Washington DC Dinner Group?

Anyone interested in starting a "Spain-Lovers" dinner group in the Washington, DC area? Activities to include: eating, drinking, sharing stories, practicing the language, etc.

If interested, please reply to this message. When we get enough responses we can coordinate a time & place...

Saludos,
Rob

RKennedy17

Well, I am so glad someone is taking the initiative to start a Washington, D.C. metro MM Board Dinner group. Count me in.

mclarke

Me, too!

Me too.

Well, I'm about 2 hrs away (1 hr to Baltimore)but I occasionally have business in Reston and have relatives in Springfield. I'm sure after my trip this summer I will be longing for Spain conversation so I'll watch for future posts

Count me in! I will be working in DC this summer... well, I have an apartment already and I HOPE to find a job... I am in Madrid this year, and would love to find people to share experiences with and speak the language once I get back to the US... email me at bobster555@hotmail.com when you fix up a date...

The DC International Film Festival is running from April 17 to 29. There are several Spanish films playing (e.g., El Maestro de Esgrima, Flamenco, Tomandote). Perhaps we could do a movie and dinner.

I'm glad to see such a positive response in only a few days! As far as the film festival goes, we can open it up for discussion & see who's interested...

My thoughts are that tapas/drinks/dinner might be easier to coordinate, taking into account everyone's busy schedules, other obligations, etc. Furthermore, a casual "happy hour" type of get-together might be more inclusive as a first event for the group.

Weekends are generally better for me... I'll go ahead and suggest a few possible dates -- let me know which, if any, work for you.

Friday 4/27
Friday 5/4
Saturday 5/5 (Cinco de Mayo... I know, I know, it's a Mexican holiday!)

Possible locations:

Jaleo (great tapas & sangria)
Toro Tapas ("asi-asi")
Taberna del Alabardero (best Spanish cuisine in DC. Dining room is a bit expensive, but they have a decent bar scene w/ tapas available)
Andalusia (never been there, but heard good things...)

rkennedy, I agree that better for the first get-together to be casual and easy to organize. I've been to Andalucia in Bethesda (there's one in Rockville also. My madrileña girlfriend says it's pretty good Spanish food, even compared to what you can find in Spain. I think they also have live Flamence on one night of the week. However, being in Bethesda, it might be out of the way for some folks.

RKennedy,
For my vote, Jaleo would be a good place, I believe the nearest metro stop is "Gallery". Jaleo was featured on Channer 4 as one of the places in the Greater Washington area where one could get drinks and food for two for $40.00. I am find with the dates.

Regards,
mclarke

I've heard good things about "Jaleo" from several people (including the couple who run the wine and cheese stall at the Cross St. Market, my source for mahon y manchego ), but have never eaten there. I'm willing to try any of the places mentioned, and the dates are okay, too.

Let's shoot for Jaleo on Friday 5/4/01 at around 7PM... I will call about reservations although, if memory serves me correctly, I don't think that they accept them. So far it looks like the following people might attend:

mclarke
jmcarr
David K
karenwishart (?)
myself

If everyone brings a date/spouse/friend it looks as though we will have a merry crowd of 8-10 people! So, let me know if the date & time are OK, and whether you plan to bring somebody.

'taluego!

<sniff!!><gulp!>MadridMan's Spain Message Board: Bringing People TOGETHER!

<sniff!> MAN! I wish I could go to all these great get-togethers!!! Sheesh! I don't think I should try putting together a Central Ohio dinner.

Enjoy all! Saludos, MadridMan

Well, hopefully I could join you guys at the next dinner. I would love to hear how this one goes... I will be in DC from the beginning of July, by then I'm sure you guys will have mapped out all the spanish hotspots... ¡Hasta pronto!

Count me in for May 4 at 7:00 pm - Jaleo.

Regards,
Mclarke

I'll be there

Karenwishart, if you'd like to attend but don't want to drive all the way to DC, I'd be glad to give you a lift...at least to the greenbelt metro station, which is how I usually get to DC, being DC driving impaired (somehow, I always end up in a neighborhood I don't recognize, even when I follow directions )

[ 04-24-2001: Message edited by: jmcarr ]

Thanks jcarr. I may take you up on that. I will know my schedule in the next couple of days and will let you know to count me in/and maybe hitch ride. This is great...I really hope to make it

Not sure yet if I'll be able to do it that weekend. Put me down as a maybe.

Rkennedy
Well, just confirming that the DC metro MM Dinner is still schedule for May 4 at 7:00 pm at Jaleo. Where is the closet metro stop?

Regards,
mclarke

OK, here's the deal: Jaleo only accepts reservations until 6:30 PM -- after that it is walk-in only. I vote that we keep our 7PM time and plan on chatting at the bar for a while until a table is ready. Jaleo usually has a lively bar crowd & besides, it might be a good idea for everyone to get to know eachother a bit before we sit down.

To facilitate finding me at the bar, you can view a representative photo (taken a few weeks ago in Spain) at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/rkennedy17

(Follow this link and then click on "My Photos")

Jaleo's Website (includes directions, menu, etc.): http://dc.diningweb.com/restaurants/jaleo/index.html

I look forward to seeing you all there -- as I said before, please feel free to bring somebody if you want!

Saludos,
Rob

FANTASTIC!!!!!! You all are going to have a great time together. I beg someone to take a camera and get the waiter to snap a couple group photos and I'll post them right here in this thread. Sound good!? Enjoy, everyone!!

Saludos, MadridMan

I'm still not sure if I can make it tomarrow nite but am trying to get there. I'll be looking for you!!

Rkennedy,

Thanks for posting your picture. However, tonight is crowded. What color is shirt?
And which part of the bar will you be sitting.

P.S. I am wearing white pants with printed black blouse. See you tonight!

Have a GREAT time tonight, gang!!!! I'll be with you in spirit for sure.

Saludos, MadridMan

<sniff! sniff!> Just think, the Washington D.C. MadridMan's Message Board group is dining at a great Spanish restaurant right now!!!! MAN! Wish I was there!!

Saludos, MadridMan

Congratulations on your successful gathering!! I'm sure it was a blast.Please write it up and offer any suggestions for a yet to happen gathering in NYC. This pertains especially to you MClarke who will be at the NYC get together as well as partying in our Nations Capital tonight.Good for you all.

The first DC Dinner Group was a lot of fun! There were a total of 5 of us in attendance:

- Myself
- Mrs. rkennedy17
- mclarke
- jmcarr
- a friend of mine from High School who is a fellow Spain-lover

Anyhow, dinner was great -- we had a number of different tapas, including croquetas, tortilla espanola, pan con tomate y queso manchego, setas al ajillo, pimientos rellenos, conejo, esparragos, embutidos variados (all of those wonderful cured meats...), and a few others that I've forgotten! We washed it down with some sangria and chatted for a few hours about all things Spain -- it was a lot of fun! The only regret was that nobody remembered to bring a camera.

Next time, hopefully we can get a larger crowd involved and perhaps even make this a semi-regular event?

mclarke & jmcarr: It was a pleasure to meet you & I'm sure we'll cross paths again!

Saludos,
Rob

Any tentative plans for next dinner?. I'll be back from my 2 weeks in Spain July 8 so hopefully I can meet you all sooner or later!!

It was indeed a great tapas night for the DC Metro MM folks. The young folks -- RKennedy and wife, Larry, JCarr made me feel so young and alive. Jaleo's setting was like having tapas in Madrid! Thanks Rob for taking the initiative!

Regards,
mclarke

I'm so happy to hear you all had such a good time. Yes, thanks rkennedy17 for setting it all up. Hope you enjoyed everything. Shame no one had a camera. Oh well. There's always NEXT time!

Saludos, MadridMan

... and a big GRACIAS goes to MM for treating everyone to a flan!

It was a pleasure meeting others who are addicted to MM's site (and Spain, too, of course!) Mclarke had lots of funny stories to tell about her trip to Spain, and her daughter's semester in Madrid.

Shucks, I wish I had seen this earlier...

Hey guys, well I wasn't able to make it to the last DC dinner group. But I am here now (I just got in on the 14th of july) after a year in Madrid, and boy do I miss it already! By the way, I ran with the bulls during San Fermin, it was such an adrenaline rush! Lucky for me my internship has me speaking in spanish all the time and my co-workers are from Spain and Latin America. So... if you guys are interested, we could set up another dinner group and hopefully go out for cocktails or something afterwards... If people are interested, I am willing to organize it- just wanna hear some support.

[ 07-27-2001: Message edited by: Bobster ]

I almost missed your post, Bobster.I'm interested. I missed the first one, too.

WAIT FOR ME!!! I'M COMMMMIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG
I will be flying out of DC on the 12th of October. Did I miss dinner? I love DC can't wait to be back, and if I can make it for dinner is anyone else in?? Then I can get your input on the appropriate Groove Wear for 55 degree weather!