Archive for category New Things
Magic Hat Brewery’s Spring Seasonal – Vinyl Lager
Posted by Justin Thorp in Beers, New Things on January 31st, 2010
Was at the beer store this weekend and little bit surprised to see that Magic Hat Brewery had already introduced their 2010 Spring Seasonal, Vinyl Lager, considering I had to trapse through snow to get to the store.
Now that I have it back at home and have drank a couple, I have to say that I really like this easy drinking amber lager. It’s quite delicious.
Go to your local liquor store, pick up a 6 pack, and let me know what you think.
Here’s a little promotional video that Magic Hat did for the Vinyl release:
Navigating A New City’s Food Scene With Yelp Mobile
Posted by Justin Thorp in New Things, Online Resources, Restaurants on January 31st, 2010
Lately, when I travel, one of the things I try really hard to do is avoid the restaurants that just appeal to the tourists and really go to the places where the locals go. I want to eat what’s going to give me a flavor of that local culture.
Now, I have had some success with doing this by just wandering. I remember when I was in NYC, I was looking for a cool indie non-Starbucks coffee shop. I happened to find my way to Think Coffee in Greenwich Village. I was very happy about this but it’s not easy to replicate.
Last weekend, I was in Boston, wasn’t meeting with friends that I could ask for recommendations for a few hours, so I decided to use Yelp on my iPhone as a way to guide my noise. I was looking for a good latte and a sandwich.
I found my way over to Cafe L’Aroma in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. I was thrilled with the results. Not only was I able to get a really quality latte, I was able to get a great sandwich. It was a turkey sandwich with this cranberry bread. Mmmmm… It was about $12 all together, which isn’t bad considering.
I was impressed with how Yelp was able to steer me in the right direction.
Have you used it before to find new places? How has it worked for you?
New Kabob Shop in Dupont Circle
Posted by Jonathan Tilley in Buying Food, New Things, Restaurants, Uncategorized on January 30th, 2010
Like most Americans, the right sort of marketing will get me in the door. Last week, I forgot my usual packed lunch and was wandering the Dupont Circle neighborhood when I came across the Sacrificial Lamb, a new kabob and pizza joint on 17th and R, NW. It’s a basement deal with only counter seating inside (though it has a handsome patio, which I’m sure will be useful in the spring), but my love for Kabobs, the affectionate dinginess of the place (any restaurant that doesn’t look like it has a team of marketing experts determine the design is a plus in my book – unless of course the marketing guys figured that out and are using my useless quest for authenticity against me) and the name (that’s where I’m a sucker) drew me like a magnet. I like the thought that the sheep used to make my Kabob was ritually sacrificed (though this caused no small amount of controversy in the New Testament). In any case, a sheep was sacrificed so that I would pay someone a small amount of money to enjoy a tasty sandwich.
If you’ve read any of my previous posts, it would not surprise you that I my taste for Kebabs began in Germany. Germany has a significant Turkish minority, who wrapped Turkish meats and vegetables into flat-bread to serve as fast food to hungry Germans and other pale-skinned visitors. Doener Kebabs are available in any German town and train station, and, should you backpack Europe on a budget, they only cost 3 to 4 Euros (and as little as 1 Euro in the poor-but-sexy East).
According to the owner, the Sacrificial Lamb Kabobs are more South Asian – he described it as a hybrid of food you can find in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. (I believe he was from Pakistan) On my first visit, I ordered a Lamb Kabob and fries. The Kebab was delicious – more saucy and less spicy than its Turkish-German cousin. The meat was good, and the vegetables were not immaculate, but the whole combo was stupendous. I regret that I ordered a side of fries – these were no better than the fries in the back of your freezer and their more South Asian sides looked more appealing – particularly the spinach. Before I left, my host let me try the butter chicken, which was their opening special. Delicious – the chicken is wrapped in this tasty, tangy, slightly-spicy red sauce with none of the fried, high-fructose sweetness that you’ll find on the end of a toothpick in a shopping mall.
The butter chicken is exactly what I bought when I went back yesterday, this time with a side of spinach, rise and chickpeas. A tasty treat in a Styrofoam tray. It was still on special, which meant the whole thing was around about $6.75 – just under $10 when you throw in a diet Snapple plus tax. Non-special meals run about $10 on their own. As the name implies, they do have pizza there, which you can get cheaply by the slice, but frankly, like the fries, it did not look special or appetizing. I say, drop by, and see for yourself – but stick with the South Asian specialties. I may “forget” my lunch more often.
(PS: The owner is looking to rent a parking space in Dupont Circle – if anyone reading could help him out, give him a call at 202/797-2736. Order yourself some butter chicken, while you are at it)
My First Experience with Caviar
Posted by Justin Thorp in New Things on November 13th, 2009
A couple of weekends ago, I was walking through one of the neighborhood markets by my apartment here in Washington, DC. I noticed on one of the shelves in the refrigerated section that you could get a small jar of Icelandic caviar for $7.
My perception had always been that caviar was this crazy expensive thing that you’d never see in neighborhood grocery store and you absolutely wouldn’t see it for $7. I guess I had thought it’d be more $30-40 dollars. I couldn’t stop myself from picking up a jar. I just wanted to try it.
According to Wikipedia, Caviar is “the processed, salted roe of certain species of fish, most notably the sturgeon (black caviar) and the salmon (red caviar).” It’s fish eggs.
So… last night, while watching TV, I pulled out some crackers and tried it. 
It’s this tasty salty fishy spread. It was pretty good. I want to read up about more ways that people recommend eating it. I will report back.
Have you had caviar before? What’d you think? How did you eat it?
Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream – One of Michigan’s Sweetest Treats
Posted by Justin Thorp in New Things on September 20th, 2009
I’ve been in Michigan for the weekend. A good friend of mine from college got married.
While I was here, I thought I’d dive into some of my favorite foods that come from my home state.
Mackinac Island is a very small island that covers about 3.8 square miles in the Northern most part of Lake Huron in Michigan. Mackinac Island was a military outpost during the War of 1812. Now it’s a vacation retreat for families from all over the area who are looking to get away and absorb a little bit of great local history.
When you walk up and down the streets, you’ll see lots of candy shops filled with amazing fudge. It became so popular that the fudge became known as “Mackinac Island Fudge.”
Well a person, who can only be described as a genius, made the brilliant decision to put it all into ice cream. Hence, Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream was born.
Over the weekend, I was out running some errands with my parents, who still live in Michigan. We picked up some Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream that’s made by Hudsonville Creamery, which is based out of Holland, MI.
It’s DELICIOUS. It brought back so many amazing memories of walking down to the corner convenience store in the summer growing up and getting ice cream cones with Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream.
If you love chocolate, vanilla, and fudge, you’ll LOVE this ice cream. The next time you’re in Michigan seek it out. It’s well worth it.
McDonald’s Coupons
Posted by Jonathan Tilley in Burgers, Buying Food, New Things, Restaurants on September 12th, 2009
For all of my complaints about American shoddiness, I do visit the local McDonald’s more often than I care to admit. The reason is simple: coupon. In this economy, one can never save enough money, and “Mickey D’s” is one of the more recession-proof American institutions. The coupons are decent too. It’s not like some of the clothes coupons we get in the mail. “Buy 5 pairs of jeans, get one free,” or such similar salutes to the excess that got us into this mess in the first place. The coupon booklets we get in the mail once per month are good deals and get the thrifty eater in the front door.
Speaking of excess, Septembers coupon booklet promotes the new 1/3 pound Angus burger. You probably have not missed the advertisements that say “please to meat you” and remind us that “bigger is better.” The promotion implies that blue-collar McDonald’s is serving patties that compete with your favorite local burger dives. I was skeptical, but I also had a coupon.
If I am going to give my body for unhealthy, pant-size-increasing food, the taste should be worth the sacrifice. I’m even willing to try deep-fried butter or chocolate-covered bacon for the sake of novelty. But there was nothing novel about my 1/3 pound Angus burger from McDonald’s, even the one with bacon. It tastes any other McDonald’s burger, which ain’t worth the heart-attack. If you want a burger with a taste larger than the side effects, come on down to Capitol Hill and visit Good Stuff Eatery. If you want to save money by eating at Mickey D’s, I recommending a grilled chicken snack wrap. They are cheap, filling and good tasting. Moreover, you won’t feel like a bucket of grease was dumped in your stomach afterwards. There’s no earthly reason to buy a 1/3 pound Angus burger from McDonald’s. Unless, of course, you have a coupon.
Prosciutto – Ham Never Tasted So Good
Posted by Justin Thorp in New Things on September 7th, 2009
If you said the word ham to me, the first thing that would pop into my mind is probably the ham that my mom would put on my sandwiches for my school lunches when I was in elementary school.
Until recently, I never knew the world of ham that was out there.
I recently fell in love with a new type of ham prosciutto, which is Italian for ham. According to Wikipedia, it’s typically dry-cured and uncooked. It typically derives from Northern Italy, in regions like Tuscany or Emilia.
The process of making prosciutto can take a while, from 9 to 18 months. It’s salted, pressed, and hung in a dark and ventilated environment.
LifeInItaly.com writes about how there are actually regional standards in Italy for prosciutto. If you want to be labeled as “Protected Denomination of Origin or PDO Prosciutto”, you have to meet those standards. When buying prosciutto, make sure that you look for the brand mark or the log of the local consortium.
And most important… it’s delicious.
So, in additional to whatever various meat products that you’re consuming this Labor Day, go out and try prosciutto. It’s worth giving it a whirl.
If you’re really looking for something new, look for duck prosciutto. This is something that I tried for the first time over the weekend and really enjoyed but for $30/pound, it’ll definitely be a rare treat in my life.
Next up, I really wanna try Serrano Ham.
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