blagden alley.

As I mentioned before, Ben arrived back in DC for the summer last week. To celebrate the end of the semester and our impending move (and also just how much I miss him at a distance), I told him Friday night was for us and to be ready to leave at 6:30. We walked the 5 blocks over to Blagden Alley and walked into the back alley. The alley has been cleaned up but it is still very much well....an alley.

After a right turn and another right farther into the alley, we came upon the Blagden Alley Social Club. It was a beautiful night and the modern, barn door was open. We were greeted immediatly, handed cocktails and the dinner party commenced!

I have had my eye on the Blagden Alley Social Club since the owners of Good Wood, Dan and Anna, announced it about 6 months ago. It just so happened that they decided to host a dinner on that Friday and so it was meant to be. The Social Club is on the ground floor of a restored stable house that they planned specifically for dinner parties. Dan and Anna arrange to have a local chef cook for the night and the dinners include a diverse mix of about 12 people. We loved it!

The group was really eclectic, in age and background. We enjoyed talking to an expert on these stables, he actually has a blog (preservingdcstables.blogspot.com), and he also bought and renovated something similar in the neighborhood. Apparently, DC has thousands of these stables in back alleys all over the District. They were used for the horses and hay and really these alleys are where the real living and activity used to happen, whereas the front doors of all the lovely row houses were for victorian appearances and the facade. We also talked with the owner of Seasonal Pantry (another social dinner we have had our eye on), some great folks who work at the Department of Transportation, and another couple who moved into Shaw in 1984 and placed second last year in the historical homes competition. It was the oddest mix of DC folk!

All in all the food was great, the company entertaining, and the ambiance fantastic. Our chef was Alli Sosna and some of the proceeds from the dinner went to her non-profit, Micro Greens Project.  

If you want to see more pictures of the inside, click here.

At the end of the night, Dan also showed us the upstairs (where they live). We left full and happy. Our night ended in the middle of this torrential downpour. We stood under a tree with our umbrella for a couple minutes and then made a mad dash home.

Couldn't have asked for a better date and start to the summer!