Birthday Week

I had a milestone birthday last week, and instead of freaking out how old I was turning, I embraced the inevitable and actually had a fantastic birthday. The Mister was so thoughtful and planned a celebration of week long events with various friends.

We started the week off with a surprise dinner with close friends at Seasonal Pantry. This little venue has to be one of the coolest spots in DC, and I felt like I was spending the evening at a hip dive in NYC. Daniel O'Brian and his partner, Ali Bagheri, established this little delicatessen gem. By day, the store is a market where you can swing by and pick up their latest canned and jarred concoctions such as seasonal soups, confit tomatoes, and oyster pot pie. Then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, the market turns into an intimate dining spot with 12 seats. Daniel has the menus planned, so all you have to do is show up at 8 am sharp! to be served an amazing 3-4 course dinner with perfectly paired wine.

Daniel and Ali have done an amazing job with the space itself as it lends an old world feel. You feel as if you've been invited into some one's personal kitchen with the exposed brick walls, long farm table, and Daniel cooking away in the back corner to the tunes of his choice.

The Mister told me we were headed to a undisclosed dinner location - just the two of us. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in and was greeted by 10 close friends all seated around a beautiful farm table.

The rest of the week included dinner with an old friend from college, Zack, lunch at Cafe Bonaparte with dear friends and then dinner at The Tabbard Inn - one of my favorite restaurants in DC followed by drinks at the Hay Adams where I was surprised again by more friends.

So I guess you could say I ate my way through my birthday!