Arts & Entertainment
Local news in brief
Gay Catholics honor Catania, Whitman-Walker in the black and more
Dignity Washington honored D.C. Council members David Catania (I-At-Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) for their efforts at passing a marriage equality bill. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Gay Catholics honor Catania, Mendelson
The local LGBT Catholic group Dignity Washington presented its annual community service award Sunday night to D.C. Council members David Catania (I-At-Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) in recognition of their role in securing passage of the city’s same-sex marriage law.
Several same-sex couples whose marriages became possible when the law took effect last March joined Dignity Washington President Allen Rose in presenting the group’s Veronica & Gerald Golfer Award to the two Council members at St. Margaret’s Church near Dupont Circle, where Dignity holds its weekly Sunday Mass.
Catania wrote and introduced the marriage measure and Mendelson, as chair of the committee with jurisdiction over the bill, managed its progress through the Council’s legislative process. Catania said he was pleased that polling data showed that D.C.-area Roman Catholics supported marriage equality in greater percentages than members of all other Christian denominations, despite the strong opposition to same-sex marriage by the Catholic hierarchy.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Whitman-Walker Clinic posts first operating gain in 10 years
The Whitman-Walker Clinic announced this week that it posted a four percent operating gain for 2010, its first such positive result in nearly 10 years.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for our entire Whitman-Walker family especially in light of the many challenges the Clinic has faced in recent years,” said executive director Don Blanchon. “With our 2010 results, we have answered longstanding questions in the community about the Clinic’s financial viability. But more important than that, we have demonstrated that the Clinic offers high quality care to our patients.”
The Clinic’s management drew the ire of City Council member David Catania after posting consecutive years of multi-million dollar losses. Blanchon responded with layoffs and a restructuring plan. The Clinic posted operating losses of more than $4 million in 2007 and 2008. Losses were cut to about $750,000 in 2009 and for 2010 the Clinic posted an operating gain of about $890,000 on more than $20 million in revenue.
“To have such a dramatic turnaround in such a relatively short period of time, particularly given the state of the economy, is incredible,” Blanchon said.
STAFF REPORTS
Rehoboth’s outdoor bars can stay open until 1 a.m. — for now
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — The Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners placed a one-year moratorium on enforcing a law governing the hours a restaurant patio may stay open, and agreed to hire and train noise enforcement officers on how to use noise meters to measure noise levels.
The moratorium will allow restaurants with patios to serve food and drinks until 1 a.m., instead of 10 p.m. this summer.
The decisions followed a series of arrests in September of several business owners, including at establishments popular with LGBT patrons like Purple Parrot and Aqua, because of late night noise violations on their patios. The moves come after several months of discussions within the commission with business and community leaders, as well as a meeting with police officials from Newark, Del.
At the meeting last month, Commissioner Bill Sargent suggested that the noise ordinance should be based on noise being plainly audible, with distances of hearing the sounds being closer at night, but gay Commissioner Dennis Barbour suggested that would be a subjective way of determining noise levels.
Commissioner Stan Mills, who Barbour cited as the instigator of the police raids last year, said, “complaints of noise came from all over the place including from a residence known as the Arc, which is directly across Rehoboth Avenue from Rigby’s.” Rigby’s is another gay-owned establishment.
Lesbian Commissioner Pat Coluzzi introduced the resolution to keep the same noise ordinance and hire officials to monitor levels.
Because the moratorium requires a change in code, hearings must be held before the commission makes it official, but Mills expects that it could be implemented by mid-March.
PETER SCHOTT
D.C. family group elects officers
The Campaign for All DC Families, which helped lead the fight for marriage equality in the city, has elected its 2011 officers.
The organization will be led by: president Peter Rosenstein, vice president Aisha Mills, treasurer Reggie Stanley and secretary Joanne Savage.
“We will be vigilant as we fight spurious efforts by some members of Congress to interfere with the right of the people of the District to govern themselves. We will work with other supportive groups and the mayor’s office to ensure that marriage equality remains in place in D.C.,” Rosenstein said.
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
Let love and compassion guide our response to Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis
D.C. Black Pride 2025: Events, parties, and empowerment
Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs
Frank Kameny’s legacy lives on
