SeanMike

It looks like Monday will probably work for me.

ObGiveDonRocksSomethingToDo

y u no like single spacing?

I wanted to try the calamari because of the fact that it was char-grilled and not battered rather than fried. Next time I'm there I'll definitely give it a shot (assuming my dietician says it's okay )

CA is an exciting new addition to a still-underserved coffee scene in Arlington.

This is the first time in over 6 years that I wished I still worked in Rosslyn.

((obviously I'm not "Like"-ing this because of what happened, but because that's a touching tribute.))

And yet we never meet up for drinks.... we gotta do that!

Heck, I've been out in Arlington just about every night this week! (Though Tuesdays I'm usually back early because it's Borderlands 2 night.)

Speaking of Tuesdays, I won't be around Tuesday after next since I'll be in NYC.

Seems like all my friends who were there last night had a fantastic time and couldn't stop going on and on about how awesome the place will be...

Since Mussel Bar opened, it's been pretty busy, so I hadn't been there yet. Last night I was craving seafood and ended up there. I've not been to any of the other ones.

It looks big from the outside but inside it seemed even bigger. There was a decent crowd at the bar, where I sat, pleasantly surprised to find my old favorite bartender from Hard Times working there.

First "oof" - beer prices seemed high, though they really weren't that bad for "regular" beers, there's just a lot of expensive Belgians on there. I did really dig the Ommegang Scythe and Sickle and the Brabo Pils.

Reading this thread from the past was interesting to see how prices went up. I ordered a half dozen raw oysters, half wild Maine, half Lynnhaven Virginia. ($14 for 6, $26 for 12.) The kitchen sent out a half dozen of the Maine only at first, so they gave me a half dozen of the Virginia to follow up. Yay! The Lynnhaven were FANTASTIC with a spritz of lemon and the apple Kasteel Rouge mignonette. I could eat a bazillion of them. According to my bartender, there's a $1/oyster happy hour on Tuesdays. I may have to test that out...

I had a hard time deciding what to order - my bartender suggested the swordfish, I was really tempted by the salmon, but decided since I was in a place called "Mussel Bar" I should try the mussels. I got the white wine order ($21 for an order, though I was only charged $14 for a listed half-order) with an additional $1 for fries. There were TONS of mussels in the iron pot! I also was given bread to soak up the broth. They were good. Not fantastic or life-changing, but good.

Also, the portion size for the fries was MASSIVE. There was no way I could eat more than just a few of them. Even at full price, that was definitely worth it in my opinion (also because I was starving), but knowing there are half-orders would make it much more likely I could get through a portion most nights.

Still, my tab (before tip, after tax) was just short of $80, which was a bit more than I expected to pay last night, but I did really enjoy the beers I drank (I switched to some of the more expensive ones, including the Antigoon and Delirium Tremens). I think I'd have a lot more fun if I was there with folks, but I did really dig the ambiance and the music playing. I'll have to cram myself up to the bar more often...especially at happy hour...

Our comments are broken and I don't really care to fix them. On the other hand, I've gotten some very interesting comments on this post on Facebook, and would love to hear what others think:

http://scofflawsden.com/blog/2013/10/18/drinking-and-depression/

Yes, I live right in Ballston.

OH YEAH! I'm so Ballston, my apartment is in a place called Ballston Park!

oh wait a minute...

Also, to second Beer Advocate and to toss in untappd. The rankings on untappd aren't all that great since everything gravitates to between 3.3 and 4.1 (though its a pretty damn good bet I'll like a beer with an average of 4 MUCH better than one with an average of 3.4), but primarily just so I can remember what I've drank, and what I thought of it.

I ended up giving up on untappd for a variety of reasons - including how much it was wearing down my phone battery. (And, honestly, given the quantities of beer I drink, that's probably not needed to be listed...)

Ah, I hope Joe does well. He's a really nice guy.

Then again, I was right - after I moved, I just rarely made it back down there...

ARLnow.com just sent a retweet reporting that Fat Shorty's is closing 10/27. Still never made it there - oh, well.

When I tried it at Tales one year - think it was just out of someone's flask or bottle, not anything formal - I didn't care for it. Mostly for the reasons you listed.

Wasn't this the rum they helped make on Dirty Jobs, or am I thinking of another one?

Actually, my post was merely a response to the rss feed story, which Don subsequently flipped into a "new" thread crediting me as having been the "starter."  He does that a lot you know.  So I guess they're both "Don's threads."  Apparently he likes the story, or else he had a senior moment, either of which I can relate to.  A result no doubt of both of us having been doing too much Bourbon drinking over the years.

I was mostly trying to give him a hard time.

Friday evening while my dog was being serviced at Friendship Animal Hospital in Tenleytown

Sorry, I'm just laughing my ass off at the idea of your dog up on the skids like in a garage, getting his oil and other fluids changed and paws checked.

I can say on my visits, Passenger - despite some conferences next door - seemed slower when I was there. And while driving through DC, it seemed oddly quiet.

I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE Y'ALL BACK (he says as a government contractor).

My brother and I saw the trailer twice (thanks to Pacific Rim screwing up in Courthouse, and having to see it elsewhere).

While I dream of the day I can be in space, I have no desire to see this, just like no desire to see movies about drowning/sharks (the one where the folks were left in the water after a dive) or similar...

That being said, Sandra Bullock is a NoVA ex-pat, and I think she's nifty.

My friend's death to cancer just hit six months. His son just got married, due to a pregnant girlfriend, over the objections of his wife. But now they seem to be okay, and I'm happy for them at that. They need more happiness in their lives, not more drama.

I'm drinking right now to Santa and all other often underappreciated bartenders out there. She took care of me regularly at BW-3 here in Ballston. Like many bartenders at places like that, she dealt with a lot of shit, and now she's been promoted to management. I noticed last week that she wasn't working and heard the news - earlier this week when I visited, she swung by my seat at the bar unnoticed, smacked the bar with her hand, and pointed at me until I looked up and busted up laughing. She's going to do well, and I wish her the best.

I'll include bartenders from Hard Times (and I feel *SO* bad I can't remember her name), multiple ones from FireWorks, most of the crew at Ragtime - they're not necessarily mixologists, and that's not a bad thing. They're damn good bartenders, damn good people to drink with, and damn well need people to give them more respect. (And next time I post something like this, I'll work my way into the District...)

daveo, since I know it's your neighborhood -- since I moved from Courthouse, I haven't been to the Clarendon one. I used to go there regularly for some chili and cheap beers on Tuesday nights. Also because I had a cool bartender, though last I saw her she was a (fellow) patron at Fuego Cocina and came over to say hi to me, and I want to say she's not there any more. Is it still chill and okay? Or should I not bother walking there?

BTW, if there's one thing that makes me feel good as a patron, it's when I see a bartender I visited regularly in another capacity - either as a patron at another bar, bartending elsewhere, or even promoted to management - and they say hi. I try to be a good patron and tipper, and most of all, try to make sure that me (and anyone I'm with) isn't rude or a creeper, so it makes me feel good when they remember me fondly.

(Just out of nowhere. Maybe need to move threads...)

Is she a spectacular mixologist?  I have no idea.  She gives incredible service and is tremendously helpful.

Well, yeah, but FireWorks is not a mixology kind of bar. They have some cocktails, but given the crowd they get, they are exactly what they want. My friends' wives have never complained about what they ordered. (Now some of my friends have complained about the beers, but that's because they listened not to the bartender, and drank some random 10%+ Czech beer at the end of a long night of cheap beer, and you don't want to know who ended up in the bathtub, but it wasn't me.)

Myself, I know as both a cocktail and beer lover not to order mixed drinks there, because I'm going to overthink them. But Claira (who I had, and I think I've had Gina before) was great, and I always get good advice on the beer. They have lots of good ones on tap, some casks, and I don't feel as financially burdened as I do at (say) Rustico Ballston.

Zora; when I was on my no-alcohol binge, that was what I did a lot. Check out the Shrub & Co. stuff - it's amazing.

Don: I think that's exactly the thing. Sodas can be great! But drinking them constantly isn't good. I know I'm not doing well with my Coke Zero love, but I'm 37 years old and already battling (now) diabetes, low Vitamin D, and high cholesterol, especially triglycerides. But I save some very good sodas for very occasional use.

(And, maybe ironically after my college career, almost never for mixing. )

I must note that typically wineries do NOT pour their better bottles in these events

I think that's a good point - I've always used wine festivals as a stepping stone to say "well, is it worth the initial going out there" rather than "their wines rock!"

Last time I visited Horton, it was almost like a wine festival - they just had so many wines to taste, but their better ones weren't available to taste. Now that I have more disposable income, I really need to go back to the C'ville area and re-visit a lot of wineries.

(But, to be honest, not Trump. Never visited in the previous incarnation, and hate Trump so much I won't support it in this one. It is, for me, like Chateau O'Brien - the wines there were good, but the owner was so annoying to my group, I never want to support him again ever. There are plenty of other good wines to drink in the mean time.)

Joe, thanks for posting that. One of my best friend's wife (and the best friend to my brother's wife, parse that as you will) LOVES cider and doesn't, in our (me, him, my brother maybe) opinion drink enough. She'd love these!

Do you have them in stock?

As I've already responded in Don's thread (not going to say who mentioned what story first)....

What is funny to me is on Buffalo Trace's tour, they went on and on and on about how they have all these precautions to keep people from stealing...barrels.

Guess they need more narrow bars on their windows. o_O

I'm almost jealous. How easy would it be to sell that off at more than that, especially now that it's gone? Unless they publish the exact - what, bottle numbers? - of what was sold, how would you know what you bought online wasn't stolen?

The Peanut Butter could also be the, what I can only imagine is repugnant, Voodoo Doughnut Chocolate, Banana, Peanut Butter Ale.  Though I haven't tried this one, I did have the previous Rogue/Voodoo Doughnut collaboration, Maple Bacon Ale, and it was a challenge finishing a glass.

In case anyone cares (and yes, a bit of thread drift):

I will never again drink a Rogue beer knowingly.

I used to be a fan; I felt that their quality had slipped some but they still did some good stuff. However, their rampant abuse of lawsuits to "protect" their IP (see: Rogue Cocktails, Rogue 24, etc) and their abuse of their employees (not literally, but Reddit had a great thread about how they treat all the non-brewing staff, and what I think is telling was not only how little they wanted to pay for how much skill, but also how "hey, we're *ROGUE*" was their catchphrase to make up for lack of pay, lack of respect, etc.).

It makes me happy to see how many beer places around here - either knowingly or not - don't carry Rogue any more, and really as far as I'm concerned, they can go fuck themselves.

(PS: At Shoppers tonight I saw someone put a bottle of Rogue back on the shelf and buy an East Coast craft beer. I almost hugged him and told him why that was so awesome, but I didn't want to get creepier than I already was.)