I didn’t until this past weekend when I went on the DC Metro Food Tour of Little Ethiopia. While unofficial, Little Ethiopia is located in the Shaw neighborhood and centered around 9th and U Streets, Northwest.

Tibs, kinche and foul.

The tour (usual size is six people) begins with breakfast at Habesha Market and Carry-Out. Lynn, our knowledgble and easy-going tour guide, selected three delicious dishes for us: foul (pronounced more like foal), kinche and tibs. The foul was my favorite, a combo of smashed and spiced beans, eggs and a dallop of yougurt. Kinche is cracked wheat blended with herbs, spices, tomatoes, peppers and onions. And the tibs, sauteed pieces of beef, were cooked perfectly. And of course all of this is enjoyed with the traditional spongey Ethiopian bread, injera.

Luckily the second stop gives you a little break from eating, and introduces the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Across the street from Habesha, we entered Little Ethiopa, a charming restaurant with a stage set up in front for live Ethiopian music and traditional low seating around a mesob. During the coffee ceremony, which must be reserved at least one hour in advance, they roasted the coffee beans in front of us while we enjoyed sambusas, a pastry dough filled with lentils.

Zenebech Injera, T ST NW and Florida Ave

After the coffee ceremony, the tour guides you to Zenebech Injera, a place you would not likely venture into unless tipped to do so. Roughly 2,ooo rounds of injera are baked there each morning from 3 AM to 11 AM, and then delivered to other Ethiopian restaurants in DC. Here we feasted on lunch. While I don’t remember exactly what was selected, I know it was all delicious. Even the gored gored, which is raw red meat.

Despite being uncomfortably full (it’s impossible to not eat too much), I managed to sample desserts at the final stop. Oddly enough, dessert at Yetenbi was incredibly fresh tasting tiramisu and biscotti, results of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the late 1930s.

I could not recommend this tour any more highly. Especially if you have adventurous out of town guests visiting. It’s a fun way to experience a unique part of D.C. away from the Smithsonian museums and National Mall. Great Ethiopian food is one of the few cuisines D.C. can claim over other cities, so it really should be enjoyed at least once, and this tour does a fantastic job of making sure the experience is authentic..

With only one weekend left between now and Halloween, it’s time to grab your youngest child, niece, nephew or godchild and venture down to Cox Farms in Centreville, VA (about an hour’s drive from DC). Or you can do what I did and grab a group of fun friends and act like kids for the day!

The scene is a bit overwhelming at first, with a crowded parking lot and long lines to purchase a $15 dollar entrance wrist band. The feeling doesn’t ease up until about 15 minutes into the adventure when you get acclimated to children of all ages running around and crawling all over the numerous slides that can be found on the farm. The barn features farm animals such as sheep (that really do eat facing the same direction as the sign outside says), big ugly pigs, and chickens. On weekends a band plays throughout the day on the stage in front of all the picnic tables. And apparently the slides don’t wear kids out, because they can be found dancing around the stage area.

While the slides, barn and band are all fun for the kiddies, the real highlights are the milking cow and the hayride.

This poor cow is brought out throughout the day for everyone to try their hand at milking! I don’t know what’s in that hay to keep the cow so sedated, but she really didn’t seem to mind tons of strangers putting their hands all over her udder. It’s quite and experience for a city gal like myself.

I recommend saving the hayride for last. It’s on the hayride that you get a true appreciation of what Cox Farms has to offer. The lines look really long, but move quickly, and the ride is completely worth the wait. Besides, while waiting you get to fret about a rogue turkey jumping from the coop onto your head.

I should have known we were in for some major entertainment when the first plywood character to greet us was Barney, the big purple dinosaur and just who I associate with fall and farms. Following Barney are Bill and Hillary Clinton clad in golf attire, with President Obama looking like Spock from Star Trek (I like to call him Sparack Obama.)

At this point, as hay starts creeping into your pants and shoes, you really start to look forward to what else is in store. You get some alien action, some jungle animals (both plastic and wood), some fairytale and cartoon characters, and maybe some of the Bible cast as well. Then a real cowboy on a horse joins the ride for a minute before heading into the “Halloween Disco” where the tractor stops for a few minutes in a small barn equipped with disco balls, strobe lights, and some funky music. Basically, words cannot do the Cox Farms hayride justice, it’s something you must experience for yourself.

As always though, the fun cannot last forever. Upon leaving Cox Farms you get to pick a pumpkin to take with you. While they had plenty of nicely shaped pumpkins, none were good for carving. But don’t worry, you can purchase the larger ones, along with some delicious fresh apple cider to drink on the car ride home.

Food tip: Unless you enjoy eating hamburgers that taste like the ones you ate at school in third grade, you may want to bring your own snacks.