Cinco de WTF?!

And now for a little rant. I have finally learned my lesson. Do NOT go to a Mexican restaurant on cinco de mayo. At least not one in Adams Morgan/Dupont, and especially not one recommended by The Washington Post as a great place to celebrate the holiday. A few friends and I attempted to go to Lauriol Plaza on 18th Street to have a couple (or five) margaritas after work (as a side note, they need to decide what they are: their website and various sources site them as Tex-Mex, Mexican, AND Spanish - which is it?!). It was decided that we should get there early - say, 6:00 - to beat the rush. Apparently every other young DC professional thought the same thing. And apparently the thing to do was to go home early from work, put on one's little black dress and 4-inch heels, bring out the cleavage, and slather on some makeup before heading to Lauriol Plaza. Don't get me wrong; I don't mean to sound catty. I'm all for ladies going all out and making themselves look fabulous - I like to do that on occasion - but it was a little alarming to see boobs and pancake makeup at rush hour. Isn't there a law that forbids that kind of thing in DC until after dark?

We stood in line for an hour, only to be told that we were now put on a waiting list for the beeper that tells you your table is ready. That waiting list was apparently another 30 minutes long, and once we received the beeper, we would then have to wait (let me guess, 30-60 minutes?) until it 'beeped' to get our table. I have never heard of such a thing - a waiting list for the beeper?

Desperately in need for a drink, I looked across the street and saw a Malaysian restaurant, Straits of Malaya. Immediately my rationale changed: Why not celebrate cinco de mayo with a different kind of alcohol? Why does it have to be tequila, anyway? We walked across the packed street and found no waiting at this restaurant, with beautiful rooftop seating, great service, terrific food, and yummy Singapore Slings. Afterwards we headed to that old standby, Stetson's, on U Street.

As a friend suggested that evening, the moral of the story is: celebrate an international holiday by going to a completely inappropriate establishment. (OK, by "celebrate" I mean use the holiday as an excuse to go out and consume lots of alcohol). If it's St. Patrick's Day and you want to drink, don't even think of going to an Irish pub. Do sushi and sake! You'll get right in! If it's cinco de mayo, hit the Malaysian restaurants. If it's Bastille Day, go for modern American and beer (Brother Thelonious, anyone?). If it's Boxing Day, hit Cactus Cantina. And the list goes on...