Arts & Entertainment
A bite by the pool
Vida steps up its rooftop dining options this summer
Photo courtesy Vida Fitness.
As always the restaurant scene in Washington is bustling with events, new restaurants and new chefs galore. Here’s just a small taste of what’s hot this summer.
This summer the Vida Penthouse Pool Club on the roof of Vida Fitness (1612 U Street NW) has a new menu created by “Top Chef” season one alum, Michael Schlow, who owns restaurants in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including Radius, Via Matta and Alta Strada. This award-winning chef has been retained by Urban Adventure Companies (the parent company of Vida Fitness and The Penthouse Pool Club) to create the new concept for the Pool menu.
Vida used to get food from sister establishments Capital City Brewing Company and 901 Restaurant, but 901 has now closed and Vida is taking a more upscale approach to the food that is being served at the pool. There is now an onsite kitchen and Schlow has created a menu full of light upscale fare such as appetizers, salads, wraps and sandwiches. Items like the Spicy Cucumber Salad, the California Turkey Club Wrap and the Serrano Ham Sandwich with manchego cheese and guava jam all sound like great items to eat while lounging.
Schlow will also contribute to the Fuel Bar offerings, creating some shakes and juices that will be available to patrons. So, if you have a membership and are going to be at the pool this summer, I recommend trying a bite from the new redesigned offerings.
Besides the changes at the Vida Penthouse Pool Club other exciting summer options include the following:
Starting on Monday and continuing for two weeks Oyamel Cocina Mexicana (401 7th Street NW) will celebrate its sixth annual Tequila & Mezcal Festival. Guests will be able to enjoy Oyamel’s newly expanded bar and dishes by newly appointed head chef, Colin King. Look for a review of the new space and chef in an upcoming column.
Throughout the month, Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato (1560 Wisconsin Ave NW) will be offering a special deal coinciding with National Ice Cream Month. Every Monday and Tuesday customers who purchase a regular small gelato for the suggested retail price will receive a second for half price. I didn’t know there was a National Ice Cream Month but I think it gives us all an excuse to indulge every day and this offer helps us all keep the cost down.
Ardeo + Bardeo (3311 Connecticut Ave NW) is offering a pie and wine promotion this summer that showcases house-made pizzas paired with a glass of wine or draft beer for $15. This promotion is available exclusively at the bar or community table on Sundays from 5-10 p.m. and Mondays from 5-10:30 p.m.
If you’re looking for a nice spot to enjoy happy hour this summer, try out the Rooftop Happy Hour at El Centro D.F. (1819 14th Street NW). This happy hour includes $4 libations such as Corona, Dos XX Lager, Tecate, house red and white wine as well as select cocktails. Also available during the Rooftop Happy Hour is a selection of $6 specialty dishes like shrimp ceviche, pork carnitas and a selection of tacos.
1789 Restaurant (1226 36th Street NW) is celebrating the summer with a specially priced four-course tasting menu. Executive Chef Anthony Lombardo has created a menu available for $50 where guests can select two appetizers, one entree and one dessert. A $20 wine pairing is also available.
One of the most anticipated openings of the summer is Doi Moi, a new Vietnamese and Thai street-food restaurant that will be the anchor of the District Condominiums on 14th and S. Chef Haidar Karoum and restaurateur Mark Kuller, the team behind Proof and Estadio, as well as Adam Bernbach, the bar manager for both of those restaurants, are all involved in this project. The lower level will also have a bar called 2 Birds 1 Stone and it will feature curated cocktails and a scaled down menu. The most outlandish detail of this project that I have come across is that the space will feature a custom made Jade cooking suite. If it’s true, it will be a sight to see.
Celebrity News
Fashion icon Bob Mackie dead at 87
Designing legend to all the divas, gone but not forgotten
To those still reeling from the loss of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, we have another queer icon to add to the In Memoriam of 2026: Bob Mackie. A designer known for being extra, before that was even a thing, has left us with a legacy of looks and an indelible mark on fashion.
The news broke on his Instagram account Monday, Sept. 14, with the message:
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today. He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a fashion and costume designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.” According to People magazine, he passed away in Palm Springs, Calif., due to pneumonia.
At 87, Mackie is the definitive designer for divas. Mackie has literally dressed them all, including Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Barbara Streisand, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, and even RuPaul. He’s dressed film and television icons like Raquel Welch, Lynda Carter, Goldie Hawn, and Jennifer Lopez. It’s not just female divas; he’s also done many of Elton John’s famous costumes as well as David Bowie’s.
His first major mark was drawing the first design of Marilyn Monroe’s famous “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress. Next, he was an assistant to costume designer Ray Aghayan on “The Judy Garland Show.” The two would carry on a professional and romantic partnership for 50 years until Aghayan’s passing in 2011.
Mackie then went on to do all of the costumes for “The Carol Burnett Show,” creating an estimated 17,000 costumes for her show’s 11-year run. This gave him much critical acclaim and notoriety, making him a permanent fixture in the variety show market.
He became a frequent collaborator of Cher, having made her famous midriff-revealing Oscar gown, her “If I Could Turn Back Time” costume, and being her designer for her various television shows, including “The Sonny and Cher Show.” He even designed costumes for her Farewell Tour. The two are synonymous with him having lent his artistic sensibilities to give her a distinct look. Cher even said in 2024, “He helped me create a different me.”
Mackie has left his mark on fashion with a distinct style of glamorous, over-the-top looks. He received the monikers the “Sultan of Sequins,” the “Rajah of Rhinestones,” and the “Guru of Glitter” for challenging the line between costume and fashion with lots of fringe, flash, and over-the-top eye-catching elements. He’s managed to retain a presence not just in entertainment but in the fashion industry for decades. Most recently, one of his outfits was a major plot point for the final season of “Hacks.”
Mackie has received his share of awards and acknowledgments. In addition to dressing many people for the Oscars, he received three nominations, including dressing Diana Ross for “Lady Sings the Blues.” He won a Tony Award for “The Cher Show.” He won nine Emmy Awards and received 30 nominations for his prolific television work.
Luckily, Mackie’s life was celebrated before his passing, receiving various Lifetime achievement awards including the Geoffrey Beene CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award, being honored by the Television Hall of Fame, and receiving “RuPaul’s Drag Race”‘s Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award. He was the first guest judge on the popular series.
It’s clear that not only was Mackie talented, he was magical. He gave a bit of stardust to countless celebrities, luminaries, and public figures with looks that not only defied expectations but managed to be truly spectacular. He’s part of the glitz we think of when we think of Hollywood, and while often elaborate costumes, the shrewd fashion sense and elegance cannot be denied. Mackie will be missed, but his work lives on in the countless pieces still in circulation and forever captured on film and in media.
The 29th annual SMYAL Fall Brunch was held at the Marriott Marquis on Sunday, Sept. 13.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Books
Dolly Parton biography puts her hardships into context
‘Ain’t Nobody’s Fool’ a highly researched tome not to be missed
‘Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton’
By Martha Ackmann
c.2026, St. Martin’s Press
$30/304 pages
Not too bright.
That’s what people once thought about you. Your language didn’t conform, you had your own sense of style, and you were ignorant about modern things and places and foods. But you were no dummy. You were different, and you had a secret: as in the new biography, “Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton” by Martha Ackmann, you knew exactly where you were going.
When Avie Lee Owens and Lee Parton first married, they had the very basics: “two knives, two forks, two spoons, a skillet, a butcher knife, and an old iron kettle.” He was 17; she was 15. Babies came quick. The fourth one was named Dolly, after two great-aunts.
Almost from the time she could walk, Dolly sang. Before she was old enough to attend school, she wrote poetry, and she’d begun to notice rhythms and beats she could make with her fingers. As a schoolchild, she created her own musical instruments out of scraps, and she was eager to perform whenever anyone asked her – and they asked often, because Dolly Parton was a nice girl, and her sense of humor conveyed a warmth that drew people in.
Growing up in the Tennessee mountains, Parton was independent, shunning marriage and child-raising, instead focusing on a dream of being a star. By the time she was in high school, she’d had a regular gig on local television but she recognized that there were few opportunities for fame in the mountains, so she left for Nashville the day after high school graduation, with the snickers of naysayers ringing in her ears.
She stayed with an aunt and uncle there, and she beat the streets, dined on grocery store samples to get by, and missed her family and friends. And they worried about her, but they knew nothing would derail her plans. They knew Dolly would be fine.
As a friend said, “’She had her head on pretty good.’”
Chances are that if you’ve listened to music any time in the last 60 years, you’ve heard Dolly Parton through her words or her music or both. Now you need to learn more about her, and “Ain’t Nobody’s Fool” is where to do it.
Here’s a biography that grabs you on the first page with the tiniest bit of family tree, but not so much that you get bored with it. Author Martha Ackmann writes about Dolly Parton’s early life, putting hardships and experiences in context, both personally and historically. There are name-drops, but not overly so, as Ackmann takes you through Parton’s career, her heartbreaks, her marriage, and her years with Porter Wagoner, in detail but not dramatically embellished or outrageously told. It’s a biography that’s just right, sourced well and written with a fresh take that, like its subject, tells a good story.
Fans, of course, will want this highly researched book but music lovers of any age or type will eat it up. That means you, so use up that Christmas gift certificate. “Ain’t Nobody’s Fool” just shines.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
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Historiography with heart
