things to do: eden center

Last Sunday, Mike and Jen needed to stock their pantry with some Asian foods, so we all trekked out to do some shopping at Eden Center near Seven Corners, which has dozens of Asian grocery stores, restaurants and shops -- all in a compact shopping plaza. This place is incredible and overwhelming at the same time, especially because we happened to arrive during the Chinese New Year celebration.

We picked up some pantry goods like rice noodles at the main grocery store. Tony bought some boiled peanuts at another store. We watched the New Year's dances in the parking lot - and then tried to avoid the firecrackers and their plumes of smoke.

And then we stopped for lunch. Choosing a restaurant in Eden Center is particularly overwhelming. There are so many - how do you pick? We ended up going with Rice Paper, a Vietnamese restaurant, which was full of customers, so we figured that was a good sign that the food was good. And it definitely was.

I ordered a fried tofu and vegetable dish, which had a wonderful flavor.

Everyone else ordered pho, and they all said it was delicious.

We tried to leave after lunch, but the parking lot was a nightmare with the New Year's festivities. Mike's car was blocked in the spot by THREE other cars. So we crossed a couple of pretty busy streets on foot (Seven Corners is not pedestrian friendly) to kill some time at Home Depot, where we picked up some things for the house, including insulation pads for outlets. (More on that later.) And by the time we were done at Home Depot, the parking lot had cleared out and we were able to make our way back to the city.

So if you're in the mood for some good Vietnamese food and Asian grocery shopping and you find yourselves near Seven Corners and you are in the mood to brave crazy traffic -- check out Eden Center.

things to do: alice's adventures in wonderland

If you're looking for something to do this weekend and you have a little scratch to splurge with (and you love the ballet!), let me advise that you get yourself to the Kennedy Center to see the National Ballet of Canada's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Valerie scored free tickets through a MyTix giveaway, and I was her date. Andrew and Tony, meanwhile, parked themselves at Froggy Bottom Pub for two and a half hours. The stereotypical gender division was agreeable to all parties.

I told Tony afterwards, though, that it's a shame he's sat through so many ballets over the years, and THIS is the one he missed. He would've really liked it. It was as if the set designers and costume designers had no limits to their imagination.

I was skeptical that the set folks would be able to make Alice shrink when she drank the potion and grow into a giant when she ate the cookie in a believable way, as this is a live stage show and all. But they did it! Thanks to video projections of doorways that got really, really big when Alice drank the potion. And the doors got really, really tiny when Alice ate the cookie.

And the caterpillar! That was my favorite costume. He paraded across the stage with his long body trailing him. His legs were those of eight ballerinas walking en pointe. The ballerinas' heads and bodies were hidden by the long body costume, so only their legs showed.

The duchess and the cook's bloody costumes and kitchen were disturbing and wonderful. The cook's sausage-making operation included the hindquarters of a pig sticking out of her meat grinder. *Shutters.* Disgusting.

The ballet is full of surprising, interesting moments like that. Highly recommend Alice before the show closes this weekend. (P.S. You can see a video with some of the costumes and sets here.)

<3

In other news, how neat was it to have a little bit of snow this morning? I hope my bulbs survive, though.

things to do: arboretum picnic

This weekend, we got a little bit of a break from our winter weather. (Although this winter has been admittedly mild.) So Tony and I took advantage of the nice temps with a picnic at the National Arboretum with Ben, Mandy, Valerie and Andrew. It's one of my favorite places to be outside in D.C.

It's striking in the wintertime with the bare trees.

After lunch, Ben busted out his bocce ball set. And I have to say, I did pretty well, considering I thought we were playing croquet at first and was wondering where the mallets were. (Bocce novice here.)

See? That's my red one.

Here's hoping spring arrives quickly, so we get more of these lovely weekends.

things to do: union market

Last Saturday afternoon, Tony, Jamie and I finally checked out the new Union Market in Northeast. It's a large warehouse near Gallaudet University, and the vendors sell everything from fresh vegetables to oysters to pickles to cheese.

We grabbed dinner at the market. Jamie and I got some food at TaKorean, which sells Korean BBQ tacos. TaKorean has a food truck around D.C. and now also has this stand in Union Market.

Tony ordered some oysters from Rappahannock Oyster Co. And he ordered a beer. At least on a Saturday evening, the oyster place seemed to be the place to be because it was the only vendor serving beer.

The vendors we talked to said more vendors will be opening soon on both the first and second floors. Right now, Union Market is kind of limited. And it's not in the most convenient location. (Florida Avenue is the closest Metro stop, but we drove.) But I'm really rooting for it. The building is industrially beautiful. And I hope the new vendors bring more variety (and more beer options) to make it a destination spot.

<3

After dinner, the three of us spent the rest of the evening on U Street, at two bars I hadn't been to before but which I like very much now. First, we had some cocktails on the rooftop bar at Braxton at Ninth and U streets. Great rooftop bar on a mild evening. Then we walked down the street to American Ice at Ninth and V streets, where we grabbed a picnic table on the front patio and had some more drinks. Tony and Jamie ordered some swachos (swine + nachos), which wasn't my thing, but the two of them seemed to enjoy it plenty.

things to do: kennedy center mytix

I love going to the Kennedy Center. I love getting dressed up in big earrings and big heels, walking through the grand hallways with a handsome man on my arm who's wearing a jacket and tie. It's so fancy. It's a very D.C. thing to do.

Tony has taken me to the Kennedy Center a few times to see ballets. (I love ballet. Tony loves me.) But those have been splurges for special occasions -- going to the Kennedy Center isn't the kind of thing we do on a regular basis.

But there's good news! The Kennedy Center has regular ticket giveaways and offers discounted tickets for young adults (18-30 years old) through its MyTix program. The idea is to get more young people to the theater to enjoy the performing arts.

Last Friday, I got discounted MyTix tickets to see a play called Famine. As the title implies, it's an incredibly uplifting (sarcasm!) show about the Irish potato famine in 1846. Despite the heavy material and the really depressing nature of the show, it was a wonderful, thought-provoking play with a particularly beautiful set. The show was in the Eisenhower Theater, and our seats couldn't have been better. And the tickets were only $15.

The Kennedy Center sends out e-mails with its current MyTix promotions - I recommend signing up!

things to do: virginia apple picking

Tony and I woke up on the Columbus Day holiday, hopped in the car, stopped to pick up Camille and Matt, and headed out on I-66 West for a day of apple picking and wine tasting. We got to Stribling's Orchard in Markham, Va., around lunchtime and grabbed a picnic table at the top of a hill, which had this spectacular mountain view:

What a view to see when eating a picnic lunch. (The food, by the way, was delicious. Camille and Matt packed falafel and hummus wraps with feta, tomatoes and cucumbers. And a baguette with cheese and grapes. And pumpkin bread. And there may or may not have been a little wine in red plastic cups.)

Once our bellies were full, we started roaming the orchard, scouting trees that were still picking. We're well into apple season, so some of the trees were already all gone. But there were still plenty of apples left, especially York, Rome and Golden Delicious.

The picking technique required the use of a contraption on a long stick that's capable of reaching the tops of the trees. Which was fun to use, clearly.

(Yes, I am wearing my awesome jean jacket in that photo. I finally broke it out -- it's officially fall.) 

You know what else is awesome? Hot apple cider.

So once we had our fill of apples, the four of us got back in the car and drove just down the street to a winery called Chateau O'Brien. We had our wine on the patio in front of a fire, again overlooking the mountains. It was a good daylong escape from the city and a nice way to spend the holiday.

Apples cost $1.50 a pound at Stribling Orchard, and it's about an hour and 15 minutes from D.C.

<3

From the archives:

things to do: maryland berry picking

things to do: dc brau brewery tour

Tony, Jamie, and I piled in the car Saturday afternoon and drove to the DC Brau brewery. We heard it has free tastings and tours on Saturdays from 1-4 p.m., and we wanted to check it out.

The brewery is way, way out in the Northeast part of the city, in a neighborhood you would never normally venture to. It's in an industrial area on Bladensburg Road, in an alley behind a post office.

But once we got inside, it felt like we just walked into a party at the house of a friend of a friend. The three of us got samples of each of the four beers on tap and drank them while sitting on folding chairs on the loading dock. And all of the beers were fantastic. My favorite was the Belgian beer, called the Citizen.

It's not a huge operation, and we got a tour from the CEO himself, whose shirt made me smile:

He told us about all the ways DC Brau is expanding to keep up with demand. After the tour, I found myself invested in the brewery's success as a small business, rooting for it to succeed. DC Brau has a new fan.

Here's the canning machine, which reminded me of something that Lucille Ball would've had fun with.

And look at all of these cans, just waiting to be filled with delicious beer.

I came home with a couple six-packs. (They also fill growlers on Saturday afternoons.) And I'm adding the brewery to my list of places visitors might like to see when they're in D.C.

things to do: hill east farmers market

Last Wednesday after work, Tony and I stopped at a new farmers market in Hill East -- 13th Street and E Street Southeast. For anyone who works or lives on the Hill, it's a nice spot to grab fresh mid-week produce, and it runs until 7 p.m.

For the novelty of it, I bought some golden beets.

Here's what I did: I scrubbed them, wrapped them in foil with a little bit of olive oil, roasted them in the oven at 400 for an hour, let them cool, and rubbed the skins off. I sliced them for Tony's salad last night. He says the taste is indiscernible from red beets. They're pretty to look at, though. (I'm an admittedly picky eater and didn't try them. Can't bring myself to eat beets.)

I also bought some farm eggs, and this label cracked me up. "From hens running free indoors and out." At first I thought these people let their chickens into their house. Tony set me straight -- "indoors" clearly refers to their coop.

And some nice corn.

Which was pesticide-free corn. Which means a few of the ears I picked up had little worms munching away.

<3

In other farmers market news, I got a cool white eggplant at the H Street market Saturday morning. Again, for the novelty of it. I made eggplant parmesan, and Tony and I really couldn't tell the difference between the taste of white eggplant and purple.

things to do: fall festivals

Tony and I are out on H Street fairly regularly, but it's different every time we're there. We were up there again last weekend for the H Street Festival and walked from 14th Street to 8th Street and noticed a handful of new restaurants. Like Cusbah -- where'd that come from? The Yelp reviews look pretty good -- we may have to check it out and see for ourselves.

So it's the time of year for fall festivals. In theory, I really like festivals. As soon as I read about a festival or fair, I put it on my calendar and make a point to go if I can. But then, when I get there, the reality sets in: the crowds are dense, and the lines are so long. 

And the H Street Festival definitely was crowded. The line for the beer garden was laughably long. Although we did do some good people watching. 

Like this lady in a lifeguard-type chair, who was dressed like a gypsy and was telling people's fortunes for free. Tony took the bait. He pulled the fool card, but don't worry -- she assured him that's a good thing.

And here's a guy who was doing flips on a pogo stick. Not something you see every day.

And this dude was using a magnifying glass to meticulously burn/carve a buffalo into the wood. Also not something you see every day.

For the festival lovers among us, we have three options for this weekend. 

• Barracks Row Fall Festival/D.C. State Fair. As you know, Tony has a history with state and county fairs. I have a feeling he'd be super disappointed in this urban area's attempt at a state fair. He says a fair, in order to be legit, has to have (1) cows; (2) funnel cakes; and (3) a ferris wheel. Yeah, he's definitely going to be disappointed. Website.
• National Book Festival. Avi. Lois Lowry. R.L. Stine. Awesome. Website.
• D.C. VegFest. There's a photo of a person wearing a giant carrot suit on the website. I hope that human carrot is back again this year. Website.

things to do: library book sale

The good news: Tony and I discovered the monthly used book sale at the Northeast library and came home Saturday afternoon with a big haul. The bad news: the library's about to close for $10 million in renovations, so it'll be a year and a half before we can go back.

That's a good score, right? Everything pictured above, plus 10 comic books for Tony, came to $5.50. (The CDs were free.) Highlights include two Tennessee Williams plays and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as well as R.E.M., Elvis Costello, and Best of 80's Metal Volume Three: Bang Your Head. (Tony picked out the CDs.)

The other great thing about the Northeast library book sale is the books are so well organized. The fiction is alphabetized by author. The classics are in their own section. The nonfiction is categorized and clearly labeled. There's also a monthly used book sale at the Southeast library near Eastern Market, which Tony and I hit up every few months or so. It holds a special place in my heart, but if it has an organizational system, I don't understand it. Northeast sale, we've barely gotten to know each other, but I'm going to miss you.

The library is in Northeast at 7th and D streets. Just 18 months until we can go back.

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. 

things to do: tailgating & wallflowers

Here is the best advice I can give about how to have a fabulous time tailgating: Go with people who already know what they're doing. 

Tony and I went to the Nats game Saturday evening with one of his coworkers and his coworker's girlfriend. And as fun as it was to see the Nats dominate the Braves, tailgating was the highlight of the evening. The four of us pulled the car into a parking lot on M Street, popped the trunk, and unloaded a whole party. These guys have got tailgating down to a science. Portable tent to shield us from the rain. Folding chairs. Mini grill with mini propane tank. And then all the things you wouldn't necessarily think about ... wet wipes for your hands after dinner ... a separate Ziploc bag for utensils that touch raw meat. Impressive outfit. 

And here I present Tony's plate, which looks like it belongs in a gourmet restaurant, not necessarily a parking lot. Bison burger with bacon and cheese (upside down, oops), served on a toasted everything bagel. Fresh spinach salad with spicy slivered almonds. Salt and pepper kettle chips. 

Let me pause to talk about serving a burger on an everything bagel. I did not know what to expect. I mean, it sounded kind of weird. But I'm sold. It's something Tony's coworker said he just kind of discovered one day when he made burgers, and all he had to serve them on were everything bagels. I'm not sure I can go back to buns now. 

And also I present the photo below with a two-fold purpose. First, we sat on a Browns chair. Awesome. Second, that guy in the background, a fellow tailgater from across the parking lot, is going to the bathroom. Right there on M Street. For everyone to see. He deserves to be on the internet. 

So we got to the game in the fourth inning, witnessed the win, and then stuck around for the post-game concert with The Wallflowers. The setup was kind of awkward, being so far from the band, but it was definitely a rad bonus to the evening. They played some of their hits -- Sixth Avenue Heartache, One Headlight -- and also some of their new stuff. The Wallflowers are coming out with a new album in the fall, and they played a song called Devil's Waltz off of that album. And it was pretty good, less pop and more dark. It's not on the internet anywhere yet, so I can't go listen to it again and verify what I was thinking that night, but a couple of us commented that lead singer Jakob Dylan kind of sounded like his dad (Bob Dylan) in that song. 

The Wallflowers post-game concert was part of a series the Nats are putting on this summer. Next up: Third Eye Blind on Aug. 18.

things to do: maryland berry picking

It was 105 degrees Saturday, which would've been the perfect day to lock ourselves up inside the house and eat ice cream and while watching Netflix on the couch all day. Alas, we did not do that. Tony had planned to take me berry picking for my birthday, which just happened to fall during the heat wave, and not even a little sweat (OK, a lot of sweat) was going to get in the way. 

First stop: Butler's Orchard in Germantown, which is about 45 minutes from D.C. We got there just before the 8:30 opening to avoid the worst of the heat. Tony and I drove into the farm and parked, and a tractor shuttled us to the pick-your-own blueberry fields with all of the other pickers. 

Blueberries appear to be the big draw at Butler's, and the fields were teeming with pick-your-own laborers. The farm ran like a well-oiled machine, workers directed us to the tractor shuttle, directed us to the rows with the best picking, assigned us blueberry bushes from which to pick. I felt kind of like I belonged in a John Steinbeck novel.

As you may recall, I have made enemies with local birds after they ate my strawberries. I asked one of the workers how they keep birds away from their berries, and he told me they installed squawk boxes, which make loud noises the birds don't like. Seems like the perfect idea for a large-scale farm, but installing a squawk box would not be very neighborly of me, as we live so close to our neighbors.

Anyway, we then drove ourselves through the farm to the less-popular blackberry bushes, which we had pretty much to ourselves. About 20 seconds after I had popped a blackberry into my mouth, Tony said: "Um, don't eat any of these until we wash them." I looked over, and he was pulling the remnants of a bug out of his mouth, having just eaten an overripe berry covered in bugs. So that was gross. But he lived.

Also fun: pick-your-own flower fields:

Tony packed us a picnic lunch, which we ate in the car, as it was, you know, 105 degrees. And we then headed over to Homestead Farm a few miles away in Poolesville, where we picked our own peaches.

The house I grew up in had a peach tree in the backyard, so this farm brought back some memories. We had a lab, Pepper, and peach season was the best time of year for her: a steady stream of peaches, or "balls," would fall off the tree for her to play with. We said she lived so long because of all the peaches she ate in her life.

I'm pretty sure Tony chose to take me to this particular peach farm because they let you pet their farm animals: goats, chickens, sheep, cows. And this baby pygmy goat, which might be the cutest farm creature of all time.

We paid $2.49 a pound for the berries and $1.79 a pound for the peaches, but it was more about the experience than the cost. And I think we'll be having more pick-your-own produce adventures, especially in the fall when apples and pumpkins are ready!

Some of the blueberries and blackberries went into freezer jam that I made Sunday. And the rest of the berries and peaches are in the freezer, waiting to be turned into pies.