Return to Ri Ra - Fried Pickles and the Best Corned Beef in the DC Area

My first return post. I plan to do several of these to tell folks about different stuff on the menus of my favorite places. Last time I talked about half-price burger day, and while it was again Wednesday, I did not partake in the burgers this time. Instead I was craving two of my other favorites to help enjoy the absolutely fabulous weather we enjoyed here on Wednesday during a wonderful lull in the oppressive heat this summer.

I had to start with the fried pickles. I first tried this concoction at the Mad Fox Brewing Co. in Falls Church (hopefully a future post about them) and fell in love. When Rí Rá changed their menu a while back and added these I was super excited. 

Basically they batter and fry dill pickle chips and its a crunchy vinegary delight. The ones at Mad Fox have a lighter, crispier batter closer to something like tempura. The Rí Rá version is heartier, I notice they use cornmeal in the batter and its a totally different texture. I heartily enjoy both versions. The Rí Rá version comes with a pair of dipping sauces for your enjoyment, a spicy ranch sauce and a garlic mayo. Both are great and different enough from each other to justify two different sauces.

My follow-up to that was the Publicans Reuben. I am a huge fan of corned beef so I like to try it at lots of different sandwich shops and delis. So far, Rí Rá has the best. They brine the meat in-house and do a heck of a job on it. Its the best in the DC metro area that I've had, and they only thing that comes close to what I had during many trips to NYC as a kid.

In direct opposition to my love of corned beef is my dislike of both sauerkraut and rye bread. So I usually order my reubens sans sauerkraut and on wheat bread instead of rye. The resulting sandwich is pretty awesome and the marie rose sauce is the fuse to this dynamite sandwich. The whole thing is grilled so the bread is crispy and swiss cheese is melty. 

I love that the meat is thin sliced and packed high and isn't too fatty. Too high a fat ratio really ruins a corned beef sandwich for me. You can pick your side from their choices, I usually stick with the fries (see my earlier post). A dill pickle spear is the perfect addition (or at least it would be if not for the fried pickles from earlier). Its a never-miss sandwich, consistently one of my favorites.