🌸 Chicago's deep-dish king targets DC

Good morning, DC.

In today’s District Download:

Let’s get to it.

Seven festive Christmas towns sit within a few hours' drive for anyone looking to escape the District's more corporate holiday programming. Middleburg delivers equestrian-preppy vibes with hounds and horses parading alongside Santa on December 6, while Leesburg's neighborhood light displays rival anything in Northern Virginia—especially if you time it with a stop at the kitschy Lucketts Holiday House pop-up running through December 14. St. Michaels' illuminated boat parade on December 13 offers genuine coastal charm without the Ocean City crowds, and Staunton's Santa Express train rides capture that Polar Express magic Amtrak never quite manages. Berlin, Maryland's December 4 parade draws 80 floats—the Eastern Shore's largest—while Colonial Williamsburg goes full historical with cannon fire and musket smoke during their Grand Illumination nights, which honestly beats another walk around the Wharf's generic twinkle lights. Whether you're chasing preppy Middleburg carolers or Leesburg's Griswold-level home decorations, these spots deliver actual personality over the mall-standard holly and garland taking over DC proper.

Chef Lonie Murdock opened Isla late October in Midtown Center's 8,000-square-foot former Philotimo space, with sister lounge Goodlove debuting November 7—and both represent downtown's most ambitious dining bet in months. The Toronto chef's globally-inspired island cooking spans snapper crudo with passionfruit ponzu to jerk-spiced pumpkin gnocchi with smoked beef ragu, backed by what aims to be DC's largest rum collection and multiple private dining rooms that seat up to 65. Goodlove doubles down on the nightlife component with nightly DJs, "remix" cocktails, and Jamaican patties until late—filling a genuine gap in downtown's post-dinner scene that's been missing since before the pandemic. The dual concept tests whether Midtown Center can finally sustain the kind of energetic, late-running restaurant culture that 14th Street and H Street have mastered, with early crowds suggesting Toronto's hospitality playbook might actually translate to DC's more buttoned-up downtown energy. If this works, expect the Hamilton Square development to chase more Toronto imports rather than the usual New York transplants.

Refer the most new subscribers this month and score a $200 gift card to DC's most iconic French bistro—your referral link is at the bottom of this email. We’ll count all verified, unique signups from now through November 30.

Barnes & Noble returns to downtown DC with a 16,000-square-foot Metro Center location opening in January—their second District shop after Georgetown reopened last November—but local independent booksellers like Solid State Books and Capitol Hill Books aren't worried about the competition. The chain's 2019 pivot under CEO James Daunt shifted from crushing indie stores to coexisting with them, even acquiring bankrupt operations like Tattered Cover while preserving their independent identity, which explains why DC's literary scene views this less as a threat and more as ecosystem expansion. Independent shops maintain their edge through curated debut author events, hyper-local book clubs (Solid State runs 13 monthly), and neighborhood-specific customer relationships that corporate operations fundamentally can't replicate—plus they survived Borders' 2011 collapse and Books-A-Million's 2015 departure, so one more chain opening barely registers as a blip.

Giordano's confirmed spring 2026 for their first DMV location at 600 14th Street NW near Metro Center, bringing 50 years of stuffed deep-dish heritage to a 7,000-square-foot downtown space that's been empty since MXDC relocated. The Chicago institution—famous for layering mozzarella, fillings, another crust, and tomato sauce on top in a recipe descended from an Italian Easter Pie—will serve as a regional flagship with plans to scout additional DMV sites after the downtown debut, which means Georgetown and Bethesda should start preparing for the inevitable expansion. This finally gives DC a legitimate Chicago-style deep-dish option beyond &Pizza's half-hearted attempts, though whether locals embrace two-inch-thick pies requiring forks and 45-minute bake times remains the open question in a city that's shown more enthusiasm for Neapolitan margins than Midwestern maximalism.

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

9:30 Club | CG5: TOO MANY SONGS Tour | YouTube gaming star brings pop-rock energy | 6 PM

Keegan Theatre | Lizzie the Musical | Punk-rock reimagining of Lizzie Borden legend | 8 PM

9:30 Club | Khruangbin | Texas psych-funk trio's sold-out show | 7 PM

Capital One Arena | Playboi Carti: Antagonist Tour | Atlanta rapper's arena hip-hop spectacle | 7 PM

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

Monday

50 🌡 32 | 🌧️ 7% | 💨 11 mph

Tuesday

46 🌡 31 | 🌧️ 10% | 💨 18 mph

9:30 Club | CG5 | 6 PM

The Atlantis | INOHA with Worry Club | 6:30 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Marc Cohn with Shawn Colvin | 7:30 PM

The Howard Theatre | Rare Essence | 9 PM

The Fillmore - Silver Spring | Mammoth WVH with Myles Kennedy | 6 PM

The Atlantis | Flock of Dimes | 6:30 PM

9:30 Club | Khruangbin | 7 PM

Capital One Arena | Playboi Carti | 7 PM

The Anthem - DC | The Wombats | 7:30 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox | 7:30 PM

Warner Theatre - DC | WENDY | 7:30 PM

Lincoln Theatre - DC | Alessia Cara | 8 PM

The Washington Spirit advanced to the NWSL semifinals Saturday after goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury saved two penalty kicks in a 3-1 shootout victory over Racing Louisville—though not before Louisville's Kayla Fischer equalized in the 90th minute to force extras after Gift Monday's 73rd-minute goal looked like the winner. The Spirit host either Portland or San Diego at Audi Field next Saturday at noon with a chance to reach their fourth NWSL Championship Final. Meanwhile, the Commanders dropped their fifth straight game yesterday, falling 44-22 to the Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium—a blowout loss that saw Daron Payne ejected for throwing a punch and backup QB Marcus Mariota unable to spark any momentum with Jayden Daniels still sidelined. At 3-7, Washington now needs to win six of their remaining eight games to finish with a winning record, which feels increasingly unlikely given injuries to key players and a defense that's allowing nearly five touchdowns per game during this skid.

Happy birthday and thank you to all of our readers! This newsletter wouldn’t be possible without your support. Share this email with three people to get a shoutout on your next birthday.

Megan from Arlington

Till next time,