Healthy Influence Blog

Found a great deal at Jury’s on Dupont Circle for the weekend and couldn’t resist a return Spring Break on the Mall. And I couldn’t convince Melanie to go to Acapulco and use our plane tickets on that winter vacation I’d spoiled with a sudden virus (but I did lose 5 pounds!), so this worked out well.

We had a fast and beautiful drive over the mountains on Friday morning. Traffic was lighter than usual. When we first moved out here in 1985 we didn’t hit heavy traffic until we were just a few miles off the Beltway on I-270. We’ve felt the growth of the area in that traffic push. Typically we now feel the heavy traffic shortly after we come off of I-68 onto I-70. That pressure showed up again this time, but it never really got bad. And, it was a beautiful sunny day. We hit Dupont Circle and Jury’s at noon then a quick check-in and off to lunch at Raku.

I didn’t want to leave. Did you have the soup? And the potstickers? Hubba-hubba. A great burst of taste and energy, then off to the Metro and the Mall. After stumbling through a bomb burst of children at the Natural History museum we finally got to the gardens on the Mall. You can just see the Capitol Building over Melanie’s shoulder as she stands in the garden at the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art.

We’d anticipated that Easter Weekend might be a low traffic time for the Mall, but it was teeming with kids, carriages, tourists, and all that aimless, where-the-hell-am-I wandering you get in DC. But, it was a beautiful day as this shot outside the West Wing of the National Gallery of Art shows.

That razor edge on the exterior is so cool. And, unlike last year, the blossoms were blooming or the blooms were blossoming.

I’m not sure what that Apple-like sculpture means. Is it a Steve Jobs contribution?

After tramping around the Mall all afternoon we worked up a powerful appetite that could only be fulfilled with a dinner at Obelisk. They gave us the same table as always (do they really remember us?). And, then, a fabulous dinner as always. Man, that chef can cook. Just the appetizers alone are worth the price and make his reputation. They started us with: a lamb meatball in a light tomato sauce; a shrimp and olive oil delight; a salad described as an Italian chicory; and thin sliced duck breast with onion jam. Oh, and the bread was pretty good, too. Then, the primi - she had beet ravioli and I had a beef broth clam soup - and the secondi - we shared a suckling pig shoulder with various spicy veggies - and the dessert - her ice cream and my Cardinal’s Hat with dessert wine. Oh, yeah, there was a cheese plate before the dessert. And, yeah, yeah, I forgot, the burata cheese after the appetizers. We didn’t bring the camera, but we have our memories.

Obelisk is one of the best foodie restaurants in the US. Only 11 tables with 36 seats, so call ahead. And, the price is great for the quality of the food, menu, preparation, and service. We’ve eaten at other great foodie places and afterwards felt like you had to take out a loan. This is a fabulous experience.

After a long night’s nap we awakened to much cooler temperatures and a threat of rain. So, we shopped. This next picture explains much of my life as a married man.

Sure, you can get them chocolate or champagne, but in my experience if you really want to put them over the top, you buy them shoes or gems. From there on you’ve got the wind at your back and it’s smooth sailing. Normally this scene would be at a Nordstrom’s or a Bloomies and would be followed with a mule shot of me carrying several boxes and a glowing girl beaming into the camera. Today, no luck for Melanie. Nothing fit. Nothing. And she tried really hard. Instead we bought me a paisley tie and cuff links.

Then, after a hard day of shopping, you need a great dining experience to take the edge off. Last night, Obelisk, so this night someplace new, Zola!

Zola is in the wildly expanding Convention Center area of DC. We hadn’t visited this neck of the woods in a few years - my work is typically in Dupont or northern Virginia - so it was amazing to see the new construction out here (8th and F Street). Zola fits in well.

It is that new American style of place and menu. Clean lines. Sharp colors. Techno music surging just below your consciousness. The greeting staff wear suits - Zegna seems popular. I made our reservations through OpenTable.com and had requested a seat at a food bar or with a view of the kitchen. Our maitre’d gave us a choice of seats and toured us through the restaurant. We took a booth in the back of the place and asked our waiter to take a shot.

Like that red drape? I really enjoyed looking across the table all night with my blondie babe against that color.

Zola delivered a major good time with the room, the food, and the preparation. The bread was great. This is a repetitive theme in my blogging about restaurants, but it has become a truism for us. Great places serve great bread. If the bread doesn’t get your attention, it’s likely you’re in for a short, unhappy life that night. And, champagne helps, especially when she couldn’t find any shoes.

Where’s the Martini, you ask? Thank you.

DC serves the best olives in the US. No competition from New York or New Orleans or San Francisco or Chicago or fill in the blank. Smooth like chocolate. Hmmm. Also note the cuff links from Acapulco. Greetings to Harvey Gomez! And the paisley tie. That little gold band on my right ring finger commemorates our 25th wedding anniversary.

I had a cream of asparagus soup with prosciutto, then an Arctic char fish served with a thick, heavy brown sauce that was a bit sweet and filled with oysters and other little ocean delights. We also ordered a side of gouda fries just for fun. We brought most of them home. I know, french fries at a cool place is kinda uncool, but these were almost as good as the fries that Melanie makes. You know she loves you if she makes the fries. Here’s the way Zola does it.

Dessert was strawberries and cream, heavy, thick cream, like so thick and heavy if the Food Police at the Center for Science in the Public Interest find out about it, the cops might raid the place. And a nice port.

Zola did great by us. This is another chef who cooks like a crazy man and has that junkie palate I adore. Lots of salt and seasoning and fat with a light cooking touch. Everything is fresh and all that comes through, but the junkie seasoning highlights all the ingredients and pulls them all together (like that sauce with the char). We really liked it and will return at our next opportunity.

What topped off the weekend too was the success of the WVU basketball teams, both the men’s and the women’s. Each won through the first weekend of action. I’ve visited Duke a couple of times and worked with several Dukies and even tread the sacred court at Cameron Hall, so it was with just a little regret that I saw Old Gold and Blue take down the Devils. Better still was watching the Lady Mountaineers endure against the unbelievable NCAA system that had them playing as a much higher seed on the HOME COURT of their lower seed opponent. I thought college was about fairness and justice. How can anyone let a 12 seed play at home against a 5 seed? But, our women played tough. Let’s go, Mountaineers!

After a good weekend of the Mall, great food, shopping and basketball, we took a last look out our Jury’s window . . .

. . . then drove over the mountains back home.

Almost heaven, as we say in these parts.