Sushi Go Round (and round and round)
January 21st, 2010
A few weekends ago we stopped in to try Sushi Go Round at Gallery Place in Chinatown. The concept is pretty simple - you sit at a counter and sushi goes traveling right under your nose on a conveyor belt. You can grab whatever looks delicious or interesting to you, and you pay at the end based on a color-coded system for which plates you chose. You are also free to order off the regular menu. Genius! It’s like the conveyor belt joints on TV — hot dog eating champ, Takeru Kobayashi, uses them as part of his strict competitive eating regiment. If the champ does it, you know it has to be good.
The sushi was sufficient (not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst either), but it especially works if you’re in a hurry as we were, about to go see Avatar in 3D. I guess the best part is that it allows you to be a little adventurous with picking something based on the sight of it, whereas if you read it on a normal menu you might not be tempted to order it. This was okay for us, but if you are more of a “I like to know what sort of raw animal I’m going to ingest” sort of person you can just order from the menu. That really negates the whole point of eating sushi from a conveyor belt, though. As we were newbies to the Sushi-Go-Round experience, we did not pick the optimal spot at the bar to get first picks on the freshly prepared pieces. We would watch the chefs place new plates on the belt, then carefully keep track of our new plate as it made its way around the horseshoe belt, all the while giving the “stink eye” to any of the other diners who appeared to be interested in our coveted plate. If you go, take note of the direction the sushi belt is moving and get the seat closest to the chefs. It is all about strategy at Sushi-Go-Round.
Last week, I was lucky enough to go on an after-hours building tour of the Smithsonian American Art and National Portrait Gallery. The building is located at 8th and F St, just west of the Verizon Center. It houses the collections of two separate museums, but together is known as the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Our group got to hear the details of the renovation of the building, which was closed in 2001 when repairs got underway, and reopened in July 2006. All major mechanical systems were updated and replaced, and the interior courtyard was enclosed, as seen above, with a wavy steel and glass ceiling. At 28,000 square feet of open space, theKogod Courtyard truly is an interesting space to take in. There was initially much debate about the ethics of putting a ceiling on an outdoor space, but I think, as I’m sure many others do, that this is one of the defining parts of experiencing this museum. Every other time I’ve stepped inside, it was during the daytime, but it was quite elegant to see at night with the lights shining on the 864 panes of glass (each one uniquely shaped… thanks computers!) Other interesting tidbits — only the lower 1/3 of this space is climate controlled, so the trees (2 ficus and 12 black olive), which reach into the middle and upper areas, had to be carefully considered for their ability to adapt to the light and temperature.
The photo above is an interior shot of Union Station, looking up at some diners on the second level. I’m meeting later this morning with the event coordinator to get some more information about getting married there! The first official bit of wedding planning business. After that, I finally get to pickup my resized ring from the jewelers… Great start to the weekend! Happy Friday to everyone.
Here’s a peek inside the laundromat on 14th Street. Certainly not the most glamorous of photos or topics we’ve ever posted about, but there is a interesting utilitarian element to it nonetheless. I’ve been lucky enough to only have to use the laundromat once or twice in my life, during college. It was quite a hassle and very time-consuming, and, more importantly, I don’t like lugging my dirty clothes around in public. So, I always feel for the people that have to use them week-in and week-out.
next stop, Gallery Place/Chinatown
September 9th, 2009
You can never post too many metro pictures. That’s what I always say. It’s a little fuzzy, but I like how the people are standing/sitting and looking all bored and put-out. That’s the red line for you these days.
A few weekends ago, after visiting Eastern Market, we wandered into Capitol Hill Books on C St NE, just a few blocks away. Had never been in there before, but now this is a bookstore! Seems really cluttered at first glance, but once you look closer at all the signs (some of which are funny, like ‘Business Closet’), you realize there is a method to the madness of books piled high and wide, with narrow aisles. It was pretty packed in there, lots of people riffling through the shelves in search of a good read. I managed to get stuck in the ‘Teens/Children’ section and read through a whole chapter of an old Nancy Drew book before I remembered that I was looking for the art and architecture section. Neither of us ended up taking any books home, since we both still have big piles of “to read” books, but I would like to venture back in there when I have about an hour and see what else I could pick up to add to my list.
No cameras were allowed for Friday night’s show - Lily Allen at the 9:30 Club - but of course Matt snuck this picture anyways. It had been awhile since we’d been back there, and maybe it was my choice of show/musical taste, but I feel older and older every time I go there. Anyways, the show rocked, I love Lily Allen and her quirky lyrics, and I especially enjoyed her ability to dance around onstage in the tallest sparkly heels I’ve ever seen…. and, I even enjoyed the first band, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head even though I wasn’t that into their music on myspace, they weren’t too bad live.
My mom had been planning a “something-I-can’t-tell-you-yet” Christmas present surprise for a few weeks now, and yesterday we finally found out what it was. We were picked up by car and, after following the directions of the Garmin, we arrived at Arena Stage to see a performance of Next to Normal. The picture above shows the main stage set, which was, besides the songs, truly one of the coolest parts of the show.
I don’t go to see theater shows very much, but every time I do, I say to myself, “You should go see more shows.” Then I also walk around for the next three days pretending and wishing I was good at singing…
