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.

Read Full Post »

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!

Read Full Post »

Massachusetts Vacation, Concluded

I hope you guys have enjoyed reading my posts about Massachusetts. I have two more places that I wanted to mention: Back Door Donuts and Mad Martha’s Ice Cream.

While sitting outside Offshore Ale Company, we kept getting whiffs of apple cider donuts. We knew as soon as we left that we had to go get some donuts.

The smell was coming from Back Door Donuts.

This place is really popular. They sell donuts, HUGE apple fritters, bear claws, and other delicious pastries. The line gets really long. Even on a rainy Thursday, there was still a pretty substantial wait. Beer + donuts = happy friends and family. The smell alone will lead you here.

The other place I wanted to mention is Mad Martha’s Ice Cream. This is an ice cream place that has been around for years and years. We always make a stop here to get some ice cream. This last visit, I ordered the M&M Ice Cream which was vanilla ice cream with a ton of M&M’s mixed in. Great ice cream, and definitely worth a visit.

Read Full Post »

Massachusetts Vacation, Continued

Later in the trip, we headed to the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory. My sister had looked it up and suggested we go check it out.

Here’s the factory in all its glory:

All we knew is that the tour was self-guided and free. We were hoping to wear hard hats and leave with trash bags full of chips.

Well, it didn’t quite live up to our expectations, but it was still a good time. When you walk inside the factory, you walk past a couple windows that allow you to see the chip making process.

It’s kind of awkward to be looking in at somebody just going about there day. We didn’t want the employees to feel like they were animals. So, we looked at the process for a few moments, then continued on our way. At the end of the hallway, you end up in the gift shop where they give you a free bag of chips.

The tour wasn’t much, but the chips are FANTASTIC. My favorite flavors were the sea salt and vinegar, sea salt and cracked pepper, and sweet and spicy jalapeno (actually spicy!). The only flavor that I was not crazy about was the parmesan and roasted garlic.

Our next stop was the Cape Cod Beer brewery. Chips and beer – perfect combination. We pulled in, and took a quick look around the gift shop. They were selling a bunch of cool stuff, and most importantly, growlers of delicious beer. I also bought some granola and my sister bought some beer brittle. Both were a huge hit. We knew beforehand that they were not running tours, but we found out that we could take a self guided tour.

The self guided tour meant that we got to go inside the factory and try a couple of free samples. We were also given the opportunity to smell some of the ingredients that they use. They had various ingredients in glass jars. You then head over to a counter top and a Cape Cod Beer employee gives you samples of everything on draft.

We tried the Cape Cod Red, the Cape Cod Summer, the Cape Cod IPA, and the Cape Cod Beach Blonde.

Cape Cod Red: This was an amber ale. Very delicious.
Cape Cod Summer: This is their hefe-weizen, and my favorite of the couple we tried. It’s a perfect beer for a hot summer day.
Cape Cod IPA: This is an American style IPA. It’s got a nice bite to it, but not an overbearing amount of hops.
Cape Cod Beach Blonde: This is their light beer. This would be a good beer for people who mostly drink Corona, etc.

Read Full Post »