Doughnuts and Chicken & Waffles?!? Yes Please!

Hello everybody!

A few weeks ago one of my classes decided to play a game of assassin. For most of the game, the way to kill our given targets was to throw a piece of paper at the target without them seeing. The winner and the person who made the most kills would get a free lunch from our program assistant (a PA). And guess what?! I tied with someone else for most kills! Don't know why I'm so excited about that . . . But I was also the runner-up! So that's good! Along with two other people from our class and our PA, went to GBD in Dupont Circle.

Now I love chicken & waffles and this obsession can be seen in many posts on this blog. So when we had to decide on a restaurant and my PA suggested GBD, it was a new brainer. They have an actual restaurant area and takeout. Since the actual restaurant area had a wait of 40 minutes, we decided to get takeout and sit at the tables at the front of the restaurant.

What to choose?

For brunch, GBD has a deal that it is only $3 more if you pair a doughnut and coffee with your entrée. So we all of course had to do that! Three out of four (including me) got chicken & waffles and the other girl got the GBD Poutine (which looked so good!). Now, onto to the doughnuts! I got a pumpkin spice doughnut, two of my friends got Nutella doughnuts and the last one got a vanilla glazed doughnut. When they arrived, we tried to get the perfect Instagram pic (which you can see on my Instagram @thekschiap).

Trying to get the perfect shot!

Then came the all waited chicken & waffles! While not as delicious as the sweet potato-cornmeal-bacon chicken & waffles from Lowcountry Bistro in Charleston, SC that I wrote about HERE, it was still really good. The chicken was tender and the waffles sweet. I only wished that I had gotten syrup with it, which might have been due to the fact that we technically got takeout. 

Before catching the bus back to campus, we stopped by the Dupont Circle Farmers Market for a look around. Lots of apples, which is to be expected, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies that I wanted to buy! It made me want to cook!

After getting back to campus, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it looked with the changing colors of the leaves, bright autumn sun, and crisp and cool air. It reminded me why I chose to go to school where there are seasons. I absolutely love fall and I can't wait for the first snowfall!

Then I spent the rest of that Sunday writing papers and doing homework, which seems to be my life at the moment. I have so many papers and projects to complete before the end of the semester in the middle of December. Does anyone have any tips for surviving finals? Anyways, thanks for reading! See you next time!

Love,

Kara

Mom Came to Visit!

Two weekends ago my mom came to visit me at college. This has been the first time I had seen anyone from my family since August when Mom moved me in. She arrived on Friday in time to attend a meeting about something I will be doing next semester . . . Going on a research trip to Northern Ireland! How amazing is that!? But more about that when it is actually happening.

After the meeting, Mom and I went to lunch at Nando's to have lunch. I have been wanting to go to Nando's since I arrived here. And it was so good!! I got a chicken thigh with mild sauce and portuguese rice and corn on the cob as sides.

That night Mom and I went to Jaleo for dinner with my roommate's parents and grandmother. As always it was amazing, but I didn't take any photos because I was too busy socializing and having a good time. You can read about my past trip to Jaleo in this post. 

Saturday was a full on mother-daughter day. We started the day with brunch at Founding Farmers. I have heard great things about the restaurant from Ashley and my Mom, so I was excited to be finally going there.

The inside was really neat and home-y looking. And while it seated a lot of people, it had the feel of a small restaurant. 

Since we had reservations (which I totally suggest because it can get really busy), we were seated pretty quickly. Our seats were by a window and the smells from the tables around us made my stomach growl. 

Of course I got English Breakfast tea as my morning drink before consulting the menu to decide (with some difficulty) what I wanted to eat. Chicken & waffles? Pancakes? French toast? Eggs? Too many choices!

I ended up getting the steak & eggs with grilled ciabatta and grits. Not my healthiest meal, but a damn good one!

And Mom got the chicken & waffles with two poached eggs. Oh my god. It looked amazing and it tasted as good as it looked!

Photo Cred to Mom!

All in all, it was a very satisfying meal and I need to go again to try those beignets with a trio of sauces. And I'll probably also need to try the banana foster pancakes!

After brunch we went to Tyson's Corner Mall to do some clothes shopping and then to Target to stock up on food and toiletries. For dinner we went to Olazzo in Bethesda for some really great Italian food. I didn't take any photos because the lighting was not that good. 

The next morning Mom and I had a quick breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien before I headed back to campus and Mom left to drive back to Boston. It was great weekend and now I am impatient to go home and see Dad and Emma!

Until next time! Where I will writing about my own meal of chicken & waffles!

Love,

Kara

Heading Home | Virginia Beach to Charleston

Hello everyone! Tuesday was definitely a shorter day than Monday! Only about seven hours of driving, which is much better than ten hours. Dad and I woke up bright and early to get a good start on driving. From our balcony there were amazing views of the sunrise over the beach.

After about four hours into the drive, we hit South of the Border. Dad was amazed to see how large it had grown since when he had been there as a child. Since I had been to South of the Border only a few weeks before, it all looked the same to me! We went to the Sombrero Restaurant for some lunch where I had the beef tacos and Dad had the burger. I got to say, it their lunch is better than there breakfast. Before heading out, we stopped in the gift shop to get some stuff for Emma.

We got to Charleston around four o’clock, just in time to watch the US vs. Belgium game. After the game was over Dad and I picked a restaurant on Urbanspoon, Lowcountry Bistro.

At the restaurant we sat on the piazza (traditional Charleston side porch), which was thankfully in the shade. Dad and I also learned that the bistro was the sister restaurant is 82 Queen, which is one of the best restaurants in the city. So we knew that we were in for a treat!

For an appetizer, we got the shrimp and grits because you got get shrimp and grits when in Charleston! It was so good, but a bit different from traditional shrimp and grits. The grits weren’t really creamy and there was a tomato sauce on top of it. Different but still very delicious!

For my dinner I had the most delicious meal ever! It was a sweet potato-cornmeal-bacon waffle with fried chicken on top. It was one of the best things that I have every eaten. The waffle was sweet and salty, the chicken was perfectly cooked, and the two were just magical together. All other chicken and waffles pale in comparison. As you can see in the second photo, I ate it pretty fast!

Dad got potato crusted trout with sautéed rainbow chard and grits. He loved it and agreed that we would have to be back again!

After dinner we walked along Broad and East Bay streets to Rainbow Row and the Waterfront Park.

Dad then took out his phone to look for some geocaches in the area. At the time we were a few caches away from finding 200 caches. Our searches took us to see some amazing views of the city at sunset.

Thanks for reading!