Walking in DC

K- I am a walker. I love to walk the city be it NYC, London, Paris, wherever because I find that’s the best way to find the most interesting places. DC is such a “walkable” city. Yeah, you got Metro, Uber, taxis and buses but why when you can easily walk from Georgetown to Penn Quarter or Dupont Circle to the Smithsonian?

Through walking I’ve found places like Firefly – a restaurant off New Hampshire that has a great happy hour, Propper Topper – a cute little shop that carries the coolest hats for women and men among other items, Tiny Jewel Box – an amazing jewelry store with a very knowledgeable owner and Petersen House – where President Lincoln took his final breath.

These are places I may have heard about, seen on the Internet or some other place but may not have necessarily visited. But walking around the city and coming upon them made me want to go inside, if not that day then another. I admit I walked past them quite a few times before I went inside but I know that I never would have if I hadn’t.

Besides coming upon interesting places the other great thing about walking is looking at the architecture. There are some amazing buildings and old houses in the area. There is the Old Stone House in Georgetown built in 1765; the Willard Hotel built in 1816; Carnegie Library on 801 K St. NW built in 1902 and the Patterson Mansion (the Washington Club) at Dupont Circle was built in 1903 and that’s not including all of the other old houses in that area.

So next time you’re thinking of taking the bus to Foggy Bottom, taxi to U Street or Metro to Penn Quarter, take a walk. You’ll never know what you’ll find!

Rasika West – yum!

Photo taken from Rasika West FB page

K- I was meeting a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen for a very long time who was flying into DC for a business trip. I suggested we meet at Rasika West as it was nearby to where I was and where he was staying.

I got there early so I sat at the bar. I ordered a Kaminee, which consisted of Pimms, chili gin, lime juice, ginger syrup and cucumber. The chili gin gave a nice kick to the drink and overall the drink wasn’t too sweet. I also munched on some spiced popcorn that they have at the bar rather than the usual boring nuts or chips.

When my friend arrived we went to the dining room – I couldn’t handle the bar anymore as there was a girl there who sounded like one of the Kardashians – to have dinner.  The dining room is exquisitely decorated and can get a bit noisy when it starts filling up, especially since the tables are a little close to each other.

Photo taken from Urban Spoon.

When the waiter came to take our order he was very informative but not overly so. He answered our questions and offered to help with the menu if needed.The menu had a nice choice of vegetarian options. There were also other choices for non-vegetarians such as fish and chicken entrees.

My only question was although it’s not on the menu, could I have palak paneer. He said “yes,” which made me very happy as it’s my favourite; sadly as it is my favourite, I have a tendency not to explore other dishes. I have vowed to change that next time I go to an Indian restaurant but that wasn’t going to be the night. I also ordered garlic naan and basmati rice. My friend ordered the shrimp pepper masala.

My dinner was fabulous, so much so that I ate all of it, which left no room for dessert. But I enjoyed every bite of it!

I’m looking forward to going back and trying something new – maybe the paneer mattar, malai palak or vegetable biryani. Yum!

Rasika West

1190 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Entrance on New Hampshire Avenue & M Street.
Valet parking is available at Dinner only.
See map

Tel: 202.466.2500

Paul – Mais oui

K- I don’t buy lunch very often as I usually make it at home and bring it with me. Sometimes I will eat out with friends and on occasion, when I’ve forgotten my lunch and left it on the kitchen counter, I will go out and buy something but I’m usually not too happy about it – until now.

La Maison Paul has opened up a shop at Farragut North, 1000 Connecticut Ave NW, which is a couple of blocks away from my office. So I’m quite excited to forget my lunch as it gives me an excuse to pick up a Sandwich Atlantique with smoked salmon, lettuce, lemon cream spread, fresh tomatoes on a Paul sesame baguette. The baguette is nice and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside just like it should be. The salmon, lettuce and tomatoes taste fresh – no fishy taste here – and the lemon cream spread adds a nice finish and doesn’t overwhelm.

I’ve also picked up a baguette to bring home as well as the eclairs that taste like a bit of chocolate heaven. The first time I had one I only bought one and shared it. Now, I don’t share, I’d rather buy two!

At lunchtime Paul does become crazy busy so be prepared to wait, order online or get their earlier or later.

Okay… I wrote the first part of this post and forgot to take photos as I was so enthusiastic to tuck into my lunch. So, I went back another day  but decided to pick up something later in the afternoon to take home for dinner.  Sadly, I was a little disappointed. There was only one eclair left and one Sandwich Atlantique, which looked a bit tired. I decided rather than one eclair and sharing it, I’d try a blueberry tart.  I also asked if there were any other Sandwich Atlantiques (my heart and stomach was set on this type of sandwich) and was told that was it.  As I was handed it, I looked it over and the lettuce and tomatoes just looked like it had been sitting there for quite a bit (although in the photo it does look much better). I asked if I could have another and they said it would have to be made in the kitchen – I said I didn’t mind. I’m almost certain I got the same sandwich in another bag. The lettuce was still a bit wilting and there was very little salmon. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the amazing sandwich I had previously had.

My advice – at least at Farragut North – go in the early afternoon, you have a better, wider choice with fresher sandwiches.

@Paul_USA has locations in Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Penn Quarter and now at Tyson’s Galleria in McLean!

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