Rich and Ed Get Crabs

Tuesday, August 5

Lunch, Lunch and Dinner. The Big Three.

After some meetings in the morning, we went with Ann Marie and Kerri for Lunch at Cafe Asia in Washington. They are an Asian (duh) place that Covers All the Bases.

For my Appetizer, I had a Spicy Tuna Roll. Ann Marie had a Salad; I don't remember Ed's or Kerrie's Appetizers.

For our Main Courses, I had (upon recommendation) the Singapore Noodles with Pork.

It was Curry flavored but not too Curry flavored, and I liked it a lot. Kerrie and Ann Marie had different Sushi Combinations, and Ed had Teriyaki Steak.

These women are naturals at taking Blog photos, and Ed has been a remarkably good sport about the whole thing, even though he thinks the whole thing is very silly.

Later in the afternoon, we were back in Alexandria, and I took a walk on King Street. That's the main shopping/dining/drinking strip in Alexandria. It's really nice. If you lived there, all of your needs would be met. Expensively, but they would be met.

One need that I didn't know that I had until I saw it was for some Chili. Right down the block from my hotel was the Hard Times Cafe. According to the sign in the window, they won all kinds of Chili awards, so I gave them a try.

They have four types of Chili, and they very thoughtfully have a little sampling plate so you can try them out.

My favorite of the four was the Texas Chili. It had no Tomato Sauce or anything -- just Meat and Spices, they say. I wanted to get a Bowl of that, but the waitress talked me into the Chili Burger. So, when in Rome...

The Fries (of all things) were Very Good. The Chili on the Burger: Excellent. The Burger... well, it was a Burger. Yes, I cleaned my plate. I would have been happier with just the Chili, but live and learn. If I am ever in Alexandria again, I will go there and get a big Bowl.

Later that evening, Ed and I walked all of King Street and wound up at a restaurant called The Wharf. There were a lot of apparently higher-end Seafood places here, and we picked this one because... well, because we did.

We did well. We both started with Soup. I had the Maryland Seafood Chowder and Ed had the She Crab Soup.

I'm not sure what made it 'Maryland.' It seemed to be like a Manhattan Clam Chowder, but it had Shrimp, Scallops and Crab, according to the Menu. I guess that's the difference. It was really good.

After the Soup, Appetizers. I had the Shellfish in Coconut Curry, and Ed had a Crab Cake.

It must have been my day for Curry. The Shellfish was fresh and tasty, as was the sauce. After a couple of sorry versions of Crab Cake earlier this trip, Ed finally hit paydirt with this one. He said it was excellent.

For our Main Courses, I had the Soft Shell Crab and Ed had the Crab Stuffed Shrimp. We both had Grilled Vegetables on the side, because we were trying to watch what we ate.

I just love Soft Shell Crab, and these were a fine set of specimens. Ed was in Shrimp and Crab Heaven... he said that his was pretty wonderful, too.

So that was it... Lunch, Lunch and Dinner. Here's my steps for the day.