Month: September 2016

Weekend Vacation: Washington, D.C.

Lauren2 Comments

Washington, D.C. ♥

The most hot and humid weather I’ve ever experienced (and I’ve been to New Orleans in August!), but also The White House, city views from swanky rooftop bars, endless bowls of fresh pita, the monuments all lit up at night, an alleyway coffee shop, BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH (what?!), a museum tour that makes you thirsty for beer, a Bryce Harper home run, the Ginuwine Wikipedia page (don’t ask), walking past all the pretty row houses on your way to get coffee, “watching sport,” UNION MARKET (OMG, my favorite!), Union Station, a Sunday bike ride, seeing the Changing of the Guard, THE BEST dinner at Tail Up Goat and sad goodbyes at the end.

It is insane and beautiful and amazing that you can collect so many precious memories in such a short span of time.  Till next time, D.C.!

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Where We Ate/Drank:

Qualia Coffee // They roast their own coffee and there’s a secret back patio, but you didn’t hear it from me.

Capitol City Brewing Company // I had a really good Rye IPA and get this, they give out baskets of soft pretzels instead of baskets of bread! 

Zaytinya // What can I say except that everything is good and they give you a never ending supply of fresh pita to dip any and everything in.  My favorite was the roasted red pepper dip and the Brussel sprouts. 

Pintango Gelato // Totally recommended on a hot D.C. night when you’re walking to the Washington Monument.  Or just any time.

La Colombe Coffee  (Shaw location) // One look at this place and I was sold.  All the exposed brick your eyes can handle.  Plus I’d call the almond milk latte I ordered one of the best I’ve ever had. 

El Centro // You shoulda seen my eyes when I heard they do a $35 bottomless brunch, food AND drink included!  I only made it through round one but I’m pretty sure Joey ordered 50% of the menu.  Best chilaquiles ever though, furreal. 

Kapnos at the Park // I wouldn’t call the Greek Fried Potatoes I ate at Nationals Park the best thing I ate in D.C. but overall, the options were so much better than at Coors.  No fair.

Big Bear Café // We just grabbed coffee and a couple of (really good) pastries, but can I just say I’m a big fan of a coffee shop that’s got a good food menu and this place looked like it did.  Also, it was hoppin in there!

Union Market // An indoor food hall that made my heart so so happy.  I think I could’ve spent all day there but decided to order a shrimp bánh mì and a bao bun (that I saw a man walk by with and HAD to track down), then left feeling my happiest foodie self.

Tail Up Goat // Saved the best for last with this one!  What can I even say?  Everything — from the way they confirm your reservation with a goat emoji text, to the beautiful bar set up, to the watermelon-jalapeno cocktail to the best damn roasted chicken I ever did eat — was so incredible.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

FroZenYo // In true Lauren fashion, I put the smallest amount of gelato in my bowl then piled ALL THE THINGS on top.  Also, a good opportunity to experience the Columbia Heights neighborhood, where everyone and their mom seemed to be out and about. 

What We Did:

The White House // A nice lady walked by and took our picture for us.

The monuments at night // The Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, past the Reflecting Pool and up to the Lincoln Monument, then to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.  It was so cool (and probably way less crowded) to see them all lit up at night. 

Heurich House Museum // We toured the home of a German brewer that was built in 1892 and it was so interesting.  Our house could totally use a balcony for live music too. 

Canteen Beer Garden // Beer, Jenga!, a live band with a singer who sounds like Adam Levine.  What more can you ask for?

Washington Nationals Game // Joey totally called that Bryce Harper homerun!  And we got free beer steins!

Union Station // Just a little bigger than Denver’s 🙂

Capital Bikeshare // We rented some bikes and biked up to the bridge into Arlington.

Arlington National Cemetery // Did you know Robert E. Lee lived there before the cemetary was established??  Seeing all those headstones is really incredible.  Definitely watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony.

HUGE shoutout to Fletcher for being the best host/tour guide ever!  He know what’s up when it comes to D.C. sightseeing, eating and Metro traveling.

Summer BBQ Recipes 2016

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I first started drafting this post at the beginning of the summer when — after a BBQ-packed summer the year before — I was sure we’d be BBQ-ing all summer long.  Turns out we didn’t go to OR host many BBQs this year, but we DID turn on the grill plenty of times for ourselves and these were the things we made and loved.  I’m sharing with you in the hopes that it’ll help you (and I!) out NEXT year when we’re faced with that age old question: “WHAT DO I MAKE?!”

Apps/Sides:

Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers // What’s not to like about mini bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese and fresh herbs?  For what it’s worth, I’ve also made these in the oven (400° for 25 minutes) and it worked like a charm, but if you have the time and the weather is working in your favor, definitely go for the grill.

Cranberry-Almond Broccoli Salad // Have you had the Broccoli Crunch salad at Whole Foods?  Because this tastes EXACTLY like it, except making it yourself is way way cheaper and much more satisfying.

Lemony Millet Salad with Chickpeas, Corn and Spinach // Except we always use orzo instead of millet and arugula for the spinach.  Leave the greens out altogether for make-ahead-of-time-without-fear-of-sogginess ease. (Note: Literally just cut and pasted that blurb from last year’s BBQ recipe round-up :P)

Charred Shishito Peppers // It was the summer of the shishito pepper for us.  But they’re so easy and all they need is a little oil, salt and maybe a sriracha mayo to make them taste incredible. 

Grilled Corn with Sriracha Aioli // I think I already made it clear how good this was.

Super Clean Broccoli Salad with Creamy Almond Dressing // The dressing was A+ but if we’re being honest, and I always am, I liked the Cranberry-Almond Broccoli Salad (above) better.

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Mains:

Grilled Chicken with Honey-Chipotle BBQ Sauce // Got rave reviews on this chicken, plus the BBQ sauce is quick and outstanding.  It’s fun to brag that it’s homemade.  Chicken thighs are where it’s at!

Spinach Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers // These were in one of my “Make This Now” posts but I made them a second time on a Friday night when Bob and Becca were over brewing beer.  I loaded my burger up with lettuce, tomato and onion which I almost never do and I was kinda sad that all the fixins covered up the burger and most importantly, the goat cheese.  So, in other words, these don’t even need any doctoring up to taste their best.

Grilled Chicken Wings with Shishito Peppers and Herbs // Can’t stop won’t stop with shishitos.  This was my first time ever grilling wings — actually Joey did the actual grilling — and though I didn’t LOVE them, I liked them A LOT.

Grilled Lamb // Simply put, this was INCREDIBLE!

Tequila-Glazed Grilled Chicken Thighs // Oh the advantages of always having a bottle of tequila on hand!  It’s a toss up between these and the honey-chipotle thighs for best chicken I’ve ever grilled. 

The BA Burger Deluxe // All summer, I wanted to make a classic cheeseburger and this was the one.  The “recipe” is insanely easy and you probably only need to glance over it once to know it by heart.  

Green Chili Chicken Burgers // A loooong time favorite.  But there’s cheese, a green chili topping and they’re really easy to whip up.

Grilled Steak and Tomatoes with Tofu Ranch Dressing // Tofu and steak together?  I know, I know, but hear me out.  The dressing is so good and goes wonderfully with the steak.  Especially if you cook the steak to that perfect medium-rare like Joey did when we ate this.  We used green tomatoes this year and they held up MUCH better, though the taste is different.

Grilled Margherita Pizza // Grilled pizza is so easy that you definitely don’t need an actual recipe, but this one was my inspiration for the couple of times we made one this summer.  Kind of loved the addition of pepperoni!

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Desserts:

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies // This is my go-to cookie recipe because it’s SO quick and the result is always incredible.  I brought these to a BBQ early in the summer and got a weird sense of satisfaction every time someone grabbed a second or third one 🙂  I usually skip the strawberries.

Blueberry-Pecan Galette // I’m all about the crust and this crust was INCREDIBLE!  Also, because a galette involves folding the crust over, you get a double layer and I was in crust heaven when I ate it.  Not complete without a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Peach Cobbler // ALWAYS AND FOREVER.  If this was an alternate universe where I actually committed crimes instead of being a steadfast rule follower, this would be my Death Row dessert.  

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostata // Not gonna lie, this wasn’t my favorite thing I made this summer.  Why do raspberries gotta be so seedy??  But it was super quick and easy to make, so I’ll give it that.  

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Guys, that’s it.  That’s the last of my “summer recap” posts.  So long, Summer 16.  You were good and long and full of good food.  Currently, we are en route to Washington, D.C. for a little weekend getaway/visit with Fletcher and the forecast says “feels like 100°” so I guess summer lives on for me!  Happy Weekend-ing, friends!