ModestGeniusXL

Hichigo Ichie

This should wrap up my unofficial series of Boston posts.  I could have done a few more on the nasty places that we ate, but didn't feel the need to give them any shine.  I could have also done a composite post summing up the entire Boston experience which would give me an excuse to post more Boston photos out here.  You know...for the folks that aren't privy to the photo album I did on The Book.  Actually, I still may do that later on.  We'll see.  But as for restaurants, this one was a great one to end on.

I'm not 100% certain that I'm spelling the name right.  As you can see from the photo, they tried to get all artistic with their logo making a couple of the letters rather ambiguous.  That spelling appears to be the most accurate though.  I guess I could have looked them up online to get it 100% correct, but it's 9pm and I'm multitasking while watching the game AND the DNC so cut me some slack.

It was an accident that I even stumbled on this place from the get go.  I have been looking for a buffet restaurant like the one that Mom and Dad took me to in Bloomington ever since I last ate there months ago.  They called it a Hibachi Grill so that's what I was looking for.  But theirs was different.  It was Hibachi Grill food buffet style without the actual show.  That wasn't the case with Hichigo Ichie.

The first time  I went there it was just me and a couple of other guys from our training group.  It was a night that most of the group was staying in to study but we wanted some real food.  They gave us an option of regular dining or dinner with a show.  Of course we took the show.  We had to sit with another group of a family of 6 which we didn't know.  It didn't matter though.  We were in our world they were in theirs.  After just a few minutes of watching the chef work his magic, we immediately knew this place was the spot that was tailor-made for our particular training group.  It didn't take much discussion at all to convince the rest of the group to try it.  So for my final night there (I had to leave a day early), Hichigo Ichie it was.

I kept it simple with some steak and shrimp the first time.  The steak was alright.  The shrimp was tremendous.  Every piece was above average size yet not quite jumbo.  It was grilled just right so it wasn't too tough and still maintained a little sweet tangy flavor.  Of course that was greatly assisted by their seafood sauce that enhanced the taste even more.  I know it was only supposed to be used for seafood, but that sauce even made the steak taste better than it already was.

The second time around I switched it up and went with the fillet mignon.  Although I asked for it medium rare, it tasted closer to the medium side.  Still, even with that it had a richer taste to it than the steak did.  It only took me one bite to realize the mignon was the wiser choice.  To top it off, I tried some of their calamari appetizer.  Combining those with the mango dipping sauce made it the best appetizer I had the entire time I was in New England.

Our show the second time around wasn't near as exciting as the first time.  Due in part because our group was so big we had to have two chefs.  The chef in my group was much more low key.  It also didn't help that the folks in our group that were usually very spirited were a bit chilled out that nite too.  Now the other group had a much more animated chef who was probably the MVP of the chefs there.  We had as much fun watching him interact with the other half of our group as they did being a part of it.

If I had to pick a restaurant to have dinner at twice in two weeks then there wasn't a much better choice than Hichigos.  Not withstanding the lobster and clam chowder that I had on the coast.  But it wouldn't have been practical to go that far again just for those meals.  Hichigos was less than a minute away from our hotel.  Even within walking distance.  I may have found it by mistake but it was one of the best mistakes I've ever made.

Mattakese Wharf

Finally the moment of truth had arrived.  I wasn't the only on who had been looking forward to some fresh lobster from the coast all weekend.  Most of our training group had been talking about it all week long. Our Sunday trip to Cape Cod made that happen.  Mattakese Wharf was another restaurant we found on the internet while searching for locations that would be the best options for good seafood.  Once again, we scored big time from doing a little research.

Here was another restaurant that sat on a bay that was home to several pleasure boats.  Not so many yachts at this location though.  Also not quite as scenic as the one we saw in Rhode Island. But still  gorgeous view nonetheless.  In fact, it was also home to the whale watching boat that departed daily to take people on tours.  That was definitely something I wanted to do but didn't have time to.  It meant dedicating at least 5 hours of your time which would have meant cutting out a lot of other sightseeing.  It's definitely a bucket list item though.

Once again I made sure to get the clam chowder.  No way I was going to pass up another opportunity to get some real clam chowder on the coast.  Turned out to be another wise decision.  Theirs tasted just as amazing as the one I had at Trafford.  I only wish I would have went with the bowl size instead of the cup.  Unlike Trafford, there really was a big difference between their cup and bowl.  All that cup size did was make me angry that I didn't get a bigger fill. 

They offered their lobster in the option of either baked or broiled.  It seemed to me it would taste good either way. However, when they informed me the difference was that baked meant they did the hard work for us by already cracking it open, my choice was made.  I wasn't trying to have lobster juice flying everywhere.  And I wasn't trying to wear one of those goofy bibs they brought out either.  Plus, the broiled version came with scallops.

Interesting thing about the drinks at that spot.  Their bloody mary's came in the same Samuel Adams type glass that we got free at Doyle's due to our brewery visit.  I couldn't tell you what was in bloody mary if you paid me, but theirs sure did look good.  I'm not even talking about the alcohol part either.  They came with a HUGE jumbo shrimp cradling the top of the glass.  It almost made me want to order alcohol just for that scrimp.  Fortunately, someone in our group that did order one didn't do scrimp so I was still able to get one. 

So how was the lobster?  So good that I had to include a picture of it instead of the restaurant.  There wasn't a single thing on my plate that wasn't delicious.  Even the breaded crust in the lobster was off the chain.  But that lobster meat itself was incredible.  It made the lobster at Red Lobster (the only thing I had to compare it to up to that point) seem like it was reheated seafood.  It was just how I imagined real seafood should taste.  It was the type of juicy flavorful sensation that only comes from fresh seafood located in the same region.  Meals like that made me want to never leave the northeast.

 

Trafford Restaurant

FINALLY the weekend had come in Boston.  Our training group (or at least a select portion of us) had a full weekend planned of activities and sightseeing.  But more importantly, good food.  First up was a trip to Rhode Island.  I could finally cross seeing Rhode Island off my bucket list.  Okay...that wasn't an actual bucket list item, but getting real New England seafood was.  Trafford Restaurant in Rhode Island made that happen.

Finding a good restaurant in the area was a lot more difficult than you would imagine.  None of us were familiar with any of the restaurants in the tiny state so we had to rely on internet reviews.  And again, you have no idea how reliable any of those are.  We also used the restaurant's location to assist in our decision.  We figured if it was actually close to a bay then the likelihood was pretty great that they would have bomb seafood.  That's how Trafford Restaurant was chosen.

The first thing I immediately noticed was the amazing view the spot had.  It sat right on the edge of a bay that opened to the ocean.  Dozens of yachts of different sizes moved about and were docked just outside the restaurant.  I never thought that one of my best pics would come from a restaurant but that's exactly what happened.  I was able to capture a Rhode Island sunset from the bar patio as we waited for our food.  The entire place had breathtaking views in every direction you looked.  It was a photographer's cornucopia.

I started off with a bowl of claim chowder.  They had the option of either a cup or a bowl.  The difference was only a dollar.  However, when my bowl came out as opposed to the cup everyone else had gotten, it looked to me like it was the same amount of soup, just presented in different sized dishes.  After just one bite, I wished they would have had vat-sized.  I can NEVER eat Chunky Soup clam chowder again after having that.  Every bite had chunky and succulent seafood in it so luscious and could taste the freshness that required very little seasoning due to its natural flavor.

Trafford would have been a good spot to get lobster.  Instead, I wanted to save that for the trip to Cape Cod the following day.  I compromised though and went with a lobster roll.  I had never heard of it before getting to New England but I swear every place we went had their own version of one.  Figured it had to be pretty good.  Especially at that restaurant.  I just didn't think it would be a cold sammich.  Although even cold you could tell the distinct difference between their real lobster and crab and the canned/packaged version I would very seldom get at grocery stores back home. 

A week later, I'm still not sure which I enjoyed more about Trafford:  the ambiance or the food.  That lobster roll was really pretty decent.  However, sitting on that open patio with a 80 degree sunny weather while a soft breeze was blowing thru and a view of the sunset over the bay was beyond words.  That setting could have made any food taste good. 

Ninety-Nine

It was a given that there was going to be some hits and misses during my time in the Boston area when it came to restaurants.  Especially if we were going to be trying new places all the time.  Sure, we could get the advice from locals that were in class with us, but everyone'e palate is different.  You could trust online reviews if you want, but you can never be sure who's really writing them.  Then there are times you go with what's closest simply because you don't want to travel to far from the hotel.  Our night at Ninety-Nine was one of those nights.

Ninety-Nine is another chain restaurant that I had never seen before.  Never even heard of it.  Good or bad.  But again, it was very close to our hotel in Franklin.  Their presentation looked decent enough as far as their exterior was concerned.  They really had no place to go but up after the British Beer Company experience.

It had gotten to the point where our dining experiences in the Boston area were largely based on what places were willing to accommodate parties of our size.  We didn't always have our full training group of double digit folks.  Sometimes it was only around 8 or 9.  So the fact that this place had special booths that could be adjusted to comfortably seat 12 of us as if we were at one large table was pretty cool.

I wasn't feeling too adventurous that evening.  And their menu wasn't helping.  They seemed like your standard Applebees-type bar and grill restaurant.  Except maybe a little more seafood options than Applebees. Not that it mattered because there was no way I was getting East Coast seafood at a bar and grill type joint.  I went with the buffalo wings instead.  They were having a special of .49 cent wings that night.  And no, I didn't get 30 wings just to try to use up my per diem.  Now someone else in our party did.  Although I think it was more or less to challenge himself to see if he could actually eat 30 wings.  He did 24.

I've had better buffalo wings.  Although I've definitely had worse.  What I was not impressed with at all was their strawberry lemonade.  Now mind you, it's not like I expected it to be great in that type of establishment.  I just expected it to be decent.  I was even surprised they had it in the first place which is probably why I even ordered it.  So I probably shouldn't have been so shocked that it tasted like strawberry water.  It only took one sip to realize it was a waste.  The waitress gladly took it back.  Don't worry...I already had my food by then so there would be no spitting in it for them to get even with me.

The end of the night brought the biggest challenge for our group.  There were some drinkers and they tend to get a little vociferous when they get full.  Not a good mix for a restaurant of that caliber that was geared more towards a family environment.  Was it going to be the second place the training group got kicked out of?  Almost.  Management did "suggest" they try a bar further uptown that stayed open later.  Not to mention I noticed they were delivering the alcohol in smaller portions while still charging the normal price.

I can't judge Ninety-nine solely on the alcohol portion though.  It wouldn't quite be fair since I don't drink.  Up to that point, their service was pretty impeccable.  Unfortunately, the food wasn't enough for me to want to make another trip there.  Regardless of how close it was to the hotel. 

British Beer Company

So I never did get to tell you all the wonderful story about my flight to Boston.  Now that I look back on it, there wasn't much to tell.  I flew Jet Blue for the first time and was impressed with their spacious seating along with the ability to have some Directv channels available for viewing during the flight.  However, I got stuck sitting next to a cat lady whose cat crapped in the carrier halfway thru the 3-hour flight, two bickering kids in front of me and a crying baby behind me.  Thank goodness for my headphones.  That about covers the flight.

Now you can bet that with two weeks in a city that I've never been in before that there would be some eating out.  Especially since I had per diem to do it.  That meant that I would be taking every opportunity possible to try a restaurant I have never heard of and/or we didn't have back home.  Why waste per diem on eateries I can find anywhere?  I seriously doubt I'll be getting out this way again anytime soon so I've been all about experimentation while in New England.  First up was the British Beer Company.

Those of you that know anything about me are probably wondering why a person that doesn't drink would try a place like this.  Two reasons:  I remember that the Raccoon River Brewer Company in Des Moines had good food even though they were known for all their different flavors of beer so thought maybe that was the case here as well.  The other reason was even though I don't drink, most of the other folks in my training class do.  They wanted to see what it was like.  So a compromise was made.

Things weren't right from the moment we got in there.  We had a group of 15 people which didn't sit well with them.  But the place didn't take reservatioins so it's not like we could have called ahead.  They made us wait 30 minutes while they found us a table.  The "table" they found was actually two separate booths and one table top that were all in close proximity of one another.  It seemed a little odd since they had tables that could have been pushed together for one big table for all of us, but whatever.

I wasn't impressed with the menu selection at all.  Sure, I wasn't expecting to get my fill of real New England seafood in a place like that; however, I just expected there to be a little better variety.  The closest thing I could find to something I would like was the BBC steak.  Even though I knew full well that a steak in New England wouldn't taste anything near as good as one from the midwest or even Texas for that matter.  It was decent, but definitely nothing to write home to Mom about.

What was noteworthy was the customer service.  And not in a good way.  I swear our waitress was doing her best to avoid our table once we got our food.  A brotha couldn't get a refill on water to save my life.  I finally had to break down and get the attention of another waitress close by to get some more water.  Then our original waitress was the one who brought it out and had nerve to have some attitude about it.  I realized when our tab came why she wasn't going out of her way to be helpful.  The 20% gratuity was already included because of the size of our group.  Even though they split us up into three separate groups AND we had three different waitresses.

The real drama came after we started leaving in groups.  I thought that would have made it easier for them since there were less people to deal with.  I guess not.  Those of us that were ready to go home left while those that wanted to try other beers and drink more stayed.  I would find out later on that waitresses got even more rude with those that stayed.  Even went as far as refusing to serve two of the girls claiming they had already had enough to drink.  They hadn't even had a single alcoholic beverage.  Then they had the nerve to say they hope we come back again soon.  Yeah...that'll happen.

So overall, not a real good start to experiencing cuisine in the Boston area.  Fortunately, it was a location that wasn't actually in Boston so I didn't hold that against the city.  Also, it's not like it was an actual restaurant so I wasn't expecting their food to be outstanding anyway.  They didn't have to do much to exceed my preconceived low expectations and they STILL fell short.  That's one chain that can stay in the northeast.

Up in the Air, Junior Birdman

I was going to do an entry about my "amazing" flight from DFW to Boston for my next entry.  Then it occurred to me that I still hadn't made any mention about my near death experience that happened on my last flight back in May.  At the time I didn't say anything because it involved an interview with my now current job.  I couldn't say anything until everything was official.  I'm good now.

So the deal was my now current company wanted to fly me out to Dallas for a final interview with the hiring manager.  I was all good with that.  It meant I would have to take a day off work; however, since I had over three weeks vacation time that I didn't plan on using anyway it still wasn't an issue.  They even offered to fly me back a couple of days later so that I could spend more time with my children while I was down there.  That would have worked if I didn't already have a prior engagement.  I sure appreciated the offer though.

The flight was supposed to take close to two hours to get from Des Moines to Dallas.  It could have been a half an hour and I still wouldn't have cared.  I still don't like flying.  Which is why I try to get to sleep the minute I get situated in my seat.  I figure maybe I can sleep through the headache part.  Even though it never works.  This time was no different.  Only something went unexpectedly wrong shortly after I nodded off.

I zoned back in to hear the flight attendant announce we would be beginning our descent.  It seemed like I was only asleep for 30 minutes if even that.  Was I really out that quick and that hard?  I looked at my watch and I was right.  We had only been in the air 20 minutes.  The flight attendant got on the intercom to repeat her announcement.  Apparently the cabin wasn't pressurizing properly.  That's why it was so hot in the plane.  They couldn't figure out what the problem was so they made the decision to turn back around and land in Des Moines to get the plane checked out. 

Now after hearing that last announcement, all I could think about was that incident similar to that where the PGA golfer Payne Stewart died.  They were in a private jet where the cabin pressure malfunctioned or something and everybody ended up dying.  They evidently didn't catch theirs in time.  This alert stewardess did.  If she wouldn't have, we could have all been casualties.  I wouldn't even be doing this post right now.  I chalk that whole thing up as my second near death experience.

As for the interview that was scheduled that day, it didn't happen.  They werne't able to get the plane fixed in time and couldn't get a replacement flight.  I had to reschedule to another day.  That meant taking another day off work, rescheduling the interview and having to fly all over again.  However, it turned out still working fo the best.  I ended up getting the job.  Plus, I'm still alive.

Spring Break Randomness

I probably could have posted about my trip on a daily basis.  Maybe came back and post-dated a bunch of entries to clue all of you in on the happenings that transpired over the course of the last week.  However, I already told you I'm not into updating on a daily basis any longer.  Plus, everything could best be summed up better in more random thoughts anyway.  So here goes...

I was pretty much sick the entire trip from the road trip down there.  It should have been a 12 hour drive but it amounted to 14 hours with all the stopping.  I honestly didn't think the wings from the lunch the day before would have that strong of an effect on me.  Guess I was wrong

I swear everytime I go to Dallas I end up taking a different route each time.  What makes it even more strange is I'm using the GPS.  Maybe they're using some type of rotating maps I don't know about

XM Radio makes long road trips SO much better

What does every place south of Kansas City have against rest areas?  I never saw another one after that the entire trip

One of these days I will learn to better pick hotels based on the type of beds they have

It's a shame when my phone's hotspot connection is more reliable than the hotel's internet

I'm not afraid of heights per se but those overpasses in Dallas (AND Houston) can be rather intimidating

I almost forgot there is Blue Bell ice cream there.  BEST.  VANILLA. ICE CREAM. EVER.  I must have had at least three or four of those pints in all during the whole time I was there

Tried a few new different restaurants that are indigenous to the area.  Probably should have done an independent post on all of them but I'll sum them up here instead:

T-Bone Tom's:  Featured on 'Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives' which is of course the reason why I picked it.  The armadillo eggs were AMAZING.  The marinated rib-eye steak was just as good

Abuelo's:  Still not sure if there is such a thing as a restaurant down there that truly features 'authentic' Mexican food.  This joint gave it their best shot and wasn't too bad.  Then again, it wasn't a whole lot different from the Mexican food we have available here

BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse:  E insisted on it since it was his favorite pizza joint.  Pizza was so-so.  Same for the cajun pasta I ordered (Lucallan's continues to hold the crown in that regard).  Their strawberry lemonade was some of the best I've ever had

Still managed to find time to watch my Cyclones win their first round NCAA game against the defending National Champs UConn.  And better yet it was at E's house.  Watching the NCAA tourney games just like we used to do back in the day

Texas folks sure love them some Dodge Chargers

I should have stuck with my original idea of making the trip down there in January instead of over Spring Break.  It seemed like EVERYONE was vacationing down there that week.  Couldn't hardly do any tourist stuff because there were crowds and lines everywhere

It's funny how time can both creep by yet go so fast at the same time while on vacation.  Especially when you're sick 95% of the time.  I didn't get around near as much as I wanted to so missed out seeing family I wanted to see while down there.  However, the time there did reinvigorate my desire to make that migration south

Pictures?  Oh I got pictures alright.  But again, not near as many as I wanted.  I've been posting them periodically on The Book complete with it's own separate photo album.  I even went as far as to create a special high-definition album for everyone else to enjoy as well.  Check it out by clicking here:  Spring Break 2012

Best thing about the vacation...hands down...was seeing my two oldest.  I just wish Mariah could have gotten time off so I could have spent more time with her as well.  But if everything works out then maybe that won't be an issue before the end of the year...

 

 

Leaving DC

It has now been twice that I have travel to DC for my job.  Twice in one year.  I'm not complaining at all.  I have gotten to the point now where the experience has helped me learn how to efficiently plan for that type of trip.  Most of it learned from my first excursion there.  Which is why this time around I went with carry-on instead of checking my luggage and scheduled direct flights instead of connecting flights.  However, I still had to resort to dealing with Delta again.  But you would think with the changes that I made that I wouldn't run into any problems again, right?  Keep in mind this is Delta that we're talking about.

I purposely scheduled my departing flight for as late as reasonably possible.  I wanted it to be late enough that I could get my business done in DC yet still get home to get some recovery time in.  That happy medium turned out to be a 6:15 flight.  I locked it in when I booked the flight three weeks ago.  Keep that "three weeks ago" timeframe in mind as it will be key point of contention later on.

My meeting was went longer than I expected which was actually a good thing.  I thought we would be finished by noon but it actually lasted to almost 2pm. I had already checked out my hotel to avoid paying for two nights so it's not like I could have went there.  I had planned all along to go directly to the airport from the meeting.  I knew it would have me there hours before my flight I arrived; however, I also knew how DC traffic was.  It could take thirty minutes to travel a mile.  I may have overestimated the airport trip  though.  It only took thirty minutes to get there.

So I'm sitting at the airport with a good 3+ hours before my flight was scheduled for departure.  I was there so early that they didn't even have it showing on the "Departures" board yet.  I'm not going to lie though, that had me a little rattled at first.  I was thinking that maybe it got canceled for some reason which is why it wasn't showing up there.  Nope.  Some life-size Buddha-looking brotha informed me that they probably just hadn't posted it yet.  By the time I grabbed a bite and changed out of my suit, it was finally showing on the board.

One look at that monster line at the security checkpoint reminded me of why it was a good thing to get there early.  I was being uncharacteristically patient for the slow moving line while other folks that were late for their flights started getting a little antsy.  Maybe if they had planned a little better they could have been a lot less stressed.  Or perhaps if they would have chose "Elite" or "First Class" for their travel option they could have circumvented the longer lines like I noticed security was allowing some people to do.  I still don't understand that.  Flying first class on Delta is about the same as calling shotgun in a minivan:  you have a better seat, but you're still stuck in a minivan.

The TSA agent working the security checkpoint was living proof that they apparently only require a pulse as a qualification to work there.  A guy handed her his boarding pass and his ID.  The boarding pass had the name William and his ID had the name Bill.  She struggled with that for the longest because the names didn't match.  She asked him if Bill was a nickname because she had never seen Bill used for William.  She had seen Willie and Will, but never Will.  She was dead serious too.  How do you not know that Bill is short for William and you're in a job where you see a variety of names every single day?  I guess that's something they don't test for on the GED.

It always amazed me that they actually named an entire airport after Ronald Reagan.  Until I spent more time in it and realized how much that airport actually sucked.  Like their WiFi for instance.  $5.99 for a couple of hours didn't seem too unreasonable.  Especially given the fact that I would be there for longer than that.  So I bit the bullet only to find out that it is the most unreliable WiFi ever.  I've seen dial-up that worked better than their WiFi did.  Chalk up yet another thing to a lesson learned for things to avoid in the future.

The time finally got closer to my 6:15 departure.  Shortly after 5, I heard my name being paged by the gate associate.  Something told me it couldn't possibly be anything good.  The elderly gentleman politely informed me that I didn't have a seat assignment and had been placed on stand-by because the flight was full.  I was baffled.  I had purchased the ticket three weeks ago...checked in almost four hours early and I'M the one that got put on stand-by?!  They were really trying to make me lose my mind up in that place.

I calmly sat in one of those uncomfortable terminal seats as I watched everyone else board the plane.  How in the world was a flight from DC to Des Moines that packed on a Thursday night anyway?  Why would that many people be wanting to leave DC for Des Moines on a weeknight?  It should be the other way around.  I could have continued to wait but I was getting impatient.  I asked the same guy again about my seat as the last of the passengers were boarding.  They had gotten a volunteer to take another flight so I had a seat afterall.  Well wasn't that nice of them?  I guess that's what I get for trying to plan ahead.

 

 

Things to Be Grateful For

DC at Night

This was something I wanted to do the last time I was in DC.  Only because I had heard from more than a few people that it was a beautiful sight seeing the memorable portions of the National Mall at night.  I had been wondering ever since then what it would be like to see them all lit up.  I was able to find out firsthand this time around.  Even if it meant sacrificing others that I wouldn't be able to see because of the darkness.

What I was initially shooting was one of those double-decker buses.  They had the exposed top so I would even be able to take pictures as the bus was driving. I specifically asked the concierge at the front desk about that when I queried about the evening tour.  They directed me to this Zohery Tours that did evening tours, but it was just a standard enclosed tour bus that made stops.  That would be another knock on the Liaison hotel to add to the reasons why they left me disappointed.

They started us off with the Capitol Building which was right up the street from the hotel.  They tour bus was scheduled to make a few stops where we could get out and take pictures and that was one of them.  Worked out great for me because it was also one of the monuments I didn't get to catch on my last visit.  I made sure that I got ample pics at every one of the stops we made.  It's just too bad that I couldn't get some of the sites that she pointed out as she was driving.  My cameara just didn't want to cooperate with trying to shoot thru a window in the dark.  You can still see the ones I did get in the lastet photo album "DC at Night".

The best thing about the guided tour was being able to hear some of the trivial facts about the different sites and/or monuments that I would not have otherwise known.  I suppose I could have always googled the different ones to find out the same information, but that just wasn't the same.  Our tour guide (I wish I would have caught her name) was a southern older sista who made the ride interesting with her attempts at humor while she shared some of the following tidbits with us:

• The flags on either side of the Capitol Building are only up when that particular branch of office (either the House or the Senate) is in session.  It was after 7pm when we first pulled up and both flags were still up
• The Thomas Jefferson Memorial was built primarily because Thomas Jefferson was upset that other presidents had their own memorial and he didn't have one
• The 58 steps in the front of the Lincoln Memorial represent President Lincoln's age at the time he was assassinated
• Three of the soldiers represented in the Iwo Jima memorial (the famous picture of the Marines putting up the American flag) died before they got a chance to see the memorial completed
• Robert E. Lee's house was intentionally left intact in its location in close proximity to Arlington Cemetery to subliminally serve as a lesson to the South
• The woman who was the head of the Labor Department for 12 years (can't remember her name either) was the only woman to be in labor for 12 years.  You had to actually be there to fully appreciate that joke

Something else I learned from not just that tour but just being in DC in general is those folks will build a statute and/or memorial about anything and everything.  I swear everybody and their mama had something built and/or erected in their honor in that city.  It seemed like every block you traveled there was one.  Or one about to go up.  Which also meant there was tons of construction all around the city.  Another thing that seemed to be very consistent throughout our nation's capitol.

I really enjoyed the fact that I was able to get a better look at two memorials in particular that I didn't have access to last time.  The first being the Jefferson Memorial.  It wasn't within reasonable walking distance of the National Mall so I didn't get a chance to see it up close until this trip.  It was interesting how Jefferson made sure that his statue looked so imposing.  It was even more intriguing how all of the monuments seem to have an incredible view of the Washington monument from different angles.

The other I missed before was The Three Soldiers at the Vietnam Memorial.  They were being refurbished when I was there last time so they were blocked off with no one able to get access.  This time I could get right next to them to get some excellent shots.  I just wish I could have gotten there in the day at least for that one to get even better photos. 

Tour Guide Sista informed us that the one stop she would normally make that we would have to miss was the FDR monument.  I didn't even realize he had one.  It makes sense that he should though given the fact he was President for four terms and one of those being during the Great Depression.  The description she gave of it made me want to see it more.  However, the fact that it was unavailable because they were working on a new MLK memorial was quite alright with me.  It's just another reason for me to get back to DC yet again.

 

 

Art and Soul Restaurant

I told myself that the next time I went to DC I would check out that restaurant Dad told me about.  I can't even remember the name of it now.  I could go back and check the earlier post that referred to it, but I'm not feeling very research-y right about now.  All I know is their concept of all the succulent choice meat you can eat sounded extremely good.  If I ever get another opportunity to head to our nation's capitol I DEFINITELY will have to find that spot.

It really wasn't a matter of not having viable transportation because I could have gotten a cab to get there.  The problem was that I made a decision at the last minute that I wanted to take the DC night tour.  Well, it wasn't actually last minute.  I would have wanted to take the regular tour on th double-decker bus but I missed the cutoff time for that one when I came to that decision at 5:30.  Therefore, the only option left was an evening tour which started at 7pm.  It didn't leave me much time to get a cab somewhere, eat and get back. I had to find some place close by.

I walked outside and looked up and down New Jersey Avenue where the hotel was located.   I could see the Capitol Building just blocks up the street but nothing as far as restaurants are concerned.  There was a Hyatt hotel right across the street though.  I wondered how their restaurant was.  Then I also started thinking about how I should have stayed there instead of where I ended up.  However, I figured if I was going to do a hotel restaurant, I might as well try the one that was right in my hotel.  Perhaps that would be the one bright light about the place.

The name Art and Soul immediately resonated with me for a reason entirely unrelated to food.  There used to be this R&B group back in the 90s named Art n Soul.  They only had one good cut which was a tight little mid-tempo jam called "Ever Since You Went Away".  Not sure they could even be considered one hit wonders since even that song never charted, but I always remembered it.  Whatever happened to them?  Maybe the turned their endeavors to restaurants which is how this place came to be? Yeah, right.  Apparently not since a Facebook friend would later inform me it was the brainchild of some cat named Art something.

The ambiance of the place wasn't anything to write home to Mom about.  It wasn't due to lack of effort though.  It's just that there is only so much you can do when your restaurant is located inside a hotel.  Since the options are rather limited it really comes down to stepping up in the food department instead to make an impression.  That is where Art and Soul came through.

The first thing that caught my attention on the menu was something they had called "Hoecakes".  I thought it was a joke.  Or at least that maybe I was misreading it.  I laughed inside about that one for a while.  Do they not know that that was one of the best gags from the classic film "Hollywood Shuffle"?  I can't believe anyone would actually name one of their menu items that.  I was almost tempted to order one just to see what it tasted like. 

Art and Soul got immediate bonus points for their bread.  The server brought out a basket which I thought would contain your customary dinner rolls.  Nope.  It was cornbread muffins!  They weren't Jiffy style which I LOVE, but the cornmeal, homemade type.  Probably my second favorite.  Wait...third favorite.  I can't forget Grandma's flat-style, homemade style.  Anyway, those muffins combined with the fact that their butter was the soft and creamy kind was a huge plus for them.  Which reminds me...why do restaurants serve you butter that's cold and hard?  That's one of my biggest pet peeves.

I ended up settling for something called the bone in prime ribeye.  All I saw was "ribeye" which was enough to be appealing.  I didn't realize it meant the steak would come attached to a large bone.  It looked like it was a large lamb chop.  However, it tasted MUCH better.  Especially when dipped in the special steak sauce that accompanied it.  It tasted like a mix of A-1 with a touch of horseradish and maybe even some Heinz 57.  They called it black pepper marmalade.  I usually like my steak just fine by ordering it medium rare, but that steak sauce enhanced the flavor even more.

The side dishes it came with were called crisp fingerlings and creamed spinach.  Atlhough I'm no chef genius, I would swear that "crisp fingerlings" was just a fancy name for "mini-potatoes".  That's that they looked and tasted like which was pretty decent.  Now that creamed spinach on the other hand was FIRE!  I'm not even a spinach fan so I thought I would probably just have a couple of bites.  Especially since the meat was both good and large enough to be filling.  However, after a couple of bites I was hooked. 

I was so impressed by the entire meal up to that point that I would have loved to try one of their desserts when I was finished.  It didn't matter that I never saw them on the menu.  I would have taken the server's recommendation at that point since everything else had been incredibly tasty.  However, I really was full.  I couldn't have eaten another bite if I wanted to.  Not to mention that I still had to get going to hit that DC nite tour. 

Art and Soul should be very proud of the fact that they were the one saving grace about that Liasion Hotel.  Although I would never stay at the Liaison again, I certainly would try Art and Soul once more if given the chance.  They made such a splash with me that I even went as far as to do the unthinkable.  That's right....I left a tip.