D.C Diary Reunited

It's baaaaack! I loved using my D.C. Diary posts to log my summer adventures when I lived there. Two years later and I was able to squeeze in a trip back to my favorite city. No better way to recap the weekend than with this Take A Bite original. 

Hoped off the plane Friday evening and metro-ed into town (super proud of myself for still being able to maneuver the metro) to meet my host/bestie at her apartment. Kudos to Anna for being patient with me. I sent her an itinerary of everything I wanted to do over the weekend a few weeks back and she happily played along. Friday night was all her though. First stop on the #dcdining adventure was Rasika. More palak chaat please!! This crispy spinach dish is unreal.

Indian food and passion fruit cocktails were the perfect way to catch up and start the weekend. 

Anna and I lived together two years ago, she's now back in the district and I'm living vicariously through her. Did I mention we've known each other since we were born?

After a summer taking classes at Barre3 Georgetown, I was so happy to come visit and try out the new 14th street location. Seriously gorg studio in one of my favorite areas of town.

Can't help but stop and stare at the quaint side streets full of row houses and brownstones.

Saturday afternoon we went back to my old hood for lunch and shopping in Georgetown. Why oh why did Chaia not exist when I worked there?

Quick stop by the waterfront, before a quick detour to Baked and Wired. 

And now comes the best part of the trip. After a failed attempt at trying to get into Rose's Luxury two years ago, I've been dying to try again. They don't take reservations and you have to get in line right when they open to just hope you get a spot. I've been gawking them on social media and the internet and knew that this had to be apart of the trip. They were named Best New Restaurant ranking No.1 on Bon Appetit's Hot 10 list and rank tip top on several other round ups. 

Two of our friends and current D.C. resisdents, Katie and Sarah were meeting us for dinner. They were more than down for the waiting game. I love friends who love food the same way as me.  We got there at 5, got our name on the list and they happily let us know we should be seated by 7:30/8. Rose's is eclectic. They use the most interesting combination of ingredients and serve everything on mismatched china and silverware. The head chef, Aaron Silverman has said he wanted Rose's to be like having a dinner party every night. Congrats Aaron, you did it. 

I also love when people are cool with me snapping away at each course and embarrassingly asking the waitress every item in the dish. Just so you know you are looking at coconut milk foam, pork sausage, habanero cream, red onion, lychee, basil mint cilantro, togarashi, lime juice, champagne vinegar, coconut powder, and garlic chips. Ya, woah. 

Next up was a grilled romain salad with duck egg and grilled veal. 

Then confit goat and rice with BBQ sea island red peas. Like how do you even come up with these things Aaron? Everything was insane.

This. This is what sent us over the edge. Bucatini with pesto, ramps, jalapeno, blue crab and crispy breadcrumbs. This may be the best thing I've ever eaten. We pretty much all threw in the towel on ever expecting to eat anything better in our lives. 

So many cheers throughout this meal to celebrate it's amazingness and experiencing it together. After a few cocktails and many bites of bucatini we decided we had formed some kind of bucatini sisterhood. 

More pasta because we had to try their famous strawberry tomato sauce. Bon Appetit has a recipe for it here. 

Absolutely not done without dessert. Rhubarb custard tart and tiramisu.

Thank you Rose's Luxury. Everything really is awesome. You heard it first here but this is my favorite restaurant of all time. The food, the service, the experience, everything is gold. I mentioned at one point in the night that I was a little sad to have found this at such a young age. What do I have to live for now? 

Sisterhood of the traveling bucatini: Marsha, Virginia, Heidi and Charlie. I think our amazing meal sent us into some kind of weird trance, but we weren't trying to get out of it. 

Sunday morning recovery at my (old) favorite spot, Le Diplomate.

I dreamed of the next time I would get to have this mushroom tart since the last time I had it. 

Post-brunch shopping at Salt & Sundry. 

Since I was in D.C. they have grown from their Union Market location and built a brick and mortar on 14th. 

Serious home good/gift coolness overload.

Sunday afternoon called for a serious cat nap after going going going and a touristy stop at the national archives. We got to see the Declaration, Bill of Rights and Constitution. Total Nicholas Cage/National Treasure move.  We found a pick me up later in the day at Baked and Wired's new sister A Baked Joint. 

Weekend coming to a close, but going out with a bang. 

Steamed buns at Momofuku.

And ramen for days. 

Followed by none other than my NYC fav, Milk Bar! This duo traveled south a bit and opened locations in D.C's new City Center. 

Cheers to this trip, this friend, this city, it's food, it's culture and so much more. Now get that internship next summer too so I can come back! 

Annie

Spring Scouting

Hi spring! You are welcomed here with open arms. If you are like me you are so ready for some fresh new spring clothes and products. I'm at that point where I wake up to get ready and everything in my closet is so tired and blah. I'm ready for bright spring colors to come back into my life. A few ways I'm copying with my dreary winter duds is by adding a little color through my bags and accessories. My dear friends at Scout are fueling this fire with their bright and stylish spring line. 

If you know me or have read this blog at all over the past few years, you know my love for Scout and how I spent a summer interning for them. Cue my D.C. Diary posts if you need a recap. They recently launched their new spring collection and I am falling hard for it. The styles are perfectly crafted and the designs are chic as ever. 

My absolute favorite bag/pattern from the new collection is the Golden Girl Grande in Diamond Ink. It has been toted all around town with me the past couple weeks. It's the perfect bag for happy hour drinks or a night out, but casual enough for breakfast with friends. I love a good clutch because you can always throw it into your larger bag and still have everything you need with out having to switch from bag to bag. 

I rounded up more of my favorite styles in my favorite new patterns. Click through to start scouting out your new spring pieces! Take a minute or two to notice each pattern name and bag description. The crew at Scout HQ is insanely witty! They kill me with their punny names such as Fleetwood Black and Reef Witherspoon.  

The BJ Bag // Duffy //  3-Way // Sprit Chillah // Original Deano // Golden Girl Grande // Golden Girl Medio // Pleasure Chest // Trash Cache // Carry'All Bin // Big Draw // Bacall // Nooner // Hang-10 // Two Plate Special // Junque Trunk

Scout is constantly creating and designing more and more functional bags to fit every nitch of your life. From the office to the gym, to your lunch hour to backyard cookouts, to moving to a new house to just taking a weekend trip. When I think they've done it all, they do it again. Hence why my collection is ever growing. Below is just a glimpse at my personal collection, junque trunks, trash cache, deano, 3-way and hang-10 not pictured... #scoutbags #myscoutbag #SCOUTern.

Annie

D.C. Diary: The Sequel

My adventure with D.C. didn't end this summer. Before I left I had already booked a ticket to go back a month later. The excuse for my visit was to attend the 10th anniversary of Go Bo, an amazing night full of food, friends, fun and most importantly, giving back. More on Go Bo here.

Friday morning included a much need visit with all of my SCOUT peeps, then that afternoon I got to hang out with the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS). My friend I was staying with currently goes to Georgetown and talked all summer about how amazing these burgers are. The fact that they have a grilling club is legit, and their burgers are even more legit. I think I was the only there in a skirt, but I salted and sauced those burgers like a pro.

Took a darn big bite out of that GUGS burger and loved every minute of it. Full and happy, it was time to start primping for the party. 

The theme for Go BO this year was tacky wedding. From the Jordan almonds to ranch dressing fountain and numerous amounts of taffeta, everything was tacky to a T. My boss sure knows how to throw a party.

The whole event was held outside under a huge wedding tent. The fabulous band led to me dancing and sweating, and more dancing and sweating, for the majority of the night. 

'Twas the best night, with the best people, all for a great cause!

Now for some DC dining. I hadn't planned anything, very surprising, especially to myself. This summer I had reservations weeks in advance, but this time I was just so excited to get back I hadn't really thought about it. 

This doesn't mean I didn't treat myself to some fabulous district eats. Saturday brunch on 14th street with my girl Sav and Sunday brunch in Gtown with my little piece of home, Jillian. Savannah and I interned together and Jillian is my old family friend who is currently residing in D.C. 

Party-going on Friday and brunching on Saturday, left Sunday for an afternoon of exploring. My favorite part of D.C. is the scenery. I could walk the streets of Georgetown for hours snapping pictures of the beautiful row houses.

I just can't get enough of these old, painted shuttered, brick homes. Please o' please let me live in one of you someday.

'Till next time D.C.

Annie

D.C. Diary: The Conclusion

It's been a week since I've been home. I'm not going to lie, it's nice to be home, but not a day goes by that I don't think of something in D.C, get reminded of something, or feel like I'm missing out on things going on in the city. I'm super busy in the muck of sorority recruitment, so luckily I have that to keep my mind preoccupied.

I drug Anna and Emily to July's Truckeroo. It's a food truck festival at the Bullpen outside the National's stadium. It was a beautiful night with live music, drinks and food trucks for days. I chose the crepe truck! I ordered my veggie crepe while a tub of Nutella bigger than my head stared me down in line. 

Continued perusing the streets of Georgetown to find my dream house.

Loved getting to show Kathleen Barre 3 Georgetown! We took two classes over the weekend and loved obnoxiously matching. 

Visited Union Market for the second time. Sampled yummy treats, shopped around and...

...happened to visit the same day DC Scoops was going on! An ice cream tasting event with all different local ice cream vendors!

Shopped around in the fabulous Salt and Saudry inside Union Market. A unique home goods store filled with locally made goods, specialty foods, glassware and cookbooks. 

Finished our day at Union Market outside at the picnic tables enjoying the beautiful day. 

Checked walking the monuments at night off my D.C. bucket list. If you visit D.C, you have to go see these beauties at night.

Everything is more grand and aw worthy under the moonlight. 

I was surprised by the amount of people there at night, but now I know why. 

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge WWII memorial fan, but it looks sooooo cool at night. 

Climbed up and around to snag a pic with the home state!

From dark to light, the monuments are cliche, one of the coolest things in D.C.

Our last morning, we woke up at 5:15 to watch the sunrise! I loved seeing runners go by, stop in front of the Washington, take a picture, then run off. Locals still find beauty in their city. 

The cutest little housing building on GWU's campus I stumbled upon on our way back from the morning at the monuments. 

I'm going to miss my little walk through the farmer's market after work on Wednesdays. 

If you follow me on insta you know my food grams are slightly out of control. They only heightened in D.C. and I then made it a goal to get regrammed by @dcdining. It happened a few times and it sadly would make my day every time.

My goal is to make brunch much more of a thing in Norman. My Saturdays and Sundays lived for brunch. I can't claim this as mine, but my friend's eggs chesapeake were too pretty not to take a pic of. Toasted baguette, crab meat, poached eggs and hollandaise. 

The Matchbox cinnamon rolls finally happened. I followed them with the egg frittata making it one of my favorite brunches. 

Quinoa, asparagus arugula goodness. 

Smoked Salmon Pizzetta at Kafe Leopold. 

Nutella for days at my favorite ice cream shop.

Seared Tuna salad at El Centro for lunch with my fellow interns and boss. 

Our spread at Birch and Barley officially made it my favorite restaurant in D.C. The food, the drinks, the atmosphere and the fact that my sis was there made it one of the best!

Came home with two bags of Hippie Crack. Oh how I will miss you Baked and Wired. 

Colorful add-ins to my mediterranean bowl at Cava Grill. 

A much anticipated meal. 

After a slight run-in with peanut butter, it was necessary to wash it down with a cone of pistachio ice cream. Pistachio has quickly become my favorite ice cream flavor. 

A boozy blondie, just like me. Totally kidding, but this blondie was delish. 

Bruschetta to start our italian feast at Lavagna on Barracks Row.

Two bowls of pesto pasta for the table, because sometimes you just need a big bowl of pasta. 

A loaded plate after going through the Famers Fishers Bakers buffet line. Highlight was the bruleed grapefruit. 

A plate of biscuits and cinnamon rolls for every table at brunch. Plates of benedict, pizza and sushi also went by. It was an array of fabulous food. I'll be honest, it was delicious but I like my brunches heavy on the breakfast and it leaned more toward lunch. 

Homemade crab cakes, slaw and corn alfresco. I love a good meal outside. 

Tried my first Acai Bowl. I went for the "Coco Bowl" with strawberries, bananas, coconut, and acai juice, all topped with granola. It was basically and overpriced smoothie bowl I could make at home, but it was worth it. 

Free 'secret' flavor Georgetown Cupcakes. This was post-dropping the box head first, but hey, they were free. 

A farewell breakfast at First Bake. My Egg in a Nest consisted of two eggs nesting inside chili cheese bread topped with hot sauce of course. 

The epitome of my summer internship. Doing anything to get the perfect instagram shot, I constantly asked myself how this could really be work. 

My social media creeping came back to bite me in the butt when my co-workers made me match names with instagrams of people from the office at my going away party. I worked with some of the best people around that I miss so much.

My two SCOUT sidekicks. 

A little Nutty Professor shake at Ted's Bulletin to round out our summer in D.C.

To D.C,

Thank you for allowing me to live in your city for a summer, make memories I'l never forget, eat your amazing food that is better than any other city (you can mark my word on it), have the best internship that was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined, and for making it the best summer of my life. 

Sincerely,

-Annie

D.C. Diary Part III

The third installment of D.C. Diary starts now. Take a tour through my world as I travel to NYC, celebrate the 4th of July and entertain you with my obsessive food pictures. 

The donuts were practically forced upon us after finishing our entrees at Matchbox. After taking one bite of the orange scented donuts with kaluha and cream dipping sauce, I knew why our waiter was being so pushy. 

Feeling all cool and popular inside when my fav DC foodgrammer reposted my Farmers Fishers Bakers oatmeal pic. 

Pre-New York meal at Roti. The Chipotle styled restaurant with Mediterranean flair is right across from our dorm and way too delicious. I've decided I'm going to become a franchiser, so I can just bring all of my favorite DC restaurants back to Oklahoma with me. 

My colorful plate consisted of chicken roti, falafel, eggplant, pickled onions, cous cous, tomatoes, red curry sauce, hummus all on a bed of lettuce. 

My first love is DC, but my absolute/all time/can't beat it, favorite place is in New York. Got off the the bus in the big city and made a b-line to Milk Bar East Village for cereal milk soft serve with crunch and an iced coffee with cereal milk. 

PS450 was brunch like never before. Music blaring, lights dimming, beads hanging everywhere it was insane but way too fun. My chilaquiles consisted of shredded chicken, queso fresco, pico de gallo, and crushed tortilla chips all topped with an egg. Other popular dishes on the table were the smoked salmon eggs Benedict, s'mores french toast and BEC french toast meaning bacon, egg, and cheese.

Our New York clan for the weekend. 

Post brunch was a long leisurely walk to the Highline Standard hotel. The white and black with fresh greens and pops of yellow really striked my fancy. 

Dining al fresco, nothing better. 

Date night with my Kappa twin at the chic General Assembly was fresh ricotta dip to start and citrus halibut for dinner. 

Best weekend with my girl. 

Wondering around the west village by myself before meeting Claire and Mike for brunch.

Soft scrambled eggs and smoked salmon at The Dutch.

Shrimp fried rice, brunch style. Thanks Claire and Mike for my belated birthday brunch!

I've actually never had one of these strawberry shortcake ice cream pops until now. It was the perfect treat to cool off with in Central Park before heading back to D.C.

New York had me fooled and made me think I loved it more, but being back in the district, I'm thinking more straight. 

A scoop of green tea and a scoop of snickerdoodle cookie dough ice cream for a walk around Georgetown on a Monday night. 

Kimchi Ramen from Toki Underground, but delivered to the dorm. In order to avoid the hour long lines, we ordered take-out 24 hours in advance. My first ramen, and it was totally worth it. 

A delicious lunch treated by our boss with my fellow interns at Malmaison. I got the avocado, corn and tomato salad. The cobb and smoked salmon salad were also ordered. Mine was amazing but I am still wanting to go back for the cantaloupe and tomato salad. 

Brain Food Friday at work was brought to us c/o Sweet Green! 

This was my second time at Cava Mezze, but my first time for dinner. The first time was for Father's day brunch where we feasted on tapas sized plates of gyro hash and lamb benedict. Sydney and I went on a date here after Jazz in the Garden for one of her lasts meals. You start with warm pita, olives, harissa and oils, then we ordered the spicy lamb meatballs, the zucchini fritters, cheese dumplings and the chicken souvlaki.

We then opted for dessert wine, coffee, apple pie and chocolate mousse for a girl's night instead of going out. 

Le Diplomate! Anna is rubbing off on me and has me on a Frenchie kick!

Not a traditional French dish, but they know how to make some mac and cheese. 

A cappuccino to start. 

And the mushroom tart to finish. I still dream of that mushroom tart. 

Every dish was beautiful, including Anna's salmon tartine. 

First time at a pool all summer, although after a little 'incident' no one was allowed in the pool for the rest of the day. Ahhh the joys of public pools.

The Jefferson by night. 

The Washington Monument and D.C. all lit up!

The oreo and nutella donut from GBD. So worth I don't even care that I'm posting a picture of me shoving it in my mouth, or shall I say, taking a bite?

Ted's Bulletin is the sweetest little diner restaurant on Capitol Hill. It was high on our list, mainly because of the homemade pop tarts. They use newspapers for menus and have old movies playing on the big screen in the main dining area. 

Of course I instagrammed the food, and then it also got regrammed by @dcdining! 

I purchased some fresh figs at Whole Foods, but then had no idea what to do with them. This was the most delicious and pretty little dinner I have ever whipped up. Recipe here.

Lemonade and pistachio Pinkberry topped with dark chocolate crunches, granola and raspberries. 

I often catch myself snapping pics of Georgetown on my walk to or from work. The colors and the quaintness gets me every day. 

Every corner of the Georgetown neighborhood streets has the most breathtaking brownstones and greenery. 

Kate and Melissa finally got in town for the 4th after spending the night in the Chicago Airport because of Hurricane Arthur. Our first dinner was at Farmers Fishers Bakers because I can't get enough. 

We did table side guac, pretzel rolls, and this wasn't mine, but I was eyeing the prosciutto and fig pizza all night. 

It didn't photograph well, but it's one of the best salads ever. The corn cake ranchero salad rivals my go to, fried brussels sprout salad.

Two best gal pals finally made it! 

Salmon scramble round 2 for a 4th of July brunch at Kramer's in Dupont. 

Take a freaking bite. Hot dogs on the fourth are a necessity. 

Good Stuff round three while new visitors where in town. A bunless steakhouse burger so I could un-guiltfully enjoy a hefty portion of village fries. 

Not, just, a shake. The whipped cream Good Stuff tops their shakes with is so thick it's like a scoop of ice cream.

Barbecue burger, village fries (sea salt, rosemary and thyme), oreo shake and toasted marshmallow shake all in view. 

Stuffed and feeling good after Mel and Kate's first Good Stuff Eatery experience. 

Made the hike to  La Colombe for breakfast after sending Kate and Melissa off! The hemp milk latte and pistachio morning roll did the trick.

Peek-a-boo white house. My view all the way down 16th St. in Logan Circle.

After trying Ted's Bulletin on Capitol Hill for brunch, we opted for the 14th street location for dinner. Look at all those homemade pop tarts, snowballs, donuts and scones. 

This one has the same 50s soda fountain feel, but slightly more modern and fancy. 

Just because I was there for dinner didn't mean I wasn't going to get a pop tart. 

The parisian chic interior of Malmaison. Same place where I got my avocado, corn tomato salad. This time I was just getting coffee which I must admit was very marginal, but the ambience of this place gets me every time. 

That's all for now with my D.C. updates. Only about two weeks left:(

Annie