We’re off to see the Wizard!

K- When I was a kid, I looked forward to each year when the “Wizard of Oz” came on television. I loved watching Dorothy’s ruby slippers glitter and shine down the yellow brick road as Toto followed her. I memorized the songs and enjoyed watching each of the characters do their introductory song and dance. I also liked noticing Dorothy’s hair length in different scenes – sometimes it’s long and sometimes it’s shorter. So when Warner Bros. decided to show “The Wizard of Oz” for one week (Sept. 20 to 27) on IMAX and in 3D I couldn’t resist!

Although the movie is over 70 years old and the the special effects aren’t nearly as realistic like those of today it’s still pretty impressive. The IMAX 3D experience was really enjoyable – everything was enhanced. Who knew that Dorothy had freckles or all of the different greens in the City of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West. I also never realized the Art Deco style of the City of Oz until I saw it on the big screen.

The Wizard of Oz is only showing tonight and tomorrow night. Don’t miss an opportunity to see this wonderful old film redone!

The Wizard of Oz showing at AMC theaters including Tysons Corner 16, Loews Georgetown 14 and Hoffman Center 22.

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Some Wizard of Oz trivia:

• Jell-O crystals were stuck over all the horses in the Emerald City palace to lend them their colour. The scenes were shot speedily, before the horses began to lick them off.
• Bert Lahr’s (The Cowardly Lion) costume weighed 90 pounds. It was made from a real lion skin and was very hot. The arc lights used to light the set often raised the temperature on the set to over 100 degrees. Lahr used to sweat so profusely that the costume would be soaked by the end of the day. There were two people whose only job was to spend the night drying the costume for the next day. The costume was dry cleaned occasionally but usually, in the words of one of the crew members, “it reeked”.
• The fire that engulfs the Witch’s hands as she’s trying to remove the ruby slippers is actually apple juice spewing out of the shoes – the film was then sped up to make it look more like fire.
• The tornado was a 35-foot-long muslin stocking, spun around among miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields in a dusty atmosphere.
• The ruby slippers were silver (like in the book) until MGM chief Louis B. Mayer realized that the Technicolor production would benefit from the slippers being colored.
• The famous “Surrender Dorothy” sky writing scene was done using a tank of water and a tiny model witch attached to the end of a long hypodermic needle. The syringe was filled with milk, the tip of the needle was put into the tank and the words were written in reverse while being filmed from below.
• The Scarecrow face makeup that Ray Bolger wore consisted, in part, of a rubber prosthetic with a woven pattern to suggest cloth. By the time the film was finished the prosthetic had left a pattern of lines on his face that took more than a year to vanish.
• Frank Morgan plays the roles of the Wizard, Professor Marvel, the Gatekeeper, the cab driver with the “horse of a different color” who performs a musical number, and the Wizard’s Guard.

Let’s eat at the American Indian museum

K- While touring DC with our friend from London, we decided to have lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian.  I had heard a lot of good things about the cafeteria here and thought this would be a good time to try it out so off we went.

Mitsitam Cafe offers the chance to taste the indigenous foods of the Americas. It  features native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso America and the Great Plains. Foods included cedar plank Pacific wild salmon, blue corn bread, buffalo chili, wild rice salad and chayote squash slaw.

“Mitsitam” means “Let’s eat!” in Delaware and Piscataway language and that’s what we did.

There were so many different options it was hard to choose but I finally chose the special ceviche and a red beans and rice type side dish. The ceviche had orange, green and yellow peppers and octopus and was very good. The red beans and rice were a bit dry and didn’t really taste for anything so I probably wouldn’t order that again.

C – On a very hot day in August, the American Indian Museum was an air-conditioned refuge that felt less touristy and crowded than the other Smithsonian options. Mitsitam Cafe is cafeteria style, so you can mix and match foods from different regions to create your meal. I went with what I think was pulled buffalo. It tasted like any other pulled meat sandwich, which is probably why I can’t remember. I would definitely come back, but I think I’d spend a little more time on picking out the elements of my meal. The salmon looked amazing and I’d probably go with that next time.

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Jackson 20 – A Modern Restaurant in Old Town

C – If you’ve ever stayed at a Hotel Monaco, or any Kimpton property for that matter, you know you can expect an extraordinary experience. Jackson 20 is a modern restaurant set within the hotel Monaco in Old Town Alexandria. Definitely high-end, but not at all stuffy, this restaurant caters to a crowd that’s simply bored of the ordinary.

My friend and I stopped by during the most recent Restaurant Week in August. It was mid-week and it was crowded, but not unbearably so. The hostess was incredibly nice and cheerful and our waiter was outstanding, answering all sorts of silly questions from both of us and catering to our whims. This is the kind of place where quality service is clearly a priority.

I went for the Restaurant Week menu for $30.13 with the following choices:

1. Wedge – my absolute favorite salad mostly because restaurants are so clever they can charge you and arm and a leg for a hunk of iceberg with a few toppings. And it’s delightful. This one had the usual wedge of lettuce plus blue cheese dressing and bacon. Rounding it out were pickled red onions which added a tiny little twist to an otherwise standard dish.
   
2. Charcoal Slow Roasted Goat – I know. Goat! But take a look at the picture. Included in the dish was cream corn, pimento cheese ravioli and sweet potato puree. Lots going on there. Flavors combining to create a taste explosion I just didn’t expect.
   
3. Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake – I am totally a dessert person, but by the time this came around I really didn’t have much room. But I worked through it, like the trooper I am. The cheescake came with lavender infused honey, fresh lemon curd, candied blueberries and almond brittle. Also, unbelievably good.
   

My friend went off piste a bit and decided against the Restaurant Week Menu. This is because it comes with dessert – there are no substitutions – and she doesn’t eat sugar. (I know, how are we even friends?) Anyhoo, she noshed on some of my wedge and then went for the New Frontier Bison Hangar Steak with tomato, red onion salad, asher blue cheese and potato wedges. Now, here’s the thing: she’s a serious meat eater and her entire trip to the US had been plagued with poorly, over-cooked (honestly, burned) steak. So there was a very critical conversation with the waiter about how the meat would be prepared with an additional request to the chef to ensure the bison wasn’t kept on the flame too long. They totally took it in stride and she was incredibly pleased with the result. They really listened to her and understood where she was coming from. That right there… that kind of service, is worth the trip to Jackson 20.

Oh – one more thing: They have a “Doggy Yappy Hour” in their courtyard, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-8, April – October. How great is that?

Jackson 20
480 King Street

Alexandria , VA 22314

Phone: 703.842.2790

A “Capitol” adventure

C- Always tourists despite living here, we have a tendency to run our friends ragged when they pop into town. This was the case the third week of August and, of course, no tour of DC is complete without a trip to the Capitol. K and I brought our friend – a Londoner via Colombia – to the Capitol that day and, somehow, we effortlessly slipped in. Well, there was a little stress. Parking is a bear but, with the pay-by-phone parking option by Parkmobile, things got a little easier. We were running really late, but when we arrived at the Capitol Visitor’s Center, our reservation was honored for a later tour. This is most likely something that wouldn’t have happened a few weeks earlier. Things seemed to work out every step of the way, and we attributed the good luck to our guest who will hopefully return soon. Thanks to our honorary “Third Girl in DC” for giving us an excuse to be the tourists we are. It was a fantastic experience and K outlines the details of how you too can have a smooth Capitol tour…

K- I have lived here a few years and had never been so I was as excited as our friend to visit the Capitol.

The U.S. Capitol is home to the U.S. Congress and its two legislative bodies, the U.S.  House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.  It houses a lot of American art.

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After we lined up to begin the tour we were all herded into one of the Capitol visitor center’s orientation theaters to watch a 13-minute film, “Out of Many, One.” The film actually wasn’t too bad and was informative. Afterwards we were lined up and placed with a knowledgeable tour guide.

The first stop was the Crypt, which was completed in 1827. In the center of the Crypt’s floor is a star that denotes the point from which the streets in Washington are laid out and numbered. There are also13 statues that  represent the 13 original colonies and there is also a replica of the Magna Carta on display.

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Next was the Rotunda, which I found very impressive. The architecture, statues and paintings were truly interesting. It’s canopy features a painting called “The Apotheosis of Washington” and it’s walls has a frieze that depicts significant events in American history. The paintings include revolutionary period scenes, the landing of Colombus and Pocahantas becoming baptized. There are statues of Alexander Hamilton, Gerald Ford,  and a joint monument of Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

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Finally, we entered the National Statuary Hall, which was just that – a room full of statues. It used to be the meeting place of the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 50 years (1807-1857). Some of the statues in this room included Andrew Jackson and Brigham Young.x

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The Capitol Visitor Center is open to visitors from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and on Inauguration Day.

Advance Reservations
To visit areas of the Capitol beyond the Capitol Visitor Center, you must make a reservation in advance. Note that tour schedules can fill up quickly, so it is advisable to book your tour well in advance of your visit.

Same-day Reservations and Same-day Tour Passes
Same-day reservations are not available. However, same-day tour passes may be available at the “Public Walk-up” line near an Information Desk located on the lower level of the Visitor Center. During peak visitation periods such as spring and summer, fewer same-day tour passes are available, and there are often longer waits for these passes.

Cuba Libre not just a drink

K- I was downtown for a meeting and had made plans to meet a friend for lunch. I was looking for something in the Penn Quarter that was close to where he worked and would be interesting. I chose Cuba Libre as I hadn’t been there yet and wanted to try it out.

According to its website Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar is dedicated to a continued exploration of Cuban heritage, art, music, flavors and traditions. The open-air setting, tropical ambiance, vintage décor, upbeat Latin
music and Concept Chef/Partner, Guillermo Pernot’s delectable menu of ‘Nuevo Cubano’ dishes and traditional favorites, make all of our restaurants a must-see, must-experience dining destination. They have restaurants in DC, Philly, Atlantic City and Orlando.

Inside of the restaurant it was decorated to look like old, downtown Havana might have looked. The floor looked like stone streets and there were balconies on the wall so it looked like you were surrounded by buildings.

The lunch menu had everything from salads, soups, sandwiches and “favorites.” They also had a “rapido lunch” menu from which you could choose from Del Mar, Vegetariano, PIO PIO, Visit to Havana and Cuban Bento Box.

I chose the Del Mar from the rapido lunch, which included Levanta Muerto seafood soup that had shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and mussels as well as coconut milk fortified “Chino-Cubano” broth and truffle oil; shrimp ceviche, and mahi-mahi with olive oil, “forbidden” black rice and squid-lobster flavored asopado. I also had a cucumber water to drink and tres leches cake for dessert.

The portions of of my rapido lunch were quite small  – just enough to give a tasting. I had expected something just a little bit bigger especially at the price of $16.  My soup that came in a small bowl was very good.  The ceviche was more of a shrimp cocktail. Although I enjoyed the shrimp, it wasn’t really a ceviche and not too exciting. The mahi- mahi was also a bit small. It too was very good but just as I was enjoying it, it was gone. I am not in favour of huge portions of food and understand mezzes, which I don’t believe my lunch was supposed to be, but I believe the portions could be just a little bit larger to be satisfying or maybe re-labeled as a tasting as that is all you pretty much get. As for my cucumber water with basil – it was very refreshing but at $1.50 I think that’s a bit expensive as I expected it to come in a water glass rather than a wine glass.

Dessert was excellent. It was a perfect portion and they had made a twist to it by adding a mocha mousse.  This made the cake not so sweet and a perfect ending to my lunch.

My friend ordered the El Cubano sandwich. He enjoyed it very much and was happy that he ordered it.  I stole one of his plantain chips and it was nice and crispy.

Service was a bit slow but I prefer that to being rushed and feeling like they are trying to clear me out of there for the next person. The waitress was very friendly and competent. She brought the bill in what I believe was a cigar box.

Overall I enjoyed my lunch but next time I think I’ll just order the soup or a “regular” lunch item. That way I can fully enjoy it rather than just having a taste!

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Cuba Libre

801 9th St. NW, Ste A (Corner of 9th & H Streets),

Washington, DC 20001

Hysteria’d

Outfit for make over: Ali Ro dress, Michael Kors shoes

Over the summer I went to an audition for an industrial film in Old Town and had quite a bit of time left on the meter after the audition so I decided to walk around. I ended up in the Shoe Hive and then Hysteria. While I was in Hysteria I bought a pretty, cream, silk blouse and a  cute teal jacket they had on sale was entered into a contest and that was it – I didn’t think any more about it.  About a week later I got an email saying that I’d won the contest. I was very surprised as I never win anything and wasn’t sure what to think about it. Next I got a call from Nina, one of the sisters who own the shop, to let me know that I had won a make over, which meant I could choose an outfit from their store, a pair of shoes from the Shoe Hive and would get my hair done by the Sugar House Day Spa and make up from Bellacara gratis. I was also able to choose the day I wanted to have all of this done and they would take photos to post on social media and possibly in the local paper.

As my size can be a bit difficult I talked to Nina about coming in beforehand to get an idea of what they had and what would look best as it might take time. She said “sure.” So I went to Old Town and Nina and I went through various lovely outfits through the store. I wanted it to be a joint effort to try something different that I might not normally choose for myself. We came up with a few things but nothing that struck that right cord as we wanted something fun, that could go from work to out and bold. She said they were getting some new items in and would pull my size now that she knew what I looked like and how things would fit on me. A week later she texted me photos of some dresses that looked like they met our “requirements.” I went in to the shop and tried them on and loved them! I had a hard time deciding so I chose one for the make over and bought the other.  Shoe Hive chose a pair of pretty, blue suede, sling-backs to go with the dress for the make over.

The day of the make over, I met Nina and her sister Suzanne at the shop. Debra, of Debra Fabian Designs, was having a trunk show at the shop and gave me a pair of beautiful fresh pearl earrings with garnets. I then headed off to Sugar House Day Spa to have Eleni style my hair.  She asked me if I wanted something in particular and I said “no” and let her know that whatever she wanted to do was fine with me – get creative! She decided to curl my hair. After hair, I headed to Bellacara for Meghan to do my make up. Finally, after make up, I dressed up and was complete.

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I had a great time with Nina and Suzanne and their shop has so many gorgeous clothes and jewelry. I also went next door to Shoe Hive and took a look at the new items they got in and fell in love with a pair of Tory Burch riding boots. Also, Bellacara was fun look around, they carry so many great lines like Molton Brown, Lipstick Queen, Skinceuticals, and T. LeClerc.

Hysteria

125 S. Fairfax Street

Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Bull Run Hike

K- Thanks for joining us again! Summer is almost over but the activities never end!

As you may know from previous posts, I love hiking. One of the hikes I often take is the Bull Run- Occaquan Trail, especially with the dog. The trail is 17 miles  – no, haven’t done the length of it yet – summer and fall the trail is full of flora, fauna and history.

On the weekends the trail can be quite busy with trail runners, families, hikers and dogs. You may see a couple of horseback riders too.  There is no fee for the trail.

I always begin at Fountainhead Regional Park – no particular reason. The part of the trail that I’ve walked is pretty tame. Although it’s a bit rough in some spots or steep, there aren’t any rocks to scramble, cliffs to climb or crevices to leap. However I believe shoes sturdier than flip flops are in order.

Every time I walk the trail there I notice something new like strange mushrooms growing along trees, a deer or two, a turtle, toads, interesting trees, etc. The trail is especially beautiful in the autumn when the leaves are turning. Whenever I go to Bull Run I’m never bored.

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Open: Daily, dawn to dusk per the schedule.

Directions:To reach Fountainhead, take I-95 south of the Beltway, exit at Occoquan and travel north on Rt. 123 approximately 5 miles. Turn left onto Hampton Road and drive 3 miles to the entrance on the left.