Beaker

Beaker is a culture loving penguin who enjoys attending performances of all (well most) sorts. He started off last week at the Kennedy Center, with the Washington National Opera’s Salome. Although Strauss is not one of his favorite composers, he thoroughly enjoyed the performance. That said, he did somewhat lose his appetite after watching Salome enjoy herself just a bit too much with the head of John the Baptist.


Wednesday Beaker made his way to the Washington Ballet for one of his favorite events, the Jeté Society’s Beer and Ballet. The evening included a rehearsal for the upcoming performance of Romeo and Juliet, and, much to his delight, it was not only beer but also bubbly (he’s not a beer kind of guy but he certainly loves his bubbles). He cannot wait to see Romeo and Juliet next week, and suggests that all those who don’t already have a ticket run out and get one.


Although his week got off to a social start Beaker found himself not feeling well (those pesky colds), so he took a few days to relax and prepare himself for a very social Saturday. The festivities began with a daytime pumpkin carving party. Beaker was very proud of his artistic talents and thought he designed a very cute Jack O’ Lantern.


Naturally he made someone else do most of the carving, especially as he was busy gorging on peanut M&M’s (candy calories obviously do not count around Halloween). With a belly full of sweets he then ran home to put on his party clothes, and headed off to the Thomas Müller openings at Project 4



and Fathom Gallery. He loved the latter space, and can't decide whether he liked its spacious terrace or fun bathrooms more.


After getting in his evening’s dose of art he waddled over to Hudson Restaurant & Lounge for its third anniversary party. It was a festive event, although sadly there were not too many vegetarian options despite the copious amounts of food, which meant a liquid dinner of the very tasty passion fruit cocktails. After a few hours of socializing he headed over to the New Vegas Lounge for his final event of the evening, a friend’s birthday party. Not surprisingly Beaker was feeling rather tired on Sunday, although he did motivate to run errands. Of course, as hard as it may be to believe, that was really just because he wanted a Dairy Queen treat!

Tundry

Tundry likes to find any and every excuse to escape DC, so he is particularly happy to be working on a project that takes him up to New York on a regular basis. He made his most recent journey last week on the not so glamorous Bolt Bus (he’s not really a bus kind of guy, but would much rather spend the extra that the train costs on fun and fashion). Although his time in New York is spent largely in an office in front of a computer, he naturally finds the time to do some socializing and get lots of treats (there are so so many in the city).


Tundry doesn’t need to go far to find a tasty snack, as there is a Financier Patisserie in Grand Central Station, to which his office building connects. His favorite treat from the bakery is the passion fruit macaron, but he's all about diversity, so he also picked up a pear diplomat (amongst other things). Furthermore, Tundry had the good luck to be staying on Clinton Street, which is home to Dessert Truck Works, meaning after work treats were also only a waddle, skip and jump away. He most recently tried the carrot cake and divine molten lava cake (olive oil is the not so secret ingredient).


Lest you think Tundry only eats sweets, he’d like you to know that he met a friend at Sinigual Restaurant, where they caught up over a glass of wine and guacamole (he doesn’t claim to be a health nut). And, one of his favorite foods is the pizza margherita; he is always in search of a good one, and he rather enjoyed the margherita he tried at Motorino in the East Village.


Sadly Tundry could not stay in New York indefinitely, and it was back to DC for the weekend, which began with Friday night drinks at the Sofitel. His pizza dinner in New York had put him in the mood for more, so he made his way to Potenza, where he once again ordered a margherita (like peanut butter he can never get enough). He enjoyed the pizza (although he still thinks Sette’s is the best in DC), and he very much appreciated the knowledgeable waiter and non rushed service (a true rarity in DC). After dinner he headed to Co Co Sala for a drink or two, and then stumbled home to bed.


Tundry was not too productive on Saturday, but he did get himself together to go to a housewarming party in Old Town Alexandria. It was a rare trip to the suburbs, and as usual the Metro was not cooperating, but it was well worth the effort. He loved his friends’ 1880s home (and was jealous of their three working fireplace, as his three are sadly only decorative), and thoroughly enjoyed all of the goodies that his friend had prepared.


Still, he’s not rushing back to the suburbs anytime soon unless it’s to go to Dairy Queen.

Alistair

Alistair is an academic type; he loves reading, researching, writing and discussing ideas with his equally astute friends. The brainy guy that he is, he is always looking for a stimulating project, and as of late has been helping a friend compile and sort information for a catalogue raisonné of the artist Robert Indiana. While he has done much of his work at the National Gallery of Art’s research library, the project is based in New York, giving him an excuse to travel up there.


Although Alistair spent much of his recent visit in the office, it wasn’t all work and no play, as it would be a sin to miss out on all of the tasty treats available in the city (and he does love his treats). His first evening in town he stopped by the Hampton Chutney Company for a quick bite (its dosas are ever so yummy), and then headed to the Crosby Street Hotel for a gossip session with friends. The bar has a great selection of wine by the glass (he tried a Geil Muskateller Trocken), and he loved the hotel’s collection of largely dog themed artwork (the creatures may not be quite as fabulous as penguins, but Alistair still thinks they are rather cute).


His second day in New York was much the same, work followed by play. After a databse filled day Alistair met up with a friend for a drink at Cipriani Dolci, conveniently located in Grand Central Station, where his office is.


Knowing that he would have to wake up at a reasonable hour the following morning, once he finished his drink he wisely decided to get some proper food instead of indulging in a liquid dinner. He thus headed off to meet another friend at Nanoosh, where they enjoyed some rather yummy hummus and a quinoa salad. Of course no meal would be complete without dessert, so they made their way to the Lower East Side, where he happened to be staying, for some treats at Dessert Truck Works (he recommends their very tasty chocolate bread pudding).


Alistair even managed to get in a treat – in fact his favorite of all those sampled during this visit - on his last day in the city.


Lucky for him that he was feeling that post coconut tres leches high as the journey home, due to the bus he was on getting a flat tire, was rather disastrous. Alistair can certainly think of things he’d much rather be doing than spending two hours at a rest stop in New Jersey. Unfortunately watching the Miley Cyrus movie being shown on the bus was not one of them. Next time he’ll just have to remember to get a treat or two for the road to keep that sugar high going.

Tuxedo Sam

Tuxedo Sam is the most dapper of penguins; he loves to don his finest attire and head out for fabulous nights on the town. This past Wednesday (a busy one) he made his way to the Washington Ballet for a party hosted by the Women’s Committee. The atmosphere was festive, complete with nutcrackers (to get everybody excited for the holiday bazaar being held the weekend before Thanksgiving), cupcakes from Frosting, and a cake inspired by the upcoming season’s Rock & Roll Ballet. Sadly Tuxedo Sam could not stay for the rehearsal, as he had to dash off to his next event, the Washingtonian’s 2010 Style Setters party at the Phillips Collection. Tuxedo Sam had a great time checking out the (in most cases) fashionable ensembles, while gossiping with friends and indulging in a cocktail or two.


After a lazy rainy Thursday (waddling around the flooded streets of DC is not his idea of fun), Tuxedo Sam was ready to get out and about. He began his weekend activities at the art filled Pink Line Project headquarters, where he enjoyed treats and bubbly, and then it was on to the Corcoran for the NOW at Night fundraiser, thrown by the museum’s Contemporaries.


The museum looked great, and there were lots of cocktails to be had (he loved the Pisco Sidecar and Basil Smash), as well as snacks being served on a moving conveyor belt (he might just have grabbed a few plantain chips as they passed by him). The fashionista that Tuxedo Sam is, he enjoyed checking out everybody’s dresses, and noted that there were many blue ones inspired by Spencer Finch’s My Business, With the Cloud, the inaugural exhibition of NOW at the Corcoran, a series that presents new and site-specific works by emerging and mid-career artists. His only complaint was the lack of dancing, but at least he was able to hit the dance floor for a song or two.


The following morning Tuxedo Sam had to pull himself together earlier than he would have liked in order to catch a train to Philadelphia for a law firm retreat (as a guest, of course; he is a man of leisure). The activities were held at the Ritz, where sadly the service was not quite as impressive as the lovely lobby bar. He donned his fine apparel once again for the formal dinner; as usual it was the standard vegetarian pastry parcel, but that did leave more room for dessert (Tuxedo Sam always loves a good dessert buffet). He also enjoyed more than his share of bubbly, but was not too impressed that the Ritz thinks it is okay to serve his drink of choice in wine glasses. That said, he is always one to look on the bright side, and it did mean he got bigger pours!


On Sunday, before heading back to Washington, Tuxedo Sam wanted to see a little bit of the city, so he waddled over from his hotel to the incredibly large Philadelphia Museum of Art. He loved Inci Eviner’s Nouveau Citoyen, and enjoyed walking around the numerous period rooms (if only he could have taken some of the furniture home with him).


Of course no Sunday is complete without treats, so after he got his dose of culture he enjoyed a not too healthy lunch at Joe’s Pizza, followed by frozen yogurt from Sweet Ending. He had what is certainly amongst the best peanut butter frozen yogurt he’s tried, and he also really liked the cream cheese and pumpkin spice flavors. While he can never get enough of frozen treats, he is very happy that it is pumpkin dessert season. Guess he’ll just have to amp up his workouts!