Happy Hour at Bandolero

Last week  I popped in to Mike Isabella’s new-ish place on M St. in Georgetown called Bandolero.  This two-story location opened in May of 2012 after completing renovations, as the previous restaurant (called Hook) had a fire in the summer of 2011.  I would describe the interior of Bandolero as having a dark saloon feel with a twist of modern or as they describe it a “Day of the Dead motif.”  So I hopped up on the corner seat at the bar and was greeted by some jovial bartenders.  I asked what was good on the Bandido Happy Hour menu and was told that the ‘el bandolero margarita’ is a go-to for a drink and that the tacos are a good taste treat.

So I ordered up the ‘el bandolero margarita’ which is a pre-made mix with espolon blanco tequila, lime, patron citronage, and blood orange.  Even though it is pre-made it is potent!  Don’t let the bartender talk you in to more than one =)  I also tried the mushroom tacos.  They were two five inch corn tortillas with a butternut squash spread, and topped with pickled onions and crispy pepitas.  Even though the tacos were not that big, the flavors were full and something to be savored. Both the margarita and tacos were a great taste treat!  If you are looking for a classier happy hour definitely make a date to stop in Bandolero for their Bandido Hour!

Details:

Bandolero
3241 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20007
202.625.4488
Serve: Happy Hour, Dinner, Brunch
Price Range:  Happy Hour $4.00-$6.00

 

Lunch or Dinner at Cava Grill

Growing up I rarely ate Mediterranean/Greek food, it just wasn’t available where we lived, but since moving to DC a few years ago it has become one of my favorites.  I could probably eat it every day and now I’m a lucky duck because Cava Grill just opened near by!  There are only a few locations for Cava Grill in the DC metro area, but if you happen to find yourself near one you need to stop in and try it.

I would describe Cava Grill as a fast casual-style restaurant, with their process being similar to Chipotle or Roti, where you choose your base (i.e. pita, salad, rice), then choose your dips & spread (i.e. hummus, tzatziki, crazy feta), then you choose your protein  and your toppings.  Their menu is relatively easy to understand and everything I have tried is delicious.

I usually go for the salad base and you must try the crazy feta.  It is feta cheese with a few jalapenos in it, not too hot, but super yummy.  Making my mouth water as I write the description!  The salad comes with a small pita on the side as well, so it’s less bread overall, but you still get to enjoy the pita if you want too.  Eat up!

Details:

Cava Mezze Grill
Multiple Locations (Tysons Corner, Merrifield, Bethesda, Columbia Heights, Tenleytown)
Serve: Lunch & Dinner
Price Range:  $7.25-$8.50

Dinner at Taylor Gourmet

The area that I live has been seeing a lot of changes in the last year… we got a Target, a Neiman Marcus Last Call, a new movie theater and more… so things are definitely looking better, and when I heard that Taylor Gourmet was coming to the new Mosaic District I was rather ecstatic.  I had never been to Taylor Gourmet, but a friend that works near the location on H Street constantly raves about the sandwiches and salads.

We were watching the construction finish so I hopped on Twitter to ask @Taylor_Gourmet when their Merrifield location was going to open and they wrote back that their Grand Opening was on February 4th and…. they were giving free hoagies! So as soon as I got home we headed over to stand in line for a sub.  The line was long, the temps were low, but it did give me ample time to read the plethora of sandwiches available with all their fresh ingredients piled on.

Founded in 2008 by Casey Patten and David Mazza, all the sandwiches are named after their hometown of Philly.  So from their menu you can try anything from the Rittenhouse Square hoagie (pictured below) to the Love Park salad.  You can also make your own sandwich or salad if for some reason you do not see a combination that you like.  Their traditional hoagies come with Italian loaf bread with sesame seeds (you can ask for wheat), Italian cured meats, in-house roasted turkey, pork, and beef, and aged cheeses (none of the ingredients are ever frozen).  Also check the menu to see if the sandwich you are ordering automatically comes with lettuce, tomato, onion.

I was being indecisive because too many of the options looked good, but I finally decided to try the Rittenhouse Square hoagie (pictured above) that included grilled chicken, tomato, and pesto then toasted to perfection.  I also got an order of the Taylor Sampler, which included risotto balls, stuffed peppers, mozzarella sticks, and fried ravioli (YUM!).

And this Saturday morning we have a date to try Taylor Gourmet’s latest line of breakfast hoagies!  I better start looking at the menu now.   I also want to check out their Taylor Charles Steak & Ice on H Street that serves “authentic” Philly cheesesteaks!

Details:

Taylor Gourmet
Locations: H St NE, K St NW, 14th St NW, Dupont Circle, Merrifield (VA), & Bethesda (MD)
Serve: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Price Range:  $7.10–$11.60

Happy Hour at Crackle Bar

I’m not actually a 100% sure how I ended up trying Tacklebox‘s Crackle Bar on M Street in Georgetown.  I usually force myself to try somewhere new (cause there are 1000s of restaurants in DC/NOVA), but the Crackle Bar somehow makes its way into my plans at least once a month.  And there are three reasons why:

1. The view.  They claim they have the best view of Georgetown, and for an M St restaurant that claim is definitely true.  Perched on the second story and big bay windows you can sip your beer and quietly make fun of all the people trying to parallel park.

2. The happy hour specials.  They have $3 calamari  that is actually really tasty and breaded just right.  Plus the spicy marinara dipping sauce that comes with it just compliments the appetizer perfectly.  They have $7 pitches of Natty Boh…  SEVEN DOLLAR PITCHERS OF BEER??!?!  That’s unheard of in this town!  And yes, Natty Boh may not be the highest quality beer, but it sure doesn’t taste bad.  I have made a few dinners with friends out of a pitcher and few rounds of calamari.  The rest of their food is actually really good too, but I’ll make that another post.

3. The bartender.  Eric, the bartender that runs the Crackle Bar is one of the nicest people you’ll meet in a restaurant.  He’s personable and always remembers us, which the first time I found that quite unbelievable with the amount of people he is bound to see each month.

Crackle Bar can get rather crowded, especially in the spring/summer months.  And sometimes it can feel a little bit like a college bar (with Georgetown University down the street), but it’s a great place to enjoy the food, the view, and a brew.  Oh and get a photo inside the sharks head =) even my mom did it!

Details:

Tacklebox’s Crackle Bar
3245 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20007
202.337.8269
Serve: Happy Hour
Price Range:  $1.00-$16.00

 

CRACKLE BAR HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS
4-7pm MONDAY-FRIDAY

Drink specials only available upstairs
RAW OYSTERS 6/12 $1
FRIED CALAMARI $3
MARGARITA ROCKS/FROZEN $4
RAIL DRINKS $4
OYSTER SHOT $4
HOUSE WINE RED/WHITE $4
NATTY BOH DRAFT $4
NATTY BOH PITCHER $7
SANGRIA PITCHER $16
MARGARITA PITCHER $16

DC Winter Restaurant Week

If you haven’t heard about Restaurant Week, the DC/NOVA area does it twice a year… once in the winter and once in late summer.  It is a great way to try out some high-end restaurants that you wouldn’t normally visit.  Today starts the Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week Winter 2013 and it runs through February 10th (Sunday).  Awfully tricky of them to stop it just before Valentine’s Day 😉

 

The meals are usually a three-course meal with an appetizer, entree, and dessert.  Lunches are priced at $20.13 and dinners are $35.15 (this does not include drinks or taxes/gratuity).  This winter nearly 240 restaurants around the area are participating from 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church to The Palm in Downtown.  I am planning on doing Chima (a fabulous Brazilian steakhouse)  & Charlie Palmer steakhouse this go around!  So I will be sure to come back with some thoughts and recommendations.

Enjoy the seven days of dining!!

Details:

Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week (Feb 4-10, 2013)
240 Participating Restaurants
Additional Info: http://www.ramw.org/restaurantweek/
Serve: Lunch & Dinner
Price Range:  $20.13 & $35.13

Lunch at Eamonn’s A Dublin Chipper

I did a little stay-cation in Old Town Alexandria and I had done some research into good-eats in the area that we should try.  Arriving in Old Town around lunch time, and after lugging our suitcases down King Street from the Metro Station, we were certainly in need of some replenishment, aka food.  So we popped into Eamonn’s A Dublin Chipper for some “authentic fish & chips.”

The restaurant, named after one of the owner’s sons, has 20-seats, is maybe 10 feet wide, and feels like one of those old-timey pharmacies.  For me, I was a tad overwhelmed as we were unsure whether we should order or sit or what.  But finally someone saw our lost look and let us know to order at the counter then hopefully find a place to sit.  We stepped up still not having much of a clue and ordered some cod with chips.  Then we grabbed a seat looking at ourselves in the antiqued mirrors, and tried to figure out the water dispenser which was reminiscent of the Gatorade buckets on the soccer field in the 90s. Finally our freshly fried food came out pipping hot.  Now this place isn’t somewhere to go for healthy fare, so expect some grease on your brown bag full of your fish and chips.  All the sauces, which are listed behind the “Jackeen” working the counter are homemade and free of preservatives and trans fats, so remember to pick which one you want when you order.

I had never had “authentic” fish and chips, and looking around it didn’t look like anyone else had a clue either, so I ripped open my brown bag to make a “plate” and laid out my meal.  The cod was fried just right and the hand-cut “chips” were up there on the scale.  We ended up liking our food so much that we made a stop back by for dinner on our way home from our stay-cation.  And this time we looked like we knew what we were doing!

My only negative, besides the small space, is that their fried Snickers was not everything I had heard a fried Snickers to be.  But hey, they specialize in fish and chips… not fried candy bars 😉

So if you find yourself on King Street in need of a good hearty meal, stop by Eamonn’s and give thanks to the cod!

Details:

Eamonn’s
728 King St., Alexandria, VA
703.299.8384
Serve: Lunch & Dinner
Price Range:  $5.00-$12.50

Eamonn’s is a part of Cathal & Meshelle Armstrong’s family of restaurants, which also includes the high-end Restaurant Eve, the American-classic Majestic Cafe, and PX, their speakeasy bar.

Brunch at Sixth Engine

Yesterday I met two of our dear friends for brunch at Sixth Engine (on Mass Ave between 5th & 4th Ave NW, a few blocks east of the Chinatown gate).  We had driven by this renovated firehouse before, but had not tried it out yet, as it is a few blocks “off the beaten path,” but we are thankful we finally did.  Constructed in the late 19th Century, the building was one of the oldest firehouses in D.C.

If one word could describe Sixth Engine I would pick: details. Our experience started with the sweet hostesses, we were then led to the downstairs dining area which has beautiful decor.  The walls are a royal blue, the lighting for each table was just right, and the booths/chairs are extremely comfortable, even the way the napkins were wrapped around the silverware was unique.  Brunch drinks were ordered and the presentation was beautiful (photo is of a Bloody Maria and after the lime/olive/celery was taken off the little sword).  They also provide the table with a large container of filtered water with of course a fireman etched on the front.

Back to the details, our table ordered coffee and we had our own stainless steel french press delivered to the table with awesome coffee cups, which you can get a glance of in the Bloody Maria photo.  A small tray of cream and sugar accompanied this.  The brunch menu is a hybrid between brunch and lunch.  Food choices range from buckwheat chocolate chip pancakes (which I ordered) to an All-American cheeseburger.  All four of our meals were delivered and the presentation was clearly thought of… (photo is of their chorizo, potatoes, and eggs plate with chile sauce, scrambled eggs, tortillas, & crema verde.)

I wish I had gotten a photo of my chocolate chip flapjacks with the whipped cream so fresh it was sliding off… yum yum!  You will have to trust me that this dish alone is worth a visit to Sixth Engine.  I shared with everyone at the table and all of us just loved how light and delicious they were.

We finally finished up our delectable meals and then popped upstairs to see the decor before we left.  Is it cliche to say it took my breath away?  We got to the top of the stairs and turned the corner to large bay windows flooding the area with soft light, exposed bricks that were the walls of the original firehouse, and yup, the details down to the light bulbs on the chandeliers were just gorgeous.  We left with full bellies and promises to come back.

Details: 

Sixth Engine
438 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
202.506.2455
Serve: Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Bar
Price Range:  (brunch) $8.00-$19.50  (drinks) $~10.00