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The Scene at Fight Night

A VIEW OF THE BOXING RING AT FIGHT NIGHT AT THE WASHINGTON HILTON

There will be much more tomorrow on washingtonian.com, but let me say now that "fight night" lives up to all its advance billing. This was my first time attending, and yes it was an amalgam of men being men, strong cocktails, cigars, boobs, steaks and camaraderie ... and not necessarily in that order.

OUR TABLE HOSTESS. THERE WAS ONE ASSIGNED TO EVERY TABLE

OUR VERY OWN REDSKINETTES, LESS CLAD THAN USUAL, DANCING IN THE RING

MC HAMMER IS IN THERE SOMEWHERE

Washingtonian Web Team Parties For #carols1year RitzGeorgetown and George

WASHINGTONIAN'S ACE WEB TEAM, READY TO DANCE AT GEORGE: TANYA PAI (FEARLESS LEADER), MYSTERY GEORGE MANAGER, SOPHIE GILBERT (ARTS), MELISSA ROMERO (HEALTH AND WELLNESS), ALISON KITCHENS (PRODUCTION)

To mark my one year anniversary with The Washingtonian I hosted a little party for my immediate colleagues, the so-called "web team," at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown followed by dancing at George. We are the website and we're at it every day. The pace and camaraderie of the web site crew is different from the rest of the office - fierce, actually - and we all work together well. This was an auspicious occasion for another reason, too: the demise of Newsweek magazine as a print edition. It will now be only web. How far behind is Time? Newspapers? 

SOPHIE AND MELISSA

Anyone who works for a daily website knows that like a daily television broadcast it is a great white shark, never satisfied, always needing more to chew on. That's what we do. We work like that, we party like that....when we get the opportunity to party.

TANYA AND ALISON

FASHION EDITOR SARAH ZLOTNICK WITH FOOD AND WINE EDITOR JESSICA VOELKER

They put me through some rituals that were amusing for their generational flow, not the least of which was letting me know right away that the party had been given a hashtag and I should start tweeting. So, the evening started with Manhattans, white wine, canapes and tweeting as we sat by the wonderful, blazing fire at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown ... still one of the best places to gather with friends for food and drink and talking. In time, Sophie elatedly announced, "Carol, you're trending!" Wow. What a feeling. Whatevs. We played question games, where the objective was to get me to dish up deep dark secrets: who, what, when, where, how...

The Ritz took very good care of us, kept the drinks coming, along with bar food such as plates of cheese, charcuterie, veggies, followed by barbecue, crab and beef sliders, towers of truffle fries, and flatbread with shrimp and chorizo. Dessert was this season's new Georgetown Cupcakes: pumpkin spice and maple crunch. 

MELISSA AND SARAH

AW, THE BARTENDERS, WHO  SWEETLY TREATED US TO CHAMPAGNE FROM THE ONE AND ONLY REED LANDRY

THE BRO-JAYS, WHO LOOKED AT ME THUS WHEN I ASKED, "DO YOU HAVE ANY AVERAGE WHITE BAND?"

TANYA AND A MYSTERY MAN

NO SURPRISE THE PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTTED SOPHIE

ANOTHER SHOT OF THE DEEJAYS, LOOKING LIKE 3 AM WHEN IT WAS ONLY 11. HOW DO THEY DO THAT?

Missing from these shots, but definitely at the party: food writer Anna Spiegel and production manager Chris Campbell

Monday Evening at the Harman Gala (Yes, Monday) w/ William Shakespeare and F. Murray Abraham

THE VIEW FROM MY TABLE AT THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM THIS EVENING

Tonight was the annual gala of the Harman Center for the Arts, which includes a stage show and presentation of the "Will" Award. This year it went to Oscar-winning film and stage actor F. Murray Abraham. Monday galas aren't common in DC, but they also aren't unheard of. PEN/Faulkner also holds their gala on a Monday evening. Instead of cocktails they served wine, and so my date and I slipped over to Rosa Mexicano to Margaritas plus a bowl of quac. Delicious drinks and food and a moment to relax before back to work. Plus we were starving and new the program ahead would be 90 minutes long.

F. MURRAY ABRAHAM AND IRISH AMBASSADOR MICHAEL COLLINS

This was fun tonight. Very easy-going, the dinner especially. I talked to Murray Abraham twice and was impressed with the way he just zeroes in on you. NOTE TO WASHINGTON MEN: It's not bad to zero in on a woman! Michael Kahn is cool, too. 

I also danced to the Motown spun by the deejay, but hoped he would segue into Gangnam Style. Maybe Monday isn't the night for Gangnam Style. Being a Monday it was totally okay to dance by myself. My "date," Shane Harris, remained at the table, locked in conversation with two Mary's - Mary Collins and Mary Haft. He was fine with my twirling on the dance floor. Shane is becoming quite the social varsity player. Every hostess is town should be clamoring for him, because both the men and the women love having him at the table. That's the ticket here. He's charming, funny, erudite and, most of all, smart and informed. And a gentleman. And wicked.

Speaking of charming and handsome, these two are Kevin Allen and Jeff Martin, they are professional photographers who work with me often. Kevin shot the story Saturday night at the National Italian American Foundation Dinner, and Jeff did tonight and also last week's winery dinner at RdV Vineyards. They are young, and very talented, smart, and good sports about putting up with me on social stories. I'm always, "come here, get this, see that, oh, there's the shot, quick over here, look it's them..." Thirty years as a television producer can make you bossy. They catch things, too, that I didn't see. We collaborate well. We've got each other's backs. Sometimes I miss shooting parties myself, but having Jeff or Kevin there, or James Brantley or Ben Droz, frees me up to talk to the guests, which I think makes the story better. 

I wasn't the only solo dancer. It was that kind of night. People just took to the dance floor, grooved to the music, put Monday away. Heavy heavy Four Tops. We should get raves back in action here in DC, if they ever were here before. I remember them from San Francisco in the 70s. It was about dancing and music and endless but good. 

Back Home from AUSTIN, Home Away from Home #KeepAustinWeird

GOTTA LOVE AUSTIN'S ATTITUDE

I'm back in DC after a terrific week in what I like to think of as a home away from home, Austin. I can't recommend this city enough as a fun, interesting, relaxing and especially declious getaway for people over age 21. There will be more later. Now I have to get into gear after flying in late last night to BWI, made brave by my usual combo of one Attivan and one vodka.

Actually the flight was smooth, but I think that's because of the cowboy reading the Bible conscientiously for a full hour before take-off. Or, maybe it's because Karl Rove was on board and the air Gods didn't dare get him upset. Actually, he was lowkey, sat on the aisle in the exit row, and didn't draw any attention to himself ... except for reading the Wall Street Journal. I did want to know why he was there. Making up with Rick Perry? Visiting W? A client in the Austin mayor's race? 

ME, FLYING, ACCEPTING IT'S ALL OUT OF MY HANDS

In addition to a holiday for me the trip was a reunion with my son, just finishing up exams in his sophomore year of college (and, yay, still holding at a 3.7 GPA). We are equally food nuts, and relaxation was a daily exploration of Austin's many excellent restaurants. They are not formal, but they are fabulous or enchanting and always authentic and the food is reliably innovative or classic and good.

I will write more about that, later...

NYSD Today: "Follies" and Its Relevance to Washington Marrieds

 THE KENNEDY CENTER AT TWILIGHT (photo by Carol Joynt)

The Kennedy Center revival of Stephen Sondheim's 1971 hit, Follies, is proving to be a hit with Washington audiences. Apart from the obvious reasons, why is that? I try to answer the question in my New York Social Diary column today. Please read it here.