Weekend Recap

Monday, June 20, 2011
Since we were on vacation last week but returned to DC on Thursday night, we had a 3 day weekend!  Then we packed so much into Friday that I felt like Saturday and Sunday were bonus days.  But the sad thing is, I didn't take any pictures.  Most of that is because our outings were at places where photos weren't appropriate, or just not allowed!

On Friday morning, we gathered just the bare essentials and headed out to watch the US Open which was at Congressional Country Club.  I've watched my fair share of golf on TV, but this was my first experience at a golf tournament.  I approve!  Who can complain about being outside on a beautiful day and eating hot dogs?  Oh, and watching golf.  We trekked around the course a bit but did spend some time perched up on this hill (in the background, in front of the grandstands) where we could see the players play the 10th hole and finish up the 18th.

Photo by Getty Images - Borrowed from Golf Week

We timed our departure from the tournament perfectly.  When we arrived home (after a bit of planes, trains and automobiles... although it was buses, metros and automobiles), we'd only missed about 2 holes as the skies briefly opened up and delayed everything a bit!  At that point, we were home, resting on the sofa because we had plans for that evening.

I've been wanting to try the Columbia Room at the Passenger.  It's a speak easy type of place that focuses on handcrafted cocktails. 

Photo by Jim Webb - Borrowed from Bon Appetit
It books up far in advance, so when I made these reservations, I didn't realize that it was the same day as the US Open... oops!  But we rallied and had a great time.  Andy and I met up with Ben and Kate and two of their friends Jared and Rachel.  The Columbia Room is limited to 10 people, so it's quite intimate and small (hence the no pictures... I was a bit intimidated!).  Each reservation is for the tasting menu which is over the course of about an hour and a half.  The bartender, Derek Brown, started our evening off with two seasonal cocktails.  The first one consisted of a rhubarb compote, Campari and topped with champagne.  Delicious!  Then he made our second cocktail which was a strawberry puree, tequila, Cointreau and finished with a basil leaf-- of course I loved this one.  I was a bit nervous going into the night as I'm not very adventurous when it comes to eating and drinking, but after being pleasantly surprised by the first two cocktails, I said "surprise me!" as my order for my third and final cocktail.  Anything with artichoke liquor would qualify as a surprise.  

Photo from Wikipedia
The Getaway was made from Cynar and dark rum (the recipe is featured at the Bon Appetit link above) and was quite delicious.  What are you supposed to do after finishing up a tasting menu at a place that serves the "the best martini in America" according to GQ?  Go to Hill Country BBQ for some TX BBQ and live music, of course.

Photo courtesy of Ruthie & the Wranglers
All of that was just Friday!!  The remainder of the weekend was much more typical... Andy golfing, me lurking around the apartment crafting and cleaning.  We wrapped up the weekend with a great father's day dinner at Bob & Karen's.  I hope all of the dads out there had a great day!!
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