Seanchai

Thanks to all who replied. As I was centered around Dupont, I ended up hitting Conn. Wine and Liquor and the P street Whole Foods. While the beer guy at Conn. Ave W&L apologized for the picked over stock following the Christmas rush, I did nab a Port Mongo IPA, a Goose Island Matilda, and an Elysian Jasmine IPA. At Whole Foods I chatted with the beer guy and ended up with sixers from Goose Island and Great Lakes as well as another IPA bomber from Elysian. He also let drop that Goose Island (under the benevolent distribution hand of In-Bev, I assume) is coming to Virginia, which is great news.

I had an underwhelming experience here today for my first visit. This was particularly unfortunate as I had been really looking forward to this place. To my taste, everything was bit too twee and precious. Most of our lunches (the Pope sandwhich, chili cheese dog an pigs in a blanket) were perfectly fine and inoffensive if not inspired. The wings were undercooked, mushy and nasty. And, holy crap, the mark-up on the beers! $9 for a seasonal Blue Mountain draft ?! The atmosphere was interesting but I felt I was paying the interior decorator's bill with everything we ordered. On somone else's tab, sure, I can enjoy myself. But not a value by any stretch.

I'm coming into DC from the wilds of central Virginia this weekend and I am, among other familial duties, looking for beers not distributed in the Old Dominion. I'm thinking about Great Lakes and Goose Island in particular but of course am open to other good stuff including limited releases. Where's the best place to go?

As far as where to stay, I loved staying at the downtown Mariott Courtyard as it was right on the bus/rail lnes but was in easy walking distance of so much. Plus, it's pretty new and much nicer than the average Courtyard. Unlike say, Philadelphia, Portland doesn't tend to have places that have both really good food and great beer lists. Deschutes has a pub right near Powells downtown that has great beers and OK food. I've heard that the best combination for beer and food is Grain and Gristle. If you guys have time for a little drive out to Hood River, Double Mountain has great pizza and fantastic beer in a VERY casual atmosphere.

It's been a couple of years but I really liked the Little Owl and Perilla in the West Village for great neighborhood-style food.

Thanks everybody for all of the replies. No votes for Rustico? It's been a long time since I had a pizza from them and I rarely see them mentioned on the site.

OK, I'll be coming from Pennsylvania on a Sunday morning on my way back home to Charlottesville. I'm dying for a really good pizza and I know Pupatella is closed on Sunday. What's my best next option? Prefer Arlington or Old Town Alexandria but open to points south and west.

Reading Terminal Market is always a good starting place for a variety of Philly eats.

Fireworks Pizza near the Courthouse metro?

A nice new sessionable pale is Victory Brewing's Headwaters Pale Ale. Not too bitter and very refreshing. A great summer beer.

When I hear that term, my first thought rightly or wrongly is non-fancy decor, good beer program, food to match. I'm pre-disposed to like such a place based on my experiences with places that are described as such (not ones that necessarily call themselves that). Philadelphia in particular has a long list of places that match this description. Show me another word that gives me all of that and I'm happy to use it instead.

The apocalypse must be nigh; my long-ago employer Murphy's of DC, fleecer of unsuspecting German tourists and supplier of many, many unpaid-for shift drinks, is now "starring" in a DR thread. These are indeed crazy times we live in. I ask, nay demand comparisons be made of the famed Murphyburger (with Canadian bacon!) with Ray's Hellburger and other stars of the local scene.

Here's a little write-up I did on my trip last spring: Portland is an incredible place and one to which we hope to return often. Because of our over-packed schedule, I didn't get to hit as many of the restaurants as I had wished for full meals but rather hit many different places. Perhaps for that reason, there were no spectacular meals save for the one where we DID go all out (Le Pigeon), so maybe that's a lesson for us. None the less, a lot of very good meals in a variety of dynamic neighborhoods which I think is the real strength of the Portland dining scene (and we never even got out to the burbs). Places we particularly enjoyed: Davis Street Tavern (happy hour although I agree with Extra MSG about the dryness of the strip loin burger), Le Pigeon (top 5 meal of the last 10 years), Deschutes, Toro Bravo (didn't order enough), Tanuki (didn't order enough), Pok Pok (need to try more of the menu, just got the greatest hits of the green papya salad, fish sauce wings and the shrimp chips), Clyde Common (great ham sandwich at lunch, need to go back for dinner), Tasty and Sons (really friggin good), Kenny and Zuke's (killer pastrami of course although I made the mistake of trying to create a bagel sandwich with the pastrami at breakfast on a second visit; bagel very good, side of pastrami, not good), Spints (great clean and dirty pretzels), Victory (excellent bar food), Apizza Scholls (very, very good but not quite at Pizzeria Mozza level), Double Mountain (great beer and really nice people), Bunk (excellent meatball sandwich), Belmont Station, Hopworks, Green Dragon (very friendly service), Bailey's Taproom (I liked it a lot more than my wife, very beer geeky),Saraveza (a little too hipstery for me but very friendly service) Lincoln (should have ordered more) OK - Al Forno Ferruza (calzone was neighborhood good but I should have gone to Ned Ludd for lunch in retrospect), Bulgogi BBQ food cart at 5th and Stark, Horse and Brass and Concordia Ale House (average places with huge beer lists, not much vibe), Bridgeport in NW (odd place; souless and beers were meh), Rogue Ale House (bar was funkier than expected and beers were good but not cheap), Hedge House and 5th Quadrant (would kill to have them in VA, not quite at the same level as the other options in Portland) Pleasant surprises - Hop and Vine - really liked the atmosphere, very pleasant service, Lucky Lab on Hawthorne ( almost skipped this but instead really enjoyed the beers, seemed very Portland), excellent club sandwich at Farm to Fork in Dundee, Portland Farmer's Market at PSU (wow, just wow, and the season has just started), Migration Brewing (hit it on a Saturday afternoon sitting half inside, half outside, NCAA bball on, good beers on tap, a lot of people from the hood dropping by, just a nice vibe).

Interestingly enough, I was in Chambersburg, PA this past weekend at a great beer distributor, In and Out Beverage. They were expecting their Hopslam to come in this week. While they can only sell by the case, they are only charging $62.99 for a case of Hopslam. Sounds like a business opportunity for someone!

OK, I will be the first to admit that I nearly always cook from recipes except for a handful of tried and true dishes. However, I know most "real" cooks scoff at recipes and cook in the "a little of this, a little of that" style and knowledge of technique. So. I have a recipe for Chicken Sauce Piquant from Donald Link's Real Cajun that I have made before and know is awesome. Among many other things, it calls for a small pobano chile, seeded and diced, that I just realized I forgot to purchase. So, trying to think like a real cook, I'm thinking that the qualities it would bring are mellow chile bite and maybe a little textural contrast with the rest of the red sauce. However, since the recipe also calls for diced celery, onion, garlic and tomatoes, I'm thinking not to worry about texture and just add a little subtle heat with ancho or allepo chile powder, maybe a teaspoon or 2. Thoughts?

Roanoke Spending a couple of days in Roanoke this week and can come up with two recomendations. I've enjoyed the food and beer at Blue 5 in the downtown district. Nothing fancy but slightly upscale bar food very well executed. Another place I discovered down here is Fork in the City, which has a real Philly gastropub or even Portland, Oregon feel to it. Located just outside the downtown business district in Old Southwest (?), it has a wood-fired oven, rustic open room with booths and neighborhood friendly menu (pizza, burgers, hot dogs as well as various southwesty stuff like chilis and burrritos). I had a small Italia pizza and a bowl of chili and both hit the spot on a chilly night.

For a cold rainy day, I'm making a nice big pot of Sunday sauce (using the Frankies Spuntino recipe) and ricotta gnocchi before the kitchen gets taken over by the Christmas cookie crew.

Ground meat chili, guaranteed to shoot through your body in an hour. Thank God I tried it in my early 20s; it might actually kill me today.

In a pure snack to go sense, you can't do much better than Uncle Henry's Handmade Pretzels. You should see these available in supermarkets and your better convenience stores once you cross the PA line. Please beware, they are addictive. Salty goodness

Not sure quite what the style is but I can say it's not Carolina style with the pork minced with the vinegar sauce. I'm not sure the ribs or the pulled pork have much of a rub but each have an excellent, full smoky flavor. Ribs have a little bite and chew, not the mushy fall of the bone method.

As long as you're driving an hour, go another 45 minutes and hit the best BBQ place in VA, the Barbeque Exchange in Gordonsville. EVERYTHING is good here, especially all the sides. The place started as a side project for the chef at one of the local inns (Craig Hartman at Keswick Hall) and has gotten so popular he actually quit the chef job to do the BBQ full time. BBQ Exchange

Sigh. I grew up in Queens with every cluster of stores including at least one tavern and one pizza place. Regular slice, Sicialian square slice. Spicy sauce, thinnish layer of mozzarella, maybe cornmeal on the bottom of the crust. Most places just served cheese slices. You want toppings, just order a whole friggin pie, man, and stop busting my chops. The good ole days.

Anybody familiar with the chili parlors of Cincinnati? I'll be there with family for one night later this week and figure I should try either Skyline or Gold Star. I know both are chains but are they like Clyde's chains or are they more like Denny's? Are some locations better than others? I'll be staying just across the river in Kentucky if that helps.

Another variable occurred to me: was there a policy of automatic gratuity for a party of say 6 or more? Again, not saying your group would be guilty of this, but I used to work in an Irish pub that got a lot of tour groups/conventioneers and the first thing some groups would ask for is separate checks so they don't get the automatic surcharge. The collective tips on the separate checks never seemed to work out well and after a certain number of these tables, I as a server would groan inwardly whenever I heard the separate check request. Maybe this colored your service experience ...

I have an innate prejudice against any eatery that proclaims in neon in their front window , FREE SMELLS. Am I being unfair? Of course, but still ...