Epic Weekend of DC Food

This was an epic weekend of food, hence the above title. Though the bf and I have a longstanding argument about the value of eating out, this weekend was rife with opportunities to see people that contributed to my unfrugality.

Eating began on Friday night. As Chen and I had a Kennedy Center performance to catch, we ate quickly in Georgetown. But due to unfortunate timing, we actually ate at different places. I got the bacon, turkey, and cheese filled sandwich, the Patty Hearst at Booey Monger's per usual. Then, after meeting up with Chen at the foot of Georgetown, we decided to venture to George's, a small middle-eastern take out place on M Street. She got a Philly cheesesteak that looked perfectly chopped, with onions and peppers mixed in as opposed to simply topped.

Saturday afternoon saw my first trip to Taqueria Distrito Federale, to see the lovely Molly and Maria. I was pleasantly surprised by TDF's outdoor seating and prompt service, though disappointed by its lack of a liquor license. In my eagerness to try tacos, I got a three taco combo, one each with chorizo, chivo (goat), and tripa (tripe). Both DCist and City Paper had good things to say about the chorizo and chivo, and they weren't wrong. Both meats were juicy. The tripe, however, was so oddly fried and flavorless, I could only tell which of the three it was by process of elimination. All of TDF's tacos come with two shells and a slice of avocado, which definitely made them very filling. Too filling perhaps, leaving me uncomfortably full for the next hour or so.

Four hours later, Mike and I went to Central (courtesy of his parents) for an early dinner reservation. We decided to try something new and each got a raw fish appetizer as opposed to the famed cheese puffs. I had the ceviche, while Mike had tuna tartar. Though Central leans towards the French, our apps were respectively Mexican and Asian flavored, yet not overwhelming. The fish still maintained its integrity. Next, Mike got a strip steak and I got the lamb shank for our entrees. His medium-rare steak was just the right amount of crisp on the outside with bright pink in the middle. My shank was off the bone, so I ate it without a knife. Central does a good job of serving meat in a way that brings out the meat, and not the sauce. My lamb was tender and juicy, achieving an almost melt in your mouth softness. The waitress recommended a lovely red that cast a nice, warm feeling over the entire meal.

Since it was still early and bright out, Mike and I headed to Busboys to meet up with friends. I tried the new Schlafly brewery's American IPA, which tasted pretty much like Dogfish 60 minute. Maria got the Southampton Double White, which was pretty much a knock-off--albeit it a delicious one--of Allagash white. I ended my night, sans Mike, at Local 16, where another friend's law school friends were having a birthday party. Annoyingly yuppie, Local 16 is at least a good venue since it's big enough for one to avoid the toolish types.

While still kind of dehydrated the next morning, Mike and I had brunch with his work friends at The Heights in Columbia Heights. Part of the Commissary chain, The Heights has a similar menu at similarly reasonable prices. I had a boring, surprisingly filling bacon and swiss omelet. They must have used eight ounces of swiss in there, in addition to two crispy pieces of bacon. The home fries were appropriately salty and soft. Like Commissary, The Heights also has a dark interior, which provided some shade from the 90 degree weather.

Finally, the weekend ended with a trip into Georgetown for dinner. I had been meaning to try Tacklebox, the cheap Hook, for a while. Mike was reluctant to eat take-out style food, but dutifully finished his bluefish. My trout with tartar sauce was appropriately seared on the outside, juicy on the inside. Slight overcooking made it less tasty than ideal though. The sides were mixed. Their mac and cheese and mashed potatoes clearly come out of a box, rendering the mac and cheese tasteless. On the other hand, the grilled asparagus was ample and generously doused with butter. The sweet potato fries, though a little soft, were nice and salty.

Since Tacklebox doesn't serve alcohol, we went to Birreria Paradiso for a Sunday night drink. I tried a bottled Hofbrau Original, which is a German lager. And a refreshing one at that. Golden in color, it had a crisp taste (tiny bit of malts, hops, spices) that provided the perfect ending to a hot summer weekend.