Culture Club

Do you remember the first time you realized that there were other cultures and countries that existed besides your own? I vividly remember that point in my life where I realized that there were other people with different languages and traditions than my own---and I remember thinking how cool it was that we all coexisted on one planet, and all had something different to bring to each other. I have always been lucky to have parents who embraced different cultures themselves, and never discouraged us from learning about them. That's one thing I think I LOVE about living in DC. You never have to hunt down an opportunity to do something really unique and different-it's all at your fingertips.

The past few weeks, we've gotten a chance to do tons of great cultural things...I just love it. On Nov 9th, Al and I went with our friend Colleen to see our first Cirque du Soleil (Corteo), which was incredible. Those people can do some pretty amazing things with their bodies, and are extremely talented. My favorite part was the jugglers though....I guess I'm easy to please--while the other performances definitely required a great deal of skill and agility, I still found myself liking the juggling act the best. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't necessarily easy, but compared to what the others were doing, it was not as strenous. But, I still loved it.

Then, over the weekend, our friend Christina took me to an Acoustic Africa concert that featured 3 African performers-Habib Koite from Mali, Vusi Mahlasela from South Africa, and Dobet Gnahore from Ivory Coast. It was AMAZING! Before the concert, Christina had given me CDs of 2 of the performers, but seeing the performance live was very moving. The three artists harmonized together beautifully and there were all sorts of people in the audience of every shade and culture. At one point, when the performers were really jamming, someone from the audience hopped up on stage and started sprinkling money on top of Habib Koite. Christina informed me that an African tradition is to sprinkle money on a performer so that you can dance with them. Before long, there were about 10 people on the stage putting their dollars above each of the performers. Quite a sight! The woman performer Dobet was a fantastic dancer-weaving in traditional dances of her tribe into her music. Awesome!

This past weekend we just took in the city, and hit the National Portrait Gallery. I have never been-wasn't my cup of tea, but I'm glad we went. I guess I just prefer other types of other art- impressionists, landscapes, photography, not so much portraits. After that, we went for Thai and caught a movie in Chinatown-Stranger than Fiction-which I definitely recommend. Great cast, good story.

Glad to be out and about, and enjoying all the opportunities the city has to offer. Always good to know that there are things out in the world that can bring you some perspective on your own life.

Tastes Like Chicken

Now that Al's jaw is unwired, he's back baby! He's been able to eat pizza, burgers, steak--with the exception of a huge hoagie, he can pretty much handle everything, so...I decided to take it one step further. Let him try something REALLY unique.

So, anyway, when I found out about DC's 1st Annual Unique and Unusual Food and Wine Festival, I thought...sure, why not? I bought Al and I tix-and we went on 10/25 (which happened to be our 3 year wedding anniversary, so it was perfect!)

Over the course of my life, my travels have me to some pretty interesting places, and I've been brave enough to try some pretty exotic foods (no, I'm not a vegetarian, and yes, you may want to skip this blog if you are.). My motto is that I will try anything once with a few exceptions to the rule. So far I've had kangaroo, crocodile, haggis (sheep's stomach), squid guts, sea anenome, goose liver, pigeon (squab), escargot, goya (bitter melon), octopus, caviar, buffalo, oxtail, shad roe, cow's tongue and who knows what else.

I was pretty open-minded going into this. I think I tried almost everything-and why not?

So, for the night, we feasted on:


Rattlesnake Gumbo with Sassafras Scented Rice
Pink Peppercorn and Wattleseed Crusted Ostrich Leg Roast with Diablo Hollandaise
Veal Kidney with a Dijon Mustard Sauce - 100 King Restaurant
Hindbeh Bil Zayt (sautéed Dandelion Leaves in olive oil with garlic, parsley, and caramelized onions)
Nut Crusted Sweetbreads with Pomegranate Syrup
Buckwheat Blini with American Caviar and Crème Fraiche
Jerk Frog Legs with Jamaican Spices
Barolo Braised Veal Cheek with Shropshire" Orange" Blue
"Bacon and Eggs": House Cured Berkshire Pork Belly with Fried Quails Egg
Terrine de Tête de Veau
Boudin Rouge, Black Mission Fig and Goat Cheese Strudel
Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Braised Pigs Feet,
Crostini of Beef Tongue
Llama Slider with Bleu Cheese and Rosemary Red Onion Jam
Grilled Cayman Tail (crocodile) with Smoked Tomato and Basil Butter
Olive Oil Braised Octopus with Cici (garbanzos) and Lemony Vinaigrette
Crostata di Formaggi. Erborinato di Pecora Cheese Tartlet: cave aged raw sheep's milk cheese with natural bluing. Robiola La Rossa Cheese Tartlet: Cow and sheep mixed milk cheese wrapped in cherry leaves that are macerated in grappa
Beef Bone Marrow and Liver Parfait
Veal Kidney in the Style of Peking