We got up at 8:30, and walked down to Krammer’s book store at Dupont Circle, where we had breakfast alfresco at their Afterwords Cafe & Grill.
I had the Banana French Toast, which was quite delicious, but I would say that overall the “dining experience” was disappointing.
It took too long to get served when we first arrived, we had no silverware on our table, we had to eventually ask someone to send our waiter back for a coffee refill, it took too long to get our food, the “complimentary Mimosas or Bloody Marys” advertised with the brunch “didn’t start” until 10:00, and it was only 9:15.
What made the slow service most annoying was that there was a group of three to four workers, one of whom looked like some kind of manager, who just stood in a circle in one part of the restaurant either just chit-chatting, or maybe even conducting employee business — who cares either way, really — there were customers needing service, like a coffee refill.
We took the blue line to Arlington Cemetery, which Joe had never visited.
We stopped by to see the eternal flame, along with John and Jackie
and then gave a quick shout out to Robert — who was “down and to the left.”
Next on tap, was a visit to the Tomb of the Unknowns, mostly to see the sentinel on duty — with dignity and respect, of course.
The sentinels piqued our interest after Joe reading a little bit about them before we arrived:
Sentinels, all volunteers, are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), headquartered at Fort Myer, Va.
Each soldier must be in superb physical condition, possess an unblemished military record and be between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet, 4 inches tall, with a proportionate weight and build.
We felt certain that this was some kind of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” codespeak for “These-guys-are-hot,” and felt obligated to confirm that for ourselves.
We chilled out for the rest of the afternoon, and started our evening off with a walk down to Dupont Circle, a dinner of appetizers at Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse, and then a stop at JRs.
There was some drama about seating us — between the host and a guy who ended up being our waiter — but we were seated virtually right away.
We started dinner off with the Bloody Marys we missed at breakfast, and they were pretty good, if not over-priced at almost 8 bucks a piece. We shared appetizers of Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, Jalapeño Poppers, and Chicken Tenders. So good — and so good for you.
JRs was butts-to-nuts, literally, as that’s what touched as we made our way from the front to the back to try and go upstairs, where it looked like there was a little more room.
You’ve got to love this “warning” on their website.
We stayed here maybe an hour, as it really was way too crowded. They had to have been, without a doubt, over the “maximum number of people fire limit” for the place.
Our next, and final, stop was at The Green Lantern, which turned out to be, virtually, just around the corner from our hotel.
This place was much less crowded, had somewhat of an older crowd (read: between Joe’s and my age), and the two bartenders there were quite entertaining.
After about an hour, karaoke started, so that added some festivity to the place.
I got a water for $3.25 a bottle just before leaving and was stunned at the door when the guy working the door said, “You can’t take that with you.” Huh?