Bourdain comes to DC

I finally caught up with the recent episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations where he comes to the DC area. Overall I thought it was really good. I thought it dwelled a bit too much on the “spy stuff,” but for reasons some of you probably know, I’ve heard a lot of that material. Though, I admit, I never knew the Chadwicks-Aldrich Ames story. I’ll have to add that to the list places on my DC Spy Tour.

Otherwise, I cannot complain about his choice of venues. Jose Andres is always great and I was thrilled to see that he traveled out to Falls Church to have Vietnamese and Ethiopian.

Show grade: A solid A-

What’s your favorite coffee place?

Inside Murky Coffee

I ask this question as I sit in my personal favorite, Murky Coffee in Clarendon. I call it the AOC Clarendon Office and it does often serve as my office closer to home. That said, I hardly ever drink coffee, just an occasional single espresso which, with my caffeine tolerance, is like sticking lit dynamite in my ear.

What’s your favorite coffee place in the metro area? Oh, and if I hear any chains like Starbucks or COSI, there will be much ridiculing in the comment thread.

It takes more than a fedora to make a “hell” of a burger

So in the past month or two, I got to go to two of the newly-opened upmarket burger joints in the DC area. One is an overhyped version of five guys and the other provides the city’s best burger in a unique atmosphere slightly reminiscent of the “soup nazi.”

The 1st Ever Two Foodie Brothers Pizza Prize

By both Aaron and Sam…

Sam: Looking back, we didn’t really know what we were getting into? On what turned out to be a crisp, autumn-come-early evening, Aaron, myself, and family friend and honorary Stollar, Katie Buoni, embarked on what should have been a fantastic, but otherwise normal evening out in DC. That’s before the first pizza was served.

Aaron: The original idea was just to go get some of DC’s best pizza. For the past 4-5 years, that has mean choosing between Pizzeria Paradiso in Dupont or Georgetown or 2 Amys up by the National Cathedral. The plan was to give 2 Amys a shot first. I was the only one who had ever been there, so I led the way. They’d just opened a small second floor dining area, so I thought the era of two-hour waits might be behind us. I was wrong.

We’re on it…

Sorry for the long delay. Sam and I have some stuff coming down the pipeline, don’t worry.

Reviews coming:

• Sea Pearl in Merrifield
• Sherwood’s Landing in St, Michael’s, Md.
• What makes a good pho place?

Here are some places I am going to try to get to and write about in the next month or so…

• Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington
• New Four Sisters in Merrifield
• Yechon in Annandale

Stay Tuned!

Sam actually lived with these people

Of course, this guy is from Wisconsin…

I believe Big Macs fall right under the established food groups of beer, sausage and cheese and mainstays of the Wisconsin diet.

A post for Sam

As you’ll surely find from talking to him or reading his posts, my brother Sam is an immense fan of bacon. That is the understatement of the year but I’ll leave it to him to describe his relationship with that particular meat product.

That being said, when I saw this, I figured he would appreciate it. I know he likes bacon, and I know that as a graduate of a fine Southern university like UVA, he probably knows how to appreciate bourbon.

This tries to put the two together.

One of our new friends (I can’t remember her name — too many “Cool as a Cucumbers”, I fear) turned us on to the existence of bacon infused bourbon. “Surely,” I thought, “This cannot be real. I am not that good a person.” A few days and a little internet research later, I confirmed that, despite my moral failings, the Lord has indeed blessed the world with so grand a creation — nature’s two most perfect foods, fused as one!

Review: Viet Royale

6767 Wilson Boulevard (Eden Center)
Falls Church, VA 22044

Slightly less well-known than some of its Eden Center neighbors like Four Sisters, my brother and I never the less had an outstanding lunch at Viet Royale and recommend it wholeheartedly for folks looking for good Vietnamese food beyond the staples of pho and banh mi.

What kind of bar do you prefer?

There are so many different kinds of places to have a drink these days. There are massive bars filled with tanked folks partying their livers off, there are quiet joints, there are hip places with $12 drinks, there are dives, and there are even places where you have to wear a jacket. Depending on my mood, I like almost all of these options – though the insane college bar scene (Rhino, this means you, especially during OSU games) is starting to get old.

I am a fan of many bars, but here are a couple that I am always willing to head back when in need of some libations.

Review: A&J Restaurant

The Place:

A&J Restaurant

4316 Markham St, Annandale, VA 22003

The Meal: 

• Pickled Cabbage
• Dried Bean curd with Peanuts
• Spicy Cucumber
• Sesame Wide Noodles with Powdered Peanuts
• Fried Dough Cruller
• Shanghai Style Wonton with Spicy sauce
• Sesame Biscuit with Beef
• 2 diet cokes (because caffeine cures all)