Before I had my son, I was slightly obsessed with the D.C. restaurant scene. I was a regular reader of the Washington Post’s restaurant chat and I prided myself on knowing the newest, hottest and best places to eat in the city and suburbs.
Since the summer of 2009, however, the thumb that used to be on the pulse of the restaurant scene has been too busy being used for finger puppets.
For a long time after having my son, my husband and I didn’t even go out to dinner, and when we finally did, we didn't choose the restaurant for the dining experience. It was usually somewhere that was close by and had fast service. We have actually been lucky that our neighborhood establishments offer good food under our new stipulations.
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But now that I am six weeks or less away from being a mother of two, I’m feeling the need to get out of the house and try out some of the best restaurants our area has to offer before I sink back into the baby haze.
I’ve started doing a little research into some of the newest, must-visit restaurants around. I plan on convincing my husband that we need to go out for dinner at least three times before the baby arrives.
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Luckily, this is a big celebration time for us: My husband’s birthday as well as my own fall within three days of each other at the end of the month and our anniversary occurring just a few weeks later.
Coincidentally, we have two local restaurant weeks during the month of August—the first in Washington, D.C. and the second in Alexandria.
The District’s 18th annual restaurant week will be held Aug. 15-21. Prix-fixe lunches at participating restaurants cost $20.11, while prix-fixe dinners cost $35.11.
More than 200 restaurants are participating and some keep the deals going for an extra week. To find out more about D.C.’s restaurant week, click here.
Overlapping by a couple of days with D.C.’s restaurant week, Alexandria is hosting its own. It runs from Aug. 19-28 and participating restaurants are offering either prix-fixe three-course dinners for $35 or dinners for two for $35.
Diners have more than 60 restaurants to choose from in Alexandria. For more information, including a restaurant list and some menus, click here.
Restaurant weeks, here I come. They are exactly what I need to feel like I am semi-knowledgeable about the local restaurant scene again, and my husband will be much more agreeable to multiple dinners out when they are offering such a great value. I might even go crazy and try to plan a girls night, too. I see lots of good food in my future.
