Thursday, September 15, 2011

Bethesda Delight / Bold Bite

Sometimes we wonder if we chose the right spot to live. I had some serious anxiety about balancing cost, size, DC-proximity, quality, public transportation when we were apartment hunting, but, for the most part, we did ok. I like to daydream and pretend that living on the hill would be practical for us, and sometimes I even entertain thoughts of apartments with more than 200 square feet per person. And, in all honesty, we often laugh about the fact that we probably should have chosen Maryland over Virginia, since Sam's contracts have been split between DC and MD (and never VA). 

But regardless of living on the opposite end of the metropolitan area, we have come to love Bethesda. Sam worked there for about a year (he's back in DC now), and it's one of my favorite spots. The neighborhoods are old and super posh, and the drive to Sam's office led us past schools such as Holton-Arms (boasting Julia Louis-Dreyfus as an alumnus-- did you know she's a billionaire heiress?). And besides a significantly less-crowded Georgetown Cupcake, there are plenty of restaurants to try, like Bold Bite.
(Should I be embarrassed that we went out to eat specifically for hot dogs so soon after our hot dog binge? [Because this was in August-- just over a month after the contest.] Well, no! I am not embarrassed! I have never hidden my love for hot dogs!)
Well, I'll tell you this much: I had an all-natural beef frank with ketchup, mayo(!), shredded cabbage, diced onions, and crunchy potato sticks, and it rocked. Sure, maybe after that and tons of fries my arteries were significantly more clogged and my blood sugar spiked, but it was oh, so worth it.

(guys, what is it about hot dogs? why do I love them so much?)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

promises, promises

I don't know, guys. This ol' blog is sure struggling stay alive. But despite it being four years since I graduated college, there is still something about the  start of a new school year that makes me want to buckle down and get things done. I apparently never keep my blog promises though, so I am not promising anything. (Because then, when I do come back here, y'all will be super excited-- I just KNOW it!)In the meantime, last week was my sixth wedding anniversary. And Sam and I went out on a real live date, and let me tell you, those are very few and very far between. We went over to Shirlington to finally see Midnight in Paris, and I loved it with all my heart. I am so glad I knew nothing about the plot. It was such a lovely surprise. I kind of want to own it so I can watch it again and again. And now I have been researching plane tickets to Paris all week. (Purely hypothetical at this point.) (Also, random tidbit: did you know I studied French for seven years? C'est vrai.)
After the movie, we wandered over to Thai Shirlington, a place introduced to me by one of my all-time favorite people, Amanda. Even at 9 pm the weather was fantastic, so we sat outside to enjoy our Thai feast.
There was coconut shrimp, tofu musaman, and green curry. All delicious and wonderful. 

And then for dessert there was stuffed roti dough. Sam saw the mysterious thing on the menu and wanted to be adventurous. Something about a taro root jam stuffed into deep fried roti dough topped with taro root ice cream and and taro root chip. It was fun and cool, and I would totally get it again, but Sam testifies that it changed his life. It made him a better person, and I almost thought he would begin glowing or crying tears of pure gold he loved it so much. Moral of the story: I love marriage. I love Paris. I love Thai food. Yum.