Weekend in DC: Day II

In a rush...Shann and I moved to a new apartment in the East Village this past weekend. We now live with Steph and Darien, close friends also from Hawai'i, in a rather adorable 4-bdrm. Much cleaning, unpacking, and shopping to complete. Short posts this week - waiting for Time Warner to install internet in the apartment!

Now, heading back two weeks for a weekend trip to DC�

Saturday morning at Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown begins with�

�iced lattes�

�and warm cappuccinos.

Then, crepes with caramelized onions, Italian sausages, green pepper and Fontina�

�another with eggs and Swiss cheese...

�and one more, featuring wild mushrooms, onions, scallions, ricotta, and goat cheese. The weekend morning menu also offers a range of breakfast omelets in addition to sweet crepes outfitted in dreams of honey-yoghurt with pistachios, caramelized mangos with lemon gelato, and a classic Nutella and cream.

Post-meal, we took a leisurely stroll through the waterfront pier, but hankering for something sweet and chilly, something like, say oh, gelato�we popped in for an afternoon stop at Dolcezza�

�where we oogled flavours of Yellow Peach Bourbon, Dulce de Leche, Avocado Honey Orange and Counter Culture Tiramisu.

Off to the side were little pyramids of churros organized on white porcelain stands, plain and piped with dulce de leche. Visually tempting, but lacking the lure and appeal of warm churros fresh out of the fryer.

I finally settled upon a scoop each of Peach Prosecco and Lemon Opal Basil�both beautiful with a taste true to name but lacking the vibrant boldness of L'Arte del Gelato in NYC. I'm well aware that fruit based gelatos are lighter than their chocolate/espresso/dulce de leche counterparts, but L'Arte manages to successfully retain honest fruits flavours while bringing about a lusciously rich product. Dolcezza verged on the end of tooo light.

Shann went with the Formosa Plum, while Nat, Darien, and Kelly selected a trio of equally vibrant flavours - all based on summer fruits.

We whittled away the dusk hours over iced coffees, catching up on the last two (or was it four? - how time flies!) years since we've left Hawai'i. Dusk settled into night, and after a short nap back the apartment we headed out to Dukem for dinner.

Four combination platters were shared between the seven of us. I cannot recall the name of every dish, but personal favourites included the Minchet Abesh (chopped beef braised in a ginger and garlic sauce), Melasena Sember (tripe and tongue with carrots and jalapenos in a ginger sauce and the Lamb Wot (lamb stew).

It must be the curious tang of injera, or something about the combination of meats, injera and eating with your fingers, but if the food did not eventually come to an end (and by end, I mean, having finished the dishes), I feel as if I could continue on eating Ethiopian forever. Unlike Chinese or Italian, Ethiopian food feels oddly weightless in my stomach while in the process of consumption...in a manner, I suppose, not so different from how spicy food makes some people hungrier.

Cafe Bonaparte
1522 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-8830

Dolcezza Gelato
1560 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-4646

Dukem
1114 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-8735