One of the challenges with having a condo in the city is finding a way to grill. This becomes very apparent on grill centric holidays like Memorial & Labor Day. Luckily for DCiates like us, Cafe Saint Ex come to the rescue. On Memorial day they have a Chili Cook-off and on Labor day they had a pig roast. Both of these are a great way to get outside, eat some good food and drink a little beer… or lemonade, they make a mean lemonade.

For the Chili Cook-off the staff at Saint Ex and Bar Pilar whip up batches of chili, ranging from classic to the more exotic including Kobe Beef. You can opt for 5 samples or one large bowl. Don’t forget the lemonade! We have made it the last 2 years and it has been a great way to spend the holiday.

We went to the Pig Roast for the first time yesterday. They shut down the block and roasted up a 400lb pig right there. They had pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, a great potato salad and a number of different sauces to try… and of course that great lemonade! I even got a piece of the skin to try… it was not to edible, hard as rock.

All of these events are very kid friendly and while we felt a little bit like asses for pushing our stroller around, we blended right in with everyone else doing the same thing.

If anyone from Saint Ex reads, thanks hosting, we had an awesome time! Also… I have “acquired” a Saint Ex pint glass. It was my favorite glass, but somehow broke in the dishwasher. Any chance you have them for sale?

You’ll notice that we haven’t said anything about dessert. That is because we always head over to Pitango Gelato afterwards. While the cookies did look tempting, they are no competition for gelato. Elena liked the Coconut much more than the Spicy Chocolate.