Live to Eat. Love to Travel. Hungry for more.
In Bogota, I was surprised to street art literally everywhere. I had no idea that there was such a huge artist movement in the city! Go through any neighborhood, and you are bound to see art on the walls, doors, and more.
Located inside the chic Melrose Hotel in DC’s West End is Jardenea, a seasonally driven, farm to fork restaurant that has a heavy focus on sustainability. DC’s hotel restaurants tend to be hit or miss, and Jardenea is a definite HIT! When we went in for a recent dinner, we didn’t really know what to expect, but they truly surprised and impressed us in the best way possible.
To be honest, I was completely clueless about Sicilian wine till a few weeks ago when I was invited to learn about Cusumano Winery, one of the foremost wine makers from Sicily. I was even more excited to learn that we would be pairing the wines with one of my all-time favorite food groups – pizza. And not just any pizza, Neopolitan style pizza at the popular Il Canale, which also, I had not been to prior to this!
Le Desales is named after the alley it sits in, across from the Mayflower hotel. What it brings to diners is French classics and Chef Raphael Francois’ family favorites in a cozy but modern space - something we were excited to go see for ourselves.
Equinox is an elegant, upscale restaurant focusing on New American food and is really a classic in DC. They are well known for their focus on vegetable dishes as well, so I was super excited to try their popular Sunday vegan brunch buffet.
Vegan brunch is hard to come by in the city, so I was kinda interested to check out a spot that broke away from the traditional brunch items. Equinox’s brunch definitely has some traditional items, but also included lots of unexpected twists and turns that were interesting and delicious.
When someone mentions Taiwan, the first thing that comes to mind for me are its popular night markets. Images of street stalls as far as you can see, tons of people, high energy, and of course snacks and foods that you should stuff yourself with! The Taiwanese night markets are truly a part of the culture and way of life in the country.
The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond is a historic, grand property that has been around since 1895 and played host to many celebrities, Presidents, and more. The hotel went through an extensive renovation earlier this year and reopened completely this summer. Kris and I stayed there when we visited Richmond a few weeks back, and WOW. We knew it would be incredible, because we heard so much about it from friends and from just the history of it, but it was much more than we expected, really.
The name “Etete” for longtime DC residents brings back memories of delicious Ethiopian food that was definitely popular for its traditional tastes and dishes that are seen in many Ethiopian restaurants in the area. Longtime patrons of the restaurant might have been disappointed that it closed, but I for one, am excited to see the new iteration!
The Smith, which opened in Penn Quarter earlier this year, is an upmarket restaurant offering contemporary American food in a buzzy environment. They are open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Their style of food and service is to “make people happy”. And they sure made us happy!
Murlarkey Distilled Spirits opened in Bristow, Virginia in January of 2016. Within a year and a half, they have managed to make quite a name for themselves and have won a number of awards. So a few weeks back, I jumped at the opportunity to head out to their distillery for a tour and tasting. There is something fun about taking a trip to a distillery in general, but the experience at Murlarkey is even more delightful.
