Baltimore's Pratt Street Ale House

A few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure to attend Baltimore Comic-Con. While we had an absolute blast, we don't really frequent Baltimore much despite its relative proximity to where we live. We ended up driving both days of the con, due to our inability to procure a reasonably priced hotel room, which at around an hour wasn't too bad. Our first day we ended up "dining" on convention "food" which for her were what were generously called chicken tenders and for me was a cold Italian sandwich. I do not recommend either. Our second day we were meeting up with a good friend and former coworker of mine and his son (both of whom are nerd inclined - awesome). So we decided to try and venture out into a local eatery to find something more edible. We ended up at the Pratt Street Ale House, which was packed and fantastic.

A Delicious Return to Nam-Viet

On our last visit to Nam-Viet we learned that they would be closing down for a week for renovations. Of course knowing that we wouldn't be able to go for a WHOLE WEEK meant we were super eager to get back in when the reopened.

Honey Pig - My Adventure with Korean Barbeque

I've always been curious about Korean cuisine but never adventurous enough to try and penetrate it by myself. I've had great authentic home-cooked Korean food before and enjoyed it thoroughly. But without knowing what anything was called, its tough to go to a restaurant and order blindly. I've also had a few bad experiences with Kimchi, a staple condiment of the cuisine, so was not eager to repeat that. Luckily a co-worker and friend who happens to be of Korean descent knew of a great place called Honey Pig in Annandale (7220 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 21003) that she has taken friends before. A small group of us went, a mix of experienced Korean food eaters and novices, and it was truly a great eating experience. 

Nam-Viet - Raising the Bar on Vietnamese Cuisine

I eat at the next place I want to talk about fairly regularly with co-workers. When I first came to the Courthouse area, I had already taken my first steps into the world of Vietnamese cuisine while I was in college at a restaurant in Fredericksburg that has since closed. A co-worker who was a big fan of international cuisine told me he had a great place to try and I was totally hooked. It's one of the all-time best kept secrets of Clarendon (1127 North Hudson Street, Arlington VA), and a fantastic treat whether you are new to Vietnamese or a Siracha-seasoned veteran. I can honestly say I have never had a bad meal here, and that comfort has allowed me to branch out and try several choices on the menu that I may not otherwise have tried.

A Different Burger Choice This Time

Now that I'm back to talking about food in Arlington, I thought I'd do a short post on a burger I've been meaning to try at Ri Ra, and finally decided to take the plunge on. In one of my previous posts on Ri Ra, I mentioned that Wednesday is half-price burger day, so I decided to forego my usual (the delicious Guinness BBQ burger) and try the chili cheese burger.

Barney's Beanery - A Study in Contrasts

My last post about a place we visited in Santa Monica. For our final night we just wanted to chill, drink some beer, grab a little food, watch some Olympics on the TV and enjoy a place with good atmosphere. Barney's Beanery was recommended to us so we decided to check it out. The place is in the 3rd Street Promenade, which was a pretty cool place to just hang out and people watch. There were street performers and other goings-on, the weather was great, it wasn't a bad cap to a cool vacation. They apparently have a few other locations in the greater Los Angeles area.

Rosti Tuscan Kitchen

Continuing our trek through the Santa Monica area, we made plans to meet up with some local friends at another area eatery by the name of Rosti Tuscan Kitchen. I was immediately excited about this place because I checked them out online before we went and found a ton a great stuff on the menu. It worked out great as both our friends are vegan, and this place has special vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free menus. This may have been the most anticipated restaurant of our trip for me.