dining out: amsterdam falafelshop

On a Friday earlier this month, Tony picked me up from work, and we made our way to Adams Morgan for some dinner at Amsterdam Falafelshop. This commute, by the way, involved driving northbound on Rock Creek Parkway during rush hour ... and holy moly. No drivers ed class in the world could prepare you for that. Both the northbound and southbound lanes funnel only northbound traffic in the evenings, which would be fine except the exits are not labeled clearly at all and drivers zoom by at extremely high rates of speed around the curves, and the whole thing resembles a real-life Mario Kart race.

Anyway, we got to the restaurant safely. Adams Morgan in general and Amsterdam Falafelshop specifically are teeming with young people. When we got inside, there were not one, but two, foursomes of young women who could be right out of HBO's Girls. Have you seen it? Tony and I just finished watching the first season on Netflix. (He was very vocal in his complaints for about half of the season ... and then he admitted that he actually enjoys complaining about watching it, haha.) The show is about four 24-year-old-ish women who live in Brooklyn and are starting careers and sustaining friendships and working on relationships and all of that. Someone said it's like Sex and the City, only Carrie and her friends were all older and established in their careers and apartments and lives, while Lena Dunham et al are just figuring that stuff out.

Watching Girls -- and then walking into Amsterdam Falafelshop -- got me thinking about that time in my life, when I was 24. I was in a new city (Phoenix), working at my first job, spending nights and weekends with some of the best friends I've ever had. And we had so much fun. All the time. This is how Tony and I spent our nearly 100 percent of our free time: bars, restaurants, used book sales, street fairs, dancing at clubs, lounging by the pool, house parties, reading magazines, wine bars, happy hour, playing video games, barbecues ... and more bars.

I mean, 24 and 29 don't sound that different. But it's so clear that chapter in my life is over. Free time these days occasionally includes things like happy hours and house parties and video games, although more infrequently. (And in the case of clubs ... nuh-uh, not in several years). These days, you're more likely to find us doing: home improvement, brunch, dinner parties, DVDs, games nights ... and more brunch. (And for the record, I'm having just as much fun these days as I was having five years ago.)

Bars vs. brunch. When you boil it down, that's the difference between 24 and 29, isn't it?

So, Amsterdam Falafelshop. I told Tony I was ruining my street cred by being seen with him in the restaurant. (He's 31!)

There's a very Cool Kids/In Crowd feel to the restaurant. There are signs instructing you how to properly order, assemble and eat your falafel sandwich, lest your stupidity be filmed and put on You Tube for the world to see.

The food itself was very good. Loved it. I'm big on falafel, and it was the perfect indulgence to end the week.

You finish your own sandwiches from the toppings bar. Tony, who is generally a more adventurous eater than I am, chose only colorful toppings (like pickled beets). Ha!

Falafel for the main course. Introspection on the side.