date night: green pig bistro + artisphere

Last week we decided to try the new Green Pig Bistro in Arlington based on recommendations from friends. It was a really fun restaurant with great interior design elements. The menu had some fun choices and the food was yummy.

The homemade sodas were delicious. I tried orange and vanilla cream and Ben had blackberry.

I loved this salad. Tomato (a few different kinds), watermelon, goat cheese, and basil. Such a great flavor combination and perfect summer salad.

The cornbread was so yummy and served with maple butter. I want to infuse all of my butter with maple now.

We tried the pork tacos with avocado for an appetizer. The restaurant specializes in pork and the tacos were really delicious.

I could have ended my meal there and been fine. But we had to try one of the main courses. Since it was their specialty, we ordered the pork shank, grits, and greens. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the grits and collard greens.

I was really excited to try one of their desserts and went with the doughnut, served with peanut butter ice cream and chocolate. Unfortunately the doughnut was dry and didn't really resemble a doughnut. But the ice cream and chocolate were yummy.

Just as we finished our meal, a huge storm came through. We tried to wait it out but it wasn't letting up so Ben ran to the car and then picked me up. We made our way to Artisphere but only had a few minutes to wander before they shut down for the night. It's a really cool art space in Rosslyn that has galleries, performance venues, art classes, and all kinds of special events.

American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery

Ben's parents headed home but we continued our adventure and walked over to the Reynolds Center to visit the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. I never tire of visiting these museums and especially love the new(ish) courtyard with its beautiful glass canopy. The kids loved walking in the water feature and Oliver successfully soaked himself.

Amelia + Amelia

chinatown.

After our excitement at the National Building Museum we walked over to Chinatown for lunch. We tried a new spot, Eat First Restaurant, and everything we ordered was delicious.

I always appreciate a restaurant where you eat first.

Can you spot Ben? And me? And John Travolta?

Ben was excited about his egg fu yung. And the fact that it so closely resembled a brain.

My moo shu vegetables were awesome. And enough to serve about 10 people.

One of the restaurant employees gave all of the kids little panda key chains. The girls were thrilled.

Other than this grand entrance, the D.C. Chinatown is kind of small and underwhelming. We did get to see a man carrying a huge (dead) pig on his shoulders. He turned into one of the restaurants.

national buildling museum: legos

Ben's parents were able to join us at the Building Museum after we finished the mini-golf course. The kids spent some time in the Building Zone children's area and then we checked out some of the current exhibits. We saw the lego exhibit (several famous large structures from around the world recreated with legos). My favorite exhibit was House and Home which depicted various elements of houses both past and present. Unfortunately Oliver was not in a mood to slowly contemplate the exhibit so I'll have to check it out in more detail next time.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.

national building museum: mini golf!

A few weeks ago we headed into D.C. for a Saturday adventure. We started at the National Building Museum. They have a fantastic temporary exhibit there right now—a miniature golf course with holes designed by local architects. Seriously cool. We had a great time playing the course. I pretty much had the best game of my life with five holes-in-one. I even managed to get my ball in the hole on the crazy skate ramp. It was exciting. I highly recommend checking out the course while you can.

This hole was designed to look like the inside of a smart phone: