Arlo Washington DC

Dates: March 1 — April 30
Price: Starting at $198 per night

The Petals and Pedals package includes a 25 percent discount on your stay, free parking, and a complimentary 45-minute Capital Bike rental to explore the city. 

Capital Hilton

Dates:  March 20 — April 12
Price: Starting at $269 per night

Book the hotel’s cherry blossom deal for a bento box with Japanese candies and snacks, a kite to fly at the Blossom Kite Festival, and cherry tree-inspired cocktails. 

Conrad Washington DC

Dates: March 1 — April 30
Price: Starting at $3,900; minimum of two nights required 

For a luxurious spring escape, the hotel’s cherry blossom package includes a chauffeured tour of the city, robot massages, and petal-themed room decor. You’ll also get access to the hotel’s Sakura Club for breakfast, dinner, and a Japanese whisky tasting.

Hotel AKA Washington Circle

Dates: Through April 12
Price: Starting at $300 per night

The DC in Bloom package includes a $40 food and beverage credit for each night you spend at the hotel plus welcome drinks from A Kitchen + Bar.

Hotel Washington

Dates: March 20 — April 21
Price: Starting at $374 per night

Guests who book the Bloom with a Vue package are greeted with a cherry blossom basket and also receive a $25 dining credit daily. 

InterContinental Washington DC

Dates: March 1 — April 11
Price: Starting at $1,204 per night

The Cherry Blossom Retreat package includes a room or suite with waterfront views, breakfast in bed, and an 80-minute massage for two.

The Line Hotel

Dates: Through April 30
Price: Starting at $294 per night

For 15 percent off your stay and a $25 food and beverage credit at hotel restaurant No Goodbyes, book through the Cherry Blossom Bliss deal.

Lyle DC

Dates: Through April 20
Price: Starting at $283 per night; minimum of two nights required

If you enjoy exploring the city on foot, this package includes two vouchers for a cherry blossom and architecture walk organized by DC Design Tours. 

The Mayflower Hotel

Dates: March 1 — April 30
Price: $1,000 per night

Channel blossom royalty with the Cherry Blossom Princess Fantasy Suite Experience. The package includes dinner at the hotel’s brasserie and a stay in the presidential suite.

Omni Shoreham

Dates: Through April 13
Price: Starting at $195 per night

This springtime package includes a welcome gift with a Japanese travel tea set, matcha cookies, and blossom brooch. Select weekends feature a Japanese Koto performance in the lobby.

Rosewood

Dates: March 1 —  May 31
Price: Starting at $9,950 per night; minimum of two nights required

Book the Georgetown hotel’s cherry blossom package for a variety of posh amenities: private transportation, afternoon tea, a caviar and Champagne flight, private monument tours, three-course dinner with wine pairings, and more. In the evening, retire to a presidential suite or townhouse accommodations.

Salamander DC 

Dates: March 20 — April 8
Price: Starting at $923 per night; minimum of two nights required

The cherry blossom deal includes a private walkway to the Tidal Basin, afternoon tea for two, and a room with views of the trees.

The Ven at Embassy Row

Dates:  March 20 — April 12
Price: Starting at $334 per night 

For a cherry blossom tote stuffed with local treats and themed gifts, book through the hotel’s seasonal deal.

Waldorf Astoria

Dates: March 16 — May 11
Price: Starting at $1,380 per night

The hotel has two packages for cherry blossom season. The Petals and Pours deal includes a mixology session, late checkout, and rosé Champagne while the Cherry Blossom family Adventure features an origami class, kite kits, and $250 hotel credit.

Willard InterContinental

Dates: March 13 — April 26
Price: Starting at $430 per night

It’s been 166 years since the Willard hosted the first Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States, so the hotel is celebrating with a Blossoms and Diplomacy package that includes a $166 spa credit and history tour. 

The post 15 DC Hotel Packages for Cherry Blossom Season first appeared on Washingtonian.

Visitors must reserve the zoo’s standard time-entry pass to greet Linh Mai. Passes are free and can be secured online up to 30 days in advance. The Elephant Cam will also turn back on for her debut day. Zoo members have an opportunity to see the baby before the general public from April 15 to April 19.

Though she has yet to meet her adoring fans, little Linh Mai has stayed busy. According to the zoo, she’s been splashing around water and getting comfortable in her outdoor space, an open-air nursery for the petite pachyderm.

But hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine. Mom Nhi Linh has been struggling to adjust to the newest addition to the family, so Linh Mai has been temporarily separated from her. Fear not: This isn’t a Punch the monkey situation. Linh Mai has found elephant care elsewhere, cozying up to 52-year-old Swarna, and the five-week-old also recently met her father, Spike.

The post You Can Soon Visit the Baby Elephant at the National Zoo first appeared on Washingtonian.

There are two kinds of bars on St. Patrick’s Day (Tuesday, March 17): places that throw a leprechaun on the door, and real Irish pubs that celebrate with live music, dancing, and traditional food and drink. We’ll get festive at the latter—see a full lineup below.

DC Pubs

Boundary Stone

116 Rhode Island Ave., NW

Bloomingdale’s neighborhood pub, run by longtime friends Gareth Croke and Colin McDonough, is celebrating all weekend with classic pub bites, bands, and brunch fare with Irish twists. On Tuesday, it’ll open at noon for pint specials.

The Dubliner

4 F St., NW

The Coleman family-owned institution has poured Irish beers on Capitol Hill for nearly 50 years. Patrons can drop by on St. Patrick’s Day starting at 9 AM for an all-day party with live music, Irish dancing, full lunch and dinner menus (we have our eye on the corned beef and cabbage or shepherd’s pie), and 52-cent Guinnesses before 10 AM. 

Kirwan’s on the Wharf, Samuel Beckett’s, and The Dark Horse

749 Wharf St., SW, 2800 S Randolph St., Arlington, and 659 Zachary Taylor Hwy., Flint Hill

Tipperary native Mark Kirwan is behind these Irish gastropubs on Southwest DC’s Wharf (Kirwan’s) and in Arlington (Samuel Beckett’s) and Flint Hill (the Dark Horse). Dark Horse’s bash kicks off on Saturday, March 14, with an evening performance by Irish band One Street Over, while Samuel Beckett’s party is an all-day affair of live entertainment on Tuesday, March 17. Also on Saturday, March 14, is the Ireland on the Wharf festival, co-hosted by Kirwan’s with a waterfront beer garden, live music, and dancing. 

Kelly’s Irish Times

14 F St., NW

This self-described “quaint, sometimes boisterous” pub near Union Station has served pints and an extensive selection of whiskeys for over four decades. St. Patrick’s Day—the celebration starts here at 10 AM—brings thirsty crowds looking for a good time with $5 Jell-O shots.

Virginia Pubs

The Auld Shebeen

3971 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax

Fairfax City’s classic Irish pub is a popular gathering place for musicians—there’s often live music on the calendar—as well as fans of home-style cooking like potato/leek soup or Guinness beef stew. There’s plenty of live music and specials scheduled through the week and on St. Patrick’s Day itself.

The Celtic House

2500 Columbia Pk., Arlington

Drop by this stalwart pub, which opens at 9 AM on St. Patrick’s Day for a satisfying Irish breakfast through 11 AM, plus hours of live music, beer, and Irish dancing. More live music and festivities start on Saturday, March 14 through the Tuesday holiday. Reservations, and early arrival, are recommended.

Ireland’s Four Courts

2051 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

Get ready for a full weekend of St. Patrick’s fun at this Arlington pub. Doors open at 7 AM on Saturday, March 14;  9:30 AM on Sunday, March 15; and 10 AM on Tuesday, March 17. Revelers can check out over 10 live bands, plus traditional Irish dancers.

Ireland’s Four Provinces

105 W. Broad St., Falls Church

Cork native Colm Dillon runs “Four P’s,” a Falls Church staple of nearly three decades. Neighbors love it for the large patio and bar (with TVs for streaming sports) and music inside and out. St. Patrick’s Day lasts the whole weekend, with all-day parties from Friday through Tuesday. On the big day, expect a “K’eggs breakfast,” a three-course midday meal (reservations required), and plenty of live music.

Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub

713 King St., Alexandria

Old Town is home to a large Irish-American community and several pubs. This one is among the best. Listen to live music throughout this week, or sip a stout alongside a plate of bangers and mash. On St. Patrick’s Day, doors open at 9 AM and there’s live music and dancing all day.

The Old Brogue

760 Walker Rd., Great Falls

The 43 year-old pub is equipped with a large patio for sipping Smithwick’s in summer and a fireplace warming the room in winter. Comfort fare is served year-round, with plenty of sausages, savory pies, and stews. Doors open at 11 AM on St. Patrick’s Day ($15 cover), with additional lunchtime and dinnertime concert tickets available for purchase. There are music and dance performances throughout the weekend, too.

Maryland Pubs

The Irish Inn at Glen Echo

6119 Tulane Ave., Glen Echo

The atmospheric inn is a great place to avoid green-beer-chugging crowds and celebrate the holiday with family and friends. Patrons can sip Guinness at the bar, tuck into dishes like potato/leek soup, and catch live Irish music and dancing. On St. Patrick’s Day, expect outdoor bars (cash only), live music and dancing, and a $10 cover. Check outthis video with co-owner Christy Hughes as he reflects on coming to America, working at the Dubliner for 18 years, and opening his own Irish bars and restaurants.

The Limerick Pub

11301 Elkin St., Wheaton

Regulars can relax by the fire or play darts at this Wheaton pub. Doors open at 10 AM for St. Patrick’s day festivities, which include live music and traditional Irish dishes like corned beef and cabbage. There will be a cover charge (still TBD) which includes one drink. The event is 21+.

McGinty’s Public House

911 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring

This gathering place in downtown Silver Spring comes from Irish-born owners, and the menu boasts a few less-common finds like an Irish “boxty” (potato-and-cheddar cake) and colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage). On St. Patrick’s Day, catch concerts and a traditional Irish dance with no cover. 

The post The Best Irish Pubs for Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day Around DC first appeared on Washingtonian.

The Admiral

1 Dupont Cir., NW

The Dupont Circle bar is playing the tournament across 15 screens with the volume on. Pair game play with $13 cheesesteak egg rolls, $13 smoked chicken nachos, $7 Miller Lite, and $10 Tito’s palomas.

BOE

2854 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

From March 19 to 22, stop by this country bar to watch the games (12 PM to 7 PM). Drink specials include $4 beers and $8 BOE Bombs.

Crystal City Sports Pub

529 23rd St. S., Arlington

The sports bar will open the third floor early for big matchups. Games are displayed on a 18-foot video wall and across 100 TVs.

First Down Sports Bar

4213 Fairfax Dr., Arlington

Find $12 stadium cans, $7 Sun Cruisers, and $9 Moscow Mules throughout the tournament. Multiple games will play across 30 TVs.

Franklin Hall

1348 Florida Ave., NW

Catch all the shots across 20 screens. Drink specials include $6 Bud Light cans and a bucket of five for $25.

Ivy and Coney

1537 7th St., NW

The Shaw bar is showing every game on 10 televisions and hosting a bracket competition.

Mission Navy Yard

1221 Van St., SE

This Navy Yard spot is offering discounts on chicken rollups, nachos, and tres amigos. There are also $40 mix-and-match seltzer buckets and $35 pitchers. Games are streamed across 22 screens with the sound on.

Tom’s Watch Bar

1250 Half St., SE

The sports bar is showing buzzer-beaters on its 360 degree screens as early as 11 AM. Watch parties are taking place on March 27 and 28, featuring free food, drinks, and merch.

Quincy Hall

4001 Fairfax Dr., Arlington

Twenty screens are showing all of the March Madness games. Drink specials include buy four, get one free for canned cocktails or canned beer and $20 Quincy Hall Mexican lager pitchers.

Whitlow’s

901 U St., NW, 949 Wharf St., SW, 101 Market Sq., SW

Multiple Whitlow’s locations are hosting March Madness festivities, including the tiki boat. Head to U Street for 17 televisions, $30 beer buckets, and discounts on bar fare such as fried pickles and chicken wings. The Wharf bar also has food and drink specials, plus 15 screens. Both locations will open early for midday games. Climb aboard Whitlow’s on Water for an aquatic game day featuring snacks, drinks, and televisions.

The post Where to Watch March Madness 2026 Around DC first appeared on Washingtonian.

Sports this weekend: The Washington Spirit host Portland Thorns FC in their season opener tonight. (Here’s our season preview.) The Capitals host Boston Saturday. The Wizards visit Boston Saturday. D.C. United visits Chicago Saturday.

Have a great weekend, and may your Oscar ballot bring you success. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.

I can’t stop listening to:

Toni Braxton, “Un-Break My Heart.” I do not mind telling you that this scorcher is one of my favorite songs of all time. Braxton plays Capital One Arena tonight with New Edition and Boys II Men.

Take Washingtonian Today with you! I keep ridiculously long playlists on Apple Music and on Spotify of this year’s music recommendations. Here are 2025’s songs (Apple, Spotify), too.

Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:

War news: A US KC-135 refueling plane crashed in Iraq yesterday, apparently the result of an accident with another Stratotanker. (Washington Post) Four of the plane’s six crew members have died. (AP) A French soldier was killed in an attack on a base in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. (France24) An airstrike hit a demonstration in Tehran today. (AP) The USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft operating in the region, had a laundry room fire that didn’t hinder its operability. (Navy Times) Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, vowed to attack US bases in the region as President Trump‘s war in Iran approaches the two-week mark. (CNBC)

Persian gulp: The International Energy Agency said the war had prompted “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” (NYT) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Trump had temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil that’s at sea in a bid to keep a lid on energy prices, which are soaring due to his war. The decision “will provide a huge financial boost to Russia,” whose sales of oil have increased. (Washington Post) Bessent also said the US Navy would escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has vowed to close, “as soon as it is militarily possible.” (Sky News) At least 16 ships have been attacked in the Persian Gulf since the start of the war. (NYT) Markets have retreated, and Brent crude traded for $101 a barrel. (AP) Administration officials depict fuel price rises as temporary, but high prices will likely persist for a while. (Politico) Multiple sources tell CNN the administration “significantly underestimated” threats to oil supplies. (CNN)

The politics of it all: Trump claimed Iran is “about to surrender” in a call with G7 leaders. (Axios) Israeli officials don’t believe Iran’s regime is likely to fall anytime soon. (WSJ) Trump wants “hawks to believe the campaign continues, wants markets to believe the war might end soon and his base to believe escalation will be limited,” an adviser said. (Reuters) Vice President JD Vance opposed the war but is now “fully on board.” (Politico)

Meanwhile, on the Hill: The Senate passed a big, bipartisan housing bill in hopes of addressing Americans’ grave fears about affordability. (NBC News) Trump is intensely focused instead on a voter-ID bill, and the pressure he’s applying ” is driving a wedge between” him and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. (Punchbowl News)

Administration perambulation: TSA screeners will miss their first full paychecks of the shutdown as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown nears the one-month mark, with no progress in sight. (Politico) Trump nominated Sarah Rogers to lead the US Agency for Global Media after a federal judge invalidated Kari Lake‘s tenure there. (NBC News) An arbitrator ruled that the Social Security Administration must restore telework for many workers. (Government Executive) A Department of Justice press release yesterday referred to “President Trump’s Justice Department.“ (Law Dork) Trump has a memecoin (I’ll trust you to figure out what that is, because I do not care) and has advertised a lunch with him for top investors. (Politico) FBI agents will train with UFC cage fighters, FBI Director Kash Patel announced. (WSJ) US Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama posted that “the enemy is inside the gates” after NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted iftar at City Hall. (Washington Post)

Recently on Washingtonian dot com:

• Fun, complicated, disruptive: A preview of the IndyCar race coming to the Mall this summer.

• Corner Bites in Rockville is a terrific new dim sum spot that doesn’t have carts—on purpose.

• The Commodore will open an Alexandria location today—bringing its “five-star dive bar” concept to Old Town.

• The Old Raj Martini at Eebee’s, the “Elixir of Immortality” at Lucky Danger: Here are lots of our favorite cocktails around town.

• Mozzarella sticks are staging a comeback at area bars. Welcome news!

• The Washington Post has introduced “algorithmic pricing” for subscribers. What could that mean?

• Here are some ideas for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

Local news links:

• Top DC strategist Juleanna Glover asked Jeffrey Epstein for help solving a problem for her client Elon Musk and “made a brief attempt to fashion him into a champion of democracy.” Glover says she corresponded with the now-deceased, disgraced financier to gain “information that could sink Trump’s reelection,” but “there are no emails between Glover and Epstein that show her soliciting information from him about Trump.” (Politico)

• US Army Lieutenant Colonel Brandon A. Shah is dead and two other service members were wounded in a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk yesterday. The gunman, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was also killed; he was convicted of attempting to aid ISIS in 2016 and was released in 2024. (NBC News)

• Jeff Bezos briefly paid attention to the Washington Post yesterday, hosting an Amazon-style meeting for Post machers at his Kalorama mansion. (Ben Mullin/X)

• Georgetown University’s College Republicans posted, “Let’s Be Honest: Muslims have no place in American society” and then deleted the post. The university condemned the post and said it’s “reviewing this matter.” (NBC4 Washington)

• A federal judge said he’d rule soon in a bid by US Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio to halt Trump’s planned closure and renovation of the Kennedy Center. The center’s board, which is filled with handpicked Trump appointees and okayed slapping his name on the building, will “consider” the proposed closing Monday. There may be some vigorous debate about how hard they can approve it, I suppose? (WTOP)

• You have until March 22 to view a piece of a slave ship that’s been on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture since 2016. The artifact will return to the South African museum that loaned it; museum deputy director Michelle Commander says the transaction was long-planned and is unrelated to Trump’s zeal to revamp Smithsonian exhibits. (AP)

• A falling tree killed a driver on the GW Parkway yesterday. It’s the second time such a death has occurred on that roadway in a year. (NBC4 Washington) A driver hit the living room of a house in Germantown; two residents were upstairs and unhurt, and two people inside the vehicle were injured. (ABC7) A driver hit a dog daycare in Potomac and ended up in its swimming pool. (MoCo Show) A car police say was stolen crashed into a tree near the Jefferson Memorial following a pursuit. (WUSA9) Cops say the man who drove his van through a barricade near the White House Wednesday told them he was “there to deliver a present for the president.” (WUSA9)

• Police say a man walking his dog on the Sligo Creek Trail was attacked by someone who hit him in the head with a rock. (BethesdaToday)

• Prosecutors say Deyon Hampton Jr. threw dynamite into an occupied DC apartment on February 14, and they “expressed shock that no one was seriously injured.” (WUSA9)

• Arlingtonians could pay more in taxes if commercial properties continued to lose value, County Manager Mark Schwartz said. (ARLnow)

• Nathan Tate, a former DC cop who was knocked to the ground while helping to defend the US Capitol from a riot by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, now teaches history in LaPlata. (Fox 5)

Weekend event picks:

Friday: Awesome Con kicks off.

Saturday: The Ireland at the Wharf party gets things going for St. Patrick’s Day next week.

Sunday: The Press Club record bar collaborates with Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour for a cocktail event.

See lots more picks for the weekend from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.

Bonus event pick from me: My former coworker Rin-rin Yu will talk about her new book, “Goodbye, French Fry” with my current coworker Kate Corliss at the Chinese American Museum Saturday afternoon.

Correction: I originally wrote that the Spirit opener was tomorrow; it’s tonight (Friday).

The post DC Strategist’s Emails With Epstein Go Under the Microscope, Oil Prices Will Likely Be High for a While, and Jeff Bezos Briefly Paid Attention to the Washington Post first appeared on Washingtonian.

Last year, Steven Wu was feeling pessimistic about the state of dim sum in the DC area. The Guangzhou native, who ran a pan-Asian restaurant in Annapolis, was well acquainted with the local Cantonese seafood palaces and teahouses serving the food of his childhood—and he felt they were declining in both quality and ranks.

“Dim sum was going to be disappearing soon,” Wu says. “The young generation doesn’t want to work in the kitchen, and the chefs are retiring. Right now, a lot of restaurants are ordering frozen dim sum from New York and California, so I’m afraid that the rest of my life, people would be eating, like, 60 or 70 percent frozen dim sum.”

Wu decided to do his part to reverse that. He hired Hong Kong–born chef Zhou “Joe” Zhuohuan and last August opened Corner Bites in the same downtown Rockville space that once housed Bob’s Noodle 66.

There are no pushcarts here, which will disappoint some traditionalists. Wu thinks the best dim sum is served to order for maximal freshness. I’ll take the tradeoff: The crumb of the pineapple buns is so tender, the bean-curd-skin wraps so juicy, the egg tarts so flaky, the rice-noodle rolls so delicate, that I didn’t miss the carts.

Those sunflower-yellow pineapple buns may be Wu’s proudest achievement. (Pineapple buns don’t contain pineapple—they’re named for their sugar-cookie-like topping, which resembles the fruit’s texture.) Hong Kong teahouses often split them and slide a pat of butter inside; the Corner Bites version is filled with gooey egg custard instead.

As brunchtime transitions to lunch, more wok-fired and stewed dishes appear on tables. Everyone orders chow fun, the thick, charred rice noodles tangled with sliced beef, Chinese broccoli, tomatoes, and bean sprouts. Zhou expertly applies the Cantonese “salt and pepper” treatment—deep-frying and tossing with an umami seasoning blend, garlic, scallions, and green chilies—to both pork and seafood. Sweet-and-sour pork chops, just this side of saccharine, are piled with still-crisp onion and bell pepper.

These dishes, which became Chinese American staples, are deeply familiar. In fact, for many Washingtonians, Rockville may have been the first place they tried Chinese food that wasn’t beef chow fun or sweet-and-sour pork. For decades, most Americans’ idea of Chinese food was essentially simplified Cantonese cuisine. Only since the ’70s and ’80s have more immigrants from other regions arrived, eventually filling communities such as LA’s San Gabriel Valley; Flushing, Queens; and Rockville with Sichuan, Yunnan, and Shaanxi-style eateries.

But the Hong Kong repertoire goes deeper than just those original takeout staples. Corner Bites serves a mean black-pepper beef, clay-pot rice, and century-egg-topped congee, as well as traditional roast meats such as barbecue duck and honey-glazed pork. Then there’s fish: This place doesn’t have the aquarium’s worth of lobster tanks that characterize some Cantonese restaurants, but dishes like flounder stir-fried with XO sauce show off Zhou’s way with seafood.

Wu believes many of his customers have a renewed appreciation for the pleasures of Cantonese cooking: “Dim sum is super-hard, and it’s hard to find a good chef. But opening a dim sum restaurant was my dream.”

This article appears in the March 2026 issue of Washingtonian.

The post Looking for Great Dim Sum? Head to This Rockville Newcomer. first appeared on Washingtonian.

The Commodore in DC—opening a second location in Old Town Alexandria today—calls itself a “five-star dive bar.” For owners Rob Van de Graaff and chef Steve Kim, that means it may be brand new, but it aims to have a certain comfortability “where you know the bartenders, you know the staff.” It means fried pickles and Miller High Life, but also a spicy bucatini and espresso martinis.

“Dive bar” here also has a double meaning, because the place is nautically themed—from an old-school diving suit to a kraken mural. A Navy vet was the original owner of the Commodore, which resided in Logan Circle before relocating to Dupont Circle.

Van de Graaff says regulars who lived in Alexandria had been pestering them for years to open a place in their neighborhood. That was enough for the bar owners to search for a location in Old Town, where they ultimately took over the former Mystic BBQ & Grill space.

New to the menu is a full lineup of Chicago tavern-style pizzas. The pies are characterized by their thin, cracker-like crust, which Kim notes is ideal when you want to drink a few beers and not be too full. The dough is fermented for 48 hours then rolled out and “cured” in the walk-in fridge for two days so it gets super crispy and crunchy. The pies come in 12 inch ($20-$22) or 16 inch ($24-$26) sizes, cut into squares. Among the 10 different options: a “Chicago Classic” pizza with spicy Italian sausage and giardiniera and “Pigs in the Garden” option with prosciutto, pesto drizzle, burrata, pickled onion, and balsamic glaze.

The rest of the menu includes bar snacks like wings, chicken tenders, and panko-crusted pimento cheese balls with Nashville hot oil. You’ll also find burgers, subs, and pastas, including a Cajun seafood pasta.

The bar has 11 draft beer lines plus one draft cocktail: the Navy Grog, a favorite at the DC location, with a house rum blend, orange blossom honey syrup, lime, grapefruit, and ginger ale. They also have a machine just to serve espresso martinis on draft, plus a selection of classic cocktails ($13-$14).

The 6,900-square-foot bar is more than double the size of the DC location. One room with board games and arcade games like Street Fighter and Pac-Man is designed to feel like you’re in a ship, with rope hanging from the ceiling and buoys on the wall. Another room aims to have more of a dive bar feel with a custom pool table and dart boards, plus a massive mural of a diver fighting a kraken. Then there’s a main dining room with a bar and booths and a private room for events or weekly trivia. (They plan to do competitions twice a year, pitting the best trivia team in DC against the best in Alexandria.)

In DC, a lot of the decor has been gifted by regulars, such as an octopus giving the middle finger with each tentacle. The owners hope to keep the same trend going in Alexandria.

“I don’t think there’s a higher form of compliment than for us to get something like that. So we’re happy to display it,” Van de Graff says.

The post “Five-Star Dive Bar” the Commodore Is Opening in Old Town Alexandria first appeared on Washingtonian.

The Post‘s use of algorithmic pricing is not surprising, given the newspaper’s recent fixation on artificial intelligence—consider its AI-powered search engine and robot-led podcast. When we asked the Post for comment on its algorithmic pricing mechanisms, a spokesperson directed us to a blog post from the publication’s engineering team. The article explains how an AI-driven “smart metering model” determines the number of free articles both anonymous users (who are not registered on the Post‘s website) and registered users (who have free online accounts but no paid subscription) can access before a paywall pops up. But it doesn’t touch specifically on how the Post uses subscriber information to determine pricing.

For some insight on how companies might mine reader data in order to maximize profit, we reached out to Luca Cian, a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Though Cian does not have firsthand knowledge of how the Post‘s algorithmic pricing model works, he says that many such models rely on user demographics and location to determine how much they might be willing to pay for a product.

Companies have long been using geographic information to dictate pricing. In 2015, ProPublica reporters discovered that the Princeton Review was charging more for the same SAT tutoring package in areas with higher Asian populations. “They call it the ‘tiger mom tax’ because they thought, ‘OK, that population most probably will really be focused on things like SAT product packages,'” Cian says. But the advent of real-time AI models has enabled companies to engage with individual user data more intricately. Instacart recently killed an algorithmic pricing model that allowed grocery stores to charge certain shoppers as much as $2.56 more for the same item. Post owner Jeff Bezos’ Amazon came under fire last year when the retailer’s dynamic pricing mechanism reportedly charged local school districts vastly different prices for the same supplies, sometimes even on the same day.

A Federal Trade Commission study published early last year found that users’ browser histories and location data are often used to influence the prices they see while online shopping, but the agency hasn’t made moves to regulate the practice. Some action has been taken at the state level: In November, New York adopted a law requiring companies to disclose any use of algorithmic pricing to consumers.  So far, California has the nation’s most comprehensive laws on the matter; a series of related antitrust amendments took effect at the start of this year, forbidding competing companies from using shared algorithms to set prices and coercing customers to accept the prices established by such algorithms. Locally, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has introduced legislation to prevent grocery stores from using consumer data to charge individualized prices.

When the Post‘s algorithm evaluates the ideal subscription price to charge for a reader, Cian says, the company “can calculate in real time a high level of complexity based on massive data they acquire throughout the year, based on all the data that they know about their subscribers and when they did or did not renew their subscription.” Your rate might come down to assumptions that the algorithm makes about your financial status based on how you access digital articles. “If you use an Apple product, usually people increase prices because they assume that if you have an iPhone, you may have a higher income than if you have an Android,” he adds. “They know exactly from your IP address where you are reading most of the time, so they can access through Zillow how much is the average cost of a house in that area [and] probably infer really quickly your income.”

Readers’ usage of the Post‘s services might also play a role in how much they’re charged. “Users that read a lot may need to be paying more because they actually use more of the services—you can say, probably, they value our services more so we can charge them a little bit more,” Cian says. Whereas, for subscribers who don’t read as many articles to begin with, “maybe you don’t want to affect their pricing too much, because otherwise you stand to lose them.”

What really interests Cian, who has published research exploring how audiences tend to have less trust in media outlets that are transparent about their AI use, is the fact that the Post disclosed its use of algorithmic pricing at all. “If you ask people [whether they] want transparency on what’s behind your pricing strategy, people say ‘yes,'” he says. “But what we found in my research is a paradox, in the sense that people think that they want to know, but once they know, the reaction is worse than not knowing.”

Is it possible for Post subscribers to limit how much personal information the company can access? Yes and no. “Most of the time, we give up data when we accept the user agreement,” Cian says. Using a bare-bones “dumb phone” as opposed to a smartphone to read articles online can offer some anonymity, as can visiting the website using a VPN browser that hides your location. “It’s not impossible, but it requires a lot of effort and I would say probably 0.5 percent of the population does it,” Cian adds. “We are in an age and time where we might need to assume that there is very little privacy left.”

The post The Washington Post Is Using Reader Data to Set Subscription Prices. How Does That Work? first appeared on Washingtonian.

Lucky at Wunder Garten

The NoMa beer garden’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities get started this weekend. You can expect Irish cocktails, music from local bands, shamrock games, trivia night, green dance parties, and a pet adoption with City Dogs and City Kitties Rescue (free).

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Astro Beer Hall

The Shirlington location of Astro Beer Hall is serving discounted Irish-inspired libations for St. Paddy’s Day to pair with bar bites such as sliders, loaded nachos, cinnamon sugar pretzels, and more. There’s also vintage arcade games and pool to play (free).

St. Patrick’s Day Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt

Dacha’s murder mystery scavenger hunt returns to Navy Yard for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Teams of three to six players can try their luck at uncovering a Western-themed crime while sipping Guinness (free).

Ireland’s Four Courts Four Miler

Outrun a leprechaun down and up the Wilson Boulevard hill to win a prize. The four-mile St. Patrick’s Day trek concludes with a toast at Ireland’s Four Courts ($55, race shirt and drink included).

Ireland at the Wharf Festival

Celebrate good luck at Ireland at the Wharf. The giant St. Patrick’s Day party returns for all ages. Indulge in live performances by the lasses and lads of Virginia-based Boyle School of Irish Dance, Baltimore’s Poehemia, and a blend of hits from the 19th Street Band. There are also drink specials at area bars and a showing of the Wales vs. Italy Six Nations Rugby match on the big screen at Transit Pier (free).

Shamrock Rooftop Bash

Make fun memories at this St. Paddy’s bash. Don a green outfit for Clarendon Ballroom’s day party and DJ after party. There’s green beer, music, cornhole, water pong and more shamrock shenanigans (free+).   

Saint Patricks Day Kids and Family Festival

Shipgarten welcomes kiddos to join the St. Patrick’s Day excitement at a festival hosted by storybook characters Merida and Tinker Bell. Children can get their faces painted, play on the playground, jump around in a moon bounce, and participate in a magic show featuring Jake the Great. Dogs are welcome, too (free).

The post 7 Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the DC Area first appeared on Washingtonian.

“The idea got elevated to the White House and President Trump got involved,” Burgum said at a Monday press conference unveiling the planned course for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, an IndyCar event that will be held in DC on August 22-23. “Five days later, we were standing … in the Oval Office with an executive order signed.”

One of many events this summer celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the planned race is expected to see IndyCar drivers going as fast as 185 miles per hour along a seven-turn, 1.66-mile course that includes a stretch of  Pennsylvania Avenue and runs past the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Archives.

The two-day event will be free to the public, and Burgum said that “there could be a million-plus people that are going to be here over those multiple days of racing.” For comparison’s sake, the two most popular dates surrounding the Indy 500—typically the most-attended auto race worldwide—might hit half-a-million on a good year. 

Trump’s January 30 executive order about the race mandated that “all permits, approvals, and other authorizations” be “issued and granted as expeditiously as possible.” Since then, the planning process has moved quickly and largely behind closed doors—leaving the DC Council with no more information than the general public. 

“I think they are literally building the car as they drive it,” said Councilmember Charles Allen, whose Ward 6 sits within part of the circuit. “A race like this is noisy and it’s going to screw up traffic. So it’s going to both be annoying for those who live and work here, and it’ll probably be a lot of fun. The race will bring in a lot of people who will spend some money and stay in our hotels.”

What can locals expect from the first auto race in DC in 24 years? And what challenges do organizers have to overcome? Here’s what we know so far:

Traffic disruption could be significant

Speaking to Washingtonian, Freedom 250 Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation, downplayed some of the inescapable drawbacks of holding open-wheel races in urban environments, including traffic disruption. 

“The mayor’s office has been fully cooperative,” Denker said. “There are some roadways that we’re gonna change a little bit. There’s an island on Maryland Avenue, for instance, that has to be shaved down.”

Roadwork needed to make District streets race-ready won’t be the only troublesome issue, traffic-wise. Concrete barriers currently being produced at a plant in Fredericksburg will begin going up between the hours of 7 PM and 5 AMon July 26, according to Denker. Those barriers—at least given how past street races around the country have been constructed—have the potential to block bike lines and walkways. And parts of major arteries like Pennsylvania and Independence Avenues will be shut down for long stretches during the race weekend. 

Denker also acknowledged the current route is a fallback plan—orginally, organizers wanted to race around the Capitol grounds, but that idea was nixed by Congress. (Title 40, Section 5104 of the US Code forbids the displaying of advertising, like a racecar festooned with sponsors, on Capitol grounds). 

Under the current track plan, the National Archives, National Gallery, Air and Space Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum will be mere feet from speeding IndyCars, which can produce potentially damaging vibrations. Denker said tests already conducted have shown that won’t be an issue: “A truck or a bus is creating more vibration than our race cars.”

Allen said he expects the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will need to re-route some bus routes to maneuver around race construction. A WMATA spokesperson told Washingtonian that “it’s too soon to tell right now” if anything will have to change.

Preparation time is short

This weekend’s inaugural IndyCar Series street race in Arlington, Texas, was officially announced a year-and-a-half ago. By contrast, the Freedom 250 GP is being put together in less than seven months. That means organizers will have to move much faster than usual.

Can they manage? Racing insiders believe so, largely because of the confidence they have in Roger Penske. Penske, a motorsports and auto industry legend worth an estimated $7.3 billion, owns the NTT IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and street races in Detroit and Long Beach, California. 

“The only saving grace about that is a Roger Penske production,” said Long Beach Grand Prix founder and former racing executive Chris Pook.

Dale Dillon, an Indianapolis-based contractor who has designed multiple street circuits, said the lack of details for the Freedom 250 GP is likely due to the fact that District and federal officials “probably haven’t figured out everything just yet.”

Still, Dillon said, “Roger’s gang has been through this and they know what they’re doing.”

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), the parent company of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, is handling the marketing, sponsorship and VIP hospitality—areas where the race will make the bulk of its revenue. Harbinger, a DC-based events production company that oversaw preparations for the 2018 March for Our Lives gun control demonstration, is handling the logistics and fan experience of the event. 

At the press conference on Monday, Burgum called DC “the city of red tape,” almost gloating over the fact that the race has moved forward seemingly with little pushback. Mayor Muriel Bowser was on hand for Monday’s presentation and stated she was “excited” for the Freedom 250 GP. 

“Organizers call it ‘red tape.’ I call it community engagement,” said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations and one of DC’s most vocal civic activists. “You can have a successful event even if it impacts residents if there’s communication.”

How much is this going to cost—and who’s paying? 

Merely creating a race circuit—from the concrete barriers to catch fences—can run around $10 million. That’s not factoring in all the other components of a race weekend, including security, ushers, prize money offered up to drivers and paying for non-racing entertainment, like the as-yet-unnamed bands that will play on a stage within the circuit. 

The race’s finances will be handled by D.C. Grand Prix Inc., an entity that should have its 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity status approved by the IRS in future weeks. Penske is the tip of the spear in this effort, and while there is an expectation he may personally cover any budgetary shortfalls for the race, there could be federal money used for the Freedom 250 GP.

Though the District’s Department of Transportation will lead repaving and other work needed for creating the race course, Denker said local taxpayers won’t be on the hook for its contributions: “I don’t expect [taxpayer money] to come from the city level, but if any [government dollars] come at all, it will be from the federal level.”

If the race does finish in the black, organizers said, any profits will go to area charities.

Security is expected to be mostly made up of federal law enforcement officers, including US Park Police. The Freedom 250 GP will be classified as SEAR-1 level event by the Department of Homeland Security, meaning the race will have “significant national and/or international importance.” That’s the same level given to the Super Bowl as well as other events that bring in large crowds into the District. 

It’s not yet clear whether Freedom 250 organizers will help cover security costs. 

The race itself could be worth watching (albeit a bit MAGA-y)

The biggest IndyCar race each season is the Indianapolis 500, a historic oval track where drama—whispers: lead changes—is a regular occurrence. Street circuits, on the other hand, don’t tend to feature much on-track passing.

With only seven turns and long straightaways, however, the Freedom 250 GP could be one of the quickest of the six street courses on IndyCar’s 2026 schedule. 

“It looks fast,” said two-time IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champ Josef Newgarden. “The corners look pretty quick. There’s obviously a couple slower corners, but most of them are open and wide, and I think you’ll maintain relatively good speed. That could help with passing … It’s always hard to predict until you actually run somewhere, but I think it could race very well.”

At the very least, the race should play well on television—in some ways, it seems more made-for-the-screen than anything else. Days before he signed the executive order for the race, Trump shared an AI-generated video commissioned by Fox Sports to help slop the race into existence. That video included shots of several local landmarks, Trump giving a thumbs up to the course as an eagle stares at him inside Marine One, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy waving a checkered flag. 

The same video was again played at Monday’s press event after longtime Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks took the stage. FCC chairman Brendan Carr sat nearby. 

“We want to thank the administration for recognizing that there is no better way to celebrate America 250 than by showcasing American speed and ingenuity on the streets of our capital,” Shanks said. “For everybody that’s gonna be here, no matter which way you look, this is gonna be the most distinctly American sporting event that we’ve ever had.”

The last major auto race in DC was a mixed bag

Looking back, the 2002 Grand Prix of Washington wasn’t the complete disaster that it often has been portrayed as since. The cars that ran that race in the parking lots surrounding RFK Stadium were from the American Le Mans Series (since merged with Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series), which sat a rung or two below the IndyCar Series on the motorsports hierarchy—and still drew a paying crowd of nearly 100,000 people. 

“The ALMS product was fine, but it wasn’t IndyCar,” said Chris Lencheski, founder and chairman of the board of National Grand Prix Holdings. “NBC broadcast the race on Saturday and CBS took over the race on Sunday, and they were very happy with the product. We sold out every luxury suite and we had General Motors as the title sponsor.” 

Problem was, local officials were flooded with noise and traffic complaints from neighborhood residents. The Kingman Park Civic Association was the loudest group, and even readied a lawsuit to halt the 2003 race—but that became moot when the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission canceled the 10-year deal for the race, stating organizers “repeatedly failed to meet commitments and obligations.”

The commission, now part of the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, was out about $4 million, most of that from repaving and course construction.

Similarly, an IndyCar street race in Baltimore only lasted from 2011 to 2013. Its fatal flaw? Not enough money. The event’s original organizers ended up owing the city $1.5 million, and total unpaid debts to vendors and others added up to around $12 million. A revolving door of organizers couldn’t fix things before the plug was pulled.

Could this be the start of a new DC sports tradition?

That’s unclear. For now, at least, the Freedom 250 GP is expected to be a one-off. “Your mayor has asked me, ‘Would we consider multi-year?’” Denker said. “Our response was, ‘Let’s get through the first year first.’”

The post Donald Trump Wants to Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday With an IndyCar Race Around the National Mall. Here’s What We Know So Far. first appeared on Washingtonian.