As nice as it is to go to the latest, trendiest "it" restaurants and bars here in DC where a new establishment seems to crop up overnight on a daily basis, eating out on a regular basis can play havoc on one's wallet. As someone who is planning a wedding next year (apparently this is still a thing), I appreciate any opportunity to save a couple of bucks while not sacrificing quality or tastiness. Surprisingly DC is not short of local spots that offer great food at economical prices, if you're willing to go a little further afield away or in some cases, just look a little closer. 

I've included a couple of recent local favorites I've discovered around town after the jump!

Our international travel has been a bit more limited this year but we were recently lucky enough to spend a few days in Toronto (#inthesix) celebrating a wonderful wedding between two old friends from our graduate school days.

I'd been to Toronto many years ago and I had terrible (and mistaken) recollections of it being a miserable, gray, rainy and freezing place. This time, however, the city welcomed us with brilliant spring weather which made it ideal for walking around and exploring different food options in the city. 

Some of my favorites:

Late night cocktails at Drake One Fifty
Not to be confused with the related but geographically separate Drake Hotel across town, Drake One Fifty is an awesome bar/lounge in heart of the Financial District with an expansive booze selection and nice late-night happy hour deals. Going to Canada as an American is (as of now, anyways) already a bit of a steal since the dollar is strong but I always appreciate a bargain. The film crew for Vin Diesel's XXX 3 was actually filming b-roll on the street right by the bar so we had a great time throwing back some Pimm's Cups and watching them film various car scenes and resetting them over (and over, and over) again. However, there were unfortunately no Vin Diesel sightings to report.

More Toronto highlights after the jump!

For me and my fellow DC city dwellers, it's been a strangely long winter followed by two weeks (and counting) of rain. Despite the terrible weather, the mercury has been creeping steadily upwards which can only mean one thing: DC's famous Two Weeks of Spring is finally here, before it inevitably turns into the Deepest, Most Humid of Summers. 

Unfortunately for my wallet but fortunately for my mouth, the cold winter weather didn't really deter me from hitting up local restaurants. That being said, I was excited to check out how some DC restaurants have been updating their menus to reflect the spring produce that's now available. Here are a few examples of spring dishes that I've enjoyed recently:

Duck larb dumplings from Bangkok Joe's
Georgetown staple Bangkok Joe's recently opened up again to the public following a complete refurbishment and luckily the menu has remained as apologetically adventurous as before. This is not your typical white person friendly pad thai with crushed peanuts type of place (though I suspect you can still get this if you really want). I also love the fact that they have a dumpling bar which doles out a whole bunch of really interesting options, including their duck larb dumplings stuffed with duck, Thai basil and crispy fried shallots.

For more of my favorite spring dishes, click to read more!