Pixies, Peppa Pig & DC’s Best New Eats

Good morning, DC. A sushi-vinyl lounge is spinning into Clarendon, City Paper has crowned this year’s local champions, and the Pixies are ready to shake The Wharf—let’s jump into the weekend buzz.

In today’s District Download:

• 20 fresh restaurants on the way

• Loudoun County Fair in full swing

• Commanders training camp opens Sunday

Let’s get to it.

THE DIGEST

🍺 Dan’s Café legend out, squeeze-bottle saga rolls on

Clinnie “Dickie” Dickens—the North Carolina mailman-turned-publican who bought Adams Morgan’s windowless Dan’s Café in 1965 (never mind that his name wasn’t Dan)—died in February at 90, just shy of the bar’s 60th birthday. For six decades he presided over cracked-tile counters, a jukebox stuck in the ’70s, and those 16-ounce, $27 squirt-bottle cocktails that make Instagram and ABRA inspectors equally nervous. The good news for night-owls: Dickens’ sons already have the paperwork to keep pouring, and the lease runs through 2038, so your weekend debauchery stays on the calendar. Expect plenty of 60th-anniversary toasts this month to the man who could police the room with one glance—and still serve a four-finger drink with a smile.

🏆 Best of D.C. 2025: your favorites, revealed

Washington City Paper just dropped its annual Best of D.C. list, trumpeting hundreds of reader-chosen champs—from noodle shops and dive bars to yoga studios and bike mechanics. The 2025 roundup even adds fresh categories, so you can now crown a top dog park and a go-to hike. Staffers also chimed in with personal picks for hidden-gem music venues, indie bookstores, and bars that pour a perfect Guinness. Bookmark the master list before your next “where should we go?” debate—because democracy tastes better when it comes with tacos and cold brews.

LOCAL BUSINESS

🍽️ 20 fresh bites on the horizon

Washingtonian’s spring/summer hot list flags 20 incoming restaurants worth pre-bookmarking: think James Beard-approved Indian street food at Chai Pani’s Union Market debut, a Parisian-style Maison Bar à Vins from the Lutèce crew in Adams Morgan, and chef Tim Ma’s first sit-down Lucky Danger in Penn Quarter with whole crispy flounder on deck. Sprinkle in Alfie’s Thai comeback, a Salty Donut takeover, and a boutique steakhouse called Electric Bull, and your dining calendar is basically full till Labor Day. Budget accordingly—there’s a lot of taste-testing in your near future.

🍣 Oasis spins vinyl, sushi & sake in Clarendon

The team behind Sisters Thai just opened Oasis: The Listening Bar at 2940 Clarendon Blvd., blending a Japanese record-bar vibe with luxe sushi rolls piled high with uni, ikura, and caviar. A wrap-around bar pours yuzu-foam cocktails, Japanese whiskies, and sake flights, while vinyl DJs (and the occasional live act) start Friday evening sets on July 25. Expect izakaya bites—from uni croquettes to eel rice bowls—and a tasting menu launching August 21. Think of it as a late-night Tokyo listening lounge, no passport required.

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’

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

Friday

🎡 Loudoun County Fair

Ferris wheels, pie-eating contests, bingo, and barn-rock bands turn the fairgrounds into a small-town summer movie—minus the CGI.

📍 Leesburg | 🕒 10 AM – 11 PM

🎸 Pixies: Loud-Quiet-LOUD at The Anthem

Alt-rock trailblazers Pixies swing through on their 2025 tour, promising a wall-to-wall greatest-hits set—think “Where Is My Mind?” and “Debaser” cranked to 11 on the Wharf’s riverfront stage.

📍 The Wharf | 🕒 8 PM

Saturday

🩰 Maryland Youth Ballet: Cinderella

Glass slippers meet open-air theater as the Maryland Youth Ballet twirls through the classic fairytale at Wolf Trap’s Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods—perfect for pint-sized princes and princesses.

📍 Vienna | 🕒 10:30 AM

🐷 Peppa Pig Pop-Up at CAMP

Step through CAMP’s “magic door” into Peppa’s world—ride Grandpa Pig’s train, climb a treehouse, and snap selfies with the pink superstar, all inside Tysons Corner Center’s new immersive playground.

📍 Tysons Corner | 🕒 10 AM – 8 PM

Sunday

🎭 Dead Inside at Woolly Mammoth

Last chance to catch Riki Lindhome’s hilariously raw fertility-journey musical before it closes—think stand-up meets show tunes with an Ali Wong/Bill Hader stamp of approval.

📍 Penn Quarter | 🕒 2 PM

🎾 Mubadala Citi DC Open Finals

Championship Sunday serves up three back-to-back finals—doubles at noon, then men’s and women’s singles trophies while Taco Bamba and Ben’s Chili Bowl keep courtside cravings in check.

📍 Rock Creek Park | 🕒 12 – 7 PM

WEATHER

Friday

96 🌡 79 | 🌧️ 25% | 💨 9 mph

Saturday

91 🌡 76 | 🌧️ 55% | 💨 6 mph

Sunday

90 🌡 77 | 🌧️ 50% | 💨 5 mph

LIVE MUSIC LOWDOWN

Friday

The Anthem | Pixies | 8 PM

Jiffy Lube Live | Wiz Khalifa & Sean Paul | 6:30 PM

Wolf Trap | Carmina Burana | 8 PM

9:30 Club | Femi Kuti & The Positive Force | 7 PM

Merriweather Post Pavilion | Rainbow Kitten Surprise | 7 PM

Union Stage | Jeremy Jordan & Age of Madness | 8 PM

Saturday

The Anthem | Pixies + Kurt Vile | 8 PM

Jiffy Lube Live | Parkway Drive & Killswitch Engage | 4 PM

Wolf Trap | Disney ’80s–’90s Concert (NSO) | 8 PM

The Fillmore Silver Spring | Whirr & Nothing | 8 PM

The Birchmere | Bacon Brothers | 7:30 PM

Flash | Carl Craig | 10 PM

Sunday

Wolf Trap | Goo Goo Dolls + Dashboard Confessional | 7:30 PM

The Fillmore | We Came As Romans + Currents | 8 PM

Ciel Rooftop | Autograf | 2 PM

The Birchmere | Judy Collins | 7:30 PM

DC9 Nightclub | Moor Mother & Sumac | 8 PM

Howard Theatre | Premo Rice | 8 PM

DC SPORTS

🏅 Series Swings, Camp Buzz & Injury News

The Nats couldn’t solve Reds lefty Nick Lodolo in a 5-0 finale Wednesday, but they still pocketed a 2-1 series win—Washington’s first at home in three weeks. Over in Congress Heights, the Mystics came out of the break only to drop a 93-86 heartbreaker to the Sparks after squandering an early 15-point cushion. Football fans, set your alarms: the Commanders open training-camp gates to the public on Sun, July 27 in Ashburn, where rookie QB Jayden Daniels headlines a roster makeover. D.C. United—winless in seven—will try to flip the script when Austin FC visits Audi Field Saturday night. And on the NWSL front, the Spirit placed striker Ashley Hatch on the season-ending injury list but added rookie keeper Lauren Gogal as they gear up for play to resume in August.

Did You Know? The Washington Monument is two-toned on purpose—or rather, by accident. Work stopped in 1854 when funds dried up, and by the time builders resumed 23 years later, the original Maryland quarry had closed. Masonry from a new source arrived slightly lighter, leaving the crisp color line you can still spot about one-third of the way up the obelisk.

Till next time,

District Download