To thank us for dog-sitting Shadow in March, my friends Mike and Betsy treated Alan and me to dinner last night at Estadio, a tapas restaurant in Logan Circle. I’ve often walked past and drooled at the offerings through the window, but I’ve been slow to pull the trigger on a meal there because I’m a) frugal and b) a bottomless pit, which makes tapas a doubly-expensive proposition.
But I’m so glad to have generous friends with good taste, because we were treated to an exceptional evening. I’ll do my best to recreate the meal, just to make my foodie friends hungry…
Two weeks ago in Chicago, Brian, Mags and I headed out for dinner with nary a plan. Since I’m there a couple times each month, they eyed me expectantly. I caved under the pressure.
My first thought was to take them to Pop’s Champagne, which I first tried a year ago with my friend Karen using a couple Groupons. It’s a great champagne bar with a light tasting menu and would’ve been perfect since we’re all winos, but Brian was whining that his dogs were barking since I’d paraded him all over the downtown area in dress shoes the night before.
This weekend we saw Kristen Schaal at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (ACDH). If you don’t know who I’m talking about, she has a recurring role on “Flight of the Conchords” and is even funnier as a stand-up comedian. Want a taste? This clip doesn’t do her justice, but it’s better than nothing:
Until a few months ago, I hadn’t realized that the ACDH had anything other than movies. Turns out, it’s a great place to see stand-up. The first show we saw there together was Gallagher, which was, um, eye-opening.
Talk about a has-been… here’s a guy who – at his prime – sold out major venues just for smashing watermelons. Yet when we saw him, he wasn’t able to fill even HALF of the ACDH. Before the show started, we saw him sitting near the bar scarfing down dinner, so Alan approached and asked for his autograph, which he gave graciously enough.
During the show, however, he bounced between topics with all the direction of a plinko chip and his interaction with the audience was almost hostile. At one point I got up to go to the bathroom and the entire time I was gone he engaged Alan in an uncomfortable conversation about our relationship. When I returned, his words to me were, “Dump this guy.” Not exactly the commentary we buy tickets to hear.
Last time I checked, the only places people go expecting to be insulted are Ed Debevic’s and the DMV.
Saturday night Alan and I went to Scion for dinner. We don’t eat out that often, and since I’m in the process of buying a new place, I’m hyper-sensitive to every line item on my bank account. As a result, our dining decisions are made on the basis of my Groupon selection. (Groupons are deals where you spend money in advance to get twice that amount as a credit at a bar/restaurant.)
In this case, I had spent $20 to receive a $40 credit at Scion. I’ll admit, I always feel a little awkward about busting out a coupon. The saving grace of Groupon is that it’s popular, so EVERYONE uses them, not just the frugal-minded.
This week I met my friend Lisa for lunch. Eating anywhere other than hunched over my laptop is something of a novelty, so trying a new restaurant is like icing on the cake. We opted for Rogue States, a burger joint that’s popped up in recent months just south of Dupont Circle.
The menu is pretty simple: there are seven types of burgers, each priced at $7 with free toppings (including lettuce, grilled onions, pickles and tomatoes) and options for “extras” like bacon or cheese for an additional buck. As for how well you’d like your burger, be prepared to say only “pink” or “not pink” because you won’t have more options than that.
pithypants 