Causes for Celebration

 

Friday, July 13, 2012 – Causes for Celebration 

First of all, congratulations to Elisa.  She’s starting her new job at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art next Monday.  Since she arrived Wednesday for a visit, we were able to celebrate with dinner at Courtside Thai in the old part of Fairfax City.  It was a perfect evening to dine on their patio surrounded by planters of hot peppers, Thai basil and mint. 

On Thursday, I celebrated summer break from school with Cindy and Janet, AHS friends, who are part of our informal explorers’ group.   Since the weather had cooled off a bit (i.e. temperatures in the upper 80s rather than upper 90s), we decided to get an early start and explore some new neighborhoods.  First of all, we walked across the Duke Ellington Bridge that spans Rock Creek Park, and found the Adams-Morgan Heritage Trail.  As we sauntered along at a leisurely pace, we learned quite a bit of the history of this extremely diverse area.  One story related to the Knickerbocker Theater, which once stood on a corner in the heart of Adams-Morgan.  Elliott had told me about the tragedy that occurred at this site in 1922 when the roof of the theater collapsed after a big snowstorm, resulting in several deaths.  He had even mentioned that his father had volunteered to work on the rescue effort.  

With no particular destination in mind, we walked north on Columbia Road until we came to16^th Street, where several streets converge and a number of churches are located.  As we proceeded down 16^th Street, we passed the embassies of Mexico, Spain, Lithuania and Poland, marveled at the ornate architecture, and spotted the Washington Monument rising in the distance.  By then, we had worked up a ravenous appetite.  To get back to 18^th Street (with all the restaurants – Ethiopian, Italian, French, West African, etc.), we wended our way along quiet residential streets, such as Kalorama, with its stately older homes as well as more modest dwellings.  From the evidence of scores of children in the local playgrounds, Adams-Morgan is home to many families of diverse ethnic backgrounds. 

We stopped for lunch at Amsterdam Falafel, one of the biggest bargains anywhere in the District.  The menu is basic:  falafel and French fries.  The falafel itself is fine, but it’s the toppings bar that makes this Middle Eastern snack so special.  Pickled cauliflower, baba ganouj, cucumber and tomato salad, red cabbage, beets, tahini, yogurt sauce are just a few of the many offerings.  The falafel shop features music from the 60s and 70s blasting from loud speakers, pictures of Amsterdam and revolutionary slogans on the walls, a very tasty lunch for $5, and you can eat with your hands – what’s not to like? 

With all the clubs, bars, and restaurants, the Adams-Morgan area must be a lot livelier at night, but we were perfectly content to take our time browsing in shops of ethnic clothing, wooden carvings from Africa, painted glass mirrors and frames from Peru, and extraordinary textiles from Tibet and Southeast Asia.  It’s hard not to buy when you see so many beautiful handmade objects.  But we were all in agreement about not acquiring more stuff.  On the other hand, I still allow myself to acquire interesting items as long as they’re consumable, and if I’d been a little hungrier after my falafel, I would have picked up an empanada at Julia’s before we headed back to the Metro.

The next celebration of the week was my pre-birthday lunch on Friday.  Elliott, Elisa, and my mother joined me at The Wine House in the heart of old-town Fairfax for this practice event.  When Elliott saw the menu, he immediately zeroed in on the platter of cheese and charcuterie served with baguette slices, crackers and fruit.   For the rest of us, the decision wasn’t as easy, but we solved the problem by sharing three dishes: buckwheat crepes filled with a mixture of mushrooms, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach in a light but creamy sauce; baked salmon filet over grilled vegetable salad; and a vegetable lasagna with a zesty fresh orange tang.  I would have skipped dessert, but thanks to Elliott, the four of us split a spectacular passion fruit crème brulée and a pot of French press coffee.  

We continued celebrating late in the afternoon with a happy hour chez nous.  I warmed up some leftover eggplant pizzettes (a slice of roasted eggplant topped with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella).  Elisa whipped up some of her delicious guacamole (which I taught her how to make) and poured me a glass of the wine I always have on hand, Blue Fin Pinot Noir ($3.99 a bottle at Trader Joe’s).  Afterwards, no one was even interested in dinner.  

And to close for today, I’ll offer a piece of totally unrelated news:  Elliott (aka “The Marshmallow Maven” or “Monsieur Marshmallow”) has proclaimed the Wegman’s brand of marshmallows superior to all other marshmallows he’s ever eaten.  Please take note, as he was quite adamant about it.