Vapiano

Happy Birthday, Allison!

To celebrate Allison's 23rd birthday, we went to Vapiano in Dupont Circle. This was my first experience at Vapiano and I loved it! As soon as you enter the restaurant/bar, the hostess hands you a CHIP card.

The food and drinks are all in a huge square in the middle of the restaurant and there are different stations--insalate, pasta, pizza, antipasti--you are free to walk up to any counter and order your food, at which point the chef asks you to scan your card over a small touch pad. At the end of the night as you exit, the hostess scans your CHIP card and you pay for your total. Genius! This eliminates the hassle of dividing the tab, people forgetting what they ordered, and allows freedom to come and go easily. Once you order, they give you a pager that vibrates when your food is ready.

Vapiano was packed on Thursday night. We had a great time celebrating Allison's birthday!

I got bruschetta!

3 fun Ladies! Allison, her Aunt Diane and her mom, Debbie

All of 506: Emily, Allison and Cathy

WHO DAT!

Blackfinn was the spot chosen to watch the Saints/Cardinals playoff game on Saturday afternoon. Buck worked with the management and reserved a section for the group "Who Dat Saints."

BlackFinn is located downtown close to the White House and is a sports bar and restaurant by day...and by night it turns into a club with a DJ...perfect combination.

We had a great group turn out--probably close to 40 people. There was a lot of cheering and yelling as the Saints beat the Cardinals 45 to 14.

Saints fans go wild...you can see Buck leading the cheer (bottom right)

Kern wearing his Archie throwback Saints jersey

Maggie Bullock was in town for the weekend! So good to see her!

Jordan, Holly and Buck

Policy

Happy Birthday, Katie Korb!

To celebrate Katie's birthday, we ventured to the U Street Corridor in NW DC to a bar called Policy (how appropriate for DC!). It's been a while since I've been out in the U Street area and I forgot how much I like it. It has a totally different feel from the Hill, where I spend most of my time.

The crowd is more diverse--there are less suits and ties and more of a jazz and/or bohemian look to most folks. The area is somewhat mixed in terms of development--there are bars on some of the windows and store fronts that aren't extremely inviting, but on the whole U Street is full of bars, restaurants, clubs, coffee shops and of course...JUMBO SLICE!

Policy was awesome. The theme is "Truth, Love, and Liberty." The floor and ceilings are painted black but the furniture and booths are upholstered in a vibrant red. Eccentric light fixtures hang throughout the bar--I caught myself mesmerized by them more than once!

Here are some favorite shots from the evening.

Wonderful friends!

Kern and JJD:

Buck, looking debonaire, as always:

The Birthday Girl:

FIST PUMP!

There is an entire other lounge area that we did not even visit. On Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays their "Liberty Lounge" hosts music. New Year's resolution: GO BACK!