Thursday, February 14th - SoHo

First off - just found out that I'm going to be the best man in a wedding this summer. Which means that the bachelor party planning has begun. The wheels are turning, my friends. The wheels are turning.

So I skipped breakfast today, because I'm an idiot, and I don't keep enough food in my place. Its kind of ridiculous - there's not much cabinet space in my kitchen, so its hard to keep too much around. No excuse, but still. So today, I head west, past the hated Breadline (communists). I heard rumors of a decent burrito place at 19th and H or something like that. I walk the block, but I don't see it. But there may be some potential on I, between 19th and 20th. Kaz Sushi is over there, which has already won me points. However, I finally settle on SoHo Cafe, which is a hot/cold bar.

Hot/cold bars are such risky propositions. By nature they have to be crappy. And remember, I came from the land of cashew chicken, and the Great Wall Super Buffet. Nothing will ever beat the Great Wall Super Buffet on Sunday after a rough weekend, also. That thing was awesome. Despite the fact that a couple of my friends from college were eventually banned from there for playing with food or staying too long or not tipping well enough or all of the above or something.

SoHo appears to be a little higher quality than most. I've been to the one near my apartment (13th and K) for breakfast before, and it was legit. So I was curious about lunch. I finally decided on the following selections: fried rice, general tsao's chicken (aka "chickenese"), mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and corn/mixed vegetables. They actually had a whole roasted turkey available for carving, as well - a good sign, I think. Final tally: $7.45. Acceptable.

So I get back to the office, and a coworker asks where I went. I tell her, and she swears that SoHo has the same ownership as Met Cafe, another hot/cold bar closer to the office. And its terrible. I went there once, brought food back, and after one bite wanted my money back. For real. I have never had such an immediate angry response to heat lamp chickenese. So anyways, I'm eating at my desk.

I don't know what I was thinking with the meatloaf. I love meatloaf. I love Greek Deli meatloaf. The integrity of this meatloaf is questionable. Though the mashed potatoes weren't terrible, for hot/cold bar mashed potatoes. Corn was alright, and the chickenese was actually fairly good for a place like this. That was actually a bit of a surprise.

I really wish some place could get a hot/cold bar concept right. It has to be able to be done. I mean, there are tons of chefs out there who can produce mass quantities of food. I mean, have you ever had the buffet at the Bellagio? They do it right. That thing is awesome. I think the key would be higher quality food, and less of it. And rotate it. Have sort of theme days. But less food, so you have quicker turnover and less heat lamp time, and work on the quality. Make it healthier. I think this is possible. Healthier would be the key, I think. How hard would it be to have less fried stuff, more lean meat? It has to be able to be done.

Overall: not bad for a hot/cold bar, better than most. But not absolutely delicious or anything. Sure, I could go back. But I'm not craving it or anything. Now its afternoon and I can't focus on anything. Blows. I've been fighting this damn spreadsheet all damn day. Awesome. I'm angry.

Wednesday, February 13th - Leftovers at my Desk

The weather is crappy, I'm hungover, and I don't feel like trying too hard. Leftovers at the desk. I feel like crap, its crap outside, I may as well eat crap. I'll take a do-over tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 12th - Some Greek Place in International Square

Today just kind of sucked. I skipped breakfast this morning, and I'm out of powerbars in my desk, so I was dying for some food. But my stomach kind of hurt, too. So I didn't really wait for anybody, and went and grabbed lunch by myself at around 11:40 or so.

I received an anonymous tip that the Greek place in International Square was pretty legit. (Note: anonymous source was also pretty cute, also. Once again proving what every man has yet to figure out: just because an attractive woman tells you something, don't necessarily act on it. "Of course I should buy those test tube shots!" "Why yes, this suit does look good on me - I'll take it!" "Sure I'll go to that bar with your friends!" "That's funny - I also love photography! Let me buy tickets for that exhibit!" etc. I'm 28 years old. I should know better by now.) So I mosey myself up to International Square, and in doing so, effectively sidestep lunch invitations from YF and The Ex. So I guess I broke even there.

For those of you who don't know it, International Square is a massive office located at the Farragut West metro stop. And in the basement they have this giant food court, with several offerings - Greek, Cajun, Chickenese, Five Guys, etc. Its a pretty huge complex, all in all.

So I go up to the Greek Deli, and look over the selections, and, honestly, nothing really looked appetizing to me. So I panicked and orderd the Gyro platter. While waiting, though, I spotted some meatballs that looked like they might be alright. Damn. But eventually, my gyro platter arrives. Total tally, $8.25, incl. tax. Acceptable.


For those of you scoring at home, that's a pretty big gyro. And it came unassembled. I'm trying to figure that out. A good thing about being unassembled - that meant that none of the sauce was on there already, which is a good thing. I don't normally care for a lot of that crap, and it eventually just spills everywhere anyways. So I assemble the thing. Not bad, not great. But I'm not sure about my review today, since my stomach just wasn't working right, really. I will say this - there was enough meat for two gyros - that's a good thing. The potatoes and salad were just kind of eh. But, I did leave enough for a second snack this afternoon.

Overall - I want to try the meatballs. I screwed up on that part. Though I love a good gyro. The best are drunk gyros. I had a friend who loved the drunk gyro. The only point of drinking all night was to be able to sit on the curb at 3:00 am and savor the gyro. It was awesome. But I'll try this place again, I guess. Acceptable price and quantity of food, good speed, average quality and service.

Monday, February 11th - Ecco Cafe

First things first: its ridiculously cold today. I purchased a Diet Coke this morning from the CVS in my apartment building, and there was ice forming in it by the time I got to 16th Street. Not even kidding. My ears were killing me by the time I got to work.

So I go down to talk to my coworker and usual lunch cohort. He mentioned that it was too cold, and that he would just have to go next door to ABP and grab something, because its too cold to walk anywhere. Somehow, I managed to talk him out of this, and we tried a new place: Ecco Cafe, at 17th and G.
So, we walk into the place, and a couple of things stand out. One, it smelled tremendous. That was a good sign. Second, the menu was huge and varied - pasta, salads, sandwiches, pizza, etc. But definitely Italian. So I went with some sort of pasta with chicken marinara sauce. YF, my cohort, had some sort of sub.


Please note the banana. You buy something, and you get a free treat - choices were candy bars, chips, or fruit. That's a pretty sweet bonus. I like unexpected treats like that. Also, they have all sorts of extras for your food - oregano, parmesan, crushed red peppers, etc. These folks take care of you. I like it. The food, well, it was good. Not great, but good. However, the sheer selection is going to make us come back several times - going to have to try more stuff off the menu. And perhaps the best part? We were able to eat there, and it wasn't crowded or loud and stupid, and it was quick, and it was relatively cheap. I'm sure that was a $2 bottle of water I got, but still made it out for under $10.

Overall, it was a decent place. I'm sure that whatever I had was relatively healthy, and seemed to have fresh ingredients. Plus, its hard finding quick Italian places sometimes. Mainly, though, its an option that isn't Breadline. Because Breadline blows. We ran into some coworkers on the way back, and we had an Executive Vice President comment that Breadline is run by pinko communist bastards. So that's the official word - a sandwich at Breadline is a sandwich for Stalin. Its un-American. French baguette my ass.

Friday, February 8th - Wasabi

Its Friday, and I was hankering for sushi. But today was an eat at the desk day, since I was in hurry up and wait mode with a couple of clients. So I tried a new place - Wasabi (http://www.wasabisushi.com/) to grab some take out. Approximately 355 yards from the office.

I grabbed the large Maki Box to get out. Price (including tax) $13.20. Yes, I know that this started because of complaining about the price of Breadline. But sushi is always going to be on the higher side, I know this. Seemed to be a lot of GW kids or something in there, because somehow I'm pretty sure I was the oldest patron in the joint.

So I gets back to the office.


First, I am not going to complain about the quantity of food. That's a big effing box of stuff. The box actually did end up defeating me, and I made the mistake of throwing it away in my trash can in my office. Mother of god I hope the cleaning people take care of the trash quickly tonight, because this could get rank in a few more hours. Quality, well, there could have been something to be desired. I know, you can't expect much for take out pre-prepared sushi, but I still prefer Nooshi for that sort of thing. Plus, there appeared to be some jacked up looking avacados in one of my rolls. Wasn't terrible, but definitely not my favorite sushi place, and I'll probably stick to other outings. I give the place high points for speed, though - didn't take too long for me to get there, get in, and get out.

Verdict: still not happy with food in the new neighborhood. But this didn't kill me. I just don't think I'll go back. Unless they have good salads or something.

First Blog

I am a huge fan of lunchtime here in DC. Or at least I used to be. I work downtown, and recently we moved offices from 18th and L to 17th and Pennsylvania. It might not seem like a big move, but the effect on my lunch has dramatically impacted my quality of life. I used to look forward to lunch every day, because I had so many wonderful choices within a short walk of my office. See the following map of my favorites:

1. Mackeys
2. Asian Bistro
3. Nooshi
4. Greek Deli
5. Luigi's
6. Crepeway
7. Couscous Cafe
8. Chipotle
9. Panang
10. CF Folks
11. Naan and Beyond
12. Colombia

That is 12 delicious choices within 1/4 mile of the old office. Twelve delicious options where I could effectively not be stuck with either a salad or a sandwich. Asian. Greek. Italian. Indian American. French. Everything. All right there. So obviously, lunch was exciting for me every day. And I'm not even counting the chains - Potbelly, Au Bon Pain, Subway, etc. (I'm counting Chipotle because I like it, dammit.)

Then, we moved.

Here is the new map:

1. Breadline - sucks
2. BS Chain
3. BS Chain
4. BS Chain
5. Brown Bag
6. Corner Bakery
7. Swings Coffee
8. The Exchange
9. Penn Grill

So there you have it. Pretty much everything there is a salad and sandwich place. Any my main complaint, of course: the first time I went into Breadline, I purchased the soup and sandwich combination. And it cost me $11.13. I didn't even get a beverage with this. And it wasn't that good. Sure, it was better than Cosi or ABP, but still. $11.13. For that price, I want real food, and not an overpriced, underdelivered sandwich and soup.

What frustrates me is that I'm sure there are quality places in the neighborhood to eat. I just haven't found them yet. But I'm losing hope. But I will not cease my explorations.