Treat Yo'self

I'm always on the prowl for new tasty restaurants in the DC area and fun events to explore on the weekends with my family and friends.  Check out some of my favorite things to do and places to eat and try them for yourself this weekend and share with me at #hangrydistrict!

Dining Out

Breakfast

For breakfast, start your day at the Little Red Fox for their incredible breakfast burritos!  Made to order with fluffy eggs, black bean and corn salsa, velvety potatoes and the option of crispy bacon and fruity avocado (a must in my book)! Each burrito comes with a side of Fox-made hot sauce and is served in a warm and chewy tortilla.  I highly recommend having it with a latte and your weekend will be off to an amazing start!

Lunch

If you're sticking around Chevy Chase for the day, head back to the Fox for a cup of their homemade soups and a salad of the day! I love the pea & mint soup with a side of asparagus and pickled blueberry salad, or the grilled cheese dunked into the homemade tomato soup with fresh rosemary and olive oil.  My all-time fave sandwich is the Muffaletta...it's Muff-phenonemal. Meats and cheeses served on house-made rosemary foccacia with olive spread. NOM!

You could also give Comet Ping Pong a try.  Their pizzas are personal sized and completely addicting, with fresh and seasonal ingredients and a crisp, chewy thin crust straight out of the wood-fired oven.  Nearly all of the food is farmed and harvested in a sustainable manner, as well - BONUS!  Try your hand at some ping pong and sip on a Backspin to liven up the afternoon.

Dinner

Lucky for me, I live in a perfect neighborhood (Brightwood), where I can easily zip up to Takoma Park/Silver Spring or bop on down to Petworth/14th St. all within 15 minutes.  I also happen to cross the river occasionally to visit my old stomping grounds of Northern VA.  Here are some of my recent favorite places to grab some drinks and dinner, whether you're just hanging out by yourself or treating yourself to a luxurious dinner with your best friends.
 

Takoma Park
Republic is my favorite neighborhood bar.  Located in Takoma Park, the atmosphere is always inviting, with lots of room at the bar and cheerful, skilled bartenders.  The cocktails are consistently perfect with curious and unique daily specials.  I'm a sucker for dirty martinis, and their use of house-cured marinated olives is to die for.  I love to choose a few different dishes from the daily appetizer specials and bar menu for my dinner.  I highly recommend having some oysters during happy hour ($1 each), or trying the fried version - I do both...

Dupont
If you're in the Dupont area and want to get a little fancy, The Riggsby is the new hotness.  Recently ranked at #6 in Tom Sietsema's Fall Dining Guide, this glamorous supper club in the Carlyle Hotel delivers.  From the half-price happy hour cocktails served in Anthropologie-style glassware, to the open dining room and generous portion sizes (no tapas here), it's worth the splurge. My girlfriends and I basically ordered the entire menu, and we were not disappointed. 

I recommend the lightly smoked trout with beets, horseradish & mache to start, then have two to three more martinis followed by the heritage farms pork chop with hot cherry peppers, sausage, onions & potatoes - the number one meal I have eaten this month.  The cote de boeuf is a classic with perfectly cooked beef, creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Just go here, before it's impossible to get in.

Arlington
If you live across the river, you MUST check out Chef Tim Ma's new brick and mortar - Water & Wall. I popped in for a light dinner with my friend and can't wait to go back!

The menu changes almost daily but here are some highlights that I enjoyed:

Crème fraiche wings with gochujang, crème fraiche and oyster sauce.  The creamy component that you crave when eating wings is already incorporated into the sauce, so there's no need to dip! A fun new twist on your ranch and blue cheese habit.

Fried Chicken breast with fingerling potato salad and Tabasco honey.  Yes, you read correctly, TABASCO HONEY.  Consider this my new favorite condiment.  This dish is comforting and simple, and even big enough to split! Basically a fancy family BBQ meal, and I'm ok with that.

Fun!

There is lots of fun to be had this weekend! Clearly, I am biased towards events that involve food, but I have some other interests below!

DC

It's time for the Taste of DC! From the site: "Taste of DC is a multi-day culinary and cultural event in the heart of the nation’s capital. This expansive festival packs four blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue with area restaurants, great drinks, lively entertainment, engaging corporate partners, and fellow Washingtonians and visitors." Check out the list of vendors here!

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased with cash only at the event.  See you there??

From Edible DC: The legendary Alice Waters will be in DC this weekend! She will be signing her new book My Pantry, at the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market on Sunday, October 11 at 10am and will be at Politics & Prose Bookstore at 2pm.

I was lucky enough to eat at Chez Panisse for lunch last December, and it literally brought tears to my eyes.  It made me proud to eat American cuisine and encouraged me to continue to eat and cook seasonally, sustainably and locally.

MD

Baltimore Beer Week kicks off this weekend! Check out the list of events here, and drink as much Flying Dog as you can (shout out to Frederick!).

From the site: "Baltimore Beer Week is a collaborative effort of businesses and beer enthusiasts in our community to celebrate and highlight the unique beer culture that exists in and around the Chesapeake region. Every October Baltimore Beer Week brings to life hundreds of beer-centric events that focus on beer culture, culinary aspects, meet and greets, homebrew demo’s and even beer history. All in the name of seeking to increase people’s awareness of all things beer in the famed “Land of Pleasant Living”"

The Maryland Pumpkin Festival is this weekend at Summer's Farm!

From their site:

"While thousands of you have come to experience our annual offerings, such as the corn maze, hay slides, farm animals, hay rides, pumpkin patch, pig races, jumping  pillow, live music and more, the addition of the Maryland Pumpkin Festival weekend adds so much more. Come join us at Summers Farm to celebrate all things pumpkin!"

In addition to their regular activities, Summers Farm will also have the following special events during the Maryland Pumpkin Festival:

Pumpkin Princess Storytime
Pumpkin Sculpturing Demonstration
Mr. Brown the Clown
Egg Hunt
Gourd Hunt
Candy Shoot from the Pumpkin Cannon
Pumpkin Painting
Farmer Fastball Competition

Have a blast during this long weekend and don't forget to keep me in the loop with #hangrydistrict! 

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