[Chris W]

Last night was a fantastic night to hang out on the roof top bar at The Reef in the Morgan. My bison tenderloin was fantastic, and they have a long list of new Oktoberfest beers on tap including Otter Creek (YUM), Ayinger, and Hofbrau.

[Olivia255]

I love the Reef in the fall -
Perfect place to enjoy happy hour, great Oktoberfest brews, and the food isn't too bad either.....
I think the bartender, Brian? is great to talk to about beer too - he knows a lot!

[JimRice]

Earlier this summer we were there on a Wednesday night and they had half-price bottles of wine with an entree. We were up on the roof, I had a fish dish (maybe halibut), my wife had the bison burger, and split a bottle of a rose. Extremely pleasant time, and I'm ready to go back there.

[Dental_FlossTycoon]

Shhhhhh, you're talking about my hangout. I guess it's not secret that The Reef has great seafood, usually and they try to go organic when they can. Locals get a discount and there's only lines on Friday and Saturday nights to go to the rooftop.

They also server Chimay and Dekonnick(sp) Belgian beers as well as some nice others. The bartenders actually care about knowing their drinks and appear very knowledgeable.. I think the manager there is named "Mark" but that's all I know.

Oh, and the saltwater aquariums are always nicely cleaned and maintained.

[starfish]

so i am writing this as i am sitting at the roof bar of the reef - doing a bit of work, having a beer and a quick dinner (free wifi courtesy of tryst across the street). the reef has no pretensions of being haute cuisine; they are going for upscale bar food executed very well. ryan, the roof bartender, informed me that the menu is brand new.

i tried the fish tacos - random white fish, ryan didn't know, diced peppers, and fresh gauc. very satisfying. the fish was crisply fried with a bit of heat to it that was balanced quite nicely by the cool of the guac.

i will never say "i can't wait to have dinner at the reef tonight". but the next time i find myself in adams morgan and feeling peckish, the reef will be at the top of my list - especially if it is a nice night early in the week.

bias disclosure: i was a manager at the reef when the place opened and the chef (sous chef when we worked together) remains a freind.

[qwertyy]

I also had those tacos last week, and I was impressed by the taste and crispness of the fish. But my taco had beans on it. And I just don't think you should put beans on a fish taco.

But I whole-heartedly agree with you--good food, good beer, and good atmosphere. I prefer the chillness early in the week, but if you like a scene, you'll like the Reef on a weekend.

[Dental_FlossTycoon]

dessertdiva, on Jun 8 2006, 12:03 PM, said:

The Reef has $1 off all drinks for happy hour and some great food specials throughout the week.
Tue: 1/2 price bison burgers
Wed: 1/2 price wine, with the purchase of one entrée
Thur: 1/2 price mussels
Just so you know, I’m the pastry chef at The Reef, but I’m not attempting to promote myself with this posting. I simply think the burger, wine and mussel specials are good ones, that aren’t widely known.

Billie

Hi, dessertdiva.

I think the Reef is in need of a "real" write-up on here or the Washington Post, and I'm not the person to do so (Lack of writing skills). After talking with some of the Reefs staff, managers, and other thirsty regulars I've learned a lot about what makes The Reef a hidden treasure. Their organic and local farmer selections, beer line cleaning rituals, process of wine and beer selection as well as their almost sole adherence in the Adams Morgan neighborhood to the city's fire code. They have no dress code, spend a heck of a lot on fish tanks and have some very knowledgeable bartenders.

Someone ask Fritz(WaPo) and/or Don to visit again and dig a little deeper about this place that I've grown to love. Their specials are rather nice as well.

[Barbara]

Dental_FlossTycoon, on Jun 8 2006, 05:25 PM, said:

Hi, dessertdiva.

I think the Reef is in need of a "real" write-up on here or the Washington Post, and I'm not the person to do so (Lack of writing skills). After talking with some of the Reefs staff, managers, and other thirsty regulars I've learned a lot about what makes The Reef a hidden treasure. Their organic and local farmer selections, beer line cleaning rituals, process of wine and beer selection as well as their almost sole adherence in the Adams Morgan neighborhood to the city's fire code. They have no dress code, spend a heck of a lot on fish tanks and have some very knowledgeable bartenders.

Someone ask Fritz(WaPo) and/or Don to visit again and dig a little deeper about this place that I've grown to love. Their specials are rather nice as well.

I don't know what restaurant you are taking about, but the Reef we went to last night bore no resemblence to this. Maybe the "bouncers" by the door should have tipped us off that the action is in the bar offerings and not the food.

There has been much discussion all over this board about places that are welcoming, or not, to children. The Reef isn't welcoming to adults. It begins with a very steep and narrow staircase to the second floor dining room. Anybody who isn't perfectly able-bodied can't possibly go there. They have a roof-top which we were discouraged from trying because it was apparently already full. The dining room was mostly empty. So, why were we left standing COMPLETELY unacknowledged by any of the staff? I finally got the attention of the bartender and got some help. I was thinking to myself that this was the LAST place Danny Boylen would be handing out any of his business cards to recruit the staff.

We were given ONE menu for the two of us, because the roof top area apparently had them all. This was not looking good. After we had taken turns perusing the menu, we were brought another one. They have a nice selection of draft beers and we each had the Allagash White. Came in a nice glass with an unnecessary wedge of lemon perched on the rim. The wine list comes straight from Mr. Safeway. Lots of crap available by the glass for $6-10. Stick with beer.

The menu was typical bar food with pretentions of a real restaurant. Soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches, and a handful of entrees (the most expensive of which is the "seared" duck breast at $18.95). They offer halibut in a "citrus beurre blanc" for $17.95, but I've had Tom Power's halibut with Meyer lemon sauce and thought it was probably unfair to compare. Silly me.

We shared an appetizer of "baked" bried with "fruit compote." What came out were two fried logs, with some really strange crackers, something sweet (honey?) on the bottom of the plate and a little ramekin of sliced strawberries. Not bad, actually, once we figured out that it was impossible to deal with those crackers without getting our hands completely sticky, so we both used our bread plates and our eating utensils to finish this off.

We both got the bison burgers ($10.95). You can get any number of toppings on them so I went with bacon (not bad) and blue cheese. I was expecting some crumbled cheese a la Michael Landrum; what I got was a thick, cold, slab on a burger which was already lukewarm, thus eliminating the possibility of any melting.

The burgers come with fries and slaw. How on earth can anybody screw up fries this badly? I had memories of the truffle fries at Firefly and terrific ones at Corduroy I stole off of Craig's plate last week, so was ready to compare and contrast. Alas, they were INEDIBLE. Those dreadful things at Timberlake's are better BY MAGNITUDES than these nearly-burnt offerings. The "slaw" was oddly cubed cabbage with little taste other than bitterness.

When the waitress came by to ask how it was, I answered with a lie: I told her it was "edible." Craig muttered under his breath, "Laughable." He said he should have answered that it was nothing a new cook couldn't fix.

Then there was the head-banging music played over the audio system. My head was hurting before we left.
It didn't even occur to us to try dessert or coffee. We just wanted OUTTA THERE.

This place is nothing more than a bar for the wannabe "hip," just like SO many places in Adams Morgan. That's just fine, if that's what you want. The young uns seemed to have the idea. There were drinking and smoking at the bar. It is not a restaurant you would go to for the food.

When I think we could have had Jparrott's company and Tom Power's food at Corduroy last night, I could just weep.

[Al Dente]

Perhaps some of us need a thread called "you know you're getting old when..."

Believe me, I can identify-- went to Adams Morgan with some yutes this past Friday. A trip to Local 16 was similar to your Reef experience. Jane, get me off this crazy thing!

[Barbara]

Yes, Dame Edna and I are part of the DR.com geezer contingent. That boy did something last night that I have never seen him do in our twenty years together: He KISSED HIS MONEY GOODBYE before putting it into the check folder.

I'm afraid I either didn't see the previous comments, or forgot about them. Re-reading them just makes it all worse, somehow. If Danny Boylen once worked at this place, then all I can think is that something has gone seriously wrong since then.

As a place to hang out on a lovely night and drink beer? Sure! But we won't be eating anything there again.

[demandalicious]

Al Dente, on Jun 11 2006, 12:21 PM, said:

Perhaps some of us need a thread called "you know you're getting old when..."

Believe me, I can identify-- went to Adams Morgan with some yutes this past Friday. A trip to Local 16 was similar to your Reef experience. Jane, get me off this crazy thing!

that may have been your first mistake! as a general rule, i don't venture into AdMo after 5pm on the weekends. especially if i plan to eat! the number of tube tops per square foot is enough to make me lose my appetite.

with that said, i've always enjoyed the reef's fantastic beer selection and cool bartenders. it is a great but often overlooked spot for an early-in-the-week happy hour. and if you're on the lookout for yummy bar snacks, their calamari is delicious (served with a spicey jalapeno aioli).

has anyone been there for weekend brunch? it's been on my list of "things to try" for a while now.

[Chica Grace]

Barbara, on Jun 11 2006, 02:57 PM, said:

Yes, Dame Edna and I are part of the DR.com geezer contingent. That boy did something last night that I have never seen him do in our twenty years together: He KISSED HIS MONEY GOODBYE before putting it into the check folder.

I'm afraid I either didn't see the previous comments, or forgot about them. Re-reading them just makes it all worse, somehow. If Danny Boylen once worked at this place, then all I can think is that something has gone seriously wrong since then.

As a place to hang out on a lovely night and drink beer? Sure! But we won't be eating anything there again.

Barbara: I howled at your description of the Reef. Alas, it is a cool place to hang-out an djust drink. The food is rather nasty. And I DO recommend the upstairs on an early weekday. Its quite neat to sit up there.. that is after the 3 or 4 flights of stairs. My thinking is - how can food taste good at all if the wait staff has to haul up those stairs? Must be a nightmare to wait tables there. But hey - its not ABOUT the food. Its about being seen.

[vinist]

Chica Grace, on Jun 12 2006, 05:08 PM, said:

Barbara: I howled at your description of the Reef. Alas, it is a cool place to hang-out an djust drink. The food is rather nasty. And I DO recommend the upstairs on an early weekday. Its quite neat to sit up there.. that is after the 3 or 4 flights of stairs. My thinking is - how can food taste good at all if the wait staff has to haul up those stairs? Must be a nightmare to wait tables there. But hey - its not ABOUT the food. Its about being seen.

I think both of you are, perhaps, expecting the place to be something it doesn't intend to be.
This is a neighborhood place that happens to be in a neighborhood that gets slammed with bridge-and-tunnel 22 year olds every weekend. Avoid it like the plague on those two nights a week.
During the week, it's a very pleasant PUB. Judging from within those parameters, the food is way better than it needs to be, the place is cleaner than it has to be, and the setting is more comfortable than you'd expect it to be.

That "during the week" thing is important. Simply by virtue of its location, it becomes a vortex of young-20somethings in hilarious outfits trying really hard to look cosmopolitan before they head out of the city to their homes. That's not really the Reef's fault, it's just the location. A few nights a week, they give discounts to people in the 2009 and 20010 zip codes- it really does mean to be a nice neighborhood place, and 5 days a week it excels at just that.

[Barbara]

vinist, on Jun 12 2006, 05:41 PM, said:

I think both of you are, perhaps, expecting the place to be something it doesn't intend to be.
This is a neighborhood place that happens to be in a neighborhood that gets slammed with bridge-and-tunnel 22 year olds every weekend. Avoid it like the plague on those two nights a week.
During the week, it's a very pleasant PUB. Judging from within those parameters, the food is way better than it needs to be, the place is cleaner than it has to be, and the setting is more comfortable than you'd expect it to be.

That "during the week" thing is important. Simply by virtue of its location, it becomes a vortex of young-20somethings in hilarious outfits trying really hard to look cosmopolitan before they head out of the city to their homes. That's not really the Reef's fault, it's just the location. A few nights a week, they give discounts to people in the 2009 and 20010 zip codes- it really does mean to be a nice neighborhood place, and 5 days a week it excels at just that.

I was led to believe that it was something much better than a PUB. I am not so fond of all these places which cater to the young, outside-the-neighborhood set, and encourage drinking to excess. If the Reef wants to be a "real" restaurant, it easily could. Just look at some of the places around here which DON'T attract the clientele of which I speak. However, it is designed to be attractive to those unwanted elements. If you don't live here, you haven't had the lovely experience of being wakened in the wee hours of the morning by drunks shouting outside your window, which happens to us with great regularity, particularly on the weekends during nice weather.

I'm not going to get into a pissing match with anybody here, but consider this: Notti Bianche has to close much earlier than it should precisely because of this kind of potential turmoil--even though it is a true restaurant and not a place for the young'uns to get blotto. That hurts not only the restaurant and its employees, but all those KC patrons looking for some decent food after attending something there.

There are far too many places just like The Reef in our neighborhood. And, I suspect the owners knew exactly what they were doing in locating here. I speak as someone who moved into Adams Morgan 30 ( ) years ago, when most of 18th Street was boarded up or had "leftist" retail establishments; i.e, Revolution Books, Food for People Not Profit, etc., and several Cuban restaurants (all of which are long gone. )

[kmackenney]

In late August, a friend of mine and I went to the Reef, expecting to find the usual bison burgers for dinner. Instead, we were greeted with three bison burgers. Upon closer inspection, the entire menu had changed for the worse, with few details in regard to the organic aspects of the food.

Does anyone know about the new executive chef at the Reef? Is the former executive chef, Teddy Folkman, still in the DC area?

[ferment everything]

fwiw, some friends and i ate dinner at the Reef last night (I had never eaten there before, only stopped in during the week for their great tap list), and it definitely seems that any soul that reportedly used to inhabit that menu has since been sapped out. The bison burger is still there (and it was pretty good, to be fair) but the fries were no good, and the pizza was abominable...the toppings were decent (overload of capers for some reason) but the crust was a stale, overcooked flour frisbee that seems like it was pulled out of the freezer especially for my order (joy!).

paulaner oktoberfest pitchers almost made up for it...almost. i'll be sticking to beer in the future, unless the menu shows signs of a much-needed resuscitation. Anybody know if they still do firkin nights?

[Eric Reid]

kmackenney, on Sep 23 2006, 06:27 AM, said:

Is the former executive chef, Teddy Folkman, still in the DC area?

Teddy has long moved on, gotten out of the game, for now.

[jpschust]

Well my first post, but I figure it might as well be about someplace I eat at a lot and hang out a lot.

I live in Adams Morgan, and I understand the feeling about the bridge and tunnel crowd, but before I disparage them (and believe me, my friends do all the time) let me offer up this tidbit of information: While they often annoy me and pack the bars I like, it's their business that allows my local bars, like the Reef, my favorite local bar, to serve such wonderful beer and to stay open the other 4-5 nights a week. There aren't many other bars in DC with such a unique selection of beers and without any pretentousness whatsoever.

That said, let's talk about the food. I'll be honest- it's very hit and miss at the reef, and frequently it seems that the owner is working with the kitchen to fine tune the menu. The menu changes every season, and every season it has its hits and misses. Even so, I think the Reef is probably tied with Bourbon for the best food/bar combination in the Adams Morgan area. Generally my burgers have been great, as have the appetizers (I highly reccomend the stuffed mushrooms, spanakopita dip, and pretzl's with mustard so hot it will set you on fire). I've never been a fan of the pizzas, but then again I'm one of the ones that still believes that DC just doesn't have good pizza to begin with.

So as far as food goes, it's probably 2/4. As far as service goes, I'm biased because I'm a regular. I always get good service. Most of the time everyone gets good service, but it's like any other bar- sometimes the service stinks. That said, I don't know that you will find a bar where the servers know quite so much about the beer on tap. If you want to find out how much they know- go ask them to tell you about the histories behind the beers without looking at a menu. Brian, the owner, has a special talent for being able to identify the brand of hops and whether the beer was wet hopped or dry hopped.

Sunday through Wednesday or Thursday, it's a favorite of mine. Friday and Saturday I go elsewhere.

[jpschust]

Reef's current beer list:

Allagash White
Ettaler Curator Doppelbock
Het Anker Margriet
Winter Konick
Cantillion Iris
Snow Goose
DoConeck
Rogue John's Locker Stock
Chimay Triple
Kasteel Framboise
Belgian Sunrise
Yuengling
Pilsner Urquell
Miller Light
PBR

5-7 PM dollar off, 10% off your tab with a zip code on your DL for the Adams Morgan area.

[ManekiNeko]

jpschust, on Jan 29 2007, 05:06 PM, said:

Reef's current beer list:

Cantillion Iris


5-7 PM dollar off, 10% off your tab with a zip code on your DL for the Adams Morgan area.

Is this on tap? Holy crap if so. One-step-removed-from-Holy crap if not.

[jpschust]

ManekiNeko, on Jan 29 2007, 05:09 PM, said:

Is this on tap? Holy crap if so. One-step-removed-from-Holy crap if not.

The Reef has no bottles, so yes

[ManekiNeko]

jpschust, on Jan 29 2007, 05:13 PM, said:

The Reef has no bottles, so yes

Holy Crap!

I've always liked the Reef, but I don't tend to go to Adams Morgan all that often since it's too much a schlep from anywhere. I'll have to make a change if this beer sticks around. If you don't know, seeing Cantillon anywhere is fairly rare. Seeing it on tap is something rarer. Word of caution: this beer is one that you'll either love or hate. It is a traditional lambic and not a sugarbomb like Lindemans or Liefmans. Expect intense sourness and your nostrils to be singed by vinegary overtones. And that's how it's supposed to taste

[jpschust]

ManekiNeko, on Jan 29 2007, 05:19 PM, said:

Holy Crap!

I've always liked the Reef, but I don't tend to go to Adams Morgan all that often since it's too much a schlep from anywhere. I'll have to make a change if this beer sticks around. If you don't know, seeing Cantillon anywhere is fairly rare. Seeing it on tap is something rarer. Word of caution: this beer is one that you'll either love or hate. It is a traditional lambic and not a sugarbomb like Lindemans or Liefmans. Expect intense sourness and your nostrils to be singed by vinegary overtones. And that's how it's supposed to taste

You need to know the secrets of parking in Adams Morgan- park on 17th street or on Kalorama past the split- it's much easier. If I recall isn't the iris the one whose yeast actually comes from the air and the dew settling at night? It's not for everyone- certainly not my favorite, but it's very very unique. Also the Konick Winter is being served ONLY at The Reef in the United States. The Reef has exclusive rights to it this year.

[The Hersch]

jpschust, on Jan 29 2007, 05:22 PM, said:

You need to know the secrets of parking in Adams Morgan- park on 17th street or on Kalorama past the split- it's much easier.

I'm not sure anyone should be encouraged to bring a car to Adams Morgan. It's not a long walk from Woodley Park metro, and there's that little bus for those not inclined or able to walk. That aside, what do you mean by "Kalorama past the split"?

[jpschust]

The Hersch, on Jan 29 2007, 05:33 PM, said:

I'm not sure anyone should be encouraged to bring a car to Adams Morgan. It's not a long walk from Woodley Park metro, and there's that little bus for those not inclined or able to walk. That aside, what do you mean by "Kalorama past the split"?

Coming from 18th street, turning on Kalorama to go towards 16th street you hit a split on a street whose name escapes me at the moment. It's right by Marie Reed. It looks like Kalorama ends but really it continues all the way out to 16th street. Between Ontario and 17th street there's almost always parking except for the saturday nights.

[ferment everything]

jpschust, on Jan 29 2007, 05:22 PM, said:

If I recall isn't the iris the one whose yeast actually comes from the air and the dew settling at night?

Lambic is the style that uses wild yeasts, and Cantillon is one of the most lauded Lambic producers (but by far less distributed in the US than the Lindemans/Liefmans duo). From the US distributor's website:

Quote

Iris is made in the style of lambic – fermented by wild yeasts and aged in oak wine casks at the brewery – but with a couple of big differences. First, it is made entirely from malted barley, whereas traditional lambic uses one third unmalted wheat. In addition, the brewery has used fresh Hallertau hops in the boil and for dry-hopping the Iris. (Traditional lambic calls for hops that have been aged for several years, which impart virtually no hop flavor to the finished product.)

I haven't had this one, but it sounds really interesting. Time for a field trip soon (that Margriet looks interesting too)

[The Hersch]

jpschust, on Jan 29 2007, 05:40 PM, said:

Coming from 18th street, turning on Kalorama to go towards 16th street you hit a split on a street whose name escapes me at the moment. It's right by Marie Reed. It looks like Kalorama ends but really it continues all the way out to 16th street.

Oh, I see what you mean. That's Champlain Street, where Kalorama takes a little jog to the north.

[Barbara]

The Hersch, on Jan 29 2007, 05:46 PM, said:

Oh, I see what you mean. That's Champlain Street, where Kalorama takes a little jog to the north.

Correct. And, if you go for the beer, then eat something first SOMEPLACE else. Just sayin'.

[cjsadler]

ferment everything, on Jan 29 2007, 05:41 PM, said:

Lambic is the style that uses wild yeasts, and Cantillon is one of the most lauded Lambic producers (but by far less distributed in the US than the Lindemans/Liefmans duo).

I went to the Cantillon brewery one time when I was in Brussels. I'd always heard about the wild yeast thing, but I didn't really expect to see what I found there. The "tour" was self-guided and I was the only person there. An old man pointed me towards a plaque in the brewery that marked the first stop. Eventually, I followed the tour up to the attic, climbing to where the fermenter was. It was essentially a trough that was open to the air. As homebrewers know, the rule is to keep things sanitary. Here in this attic, there was a ton of cobwebs. Bugs, dust, and who knows what were getting into the beer (apparently the spiders are encouraged, as they eat the bugs). Craziest beer related thing I've ever seen. The fresh lambics at the end of the tour were amazing.

[Sorry, way off topic, Don]

[jpschust]

Barbara, on Jan 29 2007, 11:11 PM, said:

Correct. And, if you go for the beer, then eat something first SOMEPLACE else. Just sayin'.

This is kind of an interesting thing- the chef there is a great guy and was brought on board in a pinch. He's just beginning to change the menu around to suit his tastes a bit better and to be a little more unique. I'll be able to talk about it a little more in the coming weeks, but expect a menu change and the quality of the food to get significantly better. I'm not sure it's ever going to be on par with some of the top restaurants in the city, but at the same time I think it's going to be very very good bar food. One thing to keep in mind is that the owner of the Reef almost exclusively buys organic and family farm meats and vegetables. He makes a major attempt to keep the food in there coming from sustainable sources, thus making his purchasing a bit more difficult. There are a few things on the menu that are currently really worth eating- their burger is in my opinion the ONLY burger worth eating on the entire 18th street strip. They have a great spanakopita dip right now that is perfectly flavored. The hot pretzels with DeKonick mustard sauce are great as well. The bison dog is very very good. They know their menu needs work and they are working on it, but the goal is to create a better menu one step at a time that continues to serve a bar crowd a bit better than it has been.

[jparrott]

jpschust, on Jan 30 2007, 08:36 AM, said:

their burger is in my opinion the ONLY burger worth eating on the entire 18th street strip.

Ostrich burger at Bourbon.

[jpschust]

jparrott, on Jan 30 2007, 09:02 AM, said:

Ostrich burger at Bourbon.

OK, my fellow bourbon addict, this burger stinks. Every time I've had it the burger has been so dry and terrible that it was awful. The food to have at Bourbon is the grilled cheese and tomato soup. And tots. yummy yummy tots.

[jparrott]

jpschust, on Jan 30 2007, 09:12 AM, said:

OK, my fellow bourbon addict, this burger stinks. Every time I've had it the burger has been so dry and terrible that it was awful. The food to have at Bourbon is the grilled cheese and tomato soup. And tots. yummy yummy tots.

Order it rare. Not dry. Not terrible. Not awful.

[Seanchai]

jparrott, on Jan 30 2007, 09:14 AM, said:

Order it rare. Not dry. Not terrible. Not awful.

Actually, ordering it medium rare seemed to work just fine as well. Very flavorful and not dusty

[jpschust]

Just a heads up. Tonight the Reef is trying something kind of new- Sundays through Wednesdays are really the locals only nights- you don't find many crazy people from out of the area coming in to have beers. Tonight on the main floor they will be showing the Jerk at 10 PM. All beers will be available for tasting, though I know they are going to be changing out some lines soon. The new beer list hasn't been confirmed, but if you want to try the Iris I'd probably get on it fast.

"I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it. "

[Roger Troutman]

jparrott, on Jan 30 2007, 09:14 AM, said:

Order it rare. Not dry. Not terrible. Not awful.

I've long been a fan of Bourbon's ostrich burger, but the last time I ordered it, it was dry and overdone. I will have to give it a shot at rare or medium rare next time.

[brr]

stopped by The Reef yesterday evening for some drinks with a friend - plopped ourselves at the bar and put ourselves in the hands of Brian (who I think is the owner), truly a force of nature if I ever saw one, and very passionate about his beers

we had a great time - generous samples of any beer we wanted, an firkin of Orkney Ale perched on the bar, had a few of those and then switched to the Johns Locker Stock...a fantastic, tasty, hoppy floral pint of goodness and weighing in at almost 9% ABV

ManekiNeko is right about the Cantillon Iris....you will either love it or hate it and I hated it! Wasn't crazy about the DeKoenigs Winter I tasted either....too fruity

But a great time was had by all....

[jpschust]

brr, on Feb 2 2007, 10:11 AM, said:

stopped by The Reef yesterday evening for some drinks with a friend - plopped ourselves at the bar and put ourselves in the hands of Brian (who I think is the owner), truly a force of nature if I ever saw one, and very passionate about his beers

we had a great time - generous samples of any beer we wanted, an firkin of Orkney Ale perched on the bar, had a few of those and then switched to the Johns Locker Stock...a fantastic, tasty, hoppy floral pint of goodness and weighing in at almost 9% ABV

ManekiNeko is right about the Cantillon Iris....you will either love it or hate it and I hated it! Wasn't crazy about the DeKoenigs Winter I tasted either....too fruity

But a great time was had by all....

Brian is indeed the owner and certainly a force of nature.

That lockerstock will KILL you. It is so potent.

[jpschust]

Hey all- Ken, the chef at The Reef asked me to post this for you all to see as he thought there would be some interest. Between the beer list and the food list I think this is a pretty incredible deal myself. Cheers, bro.

Quote

The Reef Restaurant would like to invite you to a Belgian Beer Dinner

Wednesday, June 27th 2007

De Koninck & De Koninck Blonde
Stuffed Mussels
Sharp Aged Gouda from Winchester Cheese, CA
Frites & Garlic Aioli

Liefmans Goudenban
Grilled Squab, with Mashed Redskin Potatoes & Green Beans

Cantillion Organic Gueuze
Pan Roasted Halibut, Tart Apple & Jicama Slaw, Berurre Blanc

Bacchus
Rabbit Terrine & Frisse

True Belgian Sunrise
Fresh Melon & Cherry Salad

Malheur Dark Brut
Belgian Chocolate Mousse in Orange

$65 per person, gratuity not included

Please call The Reef 202-518-3800 between 11am–5pm M-F for reservations or ask your bartender. Cheers!

[qwertyy]

The Reef is my local; I drink there often, but I rarely eat there (nothing against them; I just don't go there to eat). However, I perused the menu tonight and noticed that it's gotten more interesting overall, including the fact that they are now serving Stachowski kielbasa. Just thought you might like to know... Also, the current beer list is a summer-lover's, session-drinker's dream--he's taken a lot of effort to get a few mighty tasty, hoppy, but low-ABV drinks on tap. He said they were for me, but I'm sure he was just playing...

[synaesthesia]

I had a pretzel with DeKonnick mustard last night. That was some beyond wasabi-level heat on the mustard though it could have used some actual flavor. Nonetheless some alright pretzels, and it reminds me that I should go see if The Saloon has their Oktoberfest menu.

[Miami Danny]

Bison Steak and Cheese Sandwich was a recent special, and the cinnamon-scented bison meat and tongue chili is always a favorite; but the real news here is two-fold. First, on Friday evenings, there is a children's happy hour where neighborhood parents bring their kids and all hell breaks loose on the second floor. Hilarious. And starting tomorrow, Mondays will feature slot-car racing. So dust off your Cucaracha (pun intended).