Washington DC!

Day One 


After throwing a St. Patrick's Day party at my apartment in Berkeley, I woke up on at an airport  in Baltimore, Maryland.  My brother's roommate, Colin, picked me up and took me to the Institute of World Politics, a graduate school in DC where my brother works.  IWP was hosting a reception for the book Ten African Heroes authored by Ambassador Melady who served as an ambassador under three US presidents and who remains active in foreign affairs and international relations.

Everyone at this reception was incredibly intelligent with many accomplishments.  As a lowly undergraduate, I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Some of the people I mingled with worked at the World Bank and for the Heritage Foundation.  When I was asked what I do, I had no choice but to expose myself as a student attending an insanely liberal school.  After I told the World Bank lady that I go to Cal her immediate reaction was to ask "Are you liberal or conservative?" I knew this was a trick question.  I dutifully responded "Conservative!" and recounted stories of struggling to coexist with liberal extremists on campus.  It was fun and certainly interesting speaking with so many talented folk but I couldn't help but feel painfully inadequate.  I am working towards an undergraduate degree while Ambassador Melady has TWENTY EIGHT honorary doctorates from various universities.  

After the reception Dom took me to San Antonios, a local Mexican restaurant.  It was delicious.  Following dinner we watched Gangs of New York until 2:00 am. I had an incredibly long day! 

Day Two

Dom took me to Georgetown, a very uppity part of DC for lunch.  We got sushi from Dean and Deluca and ate outside on a patio because the weather in DC  was absolutely amazing.  We walked through all of Georgetown then drove through the mall. Later that day, we stopped at Sticky Fingers Bakery for a vegan gluten free cupcake!  Sticky Fingers won cupcake wars, one of my favorite shows !!!!! I cannot believe I dined at a cupcake war champion's establishment.  My mind was blown. 

After a long day of roaming around the city Dom and I went back to his house and, like good Italians, we made some gourmet Italian food from scratch!  We made gluten free pasta + sauce with freshly chopped and cooked vegetables cooked into the sauce.  We also made zucchini boats (zucchini stuff with onion, peppers, two types of mushrooms, tomato with parmesan sprinkled on top and the baked!).  And, of course, we grated our own parmesan cheese to top off our pasta.

Bars followed dinner.  We went out to Silverspring, Maryland and went to McGinty's, Piratz Tavern and Quarry House and met up with some awesome people along the way.  My favorite place was Quarry House because they had gluten free beer, so my allegiance must lie with them HOWEVER Piratz Tavern has bartenders, servers and customers who dress up and act like pirates all night.  I ordered Grog, a ginger rum concoction made for only true pirates. 

McGintys looks like Joe's in Greys Anatomy, Piratz looks like a pirate ship, and Quarry House is a bar in a basement, decently sized with a fantastic collection of beer and by that I mean their gluten free beer fulfilled my life-long fantasy of ordering a brew after a long day. 

Day Three

Dom has turned into a total adult, it is crazy.  The morning of day three he made his roommate, Steve, and me breakfast.  The boys had breakfast burritos and I had a classic dish of scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes and bacon.  Did I mention that he cleaned up the kitchen after cooking?  He does all sorts of totally grown-up things like cooking, cleaning, paying bills and biking to work...hell, going to work.

The other day it was raining and one of Dom's roommates was like "Dude, it's raining are you really going to bike to work?" Dom's reply: "Didn't stop Lance!" 

Apropos of nothing, Dom and his roommates are all 6' and up.  I feel like I am staying in a land of giants.  Their shower head is SO high up that by the time the water makes it down to me it is cold. 

We drove to Southern Maryland to have the weekly Sunday dinner at the Ludwig's.  I spent the afternoon sitting outside chatting while munching on cheeses, chips and guac while Dom spent his time winning a Horseshoe Tournament. 

 For dinner we had steaks, green beans, salad, berries, stir-fried vegetables (gluten free :) ), and rosemary blue and purple potatoes. After dinner we all helped clean up and then headed downstairs to the basement for a game of discgolf.  Discgolf, I learned, is a playstation game where the scoring system is like that of golf, but instead of golf balls and clubs you use a frisbee and try and throw the frisbee into a cage made of chains with a big laser fire thing shooting out of it (I don't know...).  We played two per team. Bonaduces were playing on team Tatupu and we were horrible.  Dom and I lost the game by 20+ points.  Our final score was something like 36 while everyone else was in the ten-twenty range.    

Day Four

We woke up around 9:00 am and hopped in the car.  Dom needed to go to work and I was going to sit in on a class at Georgetown law with a friend.  The class was super interesting!  The professor was an expert in international law and the topic of the day was the conflict in Libya and the UN Security Council resolution that passed recently.  We discussed the meaning of the phrase "all necessary measures" and whether or not the resolution went beyond the scope of the authority/purposes of the UN.  Difference between law school and Berkeley undergrad? When the professors ask a question it is not rhetorical!  I was shocked to witness a professor ask a question and actual want students to respond to it. The students were incredibly engaged in the discussion and so many hands went up during the class period, I was astounded and jealous of Georgetown students.  

After the class Dom and I went to Union Station for lunch and went to a fantastic restaurant called Chop't (check it out http://www.choptsalad.com/).  We met up with a really cool girl named Bridget and ate our salads and discussed the working world of DC (that I well enter one day, hopefully...yay employment).  

Speaking of future employment/life/etc., after lunch Dom took me around various neighborhoods in DC.  I am considering moving to Washington for a year or two after Cal and wanted to see what my living options would be.  I narrowed it down to three neighborhoods: Tenleytown (has a whole foods), Dupont Circle (super trendy) and Cleveland  park (supposedly super safe). I'l have a post later about the various pros and cons of potential DC neighborhoods :)

At 5:00 pm we picked up Bishop Thomas Curry from the airport and went out to a truly fabulous restaurant for dinner called FOUNDING FARMERS.  The whole restaurant is a concept.  A bunch of local farmers came together and opened this restaurant to provide DC residents with fresh local food!  When I say provide local food, I mean, literally, everything is local from the ingredients in the entrees to the wines and beers.  You can definitely taste the difference!  

My Appetizer: 

Devil-ish eggs - 1 classic deviled egg 1 Maine Lobster, 1 Blue Crab and 1 smoked salmon deviled egg served on a bamboo wooden plank

My Entree:

Lemon Meuniere Scallops and Butternut Squash Rissotto 

I also ordered ginger ale which took 20 minutes to come to my table, not because of poor service but because they were literally making it at the bar.  Founding Farmers does not buy any juice or pre-made soda! So if you order lemonade, they juice lemons and if you order ginger ale..well I don't know how you make ginger ale, but they do that. 

After dinner we each had a cup of tea.  I ordered chai

 To make the dining experience even more amazing, the head chef came out to talk to us and was super excited that he got to prepare his scallop dish gluten free! 

After dinner Dom and I dropped off the Bishop at his hotel and took off for another night on the town.  First we went to The Gibson, a speakeasy in the most literal sense of the word.  We park the car and Dom points saying "There it is."  I didn't see anything.  I saw some coffee shops, a book store, a random door that looked like the back door to the cafe on the corner.  I saw some random people walking around the town...but nothing that looked like a bar.  As we walk by an apparent random, the guy leans in and whispers "Do you have a reservation?"  Upon answering yes and telling the man our name he walks over to the random door and leads us down a dark hallway and down a flight of stairs into a bar! 

This place prides itself on its exclusivity and incredibly diverse drink menu.  They boast having over 400 secret recipes for drinks.  Dom told me they use only the finest of ingredients and they will make you ANYTHING you want.  I had a drink called "satin sheets" which was a twist on a margarita and a drink called Edie, Get Off The Tracks which has EGG WHITES IN IT.  Hardcore, I know.  It was a lot of fun, the bar had an awesome vibe. 

We had to leave the Gibson somewhat early because we had to make an appearance at a party at The Heights, a newish bar and grill in DC.  Dom had lent the manager his PA system and as a return favor, we got free drinks.  The bar was very cool and a great way to end the night.

We got back to the house pretty late and I had to pack up all of my things and be ready to leave at 4:00am.  Needless to say I was a bit dazed.  So, once again, I went to a party and next thing I know I am waking up at an airport in Baltimore, Maryland.