DC/Minneapolis November 2021
This week was a busy and productive one, with another work trip in the books. I started this one in DC by flying into Reagan downtown in the evening, and driving over to Tysons. The drive was great, no traffic at all in sight, right along the river. Upon reaching Tysons, I stopped at a local fresh place called Honeygrow, which was right off of the main strip in the same mall as Cava. At Honeygrow, you order your meal off of the smart screens yourself which then gets sent to the kitchen, and your food is made fresh to order.
I ordered the spicy garlic, which was freshly made egg white noodles, roasted chicken, bell peppers, broccoli, red onions, pineapples, parsley and spicy garlic sauce. I paired this with Mango Tea, which was so refreshing and perfect to go with the spicy dish. I will be back here. It was so delicious and fresh, I didn’t feel guilty a bit after eating this meal chalked full of local fresh veggies and meat.
The hotel I stayed at, I chose do to proximity to my work call the next day. I really liked the location of the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tysons Corner. The parking was currently free, but precovid may have been $10 a night. The address for this one was 8517 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA. It was near some good food options: Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Ruths Chris, Cava, Honeygrow and was also close to stores in case I needed to grab anything while on the road. (Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Staples, DSW. . )
I stayed in a studio room here in the corner, right next to the Electrical closet on one side of the door and a stairway on the other side of the door. I was nervous about noise, however it was completely silent. The room was quaint, but had a very large desk, a big TV and comfortable bed with pillows. Every morning, this hotel offers complimentary breakfast which was large and had many different options. (Fresh fruit, oatmeal, juices, coffee, bagels, eggs, bacon, cereals. . . etc) The workout facility was located next to the pool. There were about 6 treadmills, free weights, and a cable weight machine. Not the largest, but since I was the only one in the room I didn’t mind a bit.
My lunch and learn presentation was at DCS Design in Tysons, so I decided to find a local small business to do my catering from. I decided on Listranis, see below. They offered hot sub sandwich offerings, with chips as a catering option. The sandwiches were all made to order on fresh white bread, were delivered on time, and looked great. The clients seemed to enjoy the food. Win-win.
From DC, I headed over to Minneapolis for the last leg of my trip. I stayed at the Moxy hotel, a Marriot Property downtown. Parking was a breeze once again, as I was getting in at 9:30, meters are only watched until 10pm in the city, and don’t get enforced again until 8am. This was my first time at a hotel like this. The Moxy has hotel check in, with the bartender on shift at the time. She was speedy, great, and personable. Upon checkin, you are given a welcome cocktail, then a key to head up to your room. The elevators are locked unless you have your key with you for added security.
The hotel was comfortable and quiet with great views of the downtown area with a large window included in the room. The rooms shower was a waterfall, and included a hairdryer, and steamer for your clothes should you need it. The bed was very comfortable, and the pillows were great.
My next call, was at DJR Architecture right by Twins stadium. I catered this lunch through Red Cow North Loop. I did order direct from Red Cow-so they received all of the funds and they didn’t’ have to give a cut over to another website like EZ Cater-GrubHub-something like this. I was lucky that they lunch was small enough, so I could pick it up myself and bring the food with me.
I ordered the burger 4-packs. One 60/40 and the other Ultimate, with tots and fresh french fries. I’ll be doing this again, when I”m in Minneapolis, thats for sure.
