🌸 Gay Men's Chorus Holiday Show + Resy's Top Restaurants

Good morning, DC. The sun set at 4:46 PM yesterday, and your next outdoor happy hour won't happen until March. But at least the Gay Men's Chorus is back at Lincoln Theatre, Resy just validated your restaurant taste, and Ovechkin keeps proving he's not done yet.

In today’s District Download:

Let’s get to it.

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is back at Lincoln Theatre for another playful run of wintertime favorites and remixes. The high-kicking chorus is closing out 2025 with holiday carols ranging from "O Holy Night" to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" to the cheekily titled "Santa Daddy." The chorus has been a DC institution for decades, bringing joyful, inclusive performances to the city's stages—this isn't your grandmother's church choir, unless your grandmother has excellent taste in choreography. Tickets start at $26, making it an affordable night out that works as either a date or a group outing. This is the kind of show that turns skeptics into believers—it's earnest, fun, and genuinely uplifting without tipping into saccharine holiday theater territory.

Resy released its list of the top DC restaurants in 2025, and the city shows up strong. Leading the pack is Maison in Adams Morgan—a wine bar that's managed to become the go-to spot in a neighborhood that doesn't lack for bars, which tells you something about the quality of what they're pouring. Right behind it: Kwame Onwuachi's Dōgon in Southwest Washington, bringing Afro-Caribbean flavors that have critics reaching for superlatives. The list reflects DC's continued ascent as a serious dining city, with a mix of new openings and established favorites earning recognition from one of the industry's major reservation platforms. For context, Resy's year-end lists carry weight—restaurants that make the cut see their reservation books fill for months. The timing is perfect for end-of-year planning: whether you're looking for a date-night splurge, a spot to celebrate the holidays with friends, or just want to cross a few acclaimed restaurants off your list before 2026, this gives you a validated starting point.

Multiple outlets have released their "best of 2025" restaurant lists, and a pattern emerges: DC diners now expect world-class quality and aren't settling for generic chains. The H Street Nepali street food spot from chef Suresh Sundas, who spent years at Rasika and Daru before launching this project serving wagyu beef momos and podi masala dosas made with a grinder imported from India, earned recognition as Eater DC's Best New Restaurant. The ingredient specificity matters: freeze-dried black Parmesan in chicken broth, overnight-fermented dosas, martinis engineered with achaar brine—this is street food executed with fine-dining technique. Meanwhile, Canadian hospitality group Scale brought Casamara and Reynold's to Dupont Circle, and 7th Street Burger—the NYC smash burger chain that counts Bad Bunny among its regulars—opened its second DC location in Dupont on December 7, following crowds at their Georgetown spot that proved the concept travels. The common thread across all these openings: global cuisines executed with precision, proven concepts expanding with confidence, and a city that's become a legitimate dining destination rather than a place where good food happens by accident.

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Here’s what’s going on around DC this week:

Signature Theatre | In Clay musical | New musical on French potter Marie-Berthe Cazin makes US debut, transporting audiences to 1930s Paris | 8 PM

National Museum of Women in the Arts | Ruth Orkin: Women on the Move | 21 vintage photographs from mid-20th century photographer who captured both Hollywood stars and postwar American families (free for ages 21 and younger) | 11:30 AM

MLK Library | Metro Holiday Pop-Up Shop | Paper-wreath crafting workshop for the holidays | Free

Epiphany Church | Vivaldi's "Gloria" with chamber orchestra | Epiphany Choir performs Vivaldi's Christmas masterwork | Free | 7 PM

Smithsonian Associates | Seasonal cocktails workshop | Cocktail historian Philip Greene teams with DC mixologists to create holiday drinks | $70 | 7 PM

Keegan Theatre | An Irish Carol | Irish remix of Dickens's classic tale | $65 | 8 PM

Folger Theatre | Resplendent Joy medieval Christmas concert | Folger Consort performs merry melodies from 15th century Spain and Portugal | $20+ | Last performances this week

Nationals Park | Winter Wonderfest | Ice skating, snow tubing, holiday market, food vendors—the Nationals finally figured out what to do with their stadium when it's too cold for baseball (family-friendly) | Through holiday season

Willard InterContinental Hotel | Nightly caroling performances | Capital Accord Chorus and local groups perform evening holiday carols | Free | Through December 23

Silver Lyan | The Dishonesty Bar '70s holiday makeover | Hidden cocktail lounge gets retro decor transformation for the holidays | Free entry | Through January 3rd

Get your name in front of thousands of DMV area locals 3x/week.

Wednesday

45 🌡 31 | 🌧️ 10% | 💨 9 mph

Thursday

36 🌡 27 | 🌧️ 10% | 💨 17 mph

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The Atlantis | Too Many Zooz with Clejan (brass-heavy chaos if that's your thing) | 6:30 PM

9:30 Club | The Beths with Phoebe Rings | 7 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Stela Cole | 7:30 PM

Pearl Street Warehouse | Winyah with Edgehill | 6:30 PM

The Atlantis | TRSH | 6:30 PM

9:30 Club | Avery Anna | 7 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Eric Benet | 7:30 PM

Music Center at Strathmore | A Celtic Christmas (perfect for out-of-town relatives) | 8 PM

Soundcheck | Basstripper | 10 PM

The Capitals shut out Columbus 2-0 on Monday, and Alex Ovechkin sits at 911 career goals—just 83 away from Wayne Gretzky's all-time record. At 14 goals and 29 points in 30 games this season, he continues proving he's got more left than most teams have period. The Caps face Carolina on Thursday at Capital One Arena. Meanwhile, the Wizards are 2-16 and the Commanders' playoff hopes look increasingly generous to call "developing." If you need a reminder that at least one DC team knows how to finish, Thursday's your night.

Till next time,