Weekend Recap: Labor Day and Friends

I’m officially back at work. And as I sit here after a long first day at school, it pleasures me to think back to the weekend and how we spent our last real weekend of summer…

Friday night, my best friend and her boyfriend came into town to spend the weekend. I haven’t seen her in what feels like years, and it was our first time meeting her other half. We ordered Chinese from down the street at Hunan Cafe, and opened a bottle of wine to catch up. The Chinese was good, though Scott and I rarely ever order Chinese so it was hard to compare. Any suggestions on top notch Chinese spots near Old Town? We’re all ears.

Saturday morning was my favorite part of the entire weekend: paddle boating in the Tidal Basin. It has been on our list of summer musts, but I was worried the summer would end and I would have to push it back another year. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and we took to the boats and floated around the monuments. I swear, there is no view of this city like drifting along the Potomac and admiring Jefferson, the Washington Monument, and looking over to see MLK emerge from the stone to gaze our across the water. I get chills thinking about it….

After working up an appetite with all of that paddling, we got sandwiches from Taylor Gourmet in Arlington and could not have been more pleased. It’s incredibly modern with high industrial ceilings, yet accented with wood throughout. It’s bright and open, and the sandwiches were crafted well and the menu reflected the “Gourmet” in the title. It is now one of my favorite sandwich shops in the area – you definitely must try it if you haven’t been.

Once satiated, Scott, Jim and Erica were the resident beer tasters as we spent the rest of the afternoon at Port City Brewing Company. I’m not a beer drinker, but I had a great time taking in the atmosphere and listening to the feedback from the group. The consensus was positive, and I’m pretty sure Scott will have more to say on this in a future post…

After Port City, we spent the late afternoon watching a film favortie – The Princess Bride. Erica’s boyfriend HAD NEVER SEEN THE FILM (I know!!!) so we felt compelled to fix that quickly so we could quote it for the rest of the evening. Who doesn’t love The Princess Bride??

Saturday night was spent on 14th street in DC. We were eager to try a few of the places on our short list, and after putting our name in at Barcelona we decided to kill the hour wait at 2 Birds 1 Stone, a few blocks down next to Doi Moi. We were so impressed with Doi Moi and Estadio that it was no surprise their sister spot was equally fabulous. Nestled around the corner on ______, it was tucked down a flight of stairs with a small sign you can barely see from the street. The theme was woven throughout the lounge area, and sculptures of two birds adorned all of the shelves and dominated the wall art. The cocktails, though pricey, were excellent. And to be honest, I’ve finally gotten over the sticker shock in DC and felt that the menu was representative of the area. One of my favorite things about 2 Birds 1 Stone is that they change the menu weekly to keep the place fresh and exciting. Love that.

Though cocktails were great, Barcelona left a little to be desired. The food was great, but we’ve said many times that service and atmosphere can really make or break a restaurant. We waited 2 hours when all was said and done (were told an hour/hour fifteen) and didn’t eat until 11:00. The order was botched with multiple tapas coming out in hurried sequence on top of one another, and we received plates we didn’t order (and missed one plate we did order). To be fair, by the time we were seated inside (when also told we would have a patio seat for waiting so long) we were hangry and not the best diners. I left Barcelona feeling like an unimportant sardine – and wouldn’t opt to head back any time soon.

Sunday morning found us wandering around Old Town and having brunch at our local favorite – Union Street Public House. Eggs Benedict was the fan favorite (all three different styles were ordered) and I chowed down on a vegetable wrap that is always a go-to for me. We left full, but not too full that we couldn’t swing by Lavender Moon Cupcake Shop and try what is touted as Alexandria’s Best Cupcake. We thought the cupcakes were delicious, though we plan on heading back to try the remaining flavors before giving our full report. The Mexican Chocolate Pudding cupcake was my favorite, no surprise there.

Erica and Jim left Sunday afternoon, and Scott and I spent the evening on the couch watching James Stewart in once of my favorite films – Harvey. I love that Scott and I can watch old movies together and lose ourselves in the simplicity of a time gone by.

Monday was an errand day and I spent the afternoon attempting to savor the last moments of freedom before heading back to work. We didn’t have any special Labor Day festivities planned, but relished in our down time on the couch.

And with that, summer for me is over and school is back and in full swing. Ready for this coming weekend already…

-Al