dining out: the wine kitchen

On Saturday, the guys embarked on a camping trip for Mike's bachelor party. They stayed in a primitive cabin somewhere near Middletown, Md., along the Appalachian Trail, and they met three solo hikers who were making the great trek from Georgia to Maine. The whole thing sounded very manly. No indoor bathroom. No electricity. Campfire. Whiskey. Humidity. And Tony said there were wolf spiders.

The women, meanwhile, embarked on a classy day of pampering for Jen's bachelorette festivities. First stop: pedicures. I somehow got to be 29 years old without ever having had a pedicure. And while it was happening, all I could think about was the poor woman who was going to town down there. This is so weird, lady. So, so weird. But on the bright side, my feet are looking fabulous.

Next stop: shopping. We made our way west and had some retail success at the Leesburg outlets. I came home with two Banana Republic blouses ($12 each!), Nine West sandals, an Old Navy dress, and an OshKosh outfit for Baby O.

And then: dinner and wine. Jen had scoped out a wine bar and restaurant called the Wine Kitchen. It's a few miles from the outlets in historic downtown Leesburg, which is all kinds of cute.

The restaurant is small, and I felt as if I could have been eating in someone's home. The waiter was really talking up the local food on the menu. By all accounts, the wine and the food were terrific.

I especially enjoyed my herbed Parisian gnocchi, which is like Italian gnocchi, but it's made with flour instead of potatoes. I may have to dig up a recipe for this dish and try it at home sometime.