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ILLUSTRATION BY: ANNA KOOKEN/THE HOYA

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THE HOYA

friDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2018

Competing Confectionaries Define Georgetown Arden Fitzpatrick and Annah Otis

“Cupcake Wars,” as well as a guest judge on Top Chef Junior on Food Network and Sugar Rush on Netflix. Sprinkles has also received celebrity endorsements from Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey, who featured the cupcakes on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Star power is not the only way that Sprinkles fights to attract customers. Sprinkles uses “Cupcake ATMs” to dispense up to 600 cupcakes per day, 24 hours a day at its12 locations across the country. The automated dispensing process is not only powerful for its novelty — it also helps increase the volume of transactions by allowing more avenues for purchse. Although the Georgetown location lacks this automated dessert dispenser, the Cupcake ATM is featured prominently on its website, making the innovation a key branding tool to distinguish the shop from the competition.

Hoya Staff Writers

All students have a type, whether they want to admit it or not: trendy, touristic, edgy. More specifically, Georgetown students usually prefer one of three main styles, represented by Sprinkles, Georgetown Cupcake and Baked & Wired. When they aren’t comparing how little sleep they got the night before with each other, Georgetown students might be seen arguing which off-campus cupcake store is the best. What adds a layer of complexity to the dessert debate are the ways each shop has cultivated its image and brand via a plethora of digital platforms. In the past, businesses controlled the aesthetic of their establishments strictly through interior design choices and print advertisements. In the last few years, however, social media and food review websites have allowed these businesses to develop a distinct character in new and exciting ways. Each Georgetown dessert shop — whether its main fare is cupcakes, donuts or cookie dough — vies for consumer attention in the highly saturated dessert quarter of Washington, D.C., through a diverse array of advertising platforms. Television and social media offer opportunities to reach audiences outside of the District and mark Georgetown as a dessert fanatic’s dreamland, while instore decor defines their distinct aesthetics and keeps sugar fiends returning for more sweet treats.

Tasty Spaces

Competing on Streets and Airwaves

National cupcake chains, such as Georgetown Cupcake and Sprinkles, reach out to audiences across the United States using the power of television. Rather than buying commercial space, these shops partner with lifestyle programs on TLC and Food Network to create national followings — which translate into long lines outside their physical locations. Georgetown Cupcake, which opened on Potomac Street in 2008, has since moved to M Street and opened six locations from Los Angeles to Atlanta. The TLC television show “D.C. Cupcakes” covered the daily happenings of Georgetown Cupcake over three seasons starting in 2010. Though the series ended in 2013, the “Cupcake Cam” still runs constantly on the TLC website, allowing fans to watch live footage of icing being made and cupcakes being packaged. A few blocks east on M Street, Sprinkles, which was founded in Beverly Hills in 2005, competes for cupcake consumers on the streets of Georgetown and over the airwaves. Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson has been a judge on the Food Network show

TOP: KIKI SCHMALFUSS FOR THE HOYA; BOTTOM: MAGGIE CHEN FOR THR HOYA

Baked & Wired, top, attracts customers with edgy dessert names like “Uniporn and Rainho.” The Dough Jar, bottom, focuses on creating an “Instagram-able” environment.

Even in a media-dominated era, the atmosphere of a restaurant’s physical location is still important for retaining customers. Baked & Wired, a cupcake and coffee shop on Thomas Jefferson Street in Georgetown, opened in 2001, focuses on cultivating a welcoming experience for customers. When patrons enter Baked & Wired, they are greeted to a bar of deliciouslooking cupcakes displayed in glass cases with hand-drawn signs in front of them illuminated by a row of hanging lights. The long room branches off into a lounge area and the adjoining coffeeshop that cultivate a boutique yet rustic aesthetic. On the walls, the shop monthly features local artists. In an interview with The Hoya, Tessa Velazquez, operations firector of Baked & Wired, explained their goal to create a memorable atmoshpere. “We have a genuine experience that goes along with our great products,” Velazquez said. “You’re going to have a memory of being there. We always make sure to have nice staff greeting you, always playing fun music and keeping a funky vibe.” The dessert shop also tries to stay hip with the potential double meanings of the store title, “Baked & Wired,” and many of its creative and edgy product names like “Uniporn and Rainho” and “Elvis Impersonator AKA the Unporked Elvis.” Another D.C. dessert shop that opened last summer, The Dough Jar Scoop Shop on Wisconsin Avenue, tries to build a neon-lit, fantastical environment for customers’ inner child. Walking inside The Dough Jar, customers will discover a rainbow-happy, laid-back vibe where cookie dough is available by the cone or cupful with a range of fun toppings. The bright swirl of colors as well as the “Treat ‘dough self’” neon sign that hangs on the wall keeps the mood light.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2018

the guide

THE HOYA

ILLUSTRATION BY ANGELA PEREZ/THE HOYA

Decor is used for more than creating an experience for the stores’ patrons; it can also facilitate promotion on social media, Lindsay Goldin, CEO of The Dough Jar said in an email with THE HOYA. “We also wanted to make our space and our product very Instagram-able, so our space is super photogenic and fun,” Goldin said. As social media becomes increasingly important in marketing, the physical and digital aspects of marketing have become more intertwined.

INSTANTLY INSTAGRAM-ABLE

While customers are taking aesthetically pleasing photos of their artisanal cupcakes, Georgetown’s dessert shops are also using social media to create their brand and win pastry enthusiasts’ loyalty. Pie Sisters, located on M street, sells sweet and savory pies of all sizes. Pie Sisters maintained a blog, “The Dish,” promoting local charity events. Even though the blog has not been updated since 2016, the pastry shop still regularly updates their pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Like Pie Sisters, Goldin from the Dough Jar recognizes the power of social media. “Social media has been a huge part of our marketing strategy. Our target customers are millennials, so we do a lot of posting and promotions on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook,” Goldin said. “We partner with social media influencers, and we do giveaways and cross-promotions on social media.”

The Dough Jar posts colorful pictures of its products adorned with bright sprinkles and candy almost every day on its social media platforms. District Doughnut takes a similar approach, with an extra weapon in their arsenal: slow-motion videos of their production processes. In one post, a curtain of vanilla bean glaze slowly descends over a tray of handmade donuts to the sound of Ray Charles.

Storefronts and products must be carefully curated to cater to a camera lens. In a world ruled by followers and likes, brand appearance matters now more than ever.

“We’ve never had to pay for advertising because we believe other reviews have effectively done that for us.” TESSA VELASQUEZ Operations Director, Baked & Wired

In addition to social media marketing strategies, review sites like Yelp have made getting attention for businesses easier than ever; consumers themselves generate advertisements with little effort from the business. Baked & Wired’s Velasquez shared how review sites have shifted the onus of advertising from businesses to consumers. “We’ve never had to pay for advertising because we believe other reviews have effectively done that for us,” Velasquez said. Social media and television attract national audiences, but the physical spaces contribute to the experiences that help customers find their favorite dessert joint in Georgetown’s crowded market for sweets.

KIKI SCHMALFUSS FOR THE HOYA

Georgetown Cupcake is one of multiple dessert chains in the Georgetown area to capitalize on a national TV audience to cultivate a cupcake-hungry cult.

THE HOYA

the guide

friDAY, october 12, 2018

Georgetown Alumnus Revives Restoration Shakespeare RACHEL LINTON Hoya Staff Writer

Richard Schoch graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1984 and is now a professor of drama at Queen’s University Belfast. This fall’s production of a Restoration-style “Macbeth” at the Folger Theatre was partially funded by a three-year grant Schoch received from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the UK equivalent of the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts. Schoch, lead researcher for the Macbeth production, spoke with The Hoya about his research and the Folger’s production of “Macbeth.”

How did you get to studying Restoration Shakespeare?

Undergrad, I always did a lot of work with M&B, Mask and Bauble, and I was always passionate about theater even though I was studying something else. And after I graduated, I actually did want to work in the theater. So, I worked professionally as a director in Washington, [D.C.], including here at the Folger,

and I worked at Wooly Mammoth, and I worked at the Source Theater, and then I went to New York for a bit, and then went to Stanford to do my Ph.D., and that’s where I really got into theater history and the history of [William] Shakespeare on the stage. I’m just fascinated by how each generation reads Shakespeare. You know a lot about Shakespeare in Shakespeare’s time, and of course we know a lot about Shakespeare in our own time, because we go to theaters like the Folger, or the Shakespeare Theater Company, but we don’t know very much about Shakespeare in other times. What was Shakespeare like in the 17th century, in the 18th century, in the 19th century? How did other people experience Shakespeare, how did they perform Shakespeare, and what plays were popular in the past and what plays were not popular? And so, gradually, I worked my way back to the Restoration, which was the period from about 1660 to 1700. Puritans closed the theaters in 1642 and reopened in 1660. So, there was almost a generation where mostly theaters were shut down, not totally but mostly. So, when the the-

ater reopened with the Restoration of the monarchy because the new king, George II, was a big fan of the theater, so the theater was back bigger and better than ever. This was the first generation to do Shakespeare after Shakespeare. What was fascinating was that they changed everything. They didn’t say, “Well, Shakespeare’s so great; let’s honor the way he did it.” They thought, “Theater is new, alive; it’s fresh.”

When you’re looking at theater history, how do you figure out what the set looked like?

Of course there aren’t photographs, but there are some illustrations and some eyewitness descriptions. And the illustrations, you can’t trust 100 percent because people can embellish in pictures, but there are a dozen or so illustrations in books from the 17th century of Restoration scenery. And there are eyewitness accounts, like Sam Pepys’ diary, and there’s a book called “Roscius Anglicanus” by the prompter John Downes in 1708. That contains a lot of eyewitness descriptions, including of Restoration “Macbeth.” This production was never interested in recreating, down to the last detail, a resur-

rection of Restoration Shakespeare. We’re interested more in capturing the spirit of it or the flavor of it. But it’s not ‘till the second half of the 19th century when you start to get photographs of stage sets that you actually have a pretty accurate idea of what it looked like. You just have to do your best with conjecture.

To ask about the production itself, it’s sort of framed as a production done at Bedlam Asylum.

In Bedlam, the lunatic asylum, yes. That was the director’s decision, Robert Richmond; it’s not something [William ] Davenant has in the play. This is the thing that directors do a lot: They have an idea for how to create a world around the play. And Robert chose to set it in the lunatic asylum called Bedlam in London in the 1660s during the Restoration, and the idea is that the inmates of the asylum do a performance of Davenant’s “Macbeth” before an audience, an unknown audience but it feels like the actual audience in the theater. And, of course, at that time, Bedlam, some of the people who were confined to Bedlam were mentally ill; there was of

FOLGER THEATRE

After graduating from Georgetown University in 1984, Richard Schoch, right, established a distinguished career in theater. He now works as a drama professor at Queen’s University Belfast and served as the lead researcher on the Folger Theatre’s Restoration-style production of “Macbeth,” left.

the guide

friday, OCTOBER 12, 2018 course no understanding back then of mental illness. People were just thrown into institutions like Bedlam. So, some people in Bedlam were mentally ill. Others were not mentally ill but were put there because either they had fallen afoul of the law or they had had a run-in with someone in power, and they were just put away, and I think that gives an interesting dynamic.

“This production was never interested in recreating, down to the last detail, a resurrection of Restoration Shakespeare.” Richard Schoch Lead Researcher, ‘Macbeth’

It also creates a frame that can hold or contain the weirdness of the play and all of the strange music, the singing, dancing witches that it has, because it’s a very odd sort of “Macbeth” for 21st century people. How do we find a way to hold all of that oddness in a way that invites the audience to accept all of it and take all of it in? It’s a very interesting challenge for the theater. In Robert’s production interpretation, it’s a very, very dark. It’s not just the lighting that is dark: The lighting is very high-contrast almost like a Caravaggio painting, but it’s a very intense evening in the theater.

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is about 250, but Shakespeare’s Globe was several thousand. So, it’s small, it’s indoors, it has candlelight, it has the audience on three sides, and it has something of a thrust stage. That is a stage that extends beyond the proscenium arch a little bit into the audience. And the way that Tony Cisek has designed the set, there are moving parts; there are these gigantic drapes that move across the stage, and that is kind of a remnant of Restoration theater. It would have been painted scenery that moved the same way from stage left to stage right and back again opening up reveals or discoveries. So, that a Restoration audience would have recognized as well, they would have recognized the musicians; the musicians probably would have been at orchestra level like in a Broadway musical today. In this theater, they’re upstairs ,but they would have recognized a lot of the music. So, a lot of the things would have been familiar to the Restoration audience. Only a few things would not have been. The pillars are very Elizabethan. So, there would not have been those pillars, and there would have been a proscenium arch, which is missing from the Folger Theater. But if you go to a place like the National Theater or the Kennedy Center, those are proscenium arch theaters, and most of the action is upstage on the far side of the arch. But most of the stuff in the Folger Theatre, a Restoration audience would have been pretty familiar with. So if you kind of squint your eyes, you can get a sense of almost travelling back inside to the 1660s.

The acting style sort of shifts as the play goes on. I think the program describes the early acting as more in the Restoration style before shifting to a more 21st century style of doing Shakespeare. Was that to try and bridge the two styles between what the modern audience expects?

I think that’s right; we don’t know exactly what acting was like in the Restoration. We know it was very expressive, very gestural, very sculptural, people striking a lot of extravagant poses, which is very different than how we act today. So there was a desire to capture some of that flavor by having people be almost a little bit like statues come to life when it’s clearly the Bedlam frame of the 1660s, and then to transition into more modern, more natural expression and gestures. Then right at the end it gets a little more expressive and a little more vibrant, because the Bedlam frame comes back. So I thought that was a nice way of modulating from the 17th century to the 21st century and then back again right at the very end.

How different is the Folger Theatre from what you would think of as a classic Restoration theater?

The Folger Theatre is interesting because it’s not even a perfect Elizabethan replica of the theater. It’s kind of a hybrid of different conventions of the time. But a lot of the things in the Folger Theatre would have been recognizable to a Restoration audience. It’s indoors. It’s small. A Restoration theater would have been bigger, about 600 people. The Folger Theatre

FOLGER THEATRE

Rather than attempt to precisely imitate the scenery and acting style of Restoration Shakespeare, lead researcher Richard Schoch (SFS ’84) said the production of “Macbeth” sought to capture the flavor of performances from the era.

THE HOYA

the guide

friDAY, october 12, 2018

out of office

Discovering Myself Through Distance From Georgetown Alexandra Brunjes At Georgetown, I am rarely alone — physically or mentally. Throughout the school day, I am surrounded by classmates and professors; in the evenings, I see my roommate, my friends and other students at club meetings. In part because of this scheduling, I am also always surrounded by aspects of my identity at Georgetown. My identity is apparent in my class schedule, in my extracurriculars, and in how and with whom I spend my free time. My mind is always filled with to-do lists and ideas for everything I’m involved in. Because of the constant presence of these reminders, I rarely have to think about who I am; I’m surrounded by the aspects of myself that I set in place freshman year, and now I can spend my time running between them. Studying abroad, I find myself spending much more time alone. In Copenhagen, Denmark, university students don’t live on campus, so I spend time biking to and from school each

day. Only a small percentage of abroad students from my program live in my kollegium, a type of off-campus university housing for students. This setup means I have much more time dedicated to solo thought — while I’m commuting, while I’m grocery shopping or cooking, and when I’m debating how to spend free time between classes. Surrounding myself with other people takes more foresight here than at home, and the extracurricular-dedicated space in my brain is unused, swimming with musings and selfreflection. Being away from the people and activities that normally fill my headspace and ground me in my identity has also added a new dimension to introducing myself. At Georgetown, I know who I am: Alexandra, COL ’20, from New York City, writer for The Hoya, board member of the Prison Outreach program, etc. When I list my year and hometown and extracurriculars at Georgetown, students and professors understand and interpret it as a relatable and comprehensible identity; they are able to deduce who I am based on what I do. Here in Copenhagen, most of these identifiers are foreign and don’t carry weight: I have to think of new ways to label myself. When introducing myself to other study abroad students, being a Georgetown student is first and foremost; when introducing myself to Danes, it is being “from the States.” Beyond geography, I have to do a new sort of

interpretation: Instead of saying I write for The Hoya, should I say I’m a writer? What do I say I do in my free time, when usually I spend it getting ahead in classes or attending club events? What could I truly see myself doing once I graduate? This identity evaluation has also placed more weight on a part of myself I don’t typically discuss — my Scandinavian roots. Since I am about 50 percent Norwegian, I look fairly Scandinavian and am frequently mistaken for a Dane. Much of the time I reply to people who speak to me in Danish by explaining that I have some Norwegian genes. Mentioning so frequently an identity that is typically not on my mind has not only made Danes feel better about mistaking me for one of them, but it has also amplified my interest in learning about my ancestors. Denmark and Norway are geographically similar and share much of their social and legislative structure, so being in Copenhagen and learning about Scandinavia has made me feel newly connected to a part of my cultural identity that I don’t frequently consider; physical and mental alone time has freed up space to explore a new part of my identity. Since studying abroad involves more solo activities than being at home, being alone feels much more normal. When I do things alone at Georgetown, I usually wonder if I should be with someone; when I don’t go to an event I wonder if I’m missing something memorable.

Should I do a CVS run without asking if people need things, or should I invite a companion? If I’m tired, should I still go to a party so I don’t feel like I missed out? Because solo exploration and discovery are so much more commonplace abroad — and when you’re living more independently than on a U.S. college campus — staying in on a night out or running errands alone feels less intense; there is much less fear of missing out. This normalization of alone time is rewiring my brain to better understand the benefit of doing some things by myself: having time to hear my own thoughts, growing more accustomed to and comfortable with independence and better understanding my own identity. Distance from my identifiers, and from academic and social events, has allowed reflection and personal growth. When you’re removed from your relevant context and forced to think more critically about why you do what you do — what classes you take, what clubs you participate in — you start getting closer to understanding who you are. I definitely still don’t know exactly who I am, but whenever I spend time alone or think about how to introduce myself to someone new, I get a little bit closer. Alexandra Brunjes is a junior in the College. OUT OF OFFICE appears in print every other Friday.

Meatless menus

NuVegan Cafe’s Vegan Soul Food Is a Tasty Oxymoron Prashant Desai I’ll admit I was skeptical of NuVegan Cafe at first. For one, the Georgia Avenue restaurant’s name, which sounds like it was plucked from a dystopian sci-fi novel, does it no favors. What’s more, vegan soul food — NuVegan’s specialty — sounds like an affront to both vegan cuisine and soul food. I made up my mind to visit only after reading glowing reviews from just about every corner of the internet and was still unconvinced it would be anything worth writing home — or, for that matter, a column — about. My mistrust toward meat-imitation dishes is well-documented: In my experience, the best vegan and vegetarian dishes are not imitations but rather original creations, embracing the possibilities of plant-based cooking rather than skirting its limitations. NuVegan’s approach, perhaps by necessity, doesn’t fit those criteria. It’s no surprise to say soul food has

always been animal product centric. The cuisine — which has roots in black as well as southeastern Native American culture — is defined by dishes like fried chicken, pigs’ feet, and macaroni and cheese, none of which are particularly vegan-friendly. NuVegan’s mission is no small one, and it’s not humble about its aspirations: Its website makes that ambition abundantly clear, declaring its intention to “become the motivating force that sparks a movement toward global awareness by redefining the perception of vegan cuisine.” That’s no small order. NuVegan, formerly called Woodlands Vegan Bistro, is the brainchild of Mickiyah and Vernon Woodland. The restaurant has earned a place for itself as a leader in the vegan soul food movement: In the past, it’s served the likes of Kanye West, Kal Penn and Russell Simons, though I think it’s safe to say the restaurant doesn’t seem like the sort of place where the rich and famous congregate. The interior is, in a word, ordinary — the black couches near the entrance are the fanciest furniture in the restaurant. The kitchen, located in the back, featured a number of classic soul food entrees behind a transparent glass panel. My eating partner and I opted for drumsticks, a chicken curry, sweet kale salad, mashed sweet potato, okra

and mac and cheese.

NuVegan dispenses with the pretensions of the expensive, upscale eateries that dominate Washington, D.C.’s food scene. Though the vegetables held their own, they were by no means spectacular. The okra was initially somewhat bland, but generous amounts of cayenne pepper and salt resolved that problem nicely. The mac and cheese had a pleasant creaminess, but the flavor was a just a little bit off — truthfully, I’d take the real thing instead any day of the week. The sweet potato was also enjoyable, but no better or different than any other mashed sweet potato dish. The sweet kale salad fared slightly better, boasting a balanced, light sweetness that contrasted nicely with the other foods in the ensemble. Still, at $14.50 for a meal, I’d be hesitant to return for the salad alone. The meat-imitation dishes were NuVegan’s saving grace: The chicken dummies were the best mock meat dish I’ve ever had, bursting

with flavor and perfectly seasoned, with a texture worth lusting after. The chicken curry was reminiscent of something I’d get at an Indian restaurant back home in San Jose: a navratan korma, perhaps, but with a distinctly Southern flair. More than just the food reminded me of the hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants that make the Bay Area a mecca for foodies: It was the endearingly unadorned interior, the hinged plastic containers and the warm, friendly service. NuVegan dispenses with the pretensions of the expensive, upscale eateries that dominate Washington, D.C.’s food scene. Rather, it focuses on the basics: making hearty, comforting, deliciously oxymoronic vegan soul food. I was as surprised as anyone else at the quality of NuVegan’s mock meat dishes. I’d always thought, for good reason, that fake meant inferior. To be frank, though, I don’t particularly care if NuVegan’s offerings were Frankenstein-esque approximations of the real thing — they were fantastic nonetheless. I can say with certainty I’ll be going back for seconds. Prashant Desai is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. Meatless Menus appears in print every other Friday.

the guide

friDAY, October 12, 2018

THE HOYA

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Despite Aesthetic, The Smith’s Food Falls Short

The Smith



1314 U St NW, Washington, D.C. 20009 Vienna roche Hoya Staff Writer

Although it is a quiet Tuesday when we arrive at The Smith’s U Street location, its wide open facade and dark grout subway tiles make it feel like we have stepped right into an aesthetic medley of a Parisian cafe and New York subway station. Its semi-outdoor seating invites eaters to sit and enjoy a nice lunch while watching all the hustle and bustle. Part of a greater network of Washington, D.C. and New York restaurants, The Smith has the trendy American brasserie vibe that everyone covets for their Instagram feed. Its selections blend basic with bold, offering everything from avocado toast to garlic and clam pizza. Upon arriving, the waiter adamantly vouches for the $13 creamy skillet-roasted macaroni and cheese, which he promises is always a crowd pleaser. When it comes to the table, I hear the cheese still sizzling in the cast iron skillet. The top is perfectly golden with just the right amount of extra crispy bits, contributing to its fresh, home-style plating. At first, the mac and cheese seems to live up to its hype with the Boomerangworthy cheese pull that emerges from the first scoop. However, in a disappointing turn of events, it lacks all the textures it promised to have. The cheese sauce is more oily than creamy, lacking the silky, comforting feel that all tasty mac and cheese should have. The top, which upon first glance looked so perfectly crisp, tastes more like hardened cheese that has already been melted and then baked again. The overall taste is pleasant with a sophisticated blend of what tastes like Gruyere and aged cheddar, but in the end, it feels and tastes like it was left over from the dinner service the night before. Next arrives one of the more interesting items on the menu: “The Clam” pizza for $16. It comes complete with tender but slightly chewy middle neck clams and calamari, scampi butter, lemon breadcrumbs and a dusting of parmesan cheese. The crust is the star of the show, with a crunchy, almost-fried texture that would be delicious by itself. The garlic and lemon flavors are there, but they are too subtle for what should be bright, bold flavors. It is a welcome variation from the typical tomato sauce and mozzarella, but its flavors surprisingly fail to pack a punch. Alongside the pizza, we receive the $14 grilled chicken sandwich. The first bite elicits a mixed reaction: I am torn between the mouthwatering flavors of

the creamy burrata and “overnight” tomatoes and the disappointingly soggy bread that serves as the base. The chicken itself is well-cooked and still juicy; unfortunately, it offers the only textural variety in what is otherwise a mouthful of all soft food — not the most appetizing when the menu boasts a crispy sesame baguette and arugula which is instead wilted and soggy. Like the mac and cheese, the flavors of the sandwich tantalize, but the grilled chicken entree maintains the feeling of something that was assembled the night before. Shortly after, the $14 Sicilian Baked Eggs arrive, inviting us to dig in with the smell of perfectly fried bread and spicy marinara sauce wafting through the air. The first of three eggs is set on the top with a perfectly runny yolk that melds in ribbons with the surrounding marinara sauce, offering a satisfying combination of a rich and addictive kick. The next bite is a tender artichoke that adds a nice bitterness in contrast to the rest of the dish. Disappointingly, the two other eggs are unappetizing with jelly-like yolks and unevenly cooked whites. In a slightly unsatisfied mindset, we opt to try one of the many lunchtime desserts offered on the menu, choosing the $10 “Blueberry Brown Butter Cake.” The pastry quickly becomes the saving grace of the whole meal. The small cake is perfect for sharing and feels like an old family recipe with the volume turned up. The exterior is just slightly caramelized, offering a sweet crunch with every soft, fluffy bite balanced by pockets of tart, fresh blueberries. Served with the cake is a sweet corn pastry cream that mirrors the velvety texture of a thick custard flecked with real vanilla bean. It comes with a fresh blueberry jam and toasted graham cracker crumbs on the side, which are all brought together by a big scoop of creamy blueberry ice cream. Each component of the dessert is delicious by itself but makes for a dreamlike bite when combined all together, finally giving us the satisfaction we had been looking for. Although lunch at The Smith is not terrible, it feels unnecessary given the success of its brunch and dinner menus. Like in many restaurants, The Smith’s lunch service feels slightly forgotten, with dishes that time and time again lack the texture they are meant to have. Instead, the best the lunch menu can offer is a few great bites of food among otherwise mushy and unevenly cooked dishes. In the future, I think I will stick to the Sunday brunches for which The Smith is better known.

JULIA ALVEY FOR THE HOYA

Located on the burgeoning U and 13th streets NW, The Smith offers an impressive aesthetic and satisfying brunches and dinners. Unfortunately, its lunches do not match that quality.

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THE HOYA

friday, October 12, 2018

What to Do in DC

MUSIC

New Releases

sarah cammarota Hoya Staff Writer

Maddie Finn Hoya Staff Writer

double exposure film festival

Double Exposure Film Festival is the only film festival in the United States that focuses on investigative reporting as it is captured on film. The festival was co-created by the director of Georgetown’s film and media studies program, Sky Sitney. The screenings will feature discussions with the filmmakers as well as other panels. The event will take place from Oct. 10 to 14 across multiple well-known venues such as the National Portrait Gallery, and tickets to screenings range from free to $250 for a weeklong pass.

steve perry

Cat power

Cat power ‘In Your Face’

Steve perry ‘no erasin’’

Cat Power has released yet another beautiful and introspective album. A stand-out among the tracks is “In Your Face.” In the transfixing song, the singer’s soulful voice floats over soft percussion. Do not let the slow speed or gentle instrumentals fool you: The track may sound calm at first listen, but it has a very powerful message.

Some may recognize Steve Perry from his former band, “Journey.” After leaving the group in the late 1990s, Perry took a break from music but is now back with the single “No Erasin’” from his new his album, “Traces.” The old-school vibe does not feel stuffy or outdated: With his poetic lyrics, driving beats and strong vocals, Perry still has the x-factor.

national law enforcement museum Grand opening

The newest addition to Washington, D.C.’s impressive collection of museums is the National Law Enforcement Museum. The museum documents the history of U.S. law enforcement and is located in Judiciary Square. It will open to the public Saturday with a Community Day featuring a 5K race and other festival activities. Tickets are $21.95 for adults and $19.95 for college students.

3 After being postponed from its original September date, H Street Festival will follow in the tradition of celebrating the culturally robust D.C. neighborhood this Saturday from 12 to 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the popular street festival will feature 14 staging areas and a number of local vendors. The festival stretches an impressive 11 blocks and hopes to boast more than 100,000 visitors.

eric church

twenty one pilots

Eric Church ‘Monsters’

Twenty one pilots ‘Morph’

Eric Church has once again pushed the envelope of country music, which often focuses on radio singles and arena-worthy anthems rather than soulful, artsy songs. Church rethinks that dichotomy in “Monsters” from his latest album, “Desperate Man,” by pairing catchy beats with country heart. The song has appeal both in and out of the mainstream.

Since 2015, Twenty One Pilots have taken the world by storm with hits such as “Blurryface” and “Stressed Out.” “Morph,” a song from their latest album “Trench,” reflects on fame meaningfully and with greater maturity than previous tracks, yet the group has not lost the beats that made it famous in the first place. The track employs compelling verses that transition into a catchy chorus.

double exposure film festival

This Sunday, the National Theater will begin its run of the popular Tim Burton movie-turnedplay “Beetlejuice.” The spooky musical comedy will have its world premiere in D.C. this weekend and promises a new more explicit and repellent take on the dark comedy. The cast boasts Tony nominee Alex Brightman as the title role. Tickets will run anywhere from $54 to $114 over the musical’s 39 show run.

national law enforcement museum

h street festival

beetlejuice

friday, october 12, 2018

the guide

THE HOYA

art REVIEW

Street to Museum: Evolving Artistic Expression jose villalobos Hoya Staff Writer

Spray-painted walls, graffiti-covered traffic signs and fences adorn the interior of “Love, Hope, and Street Art” at the Honfleur Gallery. The exhibition explores nontraditional forms of artistic expression by placing street art in a museum context. On Sept. 28, the Honfleur Gallery in the Anacostia neighborhood of Southeast Washington, D.C. opened its doors to celebrate the inauguration of the exhibit “Love, Hope, and Street Art.” The exhibit displays the work of Luis Del Valle, an award-winning D.C.-based artist who is well-known for his social activism and engagement in nontraditional forms such as graffiti, and is complemented by important contributions from DECOY, Corry Stowers, Asad Walker and HKS 181, other local creators who have decades of experience in street art. Street art is often considered a sign of abandonment, but few voices sing of its positive qualities: productive channeling of emotion, inspiration and motivation, and a healthy form of self-expression. “Love, Hope, and Street Art,” challenges that notion by working to tie traditional and street art together. Upon entering the gallery, a fence with a graffiti-covered traffic sign welcomes visitors. It conveys the messages that the gallery is a private manifestation of feeling upon which one is trespassing, and that the artists’ connections to their streets and their community are so strong they constantly bring them into their art. Nearly halfway through the exhibit, a brick fence stands underneath one of

the pieces, giving the impression it has been gradually weathered down, with only a few rows of bricks remaining. The fence again makes audiences think of the connections with their surroundings and now focuses on thoughts of decay and abandonment: streets growing dirtier and cities more contaminated, crowded and dangerous. The use of street signs, walls, bricks and mundane objects, such as mail stamps as canvases for paintings, gives the impression that art is everywhere, and that almost anything could be used as a platform for social and artistic expression. Through blurred lines, accentuation of color and powerful strokes, the artists evoke the feelings of the subjects depicted and let us imagine their paths. Seeing people represented with such care and detail, and yet in such pandemonium of lines and color, shows the disorder and convolution of human emotion. Del Valle, known for his depictions of regular people as well as famous historical figures, continues with this tradition, showing us strange and familiar faces and detailing more of what they have in common than not — internal and external struggles, a search for place and meaning and a connection to their surroundings and their community. The most impressive work in the exhibit is presented on a nontraditional canvas: the walls of the gallery. The exhibit is covered with graffiti, at times complementing other pieces, looming large next to or behind them, and at other points serving as a standalone statement. The artists dedicated time to spraying across the gallery walls, setting up their work much like they have on the streets of D.C. and the surrounding commu-

nity for years. The exhibit shows a wide range of pieces, from less to more complex as one moves along. Starting with tagging, which is simply stylized signatures in a single color, the exhibit moves onto throw-ups, which are more complex than tags but do not use more than two or three colors. Finally, burners — large, more elaborate pieces with a lot of color and contrast, said to be “burning” out of the wall — are on prominent display. These pieces first seem to provide background and context, taking a complementary role to the other art, and then start giving their own message and expression. Small details in the pieces provide unique moments of pleasure, such as by enjoying a beautifully sprayed butterfly, or admiring an elegant gene strand with the message “we are human” next to it. But the larger messages and images on the walls carry the larger task of complementing the narrative of the exhibit, with messages like “we r 1,” “hope” and “kingdom of people” in grandiose lettering intertwined with artists’ names and signatures. The exhibit’s emphasis on social activism has its origins in the careers of its creators. “Love, Hope, and Street Art” was borne out of the long-standing relationship between Duane Gautier, the CEO of ARCH, a nonprofit organization working in Anacostia, and Del Valle, a Nicaraguan-born U.S. immigrant who has focused his artistic efforts on community development and inspiration for individuals. “They have had a great working relationship for many years,” Kadija Bangura, marketing manager at ARCH, said in an interview with The Hoya. “Duane was looking for a

way to exhibit Luis’ and other street artists’ work.” ARCH is a neighborhood-based organization with the mission of revitalizing the historic neighborhood of Anacostia to create opportunities for economic regeneration, artistic expression and community revival. It has oversight of the Honfleur Gallery, the Anacostia Arts Center, the Hive 2.0 and other projects. The Arts Center aims to create a safe space and community center for all forms of artistic expression. As part of this large network, the Honfleur Gallery shares the purpose of putting on aesthetic and pleasing artistic displays, while providing deep and thoughtful contributions to other organizational efforts, such as social commentary and integration. Del Valle and his collaborators pleasantly succeed at this by putting together an unconventional and dazzling array of commentary and art using various props and forums for both design and message. While “Love, Hope, and Street Art” has some of the expected elements of a traditional art gallery and typical exhibit — painting and sketches neatly fitted into frames and hung straight on the wall — the artists bring in elements from the street and use different canvases to portray the images they use to tell their stories. “Love, Hope, and Street Art” drives home messages of using art to develop communities, the beauty and value of street art and the struggles of humanity we can see around city areas that at times seem ignored. This work invites people to work on initiatives and projects like ARCH to bring attention to forgotten areas and to do our best to help and honor them.

Ashley chen for the hoya

In the “Love, Hope, and Street Art” exhibition at the Honfleur Gallery, artists use the walls of the gallery as a nontraditional canvas for their graffiti. Some pieces complement one another, while others stand alone to contribute to the exhibit’s overall emphasis on social acticism.

B10

THE HOYA

the guide

friday, october 12, 2018

CONCERT REVIEW

CAROLINE PAPPAS/THE HOYA

In an emotional and cathartic performance at The Anthem on Oct. 5, Florence + the Machine — the acclaimed musical group fronted by force of nature Florence Welch — wowed the audience, showcasing Welch’s powerhouse vocals and dreamy aesthetic, and displayed their gratitude by embracing fans.

Florence + the Machine Stun With Ethereal Show CYNTHIA SUN Hoya Staff Writer

Florence + the Machine, one of the most exciting and critically acclaimed musical groups of this generation, created an intimate and cathartic experience as they graced The Anthem on Friday, Oct. 5. Performances on their tour, named after their June 2018 album “High as Hope,” seamlessly combined fan favorites from previous albums with their new tracks. After the Oct. 5 show quickly sold out, a second show was added for the next day — a testament to the band’s popularity. U.S. singer-songwriter Beth Ditto, whose music has rock, soul and gospel influences, opened for the group. She not only proved to be a vocal powerhouse but also endeared herself to the audience with her bold attitude and cheeky banter with her band and the crowd. A minimalistic set made up of wooden beams, warm hues of burnt orange and white lighting helped establish the concert’s calm ambience. On the stage were a variety of instruments, including a

massive harp. Looking as if she had just stepped out of a Renaissance painting, Florence Welch, the frontwoman and force of nature behind Florence + the Machine, sauntered onto the stage barefoot in a floor-length off-white lace dress. With one of the most distinctive voices in the music industry today, she conveyed myriad emotions through candid and deep lyrics from the group’s past four albums. The show began with a vulnerable rendition of “June,” from which the lyrics, “Hold on to each other,” defined the sense of unity for the rest of the night. Welch was light on her feet as she pranced and twirled around the stage, engaging audience members in different parts of the venue. With her flaming red hair and lace gown trailing behind her, it is difficult to describe her as anything other than ethereal. Her powerful vocals paired with her eccentric movements reaffirmed her capacity to be a talented and mesmerizing stage performer. “Patricia” was a definite standout from the album “High as Hope.” Inspired by the singer-songwriter icon Patti Smith, Welch explained that this piece was

written primarily in honor of a powerful woman she deemed her north star. Before launching into the song, Welch said, “She recently told me, when I sing it, she’s here with me. So, Patti Smith, we welcome you to D.C.!” During the emotionally liberating performance of “Dog Days Are Over,” Welch instructed audience members to hug the person next to them and tell them that they loved them. Additionally, she requested that everyone put away their phones and admonish those who did not comply — in a “polite British way,” she said. In an era driven by technology, it is a testament to Welch’s power that throughout the entire venue, hardly any phones were seen for the remainder of the song. The group also performed one of their fan-favorites, “Cosmic Love” from their 2009 debut album, “Lungs.” Welch prefaced the performance by explaining the song’s creation: She was dealing with a massive hangover while she wrote it with a band member. The result was a track that utilizes the harp and cosmic crescendos as Welch dramatically and beautifully wails along to the emotional

lyrics. During “Delilah,” Welch ran through the aisle barefoot and embraced random members of the crowd. She sang the upbeat lyrics directly into audience members’ faces. Many of those along the barricade fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Welch’s attention and affection were visibly emotional for the remainder of the concert. Between her whimsical nature and the group’s seemingly anachronistic musical style, Welch is just as magical as Florence + the Machine’s music portrays her to be. She emanated an indescribable whimsy and charm through her personality and performance that enchanted the audience. In less than two hours, Florence + the Machine fostered an environment centered on togetherness and positivity. While the sheer depth of their lyrics brought out a wide range of emotions in the audience members, the grand finale of “Shake It Out” was a cathartic experience that dispelled any and all remaining negative energy in the room, leaving fans feeling light and unburdened upon leaving the show.

the guide

friDAY, October 12, 2018

THE HOYA

B11

ALBUM REVIEW

kelela

Having built a cult following through her debut album, “Take Me Away,” Kelela gives back to her fans with a new remix album. “TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES” invites an incredibly diverse panel of producers and artists — from Kaytranada to Princess Nokia and SOPHIE — to take the original record and help it evolve into a masterfully crafted follow-up.

Kelela and Co. Undergo Artistic Evolution

TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES Kelela Timothy Mcnulty Hoya Staff Writer

Released on the one-year anniversary of her debut album, “Take Me Apart,” Kelela’s “TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES” brings together a massive cast of producers, musicians and other artists to expand her creative universe and offer a collaborative and novel vision of music. The album boasts a near hour-and20-minute runtime that attests to Kelela’s guiding philosophy of exploring the full potential within each song. Her debut “Take Me Apart” becomes the canvas upon which each collaborator adds their own perspective. The only common thread of the remixes is the use of the original album as a source of inspiration; even then, Kelela re-records a handful of her own lyrics. To label the album derivative simply because each track samples the audio of a previous Kelela song completely misses the point of the project and discounts the art form of the remix itself. Rather, the remix album serves as both a celebration of Kelela’s “Take Me Apart” and the beginning of a new creative journey, which brings together and extols the musical community that helped her achieve success in the first place. Everything about “TAKE ME A_PART,

THE REMIXES,” including the stylized and disjointed title, indicates how willing Kelela is to open her critically acclaimed debut to reinterpretation. The underscore splitting the word “apart” marks the space Kelela creates for each artist to put themselves into her work. Each track title lists the beats per minute, original track and remixer, allowing each song to exist on its own terms and giving listeners an idea of what to expect. With this radical artistic liberty in mind, the album goes further than just offering an hourlong nightclub playlist but still provides listeners with an electronica-filled remix perfect for getting lost in a crowd. LSDXOXO’s sleek reimagining of “Truth or Dare” takes the coy invitation posed by Kelela in the original and turns it into a fast-paced dance track that raises the stakes and intensity of her proposition. Likewise, DJ Lag’s version of “Onanon” quite literally encourages dancing and stands out as one of the most club-ready tracks with a looped voice commanding listeners to “twerk!” throughout the entire song. Songs get reworked multiple times on the album, allowing each track to explore several options and providing many interpretations of the same song.

 If DJ Lag’s rendition of “Onanon” focuses on the unceasing energy implied by the track’s title, the Skyshaker remix highlights the uncertainty and insecurity found in the original lyrics. As the chorus begins, Kelela’s voice begins to warp and distort, losing its human quality and presenting a physical reflection of her own unease in a failing relationship. Each version of “Waitin,” similarly, takes one of the debut album’s standouts and puts forth a track reflective of both Kelela and the remixer’s creative visions. By changing something as simple as the speed of the track, the Tre Oh Fie remix transforms Kelela’s sultry voice and smooth production into a bouncy and processed song that could have come from electronic-pop maven SOPHIE’s body of work. DJ and producer Kaytranada’s remix strips away the industrial production in favor of a three-note loop, accompanied by a steady shaking of maracas that transforms its source material into a track with new packaging and therefore a new meaning. This reimagining is not restricted only to the album’s production: New verses and lyrical additions from the numerous feature artists further flesh out Kelela’s idea of a community of creatives. The remix “LMK_WHAT’S REALLY

GOOD” — featuring Princess Nokia, Junglepussy, CupcakKe and Ms. Boogie — exudes effortless confidence, displays the full potential of opening art to collaboration and brings together some of the best contemporary female rappers in the industry. Serpentwithfeet’s “Altadena” and Divoli S’Vere’s “Truth or Dare” remixes feature verses that do not try to emulate the original lyrics but rather use Kelela’s music as a springboard to explore their own ideas and art. By inviting so many artists to work on the project, Kelela rejects the limits placed upon her by both an unreceptive music industry and an album cycle that stresses the need for a marketable collection of songs to stay signed with a label. The album closer, a version of “Enough” featuring harpist and vocalist Ahya Simone, demonstrates this rejection of industry standards perfectly. With no standard BPM listed and a sixminute length, the track takes its time, boldly ending the project with a vulnerable new recording of the original lyrics accompanied by a harp and vocal reverb. Here, Simone’s enchanting artistry takes center stage and reveals the reason the project matters — to make music that can transcend the limits of any one artist, thriving instead off new interpretations created through dialogue.

ILLUSTRATION BY: ANNA KOOKEN/THE HOYA