WCP’s favorite people and places of 2024 include a sweaty dance floor, a Twitter troll, a billionaire, and special spot on the banks of the Anacostia. We’re also showing a little love for our favorite home office away from our home offices and hidden gem of a baseball field. Take a look and then drop us a line with your own favorite D.C. people and places.
To see what readers selected in our People & Places categories, click here.
BEST PLACE TO GET SWEATY ON A FRIDAY NIGHT THAT ISN’T A CLUB
Hoja Taqueria at Generator Hotel
If you wanna groove on a Friday night but don’t want to pay an outrageous cover, endure a pushy crowd, or deal with guys who will ask you to buy them a drink, then you belong at Hoja Taqueria.
The distinguished, somewhat quaint space tucked inside the Generator Hotel on Connecticut and Massachusetts avenues NW attracts a classier lad—it’s basically the anti-Decades and a well-kept secret by casual social dancers. Starting at 8 p.m., you can take a bachata or salsa lesson before a night of social dancing that lasts until 1 a.m.
The lights dim to a cool pink and blue, the floor isn’t sticky, and even if it does get a little crowded, there are plenty of spots to sit and chill until you’re ready to boogie again. The crowds generally fit into two categories: the regulars, who come for dancing, and the wallflower hotel guests. Both seemed to be having fun when I visited in the past few months. I can’t always say the same for the clubs—sorry, Charli XCX.
The best part is you don’t need to be an especially good dancer. The talent typically ranges from beginner to somewhat experienced, in my estimation. And the lessons help! For $5, you get an hourlong lesson and social dancing. And if you’re a lady, you get a complimentary glass of champagne. —Lizzy Rager
BEST UNOFFICIAL WIFFLE BALL FIELD
Brentwood Recreation Center
The baseball diamond at the Brentwood Recreation Center is not the Field of Dreams, but it is my field of dreams. Tucked into the Northeast neighborhood, on the top of a hill and behind a basketball court (and close to my apartment), the field has just about everything: a grass infield, a warning track, dugouts, and a set of modest bleachers (except for home plate, the bases are missing). The only problem is that it can’t really function as a baseball field. The outfield fence, separating the field from the houses that sit behind it, is far too short. But it’s the perfect distance for Wiffle Ball.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, a few friends came over to play the game that dominated my summers growing up in the Midwest. Some of the folks hanging outside the nearby apartments even came to watch for a bit. And a mother who introduced herself as Miss Cookie asked if we could teach some of the neighborhood kids to play. We’d be happy to, we said, and finished the game (but lost track of the score). I’m planning to host another one later this summer. D.C. is full of hidden gems. This one is a reminder that, for some, you don’t have to look far. —Mitch Ryals
BEST TEMPORARY OFFICE SPACE
Lyman’s Tavern
It’s been about four years since the pandemic forced City Paper staffers from our downtown office. We now all work from our respective homes, each scattered throughout the District. And sometimes we get a little lonely. Slack cannot replace the buzz and hum of a newsroom. In those moments, when solitude becomes deafening, there is one place we return to again and again: Lyman’s Tavern.
The unassuming corner bar, with its stringy patio lights and cozy indoor confines, has plied us with cold beer, strong mixed drinks, and ample hot dogs to fuel our pitch meetings, boost our brainstorming sessions, and ease, if even for a moment, our incessant cynicism.
There are no desks. The stools aren’t ergonomic. And the facilities? Well, we think they’re perfect just the way they are.
Look for us on a random Thursday afternoon, sliding into the evening as we enjoy each other’s company IRL. If it’s nice out, we’ll probably be on the side patio, all the way in the back, sitting around an upturned wash bin, sipping our beverages, scribbling in our notebooks, and bitching about our local leaders. —Mitch Ryals
BEST EUPHEMISM FOR A VACATION
Mayor Bowser’s “Sports and Economic Development Visit”
Why tell your constituents that you’re jetting off on a developer-funded trip to rub elbows with the rich and famous at the Masters golf tournament when you could say you plan to “travel to Augusta, Georgia, as part of a sports and economic development visit”? Mayor Muriel Bowser’s communications team deserves points for creativity with that explanation, delivered to reporters back in April.
Sources in Bowser’s orbit later claimed that she viewed the visit as a chance to drum up support for the redevelopment of RFK stadium, but the more the public learned about the trip, the worse it looked—especially when it came out that she ran into her disgraced former right-hand man, John Falcicchio, just as he was trying to launch a comeback. Plus, the city still hasn’t come through on its promised reimbursement of Bowser’s expenses. This was hardly the worst scandal of Bowser’s tenure, but it certainly ranks among the most amusing. —Alex Koma
BEST BELLY FLOP
Anacostia River Splash
Two things you should know about me before we get into this: I love swimming, and I’m not from D.C. So when the Anacostia Riverkeeper announced the 2023 Anacostia River Splash, I was ready to sign up. For some reason, my colleagues laughed at me. One recommended I buy a wet suit before taking the plunge. There’s poop in the water! they “joked,” or so I thought. Then the swim was canceled, twice, due to inclement weather, which tends to wash more bad shit—no pun intended—into waterways. Next year, the riverkeeper promised, the inaugural swim would go on. And then the first 2024 event was canceled, as was the second, after “water quality samples detected E. coli levels well above D.C.’s recreational standards.” The E. coli and other bacteria levels come from sewage flow that ends up in the river, which makes it unsafe but also just too gross to take a dip. Today, the Splash event page still lives, but it’s noticeably absent of a date. I’d love to see the Anacostia River become swimmable, but I won’t be jumping in anytime soon. Lorde can have it. —Sarah Marloff
BEST COMMUNITY HUB
Sycamore & Oak
Since Congress Heights’ Sycamore & Oak opened in 2023, the gorgeous space has become a bustling hub for entertainment, good food, exercise, and, most importantly, community. The space located on the St. Elizabeths campus next to the Sports and Entertainment Arena (home of the Mystics and Capital City Go-Go) features a stage, eateries, retail shops, and a playground out back. Sycamore & Oak hosts concerts and karaoke, workout and money management classes, game nights, and other community events. For Tiffany Wilkinson, who grew up in the area and is now the general manager of one of the restaurants, Dionne’s Good Food, the space represents a joyful rejuvenation of the campus. She rattles off a list of prominent guests, including Kamala Harris, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and WNBA star Brittney Griner. “It’s great for the community to have this hidden jewel,” Wilkinson says. —Mitch Ryals
BEST FACE-PLANT
Ted Leonsis
“The die is cast,” Ted Leonsis declared in February, channeling his inner Julius Caesar as he sought to downplay concerns that he might abandon his plans to move the Capitals and Wizards to Alexandria. Just over a month later, Leonsis had to issue one heck of a mea culpa instead.
Leonsis’ clumsy attempts to strong-arm both powerful Virginia Democrats and persistent Northern Virginia NIMBYs to win a $2 billion stadium deal backfired spectacularly, ensuring that the teams won’t be leaving Capital One Arena after all. The billionaire didn’t exactly come out on the losing end of this exchange though, picking up $515 million in city funding just to stay put. Still, there’s little doubt that the three-month kerfuffle damaged his otherwise strong reputation among D.C. sports fans. —Alex Koma
BEST TRAINSPOTTING
CSX Depot Near Fort Dupont in Anacostia Park
Watching a big rusty train slowly chug its way down the track has a way of making you forget your computer and marvel at the tremendous weight of these huge metal beasts. The Class I freight trains move laboriously but inexorably forward. It’s hypnotic, and I always stare. For years, I’ve wandered down toward the far north end of Anacostia Park to watch the freight trains coming off the Anacostia Railroad Bridge, where trains have crossed since 1872. There’s a nice clearing near the woods where you can comfortably soak up all the weighted creaking of the wheels as the tired trains come off the bridge and ease themselves into a slow turn toward Baltimore. Twenty years ago I would bring my daughters there so we could flatten pennies. It’s still just as appealing today. —Vince Morris
BEST ROPE SWING
Potomac Heritage Trail Opposite Georgetown Reservoir
The man doesn’t want people swimming in the Potomac River, but lots of us are in the river all the time. As someone who’s been swimming in the Potomac for many years, I can tell you there are only two good rope swings around D.C. The first is right across from Fletcher’s Cove Boathouse. A favorite summer activity of mine includes fried chicken at one of the picnic tables before kayaking across the river to get to the swing. But the absolute best rope swing is further down river, toward Georgetown. Most folks get there by parking at Potomac Overlook Park and walking south on the Potomac Heritage Trail. You reach your goal after clambering up a big outcrop. The swing is attached to a thin old rope that sends you high, lets you pause briefly to appreciate the view, and plops you down into the cool water below. —Vince Morris
BEST TWITTER TROLL
@DDOTDCDirector
Local D.C. Twitter hasn’t been quite as lively as it was in its late 2010s heyday, especially after a certain billionaire started running things, but at least we have the fake District Department of Transportation director.