Heaven = Cheese Fries and Tapas

So, lately I have had a few opportunities to leave the comfort zone of my kitchen and head out to dinner at few restaurants around Arlington. It's a nice change from the usual meal-planning I have been taking part in for the last few months. During my college days, I feel like all I did was go out to eat at the all delicious restaurants around Columbia, so it's nice to be able to do that around my new hometown.

A few weekends ago, I was so fortunate to be able to meet up with one of my dear friends I made while studying in London, Alison. I found out on Facebook that she would be visiting DC from NYC for the weekend, and I immediately made plans for us to meet for dinner with Heather and Katie, who also studied in London with me. 

A few things about London, while I'm at it. Heather and I met Alison in the Atlanta airport before our flight. We became instant friends because she, too, was from SC and attended the College of Charleston. After arriving in London and finally finding our dorm room, we discovered she would be our upstairs neighbor in that crazy place.

Stonehenge with (L to R) Kate, Natalie, Heather, Katie, me and Alison

Dublin with Heather, Alison, Kate and Katie

Eiffel Tower in Paris with Alison and Katie

Cruising the Seine river in Paris

Trinity College courtyard with Alison

We decided to meet in Clarendon at La Tasca for some tapas and sangria. It was sooooo good! The Sangria Blanca was amazing and so refreshing. It was made with white wine, triple sec , brandy, peaches and cinnamon. We all shared a few dishes, which is perfect at a tapas restaurant! Lauren and I started with the Pan de Ajo con Queso, which is basically garlicky, cheesy bread, and is delish. Then we moved on to the Berenjenas Fritas - lightly fried eggplant slices served with a Calebreses cheese sauce. And finally I finished with the Mar y Tierra - grilled beef tenderloin, baby shrimp, sliced shitake mushrooms and calamari rings in a sweet sherry sauce. The dishes were just enough to fill us up without feeling so full and were so very tasty. It was such an enjoyable night and I am so happy I got to visit and catch-up with Alison! A trip to NYC is in order very, very soon!

Berenjenas Fritas - Fried Eggplant

Mar y Tierra - Beef Tenderloin, Baby Shrimp, Calamari and Shitake Mushrooms

The night before the reunion dinner at La Tasca, Adam and I went out for a date night. We decided to head to Spider Kelly's in Clarendon for happy hour. We had some great cocktails, including my Dirty Golfer, which was made from Firefly Sweet Tea vodka and housemade lemonade! We had been to Kora in Crystal City before heading there, where we had a few appetizers for dinner. But within 30 minutes of sitting at the bar, the couple next to us ordered the most A-MAZ-ING looking cheese fries I had ever seen or smelled. It only took one look at each other to know we were definitely ordering them. I think I may have died and gone to heaven after those babies. I swear to you, I have found the best cheese fries on the face of the Earth. I give you my word you will never find any better than these.. Their cheese is housemade, and we didn't even get them "loaded." You better bet next time I am there they will be. Thank you fry Gods for creating these!

I can't wait to have another fun night out to dinner soon. I hope y'all are having a great week! Work has been crazy for me, but I am still loving it! There are so many fun things coming up in the next few weeks that I can't wait to share: our good friend Philip will be in town from Alabama, the Arlington County Fair, Randan's birthday happy hour, me and my friends' new Supper Club, the first SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL GAME and traveling back to Virginia Beach for Labor Day for the last of the beach days!