DC Travels, Day 1

I drove two and a half hours north on a gray chilly Friday morning to the Franconia-Springfield Metro stop and took the Blue Line into downtown DC. One of the things that's different with the trains here as opposed to New York or Chicago is you have to pay your fare based off the distance you travel. So for each trip, you have to scan your card twice, on when you enter and then after you depart. I arrived at a hotel called Club Quarters, two blocks north of the White House. They told me to check in early, I would have to pay an additional $50. I didn't have the slightest interest in paying 33% more than what I paid for the room so I had them hold my bags until the afternoon.

My first stop was Arlington Cemetery, southwest of DC. It was a cold day, kind of fitting for being at a cemetery. I immediately went to the Kennedy family site, where JFK, RFK, Ted Kennedy, and the like are buried. Some of the other highlights were the Unknowns, President Taft, Abner Doubleday, Joe Louis, and Medgar Evers. I have to admit when I got to Doubleday's grave, I got a little annoyed. I said out loud "Abner, if it wasn't for you the Mets wouldn't torture me like they do!"

I'd never been to Chopt before, but for my first meal in DC, I thought I would go healthier so I didn't have to feel too guilty about indulging later. I ordered the Smoky Santa Cruz salad with grilled chicken, avocado, corn, scallions, tri-color quinoa, black beans, kale, broccoleaf (whatever that is) & purple cabbage. The two dressings were their Sweet 'n Smoky vinaigrette, which is actually pretty spicy, and the Mexican goddess, which had avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno. I like that they chop the salads on the board before serving it in the plastic bowl. I asked for some extra lime wedges and they even gave me an extra piece of bread, which I definitely needed to counter the heat. The ingredients were fresh and the salad was rather filling. Also, I give them props for their variety of lemonades and iced teas. The mint lemonade was especially enjoyable. I wish they had a location in coastal Virginia, but I'll probably have another salad her the next time I'm in the DC area.

It was only 12:15, so I knew I had time before my check in. I walked around the White House, where I saw a few too many classless protesters. I also walked around the National Christmas tree, which was much smaller than some of the others I've seen, such as the trees in Rockefeller Center or Millennium Park. There was also a tree from every state and US territory to walk by, about 55 in all. It was cool seeing several train sets running around the trees as well. 

I walked south to Constitution Street, then walked west to the Lincoln Memorial. Being a big Lincoln fan, it's hard to come to DC without heading over there. I had done a lot of walking by this point, so I was getting anxious to check in and recharge. So I walked back north through George Washington University and then east towards my hotel. I sat in Farragut Park for a while, fitting since the two nearest train stops to me were Farragut North and Farragut West. There wasn't much to the park, just a big statue of a General Farragut and a lot of food trucks parked around the curb. 

Around 1:30, I decided to see if there was a room and there actually was. I checked in, grabbed some bottled water, which happened to be available right outside my room on the eighth floor, and laid in bed for maybe an hour. 

I decided to eat in the Chinatown section at Nando Nando's, which is a place that serves grilled chicken with an African/Portuguese flavor. . I'm going to get my gripe out of the way. I don't need to know where a restaurant's political allegiances lie or if they support certain kinds of "lifestyles." Just make good food, treat customers well, and leave the human rights issues off your entrance window. Unnecessary and unappreciated. Now that we got that out of the way, I enjoyed my meal very much. I ordered a half chicken grilled with their medium sauce and a side of chips (Fries). The chicken was very juicy and I liked adding a little bit of the lemon herb sauce for some extra citrus tang. The medium sauce worked well for me, but I think I could have handled the hot. The fries were well seasoned with a seasoning salt, but maybe could have been a bit crispier. I also like that they have the Coke freestyle machine, I'll always give props for that. My meal was about $18, which might be a little high, but not too crazy. 

Onto Penn Social bar. Two hundred Rangers fans gathered before. I recognized my friend Zack, who I didn't even know was going to be there. He bought me a Winter IPA, which was delicious. Around 6:!5, I walked over to Capital One Center. Ironically, I hadn't seen one person wearing a Capitals logo all day until I got to the arena. The game was horrible, I left in the middle of the second period when Washington made it 2-0. Even though the Rangers did manage to tie the game 2-2, they wound up giving up a goal with 5 minutes left to blow the game anyway.

Miserable and aggravated, I didn't know if I wanted to eat, get wasted, or just go back to the room. I did forget about Bobby Flay's burger joint, but I did go to Shake Shack in Dupont Circle. I got the double Shack burger. The Martin's potato roll is perfect for a burger, soft and spongy. The beef is still juicy. The thing that bothers me with Shake Shack is they so often get the toppings wrong. I asked for lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion and they left out the lettuce and tomato. I didn't even think about the shack sauce, but that was missing too. I like that they have some decent craft beer options, like Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA. I do wish they had more sauces than ketchup and regular mustard. Maybe some garlic aioli, honey mustard, or BBQ sauce.