DC Chick's Life

SUNdeVICH will be at the NY Avenue Beach Bar this Summer!

2012-05-30T15:46:00.001-04:00

According to Eater, the New York Ave beach bar will be the new home of the SUNdeVICH food truck!

SUNdeVICH owner Ali Bagheri confirms to Eater via email that it's true indeed and that he plans to offer some of the shop's regular menu of sandwiches on mini rolls, plus peel-and-eat shrimp, Mexican-style corn and a few of the shop's side dishes.

SUNdeVICH has become the go-to spot for "green" food, by using local and fresh ingredients and mixing it up with world flavors. The sandwiches are named after cities all over the world, ranging from Athens and Buenos Aires, to Shiraz and Tehran in Iran.

The bar will be there all summer! Hopefully this line will not be as long as the one present at their Mt. Vernon Square home! A girl has to eat!

CityCenter DC obtains a 17,000 SF Steak House tenant!

2012-05-30T15:18:00.001-04:00

According to the Washington Post, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House is finalizing a lease for a high-end, 17,000-square-foot restaurant at the CityCenter DC project.

Del Frisco’s will become the first retail tenant locked in at the $950 million development. The selection of the steakhouse, with nine locations in such cities as New York and Las Vegas, may provide a window into how developers plan to position the project.

If Del Frisco’s finalizes the CityCenter deal, it would give the restaurateur a second establishment in the District. The chain is opening Del Frisco’s Grille in the former Les Halles space at 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in July. It is a more casual, less expensive concept than the steakhouse.

Speculation is mounting around the other possible retailers linked to the development, from Apple opening a flagship store to Eataly. The Post reports that there are 11 unnamed merchants going into the space to include "seafood vendors as well as gourmet charcuterie merchants to create a space similar to Dean & Delucca, but on the scale of an Eastern Market."

CityCenter DC specialty food market

2012-05-29T17:49:00.000-04:00

Residents near Metro Center/Chinatown/Penn Quarter have some exciting news to look forward to! The Washington Post reports that the area will finally get a specialty food market in the area, situated in the heart of the CityCenter DC!

Washington has welcomed its share of seasonal farmers markets over the years, but lately the city has become a prime site for year-round gourmet food emporiums.

“It will be a mix of local, national and international vendors, who will occupy space ranging from 500 to 1,500 square feet of space,” he said.

Plans call for 10,000 to 11,000 square feet of space located near the cross section of 10th and H streets NW. Riker anticipates seafood vendors as well as gourmet charcuterie merchants to create a space similar to Dean & Delucca, but on the scale of an Eastern Market.

With the Giant on O St having closed down in September to make way for reconstruction at the City Market at O, the only grocery store in reasonable walking distance in the area is the Safeway at City Vista. As a longtime resident of this area, I'm excited to see more market options becoming available!

Memorial Day Sangria!

2012-05-26T20:32:00.004-04:00

What better way to start the summer than to have a refreshing drink of sangria! My previous blog spoke of the importance of starting the day with a green smoothie, but nighttime is upon us and I'm on vacation, so please don't judge me!:)

Sangria originates from Spain, and it's name is rooted from the Spanish word, "bleeding". Hence, it's typically made of red wine. It's a wine punch that consists of wine, fruit and brandy. I love both the traditional Spanish version with red wine and also the more summery-sweet white wine version of the sangria.

In Spain, they typically serve it with red wine and chopped apples. But, today I'm adding my own little twist!

Ingredients

1 bottle dry red wine

1/2 cup triple sec

1/2 cup brandy

1/4 cup white sugar (optional)

2 cups carbonated water (optional)

2 Oranges

1/2 pack of strawberries

1/2 pack of blueberries

Directions

1. Peel one of the oranges and cut in little square pieces (I peel mine, because then you can eat/drink it)

2. Slice and dice the strawberries

3. In a pitcher, pour the bottle of wine, triple sec and brandy and mix in the sugar

4. Squeeze the juice from the remaining orange into the pitcher

5. Add the diced oranges, strawberries and blueberries

6. Store in the fridge for 2 hours

7. Add the carbonated water for some fizz and serve

Mmmm, my favorite summer drink!! I'm in total relaxation mode :)

The Green Smoothie Way of Life

2012-05-26T10:26:00.000-04:00

It's Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial start of summer! Some of you may be excited, some of you may be feeling blah.

I'm going to share a secret with you. It is the key to feeling energized in the morning, sleeping well at night, maintaining a healthy weight, proper digestion and feeling overall happiness!

Green smoothies are the key to my success! Um... green smoothies?? You're probably asking, what the heck is that? Are they some energy-efficient drink? Hmm... it kind of sounds goopy. Is it some kind of alien drink? Before your mind starts wandering, it's just a modified version of your standard smoothie... based mostly on leafy greens!

I stumbled upon green smoothies over a year ago. I wanted to start eating better and getting more water in my diet. I lacked energy and would lose focus sitting in front of my computer at work. When I used to think of smoothies, I used to think of a jock's drink: full of protein powders and consist mostly of fruit. I just knew one thing, I wanted to eat more natural and organic food and I didn't want a big spike of sugar from fruit.

So, I decided I wanted to disguise some veggies in my smoothies. I'd start off with spinach, and then gradually phase out the fruit. I did a little google searching for what I should put in my veggie smoothie, and then I came across the world of green smoothies!

Victoria Boutenko has been an advocate and pioneer in the Green Smoothie Revolution. Her book discusses all the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes a diet of green smoothies.

After some research, I realized the first step would be to buy a blender! Ok, living in DC, I could only think of one reason to ever have a blender: margaritas for happy hour or summer evenings on my rooftop. Living in a small studio, I didn't want a clunky piece of kitchen equipment on my countertops, just for an occasional drink! I knew that to get myself started, I would have to give in and just buy one... if it didn't work out, I would just hide it in my oven or list it on craigslist. A lot of the blogs recommend a Vitamix blender. But, the sticker price on one is over $300! Are you kidding me? I mean, who knew if I would even stick to the green smoothies if I didn't like them!

So, before I invested too much in a top of the line blender and try to justify to myself that I had to spend that $300 to get quality smoothies, I put my boyfriend (aka HH) in charge of the purchase of a reasonably priced one. He purchased the blender for under $50. For all you newbies out there, let me tell you... all of my blending needs have been met!

Ok, next thing was to buy the veggies. I decided to go to the H-Mart in Silver Spring. It's about a 20 minute trip from DC. Trust me, it's worth it. The vegetables are good quality here and are affordably priced.

I grabbed the following ingredients:

1. Spinach
2. Kale
3. Parsley
4. Any other leafy greens
5. Apples
6. Bananas
7. Blueberries/strawberries (if in season)

Fill the blender up half way with water (I don't like mine to be thick). Grab a handful of spinach and kale and toss it in. Remember, this is a green smoothie, so aim for 50% more veggies than fruit. Cut up a banana, throw in a little fruit, and 15 seconds later, tada! Green smoothie! Drink this in the mornings and watch how your body and mind begins to feel more energized, clearer and happier each day. You'll begin to crave them and even start to naturally wake up earlier!

I'm currently sipping them away with my family on a beautiful lake house we rented for the weekend. Just because you're on vaca-mode, doesn't mean you can't enjoy a lift-me-up drink!

Green smoothie, do your body good!

Make sure to check back for some of my follow up posts that will include some recipes, tips and additional things I add to my smoothies to give them a boost!

FitBit getting me active!

2012-05-23T13:17:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd make my first blog devoted to my Fitbit Wireless Activity/Sleep Tracker, Black/Blue! The first thing I used to grab in my mornings used to be my cell phone. These days, I'm hooked on my FitBit!!

I was first introduced to my FitBit by my amazing boyfriend. He is always reading and listening to motivational books. He came across a book, the The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) that encourages people into going from Korg to Grok. What is a Grok? A Grok is a term used to define the hunter-gatherer. Our ancestors used to eat what was available to them, and they had to either hunt for food or find food amongst plants and trees. They were also active, but they didn't do the crazy fitness routines we've been taught to do in order to maintain our weights! Anyway, he walked away from that book learning that the best physical activity is just to walk! So, to get started with moving, he purchased a FitBit to track his daily steps. After watching him track all of his steps, and how it motivated him to get going, I followed suit shortly thereafter. He purchased his in the Black/Blue and I purchased mine in the Black/Plum to avoid confusion!

The thing I love about the FitBit is that you get to set weekly goals for your activity and then watch as you hit your goals! The FitBit uploads your data wirelessly into your online profile. You can view your daily steps, miles, floors climbed, amount of time you're active, calories burned and daily sleep patterns. All of the data is kept for historical purposes to help you track your progress. You can log your food intake and keep track of your weight. Your weekly steps are emailed to you once a week as a progress report. You can add friends and monitor who the current step leader is. One cute thing that's built in, is that it actually has greeting messages on it that tell you "Good Job Joe", or "Get Moving Jane". It seems like everytime I pick it up, it pops up with something new. I also love the fact that it's waterproof!

This little device definitely seems to motivate me. Everytime I hit 15,000 steps, I want to hit 20,000 steps. Everytime I hit 20,000 steps, I want to hit 25,000. Whenever I go for a walk, I make sure to have it on me. It's the one thing I must take with me to the gym. If I forget to bring it, I definitely get upset that I'm not tracking all of my steps! It's become addictive, and that's definitely a good thing.

A recommendation I would make to the FitBit team, is to have an easier way to find your friends. You currently have to email your friends through the online system and a friend can only accept the invitation through email. There isn't an interface online to accept the friends. Also, since it keeps track of your battery level, it would be nice if it would email you once your battery is getting low... I charge mine once every couple of weeks (yup, that's all it needs), so it's easy to forget to charge it!

For $99, it definitely is worth a try!

Click here to view my FitBit profile :)