TedE

For tapas, I would steer clear of La Tasca in favor of Jaleo. The former can't hold a candle to the latter. You should be able to do <$15/person at Jaleo for lunch.

Yup, it even has it's own award category at the Great American Beer Festival every year, although I think they call it "American Specialty Lager" or something. So next time someone looks down at you for drinking St. Ides you can inform them that it is the winner of multiple medals at the GABF.

I was in Chicago at the time. And to think we spent about 2 hours driving around actually seeking out what were probably the last remaining bottles of Cool Colt in the city. Curiosity definitely got the better of us.

I thought I had a response for this earlier in the thread, but it must have been another "worst beer ever" one. Cool Colt was a failed marketing-gimmick-from-hell that I assume was trying to ride the coattails of the menthol cigarette marketing success in some areas. That's right: mentholated malt liquor. Imagine doing a shot of Listermint and following it up with a healthy swig of malt liquor and you've pretty much got it nailed. I only had the pleasure of trying it once (I think it lasted all of a week in the test markets), but that was enough. The contents of that entire 40 (yes, I actually finished the damn thing) will haunt my tastebuds forever. The 64 oz. of Private Stock served as a failed attempt to erase the memory.

You must have never enjoyed Private Stock in its most pristine natural habitat, that of the 64 oz. jug, complete with handy thumb loop to ease tippling and prevent end-of-the-jug dropsies. ← Okay, TedE, I know you have to be lying--I'm picturing a "home boy" version of Jethro Clampett knockin' back some urban moonshine--but that is still funny as shit!!! ← Oh, 'tis no joke. Take a gander: This beast was the jumping off point for many an evening in college. They tended to turn into the early nights. When combined with Cool Colt (as happened one ill-fated night) it was a deadly combination. I don't think I made it past 6:00 that day. But Cool Colt is a whole different, and far more repulsive, story. By far, BAR NONE: Worst. Beer. Ever.

You must have never enjoyed Private Stock in its most pristine natural habitat, that of the 64 oz. jug, complete with handy thumb loop to ease tippling and prevent end-of-the-jug dropsies.

Update from the grill today: 1) Hot dogs themselves are house made; $3.50 a pop with kraut or house made relish. I was *thisclose* to buying 2 to take with me to the Nats game tonight, but wasn't sure how they'd hold up. Looked fantastic. 2) The Grill is officially, as they say, off the hook. When I got there just shy of 12:00 the line wound around the room and to the door of the Lab. When I left 15 minutes later it had stretched down the back hall and almost out the door to the patio. Methinks word has spread edit: typo

Thou shalt have no other sandwiches before the pork shoulder. One of these days I know I'm going to have to try the other options at the Grill, but I'll have to call in my order. Once I get to waiting in line I can't resist the pork shouldery goodness. With onion and peppers. And green sauce. Oh, the green sauce. On another note, has anybody tried the soups recently? I'm always tempted, but the sandwich is enough of a meal.

The chef from Soigne (Kim) is heading up the kitchen at Merkado

That was fantastic. My just-back-from-vacation-but-already-work-addled mind actually let me get halfway through it before I connected the dots.

This has become my default place, even though it is a bit out of the way (I have to borrow a car to get to it). I haven't found better quality seafood in D.C. proper. Slightly more expensive than even WholeFoods, but leaps and bounds better.

You can find DFH all over the place in D.C. now. Whole Foods generally has a decent selection of the common stuff, but I've actually found Cairo Liquors on 17th across from the Soviet Safeway to have the best selection in town (albeit not is mass quantities). They have singles of World Wide Stout, 120 Minute IPA, and they had a couple cases of Pangaea when it was released. That place is a little gem. Whole Foods in Glover Park also does well. They had Burton Baton a couple weeks ago. I'll be VERY excited when I can get the unbottled releases on tap in D.C. though ...

We hit BlackSalt last night for dinner. We'd been in there before to pick up goods from the front counter, but this was our first visit to stay and eat. After getting a ride from the slowest ... cab driver .... ever we arrived 10 minutes late for our res and were punished appropriately by sitting at the bar for a bit and having a half-glass of Reisling. At least it gave me a chance to survey the oysters. First course was oysters (surprise!); can't remember all the names today even though last night I was saying "I have to remember what these are!!!". There were two smaller varieties from P.E.I. (I think from the "boutique" category) and a premium from British Columbia (Belon). The latter were fantastic and HUGE. Even though I use it sparingly if at all it was nice to see someone get mignonette right. I am surprised at how often places screw such a simple thing up by going too heavy on the vinegar. BlackSalt's rendition was clean with just enough bite. My gf had the ceviche (nice portion) and we split the roasted shiitakes. I'm firmly in the "Holy crap, those are good mushrooms" camp. Mains were mussels (Addie's style) and grilled line-caught tuna over mushroom risotto alongside sauteed greens. I wanted to try the Moroccan mussels but my gf is not one for sausage and it was her entree, so I guess I will have to wait for next time. Mussels were excellent but nothing super special that I can't duplicate at home. I would have liked to try the other presentations. The tuna itself was probably the best piece of grilled tuna I've ever had. Well, at least the one piece that came out perfectly med. rare. It's partner was a little over-cooked (although in all fairness this could have been due to it's proximity to the residual heat of the risotto). The risotto was actually the star of this dish, chock full of shiitakes, oysters, and a couple more varieties. Desserts were trio of creme brulee and peanut butter something-or-other pie. I am an absolute sucker for peanut butter something-or-other pies. It was devoured. Overall I was very pleased. Service was outstanding. I'm looking forward to returning, but this time it will be to the bar for drinks and small plates/apps/oysters/mussels. I really think this is where they shine. Oh, that and the incredibly fresh and reasonably priced seafood up front. Fan-freakin'-tastic

Looks like that blog may actually be from BL themselves. Blogs are 1) easy to use and update and 2) free. Sounds like they got tired of people asking for the specials online or in an email.

and Mr. Sietsema sez ...

Brought back 3 pork shoulders for some colleagues today; tehy're all adding themsleves to the email list. I could care less about how long the line is. Bottom line: thems damn fine sammiches, and even better when I don't have to wait.

If they bust it out again this summer try their Imli cooler, too. It was available briefly last year. Kind of like a cardamom iced tea, but not really at all. Sweet, sour, tart, a tad salty, and oh so refreshing.

Forties? Forties are for wussies. Real malt liquor drinkers prefer Haffenreffer's Private Stock in the 64 oz. jug, complete with handy thumb loop to prevent accidental droppage. A most important feature as you get to the bottom of the bottle. Back in my forty-drinkin' college days we would get Magnums by the case: $13.67 with tax, if I remember correctly. Occasionally we'd spring for Crazy Horse, but it just wasn't the same after they switched to their less-politically-incorrect bottle design. DFH Liquor de Malt is a fine product, but I just can't choke it down like back in the old days. Too bad, as I have half a case sitting around somewhere. My more reserved friends won't touch the stuff. They truly don't know what they're missing.

Perhaps the somewhat mythical, oddly unclassifiable "half-smoke". Everybody claims to have eaten a "real" one, but I'll be damned if I've ever received a good explanation about what separates them from your run-of-the-mill hot dog. I would personally cast my vote for "lake trout", although its territory extends up 95 to Baltimore.

From what I've read it's around 8 on draft, the rest in bottles. I'm itching to get down there and drop by to see the list in action.

The Beer Yard in Wayne, PA (outside of Philly) carries a good selection of mostly interesting brews with a nice selection of mid-atlantics (Dogfish, Heavyweight, etc) plus Belgians. Also by the case only, but the folks there are very knowledgable.

Pork shoulder sandwich at the occasional Galileo grill. Hands down, no contest. I've said it before: this sandwich has an unnatural hold over me. It's some combination of perfectly tender grilled pork, fresh tomato and "green sauce", and expertly grill-toasted bread of the gods. Holy crap, I want one NOW.

After striking out trying to find a single of this every time I was down at the beach this summer (even at the brewpub; they couldn't keep it in stock), my girlfriend went and bought me a case in PA. It's surprisingly good for a malt liquor (talk about damning with fine praise!). Big malt nose with an atypical malt liquor hops character, but a seriously overwhelming alcohol presence in the finish that takes me back to my fortie-swilling days. The body and mouthfeel just don't match though; it's gets tiring after awhile. Craft-brewed malt liquors with body were probably just not meant to be . I finished off the first one I cracked open, but split the next two with friends knowing I'd lose interest halfway through. If anybody in the D.C. area wants a crack at one of these, I can probably be convinced to part with some of the remains of the case. Although I do get a kick out of having some bottles occupying the bottom rack of my wine fridge when friends ask what's up with the plastic red caps poking out

Finally stopped in here last night for a quick falafel. Diagnosis: delicious! I was a little apprehensive when I saw that we were getting already-fried falafels and not fried-to-order, but they were the lightest and fluffiest that I've had yet in D.C. The toppings bar is superb. I really hope they can start to wrangle some late night business away from the Big Slice joints. I know that I'm never setting foot in 'em again while this place is around.

I'd second trying something like the outside of Jaleo. If people give you dirty looks ... meh, who cares. I run in the kickball crowd and know that after a game all I'm going to get is a nice, greasy burger or chicken sandwich at the Exchange, and that's just fine for soaking up the beer. GO CATS!!!! CAS '96