Uneasy Rhetoric

Downtown Déjeuner:
Park Plaza Cafe ***
924 J Street
$6-$9
I don’t get it. At lunchtime, every restaurant on J Street is packed with people, except this one. Maybe it’s because they look closed from the outside. Maybe no one likes borscht. Maybe everyone is protesting Russia’s unwillingness to support Iraq II. They even do [...]

Downtown Déjeuner:
Sticks: The New Cantonese *** 1/2
1200 K St Ste 4
Under $8.
With the closure of Indochine, Downtown Sacramento lost the jewel in its Chinese/pan-Asian crown. I lament this closure even more because of Indochine’s supersized portions, which were enough to give even this growing boy two whole lunches.
Despite its subtitle - “The New Cantonese” - [...]

In the L.A. Times today there is a story about a man who, at 68, turned his life around when he started doing tax returns for low-income, and primarily immigrant, families. His story resonated with me because I’m only beginning to realize how much I learned about people by doing their taxes - beyond their [...]

Mark Schmitt says he has no nostalgia for the old welfare system. Starting out, his post reads like a fashion statement: welfare is, like, so last week. But, then he gets to the heart of the matter: “With just two million families on welfare, it’s time to focus instead on the fact that [...]

Downtown Déjeuner:
Blimpie Subs ** 1/2
1023 K St
$5-$7
It can’t be easy running a business on K street when you’re right in the middle between the shopping center and the convention center. But, I guess, even though there are three Subways, a Quiznoes, and countless deli’s in the area, there’s also a spot for Blimpie.
Another [...]