Reviews: DC - - Page 4

by gansie

A Truly Enjoyable Fire In My Butt

I really know how to find them.

When I moved to Eastern Market, there was a Popeyes, a 711, Marty’s and a little place we liked to call Fire Butt. Fire Butt had musty windows and no real signs to clue pedestrians in on what they cooked. But they did spell out “breakfast” in those white stick-on letters. (Breakfast is served all day as well!)

I also happened to work in that neighborhood — same fucking street, to be honest — and my first day on the job I checked the place out, to the utter shock of my new coworkers (which if you haven’t figured it out yet, included BS, 80 and El). No one had yet to dare (or even want to) explore that tiny little eatery. But that day I discovered the best, cheap breakfast sandwich this side of my kitchen: A real egg, fried, covered with (swiss) cheese and served in a croissant. Along with a carton of their kinky fries, this combination eased hangovers for many a coworkers for years to come.

Soon though, E-Mark started to blow up. In a matter of 2 years, 8th Street, SE gained: Finn macCools, Belga Cafe, Ugly Mug and much more. It was pretty cool to watch the neighborhood grow, but also kinda of weird to watch some things close. Luckily, Fire Butt is still alive and serving fried grub and Rap Snacks (!) to plenty of happy/hungover customers.

But now I live in Mt. Pleasant (Columbia Heights) and there is a new dawn of restaurants — chain and original — ready to invade our tiny stretch of previously uninhabited land. Well, or land that housed only Mexican/El Salvadorian/Pupuseria restaurants. Who knows what will stay open, close or reproduce in my new ‘hood.

And, I still haven’t found anything to replace my Fire Butt in Mt. P/CoHi.

Building Columbia Heights: D.C. USA [Express]

by gansie

Fried From Fish

I’m such a procrastinator that when I was in college I went to a session on how not to procrastinate so I wouldn’t have to do my homework. My frosh/sophomore roommate, aka rooms, also struggled with this affliction. We dubbed our room the procrastination station, enticing all of our dorm friends to visit us (the constant supply of cookie dough in the mini-fridge helped) to help us avoid studying. (Side note – I’m going to visit rooms and her husband in Maine this coming weekend. Be on the lookout for my New England cooking adventures!)

Well, I still haven’t been cured from procastinationitis. The research journey of my latest Express feature will surely prove this point. I pitched to write about three different fish counters in the area. I had already eaten at Eamonn’s a few times, so I figured I could skip that place and write on memory. But I still had to try Tackle Box (from the hottie owner of Hook) and the classic lunch-counter, Crisfield. Slacking-contributer Tim had been talking up Crisfield for a very long time, and I was excited that I would finally be able to try it – and write about it.

by gansie

Hot Sauce Makes the World Go Round

Unlike my brother, I’m not the type to smother almost everything I eat in hot sauce. But, I do respect his ability to withstand most of his food with an extra kick.

I discovered Uncle Brutha’s hot sauce at Eastern Market. A few years back they sold it outside the market at a table. I bought my brother their two signature sauces:

Fire Sauce No. 10 – Four Chiles and Garlic
Fire Sauce No. 9 – Chile Verde Garlic and Ginger

SAG quickly became obsessed and every time I came home to visit he’d request new bottles. Luckily, the man behind the Uncle opened a store right near the Eastern Market. It was wall to wall hot sauces and spices. I would look around at the millions of brands featuring millions of chilies, but I would always walk out with the Uncle Brutha’s brand.

Unfortunately, when EM burnt down, a lot of local businesses went down with it. Via Metrocurean I read in the Wash City Paper that Uncle Brutha’s was closing at the end of June. 80P and I stopped by for one last visit and to buy SAG some hot sauce. I finally bought myself bottles of the sauce, although we will be able to find it at Whole Foods. (I highly encourage you to stop by one last time!)

But this brings me to a completely different story. While 80 and I were waiting for a table at Granville Moore’s, we walked next door to drink a beer at The Pug. I glanced at the menu and noticed an absolute steal – a dog and chips for just a few bucks. Basically an unheard of cheap eats. And while I scanned the bar for toppings, I was especially pleased to see a hometown hot sauce on the bar: Uncle Brutha’s.

This weekend, while UB’s fans were stocking up, I ran into The Pug owner.

Boxers and Hot Dogs: The Pug [Express]

Bison Country: A Four-Footed Spring Treat [Express]

in Uncategorized 7 comments

by gansie

Red Derby

I’m a total dorky food writer. I spend my week eating at restaurants and then my weekend writing about them. Basically leaving no time to visit bars. Hence, my breakfast write-up on a cool, new-ish bar. I’ve yet to party at Red Derby, even though it lives in the hood, boasts a can-only beer selection and caters to the 20-something crowd. Oh well. Instead, I went to eat breakfast there hungover (I guess I do get out sometimes).

I found out about the bfast offerings while eavesdropping on the bus one day. Now, I suck at listening in on others’ convos. I usually can’t be bothered, but if I do, I stare right at the people talking and make facial expressions exclaiming the fact that I’m crashing their chat. 80P (and his mom) on the otherhand, are quite skilled in the art of eavesdropping. I mean, I could be telling 80 the story of the decade, he’s nodding, looking straight at me, and when I drop the money line and his face stays the same, I finally ask: What’s going on over at that table?!?!

in Breakfast / Drinks / Eggs / Red Meat 3 comments

by gansie

Ask Tom, Answer Gansie: Bad, Bad Blogger

NW D.C.: I was out with my wife at a well-known, hard-to-get-into place this past weekend and overheard a conversation at another table. The diner was complaining at their table about the service and indicated that “He is a senior member of a well-known area food blog, and the lack of service will be noted.” Well, the waiter calmed him down and comped the person a full bottle of wine. I checked the blog (will not mention) and sure enough there was an entry, and there was a mention of the lack of service, but no mention of the comped wine. Do the boards hold that much sway over restaurants that they are fearful of bad posts?

Tom Sietsema: It’s a big, bad — but never boring! — world out there in the blogosphere. I think restaurants DO care what is posted about them online. And I think some online scribes are taking advantage of the fact.

____________________

Re bad blogger: Restaurants, like so many other places, rely on reputation. This chat has demonstrated that a bad reputation can devastate a restaurant. For a blogger to take advantage of that is despicable. The blogger in question should be outed. I for one would like to know who is blackmailing restaurants and I’m sure the restaurants would like to know who should no longer be considered a decent blogger.

Tom Sietsema: Ah, that’s a sticky, sticky path! I think it’s up to the monitors of the boards to police their chats and/or discussions. Here at the Post, for instance, reporters have editors — a safety net for which I’m very grateful. I don’t think the same can be said for many amateur food sites.

gansie: I’ve only wanted to do this once. Every other dining experience, good, bad or drunken, I’ve never felt the need to disclose the fact that I am reviewing the place. Clearly by the fact that I write this Ask Tom feature, I closely follow his guidance: never announce your critiquing presence. Even when my friends have wanted to leave little notes saying check fill-in-the-blank publication, I always take the high ground. But, no dining establishment tempted me as much as…

in Desserts / Eggs / Fish / Red Meat 13 comments

by gansie

Black Squirrel

It was a bit of a pain in the ass reviewing Black Squirrel. 80P first brought it to my attention when it got some press in the Post. Well, and the press declared that all food on Tuesday was *half off* !!

We ate some amazing, affordable fish dishes. And when I pitched it to review, we tried to go again on a double date with Tim and Alice. However that time the cheapness caught on (re: totally crowded) so the four of us were forced to eat at Red Rocks: an over-hyped pizza place where the pies are flimsy and the pepperoni is burnt. Ugh.

The next time 80 and I went to Black Squirrel it produced actual seats, but the new entree listing had already transitioned the fish off the menu. The wings were sad creatures – dry and lacking heat. But some of the food was totally worth its 50% off status. As were the Farrah Fawcett posters.

But alas, DCist just reported that the Tuesday special is a dead dog. Enjoy my outdated review nonetheless.

Cheap Eats: No Brunswick Stew [Express]

Photo: Cryptomundo

in Drinks / Red Meat 3 comments

by Liza

Review: Pasta Mia

If you live in DC you are most likely familiar with the perpetual long line that forms outside of Pasta Mia, a not so special looking establishment at the corner of 18th and Columbia. For over a year now, the line outside Pasta Mia has baffled me, and also made me insanely curious about the restaurant. Is it that good? I mean people wait in the rain to get into this place!

So I FINALLY went, only because it was gorgeous outside so I wouldn’t mind waiting in line outside. By some chance miracle, my sweetheart Matt(y) (who will blog one of these days) and I were seated immediately.

First impression: Our table was squeezed a little too close for comfort in between two others (like to the point that we were just sharing olive oil with the table to the left of us).

Second impression: Call it an authority issue, but I hate going to places with rules. Like, I am paying you for a service, I should not have to be following rules here! The first annoying rule was that they only accept cash, so I had to leave to go to the ATM. And it’s not like this place is cheap- I mean we each had one glass of house wine and a pasta dish and it was 40 bucks without tip. The second rule I discovered was through an elderly couple sitting to the right of us (so basically at our table). They were so cute, and all they wanted was to split a salad and a pasta dish, because they knew the portions were HUGE. The waitress said she’d have to charge them for two entrees if they did that! WHAAAA! So they ended up just getting their own.

After the jump, the stunning third, fourth and final conclusions of Pasta Mia

in Uncategorized 15 comments

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