‘Washington DC’
While essentially a part of The South, Washington, DC has always seemed much more like a northern city to me. Nonetheless, its southern roots can sometimes be found in a number of places. Rocklands Barbeque in Glover Park is one of those places, because obviously The South is chock-full of great BBQ.
There are places in this world that can be relied upon to provide food at any time of day. Such places are perfect for people looking for a late-night snack or an early bite (or both depending on the night and time), but I went to Steak ‘n Egg in Washington, DC for the latter. It was a beautiful Fall day, so we sat outside and got ourselves ready for some delicious diner food.
GBD in Washington DC’s Dupont Circle quite literally stands for Golden Brown Delicious. This, of course, is quite a claim, yet considering the place specializes in doughnuts and fried chicken, I had to imagine they were doing something right. Unfortunately I didn’t have my fancy camera to capture the place in all its glory, but that didn’t stop me from ordering some delicious food.
In the world of DC burgers, it seems that one name stands above the rest: Ray’s Hell Burger. Originally conceived as a spot to bank on the discarded scraps from Ray’s the Steaks, Ray’s Hell Burger is on its third iteration, going by the name of Ray’s to the Third. It’s technically in Rosslyn/Arlington, Virginia and luckily so was I.
Restaurants make outlandish claims all the time, and usually along the lines of “Best [insert food here] in town.” Joe’s Burgers in McLean, Virginia doesn’t care about the competition and instead proclaims their burgers as “Simply Amazing.” My friends who took me there seemed to agree, or else why would I have found myself there perusing their menu of inspired burgers (albeit mostly with some sort of vegetable component).
Over in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia is a restaurant that loves to rhyme. It’s called Chef Geoff’s and it’s not the only one. In fact, there seem to be Chef Geoffs’ all around the DC area. This Chef Geoff’s had an interesting menu ranging from Fish Tacos to Madras Curry Chicken. And while this may seem like a huge range, it wasn’t such a big menu that it still felt somewhat focused. So, while deciding, I had myself a pint of CG (Chef Geoff’s) Northwest Ale, which is brewed locally just for Geoff and his collection of rhyming restaurants.
Some cities have restaurants that have been around since the beginning of forever. In Washington, D.C., that place is Ben’s Chili Bowl, which I believe has been serving up chili since the Lincoln presidency. No? Well Eisenhower is close enough. Our current POTUS has paid the place a visit at least once and according to a sign is one of only two people (aside from his family) that eats free. The other, obviously, is Bill Cosby.
My trip to Ben’s Chili Bowl started out ominously. After waiting in line for more than 30 minutes and marveling at the inefficiency (perhaps some spillover from congress?), I had to run to a show down the street before ordering. Upon my return, however, I snagged a spot at the counter and was (at least in Ben’s Chili Bowl time) quickly waited upon.
Out in Arlington, Virginia, a friend brought us to a restaurant called Lost Dog Cafe. Knowing quite literally nothing about the place beforehand, I was happy to see that it not only had a huge selection of beers, but also a vast selection of sandwiches and pizzas. And I do mean huge. The sandwich list had 53 options, and that doesn’t include the “Create Your Own Sandwich” section. Not only that, these were some pretty creative sandwiches and not just your simple pastrami and turkey. After a long deliberation and just a quick peak at the pizza menu, I settled upon a sandwich that I hoped would be worthy of an unvegan like myself.
I was still recovering from Thanksgiving when a friend suggested Greek food. It sounded good to me, so we decided to order some carry-out from Yanni’s Greek Taverna in Northwest Washington, DC.
Yanni’s menu is loaded with souvlaki, gyros and other Greek foods. I decided on the chicken souvlaki, which comes as a pita or a platter. Despite the “Greek Salad” that would be included, I opted for the platter, making sure to order without the vile onions or tomatoes.