DrXmus

Tacos, tamales, quesadilla (I guess that may be a flour tortilla, but I bet they could do something), Mexicali meal (haven had it yet, but sounds like a burrito in a bowl), steak sandwich (without bread), et al. Don't sit near me, though, because I'll showers you with gluten-laden hushpuppies crumbs as I plow through my meal!

I enjoyed these lightly yellow beauties today and took a pic to let you all choose whether they're yellow or white. From the boss, I hear they're yellow...and they're delicious! No ketchup. No honey butter. Perfectly salted. Perfectly GBD. Oh, and the tamales are fantastic!

At least as of a week and a half ago, the new sign wasn't up, yet. The truck I saw was removing the Arthur Treacher's lantern from the signpost.

White hush puppies?!?! What the hell kind of abomination is this?!?! Never in my years of growing up in the Carolinas, mostly South, did I ever come across a white frikkin' hush puppy! I. Just. Can't. Even. Sorry, I can be reasonable now that the bile is out. They're yellow hush puppies...as they damn well should be! ;-)

My wife and I had the pleasure of eating lunch here yesterday. The summary is - we'll be back! She had the flautas app as a meal, and it was. It's essentially a big salad with five flautas underneath. She enjoyed it; I'm glad it wasn't my meal, but it wasn't bad. Thankfully, as mentioned above, there are a selection of salsas, jalapeí±o, radish, and pico de gallo at the bar. I had the three taco combo - chicken (marinated thigh), chorizo and carnitas. There were all terrific, with a tasty tortilla. My faves were the chicken and chorizo, both of which were very flavorful. The hush puppies took me back to South Carolina. I've been looking for puppies like these for a long time. Light texture, strong corn flavor, great crunch, not too greasy but just right. Personally, no condiments were needed or desired for my tastes, but I've always preferred plain puppies. I think their new sign arrived as we were leaving, so the sketchiness factor will be seriously diminished. The place is spotless inside and they have 2-3 outdoor tables, too. It must've taken them days of cleaning to scrape the scunge that covered the floor, walls and ceiling when Authur Treacher's lived here. The gentleman (seemed like an owner/manager) at the register was terrific. There was a group of ladies gathering for a birthday get-together who walked in singing "we're baaaack". I can see why.

Hmm, I hadn't heard that but I've been thinking about whether my several-year-old bottle was healthy. It's turned a little brown and there's as sediment at the bottom. It's drinkable, though, but I guess not very fresh.

Great beers you picked out! Tried the Habanero Sculpin and was surprised they'd market such a strongly spicy beer. I think a fair number of people wouldn't finish a pint if they weren't pepper heads. It's not a beer you'll have two of, IMHO.

Hmm, not sure you've got the right place in mind. Beltway Brewing is in Sterling, near the Harbor Frieght and across the street from a restaurant supply shop just off 28. Old Dominion was in an industrial park off Waxpool Rd in Ashburn, near the Redskins Headquarters. Old Dominion was just off the W&OD, though. Old Ox, a much better brewery than Bird Brain will be, is even closer to the trail across the street from where Old Dominion used to be. I never understood how Bird Brain became the house beer for Lost Dog. I assumed it was actually some sort of Lost Dog subsidiary. How does an unknown "brewery" get a contract like that?

Their beer is contract brewed at Beltway Brewing in Sterling.

We had one put in 1.5 years ago. No complicated controls. No metal exhaust, just a PVC pipe like the high efficiency furnaces these days. Depending on your gas line, though, you will probably need a meter upgrade, which can be a hassle.

Have one, did it, no problem. Water pressure decreases just a little for a second or two when the demand for hot water increases. The one and only complaint I have is that is sounds like a jet taking off when it gets going. It's blasting gas jet to heat water quickly, so on start-up it's pretty loud. The noise diminishes as its running for longer. We splurged and got a big-ass jetted tub, so the idea that we can fill it with water and still have hot water for a shower is pretty sweet.

I took this picture in a popular BBQ joint outside Elkton, VA. Why is this such an anathema to NoVA restaurants? Of course, this has nothing to do with Brine, but I bet there'd be a lively conversation if a new thread were made dedicated to noise in restaurants. Edit: imagine yourself standing on your head. Apparently, the uploading process flipped my picture upside down. Damned internet pipes.

May have to check out Woo Lae Oak 'cause I love me some seaweed oup and hick rice pudding.

I'm pretty sure I got a bottle at Vienna Vintner on Maple Ave. in Vienna. This may or may not be "local" to you, though.

I would've never stepped foot in ABC Canteen. Thanks to the reviews, I'm looking forward to checking them out!

Just got back from my first trip to PGH. We were there only for 2 nights and were with a huge group for a surprise 70th b-day party, so we didn't get to hit the really good spots. I'll give a thumbs up to Max's Allegheny Tavern, though. I'd called on a Thursday at around 4p for a party of 9 at 7p. The kind gentleman said no problem. I called about 30 minutes later to change the time to 7:30p because of a delayed flight and the kind lady said no problem. Eleven of us arrived at 7:30 and I realized I forgot to call to add the extra people I didn't know would be with us. The kind hostess said they'd need to adjust the tables but it's no problem. The restaurant is a warren of rooms, so we felt like we were relatively secluded, which was great. I'm not sure if the other 5-6 tables in our area appreciated our group, but we all had a great time. I agree with a note above that the food is not good, but the beers were. The German selections on tap were a wheat, a dunkel, a golden ale and one other, I think. Served in mason glasses, they were wet and tasty. The potato pancakes are nothing like I've ever seen in a German restaurant. They were like savory flour pancakes with some grated potato in them. Truly awful. I don't think anyone raved about their meal, the the server was awesome, the beers flowed quickly, the food service was fast and they didn't pitch a fit when two more people came and one had a meal after we'd all finished. If I lived nearby I'd be happy to keep trying the menu to find the things I liked because it was such a friendly place to be. I know people who live nearby go often for just that reason. Before we went to Max's we gathered at the James Steet Speakeasy and Gastopub. It didn't appear to be either of those things, but they did have a great draft list of about 8-9 beers you don't see often. Unfortunately, the draft board didn't list prices, so I was surprised by the $9.50 I paid for a Stone Enjoy By 7-4-15. Oh, well, high alcohol and not common, so I wrote that off. The other beers seemed to be in the $6-7 range. We had a good breakfast sandwich at Lindo's, which had a cool dive feel, along with somewhat surly but kind older waitresses. Had a cheese steak at Peppi's on the same street. Meh. The bread was too chewy for what I was expecting, but I didn't get their specialty, The Roethlisburger, which I'm kicking myself for. Cool place, though. Old school. We stayed in the North Shore area, and walked everywhere, so none of these places is in downtown, FYI. Cool city, though.

Here are my "old man" thoughts. Take them for what they're worth, so if you're young and don't mind "catching up" with loud voices, ignore all that follows. I agree with all the suggestions above and I can't think of any others in Falls Church Proper. Spacebar is awesome, but to me, is too loud for enjoyable conversation The best time to go is early PM on a weeknight for easy discussions. Mad Fox has great beer and OK food and is usually more quiet for conversation with some areas being better than others. Pizzeria Orso has great beer and food and can be quiet, although I've never been at prime time on Saturday night, so I can't say that'll be the case. B Side is great for drinks and finger food but very loud. Lost Dog at Halstead Square would be an easy spot. They're not usually very packed, have great beer and the music is at a reasonable level.

This just came from the distiller at Mt. Defiance: Invitation to a Special Absinthe Release Party In case it has been a long time since you visited Mt. Defiance in Middleburg, let me bring you up to date on the distillery side of our business. After opening the cider tasting room last August, we expanded to a second tasting room for spirits in January. Our spirits product line began with rum and apple brandy, but has since expanded to apple liqueur, almond liqueur, and most recently, absinthe! Now we are moving beyond the distillery, with availability of our spirits in select fine establishments in Washington, DC. And on that note, we hope you can join us for a release party for our latest batch of absinthe on June 24 at Libertine in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC. The event kicks off at 6:30 pm. You can try our absinthe prepared in the traditional method, using ice-cold water dripped through a sugar cube. Or try it in a Sazerac, or a special absinthe cocktail that Jessie, the Libertine General Manager, will concoct for that evening. Special prices for these drinks and a light food menu will be offered. To cap off the evening, absinthe expert Brian Robinson from the Wormwood Society will give a talk on the history of absinthe at 8:00 pm. He'll distinguish fact from legend. So come on out and have some fun! Support local craft distilling and the growing absinthe movement in America. Mt. Defiance Absinthe Release @ Libertine June 24, 6:30 "“ 9:00 pm 2435 18th St NW, Washington, DC www.dclibertine.com See you there, Peter Ahlf Distiller Mt. Defiance Cidery & Distillery

My suggestion is to be careful to not overdilute. Shake with enough ice to chill quickly. Use plenty of ice in a mixing glass (or the base of your shaker) to chill quickly when stirring, too. As DaRiv18 mentioned, using too little ice will overdilute. Seems counterintuitive, I know. For measuring, I'll second (fourth?) the suggestion to get the Oxo Angled Measuring Cup, 2oz version. I also like the Oxo beaker-like measuring cups. Here are four in the set that measure 5cc, 15cc (0.5oz), 1 oz and 2 oz. They nest so they don't take up much room on the bar. For education, read Jeffrey Morganthaler's blog and get any of his books. Same with Gaz Regan.

Talked to Peter, the owner, tonight. Official opening is on Monday, the 15th. Will have a wine by-the-ounce machine and seating for over 30 people outside! Once he's there more in a few weeks, he's planning on serving Greek pizzas. He said it's a different, more modern feel than the Vienna location.

Just saw the permits in the window of the storefront next to Brine in Mosaic which says DGS Deli will be coming soon.

I'm the first, really? Maybe my post can moved down below the positives which will be coming. I'll start with the fact that I'm not an oyster or a clam kinda guy, so take the review with that grain of (sea) salt. My mom was in town, so Mrs DrXmus and I made a reservation through Open Table for 6P last Friday night. Brine had been open for a little over a week, I think. Every time option was available, so I assumed the place hadn't been slammed yet with people interested in the new food joint in the Mosaic area. The seats were about 1/4-1/3 occupied inside and about 1/6 occupied outside. There are about 10-15 outdoor small tables. We were seated quickly by very nice hosts. Complaint number one, IT'S CRAZY LOUD INSIDE!! Note that I said the place was about 1/3 full. I got readings of 87-90 dB on my Decibels app on my phone. Two days later in Fairfax, we happened onto the parade of motorcycles heading into DC for Rolling Thunder. We were 20 feet away from the bikes and my app was reading 90-93dB. I saw absolutely no move to deaden sound in the restaurant. Admittedly, this is a soapbox issue for me, but the noise will keep me away from Brine and its noisy ilk. The beer list is very good. It draws from mostly local breweries, which is always nice to see. We wondered aloud whether Brine would serve bread. I expounded about how bread service is going the way of the Dodo and other things I've learned on this board. About 10 minutes after ordering we received a metal bucket containing 5-6 freshly baked, soft yeasty rolls brushed with butter. They were delicious and much-appreciated. Good job Brine. As a knock, though, they were quite late in arriving to the table and one of the runners (who admitted it was her first day when there was some confusion about a side dish) took the bucket away with a roll still inside toward the end of our meal! This is like taking away my beer glass when I still have a swallow or two remaining! Server foul! We didn't get apps, but as you can assume, there are a number of raw shellfish options for your choosing and some shrimp. We were disappointed the menu isn't what's posted on their web site. Alas, no fish and chips. Personally, I think this should be a staple on the menu. My mom had a crab cake on a little bed of greens. Her take is that it was "OK" and my Baltimorean wife's take was "it's not good". My take is that it was a single, medium-sized crab cake for $16 with no side dish. Oh, so about the sides, they're extra, although the asparagus we got was quite a large order - plenty for two, too much for one, but not quite enough for 3. Mrs DrXmus had a dish which was called something like "seared scallops with something greens and something or other mushrooms". Because of the description, she didn't get a side dish. It turns out the non-scallop things were garnish only and she should've gotten a side. I had a special of rotisserie roasted croaker, 3 oysters and 3 clams. The oysters were fine. The clams were bitter (are they normally?), small and had to be mutilated to get tiny pieces out of the shell to eat. The croaker was cooked well, but Jesus was it unpleasant to eat. I thought I was doing pretty well separating bone from meat, but let's just say I'm better at other things than this. By the third and final croaker, I was disgusted and frustrated and just wanted to quit. Now, I'm happy to admit I may have ordered the wrong thing and I would've been able to enjoy something else, but I didn't enjoy this dish in the least. In fact, I got tired of the oily/herby drizzle during the meal, too. I had some small mouthfuls of what I thought was all fish that was a high percentage of bone that I ended up spitting into my napkin, which I feel terrible about but after swallowing and chewing many bones already, I started to freak out that I would end up in the hospital with some bizarre croaker rib intestinal perforation. I eventually gave up after 2.5 croakers. As the raven says, nevermore. No dessert for us, so I can't comment. It was getting louder as the seats filled and I was just done with eating. I trust they'll work out the kinks in service and table-busing (there were other minor problems with the busing), but as for the menu and food and ambiance, I'm not inspired to return.

A buddy of mine is the distiller at Mt. Defiance. I can attest that the rum is very, very good and when we (non-professionals) blind taste-tested his absinthe, we felt it tasted better than several commercial, very well-known bottles. Some of that may be due to freshness, but no matter. Better is better. As for the cider, it's certainly a dry version of the drink.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan, but a gin Rickey would certainly let the gin come through. My fave gin cocktail is the Last Word - equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, Maraschino liqueur, lime juice.

2015 update: FYI - Virginia ABC stores - 39.90!!!! Surprisingly, though, their prices on the other things I got (Rittenhouse 100, Wild Turkey 101, Green Hat gin) weren't more than $3-4 off the online prices I've seen