Being Touristy - the Smithsonian National Zoo

This week, my roommate and I spent an afternoon feeling like little kids again by venturing out to the Smithsonian National Zoo. It was such a fun afternoon. We were probably the only ones there without small children, but even if you don't have kids, visiting the zoo is something I'd definitely recommend to do in DC.

One nice thing about the Smithsonian National Zoo was that it was not overcrowded, like zoos often are. We weren't blocked by crowds or large groups of obnoxious school children when trying to see the animals. It was great. Granted, our visit may have been an exception. It was a weekday afternoon. Also, a teen was stabbed in a fight at the zoo the day before. Don't worry though! Stabbings aren't a frequent occurrence at the National Zoo. My visit was very pleasant and peaceful.

A visit to the National Zoo is not something you'll need to plan a whole day for. The zoo is on the smaller side. My roommate and I spent about 3 hours there and saw everything we wanted to see, which was almost the entire zoo.

The best part of the zoo, though: it's free. I would suggest bringing with you a bottle of water though. Water is $3 a bottle inside the zoo.

The National Zoo has some great exhibits that you won't find everywhere else. The most famous, of course, are the giant pandas. It took a while for us to find Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. They weren't in their large outdoor exhibit and we were very worried we wouldn't get to see the zoo's main attraction. Fortunately we found them in their indoor rooms, both fast asleep. They were snoozing away the whole time we were there, but it was still cool to see one in person.

While the giant pandas are the National Zoo's claim to fame, I found the red pandas to be much cooler. They were out and about, running around all over their exhibit. They kind of look like raccoons, but much cuter. I could've just taken one of these guys home with me as a pet! But I don't think the zoo would've liked that...

My other favorite part of the zoo was the great cats exhibit. Here, you'll find a beautiful Sumatran tiger. He lives by himself and was out walking around, stalking his cage like he owned the place. In the exhibit next door is an entire family of African lions, including a whole bunch of cubs! I felt like I was watching the real-life lion king, except instead of being trampled by wildebeests, the dad just kinda hangs out at the top of the exhibit watching over the lionesses and their cubs. The cubs were so much fun to watch. A bunch of them were running around, playing and wrestling with each other. When they'd start to get a little rough, momma lion would come in and scold them with a little roar. Very cool exhibit unlike anything I've ever seen at a zoo before.

Last but not least, towards the zoo entrance you will find two cheetahs. I've never seen a cheetah in a zoo before. They are beautiful animals. Each has their own separate exhibit, and both simply walked back and forth along its perimeter, so much that they had carved a path in the ground. One cheetah's exhibit bordered the zebra exhibit. He seemed pretty angry he couldn't get to them on the other side of the fence.

Overall, the Smithsonian National Zoo is a great place to visit in Washington DC. It won't take up your entire day, if you have limited time, and it's free, so you don't have much of an excuse not to go. It's open every day, 10a.m.-6p.m. April-October, and 10a.m.-4:30p.m. November-March. It's located at 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW and within walking distance of the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station and Cleveland Park metro station (both on the red line).

Restaurant Review: DC-3

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I have a bit of an obsession with the city of Chicago. The sports teams, the shops, the architecture, everything. And, especially, the food. So that is why I can't believe what I'm about to say: I just ate what may be the best Chicago-style hot dog I've ever had, and it was made in Washington, DC.

Inside DC-3

DC-3 is a little hot dog shop located in the Eastern Market area of DC, southeast of the Capitol. They sell hot dogs in just about every way with every topping you can imagine. And they're delicious.

The shop calls itself a "vintage hot dog joint," and gets its inspiration from the 1940s and the commercial flight revolution that took place then, when the Douglas Commercial 3, or DC-3, airplane made it possible for normal people to fly anywhere in the country they wanted. Each hot dog on the menu is inspired by a different place in the U.S. (the Chicago 7, DC Hot Half Smoke, Cincinnati Coney, NYC Street Vendor Dog... just to name a few). There are even some dogs from around the world, like Q's Seoul Bulgogi & Kimchi.

I chose to eat the Chicago 7 - a Vienna all beef dog on a poppy seed bun, loaded with the traditional toppings - tomato, pickle spear, bright green relish, onions, sport peppers, yellow mustard and celery salt. My friends opted for the Cincinnati Coney - a Nathan's all-beef hot dog with chili, cheese, onions and yellow mustard. We also ordered crinkle-cut fries and fried pickles. Everything was very tasty. I can't wait to go back!

The Facts:

• Menu - hot dogs from around the nation (and world). They also serve throwback soda pops, freshly made cotton candy, soft serve ice cream, fried pickles, chili cheese fries, Italian beef, mini hot dogs, footlongs, corndogs, rope sausage, and vegetarian chili. Here are the hot dogs:



DC-3 Chicago 7



Ahtie's Philly Cheesesteak-Style Whiz Wit'

• Chicago 7
• DC Hot Half-Smoke
• NY Coney
• Jersey Bacon-Wrapped Ripper
• West Virginia Sauce and Slaw Dog
• Cincinnati Coney
• Arkansas Razorback Red
• Rochester White Snappy Griller
• NYC Street Vendor Dog
• Maine Red Snapper
• Tucson Sonoran
• Seattle Pike Place Ultimate Fish Dog
• Ahtie's Philly Cheesesteak-Style Whiz Wit'
• Q's Seoul Bulgogi & Kimchi
• Lancaster Dutch Pretzel Dog
• Bay Bridge Pretzel Dog
• California Left Winger
• Price - dogs are $3.99-$6.99, sides are $2.59-$3.99, fountain drink is $1.79. Pretty cheap for DC.
• Location - 423 8th Street SE, closest metro is Eastern Market
• Hours - Sun.-Thurs. 11a.m.-9p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11a.m.-10p.m.
• My rating -*****

DC-3 hot dog map

Restaurant Reviews - Capitol Hill Mexican

One great thing about working on Capitol Hill is that you're never short of somewhere to grab an after-work margarita and bottomless chips and salsa to cure the stress of the day. Here are my reviews of three Mexican restaurants on Capitol Hill.

Best after-work margarita - La Loma

La Loma patio

On a warm, sunny day in Washington, DC, the place to be after work is La Loma. Located on Massachusetts Ave. between 3rd and 4th St. NE, northeast of the Capitol, La Loma has a great outdoor patio, perfect for sipping tasty strawberry margaritas (the best I've found on the Hill), and munching on bottomless chips and salsa. The food's great too. Also the best Mexican food I've found on the Hill. I've never eaten inside, the patio is where it's at. They don't take reservations for the patio, so you usually have to wait, especially if it's the first nice day in a while. But the waiters will bring you drinks while you wait, so it's ok! It's the furthest Mexican restaurant (of the three I'm reviewing here) from the Hill, but definitely worth the walk to get outside on a sunny day. Would highly recommend it.
The Facts:

• Menu - all the usual Mexican dishes. Roommate and I have had the fajitas al carbon, chicken flautas and beef and cheese enchiladas, all very tasty. The amount of guacamole is a little skimpy, but it's good. The chips are very hard, but the salsa is delicious.
• Price - $8.95-$17.95 for dinner, about a dollar cheaper for lunch. I think margaritas were about $7.
• Location - 316 Massachusetts Ave. NE (closest metro is Union Station)
• Hours - Mon.-Fri. 11a.m.-11p.m., Sat. 11a.m.-midnight, Sun. noon-10p.m.
• Rating - *****

Best location - Tortilla Coast

outside Tortilla Coast

I'm not sure how it happened, but this restaurant may have landed the best location in Washington, DC. Tortilla Coast sits on the corner of 1st St. SE and D St. SE, only a block south of the Capitol South Metro, and may be the closest restaurant to any of the House office buildings. Thanks to this location, it is always jammed packed during lunch and after work, often with congressmen and hill staffers.
Don't let the crowds fool you though. This is not an indication of how delicious Tortilla Coast is. The food here is very average. So are the margaritas. The service is below average. Slow when it's busy and lazy when it's not. The best thing there is the chips. Salsa's not bad, but the chips are perfectly crispy, thin and yummy. The tortillas are good too. They're homemade, crispy, and greasy (in a good way). I usually get the quesadillas. They're not bad. Not great, but do the job if you're hungry and in need of some Mexican. They serve brunch on Sundays. I haven't been, but I've heard good things about the huevos rancheros. And, as all DC restaurants seem to, they serve a patriotic menu-item - a "stars and stripes" margarita, swirled with blue curacao.
Overall, only go here if your first priority is location. If not, go elsewhere.
The facts:

• Menu - "Tex-Mex." Good tortillas and chips, average everything else. They also serve burgers, if you realize once you're there that you don't want Mexican. Margaritas, also served in pitchers.
• Price - entrees are $8.95 - $14.95
• Location - 400 1st St. SE, across the street from the Capitol South metro. 
• Hours - Mon.-Wed. 11:30am-10:00pm, Thur.-Fri. 11:30am-11:00pm, Sat. 11:30 am-10:00pm, Sun. 11:00am-9:00pm
• Rating: *****

Best hole-in-the-wall - La Lomita Dos

outside La Lomita Dos

The first time I ate here was with the chief of staff of a congressman I cover, on his recommendation. He told me everyone on the Hill always lunches at Tortilla Coast, but La Lomita Dos has much better food. He's absolutely right. This place is the definition of a hole-in-the-wall. It's very tiny and it doesn't have great curb appeal, not unlike most of the restaurants on Pennsylvania Ave. Outside it is marked by a little green and white striped awning, and inside it has a more authentic feel than Tortilla Coast. Good chips and salsa. One of the best taco salads I've ever had. And, while I didn't drink this myself, I noticed a patron next to me drinking a margarita the size of his head. In my opinion, this is some of the best Mexican food on the Hill. Go here on your lunch break instead of Tortilla Coast.
The Facts:

• Menu: This menu is HUGE! They have just about every Mexican entree you could think of. Several salads, tortilla soup, seafood, meat, fajitas, all the usual favorites and lots of different combinations. Even vegetarian and kids' meals. Margaritas (of course), beers (lots of imported ones too), house wines and homemade sangria.
• Price: $9.95-$17.95 for entrees. Margaritas are $5.95-$9.95, pitchers are $29.95-$47.95. Domestic beers are $3.95, imported are $4.50.
• Location: 308 Pennsylvania Ave. SE (between 3rd and 4th St. SE), nearest metro is Capitol South
• Hours: Daily 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-10:00pm
• Rating: *****

Shutdown Showdown - through the eyes of a 21-year-old intern

Friday was the closest the government has ever come to shutting down in my memory, and I had a front row seat as an intern in DC. I wasn't covering the "shutdown showdown." That task was given to the Daily Herald's fabulous politics and projects reporter, Kerry Lester, who wrote two great stories - As shutdown looms, suburban members look to debt ceiling, and Hultgren: "Cautiously optimistic" deal will be made.

Still, as a 21-year-old, a student, a politics writer and a DC-first-timer, I had an interesting day.

I spent a lot of my time that stormy Friday on Twitter. I followed the feeds of my favorite political news outlets covering the day's events and the politicians pulling the strings. Some fun hashtags popped up. For example, #govtshutdownpickuplines. Huffington Post compiled some of the best government shutdown pickup lines. Another interesting tag was #uterusshutdown, used by some tweeters upset over the Republican attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. (John Stewart and Steven Colbert on Monday each ripped Senator John Kyl a new one over his false claim on the Senate floor that 90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortions. Watch those clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.)

Twitter led me to another interesting discovery that day, that made government shutdown look a bit less bleak - deals at Capitol Hill bars for government employees if the government shuts down. One bar, Union Pub, was offering patrons with a valid government ID penny drafts from 5-6 p.m. starting Monday. Lounge 201 was offering half-priced martinis all night long Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I live in an apartment building entirely comprised of interns, many government employees working at the House, Senate or White House. After I shared this with them, they were a little sad the government didn't shut down.

One last little social media tidbit here... a fellow reporting intern in my building alerted to me on this movement on Facebook earlier last week, while it was still small. A Facebook group entitled "If Boehner shuts down the government I am taking my trash to his house" emerged on the social media scene, in protest of DC trash services being stopped in the event of a government shutdown. When I checked today at 5:44 p.m., 8,553 people had RSVP'd to attend. The event received a lot of media coverage.

After a long day of pent-up frustration with our government, my intern apartment-mates and I hit up Hill Mexican restaurant Tortilla Coast for margaritas. It was PACKED with suited up Hill workers and reporters doing the same, even a table of congressmen. There, I got into a heated argument with a Senate intern about the political game our government parties were playing.

I also discovered a little website "Isthegovernmentshutdown.com". In large, uppercase letters, the website simply read "NO". Throughout the night, my friends asked me to check whether it had changed to "YES".

And as you know, it did not.

The Wonder of DC Cupcakes

There's this trend on the east coast that I was absolutely and tragically unaware of while I was living in the midwest - cupcake shops. Little stores dedicated entirely to the creation and sale of cupcakes! These cupcakes are marketed as something special. Branded as "designer" cupcakes, you buy them in boutiques and they are displayed on tiered trays. Flavors go beyond simple chocolate an vanilla, and the desserts look as adorable as they are tasty. So far, I have visited three cupcake shops in DC:

Hello Cupcake
My experience

inside Hello Cupcake

This was my first cupcake shop, and remains my favorite. Located in Dupont Circle, it is definitely the cutest of the boutiques I've visited. Pretty pink and white chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the walls are painted with little pink and white flowers. It's not overly crowded, or at least wasn't when I visited, and they serve coffee and other beverages and have some seating too. The cupcakes are amazing. Lots of flavor options ready to go, made fresh. The cupcake I had, unfortunately, appears to be a special cupcake that was only available when I went in February - a strawberry cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting and a white and milk chocolate drizzled, juicy strawberry on top. Mmm, mmm good.
The facts

• Location - 1361 Connecticut Ave., just south of the Dupont Circle metro
• Price - $3/each, $33/dozen
• Hours - Mon.-Thurs. 10am-7pm, Fri.-Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. 11am-6pm
• Menu - it changes, but traditional flavors are: 



the strawberry cupcake I ate

• originals (chocolate or vanilla cake, chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting, colorful confetti sprinkles)
• you tart! (lemon cake, lemon cream cheese frosting, yellow sugar sprinkles)
• 24 carrot (carrot cake, cream cheese frosting)
• peanut butter blossom (chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting, chocolate kiss on top)
• Special flavors for Sunday, April 10 were:
• pink lemonade (lemon cake, strawberry buttercream frosting)
• dulce de leche (caramel cake, dulce de leche frosting)
• heart of darkness (devil's food cake, chocolate ganache-based frosting, chocolate chip sprinkles)
• princess (vanilla cake, pink strawberry buttercream frosting, pink sugar sprinkles)
• raspberry beret (chocolate cake, raspberry buttercream frosting, chocolate sprinkles)
• vanilla gorilla (banana cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting)
• Vegan and gluten-free flavors are available

Georgetown Cupcake

My experience

inside Georgetown Cupcake

This is the famous one. TLC's TV show, DC Cupcakes is filmed here. As cool as that it, is has had the unfortunate effect of making the boutique INSANELY crowded. The line to get a cupcake wraps all the way around the block. When I visited in April, I heard the wait was an hour and a half. There's a way around it though! You just need to place your cupcake order online the day before. That's what my friends and I did, and we were able to bypass the line and walk right in. Even then though, the shop is very crowded, hectic, frustrating, confusing and, while there are tables, there is no where to sit. We got our cupcakes, which were prepared for us in a cute pink box, and got  the heck out of there (but not without snapping some quick pictures of the now famous spot!). The decor is very simple - white walls with some pink boxes strewn about. The cupcakes sit neatly on tiered trays in the front, and in the back there is a window into the kitchen where you can see the cupcakes being made. The cupcakes made here are delicious though. My friends and I all went for the same one - lava fudge. It was a chocolate cupcake with rich, melty fudge in the center, vanilla frosting and a fudge star drizzled on top. It was pretty messy, we got fudge EVERYWHERE, but it was so worth it.

The facts

• Location - 3301 M St. (Georgetown, closest metro is Foggy Bottom); there's also a location in Bethesda, MD - 4834 Bethesda Ave.
• Price - $2.75/each, $15/half dozen, $29/dozen
• Hours - Mon.-Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. 10am-7pm
• Menu - it changes, but traditional flavors are:



lava fudge cupcake

• chocolate2 (chocolate cake, whipped chocolate frosting, fondant flower)
• chocolate3 (chocolate cake, rich chocolate ganache icing, french chocolate sprinkles)
• chocolate birthday (chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles)
• chocolate ganache (chocolate cake, chocolate ganache icing, fondant flower)
• chocolate & vanilla (chocolate cake, chocolate cream cheese frosting, french chocolate sprinkles)
• milk chocolate birthday (yellow cake, milk chocolate buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles)
• red velvet (vanilla cream cheese frosting)
• vanilla2 (vanilla cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, fondant flower)
• vanilla birthday (vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles)
• vanilla & chocolate (vanilla cake, whipped chocolate frosting, fondant heart)
• baby pink (vanilla or chocolate cake, baby pink tinted vanilla buttercream frosting, fondant flower)
• baby blue (baby blue tinted frosting)
• bubblegum pink (bubblegum pink tinted frosting)
• sunshine (yellow tinted frosting)
• gluten-free lava fudge
• Susan G. Komen (chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, fondant pink ribbon)
• Special flavors for Sunday, April 10 - 
• carrot (cinnamon apple carrot cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, fondant carrot)
• chocolate coconut (chocolate cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, covered in shredded coconut)
• lava fudge (chocolate cake, fudge core, vanilla icing, fudge star drizzle)
• PB fudge (chocolate cake, fudge core, peanut butter frosting, fudge star drizzle)
• strawberry (vanilla cake baked with strawberries, strawberry frosting, fondant heart)
• cherry blossom (vanilla cake baked with cherries, vanilla cream cheese frosting, fondant cherry blossom)
• hummingbird (banana, pineapple & pecan cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with pecans and a blue fondant hummingbird)
• Easter cupcakes (vanilla2, chocolate2, chocolate & vanilla, or vanilla & chocolate cupcakes topped with seasonal fondant decorations, like fondant grass and bunny)

Crumbs

My experience

outside Crumbs

Crumbs is more of a chain than the others, with locations in not just DC, but New York, Chicago, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia and California. This is the most conveniently located cupcake shop for me, as there is one right by the Metro Center metro stop, where my office is. The cupcakes here are HUGE! It's not as cutesy or classy as Hello Cupcake or Georgetown Cupcake. They proudly serve their big ass cupcakes in a fun and friendly atmosphere and a variety of flavors. I went here with my friend Jaime, who ordered a green tea cupcake and loved it. I had a blackbottom cheesecake brownie cupcake. It was one of the richest, most chocolatey, delicious things I've ever eaten.

The Facts

• Location - In DC, 604 11th St. NW (Metro Center) and the train concourse at Union Station
• Price - about $4 if I recall correctly. The website said $4.50, but I remember paying $4.
• Hours - Mon.-Thur. 7am-9pm, Fri. 7am-11pm, Sat. 9am-11pm, Sun. 9am-9pm
• Menu - their website doesn't list for each specific location, but here is what's listed under "favorites," and I recall these being at the Metro Center location:



Blackbottom cheesecake brownie

• Artie Large (vanilla cupcake filled with chocolate cream cheese frosting, vanilla cream cheese frosting dipped in chocolate fondant, edged with chocolate and vanilla sprinkles)
• Baba Booey (chocolate cake filled with peanut butter frosting, peanut butter and chocolate cream cheese frosting, rimmed with peanut butter chips)
• Blackout (chocolate cake filled with fudge mixed with vanilla custard, chocolate cream cheese frosting topped with chocolate crumbs and drizzled with chocolate)
• Brownie (chocolate cake filled and frosted with fudge, topped with chocolate drizzle and walnut brownie bites)
• Carrot cake (carrot cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, edged with crushed walnuts, topped with a frosting carrot)
• Cookie dough (vanilla cake filled with fudge, vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with soft chocolate chip cookie pieces, topped with a chocolate chip cookie)
• Cookies and cream (chocolate cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with crushed oreos, with two oreos on top)
• Devil's food (chocolate cake filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chips)
• Peanut butter cup (chocolate cake filled and frosted with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, topped with peanut butter cup wedges and edged with crushed peanuts and chocolate chips)
• Red velvet (red velvet cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with red velvet crumbs and edged with white sprinkles)
• Squiggle (chocolate cake filled with vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with chocolate ganache icing and a white icing squiggle)
• You can also "create you own 6-pack"
• They do sell smaller cupcakes, but the big ones are their signature

Overall, America, you need to catch on to this DC/east coast trend. It's delicious.

Restaurant Review: Zaytinya

My favorite restaurant in DC, hands down, is Zaytinya.

The restaurant labels itself as "innovative Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine." This scared me a bit at first, as I am not the world's most adventurous eater. And while I have yet to be brave enough to try menu items like snails, octopus and goat, I have eaten quite a few dishes there and have been thoroughly pleased by all.

The food is served "mezze" style, meaning "small plates." For someone like me who doesn't tend to eat huge amounts of food at meals, this is perfect, and allows me to have a meal for a fairly cheap price, considering the classyness of the restaurant yumminess you get. On my last trip, I ate there with my sorority sister Jaime, and we split five plates. That cost us each about $22, not including drinks. And that's the most I've ever spent there.

Upstairs of Zaytinya

The atmosphere is very classy, though you don't have to be dressed to the nines to eat here. You'll see people wearing anything from nice jeans to suits and dresses. But, as a midwest girl used to chain restaurants like TGI Friday's and Applebees (not complaining, I very much enjoy these places), eating at Zaytinya felt like being on Sex and the City. The walls are blue and white, and the decorations include jugs of olive oil. The upstairs seating area, which can be used for private parties, even has a fireplace. Some of the seats are comfy couches with pillows.

The Zaytinya bar

If you don't make a reservation, which you can do online, you'll have to wait. Every time I've been told 45 minutes to an hour, but I've never waited more than 20 or 30 minutes for a table. And don't worry, while you're waiting you can hang out at the bar. Their wine list is the only one in the U.S. that features only wines from the Eastern Mediterranean. They also have some creative cocktails. My personal favorite isn't on the menu any more, but it's called Aphrodite's pear, with pear-flavored vodka and a thin pear slice on top.




The food here is the best part. Here are some of my favorites:

Zaytinya's epic fried squid

• Fried Squid - crispy squid, garlic yogurt sauce - $8.00
• Translation - THE BEST CALAMARI YOU WILL EVER HAVE!!!
• Patates Tiganites Me Yaourti - crispy potatoes, yogurt, caper salt - $5.50
• Translation - french fries with a mayonnaise-like white sauce on top
• Garides Saganaki - sauteed shrimp with tomatoes, green onions, keflograviera cheese, ouzo - $10.50



Kibbeh Nayeh

• Translation - little shrimps in fried cheese, the kind they usually set on fire at Greek restaurants
• Kibbeh Nayeh - Lebanese style beef tartare ground to order, bulgur wheat, radish, mint, pita chips - $7.50
• Translation - I was SHOCKED I liked this. It's minced, raw beef. The seasoning on it is very good and you eat it on pita chips.
• Urfta biftek - grilled sirloin, urfta pepper, cumin, baby lettuces, caramelized sesame - $10.50



Shish Taouk

• Translation - a little sirloin with yummy spices (not spicy though), on a bed of little greens with a tasty, very sweet dressing
• Shish Taouk - grilled chicken, sumac, onions, garlic tuom, grilled tomatoes. Breast - $9.50.
• Translation - little chunks of chicken with a tasty white garlicy sauce you can dip in, thinly slice red onions and two baby grilled tomatoes on the side.
• *Every table gets warm, tasty bread an oil and vinegar to dip in

The tasty bread

I know, a lot of that food probably sounded very strange, but trust me, it's DELICIOUS! This is where my roommate and I always take guests staying with us for a weekend. Unless the guests are kids. This place is NOT kid-friendly. But if you're in DC and don't have small children, you have to try Zaytinya.

The Facts:

Menu: Eastern Mediterranean small plates. Not your typical food, and you may need some translation for the names of menu items, but absolutely tasty nonetheless. Variety of vegetable and meat dishes, desserts, creative drinks, wines from the Eastern Mediterranean.

Price: not bad to expensive, depending on how much you order. A glass of wine is $6.50-$14, small plates are $5-$14. Sunday-Friday, 4:30-6:30 p.m. and Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30-11:30 p.m. they have $4 select cocktails, beers, wines and small plates

Location: 701 9th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001; closest metro is Gallery Place/Chinatown

Hours: Sunday and Monday - 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday - 11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday - 11:30 a.m. - midnight

Rating: *****

Best Starbucks in D.C.?

I've been a Starbucks addict since high school. My obsession is so well-known even that every member of my family on my Dad's side decided to get me a Starbucks gift card for Christmas this past year. And I am definitely NOT complaining. So you can imagine my overwhelming joy when my roommate informed me that there was a Starbucks just three blocks from our Capitol Hill apartment. I would have been pleased with just any Starbucks, anywhere to get my grande, non-fat, no whip mocha fix. But this particular Starbucks may just be the best Starbucks I have ever been to.

237 Penn Ave. Starbucks

It's located at 237 Pennsylvania Ave., at the corner of Penn Ave. and 3rd St. SE., just blocks from the Capitol.

My drinks have been made perfectly here nearly every single time (with the exception of one recent trip when there was much to much foam in my mocha, but no one's perfect every time). They also have a wide selection of food and snacks, particularly petite sweets. I'm a big fan of the new rocky road Cake Pops.

The best part of this Starbucks though, is the shop itself. Too often Starbucks are too small and lack that corner coffee house feel. This particular location doesn't have that problem. There is additional seating in a room set off from the cashier, with tall windows and bearable music playing. Even better, there is an upstairs. This is my favorite part of the shop. There is plenty of seating, including big, squishy chairs and couches. Also, a fireplace, wifi and plenty of outlets to plug in your laptop. This is typically a great place to get work done (unless a hoard of loud children has invaded, which happened once).

Rocky Road Cake Pops

Outside, on the first level, there's a fenced-in patio. Flanked by flower boxes, and there are umbrellas if you need them. This is where I'm sitting today, on a gorgeous 77 degree spring day, drinking a bright pink venti sweetened passion tea lemonade.

So, in conclusion, if you're looking for a good coffee drink, a good mini dessert, a good place to study, work, read or just relax, go to this Starbucks.

Being Touristy - the Lincoln Memorial

My dad and me at the Lincoln Memorial

On day two of the family DC visit, we made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial. This monument, as with all the DC monuments, takes much longer to walk to than you would think. It's about a mile west of the Washington Monument. The good thing about the walk to the Lincoln Memorial, however, is that you pass a lot of other memorials on your way.

WWII Memorial

First up is the World War II Memorial. It's located at the east end of the reflecting pool and, for being a memorial to such a bloody war, is very pretty. It's centered around a really pretty fountain.

Nasty reflecting pool

Then you have the reflecting pool itself, which based on movies and TV you'd think is very pretty. It's not. Or at least it's not at this time of year. It had been drained as was surrounded by a fence. Pretty gross actually.

Korean War Memorial

Then at the northwest and southwest corners of the pool, respectively are the Vietnam veterans memorial and the Korean War veterans memorial. Unfortunately we didn't know they were there when we visited the Lincoln memorial, so we missed them.

Vietnam War Memorial

Then there's the Lincoln memorial. First off, it's giant. Much bigger than I expected it to be. We seem to have a thing for making stuff huge in this country... Once you walk up lots and lots of steps to get inside, Lincoln himself is pretty huge too. The walls contain inscriptions of Lincoln's Gettysburg address and second inaugural address. There's a tiny gift shop tucked away in the northeast corner of the memorial. Contains mostly books.

Some interesting facts about the Lincoln Memorial:

Amanda and Abe

• It's designed after the temples of ancient Greece.
• The first bill commissioning a monument in honor of Lincoln was passed in 1867, but it took Congress until 1914 to take any action on actually building a memorial. It was completed in 1922.
• The Greek temple design was criticized as too ostentatious for a man of Lincoln's humble character. Opponents suggested a simple log cabin memorial instead. 
• The memorial cost $300,000 to build.
• The memorial includes 36 columns, one for each state in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The names of those states and the dates they entered the Union are inscribed above the columns, and at the top of the memorial are the names of the 48 states in the Union at the time of the memorial's dedication.
• There was an error in the engraving of Lincoln's second inaugural address. In the line, "With high hope for the future," the "F" of the word "future" was originally carved as an "E." To cover the mistake, the bottom line of the "E" is not painted in.
• Some have claimed that the face of General Robert E. Lee was carved onto the back of Lincoln's head and looks back across the Potomac towards his former home, Arlington House.
• Over 3.6 million people visit the memorial annually.