A DC Tradition

I’m not a traditional person but I do love a great tradition especially one that involves lots of eating and drinking.
When Jacob was a baby, we started what may be one of my favorite traditions; Thanksgiving dinner with the family and DC weekend without.
Every year, Phil and I take a few days post Thanksgiving to unwind in the country’s Capitol and do nothing more than eat, drink and shop.  What’s cool about DC is that, much like Philadelphia, every year there’s a slew of new neighborhoods, restaurants, and bars to check out.
This time around we made dinner reservations at the fairly new, Eat the Rich in the Shaw and a fairly old by U Corridor standards, The Gibson.
As soon as we arrived however, we headed straight to our now favorite breakfast spot Ted’s Bulletin where we always sit at the bar, drink Bloody Marys and watch the cooks perform their magic in the open kitchen.

Now this is how you start the day!

Bellies full &  brains abuzz it was go time.
We checked into our hotel, The Donovan -a Kimpton property known for their cool, modern design and complementary happy hour!
We wanted to check out a new area…I mean how many times can you walk around Georgetown right? and at the advice of the concierge, Ubered it to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
It has been over 20 years since I last visited the historic district George Washington once called home.
What took me so long?
Old Town’s cobblestone streets & red brick sidewalks were full of energy and packed with great restaurants & unique boutiques.
The area is anchored by the George Washington Masonic Memorial and the Potomac River where we strolled to enjoy the waterfront views.  It’s also the home of the nationally renowned Torpedo Factory Art Center as well as numerous boat tours and water taxis.
King Street, the main thoroughfare
was named one of the area’s top shopping destinations by the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, and boasts a blend of independent galleries, stylish boutiques, vintage shops and national retailers.
I especially loved The Hour, a shop dedicated to all things cocktail.

We strolled King Street, had coffee and I scored $120 Lululemon yoga pants for $39!
Took the free King Street Trolley back to the metro and rode it into Georgetown…a first but super quick & easy.
As usual, Georgetown was bursting with tourists so we shopped a bit and slid into The Rye Bar in the Capella hotel for cocktails.  I get why people love this bar…it’s sexy, dark and sophisticated but come on, these are the saddest drinks I’ve ever seen!

One sip and they were down so we got up and decided it was time to hit the hotel’s HH.  Missed it as usual, oh well who has HH at 6pm Kimpton!?
We chilled and took the advice of an ex-DC native and went to Ghibellina instead of our original plan primary because we’re lazy and didn’t want to venture too far from our hotel.  Plus, the Shaw drive-by earlier was a bit too sketchy for my taste.  I think the term du jour is gentrification…yeah, it’s not that yet.
When we arrived for our 9:30 reservation, Ghibellina was fairly quiet especially, compared to Pearl Dive Oyster Palace next door.
We sat at the bar, ordered tons of apps and drinks and chatted up the bartender. Our favorite way to eat not to mention the best way to learn about hidden local favorites.

Speaking of hidden, our next stop was The Gibson, a dark and sexy speakeasy serving up innovative cocktails by master bartenders.  Can’t even call them bartenders, more like performance artist as they tackled each cocktail with drama and expertise.  I want to own a bar like this!

Although we were sufficiently full from dinner, we couldn’t resist the spicy pork rinds…yummo! Or should I say Oink?
Again, sat at the bar, watched the show, and learned about this off the menu cocktail, ‘The Sparkly Bitch.’ ?
It was goood!

A word of advice, you don’t want to be caught standing in line like an amateur so make sure you make a reservation.  Once in, walk through to the back and check out courtyard.
It was past midnight and starting to drizzle as we wabbled back to our hotel.
The following morning we decided that brunch was a necessity and if you know the DC dining scene, you know that they take brunch very seriously.  Which generally means that you can’t go wrong no matter where you go as they all try to outdo one another.
What you should do is pick one that offers unlimited drinks and that’s how we ended up at Masa 14.
Their prix fixe bottomless weekend brunch not only serves up an unlimited selection of Mimosas, Bellinis and Bloody Marys but also all you can eat Latin-Asian dishes to help soak it all up.

I started with the Lychee Bellinis & finished with the Blood Orange Mimosas.

Needless to say I fell asleep on the ride home.

I love traditions!

Lessons learned :
Couples need alone time.
Alcohol can and should be used for good not evil.
Bottomless anything goes straight to your bottom.
Thanksgiving should come more often.
Do you have a tradition to share?

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Alya