Maggiano's Little Italy OSU Event

Ohio State University (OSU) hosted a lunch and program for all Washington-area admitted students. It was very nice.

First, the food: The buffet included tomato caprese salad, caesar salad, chicken marsala, lobster-baked tilapia with spinach and orzo pasta, and lasagna. There was apple crostada and tiramisu for dessert. Although I am in theory against eating tilapia (based on what they feed on), I couldn't resist it and it was fantastic!  

Buffet

Second, the program: It was disappointing that they didn't have more alumni, current students, or faculty mingling with the tables. The student panel was by far the best part of the session. It was helpful to hear about how they commute back and forth to campus/home and how much they like OSU. I appreciated that it was not lengthy or boring in the least. They allowed for just enough questions. Unfortunately, all four students at our table were undecided about OSU. It would have been nice to talk to a local kid who had paid their deposit and was 100% sure of Ohio. AND, one of the parents was an alumna (her daughter applied to 8 schools and was undecided); and one of the student's sisters is a current senior at OSU (she's debating between OSU, Brown, and UPenn). Three of the students (the one girl wasn't there for this question) are all admitted into the scholars program. 


Result? Well, there was no revelation for Julia at this event; however, she did get a chance to see that the same people who are admitted to OSU from the area are pretty much the same type of student as her (very little diversity). The saga continues.

Thanks for the nice lunch, OSU!

Restaurant info: www.maggianos.com

Full private dining room

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.