The Friday of the Inauguration, restless guests - freezing, wanting to dance, ecstatic for Barack Obama - waited behind velvet ropes as NFL superstar Shawn Merriman slammed the door of his black Chevy Tahoe, slapped a high-five - two maybe - and stormed into the bar and club Josephine. Once inside, you could try creeping up behind one of his mammoth bodyguards and snapping a picture of yourself with Oscar and Grammy award-winning Jamie Foxx, who strolled over to his VIP section. Jessica Alba and Ludacris are at Fur! Too bad it's invite-only. But then there was the cost-free, but maybe priceless "We Are One" Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, where tens of thousands gathered - including President Obama - to watch Stevie Wonder, Usher and Shakira perform "Higher Ground" - testament to the week ahead.
Like the superstars that graced the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial on that Sunday afternoon, D.C. was an international icon three weeks ago. Some say Barack Obama is the coolest man alive. Now living in the District, Obama's "chill" heats an already ambitious town. His charm and eloquence shine a light on the city in which he now resides. So when the sun rose over the frozen tundra of the National Mall on the morning of the Inauguration and Obama walked up to the podium, a nation and a city became cooler than ever.
In semblance to its new face, D.C.'s charm is captured on K Street, O Street and N Street in Georgetown with cobblestone stamped in its roads, tasteful boutiques and art galleries up and down M Street, and lantern-lit townhouses, where politicos like Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) find solace. Walking up to the gates of Georgetown University, passing the famous alumni house, one finds distinctive character only found here. Upscale boutiques like Urban Chic, Wink and Annie Creamcheese step up to the task, carrying the most current, fashion-forward styles when clothing presidential daughters, pump-wearing nine-to-fivers and Inaugural ball goddesses. The city moves at light-speed, every aspect from taste to sound to dress must follow suit to survive. In doing so, it keeps up with other major cities in being as or more hip as we move into the "O" term.
Some have considered the city hip for a while now, including D.C. fashion blogger Rachel Cothran. She claims D.C. is a rising star in the fashion market; the city recently became home to luxury men's designer Ermenegildo Zegna, who opened a store in Tysons Galleria. Up Wisconsin Avenue in Chevy Chase, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Max Mara grace the sidewalks. Shops recently emerging in D.C., like Major in Georgetown, are of a younger, trendier archetype that bear resemblance to Kid Robot, Ben Sherman and A Bathing Ape in New York's Soho neighborhood.
The youth in fashion has also taken hold in the D.C. restaurant scene, which government staffers have indulged in for some time. But now traditional taste for hefty hunks of beef at Charlie Palmer's has given way to modern Mexican and Mango Mojitos at Zengo in Chinatown, or authentic French dishes at Georgetown's Citronelle. Smart Panini cafes and Trattorias line Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park. And museums even cater to good taste. Wolfgang Puck has unleashed The Source in the Newseum complex, garnering nods as D.C.'s best new restaurant of 2008 from several outlets. Puck serves a plethora of goodies - like lacquered Chinese duckling with black, mission fig - something you see in the offerings of a five-star restaurant in Manhattan - at his contemporary, Asian outpost.
However, the dinner tables aren't the only proof of the city's ascent. The Newseum is a prime indicator that D.C. is "in." It's a peek into the way the city's architecture is headed. The building is a futuristic glass fa?ade with skywalks between exhibits until the top floor, which is home to a display of every major newspaper from around the world. The display of media and news history is methodical and artful here. Adjacent to the huge wall of daily publications, as you look outside, are the best views of D.C. in the city.
Whether looking for enlightenment at the Newseum or having mindless fun in Adams Morgan, there is a fresh dichotomy in D.C. Washingtonians - AU students too - can sit at the Sequoia at Gangplank Marina gazing at 60-foot yachts passing on the Potomac River while sipping Sunset Martinis and conversing about President Obama. They can then move on to hitting Dupont Circle's Current for dance or the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn After Hours exhibit to chill - talk about multi-tasking. Obama is galvanizing the "in" quality of D.C. Through fresh politics, driven fashion and dining and its collegiate student population, the District is hot. All eyes are on us right now. We can be considered the center of the universe, and there may be no better place to be a student.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
