Washington City Paper: Contents for Jan. 21

You Aren't What You Eat
Fresh Fields sells the myth of a better world, one overpriced vegetable at a time.

Cover Story

Fresh Fields sells the myth of a better world, one overpriced vegetable at a time.

Illustrations by Michael Kupperman

This week, Fresh Fields will begin construction on a new store planned for P Street, between 14th and 15th Streets NW, not two blocks from my house. Theoretically, I should be thrilled with this development. It's the first major new store to open off riot-scarred 14th Street in 30 years, and compared with the neighborhood's current grocery store options, it looks like a godsend. Right now, I have the choice of shopping at the P Street Metro Supermarket, where the dusty perishables cohabitate with gallon jugs of Gallo and the operating hours often fluctuate unpredictably.

Or I can muscle my way into the infamous Soviet Safeway at 17th and Corcoran Streets NW, instead. This small, cramped operation offers painfully long lines at any hour, and the store is so small and so busy that by 6 p.m. on a weekday, the produce section looks like the sale tables at Macy's the day after Christmas. Lettuce is shredded, cucumbers are picked over, and the seafood counter is just a vat of ice. The patrons are remarkably civil, having grown used to the routine, but the half-hour I spent in the express lane last week buying a bag of dog food was insufferable.... Continued

Issue of Jan. 21 - 27, 2000

News and Features

You Aren't What You Eat
Fresh Fields sells the myth of a better world, one overpriced vegetable at a time.
Cover Story By Stephanie Mencimer
Past Mistakes
The D.C. Archives says just as much about the city's present as its past.
The City By Elissa Silverman
Book Me a Room
Observing an anniversary in No. 727
The City By Michael Schaffer
Official Assault
Officer Carolyn Brown claims she was arrested for the wrong reason: her gender.
The City By Jason Cherkis
Picture This
The Mail By Sheila Hayes
Bomb Blast
The Mail By E. Grand
Go-Go Gopher
The Mail By Jeff Thornton
Justice Denied
The Mail By Angelique Kwabenah
Lieutenants Who Lunch
The Mail By Raymond Avrutis
Grace Under Fire
The Mail By The Rev. Robert M. Holum
Mission Possible
The Mail By William R. Stewart
Poetry Emotion
The Mail By Nathan Dodell
Nasferatu
The Mail By Michael Bailey
Parking Pass
The Mail By Robert D. Westgate

Columns

Catching a Buzz, Again
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Unconnecting the Dots
Paper Trail By David Carr
Bad Planning
Loose Lips By Erik Wemple
Rain Dance
City Desk By Erik Wemple
Plea Disagreement
City Desk By Kevin Diaz
Special Assessment
City Desk By Laura Lang
Shotgun Formation
City Desk By Robin Bingham

Eats

Order by Numbers
Young & Hungry By Brett Anderson

Movies

It Was a Dark and Stormy Life
Film Review By Arion Berger
Ashes to Ashes
Talking Pictures By Mark Jenkins

Music

A Labor of Love Songs
Acts Locally By Neil Drumming
Final Chapters
Music Review By John Murph
No Glue Whatsoever
Music Review By P. Mitchell Prothero

Theater

Dancing as Fast as They Can
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
Not Just a Kiss
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

A Dear Price
Pro-Africa activists lament that the Smithsonian's new "African Voices" exhibit is funded by blood money.
Arts By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Violent Spring
Art Review By Jessica Dawson
Natural-Born Beauty
Books By Scott M. Morris
Altar Egos
Opera By Joe Banno
Pizza a la Yakuza
Books By Mark Jenkins
Tied to the Tracks
Artifacts By Justin Moyer
The Putty System
Artifacts By Jessica Dawson
A Head of His Time
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson