Category Archives: Reporting

Jingle Berry, Jingle Merry: Smirnoff Limited Edition Vodka for Holiday Cheer

‘Tis the season for all sorts of special holiday versions of old favorite brands. And so, the merry elves at Taylor Strategies have sent along a Limited Edition of Smirnoff vodka to sample. Continue reading

Posted in Product Review, Reporting | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Strutting and Fretting and Grilling and Eating

Since it’s a well-known fact that Shakespeare adapted the plots of existing plays for his own masterworks, no shade should be cast on Fat Ham’s playwright James Ijames for lifting the plot and major characters from Hamlet.  What he builds on this scaffolding is all his own, totally enjoyable, and even a little profound. Continue reading

Posted in Media Review, Reporting | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Indistinguishable From Magic: Koji Up Close

Although far less familiar in the West, koji has been the foundation of Japanese cuisine for centuries.  It’s rice (or another starch) inoculated with the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, and it’s the basic ingredient for soy sauce, sake, miso, rice vinegar and many other products.  Now koji has become the trendy plaything of chefs all over the world. Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Events, Reporting | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Holey Socks, Holy Smokes!

The success of a two-hander play depends on two things: the script and the relationship between the two players. In The Mountaintop, one sex has a slight advantage: she’s literally heavenly. Continue reading

Posted in Eating, Events, Media Review, Reporting | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Think Inc. When Viewing Ink at Round House

What do you think of when you think of Rupert Murdoch?  A ruthless businessman who runs a billion-dollar world-wide publishing empire?  But did you know he acquired a rundown newspaper in 1969 and turned it into the best-selling tabloid in Britain inside of a year? Ink is that story. Continue reading

Posted in Eating, Media Review, Reporting | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Synergy and Serendipity at the National Book Festival

The National Book Festival attracted throngs of book-lovers to the Washington Convention Center. I was one of them. Continue reading

Posted in Events, Reporting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three Odd Things: Movie Tie-Ins

Supermarkets are a fount of inspiration for Catillation. Here’s a collection of the weirder movie tie-in products I’ve noticed in Harris Teeter and Giant lately. Continue reading

Posted in Product Review, Reporting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tomato Smackdown

Field-grown or tunneled, which tomato tastes better? Continue reading

Posted in Eating, Product Review, Reporting | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

!9 Kitchens 9!: New Kitchens on the Block at Mess Hall

This last version of New Kitchens on the Block was the ninth opportunity to try the wares of a slew of emerging eateries all at once. Continue reading

Posted in Eating, Events, Reporting, Restaurant Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anticipation: Waiting for Two Openings

For months now, two opening events have been eagerly awaited in these parts.  Salt and Vine, the new restaurant in the Olney House, has been soft-opened for dinner for about a week.  The other, Olney Winery in Ashton, now projects opening “sometime between June and July.” Continue reading

Posted in Events, Reporting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment