Dear Wil Wheaton....

Dear Wil Wheaton,

In three days, you will be in my hood. No, really. The Birchmere is within walking distance of my house. And I intend to walk to the show on Thursday evening.

I mean, really? Who are we kidding?

Del Ray is an awesome neighborhood and there are some places you should visit while you’re in town. I can even take you around if you want. No strings attached. I don’t need a ticket – already bought mine. I’m not looking for a date – no offense, but you’re not really my type (i.e. you’re not single). Hell, I’ll even pay for dinner. All I would ask is a photo (potentially by the “it would be obscene if it wasn’t art” statue in the ‘hood) and maybe for you to sign my Bazinga shirt. And I reserve the right to sing and/or hum the song Butters sang about Awesome-o/Cartman, but with some changes to the lyrics. 

Anyhoo.

Some restaurants to consider:

1.       Holy Cow – gourmet burgers. They’re addictively good. And they have waffle fries! The sweet potato waffle fries come with marshmallow fluff for dipping. Seriously. Plus, they give money back to local charities/organizations – they have a list and you can choose which one you want your $1 to go to (I would suggest the Alexandria Citizens Band, but I’m biased).
By the same folks that run Holy Cow are Pork Barrel BBQ and the (in)famous 18+ Sushi Bar. Holy Cow is, by far, the best of the three.
2.       Los Tios or Taqueria Poblano. There are two kinds of people in Del Ray. Those who prefer Los Tios, and those who favor Taqueria Poblano. I’m a Los Tios girl, myself. It’s family-run, bigger on the inside, and you can ALWAYS count on a great meal. It’s Mexican/El Salvadoran.
3.       Del Ray Pizza is great if you’re looking for pizza. Hell, if it’s good enough for President Obama, it’s good enough for us. Amirite.
4.       If you absolutely, must, without a doubt, eat lots and lots of cheese, go to Cheesetique. It’s a little on the expensive side, but you can eat all the cheese!

For dessert:

1.       There’s really only one thing to say: The DairyGodmother. Again, if it’s good enough for Barack, Sasha and Malia… The flavor of the day for Thursday is Mint Chocolate Chip. This place is a cornerstone of the community. The only reason you shouldn’t go there is if you hate everybody and everything. 

2.       Throwing a bone to The Happy Tart – a gluten-free pie place across the street from Dairy Godmother. But honestly, custard is already gluten free, so why bother?

Other stuff:

Rikku is way cooler than I am.

1.       Del Ray has a great shop that is an “Exotic Planterium and Card & Comic Collectorama” Seriously.
2.       Del Ray Variety, a relatively new general store that has anything you could ever need, plus some.
3.       Tarot Card reader. Used to be a baby things store. Ha.

So yeah! Welcome to town! Let me know if you want a guided tour, or if you just want to come hang out at my boring little apartment with my super cool dog.

Love, Emily

PS. You will also be within 20 miles of ThinkGeek's headquarters. It's a pretty fun place and if you have a rental car, you should head out there (not during rush hour) and say hi to them!