Washington, DC: Food Adventures Part I

Finally, I am wrapping up the DC posts. To recap I made two trips to DC in Marchand April. At the time I was living in Juneau, AK.

Now I am back in San Diego and catching you up on my adventures on the east coast. Fortunately, I have friends in DC who love good food as much as I do. We had many food outings that I will share with in two posts, cuz well the single post I wrote was much too long :-)

Teaism (Dupont Circle and Penn Quarter) - Since I have lived in DC, some 7 years ago, Teaism has expanded from its quirky row house and added a new location down by the National Mall. I did not visit the original Dupont Circle location and I hope it still has its rustic and cozy feel that makes for a perfect brunch hideout (see photo above of an upstairs table). I was not excited about the *new* location's stark, modern and streamline interior. The food has also expanded to include inventive lunch/dinner fare. I did enjoyed my ginger lemonade and cucumber ginger salad. Stick to the Dupont Circle location.

Meze (Adams Morgan) - I met up with old (high school) friends at this lively Turkish tapas joint in Adams Morgan. Though I am particularly fond of tapas, the small plates at Meze were unique and flavorful. The most adventurous dish we tried was liver (beef, I think, for the record moose liver is waaay better) and onions. Grab some friends and a table at Meze, you won't be disappointed. We were leisurely and did not notice the slow service that people are complaining about on yelp, FYI if you are in a rush.

Mai Thai (Dupont Circle) - Thai food was on the top of my list of foods-to-eat-once-out-of-Juneau. Chan's Thai Kitchen is an excellent thai restaurant in Juneau but it is located in Auke Bay, definitely not within walking distance of downtown. In fact, I was only able to eat there once. They also did not have any dishes with wide rice noodle, which I LOVE. I ate at Mai Thai on both my trips to DC. Both were excellent and I ordered my usual spicy drunken noodles. Their spicy levels are not consistent since my first visit the food was only mildly spicy and on the second visit, I could not even finish my dish it was so spicy. This place is perfect for large groups and they are pretty speedy on the service side.

Le Pain Quotidien (Spring Valley, Bethesda, MD) - I liked the French and rustic feel of Le Pain Quotidien. I coffee and the parmesan and pesto omelet - delicious and a large serving. LAH had creamed farro. We both had no idea what farro was but she said it was yummy. Google has informed me that farro is a wheat grain, debatable on which species of wheat, in its whole form. On my next trip I'm going to check out Down Dog Yoga and get breakfast at the Le Pain Quotidien in Georgetown.

I should probably start writing yelp reviews but I am feeling a little lathargic about doing that. Anyone have other ideas for where to compile my favorite eats in different cities?

photo credit: Tea + Conversation (@ Teaism) by Chocokat; Meze by mjabbasi; Le Pain Quotidien Specials by spectreman