What (and Where) I Ate Wednesday – Pittsburgh and DC

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I love traveling.  It is awesome seeing new things and having new experiences, especially because Nathan and I have a very similar sense of adventure. It’s great sharing new things with him!  But, after two weekends on the road, I’m more than happy to be a homebody for the next few weeks.

This past weekend, I drove up to Pittsburgh to meet up with Nathan. He came from Indiana where he had been attending a conference. In Pittsburgh, he was attending the premiere of his new piece for percussion ensemble, The Dreamers of Dreams. I consider myself very lucky that I got to attend 3 of the performances that included the piece.  Then, on Sunday morning, we drove down to DC to spend a little time with my family and to attend a wedding of one of Nathan’s college friends.

So, since today is What I ate Wednesday, I’m linking up with Jenn at Peas and Crayons to share how it all went down.

Friday daytime: Road snacks. I actually planned ahead for once and made sure I was well-stocked and wouldn’t get sucked into stopping for crappy food along my drive.  I did a pretty good job of choosing (mostly) healthy food.  I might have included some Cheez-Its. Making the infused water was a great choice.  It kept me from snacking as much. I added a bottle of clear water to my little cooler and when one of the infused bottles was empty I added the clear water to it.  Each bottle took a couple of hours to drink and the flavors were definitely present even after just a couple hours of infusion. YUM!

Clockwise from top left: Kind Granola, Cheez-Its, Cucumber and Lime Infused water bottles, cantaloupe, and bananas
Not pictured: almonds and a peanut butter and honey sandwich I ate for breakfast

Friday dinner: The Smiling Moose. Dinner was early because the concert began at 7:30. This place had a great beer selection. We opted to give their sliders a try.  I had the Garlic Burger sliders and Nathan had the Chinese Five-Spice Burger sliders. They come three to a plate, so we each had one of the other’s.  I loved both of them.  They were served with a side of pasta salad that was tasty and had some unexpected ingredients. The Smiling Moose also has a great selection of craft beers! Unfortunately, we were so excited about getting to see each other and catching up that we forgot to catch any photos of this meal.

Saturday morning: After a run along Three Rivers Trail, we were starving, so we headed up to Mount Washington for breakfast. We wound up at the Micro Diner.  I had potato pancakes with eggs and a side of bacon. Nathan ordered a breakfast sammie with Italian sausage.  Both were quite tasty!  The service here was super friendly, but the place is small (hence the name).  We both enjoyed our experience. Saturday Night: We headed back to the South Side and hit the Carson Street Deli and Craft Beer Bar.  We both ordered variations on an Italian Sub and they were decent, but the real winner here was the beer.  We both started with IPAs, that were good, but our dessert beer was a standout! If you haven’t ever had a Dragon’s Milk Stout from New Holland Brewing, it isn’t to be missed (it’s a go-to for us).  But this was something we had never experienced before: Dragon’s Milk Reserve with Toasted Chilies. It was amazing!  We’re on a quest to find bottles of it in NC now!

From left: Hoodoo Voodoo IPA, a tasty Italian sub, Dragon’s Milk Reserve with Toasted Chilies

Sunday Morning: We wanted to get on the road pretty early to head to DC, so we couldn’t wait for any brunch spots to open, but Nathan had spotted Waffles, INCaffeinated on Yelp the previous day.  We had checked the map and knew it was right near the Interstate we needed to head out of town, so we were there when they opened to grab breakfast. WOW!  It knocked our socks off.  I had the Breakfast Magic.  It is a waffle with bacon, cheddar, and green onions cooked into it. It is topped with more bacon, cheese, and green onion and an egg (over medium for me).  I also had a side of their home fries or hash browns which included every kind of potato and some caramelized onion.  Nathan had their Benny which is a classic Benedict except for two things.  1) Instead of an English muffin, they use waffle. 2) They top it tall with some crab meat.  It was exceptional!

Sunday Afternoon/Evening: Cocktails (my first attempt at making Moscow Mules) and grilling with the family. We were so busy catching up that all I remembered to snap a pick of was my cocktail. Oops!

Moscow Mule: 1 1/2 – 2 oz. vodka, juice of half a lime, top of with high quality ginger ale (I like Fever Tree)

Monday: We had a little snack of peanut butter and honey sandwiches before our long run and then we dashed off to the wedding.  The lunch reception was held at Zaytinya and was completely delightful. I can’t do it justice by putting it into words, but I did remember to snap a few pictures (at least during the first course and dessert). More on the amazing cake at a later date!

From left: Wedding Reception Menu, Pita basket, Falafel with assorted sauces, Spanakopita, Wedding Cake and Coffee

What a great weekend of food!