music and food

This past week was my last full week in D.C. I will miss the city, but I suppose it will be nice to back at home. I certainly will not miss the humidity and all the mosquitoes. (there, I sort of said something nice about Southern California) And, Drew will be back in California 17 days after I return, but who's counting?

On Tuesday, Drew and I went to the Kennedy Center to see singer/songwriter Jennie Arnau. The Kennedy Center has a free performance at the Millennium Stage everyday at 6 pm, including theatre, dance, and music. (you should check it out if you're in the area) The concert was really good, and Arnau put on a good show. I'm not sure what musical genre Arnau falls into, but her music was like a cross between folk and bluegrass.

On Thursday, Drew and I went back to Soul Vegetarian, a vegan restaurant near Howard University. We liked this place so much on my first visit that we had to go back a second time. This place is so amazingly wonderful. It is a little, no frills restaurant that seems to have a cult following. You can order off the menu, but the restaurant also keeps ready-to-eat food at the buffet. There is a steady flow of customers, so you don't have to worry about getting gross, dried out food. This time, we ate the wheatloaf, bbq tofu, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, and green beans.

The wheatlof was peppery, and the bbq tofu was sweet and tangy. The tofu was nice and chewy, and the wheatloaf melted in my mouth. My favorite was the macaroni and cheese. It was creamy and slid down my throat. And oh yes, Soul Veg does not skimp on the garlic. I don't know if that's what made the vegan mac and cheese so good, but I need to figure out the secret. This was the best mac and cheese I've ever eaten, hands down. It was that good.

Tonight, Drew and I went back to the Kennedy Center for one of the free performances. This time, we saw Moch Pryderi, a Celtic band. (by the way, Moch Pryderi means Pryderi's Pigs in Welsh) The performance was fun, the music upbeat, and the band played a variety of instruments ranging from the bagpipes, flutes and whistles, the fiddle, and a double and triple harp.