Gourmet Weekend with My Mom

I cannot believe it has been over a week since I last posted!  I truly apologize to anyone who reads my blog consistently...if you are out there. But I have a good reason! My mom, who is the one who started me on my foodie quest, was in town for a significant birthday and it was our task and challenge to eat our way around the District.

I think the best, most Gourmet experience of the weekend was afternoon tea at the Willard.  Please note that this is NOT on my usual "graduate" budget.  A normal afternoon tea at the Willard is $40, but since this was Valentine's Day weekend, it was a bit more for a special tea.  However, it is well worth the price.

When we arrived, we were greeted with red roses and shown to our table. The tea is held in Peacock Alley, which is basically a hallway between the F & G street entrances of the hotel.  The walkway is named for the ladies who would sit in this hall to "see and be seen".  Let me tell you that this location has some of the best people watching in the city...We actually witnessed a wedding party taking their pictures with 13 groomsmen! Wow, that's a wedding.

I digress... While sitting there, sipping our tea, harp music played classic love songs (because of Valentine's day) and my mom and I took turns guessing the songs.

You are allowed one selection of loose leaf tea from a list of about 10 different teas.  I first tried the Willard Blend and did not like the mint in it, so I sent it back for my usual English Breakfast tea.  My mom had the Wild Blackberry tea, which was so good that I was only allowed one tasting before she drank it all up!

You also receive a carrousel with tea sandwiches, scones, jams, and desserts.  After we ate our first plate of sandwiches, we were not sure if we could ask for more.  However, soon our waitress came by our table with a plate of sandwiches and hot water to refresh our tea, asking if we would like more!  My mom and I simply indulged ourselves for 2 hours, nibbling on the great food, people watching, and having great conversations.

Overall, it is an experience I will always remember.  Yes, this is a bit pricey; however, if you are looking for a great traditional afternoon tea to enjoy with someone special, I would highly suggest the Willard's afternoon tea.

For further information on days and times for Afternoon Tea, please see the Willard's website.

Review: CapMac

My lack of refrigeration has lead to many outings for food this week.  One of my friends at GWU said that I HAD to try the new food truck, CapMac.  I was intrigued since the food truck popularity and quality have been on the rise in DC.  There's the burrito guy, the pizza guy, and even the Korean BBQ Taco guy (yes, you read that correctly, and I will be visiting him soon...).  I checked CapMac out on Facebook (since they don't have a website yet) and found that their prices are pretty reasonable.  The original CapMac'n Cheese is $6 while the Chicken Parm Meat Balls or Beef Bolognese are $8.  They also offer daily specials of soups, salads and desserts.

I walked the 3 blocks from work to their Franklin Square location and found a line of about 10 people.  This line was consistent the entire time I was waiting for my food (which was no more than 5 minutes, really).  Obviously CapMac has made a name for itself and I was excited to try it.  Since I am currently lacking in the financial department, I decided I would get the original mac and nothing more...although stepping up to the window to order almost changed my mind.

To preface this, I am one of those people that likes to decide from an online menu what I am going to order before stepping into the establishment.  This might not be what I decide to order in the end, but I go in with a good idea of what I may select.  Stepping up to the window I knew what I had come to order, but their special dessert that day was a rice pudding with caramalized bananas and nutella...oh my if I had had a few more bucks on me, I would have bought it!  But like most food trucks, cash is all that is accepted, so I purchased my mac & cheese and walked back to work.

I could hardly wait to open the small brown box I received.  At first I thought the portion size was tiny, however by the end I found that what I was given was just the right amount!  The original CapMac'n Cheese has your usual components (macaroni & cheese) but with pimento and Cheez-its cracker crumble on top.  Now, when I first read this on their menu, I thought, ewww.  Pimento? Cheez-its? However, after I took my first bit I knew this combination worked!

The Cheez-Its on top were a great surprise and a genius idea.  Why hadn't I thought of putting cheese crackers on top of my own cheesy macaroni goodness?  This is definitely something I may experiment with in the future.  The pimento was not immediately apparent, but definitely added something to the dish.  So for a short walk and six bucks, I was able to eat some great comfort food and enjoy the one day that the DC weather decided to cooperate.  Since CapMac is a truck restaurant you can spot them in multiple locations around the city.  They post daily their location on their Facebook and Twitter pages, so check them out!