In a Melistocratic World…

Melissa & Brian, sunset

We walked down to the beach area at the JW Marriot Ko Olina, while Justin and Ruby were getting their photos taken during sunset.

5700 Columbia Pike Arlington, VA 22204 (703) 820-2870

Just checked this place out on Sunday night and I am glad we did. My boyfriend and I are familiar with Ethiopian food and it is one of our favorite cuisines. While we’ve been to one of the trendy D.C. Ethiopian places, it’s nice sometimes to be able to just head out to a less crowded restaurant in the ‘burbs.

The space is large and very open, with authentic decor on the walls, a large, modern bar and a stage and dance floor. There is live music and Ethiopian dancers every Friday and Sunday night. Coincidentally, we headed there on a Sunday night and i am so glad we did!

The first good sign was the large amount of Ethiopian people dining here. Second, the wait staff was very friendly. We got a table right away. The food was quite good. We ordered some Ethiopian basics since this was our first time to this place: Doro Wat (traditional spicy Chicken dish) and a vegetarian platter. The Doro wat sauce was fantastic…spicy, rich and complex. However, there was one overcooked chicken leg in it! Maybe this is the way that some places prepare it but I have always had a large portion with shredded pieces of chicken in it. The sauce was wonderful for dipping but I was disappointed in the small sinewy piece of chicken we got.

The vegetable platter contained the usual suspects: yellow split peas (slightly bland), collard greens, cabbage, and spicy lentils (delish!). Most of the vegetables were served cold, which again, I have never experienced at an Ethiopian place. They were tasty, but next time I will ask them to heat everything. Included on the vegetarian platter was a delicious cottage cheese, dry and chunky how i like it.

I would definitely recommend this place for a simple date night or for going with a group of friends. It is a very good addition to the NoVa dining scene. Can’t wait to go back and try some of their other dishes.

Colorado Kitchen is closing its doors. Oh, but those donuts! They were so good. Service was not. See the DCist’s article here:

Colorado Kitchen

Restaurant Name: Atlacatl and Pupuseria
Location: 4701 Columbia Pike Arlington, VA 22204 (703) 920-3680 Category: Restaurants 4 star rating 06/13/2008

If you want to have authentic, no frills El Salvadorean food where the neighborhood folks go, then this is your place. It is located on Columbia Pike on your way to Bailey’s Crossroads. Easy parking and never too crowded. The wait staff is friendly and most of the customers are spanish-speaking.

The food is delicious, though a little greasy, but it’s obvious that this place ain’t for the health-conscious. When you first sit down, you are given a complimentary basket of fried yucca with a dipping sauce. Totally yummy! Also, the horchatas (mexican rice milk drink) are AMAZING!

Expect to hear spanish music playing or spanish daytime talk shows blaring on the television sets, making the place all the more authentic. And best of all, this place is CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP.

Restaurant Review: Colorado Kitchen

Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, American (Traditional) Neighborhood: Brightwood 2 star rating

I was very skeptical about trying this place, especially after all of the mixed reviews. However, I was lured by the prospect of fresh donuts. Add to that some friends in town that I was hoping to impress with something different than the usual brunch places.

I have never been so disappointed in a brunch experience. The food is good. I will not deny it. But how much trouble should one go through for your standard breakfast fare? What disappointed me so much about this place was their general apathy towards their customers. The service was disorganized, disorganized, disorganized.

We got there at 11:30. The wait was advertised as 45 to an hour. Fine. No problem. We can wait. After that wait though, we then waited for over 20 minutes staring at a table that we knew was ours (our name was next on the wait list) but could not sit at it until it was cleared. The worst part is that the owner, prominently perched in the kitchen overlooking the dining area, didn’t seem concerned that the lines were long and that there were empty tables just waiting to be occupied. The waitress seemed spaced out on meds, forgot to refill coffee and had to be flagged down three times in order for us to get our check. This was a four hour dining disaster that ate up half of my day. On top of everything, they were out of their “signature” grits by the time the waitress was available to take my order.

The decor: kitschy. The food: quite good. The service: NOT WORTH IT.

I will never go back. If you have an entire day to waste and do not twitch at the sight of glaringly obvious poor service and lack of management, then try it. But since there are plenty of other places with good food and GREAT service to boot, why would anyone waste their time?

Restaurant Name: Rasika
Location: 633 D St NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 637-1222 Category: Indian/Pakistani 5 star rating Reviewed 4/9/08

This place was absolutely delicious. A group of 8 of us went last night and were very impressed by not only the food but the decor, atmosphere and service. This is top-notch Indian food at prices that are not quite as cheap as the local Indian joint on your block, but reasonable for what you are getting.

The food was not heavy or greasy. I started with the crispy spinach, their signature dish, and it is not to be missed! The burnt garlic chicken was great, as was the paneer (more of a cottage cheese consistency than solid blocks of cheese) and the lamb kabob. Everyone at my table was impressed with their selections and this is definitely a place you can take meat-lovers and vegetarians alike.

The atmosphere is definitely conducive to either a ladies night out or a romantic date. I will be going back very soon!

It has been a great opportunity to be able to come to Istanbul for a few days. My job sent me here to recruit MBA students at the World MBA tour. They asked me just a week prior to the trip, and of course I said yes!

I arrived at the Ataturk airport in the early afternoon. I was warned that taxi drivers might see that I am an American tourist and take me on the long route to my hotel, just to hike up the meter. Even though work is paying for my transportation, I couldn’t see being finagled out of the money! I took the Havas shuttle bus to my hotel for only 8 ytl (turkish lira). That’s a bargain Of course, I didn’t know where I was headed but Taksim Square, where I am staying, is a popular destination, and the driver was very helpful.

One of the first things i saw leaving the airport were military personnel carrying machine guns. It was a startling sight, and I have continued to see them here and there. Currently, there are tensions on the Iraqi/Turkish border and it’s been all over the news here. Condoleeza Rice just happened to be visiting the Turkish Prime Minister yesterday morning. I was a little worried when I first arrived because Turkey was threatening action against the Iraqi rebels, but now that i see all of these Turkish people walking around without worries, I decided not to be worried either.

So, what can I say about Istanbul so far? It is the only city to be situated on both the continent of Europe and the continent of Asia, and it used to be the capital of Turkey but lost that honor to Ankara many years ago. Still, it’s considered the political, social and cultural hub of Turkey, and it’s easy to see why. It is so cosmopolitan! It’s buzzing with people all of the time, lots of young, stylish people. I can’t understand a word of what the people on the streets are saying but they are animated, happy and full of life. It’s exciting to be here.

I worked today for 4 hours and had a great time doing so. I got to meet a lot of very talented Turkish students, many of which have studied law, marketing, finance and engineering here in their country. I really enjoyed having the time to speak with so many interesting people. And I will now look forward to the rest of my time here being free time!

Tonight was the second night I left the hotel to walk around on Istiklal Caddesi, the main strip in the Beyoglu neighborhood. My Time Out tour book told me where the fish markets are and where the hippest area to eat is, and I was lucky enough to snag a table on the second floor balcony overlooking the crowds. It was people watching at its best! My waiter was SO nice, despite our communication issues He brought out a huge tray of mezzes (turkish tapas) and I chose eggplant w/ tomatoes, spicy cheese, fried squid w/ a garlic yogurt sauce, and dolmades. The food was delicious! I had a small bottle of raki, which is the traditional Turkish drink. It tastes like aniseed, and it’s very similar to Greek Ouzo. It is a clear drink, but once you pour a little water into it, it turns cloudy and white. Not bad, though not something I’d drink every day.

Tomorrow I will be touring the city and seeing the major sites. I have a tour guide and driver picking me up at 9:30am. It’s a privilege for me that work has agreed to let me stay an extra day to take in the beautiful architecture of the Ottoman empire. Lots of photos to come!

So far, I am really enjoying this trip. It would have been nice to have some company to share this with, but I feel very safe on my own and have been impressed by the friendly nature of the Turkish people I have met.

Is it me or is Grey’s Anatomy kind of lame this season? I always look forward to Fall T.V., but this year nothing is doing it for me. Hopefully Lost will be the redeeming show of the season, once it finally starts.

I am sick of the Meredith/Derek drama, I wish Callie would just slap George upside the head already, and Christina has become a snoozefest without Burke. Is the show losing its oomph? Even the medical stuff is becoming more unbelievable than before. Without Big Brother, Grey’s of the past, a Lost hiatus, and baseball almost over, what’s a girl to do? Get a REAL hobby?

I used to always say that summer was my favorite season, but as I get older I think I am leaning towards fall for sure. Since we are living in D.C this fall, I have come to appreciate the season so much more because it’s taking FOREVER to get here. September was almost unbearably hot and humid here, and we were envious hearing from our friends at home in Boston who said there was a good chill in the air weeks ago.

This weekend is supposed to feel like fall and I am so excited, especially since the Sox will be playing in the World Series! There are so many Red Sox fans here in the D.C. area. It’s comforting, and helps the home-sickness somewhat to be amongst other fans. One of the bars around the corner is actually a Red Sox bar and they play all of the games. We have spent a good share of our time there in the past 6 weeks.

I’ve got some good plans for this coming weekend, the last one in October. There’s a strong possibility that pumpkin and apple picking will be going on, as well as watching Sox games, cooking some stews, drinking Pumpkin beer (thanks, Mom T!) and enjoying my time with B before he heads off for a conference in Texas.

I’m crossing my fingers that our D.C. fall can last through to December.

Next Month’s Cover

It doesn’t get much funnier than this. I laughed my ass off when it came out of the photo booth at National Geographic.

We visited the little museum at National Geographic when we came down in July to find us an apartment and me a job. It was fun to see where B would be working. We didn’t go up to the offices though because he didn’t have his ID badge yet.