Category Archives: Food

A Little Insight into the Realities of Sugar

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The country seems to be progressively getting fatter.  One thing that often gets blamed for our increasing waistlines is high fructose corn syrup, one of the most commonly used sweeteners in a lot of things these days, particularly soft drinks.  There’s at least one corn growers association out there arguing that corn syrup is essentially the same as cane sugar and other natural sweeteners and is no more harmful on us.

Check out this article from Lifehacker for some pretty straightforward information on the differences between sugar and corn syrup.  When it comes down to it eat glucose, not fructose, and try to eat fiber when you’re eating sugar.  Read the article to understand that last bit.  Pretty cool stuff.

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Good Pizza in Alexandria

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The Wife and I found a good little pizza joint down in Old Town Alexandria this afternoon.  Red Rocks isn’t a completely new place as there are a couple in the DC area, but the one in Alexandria is only two weeks old.

Now I’m not sure I’ll ever had pizza better bruschetta than what I had when we were in Tuscany, but Red Rocks was some of the best pizza we’ve had around here.  The tiramisu was top quality as well, but the real winner was the bruschetta.  Kind of odd in that the consistency was more like a salsa than most buschettas I’ve had, but the flavor was awesome.  It had a little bit of an extra kick of spice to it that was really nice.

In addition to the good food, the service was great and the atmosphere was pretty cool.  It wasn’t anything really special, but it had a nice simple character to it.  If you’re looking for a good little place to grab a bite you should check it out.

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I Like Beer

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Okay, that title sounds worse than it should, but its true.  I don’t drink beer all that often, and when I drink it I usually only have one, maybe two.  Cris and I were watching a travel show earlier about Dublin, Ireland and the travel hostess went to the Guiness Brewery and had a complimentary pint after her tour.  Watching the show, I realized that I had the same affection for a pint of Guinness as the guy pouring at the Guinness brewery.

While I’m far from a connoisseur, and I don’t have the words of a critic, I thought I’d share some of my favorites to possibly spread the word about some truly great beers that some may not have come across.

Boddington’s Pub Ale – Its hard to declare one singular beer my favorite, but this is the current title holder.  For me, this English ale is the summer version of Guinness.  Described by one person as a vanilla Guinness, it has the same smooth texture as Guinness, but a bit lighter flavor.  I’ve had this both on tap and from their pint cans and its excellent both ways.  Just make sure you or the bartender poor correctly and let it settle.

Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale – A Belgian ale that’s much darker than Boddington’s with a fuller, heavier flavor.  Finishes with a nice spice flavor.  I’m a big fan of this one during fall and winter.

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Jackson’s: Mighty Fine Food and Lucky Lounge

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Hey look, a post that’s not soccer related.

As previously noted, I’m a huge fan of the Great American Restaurant Company offerings.  Sometime over the last year they opened up their newest culinary outpost in Reston named Jackson’s.

Upon entering, there’s no doubt your in another GARC establishment.  The decor is pretty similar to the others; their booths with coat hooks at the end of each a telltale marker.  This one had more of a mid-century loungey feel to it with a nice mural of the L’il Rascals on the wall adding a nice touch.

I have to be honest and say I had a couple of small disappointments when I first looked at the menu.  There wasn’t anything that really grabbed me that was much different than the other GARs, and they don’t have a micro brew on site which was a little disappointing as that is one of my favorite things about Sweetwater.

That’s where the disappointment ended.  The Lucky Lager was one of the best restaurant beers I’ve had in a really long time.  Great flavor and it drank really smoothly.

My dinner was excellent.  Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of what I had and I couldn’t find it on their website when I tried to get the name.  What I do remember is that it is a chicken dish and it was accompanied by a wild rice “salad.”  The chicken was incredibly moist and had a great flavor to it.  The wild rice salad is sort of a waldorf salad with wild rice in it.  Its a bit hard to explain, but was really great.

The service was good, as expected, and I would definitely recommend checking it out if you find yourself in Reston Town Center looking for a place for dinner.

Random side note: I’m second on the search results if you Google “Great American Restaurant Company,” which has to make me cool in some way.

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Favorite Eats in DC

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So my post the other day about the Great American Restaurants got me thinking about our favorite places to eat here in the DC area.  I’ve made mention of some of these places in previous posts, but I thought I’d put them all together into one post to help give some ideas to anyone looking for somewhere to eat in DC.  I’ve included all kinds of restaurants, and they cover a pretty decent area through Nothern Virginia and DC so you should be able to find something that suits what you’re looking for.

Consider this sort of our culinary roadmap to NoVa and DC.  Notice I said “our” because this may not be right for everyone.  Hope you find something you like.

Vocelli – Favorite place to order pizza in town.  There may be better, but this is what we like the most.  Make sure to get the grande thin crust.  Their Hawaiian pizza is awesome and the Italian sausage is another favorite.  If you don’t feel like a pizza, they also have really good hot paninis.

Aladdin’s –  Great little lebanese/mediteranian place on a cool little street of restaurants in Shrilington.  The highlight here is the appetizers and deserts.  Great fool ‘m damas, tabouli, and falafal, and some of the best cakes I’ve ever had at a restaurant, particularly the carrot cake.  They used to have a belly dancer on Thursday nights, but the management changed and I don’t think they do that anymore.

Sweetwater Tavern – Simplay a great place to eat.  See my previous post for more info on this one.

Sfizi Italian Cafe – Also did a previous post on this at my old blog location.

Ruth’s Chris – Glass of wine, filet mignon, the best sweet potato casserole ever, and berries and cream for dessert.  ’Nuff said.

La Sandia – Located in the Mall where we normally go to see movies, this is my favorite pre-movie meal.  Great Mexican kitchen with better than “typical Mexican restaurant” Mexican food.  Think higher quality Rio Bravo or on the Border.  If you have Don Pablo’s its sort of like that, but better I think.

Teaism – Small little eatery and tea shop downtown that serves great quality asian “fast food.”  Go there and get a chicken bento box and go home happy.

Zola – Located in Penn Quarter near the Verizon Center in DC, Zola serves great food in a cool environment with some interesting character.  The food is what I could call “polished American.”  Nothing crazy in terms of what is served, but its prepared a little more upscale than your basic chicken or beef dish.  The restaurant is located right next to the International Spy Museum and they have taken some of that theme into the restaurant.  The “spyness” is done subtly so its not cheesey, and this is going to sound weird, but if you go to Zola you should go to the bathroom just to see one of the more interesting bathroom doors that I’ve ever seen.

Georgia Brown’s – Being born and raised in Georgia I can appreciate some good Southern cooking and Georgia Brown’s does it up right.  The dinners we’ve had there were awesome, but more importantly…Best. Brunch. Ever.  Let me say that again.  This is the best brunch I’ve come across ever.  The menu might have changed some since the last time we were there, but the spread for brunch is just awesome.  French toast with pecan maple syrup, fresh fruit, eggs benedict, grits, applewood smoked bacon, omelettes made to order, virginia ham, and home fries.  Need I go on?  No, but I will.  You also get to sample all of the deserts they have to offer including their chocolate fondu fountain, and their peach cobbler is rediculous.  While you’re eating your breakfast, you order an entree to take home with you for dinner that night, which is included in the cost of your breakfast.  Yes, two incredible meals of the price of one.  And to top it off, you eat your brunch while listening to a live jazz trio.

I just told Cris we’re going back soon.

Bilbo Baggins – Really good variety of food that probably doesn’t fit perfectly into a single niche.  It seems like the menu is made up of whatever the chef feels like cooking.  The decor is very much like something you might find in the Shire with a lot of wood and rustic touches like woven place mats.  My favorite part about this one is the really big variety of beers from around the world that you can sample.

Landini Brothers – Tuscan style Italian in the heart of Old Towne Alexandria.  If I remember correctly, the brother owners and operators are from and learned to cook in Tuscany.  Nice intimate atmosphere and a very good, accessible wine list.  I say accessible b/c I know basically nothing about wines and they’ve always made recommendations that I’ve been happy with.

And last, but certainly not least…

2941 – This is easily one of the best meals I’ve ever had all around.  Me trying to describe it wouldn’t do it justice.  Its also where Cris and I got engaged so it has a special place in our hearts.  Very toney, high class restaurant in Falls Church.  Great wine, great bread, amazing food, and incredible desserts.  One thing I love is that its one of the best restaurants in the city in a totally random place where you don’t find other high class restaurants.

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The Great American Restaurant Company

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I can’t believe its taken me this long to put in a plug for some of our favorite restaurants here in DC, but a particularly good hickory bar-b-que burger at Sweetwater Tavern gave me the push that I needed.  The Great American Restaurant Company runs a handful of awesome restaurants in Northern Virginia.  All of them are basically a variation on American food depending on which one you go to. Sweetwater, the one we go to most often b/c its close, has a western theme to it with steaks, ribs and burgers the staple of the menu.

Their hickory BBQ burger is awesome, with great smokey sauce which is making my mouth water just thinking about it. I’m also a huge fan of their ribs, where they use the same sauce as the burger, but the meat truly just falls off the bone. Another favorite of mine is their sweet potato fries, which slightly outpace their regular fries for fry awesomeness.

I’ve discussed meat, now let’s talk beer. In addition to great food, Sweetwater also serves as a great micro-brew. They have a couple of standards available all the time, but most of what is available when you go in are seasonal beers. They have what is probably my favorite summer beer in their summer wheat, and I had an awesome stout last time that is similar to Guinness. There is generally a good variety and everyone should be able to find something they are happy with.

For those less carnivorous than I, Cris is a big fan of the salads that they have.  I’ll be honest and say that I don’t pay that close attention to the salads, but I know the last one she ordered had really good pieces of mango in it.

The last thing I’ll mention about the Sweetwater dining experience is what you actually get to experience first. Best Buns Bread Company provides all the bread for the Great American Restaurants and their “Ozzy Rolls” have ruined Cris’ appetite on more than one occasion.  They come in a typical bread basket, but if you’re like us, you’ll definitely be asking for more of these in particular.  On a side note, we finally discovered that they’re called Ozzy Rolls b/c their creator’s last name is Osbourne and he’s a big Ozzie Osbourne fan.

As I said, we go to Sweetwater most often but we’re big fans of some of the others as well. Coastal Flats sort of reminds me of the Charleston, SC area and has more seafood options, while Carlyle has a little more upscale, polished feel. All great places to grab a bite to eat in the Nothern Virginia area.

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