Cinco de WTF?!

And now for a little rant. I have finally learned my lesson. Do NOT go to a Mexican restaurant on cinco de mayo. At least not one in Adams Morgan/Dupont, and especially not one recommended by The Washington Post as a great place to celebrate the holiday. A few friends and I attempted to go to Lauriol Plaza on 18th Street to have a couple (or five) margaritas after work (as a side note, they need to decide what they are: their website and various sources site them as Tex-Mex, Mexican, AND Spanish - which is it?!). It was decided that we should get there early - say, 6:00 - to beat the rush. Apparently every other young DC professional thought the same thing. And apparently the thing to do was to go home early from work, put on one's little black dress and 4-inch heels, bring out the cleavage, and slather on some makeup before heading to Lauriol Plaza. Don't get me wrong; I don't mean to sound catty. I'm all for ladies going all out and making themselves look fabulous - I like to do that on occasion - but it was a little alarming to see boobs and pancake makeup at rush hour. Isn't there a law that forbids that kind of thing in DC until after dark?

We stood in line for an hour, only to be told that we were now put on a waiting list for the beeper that tells you your table is ready. That waiting list was apparently another 30 minutes long, and once we received the beeper, we would then have to wait (let me guess, 30-60 minutes?) until it 'beeped' to get our table. I have never heard of such a thing - a waiting list for the beeper?

Desperately in need for a drink, I looked across the street and saw a Malaysian restaurant, Straits of Malaya. Immediately my rationale changed: Why not celebrate cinco de mayo with a different kind of alcohol? Why does it have to be tequila, anyway? We walked across the packed street and found no waiting at this restaurant, with beautiful rooftop seating, great service, terrific food, and yummy Singapore Slings. Afterwards we headed to that old standby, Stetson's, on U Street.

As a friend suggested that evening, the moral of the story is: celebrate an international holiday by going to a completely inappropriate establishment. (OK, by "celebrate" I mean use the holiday as an excuse to go out and consume lots of alcohol). If it's St. Patrick's Day and you want to drink, don't even think of going to an Irish pub. Do sushi and sake! You'll get right in! If it's cinco de mayo, hit the Malaysian restaurants. If it's Bastille Day, go for modern American and beer (Brother Thelonious, anyone?). If it's Boxing Day, hit Cactus Cantina. And the list goes on...

India, New York, Los Angeles, and more beer

Woo hoo! I just found out that I'm set to go on the Institute's tour to India in January 2007. The Institute has coordinated with the State Department and MTV-India several times in the past for tours, including one this past January. Apparently people in Mumbai and Calcutta love jazz, most likely because its improvisatory characteristics parallel the improvisations in traditional Indian music. Work for my tour probably won't begin until this fall, but I'm already excited. India is so different from anything I've ever experienced. Can't wait!

I'm also set to work our Carnegie Hall event next month. The evening will be a Tribute to Herbie Hancock, and Bill Cosby will be our emcee. It's part of the JVC Jazz Fest weekend. Tickets for the concert will be available at $1,000 a piece, with 100% of proceeds going to support the Institute's education programs. This should be huge.

The launch of Brother Thelonious beer last week in Los Angeles went very well. We had a great mix of celebrities (Billy Dee Williams, for one), donors, musicians, and press. I was surprised to find that each bottle of Brother Thelonious is large, like a wine bottle. As a dark ale with 9% alcohol, it's designed to be shared with friends at a meal. I'm not a beer connoisseur, but I thought it was very good, full of rich flavor. I made sure to grab two bottles - gave one to Johnny & Angelica when I saw them in LA and then brought another home to DC. Isn't the label (at right) great?! A little explanation: Belgian monks brewed ales, so you can see that Thelonious Monk is dressed like a monk, sitting in an abbey, with a piano keyboard as his halo. Is this not the hippest idea ever?