A Taste of Vegas at the MGM National Harbor

My husband and I decided to play hooky last week and spent an afternoon and evening at the new MGM National Harbor. With so many high-end restaurants, craft cocktail bars, entertainment options, and a gorgeous Asian-inspired aesthetic, we could have been there longer, could have eeked out a few more hours enjoying a atmosphere that reminded us of our favorite casino resorts in Las Vegas.

While the mind and body were willing, the wallet was weak.

MGM National Harbor, with its silver tower glittering over the Potomac and viewable from Alexandria, is not a cheap place to spend the evening. But if you're looking for a bit of the service, sophistication, and unapologetic adult decadence that Vegas offers without the plane flight, MGM National Harbor is an worthy substitute.

High-end eats

The MGM National Harbor has called upon some of the D.C.-area's most-loved chefs to create high-end dining experiences that lure those -- like us -- who don't gamble. Fish by José Andrés and the Voltaggio Brothers Steak House are evening-only restaurants. Marcus, by Marcus Samuelsson, is an all-day restaurant that also provides the room service menu. 

During our dinner at the Steak House, we enjoyed some of the best and most personable wait staff we've had in the D.C. area. The Voltaggio brothers have designed the place with the homey feel of your mom's house -- if your mom was the coolest, most sophisticated hostess on the East Coast. There's a dining room and a family room and a bar in the study. You drink out of finely etched glass. There's an echo of Vegas in the design theatrics of the place, that surreal sense that you're not in "normal" adult land anymore, and it was a satisfying part of the evening. Do I really need to mention the steaks? Of course they were outstanding. And the rolls -- amazing.

My husband, wisely, steered us away from the expensive lunch I wanted and toward the food court, where we had some truly kickass Shake Shack burgers. But the National Market offers a lot more variety than your average food court. I could have also gone for the crab cakes, banh mis, chicken and doughnuts, or the ice cream. Oh wait. I did go for the ice cream.

Craft cocktail bars

Drinks are not free in the casino -- you will pay that lovely strolling cocktail waitress for what you order. And while the Old Fashioned I had at the casino bar was good, the Old Fashioned from The Lobby Bar was outstanding. 

There are many places to get a delicious cocktail at the MGM National Harbor -- in all the restaurants, at the Tap Sports Bars, in the upscale Felt and and Blossom cocktail lounges inside the casino -- but The Lobby Bar might be my new favorite bar in the D.C. area. I know, that's saying a lot about a hotel bar. But in the back, they've got barrels of your favorite liquor specifically barreled for their bar. They've got smooth sipping tequilas that only cost you an arm; that will cost you an additional leg anywhere else. They've got bartenders that flame up the orange peel before rimming the glass, making that Old Fashioned one of the best of the many I've tasted. And they've got bartenders who will be as sweet as pie or give you all of the sass that you sit at the bar to get.

I'm not kidding. Don't miss The Lobby Bar.

Entertainment

Did I mention that we don't gamble? We don't. Because we're bad at it. 

Unfortunately, we forgot that we don't gamble at the MGM National Harbor's casino, so we lost money. Fast. Quarter slot machines were the cheapest ones we could find -- yes, there were penny machines, but those machines required a minimum of 50-cent bets. The cheapest tables were $25 bets. Perhaps there are cheaper tables hiding in the casino's hinterlands, but we couldn't find them. 

I won $15. This is when I should have walked away.

If you go to MGM National Harbor to gamble, I hope you're better at it than we are.

The 3,000-seat theater will be probably be a better entertainment option for us the next time we visit. The day we were there, the resort was thronged with emo kids and their parents waiting for the Panic at the Disco show. Sting plays at the theater on Sunday, and Cher is currently in residence, playing several nights in March and then back again in September.

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Refining Your Going-Out Palate at Capital Wine School

As I've gotten older, my enthusiasm for going out hasn't waned, but my enjoyment of the passive entertainment of a bar, a restaurant or a movie certainly has. Repetition breeds boredom. I want to engage, to do something, to even possibly learn something while I’m spending my pennies out and about in the world.

Wine expert Michael Franz chats with students after class

The Capital Wine School provides the chance for an engaging night out with classes that allow you to meet interesting people, learn something new and taste fabulous wines. 

In Northwest D.C., throwing distance from Bethesda near the Mazza Gallerie, the Capital Wine School offers a variety of two-hour evening classes that explore all facets of wine knowledge. You can learn about Pinot Noirs from different parts of the world or you can explore the characteristics that make the wines of Bordeaux, Tuscany or Washington great. You can even take an introductory class that helps you understand wine better and eases the panic when you’re handed the wine list at a restaurant.

Jay Youmans

The Capital Wine School was started by Jay Youmans who is A) Washington, D.C.’s only Master of Wine and one of only 30 in the U.S., and B) one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Well known in the wine world, Jay helps to train professionals in the wine industry at Capital Wine School with wine business classes and master classes for sommeliers.

He also taught two beginner classes that I took: Introduction to Wine Basics and the three-part Wine Basics: Comparing Grapes, Regions and Styles. As a newbie, getting instruction from someone with his depth of knowledge was a real honor. But neither he nor my "Secret Spain" wine class instructor, Michael Franz (editor of Wine Review Online and wine writer for the Washington Post until 2005) made me feel like I’d better be glad I was receiving such an honor.

What I’ve appreciated most about the Capital Wine School experience (besides incredible 1 oz-ish tastings of wine) is the lack of the pretension that you can run into in the wine world. Sommeliers, tasting room hosts and – the worst of them all – wine drinkers who fashion themselves "experts" can sometimes be complete butts. But the Wine School’s experienced instructors work hard to engage new wine drinkers, draw out honest opinions and share what they know for the benefit of the student.

The classes are held in a room above a dance studio, so the muted rhythms of salsa or hip hop will sometimes accompany your wine tasting class. Long tables face the instructor and clean glasses are arranged in front of each seat, ready for a pour. These are tasting classes, and while I seldom want to waste the incredible eight or more pours we get, I generally drive there and must get home. Small buckets are available for spitting or dumping your glass, and you’re encouraged to use them, if you’d like. Or you could metro and plan on a nice dinner after.

The classes aren’t cheap at $65-$85 per person for the two-hour tasting courses. But I paid that much for a concert ticket last week, and I certainly walk away from the wine class with more than a t-shirt. The class schedule is limited in the summer, but picks up again in September. I have my eye on two upcoming classes: Comparative Tasting of Pinot Noirs from Around the World on Nov. 29 and Michael Franz’s Eight Favorite Champagnes on Dec. 6.

I’m emailing my husband right now to let him know I’ve got a perfect night out all ready for us.

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Capital Wine School

5207 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, DC 20015

In-Between Tip: Take advantage of the Capital Wine School's location just a couple of blocks south of Friendship Heights Metro station and take the Metro there. Then after your class, try one of the multitude of restaurants this area on the border between Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Md., has to offer.

Want to discover more interesting and fun going-out activities in the DMV? Make sure to subscribe to In Between in D.C., where I post twice a week about fun things to do for us 40-55-year-old In-Betweeners.

My Red Carpet Moment at the GI Film Festival

Washington, D.C., is ripe with red carpet events where no one recognizes the people on the red carpet. Fundraisers for not-for-profits, political events (can you name your senator, much less point her out?) and various mixers all roll out the carpet and invite you -- for the price of a ticket -- to stand in front of a logo-printed backdrop while attractive young men in sunglasses point their big lenses at you.

Our red carpet moment. Photo by Micah Gold

I LOVE every second of it!

Our red carpet moment came Monday night at the GI Film Festival in Old Town Alexandria. The festival recognizes the work of directors and actors telling military stories, and supports veterans getting into the cinematic arts. My husband's company is a sponsor of the festival. Thus, the welcome to the red carpet.

Today and tomorrow, the festival will be showcasing long and short films at the beautiful Old Town Theater in Alexandria that examine various aspects of military life: the pulse-pounding adrenaline of war, transitioning back to civilian life, the courage of those who fought during WWII. And after a day's worth of film, there will be the parties. 

Adam Driver

I like the parties.

Saturday's after party will be at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with special guest Adam Driver, who is a former U.S. Marine and an actor in Girls and Inside Llewyn Davis. You may not have heard of Adam, but you will: He is reportedly the main bad guy in the upcoming Star Wars films. So...squee!

Michelle Monaghan

Sunday's party will be a champagne reception at the Old Town Theater following the East Coast premiere of Fort Bliss, which stars Michelle Monaghan as a decorated Army medic and single mother who returns home from Afghanistan. The truly effervescent Monaghan -- I loved her in Mission: Impossible III -- will be there to toast women in the military, who are being honored that night.

In Between Tip: For dining in Old Town, head away from the water and toward Vermillion. The sexy townhouse restaurant with its opulent red walls, carefully crafted cocktails and beautifully presented meals will make you very glad that you're an adult.

So, not everyone on the red carpet is unrecognizable. In fact, there was even a well-known face at our event, a face so well known for the good guys he plays that I had the impulse to slap him on the back and say, "Hey" like he was an old friend. It was David Arquette. You know, Monica's other husband. He was there to promote Monday's movie, Field of Lost Shoes, a Civil War drama that he and a lot of other Hollywood bigwigs (Tom Skerritt, Jason Isaacs, LUKE FROM MODERN FAMILY) had a role in.

I didn't walk up and say "Hi." But we hovered in his vicinity and felt cool occasionally taking glances at his good hair and bright, white shoes. 

Us with David Arquette. Photo by Micah Gold/Bespoke Mag

Other people were not so shy. Photo by Micah Gold/Bespoke Mag

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GI Film Festival

When: Continues Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25.

Where: Old Town Theater, 815 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314

After parties: 

• Tickets to Saturday's film and after party = $51
• Tickets to Sunday's film and champagne reception = $26