culinary adventures.

wednesday nights. usually i look forward to a nice relaxing evening at home, but this week it was about getting together with girlfriends, anna and kim. while stephen had a guy's night planned, consisting of smoking cigars and talking foreign policy, no doubt, i was glad to have as equally as interesting plans for the evening.

although i probably see kim on a weekly basis, it had been over 2 months since i last saw anna. considering that her boyfriend and much of her job in development at the FRC takes her out to colorado, she took advantage of overlap and spent 6 weeks out in colorado springs to grow her relationship and meet with current and potential donors. what a lucky arrangement but we're certainly glad to have her back with us for awhile :)

at kim's suggestion, we decided to try some wine-tasting sessions at local restaurants in dc. our first pick was bistro lepic but unfortunately tuesday nights just didn't work for us. so instead, we opted for vidalia which offered sessions every night of the week. after kim picked me up, we made our way into georgetown and spotted stephen on his vespa on his way out - so sexy, honey! we walked around m street for while, made some stops in MAC and sephora, and enjoyed the beautiful weather before making it down to 20th street to meet anna at vidalia.

upon entering, we made our way to the back of the restaurant where the wine tasting spread lay... tonight's wine was chardonnay - love it. with 2 california selections and 1 french, we chatted with the sommelier (and restaurant manager) about the nuances fine wine. i think i asked him a billion questions but really learned so much - everything from the effect of oak barrel age on taste to tannin levels causing headaches. apparently i should try a barbera d'asti or d'alba wine for a more drinkable red - who knew? it makes want to actually take an official wine tasting course - maybe during our upcoming trip to napa valley this summer!!

we had such a great evening together - especially with the very exciting news of anna's recent engagement to rick! july 12th, it is! initially we just started out with appetizers at the bar - split ceviche (we're talking mini octopus, scallops, crab here) and fried frog legs with garlic/parsley sauce. the head chef stopped by to make sure everything was a-ok with us ladies - very nice fellow. well, apparently, he was taken with anna and before we knew it, she was back in the kitchen with him making our own special entree! as she picked the ingredients he whipped together the pasta dish...commanding the respect of everyone else in the kitchen (yes, sir) as anna relished the unique experience! a few minutes later, out they come with 3 plates of anna's special dish - orecchiette with mushrooms, vidalia onions and bacon. even the woman next to us thought it looked so good and asked for it herself! it truly was amazing...especially it being on the house :) sometimes i really love being a girl.

after we practically licked our plates clean, we sat around and caught up on life together. between anna's wedding planning and kim's fun boy stories, it was a wonderful time with friends. however it wasn't long before we were surprised with yet another gift from the kitchen - this time a display of artful truffles! we devoured them so fast (so good) that they came out with yet another! we were beyond spoiled by this place - you bet we'll be back (and that they got a big fat tip).

so if you are ever in dc, looking for some great food and obviously great service, be sure to say hi to our new friends at vidalia!