Girls' Night Out in DC

Since rotations keep stealing our husbands away, my friend and I decided to go out on the town for some much needed girl time. We went over to Connecticut Avenue to hang out at Politics and Prose Bookstore and then we wandered next door to Comet Ping Pong for some pizza.

 

Politics and Prose is a sanctuary for book lovers. It has that wonderful ahhhhh.... feeling when you step through the door and is one of the must-see bookstores in America. For such a large bookstore, this place loses none of the cozy, independent book-seller vibes. The book islands throughout the store are overflowing with interesting titles that bring back elementary school memories of DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read). The store features an extensive calendar of events that are free to the public. This is one of the things I love about D.C. There is a really nice collection of free stuff to do here which makes up for some of the overpriced food. Anyway, you can come out almost every night of the year for a book signing or an author lecture, and they occasionally hold multiple events in a day. Politics and Prose also hosts a series of book clubs in their store; you can purchase your book for 20% off and then come for a free book discussion with one of 20 different groups. The highlight of my trip was meeting the Espresso Book Machine. It prints books from start to finish right before your very eyes in ten minutes or less. How cool is that? I recommend printing yourself a book when you come to visit, and don't forget to check out the sale selections on the lower level!

 

Back when E and I visited R & R Taqueria, I set a goal to visit local gems featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives to satisfy my inner foodie and explore the different hometowns we'll have through a career in the military. Comet Ping Pong has been next on the list for a while, so you can imagine how excited I was when I realized it was right next to the bookstore we were visiting! The photo above features the front dining area. Yes, it does look that dingy inside, but it sets the perfect tone for the laid-back pizza joint. If you walk all the way to the back, you will find the namesake ping pong tables. We were there late-ish on a Sunday night, so it was not too crowded and we had no trouble securing a table for pizza or ping pong. The main attractions on the menu are pizza and beer. Our waitress told us the bread sticks weren't that great when we were looking at appetizers, but the pizza came highly recommended. Prices are $14 for a specialty personal-sized pizza and they start at $8 for your basic cheese pizza with additional toppings costing $1-$4. I was a little sad at first that I would not be getting a giant pizza, but the quality more that made up for any qualms about quantity. Each pizza featured generous amounts of toppings and the crust was just right. Get the melted onions on your pizza! They are awesome. I would definitely like to go back for a longer visit and more pizza to do this menu justice.