Food, food and more food.

Needless to say, while I was on vacation and newly off my soft food diet I ate a LOT of food.  Some of it was just stuff I missed while I wasn't allowed to eat it - like a bagel! BUT some of it was stuff I just can't find/get here at home.

Let's start with lunch on day one in DC.

Ben's Chili Bowl.  Located a little off the beaten path in DC this place was SO WORTH the extra walking to get here.  After having walked all of Arlington Cemetery we were HUNGRY and this place delivered with gigantic servings and gigantic taste. 

Ben's Chili Cheese Fries

 Marshall and I split this... we couldn't finish it.  Matt took one for the team and finished these off.  Along side the delicious chili cheese fries I had a chili cheese burger and Marsh had 2 chili dogs.  Everything was delicious, fresh off the grill and so bad for me.  Worth it.

The other great thing about the place?  The sign behind the counter that says People who eat for free: Bill Cosby, President Obama and family.  Everyone else pays.  It made me giggle.  I wish I had gotten a picture of it.

On a slightly healthier note - the three of us hit up a tapas bar called Jaleo's for dinner after we hit the Natural History Museum.

Here's what we ordered:

• Pan tomate - toasted sliced of rustic bread brushed with fresh tomato with fresh cheddar
• Cana de cabra - soft semisweet goat's milk cheese paired with raisin walnut bread and fig jam
• Ensalada rusa - salad of potatoes, imported conserved tuna, and mayo
• Flamenquines - traditional pork meat filled with iberico ham and cheese breaded and deep fried
• Chistorra envuelta en palatable frita - slightly spicy chorizo wrapped in crispy potato
• Patatas bravas - potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli
• Croquetas de pollo - traditional chicken fritters
• Pimientos del piquillo rellenos de queso - seared piquillo peppers filled with goat cheese
• Endibias con queso de cabra y naranjas - endives, goat cheese, oranges and almonds

Endibias con queso de cabra y naranjas, Ensalada rusa, and pimientos del piquillo rellenos de queso

It was all flipping AMAZING.  I mean, damn.  The waitress said to order 3-4 tapas per person in order to ensure everyone was full.  We struggled to get the last two eaten.

My favorites were the cana de cabra, the ensalada rusa, and the flamenquines.  The cana ce cabra was just such an interesting dish.  The cheese was delicious, the fig jam was bold and sweet and the walnut bread was just drool worthy. The ensalada rusa was one I wasn't sure I wanted to try but the combination of the fresh tuna, cold potatoes, peas and the delicious red sauce on top was just mouthwatering.  I would eat just that as a meal it was so good.

As for the flamenquines - holy crapballs.  It was the last dish brought to the table and it was just not fair how tasty it was.  Warm, salty, meaty, the cheese was gooey and the flavors just melded so well.  Honestly, it was worth the 18$ we paid for it.

This was only the second time I've ever done tapas and I'm loving it more and more.  Can't wait to try it again!

On day two of vacation we played our food choices on the traditional side. Starbucks for breakfast, lunch was Potbelly's sandwich shop and dinner was at a Red Robin on the way home.

Potbelly's was a new place for me and I loved everything I ate - a small chicken and cheddar sub on wheat loaded with veggies, a cup of baked potato soup and a bag of PopChips.  I would LOVE to have a Potbelly's here in town! I don't do subs very often but if I had a Jimmy Johns or a Potbelly's I think I would.

Red Robin was a bit of a memory lane moment.  We stopped at the Red Robin near Potomoc Mills.  I spent a good amount of time there with my theater friends during my first 3 years of high school.  I had a delicious burger, we shared onion rings, and I nommed on a hot fudge sundae for dessert.  It was a good stop... and the memories in that place were good too!

As you can tell - I didn't stay on plan very well while on vacation.  I ate all sorts of things I shouldn't have but... it was worth it and I regret nothing.

So now that I'm getting ready to go back to work tomorrow, and I've weighed in, I'm getting back on track by cooking and prepping all of my meals for the work week.  Woohoo!