edenman

The Columbia Room needs its own thread. Had the most zen drinking experience of my life last weekend. I am honestly a bit shocked that more of you aren't raving about it. A Derek Brown original, the Cynar Daiquiri (this) was the best drink I've had in recent memory, and the service is the most comforting and gracious. Even (from watching other customers) if you don't know the man behind the stick personally. And pink gin ftw!

I'm a huge Google Reader user, and Chow definitely does a better job with RSS than IP Board. With Chow I can fit my browsing neatly with the rest of my browsing, for work, news, whatever. But with DonRockwell, I have to have a special window dedicated to it. This may sound like a minor thing, but when you are looking at literally 100's of pages a day, its a big deal.

Seconded.

Where are Jerry's Sandwiches and De Pasada? Never heard of 'em.

We went to the Jerry's on Division, just off Damen.

De Pasada is in Ukranian Village and was notable for its proximity to my buddy's place. Another "not quite a destination" place but worth checking out if you need a mexican fix in that area. Also notable: there are 3 locations of "La Pasadita" on that same block.

Have you been to The Tipsy Pig? We're going to SF next month and are thinking about trying it.

Haven't...I don't get to the Marina often (although I've heard good things about the beers at Delarosa too). Will report back if I get there before April.

Another beer-y weekend romp through Chicago

Beer

Hopleaf: a new spot for me. excellent food, great beer bar tap and bottle list. only downside is that when we got there at 5:45 on a Saturday, the wait was already 90 minutes for a party of 6. eating at the bar was quite sufficient once we accumulated enough seats. we had a DD so we drove....not sure how public transit accessible this place is. only downside is that the beers are a bit expensive, but that's what happens in a nice place, i suppose.

Map Room: still a great tap list and ambience. highly recommended if you're in the WickerPark/Bucktown area.

Local Option: still probably my favorite Chicago beer bar...laid back, a bit college-y, but with a stellar tap list. only gripe is that nobody puts prices on their chalkboards here (same issue at Map Room). annoying when draught prices can swing from $4-10.

Small Bar: a neighborhood joint with a slightly-above-average tap list. some tasty beers, but hardly a destination.

Food:

Jerry's Sandwiches: an "all sorts of crazy sandwiches" place. pretty tasty, with a good tap list.

Feast: above average brunch near Wicker Park. crossaint breakfast sandwich was delicious.

De Pasada: hangover + chilaquiles = satisfaction.

Not to start a debate, but the brewpub scene here as I've enjoyed it over the last almost-year since moving out here:

1) 21st Amendment - my favorite brewpub beers in town. wacky seasonals, excellent stuff in the main lineup...they tend toward the American craft beer style: big flavors, no punches pulled. the pub grub is overpriced and not very good. location is close to the baseball stadium, worth checking if there's a game because the bar gets packed before/after games. heck, it's crowded most of the time.

2) Magnolia - brewpub in the upper Haight doing mostly British-style beers and upscale pub grub. the food here can be pretty great but it's not super-consistent. they have 5 cask lines that are frequently rotated and well-maintained. and the mainline beers are pretty great (mild ales, kolsch, spud boy IPA, the stout)

3) Thirsty Bear - organic beers, full liquor selection, and Spanish food. the concept makes no sense, but who am i to complain. this place is also huge so if you're looking for a place for a big group, it's worth checking. the beers (perhaps due to being organic, perhaps not) have rarely escaped the "totally boring" area for me, although they've done some really cool dry-hopped casks on occasion. although maybe the point isn't to wow beer geeks like me, who knows oh and the food can be pretty good, if on the pricey side for a brewpub.

4) Beach Chalet - only visited here once since it's way on the other side of town and i don't have a car. had a pretty tasty mild on cask, but unfortunately it's not worth the trip unless you're already out at GG park or hanging out at the beach.

At any rate, it's a pretty good lineup of independent local brewpubs...there are some other great ones in the 'burbs, and the city has its fair share of great beer bars as well, but those will have to wait for another post.

Apparently, the outstanding Tupper's Hop Pocket is back after an absence of several years since Budweiser bought out and eventually closed the Old Dominion brewery in Ashburn, Virginia, where Bob Tupper had his very special beer brewed. Because of the higher cost he now faces in its production, the beer is being sold in 4-packs. Probably for about $10.99, I'd guess.

Has anyone found any stores in Washington, D.C. or neighboring Maryland or Virginia who are selling Tuppers?

I haven't had any luck locating it.

https://twitter.com/beerspotter might have an idea...try sending him a DM?

The snow allowed me to finally get around to making Worcestershire sauce, which I wanted to do ever since I saw the recipe in Saveur (it never occured to me before that this was something you could make). Needs to age for three weeks, though... we'll see if this is worth doing.

well?

An old college friend of mine lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City and I went to visit him and travel around for a couple weeks. Although a third DC friend was scheduled to join us (and thus balance out the itinerary in favor of more non-food activities), he was delayed several days by the snowgasm in DC and then by United Airlines nitpicking, so it ended up being an unabashed food-oriented romp around the country. A few notes:

1) I was expecting relevatory Phở, and did not find it. The dish is better in the US in almost all categories except herbage...the array of fresh cheap herbs in Vietnam is unparalleled.
2) B�nh m� are fantastic, and even cheaper in Vietnam than in the states. The "Op La" is a breakfast option with a fried egg on it, and it's fantastic.
3) There were so many "wrap your own" dishes that I fell in love with. Mustard greens ftw.
4) Vietnamese beer sucks (no surprise there) but there are some German and Czech brewpubs that make some more acceptable pilseners and dunkels to help balance out the crappy rice lager that is the country's standard.
5) The language is tonal, and thus very difficult to speak well, much less understand. I was very lucky to have a friend there who spoke the language and could sort out any translation difficulties.

City by city:

H� Nội:
Unfortunate timing meant we were in Hanoi for the beginning of the Tet holiday (Ch�c Mừng Năm Mới!) and thus all of the places we'd been recommended were closed. It's truly sad because another friend claims Hanoi is his favorite food town in the world, and I didn't feel like we got a very good sample of what it has to offer.
Thịt Nướng - street vendor selling little skewers of marinated and grilled pork. first thing we ate and a clear "best dish in the city" choice, although probably also a front-runner in the "most likely what got me sick" contest
Ph�ng Hưng Market - probably not what it's actually called, but it's on Ph�ng Hưng street and had a lively assortment of whole birds and fresh fruit/veg.
Bun Ca - a fish and noodle soup from a street vendor that was doing some fairly decent business. easily one of the worst things we ate all trip, the broth tasted like water and oil, and the fish was just crappy deep fried chunks of bland white fish.
Legends Brewery - standard brewpub with Bia V�ng ("yellow beer", a pils) and Bia Den ("black beer", a dunkel), just average beers. cool second level terrace overlooking the busy square and corner view of the lake.
B�nh cuốn - another unnamed place, stumbled into when yet another recommended place (Phở Thin) was closed. these little mini rice-crepe-ish things were filled with dry mushrooms and topped with fried onions. pretty tasty, especially when dipped in fish sauce (which came with some floating bits of something else...tofu or very bland pressed pork?).
Hoa Vien - the bar was closed but they were staffed with two guys who were just selling pre-filled growlers to go. my friend used his vietnamese skills to convince them to let us drink a Bia Den on premise and then take home some Bia V�ng. the V�ng is probably my favorite of the Vietnamese microbrews that we had, a nice hoppy czech pils. there's one of these in HCMC too.
Chao Ga - desperate for dinner, we finally found a place that was open on Tet Eve, this divey place service chicken porridge. Not very good, but filling.
B�nh m� Op La - late-night street vendor hooking up the egg sandwich with pork on top!
Phở b� - the dish that originated in Hanoi, probably my favorite thing about Vietnamese food before I started this trip. we tried two street vendors after exhausting the recommended places (and finding them all closed). both were disappointing: lackluster herbage, weak chicken-y broth and crappy beef.
Squid Beignet - at some touristy french-ish restaurant that happened to be open. the name should've been a tip-off, but this was pretty terrible, like really bad fried calarami.
Gold Malt - a brewpub a little bit outside of the main downtown area. beers were just ok.
Hang Be Market - my first exposure to chả gi�, deep fried pork spring rolls. ubiquitous in Vietnam, I tried the offerings at two different food stands in the market and both were delicious.

Huế:
After a string of bad noodle bowls in Hanoi, the food here was a fantastic uptick in quality.
Cơm Hến (28 Truong Dinh) - baby clams, rice, peanuts. mild clam flavor, delicious bowls
B�n b� Huế (on L� ThÆ°á»ng Kiệt) - a thinner noodle than Phở, spicier and with pork and beef partying together in the same bowl. one of my favorite noodle dishes we had the whole trip.
B�nh Nam - a restaurant serving lots of small bite-sized rice rolls with shrimp (paste, whole shrimp, etc). can't recall the name of this place, but it was great.

Há»™i An:
A more touristy town than the previous two, we ate pretty well here.
Mango Rooms - easily the most expensive meal of the trip so far, something like $35 for a four-course lunch. portions were a bit skimpy (not as much of a bargain as I was expecting) but everything was tasty, especially a starter of sesame-fried scallops with onions and chiles.
Cao L�o - at a random restaurant near our hotel. specialty of Hội An, a dry dish with peanuts, grilled pork, and a uniquely-textured noodle (apparently treated with lye). pretty tasty.
Phở b� - at a random restaurant near our hotel. no better than the street versions in Hanoi.

Hồ Ch� Minh City:
The country's economic center and my friend's home base, this was where virtually all of our great food finds came from. The itinerary was all laid out before we even got to the city, and we stuffed our faces with glee for several days.
Bến Th�nh Market - great spot. here i tried durian fruit (i like stinky cheese and sour beer, but i couldn't take more than a couple bites of this before giving up) and balut (Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese...fertilized duck egg). a bit hectic, but a really cool market.
Hủ Tiếu - Tung Hung is the name of the place, and this was the best noodle dish of the trip. basically pork Phở with a dash of shrimp. after a few setbacks on the food adventure, this is when we really starting hitting high notes
Qu�n Ăn Ngon - 160 Pasteur. a bunch of different street food vendors gathered into one huge restaurant. lots of "make your own roll" style stuff: grilled meats, veggies, noodles, herbs, and rice paper for you to wrap and then dip in fish sauce or other sauces. fantastic stuff.
Phở b� - tried it at Phở Bắc Hải H� Ná»™i (29 Nhuten Thi Minh Khai) and it was again, nothing special. on the other hand, the đặc biệt at Phở H�a (260C Pasteur) was the best bowl of Phở the whole trip. finally a broth i loved, and some tasty beef (tendon, flank, but no tripe)
Qu�n 94 - a crab restaurant (at 84 Dinh Tien Hoang Street...don't be confused by the other places with the same name on this street) with some fantastic stuff. Chả gi� cua (crab spring rolls, deep fried), Miến x�o cua (crab with glass noodles), and cua lột x�o me (soft-shell crab with tamarind sauce) were all pretty excellent, the soft-shells especially.
B�nh m� - two places: at the first, a small street stand across Mạc ÄÄ©nh Chi from the US Consulate, i tried the Op La (egg) and a regular pork one. both very solid and super cheap, like $.75 apiece. at the second, Bamizon (across Nguyen Van Chiem from the Diamond Plaza), pork set me back more than a dollar (horrors!) but was a touch better than the pork from the street stand.
B�nh x�o - savory crepe-ish things that are simple and delicious. we tried to go to "B�nh x�o 46A" but it was closed so we ended up at another place whose name i can't remember (B�nh X�o A Phủ maybe?). you cut off a bit of crepe (with shrimp and pork inside), place it in your mustard leaf or lettuce, add herbage, roll up, and dip in fish sauce (are you noticing a pattern here?). excellent.
Wrap and Roll - 62 Hai Ba Trung. another place with a penchant for rolled things, and done really well. menus with english translations, and food likely tailored a little for the tourist trade (although we were the only obvious tourists there). still really good mustard leaf spring roll and grilled eel.
Ty Coz - classic french at 178/4 Pasteur. the last night of the trip, and the most expensive dinner of the trip. p�t� de campagne, dragonfruit and passionfruit sorbet, duck magret with pommes de terre au gratin and pepper sauce, and gaufre with whipped cream and a pear puree. very good for the price, but not without flaws. still, i'd recommend it.
Nguyễn Du Brauhof - another german brewpub with more variety than any other so far: lager, dunkel, weizen, m�rzen. nothing great, but all solid.

Ph� Quốc:
An island off the southern coast, I spent a couple days here by myself at a remote beach resort. Went on a night squid fishing trip (3hr on board fishing and eating) and rode a motorbike around the island, but mostly did a bunch of sitting around and eating the mediocre hotel fare.
Grilled Squid - since i was by myself for this trip, i'll just be naming the dishes in english. these were the freshest squid i'd ever eaten (having just been caught by myself and others on board), and were fantastic simply charcoal-grilled in squarish chunks.
Grilled Clams - again, simply grilled with chives. delicious.
Thang Loi - resort where i stayed (Thang Loi) was a beautiful setting and a great place to relax and drink beers, but unfortunately the resort was pretty far from the main city so it was difficult to explore. The food was fine, but boring: fish in a clay pot, squid stuffed with rice and pineapple, chả gi� with fish.

Photos are here, if you are so inclined.

We were there in August 2009.

...

It may take a different mindset for us to really enjoy a restaurant like this, but when comparing it to just restaurants, not vegetarian restaurants, we thought that it was merely average. And, when you are out there, average just isn't going to cut it.

I was there in October '09, and it was precisely that the place stood out as a great meal (and not just a great vegetarian meal) that I thought it was so notable. I'm not arguing that you are wrong (the place certainly has critics and I can respect that), just presenting an alternate opinion. Of course, it may be all a bit moot with the chef shakeup.

Back at my first restaurant/bar job, this was referred to as a "Double Grat" and the less scrupulous waitstaff would definitely "forget" to mention the included gratituity for large parties. As a beer bar/restaurant where big parties were normally splitting the bill (and thus more likely to notice the gratuity on the check), the double grat would mostly happen when the group was from a company/etc and only one person with a corporate card was paying.

One night while managing, I had a customer come in with a receipt from one such event that he had been carrying around in his wallet for years. It was faded and yellow, and we told him to come back the next day when the owners were around. I still get a kick out of imagining this tourist getting ripped off by a waiter, and then carrying the receipt with him for ages until he was back in DC and could come retrieve his extra $20 tip.

On the flip side, we really did not like Ubuntu. Inventive and creative, a resounding yes, good especially when compared to the caliber of restaurants in Napa, definitely not. We liked some pimped out salad that we got and a pasta dish, but the other four dished we ate were simply below average. The service also had issues that night, we were fine, but the tables around us were raising hell about their food and drink orders, I consider ourselves lucky. Most disappointing was the fact that by going to Ubuntu one night for dinner, we missed out on the opportunity to check out Redd or another great place like the Martini House.

I absolutely loved my meal at Ubuntu a few months ago. That said, I'd be curious about when you were there...their chef recently left.

Hello, I am Bill Madden aka Maddbrewer.

Welcome, Bill. Now you just gotta pester Bob Tupper to get on here

I need a restaurant with a beer list that will keep the vegetarian happy (no meat, no chicken, no fish) with a menu that will keep me happy with a Dino to Palena price range. We also have to be able to make a reservation on a Saturday night. If Churchkey served actual food it would be perfect. Thoughts?

Doesn't Churchkey have Birch&Barley downstairs? I haven't been, but looks to be several veggie options on their menu

Any recent reports? It's looking like I'll be there next week for the first time, probably just for a meal, maybe two. Thinking I should just go get a burnt ends sandwich at Arthur Bryant's on Brooklyn, but I'm open to other thoughts after the last two years of silence on the matter.

Just got back from a long food weekend in PDX...a friend from DC is planning on opening a sandwich truck there, and this was an excuse to eat our way through town and scout out the competition.

Thursday:

Le Pigeon - very good (sweetbreads and confit'd/fried pork shoulder were standouts) but not as stunning as I remember it being. Gabriel wasn't cooking, fwiw.

Beaker and Flask - a great manhattan-ish drink with an ice sphere anchoring the center. I've heard great things about the food here too, but we were stuffed from Pigeon and had to run.

Belmont Station - quite possibly the best bottle shop in existence, especially if you're a hophead like myself.

Horse Brass - a hophead's fantasy bar, still among the top in the country

Friday:

Toast - grilled muffin amuse bouche, pork belly and egg with squash/potato hash. great brekkie.

Deschutes Pub - Abyss on tap? yes please.

Olympic Provisions - a newcomer on the scene, and our favorite meal of the weekend. prices are still low (they haven't been reviewed by any of the papers yet) and quality is top-notch. among other things, we had amazing dry-cured chorizo, some great terrines, brussels sprouts salad, and the best chicken salad i've ever had.

Bailey's Taproom - like the Horse Brass's cleaner, smaller cousin. not as many hop bombs, but a great 20-tap lineup and a friendly proprietor.

Paley's Place - literally gluttons for punishment, we went for a late dinner at Paley's, generally regarded as one of the best places in town. it did not disappoint. we ordered charcuterie (the testarossa = insane, also a good boudin noir and a stellar plum/quail terrine), sweetbreads, clams/shrimp with preserved citrus rissoto, braised elk shoulder w/polenta, beets, brussels, and a burger. the chef sent out an extra plate of rabbit ravioli because "he likes the way you are ordering". by the time the burger came, we were so stuffed we barely managed to put a dent in it before asking for a to-go box. stellar meal.

Saturday:

Pho An - great pho. nuff said.

Laurelhurst Market - the beginning of a 3-stop, 10-sandwich ordering rampage. all in the name of competitive analysis. we ended up giving away several half-sandwiches at the end of the night when it became clear that it was a ridiculous amount of food for two people. Here we ordered a porchetta, a panini reuben, and a chicken salad. reuben and porchetta were fantastic.

Bunk - an italian sub, a broccolini+cheese, a cuban pulled pork, and one i can't remember. tied with laurelhurst for our favorite, especially the broccolini and the cuban pork.

Meat Cheese Bread - a smoked trout, a bacon and beet, and a pulled pork? our least favorite (crappy bread, and flavors weren't great)

Sunday:

Country Cat - brunch here was tasty, and prepared by an old sous chef friend from DC. fried chicken, burger.

Lanvin Bakery - i've only made it through one of the banh mi sandwiches (lemongrass beef) so far, but it was fantastic. got two more (pork skin, pork belly) for tomorrow.

Laurelwood Brewing - Horizon Airlines gives you free craft beer on board, and there's a Laurelhurst Brewpub in the airport terminal that they occupy. Win.

Pass the tums.

Spending the month at 8,500 feet, I'm discovering a range of bizarre effects altitude has on the body. For one, I had two drinks the other night--a lukewarm old-fashioned (bless the dear waitress for saving me from the ice because despite my idiotic insistence otherwise, alcohol does NOT kill parasites) and a glass of wine over about two hours--and I was nearly sloshed. Drinking beer slowly seems to be a good, monitorable route, and my friends here say that in time I could build up a tolerance.

So, when you're way up here, why do you get drunk so easily? Is the blood alcohol level actually higher than it would be after two drinks at sea level, or does the thin air just play havoc with brain function? If it's just havoc, then how can you develop a tolerance?

Click

Clipper City brand to cease?

Not a huge surprise...Heavy Seas beers have increasingly become their focus over the last few years.

Slightly tangential question:

Multiple friends (without coordinating beforehand) have gotten me finishing salts as gifts this year. At this moment, I own a starter set from The Meadow, some Himalayan pink salt, and some Maldon sea salt.

My plan is to utilize each of these salts at a dinner party, but I have absolutely no clue how to do so. What kind of course (amuse, starter, or otherwise) and food is the best method of "showing them off" in a way that allows the guests to appreciate these salts the most? Assume that these guests are moderately foodie-ish.

I've only had salt tastings twice: once at the DR event at Vidalia (with the Wagyu beef) and once at TFL (with the Foie Gras). Both were excellent at showing off the salts. Butters finished with the various salts might be a good way too.

Velvet Glove. I'm going to be nursing this bottle for as long as possible.

Are there any history of cocktail or bourbon/scotch books that you all would recommend? I am on a secret santa list and wanted to get something along those lines since the drawee is a scotch-afficionado. Thanks in advance!

-Michael Jackson's Complete Guide - the drawee may already have it, but it's supposed to be a great book, and I can attest to the author's fantastic work in the world of beer. And no, it's not that Michael Jackson.

-99 Drams - looks like more of a general purpose/entertainment book but could be a good choice

-Bourbon, Straight - looks awesome

-Imbibe - not a bourbon/scotch specific book, but a fantastic look at cocktail history.

Whole Foods is getting into the mobile chicken processing biz, for better or worse: Click

A friend of mine posted photos on Fb from dinner last night. These are non-restaurant-industry folks so I think it's safe to say that they're open to the general public now.

Completely awesome. Thanks, Eric.

It's flavored water with alot of bubbles. If I were going to define it in one word, I'd say "Happy". Or "Smile".

Mostly relevant video about this soda shop in LA. The place is amazing.