Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Quarantined with Rocklands

Family pic at the Kennedy Center 
No, we do not get tired of Rocklands. I tried the beef ribs this time and they were huge and delicious.

This week we were a bit under the weather, fighting bronchitis, ear infections, and sinusitis. However, a visit from my mom, take-out from Rocklands, and watching the movie, White Christmas, was enough to suspend unwellness for a few hours. Special thanks to Meme for risking her health to join us!

Julia got accepted into Northeastern! Boston is her favorite city, so this is very good news for her. The plot thickens. We're still waiting on Penn State and she is considering adding a few more to the list: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Northwestern, and University of Illinois. Carnegie is a no-go and U. of Michigan is deferred. Ohio, NC State, Villanova, and Northeastern have all sent welcome packages with plenty of checklists and pressure to commit! Julia's handling it like a trooper.

Here's to more dinners (and a healthy family) in 2014!



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Town Hall

This was our first visit to Town Hall. We didn't order anything interesting or out of the ordinary. Julia enjoyed half of a huge club sandwich and mashed potatoes. Steven had a good, rare burger. I loved the flat iron steak (nice and medium rare) on my bistro salad. While the bar side was hopping, the dining room side was cozy, warm and quiet. Congratulations to Julia--she was accepted into NC State University environmental engineering program and Ohio State University environmental engineering program. We are so proud of her!
Recommendations: Burger or flat iron steak--they were cooked perfectly!  

Restaurant info: 2340 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, DC 20007; 202-333-5640; www.townhalldc.com.
Quiet, Sunday night in the dining room.


Sunday, December 8, 2013

Filomena Restaurant

The weather outside is frightful, but… inside Filomena Restaurant the atmosphere is delightful! This wonderful Italian restaurant prides itself on celebrating the holidays to the fullest extent and providing authentic Italian food. (Steven thinks the food was way better here than in Rome.) The gorgeous Christmas tree is the centerpiece of the restaurant with over 10,000 lights and beautiful antique ornaments.

Our special guest with us today is Chris! Often mentioned and never present, we are so happy he was in town to join us this weekend.

The food was so delicious. There was an omelet station, bacon, home fries, sausage, and biscuits. Dinner choices included salad, various cold salads, vegetables, roast beef, roast pig, rock fish, pizza, and soup. There was an entire buffet of desserts, including bread pudding, rice pudding, pumpkin spice cake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, fresh fruit, peach cobbler, blueberry cobbler, and homemade whip cream.

Recommendations: We highly recommend coming for the brunch buffet on the weekend. The ambiance is always decorated for a particular holiday--the best being Christmas, but also for Easter, Halloween, etc.

Restaurant info: 1063 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, DC 20007, 202-338-8800 or 1-888-FILOMENA, www.filomena.com

They often have a woman in the front window making pasta.









Julia and Chris in front of the US Capitol.



Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner in Rome, Italy

No turkey dinners for us this Thanksgiving. Instead, we spent Thursday touring the Vatican; it was amazing.

I do not know how people visit Rome without feeling closer to God--it was just that powerful. There is so much to see...the basilicas (Santa Maria Maggiore, San Pietro in Vincoli, St. Peter's, Sistine Chapel), catacombs, ruins, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Spanish steps, Colosseum, Palantine Hill, Fountain of Four Rivers, Trevi Fountain, Egyptian obelisk, aqueducts, Appian Way, and more.

I did not have a bad meal in Rome; although, I was arguably less adventurous than Steven and restricted due to food allergies. Julia was generally happy with all her meals as well.

We talked a lot about Rome, the people, the sites, and comparisons with other European city trips. The history and art are incredible and can only be fully appreciated in person. America is so new and... blah... in comparison.

It was nice to be on vacation. We walked a lot--Steven lost 4 pounds!!

Recommendations: Go to Rome! Try a new gelato place after every meal!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Rocklands (Yes, Again!) & Georgetown Rink

We are busy getting ready for our trip to Rome--so, quick and yummy is on the menu for tonight's dinner with Julia. Plus, it is 28 degrees out. We had the same yummy sausage, brisket, and sides.

Main topic of discussion--Carnegie Mellon mess up! The details are unclear; however, Julia received a notice from CMU that her application was not complete. It appeared that the early decision form was not signed by the college counselor. After sending the counselor an e-mail, she states that the common application has had some issues and she is sure it will not be a problem to fax it tomorrow. Not happy. This is 25 days past the deadline. On a happier note, Chris found out he was accepted at University of Pittsburgh--congrats, Chris!

We went ice skating. It was cold, slightly windy, and fun. Surprisingly, it was not busy at all.

 

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Rocklands: Glover Park

Almost every day, we can smell the wonderful aroma of Rockland's smoke pit. Tonight, we enjoyed a delicious dinner there with Julia. This Glover Park original barbecue and grilling company has been around since 1990--and now has three other locations (Alexandria, Arlington, and Rockville). Our fav is the one in our backyard.

The dining atmosphere is casual, with a mounted television screen and peanuts to munch on while you wait. They do an excellent carry-out business (seating is limited); I'm sure more will dine-in once they expand into the space next door (timing unknown). 


Fun fact: Julia used to play soccer with the owner's daughter, Bishop. They were on the Strikers team for several years together. 

We talked about the frustration of not knowing. The wait continues. We all vented a bit about the college counselor not submitting the info to Penn State yet. We also chatted about football, Chris's sporting activities, and his wrist. (Hi, Chris, hope your broken wrist is healing speedily.) 

Recommendations: Brisket and Italian sausage are phenomenal. The sides were all delicious too.

Restaurant info: 2418 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007; 202-333-2558; www.rocklands.com

Three Meats Platter with macaroni and cheese and caesar salad w/smoked chicken.
Three Meats Platter with collard greens and roasted brussel sprouts w/bacon.
Grilled Italian Sausage Platter with Texas corn pudding and apple compote.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Surfside: Glover Park

Surfside is a favorite that we have frequented with guests often…and speaking of guests, we should now call Emmie a regular. We are happy she is back in town!

Surfside is the perfect neighborhood hangout. The vibe is relaxed, island happiness; the food is inspired by the "beach cuisines of the world." We sat inside on the main floor; in the nicer weather, they have a great rooftop deck worth checking out.

Steven enjoyed the Tahiti tacos, with (barely seared) rare ahi tuna, wasabi cream, sesame salad, and rice. Julia, Emmie, and I devoured build-your-own salads with shrimp, grilled veggies, and salmon. Yum!

We got updates from Emmie on her brothers, Sam and Nick, juniors at Williams and UVA respectively. Also, we chatted about Emmie's recent bedroom renovation and upcoming plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Recommendations: Get the Bermuda Triangle to start; chips with guacamole, queso fresco, and salsa. The seafood--as you may be clued in by the name--is fresh and done right; try it!

Restaurant info:
Surfside is located in Glover Park
2444 Wisconsin Avenue, between N. Calvert St. & N. Observatory Lane
Washington, DC 20007
info@surfsidedc.com
www.surfsidedc.com







Saturday, November 2, 2013

Cafe Divan: Turkish Cuisine

We are fans of Turkish food! I am seeing a trend toward middle eastern bias and will remedy this next week.

Steven was not a huge fan of the deep fried calamari, a bit too much breading for his taste. The aioli that it came with, however, was fantastic. They called it a "cocktail sauce," and we expected it to be yogurt-based, but it wasn't. Julia put it on pita bread and I put it on the pastirma (air-dried, spicy beef--yum!). The salads were simple and good.

Julia ordered the Kavurma, beef tenderloin with onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and rice. She enjoyed it. Steven ordered the Doner Kebab, marinated lamb/veal from a vertical spit served over rice and tomatoes. The meat was very good, but Steven said the addition of a yogurt sauce would have taken it from an 8.5 to a 10 (out of 10). I ordered the Adana Kebab, skewered hot, spicy beef with spiced onions and mixed vegetables. So good!

The service was excellent. We have had great success with take-out as well--quick and as scrumptious as sitting in.

On the college front, Julia has submitted all of her early decision and early action applications. This weekend she will complete Penn State, which has rolling admission. Whoo-hoo!

Recommendation: Try the pastirma appetizer! We would highly recommend the Kavurma and Adana Kebab as well.

Restaurant info: 1834 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007
Restaurant: 202-338-1747
Carryout: 202-338-1748
www.cafedivan.com
info@cafedivan.com





Almost every table has a wonderful window view.

Hip bar area.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Le Pain Quotidien

This weekend, Emmie Hine was in town! Meme and Emmie joined us for brunch at Le Pain Quotidien and it was yummy.

If you are interested in organic, locally-sourced food and an environmentally conscious cafe…Le Pain Quotidien is for you. They use reclaimed wood for their "communal" tables, energy-efficient lamps, and natural cleaning supplies.

We got a quick update from Julia on the college applications--almost done! She is in good shape for the deadline this Friday.

Recommendations: Definitely get the bread basket so you can sample the great jams and hazelnut spread on the table. The oatmeal, pudding, eggs, and turkey sandwich were all delicious as well, but the bread is the star here.

Restaurant info: www.lepainquotidien.us 

Steven, Julia, Emmie, Meme

Lynnette, Julia, Emmie, Meme

Organic steel-cut oatmeal with berries

Organic steel-cut oatmeal with bananas and pecans

Soft-boiled egg and brown-rice pudding
Roasted turkey and avocado open-faced sandwich




Dessert was at Pinkberry, of course.