April reigns/rains on...

 Just thinking, while  the weather changes lives - ag dramatically from day to day:

        So much of what happens in DC is out of sight and not necessarily for evasive reasons. There is a commonsense mission in playing hard-to-get, an alluring and fascinating motive. It's not necessarily in the current trend of belonging to 'private clubs' for members onlhy (ah, the privilege of being able to afford such a thing). It's a snobbery (ouch, not really the right word) of another kind. The ability to seek out and take advantage of special places that don't really need advertising, to be an insider of sorts in the search for special and unusual places open to the public if the public has smarts enough to know about them. Word-of-mouth messaging, you might say.

    One such place is a private home on a certain street in the Northeast not far from H St. where the owner hosts dinners that he creates for anyone informed of the experience and has the will to spend a goodly penny ((say upward of $200 or so) and the desire to have a communal experience, likely with strangers unless a certain generous someone wants to host a party.. To be surprised about what is contained in each of the 7 or so courses; to  welcome entertainment throughout from the owner/chef himself. And the only way to reserve is through Instagram or, as I discovered by chance, ringing the bell on a certain ground level door heralded by a blue light (turned on only at night). The word is passed along by someone who has been there, who can remember the address and who is in no way paid to do so. That host/owner/chef has sterling credentials (hot spots in Houston and on a Michelin starred DC restaurant).

    Another currently successful operation is a small bar with snacks and colorful cocktails  hidden without any notice down an alley off of H St. NE near the Atlas Theater complex. Called Providencia (take the name literally as the providence of pleasure, the place is public and open only evenings five days a week. It is intended to  be a late night club of sorts for anyone wanting an offbeat thrill - a club without membership requirements and no barriers at the entrance.  What was once a flower shop (Not the Little Shop of Horrors at all) has become an operation owned and operated by a lively group of young professionals using their Latin and Asian heritages to supply just a small but enticing menu to accompany the most innovative drinks around.