Y'all have probably figured out that I groove on great shoes. There's a reason my mom has long called me Imelda Marcos.
Anyway, my pals picked me up and off we headed to Mike Isabella's Kapnos Taverna. The one in Virginia. The entire conversation about leaving DC for Virginia was priceless.
"I'm sorry. We are going to Virginia. It's not that far. Then we're coming back! I swear this restaurant is supposed to be awesome, even better than its DC counterpart."
There is definitely a sense of competition and hierarchy in the DC-VA-MD area. Some want the "real" city experience and so live in the District despite way too many shitty schools, shitty infrastructure (like the Metro and roads) and taxation without representation. Others long ago swore off DC's awful traffic and shitty schools for lower tax rates, better publics and larger living spaces.
This all plays out in two main ways, as far as I observe:
1. People make judgments about others based on their license plates. For example, Tom and I once heard a DC driver yell, with wild outrage, at a Marylander, "You Maryland driver!" as if that were both the worst insult ever and encapsulated everything that was of offense.
2. DC people are very skeptical about leaving the District: Bethesda is fine, but beyond that, it might take some convincing unless you're going "on an adventure," to some predetermined destination.
In any case, we made it. Kapnos Virginia focuses on the culinary traditions of southern Greece (seafood!) while the DC location emphasizes the northern (think meats on a spit). Everything sounded divine, and I dare say our charming waiter was impressed at the number of dishes we ladies put away: a half-dozen West coast oysters; lobster flatbread; charred octopus; King salmon tartar; a three-spread sampler with flatbread; a bowl of horta (fabulous greens cooked in a traditional Greek manner); beet salad; a shrimp entree; the Chilean sea bass special; saganaki; and two desserts.
