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Idk about authenticity because I’m just a white guy from the Midwest and it’s not fancy because of the food hall environment, but Yasmine is a new place in Union Market and it’s as good as anything I had in metro Detroit. Not perfect but a decent bar to measure against.

More to the point, I’ve heard good things about Lebanese Taverna. The family that owns it is Lebanese immigrants. Not sure how helpful that is but it’s what I can say.

It’s not really a demand function, as there is already massive demand in DC for everything. Given a scarcity of housing, where you can fill up anything you build, it’s driven by margins for profit optimization. Profit for developers here means maximizing the price of condos or rents. Making condos more affordable via tax incentives and whatnot doesn’t actually change anything for the developers unless it means they can raise prices to increase profit. So now you’re cutting tax revenue to boost developer profits by roughly the same amount, and cost of condo units has gone up.

And you certainly could require condo or coops to be built, but I’m not convinced that’s what people want. There might be data saying it is, but Im not seeing it. Certainly not enough for the city zoning boards to pick and choose where they implement those requirements.

Best solution is to build build build as much as possible. Supply goes up and meets demand, prices come down (or at least level off) and condo vs apartment economics can reach a more natural equilibrium.

Those could all make condos more affordable, sure. I fail to see how any of that would encourage anyone to build more condos. That’s the factor that’s missing here. Those efforts don’t do anyone any good if there aren’t more condos to buy.

And I guess you could making zoning specific to condos vs apartments, but I don’t think adding more restrictions to zoning is a way to spur continued development of new housing, which is the key to lowering prices for all types.

Zoning doesn’t really differentiate between condos and rentals for the purposes large projects like this, both are about equally feasible.

Would be interested in how you think the tax code should be changed on this matter. I see a few options and none of them are very appealing.

Raise tax on rental property owners? Because that just gets passed on down to renters. Lower taxes on personal home owners? Congrats you just cut city revenue by giving a tax break to the wealthiest segments of the population.

For the same reason I would rather own than rent, a developer would rather me rent than own. And guess which one has the capital to do a massive new construction or renovation project in DC?

Tell your friends who buy you edibles to buy you some pre-rolls.

“Did you know Deloitte is more selective than Harvard?”

Literally any bar in the city, but rave specific is gonna be Echostage or Flash or SoundCheck

The Uber issues are exaggerated for the most part. It’s a mess, but mostly in that it just takes a long time. Bring a coat, don’t get too messed up, and you’ll be fine.

Someone else suggested walking down to the McDs. I usually don’t bother to do that, but I know some folks swear by it so also a fine idea. Just don’t wander too far from the crowds coming out of the venue

I’d ask what kind of treats they like.

Plenty of important people here are veterans and having corresponding levels of tattoos. You don’t see a lot of full sleeves on display at offices, but most offices are more formal here than out west so you just don’t see a lot of short sleeve shirts on men in general.

Ok but kinda true for the H street one. Nobody does talk about that and it’s the best option for late night after bar food in the area.

Do we? Because I dont say that. Don’t know anybody who does

While automated espresso machines don’t seem like a good indicator for the best quality, and no mention of sourcing is probably a concern, this is an interesting line from their website

> That’s why we pay our baristas a guaranteed minimum of $23 per hour

Having never had the coffee, I’m guessing the model is quick, cheap, and decent, not the most exquisite pour over you’ve ever had.

You don’t have to work for the district you live in (though it helps) and not all districts are the same. 700,000 people in Manhattan is going to produce a lot more college graduates with liberal arts degrees (polisci or similar are most typical on the hill) than most other districts.

Improve yea, but it’s still not easy or a given

Yes it’s reasonably difficult. How hard specifically matters a lot on who you want to work for and what your background is. Working for Mitch McConnell or AOC will be harder to land than some relatively obscure house member.