Rocklands Barbeque & Grilling Company – Arlington, VA

I finally got the chance to try out Rocklands in Arlington, VA. It has been calling my name for a long time. My girlfriend and I headed over on a Sunday afternoon to grab some food for the Redskins game.

As we approached, we were hit with the intoxicating smell of barbecue. That’s always a good sign. Upon entering, we were both immediately struck with how nice it is on the inside. They had a full bar with a couple of bar stools, a few TV’s showing the Redskins game, a counter for ordering and pickup, and a couple of tables for dining-in. They also had a few stools with high tables that were perfect for waiting for your food. They even have a wall of hot sauce and beer for sale. It’s a very comfortable place.

We ordered the pulled pork sandwich with mashed potatoes and baked beans, and the beef brisket sandwich with greens and mac and cheese. We found the pulled pork to be pretty good, although we didn’t realize you need to put your own sauce on top. It did not come with much BBQ sauce, but now we realized that you are supposed to add your own from the wall of sauces. Portion wasn’t huge, but I was pleased with the sandwich. The mashed potatoes were delicious and buttery. The baked beans were good and had a nice smoky flavor.

The beef brisket was also really good, but again, we wished we had put some more BBQ sauce on it. However, the quality of the meat was good and it was cooked well. The greens were tasty, but we were not crazy about the mac and cheese. Next time I’ll probably try something different, but overall we really liked this place.

I’d love to come back and grab a beer and a plate of BBQ.

In other news:

I ordered Chicken Parmesan from Pines of Florence in Arlington, VA. Not the best I’ve ever had, but it sure did hit the spot. Nothing to go out of your way for, but it’s still pretty good.

Last week, I grabbed a Flying Dog variety pack from Elbe’s and really enjoyed it. The pack included:

Doggie Style Pale Ale
Old Scratch Amber Lager
Tire Bite Golden Ale
Snake Dog IPA
Road Dog Porter
In-Heat Wheat Hefeweizen

My favorites were the Snake Dog IPA, the Road Dog Porter, and the In-Heat Wheat. However, all of these beers are excellent. The only one that wasn’t all that exciting to me was the Old Scratch Amber.

Last week, I also got a chance to try the Smuttynose Winter Ale.

I’m a big fan of Smuttynose, so I was excited to try this beer. This particular beer is a Belgian dubbel, and really goes down smooth. If you see this at your beer store, pick it up and give it a try. Very tasty.

I also got a chance to try another beer from Baying Hound Alewerks. Baying Hound is brewed in Rockville, MD, so it doesn’t get much more local then that. I picked up a bomber of the Baying Hound Sarvara Black IPA.

The commercial description is as follows:

“The Śarvara were four-eyed, two-headed dogs guarding the gates of hell for Yama, Lord of Death. These bloodthirsty hellhounds could devour an entire cow in one or two bites. And their baying was so loud, the Banshees (in Ireland) had to cover their ears. No kidding. These dogs were wicked mean. Śarvara Black India Pale Ale is appropriately fierce, devilishly hopped at over 80 IBUs, black as night and ready to be devoured.”

This is an excellent beer, very dark and hoppy. My Dad and I shared it and both really enjoyed it. We are planning to tour the brewery as soon as possible.

This weekend, my family had a German themed party and I was responsible for getting the beer. I went over to Gilly’s in Rockville and was really happy with what I found. I picked up:

Löwenbräu Original
Hacker-Pschorr Münchner Gold
Wolters Fest-Bier

Let’s start with the Löwenbräu Original. This beer used to be huge in the US, and at the time it was brewed by Miller with an altered recipe. Today, they have reverted to the old recipe and is no longer brewed by Miller. This is a very neutral, middle of the road beer. It doesn’t make much impression on you one way or another. This would be great to drink out of Das Boot because it goes down smooth and is pretty light.

The Hacker-Pschorr Münchner Gold was far and away my favorite of the bunch.

This is an excellent Helles lager, goes down smooth, perfect to accompany a meal or to just drink with friends. Very crisp and refreshing.

Last but not least is the Wolters Fest-Bier .

This is an Oktoberfest-style beer. Pretty good, very drinkable. I’d probably try something different next time.

Hope everyone has a great week!

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Wild Willy’s – Annapolis, MD

One of my buddies was in town for a couple days and invited me to Wild Willy’s in Annapolis to grab a couple of beers and shoot some pool. Well, apparently Tuesday’s are league night so all of the pool tables were occupied. The bar itself is huge.

They had a ton of giant TV’s, a section with arcade games, and another section of pool tables. It seemed like a great place to watch football. I didn’t try the food (didn’t really see many people eating) but the beer was cheap. For $14, you could get a bucket of five domestic beers.

I’d go here if it was closer to my house.

In other news:

Wheaton Patch reviews the West African cuisine at Global Cafe. The review is here.

My buddy over at Rockville Spoons enjoyed Naked Pizza in Bethesda. It’s not as scandalous as it sounds. The link is here.

Tyler Cowen is calling Kabob N Karahi in Silver Spring his favorite Pakistani place. The link is here.

The Washingtonian posted a favorable review of Jewel of India on New Hampshire Avenue. The link is here.

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Big Papa Pizza – Arlington, VA

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Not too much to report here. I did try the pizza from Big Papa’s Pizza in Arlington over the weekend. We ordered the Hawaiian, which was $14.99 for a large. The delivery was fairly quick and the pizza was very good. I’ll definitely keep it in mind for the future.

In other news:

The excellent LeoNora Bakery just opened their storefront in Clarendon. I first came across their bread at Arrowine, and I look forward to checking out the store.

DMV Dining really enjoyed their visit to the newly opened Fishnet in College Park. Their review is here. I will be starting up school at UMUC next year so I will definitely be checking this place out.

Wheaton Patch reported on a drastic drop in the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay. The link is here.

WTOP’s Beer of the Week is Great Lakes Christmas Ale. I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about this beer, but I still haven’t tried it yet. The link is here.

That’s all for now!

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Odds and Ends

Hello everybody!

I’m happy to announce that my blog has been added to the LocalEats Featured Blog list. Very happy to be a part of the community.

What’s new?:

Diner Hunter checked out Wheaton’s own Island Hut. Link is here.

Wheaton Patch recently reviewed Dessie Ethiopian Restaurant. The link is here.

Eatin’ in Wheaton investigated the new Fresh Greek Frill at the corner of University and Colesville Road. Read the review here.

Suburban Food Nerd is liking Freddy’s Lobster and Clams. The link is here.

What’s new with me?:

I’m attempting my first batch of home-brewed beer with the Mr. Beer Premium Gold Edition Home Brew Kit I received for my birthday. I’ve always wanted to brew my own beer, and this is a fun way to get started. I’ve brewing the American Blonde Ale, and will be bottling and carbonating it in a few more days.

Speaking of beer, I’ve been enjoying a lot of winter ale’s lately.

Last week, I picked up a six-pack of K-9 Cruiser Ale from Flying Dog.

This is an excellent winter ale. It’s dark, sweet, and malty and perfect to drink on a cold day.

Another one of my absolute favorite winter ale’s is Sierra Nevada’s Celebration.

It’s got a nice, hoppy flavor. Pick this up if you get a chance.

Last weekend, I returned to Shymansky’s for some football Sunday food. I was a fan of the crab balls, the fried rockfish, the fried chicken, and the shrimp. I wasn’t as crazy about their wings and the stuffed potato.

Speaking of wings, I went to Hard Times in Rockville on Tuesday for wings and beer. The wings there are fantastic because they grill them AND fry them to give them a little crispiness. I really like the chili lime wings. This is my favorite place to come for wings. Be warned, however. This location is really good, but the quality varies by location.

Yesterday, I was on the quest for duck breast to make a duck and scallion soup. I have never bought duck, but I figured there was a good chance I could find it at Hung Phat.

They did not sell duck breasts, just the whole duck. Being that I was starving, I decided to pick up some food from the hot bar that they had prepared. I asked the lady working behind the counter for her recommendation. She suggested I try the Pad Thai, which was $5.50/per pound. I also grabbed some fish cakes and tea.

The Pad Thai was really good! I covered it in pepper sauce to give it a nice kick. I’ll definitely keep it in mind when I want a quick, easy meal without a lot of fuss.

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Christkindlmarkt – Baltimore, MD

Yesterday, my family visited the Christkindlmarkt in Baltimore, MD at the Zion Church of the City of Baltimore.

I was born in Germany, and my family lived there for a few years so we were excited when we discovered this Christmas Market. I have been the last three years.

It took place on November 26th and the 27th. This year, we went around noon because things sell out early. The market opened at 10am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday.

As you enter the church, you’ll see tables with various arts and crafts for sale.

On the top floor, they sell all kinds of chocolates, gummies, roasted almonds, and stollen (a loaf-shaped cake). Sometimes they have live music.

On the lower level of the church, they have a bakery and also sell baking supplies. My sister bought a smoked salmon sandwich which looked delicious. I bought a potato pancake mix.

Outside the church, they serve bratwurst, pea soup, beer and gluehwein (mulled wine). The brats are delicious.

Overall, a fun place to spend some time, buy some presents, and enjoy some beer and brats.

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I’m Still Alive!

Hello everyone. I hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving and are enjoying your time with your family and friends.

I haven’t been updating much because I haven’t had too much to report. Being that I’m saving money, I don’t get to try out too many new restaurants these days.

Area Round-Up:

Eatin’ in Wheaton discuss the article about Wheaton’s downtown in Thursday’s Washington Post. The link is here.

They also recently visited Kantutas, a Bolivian restaurant in Wheaton. This is a place I have been meaning to try for some time. The link is here.

Silver Spring Singular takes a look at the “newly renovated” Four Corners Safeway. I visited this Safeway once and will probably never be back. The selection and layout were really poor. The link is here.

A few days ago I stumbled across a really cool blog called Ethnic Food Project. It’s written by a group of people who are trying to see if the D.C. area has a restaurant representing every country in the world. So far they have visited restaurants from 39 countries. Most recently, they visited a Finnish Christmas Bazaar in Bethesda.

Wheaton was in the news again this week, but not in a positive light. A man was abducted from the Giant on University Boulevard and forced to withdraw money from multiple ATM’s. That story is here.

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. If you “like” the page on Facebook, you can put in your zipcode and it will give you a list of local small businesses.

Yesterday, I did some cooking for our Thanksgiving feast.

For an appetizer, I made brie with honey, thyme, and rosemary.

What you need:

8oz of brie
2 tablespoons of honey
Fresh thyme and rosemary
Crispy baguette

1. Cut off the top rind of the brie.
2. Take two tablespoons of honey and drizzle it over the cheese.
3. Microwave the brie for a few seconds until bubbly.
4. Top with rosemary and thyme.
5. Serve with thinly sliced crispy baguette.

This was very easy, cheap, and delicious!

For dinner, I made Au Gratin Potatoes.

What you need:

4 Russet potatoes, sliced
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter a 3 quart casserole dish.
3. Layer half of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish.
4. Top this layer with the chopped onions.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the second half of potatoes.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat.
9. Mix in the flour and salt, while constantly stirring.
10. Whisk for 1 minute.
11. Add the milk, then stir until the sauce is thick.
12. Stir in cheese, and continue stirring for about 30 seconds.
13. Pour the sauce over the potatoes, then cover with aluminum foil.
14. Cook the potatoes for an hour and 30 minutes.

This dish is very easy, and always a hit.

For drinks, I bought a couple of different beers for us to try.

Red Hook Winterhook

This is the winter seasonal from Red Hook Brewery. It’s a nice, dark beer that goes down smooth.

Tröegs Mad Elf Ale

This beer is fantastic! It’s brewed with cherries and honey. Normally I don’t like beers that style but this one is delicious. Be wary of the 11% ABV because this beer will catch up with you. Highly recommended.

Brooklyn Winter Ale

I’m a big fan of Brooklyn Brewery, so I was interested to try their Winter Ale. It’s a Scottish Style Ale, very smooth and bready. This is everything a Winter Ale should be.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

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Mussel Bar – Bethesda, MD

Last week, I went with some friends to Mussel Bar in Bethesda. This was my second visit. Having recently tried Brassiere Beck, I was interested to see how they compare.

We went on a Thursday night and the place was pretty crowded. However, we were seated right away. Unlike Brassiere Beck, they do not bring you any bread and butter to snack on while you decide what to eat.

We ordered the sweet potato fries to hold us over. The fries are delicious and come with three different types of mayonnaise.

For beer, I tried the Kasteel Tripel and the Chimay Blue. Both very strong and delicious beers. The Kasteel Tripel was on draft. Smooth beer but be wary of the %11 ABV. The Chimay Blue was excellent and had an aftertaste of coffee.

For food, I ordered the mussels with chorizo and goat cheese with a side of frites. This was delicious! The portion is huge and I really loved the flavors. We asked for bread to dip in the sauce, and they eventually brought us out two basket’s worth. We wanted to take the sauce to-go but they said we are unable to do so because of the health risk.

This was another great meal at Mussel Bar.

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D.C. United Games – Washington, D.C.

I am a huge D.C. United fan, and have been going to games since the league began in 1996. At that point I was 11 years old, so I wasn’t too concerned with eating and drinking well at the match.

Now that I am older (and hungrier), I’ve learned a lot about the best way to experience a match at RFK Stadium.

Going to see D.C. United is one of my absolute favorite things to do. If you go about it the right way, you can have the time of your life.

I suggest taking the metro, because that way you can avoid the $15 parking fee. The stadium is a short walk from the orange/blue line stop called Stadium Armory. However, if you drive a VW, the first 50 people driving a VW get free parking in Lot 4.

Come to the game early so that you can experience the tailgate in Lot 8.

This is where the supporter groups tailgate before the matches. The gates open about four hours prior to the start of the game. I am a member of the supporter groups called Barra Brava.

Their website is here.

The tailgates are amazing. The tailgates are open to members and non-members, and there is tons of delicious food and drinks. They do ask that if you will be eating and drinking the provided food that you bring something to share. All contributions are welcome, no matter how big or small. In the past, I’ve brought popcorn, chips, doughnuts, etc.

The food varies depending on which game you go to. The best tailgates are the ones on the weekends. My favorite thing to eat is the carne asada, which they make on the grill. At one tailgate, a few of the members came together and spit-roasted an entire lamb for hours in the parking lot. They made pita and home made tzatziki sauce. Even the owner of the team, Will Chang, comes out to the tailgates to eat and drink with the fans.

There are usually one or two kegs at the tailgates. The members all gather around, drink some beer, kick soccer balls around, and get ready for the games.

If you can’t make it early enough for the tailgates, they have recently started hosting food trucks in the parking lot. The food trucks that I have seen there are D.C. Slices, BBQ Bandidos, Dangerously Delicious Pies, Eat Wonky, and Doug the Food Dude. There is also a stand that sells beer (Corona and PBR) and water.

I really enjoy the cajun tots from D.C. Slices and the beef brisket from BBQ Bandidos. I haven’t had a chance to try out the other trucks, but I am going to make sure I do so next season. Eat what you can outside the stadium because the food is not the strong point inside the stadium.

Once you make your way inside, your chance to eat delicious food has decreased considerably.

I made a little map to show you a couple of highlights:

While making this map, I found out that they have Starr Hill inside the stadium. I wish I had known that! I always sit on the opposite site of the stadium (what is called the loud side because of the supporter groups). The other side is called the quiet side, and is where most of the families sit.

You’ll see I didn’t list much food on the map. Most of the food is too expensive and not very good, but I am a big fan of the carne asada stand. The portion is huge and the food is delicious. As far as beer, you have to go inside the concourse to find anything other then Bud/Bud Light/Miller etc.

The season just ended, but I hope that you’ll check out a game next season. If you have any questions, leave me a comment below.

VAMOS UNITED!

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Brasserie Beck – Washington, D.C.

Last Friday night, my girlfriend and I went on a date to Brasserie Beck in Washington, D.C. We were extremely excited to try it out because we love to eat mussels. I placed a reservation online, and the whole process was very easy. The restaurant is a short walk from Metro Center.

We really liked the layout of the place. It felt very open, and we were quickly seated at our table by the window. The only downside is we were seated next to the server station.

The atmosphere was casual, with people talking at a normal volume. We liked this because we didn’t have to talk in a hushed voice. We were not crazy about our waiter, but the service was quick. For starters, they brought out bread and butter which we really enjoyed.

The beer menu was amazing. We tried the Antigoon, St. Feuillien Blonde, Kwak, and another beer I can’t remember the name of.

My favorite was the Antigoon, which is the house beer brewed for Brassiere Beck by Brouwerij de Musketiers. This is a Belgian double blond, with a 6.5% ABV.

The St. Feuillien Blonde was a abbey ale with a %7.5 ABV. We also really enjoyed this one.

The Kwak came out in a crazy glass with a holder.

It’s a 25 centimeter tube that tips over if you don’t put it in its holder. According to Kwak’s website, “In Napoleon’s time, Pauwel Kwak was a brewer and the owner of the De Hoorn inn (near Brussels). Mail coaches stopped there every day, but at that time coachmen were not allowed to leave their coach and horses,” “As a result, the inventive innkeeper had a special Kwak glass blown that could be hung on the coach. In this way, the coachman had his Kwak beer safely at hand.”

For starters, we ordered the crispy veal sweetbread with path valley squash risotto and sage butter. This was delicious! I have never had sweetbread before.

I am getting hungry just thinking about it. The combination of the sweetbread and risotto reminded me of turkey and gravy. We ate every last bit of this dish.

For our main course, we ordered a full order of mussels with bacon and frites. The mussels were fantastic. They were huge and we loved the sauce, which was also good for dipping your fries in.

We loved the frites. They came with a trio of mayonnaise based dipping sauces.

In addition, we ordered the beef carbonnade, which is a beef stew enhanced with Kasteel Bruin beer. This dish was also delicious. The beef was tender and we really liked the flavor.

Overall, we had a great time and really enjoyed the food. The meal was not cheap, but also did not break the bank. The only part of the experience that was not great was our waiter, who seemed disinterested in us. I don’t know if it’s because we were young compared to others in the restaurant and he thought we wouldn’t tip well. With that small complaint aside, everything else was great. I highly recommend this place.

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Weekend in Charlotte, NC

Last weekend, a buddy and I headed down to Charlotte, NC to see the Trailer Park Boys. I’ve only been to North Carolina once, and that was a trip with my family to the Outer Banks. I was really excited to get to spend some time in Charlotte.

Before our trip started on Saturday morning, I purchased a six pack of Acme IPA at Beers and Cheers in Germantown, MD. I bought it because it looked interesting and had never seen it before. I didn’t realize that it cost $16.99. I felt kind of ridiculous spending that much on a 6-pack, but I went ahead and bought it because I was in a great mood and wanted to drink something delicious.

The beer was a very tasty IPA, however I don’t think it merits the price tag. It was pretty smooth for an IPA, and had a %6.9 ABV. I would certainly drink this if offered but it’s too expensive for me.

Speaking of expensive, I finally came across the DuClaw Colossus beer. I have been dying to try this, but the $30 price tag scared me away. It comes in a 22oz bomber, and has a %21 ABV. I may buy this to treat myself for my upcoming birthday.

Later that night, we went to Taco Bell (I know) and tried the XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito with steak. I hadn’t been to Taco Bell in months. This is a new item that they are selling, and we were starving so we both ordered it. It’s definitely bigger then most items at Taco Bell, but also pretty expensive. There was nothing remarkable about the taste, but it did fill me up. Overall, it was not worth the money. It also has 880 calories which is a pretty good chunk of your daily recommended calories.

We set out on our journey Saturday morning, after grabbing sandwiches from Dunkin Donuts. The ride down was fairly easy. It took about 6 and a half hours to arrive in Charlotte. We debated on stopping in Durham but decided to power through.

After arriving at our palace of luxury (Super 8), we hung out for a bit then took a taxi into the downtown area. Charlotte was a really nice city, although it was kind of touristy. In downtown Charlotte, they have the Carolina Panthers stadium and also the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It seems like a popular place for people to go for a night out. We saw a ton of weddings and bachlorette parties.

Our first stop was a cigar bar called Cutters, located in the downtown Marriott.

This place was amazing. I tried the 18 year Glenlivet and also the 10 year Cragganmore. They have leather chairs at the bar, the lights are dim, and you are surrounded by books. They play light jazz music in the background. I felt pretty classy drinking my scotch. My buddy ordered a Manhattan. He told me that it was heavier on the whisky then he has had at other places, but that’s not a bad thing.

On our way to the show, we desperately needed something quick to eat. We stopped at Fuel Pizza Cafe which was on the way.

Nothing too amazing here. I grabbed two slices of their Hawaiian pizza. It was good for a quick meal.

The show was at the McGlohon Theater. It was a beautiful place with stained glass windows. The staff were very friendly, they had a full bar, the seats were comfortable, and our view from the balcony was great.

The place was sold out, and the Trailer Park Boys delivered a hilarious show. It’s amazing that a show like Trailer Park Boys can sell out venues all across the United States. Had it not been for Netflix, I probably would have never seen it.

At the end of the show, the Trailer Park Boys said that they would be hanging out at Whisky River after the show. Whisky River is located in Epicentere, an area filled with bars, clubs, and restaurants.

Whisky River is a bar owned by Dale Earndhart Jr. It definitely wouldn’t be my first choice, but we had a fun time people watching. They played a mixture of country, 80’s, and top 40 music. There was a mechanical bull. The drinks were a little pricey, but overall we had a good time.

The next morning, we were starving so we went to Owen’s Bagel & Deli to grab some breakfast. We really liked this place.

They had a ton of different combinations of bagel sandwiches. I ordered the Hangover Helper, which was ham, egg, and smoked cheddar on an onion bagel. It was interesting that they steamed, rather then toasted their bagels. The sandwich was delicious. My friend tried Mary’s Grubby Bubby which was egg, muenster, smoked cheddar, and avocado on a bialy (a yeast roll similar to a bagel).

After breakfast, we wanted to find a place to watch the Redskins game. We tried Ducksworth Bar and Grill, but the place was deserted. We ended up at Mac’s Speed Shop, and I am so glad that we did. This place was amazing.

If only we had this place in Wheaton. They had one of the best beer selections I’d ever seen, great food, cheap prices, and all of the games showing. The staff was also very friendly. One of the employee’s was wearing a Redskins jersey, which gets major points with me.

I am a sucker for anything local, so I had to try two local beers from the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. I ordered the Mecktoberfest and also their copper ale.

The copper ale is an “alt bier”, meaning an old-style beer. They use hops from Bavaria for this beer, which is their signature ale. The Mecktoberfest was also delicious. My friend tried the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, which was very good. He also ordered a beer off of the special menu. It was a Japanese Green Tea IPA. Our waitress told us that the owner had to drive to the warehouse to get this beer for him. It had a 9.8% ABV, and only cost 5 bucks. This is the same price you’d pay for a Budweiser at places in DC. This beer was also delicious.

I highly recommend checking Charlotte out. It’s a very fun, walkable city. I know that I will be back.

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