Crab cakes and soft shell crabs from Market Lunch at Eastern Market DC

Before we lunge into this post, we hope you had a great memorial day weekend! Admittedly, we’ve been slacking on getting a new post up between visitors and the daily grind, but here it is!

Every city has its signature market - an open market with vintage finds and small food kiosks, or halls filled with fresh produce, quality meats, and breads. New York has Chelsea, Boston has Quincy, and DC has Eastern Market.

Vendor stalls cover the perimeter of the indoor hall market.

Eastern Market, located in DC’s Southeast Quadrant, is possibly our favorite spot in this city. The people, the food, and the energy of the place on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon really make it a memorable experice, and never fails to make an impression on our out-of-town guests.

The market is accessible by metro, but if you’re driving, street parking can be hard to come by. Luckily, there’s a parking lot right by the south entrance of the market that has a $10 day rate on weekends – for us New Yorkers, that’s a steal, and definitely worth it if you’re spending the whole day there.

Justine and Cristina’s eating faces

Once we park, we always go straight for the Market Lunch towards the north side of the indoor hall market. We’re usually almost running there because the first thing on our minds are their fresh crabcakes and soft shell crab sandwiches (Justine gets the cod, allergies!). The seafood here is beyond fresh, and of course, what’s fried seafood without tartar sauce and thousand island dressing – they’ve got sriracha too, if you need the kick. Take all that, wash it down with an Arnold Palmer, and you can call it day, without any guilt…life is good. Also, don’t bother saving seats while you’re in line, that’s a no-no; wait till you’ve ordered and have your food. It always looks crowded, but don’t worry, we’ve never had to wait for seats before.

Dan and his shrimp and soft shell crab combo

After lunch, we usually walk it off by exploring the vintage flea market adjacent to the hall. Some of the pieces are pricey, but dig deep and you’ll find some good deals. We found ourselves some pieces of vintage furniture that we love including two worn leather chairs and a folding step ladder we now use as a bookshelf.

Furniture hunting at the Capitol Hill Flea Market

Also worth exploring are the tents just outside and along the perimeter of the hall, as well as the shops surrounding the market, where you can find fresh produce, art, jewelry, books and other miscellany. If you find you’re still hungry, there’s no shortage of good food, whether you stay in the market or check out the restaurants in the immediate area – you can’t go wrong.

Then, before you know it, the stalls are closing and it’s time to go. We usually end up going home with unique pieces of furniture or accessories, and some pastries for later, but never disappointed.

This is definitely one of our top DC picks. If you’re in town or plan on visiting, check it out and tell us about your experience!

Eastern Market
www.easternmarket-dc.org
225 7th St SE, Washington, DC

Tuesday to Friday - 7am - 7pm
Saturday - 7am - 6pm
Sunday - 9am - 5pm
Monday - CLOSED

The Ted’s Burgh – a burger done right with egg on top, between two pieces of toast. Can’t beat it.

We love weekends, but sometimes we just hate planning.

The Weekender is a weekly post from us to you – you who loves the wake-up-and-go brunch, the afternoon drink with a view, and the spontaneous night out after a lazy day. We got you covered! Every week, we’ll recommend a place we love and hope it finds its place in your next weekend adventure.

This weekend, if you’re in the DC area and craving a quality, all-american brunch, swing by Ted’s Bulletin for some homemade Pop-Tarts and milkshakes so good you’ll have dreams about them (trust us, you will). This place is an experience, from the food to the black and white movies projected on the dining room wall; we just know you’ll love this place.

Located at: 505 8th Street Southeast, Washington, DC 20003

Good for: Brunch

Ambiance: Old hollywood meets diner

Bring your: Family from out of town, small groups of friends

Just the good stuff: The Walk of Shame Breakfast Burrito, Ted’s Burgh, PB & J Milkshake, Peanut Butter and Heath Bar Milkshake, Strawberry Pop-Tart

While you’re in the neighborhood, check out: Eastern Market, Barracks Row, Nats Stadium 

Clockwise from left: Noodle Lane’s dan dan noodles, We Rub You’s bulgogi sandwich, The Meat Hook’s suicide dog, Cemita’s namesake sandwich with southern fried chicken

This past weekend, we drove up to NYC for some much needed time away, time off, and time with our favorite New Yorkers. We got in late Friday night, crashed, and got an early start Saturday.

Cat suggested we check out Smorgasburg, Brooklyn’s popular open-air food market with vendors dishing out the good stuff all day - yea, we’re about that. So we rounded up some friends last minute, and drove the 15 minutes from Andre’s house in Woodside to the Williamsburg waterfront. Driving in, the streets narrowed, the buildings grew, and then we saw an American Apparel, guys on bikes in jorts and girls dressed like they were going to Coachella. Despite it being our first visit to the neighborhood, we knew we’d arrived.

From left to right: on the lawn by the entrance, the Landhaus stall, in the market facing the East River

It was early afternoon, sunny with a cool breeze, and the market had already filled out with people – a lot of them with dogs and kids and strollers – but it was that perfect number of people that makes a place feel alive without giving you anxiety. The market itself is held in an open parking lot by the East River with vendors each set up with their own tented stalls. In addition to the few tables set up in the middle of the lot, the small lawn by the entrance provides a lounging / eating area complete with a view of the river and the Manhattan skyline, and shade from the tall condos that stand behind the market.

Porchetta’s pork sandwich vs. Gabezilla

After eating ourselves silly, we discovered two things: 1. we really love pork and 2. food markets can be tricky. Here are a few things we’ve learned about getting the most out of the experience:

1. Scout the area - Cat kept reminding us not to get too excited about the first good thing you see… or the second or the third. It’s all about walking around and seeing what the market has to offer. Keep a look out for those long lines - lines mean yummy!

2. Stare at other people’s food - we know it’s rude to stare, but it’s all in the name of good food - you’ll be fine. Check out the common denominators between the market goers, is everyone holding a popsicle? a bulgogi burger? a taco? Whatever that is, get it. 

3. SLOW DOWN - this is the hardest tip to follow. The key to a great food fest experience is to eat slow, choose wisely and take your time. Your stomach, and your wallet, will thank you.

Hope these tips are helpful - let us know if you have any other tips or any food markets you think we should check out! Thanks for reading!

Justine & Andre

Hi there dear reader,

Friend or stranger – we’re glad you’re here! It was a Monday night about a month ago when we decided to suck it up and make this blog happen…except, being that it was a month ago…nevermind.

A close friend from Toronto came to visit and it was her last night in town, so we wanted to bring her to Graffiato, one of our cool DC spots, cool meaning we go there a lot and love the food – whether or not it’s actually cool, you should come down here and judge for yourself. Anyway, we spent dinner recounting the things we’d done together that weekend – like eating at some great places, doing a bit of drinking, and getting bombarded with buckets of paint at a concert – and she made us think: is it like this every weekend? Honestly, more or less…maybe minus the paint, but equally as awesome. So then why aren’t we getting these awesome experiences down somewhere?

You think blog and you think, “What am I going to write about? What am I the authority on?” Now, we’re not food or restaurant experts, but we are experts on what we like. So this is a blog about us and our favorite things - just the good stuff. If we haven’t met or if you forget how we did, take a peek at ‘Authors’ up top for bios.

We’re excited to start documenting, and taking you with us on our weekends, nights out, vacations and every experience in between. From the places we visit, to the people we meet, we’ll make sure to share every detail with you.

We hope you enjoy our stories as much as we do writing them!

Justine & Andre :)