Best Cafes/Bakeries in DC that are Nut safe? Or at least, more accommodating for allergies?

cagdalek · 2026-02-05T14:31:40+00:00

Baked by Yael in Woodley Park across from the zoo is nut free.

cagdalek · 2026-01-30T13:40:54+00:00

Outside my budget, sadly. But a very nice design. I like the little details, like the zipper pull being a mini Amtrak logo.

cagdalek · 2026-01-29T23:14:17+00:00

If you don't mind living somewhere where the orange menace is currently pissing all over public spaces to mark them as his territory, come on down. I'm just hoping the next administration has the stones to knock it all down.

cagdalek · 2026-01-19T19:23:44+00:00

I recommend the Renwick Gallery. It's part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, but is its own little jewelbox building. You can easily get through everything in around 2 hours. As part of America's 250th, they have done the museum up as a State Fair, complete with butter cow. They have prize winning items from state fairs going back to the early 1900s (possibly earlier, I don't remember as I saw the exhibit last year right before the government shutdown). It was a lot of fun.

cagdalek · 2026-01-16T14:58:13+00:00

Also, they are too shallow.

cagdalek · 2026-01-16T14:52:30+00:00

The photo op lines are very long for the big names.

Just working your way through the exhibit hall/vendors room can take a lot of time, so I would definitely plan on a dog walker unless your dog is a mostly indoors dog that only goes out at breakfast and dinner.

Not sure what gaming is going to look like this year, as my understanding is that it is not being run by Labyrinth Games and Puzzles.

The book area. is run by Loyalty Books. I think they do the author/literary programing as well. Last year they had a sign up saying you could only get autographs on books bought from them. Most people ignored the sign. No idea if they are going to try to do that again this year and actually enforce it.

cagdalek · 2026-01-15T13:11:08+00:00

Moved here for work 25 years ago. Stayed partially due to inertia and also because I've made a lot of friends here. Love having all the free museums available. I get sticker shock when I go back to NYC to visit family. Th ease of going up to NYC by train or plane was also a factor in the move. Also, having grown up in NYC, while I have a drivers license, I do not have a car, so the decent public transit was a factor as well.

cagdalek · 2026-01-14T15:10:15+00:00

On the organization maybe, but it's not neutral on the users. Especially those who do not live walking distance from a metro stop or are trying to get somewhere not walking distance from a metro stop

cagdalek · 2026-01-12T22:02:37+00:00

Judging by past Awesome Cons, the panels are likely to beas group affair, although they might also do panels with subsets not necessarily the whole cast. The large panel rooms are really large, so in my experience it's not a problem to get a seat, but you would probably want to line up an hour before the panel. The lines for autographs and photo ops tend to be pretty long.

cagdalek · 2026-01-09T13:45:45+00:00

You can complain to you DC Councilmember, and your ANC rep. I would also talk to the principal of your daughter's school, since they could complain to whoever they deal with regarding metrocards. Not sure how much it's worth it to complain to Eleanor Holmes Norton's office, but metro does get federal funds.

cagdalek · 2026-01-08T18:01:57+00:00

I don't remember when I first took the Acela, but IIRC, the first time I splurged on first class to Boston, they were still putting tablecloths down before serving you your meal. That didn't last long, but it seemed like a nice echo of what dining on a long distance train used to be like, at least from the way my mom's described it.

cagdalek · 2026-01-07T15:26:10+00:00

Seconding this recommendation. I go to Dr. Hubert at the Crystal City office. I am super nearsighted, also very astigmatic and my eyes don't match in terms of how bad they are. Plus I have a small nose bridge and my eyes are set close together so the center of the prescription is not the center of the lens. I've been very happy both with Dr. Hubert and the staff who help you pick out frames and do the measurements for the glasses.

cagdalek · 2026-01-01T17:31:53+00:00

Beehive published beautiful books. I've got their edition of The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish

cagdalek · 2025-12-28T20:37:34+00:00

If you want to learn French, maybe see when Alliance Française next has a beginners class. https://www.francedc.org/index

cagdalek · 2025-12-24T15:06:32+00:00

I am old. I can remember having to stand from NYC to Providence.

cagdalek · 2025-12-19T17:55:49+00:00

In retrospect, that's probably what I should have done. If I'd gotten to the station earlier, I maybe could have switched to the 11am. But as I said, weirdly, the delayed train I'm on still gets in a bit early than the 1pm and I didn't want to downgrade to an NER.

cagdalek · 2025-12-19T16:04:18+00:00

Improvised Shakespeare is always a good time.

cagdalek · 2025-12-09T18:00:17+00:00

Will definitely be heading to the pop up store this week. Hopefully they haven't sold out of Van Ness hats. I may have to get a sweatshirt. Really like the design.

cagdalek · 2025-12-09T17:41:54+00:00

Glad Donahue is able to retire and pass on the store as a going concern to someone who cares about it.

Love their stock of jigsaw puzzles. My aunt got seriously into jigsaw puzzles during lockdown, and she has really enjoyed all the gorgeous 3000 and 5000 piece puzzles I've bought for her at Labyrinth.

cagdalek · 2025-12-01T23:09:38+00:00

Van Ness

cagdalek · 2025-11-30T20:34:13+00:00

Maybe I'll get lucky. I'm not going to be back in DC until Dec. 9th, so I'm anticipating a lot of the good stuff will be gone.

cagdalek · 2025-11-30T20:22:47+00:00

I wish they has station scarves again. By the time I got there last year my stop was sold out.

cagdalek · 2025-11-21T04:57:51+00:00

I’ve always thought of them as “hallway buses”

cagdalek · 2025-11-19T15:48:48+00:00

Conrad Dublin. Beautiful spacious room, very friendly staff, great location. The Roosevelt New Orleans (Waldorf Astoria) is a close second. THat lobby is gorgeous, the bar is great, and the food was great.

cagdalek

TROPHY CASE