Collection Gallery of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Jennifer Hughes
Last weekend, Washington DC’s National Museum of Women in the Arts reopened after an extensive two-year renovation. Many new updates await, including a meticulous restoration of the roof and façade of the historic 1908 building, once a Masonic temple. It also has more accessible and expanded spaces, including inspiring exhibits like “The Sky’s the Limit,” featuring 33 large-scale sculptures and installations by 13 female artists from around the world, including Shinique Smith, Joanna Vasconcelos, and Sonia Clark. What remains the same is the museum’s unwavering mission to champion women in the arts, as it has since it was founded in 1987 by philanthropist and art collector Wilhelmina Cole Holladay.
Chef Amy Brandwein helms two popular establishments, Centrolina and Piccolina.
Hawkeye Johnson Photo
While the United States has made great strides in promoting gender equality in arts and culture, hospitality, and other professional fields, the work isn’t done. Chef Amy Brandwein, the first female executive chef of the now-closed Galileo (a popular restaurant from the 1980s and ’90s), a five-time finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, and currently the helm of St. Laurena and Piccolina, popular Italian restaurants and cafes specializing in local and rustic Italian cuisine, still faces sexism on a daily basis and struggles to be taken seriously in the kitchen.
To “change the way women are perceived,” Brandwine has assembled an all-female leadership team to oversee her business and also serves as a mentor for the LEE Initiative’s culinary education program, which aims to promote equality in the restaurant industry through continuing education and work programs for women. At the end of the day, all Brandwine wants is to “help women succeed on a very high stage” and “make sure women are taken seriously.”
Centrolina’s speciality is carefully prepared local dishes and rustic Italian cuisine.
Hawkeye Johnson Photo
The good news is that you can support this work by simply spending your time and money visiting businesses that are run, staffed, and founded with women in mind. So here are eight must-see spots to add to your checklist for your next visit to Washington DC.
Janine Prime is a Washington DC-based restaurateur behind two highly popular restaurants, Cane and St. James.
St. James
Restaurateur Janine Prime’s hotly anticipated follow-up to Cane, a casual eatery specialising in everyday Trinidad and Tobago dishes, St James celebrates the diverse culinary cultures (African, East Indian, Chinese and Western European) that contribute to Caribbean food. Classics like callaloo, braised oxtail and jerk wings are to die for, but lesser known dishes like the umami-packed Trini-Chinese chicken with oyster-habanero sauce are also excellent. Wash it all down with a Trinidad rum cocktail.
Shamim Popal is executive chef at Lapis, a modern Afghan restaurant in Adams Morgan.
Nayab Jade
Step into Lapis in Adams Morgan and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into the home of the Popal family, owners of this beloved modern Afghan bistro. With vintage wooden chairs, handwoven rugs, soft candles and personal photographs, the place exudes warmth and comfort. The food is truly personal, with all the recipes created by family patriarch Shamim Popal. Lovingly made from scratch, even humble-sounding dishes like kabuli palow (rice pilaf), loaded with aromatic spices, tender carrots and plump raisins, taste absolutely divine.
“African Modernism in America, 1947-67” exhibition at the Phillips Collection of the Smithsonian Institution. [+]
Lee Stalsworth
Housed in a historic Georgian Revival mansion, the Phillips Collection is America’s first modern art museum, allowing visitors to explore each piece in a uniquely intimate setting. The exhibition “African Modernism in America, 1947-67,” running until January 7, 2024, is a fascinating exhibition examining the complex interactions between African artists and American artists and cultural institutions. Two of the three co-curators, Perrin M. Rasop and Nico Peder, are women. Key works include a newly commissioned work, “The Politics of Choice” (2022) by Nigeria-based artist Ndidi Dikeh, “Girl in Red” by Grace Salome Kwame, and “Cattle People” by Manyolo Ester Betty.
Hotel Zena is a Washington DC hotel focused on women’s empowerment.
Hotel Zena
This 193-room hotel, part of the Viceroy Hotel Group, features inspiring creative elements promoting female empowerment throughout. A colorful mural of a female warrior by Miss Cherob adorns the exterior, while the reception area features a desk filled with salvaged high heels and an oversized portrait of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made from 20,000 tampons. Guest rooms also reinforce the theme with soft colors, gentle curves and translucent depictions of the Greek goddess Artemis. Even the hotel’s restaurant, Fig Leaf Bar and Lounge, takes a bold feminist approach with menu items like the Sheila Salad and Zena Ginsburger, and the walls are decorated with 12,000 march buttons.
Thea Ivanovich, who was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Food & Beverage this year, is co-founder of… [+] Immigrant food.
Irena Stein
“We’re a restaurant with a mission.” These simple yet powerful words from Tia Ivanovic, this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Food & Drink Award winner, sum up Immigrant Food, the “casual with a purpose” restaurant she co-founded with Peter Schechter. The restaurant’s cuisine celebrates the diverse immigrant cultures that make up America, as evidenced by its best-selling “Madame VP Heritage” bowl of coconut curry chicken, turmeric rice and plantains, and its monthly immigration-focused digital publication, “The Think Table.”
Desserts at Lutèce, created by pastry chef Isabelle Cos, are exquisite and never predictable.
Nayab Jade
The acclaimed Lutèce has all the hallmarks of a typical French restaurant: a cozy atmosphere, a thoughtful wine list, and a menu of staples sprinkled with original creations like tahini-drenched charred cabbage, but it’s the desserts by pastry chef Isabel Coss that are the talk of the town. Coss’s Mexican upbringing blends with French technique to create sweet treats that are anything but predictable. The Black Sesame is deceptively simple: iced Concord grape granita sprinkled with black sesame biscuits. One bite will bring back memories of childhood favorites like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The Duck and the Peach is a new American restaurant opened by industry veteran Hollis in Capitol Hill. [+] Silverman.
Lewis Tinsley
If there’s a restaurant in town that truly walks the talk, it’s Capitol Hill’s The Duck and the Peach. Owned by industry veteran and former ThinkFoodGroup COO Hollis Silverman, this new American restaurant has women in every leadership role, from general manager to executive chef. Plus, the entire wine list is owned or created by women, and the ingredients in its simple, ingredient-forward dishes, like herbed rotisserie chicken, butterhead herb salad, and amberjack crudo, are responsibly sourced from local purveyors.
Victoria Lai left a successful career in law to set up Ice Cream Jubilee.
Ice Cream Jubilee
Luckily for us, Victoria Lai left a successful career in law to start Jubilee Ice Cream, which ranges from classics (rich vanilla, match green tea, salted caramel) to originals inspired by Lai’s background and travels (Costellina extra virgin olive oil is delightfully nutty and fluffy) and can be ordered from two stores or delivered straight to your home via Goldberry.
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