Marco told me that we have not eaten at the same restaurant twice since before our mini-vacation in New Jersey. So to continue with this, we planned the weekend to be an adventure for our tummies.

Marco and I decided to do brunch on a Saturday and considering all the good restaurants that offer Restaurant Week lunch are closed Saturdays, we decided on an apparently popular diner in Adams Morgan called Open City. And true to the reviews I read on Yelp.com, it was packed with people and the line outside went all the way to the curb. Although we were a bit hesitant, considering the wait, we put our names on the list and just walked around the block to pass the time. When we got back, we asked for the menu and after a couple of minutes, the lady called out our name for out table. We were lucky! It had a bunch of different stuff on the menu but we were determined to get breakfast. So I was eying the multi-grain pancakes or the french toast but I was looking for something new, so I tried the Croque Monsieur (sp?) which is basically a ham and cheese sandwich with bechamel sauce and a side of salad. It was very good. Marco got the Western omelette which he's been craving for and a frozen mocha drink. After this feast, we decided to walk a bit to the zoo and then we headed over to the Pentagon City Mall.

It was my Daddy's first death anniversary so Marco, Regina and I attended mass in Bethesda and had dinner at Moby Dick Kabob on Wisconsin Avenue. It was cheap but really good. We went to La Madeleine to buy bread and some pastry for dessert. After that, we went home to buy some sparkling wine for our wine and cheese night. We chose a rose brut cava which was a bit sweet and complimented the nutty cheese that I got from Balducci's the other day. I got four kinds of cheeses. The humbolt fog (sp?) which is a cheese made out of goat's milk, the Rembrandt and brie which were both made out of cow's milk and Manchego, which is a Spanish cheese made out of sheep's milk. We enjoyed our cheese plate and wine, which is considerably cheaper than ordering it from a restaurant.

We both slept full and a little tipsy and we woke up the next day craving for paella. So we dressed up and headed over to Divino's lounge in Bethesda because they offer all-you-can eat tapas for brunch every Sunday. Sadly, when we got there, it was closed for brunch till September! Aww.. so I racked my brains thinking of another Spanish restaurant in the area and I thought of Jaleo. It was so nice outside and it was a good thing we got window seats which are as good as outside seating but with a breeze of cold air from the airconditioning.

We looked at the menu and decided to get two tapas from their special menu. One was bread with goat cheese, hard boiled egg and smoked salmon with capers. The other one, which was our favorite, was a Spanish pork sausage with white beans and mushrooms. A couple of minutes after finishing the last of the Spanish sausage, the main dish came. The paella was served in a big cast iron pan and all kinds of seafood was in there, waiting to be devoured! It had shrimps and a rock lobster (sabi ni marco eh), fish chunks and mussels. It was delicious! And the end to the perfect meal, peppermint ice cream from Gifford's!

It was the perfect end to the perfect food tripping weekend.

Now, I just need to go to the gym to work it all off, so I can do this all over again this coming weekend! :)