June 20, 2008
The Weekly Feed: Survival of the Fittest Edition
Drink of the week: Brown Derby
Where: Bar Pilar
All the big guys have covered the Tuesday night specialty cocktails made by Pilar's self-described sherpa Adam Bernbach. So what do you do when it's not Tuesday? Certainly you could choose from the good selection of beers. But this summer you should opt for a Brown Derby. The drink is composed of Bulleit bourbon, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, and honey. At first it sounds odd, since citrus fruits are more frequently combined with rum, tequila, or vodka.
This signature drink of the Vendrome Club in the 1930s works on your tongue in layers. The initial taste is of the sweetened grapefruit juice, giving way to the earthiness of the honey. The honey transitions into the heavier more toffee-like flavors of the bourbon.
Photo by sally_henny_penny
Small Bites
Chef Contro
Following up a little tidbit that was in Todd Kliman's chog, we read about the chef turnover at Tacklebox in the City Paper. In a story that doesn't reflect well on either parties, turns out that Chef Robert Bechtold is no longer with the restaurant. The story then ends in speculation that there are monetary issues involved as well, which is a shame given their dedication to sustainability.
Smoke it up
It's that time of year for folks to get in on some porcine refreshment, as well as bovine and poultry at the National Capital Barbecue Battle this weekend. Tickets are $10, which allows you to sample food at the Safeway Pavilion, but be prepared to pony up for some of the other smoky tidbits.
Sloshy start to summer
Along with the summer season's barbecues come the perfect accompaniment: beer. The first Northern Virginia Summer BrewFest comes to Norven Park in Leesburg, VA this weekend. Rain or shine, the BrewFest will feature over 50 American breweries, including Brooklyn, Dogfish Head, Flying Dog, and Oskar Blues Breweries. $25 gets you four beer tickets, live entertainment, and access to other tasty foods. Additional tickets are $1 each.
Fresh air is overrated
If eating indoors is more your style, the Washington Post now offers a variety of coupons and deals for nearly 20 area restaurants. Coupons are printable or textable to your mobile.
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can someone please give me more info on this bbq battle? i've never been because i figure it's crappy. the event's website isn't much more descriptive. who are the most tasty vendors? where are they from? what can you buy? what is included in the ticket price (is it just crappy food and then you have to buy the good food)? are the lines horrendous??
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Like most downtown food fairs (Taste of DC, the chili cookoff, etc), everything about the bbq battle is overpriced and often nasty. Do yourself a favor, rent a Zipcar, drive to Bowie, and get the real deal. Cheaper, and you won't be surrounded by sweating idiots.
Really, I'd rather eat a fistful of dog s**t than the boiled meat and axle grease they peddle at the bbq battle. Have you ever eaten dog food? Well, imagine eating a can of dog food with your head fimly lodged in a cow's ass. Now, spray yourself with bong water. That's the bbq battle.
Alright. I'll stop.
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agreed, hungeegirl. uh, the website is just creepy. its clearly circa 1991 and its got to be violating some pretty serious graphic design rules. all those pigs and sparkles!
ah, but the cute squirrel picture soothes me. thank you squirrel. oh wait - chipmunk? presumably non-rat rodent.
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Pffft to those coupons. They say they're for restaurants in MD, VA, and DC; but I couldn't find any DC restaurants in that list of coupons. I hadn't even really heard of any of those places either, definitely the B-team.
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when it comes to the Church of Barbecue, the DC BBQ battle is the Babylonian Captivity, and Red Hot And Blue is the goddamned antiPope.
and if you have any idea what I'm talking about, please tell the driver to take me back to the home.
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AVOID THE BBQ BATTLE AT ALL COSTS!!!
Again, I'll repeat. . .
DO NOT GO TO THE BBQ BATTLE!
It is everything Monkey said and then some. You don't get to actually sample what the contestants made, at least we didn't last year, and you pretty much get in line after line to. . . get marketed at.
Yes, you literally wander around getting free food samples, coupons, lame photo-ops (last year they were promoting Ratatoullie), etc. The food samples are cursed.
I did what I could get my entry fee's worth, including snatching like 30 Safeway O Organics coupons, cleaning out the Burt's Bee's stuff, getting shaved by what I'm pretty sure was the winner of the Ms. Dundalk CamelToe 1997 contest, and anything else I could get my grubby hands on.
The coupons were also cursed.
The only BBQ available for consumption is what you stand in line for an hour and pay for. I made the mistake of picking the short line, which turned out to be some crappy place in Georgetown's attempt at a food cart. It made Red Hot and Blue look like the gold standard of BBQ. It was *that* bad.
Seriously, so not worth it, and I'm happy to spread the word lest someone else make the mistake of wandering into the trap.
If there's anything in this city that is in need of a CHUD/Morlok/Mole People attack, it's that damn BBQ Battle.
~EEE~
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ah yes, i forgot to look at chowhound! thanks everyone for the tips
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I've been to 2 BBQ battles, and there isn't a single reason why anyone should pay money to go. You stand and sweat and get advertised to. Food and drink are overpriced and underavailable. And the BBQers are mostly just sitting drinking beer.
Only thing worth the price of admission is the annual Chuck Brown jam session on Saturday night.