Panda Gourmet... perhaps DC's BEST or at least most AUTHENTIC Chinese Restaurant

 


as a Field Bike Mechanic for Capital BikeShare I find myself all around the city each and everyday
I get to visit places I would not normally get to visit
I get to explore places that I would not normally get to explore

there are days when I am working in Northern Virginia... then other days I am in Silver Spring\Hyattsville... there is work that needs to be done in Anacostia and the surrounding area... just to name a few

yesterday I was on a loop in Northeast DC that brought me close to the National Arboretum 
the timing was such that I decided to get lunch from Panda Gourmet and have a solo picnic at the Arboretum 

refreshing and restorative
the food and the visit to the Arboretum

Panda Gourmet has an interesting history
Panda Gourmet in the City Paper
and
also and article with a Pay Wall from the Washington Post

ah yes...
yummy
yummy and restorative

the day prior I had lunch at the Island Time Bar on Columbia Island in Virginia
eating a burger over looking the marina with the Pentagon in the background was almost as refreshing as snacking on some traditional Sichuan cuisine with the old Capital pillars in the distance

the options on the lunch special are decent
but really...
I like to go all out and family style at this spot
so many things to sample