dining out: ted's bulletin

When Ofelia and Nathan were in town for the inauguration, we ate dinner at one of my favorite places on Barracks Row, Ted's Bulletin. The restaurant is a modern take on a retro diner/soda fountain. The decor and furnishings are all beautiful and well-made. Gone With the Wind was playing on a large TV screen on the back wall.

It was build-your-own-burger Tuesday, and the deal includes an alcoholic "adult" milkshake. Here's Tony's Bananas Foster shake, which he says is the best one on the menu. The waitress said it's the restaurant's most popular shake.

The build-your-own burger schtick has the potential to go awry when you have an adventurous eater like Tony. This is the monstrosity that he created:

That's a chicken breast topped with fried green tomatoes, coleslaw, bacon and Boursin cheese. He raved about it, though.

Yours truly got the veggie burger (obvi) with spinach and mushrooms. I love Ted's veggie burger, although it falls apart, so I ate about half of it with a fork.

And we couldn't leave Ted's without homemade Pop-Tarts. I got a strawberry, and Ofelia ordered the peanut butter and bacon.

Hello, Wednesday morning breakfast.

dining out: spring mill bread co.

I have a new favorite neighborhood coffee shop! Spring Mill Bread Co. on Barracks Row.

It's been open for about a year, but it wasn't until earlier this month that Tony and I tried it. We woke up a couple of Sundays ago and decided we wanted to go out for an easy breakfast. And it ended up being a nice, laid back spot to grab breakfast, chat with my husband and do some people watching on 8th Street.

As the name indicates, this place is all about the bread, so we ordered breakfast sandwiches on homemade bread. There are few things better than homemade bread.

Also delicious: the rocky road brownie that we shared for dessert. (Is dessert for breakfast a thing?) Anyway, it also was tasty.

It's a small restaurant inside, but there's also patio seating when the weather's nice. Next time, I think we'll go back for lunch because the menu had several veggie sandwiches that I'd like to try.

Spring Mill, I'll be back. It's at Eight Street and G Street Southeast.

things to do: marine evening parade

Day to day, it's easy to get caught up in the unglamorous side of living in the nation's capital. Bureaucracies. Metro delays. Rotten humidity. Until I jog by the Supreme Court or walk through the Capitol or take in the Lincoln Memorial at night. All good reminders of how grand this city is. 

I got another reminder of that Friday at the Marine Barracks Evening Parade. 

It's quite a show, put on by hundreds of Marines. They wear dress uniforms, march in unison, hold stoic faces, make formations, twirl their rifles -- with bayonets! -- and throw them into the air and catch them. All with precision. And to top it all off, the ladies get escorted to their seats by Marines in uniform.  

Oh, and the dog. This is Sgt. Chesty XIII, an English Bulldog, wearing his Marine Corps uniform. He's the mascot for Marine Barracks Washington. He has a whole service record. He gets written up for doing things like falling asleep. Kind of cheesy for such a serious service, but, hey, it's pretty cute.   

The Marine Barracks is one of the oldest places in D.C. Thomas Jefferson picked the spot for the barracks in 1801, and every commandant has lived in that grand white house at 8th and G Southeast since the barracks were finished in 1806. 

Apparently two places are authorized to fly the American flag, the Star Spangled Banner, as it was in 1801 (15 stars, 15 stripes), and one of them is the Marine Barracks: 

Speaking of that grand house that the commandant lives in, Tony and I got to take a tour before the parade. Nice dining room, huh?  

And here's his view of the barracks from the second floor balcony of the house. Eighth Street and the Barracks Row bars and restaurants are just on the other side of the barracks pictured on the right.

Tickets for the Evening Parades are free, but they go quickly. It looks like you can't reserve any more tickets for this summer. But you can show up on a Friday evening at Eighth and I, and they'll take walk-ins as they can. 

dining out: matchbox

I've eaten at the Matchbox on Barracks Row several time for dinner, but Sunday was the first time I was there for brunch. And it was good. In fact, I prefer their brunch menu to their pizzas.

Tony and I met up with Dena. She became buddies with Tony with when they worked together in Augusta, Ga., and now we all live in D.C. We got to Matchbox about 11 a.m. and there was no wait, which was a first for me at Matchbox. Score. A jazz band was playing. Double score. And the food was fabulous. Triple score.

We all shared a cast-iron skillet of cinnamon rolls. Now I'm going to have to keep an eye out for a cast iron skillet because I want to make these at home.

I ordered the huevos rancheros, and I particularly enjoyed the flaky tortilla. Dena ordered the crabcake benedict, and Tony got the apple and pear salad, and both reported their meals were tasty.

Matchbox has several locations, and the Barracks Row restaurant is at 521 Eighth St. S.E.