Category: Food & Beverage

One of my stops when I am in Washington, DC, is at Anna Maria’s in Dupont Circle. It has been in its location for many years and it has some of the best Italian food that I have ever had.
It all begins by the narrow front on Connecticut Avenue and how you are greeted when walk in the door. There are photos of the famous people who have eaten here previously, given you a glimpse of what is to come for dinner.

When you sit down you will see a great menu, and to me, a somewhat lacking wine menu. After you order they bring out bread and the Focaccia just melts in your mouth.

The menu has a lot of good looking items, but to me the Egg Plant Parmesan is the best.  The homemade red sauce is delicious and the egg plant topped with real mozzarella just melts in your mouth.

The minestrone soup is chalk full of vegetables and noodles and really hits the spot on a cold evening.

Desert is a wonderful experience.  There are a lot of wonderful items that they will show you on the desert tray, but for me the Tiramisu is the best.  It just tastes wonderful on your taste buds.

The service is wonderful and the drinks and food is brought out promptly.

To improve the dining experience, it would be nice to see a better wine menu.  It would be nice to have more wines offered by the glass.  There just were not too many to select from.

Overall this is a good dining experience.  I just think that it gets lost amongst all the great places to eat in Dupont circle.  Take a chance and enjoy Anna Maria’s.

Read the review in the Washington Post.  More…

Read the reviews in Trip Advisor. More…

Well I wanted to catch the Colorado Avalanche game and there is not too many opportunities in the Crystal City area to find a place to watch a game on satellite. Well Bailey’s Pub & Grill filled the need.
The manager was quite receptive and let me find a seat and then he placed the game on a television nearby so I could watch. Great!

Well I needed some dinner and the Tavern Burger (minus the sauteed onions) filled the need and the fries were good and crispy. The Boddingtons was well worth it (both pints). The cheesecake topped off the evening. A giant piece with strawberries. Nothing better.

The service was great. The only drawback is that it is kinda noisy with all the music playing, but it is good music. Just be prepared to speak loudly with your dining partners.

And the Avalanche won the game.

Read the reviews in the Washington Post. Link…

I am in Washington, DC, for business and I always enjoy the wonderful food that is available in restaurants here in the metro area.
One of the places that I enjoy to go is Siné Irish Pub located in the Pentagon Row area behind the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington.

Well I had to try the Reuben Sandwich. I always find those pretty good, but this one, while good, had some deficiencies. The taste was there and the kraut had some flavor but there was not a lot of sauce and the bread was dry. It came with fries and they were quite good. It all tasted great with a Guinness. (Everything tastes well with a Guinness.)

Why the sandwich was just average, the dessert was quite good. The Bread Pudding was quite good, especially served with caramel and ice cream.

The service was so-so, but I wouldn’t let this bother you. I have been to this place before and have had good meals and service. Other items that I have had that were good include the Fish & Chips and Shepard’s Pie, all with Guinness (What else to wash it all down.).

One thing that concerned me is the advertisement that they had up for St. Patrick’s Day coming up. It said come on in on St. Patrick’s Day and enjoy a nice cold Budweiser or Bud Light. What bunk. What is an Irish Pub promoting a bland, bad tasting American style beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

You can see a review in the Washington Post. Link…

Let’s hope they improve the Reuben Sandwich and the service gets back to where it was when it opened for an improved experience. But if you are ever neat the Pentagon City area, Siné Irish Pub is worth the try.

I have eaten and drank at many of this nations microbreweries and I have found one that floats to the top of the list.
The Chama River Brewing Company in Albuquerque, New Mexico has great food, great beer, and great service.

I am in town for business and headed up here for a dinner and a beer.  (Who doesn’t need a beer when they have been working all day).

We were greeted promptly when we walked in the door and sat at our table.  The waiter appeared shortly and provided some great advice on what beers to have.  It didn’t take much for me to go for the Jack Rabbit IPA.  It had good flavor and was really smooth.  One of the better IPA’s I have ever had.

Next came dinner.  It was a new menu and it isn’t posted on their website, but it was the Chorizo Stuffed Pork Chop.  It was delicious.  Had good flavor and spice and was cooked just right.  It was served with Green Chili Polenta and green beans.  It was delicious.

The service was great and not to mention the server walking around throughout the meal with different roles and breads to have before and with you dinner.  I had the chili bread and the beer bread.  Both were delicious. (But my homemade beer bread tastes better.)

All-in-all I will give this restaurant 4.5 stars out of 5.  The only reason that it doesn’t get that last .5 is that I didn’t get to try desert.  I was too full.  But they looked delicious.  Maybe next time.

If you are in Albuquerque, head up to the north side of town and visit the Chama River Brewing Company.  You won’t be disappointed.

If you are ever in Spokane, Wash., you need to go have lunch or dinner at the Elk Public House.
This restaurant reminds you of many public houses that appear over Europe. The music is wonderful, the beer selection is incredible, and the food hits the spot.

The dish to try is the Reuben Sandwich. I have had many Reubens across the country, but whenever I am going through Spokane I stop and have one. It is warm and the house made sauerkraut is some of the best that I had.

The Reuben goes best with the roasted corn pasta salad. It has a good spice and taste and is unique to the Elk Public House.

To wash it all down it has a wide selection of beer, but it does not come better if you have a Mac n Jac Amber. It is only on draft and available only in the northwest.

If you are in Spokane, make a visit to the Elk Public House, you won’t regret it.

I was looking for some beer over Christmas and to survive the Blizzard here in Denver and stumbled onto Hiberation Ale by Great Divide Brewing Company.
This strong ale has great flavor and packs a punch on the alcohol content.

It is one of the better beers that I have had in a long time. I would rate it up there with the Paulaner Salvatore that comes from Germany.

A good one to get if it is delivered in your area.

Well I tried another restaurant in DC tonight and it was a like dinner last night. Good food and slow service. Skewers, located in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, DC, is a middle eastern restaurant and they have wonderful food. I had the special stuffed chicken breast. It was stuffed with spinach, asparagus, feta cheese, and pine nuts. It was served with cous cous and beans.
The latte was wonderful, but is was a little cool. It could have been warmer, especially since it was quite cold outside. But as with the meal last night, the service was quite slow. It took a long time for dinner to be served and the waiter didn’t really come around in between the wait staff filling the water.

It was a good meal, but be prepared for a really slow meal. Sometimes a slow meal is good, but this was just too slow.