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.

Night Kitchen (Montague Center, Montague, MA) and Berkshire Brewing Company River Ale

****This Restaurant Has Closed****

The Night Kitchen, currently the Town of Montague's only upscale restaurant following the closing of Turners Falls' Ristorante DiPaolo, was a mixed bag for me.  I went with family to celebrate my step-grandmother's 80th birthday, and there were some great moments, and some things that really fell short for me.  They do get extra credit for naming themselves after the Maurice Sendak book In the Night Kitchen; Sendak was one of my favorites as a child, and though I don't specifically recall reading that book, Where the Wild Things Are will forever be on top of my list of great children's books.

As far as ambiance, the restaurant does well; it is located on the bank of a small, as best I can tell unnamed river that runs along Greenfield Rd in Montague Center, and is nicely decorated in a rustic sort of way.  It is not too dark, though the lights definitely dimmed from when I arrived at 7:00pm to when we all departed at 9:00pm, to just on the edge of where I would have thought they were too dark.  The kitchen is visible from the majority of the dining room, something which some people like, though quite honestly, unless I am eating sushi I don't really care about. 

Parsnip, Leek and Potato Soup with arugula oil and smoke paprika

The meal started with some appetizers, including the Parsnip, Potato and Leek Soup for me, and the table sharing the Grilled Flatbread with Green Olives and Broiled Parmesan Polenta.  The soup, served with an "arugula oil & smoked paprika," was nice looking, and the bright green oil was laid out attractively on top of a porridgy looking bowl of moderately creamy, slightly grainy soup.  The graininess is not actually a negative for me, as I feel that it adds some texture to the soup, but I can imagine that other people may not have as positive a reaction to that.  The soup tasted fine, a solid average offering with a strong parsnip flavor, but I did not really taste the leeks at all, which was disappointing, since they are among my favorite vegetables, and the potato was a background note at best.  I've made better myself, but since they don't offer any other soups at this time, it's not a terrible option, though I tend to object to ordering things that I can make as well or better than a restaurant. 

The polenta was flat out disappointing, served in a tiny cast iron "skillet" with garlic mushrooms and mozzarella.  The polenta itself was flavorless, thick and with a cement-like consistency.  I've made better, my mother has made better, and any Italian who ate it would probably take it as a personal insult.  All in all, one of the worst items I have ever had in a fine-dining establishment; stay away.  The flatbread, on the other hand, was spectacular.  With white Spanish anchovies and some gruyere melted on top, it was salty and savory, as well as a tiny bit sweet from some caramelized onions.  This was a great, simple, but elegant appetizer that any restaurant would be proud of, and I am still kind of regretting not grabbing another piece of it.

Entrées were also a mixed result, as I loved my dish, but my step-dad and his mother felt that theirs were served a little cooler than they should be.  In fact, my step-grandmother sent her dish, the Seared Duck Breast, back to be re-warmed.  When it returned, she very much enjoyed it.  My step-dad's Grilled Bistro Steak, which he ordered medium, was on the medium-rare side of that, which was fine with me when I tasted it, and I thought it was both well cooked and tasted great.  My mother had the Grilled Pork Rib Chop, a bone in chop stuffed with black mission figs; it was decent, better than I expected (though I must admit that I expect poor results anytime someone orders a pork chop at a restaurant, as they typically overcook them horribly; it's why I enjoy the pork chops at Hope and Olive so much), but still not as juicy as I'd have liked, though it certainly tasted good. 

My entrée was solid, a Potato Crusted Arctic Char, served with an orange and radish slaw and

Potato Crusted Arctic Char with orange radish slaw and horseradish crème

horseradish crème, with lentils and kale on the side.  The lentils were not particularly interesting, though they were nicely cooked, with just a little al dente bite to them.  The kale was also perfectly cooked, so the leaves were still bright and crisp, with a vinegar-y sauce that had some sweetness to it; it was absolutely delicious, the kind of side that goes well with almost anything, and is a pretty decent argument for those crazy "Eat More Kale" people.  The fish was very good, though not as good as the kale; it was cooked decently well, but not perfect, and the potato crust slipped off it pretty easily while cutting into it.  The fish itself was a little overly flaky (slightly overcooked, but not horribly), and the crust had some nice flavor to it.  All in all, I would label this as a fine, but not wonderful, dish, and next time I would go with the steak or possibly Braised Chicken with Fennel and Capers.

Salted Caramel Pudding

The highlight of the night was, by far, the dessert.  I have expressed several times my dislike for super sweet desserts, but there were three options that drew my eye:  the Warm Maple Almond Bundt Cake with a strawberry rhubarb compote; the Rum Soaked Pineapple Upside Down Cake; and the Salted Caramel Pudding with candied walnuts.  I asked the waiter who came over to take our order what he suggested, and he said the pudding, so that's what I went with.  It was one of the best desserts I have ever had in my entire life, a thick, heavy, sweet and salty pudding with large walnut chunks and some whipped cream on top.  The caramel/salt combination is about as good as it gets, but this was done much, much better than normal, so that the salt was clearly evident in every bite without ever overwhelming the caramel, but also providing enough of a savory note that even when all the components were eaten together the caramel, candied walnuts and whipped cream did not have too much sweetness.  I hate walnuts, and I loved them in this dish; they were perfectly done, just on the edge of becoming soft so that they did not shatter when bitten into, but avoiding that soggy feeling that many candied nuts get.  The whipped cream was even above average, clearly homemade.  I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Service was...interesting.  Our waitress was friendly enough, but a little blah; she did not seem to have any kind of actual personality.  Now, I'm not saying I want wait staff to be super effervescent, but my lord, be more than a soft spoken automaton!  Timidity is a poor trait in a service industry, and I hope it was just that she was new, but she could not even muster much more than a "they're both really good" when I asked if she recommended the Char versus the Trout.  The waiter who took our dessert order was much, much better, a strong personality without overdoing it.  The waitress that my step-grandmother spoke to when she sent back her entrée was similarly good, apologizing profusely and immediately taking the dish back to be re-done, but never seemed to be overwhelmed by anything.  She may have been a manager of some sort, because I don't believe I ever saw her actually taking orders from anyone.

All in all, this was a fine meal, one that was better than anything else you could find in Montague, but not really equal to the food you would find at Hope and Olive or at several places in Northampton, Brattleboro or even Sunderland.  I would go back for two reasons:  one, the deck outside is perfect for a summer date; and two, for that salted caramel.  The prices are not unreasonable, but for the same money, I think you can do better.

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With my dinner I had a glass of the Berkshire Brewing Company River Ale, a mediocre, at best, beer that I will never have again.  I am a fan of BBC, with the Lost Sailor IPA, Drayman's Porter, and Steel Rail Pale Ale all personal favorites of mine, but this was just a poor beer.  Their website says it has a "slight" sweetness, but it's really more of a whack you over the head amount of sweet.  It is a high alcohol beer at 7%, and its saving grace is that it does not taste like it has that much booze; that said, I cannot in good conscience recommend this, as it is simply a more expensive, darker version of Bud Light Platinum.  Stay away, and try one of the other three I listed instead.

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High Horse (Amherst, MA)

 High Horse has taken over the former location of the Amherst Brewing Company, a locally well known brew-pub that moved to a vastly larger (and vastly inferior) space a short way away, opening the door for this new, superior brew-pub to enter the local bar scene.  Both the beer and the food are better at High Horse than at ABC, and the look is better; my only gripe is the volume level, and that may have been a one time problem.

I've only tried one beer at High Horse so far, having had the Libertine Porter both times I went; it's a dark, hefty beer--though at only 5.2% you won't feel like it's hitting you over the head--with strong coffee and malt notes.  It feels similar to drinking a good stout mixed with decent espresso, but with a nicely melded flavor.  The color is beautiful, just the right depth of blackness, without appearing ugly or one note, and the head is a lovely brown foam.  I was such a fan the first time I went that I got it the second.  It is pictured above and left.

The food at ABC was solid-average, but nothing to write home about, with the exception of a few delectable appetizers like fried pickles or very tasty nachos.  Having only eaten one thing so far at High Horse, the poutine (pictured with the Libertine Porter), I'm very impressed; it is by far the best I have had south of Old Orchard Beach, ME, and from that area north there is a heavy influence from the Quebecois, or French Canadians.  This poutine's only problem was having a bit too much cheese, but the fries were fried nicely, so as not to be too soggy except for the last few that had been swimming in gravy for a while, and the gravy itself was thick and delicious, with a strong meaty flavor that manages to not overwhelm the others in the dish.  Overall, something I'd strongly recommend.  I don't know if getting french fries there is a good idea or not, as the fries alone didn't have a ton of taste, but that could be because they don't season them the same way for the poutine as for a plain order.

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For those people who went to ABC, the upstairs of High Horse will be very familiar (I haven't been downstairs yet), as they only changed a couple things, but I felt like it looked better overall.  They eliminated the "two bar" set up, and instead have one large continuous bar, with a very neat tap station located behind it (see picture at right).  The back room, which is always my favorite place to sit because it's typically way quieter, was awful the first time I went, despite my friend and I being one of just two groups back there; the speakers were BLARING some awful attempt at rap music, to the point where I couldn't hear well across a small table.  The bar was not hugely crowded for a Saturday night at 11pm, certainly not so much so that it was necessary for the music to be that loud.

The second time I went was much nicer, on a Thursday evening from around 10pm to a little after 11pm.  It was pretty quiet, enough so that the bartenders and I had time to carry on a couple decent conversations which were only intermittently disrupted.  The bartenders that night were fantastic, very friendly, knowledgable (one engaged me in about a 10 minute conversation about the relative merits of poutine in different places, and was quite funny), and just overall a lot of fun.  The friend who was meeting me that night didn't show up until about 10:30, so I was there alone for over half an hour alone, and still had a lot of fun just talking to them.


Lastly, the bar offers a few decent whiskies, including a small batch whiskey that was quite tasty.  Black Maple Hill is smooth, with light notes of vanilla, and a true bourbon taste.  It doesn't lack the "fire" a good bourbon has, but it's more like embers than a bonfire.  There were others on the list I'd like to try, but this was recommended by one bartender, and she was absolutely correct.

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Madison Brewing Co. Pub and Restaurant (Bennington, VT)

Madison Brewing Co.©

Madison Brewing Co. Pub and Restaurant is my kind of place; simple, tasty food, good beer, and a great atmosphere.  My younger step-sister just graduated from Bennington College, and since I was not able to be there, I took her out to dinner in celebration; this was where she chose for us to go, and I can assure you, if she took nothing else away from her college experience, Madison Brewing Co. was well worth the cost of tuition.

Madison offers six year round beers, ranging from a Scottish style ale to a Belgian witbier, along with two "seasonal" beers.  I had the Old 76 Strong Ale, which lives up well to its name; it is a strongly flavored, heavy beer, though lacking the hops that I would have expected.  The beer was not special, but certainly much better than and of the mass produced options, and held up well against even some of the British ales I've had.  This is certainly a beer I can recommend to anyone who finds themselves in Bennington.

Despite being a brewpub, the food was really where Madison shines.  I had the bangers and mash dinner, and the mashed potatoes were fantastic; creamy, rich, with good texture but not so much as to be chunky.  The gravy was heavy and filling, with large slices of cooked onions in it, and while it had its own richness, it did not overwhelm either the potatoes or the sausages.  The bangers themselves, however, were a little disappointing at first; they are not really bangers, but more of a standard pork sausage, and once I got over the disappointment that they were not what I had had in England, I really enjoyed them.  They were extremely porky, which is pretty much my first requirement for a sausage (I have had good beef, chicken/turkey, and fish sausages, but let's be real:  sausages should be pork), with just enough fat to keep them moist but not so much as to feel heavy or greasy, and went well with both the potatoes and gravy.  The last thing on the plate was a small heap of apple chutney, which was an extremely sweet, but welcome addition, with the apples maintaining their crunch to provide a nice contrast to the primarily soft remainder of the platter.

Along with the bangers and mash, Madison offers a pretty great selection of traditional pub food, such as fish and chips (on Wednesdays it's all you can.  Seriously, this place was founded with me in mind), meatloaf, burgers (including bison and venison burgers), and wings, along with less traditional fare including a daily ravioli special, tortellini alfredo, and chicken scalopini.  The smoked gouda mac and cheese sounds pretty damn good too.

Now, I don't normally eat dessert, partially because I'm trying to convince myself I'm eating semi-healthy, but mostly because I just tend to be disappointed by it.  When offered apple pie with a pecan topping/crust, however, that whole "healthy" thing goes out the window, especially when the waitress (who was one of the best I've had in a while; friendly without being cloying, attentive without being intrusive or annoying) insists that it must be eaten warm and a la mode, and boy was she right.  First off, they use good ice cream; this was not that bleached looking "vanilla" that has no character, but instead more along the lines of Haagen-Dazs' Vanilla Bean (a personal favorite of mine).  Secondly, the pie itself was heavenly; think of the best apple pie you've had, and then try this.  It'll be a close comparison, I can assure you that.  While this may not be the best I've ever, it's damn close, with great texture, sweetness, tartness, and apple flavor that just melds perfectly into an overall fantastic eating experience, and one that reminded me that dessert does not have to disappoint.

Lastly, the aforementioned atmosphere:  the downstairs is small, but not cramped, with a tiny bar (maybe 8 seats, if that) and several tables.  Upstairs is separated into two sections, with an expansive indoor area and a moderately sized outdoor area, that has its own bar (though I don't believe you can sit at it), with about 8 or 9 tables.  We sat outdoors, and it was a really great place to sit, with the perfect (not too hot, but sunny) weather enhancing the already delicious meal.  If you have the option of sitting outside and the weather is nice, take advantage, you will not regret it.

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