9 Shirlington: T.H.A.I

One of the few disadvantages of not having a car in DC is that nice places like Shirlington, VA are not very accessible. But thanks to JR, who does have a car, I was able to experience a day out in downtown Shirlington. The pedestrian area displayed a wide range of restaurants so choosing one was difficult. JR recalled a Thai place he used to go to after rehearsals with Synetic Theatre so we decided to go for lunch at T.H.A.I and experience the Food, this time, before the Art.

The weather was good enough to sit outside. T.H.A.I had a good outside-seating area for chilling and having a great meal in the middle of downtown. The restaurant was also nice from the inside (simple and elegant decor), but why have your meal indoors with such beautiful weather outside?

We started off with a couple of Thai Iced Tea. The black tea came with the milk and syrup separately. This is a great option for people who think that Thai iced teas are too sweet or too creamy and would like to add in as much milk or syrup as they like. Plus, adding the pure white milk into the brown-orange tea has some cool visual effects!

Now, to eating. The Spring Rolls we ordered as appetizers were lean and long and served with a side of sweet carrot sauce. God I love Thai Food! The spring rolls were hot and delicately crunchy. The sweet carrot sauce was delicious and I made sure that the spring roll was thoroughly covered with the sauce on every dip.

Again, I love Thai Food! (I love it so much that I forgot to take a picture of the dish above before digging in!). One of my favorite dishes is Thai Green Curry with Chicken. It's spicy, creamy, tangy, basily/gingery...what's there not to like? The green curry at T.H.A.I was yummy. To be more descriptive, the 'creamy' element was the most prominent of all. I wished that the dish had a stronger kick of 'spicy' but the generous amount of vegetables and chicken left JR and I very satisfied.

We asked for the check but I decided to take a look at the dessert menu in case I come again (and I will!). I saw something amazing - Thai Fried Roti Dough with Taro Ice Cream. I was already full but I'm always willing to make room from something like Thai sweet roti...and with taro ice cream? For that I'm willing to utilize my second, and third stomachs! The hot sweet roti came topped with a moderately sweet scoop of taro ice cream, towered with a taro chip. The combination was so good! I'm willing to come back to Shirlington just for this dessert. I better start saving for a car...

8 Rosslyn: Metamorphosis

So for the first time, Sam and I went to see a theater for the second time.

The last time we saw Synetic was back in february, for their production of Antony & Cleopatra.

This time, we caught them at the Rosslyn Spectrum, where they are the resident theatre company, for their production of Metamorphosis.

While I still have my book of Kafka short stories from high school, Metamorphosis still remains the only one I've read.

Never one to do things literally, turning this short into a full-length stage production involved adding an unexpected character, Kafka himself. Over the course of the piece, the story parallels events going on in his own life, including certain trials and tribulations embodied in George Samsa's dilemma.

The stage, turned the first floor vertical, providing the audience a birds-eye view of Samsa in his room, as he scuttled about providing us with Synetic's signature physicality.

However, the design limited the amount of ensemble movement, particularly the images of group dynamics and solidarity which the theatre company is known for.

While the show was Synetic-esque, it definitely proved to be the vision of a director who was not Paata Tsikurishvili, and nor should the two be compared. However when the work of a company has a specific feel and aesthetic over the years, it's hard not to.

All that being said, Metamorphosis was a strong work, and made for an artful, insightful, and entertaining evening out.

8 Rosslyn: Tomo Sushi

JR picked me up from work after a long day to go and see Synetic's production of Kafka's Metamorphosis at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre. I was mentally exhausted after a stressful day at work so I left the restaurant decision to JR. I told him that I'm in the mood for something light and healthy so he had a great idea to grab sushi at Tomo Sushi.


We walked in Tomo as it was closing but the staff was kind enough to accommodate our quick order. We didn't want to exploit their kindness so we decided to take our sushi back home. Plus, I thought my apartment was more Japanese-y than the restaurant (the setting and décor of Tomo was nothing special).


I started boiling water for green tea and Miso soup as soon as we got home. Both were warm and soothing – very satisfying especially for a rainy day. We started munching on the Edamame and I thought that they were fun, moist, and very good to eat between every sip of tea.

I'm not that big of a sushi person and the year I spent in Japan did not even change that. Sushi snobs cringe at the sight of Californian Rolls, but I say bring 'em on! Tomo Sushi also offered NY Rolls and Philadelphia Rolls, but at the end of the day, I really didn't see any difference between a roll and another – they all tasted alike. We also ordered some simple and "traditional" sushi – the Egg Sushi was my personal favorite. The egg offered a pleasant sweetness and the seaweed that tied the egg to the sushi rice was nice and slightly crunchy.

JR and I decided not to write about restaurants from which we do take-out but this was an exception since we wanted to be considerate of their closing time, and leave as soon as we got our order. I don't know though whether I would've enjoyed the experience if we ate at Tomo Sushi. As I previously mentioned, there was nothing special about the place. It was also nice to go back home and chill, especially after the intense Kafka play. Back at my small, cozy DC apartment, we had our Korean-made Japanese food while Bob Marley was grooving in the background. It was perfect. Sorry Kafka… but life is beautiful.