Having the opportunity to travel recently has opened up for the possibility of doing some desert hiking in the Red Rock canyon just outside Las Vegas, NV. This conservation area is the closest national park to Vegas, only a short 15-20 min drive away from the strip. The park is set up so that you can drive through the whole park in a one-way loop and stop at various parking areas along the way to take pictures or hike into the canyon more.
New York has hot dogs, apples, and pizza
Boston has baked beans, sam adams, and clam chowdah
Chicago has deep dish pizza, steak, and mixed caramel/cheese popcorn
Philadelphia has cheesesteak sandwiches, water ice, and pretzels
San Francisco has sourdough bread, seafood stew and rice-a-roni (I know, its a faux pas to say that)
Seattle has Starbucks/Seattle’s Best, the birthplace of grunge music, an enormous amount of microbrews, and seafood
LA has Spago’s, high-end hot dogs (Pink’s), and streetside tacquerias (sp?)
Baltimore and Blue crabs are always synonymous
The Carolinas and Kansas city have signature takes on barbecue.
Smaller cities even have a way of making themselves shine amongst the larger cities:
Amarillo, TX, is home of the 72 oz steak
Buffalo, NY, is home to the buffalo wing, credited to the Anchor Bar for its invention
So what is DC’s signature dish? What food showcases the nation’s capital?
Knowing your photo rights is incredibly important. although I have yet to be stopped for taking photos, I want to be prepared in case it happens. Websites like Carlos Miller’s documents inappropriate law enforcement activity and the huge misconceptions about photography in public. The biggest misconception: photographing federal buildings is illegal. Think about it this way, if google streetview can take a picture of it, why can’t you? This fear of terrorism appears to prompt many in law enforcement to stop photographers from taking perfectly legal photos. anyway. read up and keep in mind the following:
Ok, so DC is trying to become more bike friendly – thankfully! unfortunately, there have been some casualties of people getting killed by cars in the district. When possible, a white bicycle is locked to something near the location of the incident. This is just a reminder not only for cyclists but also drivers that they need to watch out for bikers on the road. Read More
I just came across this article where WaPo reports DC is being looked at by NY restaurateurs as a good area to expand, citing the stable economy and cheaper leases. I and definitely a fan of this, as it should make our 2-3 year food trend gap a little shorter as restaurants look to DC for expansion. Areas like Penn Quarter, Georgetown, and Downtown (and probably the Verizon center area) are the areas of focus for their high traffic and established businesses/attractions. Areas like U St and 14th St. are not on the radar yet – probably because these are the up and coming places not yet established.
While in Las Vegas recently, I got to eat at Restaurant Guy Savoy in Caesar’s Palace. This renowned French chef gained international attention with his Michelin-starred restaurants as well as Bravo TV’s Top Chef notoriety. His two premiere restaurants are in Paris, France, and Las Vegas. The Las Vegas location has earned 2 stars from Michelin.
*** Update (from eater.com): Washington, DC-area burger restaurant chain BGR The Burger Joint thought their burgers needed to be a little more Jersey, and thus are introducing the Snooki Burger next month. After calling for suggestions online, responses included “stuffed with an Italian sausage” and “marinated in tequila and desperation.”
BGR reminds me a LOT of BRGR in NYC. These slightly more high-end burgers are a noticeable step up from the ubiquitous Five Guys. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Five Guys – with all the toppings, the deliciously seasoned burger, it’s a great place to pig out. But BGR and BRGR have (not only similar names) a slightly elevated set of burgers – even their menus are a little similar.
From Boston, MA, Todd English‘s Olives restaurants are described as “rustic Mediterranean” with locations in Massachusetts, Las Vegas, NYC, as well as here in DC.
The two things I kept reading about the Vegas Olives was (1) get the beef carpaccio and (2) get a seat on the patio or near the windows so you can see the Bellagio fountain show.
Business has been booming and reservation books have been maxed out at Volt, Chef Bryan Voltaggio’s Frederick, MD restaurant located right in the middle of downtown. His restaurant’s notoriety exploded as the chef climbed Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 6 ladder, only losing in the end to his brother, Michael.
After making reservations 2 months in advance, our group was excited to eat Sunday lunch at Volt. Read More
Blog-iversary Month!
So I can’t believe how quickly a year has passed. Since Mark set me up with this sweet blog url and website (he also customized the theme and layout), I’ve been trying to do it justice by writing as much as I can. Although I had a rocky start, I think I’ve kind of found a rhythm to keep up the regular posts. Being it is a blog-iversary, I wanted to look back at the inaugural year of this blog.
Whew! What a year!
I think I’m going to try to continue this blog as it seems to be a nice way for people to keep up with what’s going on. Hopefully you don’t mind the occasional rant, but I try to keep things here pretty open-minded. Please feel free to make comments all you like – I do read them all.