Controversy Over Rhee Now to Include Sex, Congress
Report: CCDC Split From UDC Is "Critical To Success"
D.C. United Icon Ben Olsen To Retire
Increased Urban Walkability For The Win
The Manhattan Project
Dish of the Week: Po boys
Where: Acadiana, Breadline, Johnny's Half Shell, Bardia's, and Hank's Oyster Bar
Mardi Gras is coming up this Tuesday. It is that wonderful time of indulgence right before the abstention of Lent. And we all associate this indulgent day with New Orleans. What better way to celebrate than with some po boys? Nothing could be better than a mess of fried seafood on crusty French bread, "dressed" (with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, remoulade, and a touch of cocktail sauce), though traditionalists also accept roast beef with debris gravy (gravy with small bits of beef).
For those on a hunt for a po boy, the best time to do so is at lunch, since most D.C. joints don't serve po boys outside of that time. The most authentic experience can be found at Acadiana, which serves their po boys on Lendenheimer's bread with a side of Zapp's Crawtators. You have the option of going for fried oysters, roast beef with "debris" gravy, or a less-traditional version with barbecue shrimp and garlic butter.
Another option is Breadline, though you will have to wait until Thursdays when their oyster po boy shows up on the special menu. (During soft-shell crab season you can find a soft-shell crab version instead.) Breadline's version includes a kicky slaw and remoulade, but contrary to the restaurant's name, serves it on a slightly odd spongy bread. It's not the best option, but will do in a pinch.
You can also check out Johnny's Half Shell for their sure-to-be-authentic po boys with fried shrimp, oysters or roast beef with debris gravy. Lover of all things New Orleans, Ann Cashion, makes sure that her po boys are up to snuff.
If you are looking for non-lunch hour po boys, head on over to Hank's Oyster Bar or Bardia's New Orleans Cafe.
Small Bites
ZOMG Sonic Slushes
In DCist Arts Co-Editor Missy Frederick's first weekly restaurants and retail column for the Washington Business Journal, Top Shelf, she lets us in on some pretty sweet news. For all those who have been salivating over Sonic ads for the past few years, there is hope! Sonic is scouting locations for several dozen Sonic Drive-In restaurants in the D.C. area.
Winning recyclers
Local food bloggers, The Bitten Word, were named in the London Times' top 50 world's best food blogs. Their blog puts all their food magazine recipes to work rather than letting them accumulate dust in the corner. Congrats guys!
Slider sweep
Good Stuff Eatery's Spike Mendelssohn had a near sweep of the awards at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival's Burger Bash. He beat out Bobby Flay with sliders topped with bacon, sharp Vermont cheddar, fried Vidalia onion rings, and chipotle BBQ sauce. He received the coveted People's Choice Award, as well as Best Dressed Burger, and the Golden Grill. The only award he didn't win was for best potatoes, but let's just pretend that one doesn't count. One commenter on Grub Street did note on the post, "If that photo is any indication, Mendelsohn also took home the Worst-Dressed Ham award."
Whisk-y me away
CommonWealth will be hosting a whisky dinner on March 2 at 6:30 p.m. It will include six single malts - Clynelish, Oban, Singleton, Talisker, Caol Ila, and Dalwhinnie - alongside a four-course meal. Scotch Master John Heffernan will be speaking at the event. The cost is $60 plus tax and tip. Call 202-265-1400 for reservations.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
uh. sonic sucks. have you ever been to one? peh.
sonic's food is totally redeemed by the awesomeness of the cherry limeade.
also, I want an oyster po boy like whoa.
I MISS THE SOUTH
Yeah, I agree. Everything looks good on the commercial, and then you eat there.... barf.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
does sonic always build only drive-ins? no other corporate model available? if so, stay out of DC, we don't need you guys messing up our walkable urbanity any more than it is right now!
the 'burbs, on the other hand....
Yeah, but they put tater tots in the breakfast burrito. IN the breakfast burrito!
gotta admit, that sounds pretty good!
But what about the Waffle Houses??
I'm not going to lie to you- I would die of happiness if we got Sonics here. My life would be complete.
Woah! This looks damn good!
Fie, tomato on a po boy???? What sort of infidel concocted that. Mayo or tartar sauce only! Lettuce if you must!
The posting was redeemed by the Whiskey night at Commonwealth, which sounds interesting. Depending on the size of the drinks, sixty bucks is CHEAP for six single malts, let alone six single malts AND dinner.
Most of those single-malts they list are ~$40 bottles; at 16 pours a bottle, that's $2.50 a pour; assuming two pours from each bottle per person, you're talking $30/person for the liquor. An extra $30 for blood pudding and steak & oyster pie doesn't seem ridiculous if you are into that sort of food (especially after factoring in the markup, the speaker, etc.), but I don't know that I'd call it especially cheap.
$40 retail. I'm resigned to the fact that I'm not going to ever get retail prices on booze when I eat out, so triple it.
omg, sonic! the cherry limeades are the best, make sure you ask for extra cherries. they are what got me through three hour classes in college, and if i had some left over, add some rum for a thirsty thursday treat.
plus, their breakfast burritos are the best hangover cure out there. yes, with tater tots.
I've had po'boys at Johnny's (shrimp and oyster) and I can tell you they're every bit as authentic as the ones at Acadiana. They are also served on Leidenheimer's rolls (crispy crunch on the outside, insides that practically evaporate) and they come with a side of Zapp's originals (no crawtators here).
They offer halves as well as wholes (a whole Leidenheimer loaf is LONG), and their halves are about $2 cheaper than Acadiana's.
Johnny's is good. Hank's is good but far from authentic. There are also good options in NoVA; especially if you aren't going for lunch. If you're budget conscious, there's the Monday half-price po-boy special at Southside, for example--not as good Hank's or Johnny's, but for $4 it's more than adequate. (And at Southside, they give you lettuce & tomato on the side plus remoulade, tartar, and cocktail sauces so you can dress your 'boy up however you want.)
I agree. I'm a New Orleanian and Hanks' offering is no where near authentic. My take on it was that it was a let down to be called a Po-Boy.
I will weep with joy in public in front of an ex-boyfriend if Sonic comes to town. And anyone who thinks the food is terrible is obviously a terrible person.
Tell Sonic that DC locations must have rollerskating car hops.
Sonic?! Sweet baby Jesus with tater tots! This can't happen. . . don't they know I'm dieting?!
Then again, part of the allure of Sonic, for me, is that they are a very rare treat, since the closest one is in Fredericksburg. It's a road trip sort of thing, and I doubt I'd hit it often if it were local.
Screw the haters. . . it's better than most fast food out there. And yes, I'm a huge fan of that breakfast burrito with the tater tots, with a side of jalapeno poppers and washed down with a cherry limeade. The coconut cream pie shake is pretty awesome too, but is practically a meal in itself, it's so damn thick.
Damn, now I'm hungry.
~EEE~