Weekend Eats and Cherry Blossoms

This weekend, I went to DC both Saturday and Sunday to see the cherry blossoms. After my duathlon on Saturday morning, my family and I headed into DC via the metro. It was so crowded at Metro Center where we transferred to the blue/orange line and when we got out at Smithsonian. Saturday was the cherry blossom parade and the street festival AND it was peak bloom! We followed the massive crowds to the tidal basin.

I used to go into DC every year to see the cherry blossoms. It's one of my favorite parts of DC! For the past four years, however, I missed them because I was attending college in St. Louis. This year, I had to go see them!

It's so nice to stroll around the tidal basin, sit under the trees, and be showered by the falling petals.

I have so many pictures like these from previous years! They never get old, though :)

After we walked around the tidal basin, my family headed to Hill Country for some BBQ. Hill Country is a local New York chain, and the DC location is the only one outside of NY. They have some pretty darn good BBQ! I got BBQ last week after my bike ride, too. It's becoming my choice recovery food ;) We got a TON of food and a pitcher of Shiner. So delicious and I was so full!

So much protein!

On Sunday, I headed into DC again to hang out with a friend. He hadn't been to the cherry blossoms yet, so I went again for the second time. I didn't mind, though. It was windy that day, so the petals were flying everywhere! A lot of the trees had very few petals left, and they will soon be gone.

The cherry blossoms come and go so quickly.

We saw the relatively new Martin Luther Kind Jr. Memorial near the Tidal Basin. It's pretty interesting.

And we sat next to the water for a bit, just chatting and enjoying the view :)

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to H Street to grab some food. I had never been to that part of DC before. It is quickly changing and more hip restaurants and shops are opening in the area. It's an interesting street, with liquor stores juxtaposed with trendy restaurants.

My friend took me to this hidden gem: Biergarten Haus. From the street front, it doesn't look like much, but you go through the building and the back is a tasteful biergarten with plenty of seating. We sat on the roof top, where there was more seating and a bar. We studied abroad in Germany one summer back in college, so the biergarten brought back memories of our Germany adventures :)

I got a 1/2 liter of Hofbrau Original and an open-faced meatloaf sandwich with fries. I was pretty hungry, so I ate the whole thing :P And then went next door to get some pie at Dangerously Delicious Pies. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the food. I devoured it before I got a chance! It was a really cute shop, and they had savory and sweet pies. I want to try them all!

What was the best thing you ate this weekend?

Have you ever seen the DC cherry blossoms?

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Weekend Eats- BBQ, Seafood, and Brews

This weekend, I ventured into Virginia and DC for adventures with friends, and ended up eating some really delicious food!

On Saturday morning, my friend and I went to Reston to cycle with a bike club. We got dropped by the group early on and since it was so windy, it was quite unpleasant. Fighting the wind for nearly three hours really worked up an appetite, so we decided to stop at a BBQ place on the W&OD trail. Hunger is the best seasoning, but this was some seriously good BBQ. 

I got the beef brisket (only $5) with cornbread, and my friend got a pulled pork platter with two sides ($7.50). The $20 that I had in my jersey pocket was plenty to cover both of our snacks meals. This REALLY hit the spot and I felt refreshed and energized! We had five more miles to go after eating, and went at a relaxed pace. We ended up cycling 45-some miles, about 35 of which was just plain rough. That BBQ was heaven-sent.

After the ride, I met up with another friend in Reston, and then we headed into DC to check out the Maine Avenue Fish Market. The fish market is in southwest DC and is an open air market right on the water. The vendors sell a wide variety of fresh fish, shrimp, crabs, oysters, and a variety of other seafood. I wish I could have bought some fresh fish to take home! 

You can also buy freshly prepared seafood to eat at the market, and I saw a lot of people digging into piles of crabs, crawfish, and shrimp. I decided on red snapper with hush puppies, and raw oysters. I love raw oysters but rarely get to eat them, so it was a treat :) The red snapper was also very good and the portions were very generous. I got three fillets, five hush puppies, three slices of white bread, and a can of soda for $10.95. Not bad. I ate most of it since I was so hungry, but it's a huge amount of food and really filling. 

Super fresh, briny and delicious raw oysters! They are beautiful.

The eating area was a covered shelter with counters that you stand at, but no seating. This was the view as we were eating our seafood. There were a flock of seagulls right in front of us, and they were pretty entertaining to watch!



After we ate, I wanted to check out the rest of the market where they were selling the fresh seafood. It was interesting to see such a wide variety of fish. The prices also seem pretty reasonable.



So much shrimp! I wish I bought some steamed shrimp, as well. Oh well, I'll just have to come here again ;)



They also sell bushels and 1/2 bushels of crabs. My family used to buy a bushel and split it among our friends. Even then, it was a lot of crabs and we would have a feast!



Next to the fish market was the Cherry Blossom Fireworks Festival. There was a small marketplace and a few stages where there were live performances. We checked it out for a bit, but since the fireworks were at 8:30, we had some time to kill. We decided to chill at Blue Jacket, a brewery/restaurant, for a bit before heading back to see the fireworks. The brewery has about 20 beers on tap, which get rotated often. I tried some interesting and delicious beers. My favorite was a Belgium quad, called the Cashmere. I highly recommend this place! It was packed on a Saturday evening, though.

When we headed back to the festival, there was a Japanese drum performance going on. Another group of friends joined us, and we enjoyed the performance and the fireworks together. The firework display was short, but pretty :)

I could barely see the performers because I was too short...

At least I could see the fireworks! 

After the fireworks, we actually ended up at Blue Jacket again to chill for a few more hours. I tried two of their IPAs, ate a pricey bratwurst, and ate a stranger's fries. I think I tried about 7 beers total over the course of the day. I don't want to think about how much money I spend there, but it was fun times!

As if I didn't eat enough seafood for the weekend, I really wanted to go to a sushi lunch buffet on Sunday. This was my second time going to this particular buffet. Although the selection is a bit small, they have pretty good rolls, nigiri, and even sashimi. I had my fill of sushi and left feeling immensely satisfied, both from the lunch and from the weekend filled with good food and good company.

Have you ever stumbled upon a really good hole-in-the-wall? Are you a huge fan of seafood?

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Random Stuff from this Week

Hello, how has your week been? My relatives came to visit us from Sunday to Wednesday, and I have been busy taking them around the DC area all week. On Monday, my two aunts, grandpa, cousin, and I took the metro into DC and visited the Smithsonian. I took them to my favorite places on the Mall: the National Museum of Natural History, the United States Botanical Gardens, and the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Too bad the cherry blossoms weren't in bloom yet, because that would have been great for them to see. Darn this winter.

My grandpa especially enjoyed the botanical gardens. There was an event going on called Orchid Symphony where a large variety of orchids is displayed. There are also live musical performances in the evenings. 

It's so nice to be surrounded by all the greenery. I love going to the gardens because it's so peaceful and relaxing. Some of the orchids were really interesting and smelled very nice.

I am going to DC again this weekend, so hopefully there will be cherry blossoms to see! I usually go every single year when I was growing up, but I haven't seen the cherry blossoms in four years because I was away at university :(

Yesterday, I took my relatives to the mall for some last minute shopping before they left. I didn't really buy anything, but I tried on this lace dress that I really liked from White House Black Market. Too bad it was $160, because I really liked the fit! I just can't justify the price. Oh well, maybe I'll find something similar.

For lunch, we went to California Pizza Kitchen in the mall. We ordered way too much food: chicken lettuce wraps, the Works pizza, jambalaya pasta, a salad, and a chicken club sandwich with soup. For five people, that was definitely enough! The food was okay, but a bit too salty for my taste.

Last random thing is that my brother bought me a K-Edge GoPro mount! This small piece of metal was pretty pricey, but supposedly it's one of the best mounts for a bike. I tried mounting my GoPro on my helmet, but the video I captured is so shaky it'll make you seasick!

I installed it on my bike's handlebars last night after some frustration (you need hex wrenches). Also, the part that attaches to the GoPro housing (under the K-Edge logo) doesn't fit very well. At first, I thought it was the wrong size or something, but you just really gotta force it in. I'm going to take it for a spin later this week, and maybe share some videos! 

Have you been to DC? What's your favorite place in the nation's capitol?

Do you have a GoPro, and what do you use it for? 

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