Thursday, September 20, 2007
Bailey's Pub and Grill, Arlington, Va.
Last night after ice skating at Kettler Arena, we had a little après-skate party with our club at Bailey's Pub and Grill downstairs in Ballston Common Mall. While the restaurant gave us a lot of free appetizers (pizza, tortilla chips and salsa, chicken wings), some of the guys ordered extra food for themselves from the menu. Some of the more interesting things included some pot stickers (Chinese dumplings quickly stir-fried) and a "pretzel boat" with big soft pretzels and a dipping sauce in an oversized wine bottle.
Chinatown Express, Washington, D.C.
Afterward attending the open house for the Shakespeare Theater Company's new Harmon Center for the Arts, we popped into Chinatown Express for a quick bite to eat. Brian had pork fried rice, Ryan had sweet and sour pork, and I had barbecued pork. The dipping sauces with the barbequed pork are cilantro and then some sliced pickled garlic with jalapeño peppers.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Mr. Smith's of Georgetown, Georgetown, D.C.
Brian got hungry in the middle of the Emmys tonight and wanted to go out for dinner someplace. We walked to Georgetown and sat down in one of the little neighborhood French cafes that I like, but he decided he wasn't in the mood for French food and wanted to leave. After checking out the menus at another seven restaurants, he picked Mr. Smith's of Georgetown as his dining location for the evening.
Mr. Smith's is a popular bar with a long, narrow, dark wood paneled bar running some distance into the building. Televisions over the bar were all turned to some football performance (and they declined to turn one of them to the Emmys for us). A pianist/singer was ensconced at a small electronic grand near the back, and while Brian enjoyed him, I found the experience quite painful. He had a terrible, terrible habit of singing a phrase to the last, held note, then immediately going flat!
On our arrival, we were directed to the dining room in the back. It was a surprisingly large room with a ceiling reminiscent of a European beer tent, the rafters all wound with "grapevines" and other garlands of faux greenery. A large patio was adjacent to the dining room. Once we sat down and got our menus, though, Brian decided that he wanted to sit out in the dark, crowded, noisy bar for dinner, and insisted we move.
We ended up at a bar table near the main door, so we got a lot of cigarette smoke that was blowing in from the people standing out on the sidewalk indulging their addiction. It did have the virtue, however, of being about as far away from the piano as one could get in that room.
Brian ordered a Miller Lite and a cheeseburger. The burger came with a pickle spear and a mound of thick-cut potato chips.
I wasn't hungry, so I just drank some iced tea and had a piece of their dessert of the day, a red velvet cake with white chocolate icing. The cake was good (being moist, though in the dark I could not discern any specific "flavor"—were it not for the photo, I'd not have known the cake was actually red!) and the icing had a distinct chocolate taste. The plate was garnished with a trimmed orange slice.
Only one waitress was on hand to deal with the entire bar (other than the bartender), but, once she discovered us, I thought her service was surprisingly attentive.
Mr. Smith's is a popular bar with a long, narrow, dark wood paneled bar running some distance into the building. Televisions over the bar were all turned to some football performance (and they declined to turn one of them to the Emmys for us). A pianist/singer was ensconced at a small electronic grand near the back, and while Brian enjoyed him, I found the experience quite painful. He had a terrible, terrible habit of singing a phrase to the last, held note, then immediately going flat!
On our arrival, we were directed to the dining room in the back. It was a surprisingly large room with a ceiling reminiscent of a European beer tent, the rafters all wound with "grapevines" and other garlands of faux greenery. A large patio was adjacent to the dining room. Once we sat down and got our menus, though, Brian decided that he wanted to sit out in the dark, crowded, noisy bar for dinner, and insisted we move.
We ended up at a bar table near the main door, so we got a lot of cigarette smoke that was blowing in from the people standing out on the sidewalk indulging their addiction. It did have the virtue, however, of being about as far away from the piano as one could get in that room.
Brian ordered a Miller Lite and a cheeseburger. The burger came with a pickle spear and a mound of thick-cut potato chips.
I wasn't hungry, so I just drank some iced tea and had a piece of their dessert of the day, a red velvet cake with white chocolate icing. The cake was good (being moist, though in the dark I could not discern any specific "flavor"—were it not for the photo, I'd not have known the cake was actually red!) and the icing had a distinct chocolate taste. The plate was garnished with a trimmed orange slice.
Only one waitress was on hand to deal with the entire bar (other than the bartender), but, once she discovered us, I thought her service was surprisingly attentive.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Dupont Italian Kitchen, Washington, D.C.
Our lodge officers had a meeting Friday night, but first we gathered at Dupont Italian Kitchen for cocktails and dinner before walking to the junior warden's condo just down the block for our actual meeting. I've been to Dupont Italian Kitchen before, and I thought their food Friday night was surprisingly good. We had quite a variety of things ordered. I only had a bowl of gazpacho soup, but here are some of the other entrées at the table.
It's an Italian place, so they have, naturally, lasagne and pizzas. One of the more interesting things was the chicken francaise, a chicken dish with garlic and lemon, and they also had a shrimp fettucine Alfredo (which was, interestingly enough, ordered by one of our Jewish brothers, and it was still Rosh Hashanah!). Some of the house specialities included a spaghetti with arugula and feta cheese and a tortellini cardinale (though I think they cheated, using just a little tomato paste for the redness, but no lobster!).
One of the other nice things about Dupont Italian Kitchen is that their cocktails are very inexpensive, with highball type drinks running only $3 each.
It's an Italian place, so they have, naturally, lasagne and pizzas. One of the more interesting things was the chicken francaise, a chicken dish with garlic and lemon, and they also had a shrimp fettucine Alfredo (which was, interestingly enough, ordered by one of our Jewish brothers, and it was still Rosh Hashanah!). Some of the house specialities included a spaghetti with arugula and feta cheese and a tortellini cardinale (though I think they cheated, using just a little tomato paste for the redness, but no lobster!).
One of the other nice things about Dupont Italian Kitchen is that their cocktails are very inexpensive, with highball type drinks running only $3 each.
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