Cheeky

Cheeky is a master bargain grocery shopper, and is always on top of the weekly specials at his local stores. He finds no shame in clipping coupons, and gets incredibly excited when it’s double or triple coupon day (anyway, isn’t it fashionable to be frugal in these economic times?). Armed with coupons and a carefully constructed shopping list, he saves bundles, which he happily spends on much more fun things like accessories, treats and travel. He frequently shops at the Adams Morgan Harris Teeter, where he has become good friends with the coupon guy.


Cheeky has also made friends with the GW hippo. He’s heard that hippos are mean but he doesn’t believe it, and isn’t at all worried that he’ll end up as lunch one day. An added benefit of visiting his hippo friend is that he resides near Cone E. Island, a tasty ice cream and yogurt shop. For Cheeky, like many of his penguin friends, it’s all about the peanut butter frozen yogurt, a delicacy he thinks is much too hard to find in Washington. He’s rather unimpressed with the tart yogurt that is taking over DC (years after everywhere else, he’d like to add). He would, however, welcome a branch of Mexico’s Nutrisa, which has the yummiest tart frozen yogurt anywhere. If you happen to find yourself in Mexico City he suggests you stop by and order a sundae with the creamy lime topping and yogurt covered cereal.

Mary

Mary thinks that one of the problems with Washington, besides too many politicians, is that people are always coming and going. She doesn’t mind the coming when it involves interesting new people, but she really doesn’t like the going when it applies to friends (the past administration, on the other hand…). All of the going means that she regularly attends goodbye parties, most recently at Donovan House. Unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate, so the poolside party got moved to the hotel bar. Mary had a fun time regardless, and is already planning a trip to Nashville to visit her friend.


Mary was not feeling too productive the following morning, so she opted for a lazy Sunday in Georgetown. She went to Booeymonger for lunch; she loves their sandwiches, especially the Pita Pan, a vegetarian delight with avocados, mushrooms, spinach, cheese and a tasty house dressing. As she ate her lunch she stared out at the line for Georgetown Cupcake, contemplating how people could wait so long on a hot sticky day for a not exactly light treat - not that she hasn’t enjoyed their cupcakes on many an occasion, but when in Georgetown on a summer day nothing beats Thomas Sweet.

Mo

Mo is a social guy, always up for a good party. A fan of the Hirshhorn’s After Hours, he joined some friends at the museum this past Friday. Mo perused the exhibition Directions: Walead Beshty: Legibility on Color Backgrounds, and took advantage of the unusually pleasant summer evening, hanging out in the atrium and enjoying a beverage or two. Sadly he got so caught up in the gossiping that he did not make it to the dance floor…but there’s always next time!


Due to the absence of vegetarian food at After Hours (which resulted in a liquid dinner), Mo did not feel his best the following morning. Nevertheless, he found the energy to hit the gym and run errands.


He loves grocery shopping at the penguin friendly Trader Joe's, where he can always find new and tasty treats, as well as healthy food to get him through a busy week.


He then hit the German Gourmet, where he picked up some cheese, red sauerkraut and a Zopf. He even found time while running errands to make a new friend. What can Moe say, he loves a fellow drinker.

Bluebell

Bluebell ♥s New York, so she recently decided to visit her aunt, who has a lovely, albeit penguin free, flat in the Lower East Side. Bluebell took the Bolt Bus (her very first time) - it wasn't a particularly glamorous way to travel, but the price and schedule can’t be beat. Because New York offers diverse culinary delights on every corner, indulging in as many treats as possible was high on Bluebell’s agenda. The first night she feasted on a mushroom and cheese crepe from Creperie NYC, and pizza margherita from San Marzano (she thinks it’s hard to beat food based on carbs and cheese). And of course no meal is complete without something sweet, so Bluebell stopped by 16 Handles to try a variety of its self serve frozen yogurt flavors (she recommends the pistachio and peanut butter, but thinks you should pass on the too sweet banana).


A somewhat vain penguin with a sweet tooth, Bluebell knows the importance of daily exercise, so the following day she waddled all the way up to the Americas Society, located in the Upper East Side, to check out the Dias & Riedweg exhibition …and it becomes something else. She decided to complement culture with some shopping and fun; after the exhibition, which she thoroughly enjoyed, she went to FAO Schwartz to make a new friend or two.


All the waddling, culture and shopping made her hungry, so she stopped by one of her favorite New York City treat spots, Tasti D-Lite, to refuel (she recommends all of the peanut butter based flavors as well as Snickers).


That evening she met up with friends at the wine bar Terroir. Bluebell is a lover of German wines, so she was pleased to see a long list of diverse and tasty Rieslings. (She is tired of all the anti-Riesling snobs who have only tried the overly sweet ones and probably just drink Chardonnay anyway.) She loved and recommends the Schumann Nagler 2007 bubbly, and also enjoyed the Trocken Spreitzer 2007, both from the Rheingau region. After drinking on an empty stomach (she’ll never learn), she decided to be healthy and stopped by Angelica Kitchen for some yummy vegetarian food. The restaurant has no liquor license, which in this instance was not a bad thing, and she fully enjoyed her dinner, a tempeh Reuben sandwich and some cornbread (one can never have too many carbs).


Sadly the visit went by much too quickly, but Bluebell made the most of her time, and was able to fit in some quick pre-departure socializing. She first caught up with a friend at Cocoa Bar; despite the numerous chocolate treats available she stuck to the iced coffee, not only because she needed the caffeine but because she had one more Tasti D-Lite date before heading back to DC. Only for Tasti D-Lite would Bluebell brave the throng of tourists making their way into the Empire State Building, the location of the franchise closest to her bus stop.

Binney

Binney is always up for exploring Washington’s many nooks and crannies, so this past Sunday he happily accepted a friend's offer to take him to Bolling Air Force Base. After a quick tour they got iced coffees at the on base Dunkin’ Donuts, and took a leisurely walk along the Potomac, enjoying the unusually pleasant summer weather. What Binney liked most about his visit, however, was sneaking up on a plane and practicing his flying moves, wishing for a moment that penguins really could fly.


Later that day Binney put on his party clothes and headed to Maggiano’s in Tyson’s Galleria, for a dinner celebrating the recent wedding of a friend’s brother. After catching up with friends at the cocktail hour he sat down for a feast of bread, salad and pasta, and then dug into his favorite course, dessert.


He admired the beautiful wedding cake, but was much more excited for his friend’s mother’s homemade baklava! Now if only he could convince her to give him the secret family recipe.

Skipper

Skipper, one of the newest members of the penguin clan, is a social butterfly who appreciates good food and drink. It was thus not surprising that he chose to celebrate his recent adoption with a night out on the town. Skipper is a fan of Italian cuisine, both for its wide array of vegetarian options, and because it’s very tasty (pizza and pasta, who could ask for anything more?). After much agonizing over where to dine, he decided on Posto, and enjoyed a meal of mixed wild mushrooms and pizza margherita, two of his favorite things. It was then off to a birthday party at the Ritz Georgetown’s Degrees Bar, where he socialized with friends, new and old, and indulged in birthday cake and bubbly.


Skipper had so much fun that he decided to repeat the socializing, wining and dining formula the following night. He joined some fabulous friends at Founding Farmers, where he spent the evening sipping interesting cocktails and gossiping away.


He is not in the least bit ashamed to admit that he opted for dessert as dinner, and polished off a bigger than himself slice of red velvet cake. He can always have his fruits and vegetables tomorrow.

P.T.

Although P.T. will always be a California boy at heart, he recently felt it was time for a change, for a new adventure. Ignoring all warnings of cold winters and terribly humid summers, he thought it would be fun to give life in Washington a try. Before leaving, however, he made certain to hit all of his favorite spots and savor his favorite treats. He first stopped by 21 Choices, where he indulged in the shop's delicious frozen yogurt. P.T. was delighted that one of the flavors of the day was Reese’s Overload, a combination of white and chocolate Reese’s, NutRageous and peanut butter…yum yum!


Later in the day, P.T. made his way to the Ford Amphitheatre. Located in the Hollywood Hills, the Ford is the perfect setting for a relaxing evening of wine, food, conversation and culture. P.T and his friends enjoyed a picnic on the grounds, noshing on tasty cheeses, salads and wine, and finishing their feast with homemade chipotle peanut brittle, and vanilla and pistachio éclairs from Bottega Louie (Even though he’s not usually an éclair kind of guy P.T thought that they were very tasty!).


They then made their way into the amphitheater to hear the enthusiastic Gregorio Luke give his talk, Life-size Murals of Rufino Tamayo.


Wanting to fit in as much as he could before leaving, P.T even made a stop on the way to the airport. While he cannot recommend the city of Torrance itself, it is home to the Alpine Village, a fabulous place for picking up German delicacies, dirndls and holiday decorations. The Alpine Village hosts the largest Oktoberfest in Southern California, and even has its own chapel! After some shopping P.T. indulged in a just out of the oven pretzel and German potato salad – of course only in Southern California was he able to enjoy it with Tapatío hot sauce!

Abbie

Abbie, like Admiral, also had the opportunity to spend a few days on the West Coast last week. However, while Admiral was checking out the local museums, Abbie was checking out the local treats. First on her agenda: a frozen yogurt tour of Southern California. Stop number one was Cherry on Top. She loved that the yogurt was self serve, as she could try little bits of the many flavors, something she took full advantage of, indulging in chocolate, cookies and cream, coffee, cake batter and peanut butter (perhaps having more than a little bit of the latter).


As tasty as Cherry on Top’s yogurt was, she preferred the less sweet frozen yogurt at Golden Spoon, stop number two. She sampled the pistachio and cake batter, which were ever so tasty, but ultimately went with the peanut butter, which Abbie thinks might be as good as the peanut butter frozen yogurt back home at Thomas Sweet.


After all of the frozen treats Abbie decided to diversify her indulgences, and stopped by the San Marino restaurant/gourmet market Julienne. She had a hard time deciding between the different edible treats and wines, but eventually made up her mind, and picked up some goodies to share with her new special friend, Cal.


Although Abbie had never thought of herself as a summer fling kind of girl, she couldn’t resist Cal’s charms, and spent much of the trip with him, lounging lazily by the pool (and occasionally sneaking off to a shaded private spot under the palm trees).

Admiral

Admiral, like many of his penguin friends, loves to travel. In fact, he just got back from the West Coast, where he was visiting friends in Pasadena. Besides catching up with his buddies and just generally enjoying beautiful sunny Southern California, the highlight of his trip was the visit to Pasadena’s fabulous Bunny Museum. Located in a private home, the museum houses 25,000 bunny items – ranging from bunny plush to figurines to Rose Parade float bunnies - and is also home to three very cute pet bunnies (Admiral brought them some apples to eat!).


Admiral enjoyed talking to Candace, who told him all about the collection. Candace and her husband Steve began exchanging bunny gifts in 1993, and opened their home as a museum in 1998.


The diverse collection includes animals dressed as bunnies; Admiral was sad to learn that there were no penguins in this section of the museum, so he drew a chalk penguin dressed as a bunny in the museum’s garden.


Even though the museum is penguin-free, Admiral has added it to his list of favorite museums, and recommends that you visit The Bunny Museum if you happen to find yourself in Southern California.


After visiting the museum, Admiral decided he needed a little treat (or two), so he hit the South Pasadena Farmer’s Market. Blatantly ignoring the no animals allowed rule he waddled from stand to stand. He had a hard time deciding between all of the delicacies, and in the end opted for some vegetarian goodies from Dave’s Gourmet Korean Food, tamales from Corn Maiden’s gourmet tamales (his favorite was the blue corn, roasted chile and Monterey jack cheese one) and a big bag of Kettle Corn.

Bungee

Bungee is always seeking out interesting activities, so last night he met up with a friend at Beer + Drag + Opera, an event hosted by the Pink Line Project and CoolTown Studios. The event was conceived of as a mashup of things not normally found together, but that mesh wonderfully (which indeed they did). Bungee is a great fan of drag and opera, and while not a beer drinker he thoroughly appreciated the snack of choice – Cheetos – a secret guilty pleasure of his.


Bungee enjoyed socializing with various creative types, while wandering around the space and checking out the art by Cory Oberndorfer, DECOY, Peter Krsko and Quest Skinner. Attendees were invited to submit their idea of how to define the live-work home in their community - to suggest ideas that employ “a progressive human-centered approach to the home that also acts as a workplace/storefront.”


Unfortunately, Bungee wasn’t feeling too creative (his mind was consumed with deciding what outfits to pack for his upcoming trip to LA), so he will submit his idea online at a later date.

Sweets

As his name implies, Sweets is a lover of all things sugary. Chocolate, candy, ice cream, baked goods - he loves them all. Luckily for him the apartment is always stocked with some sort of sweet treat, and there are plenty of bakeries and chocolate shops nearby for him to pick up a little something. (He suggests you check out Biagio Fine Chocolates if you find yourself in the neighborhood.)


Sweets recently indulged his sweet tooth at Love Café, where he met a friend for gossip and treats. He opted for a vanilla on vanilla cupcake (sadly they did not have his favorite, vanilla with peanut butter icing), which he washed down with an iced coffee.

Luca

Luca hails from Italy, and as a resident alien experiencing his first Fourth of July he was fascinated by the holiday and excited to partake in the all-American festivities. He joined friends and family in Fawn Lake for a weekend of food, drink and fun, embracing the holiday with great zeal and donning all sorts of themed accessories (a former resident of fashion conscious Milan, he understands the importance of accessorizing).


Highlights included watching the fireworks from the dock, and trying corn on the cob (from the local farmers’ market, of course) for the very first time. It was so good he had two ears!


Luca also indulged in a glass or two too many of his grandmother’s famous slush. He found it so tasty that he decided to share the recipe with you…he thinks it's the perfect summer party drink!

Tropical Slush
8 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
46 ounce can unsweetened pineapple juice
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
8 ounce bottle lemon juice
1 bottle rum or vodka

Bring the water and sugar to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Cool mixture. Blend in the bananas. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and store the mixture in the freezer. Keep stirring occasionally for slushy texture. Requires 24 hours to freeze. Spoon into a glass and serve with Sprite.

Chubbs

While many people complain about having to run errands, Chubbs thinks it’s rather good fun. And despite the fact that he’s a city kind of guy, he prefers to take care of his weekly shopping needs in the suburbs…Bailey’s Crossroads to be exact.


He loves going to Target, where he is able to pick up his essentials as well as a fun extra or two (his only complaint – the girls’ clothing is much nicer than the boys’). He also likes to stop at the German Gourmet, where he picks up yummy cheese (Tilsiter and Appenzeller, to be precise).


His favorite part of running errands is, not shockingly, the Dairy Queen stop (shopping takes a lot of energy and he needs to refuel). It is always hard for him to choose between the numerous treats, but the banana split blizzard and peanut butter sundae never fail to please. He can’t wait to try July’s Blizzard of the Month, the Tagalong blizzard…ice cream, peanut butter and Girl Scout Cookies…yum yum yum!