Monday, September 27, 2010

Life Recap!

Oh Monday.


You welcome me with your rainy clouds.


I, unlike a lot of people, like the rain, so this Monday is not so bad after all! So, this post is a major recap, because I've missed telling you all about my weekends, and the past few have been busy!


As some of you know, two weeks ago I celebrated my twenty-third birthday. 
 
Since I'm a foodie, I absolutely insisted on a fun dinner. Right now, Farmers and Fishers is all the rave in DC. I've heard great things, and one was that it's the hardest place to book. Well, I must have charmed the host on the phone because somehow I booked it for fourteen people on a Friday night. I have fourteen friends!! Neat.

This place is awesome. Not only is it located right on the Georgetown Waterfront, but the food is all local/regional. I was super excited and not let down a peep. As we all showed up, we were directed toward the bar where most of us sipped on wine. I got the sauvy, which is always my favorite. About 15 minutes into sipping, we got our table which was a littttle tight but good none the less.

Alex and I (and most of the table) got the hummus platter to start. And although the chocolate dipped bacon lollipop was intriguing, the grilled navajo bread was crispy and charred and the perfect start to dinner.


I ordered the bronze style salmon which was a lightly seasoned filet topped with balsamic onions. To be brutally honest, the salmon was OK. The onions were awesome. I sampled a lot of other's dinner, so I was still a happy camper.


Alex got the State Fair burger which was angus beef mixed with steak sauce served with fries that I loveeed stealing off his plate.


Amie got this incredible pizza that had chicken breast, applewood smoked bacon, white cheddar and mozzarella cheeses on top of a creamy garlic sauce, garnished with fresh tomatoes and basil. Such an Amie choice. SO yummy.


Melly got this a homemade ravioli with orange-herb butter sauce, fennel, fresh-cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. It was rich but it was tasty.

Everyone else got everything else. I can only vouche for those sitting next to me. It all looked good... including my chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting made by Melanie. Yum!!

The rest of the night was spent at the outdoor bars. As you can tell from the pictures, it was a night full of sillyness. 23 is the new 16!


The next day, Alex had to leave, but the party wasn't over. My mom was in the kitchen baking (I wonder what!) but I spent most of the day vegging out with Amie. 
 
 We had another dinner date with my parents that night at the DC Chophouse.

I went about a year ago with my friend Deegan and her boy toy, and I remembered great things. I know we ate a ton the last time, but a few things stood out to me like the hand crafted beer and the skillet cornbread that was hard to resist. Oh and the best steak I've had. Ever. Which I was "just too full to even try!" but when her boyfriend went to the bathroom we pretty much ate every last bite of. Oops.


Anyway, so Sue, Dick, Amie and I headed into DC. Both of my parents got beer (Dad with an awesome dark brew and Mom with God knows what... although it must have been potent because she was sure being silly). Amie and I split a bottle of Sauvy. Again, my fave.
The cornbread came out with three starter salads. More exciting were the main courses. We covered all of our bases.

I got the BACON wrapped filet mignon. Oh it was delightful. It came with Wisconsin cheddar mashed potatoes. The meat was perfectly cooked and although the bacon was a nice bonus, the filet could easily stand alone.

Amie got the crabcakes which came with a nice little corn salsa/relish and a good dipping sauce. It's all about the sauce people. The fries were awesome too. She did a good job not eating all of them and I definitely reached over to her plate a handful of times.

My dad got the chicken piccata, which was also served with the potatoes. He lurrrved it.

My mom got...drumroll please....a salad!!!! Not super exciting but good in terms of salad. The menu is pretty pricey so I'm sure she was just being a frugal fannie. None-the-less, a good choice.

After dinner, we drove through China town and Amie and I planned to hit up Arlington for birthday night two. We bar hopped a little and called it a night.


Finally, on Sunday, I got to have my cake! I was pooped from a weekend of socializing and I needed to decompress with the family. We had a really light grilled chicken dinner followed by big bowls of cookies and cream cake with French silk ice cream. The whole weekend was full of friends, family, fun and food, but by the end of it I just wanted a bowl of ice cream and my cake. I was exhausted!

So, the week continues and on Wednesday, my physical therapist invites me to dinner with the whole staff. I gratefully oblige! Nelson, my PT, raves about Korean BBQ all the time. I myself have never had it, never been curious, and never thought twice about it. Well, he said, come to the Honey Pig in Annandale. You say jump I say how high? Thursday night (after a lovely coffee date with my friend Lisa and hours of work and class) I met up with Nelson and company at the Honey Pig. Holy moly.


He said they order up thick slabs of bacon. I didn't believe him because he usually says they order dog and squirrel. Well, this time he wasn't lying. They cook the meat right in front of you with some spices and veggies too. It was literally, slabs of bacon with garlic and other seasonings. And I would love to tell you I knew it was unhealthy so I politely passed it up but when in Rome... or Korea...


Awesome! The sauces perfectly complimented the meat. And we did wrap it up nicely in little lettuce cups, so I totally got my veggies in. Right? I was particularly keen on this bean paste and a clear sort of sweet sort of salty sauce. Yum. I probably over ate a little bit because on Friday morning, I felt like I had a heart disease. "Welcome to my life," Nelson says.


Friday was supposed to be a quiet night in with Melanie. But, as luck would have it, Friday night was also the Legwarmer's Concert at the State Theatre in Falls Church. Naturally, we had to go. I mean, live 80's music, awesome outfits and hours of dancing? Check. Mel and I amped up on about 3 red bulls and hit the dance floor. While others were drained, we were still boppin' like nobodys business. At about 12:30 we were both so exhausted, knees aching, feet burning. So fun. So tiring.

Saturday we got good old Bruegger's with PUMPKIN COFFEE <3<3 which was fantastic and wonderful. I had a few hours to kill before I met my friend Matt in DC where we had lunch at this awesome little spot: SweetGreen. It's a salad/wrap restaurant and we both got a salad (he totally copied me) and then headed to Logan circle to have coffee and biscotti. So DC of us. Too bad I'm a Fairfaxian; I almost had you all fooled! After an hour of Housewives on Bravo, we hit up Nord's Rack. Saturday night (much later) was a movie night. Oh and I made an awesome pasta dish for one which has no pictures but was shrimp, spiral pasta, marinara sauce, and a touchhhh of cream.


I spent all Sunday doing work and baking cookies and here I am Monday, ready to go to sleep. Glad to catch you up!

3 comments:

Monet said...

Let me wish you Happy Birthday again! It looks like you had a wonderful time celebrating...so many beautiful people and so many delicious eats! But I must say that what made me drool the most was your cookies and cream cake! How could it not?

Melanie said...

you forgot the most important ingredient in my "light" dinner....the ravioli was filled with GOAT CHEESE. so delicioussss :)

Tiffany said...

Happy birthday! Looks like you had a wonderful celebration with lots of good eats!