DMV Dining

Editor’s note: Today’s post was written prior to last night’s devastating fire at Hook and Tacklebox. Our hearts go out to the staff and owners and we hope for a speedy recovery and swift reopening.

While running through a list of restaurants to have a pre-theater meal at before seeing Wicked at the Kennedy Center last Thursday, Rachel had the brilliant idea of redeeming our Groupon we bought earlier this year for Hook and eat there instead.

Given its proximity to the theater as well as not having to be tied down to a prix-fixe menu, it was an ideal choice. Our 5:30pm reservation turned out to be absolutely unnecessary as we were evidently the first ones to be seated for dinner. Had we arrived earlier, we could have participated in their happy hour which featured dollar oysters (!!!) and $4 cocktails.

When we were seated, we soon received a basket of warm, fresh bread. We have dined at Hook before and I simply love their bread basket. Between the focaccia squares, buttery biscuits, and garlic aioli spread, you’re in for a treat before you even receive your first course. Due to time restrictions, we kept our meal straightforward and went right for the entrees.

I ordered the yellowfin tuna while Rachel got the scallops. The tuna, which was served on a bed of lentils, bacon lardons, and a side of kale, was excellent. It was a sharp contrast from the mediocre piece of fish I had at Jake’s American Grille a few weeks ago. Granted Hook is more of an upscale establishment, but there was a substantial difference in quality between the two restaurants and it goes without saying: you get what you pay for.

The tuna was flawlessly cooked and was so delicate that a knife was barely needed. The lentils brought a nice balance to the dish, but it was those amazing pieces of bacon lardoons that nearly stole the show. These thick chunks of pork were packed with flavor, so much so that I wish (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) the kitchen held back on the quantity. It was just a tad overpowering when you already have one piece of protein already sitting on the plate.

Rachel decided on the scallops, which came with a carrot puree and a carrot and peanut slaw in the middle. These were definitely a delight as they were some of the largest scallops she has ever seen on a plate. The carrot and ginger sauce was a perfect complement as it didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the beautiful scallops. The slaw added a nice crunch while overall she said they were the best scallops she has had since Corduroy, and that was one of her favorite dishes ever.

For dessert, we were torn between the passion fruit semifreddo and the Fluffer Nutter. Because we were already so full from our main course, we went with the former as it sounded like it would be on the lighter side. It turned out to be the right choice as it was sweet, satisfying, and not overly heavy.

We were genuinely amazed by the texture of the semifreddo – it was like a semi-frozen sorbet, but with a thicker consistency, almost like a mousse. The slice was situated above three pieces of white chocolate ganache sitting in caramel sauce which made this dish even more of a treat. Then you throw in the roasted macadamia nuts on top of that and you’re on cloud nine. It was a lovely combination of sweet and salty and was a perfect ending to a great meal.

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner at Hook. Our waitress was cordial and helpful while every piece of food served was utterly delicious. The Groupon clearly helped as we saved $50 off our bill, but Hook has been consistent each time we have visited, discount or not. While it’s a schlep to get to Georgetown, it’s worth it if you’re looking for good seafood in the District.

A few weeks ago, we went with our friends Jamie and Cortney to Central after seeing  comedian Aziz Ansari at the Warner Theater. We attended the early show (which started at 7pm) and planned to have dinner afterwards. Given the proximity to the theater as well as having never been to one of Michel Richard’s restaurants before (at least for us), Central was an ideal destination.

After what was a hysterical performance by Mr. Ansari, we made our way down 11th Street for our 9pm reservation. The restaurant was very busy for a late Friday night, but then we also realized that it’s near several hotels as there were a lot of US Open attendees in the house.

Cortney suggested that we order the famous gougères, or cheese puffs, to share amongst the table. It turned out to be an excellent suggestion as the gougères were warm, moist, and delightfully cheesy. Granted this was my first time indulging in this French pastry, and it proved rather difficult to resist hording them for myself after devouring a couple of them.

After deliberating between the fried chicken with mashed potato and roasted pork loin with flageolet beans, I ultimately opted for the former after asking for the waitresses’ recommendation. In fact, the restaurant’s famous fried chicken is the most frequently ordered item on the menu. Rachel and Jamie  went with the lobster burger, while Cortney ordered the short rib with pappardelle.

The fried chicken turned out to be a great choice. On the plate was a thigh and breast atop a serving of mashed potatoes along with a side of greens. The waiter also served a bowl of mustard sauce which I sparingly used (a little too rich for my taste, but good nonetheless).

While the breading was crunchy and flavorful, it fell off the meat rather easily. It was also a tad on the salty side, especially when it was paired with the mashed potatoes, but the chicken was incredibly moist and juicy. What was most amazing was the lack of grease. I’m not sure if it’s the best fried chicken I’ve had in DC (Birch & Barley’s chicken and waffles comes to mind), but overall I was very pleased with my entrée.

Rachel loves all things lobster, and the lobster burger is right up there with the fried chicken in regards to famous dishes at Central. While she winced at the steep price of $30 for a burger, she was confident that this would be no ordinary plate. In other words, the burger was amazing.

She once had a shrimp and lobster burger at The Capital Grille, but Central’s rendition was simply pure lobster meat formed into a patty and then grilled. It was served on a warm bun and topped with a parmesan crisp, which added a nice crunch to the sandwich. The lobster was incredibly juicy as she was very happy with her selection. The fries were good, but not outstanding, and while she could tell that they were going for simplicity on the plate, for $30 it seemed a little barren. I mean, could it hurt to add an accompaniment like pickles or some greens?

All and all, all four of us had a superb dinner at Central. While we can finally check off this well-renowned DC restaurant off our bucket list, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be our only visit. I for one would love to try the tartare of filet mignon, and even more importantly, Michel’s chocolate bar. On another note, this post is making me hungry.

We can’t believe we haven’t written about Lebanese Taverna yet given the number of times we frequent this Middle Eastern mini-chain. This past weekend my parents were in town, so we decided to treat them to dinner for Father’s Day at the Lebanese Taverna in Bethesda.

We have dined at the Woodley Park location several times in recent months, and when we arrived for our reservation last weekend, we almost forgot how beautiful the space is inside the newest addition to the LT family. The glass bubble chandeliers alone are stunning. Although it might be hard to tell that this location is related to the others, the expansive menu was the same and that’s mainly what we were there for.

We sat down and were greeted with their signature pillow-type bread and olive oil dipping sauce. We decided to split a half pitcher of white sangria, and right away we wish we went with the larger pitcher. Even my mom loved it, and she rarely drinks alcohol!

I knew we had to order one of the mezze platters to start out with, so we went with the vegetarian option. I have ordered this before as an entree, and for four people it is a great way to try lots of different mezze on the menu. I won’t name everything it came with, but trust me, if you haven’t ordered one of these yet, you definitely should.

Brett and I decided to split the mixed Mashawi dish, since I wasn’t too hungry and it was a nice way to try the chicken, lamb, and kafta kabobs. We also split the Araydis Arak (sautéed shrimp, garlic, onion, and arak) and the M’saka (oven roasted eggplant with chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, and garlic).

The only complaint we had was that the entrees immediately came out as soon as we finished our appetizers. In fact, we still had some food left on the table as there really was no lapse between courses, so I was already full while Brett (unsurprisingly) had the lion’s share of our entree. But what I did have was excellent as all of the flavors found on the varieties of meat blended well together.

My Mom had one of the specials, the crispy fried whole trout. She said it was good but didn’t care for the cabbage that it came with. My dad, however, was in love with his lamb loin (Sharhat Ghanam) and couldn’t get enough of it.

Lebanese Taverna is one of those places that is so reliable that we almost forget about it at times. It’s a great place to bring a group to because there really is something for everyone.

Last week I had the pleasure of being in Colorado for a conference, and Brett and I went out a day early to check out Boulder before heading to Denver. We knew we wanted to hit up a brewery or two, and first on our list was Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery as it earned high marks on BeerAdvocate for both its food and beer selections.

We walked in and were seated right away in this welcoming brewpub. The walls were brightly covered with paintings for sale, and there were board games behind us if we wanted to play while we waited.

We immediately decided we would try the six beer sampler where we could choose any six of their selections for $10.50. We went with the Java Porter, Blackberry Wheat, Colorado Kind Ale, FYIPA, the Ginger Beer, and the Stout. They were all great but I think our favorites were the ginger, the porter, and the blackberry wheat.

We started our meal with a cup of their vegetarian black bean chili. It came with a side of corn chips and was not only delicious but also priced at a fantastic $2.95.

From there, we each tried one of their daily specials. I ordered the Beet Lover’s Salad, which came with roasted beets, fresh farm greens, Bermuda onions, and a goat cheese sauce. I added beer-baked tempeh to the salad, something I had only tried once before and was curious to have again. I wasn’t steered wrong, as it was a great, nutty addition to a nice summer salad. I’m a sucker for beets and goat cheese together, and this was filling but not overly heavy for a lunchtime meal.

Brett got the Mountain Mi, a spin on a traditional banh mi sandwich. It featured marinated chicken breast, pickled carrots, dikon radish, sliced cucumbers, fresh jalapenos, cilantro, Thai basil, mint and sriracha mayonnaise, all served on ciabbatta bread. He clearly loved the sandwich after clearing his plate, and has been on a banh mi kick since.

At one point a server came by and thought we had ordered a separate order of fries. We said we didn’t since Brett’s sandwich came with them, but he just left them anyway with us and didn’t charge for them. We certainly lucked out there since these were fresh-cut fries and highly addictive.

We really loved this place, and not just for the food and beer but also for the great atmosphere, friendly people, and pleasant service. You could tell that this is a perfect venue in a college town, and we lamented that there wasn’t something even remotely close to this in College Park when we went there.

We would definitely recommend Mountain Sun to anyone who happens to be in Boulder. Considering that there was a line for a table way past the lunch hour, this was clearly one of the city’s top local hangouts.

With Rachel having her work’s summer conference in Denver last week, how could I turn down the chance to come along? After all, I had never been to Denver, let alone visited the state of Colorado, so we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it.

After spending the day in Boulder, we checked into our hotel in downtown Denver on Friday night. For the sake of spontaneity, I decided to keep our dinner plans a secret until we arrived at the restaurant.

Located on charming Larimer Street in the LoDo area of Denver, I had learned about Rioja after performing some online research on highly-acclaimed restaurants in the area.  Turns out that the Mediterranean-themed venue was tops on a variety of lists, and considering that Friday night was our one free night of the week before Rachel’s conference started, I figured we might as well do something on the fancier side.

Thankfully, Rioja took reservations as we were promptly seated when we arrived. Our waitress soon greeted us and asked for our drink order. I went with a glass of red wine while Rachel ordered the blackberry whisky sour, the restaurant’s most popular cocktail. After having a sip, I wish I had ordered one myself. Featuring blackberry whiskey, house made sour mix, soda, and lemon, it was one satisfying beverage.

As for dinner, everything on the menu sounded absolutely delicious, and unsurprisingly, we had a difficult time deciding what to get. After spending at least fifteen minutes reading over the list of options, at the bottom of the menu was an answer to our indecisiveness: “Tasting Menus Available. Please Inquire With Your Server.”

Done!

Our waitress explained that the two of us could split smaller portions of two dishes from each category: starters, salads, pastas, and entrees (or at least that’s how we understood, but more on that later). Rachel and I immediately agreed that this was the best course of action not only because we wanted to try so many things, but that we initially couldn’t make up our damn minds if we went the a la carte route.

Before our first courses arrived, we were treated to a homemade selection of bread which alluded to how great this dinner was going to be. The selection included rosemary goat cheese biscuits, lavender sour dough, orange and fennel rolls, and olive loaf. All four varieties were simply fantastic, but it was the lavender sour dough that stood out the most.

We started with the handmade mozzarella, wrapped in smoked prosciutto, with grilled bread, oven-dried tomatoes, arugula, and green olive pistou. Although it was slightly hard to split this small sandwich into two, it was a great way to commence our tasting journey. The mozzarella and prosciutto combination perfectly complemented the tomatoes and arugula. The bread got a little soggy from the olive spread, and we thought it may have been more effective as an open face sandwich instead of two pieces. Nonetheless, we couldn’t wait for our next course.

Next up was the Thai scallops, made with lemongrass panna cotta, compressed pineapple, plantain tuille, coconut kiffir lime purée, and a Thai red curry vinaigrette. To put it in one word: wow. This may have been our favorite dish of the night.

When we were first deliberating what to order from the regular menu, Rachel kept eyeing the salads. Normally we would skip salad and try more adventurous starters, but these salads seemed incredibly creative and delicious. For our tasting, we were served small portions of both the watermelon and beet salads.

The watermelon salad included baby heirloom tomatoes, organic red and yellow watermelon, Valbreso feta, compressed cucumber, sweet chilies, watermelon vinaigrette, and a micro lemon balm. This was paired on a single plate with the beet salad, composed of roasted candy striped beets, cucumber mint vinaigrette, snow drop goat cheese, crispy beet chips, pickled red onion, micro beets, and mint syrup.

While we thought both salads were excellent, I was more partial towards the watermelon while Rachel liked the beets. I’m not a huge fan of goat cheese (much to the chagrin of Rachel) but I could not stop raving about it while eating the beet salad. It was just incredibly fresh without its flavor being too pronounced that I couldn’t taste the other ingredients.

Up next was the pasta course. The first dish was saffron spaghettini, which featured summer vegetables, roasted eggplant, La Quercia lardo, heirloom tomatoes, scallion, black oil cured olives, piquillo peppers, basil, and extra virgin olive oil.

The other pasta was an artichoke tortelloni, which was made with goat cheese and artichoke mousse stuffed pasta, artichoke broth, truffle essence, queso de mano cheese, and chervil.

The spaghettini was a light and delicate dish which was apt given the warmer weather. Meanwhile, I could have ordered an entire bowl of the tortelloni for myself. Between the goat cheese/artichoke mouse stuffing and the wonderful truffle sauce, this was a pure delight. I can see why this is one of the most popular pastas on the menu (all of which can be ordered as an entrée, by the way).

Our entrees soon arrived, but instead of them being presented in a sampling format, each person solely received their main course. We weren’t sure if this was the tasting menu portion or not as the serving size seemed rather large given the sizes of the previous courses we consumed, but neither of us thought it was enough of a substantial claim to make a fuss over of.

Anyway, I ordered the Colorado lamb two ways while Rachel got the halibut Provençal. The lamb arrived as a grilled t-bone as well as a house-made merguez sausage and was accompanied with a crisp couscous pillow, caramelized fennel, tomato coulis, and preserved lemon yogurt. Mediterranean flavors were brought to life in this exquisite dish. The t-bone was incredibly tender and flavorful while the sausage, which resembled more of a lamb slider, was packed with spice albeit a little too rare in the middle for my liking.

But man, that lemon yogurt! It was a dream pairing between that and both pieces of lamb. Throw in the creative couscous pillow, which had a nice crunchy layer outside with soft couscous stuffed inside, and you have yourselves one breathtaking entrée.

For her entree, Rachel got the halibut Provencal, which came with grilled artichoke, artichoke mousse, tomato-feta-zucchini tart, black olive fennel vinaigrette, and crispy milk poached garlic. She thought it would be similar to the artichoke found in the tortellini but the waitress assured her that they would be completely different.

While all the components were incredibly unique and made for a beautiful dish and presentation, she was simply too full from the other courses to truly enjoy it. What really stood out was the poached garlic – it was sweet instead of overpowering, and was like nothing she ever had before.

We passed on dessert as we were beyond stuffed and asked for the check. When we received it, it had turned out that the waitress had charged us for tasting size portions of our meal up until the entrees, which we were billed at full price!  There appeared to be quite a bit of confusion on both of ends as we had asked for a tasting menu while the waitress thought we still wanted regular-sized entrees. I mean, why would we order regular-sized a la carte entrees if we’re ordering from a tasting menu?

We explained to the waitress that we had never specifically asked for full-sized entrees, though it did explain why we received such large portions and could barely eat half of it. She was very apologetic about the misunderstanding and removed the scallop course from the bill, which we thought was very nice.

Despite the snafu, we had a lovely dinner and cannot recommend Rioja enough should you ever visit Denver. Chef Jennifer Jasinski marveled us with her talents as we unceremoniously dubbed her “the Bryan Voltaggio of Denver” while we savored each course. In fact, we loved it so much that Rachel went back a second night for dinner during her stay! The next time we’re in Denver, a meal at Rioja is clearly a must.

Van Ness used to be a barren wasteland for restaurants, but with places like Comet, Acacia Bistro, and Jake’s American Grille bucking the trend, perhaps there is hope for this neighborhood after all.

Rachel and I as well as a couple of our friends went out to Jake’s for dinner last week. We had been looking forward to dining there for quite some time given the expansive menu and diverse beer list, especially in a location where it is somewhat difficult to find both of these things in one setting.

There is a relatively large bar area on the left side of the room which looks like it would be a great happy hour spot. In fact Jake’s offers two happy hours: 4pm to 7pm, Monday through Friday, and a drinks-only “reverse” happy hour from 9pm to close, Monday through Thursday.

We were able to secure a table as soon as we arrived and were seated towards the front of the house. The interior gives off somewhat of a homey, neighborhood feel to it with its brick walls, wooden floors, and dim lighting. The menu primarily consists of tavern fare which featured an array of burgers, sandwiches, chicken, and fish.

I went with the red curry yellowfin tuna while Rachel ordered the southwestern tilapia. When I ordered my tuna, the waiter didn’t ask for a cooking temperature, but assuming that the kitchen would cook it on the rare side anyway, I didn’t think much of it at the time. When the dish arrived, the tuna was definitely rare, if not a little undercooked.

The parts of the fish that were cooked at the right temperature weren’t bad, but the quality of the tuna itself was just subpar. Considering that I have had similar dishes at other restaurants, I was slightly disappointed. I did, however, enjoy the side of buckwheat soba noodles that featured baby corn, broccolini and edamame which was covered in a red curry-coconut sauce.

Rachel certainly liked her tilapia, but she felt that the dish was missing something as it only came with a side of black beans. It could have been accompanied with some sort of vegetable, rice, side salad, something! She put it best when she described it as “a plate of fish and beans”. I mean, this is supposed to be an “American grille”, not a taqueria.

All and all, outside of spending some quality conversation with our friends, our meal was pretty forgettable. Nothing really stood out in regards to the food, and while the prices were rather reasonable (our two entrees combined cost us $31), everything was just average.

We’re hoping that Jake’s will improve with age as it’s a great space in a location begging for business, but until the kitchen improves, we’ll probably just stick to happy hour visits in the interim.

Jake’s American Grille is located on 5018 Connecticut Ave in the Van Ness neighborhood of DC.

About a month ago, a few of our friends thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of cooking contest with us presiding as the judges. When it came down to deciding what type of food the contestants should cook, a decision was quickly reached: quesadillas.

A little backstory: one of the contestants, Rajiv, was my roommate during my junior year of college. He was pretty good about cooking at home, but his favorite dinner to make was chicken quesadillas. Turns out that Jim, our other contestant, claimed that his quesadilla recipe could rival that of Rajiv’s. A battle was soon proclaimed. After a time and place was arranged, the cookoff was on!

Jim's Quesadillas

Rachel and I decided that we would be judging Rajiv and Jim’s quesadillas under three factors: taste , texture, and presentation. A victor would be named based on these categories with a scale from one to four stars. And while I should note that I have obviously eaten Rajiv’s quesadillas in the past, the final result would be unbiased as Rachel and I would have to reach a unanimous decision before naming the winner.

Rajiv prepared all his ingredients, for the exception of the shredded cheese, in a stew. Chicken, tomatoes, peppers, onions and onions were all cooked together before being placed atop a tortilla. Cheese was then sprinkled on top of the mixture, a second tortilla was added on top, and then the entire product was thrown on a frying pan.

Rajiv's Quesadilla Preparation

Jim went more with the traditional route by cooking his ingredients separately. He also used a smaller tortilla which made handling the quesadillas a lot easier than Rajiv’s, as well as it being a more reasonable portion size.

Jim's Quesadilla Preparation

Taste:

In regards to Rajiv’s preparation, both Rachel and I agreed that some of the spices added, as well as the stewed tomatoes, really brought out the flavor and made for a tasty quesadilla. On the other hand, while Jim used a more traditional cooking regimen, we felt that the flavors were more on the blander side with nothing really piquing our interest.

Rajiv: ***
Jim: **

Rajiv's Quesadillas

Texture:

Rajiv’s preparation made the tortillas soggy as soon as they were prepared. The stew mixture might have helped in regards to taste, but these were limp as soon as they were brought to the table. Meanwhile, Jim’s quesadillas were adequately crispy and had a nice crunch to them. No contest in this category.

Jim: ****
Rajiv: **

Presentation:

Rajiv’s quesadilla was presented with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on top, along with a side of arugula salad, refried beans, and guacamole. I would have preferred the condiments on the side myself, but otherwise, it was a well-presented dish.

Rajiv's Presentation

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Jim’s arrangement. His quesadilla (dotted with salsa) was placed in the center of the plate on top of a bed of arugula, which was then surrounded by a border of shredded cheese. It was way over the top and really detracted from the actual dish.

Jim's Presentation

Rajiv: ***
Jim: *

Winner:

We’re going to have to give the nod to Rajiv. His quesadillas simply tasted better, and despite lacking the requisite crispiness, the overall flavor proved to be enough to win the battle. While Jim’s were crunchier albeit blander, it was his presentation that ultimately did him in. Both contestants have areas for improvement, but for our first-ever cook-off, it was a bona fide success.

This past Memorial Day weekend, Brett and I decided to head down to Eastern Market to walk around the area and check out the Top Chef Tour Challenge. We met up with our friends Kim and Brian, as well as their newborn baby Micah. After seeing some lesser-known contestants battle it out (Spike was stuck in LA while Carla competed the day before), we decided it was time for brunch.

With an ever-increasing number of restaurants now available on Barracks Row, it was just a matter of choosing which one to have brunch at. The Chesapeake Room won out over the others based on the menu, and more importantly, the fact that we could be seated outside right away with enough room for a stroller.

We sat down and had a hard time deciding what to get since many of the choices seemed so unique and enticing. I was torn between the spring frittata, seafood omelet, and the Eggs Chesapeake. I ultimately decided on the , which appeared to be their specialty and was by far the most distinctive dish.

Instead of a traditional Eggs Benedict, this entrée consisted of two poached eggs sitting atop fried green tomatoes with a layer of Maryland blue crab and a spiced tomato jam in between. There was no hollandaise with this Benedict, but I actually preferred that since I usually ask for it on the side anyway.

The dish came with mushroom home fries as a side, which I thought were amazing. They were essentially roasted potatoes mixed with sautéed mushrooms and cheese. The egg dish itself was delicious, and I savored each bite of it as all of the components really fit together.

Brett ordered the shrimp and grits, although The Chesapeake Room’s version had its own interpretation of the classic dish. The grits were served in coquette form while the shrimp was topped with blue crab and spring onion-green tomato chow-chow. It was also accompanied with a small house salad.

While Brett really enjoyed the grit coquette, he felt that the shrimp were rather underwhelming. In fact, there was too much going on between the chow-chow, crab, and shrimp to justify naming this dish “shrimp and grits”, especially since the shrimp were somewhat soggy from the aforementioned ingredients that were placed atop. He felt that the version found at Acadiana was far superior and wished he had ordered the fried green tomato crab stack instead.

In regards to the service, we had one slight hiccup when Kim had asked to swap the potato fritter that came with her frittata with home fries instead. The waitress said that this was not a problem, however, when we received the bill, we were charged an additional three dollars for this substitution. This would have been okay had the waitress informed us of the charge when Kim made her order, but she didn’t, so this caught us by surprise. They ultimately removed it from the bill, but the restaurant really needs to be more upfront about this in the future.

From the looks of things, it looked like brunch was a draw between the two of us as I came away pleased while Brett, well, didn’t. He just wasn’t crazy about his dish for the exception of the grit coquette, though he did agree that my home fries were rather good. The service was also a little off-putting, but not enough to completely write off the place. So all and all – good, not great.

Marking the one year anniversary of our honeymoon to the Greek Isles, we felt that there was no better way to commemorate our adventures in Greece than with dinner at the beloved Greek Spot.

We have been to the Greek Spot in the past as it’s an ideal place to grab some dinner before a show at the nearby 9:30 Club. We were seeing Titus Andronicus and Okkervil River that evening, so Rachel and I were looking for something fast and casual so we wouldn’t miss any of the acts.

Without hesitation, I (of course) ordered the traditional gyro. The lamb was tender, flavorful, and nicely seasoned while the pita was warm and soft. It’s arguably one of the better gyros you’ll find in this city, and for under seven bucks, it’s a great value. The tzatziki is downright delicious, but once it blends with the generous portions of lamb stuffed inside the pita, it’s as if you’re walking down the streets of Athens.

I do have to admit that Marathon Deli (in College Park) might have the best gyro in regards to the entire metropolitan area, but Greek Spot comes in at a close second. How we haven’t posted about Marathon yet is beyond me, but rest assured, they’ll make it on here soon enough.

Rachel went with the vegetarian gyro platter as she had read good things about it on Yelp. She likes trying some non-meat options every once in a while and the soy steak strips sounded appealing.

The platter is a great deal since it comes with four triangles of pita, tzatziki sauce, a small salad, and lots of meat (err, fake meat) on a bed of orzo. It was a ton of food for $9.50, and an even better deal for me since I helped Rachel eat half the platter. It’s a nice way to build your own sandwich if you want the additional sides while not having to deal with a sometimes messy sandwich.

She enjoyed the soy strips and even I was surprised how well they went with the platter, but next time will probably stick to chicken souvlaki or a traditional gyro.

Between the two of us, we had a hearty, satisfying dinner for around $20, including two Boylan sodas. Among the quality of the food, the price, and the gorgeous weather outside, you could not ask for a better pre-show meal.

While word is out that Jack Rose will officially open its roof deck this weekend, we were lucky enough to check out this gorgeous space last Saturday night.

We had heard a lot of buzz about this new DC behemoth, and couldn’t wait to see if it lived up to the hype. Unfortunately the main bar area wasn’t open when we visited, and won’t be until June 14th according to Eater. No matter, we walked right upstairs and were very impressed by what we saw.

The bar itself actually consists of five separate bars, include a main floor, a roof deck with a main bar, a side deck bar, a beer basement, and an executive tasting room. Phew! Color us impressed the minute we walked in.

Although the main room was still under construction, we peeked in from the window and couldn’t get over how long the bar itself was, 52 feet to be exact. There will be 20 taps alone there, along with rare casks and imports in the den downstairs, with shared taps upstairs in addition to cans. Essentially a beer lover’s heaven.

View of the main bar, still under construction

But this place is really catering to those who love Scotch: there will be over 1,000 types of Scotch and bourbon, not to mention an extensive cocktail list, mainly for the tiki-type bar outside. Yep, this place is paradise for drink lovers of all kinds, they don’t discriminate!

Right away we were impressed with the layout of the open-air terrace. While you can see the Washington Monument off into the distance from the top of Jack Rose, the decor made you feel like you were somewhere in New York or LA and not blocks away from the rambunctiousness of 18th Street.

There’s a long bar against the wall, but plenty of space for standing around and some tables as well. A nice touch is the pit barbecue area, where you can order sandwiches and other dishes. Brett ordered the pit beef on Ciabatta bread while I ordered the grilled vegetable sandwich.

Both were served with a type of purple slaw on the side. I really liked my sandwich, which came with goat cheese, grilled eggplant, red peppers, and spinach. The veggies held up well against the crunch of the bread, and the creamy cheese went well with the char of the grilled veggies. Brett enjoyed his sandwich as well, but his only complaint was that the drippings from the beef made the bread a little too soggy resulting in a little messiness.

We also each ordered a Bell’s Oberon, perfect for an early summer night. I was tempted to try some of the cocktails listed, but thought I would save them for another time. After we ate, we walked around the outdoor area to check out the side bar, which wasn’t yet open, and the inside room, where there was a party already going on.

We can already envision this place being packed on the weekends, and lamented the place wasn’t fully open in time for Brett’s birthday, since it would have been perfect.

Obviously we don’t have a complete picture of Jack Rose since it wasn’t officially open or ready yet, but all we can say is that DC is in for a treat and we can’t wait to make a return visit.