DO: food
So, to start rather vanilla about our weekend...
Mmmmm. A heavenly weekend.
Friday night we decided to just eat in the hotel to get our bearings and just plain relax. They (Hyatt) had a cute little bar/cafe (called "Cure"), so we went with that. OMG. Amazing food! We started with a stout cheddar cheese, served with jam and roasted pecans and bread. Perfect. I ordered some pate which was positively perfect, and extra-enjoyable with the fig preserves and bread that came along with that. I ordered a whole trout that was roasted over endives with a browned butter hazelnut sauce. I also ordered a side of potatoes roasted in duck fat. Mike had a huge plate of mac-n-cheese with ham throughout it and this very crunchy tasty crust, along with a side of baby carrots steamed very lightly and then coated with a bit of honey and butter. We wanted dessert, but there was simply not room for it after all that. The prices were a little high, but the portions were so large it was actually quite economical. We originally figured it would be one of "those places" that would bring out one 2" long carrot and call that a "side". Nope. Nothing like that. Truly delicious food, a bit pricey but a good deal given both quality and portions, and wonderful staff.
Saturday night we went down to Dupont Circle to do some shopping/looking around, and then chose to eat at a random Thai place near some of those shops. Heaven again! I had breaded duck in a spicy basil and chili sauce, topped with crispy fried basil leaves. Iirc, M had a combination-meat sort of dish. Geez...I can't remember what it was now! He also had a corn soup that was quite tasty. I had Thai Tea, and he had a Long Beach Iced Tea that kicked his butt. :) For dessert, I had one of my very favorites: sticky rice and mango. Tough to make me happier food/dessert wise.
Sunday night we walked a block or two to Chinatown and decided upon Tony Chen's. It was quite good as expected. We started with a little pupu platter with the little grill before us with 4 or 5 appetizery options on it. For dinner I went with a classic beef with orange flavor which was very good (although I still prefer Fortune Garden here in NC, amazingly) and M tried shrimp and sizzling rice--sizzling rice being new to him. Another fantastic choice, and another night with no room for dessert.
All in all, very happy with our choices and would definitely recommend all the places we tried.
Mmmmm. A heavenly weekend.
Friday night we decided to just eat in the hotel to get our bearings and just plain relax. They (Hyatt) had a cute little bar/cafe (called "Cure"), so we went with that. OMG. Amazing food! We started with a stout cheddar cheese, served with jam and roasted pecans and bread. Perfect. I ordered some pate which was positively perfect, and extra-enjoyable with the fig preserves and bread that came along with that. I ordered a whole trout that was roasted over endives with a browned butter hazelnut sauce. I also ordered a side of potatoes roasted in duck fat. Mike had a huge plate of mac-n-cheese with ham throughout it and this very crunchy tasty crust, along with a side of baby carrots steamed very lightly and then coated with a bit of honey and butter. We wanted dessert, but there was simply not room for it after all that. The prices were a little high, but the portions were so large it was actually quite economical. We originally figured it would be one of "those places" that would bring out one 2" long carrot and call that a "side". Nope. Nothing like that. Truly delicious food, a bit pricey but a good deal given both quality and portions, and wonderful staff.
Saturday night we went down to Dupont Circle to do some shopping/looking around, and then chose to eat at a random Thai place near some of those shops. Heaven again! I had breaded duck in a spicy basil and chili sauce, topped with crispy fried basil leaves. Iirc, M had a combination-meat sort of dish. Geez...I can't remember what it was now! He also had a corn soup that was quite tasty. I had Thai Tea, and he had a Long Beach Iced Tea that kicked his butt. :) For dessert, I had one of my very favorites: sticky rice and mango. Tough to make me happier food/dessert wise.
Sunday night we walked a block or two to Chinatown and decided upon Tony Chen's. It was quite good as expected. We started with a little pupu platter with the little grill before us with 4 or 5 appetizery options on it. For dinner I went with a classic beef with orange flavor which was very good (although I still prefer Fortune Garden here in NC, amazingly) and M tried shrimp and sizzling rice--sizzling rice being new to him. Another fantastic choice, and another night with no room for dessert.
All in all, very happy with our choices and would definitely recommend all the places we tried.