Confession: I totally fell off the 21-Day Fix eating train. I'm suppose to be sticking to my containers, but a day off of work meant going nuts with delicious food this weekend. Maybe karma is being a little bit of a bitch right now, since I am currently nursing a food baby in my gut, but everything was so worth it.
So here's my eating experience for the weekend. Don't judge me.
Thursday:
Since I had Friday off, I wanted to go out to eat like a normal person Thursday night. And who better to do that with than my fellow Taste Buds blogger Siobhan! We checked out Encantada, the new restaurant in the American Visionary Arts Museum. They have a nice, big patio, perfect for those March nights when the temperatures are unseasonably warm and you want to beat the cabin fever.
At Encantada, the vegetables share just as much of the spotlight as the meat. They're big on using food from local farms. To start, Siobhan and I split a bowl of crispy chick peas in BBQ spice. TO DIE FOR. It was like eating potato chips only healthier and more delicious. The spice on them was excellent and I loved the crunch. I could have stopped there, but let's not be silly.
Next, I ordered the Chicken With the Egg, which was roasted chicken on a bed of cheesy grits, peas and a poached egg. The chicken was cooked perfectly, the grits had the right amount of cheese and the poached egg gave it a little something extra in the dish.
Finally, for dessert, we split the chocolate cremux tart with anise creme and toasted hazelnuts. Crusty shell, creamy goodness inside, a great way to end our dinner!
Oh, and we also tried their funky cocktails. I got the peach lightning, which is peach vodka, apple cider and mint. Tasted a lot like a bellini and was quite refreshing.
Friday:
GMM2 anchor Ashley James and I both had the day off and wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful weather, so we hopped in the car and drove down to D.C. (Side note: explain to me why there so much traffic at 2:15 in the afternoon?! Do people normally leave work that early?? These are things I don't understand.)
First stop-- the Georgetown waterfront. Ashley and I sat at an outdoor table at Tony and Joe's Seafood. She ordered a margarita and I ordered the Pomsecco, a mix of Prosecco and pomegranate liquor. Delicious and not too sweet. We munched on a shrimp and crab dip (swoon).
Next stop -- Old Glory. This is an older bar in the heart of Georgetown with so much character. We went straight upstairs to the rooftop bar, where we drank more margaritas. The bartenders are friendly (shout out to Tim) and it has a casual, chill vibe to it. A great place to meet friends after a long week of work.
Last stop -- MXDC. This is a Todd English restaurant (for you foodies out there) and the best way to describe it is high class Mexican food. Some of you might turn your noses up at that, and typically I do too, but I was impressed with the food. We ordered some traditional guacamole, which was super fresh. I had two rounds of the habanero margarita (gotta keep it a little spicy), and for dinner I chowed down on the carne asada, pork belly and chicken tacos. Yum, yum and yum!
Saturday:
At this point, you'd think I'd be tired of going out and stuffing my face with delicious food. But that's where you're wrong. My mom suggested a girl's night out, and I couldn't turn her down! I took a quick look at Open Table, and made a reservation at Sotto Sopra in Baltimore. It's described as farm-to-table Italian cuisine. The restaurant itself is beautiful but just a tad too dark. I had to bust out the flashlight on my phone to see the menu.
For dinner, I ordered the sacchetti di zucca con salsiccia. Don't speak Italian? Neither do I. So here's what it is: pumpkin sacchetti (a type of pasta that looks like a purse), with sausage and cream sausage. The sweetness of the sacchetti paired well with the bite from the sausage and the cream sauce brought it all together. I ate every last bite.
To cap off the dinner, mom and I split a semolina cake with a fig sauce and whipped honey mascarpone, which I imagine is what heaven would taste like. I think fig sauce is my new thing. I need to find a way to put that on EVERYTHING.
That concludes my whirlwind food tour. To my extremely full stomach, I'm sorry. To my 21-Day Fix coach Katie, I'm sorry. To my tantalized taste buds, I'm not sorry.
Know of an awesome place with great food and drinks? Don't keep it to yourself, share with us and the world! Tweet me @KnightfromABC2 or Siobhan @TheRealSiobhanB
