in, trust me), Chateau Animaux (animal puns are fun only once) and a bunch of others. Again, check up on the Barracks Row MainStreet site for the whole kit-and-caboodle (yeah, one too many).

Finally, there are some nightlife, bar and grill hangout type places to complete the in-town neighborhood feel. The most interesting are Tapatinis, the Ugly Mug, the Phase and Finn macCool's (not a real neighborhood without at least one Irish place I guess). Together, Eastern Market and Barracks Row can almost make an entire day trip. Or a night trip if you want to get away from some of your regular 42 bus haunts, but still want to go to a "local" establishment. As for the Dunkin' Donuts-Starbucks war.... we'll let residents of SE take that one on. Give me Murky any day. To get to Barracks Row take the Blue or Orange Line to Eastern Market; as you exit the station look to your right. 8th Street SE will lead you into the neighborhood. Map it here.

Oot in a Boot: National's Stadium

DC is a sports town. Invested or not, its hard to ignore the maroon and yellow clad Washington football team fans on Sundays, Capitals fans streaming in from all over on the subway on hockey nights, or the die hard Barra Brava of the DC United. Not even counting the local college sports teams, DC has a pretty hefty sports heritage. Its baseball history is a large part of the story. Home to the hapless Senators (two versions! the first left to become the Minnesota Twins, the other to become the Texas Rangers) and the Grays of the Negro Leagues, DC is not just a football town.

With the "return" of baseball to DC in 2004 (we got an orphaned Montreal team with a lot of baggage, and a losing record) came the monstrous, daunting responsibility of constructing a stadium, for a team with billionaire owners, on the taxpayer's dime. The price tag rose almost daily during the initial negotiations, debates and back room deals. One of the first firm numbers tossed about for the stadium cost was $440,000,000 in late 2004. That number rose and the official "cap," or maximum that the city will pay for the stadium ended up as $610,800,000. There are questions as to whether city's fiscal responsibility will rise above the $611 million for various hidden costs including overruns, but as of today, $611 million is the official number.

There are several other excellent websites like Ballpark and Beyond that cover the baseball stadium and surrounding development much better than I can on a one-day outing, but I wanted to go see the stadium site myself and see what these millions are buying. Full disclosure: I bought a partial ticket plan to the Nationals last year and will so again this year. I was against the public financing-at-all-cost strategy employed by former Mayor Williams, but am happy that an MLB team is located in the city of Washington. I would have liked to see the team owners (originally Major League Baseball, then the Lerner family) step up and take on a larger share of the fiscal burden, but since the former mayor ponied up and showed his cards before the game even began, we got caught holding the short straw.

Here are some photos of the stadium today from just outside its walls, from across the Anacostia River and from the Frederick Douglass Bridge.