Washington, D.C.

On a recent evening, a pair of diners sat in the window seat at Queen of Sheba on 9th Street NW in Shaw. Between them, they shared traditional Ethiopian vegetarian plates, like Atkilt, a stew made with carrots, potatoes, cabbage, red pepper and onions. They glanced directly across the street, at the Shiloh Baptist Church, raised their Heineken beers and took a swig.

It was a somewhat ordinary scene — but, after a nearly two-year battle for a liquor license, it’s one that owner Embzam Misgina now takes comfort in.

Read more about it in my other Express piece out today.

Washington, D.C.

I’ve started contributing to Free Ride, the blog for the Washington Post Express. My piece out yesterday is the first in a series leading up to the one year anniversary of the D.C. smoking ban. Read it on the Express site — or, if you’d rather stay here, I’ve also got it posted on MZ.com.

And, if you ever need any matchbooks, let me know. I’ve got a couple to spare after reporting this out.

Photo illustrations courtesy of Chris Combs/Express