Weekend Activity

It seems as though I'm just now recovering from the weekend because I seriously intended to blog about my goings on much sooner. On Friday I managed to hang out with six men in one night. And no, this is not what it sounds like. Yes, a freaky double threesome would have been much more fun, but this city girl is getting too old to even consider such a thing. I started out the evening with my friend Evan from Seattle. You may remember him from a post back in January where I lamented on my dislike of DC cabs. We went to my favorite neighborhood spot, Veranda, which now has the nicest open patio in Shaw. Once he realized that after all this time, I was not having sex and really did want to be friends, he went on his merry way. I then met Mitch at Halo for the usual martini partying. I left there for an invitation from the bartender at Policy. I met him on my last visit there and he asked/texted if I wanted to stop through for a drink. While there I met a couple of cute 20-somethings. No interest of course, but fun to hang out with. After a text from my after-hours club connection, we headed over to N St. After my new found friends had settled in at the upstairs bar, I caught up with my guy downstairs. Even for me, this night had lasted too long so, I headed home.
Saturday involved a going away party for one of Mitch's friends. It was at their lovely, spacious Shaw condo with an upstairs and downstairs deck. Lucky for us that there were decks because with a broken AC system, we would have all died from the heat. But that can't be helped during a party and unexpected 90 degree heat in April. Running out of ice? Well, yes that can be helped when Giant and BP are right up the street. There was also the issue of food. More specifically, the type of food. I was rather disturbed to find a chafing dish filled with cut up barbecued hot dogs. This would not be good at any party, but at a gay party? Oh, hell no!
But the best part of the weekend? Sunday night I went to Ulah Bistro with a friend for a late dinner and ended up hanging out with the cast of Crowns. They were celebrating their closing night at the Lincoln Theatre. Cast member Phillip Boykin was especially gracious. I unfortunately missed this play resplendent with colorful costumes, music, and dialect. If the play was anything like this group, I definitely missed a great show!

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DC a Foodie Town?

There's been some great food news in DC lately which is also great for me because one of my favorite things to do is dining out. I had been eagerly anticipating the opening of Policy and have been twice now. The first time was on a weekend night which was a huge mistake. A new lounge/restaurant in DC on a Friday or a Saturday makes for an annoying night. So, I went last week on a Tuesday for dinner and had a great time. I went with a friend and we shared a few small plates. Everything was great. We had the short ribs, mahi mahi, beet salad, and brussel sprouts. As the bartender explained, the chef uses seasonal and largely local ingredients.Another eagerly anticipated spot was Pho 14 which is now open in Columbia Heights. As I've blogged before, I love Pho but hate having to go out to Virginia to get the authentic kind. I went with Mitch last night and this was definitely the authentic kind. I was happily surprised to find that they even serve Bahn Mi. This will definitely be a frequent stop for me. It looks like it will be for others as well given the line at the door.As if that's not enough, I recently read on foodandwine.com, one of my favorite web sites, that two DC restaurants are labeled as "where to go next" spots. For gastropubs, it's Commonwealth and for wine bars, Cork. Excellent choices. The only dilemma it that it's becoming harder to choose where to eat.

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Who Not to Date

I recently learned that Alyssa Milano of Who's the Boss fame has penned a book entitled, Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic based on her experiences being a fan of baseball and baseball players. After three failed relationships with ball players, she is now engaged to a non-athlete. That got me thinking about something my girlfriends and I talk about a lot: who not to date. When it comes to men, there are just certain categories of men women either learn or just know to stay away from. What are these categories? They are (in no significant order): athletes, entertainers, musicians, anyone in the bar scene (bartenders, djs, bouncers, promoters, etc.), most restaurant industry dudes, law enforcement, military, barbers/hair stylists, ...I think that's it. If you ladies out there can think of others let me know. I won't even go into the details here about why these are bad categories of men to date. Some are just plain obvious while others, well...let's just play connect the dots: scary, cheaters, sex addicts, control freaks, egomaniacs. I think Alyssa Milano has learned her lesson which typically happens after the age of 35. But there are always new lessons to learn. I learned tonight, while out dancing with my friend Derek, that I should add to the "do not date" list, guys who celebrate the 4-20 holiday. He was way weird. And how nerdy am I that I've never heard of this?

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PMS

Don't you just love the way Oprah calls the vagina a "Va-JJ"? It's such an affectionate term. I thought about mine today when I opened a box of CVS brand tampons that were supposed to be the unscented kind. However, there was a very strong perfumey odor coming from the box. The first thing I thought was, there's no way in hell I'm putting that in my Va-JJ! Then I thought about how unfortunate it is that I've put worse in there like the penises of men I thought cared about me but who turned out to be lying, cheating bastards. Sorry, but I just felt like a good rant after a week of really, really bad PMS that included wild mood swings, excruciating lower back pain, bloating, etc. Now that my period has finally arrived (it was late), I still have the back pain in addition to cramps. On top of that, I was recently told by my gynecologist that women in their mid to late 30's are increasingly showing signs of early menopause. Lovely. I think chocolate and bed rest are in order for the weekend.

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Lamb Anyone?

I am hardly a gourmet cook and generally only cook when the mood strikes me. So, I was quite proud of myself last night after slaving over a hot stove roasting a leg of lamb for Easter dinner that turned out wonderfully. After flipping through a two year old copy of Bon Appetit, I was struck by all the lovely lamb recipes so I headed to Whole Foods. Luckily, leg of lamb was on sale. I was a little fearful since I had never cooked any big piece of meat other than whole turkey and chicken. The guy at the counter reassured me and suggested a bag of lamb seasoning (a combination of thyme, black pepper, rosemary, spearmint, and paprika) to rub on for a marinade. Before going out Saturday night, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on the marinade. In addition to a couple of tablespoons of the spice packet, I added lemon zest and sea salt and rubbed it all over the meat. I also inserted several garlic pieces into the meat itself. Once in the ziploc bag, I added a roughly chopped large onion, chopped parsley, sprigs of oregano, olive oil, and lemon juice. I shook the bag several times to distribute everything and into the fridge it went. About 16 hours later, I was ready to cook. I placed the lamb in a roasting pan with more chopped onion and garlic cloves with the skin on. After sprinkling with a little more salt and pepper, it went into the oven for a little over an hour and voila! I even made a version of charmoula to go on the side. The only problem is that I will now have lamb for the next six months. Suggestions for leftover lamb are more than welcome!

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Conversation Starter

Last night I was introduced to the absinthe Lucid, thanks to my favorite bartender Denise at my neighborhood bar. I think she could tell the bar was in need of something. I was there with a glass of wine getting paperwork done I knew I wouldn't do at home. There were was a woman who had been on her Blackberry for about an hour straight, and a couple of guys in town for a science conference looking intently into their beers. While Denise is good for conversation, she couldn't break the silence. But once she offered up the absinthe, advertised by her as a hallucinogenic that was once banned in the U.S., no one could resist. Even Mr. Law Enforcement dude in town for training was a little fearful. I already knew some of the history of the drink but never had it in a bar. We were also intrigued by how it's served. Filtered over a piece of raw sugar and then diluted with water until cloudy, made for conversation enough. After a few moments of hesitation, we all took the shots. Within minutes we were talking our heads off finding out where everybody was from, what we did, who was married, etc. I now have a better understanding of what it means to be lucid!

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Monday Night in DC

At this point I am rather curious. Even more so than usual since I am inquisitive by nature. Who are these folks - other than me - who go out on a Monday night and party until 2am? I was at Marvin yet again to check out the scene after watching the NCAA Championship game in Chinatown at Lucky Strike of all places (this would require an entirely new post to explain why this place is so shitty) with my married friend Rick. I overheard (eavesdropped) a conversation between a 20-something girl and her friends about her no good boyfriend. Basically she was trying to get support for her excuses of his not treating her well in this 6-month relationship they were in which didn't even involve sex. This dude did absolutely nothing for her birthday but promised to "make it up". She believed the reason was his work schedule and actually used that as an excuse to her girlfriends. He would constantly use his child, who she had gotten attached to, as a pawn. Ok, how crazy but common is that? Men are the master manipulators! On top of that, he would tell her not to listen to her single friends because they didn't have a man which obviously meant they knew nothing. Ok, as a woman in her 30's, I know all of these tricks. They are simple and tired. If a woman is with a guy that only means she is likely dealing with a lot of bullshit. That does not mean she knows more than you.
This poor young girl also did not want to let go because she thought if she did, he would win. What does that mean? Well according to her this is how it plays out for him in her head: "I had that bitch in the palm of my hand, she did everything I wanted and now I'm free."
Wow! What do you say to that? In my opinion, you leave the situation, wake up to the truth, and he no longer has you to use and treat like shit. But she wasn't there yet and that was a little depressing because I can remember being stuck like that in my 20's.

So, I needed to shake that off and have a good time. I did at my new favorite Monday night spot at Marvin. DJ Jahsonic (Jamil) is the man! From house to old school rap and soul classics, he keeps the crowd going. The crowd was still going even after the lights had come on. I always meet someone new and interesting from any and everywhere who just seems to love good music. This is not your weekend crowd in DC. I don't even like to go out on the weekend anymore - too many bridge and tunnel people if you know what I mean. We need more weeknights like this. Isn't that what it means to be in a vibrant international city?

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