Blue Mountain’s Kölsch and Imperial Porter (on nitrogen) Breweries in this area are becoming more and more scarce. With Old Dominion Brewery moving to Delaware, we’re left with our local brewpubs and not much else. Baltimore is one option, but for a more scenic beer getaway, heading down into the area around Charlottesville is the way to go. In the last couple years, some new breweries have sprouted up and others have expanded. The…

With the holidays and Obamauguration solidly behind us, it’s time to ditch the gimmicky and focus on the delicious. Winter is typically my favorite beer season of the year, but the overspiced and generic “winter” ales can tend to wear on a beer lover after only a few weeks. Now is the time when the good stuff really comes out. Birreria Paradiso Pizza Paradiso is running a Valentine’s Day dinner special (the entire restaurant,…

The idea is a simple one: close your eyes and imagine playing putt-putt golf. You played when you were a kid, but there aren’t exactly tons of courses close to the city, so it’s been a while. Still, you remember: the colorful balls, the tiny pencils to keep score with, the fanciful courses with themes like pirates or dinosaurs. Now, imagine you can combine all of that with your love of booze. Because really, what…

The idea is a simple one: close your eyes and imagine playing putt-putt golf. You played when you were a kid, but there aren’t exactly tons of courses close to the city, so it’s been a while. Still, you remember: the colorful balls, the tiny pencils to keep score with, the fanciful courses with themes like pirates or dinosaurs. Now, imagine you can combine all of that with your love of booze. Because really, what…

Capitol City’s InaugurAle. Photo by Eric Denman Regardless of where you’ll be when Inauguration fever sets in, you’ll need an appropriate beverage to toast our new President. Some folks may tout the celebratory bottle of Champagne, and there are no shortage of Obama-themed cocktails around. However, I plan on focusing on the man himself in my Inaugural drinking, and he has stated his preference for a nice beer. With this focus, you can take…

From the name alone, you might expect that Punch Club is a shabby knockoff of the 1999 movie, Fight Club. Further strengthening this likeness is the fact that Punch Club is held only once a week, on Thursdays. And although both Fight Club and Punch Club both have the potential to knock you out, the former does with uppercuts and jabs what the latter does with expertly crafted cocktails and, well, punch. Punch is a…

From the name alone, you might expect that Punch Club is a shabby knockoff of the 1999 movie, Fight Club. Further strengthening this likeness is the fact that Punch Club is held only once a week, on Thursdays. And although both Fight Club and Punch Club both have the potential to knock you out, the former does with uppercuts and jabs what the latter does with expertly crafted cocktails and, well, punch. Punch is a…

As the city stares down another D.C. winter, my thoughts inevitably turn to the warming comfort of D.C.’s Ethiopian food culture. In contrast to a shabby Chinatown and the occasional Latin gem in Adams Morgan, the vibrant Ethiopian scene in D.C. is the shining star of our downtown ethnic cuisine offerings. If you’re looking to take visiting family out to a uniquely D.C. dinner, you should really consider an Ethiopian restaurant. Although they are most…

In the D.C. alcoholic beverage scene, the phrase, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” has been proven time and time again. Legend has it that in the early days of the Brickskeller, Dave Alexander drove cross-country to purchase beer from breweries on the West Coast. More recently, Ledroit Brands (a D.C.-based distributor) started bringing in barrel-strength whiskey from Kentucky under the Willett brand. Even in the last few weeks, the Dolin brand of vermouth…

On the eighth day, God invented the turkey, so that man would have something to deep-fry. I have only come to this conclusion after years of doing my patriotic duty to consume massive amounts of turkey on Thanksgiving. The basic approach when frying a turkey is, well, rather similar to frying anything else. The main difference is the amount of oil involved (5 gallons in my case), and the lack of batter. The resulting skin…