This past year, WTOP's Living section traveled to some interesting places and interviewed some fascinating people. Here's a recap of some of the favorite stories from 2015.
D.C.’s newest development: A tour of the Dupont Underground
Towering orange and yellow construction cranes have become a regular sight in D.C.’s skyline as the city continues adding apartments, retail and restaurants. But one of the most exciting developments in the District is happening underground.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
Skip the pharmacy, head to the farm: Physicians write prescriptions for fruits, vegetables
Tantalia Hall is one of nearly 400 D.C. residents who have received a written prescription for fresh produce in the last three years, and it’s all thanks to DC Green’s Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program.
The program works with four D.C.-based health care centers and several farmers markets to help low-income patients who are struggling with chronic disease related to obesity, such as hypertension, diabetes, joint issues and more.
(Courtesy Arcadia)
Courtesy Arcadia
1-bedroom rentals for $4,000 a month: Is D.C. ready for high-end luxury living?
D.C. is jumping on the luxury apartment bandwagon.
At Cathedral Commons, the latest high-end luxury apartment to hit the market in the District, prices for a one-bedroom loft with a den start at $3,925 a month; a 3,183 square foot three-bed, three-bath unit rents for $9,500.
(Courtesy Jeffrey Sauers)
First organic chef opens up about D.C.’s culinary history, future of food
Insisting on organic is the core of a mission Nora Pouillon launched nearly 40 years ago, long before “organic” was even a term recognized by Congress. And the nation’s pioneer of organic eating is not slowing down any time soon.
(Courtesy Restaurant Nora)
Courtesy Restaurant Nora
No chicken fingers here: Restaurant launches gourmet tasting menu for children
In the six years since it opened, Trummer’s on Main has earned a reputation among D.C. diners for its locally sourced ingredients, carefully prepared seafood and innovative tasting menus. But these days, the dining establishment is catering to a new clientele with its tasting menu designed exclusively for children.
(Courtesy Dusty Lockhart)
Courtesy Dusty Lockhart
Shared housing trend grows among older adults
More seniors are looking to remain in a community setting as they age. According to the Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey, the percentage of women 65 and older in “nonfamily households” who choose not to live alone has grown to 3.8 percent, up from 2.96 percent, The New York Times reports.
(Courtesy Bonnie Moore)
D.C. sees more women running restaurants, breweries, distilleries
Women are proving that their place is in the kitchen … and distillery and brewery. More women are taking over traditionally male-dominated roles in D.C.’s food and beverage industries.
(Courtesy Denizens Brewing Company)
Courtesy Denizens Brewing Company
Chef who revolutionized homeless food program says goodbye after 14 years
Steven Badt, a chef who worked in restaurants in New York, Boston and D.C., didn’t see the need to treat a local nonprofit’s food program any differently than a program in one of his restaurants.
(Courtesy Miriam’s Kitchen)
Courtesy Miriam’s Kitchen
Healthy, custom, creative: D.C.’s new face of fast food
Double-stacked burgers and super-sized fries are no longer the portrait of fast food. Instead, quinoa bowls, wood-fired flatbreads and locally sourced lamb pitas are winning over the hearts of time-strapped diners in the District.
(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
What a difference a sandwich makes: Delivering food, security to D.C.’s hungry
McKenna’s Wagon is a mobile food truck operated by Martha’s Table. Seven days a week, 365 days a year, the van heads out to three locations in the city to serve a hot meal, bagged sandwiches and homemade muffins to anyone who is hungry.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
A sweet gig: 16-year-old opens Md. bakery
Most teenagers spend their free time engrossed in social media and selfies, but 16-year-old Bree Britt isn’t like most teenagers.
Every day at 3:50 p.m., Bree gets off the school bus at a small strip of storefronts on Livingston Road in Accokeek, Maryland. And under a white awning that reads “Bree’s Sweet Treats,” the teen transforms from high school student to business owner.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)