The Walk of 3,000 Calories

Are my post titles starting to become more senseless?  I don’t think so – unless you stop reading my entries the minute you read the title.

But anyways, today is a special day in the history of my time here in DC.  I know you aren’t gonna believe me – and I now regret tossing out the receipt that would validate my claim – but I’ve found the impossible: an all-you-can-eat Italian restaurant in the DC area.  Yes – all-you-can-eat. More importantly, it is cheap. Has your mind been collected off the floor and desk after it was blown, following the obtaining of this knowledge?  Once you’re able to wrap your head around this outlier of a restaurant, please continue.  Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

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Alright!  Let’s begin!  So today is the first truly nice day outside that we’ve had in awhile; most of this past week was a combination of March-like temperatures and gloomy, overcast days with spots of rain thrown in for good measure.  Being that I haven’t had the chance to flex my muscles in a bit, I decided to walk westward today until I effectively left the District and entered Maryland.  I was also walking, versus my usual biking, because it gave me a reason to use my new media player, the Cowon S9, the entire time.  Just an extra smidgen of information: My parents purchased what I considered the “ultimate gift” for my birthday this year, which was the S9.  I seriously didn’t think they’d shell out the money for it, but they did.  And because they’ll be on vacation during my birthday they decided to buy the S9 a month ahead of schedule.  YAY!!!  Needless to say, I’ve been going nuts since it arrived.

So back to my westward walk.  I decided ahead of time to make Georgetown a walkthrough destination since I haven’t been there in over a year.  As I was doing my New York thing, walking in the streets to avoid the slow-moving crowds of yuppies, college students, and tourists on the sidewalk, some of whom looked at me as if I was crazy for moseying alongside active traffic, I looked over some restaurant menus and bars just to get a sense of the pricing around there.  Surprisingly, I did find a number of places that I’d like to hit up one evening, in part because the prices were reasonable.  Don’t ask me to recall the names of any of them – I totally forget.  And I didn’t grab business cards because the only thing I had on my jogging outfit was the iPhone holder which attached incredibly tight on my shorts – a very good thing since I had no intention of wearing a belt with something that didn’t require one.

About a good hour and change later, after I walked across the Key Bridge and walked to the northern tip of Arlington Cemetery, I realized that I entered Virginia (I was really absorbed into my media player…) and proceeded to walk back.  Once I re-entered DC, I decided to postpone my epic walk for another day and started my walk back home.  However, as I walked east on M Street NW I made the decision to turn right on Wisconsin Ave… I don’t quite know why.  When I reached the bridge that crossed Rock Creek, that’s when I saw it: a plain-looking chalk board with those magical words, “all you can eat: $12.95″, in redish chalk.  After observing teh taped explanation of their buffet menu and the pricing, I decided to take a chance – after all, most places nearby sold burgers for 8 bucks and full plates of food for much more, so I figured “What the hell” and see how this place was.

The restaurant is Filomena Ristorante, and I was hesitant to enter at first because the decor looked very nice – and I was wearing a sleeveless jogging outfit with pretty short shorts.  But my stomach, combined with my curiosity, relented, and I entered.  Once I was seated, the first thing on my mind was “holy crap, I am seriously standing out like a hot sore thumb right now” – almost everyone else in the restaurant were either in suits, fairly dressy (think Sunday church-like clothes), or the equivalent of business casual.  Though there were a couple of people in casual wares, but I was the only one who looked like I ran about ten miles.  All my concerned were washed away by the aroma of italian dishes and the view of buffet tables.  Once I felt pretty confident my S9 and iPhone wouldn’t disappear if I left them at my table, I practically speed-walked to the nearest stack of plates, grabbed two of them, and proceeded to plop large quantities of everything on them.  Giant meatballs with spaghetti; pizzas; alfredo pasta; chicken – I went nuts.  I must’ve eaten enough food for about two or three people, but I definitely got my 13 bucks worth of food in my stomach, that’s for sure!  I tipped generously, in part because I know I was underdressed and I didn’t want them to think about banning me from coming back.  Little do they know, I’ll be making a return trip one day…

After the unexpectedly large meal I walked back home, which was pretty uneventful – not that I was paying much attention to my surroundings, as my long-lost music was singing sweet tunes into my ears the entire way.

And now, one relieving shower later, I am ready to continue what should be a very interesting Saturday.  Good bye everyone!

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