Mexican Food in D.C.

Last week, while in D.C., my friends and I went to eat at Cactus Cantina.

Our server was very nice, constantly refilling our drinks and complementary tortilla chips and salsa.

The food was good; although, I did eat at about 10:30 p.m. and was starving, so at that point anything would have probably tasted good.

The bathroom was smelly.

And, of all people at the table, of course a knat landed on my plate of food.

But, to console myself, I was sure to have a dessert. I was pleased to see that they offered vanilla ice cream.

This is not a "must try" restaurant, but is edible if convenient.

Pizza in D.C.

According to my friend Anna, a former CT, New Haven County, resident, D.C. and places that are further south do not seem to appreciate the "pizza culture" that us CT residents have, with New Haven brick oven styles and New York just in our backyard. Therefore, when she first introduced me to Angelico's, on Wisconsin Ave., I was starving, but unsure as to what the pizza would be like.

Well, it was a "love at first sight" type of deal, when I first saw this huge, "bigger than my head" piece of pizza, last summer, while in the city.

Earlier this week, Angelico's proved to be just as tasty.

It is an interesting restaurant that seems half commercialized, half hometown.

Although, I must say that when I asked for a slice of mozzarella pizza, the waitress looked at me very puzzled and said, "We just have cheese."

Ironically, one of my favorite pizz restaurants in my hometown: Amore Apizza of Wallingford, claims that it uses the "finest Wisconsin mozzarella," and here I was on Wisconsin Ave and "mozzarella pizza" was unheard of.

I replied by telling her that I will have a piece of that, and Anna cleared up the incident by explaining that people "down here" don't really have the same pizza understanding as us New Haven County residents do.

I highly recommend stopping here, if you are in D.C., and in the mood for pizza.

The International Spy Museum

On Monday, my friend Caitlyn and I visited the International Spy Musuem, in D.C., while our other friend, Anna, who we went to D.C. to visit, was working.

It was $18 to get in, and worth most of it. Overall I did enjoy the museum, but with so much stuff to do in D.C. that is free, it had me wondering wether or not it was really worth the 18 bucks.

Supposedly the museum takes about 2-2 1/2 hours to run through, although my friend and I made it through in just under 2.

One favorite exhibit of mine was the part where the museum showed different spies that had Hollywood or other famous connections. Julia Childes and some Yankees ball player were even featured.

I was able to collect an interesting: "Beware of Female Spies" magnet and coffee mug.

Overall, I would say that if a person is interested in spies, then he or she might already know everything that the musuem features. But, it was definately an interesting stop to make, especially since my friend and I were disappointed to learn that the FBI Building was not giving tours.

The Mitsitam Café

While in D.C., I suggested that my father and I meet up at some point for lunch, since he was in the city on business at the same time that I was there for Spring Break.

My father, very eagerly, told me that he wanted to meet up at the National Museum of the American Indian. I thought to myself: "Okay, so maybe we grab some type of snack and look around." I had it pictured to be like a cafeteria, with maybe milk, apples, and some type of pizza or pastry-ish lunch food. Boy, was I wrong.

My father's smile and wave sure had me fooled into thinking that it would be a calm lunch hour. Instead, my father led my friend and I into a whirl wind of people, food, and beverage, from all over.

Like a cafeteria, it was every man for himself. My dad shoved some trays our way and let us out, into the "wilderness."

I agreed to split this platter with my dad, from, I believe, what was labeled the Southwest corner. It turns out that the café breaks up the different regions of the nation into different grilles that sustain the native foods of both that region and its peoples.

The Mitsitam Café offered some foods that I had never eaten before: duck and venison. Both were very tasty. I also had rice, a seven grain roll, and some salmon.

This sample platter was pricey, but seemed to be the way to go when a couple people want to split a dish and want to try something new.

Philly's Best

Yesterday, while in Philly, my friend and I decided that we wanted a "real" Philly cheesesteak. My friend's friend introduced us to Jim's Steaks, on South Street. "Since 1939," Jim's has been serving the greater South Street community.

The menu ranged from cheesesteaks made with Whiz, American, or Provolone, to ham and egg "hoagies." One of the cooks even cooked a ham and egg "hoagie," for an Indian woman, on a separate grille, so it would not touch the beef from the steaks.

Like a lunch line, those waiting to put their sandwich orders in wrapped around the small restaurant, zigzagging in a line, which, according to my friend's friend, is "usually out the door and down the street."

The long line was well worth the wait. We all went up stairs to sit down, where we saw signatures from many famous people, like jazz players. There was even one from Denzel Washington.

My main complaint: the bathroom that I used was atrocious.

The food was great, though, and well worth the wait.

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak

Yesterday, my friend and I met up with one of her friends from BU, to venture into Philly's cheesesteak paradise: South Street.

My friend's friend is a vegetarian, but this did not stop her from enjoying Philly's finest. Gianna's Grille, a restaurant with a "hippie/retro" environment, offers not just vegetarian foods, but vegan choices, even a vegan cheesesteak.

The restaurant itself was very dim and had pictures and posters that looked very 60's and 70's. There was a huge display case, that held about eight kinds of pizza, and there was an entire bakery fridge, but it was turned off and there were no pastries inside. A note on the outside of the case said that the baker was on vacation.

This experience really proves that Philly does have a cheese"steak" for everyone.

The Death of Natasha Richardson

It is shocking to see that such a talented woman died because of an "accident."

A NYT article/obit:

"But almost no one doubts that Ms. Redgrave inspired her daughter as well. Like her mother, Ms. Richardson was known for disappearing into a role, for not capitalizing on her looks and for being drawn to characters under duress."

It seems that Natasha was just as brilliant off the screen as on the screen. What a Hollywood rarity to "not capitalize on looks" but to actually rely on pure talent. After all, "beauty is as beauty does," Natasha proved false "that beauty is only skin deep."

Many will miss her.

"Home, home on the range...?"

Yesterday I attended the Meriden Rod and Gun Club's annual St. Jude Children's Hospital fundraiser. It was a good time. With food, raffles, and of course an open shooting range, the event was quite a family affair. But the fact that this was a family affair is what began to concern me.

Many people criticized the December 2008 incident where the father of a young boy allowed the boy to shoot an Uzi at a gun show and the boy accidentally shot himself in the head. Well, all I could picture was a similar incident occurring as I watched old men showing their grandsons and younger men showing their sons and sons' friends how to shoot various guns, or letting them shoot guns. Standing next to this site was so uneasy! Images were running through my mind of accidental shootings, as the boys would tilt the guns as they kicked back. They were essentially, at times, waving around these powerful rifles and other guns.

Then, the most convincing incident of perhaps not mixing family, alcohol, and guns occurred to me when after the raffle, my friend and I went to the car to warm up and we saw this man running to the range screaming, "The kids are in the woods. The kids are in the woods."

It was like a slow motion movie as my heart stopped and I felt sick to my stomach. The man, who was screaming just kept screaming until someone finally went running up to the shooters to tell them to stop. Two minutes later, three little boys came running out of the woods, completely unfazed, and curious as to why their fathers seemed angry at them. It was a good thing that these children were alright, but had their parents been keeping a better eye on them and perhaps not indulging in alcohol this incident would have never even occurred.

In addition, while I was at the shooting range, one young kid on an quad began driving behind the shooting range, and everyone had to stop. You would think that knowing there was a shooting range people would be extra careful, and residents in the area would not be quading anywhere near it.

Overall, I had so much fun at the fundraiser, it was for a good cause, the food was good, the people were good, I even won a raffle. But, attending this event made me think of things that never really applied directly to me, before now/then.

The Therapy of Art

As I was reading a NYT article on Bronx school children, who were in an overcrowded school that found room for art, I was somehow able to link this image to that of artwork in prisons.

As a criminal justice minor, I have been in classes where I have learned that many prisoners create art on the walls. Of course this is a money saver, because it is one less thing that the D.O.C. has to paint or in certain cases decorate. But, beyond that, I think that this helps to rehabilitate the prisoners, and is also a form of therapy.

Healthier Eating is a Must According to Michelle Obama

According to an article in The New York Times, Michelle Obama is cracking down on eating non-healthy foods.

What first attracted me to this article was that it discussed healthy eating, but what was also interesting about it, is that the article made clear that Michelle Obama has no problem broadcasting the fact that she wants her family to be eating healthy food. She also wants the nation to be eating healthy food, especially because of obesity problems rising.

The article states: "White House officials say the focus on healthy living will be a significant item on Mrs. Obama’s agenda, which already includes supporting working families and military spouses. As the nation battles an obesity epidemic and a hard-to-break taste for oversweetened and oversalted dishes, her message is clear: Fresh, nutritious foods are not delicacies to be savored by the wealthy, but critical components of the diets of ordinary and struggling families."

Although Michelle offers some incite as to community gardening and maintaining a lower calorie count, I think that sometimes it is a struggle for those living on a budget to eat healthy food. With "The Dollar Menu" and KFC's 99 cent selections, Americans on the run don't always have resources to purchase produce or cannot take the time out of a work schedule to cook a good meal.

Do you think it is more expensive to eat healthy food?

What is Lost and Never Found

When I was younger, my littlest sister got the movie El Dorado for Christmas or her birthday, or some holiday. I think that she was too little to understand this animated movie, but I fell in love with it. I would watch it over, and over, and over again. That movie never got old, for me.

Even now, as a college student, once in awhile I will be flipping through the channels and see it playing on t.v. I always stop to watch it. It still amuses me.

Apparently I am not the only one amused by the topic of El Dorado, other lost cities, and history. David Grann, a staff member for The New Yorker is also interested in this topic, writing a book called “The Lost City of Z.”

This topic goes beyond this one city, it hits at the heart of a concept. It is a concept that I am not quite sure about. I believe that people do not like to wrap their minds around loosing things, let alone whole civilizations or cities.

In eighth grade history class I would always get goosebumps when we would get to the part about Roenoke and the lost American colonists.

Whether it be the allure of lost gold in a South American city, or the mystery of lost colonists in North America, people like to be informed and enjoy learning of a secret. Or perhaps people are so fascinated with these lost worlds because this world is so over explored and full of claimed land and boundaries, that these lost places give people the allusion that the world is not so small.

To eat or not to eat…meat that is…what is your take?

A WSJ article discussed a diet plan that cut out meats in order for people to shave pounds quickly. How do you feel about this?

Throughout my life, I have had several encounters with friends who are “fad” dieters, always trying the newest technique to loose weight. The truth is that there really is no one diet that fits all.

Personally, I have found that when I cut out meats from my diet and add more carbohydrates and breads, it makes a difference on the scale. But some people, such as athletes, perhaps should not take this approach. Are they really getting all of their nutrients?

My biggest concern when people cut out major food groups such as this is where their bodies get the needed fats and proteins from. If a person is not properly consuming the right amounts of these, when s/he works out or does any physical activity for that matter, his or her body begins to eat away at muscle in order to compensate for this. I recently read on a web page (that I found when searching for information on iron in breakfast foods) that since muscle allows you to burn calories, not getting enough nutrients is defeating the purpose of loosing weight, because the ultimate goal is o cut back/burn calories. Muscles need to be fed in order to burn calories.

But, I know of several people who are vegetarians and exercise frequently and “feel great.” It must be a matter of balance. Perhaps vitamins and iron pills do the trick.

What is your take on cutting meat out of a person’s diet so s/he can loose weight?

Artists Must be a "Jack of All Trades" in Their Field to Survive in the Economy

The New York Times had an interesting article that talked about how artists have to be able to do a variety of things, in this struggling economy, in order to survive on a tighter budget. This immediately reminded me of how newspapers and the field of journalism are requiring editors to be able to report and reporters to be able to take pictures and photographers to be able to do graphic designing, in order to cut back on budgets.

Furthermore, the article talked about how the Internet is a good place to post artwork, because people will not have to travel to view art and artists from many nations can collaborate.