new2DC

I’m back at OU for one last semester, but have a few friends visiting/moving to D.C. in need of tips. Here’s a quick recap for first timers:

First off, let me break D.C. down. It’s segmented into different areas: Georgetown (preppier and dressier), Dupont (patio restaurants, parks, Embassy Row, funky book stores), Capitol Hill (happy hours with old people and people that work on the hill), Adams Morgan (younger, laid back, good night life), and Chinatown (touristy and crowded).

Gtown: Third Edition is really fun-bar downstairs, dance scene upstairs. There are a bunch of different bars in Georgetown with different vibes, but the crowd is great in all of them. Dress up here, tho. It’s the preppy part, for sure. It’s a perfect excuse to pull out some heels or a classy, simple dress. (FYI, you can’t take the metro here. You have to cab it. It should only be a few bucks if you’re sharing, though. ) George is super exclusive. Paolo’s is a great Italian restaurant. I never ate a Mei N Yu, but wish I had. It would be a great cultural experience with their off-the-wall diverse menu (Their website says it’s a combo of Far East Asia, Spice Islands, Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa, and Mediterranean). The decorations are just as elaborate, with drapes and pillows to sit on. It feels a bit like Aladdin. The location is great because it’s in the middle of all the bars. Georgetown is also the place to shop. Bring your student ID for discounts at places like Banana Republic!
My other favorite area is Adams Morgan. Feels a little more like NY because everything is dirty, crammed, and lively. I liked The Town Tavern are a lot; it’s the same thing as Third Edition. It has a bar downstairs and a dance floor upstairs, but they’re all great. Also a hit-Madams Organ. It’s five stories with a different theme on each one.

Chinatown is good for the movie theater, arena for sports (Washington Capitals hockey team), and Rocket Bar.

In the daytime you have to have lunch on a patio in Dupont! There are a million. Go to yelp.com or download the Yelp iPhone app if you want to find one ahead of time-but it’s easiest to just have a cabbie drop you off in dupont and walk to one. If you go to Dupont, drive through embassy row. It’s pretty cool. The Clintons have a house pretty close, too, and the Watergate is close by at 600 Mass ave. GW is too, so the town is usually flocking with inquisitive minds bearing college Ts and glasses. This is known as the gayborhood, but it’s a mix of everything. Side note if you’re moving here-this is the place to get your hair done! I suggest Salon Cielo. My friend recommended it to me and they always did a great job.

If you need an event to do during the day, go to the Newseum– hands down! It’s right next to the Capitol, so you can start at the Washington monument, go to the Newseum, go to the Capitol (book a tour at visitthecapitol.gov), and then have lunch on the Congress side of the Hill at this Mexican place called Tortilla Coast. 400 1st Street Southeast, Washington. They’re packed for Happy Hour of Hill workers. On the Senate side, UPub has really fun bingo night.

As always, Google maps are your best friend. 🙂 Metro stops are located right on there with a big M, as well as most places.

A few more tips if you’re moving there. First off, get a Smart Trip card at a pharmacy to save money and time. Second, Nationals baseball games are so fun and such a bargain during the season-plus they turned out to be pretty good this year!

Hope that helps!

The great thing about the east coast is how close and accessible a million different places are. So, during my internship in D.C. my friends and I decided to spend a weekend in the big apple, which was only a five hour, 20 dollar bus ride away on the Bolt Bus. Two other girls that came interned in the NYC with me last summer and were just as thrilled to be back for round two. It was kind of like seeing an old boyfriend that you still have sparks with, might end up with later down the road, but you’re nervous to see because it’s been a while since you have been face to face and have changed a lot in the meantime. The weekend was a wild success. There was a little bit of drama, which is pretty much guaranteed with a big group of girls at some point, but a huge learning experience for all of us in the end. We learned more about the city, ourselves, and each other the second time around than in that whole first summer when we were all just jaded by the glitz of the city. Instead of spending a million dollars on cabs and pretty places, we had fun and learned a lot. We were like the New York savvy tourists, and it was great.

We ate at Tao, Kuma Inn (a local secret, better than Tao but hidden, get the spicy sausage!), delicous delis, and diners. Thankfully, I learned from my Rosa experience and had no bumps in planning this time, which was absolutely necessary! I made the rez for Tao about two weeks in advance…which is cutting it close. At night we explored the meat packing district, ran into people I knew from D.C., and had a good time at a local college fav, Brother Jimmy’s. My two friends that used to intern on Regis and Kelly got us free tickets to the show. We sat front row and Regis gave them lots of extra attention. We even saw Chicago on Broadway, with Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child playing Roxy, for $40! (It’s $25 if you get to the box office when it opens around noon, but we were late. I don’t recommend Friday or Saturday nights if you’re trying to get the best deal, either.) The show was fantastic and the theater was beautiful and intimate. We went Saturday at 2:30 and it was perfect.) I showed my friend who hasn’t ever been to New York the NYSE and ground zero after we went to a small wine tasting class in the financial district. We even went to the M&M store in Time Square, which I can honestly say, I had never been to, but it was fun to be a little bit of a tourist back in our old stomping ground!

We may have had to use our iPhone Google Maps to find our way around a few times, but at least we didn’t wear sneakers or fanny packs. I have to say, when I visited the city a few times when I was younger, I never thought I would understand the Subway system, let alone how to make Manhatten affordable! After my reunion with Mr. 212, I can honestly say, New York, I love you, and hope to see you again soon! xoxo

If you haven’t had a chance to see some of the biggest films of the season that made some historical breakthroughs at the Academy Awards last night, don’t worry. There is still hope to see them the way they were meant to be seen, on the big screen and in a theater that attracts a crowd with an appreciation for good cinematography and theater, not just blockbusters. E Street Theater is still showing Crazy Heart, The Hurt Locker, 2010 Academy Award-Nominated Action Shots, Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, and An Education. After a late (and expensive) night in Gtown Friday, my roomates and I decided to make it a movie night Saturday and see An Education. We had originally planned on seeing Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton’s trippy new movie with Johnny Depp, but opted for the simpler, but more mentally and emotionally stimulating piece. We were not disappointed. Just like Carey Mulligan’s (“Jenny”) costar, Peter Sarsgaard (“David”) said about her during Mulligan’s nomination for Best Actress last night at the Awards, it may be weird to be nominated for such a prestigious award at such a young age (24), but based on her talent and potential, she should get used to it. (Although there are rumors she hasn’t gotten any job offers since the hit movie…) Regardless, it’s movies like An Education with raw talent and relevant real-world themes that will continue to attract a strong base audience to independent theaters like E Street and the Angelika. James Cameron’s Avatar and Burton’s Alice in Wonderland are good escapes, but I think the results at last night’s show, when Hurt Locker and Precious dominated, proved that Americans want a different kind of escape right now, one they feel gives them answers. My advise for local Washingtonians is to start your search at E Street. With a great movie selection, plus a mini bar and an array of vegan cookie flavors…with the classic butter, caffeine, and sugar selection, of course…you can be sure to get a more worthwhile return on your investment. Cheers to that! 🙂

Oh my….I had a great party-planning learning experience here, to say the least. Who knew you had to make a reservation for a large group days in advance? Most people, of which I am not one of. Bless those employees working Rosa that night because they squeezed my party of eight into the most popular Mexican restaurant on a Saturday night. Although I was slightly disorganized in the planning, I would just like to add for everyone else’s good that they should be prepared to have a long meal during peak hours, no matter what. Just like their guacamole live, it’s what they’re known for. I got there at 7pm, friends arrived around 9pm, and we finally sat around 9:45. I share responsibility for that long wait, but we did not finish eating until almost midnight. On the upside, we got free sangria, two extra guacamoles, and individual desserts for everyone, compliments of the chef, for the long wait. They kept us full and happy so it honestly didn’t even feel that long. My friends, of course, were more than impressed with the food. The thing about Rosas is it’s not the standard Mexican food with the same four ingredients many think of. It deserves the name cuisine attached, because it’s Mexican with a twist, like an artist painting something traditional in a new light. I got the Pato en Salsa de Zarzamoras, Duck with Blackberry Sauce, and it was so good I made everyone around me try a bite. The duck was cooked medium rare, as they recommended, and melted in your mouth, complimenting the other aspects of the entree to a T. The roasted duck breast was served over mashed chile de arbol sweet potatoes, grilled asparagus, and blackberry-chipotle sauce. Another favorite of mine are the tacos al asador. The best damn tacos you’ve ever tasted and enough to split between two people, females that is, and not just ones that eat like birds. That’s a great deal for girlfriends at $17. The duck was a little more, but totally worth it. It’s pretty easy to rack up a bigger than expected bill here, but it’s also possible to make it affordable for the budget conscientious. Overall, fabulous food and fun, but make reservations early (a few DAYS in advance) and be prepared to have a long, Mexican paced meal so make sure you have great company and lots to talk about…or save some room for a few margaritas because they’re DELISH (most popular is pomegranite, but too sugary for me).

Last night I went to Front Page, a hip, multifacted cultural restaurant and bar in Dupont. Dupont, for people unfamiliar with D.C., is considered the “gay” neighborhood, but has lots of good looking, straight D.C. locals as well. (Although it did take my friend and I a second to figure out why the cute, well dressed boy standing next to us didn’t look up at us once from his convo with another dude. Welcome to Dupont.) The crowd is a culture pot of newbies that consider themselves established here. Most people I talked to had lived here at least a year, most had lived here a few years already. Thursdays are popular there because it’s a classy place in a good location and they have great happy hour deals on Thursdays. The most popular are the $2 Coronas all night and dollar tacos. They even had wine for $2 a glass during happy hour. There’s three “parts” to the place: quaint, sophisticated bar, white table cloth restaurant, and rowdy den. I ate dinner with a few friends and then we went straight back to the den. The wine was just okay, but it was $2 so I got what I paid for. The fish tacos weren’t bad per se, but a bit bland. The bread and spread were really good, though. I think it was a pesto based sauce. Dinner atmosphere was great and I loved how there was basically a big party two seconds away. We didn’t even have to pay for a cab to get there! Interesting crowd. I talked to a German training for a triathlon and a Brazilian who taught me some dance moves and then friended me on Facebook…at the bar. Another first. BEST part about the place, though, was they have a coat check, which is absolutely necessary when I have a big clunky work bag, boots, and big puffy jacket the size of me. I didn’t realize how much I liked this place until I just wrote about it. I give it an 8. Right next to my work, good happy hour deals, dinner AND a quick party…sign me up!