Joys of Spring: Daydrinking in D.C.

PHOTO: Clouseau cocktail at Le Diplomate (c) Sery Kim

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday here in Washington, D.C. -- and my first one since February!

I was so happy to be out with friends at home and, for once, attempting to be a normal person: the kind who isn't flinging herself to a different country every other day and relaxing without constantly touching her phone. It felt different and quite nice!

In the spirit of doing what "normal" people in D.C., I joined the spirit of D.C.'s favorite weekend activity of "day drinking." There were numerous festivals in D.C. to help facilitate it including the official day of the Cherry Blossoms, but since I don't like big crowds -- ironic considering I used to work on presidential campaigns -- we decided to hit up one of the outdoor patio spots.

Despite the rise of Shaw/Bloomingdale, 14th Street NW in D.C. still has a glut of popular restaurants with patios and so I headed, for the first time in about two years, to Le Diplomate. Why my avoidance of this area? I have assiduously avoided 14th Street because it is so popular. It's always impossible to find parking and I find the restaurants totally over-rated -- I seriously think my only favorite restaurant on 14th street is RICE, and that restaurant has been around before the changing of the 14th street restaurant guard. While this is a total digression, I like Mount Vernon (Kinship, the new Columbia Room, etc.) much more.

But Le Diplomate was the choice so I found myself ordering drinks ASAP. The above photo is of the delicious Clouseau cocktail ($11). Made with Jim Beam, Bourbon Fig and Lime Plum Bitters the drink tasted fresh with just enough sweet. Bummer for my wallet but this drink disappeared in less than 15 minutes so onward I moved to my favorite drink from yesterday, the Romarin cocktail ($12).

PHOTO: The Romarin cocktail at Le Diplomate (c) Sery Kim

Now, for those who don't like sweet cocktails, this drink will not be for you. It's girly and, for my personal preference of sweet-and-sour, the ideal drink. Made with Sobieski Vodka, St. Germain Rosemary and Grapefruit, I literally could have drank eight of them while getting the most awkward farmer's tan -- ah, the farmer's tan -- and not had a single complaint!

We accompanied the drinks with some bread, cheese and french fries but did not order any real food. Again, my personal preference is not for the food on 14th Street so we just day drank before we headed to the other side of town to grab some beer at BlueJacket where they have beer on tap for a few dollars and a great outdoor patio.

This photo of me below is I don't know what, ha!, but I am drinking beer (another unusual feat) and considering how busy the patio of BlueJacket is I would say this is a hot spot for folks to drink. The beer itself wasn't bad and a fairly good deal for $6.

PHOTO: Drinking beer at BlueJacket (c) Sery Kim

Other favorite spots for day drinking include the beer gardens in D.C. (Dacha Beer Garden, of course, which is actually where we started at but my friend didn't have a good I.D., oops!), as well as more upscale spots like Four Seasons Bourbon Steak Lounge's outdoor patio space. Also, you could consider the two waterfronts (Georgetown and Cantina Marina) but Old Town Alexandria is probably another favorite spot.

Hopefully today will be another great day of friends and day drinking. I actually want to do a picnic so we'll see how this all goes!

Hope you have a great and blessed Sunday. Happy Palm Sunday and Passover kick-off. Love and blessings from D.C.!!! XOXO.