Borderstan Weekend August 8/9

Here are some suggestions of things to do during the weekend in Borderstan, really close by or in the city.

Hank’s Oyster Bar, located at 1624 Q Street NW, is one of the relatively recent openings in the area…. with delicious food and great atmosphere. If you really want to enjoy your meal, avoid weekends when it is crowed and a bit loud. Prices are toward the slightly higher end.

Annie’s Paramount Steak House at 1609 17th Street NW has been a fixture of 17th Street for decades, with good food, great friendly atmosphere and good prices. However, after going through a total renovation, the menu has changed to more upscale plates. The prices have gone up as well and Annie’s doesn’t feel as informal as before. The flavor of a good neighborhood restaurant seems to have been lost during the renovation.

“Picturing Progress: Hungarian Women Photographers, 1900-1945,” is at The National Museum of Women in the Arts  at 1250 New York Avenue NW: “The exhibition is a part of Extremely Hungary, a yearlong festival of performances and exhibitions in New York City and Washington, D.C. , throughout 2009.”

“Paint Made Flesh” is at The Phillips Collection at 1600 21st Street NW. The show “examines the ways in which European and American painters have used oil paint and the human body to convey enduring human vulnerabilities, among them anxieties about desire, appearance, illness, aging, war, and death. In the tradition of great figure painting stretching back to Rembrandt and Titian, the 34 artists in the exhibition, working in the years since World War II, exploit oil paint’s visual and tactile properties to mirror those of the body, while exploring the body’s capacity to reflect the soul.”

Washington Improv Theater is at the Source Theater at 1835 14th Street NW: “A special second summer run featuring the Neutrino Video Project–a 30-minute film shot in the time it takes you to watch it–and guest artists from New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and more as part of the first-ever improv comedy festival in DC.”

“The Oresteia” plays at the Church Street Theater at 1742 Church Street NW. It is “a tale of blood, guts and vengeance, this is Aeschylusʼ Oresteia, re-charged. Rowdy, raucous, loud and literate.”

“The B-52s” play at Wolf Trap on Saturday, August 8, at 8 p.m. at the Filene Center. Put on your wig and have tons of fun.

“Olivia Mancini And The Mates” are at the Black Cat, 1811 14th Street NW: “This year’s ‘You Can See The Mountains From Here’ follows up on the exuberant melodies and twangy rock of the band’s Chatterbox EP, showing that Mancini’s musical prowess can outlast even her previous successes.”

Ricardo Arjona plays Saturday, August 8, at the George Mason University Patriot Center, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, at 8 p.m. The Guatemalan-born singer is considered a storyteller with beautiful lyrics about everyday life and people from all walks of life.

Film Night at Cafe Saint Ex at 1847 14th Street NW is Sunday, August 9, at 9 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Gate 54 will be previewing films from the next DC Short Film Festival. “The chefs at Saint Ex have created special pizzas for the evening starting at $7. The Pizzas will be really tasty with a $4 Peroni Beer. ”

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic concludes this weekend at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park. It’s a great opportunity to watch great men’s tennis in the city.