Alexandria, Georgetown & DC conference trip

I'm in the DC area for a few days for a marketing conference. I got here last night and I'm staying with my friend Anh, who I met way back in 1998 on the David Wu for Congress campaign in Portland, OR. Those were the days, both of us were in our early 20s with lots and lots of drama in our lives. Fast forward 11 years and most of that drama is gone (for us both). Now she and her husband Craig have a nice townhouse located about a mile from the Metro, or as I like to call it, the T. I'm from Boston so whenever there is a subway I just call it "the T" even though it may be called "the Metro", "the L" or just "the subway".

Anh is a coffee obsessed person like I am. Although she craves the caffeine in addition to the taste of coffee. I just enjoy the taste of coffee only. I try to only drink decaf, but when traveling, especially to conferences and on vacation, I will drink caffeinated. Being a native of the Pacific Northwest (Portland, OR), Anh recently went home for a visit and got this incredible coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters. We ground some of the Hair Bender and I did a French press. It was so good. I think it made me a bit too hyper as I was blabbing a lot when I was at the conference. On the right is all of Anh's coffee and coffee brewing devices.

Last night we went to a cool little restaurant called Rustico, which is about a 2 min walk from her place. We ordered the Greek Pie pizza. It's basically a Greek salad on top of a nice thick crust. Featuring hummus, chopped romaine, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and a feta-oregano vinaigrette dressing, it was delicious. It wasn't too heavy, which most pizzas I have experienced tend to be. Actually I enjoy pizzas with very little cheese. I just love topping and sauce. The photo on the left is a very unique mosaic wall inside the restaurant where mugs are actually cemented to it. It's directly behind the wood fire oven. Very cool.

Anh and I are famous for our sweet teeth, so we had to get dessert. We headed across the street to the Buzz Bakery Coffee & Lounge. I had a craving for a red velvet cupcake. Anh had the carrot cake one. Both had a nice cream cheese frosting with chocolate curls on top. We also grabbed some almond biscotti to go to have with our French pressed coffee the next day. I really loved the vibe there and this was exactly the kind of place I want to open someday. I don't know when but I will own a cafe at some point in the next 10 years.

I met up with my cousin this afternoon for lunch in the Georgetown area. After she dropped me off I walked around the streets and enjoyed a coffee at Dean & Deluca. You order coffee outside and inside is the actual store with a deli counter, baked goods and other groceries. I wish SoCal had a Dean & Deluca. I would go every week, although it can be kind of expensive. I would probably just get chocolate or coffee there only. Maybe a biscotti. Their cookies are amazing too.