Weekend with the In-Laws

We enjoyed a very busy weekend with family. It was much needed.

Thursday we headed out to our favorite restaurant, the Atlas Room, which once again did not disappoint.  We shared these delicious slices of lamb bacon, along with the dark meat chicken flatbread and lamb, along with the pumpkin cake.  And cocktails, of course, including my clover club.

Friday we ventured out to Virginia wine country, starting with a pit stop at the Dogfish Head Brewery for a terrific flounder sandwich. We went to Rappahannock, and we most enjoyed the Viognier and the Cabernet Franc.  They then recommended we head over to Chester Gap which had an amazing view of the Shenandoah Valley.

The highlights Saturday were lots and lots of mussels at Brasserie Beck, dinner at  Philomena's, and then Les Miserables. The Kennedy Center is always awesome to go to. I largely agree with the reviews that the show itself was a bit frantic and rushed, particularly in the beginning.  The sets were amazing, and almost film-like, particularly when Jean Valjean is in the tunnels.  The leads were great, although it was the Javert understudy who was featured. Reviewing the story synopsis beforehand was helpful, although in general I thought the play was clear and you could hear the lyrics--luckily the orchestra didn't drown out the (very loud) performers.

I was grateful for the long weekend, the time with family and my  husband, the chance to get away from everything when the next few weeks will be hectic. And soon it will be Thanksgiving!!

Weekend Wine Tour

We spent yesterday with Nate and Meg on a Living Social Wine tour. Way TOO much wine, but it was fun. The first stop was Linganore in Maryland. We tried an insane amount of 15 or so wines that left me dehydrated in the steamy 90+ degree weather. Some of the whites were pretty mediocre and the fruit wines, while tasty and sweet, were basically on the level of a Boone's. We split a bottle of the Traminette, a semi-sweet Gewürztraminer. We also brought a bottle of Chambourcin, described as "a rich full-bodied red dinner wine. Overtones of raspberry and oak make this wine perfect for fine dining." It had a smokey, tobacco flavor.

Afterwards we visited Black Ankle, which I thought was as good as any California winery I've visited. We loved the Syrah and picked up a bottle of that. We also purchased and broke open a bottle of the Passeggiata 2008, described as "a light to medium bodied wine, with a translucent ruby color and hints of raspberries and butterscotch on the nose. This wine dances across the palate with notes of vanilla, red fruits and exotic spices." I also loved the Viognier. I do have to say I was tired of wine by the end of the day, though I am very glad we did the tour.

It was a busy crazy hectic weekend but always good to see friends.