10 reasons DC is OH SO MUCH BETTER than Baltimore

dc thrillist city rivalry week baltimore
Flickr users JWJUSAF & Jim, The Photographer
Flickr users JWJUSAF & Jim, The Photographer

Being the most powerful city in the world AND where Joe Biden lives, it's easy to see why so many cities love hating on the District. One of those fair cities is located just 45min North, and you all might know it as "where they filmed The Wire". Yes, we are referring to the 24th largest city in the country, aka B'more, aka Monument City, aka Baltimore. And so -- because it is City Rivalry Week, and Joe Biden asked us to -- we're dropping 10 reasons why Federal City, aka Cap City, aka the District, is better than Ravenstown. To wit:

casa luca dc

Food and Beverage Scene
DC's food scene this year alone has gotten a ton of national attention... and no, B'more, it's not because our Inner Harbor just got a Potbelly Sandwich Works, but more because of all our notable openings: minibar (Andres), Le Diplomate (Starr), Kapnos (Isabella), Range (Voltaggio), and Casa Luca (Trabocchi), just to name a few, along w/ over 20 other restaurants (this year alone). The District has also been part of a burgeoning beer scene with four breweries opening in the past two years: DC Brau, 3 Stars Brewing, Chocolate City, and Bluejacket (soon). Although, the Inner Harbor does also have a PF Chang's and a Chipotle.

An Actual Hockey Team Might Help
Wanna see a real bird? Check out the glorious blazing eagle on the front of our jersey. Although we're sure it was fun to watch the Baltimore Bandits AHL team from 1995-97, or the inline hockey powerhouse Maryland Knights in '07. Oh, and don't get us started on how awesome Ovechkin is on Twitter.

redskins fed ex field
Flickr user AzeezBreez

Redskins Vs. Ravens
Okay, so look, you guys won a Super Bowl last year. Huzzah! We will give you, Ray Lewis, and Ray Lewis' help from God Almighty credit for that. But we've still got three to your two, and we're now armed with the greatest athlete in the world as quarterback, assuming our very weirdly sunburned coach doesn't try and do something reckless and stupid to him. Anywayyyy... Hail to the Redskins!

Safety
So, with just about the same populations (620K or so), in 2012 Baltimore tallied up 217 homicides. DC had 92. That's not very good. And B'more, you can't blame all of those on Ray Lewis. Please don't tell him we said that.

leo schmid thrillist

Our parties Are Better and Go Later
See that picture above? That could have been taken at, like, 3a or something, because, in DC on the weekends, you're still allowed to be out partying then.


Music
Not only is DC the birthplace of go-go and Duke Ellington, the District's also home to world-renowned venues like the 9:30 Club and the Kennedy Center. That being said, Baltimore is the birthplace of Billie Holiday, which might make up for the fact that you also gave us Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist. Yes, we are referring to you, Evan David Taubenfeld.

Public Transportation
As much as DC likes to complain about our metro, it is one of the most efficient, most convenient, and cleanest in the country. Baltimore's metro runs East to West only, and doesn't link up with either of the two other rail systems. Neither does its North-South-moving light rail. Even Trip Advisor says, "Your best bet is to rent a car."

washington monument
Flickr user chrisbastian44

Monuments and Parks
The Mall, Washington Monument, Tidal Basin, Lincoln Memorial, Rock Creek Park, Martin Luther King, Theodore Roosevelt Island, the White House... We could do this for at least like four to six more minutes. Meanwhile, your claims to fame are an (admittedly sweet) ballpark and a smaller, sadder Washington Monument.

HistoryWe're the city where Lincoln decided to put an end to slavery. You're the city that decided to try and put an end to Lincoln in a secret assassination plot during his inaugural train tour of the nation, only to be foiled at the last second by Allan Pinkerton, that Scottish detective guy. Seriously -- we just read a book about it.

MottoOur motto is Justitia omnibus, or "Justice for all". Yours is "Get in on it". Only one of them sounds like the thing you say right after you've just revealed that you're planning to hold up a bank.