Category Archives: Food and Drink

Alexandria, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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The Butcher’s Block Opens

Photo courtesy of
‘The Captain’
courtesy of ‘EssG’

The two foodie trends of Spring ’09 I’ve noticed? Brunch and raw meat. Not necessarily together, thank goodness, but still – breakfast and meat-eries are going strong this year. Adding to the line of new butchers/charcuterie places is The Butcher’s Block, a Market by RW, located at 1600 King Street, next door to sister restaurants BRABO Tasting Room and BRABO.

The Butcher’s Block is “a chef-driven market with a wide selection of value wines, international beers, artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, prime cut meats, desserts, dry goods and home cooking accessories”. In addition to the charcuterie, pates, sausages and terrines, The Butcher’s Block sells prime cuts of rib-eye, fillet, lamb tenderloin, veal chops, pork loin, rabbit and chicken. Chef Wiedmaier sources much of his meat from the region, and he offers braised lamb shank, pork and beef carbonnade that can be purchased with his signature sauces to be heated and served at home.

On your way to a picnic along the Alexandria waterfront or off to Mount Vernon? Customers can schedule to pick up crusty baguettes still warm from the oven, and purchase freshly made sandwiches and seasonal salads for a grab-and-go picnic. Sandwiches come with choice of beverage and potato chips or fruit for $12. Perfect for your next lazy weekend afternoon – a nice thought to get you through the Monday doldrums.

Crime & Punishment, Downtown, Food and Drink, Night Life, Penn Quarter, The Daily Feed
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701 Owner Responds to Credit Card Thefts

Photo courtesy of
‘credit card’
courtesy of ‘Ebu Cehil’

Ashok Bajaj, owner of 701 Restaurant, is responding to the stories about credit card thefts at several area restaurants, including 701. Mr. Bajaj explains, via an email sent to patrons this evening, that he goes to great lengths to hire good staff, but that despite that, these thefts still occured:

I would like to personally assure you of my commitment and my staff’s commitment to protect our guests. Please know that my approach to business is one of creating the highest level of service, value and standards. We strive to hire employees who abide by the superior standards of professionalism and integrity established by our restaurant group. We also perform due diligence on all candidates including reference checks before hiring them. Unfortunately, despite our high standards and due diligence in hiring restaurant personnel, the screening process is not fail proof.

While there’s no promise of further diligence, or that they’re cooperating with the Police as part of an on-going investigation, that’s probably more for PR reasons, than anything else. So, watch your credit cards, folks, when you’re dining out. As if we all didn’t have enough to worry about.

Arlington, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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A Hard Day: The End of Murky

Murky Coffee Regulars

This morning’s letter on the Murky Coffee website is no April Fools’ Joke. Replacing Murky in the space they’ll leave behind in Clarendon will become a venture of the group that owns Liberty Tavern, with a new space, and a new concept. While details are still sketchy, from what I understand, the upstairs at the new coffee location will be a co-working space, something like Beehive Baltimore or Indy Hall in Philadelphia.

The staff of Murky, owner Nick Cho included, are coming back into the District starting in early to mid May at a new shop called Wrecking Ball Coffee, which will be over at 5th and H Sts NW in Chinatown. The changes will be taking place here in the next month, leaving me without a third place to work from, which has me very disappointed. Murky has been, since I left my desk job, my home and community since 2006. The picture above shows half my Murky family, the other roving consultants and self-employed folks who have been my “co-workers,” and I count many among my finest friends. This site was actually designed and coded in the upstairs section of Murky before the county shuttered that part of the shop.

Murky’s run wasn’t free from controversy, from the problem with DC sales taxes that shuttered the Capitol Hill location, to Dickpunchgate, but it was home to me. And so, I’ll miss my third place, and hope that the folks who run Liberty Tavern will know they have a group of regulars who’re looking for a home, and open to what they’ve got to offer.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Final Four Parties!

Photo courtesy of
‘Final Four cup’
courtesy of ‘camflan’

I know everyone is gearing up to watch the Tar Heels PWN the Final Four this weekend, but where oh where are you going to watch this domination?

Luckily, I love you, WLDC reader, (almost as much as I love my Heels)  and I’ve prepared a list of places in the area holding Final Four viewing parties. (Which work even if you’re not a Carolina fan!)  Continue reading →

Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Brunch @ Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe

Photo courtesy of
‘Kramerbooks Glass House’
courtesy of ‘Wahig’

There are days in DC that I forget we are in a recession. Last Sunday’s brunch at Kramerbooks & Afterwords was one of them. The book shop was stuffed full with people, and every table was filled, the air abuzz with excitement for spring. I was worried that the wait for two would be at least an hour when we walked in, but we actually only waited for 15 minutes! Afterwords Cafe has lots of little parts, the glass house, the outdoor patio, the upstairs – they take advantage of not a lot of space, and stuff it full with people.

Kramerbooks is definitely a DC institution, ranking up there with Ben’s Chili Bowl and the Brickskeller as a place everyone has been at some point while living in the city.  I actually had not, but was eagerly awaiting checking out both the bookstore and the cafe – I had heard mixed reviews, from horrible to mediocre, to a favorite.  I was ready to decide for myself. So… the food? Well… you’ll find out after the break.

Continue reading →

Downtown, Food and Drink, Penn Quarter, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: SEI

"Silver Samurai" cocktail at SEI

"'Silver Samurai' cocktail at SEI" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Oh, SEI! How I wanted to be seduced by your mod opulence, so Versailles by way of Anime. Your pristine white and gold decor, your flirty little lounge, all punctuated by red coral. What a tease you are. For these are not the times to enjoy $11 cocktails smothered in ice (what are those cubes hiding, I wonder? about 4 ounces of liquor), no matter how lusciously they roll over the tongue, or $12 plates of tiny cubes of tuna, no matter how perfectly they quiver before melting in my mouth…

Damn.

Honestly, going to a lounge like SEI at a time when everyday I hear of someone else losing their job, makes me feel dirty. I admit to a certain hypocrisy. But, really? Who are these people lining the bar? These spray-tanned wallet vampires in go-go boots? Of course, one can’t control clientele, and SEI’s decor (“New York? Miami? Where are they trying to be?” my friend sighed in confusion) is going to inspire people to dress a certain way. I just wish that the women of this city who still have disposable income would PLEASE learn that classy can still be sexy. It just isn’t seemly to see that much of your browned  (I meant) hyper-tanned crackling cleavage during a recession…

Ahem. Ok, sorry to get all social commentary on you. Back to drinks. 

The good news is that those ridiculously small cocktails are surprisingly good. I had the “Silver Samurai” first, a mixture of shochu, cucumber and vanilla syrup topped with cracked black pepper. I just had to try it, given the combination of cucumber and vanilla which to me sounded more like a bath gel than a drink. However, it was addictive, fresh and smart. “I could definitely take a bath in this,” I smiled to my friend, who was happily enjoying a mocktail concocted just for her. We never did find out its ingredients, because we could barely hear our lovely server over the electronica pumping through the place.

Next, I nervously ordered “Liquid Wasabi.” Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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British Food For Under $10

Photo courtesy of
‘Commonwealth’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

But really, isn’t $10 all British food is worth? (Ouch, I guess I’m snarky today.) But whatever, point is: CommonWealth, the People’s Gastropub in Columbia Heights  now offers two affordable lunches perfect for the busy weekday. Available Monday through Friday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., The Local and The Ploughman’s Lunch specials feature Executive Chef Jamie Leeds British-inspired and American-bred classics.

Sigh, I love thrifty deals.

The Local includes a half of the daily sandwich, a mug of house-made soup or a house salad and half a pint, tea/coffee or soft drink for $10. The Ploughman’s Lunch is “inspired from the bygone era, when a ploughman packed his lunch with classic readily available items that would keep while he worked in the fields”. CommonWealth’s Ploughman’s Lunch includes surrey ham, wildflower cheddar, pickled cabbage, apple and freshly baked bread for $9. I don’t know when a plowman ever picked a pig out in the field, but I get the drift. 

I’ve never been, personally, to Commonwealth but it’s on my ever-growing list. WLDC Author Jenn quite likes it, so I think you should be all set to spend time out on their patio this spring, enjoying your cheap lunch with a side of chess or checkers.

Downtown, Essential DC, Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Georgia Brown’s

Photo courtesy of
‘Smothered Fried Chicken’
courtesy of ‘Sabine01’

I’m a southern girl, I think I’ve made that abundantly clear on this blog. (Also, while we’re at it, let me just say, UNC is going to PWN you during March Madness, everyone. But I digress…) So what southern girl can’t love some Georgia Brown’s? A few friends and I headed there during my favorite week of the year, restaurant week, and were treated to some down-home food. I’ve been raised on southern cooking like Crook’s Corner and Mert’s Heart and Soul, so I was dying to find out if Georgia Brown’s lives up to it’s famous truly southern brethren.

I’m all about bread, I think I’ve also made that clear on this blog. If you start me off with some crappy bread, I’m going to be sad. It’s like a warm up jog before the workout, I need the bread starter to shine for me, gear me up for the meal to come. And boy, did Georgia Browns give me a run for my money. They sent out biscuts and corn bread and I’m not just warming up, I’m basically working out. They dished up biscuts with peach butter and corn bread – fresh, with actual corn in it. (Insert heavenly angelic aaaaah noise here!) Now that’s a way to start a meal. So I was sold right then and there, in my mind, there’s little you can do wrong after some biscuts and sweet butter… or is there? Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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New Sweetgreen!

Photo courtesy of
‘Sweetgreen Georgetown’
courtesy of ‘shawnblog’

I just got word that come April, DC will have a second sweetgreen location, which will open April 1. The new digs are  at 1512 Connecticut Avenue, NW in Dupont.

The new location will focus on organic cuisine and sustainable practices, from non-processed ingredients on the menu to ‘green’ interior design elements and earth-friendly food containers – including ‘to go’ menus that are embedded with wildflowers for planting in the garden. Isn’t that just fancy?

And you know me, and how much I like free/cheap things (especially food!) so I’m happy to share that in celebration of the opening, sweetgreen be offering $1 food on Wednesday, April 1st from noon to 4 PM. You’ll get your choice of a featured salad, wrap or Sweetflow yogurt at a discounted price of just $1 each. HOLLER. Between the new Java Green and the new sweetgreen, Dupont’s going organic faster than uh… I have no end to that metaphor, but you get my point.

Arlington, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Features
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Knife Skills Class at Arlington Adult Education

Photo courtesy of

‘SNC11054’
courtesy of ‘bradleypjohnson’

I’ve been out of school for a few years now, and have honestly enjoyed the freedom of having no homework. It is glorious, and although work sometimes turns into homework (especially when I have to go in on weekends), at least I’m getting paid (in theory). I don’t miss the homework, but what I do miss are the classes. I had wonderful classes in college. (Sometimes I daydream about sneaking into a GW or Georgetown lecture and reliving my glory days.)

So when Arlington put out the current class offerings for Spring, I poured through the catalog like a kid in a candy store. The classes are affordable, fun, and actually relevant to my life (unlike some classes I took at UNC). The one I chose to take this go-round was Knife Skills. My mother always said she wished she had taken a knife skills class, if only to know the easiest and quickest way to chop something, so I decided to learn from her longings and actually take one.

So last week, I packed up my best knife, and headed over to the Clarendon education center for a class on how to chop. Continue reading →

Arlington, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Oh, for the love of charcuterie!

Photo courtesy of
‘_MG_7998’
courtesy of ‘titlap’

WLDC Author Jenn and I were recently at happy hour together, musing over charcuterie. More specifically, how we could probably live off of only charcuterie platters happily for the rest of our lives – I mean, meat + cheese, add in some wine and bread… does it get ANY better?

Well, apparently it does, as the Neighborhood Restaurant Group and Nathan Anda, former executive chef of Tallula and EatBar in Arlington, launch Red Apron, an artisan butchery and charcuterie concept for which Anda serves as both butcher and executive chef. Red Apron is going to focus on the local and the sustainable, as Anda works directly with several local farms that embrace sustainable and humane farming practices, selecting choice breeds of animals, such Piedmontese and Black Angus cattle, Duroc and Tamworth pigs.

You can get a piece of Anda’s meats for yourself at Vermilion, Rustico, Tallula and Eatbar – some of my favorite ‘hood haunts. Want the meat for yourself, but don’t want to have to go to the bar? Head to Planet Wine or Buzz Bakery to pick up meat cuts to-go, including the famous Eat Bar hot dogs.  My sources hint that Anda is going to be expanding, offering Red Apron products at local farmer’s markets this summer, and he may have plans for a storefront opening in 2009.

Food and Drink, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Equinox, Redux

Chocolate Martinis at Equinox

"Chocolate Martinis at Equinox" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

It was a case of double trouble when I met Katie for a We Love Drinks special at Equinox‘s Chocolate Happy Hour. As two of the food and drink fanatics here at We Love DC, we thought it would be fun to head out together to one of Katie’s favorite spots, a place I’d actually never been. And it did not disappoint. 

Picking a spot for the after-work happy hour is a tricky thing. Equinox has a small bar area really more conducive for pre-dinner drinks than for bringing a group or meeting multiple friends. But for a twosome, it works well… though we certainly perfected the art of lurking menacingly for vacant seats, like two sharks circling for blood (“what’s with the guy at the end of the bar, with the crossword puzzle? come on, close your tab, we want chocolate before spring begins!”)

Finally we were able to nab seats and properly toast farewell to winter with the last of the rich chocolate cocktails – one white chocolate with chambord splash for me, and one dark chocolate with sea salt for Katie. “Hello Saturday morning!” she quipped, and oh yes, these were pretty potent for girly cocktails. Happily not too overtly dairy, just the right taste of cream and salt for a chocolate cocktail. 

Now, the goodies. All happy hours must deliver on the goodies.  Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Taco Bell: Too Thrifty

Photo courtesy of
‘Volcano Taco’
courtesy of ‘brunorepublic’

While I am all for thrifty dating, I have to draw the line somewhere. Specifically, that line is Taco Bell. I just want to go on the record as saying there is nothing romantic about Taco Bell. Fellow blogger KatieT claims that it’s perfectly acceptable once you’ve been together for a while, but not I. I don’t care how long you’ve been dating or how much you love the Bell; cheap, terrible, fake Mexican fast food is how you know the romance has died. And this? I really, truly hope nobody began a marriage that way.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Night Life, The Features, The Great Outdoors, Thrifty District
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Thrifty District: Cheap Dates

Photo courtesy of
‘kisses’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

I love DC, but I really love dating in DC. Yes, dating can be expensive (especially if you’re a guy–sorry, but them’s the facts), but you really can find tons of fun, creative things to do on the cheap in and around DC.

Date idea #1: Go outside

Doing things outdoors is reliably one of my favorite ways to have a great time for very little money. You don’t have to be a star athlete to enjoy a good outdoor date, but it helps if your date is a little adventurous. There are a couple of weeks left to go ice skating in the National Gallery of Art’s sculpture garden, and then you can warm up with a hot chocolate in their pavilion cafe afterwards and still stay under $30 for the two of you. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Cheap Mini-Burgers For Errybody!

Photo courtesy of
‘matchbox sliders’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Amanda over at Metrocurean tips us off to a fabulous deal at local pizzeria Matchbox. In celebration of 3/6/09, Matchbox will be offering their famous selection of mini-burgers (pictured above looking totally delish) for $3/$6/$9 accordingly. With the new location of Matchbox now on Capitol Hill, there’s even more mini-burger love to go around. (Especially since Matchbox swears a deal this good only comes around once a century.) Oh, and get there early, since Matchbox doesn’t take reservations.