Restaurant Week 2011

Brace yourselves food fanatics it's that time of year again. Restaurant Week kicks off tomorrow and goes all the way through the 21st. For those of you that are unaware this is a yearly event in which a hand full of restaurants in the DC/VA/MD offer Table d'hôte for lunch and dinner.

Just about every restaurant on the list offers a 3-course meal. While there are are a couple of places that offer more the three course meal is the norm. Lunch specials cost $20.11 and dinner is $35.11 per person. In the past I have sampled some of DC's finest establishments including Bourbon Steak, Filomena Ristorante, and Fogo De Chao all of which I highly recommend.

Pack your appetites because this should be a long fun filled culinary adventure. I myself plan to visit Chef Geoffs, Bourbon Steak (again), 1905 Restaurant, and Ceiba. Hope you all find a couple of great places to eat. Cheers!

DC Brau

As this a blog dedicated to food and alcohol in DC and it's surrounding areas I am proud to present DC Brau, the first locally brewed beer since 1956. DC Brau Brewery is operated under the steady hands of Brandon Skall and Jeff Hancock, both residents of the District of Columbia with years of experience in the brewing industry.

Although the DMV has a number of famous breweries including but not limited to Flying Dog, Old Dominion, and Dogfish Head there was no beer that was brewed within the city limits until now. Currently DC Brau offers four different brews three of which are sold in cans year-round and one which is a draft only limited edition.

(The Public)

The beer was made public earlier this year and has quickly made it's way throughout a number of DC bars and restaurants. My first experience with this beer was at Marvin sometime in April. At the time they were only serving The Public which is a pale ale. I am not the biggest fan of dark beers especially pale ales which are too bitter for my likeing. Despite my preferences I felt the need to support my city and give this beer a shot.

While I have tried a vast amount of different beers I am not going to pretend I am a beer connoisseur. In fact I am probably a hair above a novice when it comes to dissecting the flavors. The beer was good but I quickly went back to drinking the Hoegaarden I yearn for on a hot summer day.

(Me and my DC Brau at American Ice Company on the 4th of July)

They have only recently come out with their cans which is what delayed this post. I was completely unaware of this until I noticed it on the menu at American Ice Company. I was there with two friends on the 4th of July and decided that it was my duty as a DC native to support my city.

I ordered The Public again because they did not have any other options. My support was exponentially higher especially on a day that celebrates democracy and freedom in the US. Being a DC resident we do not have the same rights as the rest of the country, our slogan is "Taxation without Representation" because we are not afforded the rights that everyone outside the area has in voting for their representatives which in turn allocate the tax's that we pay.

I hope in the future to try their other flavors even though they are all pale ales and will continue to support DC Brau Brewing because they share the same animosity towards our current voting situation. If you are a fan of pale ales or a DC resident then stand up and show your support and join the grassroots campaign and maybe we will produce a watershed moment similar to that of a DC Brewery reemerging after over 50 years in limbo.

Stylish Blog Award

I would love to write this post to thank every person that has taken the time to read any of my posts. I started this blog to share my thoughts on the food I eat. I never had any sort of expectations about how it would fare, I only knew that I loved food and I am the type of person who likes to try new places.

Lately my blog has picked up some unprecedented attention. I have been invited to blog about new restaurants and have also been asked to have my blog posts on other sites. Now I am in the running of winning the stylish blog award.

At this point I would like to thank Amy who one of my best supporters who also has a great food blog on the west coast. Food and Booze details the travels of a good friend, she focuses more on posting her own recipes than trying places, but it is a great blog nonetheless. Thanks again Amy!!

Rules of the Game

1. Thank the person who gave me the award, make a post and put a link back to the person.

2. Share seven things about myself.

3. Pass the award to 10 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven things about myself.

1. I was born and raised in DC (the actual city, not a suburb or MD/VA)

2. I love to try any and all food.

3. I hate most chain's, especially Subway, McDonalds, and Starbucks.

4. I am an avid runner which explains why I can eat so much food an not gain any weight.

5. I never feel the sensation of hunger (ironic huh), by that I am never really hungry, I just eat out of necessity.

6. I don't drink coffee, I have only had it 3 times in my life.

7. The more I blog about food the harder my decisions are about what to eat. At lunch I find myself thinking for 10-20 minutes about what to eat.

Blogs that deserve this award

http://amy-foodandbooze.blogspot.com/

http://www.princeofpetworth.com/

http://www.dcfoodies.com/

http://14thandyou.blogspot.com/

Luther Burger

Opening the new year I decided to circumvent the traditional backstop of starting anew, mainly eating healthy as is observed in the USA and decided to try one the most unhealthiest burgers in America.

I invited a hand-full of friends over to try the infamous Luther Burger. The origins of this caloric catastrophe are debated time and time again, but what can be agreed upon is it's allure. It's rise to prominence is a recent phenomena due mainly to the intrigue and disgust that it raises.

Some see it as the culmination of American gluttony, others as an unbreakable impediment towards sliming up American's waistlines. I saw it as something new and interesting to try.

My first exposure to this was on CNN and later on a Food Network special. I looked up the recipe from various sources including Paula Dean and the St. Louis Baseball stadium that serves them. The recipe calls for krispy kreme doughnuts, ground beef, bacon and cheddar cheese. It took about an hour to make them from scratch. With each second that passed my anticipation to devour this devilish concoction grew exponentially.

The first bite I took was preceded with both fear and excitement. Once I dug in a wave of guilt hit me because I could not believe that it was deviously delightful. The sweetness of the caramelized sugar and savoriness of the bacon and cheese produced a flavor combination that is becoming increasingly popular.

The only other meal that reminds me of this is the bacon ice cream and waffles that I had at Restaurant 13, other than that I cannot fully explain what I experienced that night. I was also astonished that I felt fine after finishing it.

There are two ways that you can make it, you can cut the doughnut in half and sandwich it in between the burger or you can be adventurous and use two doughnuts. While I am adventurous I decided to pass on the latter and chose the former. My friends on the hand chose the latter and did not have any problem finishing off their burgers.

After all of this I can stand here and say that I will make these burgers in the future. The taste was very interesting and the experience was even better.