Grown-up Food & Fun in Adams Morgan

This past Tuesday, 5 couples from our adoption agency went to dinner together.  Susan, one of the adopting mommies, coordinated everything which was awesome!  All we had to do was show up!

The venue was Meskerem, which is right in the heart of Adams Morgan in Washington, DC.  Adams Morgan is a very culturally diverse neighborhood that offers lots to do and see.  We went during the week but if you pop over to Adams Morgan on the weekend, it's all the way live!

Tony and I were the third couple to arrive so we followed suit of what accidentally happened....girls on the left.....boys on the right...."just like school," one of our dinner companions joked!  LOL.  From the back to the front, the couples included Susan and Ed, Jennifer and Chris, me and Tony, Stacey and Evan, Monica and Fred.  We ate good and laughed hard.  We were snug as a bug in our corners but it was FANTASTIC because I felt like I was with old friends.  I think one of the greatest things that I appreciated was that it was a night for me and Tony with no kids, adult conversation, and all couples.  I don't think we've ever been out to dinner with just couples which was a welcome change for us.  Tony and I have a mix of friends who are married and single and I've always wanted to have friends in common who were couples.  So this was a huge blessing!

I feasted on Zilzil Tibbs which are strips of lean beef, sauteed in butter, onion and herbs.  (My food portion is the first photo above and Tony's shrimp was to the right of my beef.)  Of course, I used my injera to sandwich it together since Ethiopian food is eaten with hands only, no utensils!  I loved the injera even more this time around compared to the other Ethiopian restaurant Tony and I visited on our anniversary.  As Susan pointed out, the batch we had was less fermented.  (Either way, Selah, mommy is getting used to it!  Yay!)  Tony ordered Watt Shrimp which is sauteed in Meskerem's unique, hot and spicy berbere sauce.  I don't know what he was thinking about when he ordered it.  The poor thing couldn't enjoy it because his stomach was bothering him so the spicy food wasn't a match.  Despite his stomach not feeling so well, he hung in there all the way to the end of dinner.  Love that man!  smile

If you've never eaten at an Ethiopian restaurant, you should know that the food was served on a common  platter with injera (spongy bread) underneath the food.  Because there were 10 of us, there were two of these platters.  The large platters rest on a colorful straw woven table called a mesob.

After about a couple hours together and lots of laughter and shared stories, we said our good-byes and vowed to do this again.   Even Tony who who wasn't feeling well that night said that we needed a repeat of the night.  We're already scouting out which restaurant is next.

As of Tuesday's dinner, all of us were still in the paperchasing or waiting stage but our friends, Monica and Fred, received their referral on Thursday!  Congrats Monica and Fred! Next up for a referral from our dinner group...Susan and Ed!