Old Town Alexandria

 M: Good ole Alexandria. AVA. Atown. I’ve lived in Alexandria my whole life so I come down to Old Town a lot. There’s a variety of things to do. There are tons of restaurants from fine dining to casual, tons of shopping from well-known stores to local boutiques, and a great view once you get down to the waterfront area.

R: Personally, I think Old Town is a bit overrated. If it weren’t for sentimental reasons and its proximity to my house, I don’t think I’d go there much. It’s a cute area, with a few stores but I don’t think I’d ever go there to shop. It’s the kind of place you go to browse and window shop after you go to a nearby restaurant. One of the places I’ve been to since I was a kid is “Bugsy’s Pizza”. It’s a great family place. Also, right next door is “Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Company”. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Bugsy’s without making a stop at Pop’s afterwards for my favorite, Bubblegum icecream.  
M: I’ve eaten in Old Town plenty of times. “Mai Thai” or “Pasara Thai” are good fallback places for Thai food. “Austin Grill” is pretty well known for Mexican food, but I didn’t think it was that great. “Momo Sushi” is great for sushi and plus it has my name in it. “Table Talk” is a good breakfast place. If you realllllllly feel like spending some money, head over to the “Majestic”.  It is great fine dining (Michelle Obama was there a week before I went) but it is a bit pricey, ~$120 for two.

M: Old Town is about twenty blocks long and wide. It starts at the waterfront and ends at the foot of the Masonic Temple.  From here, you can get a great view of the whole of Old Town.  

R: The Masonic Temple sports a great view of Alexandria as well as being a very old historic place. If you get a chance, go for a guided tour, they’re about $5/person. If not, you can explore for yourself, but you won’t be able to go up to the top of the building without a tour guide.

Georgetown Waterfront

R: The Georgetown Waterfront is lined with nice restaurants and places to eat. During the summer, sitting outside under one of their umbrellas or outside tables lends to a pretty gorgeous view.
M: You can walk the docks and have a great view of the Kennedy Center on the other side of the Potomac, planes flying nearby heading to Reagan National, crew teams racing down the river, and lots of bystanders just enjoying the moment. A pretty nice place to go people watching.
R: I’ve been there a few times, once to “Farmers and Fishers” for dinner and drinks with some friends, and another time recently for drinks at “Sequoia”. At “Farmers and Fishers” I got their roasted vegetable pizza which was very good. They’re known for their use of farm-fresh ingredients in their pizza which gives them a unique and fresh taste. My sister has gone to “Sequoia” almost every year now to celebrate her birthday. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things each time. “Cabanas” is the next Georgetown Waterfront dining spot on my list for this summer.
M: I tried the oysters at “Sequoia” for Happy Hour which were pretty good. They bring it on a nice plate of ice with the typical garnishes and a cute little mini bottle of Tabasco sauce. All around us, I felt as if we were surrounded by executives dressed to the nines.
R: Definitely! You do not want to come to this place under dressed. Also, the setting is beautiful. There are ceiling-tall windows that give you a sight of the waterfront, as you dine and dazzling blue and silver chandeliers hanging from above.
M:It’s only three blocks away from the main roads of Georgetown so take a trek down the hill and check it out. There’s a theater nearby, so it’s nice for dinner, movie, and drinks.

ShamrockFest

M: Brazil has Carnaval, New Orleans has Mardi Gras. Washington DC has ShamrockFest.
R: I had always heard about Shamrockfest on the radio and whatnot and had always been curious. It definitely was something totally different for me, but so much fun! My highlights for the day are, good people, great environment, funnel cake, and PAULY D!
M: AW YEAH. AW YEAH! So there were a ton of people, actually thousands of people. On the way there we took the metro and more than half the people riding were wearing green and being obnoxious (and drunk). Right before we got it, there was a little area where everyone chugged their drinks and left them.

Also, metro was supposed to have more trains running that day to RFK, but instead, they had repairs going on and had less.

Everything was overpriced though of course. $8 for a cheesesteak, $4 per person for a carnival ride, but worst of all was $10 for a beer or $20 for 3 beers. And it wasn’t even good stuff, Miller Lite or Guiness. The day was good. I was dead tired but still good. Make sure you pregame and whatnot. And unless you’re ambitious don’t plan on going out afterwards. Everyone I went with was asleep by 11:30.

R: I am definitely up for doing it again, just next time, I plan on being more well rested so that I don't fall asleep on the metro ride back.

http://shamrockfest.com/

DC Marina Fish Market

R: So one of our friends told us about this spot by the DC Marina where he had taken his girlfriend where you can sit on the pier and watch the sunset with a bottle of wine and some fresh seafood right there on the water. He told us it was a great view and great experience so we decided to check it out for ourselves.

M: I used to come here once in a while with my family to buy different kinds of fish. Good products, bad smell, but that’s normal. 
R: So we went one day, but couldn’t find the exact spot he was talking about, but I’m sure its pretty cool, so if you go keep an eye out for it. Instead we just went and got some food.
M: I love oysters. Raha doesn’t. I noticed that they had fresh, raw oysters that you could buy and eat on the spot. The guy there shucks it and puts it on a plate for you. They had lemon and cheap hot sauce to go with it too.
R: This was my first oyster experience and let’s just say, I literally felt like i slurped a shell full of the Potomac River mixed with something squishy and chewy, called an oyster. I don’t understand why this is a delicacy, but apparently it is. Also, aren’t oysters an aphrodisiac? Didn’t turn me on.. haha. Anyhow, I’m always up for trying new things.

M: I gotta agree that these were a little bit different than what I was used to in restaurants. It was more ocean-y and I definitely got sand or whatever on my hand from the shell. Definitely fresh.

But for those who aren’t as adventurous, they have other kinds of seafood, such as shrimp, crabs, and even hot clam chowder.

Georgetown Cupcake

M: So everyone in DC has this weird food fad that I never really understood, but after going to Georgetown Cupcake, I was a little bit more enlightened.

R: I love cupcakes so much(..this is a major understatement). If anyone knows me, they know that I am obsessed. I have had cupcakes from different spots in the area that we may review later, such as Buzz and Red Velvet, but had never been to the world-renown Georgetown Cupcake. It was my cousin’s birthday and we decided to go and get him a birthday cupcake from the hottest cupcake place in town.

M: So we went on a Tuesday afternoon at around 2:00pm and the freakin’ line took 30 minutes to get through. I always saw lines like that in the evening and on weekends, but I was surprised to see it like that at that time. I feel like there is never any downtime. Tells me a lot about the quality of the place.
R: The place is tiny, so they only can let in a few at a time. As we got to the front, Mo was let in, and then the lady told me to stop and wait haha. I proceeded to tell her I was with him and then she let me in.

M: Their menus are these giant cards that have schedules for what kind of cupcakes they make daily (usual stuff), what they make on certain days of the week, and seasonal ones. I got the mint cookies n’ cream which was quite lovely, excuse my language. I was also turned on by the salted-caramel cupcake.

R: It’s so funny to watch all the little teeny boppers taking pictures in front of the signs, and the cupcakes (I shouldn’t poke too much fun, because I was practically doing the same, snapping pics all over the place.)

M: At $2.75 a cupcake, it’s actually cheaper than the other places we’ve been to. The only thing is they charge $.50 to put it in a box, and even more extra for gift wrap.

R: After having the cupcake, I don’t want to say I was disappointed, but I guess I had sky high expectations, and they were only met halfway. I guess I sometimes want a traditional vanilla cupcake with normal buttercream frosting, not this whole Madagascar blah blah frosting. But I guess that’s what makes them different and gourmet. Don’t get me wrong, still a tasty cupcake but I don’t know if I’d wait in that line again for them or pay close to $20 bucks for six cupcakes. It’s just one of those things you need to try once, just to say you did it.

FYI: There is a secret flavor each day that is not on the menu but rather announced via twitter or Facebook. The first 100 people to show up and order it by name get it free,so check that out before you go.

http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/

Gravelly Point

R: We decided to start our blog with Gravelly Point because...
1) We ourselves started at this very spot March 8, 2010

2) We go back periodically, and were there just a few days ago.

M: It’s one of the best spots to go in the Northern Virginia area.  Located just north of Ronald Reagan Airport, it’s a park that lets you watch planes fly right over your head as they head in and out of the airport.

R: I don’t know if I’d say its one of the best spots in Northern Virginia but it’s definitely the perfect place to take a date! Score some points with your significant other by planning a romantic rendezvous or picnic here on a nice sunny day. The plane watching is amazing. It seems like they fly right over your head at times. Although planes landing seem to be closer overhead, for some reason, I feel like I’ve always seen many more planes taking off, rather than landing.  
M: It’s nice for those times when you just don’t know what to do or where to go. Meet up with friends and just hang out or go on your own with your iPod and relax. It’s right next to the Potomac River too so you get an awesome view of the Washington Monument and DC landmarks while you go for a run, bike on the trail, or take a boat out on the water. The monuments all look pretty cool at night especially.
R: Keep in mind though that the park is closed at night, so plan accordingly. But I think we'd both agree, it's a pretty awesome place to visit if you're in the area, at least once!