The DC Traveler

Enjoy a traditional colonial plantation holiday dinner at Gunston Hall, the home of founding father, George Mason.
Dine tavern-style, by candlelight, on items such as traditional   turkey and dressing, Virginia ham, dressing, and of course, home made pie.
For more about Gunston Hall, check out my Oct. 12, 2007 post.
Plantation Christmas Yuletide Dinner at Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall Plantation
10709 Gunston Road 
Mason Neck, Virginia 22079  (map it)
703-550-9220
Dates and Times – Friday, December 12, 2008 at 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 13  at 4:30, 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Tickets – Adults – $39.95 , children 10 and under – $19.95. Beer and wine is …read more

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I had walked by the Califorina-influenced winebar/restaurant Grapeseed in Bethesda many times over the years.  As one of DC’s highly rated restaurants, I recently decided to have dinner there.
It’s billed as a sophisticated California wine bar and bistro, but I must say, I did not get a very comfortable feeling when I entered the restaurant and looked over the wine bar. It seemed a bit too casual, colorless and cold. Definitely not what I would call hip California casual.  Based on its reputation as a DC favorite (in the “expensive” category), I had incorrectly assumed that patrons would be …read more

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Love to eat? Love to try new restaurants? How about 170 possible options?
It’s time for the annual  DC Restaurant Week.
With over 170 participating restaurants, offering two and three course prix-fixe menus for seven days, what’s not to like?
An with prices at just $20.08 for lunch and $30.08 for dinner, you can try several new places as well as hit a couple old favorites, without breaking the bank. 
How about checking out Acadiana, Butterfield 9, D’Acqua, or a couple of personal favorites, Zaytinya and Mie N Yu.
Ned a place for a low cost “power-lunch”?  Try The Palm.
While some restaurants like Hook, Capital …read more

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With the New Year upon us, it’s time for many people to start living up to that New Year’s resolution of losing a few pounds. And it’s especially challenging if you frequently dine out at any of DC’s great restaurants. 
But one possible solution, courtesy of The DC Traveler, is to go out for a meal of tapas.  If you order just a plate or two at a time, not only will you have a very relaxing meal, but you’ll probably eat less, and perhaps keep at least one of your resolutions this year.
The history of tapas is clouded with many stories …read more

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The neighborhood of Crystal City in southeast Arlington VA, is within walking distance of Reagan Washington National Airport, the Pentagon, Pentagon City Mall and the National Air Force Memorial.
This sparkling chrome and glass high-rise community was built on acreage comprising of mostly former industrial properties and railroad rights-of-ways. It now houses some of DC’s more desirable commercial properties, hotels, high-rise apartments and retail space.  
The first building to be erected in the early 1960s, the Crystal House at 1900 South Eads Street, set the standard for naming buildings in the area, using the word “crystal” in its name, and eventually the area became known as Crystal City.
The …read more

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The annual Capital Food Fight is a fund-raiser for DC Central Kitchen, the nonprofit organization that feeds 4,000 meals a day to the needy in the DC area.
They get a few of DC leading chefs to battle Iron Chef-style while attendees enjoy a sampling of food from 40 of the area’s hottest restaurants. Beers, wines, waters and juices are also provided at this food-lovers “grazing” event.

This years’ chefs are:

Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s, and The Majestic; who was named 2006 Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMMY) and Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef.
RJ Cooper …read more

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I recently had an opportunity to sit down for a glass of wine and a conversation with Tim Elliott, the Executive Chef of one of DC’s more popular and trendy restaurants, Mie N Yu. And I must say he’s nothing like the television version of a top chef.Yea, I admit it. I have a weakness for some of the cooking shows. Especially ones like Top Chef, The Next Iron Chef and Hells Kitchen, that offer a behind-the-scenes perspective of the culinary world.While many people may get the impression that chefs are hypercritical snobs with an aloof attitude about haute cuisine, my …read more

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One of my favorite spots for a glass of wine and a bite of tapas on a weekend night is Bambule, one of DC’s Spanish-influenced tapas/mezza restaurants. But what makes a weekend evening there so enjoyable is the great live music. Two truly brilliant guitarists, Michael Bard and Richard Marlow join forces to put on an exceptional powerful gypsy flamenco, rumba-style guitar show. With three high-energy passionate sets, people often get up to dance salsa-style long before the club officially turns into a dance club around 11:30.Michael, who holds a Masters degree in music has performed around the globe, including …read more

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This is a GNO (Girl’s Night Out) with a great theme. Sampling some of the best wines created by leading women in the winemaking industry, combined with some amazing food and of course, great company.
According a study on women winemakers in California, an estimated 15% to 20% of California’s wine-makers are women. And while it may currently be a a male-dominated industry, there’s no surprise that evidence indicates women’s senses of taste and smell are more acute, resulting in a high demand for winemakers with these heightened senses.
This fun and flavor-packed evening occurs at one of Washingtonian magazine’s consistent Top 100 Best Restaurants, Café …read more

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Suburban Bethesda, MD, especially around the Woodmont Triangle boasts some great restaurants, including Black’s, Grape Seed, Centro, Persimmon, and David Craig Bethesda, plus a favorite of mine, Mon Ami Gabi, not because the food is fantastic, but their melt-in-your-mouth Steak Bordelaise with mounds of caramelized onions in a red wine sauce is pretty yummy, but because it reminds me of several places I used to hang out with in Chicago with good friends. 
At the Taste of Bethesda, you can sample food from the menus of 50 Bethesda restaurants and enjoy five stages of live music from 11:00 until 3:00 p.m.  Sadly, none …read more

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