southdenverhoo

I think I'd just take 15 south from the Culpeper by-pass (instead of staying on 29) and hit BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville. It's a nice scenic way to get to the Hook anyhoo, Then, in C-ville, there's a new BBQ joint on the Corner called Buttz BBQ, 17 Elliewood Lane, getting rave reviews. Both are new to me, so no 1st hand recommendations; but I would say Pig n Steak in Madison, which is really not bad, just not excellent, has likely been eclipsed. Unless all these people posting reviews around the interwebs are crazy, which when it comes to BBQ, is always a possibility...

Thanks for the great tip, Zora. Google tells me they are actually at 145 S St SW--just outside the walls of Ft McNair. Mostly supply to restaurants/gourmet shops but some intrepid yelpsters have tracked them down to the Union Station Farmer's Market. (and thanks everybody else who replied)

Where does your favorite burger joint get its rolls? Where I now live (Denver) I'd say City Bakery reigns supreme, by general consensus. Their brioche burger rolls at $4.50 a dozen, to the trade, can not be matched around here, for highest quality at value pricing, IMO. We named them in our menu descriptions: "...All sandwiches served on City Bakery brioche rolls". Curious as to who is the DC-MD-VA equivalent... So...If you were starting a BBQ truck in NOVA, whom would you see about sandwich rolls? Google turns up a Cardinal Bakery in Sterling and Uptown Bakers in Hyattsville as likely places to start tasting... does Firehook sell wholesale to the trade? I can't figure it out from their website which seems geared towards retail sales, but they seem to have a large bakery facility in Chantilly... (I obviously know I need to do the legwork but am hoping a few names will pop up via the sort of collective knowledge/wisdom for which this board is so remarkable, that will expedite the process for me or at least keep me from barking up too many wrong trees)

This hurts my heart...better have, like, a dr pepper...

too late for suggestions but beer --a brown ale or not very hoppy pale ale, or an amber lager like a marzen, or a munich dunkel--seems to go as well as or better than white wine in a pork stock, even more so when the stock is made from smoked pork....to me anyhoo

hmm, that Colorado Springs store is only an hour or so away from me, think I'll give it a try. As to the Hawg Dog, there's apparently another version near y'all, at something called "Beef-n-Buns-n-Paradise" in Frederick MD.

Liefmans Kriekbier. Very nice; tart but sweet from the cherries, still finishes dry though. Prickly carbonation. They've been at it for over 300 years, guess they know what they're doing.

Cheese grits. White beans and kale w/ shredded country ham. Brunswick Stew. Pulled Carolina pork. Mashed sweet potatoes. Smothered pork chops and mashed potatoes. Slow cooked green beans with bacon and shredded country ham. Blackeyed peas with stewed tomatoes and hamhocks. Braised short ribs and pan gravy ladled over the aforementioned cheese grits. Hell, minus her fried chicken, which had an appropriate crunch, basically everything my grandmother cooked, and most of my repertoire, goes "splat." This ain't a diet, it's a slice of Piedmont heaven. Oh yeah, and speaking of slices, sweet potato pie w/ whipped cream. Soul food will get your friend back to rosy good health.

hmm...if you based it on Hunger you'd only occasionally, and randomly, have to serve any food at all, and not much of it when you did. This is fucking genius. Talk about your low food-cost concepts!

Hey, Rosie's all right.

thanks to all, also private message responders. Pretty cool for a half-ass home cook to get a question like this answered by chefrjdc, among all the other knowledgeable folks. This board rocks (well).

recent posts about wonderful sounding meals at Eventide have me savoring this dish, and as I live 1600 miles away, this means trying to do it myself. Internet recipe search only generated this delicious sounding but somewhat fussy take: http://www.eatfoo.com/archives/2009/11/corned_pork_belly_hash_egg_yol.php which while intriguing isn't quite what I'm looking for, and in any event I do not have the equipment to sous vide it for "12 hours @ 82C". I think I can figure out how to cook the corned pork belly in a satisfactory manner, also to prepare the cooked corn beef, potatoes, onions, etc into a pleasing hash for a quick fry up in the skillet, but I am concerned about the actual corning of the pork belly. The above linked recipe talks about brining it for a mere 3 days, whereas the corned beef brisket recipes I've found often talk about 3 weeks. I understand the size differential between the pork belly slabs I see at the local Asian grocery (at about 1.59 a lb, these seem to be between about an inch and a half thick, and around 2.75 to 4 lbs) and a big old brisket, but 1/7 of the brining time seems hardly enough. Can anybody clue me in on how long to brine a 3 lb pork belly?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellhound_on_My_Trail

IMHO, you are at the threshold, and any changes from this point will be in the nature of putting your own personal stamp on it. My wife's is the best I've had recently, and she's been tweaking it for 4-5 years since she saw me demolish some of Gillian Clark's back in the Colorado Kitchen days. Here's a link to a WaPo article featuring Ms Clark's recipe; however we have always thought there was a typo in the cookbook, repeated here, as this amount of salt was too much for us and made a far saltier bird than what we remembered from CK. (and we're not afraid of the salt shaker): http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2009/07/01/gillians-fried-chicken/

don't confuse me with the facts! I've sen the get-drunker-quicker syndrome in action dozens of times, with no relation to altitude sickness. Conversely in my odccasional forays back down to sea level since being up here, I find I can drink significantly more without showing the signs. I'll still be at at "Witty and Charming" (stage 2) and my sea level buddies are at "F**k Dinner"...(stage 5 I believe)

does look to me like the inspiration for this venture comes straight from Lockhart (as opposed to Austin, say) Though I doubt Kreuz, even in the "new" building, has anybody with the title "operating partner and COO", nor do I believe the word "hospitality" is included in their entity name, not that that of necessity precludes the production of good Texas Q. Now if Hill Country DC establishes a "No Sauce (nothing to hide) No Forks (they're at the end of your arms) No Kidding (see the owner's face)" policy I will DEFINITELY be impressed

Although I had read Calvin Trillin's work in Playboy, the first piece of food writing that made me want to really cook something was a piece by humorist H. Allen Smith that I stumbled across in the mid 70's (and it was not new then; I believe it dates back to the mid 60's).It deals in some depth with exactly the question you pose, and I give you the link. Immediately after reading this I hied over to the surplus store in downtown Charlottesville to buy my first Lodge cast iron dutch oven, obeying H. Allen's instructions you will find at the end. This was the first piece of cooking equipment I ever bought for myself; I had reached the age of 21 or 22 relying solely on cast-offs from my mother's kitchen. Here's the link: http://www.chilicookoff.com/History/History_Started.asp (After a lengthy period of Texas purism, I'm back to using beans and tomatoes in mine...)

"Rules? In a knife fight? There's no rules in a knife fight!" I believe it was Harvey Logan that said that, although what happened to him next was rather unpleasant.

This isn't a difference which requires the services of a chick sexer to sort out, by any chance? We seem to have one soliciting, or at least declaring availability for, work....

I agree, but, OT: I just clicked on to your website link below, for the first time, and wanted to tell you how much I think it rocks. Great recipes, great writing and mouth-watering food photography.

I heard somewhere (dcbeer, maybe?) that the Brickskeller has (or is imminently getting) a keg of it, though, so if you don't mind having to sit in a bar and have a pint, you might want to call and verify when it's due to be on...

I believe I bought the cookbook zoramargolis references when I got bit by the same bug, or else maybe sat in the Tattered Cover reading it and memorizing what I needed, shame on me. In any event it's good on technique and masa prep etc. (One thing I remember being surprised at was how little masa AND how little filling was needed for each one)That Bayless recipe surprises me in this regard: I would have thought lard instead of butter. It's been a long time since I made any tamales--they are so cheap and good at any number of little tamale shops and carnicerias here in Denver, you can buy a couple dozen for substantially less than a buck apiece and they freeze very well--but I don't remember using anything but lard. Other than that it seems typical, in my foggy memory.

Shoot ericandblueboy, I'm sorry! (We only had mains, the lechon asada you had and ropa vieja IIRC, and drinks, all of which we thought were good...or good for Warrenton...)How was Iron Bridge? PS the bistro I was thinking about was called Crescendo but it is in fact closed...

I would say Claire's at the Depot would be a reliable choice, but per the website they serve lunch tuesday through Friday, and Sunday Brunch, but nada on Saturday until 5PM. Napoleons served me a serviceable lunch 4 years ago and a horrible one 2 years ago, all of which is irrelevant because it's undergone an ownership change (maybe 2) since my last visit. People love McMahon's Irish Pub but I had some very mediocre bangers and mash when there last, maybe 2 years ago. Agave gets great ratings on the yelp type sites but I live in Denver (for 28 years now) and have no desire to see how good a mexican joint in Warrenton might be. Color me skeptical however. Where are you playing golf? I've heard good things about the grill room at Fauquier Springs CC, managed by the folks who used to own Legends and Legends Catering. This, the Rail Stop, and Ben & Mary's are where my parents take 95% of their meals outside the house...Ben & Mary's just makes me sad these days but one sure reads good reviews AND bad. Would The Plains be too far away? If the Rail Stop is open for lunch--just checked, it is, but menu far more pedestrian that the dinner menu I've dined from-- I think I'd go there..... but you have a lot of running around to do and not much time to do it. Actually I think I might go to Mojitos y Tapas if I were in your shoes, my wife and I had a very good lunch there last fall. It's in one of the shopping centers on the right as you enter town via 29, after you pass Blackwell Rd but before Winchester St. I forget the names...nice little Cuban place. http://www.mojitosandtapas.com/index.cfm

I think you are right, and it is a shame that such is the perception, as craft brewed beer is about as elitist as, I don't know, Gillian Clark's fried chicken with macaroni and cheese. Or a Hellburger. Specifically, it is an everyday food item whose maker chooses to make it with care and respect rather than the disrespect inherent in industrialized versions perceived as "egalitarian"; yet the "craft version" is sold at a price which makes it affordable to all, if marginally more dear than the industrial example. Hugh Sisson's small brewery, Clipper City, is 34.6 miles away from 1600 Pennsylvania per google maps, and unlike Anheuser-Busch, is owned by an American small businessman...