7 College Park: Plato's Diner

We planned another adventure outside of the District, this time to College Park to see Gesel Mason's amazing dance performance “Women, Sex, and Desire: Sometimes You Feel Like a Ho, Sometimes You Don’t” at UMD’s Kogod Theatre. The decision to go was last moment, so I didn't have time to do my research on good eats in the area. But a couple of UMD kids (including JR) suggested Plato's Diner so Plato's Diner it was!


As I was taking pictures of the banner outside, a guy came up to me and said that what I was doing was inappropriate since I haven't gotten any permission from the restaurant to take pictures. We later saw him inside the diner and he voluntarily added that if this were his house he would've shoot both us. There was a short silence after which he started laughing and said that we can take all the pictures we wanted. He then walked into the back kitchen of the diner. What a welcoming. We then pursued our way into the diner, passing some fake, tacky Greek columns and frescos. I know that a diner is not a place to expect high-end taste, but the potentially cute and funky concept of a ‘Greek Diner’ went the wrong way… for me at least.


I didn't feel like getting something heavy so I settled for the Greek Salad with the Greek Sausage. The salad greens were nothing special. The dressing that came on the side had pieces of salmon in them, which looked out of place and suspicious, so I decided not to add it on the salad. The sausage was the only ingredient that could've redeemed the salad but a plastic-y taste overwhelmed my taste buds as I took the first bite. I didn't want to give up but the second and third bites had that same awful taste of plastic :(


JR got the Baked Hellenic Moussaka (stuffed eggplant) with a side of salad (normal… actually, better than my salad) and soup (fine). The eggplant was actually good. I appreciated the rice and meat stuffing - it made the dish substantial. I gave up eating my salad so JR was kind enough to share his dish with me. I think that I might have actually eaten most of it :)


I believe in an ideal that all restaurants are good at the end of the day. Even though what we've ordered were mediocre and didn't make me want to come back to Plato's, I give the diner kudos for their complementary bread. They were really good! The soft and fluffy rolls were amazing with butter.

So in conclusion, we left College Park with two good things; a great dance performance and good bread. Sorry about the generally negative review… but to quote Gesel: Sometimes you feel like a ho, sometimes you don't.

7 College Park: Women, Sex & Desire

Actually, the full title of the piece is "Women, Sex and Desire: Sometimes You Feel Like a Ho, Sometimes You Don't."

You can check out more info for the piece and its process at Gesel Mason Performance Projects' site.

Anyway, although the majority of the audience was set up facing the stage, there were a select number of seats set up on the side giving the performance space a bit of a thrust feeling (no pun intended).

In addition to the dancers, there was a live singer/narrator giving voice to the piece. Dancers at times also interjected bits of dialogue among the movement. At one point a dancer took her seat on my lap, but that was as interactive as it got.

The two acts were separated into "The Show", and then "Home" (I believe...I'll have to check the program). It was a bit of a reflection on the front that women, and people in general, put up, and then that side of ourselves we show when we're in our element.

There was nudity which Gesel, herself, opened the piece with. Although, at first, the way the light hit her, you couldn't tell whether she was clothed or not, as she face upstage. It wasn't until she moved and the contours of her body shifted the shadows which might have hid the trace of fabric that you realized she was indeed naked.

Gesel's presence flits in and out of various other sections, becoming what I interpreted as a kind of Eve/all-woman figure.

A very interesting piece, I think it's essence was efficiently touched upon in the post-show dialogue. I'm going to botch the actual exchanged (which probably means I should right these a little more immediately after viewing a piece), but it equated to this. One question was asked about whether a woman could refer to herself as a ho, and Gesel responded in the affirmative. The questioner (a middle-aged, white haired, Caucasian man) then asked, if it would be permissible for him to call her a ho.

In a somewhat assertive, but not aggressive, manner, Gesel said something like, "We'd have to talk about that."

Forgive me my pun but, it isn't so simple as to simply say, "A ho is in the eye of the beholder".

Even just to have a conversation about being a ho, you have to dissect exactly what a ho means, and to whom.

An awesome piece and one whose growth I look forward to following!!

6 Logan Circle: The Commissary

I've gone out to eat at the trendy Logan Circle area a few times but never off 14th Street. Although P Street also has its good share of food establishments, I haven't made it to any (The huge Whole Foods in the middle of the block might have overshadowed the restaurants surrounding it). JR and I planned on catching a show at Studio Theatre one day so I thought that it would be a good opportunity to explore where's good to eat on P Street. We went for the Commissary.


As I stepped in, I wondered whether this place was a bar, a restaurant, or a café. The Commissary combined all three under one roof – Americana restaurant at its best. The crowd seemed diverse and the ambiance was cool. It's the kind of place where you can grab a beer with your friend then move to the sofas to plug in your laptops and chill. The menu was written on big boards that decorated the restaurant walls but we opted for checking out what the Commissary has to offer on their normal table menu.


We started off with the Guacamole & Salsa with Chips. They were just fine. They actually made me nostalgic for the excellent guacamole I had with some friends at Rosa Mexicano a few weeks ago (which so far, is the best guacamole I had in DC). The portion was also small and we were left with no more salsa nor guacamole for the extra tortilla chips early on throughout the appetizer :(


The Bowtie Pasta with Broccoli & Andouille Sausage looked really good but JR beat me to it – He decided the moment we walked into the restaurant :) It was really really good! The pasta was hot and moist, the sausage savory, and the broccoli on the side was buttery with just the right amount of salt. It was so good that the "one bite" I requested from JR ended up being two, three, four…you get the idea.


I am not a burger person and I don't usually order burgers unless someone recommends it, but I saw the Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Burger and thought it might be delicious (see, I'm not a burger person). I actually thought that the burger was vegetarian but the beef patty was topped with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes (or more accurately, a small piece of one sun-dried tomato). As I took a big bite out of the burger I was able to taste all the ingredients but the sun-dried tomatoes. It wasn't till I reached the very center that I got a taste the tangy yummy-ness of the tomato. But to be honest, the combination of all ingredients did not do anything for me. It was anti-climactic.


JR was craving for something sweet so he got a piece of the Apple Pie with a Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. It seemed to satisfy his craving but the "one bite" that I promised to take didn't make it to the second. The pie was just fine.

I don't know whether I'll make it back to the Commissary or not. It's definitely a convenient place to grab dinner at before seeing a show at Studio Theatre (or grabbing a drink afterward) but I personally have had more memorable dining experiences at other places around Logan Circle.