tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042921002403024633.post7759972640703557170..comments2023-10-31T09:08:48.973-04:00Comments on Kung Pao Chitlins: Ballstonkungpaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03285279635743417304noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042921002403024633.post-30016311351894618572007-05-25T12:50:00.000-04:002007-05-25T12:50:00.000-04:00Most American Cities have some version of What DC ...Most American Cities have some version of What DC has south of Massachussetts Avenue- business districts that clear out after work, with the exception of hotel bars and the occasional Happy Hour joint. <BR/><BR/>But north of Massachussets there is actually a bit of personality. <BR/><BR/>I want to reread "City Of Quartz"-- about LA, but on the same theme.kungpaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03285279635743417304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042921002403024633.post-71964787188171855192007-05-24T23:07:00.000-04:002007-05-24T23:07:00.000-04:00This is so right on. Ballston is a bad example, as...This is so right on. Ballston is a bad example, as it is basically a suburban town center with tall buildings. Clarendon and Rosslyn are a bit more lifelike, but I agree with you that Northern Virginia, while stupendously wealthy, is also depressing.<BR/><BR/>I'm out in Reston, which is, in many ways, worse. All along the toll road there are these enormous corporate campuses—for Oracle, Unisys, Northrop Grumman, Nissan, Airbus, Sprint, and a host of tech companies (like CA) I could barely identify. Everything is really shiny and expensive, but there's no life—none—after 10 pm. No friendly culture or way of meeting people, barely any bars.<BR/><BR/>But there are vast swaths of DC that are like that as well, mostly clustered near the Mall—empty shells of office buildings with tiny lunch delis on the first floor.Joshua Fousthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12179098207176075653noreply@blogger.com