Enjoying the Nation's Capital

Well, I survived.  I survived my 4 day trip to Washington D.C.  The trip was great, but the food was fantastic!  I started off my food journey during the lunch hour at Open City - coffee house, diner, bar caddy corner our hotel. I sat at the bar, enjoyed a tall glass of water with a wedge of lemon, and watched old black and white movies while I waited for my sandwich.  Inside, the restaurant had plenty of seating with huge windows on almost every wall.  When you walked in, you were actually greeted by a small bakery and espresso bar for those on the go.  The service was great, but the food was even better.



The homemade chips were also amazing!



My lunch was the Plymouth Rock Sandwich.  A giant mound of turkey with a thick slice of white cheddar cheese, cucumbers and cranberry relish mayo layered between 2 slices of thick ciabatta bread.  It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten, and it is very easy to imitate.  My only suggestion to recreate the relish mayo, is to pretend you are making cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and just add as much mayo to it you'd like.  Mix it together and spread.  Delicious!

Funny enough I went back to Open City the next day for breakfast and enjoyed their Chorizo Scramble: 2 eggs scrambled with chorizo, scallions, diced tomato, cilantro and aged white cheddar, alongside an English muffin and a cup of fruit.  To drink I had a cup of their famous Chaippuccino.  I LOVED IT!  If I could make it for myself every morning I would.  It was the perfect temperature and had just the right amount of umpf to it. 

All in all, 4 stars to Open City for two spectacular meals!

Thursday, I had the entire day to myself.  I was able to wander around the city aimlessly at my own pleasure.  During that time, I was able to visit the Holocaust Museum, grab lunch at Pizzeria Paradiso (which I'll talk about in a little bit) and visit one place I have been dieing to go... Georgetown Cupcake!

I walked out of lunch and was completely confused on where to go to find these cupcakes.  I was going to ask my waitress before I left but I thought, I'm not in a time crunch, I'll figure it out.  Strangely enough I walk outside, look up and there it was, Georgetown Cupcake.  So I walked over and found my place in line.  Thirty minutes later, after dissecting the menu, I found myself inside drooling over dozens of cupcakes.

When I got to my family's house, I opened up the bubblegum pink box and salivated over the six cupcakes:

Key Lime Pie, Cherry Blossom, Chocolate Birthday Cake, Pumpkin Spice, Red Velvet, and Mint Cookies and Cream.  We split the cupcakes in half so we would each have a chance to taste more than one.  I had half of the Key Lime and Red Velvet.  Awesome! 

The flavors were really, really good.  But I think the only complaint I would have would be about the size of the cupcake itself.  I think they need to be a tad bigger in order to match the amount of frosting they put on.  But other than that, two thumbs up!

Now to my lunch.  I have to first start by saying that I have been to Pizzeria Paradiso before.  Brian and I went with my family almost two years ago and we highly recommend it.  It's a great place for pizza, beer and as I found out, sandwiches.  I had the Panino Grosso Caldo, a Buffalo Mozzarella and Prosciutto sandwich with a side of greens with oil and vinegar.  It was exactly what I needed for the day.  It wasn't to filling and it was lighter than it looked.  I would give it a 4-for-4 (the complimentary dish of olives was a nice touch). 

Overall, it was a great trip and I can't wait to go back.  I recommend all of the places I have visited, and I hope that you have a chance to explore the city yourselves.  I guarantee you'll have a good time.

Enjoy!