getting outta town

while i love new york, there's something nice about leaving town for a weekend. perhaps the simple change of scene and slower pace. the delightfulness of the get-a-way was intensified after a painfully slow week.

the occasion was the boy's high school buddy, gangsta's, 31 st birthday weekend. we arrived at our destination some time after midnight and had a nightcap and easy conversation before all crashing to sleep. the next morning was an early start and venture over the Eastern Market's breakfast spot, The Market, for breakfast. the boy and i both got the "brick"- a breakfast sandwich who's sum is greater than its parts- a fresh, yeasty roll filled with choice of meat (thick cut bacon, delicious sausage, ham), cheese, egg, and fried potatoes. a cheap, hearty breakfast providing enough calories to fuel a day of manual labor or put you into insta-food coma!

after dropping gangsta's wife home, we toured gangsta's work place and then went shopping in georgetown. for once i showed considerable restraint while the boy had much luck finding new pieces around 5:30, we decided to freshen up and relax a bit before going out for dinner at sakana sushi. it was a wonderful evening filled with many delectable rolls of sushi, glasses of sake, and conversations with new friends. the evening ended as easily as it began, a bit early but feeling just right.

sunday was a later start. the bright spots were incredibly tasty ethiopian food at etete on 9th at u street. the boy and i shared yekwanta firfir, essentially beef jerky mixed with injera and a whole fried fish in addition to sampling gangsta's rare kitfo. the yekwanta firfir was perfectly seasoned, bursting with flavor and leaving me hankering for more meat and less injera. the fish was flash fried and quite fresh. simply prepared and delicious with a squeeze of lemon. i was intrigued with the idea of kitfo as i had only had raw beef in south american and korean cooking. perhaps gangsta's rave reviews had me expecting too much but i felt somewhat disappointed. while certainly a solid and moreover an interesting dish, i felt the beef lost too much flavor being uncooked. all in all though, etete reminded me how good ethiopian food can be!