Birthday Part 2: Family and Friends in DC

Flew over quickly to DC, where I had only a few days to spend with family members and friends I haven't seen in a while.

I contacted about 8 of my friends last minute for a very small party, unlike the previous years of large parties. You can say I either grew too old to handle big parties or simply gotten worse at planning.

We got a hotel room at the Grand Hyatt, which is just across the street from the party I planned. Though they advertise themselves as a luxury hotel, the basic small rooms with outdated furnishings scream anything but. The rates are around $150-200 per night and $52 for hotel parking, similar to other true luxury hotels like Park Hyatt or Ritz Carlton. If you don't need to stay at this particular location, stay elsewhere. I didn't even bother to take photos of the rooms with worn out carpeting, but at least the spacious lobby and location is nice.

Bad luck 1: I chose a date when this particular area of DC went under water plumbing construction. We, along with hotels all around the area, didn't have water from 11pm - 6am and they offered free bottled Aquafina water as an apology. Our plans to return back before 3am to wash up and sleep backfired.

Bad luck two: I planned to have dinner and party at Sax DC, which I planned with the manager of the place. However around 2pm on the day of he messaged me saying oops - he didn't realize it before, but dinner has to be cancelled since it had been booked until 11pm by a private party. One 'sorry' and no offers to find a new dinner spot for a party of 8 on a Friday night. I contacted a few places and managed to get a booking at one of my favorites at Zaytinya, a chain of Jose Andres and a mere 5 minute walk from the hotel.

So off we went to the last minute dinner.

The restaurant used to be fully booked two weeks in advance. With their top notch interior and consistently fresh, delicious food I can agree why. It's swanky and perfect for girls night out. For $40-$50 a person we stuffed ourselves silly with steaming hot pita breads and various dips like hummus, tarama, cheeses, etc. Main dishes with kebab platter and steaks were also amazing. Service was great as well, with servers never complaining despite continuous requests for group photos. We were met only with smiles and compliments on our outfits.

And one guy.

I've heard much about Sax DC and seen its gaudy interior with live burlesque shows on the upper stage area. I decided to book a table here and finally see it for myself. Music, entertainment, and interior were good, drinks were near the same prices as other DC clubs. Bottle service was anything but.

Bad luck 3: bottle service girls. At first glance at the menu, the girls will physically push the pages over past the 'combination deals' which is about $50-100 cheaper ($10-20 difference in tip) than ordering from the 'a la carte' menu. Whenever you try to turn back to the first page, they will take the menu, turn it back to the more expensive 'a la carte,' and give it back. I didn't like the combination deals with begin with, but the desperate way of hustling was in poor taste. Perhaps it works on the usual male customer, whereas I had 0 interest.

After they brought the bottles and poured some champagne, the girls all left to go drink on job at other tables. Not once did they return to serve, preferring to sit and sip champagne in the all male table just across from us. At tables in Las Vegas, New York, Miami, none of the girls are allowed to drink on the job.

However, at Sax, which I previously thought was a classy lounge, they do whatever they want. Finally I asked for the check which was brought promptly in the form of a piece of receipt paper (no checkbook or customer copy) with a 'I'll be right back with your receipt and ID/credit card!' then the girl disappeared. I waited an additional 15 minutes for my ID and credit card back, when my sister found the girl doing shots at yet another all-male table. We had to go to the cashier to find my cards so we can leave.

The venue itself was nice with decent crowd and plenty of things to see. They just need to improve service training as well as communication. At least we got drunk fast.

Family dinner with a small reunion of the relatives I haven't seen in a year or so fared out better.
My sister chose a lovely restaurant called 2941, a local favorite bit further out into Virginia. The all-glass restaurant has a lovely koi pond and garden outside for an incredible outdoor view during the day. We unfortunately had dinner here, but the restaurant was still beautiful at night nevertheless. It's one of, if not the best restaurants in the area that's also very quiet and calm.

We had a private dining room that is even more secluded and family friendly with two tables for 20 people. They have a minimum $500 deposit to reserve the room, which goes towards the final total for the food. The menu is preselected into 3 courses with at least two options per course, then the guests can choose the specific dishes from the pre selected menu. It's flexible with a reasonable price of $60/person for dishes including lobster and steak. Normal a la carte menus can actually be more expensive. I highly, highly recommend.

The gathering was more for my family to see my nephew for his 2nd birthday, who came from Korea for the occasion. He was born a few days after my birthday so we did a little joint gathering.

Gift station, most of them his.

And for me....nothing, not even attention LOL

The women in my family

I think we look better here, though :)

My immediate family

Friends joined us

Relatives and the baby

Well, the food? It was really good! I've had the meals a couple of times here, but their menu for accommodating big parties was equally decent.

Savory-sweet pumpkin soup with caramelized onions hidden underneath

Ultra-tender lean flank steak and mashed potatoes with more caramelized onions and celeriac. 

Apple eclair with apple cider sorbet. Delicious!

And finally, the birthday cake and opening of gifts! All kids love this part. Including the biggest child, myself.

  

We genuinely had a great time together. Though I dreaded awkward family gatherings in the past and as a child, I've never appreciated them as much as I do now as I travel non stop. It's rare to see them so it's a bit of a treat and they feel like they no longer feel the need to lecture me as I am considered a full fledged adult now.


Finally!!