Reflections on D.C. cool

At first glance, D.C. seems like it would be a very uncool place. We see images current and historic of white guys in suits, grandiose architecture, serious hand shakes, arcane arguments, wide streets, and emblems of a police state: black cars, tinted windows, officers in flak jackets.

But my experiences there have always been much less staid, ranging from the rowdy (old days) to the gourmet (present days). I've been visiting friends in D.C. since I was in college. I always found D.C. to be a very young city. There are several universities in D.C., and many college graduates go there to work for government and government-related businesses. Young people are more fun.

Now, when I visit D.C., what I notice is new investment. There are old fresh food markets made new again as prepared food halls, old industrial infrastructure turned into dining and entertainment destinations, and disused storefronts converted to pubs featuring existing fixtures (e.g., brick). There are shiny new buildings being put up amidst the old buildings, and the old row houses are being spruced up.

What fuels the investment? Well, a federal government that expands continuously. Even while the government itself gets bigger, the government hires more and more contractors. It is these consultants, lawyers, accountants, and IT professionals -- all working under government contracts -- that have turned D.C. into a thriving "knowledge economy" with rising incomes and education rates.

Meanwhile, there is the existential fight over gentrification where nobody wins. The neighborhoods are becoming nicer, safer, and with better schools, even while the previous residents can no longer afford to live there. Even in London there exists an ongoing and present fight over gentrification (from another article: "There is nothing gentrifiers dislike more than other gentrifiers, especially much richer ones.").

This article documents these D.C. trends pretty well: "Hail Columbia!" (See also this, which puts D.C. in league with Portland/)

Concerns of economic inequality aside, Christine, Bobby, and I, along with my sister Rachel, had a great time (once again) hanging out in Rachel's gentrifying D.C. A fun part of visiting these restaurants is that Bobby is old enough to eat off our plates now. He's been trying all sorts of foods, from Japanese tofu, to kimchee, cheese, pasta, mushrooms, guacamole: we feed him anything that's soft enough for him to mash with his gums and his one sharp, goofy tooth. So far there doesn't seem to be any foods he doesn't like.

This La Colombe is found down an alley in what might have been a garage before it was a coffee shop. It was a bit confusing to find the first time.

Union Market is basically a gourmet, expensive hawker center, with dozens of small vendors serving creative food featuring fresh ingredients and high prices.

Sharing Korean tacos with Bobby.

This "grocery store" sells only local products. The products are super expensive and the selection small. This is in a neighborhood burned down during riots in the 1960s. Gentrification, present before us.

Bob, comfortable in his post-industrial urban environment.

Christine sharing some silken tofu with Bobby at a modern ramen restaurant.

Eating Burmese noodles with a baby sleeping on your chest is a very particular challenge.