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Washington D.C. - Part 1
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
Our nation's capital is not only filled with the world-class museums we have all heard of but great restaurants and hotels too.
There are generally three typical ways to get to Washington D.C. from New York. The first and most common way is driving. This is the cheapest and is claimed to be the most fun way if you're the type who enjoys road trips. The second is to take the train, which allows you to walk around but costs a little bit more. The third is flying which is not only for the rich and famous but also for those whose wives hate the first two methods. The best thing about flying is that you know you'll be there in less than an hour as opposed to four and a half hours.
We left our house via the local taxi service named, "Call Dad" and arrived at the airport in 15 minutes. Within an hour and a half, we made it through security. The entire experience at US Airways Shuttle to D.C. had a feeling of "your next". Something like waiting on a supermarket checkout line. The idea that you know you're going to be in D.C. pretty soon seems to make the time pass quicker than stopping at the 43rd rest stop on the drive down. To make things even better, US Airways has this little feature where they give you free magazines while waiting. I admit I was in my glory getting a $3.00 shoeshine and reading my free copies of the typical economic magazines. Life couldn't get better than this. Actually, it did once more... usually every flight begins with having to calm my wife down about a terrorist attack, but fortunately with a half an hour flight it's just a matter of saying, "Yes dear" for 30 minutes- certainly a survivable event.
We landed at Ronald Reagan National Airport and after a 15-minute taxi ride, arrived at the Watergate Hotel. The first thing that one thinks of with the Watergate is of course Nixon, which is assuming that you've never been there. Once you arrive your first thought is, "The Watergate complex is a massive... well, a complex complex." It is beautiful, curved architecture right along the river. On one hand it reminds you of 1960's architecture, but on the other it appears perfectly timeless.
Once you enter the hotel, you really start to forget the Nixon thing and then start to feel a bit insecure about how nice the place is. I personally associate scandal with bad, not a hotel with nothing to complain about. Everything is just perfect, insecurely perfect, it causes you to fix your collar and re-tuck in your shirt. Without us touching our bags, the bellman passed the bags to another bellman while we debated about the typical bellman tip. Mental note, get all of your tips ready before hand, even if it means running to the newsstand to get change. Our room at the Watergate was officially called a suite, but that was a complete misnomer. This "suite" was bigger than any apartment I have ever lived in. I personally know many families of four that live in apartments half the size of this suite.
After settling in we decided to go downstairs to Jeffrey's for a late dinner. Jeffrey's restaurant is as much a misnomer as calling the room a suite and not a "Personal Mansion". Jeffrey's claims to serve Texan food but it is certainly a long way from the border of Taco Bell. The menu consists of Texan cuisine with a modern update. The French Culinary Institute would be proud. We started the meal with crispy oysters on yucca root chips with habanero honey aioli. I then had what must have been the best steak of my life while Margherita had the tuna. I could focus for pages about the food itself, but the draw to me wasn't as much the food but the people who go there. One of their desserts is named after Condoleezza Rice, a frequent patron and our National Security Advisor. While we were eating, the president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, was having a private dinner party. From what I could see, this was pretty typical. In the past year, President Bush had been in at least twice. I was impressed by dinner but I admit that I had my eyes open wide, constantly wondering who would walk in next.
Read part 2 | Read part 3
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