It's Most Wonderful Announcement of the Year

Restaurant Week.
Oh my favorite. Four star restaurants and your usual Friday night dinner spots open their doors for a week in DC for 3 salivating courses of your choice, either lunch or dinner. Lunch is $20.10 and dinner is $35.10. Get your piggy banks out and start saving that change because a 3 course meal at a steakhouse in DC is definitely worth $35!!!

The one drawback of this holiday week is that some restaurants don't post their modified RW menu online. Not cool. Because the menus are slimmed down for RW you usually get a choice of three options per course, which is fine- but if I'm gettin' slim pickins I want to know what they are before I make a reservation and find out I get a choice of fish, tofu or cold soup (none of which I'm ok with).

So let's do a review of some of the places I think will have the best food and value for the money.


1789- Georgetown elegance meets all American gourmet.














Bibiana- Italian meets cool and trendy downtown.









Farmers and Fishers- Founding Farmers is one of my favorite easy and cool meals in DC; I can only imagine it with the sun setting on the Georgetown waterfront and a handmade unique cocktail in my hand that their new spot Farmers and Fisherman will be just as great.





Melting Pot- Ok don't judge me, I know it's a chain but Melting Pot is pretty spendy without a guaranteed $35 price tag. And, come on, who doesn't want that last course of molten chocolatey goodness to dip all of this in?







Ris- This little known eatery popped up last year in Foggy Bottom, and the best part is it does NOT take GWorld. And any place that refers to it's eating area as a "living room" is ok with me.

Humid Hair

As we discussed yesterday, the weather in DC lately is bordering on a regular afternoon search for apartments in North Dakota, Oregon, and Montana on Craigslist. It is humid and disgusting outside. But we're dealing with it, because that's what Washingtonians do best, just deal. Yesterday we talked about appropriate office wear in the DC desert and today we're going to look at some hair options.

Humidity tends to destroy any attempt at a straight-iron, hair dryer, or curling iron; so I like to do the best I can and accessorize. If you can't beat the heat then at least try to distract people from looking at your frizzy mess with some great hair extras.

While some of you may have longer hair, the ponytail is a go-to look but why not dress it up a little bit for the office and do some volume like Jessica:

Now for the shorter-haired ladies of DC (myself included) hair accessories will become your best friend. My personal favorite is the headband, and this summer it's all about the floral. Here are some great additions to any outfit that will keep your hair in place and looking fabulous:

Natasha Accessories Satin-Flower Headband, Dillard's $8.40

Mixed Flower Headband, The Limited, $16.50

Penelope Zipper Flower Headband, Etsy, $12

Those are some of my affordable headband suggestions but don't forget about jeweled bobby pins like this vintage looking one:

Luxe- Blush Pink Jewel Bobby Pin, Etsy, $6

Or a great addition to an updo like a bun for work:

Hairpins, pearls and crystal jeweled buttons, Etsy, $35

98 Degrees and I Don't Mean the Boy Band

DC Summers are always brutal but this one in particular seems a little extra heinous. With temps near the 100s daily and humidity that would make even a porcupine's hair frizzy; the daily work wear has been: wear as little as possible and still look professional.

Here is my favorite outfit I found that that balances professional with "holy crap my face is literally melting off right now"
Note the patterned silk blouse that is perfect for walking to work in; there are a lot of silk tops out there this season with ruffles which I think is perfectly office appropriate if paired with the correct bottom- NOT Bebe mini skirt as mentioned in the previous post. A nice bold cardigan for the A/C vent your cubicle is inevitably under; and simple slacks, preferably machine washable because the sweat along the waistband- though not glamorous is going to happen.

If you're looking for more of a cool breeze on your way to work, a dress is a great option for summer and if you pick the right one you can transition it into winter with some warm tights and appropriate jewelry.

Here I've picked out an outfit that may fit that bill.

Dress, Jcrew, $98
love the ruffle around the neckline and the "orchid ginger" color will look good on you if you're pale or super-back-from-vacay-tan.

Belt, Talbots, $38
Feminine with studs add a bit of 'bitch, please, I'm wearing this dress'

Necklace, Ann Taylor, $46
Ann Taylor has really stepped it up in the accessories department. This one I would double wrap for extra volume.

Shoe, Payless, $7
Yes, you read that correctly. Never overlook the power of Payless. These little wedges are not only the perfect price but they can go from day dress to skinny jeans easily.

Brunch in the District

Washington, DC between 11am-3pm on a weekend; there are not a lot of options for food. But if you seek out the truly awesome brunches in this city, you will never need to wonder what to eat on a weekend afternoon again.

I come from the suburbs where IHOP, Denny's, and my mom's kick ass french toast ruled the weekends.

Now when I wake up at 10 or 11 or ok maybe 1pm I'm starving and I don't want cereal. So here's what I've found to satisfy my brunch needs.

The Heights- This neighborhood eatery is owned by EatWellDC which also owns Commissary, Logan Tavern, and Grill Fish. I like The Heights because it's well-price food, great staff and AMAZING bloody mary's and mimosas. Does your diner put crab meat and wasabi in your bloody mary? I didn't think so.

Disco Brunch at Level One-because who doesn't want a little gay with their food? Level one is more commonly known as the restaurant underneath the bumpin' gay club that is Cobalt. Located at 17th & R it is the best bottomless mimosa brunch you could ever want. If it's nice out, good luck getting a table outside- but if you do, enjoy the people watching on the most fabulous street in town and relish the never ending champagne. I seriously had to put my hand on top of my glass to make them stop refilling it. The servers are either adorable skinny gay men who love you even more if you bring a small dog, or my favorite, Carrie. Carrie will take care of you, your stomach, and your liver- in all of the best ways possible. Prices are very reasonable and it goes until 4pm every Saturday and Sunday. Oh and the disco? Diana Ross' greatest hits or KC and the Sunshine band will be blasting through the speakers while you attempt to decide between the Studio 54 eggs or the Ahhhhh, Freak out! French Toast.

Before we move on to our last spot, I think I need to give a bit of full disclosure: the following may not be a classic brunch menu item, however if there is one thing you should know about me it's the following:There I said it. My weakness is grilled cheese. Nachos come in close second but if you want to know anything about me it is that I live for grilled cheese. Think about it: what could be better than butter, bread, and cheese. I don't need any of that lettuce and tomato business, that just takes up space. Give me the greasy goodness of a grilled cheese any day.

But I digress. Our last spot for brunch AND lunch is Stoney's. Stoney's is a hole in the wall bar and restaurant on P St where the locals enjoys great beer on tap, a neighborhood atmosphere and good food. Stoney's has a delicious brunch. The BF's favorite is the corn beef and hash, whereas I tend to enjoy either the Western omelet or as you may have guessed, the grilled cheese. Stoney's grilled cheese is legendary. They use bread that has to be baked by gods because it's softer than texas toast but just as thick and crispy. They use good ol' American cheese because if you want provolone or some other fancy crap you might as well get out. It.is.so.good.

So there you have it. Three great options for the mid-afternoon eat.