I AM... THE VODKA MONSTER

My friend, Carrie, summoned me for a night on the town yesterday. One of my dear old friends was taking part in an art show in the city, and we both decided to swing by to show her our support. So as soon as the clock struck 5, I closed-up at work, and headed into the city. I anticipated traffic that would nearly bring out the 'Road Rage Monster' in me, but it was surprisingly lax. I freely got on the GW Parkway with ease, and got to Carrie's downtown office in record time. We eventually made our way to the Metro, and rode two stops away to Gallery Place/Chinatown. While we found the gallery with ease, we wanted to stop in somewhere to grab a drink before going in.

There were many spots to choose from: Rosa Mexicana, Poste, Jaleo, SEI, and Oyamel to name a few. We almost walked into 701, but I quickly realized that we were in Cafe Atlantico land. Its sister restaurants surrounded us: Jaleo, Oyamel and Zaytinya, but it was Cafe Atlantico that won us over in the end. Carrie and I walked in, grabbed a table for two, ordered a round (or two) of drinks & a couple of appz, and began our night. Grilled octopus = yum, btw. And their guac trumps-over Rosa's any day. (Sorry, Rosa!) Vodka-sodas, standard.

After downing my second drink, we walked around the corner to the busy gallery. We made our way up the staircase, and were greeted by a couple of things: 1) tons of people (there to see about 90 artists and their displays), and 2) HEAT. With all those people in attendance, someone forgot to turn on the A/C. Splendid. We were seriously there for like 5 minutes, and then we walked out with our artist-friend and headed back to Metro. Back at Carrie's office, I changed into something more casual, and then we were off again... and we jumped into the first cab we saw.

(PS: I'm loving the metered cabs in DC. Such an improvement, BTW.)

We got dropped off in front of Mie N Yu on M Street, and we decided that we wouldn't go in. As usual, Mie N Yu is still hoppin. The sights and sounds of G-town were very Summery; and appropriately so. Tourists and locals dotted the sidewalks, bars were filled to capacity, and restaurant doors were opening and closing at every minute. The walk up Wisconsin Ave. from M St. was easy, and the night breeze cooled us down by the time we turned the corner at Zara. A line of restaurants awaited. We went into Cafe Milano, which was bustling, and we had a round at the bar. Vodka, hi. As soon as we were done there, we moved to an outdoor table next door at Peacock Cafe. I'm not sure I even knew what was going on as my mind already started to go fuzzy, but the next thing I knew we had drinks in front of us (Hello, friends!), followed by a salad and tuna tartare. Excellent.

After a couple of texts came through on both our phones, we paid our tab, and then walked back down to M St. and headed into Modern, where we were meeting up with more friends. Soon enough, another glass of vod made its way to my hands. Then a shot and a few more drinks later, and the night all-of-a-sudden became one of the best nights ever! I saw a lot of old friends, and even bumped into an old college buddy (I would've never thought to see Phu Diep at the club...! Haha!). The night was turning into a good one.

When we lost our friend, who was apparently in the bathroom after "reaching that point," we took that as our queue to leave. So we headed back to the street, hopped in another cab, and headed back to Carrie's office. I made it back home safely (Thank you, God!), and I laughed myself to sleep as I read the texts coming through to my phone... One of my friends apparently had a very-very "good" night. So good that she practically passed out in the car in front of her house. Lovely.

One thing is certain, and that is -- I am still, and may forever be, the 'Vodka Monster.'