Volume 1, Issue 72, June 19, 2010: Adventures in DC-The Tibet Shop

I did some exploring in my old neighborhood the other day. I used to live in Adams Morgan/Columbia Heights/Mt.Pleasant neighborhood in DC a few years back when the neighborhood was turning from modestly inexpensive to gentrified and pricey. They are three separate neighborhoods but that are often seen as one whole neighborhood. This area of DC is the most densely populated, diverse and best part of DC. It has trees, parks, office buildings, churches, mosques, temples, everything and anything.

There is always something to do in this neighborhood; you could go to the park, the zoo was nearby, there are hundreds of restaurants, bars and a couple of clubs, the area is full of cultural centers and different religious organizations and I believe this area is one of the most racially diverse in the DC area and not just that you will see people of different races coming together, being friends, intermarrying. This areas also is great for walking and it's close to Columbia Heights and DuPont Circle metro stations. If money grew on trees I would love to live in one of the pre-war apartments that can be found in this area.

I went into the Tibet Shop, basically a Himalayan shop that sells clothing, furniture, fabric, jewelry and other crafts from Asia. Here are some pics I took:

Volume 1, Issue 66, May 30, 2010: My Favorite Resturants in th DC area Part 2

Dukem Misto Combo Platter mmmmmmm!

Dukem

Hours of Operation: Sun-Thur 11am-2am; Fri-Sat 11am-3am

Address: 1114-1118 U Street (12 Street NW) Washington, DC 20009

Cuisine: Ethiopian

Price Range: $16-25

Nearest Metro Station: U Street Cardozo on the Green line

Considered on of DC's best Ethiopian restaurants Dukem is a lively and bustling atmosphere on the U street corridor. I've been here a couple of times and the food never disappoints me, but the service is so-so at best. The servers are mostly Ethiopian and so are the majority of the customers.Not to stereotype but some Ethiopians aren't too keen about certain ethnicities(i.e. Caribbeans, Somalis, Other East Africans, Other tribes besides their own,West Africans, and Black Americans), this is from what I observed in the DC area.Putting all arrogant Ethiopians aside, Dukem's food always hits the spot I love the spiciness of the Lamb Wot and the Doro Wot, those are two of my favorite dishes. Dukem has a very authentic feel with live music and dance every weekend.

Wok & Roll
Hours of Operation:Sun-Thur 10:30am-10:30pm; Fri-Sat 10:30am-1:00am
Address: 604 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Cuisine: Chinese/Japanese
Price Range: $16-25
Near Metro: Chinatown-Gallery Place on the Green, Red, Yellow line

Located a few steps from the metro station and Chinatown's Friendship Gate, Wok & Roll is a quaint Chinese/Japanese tea house and a DC landmark. The restaurant is actually apart of " The Mary Surratt House", where President Abe Lincoln's assassination was plotted. Anyways, Wok & Roll has very inexpensive and delicious Sushi choices, large portions, and bubble tea. The staff and service is always nice and quick.

Bugsy's Pizza
Hours of Operation:
Address: 111 King Street, Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia
Cuisine: American
Price Range: $10-20
Nearest Metro: King Street on the Blue and Yellow Line.

Ahhh, Bugsy's Pizza! It brings back memories when I was a teenager in Alexandria. Me and my friends would always go here and a nice large pizza and go to the waterfront and just hang out and run amok. They have some of the best pizza in the whole DC area. It's authentic, cheesy, and full of zest. Not to mention you get a large array of toppings to choose from. I myself cannot pass up a nice slice of  pizza with anchovies, feta cheese, olives and tomatoes. My favorites from Bugsy are: Bugby's Power Play Deluxe, Chicken Fiesta Pizza, and Taco Pizza. Forget Domino's(because they suck, even with the new recipe), Bugby's Pizza is the best.

Volume 1, Issue 65, May 28, 2010: My Favorite Restaurant's in the DC Area Part 1

My awesome lunch this afternoon courtesy of Wok and Roll

If eating was an Olympic sport, I would gladly take home several gold medals for the USA. I love Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, West African(mmmm fufu with peanut butter stew), Ethiopian, Mexican, Thai, Bolivian, Dominican, Jamaican(mmmmmm jerk chicken), you name it I've probably have tried it. I've dined in numerous restaurants, carry-outs and food joints in the DC and I've complied a list of my favorite places to eat, in no particular order because I like them all equally and for different reasons.

Located in Gallery Place/Verizon Center-Chinatown, DC

Legal Seafoods
Hours of Operation: Mon-Thu 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11am-12am;Sun 11am-10pm
Address: 704 7th st. N.W. Washington, DC. 20001
Cuisine: Seafood
Price Range-$16-25
Nearest Metro Stop: Chinatown/Gallery Place on the Red and Green Line.

I feel in love with Legal Seafoods when my mom brought some of their tasty calamari home. I've been here twice and I've never been disappointed. They have some of the best seafood in DC and it is fresh daily. My favorites from their menu are their crab cakes, New England Clam Chowder and their salmon. The ambiance is very upscale, chic and modern. The majority of the customers are tourists, yuppies, and government workers. Near this restaurant are many nice museums and touristy attractions like the Spy Museum, the Verizon Center, The Friendship Gate, Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum and there are also many shops as well.

There is one in Tyson's Corner and the other is in Friendship Heights

Maggiano's Little Italy
Hours of Operation: Mon-Thur11:30am-10pm; Fri-Sat 11:30pm-11pm, Sun Noon-10pm
Address: 5333 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, D.C., 20015
Cuisine: Italian
Price Range: $16-25
Nearest Metro Stop: Friendship Heights on the Red Line

If you love a bustling atmosphere that caters to all ages and family Maggiano's is the place for you. Maggiano's is a chain restaurant operated in 21 states in the US. There are two locations in the DC area, one in Tyson's Corner and the other is in Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase. The one that I frequent is the location in Friendship Heights. Maggiano's serves very heartily, authentic, Italian food. The pasta is very delectable, its is made from the finest grain. Maggiano's offers very, very, and I mean, very, very nice portions! When you place you order they ask you, do you want half or whole? Always whole because you will get a large serving that is guaranteed to make you full and there will be some left over to take home. Some of my favorite entrees from Maggiano's are: Linguine & Clams with White Sauce, Shrimp and Angel Hair al'Arrabiata, and their select Veal choices.

There are four locations in the DC area: U street, Brentwood, Benning/Deanwood, and Marlow Heights

Tropicana Eatery
Hours of Operation: Mon-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 11am-7pm*
Cuisine: Jamaican
Price Range: $9-15
Nearest Metro: U St Cardozo on the Green line.

I've been practically raised on Tropicana. There used to be a location in Sliver Spring on the DC/MO border. Whenever my mom and her friends would go on shopping trips to City Place Mall they would all take us kids to the Tropicana. It's reminds me of many of the Chinese carryouts, but its more like a hole in the wall place. The food is cheap and it is very delicious. My favorites are the Coco bread, Beef Patties, Dumplings, Escoveitched Red Snapper, Goat Roti, Oxtail. Oh yeah for all you who have dietary restrictions, (i.e. Vegetarians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus), they serve no pork and have some very tasty Vegetarian and Pork/Beef free options. I wish the U St. location could stay open late for all the drunks and clubbers in the neighborhood. They could make a killing, Jamaican food is the cure to a ragging, hyper-sexual, obnoxious drunk.

*Only for U Street and Brentwood locations.

Me and my friends(All 25-30 of us) had an end of a year dinner here and we almost got kicked out!

Kabob Bazaar
Hours of Operation: Mon-Thur 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun Noon-10pm
Address: 3133 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22201
Cusine:Persian
Price Range:$10-20
Nearest Metro: Clarendon on the Orange line.

 So, the MSA club at my school choose this location as our end of the year dinner and from then on things got interesting as the night unfolded. The restaurants interior is synonymous with many Middle Eastern/Near architecture, with mosaic tiles, arches, ottomans, iron furniture and rustics color schemes. The restaurant is very small, and it wasn't ready for our rowdy group; the management gave us the evil eye because were being too loud. They gave us a fixed menu we had a choice of beef, chicken, and lamb kabob, along with hummus/pita bread, some salads, and for dessert we had this mysterious "Persian Ice Cream." The ingredients in the ice cream were rose water, saffron, pistachio nuts and some weird chunks of frozen thingys that caused a debate among us(a very smexy Iranian British man told me it was frozen cream ♥). This is a great place for a romantic first date, it has live music playing, fresh Chrysanthemum at every table and a very fragrant smell of spices.