Well, I bought another Groupon special which was $5 to pick your own dozen tulips out in Madison County, VA. It was a little over an hour to get to, in the middle of nowhere! It was an old country farmhouse which belonged to two guys from Holland who grow organic tulips. A girlfriend and I took a road trip last Saturday. We each got to pick 2 dozen. Each color tulip had it's own row. You grabbed a bucket and just started picking! It was beautiful out and the perfect day for tulip picking.
There were areas for you to bring a blanket and picnic, which we would have done, had we known that! So take note. Pick your own tulips is only for the month of April and normally costs $1 per bulb. They do have discounts if you place an order online for the fall. This place is definitely worth checking out for a fun, cheap day trip.
On the trip back to DC, we stopped by two wineries. Prince Michel is a famous one in the Northern Virginia region. It's right on Route 29 and you can't miss it. We got to taste all their wines, purchase bottles and take a tour. They even have frozen sangria and peach bellinis out of a ICEE machine! Can't beat that on a sunny, warm day. The staff was very helpful and fun to talk to. The gift shop was full of wine accessories, snacks, glasses, everything you could think of!
After leaving there, we headed back on Route 29 and made a stop at Marterella Winery in Warrenton. This is a smaller winery, which Prince Michel does all their bottling. They only had white wines to taste which was a bummer because I'm a red fan. But I guess it's a good sign that they were sold out. We ordered a pizza and sat outside on the patio and enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Grigio. This winery is off the beaten path so the location was serene and quiet. It was a perfect setting.
We did all of this in 6-7 hours! It's a gorgeous drive down 29 with lots of scenery. Stopping along the way at wineries was most of the fun. It broke the drive up and who doesn't love wine tasting? If you're looking for something fun, different and cheap to do on a Saturday/Sunday I'd definitely recommend riding out to these wineries. Tastings range from $5-10 a person and bottles are anywhere from $15-30 each. Take a road trip and take in the scenery.
Cheers :)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Groupon is a Great Thing! Cheap Dinner Dates
I look forward every morning to checking my email and seeing the Deal of the Day. Usually it's half off at a local restaurant, or discounted massages/salon, dance classes, and tickets to festivals. I've bought quite a few since signing up and it has exposed me to a lot of places that I normally wouldn't go such as Mezza Luna in DC. The groupon was $35 gift certificate for $15 so why not try it?
We went one Friday night for our weekly date night and started with happy hour. They have one of the best happy hours I've been to. It starts at 4pm and goes until 8pm Monday through Friday. The specials are $4 beer and wine, $5 martinis and rails and $5 appetizers. Can't beat that! We drank in the bar area for a little bit then went to our dining table.
The food was excellent. I had the Pesto Chicken Fettuccine and he had the Chipotle Shrimp, Chicken and Chorizo Pasta. The dining room was not very full all night long but don't let that turn you away. The service was quick and the food good. It's reasonably priced as well which makes for a great dinner date on the cheap. I highly recommend this place for a quick happy hour or a quiet dinner.
Oh, don't forget to sign up for Groupon. This will definitely help you explore the DC area for less!
Cheers :)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Great Easter Day Picnic
My boyfriend, Bryan, and I found ourselves here in DC for the Easter holiday. With the beautiful weather this past weekend, we had to do something outside. Picnic! Always a great idea to get out and enjoy the weather, good food and wine and on the super cheap!
I made some homemade oven-fried chicken, pasta salad, flourless chocolate cake and brought along a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Our original plan was to go to Roosevelt Island with the pup and a picnic basket. However, once we got there, it was packed! Go figure, it was the first awesome weekend since our blizzard of a winter. We then headed into DC to go to Rock Creek Park. It was perfect. We found a secluded spot and set up camp. We spent an hour or two relaxing, eating, drinking and playing with Marley.
It was a great Sunday afternoon and also a good change of pace from going out. I think it's a great idea for families and couples alike. Get out and enjoy this weather and sunshine!
Cheers :)
I made some homemade oven-fried chicken, pasta salad, flourless chocolate cake and brought along a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Our original plan was to go to Roosevelt Island with the pup and a picnic basket. However, once we got there, it was packed! Go figure, it was the first awesome weekend since our blizzard of a winter. We then headed into DC to go to Rock Creek Park. It was perfect. We found a secluded spot and set up camp. We spent an hour or two relaxing, eating, drinking and playing with Marley.
It was a great Sunday afternoon and also a good change of pace from going out. I think it's a great idea for families and couples alike. Get out and enjoy this weather and sunshine!
Cheers :)
Dinner Date at Savour
So I found out about this small, new restaurant in Adams Morgan through Tastings Journal ( http://www.tastingsjournal.com/ ). The menu looked great and also the price! Always looking for a great deal. We made online reservations through OpenTable for last Saturday night at 7:15. We walked in and I immediately felt like we were no longer in Adams Morgan. Nothing against Adams Morgan but definitely a different feel. We were seated immediately in the main dining room and the waitress was prompt on bringing us menus, wine and bread. Since we had already seen the Prix Fixe Menu online, we had an idea of what we wanted. This menu is a selection of the items on the regular menu, although the regular menu wasn't much larger. The deal was 5 courses for $45. Can't beat it.
A little about the restaurant itself. It opened in November 2009 so it's still fairly new and the Manager had mentioned they were a bit understaffed and still working out quirks. However, the food was fabulous! It's the standard American menu, steaks, burgers, pasta, seafood but cooked to perfection.
As I said before they are a new place so service was lacking. We were there over 2 hours for the 5 courses. Luckily, we had nowhere to be so we just enjoyed the atmosphere, wine and food. Salad and soup were delivered in a fairly timely fashion. We had the caesar salad and clam chowder. Granted, these are not tough or elegant to make but the taste was definitely superb. It did take a while for our appetizers to get to the table. We were actually served our salad twice. For this mishap, the waitress gave us 2 free glasses of wine to apologize for the wait. We were happy about that! I have to say, you don't see that very often but they're a new restaurant and have something to prove. Eventually the appetizers and entrees were delivered and couldn't have been better. My chicken stuffed with spinach and artichoke was very good and his salmon came with a delectable cream sauce! We asked the server what exactly it was and gave many compliments to the chef. Our bill came before our dessert! So that was a little annoying. We waited around for an extra 15 minutes and had to ask the Manager if we were still getting it. After that mishap, the Manager gave us a $25 gift certificate to come back another time and prove themselves.
All in all, the food was great but it did take a while to get it. They made up for it with free wine and a gift certificate so we really can't complain. However, if you do check it out, be sure to allow extra time and just enjoy the one you're with! That's what I did.
Cheers :)
A little about the restaurant itself. It opened in November 2009 so it's still fairly new and the Manager had mentioned they were a bit understaffed and still working out quirks. However, the food was fabulous! It's the standard American menu, steaks, burgers, pasta, seafood but cooked to perfection.
As I said before they are a new place so service was lacking. We were there over 2 hours for the 5 courses. Luckily, we had nowhere to be so we just enjoyed the atmosphere, wine and food. Salad and soup were delivered in a fairly timely fashion. We had the caesar salad and clam chowder. Granted, these are not tough or elegant to make but the taste was definitely superb. It did take a while for our appetizers to get to the table. We were actually served our salad twice. For this mishap, the waitress gave us 2 free glasses of wine to apologize for the wait. We were happy about that! I have to say, you don't see that very often but they're a new restaurant and have something to prove. Eventually the appetizers and entrees were delivered and couldn't have been better. My chicken stuffed with spinach and artichoke was very good and his salmon came with a delectable cream sauce! We asked the server what exactly it was and gave many compliments to the chef. Our bill came before our dessert! So that was a little annoying. We waited around for an extra 15 minutes and had to ask the Manager if we were still getting it. After that mishap, the Manager gave us a $25 gift certificate to come back another time and prove themselves.
All in all, the food was great but it did take a while to get it. They made up for it with free wine and a gift certificate so we really can't complain. However, if you do check it out, be sure to allow extra time and just enjoy the one you're with! That's what I did.
Cheers :)
A little intro and welcome!
Hello! This is my first blog and I'm pretty excited about it :) I dedicate this blog to my new experiences and also to pass along what I've found. Food/Wine is a passion of mine and I wanted to share what I've found with all of you.
A little bit about me:
Well, I've been in the DC area for about 3 years now and have gradually grown accustomed to being in this city as a "local". Recently, I've branched out and have tried many new places, foods, wines, and events. Also I'm very thrifty in what/where I choose to explore. I have a few resources that help me with this, one being Groupon. Yelp, Tasting Journal and Metromix definitely play a part as well. I try to be savvy about how I spend my money as I am a young professional and just starting out. I'll share some of these in posts to come.
A year ago, I was a very picky eater and had a hard time experiencing new foods. I've come out of that shell and now trying new foods is a hobby!
Stay posted for reviews/suggestions on my recent endeavors!
Cheers :)
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