Lyon Hall (Clarendon, Arlington, VA)

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*****

Apparently reservations at good restaurants are tough to get for Valentine's Day around here, unless you make them a month or two ahead of time.  So, I was lucky to snag one just a couple weeks in advance at Lyon Hall, a self-described brasserie in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington.  This was already one of the dozen or so restaurants whose websites I had bookmarked to remind me I wanted to try them, so with its convenience to my apartment (at least on nights that there are not 40mph sustained winds) and availability of a well timed reservation, it was perfect.  Or, at least until I realized the Duke game was on.  But I digress.

Lyon Hall has two levels, with a long bar (with two TVs tuned to, of course, the Duke game), a couple dozen tables and a few high tops in the entry area on the ground floor, and another dozen or so tables upstairs.  It was nicely lit, not dark but not bright, though shortly after we arrived the manager turned the lights down a little upstairs (where we sat) which made it dark enough that the guy next to us was using his table's candle to read the menu, though I personally had no problem.

We started off with a special appetizer, the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a small piece of foie seared lightly and served atop an apple tart, with apple butter and hazelnuts.  It was very tasty, and my girlfriend had never had foie before, so it was kind of an obvious choice for me, but I wish the dish had focused more on the liver itself.  The tart was a little too sweet (though the piece of apple atop it was actually not, and paired perfectly with the meat), as was the apple butter, so they overwhelmed the foie a bit when I tried to pile everything together into one bite.  Hazelnuts were a perfect choice, however, as they provided a crisp contrast with the buttery mouth-feel of the foie gras, and everything was cooked properly.

We were also provided with a small basket of a few different types of bread and some whipped butter; none of the breads were particularly special, but I really love when restaurants give you whipped butter instead of cubed, because it is just so damned easy to spread.

For our entrees, I went classic with the Grilled Filet Mignon, while Jess had the Pork Schnitzel, plus a side of Pommes Frites to split which was superfluous, as we were both pretty stuffed just from our own meals.  My filet was served medium rare, and was quite good, with a tremendous crust (described in the menu as a Roquefort crust, though I did not get a lot of  that flavor) that added a great textural contrast while also providing that great flavor only gained from a proper Maillard reaction.  The baked pieces of sweet potato were delicious, and the broccolini were perfect, with none of the bitterness that I often object to when they are served.  Everything worked well together, and while it was nothing new or inventive, it was a good piece of meat and well cooked vegetables, and that is something that never gets old.

Jess's schnitzel, also a classic in its native Germany, was perfectly crispy, maybe slightly overdone but not so much as to render it objectionable, and the spaetzle was amazingly good.  Roasted butternut squash spaetzle is definitely not traditional, but damn, it worked, and worked beautifully, especially when eaten with the accompanying pomegranate and the (much more traditional) red cabbage, something I really need to learn to make.

The fries were good, very crispy and also rather traditional, served with a garlic aioli, a bearnaise, and Heinz ketchup.  The first two sauces were...meh.  Heinz ketchup, however "boring" it may be, really is perfect with French fries, and I do count myself among the many people who associate the taste of ketchup with Heinz, and only Heinz, so I always appreciate when a restaurant goes simple like that.

Despite being stuffed (we took home the majority of the enormous pile of fries and a couple small pieces of schnitzel; good lunch for me today), we had the Sherry Posset, a custard-like dish served with a quenelle of lemon sherbet and carrot cake crumbles.  It was creamy, light, delicious and a perfect finish to the meal.

Service all in all was fine, and the guy who led us to our table and served our wine (Mas de la Barben's l'Improviste Blanc, a Roussanne/Vermentino blend, for a reasonable markup of just about 120%, very low compared to the absurdity of many other restaurants) was great, as was one of the other waiters who stopped by to refill our glasses and all of the guys who actually brought our food and bused our dishes.  Our actual waitress, on the other hand, was only okay, pushing the higher priced items a little too hard (seriously, a $43 ribeye is a little insane, even as a Valentine's Day special, on a menu where the highest priced normal item is the $29 filet that I was already asking after) and a little brusque the few times we actually saw her.  She was also not particularly present through much of the meal, and we did not see her for about ten minutes after saying we just needed a minute or two to look over the menu one last time, though in her defense I saw her downstairs as well, so apparently she had tables on both floors.  It was not a deal breaker, and since everyone else was so friendly, I'll chalk it up to a bad day on a busy night.

All in all, a good meal, reasonably priced wine list, good beer list, and $1 oysters all day Mondays makes this a good option in the area that I will definitely be back to.  That said, for the money, I think there are better options in the area, but it was certainly not a flop, and I can see why the restaurant is popular.  As a side note, the restaurant is in the same group as Liberty Tavern, which I have not been to yet, and Northside Social, my favorite wine bar in the area, that also has by far the best coffee and pastries in the area, and the menus at all three are planned by the same executive chef.  I will get around to reviewing Northside Social at some point soon as well.

Galaxy Hut (Clarendon, Arlington, VA)

I love finding a good place to just hang out and have a beer and a snack, and Galaxy Hut, one of the first places I ever went after moving here in August, has been a favorite ever since.  The bar is tiny, just one room that holds less than fifty people for their twice weekly concerts (Sunday and Monday nights), along with a great little outdoor patio that has a few small tables and one larger table in a corrugated tin hut at the back.  Sitting outside is great during the warmer months, but it does get a little loud inside when it's full, though not so loud that you cannot have a conversation. 

The beer list is extensive and impressive, about thirty rotating taps with seasonal, local, and other assorted craft brews, grouped by category.  They have some spectacular options, regularly having some of my favorites, like Bell's or Founders, and always something I have never heard of.  The beers are available in a variety of pour options, and are not super expensive for this area, but would be expensive back in non-Boston Massachusetts.

Food, on the other hand, is both cheap and delicious.  I originally went there (and, quite frankly, returned each time) because they have tater tots, and they are delicious.  It is like being a child again, except better, because there is beer now.  Plus, these tater tots are delicious, served fresh and hot (they probably started life in a factory, but hey, who cares, they are freaking awesome), with a couple of different sauces available, with the best being their honey mustard.  I also tried the eggplant fries a couple weeks ago, and they were really good, but only for about the first ten; after that, I was bored of them, especially because they have no real textural contrast.  I have yet to have anything, because I tend to go there when I just want a snack (aka, tater tots) and a drink, but I intend to have real food there soon, and I have no doubt it will be good. 

The menu is heavily vegetarian or vegan (in fact, a couple years ago they eliminated meat from the menu entirely, only to reverse themselves upon realizing it was cutting into sales.  Everything can be made to suit vegetarians or vegans, and they use different equipment to make the meatless meals.  Gluten intolerant diners need not fear either, as they do appear to offer the ability to make much of the menu gluten free friendly. 

Heavy Seas Alehouse (Rosslyn, Arlington, VA)

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*****

I have come to really enjoy brewpubs that have gone the gastro-pub route; this includes Bluejacket, a new D.C. brewery which I reviewed in May.  Sometimes in these situations, the food ends up  becoming more of a focus than the beer, or vice versa, and this can lead to problems, or at least a situation where you go for one more than the other; obviously, the goal is a nice equilibrium, where people want to go to your restaurant for both.  Heavy Seas Alehouse, in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, VA, has done a pretty good job of balancing things out, ending up with a nice restaurant that also serves very high quality beer.

Heavy Seas Beer, based in Baltimore, is the overarching organization that is responsible for the restaurant, which also has a location at the brewery itself.  Claiming to be the largest producer of cask conditioned beers in the United States, Heavy Seas has a great focus on high quality ingredients, including sourcing at least some of their hops locally in Maryland.  This kind of caring translates into quality, and the two beers I had were both delicious.  Unfortunately, I do not know the names of either for sure, but I am almost certain the saison I had was the Red Sky at Night (on cask) and the barley-wine I had was the Below Decks, based on what I can find on their website and on BeerAdvocate. 

The saison was light but boozy, definitely not a session beer, which I typically pick saisons for, but with the normal light, citrus and wheat forward spiciness I expect out of a good one.  The beer is both bright and cloudy, a strange mix that actually looks very cool as the clouds swirl through the glass; this could be related to being cask conditioned, but it did not taste like there was any sediment, and I suspect that Heavy Seas is more careful than to allow something like that to occur.  Either way, it looked good, and tasted better.  Assuming this was the Red Sky at Night, it is a 7.5%, and it definitely drank that way, but it was not overly sweet as some higher ABV saisons I have had were, and it definitely is still refreshing.

The barley-wine was absolutely not refreshing, but that is no knock on it.  Sweet, tart, malty, and with a hefty fruitiness, this was at the recommendation of the waiter (I'll get to him later) to accompany my rather heavy meal; as he promised, it held up well to, and even cut, some of the richness of the cream based sauce in my dish.  Nearly black and served in a goblet, this was a beautiful beer to behold, and my dinner companion, who had never had a barley-wine before, was quite impressed with the quality of it.  There was little hoppy flavor in the beer, but there was certainly plenty of booze; the Below Decks is a 10% beer, and while it drinks a little shy of that, I was a little buzzed by the end of dinner after the two beers.

As for food, Heavy Seas holds its own.  We split the Smoked Short Rib Taco, an order of which comes with three well filled soft corn shells and a ramekin of a sauce that appeared to be sour cream based.  The short ribs were rich and flavorful, shredded and accompanied by cotija cheese (a classic, and delicious, Mexican cow's milk varietal that melts well and holds up to strong flavors like good beef) and a "pickled chayote slaw" that really just served to provide an alternative texture, but little else.  This was a very good appetizer, not making me full, but definitely not leaving me starving.  Of course, even if it had, the entrees arrived as I was taking my final bites; I would take this over either arriving too early or after a long wait, but I do tend to like a couple minutes between courses, though I think I may be alone in this.

My entree, the Duck Cannelloni, was again a recommendation by the waiter, and it was a good one.  The sauce, listed on the menu as a "smoked cheddar cream" was heavy but not overwhelming, while the pasta, which resembled more of a very long, thin ravioli (and was actually almost identical to the ravioli my date had) was cooked fairly well, though it was maybe a tiny bit undercooked; just enough to be noticeable to me, but certainly not enough to be a problem.  Even though duck is listed as the primary meat, I did not see or taste that much of it, though what was there was tasty.  The whole dish was topped with fried onion strings, which were just shy of crispy; definitely a misstep on the part of the kitchen, as those need to have a legitimate crunch to be successful.  Instead, they were a bit blah, and by the time I was finished eating, they were soggy and a little chewy.  Despite this one issue, I ate everything with gusto, and really wanted a spoon to finish the sauce off with, though I held back.

Dessert was shared, with an order each of the Pecan Bourbon Bread Pudding and the Pyrat Rum Creme Brûlée, both recommended highly by the waiter.  The Creme Brûlée was solid, with a definite flavor of white chocolate, as promised by the menu, and with a glass-like crust of caramelized sugar; that was perfect, since so often I get creme brûlée that has a weak, barely there at all crust, and this was clearly done with care and precision.  That said, the Bread Pudding was the real star, not just of dessert, but of the whole meal.  Local ice cream (rum raisin?), raisin bread, and a crème anglais to die for, this was among the best I have ever had, right up there with the to-die-for bread pudding at Fat Cat in Quincy, MA.  It was sweet, but not even close to cloying.  The portion was large enough (and we were full enough) that even though we loved it, we left about half of one of the five pieces of bread on the plate when we left, plus about a quarter of the creme brûlée.  

 So, finally to the waiter.  Myron was up there with Timmy from David Burke Prime at Foxwoods, super knowledgeable, incredibly friendly, timed things well, provided great suggestions and checked in just the right amount.  We at a couple points exchanged recommendations on food (I told him about Fat Cat, since he said he is a bread pudding aficionado) and beer (he agreed with me on Troegs Hop Knife), and he was just spot on with all his food and drink suggestions during the meal itself.  I know some restaurants will do their best to honor requests for specific wait staff; if you go, I suggest asking to be put in his section.

All told, this was a really good experience, with pleasant staff, good food and beer, and a pretty nice atmosphere.  My one complaint might be how insanely loud it is in the front area by the bar, including in the seating area, but it was a bit quieter in the back (good job by the hostess, too, clearly recognizing the nature of the dinner and putting us at probably the quietest table in the place, despite several open tables elsewhere), though still a bit noisy.  This did not result in any problems for us, but it is something to be considered.  Either way, I absolutely recommend going, and do yourself a favor and order the bread pudding.

Rustico (Ballston, Arlington, VA)

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*****

Post number 100!

Rustico, being located just a short walk from my apartment, and possessing a superlative beer list and interesting looking menu, has been on my short list of places to go since I first moved some of my stuff down here in late July, and I was not disappointed with my first visit.  While I did not have anything to drink, since my accompaniment was not partaking, I did have both a delicious entree and a spectacular dessert.

The menu includes several very clever appetizers and "snacks," including fried deviled eggs, "risotto tots," and the ever delicious fried green tomatoes.  While I did not partake in any of these this trip, I will definitely be trying them all in the future.  This time, I was waffling between the grilled rainbow trout and the Pea and Mascarpone Ravioli, but upon asking the waitress which I should go with, she immediately and without any hesitation answered to go with the ravioli.  Served with shrimp, snap peas, toasted pistachios in a buerre blanc, the ravioli themselves were quite well made, with fresh pasta cooked properly, and the filling was creamy and delicious.  The buerre blanc was also well made, did not separate, and had just the right consistency to cling to the peas, shrimp and ravioli, but not so thick as to be clumpy or become oatmeal-like.  Shrimp are often overcooked, and these were not, and the peas were delightfully crisp, maintaining that "snap" that gives them their name.

For dessert I broke my custom and went overtly sweet, with a Peach Crumble Sunday.  Using homemade cheesecake (I thought it was vanilla, to be honest, but that's okay, it was delicious) ice cream, clearly homemade bourbon whipped cream, peach compote and a cornmeal crumble, this was incredibly good, possibly even more successful than the entree, which I had really no major complaints with other than that I wish they had given me more.  The ice cream had the perfect smooth texture, without any obvious ice crystal formation despite not being, as far as I could tell, liquid nitrogen frozen.  The whipped cream was delicious, with just a hint of flavor from the bourbon, while the compote was sweet but not cloying, with some crunch from the peach, which did nothing to detract from the crunch of the cornmeal crumble, which was the perfect counterpoint to the ice cream and whipped cream.

DC Metro Area Trip #1

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*****

Having three days off every other week gives me the opportunity to do a little more traveling than I used to, so in preparation for a major lifestyle change this fall, I headed down to Arlington, VA to look for apartments and visit some friends who live down there.  A few meals and a trip to the National Gallery later, I was soaked to the bone after three days of non-stop torrential rain, but very excited at the prospect of moving to the DC area.

I arrived Monday early afternoon and immediately headed out to the Courthouse neighborhood where my friend Joe, who I was staying with, lives, and after dropping my bag at his apartment we grabbed some lunch at Astor Mediterranean.  A little Greek/Middle Eastern joint that has two locations, one in Courthouse and one in Adams Morgan, they offer the typical food you would expect at a restaurant of this type, served quickly and without fanfare, at surprisingly good prices.  I ended up going there twice, needing a quick bite to eat on Tuesday as well.  Both times, I got a lamb gyro, which with a drink cost only about $9, a good deal considering how large, and good, they were.  Served wrapped in a large, delightfully chewy grilled pita, the lamb was carved directly off a large upright spit, and the vegetables (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onion) all tasted fresh and appeared to be of good quality.  The tzatziki was very good (though who has ever had bad tzatziki, really?), and everything meshed nicely.  All in all, it was a good lunch both days, enough food to fill me up but not enough to make me feel overstuffed, and it did not break the bank, something I was rather pleased about on a trip that was definitely more expensive than I had intended for it to be.

Monday afternoon and early evening were spent checking out five different apartments, and this involved a great deal of walking (in the rain...seriously, I was drowned by the end of the trip), so by the end Joe and I needed beer badly.  Thankfully, the bar Carpool in Ballston was near the last one we saw, so we stopped in for a couple drinks.  They do not have the best beer list ever, but with some Sam Adams and some Peroni on tap, we were reasonably satisfied.  Better yet, they have skeeball!  They also have a few dart boards and some pool tables, the former of which we took advantage of.

Following Carpool we headed to Clarendon, where we met an old friend from college at Fuego Cocina y Tequileria, an upscale Mexican restaurant which is part of a local restaurant group.  I am typically wary of the whole upscale Mexican concept, as typically it just means more expensive food that is no different than what you get at a little neighborhood joint, except probably not as good.  Fuego actually does it quite well, not trying to gussy up the food too much, but instead just serving really tasty, well thought out and well executed food in a nice atmosphere.  They provide endless baskets of chips with two salsas, a red and a green; the chips are made fresh, and you can actually still see the grease from it being fried on some of them, while the salsas taste freshly made.  All in all, a nice starter.  For my meal I had the Pollo en Mole Poblano (chicken with a green mole sauce), which was extremely good.  Chicken, especially boneless and skinless chicken breast, is among the more boring, tasteless foods on this earth, but Fuego's kitchen prepared this dish very well, perfectly seared on the flat top (a la plancha), and the sauce was spectacular, with just a little heat to it and a ton of flavor from the spice mixture and peppers they used to make it.  While I prefer moles that are darker and have the little bit of sweetness that is more traditional to the Yucatan and several other parts of Mexico, this was extremely well done and a nice change from the norm.  Entrees are also served with a side, and I went with the Platanos Machos, caramelized maduros deglazed with tequila topped by a "Latin crema," they were sweet and savory all at once, and reinforced my love of this particular fruit.  My companions were too full for dessert, but Joe said they have great churros.  I highly recommend this restaurant.

Tuesday night I met some more old friends at their apartment in DC, right next to the Washington Nationals' stadium, and then headed to dinner at Bluejacket, a new brewpub part of yet another local restaurant group.  This was some of the better food I have had at a brewpub, while the beer was also quite solid.  They offer about twenty five beers on draught, including five or so cask ales at any given time.  The menu is both extensive and limited at the same time, offering a fairly small number of options in each of its six categories (plus sides), but with ingredients that are both out of the ordinary for a brewpub and extremely high quality.  The food was very upscale, more befitting a trendy bistro, though I suppose gastro-pubs are becoming more popular as well.  We started by splitting an order of the house-made pretzels, which are really whole wheat pretzel sticks.  They were delicious, warm, soft and with just the right amount of chew on the inside, and a slightly crisp exterior; they were great on their own or with the dark, slightly spicy beer mustard they were served with.  For an entree I had Braised Lamb Belly, which came with fava beans, orzo, and some dollops of herbed ricotta.  This was perfect, except for one thing; it was too damn small!  We realized afterward that you are probably intended to order a side to go with your main dish, but honestly, I just wanted more of everything on my plate.  Even the fava beans were good, and I hate fava beans.  The lamb belly was fatty, juicy, succulent and just all in all delicious, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned.  Orzo, a simple pasta that I can typically take or leave, was elevated by whatever the chefs did to it, and combining the orzo with the ricotta, or the lamb with the ricotta, or...hell, anything with the ricotta, was spectacular.  This was, without a doubt, one of the best meals of my life, and I simply wish I had had more.  The beer I had, Lullaby, was pretty good as well, a casked Witbier made with lemon zest, lavender, and basil that was brewed in concert with a Swiss company I had not heard of.  It was light in body, but not flavor, and had a fruitiness that was surprisingly pleasant considering my general antipathy towards fruity beers.  My friends had the The Wake, a powerful coffee stout that tasted like an alcoholic espresso (aka, fantastic), and The Stowaway, a dunkleweizen that was only okay, though that could be just me, as I am not a huge fan of the variety.  This was by far the best meal of the trip, and I cannot recommend going there highly enough; I am beyond thrilled that it is so close to my friends' apartment, and I will be returning the next time I am in DC.

That was really the end of my culinary and/or beer adventures, but I did get to go to the Pentagon Wednesday, which was quite an experience; sadly, they do not let you keep your guest passes as a souvenir.  I did get to see the 9/11 Memorial, which is in the exact spot where the plane that struck the building actually impacted the Pentagon.  It is simple, understated, and quite well designed; like the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, I was very impressed by it.  Joe and I grabbed lunch there (Popeyes, one of the few fast food places I truly enjoy) after he gave me a brief tour, which included seeing just how many shops there are in the place.  I have also never seen so much brass in my life; we were in line at Popeyes just behind a two star general!

I followed my trip to the Pentagon with one to another American landmark, the National Gallery, which I wandered around for an hour or so until my feet started to hurt.  There were a great many beautiful works of art, and far more that I did not particular see the appeal of, but it was interesting to see the different styles and the progression of art over the last few centuries.  Below are a couple of my favorite pieces that I saw, though some that I really like had signs banning photography, most likely because people using flashes had degraded the artwork already.  The Smithsonians are a legitimate national treasure, and while I am firmly in the libertarian camp when it comes to politics, I am more than happy to have tax dollars spent on them, and I wish more people, especially children, had the opportunity to visit them.