Development Seed Blog

One Week Countdown to Rootscamp

Earlier this week I mentioned that most of us from Development Seed will be headed to Rootscamp next weekend. It will be fascinating to hear stories from the campaign trail about big wins and disasters, and it will be great to meet the people who are helping the candidates I'm pulling for.  But I have to admit, I'm almost equally excited about how the conference is formatted.

As an unconference, Rootscamp is truly organized by the people there based on what they want to talk about and listen to. And it has all the equalizing factors that we should strive for in an event meant to attract a wide swath of people - it's free to attend and communal rides and accommodations are facilitated. This is such a great approach for events like Rootscamp that attract campaigners and activists, and I'd love to see even more people follow it for events about politics, advocacy, and open source. In this spirit, we decided to sponsor the communal sleeping space for the out of towners on a budget and willing to brave a hard wooden floor in a beautiful old mansion.

If this is you, just sign up here and you'll be able to sleep on the floor of the Josephine Butler Parks Center. The place happens to be in a great neighborhood and Development Seed's former neighborhood, so I thought I'd share a few local picks for the budget-minded ahead of next weekend. See some recommendations after the jump.

Pollo Sabroso - If you haven't tried Peruvian pollo a la brasa (really good rotisserie chicken), make this place your priority. It's delicious, cheap, and just a few blocks from the sleeping space and a short bus ride from Rootscamp.

The Raven - This is DC's finest dive bar. The juke box is rocking, the beer is cheap, the crowd is great, and the bathroom graffiti is fantastic. Feel free to bring in your pollo to eat, but be sure to have plenty of cash on hand as they don't accept credit cards. 

Haydee's - The Mexican/Salvaodorian food is just all right at Haydee's, but the ambiance makes up for it and so do the Tecates. Sit at the bar or at one of the long communal tables if you come with a group or just want to make friends, and hope that there's a soccer game playing on their huge screen. If you like chicken wings, you have to them at Haydee's - they're some of the best wings in town.

Ben's Chilli Bowl - This is a DC staple. Ben's has some of the best chili around and makes a killer half smoke, one of the few food indigenous to Washington, DC.

Thai Tanic - If you like good Thai food, wine, and diners, this is the place for you. Great for groups, way cheaper than most restaurants around, great food and service, and it's just three blocks away from Rootscamp.

Got any recommendations to add? Then post them in the comments.