I was having a mooch around the Tyson’s Corner shopping mall in Virginia and came across this!
Chico’s! Check out the poster in the shop! How totally random is that!??!
Author Archives: Antikrish
Bourbon Steak – Four Seasons Hotel – Washington D.C.
If you like good steak, you simply have to go to Bourbon Steak which is inside the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, Washington D.C.
At $59 just for the meat, the steak is hideously overpriced; but it’s so beautiful in the restaurant and the service staff make you feel like royalty.
They brought out some complimentary fries, all with different seasoning and dips; another complimentary dip included some hot rolls infused with truffle oil. Utterly scrumptious.
With my steak, I had a double cooked potato (sounds worse than it was believe me!) and a potato and cheese gratin.
The steak was cooked to perfection, I could honestly have eaten it twice (it was a smaller steak that I got at Clydes!); washed down with a couple of glasses of Riesling ($11), a fantastic meal. Yes, I know you should have red wine with steak, but that’s just me innit!
Burger Tap And Shake – Washington D.C.
Burger Tap and Shake makes a mean sandwich!
They served me up a juicy quarter pounder with blue cheese and mushrooms in a sauce. It was utterly delicious; don’t think I’ve had a better burger in years!
The restaurant can be found on 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20037; if you happen to be visiting D.C., I’d heartily recommend a visit!
Washington D.C. Moonlight Monument Old Town Trolley Tour
I went on a fantastic ‘Monuments by Moonlight’ tour run by the ‘Old Town Trolley’ company on Sunday the 14th of December; I caught the Metro from ‘Foggy Bottom’ (my local stop) and had a quick look around the old Union railway station before I get on the trolley bus.
Union Station is a spectacle in itself, it reminded me greatly of the old Kansas City train station and also from the footage of the station in the film ‘Silver Streak’ (one of my favourites). The architecture is absolutely amazing and it’s easy to wander around, bumping into travellers whilst being distracted by all the details on the walls and ceilings.
The Old Town Trolley is beautiful, a lovely old rickety thing with wood interior and huge glass windows; perfect for seeing the many sights in and around D.C.
During my tour I saw:
- The Jefferson Memorial
- Martin Luthor King Memorial
- Vietnam Memorial
- The Washington Monument
- The World War 2 memorial
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) memorial
- Abraham Lincoln memorial
- Iwo Jima Memorial
Adam, the driver and tour guide, was incredibly knowledgeable and it was an honour to sit and listen to him talk passionately about the history of the memorials and various other places that we passed during the tour.
The memorials are stunning at night, all lit up and much more poignant I think where they are not quite as populated as I imagine they are during the daytime.
Personally highlights for me were the Roosevelt memorial because I admire him an awful lot, same can be said for the Martin Luthor King memorial which is an exceptional sculpture.
I felt an amazing rush of emotion seeing the Iwo Jima memorial, I’ve seen images of the photos behind the statue in many books over the years and it is fantastic to see in the flesh.
My favourite memorial was Abraham Lincoln, I climbed the many stairs that lead up to Lincolns statue and had my very own Rocky moment when I got to the summit; atop you will find the statue of a very great man.
The view from the top of the memorial is beautiful because you get to see the Washington monument all lit up over the memorial pool water; seeing the pool made me think of the Vietnam protests. So much history in such a small space.
The tour is excellent value for money, highly recommended.
Four Seasons – Georgetown – Washington D.C.
I could not get 5 consecutive nights at the Fairmont due to availability, so I arranged to stay at the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown for two nights before heading back to the UK.
Upon getting out of the taxi, I noticed how the place dripped in pretentious luxury; being in places like the Four Seasons is slightly uncomfortable for me because I did not feel like I belonged here at all? The valet guys are wonderful and genuine in their welcome , but the reception staff are trying so hard to be 5 star that it feels like you’re in a Hollywood movie?
That’s not to be dismissive of their excellent service, I just felt it was a little robotic?
The lobby is amazing, a roaring fireplace and sitting area is right by the revolving door, just before the reception. The reception staff looked after me so well, took my baggage (still not comfortable with someone doing that) and had it delivered to the room.
The journey to my room felt like it took ages because of how big this hotel is? Perhaps they could benefit from adding some of the Heathrow pod parking vehicles to take guests from reception to their rooms?
The room is definitely more classy than the Fairmont, but the rooms are slightly smaller? That said, it’s immediately apparent that you are in a different class of hotel here. The bed is beautiful, the chairs are extremely comfortable and the TV was almost twice the size of the last one!
The bathroom had a HUGE shower (but no bath) and beautiful sink and countertop with a fantastic selection of toiletries.
For a single night, I’d recommend a stay at the Four Seasons because it is absolutely amazing and I would not like to get too used to this kind of lifestyle, so that it remains a treat? It was exceptional, but perhaps I was punching a little bit above my weight?
Clydes of Georgetown
Clydes of Georgetown is a very funky place to spend a Friday night; the gold record displayed in the Atrium was earned by Starland Vocal Band and the group’s 1976 hit single “Afternoon Delight” was apparently inspired by the appetizer menu of the same name in this very pub. It’s easy to see why!
When you eventually squeeze through the front door and fight through the people waiting for a table (BOOK A TABLE!), you’re hit by a raucous atmosphere which surprised me somewhat; Georgetown is a noticeably posh part of Washington D.C. and I had suddenly found myself in a lively drinking hole that was cleverly disguised as a fancy restaurant.
Like most ‘pubs’ I’ve experienced in the States, Clydes reminded me a little bit of Cheers crossed with a Ruby Tuesdays or Applebees restaurant; saying that, Clydes has an awful lot of charm with the rustic oak bar and sports and aircraft paintings on the walls.
Now, to business. I ordered a charred 18oz medium rare steak. Fucking amazing. I’ve eaten a LOT of cow in my time, NY strips, KC strips, fillet and all kinds of meat in the Midwest, but the steak here is outstanding.
The service was excellent and everything was very reasonably priced in comparison to how I found Washington D.C. at times; cocktails are very good and they have a good selection of local seasonal ales if you fancy something different!
Clydes comes very, very, very recommended from yours truly.
Fairmont – Washington D.C.
I had the pleasure of staying in the Fairmont hotel in Washington D.C. for three nights between the 11th to 13th of December.
Upon my arrival in a taxi from Dulles airport, I was greeted (very genuinely) by some very cool valet dudes and made my way through the stunning lobby to check in. Again, all very professional.
The lobby is beautiful with a centrepiece Christmas tree right next to the bar; just at the back of the lobby area is a concept fireplace (lots of photo opportunities to be had) and plush armchairs are littered about which make for a nice place to sit and plan out your days in D.C.
I had a really nice cheeseboard with a beer one evening whilst watching some American football and the prices are very reasonable.
There’s also a gorgeous courtyard full of trees and plants which are currently covered in Christmas lights for the festive season; animal statues made up of wireframe Christmas lights are on show here, their heads move with little motors which was a nice touch. Perfect for when you are totally fuzzed following a transatlantic flight and just want to watch some pretty lights.
The rooms at the Fairmont are big and are generously furnished along with a very, very comfortable bed. The bathroom I had contained a nice sized bath with shower next to a really big sink and counter, massive mirror for a shave (if you are so inclined!).
As you’d expect for a luxury hotel, the TV is bloody massive and has lots of channels to enjoy after trudging around the Capital. I watched the United vs Liverpool game, up yours you Scouse slags!
What makes the Fairmont stand out, is it’s concierge team, particularly a chap named Chris, for whom nothing is too much trouble in going above and beyond the call of duty for people staying at the hotel. Chris provided us with a reservation at nearby Clydes restaurant in Georgetown (excellent) and provided me with a handy ‘family’ discount at Macy along with general advice about the metro. Huge thanks to him for that.
Absolutely fantastic value for money!
Heathrow T5 Business Pod Parking
Heathrow Business Pod Parking in Terminal 5 is rather swish!
The pods are futuristic looking contraptions which are about double the size of a smart car and reminded me of something out of Blade Runner or Total Recall (The Johnny cab!).
After parking up in a standard airport car park (conveniently situated just off the motorway), you head to a pod station and programme a simple journey to the terminal on a touchscreen monitor.
The doors open, you get in and after selecting ‘start’ on a button, off you go!
It’s about a 3-5 minute ride from the pod station to the terminal, you go over the lake using a skyway; the ride is quite nippy and it’s almost like being on a rollercoaster! Almost.
During the journey, you have a little information video telling you where to go, nice and professional.
A weeks pod parking was about £90, which isn’t too bad when you consider the other parking companies operating at London airports are alleged to park your car in nearby streets or probably go joy riding in them!
It’s a fun experience to start your journey off and certainly a very easy way to get to your car after you arrive back to Heathrow.
Lenny Kravitz – London Wembley – 6th December
FINALLY!!! FINALLY, I GOT TO SEE LENNY KRAVITZ!!!
My earliest memories of Lenny Kravitz are of watching ‘The Box’ music channel and being blown away by ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ in 1993 (I was 16); so to actually see him perform the track during his encore was an amazing moment.
Lenny’s voice throughout the Wembley Arena performance was every bit as good as it always has been on his albums; I loved how the backing singers, keys and horns section backed up his amazing band as they jammed into extended version of songs like ‘Let Love Rule’ and ‘Always On The Run’ (The latter being a huge favourite of mine).
Seeing Chris Ross ply his trade was another guitar god worship moment for me……then seeing Cindy Blackman bash her kit like Mitch Mitchell drums……wow…..just WOW. Gail Ann Dorsey on bass!!! Funky shit.
At times, things went VERY jazzy and I think the ‘I bought the greatest hits!’ section of the audience was a little unsure how to respond to a guy on trumpet channeling Miles Davis; at times it felt like Lenny had brought Mardi Gras to North West London and I loved every second of it.
I was shocked when I realised that Lenny is 50 now; he is an exceptional showman and looked like a guy who is totally in control of his craft; genuinely felt his love for performing and for his band.
So that’s another tick on my bucket list!
Rival Sons – Wembley Arena
I’m utterly ashamed to say I’ve never heard of Rival Sons; a fantastic blues rock band who had my head jutting to every infectious groove.
Their sound reminded me of the best things about Led Zeppelin during their Presence and Physical Graffiti albums; yet they have a funky swagger that’s all their own.
Like those two amazing albums, the drums raise the bar and it was absolutely excellent to see some slide guitar riffing out like ‘In My Time Of Dying’. Fantastic guitarist.
Great vocals that reminded me of Paul Rodgers from Free, perfect balance in the rhythm section and massive kudos to the keyboard organis for giving me a Deep Purple nostalgia trip.
Top notch old school rock.
The Antikrish 
You must be logged in to post a comment.