Tonic – Washington, D.C.

A few weeks back, I won tickets to see a speaker at National Geographic. I invited my Mom to come out with me, and we met beforehand to grab something to eat. One of her favorite places for an easy meal is Tonic in Foggy Bottom.

It looks to be a place where a lot of GW students hang out. As you walk in, there is a bar straight ahead and a flight of steps taking you up to a dining area. We sat upstairs, which was pretty empty as they had just opened for dinner. This place is huge! I thought it was cool that you can draw on the paper table cloths and they also had books for people to read.

My mom ordered tea and I tried to order the Bell’s Two Hearted IPA on draft. Unfortunately, they were out but the waiter suggested I try the Spiced IPA from Widmer Brothers. This is part of the Rotator series. I really liked the beer. It had a nice balance of hoppy and spicy.

We both ordered burgers. I ordered the Southern BBQ burger, which came with Bourbon BBQ sauce, aged cheddar, apple-wood bacon, and fire griddled onions. I got it with a side of tater tots. This was a great burger, and I liked that when I ordered it medium rare, it was actually medium rare. The tater tots were also awesome and are hugely popular here.

This is a great place to grab some food and a couple drinks. It’s a very casual atmosphere, the food is great, and the prices aren’t too bad.

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Chicken Basket – Wheaton, MD

Hey everybody! I’m sorry that I haven’t had much time to post. I’ve been extremely busy with school and work.

Last week, I stopped in to Chicken Basket to get some food for the Super Bowl. I’ve been going to Chicken Basket for some time, although the management has changed within the last year. We always affectionately referred to it as Chicken Casket. There used to be a disturbing mural on the wall of a chicken pushing a wheelbarrow full of friend chicken.

Well, that mural is gone and the food is still really good. You can get a good meal and it’s nice and cheap. Some of my favorite things to order are the steak and cheese, the burger, and the gyro.

This last visit, I ordered 10 buffalo wings and a steak and cheese with fries and a soda. This set me back about $13.00. The steak and cheese was delicious and the crinkle-cut fries are just crispy enough and seasoned well. Truthfully, the buffalo wings were not all that exciting. I thought they used a little too much breading.

As I was heading to my car, somebody stopped me and asked if the food was still good after the change in management. Although I don’t eat here a ton, the food is definitely good, the prices are low, and the staff are extremely friendly. The woman taking my order was very friendly and seemed to know everybody that was coming in and out of the restaurant.

Chicken Basket is a great place to grab some quick food without any fuss. The staff are very nice and the prices are excellent.

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Area Round-Up

Good afternoon, everybody!

Just a couple of updates in the world of food from our area.

• Elevation Burger is now open in Wheaton Mall. It’s located next to Panera. I’m yet to try Elevation Burger, but I have heard mixed reviews. I’m sure I’ll get over to the mall to try it out soon.
• DCsocialite is reporting that the Arlington location of Pollo Rico is now taking credit cards. No mention of the Wheaton location. I’m interested to hear if they are now taking cards in Wheaton. The story is here.
• Wheaton Patch recently reviewed Nut House Pizza. Never tried it myself. The review is here.
• Tom Sietsema really enjoyed his meal at Fishnet, the new seafood restaurant in College Park. The review is here.
• Eatin’ in Wheaton contemplates ordering chicken feet.
• The Ecclesiastical Revue enjoyed the bánh mì at Saigonese.
• Congee is good for the soul. Or so says Janet Yu, the owner of Hollywood East. Read the article here.
• Speaking of soup, Hôpital Sacré Coeur shares a recipe for Jouwoumou, a Haitian soup that is traditionally served on New Years Day. One of the ingredients is a tropical squash that can be found at HanHnReyn Asian Market in Silver Spring. The link is here.
• Rockville Spoons checked out the Great Wall Supermarket in Rockville, located where Jeepers used to be on Rockville Pike. The link is here.
• Earlier this week, I went to the open house at Beers and Cheers in Germantown. They were offering 20% off of everything in the store, and were having beer and wine tastings. This was a great event and there were a lot of people there. I was able to try the Sam Adams Double IPA which was delicious.
• I had a craving for tacos yesterday, and was in the Arlington area. I drove past El Chilango but did not have any cash and there is nowhere nearby that is convenient to take out any money. I drove to El Charrito Caminante and they were closed. I didn’t realize they are not open on Tuesdays. I ended up ordering food at Chevy’s this week, which I hadn’t done in a long time. I ordered the Chevy’s Super Cinco which included one chicken enchilada, one beef enchilada, a beef crispy taco, a hand rolled pork tamale, and a hand battered chile relleno. Chevy’s food is not worth screaming from the rooftops, but it’s not too bad when you get the craving for Mexican food. We played an order for carryout, and they were very prompt about bringing me my food when I arrived. This is not my go-to choice, but I’m glad it’s there.

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Brgr:shack coupon – $1 for $7 worth of food

Google Offers is offering $1 for $7 worth of food. Purchase your coupon here.

You can read my review of brgr:shack here.

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brgr:shack

Yesterday, I redeemed by What’s the Deal coupon which got me $7 worth of food for $1 at brgr:shack in Arlington, VA. I had been meaning to try the place, so this gave me a good excuse. I found a parking spot, and headed inside.

The place was pretty busy, but anytime you buy one of these coupons you have to keep that in mind. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. The place isn’t huge, but looks like it could seat about thirty people. They have a couple TV’s on the wall showing sports, and they also have beer. They even have a happy hour offering $2 Yuenglings. They have bottled beer and also draft beer, including Flying Dog.

I ordered the fancy zola, which had bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, and gorgonzola. I had my burger cooked medium rare and served with a side of sweet potatoes fries. The burger was great! The portion was not too huge, and it was very flavorful. The sweet potatoes fries were good, too. They were served with a sauce that tasted like a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise, and horseradish.

For my girlfriend, I ordered the fire me up, which had lettuce, tomatoes, onions, guacamole, jalapenos, pepper jack cheese, pico de gallo, and chipotle sauce. I also ordered a side of onion rings. This burger was great, and the onion rings were perfectly fried and not too heavy.

This was a great meal, and is a good option when you are in the area.

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brgr:shack

What’s the Deal is offering $7 of burgers, shakes, and fries for $1 at brgr:shack in Ballston, VA.

I haven’t tried the place yet, but that’s a great deal. I just bought one of the vouchers.

Find the link here

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