¡Oyamel!

Hello readers. I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last post - life has really gotten away from me, with school starting, work continuing, and spontaneous trips to Charm City to see my friends! However, I am back with wonderful news: I found an amazing restaurant to tell you about.

My dad is attending a conference in DC for work Monday and Tuesday, so he came in for this weekend so we could hang out! One of his best friends, who also happens to be my godfather (no, not this kind), also lives in the area, so they're going to catch up as well.

Just being tourists! The couple who took this photo said that we look a lot alike - thoughts?

Today, my dad arrived around 3, and we headed over to the Washington Monument to go to the top. This might seem like deja vu, but don't worry, I posted about this before. Here's a Picstich of the views from the top:

After we had returned from our 550-foot journey, we headed to the Freer Gallery for about half an hour before it closed. This museum houses Asian art that was collected by Charles Lang Freer, a businessman and avid art collector. It's full of beautiful screens, bronze sculptures, and paintings, and also to the Peacock Room, a gorgeous space painted in peacock blue and is filled with shelves of all kinds of art! After that museum closed, we headed to the American Art Museum because it's open later than the other Smithsonians (until 7 pm, while the rest are open until 5:30). We saw an exhibit of paintings of famous athletes - my dad loved it; I checked Instagram a few times.

We had eaten some snacks from the food trucks near the Mall, so we weren't super hungry by 7. We decided to postpone dinner and check out a movie, This Is Where I Leave You, starring Jason Bateman, the flawless Tina Fey, and lots of other great actors. It was less of a comedy and more of a drama than I expected, and had some pretty touching moments, and was overall a great movie! I highly recommend it.

Okay, now for the good stuff: Oyamel. This restaurant, located in Chinatown (conveniently, right near Tangysweet frozen yogurt), is Mexican food served in the antojitos style. This means small plates, just like tapas, which means you can eat so many more things! The restaurant is beautiful, decorated with Spanish phrases and butterflies painted all over the walls, plenty of tchotchkes (presumably) from Mexico, and tables scattered around the various rooms in a fun, carefree way.

The guacamole is made tableside, and can be as mild or spicy as you choose. We went with medium heat, and it was delicious. Something about seeing the ingredients mixed together right before your eyes makes it even tastier. Their tortilla chips are also some of the best I've ever had; they're well-salted and not oily at all. My dad ordered Don's Margarita del Serrano, a lime margarita with serrano chile peppers in it. I tried a sip, and was surprised by how much I loved it! Oyamel also offers the option of topping your margarita with salt air, a salty foam that I now prefer to salted rims. Here is a list of the dishes we ordered:

• Chicken enchiladas in salsa verde (sorry, this was a special, so I can't find the actual Spanish name for it) - this was my favorite thing we ordered. Seriously, go to Oyamel right now so you can get these. If anyone from the restaurant is reading this, please add these enchiladas to the permanent menu. I will eat dinner there every night.
• Esquites - (sauteed corn with mayo and chile pequin) the flavor of this was not what I was expecting; I think the spices in which they cooked the corn interacted with the corn itself somehow that didn't fit the flavor profile I was expecting. After the first bite, though, I was really into it! 
• Camarones al mojo de ajo negro (shrimp sauteed with peppers, lime, and black garlic) - okay, I hate the texture of shrimp, but the flavor of the seasoning on this dish made me completely forget about it.
• Tacos pescado Baja California (fish tacos with housemade mayo, cabbage, pickled chiles, and onions) - on the same note as the above bullet, I really don't like fish, but these were amazing! The spices on the fish and the flavor of the mayo made these some of my favorite tacos that I've had in DC!
• Chilorio de res (shredded beef tacos with white onions and a tangy sauce) - I didn't like these much at all. The beef was extremely tender, which didn't fit well with the sauce, in my opinion,

Finally, to add to the long list of things I love about this restaurant, our waiter (Sam - obviously a great guy based on his name alone) was so friendly! His recommendation was the basis for most of our choices, and he was extremely attentive without being annoying at all. 

Well, that's all from me! To sum up: 1) See the movie This Is Where I Leave You, and 2) Eat at Oyamel! Tomorrow, I'm going to a brunch place which serves bottomless omelets & waffles (!!!!), and then I have my first kickball game - we're playing on the Mall! I also have quite a bit of homework to take care of... I'm sure I'll take care of it eventually.