Gavin and I were beyond blessed by the opportunity to stay at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington DC while we were in town for the Q Conference. (Q is a really incredible organization…and the talks from the conference are extremely thought provoking…and they happen to all be available online if you’re interested!) We were truly spoiled- and we had such a wonderful time! I knew that our stay would be great- I knew all about the hotel’s standard of excellence and the reputation of their customer service and food- but our stay at this amazing hotel completely blew all expectation!
Our room was located on the top floor- and we were able to get a view of the entire city. DC really is gorgeous!
We started our first day at the conference with a fabulous breakfast in the Tai Pan lounge in our hotel. Our room came with access to the lounge…and it was everything that was promised and so much more. Breakfast was a delightful spread of fresh pastries, gorgeous berries, perfectly soft scrambled eggs and house cured bacon. Needless to say, we started the day off right!
The hotel was located just a few blocks from the conference, so after breakfast we walked across the park for the first sessions.
Then came lunch. Whenever we travel to a new city- I become a crazy researcher! I read WAY too many blogs, magazines and newspaper reviews and then make a giant list of “must try” coffee shops and restaurants! For lunch, the first thing on our list was a tiny little falafel shop called V-Falafel (I am a huge sucker for a good falafel). It was a good walk from the venue, but there is never a lack of beautiful, historic sights in DC so we enjoyed our walk to an obscure street about 2 miles away. The shop was tiny and owned by a husband and wife who are passionate about creating delicious, authentic, vegetarian mediterranean food.
I ordered the falafel salad and Gavin ordered the falafel sandwich. The salad was FANTASTIC. I was able to go through a wonderful bar of home made salads and condiments and fill this “salad box” with as much as I could fit. (I think I fit 5 lb of salad in here)!
Gavin’s sandwich was much of the same concept…he received a pita filled with falafel and was able to stuff the pita as full as desired. YUM!
The falafel was literally the best I have ever had. It was super light and crispy and seasoned to perfection. The portions were generous and the price can’t be beat! (about $7 per person).
After lunch we headed back to the conference for the last few sessions and then made our way back to the hotel for what would be the best meal of our DC experience (this deserves its own post)…so look for it tomorrow!
