I've always heard that Washington D.C. was one of the coolest, most interesting, and culturally exceptional places in all of the United States. Of course, being the Nation's capitol and all, I held D.C. to high standards as I readied myself to be immediately wowed by everything and anything from the second I stepped off of the airplane. The District didn't disappoint as the Reagan National Airport
- legitimately the first thing I saw after stepping off of the airplane - forced me to stop and witness the amazing architecture of arches, pillars, and fine detail. Along with a beautifully original airport design that I had never before seen, something else on my way out to the Metro station caught my eye (and nose). Of course, it was a delicious smelling restaurant with an upscale aura about it, complimented with white table clothes and waiters with ties. IN THE AIRPORT. This was the moment, only minutes after getting off of the plane, that I knew was in for a deliciously enjoyable vacation that I would eat through with no mercy.
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Reagan National Airport. Lined with restaurants, boutiques, stores, and awesome architecture. |
And "devour the district" was exactly what I proceeded to do. Accompanied by my tour guide, partner foodie, and D.C. local Lily Rau, I memorably ate through my week in Washington D.C., buying all the food I wanted to have while spending all money that I shouldn't have. Here's a short list of the highlights, from French food to burgers, and home cooked meals to restaurant dining:
Busboys and Poets Restaurant and Bookstore
http://www.busboysandpoets.com
Described as a haven for writers, thinkers, poets, and foodies, Busboys and Poets is a restaurant and lounge founded on ideas surrounding social justice and progressive thought influenced by Langston Hughes. However, accompanying the restaurant itself is a fairly sized bookstore containing thousands of books all surrounding social and political justice - from the environment to civil liberties. It's lounge style atmosphere complimented by full sized couches, utterly awesomely displayed art, and wifi attracts an indiscriminately dependable crowd. Along with an emphasis on social justice, amazing art, delicious food, and unique books, the restaurant also embraces music as it hosts weekly open mic nights which magnetize poets, writers, musicians, speakers, and more. Clearly, Busboys and Poets is one of the most originally attractive and "Derrick-esque" restaurant as they come. I (obviously) loved it here - you're paying for much more than just a meal.
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Mushroom and Gorgonzola Cheeseburger. Who says it has to be complicated? |
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Blackened Mahi Mahi with Lemon Pepper Aioli + Fresh Fruit |
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The Bookstore. Social, political, environmental, ethical justice - its all there. |
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The Menu and Kitchen. Of course it's artsy, what did you expect? |
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Mural above the bar. Interpret it for yourself, cause I'm surely struggling myself. |
Cafe Du Parc French Bistro
http://cafeduparc.com
When someone gives you a graduation present, you thank them profusely, showing how genuinely grateful that you are. Most likely you cannot express enough in words how thankful you are. In most instances you didn't even expect a gift from most patrons, making your gratitude even that much overwhelming. These are the best gifts, those that you'll never ever forget - especially if that gift is dinner on the Spilka family at Cafe Du Parc, the essential definition of a "swanky" restaurant.
After finding out that I would be visiting Lily in Washington D.C. some time back in June, one of our closest, craziest, and most awesome mutual friends, Simone, told us that her family wanted to take us to dinner during my visit (a.k.a. pay for us to eat like a king and queen). Being quite the foodie herself, she picked an awing restaurant less than a mile from the White House that served us what you could call, "the perfect dinner."
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Cafe Du Parc (below the blue banners on the right). |
We each started with a glass of wine, of course. Wine was followed by fresh bread and butter while we decided what we wanted for appetizers and dinner. I swear, everything looked and sounded so good that I could have closed my eyes, blindly pointed at something on the menu and said "yes, please," and have been completely satisfied. Not satisfied, elated. We decided, with the help of our waiter, to split a half order of butter and garlic mussels for our appetizer. Our main course was an easy decision though. Cuts of prime rib topped with foie gras, all over creamed potatoes and splashed with au jus. I can't explain to you (and neither can my pictures) how delicious every single bite of each part of our meal was. We left stuffed, satisfied, and shocked that we had not only eaten such an amazing meal, but had been treated to it. Thanks again, Spilka family!
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Mussels with butter, white wine, and garlic. They didn't stand a chance - we ate every. single. one of them. |
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Prime Rib topped with Foie Gras over baby mushrooms and mashed potatoes. Served with au jus. |
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Cheers, Spilkas. |
Montmartre French Restaurant
http://www.montmartredc.com
We have a thing for French food. Obviously. Before exploring the Eastern Market area and the oldest flea market in all of DC, we stopped at the Montmartre restaurant for lunch one day. We actually had never heard of the restaurant before and just thought the menu looked good, which is why we decided to sit down. We were right. Sitting outside on a warm summer day in the District, salads were almost a no brainer - especially after gorging ourselves in foie gras and steak just earlier in the week. Lily decided to go with a Nicoise salad while I had the seafood salad. It was a great start to our day, although the start of our day began sometime between 1 and 2 pm.
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Seafood Salad. With mussels, scallops, halibut, salmon, seaweed, tomatoes, and grapefruit. |
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Nicoise Salad. Seared tuna, string beams, tomatoes, kalamata olives, eggs, fava beans, bell peppers, potatoes. |
Del Frisco's Grille
http://delfriscosgrille.com
On the day I was finally forced to leave Washington D.C., I had half a day before my flight out in the late afternoon. Lily and I worked up an appetite by paddle boating the Potomac in the morning, and it was a good thing because we went out with a bang at Del Frisco's Grille. At the quintessential business casual lunch spot just blocks from the EPA office building, we found ourselves surrounded by options of great food, yet again. Del Frisco's in terms of ambiance and decor was on the nicer end, with white table cloths, waiters in white shirts and ties, and a menu that wasn't exactly the place you'd look for if you were in search of a "cheap eat." However, scattered mounted televisions with sports and various news programs, coupled with a casual atmosphere of laid back business people at lunch just laughing and chatting with each other made Del Frisco's a comfortable and enjoyable place for lunch.
Lily's Nicoise salad of seared tuna looked so good just days before that I decided to go with an Asian salad with seared Ahi tuna coated in a sesame seed crust. Also, I had to get buffalo wings, which were called buffalo lollipops since I hadn't eaten chicken wings the entire week I had been there (arguably my favorite food). Lily wen't with seared Ahi tuna in fried wonton-esque taco shells which a cheese puree.
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Buffalo Wing Lollipops. Celery for her, carrots for him. |
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Ahi tartar tacos. Served over guacamole and topped with cheese puree. |
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Asian salad with noodles, cabbage, mandarin oranges, nuts, tomatoes, and seared Ahi tuna. |
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Our lunch, in all of its glory. |
Till the next time, D.C. I'm eagerly awaiting my next visit, and so is my appetite.