169422 Tue Jan 20 11:22:27 -0800 2004 26 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 906972 Fellow chowhounds - A pal of mine and I are looking for a place to have a nice, hearty and heavy pub lunch this weekend. We're thinking of going to Four Courts in Courthouse (N Arlington) for something startchy and heavy washed down w/ several pints of something equally heavy but more bitter. Really though, we'd like to try some other place, preferrably w/in reasonable driving distance, say 10 - 15 miles? Any thoughts and suggestions are welcomed . . . Cheers - ANCyM Tue Jan 20 11:22:27 -0800 2004 0 ANCyM 1 906977 Have you thoguht about Rock Bottom Brewery in the Ballston Commons? I love their chipotle chicken pizza and the beer is great! Tue Jan 20 11:47:15 -0800 2004 906972 0 BJ Morris 2 906994 I second the Rock Bottom recommendation. The menu has a lot of good stuff on it, and, as mentioned above, the beer is good too. Tue Jan 20 13:17:21 -0800 2004 906977 0 billy 2 907010 I guess chain restaurants have their place, though I think it's the food that's Rock Bottom in this case. I suggest locally-owned Kilroy's instead, if Springfield is not too far for you. I've attached a link below. Link: http://www.kilroys-restaurant.com/ Tue Jan 20 14:33:35 -0800 2004 906977 0 Steve 1 906978 Sine at Pentagon Row might work for you. good fish and chips Tue Jan 20 11:48:51 -0800 2004 906972 0 Tweaked 1 906991 Ireland's Four Provinces in downtown Falls Church has solid Irish pub fare. I'm a big fan of the fish and chips. But it could be my overall impression is colored by the 2 big Bass Ale's I slug down before the food shows up. Link: http://www.4psfallschurch.com Tue Jan 20 13:11:39 -0800 2004 906972 0 shenandoahslammer 1 907028 I've always been partial to Chadwick's in Georgetown (near the new movie theatre on K Street & Wisconsin), though I haven't eaten there in years. Not everyone agrees with me -- but I love Quarterdeck, on teh other side of Route 50 from Rosslyn. The burgers are tasty but their specialty is crabs. Lost Dog Cafe on Washington Blvd. b/w Arlington and Falls Church has unbelieveably good pizza and sandwiches (nearly 60 of 'em!) but they have a 2- or 3-drink minimum. Front Page in Dupont Circle is another great place to kill a few hours on Sunday afternoon ... and the food is pretty decent to boot. Other ideas: Fox & Hounds and Townhouse Tavern -- both are in the 17th Street corridor b/w P and R streets. chris Tue Jan 20 18:31:17 -0800 2004 906972 0 phoodphyx 2 907029 'unbelievably good pizza" at Lost Dog cafe? You're right, I don't believe it. Last time I was there, my pizza cooked on a conveyer belt in a tiny machine (like they cook the burgers at Burger King.) They are usually underdone. Certainly the bottom crust is 'doughy.' Tue Jan 20 18:42:33 -0800 2004 907028 0 Steve 3 907035 I've had 2 decent pizzas there but the one I had last week was terrible. The mushrooms were canned! I wonder if a lot of people use the conveyor belt oven because that would explain a lot of rubbery crusts. Wish everyone would at least put in a Sbarro's like pizza oven. Tue Jan 20 20:31:05 -0800 2004 907029 0 Suki 4 907049 That's surprising that you both have had bad pizza experiences at Lost Dog ... I've always found their pizza, while not NY-style authentic by any stretch, to have good-quality ingredients and be perfectly browned on top. Of course maybe that's the Samuel Smith ale talking ... :^) chris Wed Jan 21 09:21:52 -0800 2004 907035 0 phoodphyx 5 907236 Conveyorbelt, conshmayorbelt. Lost Dog Cafe is great. It's all about personal taste. I've never been a big fan of NY style pizza, and think that anyone that believe pizza parlors should strive to more sbarro-like clearly is eating hallucinogenic mushroms on his/her pizza. what's wrong with canned mushrooms? i personally recommend requesting all feta cheese in place of mozzarella. ...excellent, and they don't chargre extra if you ask politely. Unfortunately, i don't think this place lends to the pub atmosphere. Fri Jan 23 12:34:14 -0800 2004 907049 0 microwave15 6 907275 Of course, taste is completely subjective. There is no right or wrong. Post what you like, and if others agree or disagree, that's fine too. Only time will tell how dedicated a Chowhound you are or how seriously people will take your suggestions. You like canned mushrooms on your pizza, and you are not ashamed to say it! My reference to the conveyor belt pizza oven, which they used the last time I was there (years ago), was to show Chowhounds what kind of pizza they make and give them the fact that the bottom comes out soft and doughy. If this is the kind of pizza you like, great. Also, many people do not understand references to NY-style pizza. Sbarro is not a Chowhound ideal, nor does it define NY style pizza. Have you tried Vace in Cleveland Park? One bite of their pizza will give you an idea of what a Chowhound pizza tastes like (though I would classify it as a New Jersey tomato pie). Fri Jan 23 17:23:15 -0800 2004 907236 0 Steve 2 907053 for the record, Lost Dog imposes a 3-drink MAXIMUM. just order the Delirium Tremens. look for the pink elephants on the bottle Wed Jan 21 10:19:47 -0800 2004 907028 0 Jamie D 3 907142 Whoops, thanks for catching the error (re: 3-drink maximum, not minimum). Beer drinkers @ Lost Dog should also make sure to ask about prices when ordering ... I once had to pay $10 for a single bottle that wasn't particular hard to find. chris Thu Jan 22 13:00:03 -0800 2004 907053 0 phoodphyx 4 907727 The Log Dog pisses me off for twp reasons. First, as someone pointed out, they do not list the beer prices. Some of their beers are grossly overpriced. Second, they use cheater pints, i.e. 14 oz. "pint" glasses. And that's 14 oz. if filled to the brim. Sun Feb 01 15:53:17 -0800 2004 907142 0 Bruce Reistle 5 907729 Alas, the "short pint" is the bar industry standard in the US. With a nice creamy head, you're getting maybe 10 or 11 ounces of beverage. Sucks, doesn't it? Sun Feb 01 16:57:47 -0800 2004 907727 0 flavrmeistr 5 907741 Just curious, but how did you happen to determine they weren't full pints? Do they call them pints? If not, then they aren't cheaters. Sun Feb 01 21:04:09 -0800 2004 907727 0 Jim Dorsch 6 908577 I don't recall if they called the glasses of draught beer "pints" or not. If not, then technically they are not cheating. But in spirit, the $5 glass of beer is usually 16 oz if filled to the brim. But I concluded they were serving cheater pints by ordering a glass of Shakespeare Stout, then following it with a 12 oz bottle. The bottle nearly filled the glass to the rim. Either the bottle was grossly overfilled, or the glass held no more than 14 oz. Sun Feb 15 08:16:33 -0800 2004 907741 0 Bruce Reistle 7 908579 Very clever! Several years ago I looked into a situation in California where the local weights and measures folks were clamping down on bars, which in this case were selling supposed pints that weren't. Some bars changed their choice of words; others got amply sized glassware and started serving true pints. I suspect there are many short measures out there. If you do the math, a half-bbl of beer, ignoring spillage, etc, yields 123 14-oz beers, 108 16-oz beers or 90 Imperial pints. The difference adds up to a lot of extra money on each keg. Sun Feb 15 09:39:14 -0800 2004 908577 0 Jim Dorsch 4 907739 What beer cost you $10? The fact that it wasn't hard to find doesn't mean it wasn't worth $10. Sun Feb 01 20:59:38 -0800 2004 907142 0 Jim Dorsch 1 907048 It's a bit of a hike from Arlington, but the food at the Old Brogue in Great Falls is terrific. Especially the Irish specialties: fish and chips, shephards pie, etc. The wings and burgers are pretty great too. Wed Jan 21 09:20:50 -0800 2004 906972 0 foodie in lawyer's clothing 2 907290 I was wondering when someone would recommend the Old Brogue. It's excellent and a perfect choice for what you're looking for. Just come straight out Glebe Road to 193 and keep getting up. You might even do some house hunting along the way! Fri Jan 23 21:48:46 -0800 2004 907048 0 Joe H. 1 907060 In the same office building in Ballston as the Rio Grande cafe is Gaffney's Oyster House. While not particularly notable for its food, it is a comfortable bar/restaurant that has a decent selection of raw bar oysters and the usual seafood selection. It also has brunch choices, though I've never been for that. Wed Jan 21 11:04:18 -0800 2004 906972 0 jkdc 1 907080 How about the Dubliner by Union Station. Food is fine and the beer are cold. It's a classic pub. Link: http://www.americascuisine.com/dc/dublinermenu.html Wed Jan 21 14:01:47 -0800 2004 906972 0 Free Wilma 1 907128 Pub Food, I like to kill time at Ireland's Four Courts in Courthouse. The beer and food is decent at Rock Bottom as well. If you go to Gaffney's get the Guiness Stew (serious pub food). Boulevard Woodgrill is not your typical pub but the food is great and it has that home cooked feel, get the Meatloaf its awesome. Thu Jan 22 10:09:43 -0800 2004 906972 0 oceanpt 1 907239 10-15 miles!!! alrighty, I have a few: In Alexandria, I recommend Murphy's and Bugsy's. Murphy's is an Irish Pub on King Street one block west of S. Washington St. (GW Parkway). Bugsy's sports bar is owned by a former Cap (and Redwing), it's closer to the riverfront on King Street...the food is classic Italian-American. In DC, I love going to Kelly's Irish Times, which right next to the Dubliner (Union Station area). It's a great little dive, and your $$$ go further. I also liked Nanny O'Brian's on Connecticut Ave. (Clevelend Park metro) they often have live music, like most of the Irish pubs. Other NOVA spots? 4 Provinces in Fairfax is great. Four Courts is my neighborhood, i like it, but breathing rooms is usually at a premium. That and I like to explore, which is what I guess you are looking to do. Fri Jan 23 12:54:53 -0800 2004 906972 0 microwave15 1 907249 One place that has a piece of pub atmosphere is Kate's Irish Pub in Central Springfield. The cigarette smoke is so strong that it's hard to see, and when you leave you reek. The food is OK, not special. My wife liked the fish and chips (before we decided the smoke was just too much). They have daily specials which are cheap. Fri Jan 23 14:32:04 -0800 2004 906972 0 Bill