Washington, D.C. City Guide with Moleskine
In partnership with our friends Moleskine and Barnes & Noble, we are putting our backpacks on to show you around our favourite spots in Washington, D.C. These are all women-owned small businesses that also support our local economy in return, whether it's through sourcing from surrounding farms or empowering other creatives in the area.
Grab your own backpack, too, becuase this is going to be a hop & skip all around our town!
Let's Eat First . . .
Sally's Middle Name
Sally's is the absolute most quaint restaurant in the D.C. area that sources its ingredients locally, from its produce and meat to its drinks. It's owned by Aphra Adkins, a mother- and chef extraordinaire that inspires many of the other surrounding creatives such as pineapple collaborative, a community for women who love food.
May we recommend?
Lamb Merguez, white potato, fermented tomato, fresno aioli
Smoked Chicken Breast, rhubarb sauce;
& Ora King Salmon, charred tomato sauce, Thai basil
JRINK
Not just a juice bar, Jrink has expanded its offerings from juices & plant-based milks to an entire line of herbal products called the "Apothekary." Take it as your alternative pharmacy—or farmacy in the lines of The Thirlby—to support you into better health.
May we recommend?
Fuel Me Up, Hulk, & Cheer Me Up
Chaia
Another localy-sourced, farm-to-table (or -taco) casual joint that offers handmade corn tortillas with entirely vegetarian fillings. They also have unique drinks on tap, like iced café au lait with oat milk & lavender. We suggest that you build your own mix of a taco trio and add a side, too!
Then let's check out the cultural scene . . .
The Phillips Collection
We made an exception on our list to hold the only space that is not woman-owned for The Phillips Collection, as both we and Moleskine with FAI (the Italian National Trust) advocate for cutural preservation. Although we are avid visiters of The National Gallery of Art for its ongoing exhibitions, The Phillips Collection is its under-rated and cosier sister. It touts an astounding collection of post-Impressionst pieces considering its smaller space and houses Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party." It also showcases the revolutionary Migrant Series by Jacob Lawrence, showcasing the mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North between World War I and World War II.
Take Care
Another mother meets business-owner extraordinaire and husband duo, Take Care invokes the care of family, thoughtfulness, and diligence only its familial roots could provide. Take Care offers more than just skincare and makeup products with other various goods for a sustainable home, such as refillable soap. If you're not in the D.C. area but want to support this warm, family-owned company, head on over to their online shop!
Songbyrd
Grab a friend to dance and bob to some tunes, ranging from garage punk to mellow dram-pop, at Songbyrd. We have discovered many a new artists here and, best of all, the tikets are affordable and they serve food & drinks as well!
Scenes from the Baked & Wried joint—pun intended—located in the Georgetown neighbourhood of Washington, D.C.
Baked & Wired
A family owns this intoxicatingly-good-smelling stop that is a joint coffee-and-pastry shop. Their passion runs deep within their heritage: co-owner Tony’s father was born in Puerto Rico and his uncle had a coffee farm. “The same way that baking and food were part of Teresa’s family, in my house, it was coffee, espresso, even before you went to bed,” he says. They are infamous for their muffins and cookies, which include gluten-free options, and even offer savoury options like quiches. They carry sustainabl-sourced coffee beans, including Intelligentia & Stumptown. They also have nitro coffee on tap as well as refreshing iced tea options like passionflwoer green tea.
The Wing
We left the best for last! The Wing is the new homebase of the NYC-originated co-working space for women. It's a space created by women—Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan—for women to feel safe, supported, and empowered. They offer a café full delicious food, sourced mostly by women-owned ventures, a beauty room stocked with women-owned products like Glossier, and even a meditation & yoga room for a work break. It's for members-only but offer endless benefits from networking to critical events, recent ones of which include a panel with border reporters & another on sustainable agriculture. We support any D.C.-based women interested in full in applying—mention that our Editor-in-Chief Almila Kakinc-Dodd referred you!
This post was made possible by the generous sponsorship of our friends at Moleskine and Barnes & Noble. All opinions, recommendations, photography, and words are our own.
