Things 146, 147, 148 and 20 Revisited

Well, it seems that it took ten weeks before I abandoned one of my new years resolution to blog more regularly.  But, it was in part because I was busy completing a different resolution that I didn't tell you about at the time (in case of utter failure).  And that resolution was to complete the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler.  Which I did.  

So, without further ado, a brief roundup of the Things I've been up to in my absence.

Thing 146: Run the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler

I've never been a runner in my life, so what possessed me to sign up for my very first race and have it be not just a 5k, or heck, even a 10k, but ten miles?  Apparently, I don't like to do anything half-assed.

So I started training in December, building up to three miles as a comfortable base distance.  Then I joined a running group that trains for this specific race.  We met on Saturday mornings going ever-further distances: three miles, then four, then six, then (I can't believe it still) eight, until I'd built up to 9.75 the week before the big race.  Eight miles really seems like a lot when you look at map to see that you've run from Foggy Bottom to Lincoln Park and back.  

Race Day was beautiful.  The weather was a warm, breezy 70 degrees, the sun was out and everyone was in great spirits.  The people cheering along the route helped to keep my spirits up as I ran from the Washington Monument, across the Memorial Bridge and back, down to the Kennedy Center, around the Tidal Basin, around Haines Point and back to the Memorial.  And I beat my goal time of two hours by a whopping eleven minutes!  Coming in at 1:48:59, I completed my first ten miler.

Thing 147: Founding Farmers

This restaurant has been buzzing since it opened, and I'm surprised it took me so long to make it over there, seeing as how their philosophy is very much in tune with mine. 

At Founding Farmers we believe that everyone benefits by knowing more about the source of the food they eat. We understand the journey of our products from seed to harvest, and from Farm-to-Table. Owned by a collective of American family farmers, Founding Farmers exists to promote the products and services of family farms, ranches, and fisheries.

Plus, the have a bacon-bourbon cocktail.  Bacon! And bourbon! In a cocktail!  

I went for a work lunch, and my guest and I had a really great experience.  I had heard mixed things about the service, but one time I was there our service was impeccable.  In fact, our waiter walked us through choices on the menu, specialty cocktails and why they were so special, and even shared a laugh with us about biodynamic wines.  And he read my mind when he asked if I was ready for the carrot cake I hadn't ordered yet but was so totally ready for.

The food was great, too.  I had a harvest salad with fresh spinach, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, thick cut cubes of bacon and caramelized onions.  My guest had fried chicken and waffles, which I stole a bite of in order to vouch that the fried chicken was juicy and crispy and all those things fried chicken really ought to be.  And the carrot cake was exactly what I wanted, with not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting and these ridiculously good candied pecans.

My bacon bourbon cocktail?  The biggest disappointment.  Perfect in theory, but in practice, you get a glass of cold, spicy bourbon and a hot bacon lollipop on the side, and consuming it in a way that makes sense is impossible.  Either you dunk the lolly, in which case the bacon gets cold and the fat congeals, or you drink and nibble, drink and nibble, which is simply too high maintenance for a cocktail.  

This place is not cheap, so save it for a special occasion.  But that said, I did have a good experience here.

Thing 148: The Shakespeare Theatre Company

Hey, remember when I saw The Heavens are Hung in Black and it was terrible?  Well, my recent experience at the Shakespeare Theatre was the exact opposite of that.

My friend Sam took me to see Ion, "the Greek tragedy with a happy ending", in the newly built theater in Chinatown.  The play has been updated in language and look, and I have to admit, I just loved the whole production.  The Greek chorus was recast to be a half-dozen modern-day tourists who attended to a royal power couple.  Apollo's temple was a tourist attraction, attended to by Ion, a boy born to Creusa after she was raped by Apollo.  (The back story recap was done with puppets and was both playful and effective).  Mistaken identities and hilarious hijinks ensued, but instead of a stage littered with dead bodies, this play ends in singing and uplift.  

Not every part of the update was a home run, but enough of it was, and it was playful and fun enough to keep everyone engaged and smiling.  

Thing 20, Revisited: Cherry Blossom Picnic

We inaugurated picnic season under the blossoms again this year, with an abundance of dips, deviled eggs, box wine, cookies and a gingerbread bundt cake.  Do not be dissuaded by the crowds, this yearly tradition is not to be missed.

If you do have a favorite picnic place, please leave it for me in the comments.  I want to fit in as many 'nics as possible before the humidity sets in. 

Thing 145: Ray's Hell Burger

They love it when you order B.I.G Poppa.

Luckily, B.I.G Poppa is a black pepper crusted burger, with a thick slice of aged Danish blue cheese, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms and grilled red onions served on a buttery poppy seed brioche roll. I loved it when I ordered B.I.G Poppa, too.

I was at Ray's Hell Burger, where the burgers are enormous, they don't make fries, and they clearly love horror movies and hip hop music (and word play, too).

I wish I'd remembered my camera. I'm not sure words can do these burgers justice. They are massive. And meaty. They drip beefy juice all over your hands and mouth and plate when you bite into them. They require a bit of tactical planning to ensure a little taste of everything stacked onto them ends up in every bite, and they are salty, sweet, juicy, fatty, rich and beefy in every bite.

The store itself is small, an open kitchen at the back that is little more than a line with griddle, three registers for your order, and two dozen tables crammed in side by side at the front of the store. Framed posters for B-horror movies line the walls of the restaurant, along with the rules of the establishment -- don't hold a table, don't dawdle, etc. Soul, hip hop and funk music play over the constant din of diners and short order cooks and I saw at least three people burst into spontaneous dance moves as they got up from their tables after eating.

You can create your own burger combination from the list of toppings and cheeses, but it's so much fun order their pre-decided combinations, why wouldn't you? In addition to the B.I.G Poppa, you can order the Big Punisher -- round here they call me Big Pun -- with spicy chipotle marinade, pepper jack cheese, charred jalapenos, grilled red onions and piranha sauce, the Dogcatcher -- bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay -- with roasted bone marrow and persillade; Let's Get it On -- we're all sensitive burgers, with so much to give -- bacon, swiss and Vermont white cheddar, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms, grilled red onions, sauteed peppers, roasted garlic, lettuce and tomato; and of course, Fat Joe, with a fat slice of seared fois gras with a balsamic glaze, white truffle oil, crispy shallots and vine-ripened tomato.

Incidentally, they offer one of my very favorite cheeses of all time, Rogue Creamery Smokey Bleu -- as an option for the build-you-own burger, as well as a cheese that I think might be illegal in the states, the epoisse de Bourgogne.

They don't serve fries, which is surprising but fine, since the burgers are big enough to fill you up plenty without the extra starch. If you really need something fried to accompany your meal, you can order fried cheese and potato balls, or what appeared to mac 'n' cheese (although at that point I was so consumed with burger bliss that I only vaguely noticed what the people to my left were eating). They also have root beer on tap. And for dessert, a larger thermos of rich hot chocolate sits at the back of the store, and you can pour yourself a tiny cup for free. A small taste of something sweet, perfect for the very small amount of room left in your belly.

Be warned -- Ray's is cash only. And your meal, unless you're ordering the Fat Joe, will be around $12.

Two years ago: I learned nine things about the St. Patrick's Day parade.

Movie: Burn After Reading

One from a very occasional series on books and movies in or about DC:

Remember way back when to my first annual city-wide scavenger hunt when "the real, live George Clooney" was worth 150 points, the same value as a U.S. Senator? That was because rumor had it that Clooney was in town, on the Mall and in Georgetown, filming a Coen brothers movie. About a year later, Burn After Reading came out, and then about six months after that, I finally got around to Netflixing the darn thing.

I know I'm a bit late to this party, but I really liked it! Granted, I pretty much love anything that comes from the dark and twisted brains of Joel and Ethan Coen, but this dark, dark comedy had the Boyfriend and I laughing out loud. Brad Pitt in particular steals the show, but I loved John Malkovitch, Richard Jenkins and Frances McDormand as well (Clooney, for all his high point value, left me kind of cold). And the Langley suits, well, I liked them best of all, with all their abrupt, clipped, sweep-it-under-the-rug efficiency.

As a DC-phile, of course I loved our beautiful city's central role in the film -- Frances and George meeting in the park benches along the Mall, George running along the Potomac, Georgetown's stately townhouses and the towering Russian embassy in Ward 3. But mostly I loved how perfectly the Coen's got our number -- capturing in their trademarked way how nerdy and self-important we all are. Oh sure, I know that "official" Washington and "real" Washington are very different, but there is some overlap, and surely we've all been to parties like the one hosted by SWINTON, in which plenty of self-important people tout their self-importance.

I loved that two of the characters worked at a gym and were not much to look at, highlighting DC's failed attempts to be cool or beautiful. In reality, we're all just a bunch of regular people who think we're in the know, but really, we're just along for the ride.

Of course, it's all exaggerated and extra dark, but I really enjoyed it. What did you think?

Two years ago: I was disappointed by Tonic.