Jeff and I are engaged!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
DC Night Out
On Friday, some of our friends from Baltimore - Tim, Rachel, Nick, and Calea - came down to DC for a night out.
We started out with dinner at Ulah Bistro, a small restaurant on U Street. Jeff and I had never been there before, but we really liked it. It has some really reasonably priced dishes - around $8 for a sandwich or burger - and the food was really good. The crab dip, in particular, was really tasty, as was the olive tapenade. Jeff's ahi tuna salad looked really nice and tasted great as well.
After dinner we headed to The Gibson for drinks. That's the speak-easy place we've been to before. I think it might be my favorite place in DC for cocktails. The drinks are just really interesting and creative, but always taste good. Our friends from Baltimore seemed to really like it, too.
After that, we went down to Penn Quarter to PS7's - another bar known for its craft cocktails. I thought the Gnome's Water was really good - it tasted very cucumber-y. Jeff had 'the cure,' which I think is one of the most interesting cocktails I've seen - it's made with Miller High Life - but it's actually really good.
Next we were ready to dance, so we headed to Dupont Circle to my favorite dance spot - Cafe Citron. As always, I enjoyed the music, and everybody seemed to have a good time.
Overall - great night out in DC!
We started out with dinner at Ulah Bistro, a small restaurant on U Street. Jeff and I had never been there before, but we really liked it. It has some really reasonably priced dishes - around $8 for a sandwich or burger - and the food was really good. The crab dip, in particular, was really tasty, as was the olive tapenade. Jeff's ahi tuna salad looked really nice and tasted great as well.
After dinner we headed to The Gibson for drinks. That's the speak-easy place we've been to before. I think it might be my favorite place in DC for cocktails. The drinks are just really interesting and creative, but always taste good. Our friends from Baltimore seemed to really like it, too.
After that, we went down to Penn Quarter to PS7's - another bar known for its craft cocktails. I thought the Gnome's Water was really good - it tasted very cucumber-y. Jeff had 'the cure,' which I think is one of the most interesting cocktails I've seen - it's made with Miller High Life - but it's actually really good.
Next we were ready to dance, so we headed to Dupont Circle to my favorite dance spot - Cafe Citron. As always, I enjoyed the music, and everybody seemed to have a good time.
Overall - great night out in DC!
Nationals Game - In the box!
We got to the game and there was a bit of a mix-up/adventure (ask me in person for the story). But in any case, we made it to the box and it was awesome!
The inside looks almost like an apartment - couches, tables, TVs, refrigerator, bathrooms, etc. Then there are two rows of seats outside, but they're big plush seats. It was definitely a cool way to watch the game!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Rachel's Bachelorette Party
This weekend, I headed to Baltimore for Rachel's bachelorette party. It was actually a two-night event. On Friday, we met up at one of the girl's houses in Maryland for a bonfire. It was fun to spend some time outside.
On Saturday, we met at Rachel's and then went on a pub crawl in Baltimore. I haven't been out in Baltimore many times, so it was a lot of fun to see some of the places there. The first bar we went to was a place called the Tiki Barge - it's actually a barge in the Inner Harbor, and it has a pool that's open in the daytime.
After that we went around Fells Point, and tried a few different places. It was really fun!
On Saturday, we met at Rachel's and then went on a pub crawl in Baltimore. I haven't been out in Baltimore many times, so it was a lot of fun to see some of the places there. The first bar we went to was a place called the Tiki Barge - it's actually a barge in the Inner Harbor, and it has a pool that's open in the daytime.
After that we went around Fells Point, and tried a few different places. It was really fun!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Washington Post Article about 14th Street!
Jeff and I live about half a block from 14th Street. We really like the neighborhood, which is why, in three years, we still haven't moved from our studio apartment.
Apparently the Washington Post thinks our neighborhood is cool, too!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080502926.html
Apparently the Washington Post thinks our neighborhood is cool, too!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080502926.html
Happy Hour @ Madhatter
For Happy Hour this week, we went to Madhatter. It's a restaurant/bar that recently relocated. It used to be underneath another bar, and a bit dingy; it's new location is definitely a step up. Now it even has decorations that go along with its name (I'm pretty sure there weren't any in the old one... or if there were, it was too dark to see them.)
Anyway, the first thing I liked is that they had some great deals going on - the appetizers were buy one-get one, and there were happy hour specials on drinks. Between the four of us we had eight appetizers and six drinks (four wines, a cocktail, and a beer) and the total was only $70. Not bad at all. And the appetizers were definitely better than your average bar food.
The appetizers I really liked were: twice baked potato beignets served with a horseradish tartar sauce (these actually reminded me of croquettes). PEI mussels in garlic white wine (very buttery, but good, and there were a lot of them), tomato bruschetta with fresh basil, pecorino romano, and aged balsamic reduction (really rich flavors and big enough to share), Artichoke and Spinach Dip (how could this not be good, really?), Pizzette with goat cheese, mozzarella, olives, Prosciutto, pepercorn romano (I was debating where to put this one. I didn't love it when I first tried it, but now that I'm writing about it, I'm really craving another one.)
The appetizers I thought were just ok were: Chicken fries served with ponzu BBQ, chipotle mayo, and honey dijon (This made this category because of a case of mistaken identity... the chicken fries are listed just under the cheese fries on the menu, and in my head I was imaging french fries covered in chicken and cool sauces instead of cheese. In reality, these are chicken fingers with the three sauces.), Lamb croquettes - "our version of the gryo: crsispy lamb meatballs, feta, tomato and a lemon-cucumber yogurt sauce" (Again, I think I was less happy with this because I didn't read the menu closely - I just read 'lamb croquettes' and ordered, expecting the breaded-doughy croquettes I love... but these are definitely more like lamb meatballs... which, to be fair, is what the menu says. As croquettes, they fail. If I had been in the mood for lamb meatballs, they may have made it on the 'really liked' list - especially with the lemon-cucumber yogurt sauce.), Classic nachos with orange-chili , crispy corn tortillas, and topped with sour cream, and homemade salsa (the nachos weren't spicy at all, in fact, they're a bit sweet; not my style.)
The only really annoying thing that happened was that they were out of the ingredients for all but one of their signature cocktails. So I didn't get to try the drink I wanted... maybe next time. The wine was good, at least.
Also, I had a living social coupon ($40 worth of food and drink), but you can't combine it with other offers, so I couldn't use it. But I don't think I'll mind going back again, so I'm sure it will get used eventually.
Anyway, the first thing I liked is that they had some great deals going on - the appetizers were buy one-get one, and there were happy hour specials on drinks. Between the four of us we had eight appetizers and six drinks (four wines, a cocktail, and a beer) and the total was only $70. Not bad at all. And the appetizers were definitely better than your average bar food.
The appetizers I really liked were: twice baked potato beignets served with a horseradish tartar sauce (these actually reminded me of croquettes). PEI mussels in garlic white wine (very buttery, but good, and there were a lot of them), tomato bruschetta with fresh basil, pecorino romano, and aged balsamic reduction (really rich flavors and big enough to share), Artichoke and Spinach Dip (how could this not be good, really?), Pizzette with goat cheese, mozzarella, olives, Prosciutto, pepercorn romano (I was debating where to put this one. I didn't love it when I first tried it, but now that I'm writing about it, I'm really craving another one.)
The appetizers I thought were just ok were: Chicken fries served with ponzu BBQ, chipotle mayo, and honey dijon (This made this category because of a case of mistaken identity... the chicken fries are listed just under the cheese fries on the menu, and in my head I was imaging french fries covered in chicken and cool sauces instead of cheese. In reality, these are chicken fingers with the three sauces.), Lamb croquettes - "our version of the gryo: crsispy lamb meatballs, feta, tomato and a lemon-cucumber yogurt sauce" (Again, I think I was less happy with this because I didn't read the menu closely - I just read 'lamb croquettes' and ordered, expecting the breaded-doughy croquettes I love... but these are definitely more like lamb meatballs... which, to be fair, is what the menu says. As croquettes, they fail. If I had been in the mood for lamb meatballs, they may have made it on the 'really liked' list - especially with the lemon-cucumber yogurt sauce.), Classic nachos with orange-chili , crispy corn tortillas, and topped with sour cream, and homemade salsa (the nachos weren't spicy at all, in fact, they're a bit sweet; not my style.)
The only really annoying thing that happened was that they were out of the ingredients for all but one of their signature cocktails. So I didn't get to try the drink I wanted... maybe next time. The wine was good, at least.
Also, I had a living social coupon ($40 worth of food and drink), but you can't combine it with other offers, so I couldn't use it. But I don't think I'll mind going back again, so I'm sure it will get used eventually.
Pool Party
On Wednesday, Jeff and I went to a pool party / dinner party at his boss' house. Jeff works part-time at a company that does economic auctions (they auction off big, complicated things like French power, for example). His boss' (it's a husband and wife) live in D.C., just a ways north-west of Dupont Circle.
The neighborhood was beautiful. All of the houses look like castles (the picture here is of the neighbors house). It's also mixed right in with a lot of the embassies - the Vatican Embassy and the Finnish Embassy are basically across the street from them. There are also lots of big trees all over - apparently there are a lot of deer around, too. It's a short cab ride from our apartment, but it definitely feels like a different world.
We spent some time in the pool - it was a good day for it - another hot, sticky, DC-summer day.
For dinner we had Thai food. The plan had been to grill, but there was some kind of auction-emergency that had happened earlier in the day, so there hadn't been time to get things ready for that. Thai food works for me, though!
It was fun to meet all of Jeff's co-workers. They were all very nice. His boss' and their two 13-year old boys are all big Doctor Who fans, so we got to chat about that a bit, and I got to show off my Doctor Who ringtone (trust me, I don't get to do that often - there are only a very select few that appreciate how cool that ringtone is...)
The neighborhood was beautiful. All of the houses look like castles (the picture here is of the neighbors house). It's also mixed right in with a lot of the embassies - the Vatican Embassy and the Finnish Embassy are basically across the street from them. There are also lots of big trees all over - apparently there are a lot of deer around, too. It's a short cab ride from our apartment, but it definitely feels like a different world.
We spent some time in the pool - it was a good day for it - another hot, sticky, DC-summer day.
For dinner we had Thai food. The plan had been to grill, but there was some kind of auction-emergency that had happened earlier in the day, so there hadn't been time to get things ready for that. Thai food works for me, though!
It was fun to meet all of Jeff's co-workers. They were all very nice. His boss' and their two 13-year old boys are all big Doctor Who fans, so we got to chat about that a bit, and I got to show off my Doctor Who ringtone (trust me, I don't get to do that often - there are only a very select few that appreciate how cool that ringtone is...)
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