Born in D.C., but raised in the suburbs of Rockville, Md., Matt is a 2010 graduate of Salisbury University, where he majored in Film Studies, for some reason. After school he moved back to the District, where he started writing film reviews, and quickly caught the journalism bug, despite that whole "journalism is dying thing." He's written about film, music, and pop culture for publications including SPIN Magazine, The Week, Washington City Paper, Slant Magazine, The American Interest, and others. When not reading him on DCist or other places, you might find him playing loud punk music and screaming into a mic at various bars and clubs around the city.

Mount Pleasant native Pat Padua was part of the team that curated programs for the Library of Congress's Pickford Theater, and toils away at digital projects and writes for In the Muse, the Music Division's blog. For America. The Washington Post called him "a talented, if quirky, photographer." Pat is a dues-paying member of the Washington Area Film Critic's Association, and also writes about music, movies, and photography for Blogcritics.org and Spectrum Culture.

Nicole writes the Page and Perspective books column for DCist. She grew up in Chevy Chase, Md., but sometimes says D.C. to avoid explaining that her hometown wasn't founded by National Lampoon fanatics. Consequently, she is partial to cherry blossoms and classic Greek architecture, and can parallel park like a boss. After attending Trinity College in Connecticut, Nicole returned to D.C. to work for a political magazine. She now manages a research project at Georgetown, and enjoys live music, learning to cook, and books so good they must be read in one sitting.

Alexis, who writes about theater a lot, attended a college that is sometimes referred to as the "Harvard of the South." Then she lived in Cambridge, Mass., for two years, near the "Harvard of the North" (Harvard University). Now she lives in D.C... near Harvard Street. There's a joke in there somewhere. But probably not a good one.

Elisabeth grew up in Alexandria, VA, and spent her childhood in the museums, on the Metro, and all around D.C. After four years at Virginia Tech, she returned to the area with two degrees (in English and Psychology) and a publication under her belt (“Virginia Tech: Off the Record”). Her passions are writing and doing stuff. So writing about doing stuff is pretty much the best thing ever. Elisabeth was a contributing writer for the 2009 edition of “Not For Tourists Guide to Washington DC”, and now writes for DCist. She is a huge fan of fancy beers, good food, kayaking, running, and playing outside.

Alicia hails from the great white north (Minnesota, to be exact) and grew up surrounded by large Scandinavian people who enjoy a diet of primarily white-colored foods. Despite such inauspicious surroundings, a love of food was practically encoded in Alicia's DNA, thanks to her Italian and Chinese heritage. In college, she gleefully ate her way through several Asian countries, much to the shock and occasional horror of her Midwestern classmates. In 2006, Alicia made a break for D.C. in the hopes of finding dining companions who wouldn't mind when she ate the heads on her fried prawns. When she's not beating the pavement in search of honest grub at an honest price, Alicia moonlights as a public policy professional, dance party enthusiast, and aspiring home cook.

John was raised on Black Sabbath, MC5 and ABBA and spent his formative years playing in metal/hardcore bands instead of focusing on his education. Somehow, much to the surprise of his tourmates and friends, he still got a degree in Psychology from UMass Amherst. Needing a change, he moved down to D.C. and did what everyone with a psychology degree does: change career paths. He currently spends his days in the sterile (but incredibly peaceful) world of biology labs. At night, he is exploring the intersection of beer, art, and science at various establishments that serve artisanal libations and jotting notes down on his phone, napkin, or beer coaster. You can also find him organizing his ever-growing music catalog, loving the Red Sox but preferring National League-style baseball, and trying to keep the Simpsons and 80s movie references to a minimum.

Originally from the far-reaches of upstate New York, Brett has lived in the Washington metropolitan area for over a decade after graduating from the University of Maryland in 2003. He’s proud of his snow-driving abilities and has a penchant for craft beer, professional wrestling, and early aught indie rock. When he’s not blogging with his wife about D.C.’s culinary scene, he’s mostly likely sleeping. Because his kid wakes up at 5:30 a.m. every morning.