Annual Holiday Party at a New Venue

Alum Sophie Mayer '11 will welcome us to her home in outer Petworth for our annual holiday party on December 12 from 6 PM to 9 PM.  Please being either a dish or a beverage to share; Reed cooks always bring us a few dishes that we have never had before, so the cuisine as well as the company is sure to be outstanding.  When you RSVP to me, plevy AT citizen DOT org, please indicate what kind of dish you will be bringing (if by the time you RSVP you have in mind to bring a dessert and everybody before you has indicated the same, I might steer you in a different direction).

Party is at 4301 Kansas Av, NW, about a ten minute walk north of the Petworth Metro station on the Green Line.

Rus-Uz: Restaurant Club enjoying Uzbek cuisine in December

The chapter's Restaurant Club will enjoy a meld of Russian and Uzbek cuisine at the Rus-Uz in Ballston (close to the Virginia Square as well as the Ballston Metro stops).  Broadly praised on Yelp and recommended as a "cheap eat" that is much fancier and more sophisticated than the typical such joint by the Post's Tim Carman. I myself have enjoyed Uzbek cuisine once before, but we'll have alum Margaret Anderson, an expert in the region, on-hand to guide us through the menu.

Calligraphy Scriptorium Comes to DC

On November 3, 2013, from 1:30 to 3:30, we will celebrate the beauty of hand lettering and its resonance at Reed when Gregory MacNaughton ’89, education outreach coordinator for the Cooley Art Gallery at Reed College, leads a calligraphy scriptorium modeled on the weekly scriptorium for students and staff that is held every week at the College.  Sunday's event will include refreshments, a lecture and demonstration, followed by a guided practice session.   Unless the weather is too foul, we will go on a walking tour of the surrounding neighborhood of Dupont Circle to examine letter forms.

The event will be held at Public Citizen, 1600 20th Street, Washington, DC, across the street from the northern entrance to the Dupont Circle station on Metro's Red Line.  Metro is really the best way to travel to the Scriptorium because parking can be difficult for those arriving on time in light of the heavily attended farmer's market across the street from 8:30 AM to 1 PM. (And it is worth arriving early -- it is an excellent if pricey market).

Restaurant Club Curries Favor by Favoring Curry in October

The restaurant club selection for October, a naan-stop source of puns, brings us to Curry Mantra 2 at 1077 W Broad St, Falls Church, Virginia,  on Thursday, October 10, 7:30 p.m.  Highly recommended by the Post's Tom Sietsema, Curry Mantra features a kitchen that is not only open to view by patrons but open to participation, because any guest who succeeds in making naan, the traditional Indian flatbread cooked in a clay oven, gets a free meal.  We were lucky that Curry Mantra happened to be offering Groupons this past week, so we will be eating at about half the usual price.

The restaurant is a fifteen minute walk from the West Falls Church Metro station on the Orange Line. 

Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement

If it weren't so expensive, the Newseum would be my very favorite museum in Washington -- yes, it's a shameless ad for some of our biggest mainstream media companies, which fund it, but then I am a First Amendment specialist and this place is a paean to the First Amendment.  But thanks to a stroke of luck, we have managed to get our hands on some free tickets that are good for the first day of admission and  the following day.

So we will descend on the Newseum on Saturday, December 7 at noon to see its recently opened exhibit on the role of students in the American Civil Rights Movement.  There is a Reed connection -- ten Reedies went to Mississippi in the summer of 1964 to participate in Freedom Summer, and one of them lives in DC.  Leading us in discussion, then, will be Bernard Wasow '65, one of the ten Reedies.

We have 28 free tickets to the Newseum, so this special offer will be available to the first 28 RSVPs only.  The entire collection is quite voluminous, but due to the "day after" deal you don't have to wear yourself out seeing it all in one day, if you can budget enough time to return on Sunday, too.


To RSVP, contact Paul Levy '72 at plevy <at> citizen.org.   The nearest subway stop is Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (yellow & green lines), although Judiciary Square on the red line is also reasonable close

Rare Books about Voyages of Exploration: A Tour at the Museum of Natural History

Roughly every two years, Leslie Overstreet ‘71 (and also a former DC Chapter Chair) invites the local alumni chapter to tour treasures with which she is lucky enough to work every day in the rare book room of the Smithosonian's Museum of Natural History.  This year, on November 16 at 11 AM, 1:30 PM or 3 PM, she will select for display and talk to us about  voyages of exploration in the 16th–19th centuries as portrayed in the collection, including original editions of Captain Cook’s narratives, Darwin on the Beagle, Livingstone & Stanley in Africa, and transcontinental expeditions across North America.

Because of the nature of the materials kept in the library, only a limited number of visitors may enter at any one time; to accommodate all who usually wish to attend, Leslie has agreed to offer three tours.  Admission to this event is by reservation only -- attendance is free but this event is usually fully subscribed, so do not wait to RSVP to Leslie at overstreetl <AT> si.edu and specify your preferred time slot and the full names of all attendees.  To protect the rare editions, only children over 10 are allowed.

August 2013 Restaurant Club at Thai Derm in Silver Spring

On August 28 at 7:30 PM, the DC Reed Alumni Chapter's restaurant club will help this venerable Thai noodle house in Silver Spring celebrate its thirtieth anniversary by taking advantage of a special coupon giving us fifteen percent off the menu price.   The Washington Post review lists dishes to try here


Thai Derm Restaurant
939 Bonifant St.
Silver Spring, MD  20910
301/589-5341
www.thaidermsilverspring.com

Nearest Metro station: Silver Spring (red line)


939 Bonifant St., Silver Spring MD
RSVP to Bennett Barsk '82 at bbarsk@msn.com

Daikaya's Izakaya & Ramen House: Reedies will combine Thirsty Thursday with Restaurant Club July 11

Daikaya ("House of Big Cooking Pot") features two different entrances and two different menus.  

Reedies will meet first for Thirsty Third Thursday at the upstairs Izakaya (Japanese tavern), since that's where the bar is located:  see these inviting descriptions in the Washington City Paper, including $4, $6 wines, and a variety of $3 tapas. 

Later in the evening, for Restaurant Club, we'll shift gears and go downstairs to the Ramen House.  Tom Sietsema's glowing review in the Washington Post is here .

Thursday, July 11, 6 p.m. at bar on second floor Izakaya (TTT); 7:30 p.m. at Ramen House on first floor (Restaurant Club).  Come for one, or come for both.

Dim sum feast for DC Reedies: A & J Restaurant

On Sunday, June 23, Reedies in DC will convene for our annual dim sum brunch, this year at the A&J Restaurant in Rockville, Maryland.  The place is highly touted for dim sum by both Post restaurant reviewer Tom Sietsma (included as well as one of the fifty restaurants in his Fall 2012 dining guide) and by DC's ethnic eating maven Tyler Cowen, who lists this as one of the eateries no area foodie should miss. We will gather at 10:45 AM and we need to know how many are coming because they will save us a table in a joint that is otherwise no-reservations and invariably packed.

There is parking in the lot of this strip mall (Woodmont Station Shopping Center), but the restaurant is also about a five-minute walk from the Twinbrook Metro Station.

Address:  1319 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD

Also featured in the Washingtonian.

Annual DC Alumni Chapter Picnic

On Sunday, July 21, 4:00-8:00 p.m., we will again take advantage of the generosity of Richard Goodwin '63 and Judith Bell '63, who will host our annual picnic in the luxurious backyard and gardens of the their residence, at 7621 Cabin Road, Cabin John, Maryland 20818.   This place is so rural-feeling that you won't believe you are inside the Beltway.  Enjoy typical as well as upscale picnic fare for a nominal charge. There are tarps in the event of rain. Rides to and from the residence can be arranged in advance. RSVP to Bennett Barsk '82 at bbarsk@msn.com.

May Restaurant Club -- East Dumpling House in Rockville

Join fellow alumni for the Restaurant Club selection for May, East Dumpling House in Rockville, Maryland, on Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. 

The menu features kabobs and dumplings (38 varieties), as well as cold dishes. According to DC ethnic food maven Tyler Cowen, "These are the best dumplings around, and this place should immediately be considered essential dining."  Other local food bloggers are raving as well.  And making up for last month's quite expensive restaurant venue, this choice is one of the cheapest places the Restaurant Club has visited for quite some time.

The restaurant is Metro-accessible (near the Rockville on the red line), if you drive, note that you will need to get your parking validated at the restaurant.

Thursday, May 30, 7:30 p.m.

East Dumpling House
12 N. Washington Ave, Suite 14G
Rockville, MD  20850
301/762-6200

Nearest Metro station:

RSVP to Bennett Barsk '82 at bbarsk@msn.com

Reed Restaurant Club for April: Russian, or Thai, or both

This month we are going to hit two separate venues --  a Thai New Year's festival in the outer Virginia suburbs, southwest of Dulles Airport, and a trendy Russian restaurant south of Dupont Circle. 

Songkran Festival in Virginia

On Sunday morning, April 28, at 11 a.m., join fellow alumni as we head to Aldie, Virginia for the annual Songkran festival at Wat Pananchart - Songkran is the New Year's festival where Thais "make merit" by feeding the monks, and there is a lot of scrumptious homemade food for sale at VERY reasonable prices (and yes, it IS allowed, and even expected, to feed yourself). If we are lucky and the weather is nice enough, we will be there for the water-throwing part of the festival.

The various temples in the area take turns hosting Songkran festivals on successive Sundays.  Had you tried to attend Songkran at Wat Thai DC on Layhill Road last Sunday, you would have had to park a mile away and waited on line for over half an hour to get food unless you arrived promptly at the beginning of the festival at 9 AM.  Songkran in Aldie is a much lower key affair; we will plan to arrive at 11 AM and we  should be fine.

40539 John Mosby Highway

Aldie, Virginia 20105

(Out Route 50 past Dulles Airport)

Rides can be arranged for those without access to wheels of their own. Contact Paul Levy '72  for further information or to arrange rides.

Fine Russian Cuisine, downtown DC

Then on Tuesday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m., join possibly different fellow alumni as we enjoy a fine-dining experience at Mari Vanna, a Metro-accessible Russian restaurant located in downtown DC.  Mari Vanna is a strong new entrant on the Russian-cuisine scene. You can stick to several different versions of blini (traditional homemade Russian crepes) or Siberian pelmeni (handmade dumplings) or vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings) or go dig into beef stroganoff, rabbit solyanka, oven roasted quail, or half-smoked salmon. Mari Vanna also features an amazing vodka collection--you can get a full glass, or a brimming shot glass for $8. Try the vodka infused with horseradish, or honey and oats, or sea buckthorn.  

The Russian ex-pat and business crowd can be a wealthy one, and this restaurant is definitely more expensive than the usual restaurant-club outing, but we will be sensitive to making this meal affordable to alumni on more limited budgets.  We will need reservations, so please let Margaret Anderson know that yo are coming so that we can be sure that the reservation is big enough.

Tuesday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.

Mari Vanna Restaurant

1141 Connecticut Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20036

202/783-7777

Nearest Metro station: Farragut West (blue line) or Farragut North (red line).

American Utopias at the Woolly Mammoth -- Chat with the Playwright

On April 17, DC-area Reedies will be able to attend the play American Utopias at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D Street, NW, with the benefit of discounted tickets; playwright Mike Daisey will meet up with the group afterwards for drinks and a discussion of his work at Oyamel, a first-rate Mexican tapas place around the corner from the theater (also featuring a excellent roster of tequilas). 

To get discounted tickets (@ $32, which is 25% less than the normal price), contact chapter chair Bennett Barsk, bbarsk AT msn.com.

Several of the group will have dinner beforehand at Carmine's, a family-style Italian restaurant near the theater (425 Seventh Street NW).

Reed on the Road Comes to DC: Meet John Kroger March 6, 2013

Once a year, Reed College sends a representative of the alumni office and either a member of the faculty or, sometimes, the president of the college to visit alumni in Washington, DC as well as other metropolitan areas with heavy concentrations of Reed alums, in a program called “Reed on the Road.” This year, the event will be held at the University Club, 1135 16th St NW in DC, on Wednesday, March 6, beginning at 6:30 PM.  Important to note that the University Club's dress code requires business casual attire -- better than when we used to meet at the Cosmos Club where traditional business attire was needed.

For many Reedies, this will be the first chance to meet Reed’s new president, John Kroger, who will talk to us about developments at the college as well as where the college is going.

Attendees are asked to read a New Yorker article by Louis Menand  before coming. The program is designed to be highly participatory, with a panel about the future of the Reed curriculum followed by small-group discussions of curricular questions (these for example).  This blog includes some on-going alumni discussion of the Reed on the Road themes.

We can expect that Kroger will be asked to address the recent controversy about his precipitate decision to cancel certain Paideia classes.  A relevant article  with links to several others is here.  An article by the editor of Reed Magazine, putting forth the official line better than Kroger has in my opinion managed to do, is here.
There has also been a rollicking debate on the Reedies Facebook page (access is limited to alums.  John Sheehy '82 does the screening; you can get his contact info through IRIS, or I can give it to you if you have not set up your IRIS account.  But you really should maintain a current IRIS account).

Reedies who plan to attend are asked to register here.  

Thirsty Third Monday at the Passenger: 10% of the Tab Goes to Financial Aid at Reed

The DC Chapter of the Reed College Alumni Association will be holding its monthly "Thirsty Third Thursday" on March's Third Monday instead.  Why MTM?   Because The Passenger -- which is widely believed to mix the best cocktails in DC -- is willing to provide 10% of all bar proceeds on select Mondays.   That's not just 10% of what Reedies drink, but ten percent of the entire proceeds during the chapter's event!

So, beginning at 5 PM on Monday, March 18, you can come to and have a drink to network and support other Reedies and the bar itself will make a financial donation to Reed financial aid. Pretty cool, eh?

Please invite every Reed and non-Reed person you know to this event. You don't have to be there when it starts, but you should certainly come before 8pm?

You can learn more about the Passenger, located at 1021 7th St. NW in the District, on its Yelp page or its own home page.  Check back here for additional details.