Tag: North America

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five fifty-five

555 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
tel: 207.761.0555

Dinner served from 5-close, seven days a week
Brunch every Sunday from 9:30-2:00

Portland, Maine is one of those cities in America that still holds the hidden gem status.  Most people don’t make it out to Portland due to its location and size, but for those who do make it up to Maine are usually pleasantly surprised at how much Portland does have to offer for a smaller city.

The downtown area has the vibrant energy of a seaport.  With seafood restaurants left and right offering some of the best lobster in America to local bars bustling with locals and Southern Maine University students offering many of the local brews, Portland combines that quaint hometown feel with an urban setting.  One restaurant in Portland that I tried recently skews on the higher end scale (higher end for Portland that is – there are no Tao Restaurant style places in Portland).

five fifty-five (yes, they spell the entire thing in lowercase) is considered by many to be one of the best restaurants in Portland.  I’ll say this up front: for Portland, the restaurant is one of the nicer places to have a fancy night out.  But don’t expect it to be anything ridiculously fancy.  The venue itself is very intimate with low lighting and a lot of wood making up the furniture and walls.  The wine list is quite extensive, almost surprisingly so. But if you’re a beer person looking for some local Maine brews you’ll want to head to another place since that list is far shorter.

The menu is pricey and although I’d like to say that the food is worth the price – I’m afraid I can’t.  That isn’t to say that the food isn’t excellent; it’s just a tad overpriced in my opinion.  I started out my meal with the “how do you like them apples” salad which was quite a nice starter of fresh greens, crisp apples, and perfectly toasted/salted walnuts. But for $11, I kind of expected a little more.

For the entree, I tried the lobster mac & cheese which was very tasty.  Again, it just wasn’t $31 tasty.  I will say that I was surprisingly filled by the portion.  It came out in a very small bowl and my first reaction was “This is it?”  But you know how Indian food comes out in a small bowl and you think you’re getting ripped off until you finish 2/3 of it and realize how full you actually are?  Same scenario.

Another item on the menu that I tasted is a nice Maine salmon wrapped in a leaf of some sort.  Its accompanied by several toppings (radishes, cashews, peppers) in small dishes for you to mix and match as you see fit and a portion of sauteed kale n the side.  The fish was a little dry, which I found surprising, but overall with the kale and toppings sides the dish wasn’t half bad.

So while I enjoyed what I ate, I’ll probably stick to Maine does best, the lobster shacks, for my meals.  five fifty-five doesn’t live up to the hype and is just little too overpriced in my opinion.  But that being said, its still a nice place to go if you want to have a classy night out in Portland.  The wine list is very good and the food is done well enough that you’ll be able to overlook the fact that you’re spending a few dollars extra than you should.  Grade: B-

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Fatty Crab

West Village location
643 Hudson Street
New York, NY
212-352-3592

Monday – Wednesday | Noon to Midnight
Thursday & Friday | Noon to 2AM
Saturday | 11AM to 2AM
Sunday | 11AM to Midnight

Upper West Side location
2170 Broadway
New York, NY
212-496-CRAB

Monday – Wednesday | Noon to 11PM
Thursday – Saturday, Noon to Midnight
Sundays | Noon to 10PM
Happy Hour | Monday – Friday, 4pm to 7PM

If Tao was the big, glitzy dinner, then the Fatty Crab was the opposite of that.  Located in the West Village (with a second location in the Upper West Side), the Fatty Crab is a small shack serving some of the most unique Malaysian-Thai hybrid food I’ve ever tried.  With seating for only about 30 (and about 6 at the bar) in the dark and intimate hut, you should expect to wait a little bit for a table if you’re a party bigger than 2.   Not to worry though, there are seats outside the restaurant and when we arrived there was a little crowd out there with their libations in hand (Note: Not totally sure if them drinking on the sidewalk outside the restaurant was legal, but they were going for it).

My buddy and I took a seat at the bar, which offers a full menu as well.  The menu is very small with only a handful of entrees and appetizers.  We got some recommendations from the bartender, who was more than happy to answer any questions we had about the food all night.  For starters, we gave the pork steamed buns a try.  Now these aren’t like the typical pork steamed buns you might get at Dim Sum in Chinatown; these required assembly.  The buns shaped like flattened donuts and we had to put the chunks of pork, along with what I think was plum sauce, and cabbage on top of it.  From there it was a little awkward trying to fold it up like a taco because it was so bulky, but it was damn tasty even as messy as it was.

For our entrees, we tried the Nasi Lemak and Beef Rendang.  Of those two, the Nasi Lemak was the far more bizarre one.  The dish consists of a platter of some of the craziest flavors put together.  There’s a large chicken leg, that tasted like it was slow cooked and it came off the bone with ease.  The chicken was on top of coconut rice that we were instructed to mix with the poached egg on the plate.  Also on the plate was a fish paste called “otak” which was on top of these spicy, sardine eggs (or something crunchy that was fishy).  I didn’t mind the fishiness of the paste, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the spicy sardine eggs.  I liked the spice, but the sardine part was just one step too salty, fishy for me.

The Beef Rendang was the more traditional looking dish, but just a tasty.  The dish was made up of short ribs that were braised in lemongrass chili and it came with an interesting sweet paste.  The short ribs were very good, a tad bit over cooked for my taste, but still tender, and very savory.

The restaurant is a good example of a place having a small menu, but doing each item very well.  All it all, it’s a great little place to try some exotic flavors, or to take a date who doesn’t mind a little adventure in their meal.  Grade: B+

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Tao Restaurant

Tao Restaurant
42 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10022-1910

Hours:

Sun 5pm–12am
Mon-Wed 11:30–12am
Thu-Fri 11:30–1am
Sat 5pm–1am

Recently, I took a little trip up to New York City to catch up with old friends and, quite honestly, just go for the hell of it because it had been a while.  The one thing that I had forgotten in the two and a half years since I was last in New York was the energy of the city that you don’t find in Washington, D.C. or most other metropolitan areas.  It practically hit me in the face the moment I walked out of Penn Station.

I spent the weekend doing mainly touristy things such as Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, checked out Ground Zero and the building of the Freedom Tower, and roamed around the East and West Villages.  But of course the highlight of any trip to NYC is the food – and there was plenty of it this weekend.

Since I hadn’t seen a bunch of New Yorker friends in a while, I organized a dinner for us all.  At the suggestion of my one college buddy, we made our way to Tao Restaurant in midtown Manhattan.  Tao, like New York City in general, is pretty much what you’d expect from a trendy NYC restaurant on a Friday night: noisy, busy, vibrant, pretentious, and super gaudy, but fun nonetheless.  As my one friend who has lived in NYC for the past five years put it – “This place is so New York” with a little tone of “I would probably never come here in general” thrown in, kind of like how I can’t remember the last time I was in a Smithsonian museum even though I’ve been in D.C. for years.

There are a few things you should know about places like Tao before I continue.  They’re expensive and regardless if you have a reservation, there will be a wait (especially on a Friday night).  And even more so at this place because of the popularity (sightings of Jay-Z, Madonna, etc and a feature in Sex and the City – a fact I found out AFTER I had left NYC, so don’t go thinking Sex and the City is any draw for me).  I should also note that I sadly was not able to get any good pictures because my new phone’s case was covering the flash so none of the pics would show up.  The website has plenty in its gallery however.

So yeah, we had a 9:15 reservation; we were seated around 9:45-10:00 with the maitre d’ telling me, “Just a couple more minutes” every time I asked how much longer.  And the bar waiting area is not nearly big enough to hold all of the people waiting to get a table along with the folks just trying to grab a drink.  So be prepared to do a little bumping.  Our buzzer went off just as we were contemplating going somewhere else.

The main dining area a Tao is pretty expansive, but still packed so that there was probably only a foot between chairs and tables for one to squeeze through.  And overlooking the entire place is a GIGANTIC (and I emphasis that word) Buddha, which I’ll have to admit was pretty impressive, despite being as Las Vegas showy as it was.

The Tao menu isn’t huge, but hits all the typical Asian food types from sushi to noodles. With a group our size we decided to do it sort of family style and order several things to share.  Our waitress was very helpful telling us her favorite recommendations, and her suggestions were excellent.  Considering the hysteria in the place, the service was remarkably quick with the food coming out within a few minutes of us ordering our first round of appetizers.

The food at Tao is excellent; no doubt about it.  I’m going to make your life easier and just list out what we ate and give a quick impression.

Peking Duck Spring Roll – I love Peking duck, so yes I loved this.  The order came with 3 large duck spring rolls and the duck was perfectly fatty and savory.  The one thing I wish was that the duck skin inside would have been a little crispier.  Same goes for the egg roll wrap itself – I suspect they were trying to make make the wrap like a Peking duck pancake, but it didn’t quite work.

Pork Potstickers – these also were excellent, and considered by most at the table the best appetizer of the bunch.  They were larger than your typical gyoza, stuffed with a generous portion of salty, tender pork inside.

Spicy Tuna Tartar on Crispy Rice – what makes this more than just what amounted to a tuna sushi roll was the rice.  It was toasted giving it a delicious flavor and crunch.

Shrimp Pad Thai noodles – Not too bad, but not anything that you couldn’t get anywhere else.

Crispy Orange Chicken – same with the Pad Thai.  If you order it, you won’t be disappointed, but it’s not anything that is stand out.

Satay of Chilean Sea Bass with Wok Asparagus – now THIS was standout – the fish was cooked to perfection, super-flavorful and melted in your mouth.  The side of asparagus that came with it was actually not needed, but I do like a little crunch with my dishes so it worked.

Wasabi-crusted Filet with Tempura Onion Rings – another standout.  The filet was very good, and in most cases I would have said it was excellent but nothing special.  What made it special?  That wasabi crust was awesome – totally different, and gave the meat a real kick.

So food wise, everything was pretty amazing.  The plates came out in very easily sharable portions; I’m not sure if that’s how they are normally served or if our waitress was savvy enough to have the kitchen make it that way knowing we were all sharing from the start.

The one thing I could have done without were the the guys walking around banging drums next to us while we ate.  Totally unnecessary, really annoying, and as my one friend put it “They’re not even beating the drum to the beat of the music!”.  Also, the bathroom was a little weird.  I’m putting this in writing because my other male friends disagree.  Personally I don’t like having to urinate into a trough that lights up when you walk up to it, with a waterfall raining in front of you into the trough, while a bathroom attendant stands two feet away from you ready to pounce for a tip.  Maybe my friends have been in NYC too long because one of them said “What about it?  It was just a urinal.”

All in all though, great place for an excellent meal, a fun vibe if you’re willing to deal with the noise and wait, and very good service amid the chaos in the venue.  Food: A- Overall: B+ (because of that drummer banging away)

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Graffiato

707 6th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-3600

Hours
LUNCH
MON-FRI, 11:30am-5pm
SAT, 12pm-5pm

SUN-TUE 
5pm–12am
*kitchen closes at 10pm

WED–THU 
5pm-1am
*kitchen closes at 11pm

FRI–SAT 
5pm–2am
*kitchen closes at midnight

*The bar & pizza oven are open late night after the kitchen closes

Washington, D.C. is not only home to political celebrities, but in recent years has become one of the centers of the celebrity chef universe.  Mike Isabella, former contestant on Top Chef and former executive chef of Jose Andres’ Zaytinya, has stepped up his game with the opening of his new restaurant Graffiato.

Conveniently located near the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop, Graffiato offers italian food served in the form of small plates.  Don’t be misled into thinking that “small plates” means “tapas”.  They’re a little bigger than that, but still small enough that you’ll probably want to order two or three to satisfy your hunger.  Graffiato also offers a pretty standout wine list with several local wines and beers as well.

I’ll say this right off the bat – the food was very good.  It was little pricey for what we got, but the quality of the fare was excellent.  Going with a group of friends is definitely a must so that you can try several dishes.   The standout for me was the chicken with cabbage in pepperoni sauce.  The sauce was meaty and spicy, and the chicken was cooked to a moist perfection with a delicious, crispy skin similar to the way peking duck skin is cooked.  Also worth trying is the polenta, which is a grilled goat with pear, the pumpkin risotto and the chocolate tart with a fantastic sea salt ice cream.   Don’t bother with the cauliflower soup and risotto balls.  Keep in mind, the menu does change, so there’s a chance that there will be different offerings when you go.

As good as the food was, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the atmosphere.  The venue was small with a few seats downstairs near the bar and a bigger, brighter dining area upstairs.  Both floors had open kitchens (which was cool seeing Mike Isabella working hard in), but the place was way to loud.  Specifically, the choice of music was a strange mix of Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine and other hard rock that didn’t really match the food we were eating.  It’s not music I necessarily hate, I just don’t want it blasting into my ear while I’m trying to enjoy my meal.

Even with the bar-like atmosphere of Graffiato, the food definitely makes it worth a visit. Grade: B+

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Bluemont Vineyard

18755 Foggy Bottom Road
Bluemont, VA 20134 

Open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Mondays
11am – 6pm
Winter Hours (November – February): 11am – 5pm

Phone: 540-554-8439

Obviously the Washington, D.C. area is famous for its historical monuments, Smithsonian museums and is the center for political celebrity sightings.  What might not be as well known is that the areas outside of Washington, D.C. contain a vast array of wine vineyards.  For someone who has lived in D.C. for as long as I have, visiting relatives soon grew tired of going to the Air and Space Museum and looking at the Washington monument.   So if you’re looking for something different to do in the area, jump in your car and take a quick drive west or south to one of the hundreds of vineyards that Northern Virginia has to offer.

Because I was a little overwhelmed by how many choices the region had to offer, at the suggestion of my officemate, I decided to try out the Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, VA (about an hour west of Washington).  It’s an easy vineyard to get to, just a few miles past Dulles International Airport.  Be sure to have a car that can handle a little off-roading; getting to the main complex where the wine tasting and restaurant are requires you to drive down a pretty beat up driveway.

Once you get through the rocky road, the complex is located at the top of a hill and the view is spectacular.  When you walk into the quaint, Bed and Breakfast style building, you’ll immediately want to go upstairs to where the wine tastings take place.  For $5 you get to sample 8 different red and white wines, as well as get a little talk about the vineyard (a good portion of their wines are made with fruit from the farm across the road).  It’s a pretty good deal considering you get in total about a glass and half of different wines.

After our tasting, we chose to purchase a bottle of their 2008 Vidal Blanc named “The Cow”.  That along with a meat and cheese platter which we purchased off their food menu (their food menu consists of lots of appetizer style fare) we took our meal out to the deck and enjoyed the scenery.  I highly recommend the meat and cheese platter which  consists of 2 types of salami, and two types of cheese (one veggie cheese and one amazingly good spicy cheese) and a warm loaf of french bread.   There’s plenty of seating outside on the deck and on the tables set up on the lawn, but on the colder days, it might be a little tight inside (although the fireplace did seem really nice, and I’d bet it’d be great during those winter months).

So if you have a free afternoon in the D.C. area, and you’re looking for something a little different to do – give the Bluemont Vineyard a try.  It makes a great place to bring friends, a date, or if you have a bigger function, there’s enough room to have a wedding party and/or a family gathering.

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Norfolk, VA

Admittedly, I’ve never been to Norfolk,VA but after reading my friend’s blog post – I think I’m going to have to take a trip down.  Here’s more from Christopher O’Brien – Norfolk, VA enthusiast:

“How to Get Anyone to Fall in Love with Norfolk in 48 Hours or Less”

I’ve been living in the DC-area now for just over 11 years, and for the past year and a half or so, I’ve been plotting to move back to Norfolk.

My friends, bless them, have cheerfully indulged my escapism. Even as we survived elections, Snowpocalypses, one embarrassing Redskins season after another, and DC summers, they have endured me regularly filling their ears with stories about seven beautiful cities at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. I finally decided that it was time to stop telling them about this magical place and start showing them.

If there’s one good thing that I’ve gotten from being away for so long, it’s a sense for seeing what is truly extraordinary about Hampton Roads. In some ways, the best of the area is hidden in plain sight to the people lucky enough to experience it everyday. This happens all the time, no matter where you live– ask me when the last time I went to the Smithsonian was. But, when I finally got around to bringing one my closest friends down to Norfolk for a long weekend, I came up with a list of highlights I really wanted to showcase not just to him, but to you, AltDaily readers, to remind you of what a fantastic place your home is.

Feel free to crib when you bring your friends in from out-of-town; these are places that showcase the absolute best of Norfolk, both in its history, and in its new birth, happening all around you.

Read more here: http://www.altdaily.com/features/arts/how-to-get-anyone-to-fall-in-love-with-hampton-roads-in-48-hours-or-less.html

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Avalon, NJ

Ah, summer time has arrived.  As we head into the Memorial Day week, left and right BBQ grills are getting fired up, pools are opening, and as my one (female) friend mentioned, “Time to break out the white pants”.  The summer season also obviously marks the beginning of the beach season as well.  Luckily for me, a buddy of mine has a family home about 400 meters from the beach in beautiful Avalon, New Jersey.

Now let me say off the bat – this is not your MTV Jersey Shore type location.  If you want to see Ed Hardy shirts and trashy college students, head 20 minutes up the road to Wildwood, NJ or go to Dewey Beach in Delaware and you can see that sort of foolishness there.  Avalon is much more family friendly, with several locally owned restaurants and shops, mini-golf, and bike rental places.  There are people of all ages, but can’t say of all races (I have to report that in the weekend I was there, including myself, I counted a grand total of 9 minorities). I also don’t think the LGBT crowd would have any problems on Avalon beach, but I’m pretty sure when we went on our day trip to Rehoboth beach in Delaware, they were all there.

Getting to Avalon is easy, but getting in isn’t.  If you try and go on Friday night, you’ll hit a one lane traffic jam getting in that can last miles and take up to a couple of hours.  Same goes for getting out of the town on Sunday night.  But once you get over the bridge into Avalon, the town is a welcome sight and is such a great place to relax.  You’ll quickly forget your stress from the traffic.  I’ll go down the list of the things to see and do.

The beach is easily the highlight of the town.  It’s not usually too crowded, and is clean and family friendly.  Make sure when you head to the beach, you go there with cash because unless you have a pass that residents pay for, it’s $6 a day, $12 for the week, and $26 for the season.  They don’t want you bringing booze on the beach, but you can get away with it if you’re not being too rowdy.  Watch out for the seagulls dive bombing down to get the food though; they’re aggressive and relentless.  And finally, the lifeguards are pretty strict about staying near the lifeguard seats and not swimming out too far.  You’ll hear a whistle on average every 10-15 minutes.  The pictures below were taken at around 11 in the morning; the crowds really rolled in about an hour after that.

If you’re looking for a quick bite to eat head to Nemo’s Pizza.  It’s a local family restaurant only open during the summer season.  There you can get your pizza, pasta, or Italian sub fix for a decent price.  I’d say the pizza is pretty close to the kinda you can get a Papa Gino’s for you New Englanders reading this.

If the fun and sun on the beach gets a little boring, there’s a fun local mini-golf (or Putt Putt if you prefer) place called Pirate Island Golf.  Get the last shot in at Pirate Island and you win a free game.  And next to Pirate Island is the Avalon Freeze, a small, local ice cream shop with the usual soft serve offerings and their version of the Dairy Queen Blizzard called the Avalon Freezer.   Watch out – the Avalon Freezer is as filling as a meal.

For breakfast food, Avalon offers two family breakfast joints.  The first is Uncle Bill’s Pancake House.   Open from 7 AM- 1 PM, this place will always hit the spot, with every type of pancake, waffle, egg, breakfast meat combo you can think of.  I personally love the Special Combo that is 1 egg, 3 butter pancakes, bacon, and toast.  I usually also get a side of home-fries because I think they’re some of the best.  If you get a fruit pancake (bananas, blueberries, whatever) keep in mind they don’t make the pancake with the fruit in it, they put it on top.  Now the place is probably a little overpriced, you’ll end up spending at least $10, and it’s cash only.  And don’t be surprised if you have to wait for a table – the place is big, but everyone in Avalon ends up there around brunch time.  One final thing that you’ll also probably notice is that the dozens of waitresses running around are all high school girls.  Just saying, it’s kinda weird.  Here’s some pics of the food there:

The second place is the Pudgy Pelican.   Much smaller, and a little less high school cheerleader with their employees, the Pudgy Pelican is a solid diner style back up for breakfast with pretty much the same breakfast offerings as Uncle Bill’s, except that it’s open longer for the lunch crowd with more sandwich offerings.  I also personally think their omelette is far superior than the one you can get at Uncle Bill’s as well.

The one exception to the quaint family feel is the one bar in Avalon called “The Princeton“.  Located at the end of the main drag in the center of town, the Princeton is one of the few, if not the only, bar in town that’s big enough and loud enough to draw a crowd that includes undoubtedly the college, underage drinking posse.   Since it is the place to be, and pretty much the only one in town, you’ll pay a pretty penny to get in on a weekend night, and you probably won’t find that many great drink specials once inside.  That being said, if you are looking for a place to drink, dance, have a good time with a group of friends and want to find someone to hook up with – The Princeton is probably your best bet.

Avalon, NJ is a great place to go for a long weekend beach outing.  It’s clean, safe (no joke, you can literally leave all your stuff on the beach for hours and nothing will happen to it) and you’ll no doubt get your relaxation in.

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DC-3

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423 8th Street Southeast
Washington D.C., DC 20003

Open Mon-Thu,Sun 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat 11am-10pm

Anyone living in the D.C. region knows that hamburger places have been popping up left and right the past couple of years (Next post will probably be on that new Shake Shack Burger joint opening up in Dupont).   But even more recently, the culinary entrepreneurs who own the popular restaurants Matchbox and Ted’s Bulletin (see previous post) have moved away from the burger craze, but not too far to its backyard BBQ cousin – the hot dog.

DC-3, named for the restaurant’s theme of a Douglas Commercial 3 aircraft and I would have to guess the play on “DC”, is located on the main drag of 8th street near Eastern Market.  The venue is small, and cleverly designed to look like the interior of a DC-3 with steel everywhere, maps on the walls, and a large propeller hanging over the tables to the right.  However, as neat as the inside is, the restaurant was wayyy to cold (even for me) and because of the lack of natural lighting, it looked like people were eating in a prison mess hall.  Painting fake airplane windows with a blue sky view outside would have probably helped.  We decided to get our food to go since it was a nice day out anyways.

The menu is quite overwhelming and you do need a few moments to process the around 20 or so hot dogs DC-3 offers.  The pictures of each dog do help with the process and I went with a “Cincinnati Coney Dog” which consisted of a hot dog, chili, cheese, onions and mustard.  Along with that I ordered a side of cheese fries.  My two friends who came along, one who is a vegetarian, ordered the “Bay Bridge Pretzel Dog” and “Vegetarian Chili” along with fried pickles respectively.   None of us opted to get the soft serve ice cream with a pretty expansive toppings bar, although it did look good on a hot day.

We took our food to the park and my first impression was that they really need to learn how to pack things to go.  Both had been balled up into tissue paper, and aluminum foil.  My hot dog was pretty well smooshed and the cheese fries were kinda stuck together into one sticky ball-fry.  That however didn’t take away from the taste, which I’ll say was pretty darn good.  The chili dog did hit the spot, had a little heat to it, and accomplished the task of satisfying my hot dog craving admirably.  The fries, which were those crinkle fries, were quite good as well, even if I had to peel them apart.  My friend who got the crab hot dog was also satisfied, but not overwhelmed to be honest.  I’ll say this though, if you’re a vegetarian, the veggie chili and fried pickles get an “A”, so vegetarians – don’t dismiss the hot dog place’s non-meat offering because of its signature items.

All in all, I probably would have liked the food better if it wasn’t to go.  That being said, they’ll need to turn down the A/C to get me to want to spend more than 10 minutes in that place.  I also wouldn’t go there if I was starving to death.  The $4 hot dog also probably would have been a bit more justifiable if it was a footlong versus a Ballpark frank sized hot dog, but it is downtown D.C and it was admittedly really tasty.  Check it out if you want a snack or a light lunch.  I give the place a solid “B”.

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Opening Weekend at Wrigley Field

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Nothing makes me feel like spring is here more than getting to a baseball game.  In D.C., National Park is comfortable, clean, with great food and an overall “nice” place to watch a game.  Same goes for PNC in Pittsburgh, and Camden in Baltimore.  But what these new stadiums lack is a history and character.  As a long time Red Sox fan, I’ve been to Fenway Park numerous times and love the old-school look and feel of Sox games during the summer and I’m almost snobby about how it’s a far superior baseball watching experience than in any other ballpark.

The one place I always thought that could be the exception is Wrigley Field in Chicago.  Much like how the Red Sox fans used to be, the poor Cubs fans have had a long history of losing heartbreaking games and a championship drought going back to 1908.  So when I was sent to Chicago for work, I made it a goal to get to a Cubs game while I was there.

Wrigley is located right in the heart of the Wrigleyville neighborhood in Chicago.  Unlike other stadiums that you can see from miles away, Wrigley Field is so small and intimate that you don’t know where it is until you follow the crowd down the street and you’re right on top of it.  Walking into the stadium, you can feel the excitement and energy from the crowd immediately.  The interior has that same archaic look that Fenway has, where there is more wood and old paint look then that metallic, smooth, electronic look of the newer stadiums.

We walked in right as they were doing the national anthem, and I was able to take in just how small the stadium was.  But what the park lacked in size it made up for in character with the manual scoreboard out in center field and the make-shift bleacher seats on the rooftops of the buildings across the street (easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen).   Also seeing the seats in left field reminded me of the famous Bartman incident in 2003, and I can see how easily the fans in that section are on top of the action out there.  Our ticketed seats weren’t that good (although there aren’t really bad seats in the park since it’s so small), so throughout the game my buddy and I inched our way closer and closer until we had seats that gave us a great vantage point on the first baseline.

The fans at Wrigley were both amusing and knowledgeable, making the conversations around us almost as entertaining as the game itself.  Our baseball experience was rounded out with a Chicago hot dog and cold Old Style beer (the Natty-Bo, Milwaukee’s Best, Iron City, whatever shitty beer you want to insert, of Chicago).  The close, back and forth game was also an exciting one with home runs, a play at the plate, web gems, and a beer getting thrown in the opposing players face as he tried to catch a fly ball (http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/sports/cbsports-pirates-jones-on-beer-spill-it-was-a-miller-lite-i-got-a-taste-of-it-20110403,0,5736166.story).  We also got a little Chicago native John Cusack as well singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the traditional 7th inning stretch ceremony.

But ultimately, in stereotypical Cubs fashion, they blew the 5-4 lead in the 9th inning and lost the game 6-5.  The picture that said it all in my mind was seeing a Cubs fan in the bathroom afterwards, shaking his head and talking to no one in particular saying “The Cubs are so bad…They’re so bad….”.  Don’t worry Cubs fans, take it from a Red Sox fan – It has to happen sometime.  But believe me, even if the Cubbies lose, the bars around the park are still hopping like crazy afterwards and everyone seems to still know how to have a good time.

If you’re a baseball fan, get yourself to a Cubs game at some point in your life.  I don’t know how much longer that ballpark can hold up over time, so get the experience in while you can.

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Hill Country BBQ

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410 7th Street NW
202.556.2050
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown, Archives/Navy Memorial

Hours:
Sunday – Tuesday: 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.
Wednesday – Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 2 a.m.

It takes a lot for me to be blown away by a restaurant, but I think for the first time in D.C. this new establishment has done just that.  Hill Country BBQ just opened up last Saturday, and I took to opportunity to check it out tonight along with a buddy of mine.  I had heard earlier in the day from a couple of co-workers that the original location (which is located in New York City) was pretty damn good, so my expectations going in were high.  Not only were my expectations met, but Hill Country was everything I imagined and much, much more.

Having had BBQ down in Austin, TX, I can say that I can make this comparison with a certain degree of reliability.  Hill Country is the closest thing to a BBQ joint in Austin that’s not in Texas that I’ve seen so far.  The setup and feel reminded me a lot of Rudy’s BBQ.  When we first walked in, you could already tell the the place was going to be lively.  Looking like a typical country bar/restaurant, the venue was mainly wood with black and white photos of blue collar workers on the walls, Texas flags hanging from the ceiling, and chalkboard menus all around.  We waited at the bar (45 minute wait – but perfectly reasonable since it’s a new place in the heart of Penn Quarter) and had a beer.  The beers I’d like to quickly point out are served in honey jars, which warmed us up to the atmosphere right away.

Once our name was called, we were escorted to our table (by one of several gorgeous hostesses – that tidbit is for the guys) and were instructed on how to proceed.  Much like Vapiano’s, you’re given a “passport” and get whatever items in the cafeteria style line you’d like and then pay as you leave the restaurant after you’re done eating.  The first stop in the line is for the meat.   The brisket, chicken, pork ribs (and shoulder) are all priced by weight, and you pay for individual sausages.  Trying to figure out what to get was a daunting task, but there is an employee in line ready to answer questions and give advice on what to mix and match.  Once you get up to order (there were 6 stations to order meat), they measure out your requested order and then wrap it up in brown paper with a generous helping of white bread.  I ordered 1/4 lbs. of moist brisket (you can get lean as well which isn’t as fatty, but has less flavor in my opinion), 1/4 lbs. pork ribs (which ends up being one giant effing rib, Flintstones style) and one Kreuz sausage (I got the plain, but my friend ordered the Jalepeno style).

Moving on after that, you get to the Sides Station where you can order any number of sides from collared greens, to beans, to Mac and Cheese.   I went for the 8 oz. Mac and Cheese, and an order of cornbread (comes in 2 large pieces and Ancho Honey Butter).

We brought our food back to our table and our server, who looked like Ludacris (seriously, I’m not being racist – the guy looked like Luda), was super on top of getting us our drinks and checking in often to make sure everything was okay.  As for the food, I don’t even know where to begin.  IT. WAS. AMAZING.   The brisket was moist, flavorful, melted in your mouth, and was that perfect amount of juicy meat with bits of fat.  The rib didn’t fall off the bone, but the tenderness of the meat was there and was perfectly seasoned.  The sausage had a nice little spice, and when you bit into it it had a little crunch as you broke through the outer skin, and a deliciously soft and juicy interior.  There was a tasty Hill Country BBQ sauce on the table as well.

The Mac and Cheese; oh man, the Mac and Cheese could have been a meal itself.   The pasta was a penne style, and the cheese practically oozed everywhere (in a good way).   I think I tasted a bit of Worcestershire sauce and pepper in the cheese mix as well – it was heavenly.  The cornbread and honey butter were good, and probably better than normal because it was literally fresh out of the oven when I got my pieces.  Although the cornbread and honey butter were just okay on their own (it’s kinda hard to make cornbread really good or really bad), they complimented the meats and Mac and Cheese quite well.

The food already made the place worth going to, but then a woman came up to us and told us about the karaoke.  So I went downstairs to scout it out.  Downstairs is a whole other hall, with tables, a bar, and a stage.  I’m assuming that they normally have live music on some nights, but on karaoke night the patrons can go up and do their best Dolly Parton, Britney Spears, or Bruce Springsteen impression.  One great little thing is that the restaurant will give the singer a complimentary whiskey shot before or after they go up on stage.  And the karaoke isn’t just some video machine with the words and bouncing little ball on it; there’s a live band playing along with you (far cooler).  Now I’m not sure how many songs the musicians know, but when I went down there the woman was singing a song from “Mamma Mia” so I imagine they probably know quite a bit.

Bottom line: This is hands down the most fun place you could go to eat in D.C. right now.  It’s laid-back, the workers are super-friendly, the food is phenomenal (since it’s by weight, you don’t have to pay for any more than you have to) and the price is actually pretty good.  I got a total of probably around 3/4 lbs. of meat (w/ white bread), 2 pieces of corn bread, a cup of Mac and Cheese and a Miller Lite for a grand total of $19 (and I took most of the sausage home with me because I was so full after the brisket and the rest).  Bring a group of friends and you’ll have a great time.  Grade: A-