We
got in around dinner time on Monday, and Jake and I decided to take the Metro
down to Old Town Alexandria to get something to eat. There is a free trolley that takes you to the
river, and we decided to stop by Bilbo Baggins’ Green Dragon Pub for pint. The pub was great, with a decent selection of
brews to choose from. I tried their
house beer, Clipper City Heavy Seas Bilbo Baggins, a nice amber ale that really
quenched my thirst, and an Epic Sour Apple Saison, a beer with potent pucker
power. The pub was quaint, but had a
limited food menu, so we headed over to the Chart House for dinner. Right on the water, it was a great way to
spend the company’s per diem even if there was no beer selection. I had an encrusted rockfish (local fish
instead of the requested local beer) over angel hair pasta, while Jake got prime
rib. It was awesome to watch the sunset,
one day after Hurricane Irene, and get to know my boss a bit better. Jake and I have a lot in common (too much
sometimes), and it was good to be able to chat.
We stopped by the Fish Market on our way out of town, and I enjoyed an
Evolution EVO Lucky 7 Porter while watching Halladay dismantle the Reds.
The
next day we had our meeting, and everything went fine (I stress about
everything). We had dinner plans (more about that in a minute), but we also had
time to go to one DRAFT magazine’s top 100 beer bars, the Church Key. I’ve heard about this place for months, and
it is considered the premier spot in DC now that the Brickskeller has closed. We marched up 14th street, past
Thomas Circle, a statue of Martin Luther, the Luther Place Memorial Church (an
RIC congregation), and found the place. Great
selection, great space, and great service (bringing water to everyone to stay
hydrated is key). While others ordered
pints, I took advantage of their 4oz tasters.
The Church Key had 6 casks available, and I got to try an Oliver’s Cask
Punk, a Heavy Seas Prosit, and Etienne Dupont’s Cidre Bouche Brut. My compatriots were impressed that the
bartender gave me a free sample of the cider on draft for comparison purposes. I went back for more (surprise, surprise),
and tried an Evil Twin Ashtray Heart (a phenomenal smoked RIS from Denmark), a Sierra
Nevada Life and Limb (collaboration beer with Dogfish Head), and a Stone Japanese
Green Tea IPA (a delicious collaboration with Japan’s Baird brewing). We had a great time, and I had to leave for
our dinner reservation with beers I still hadn’t sampled. So we got a ride down to PA Avenue to eat at
Fogo de Chao.
Fogo
de Chao is a Brazilian steakhouse, an all you can eat meat-a-torium with
specialty cuts of beef and chicken. The
food was great. When your coaster is on
the green side, the meat keeps a comin’.
When you flip it over to the red side, you’re telling the wait staff to
holdup a bit, I need to catch my breath.
I did good with the salad bar to help even things out (asparagus and a Caesar
salad), but I had a hard time saying no to the meat. I loved the filet wrapped in bacon, the picanha
(top sirloin) seasoned in garlic, the tender beef ancho (rib eye), the
fraldinha (bottom sirloin), and their linguica (pork sausage). I ate so much that I got the meat sweats
(thanks for the reference MVF). I didn’t
realize that I’d love the experience so much, even if the final bill was
~$2K. I went for a walk afterwards, some
quiet time for myself, and checked out the Old Ebbitt Grill. This historic bar was on Beer Advocate’s top
125 places to have a beer before you die, but it has moved so many times that
it may just be that the name is historic.
I really liked the bar, and enjoyed a Heavy Seas Marz hon before heading
back to the hotel. The rest of the team
showed up after I left, but you know my motto – Drink early, drink often.
It
was a great day. I really enjoyed being
out on the town. I guess that is life in
the big city. – 5805/11362
"We
old folks have to find our cushions and pillows in our tankards. Strong beer is
the milk of the old." - Martin Luther
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