Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food

We Love Food: A Look at Medium Rare

Photo courtesy of Plantains & Kimchi
service @ Medium Rare, Cleveland Park
courtesy of Plantains & Kimchi

I’ve wanted to try Medium Rare ever since it opened earlier this year but, for some reason I rarely make it north of Dupont Circle. However, I managed to make it to the steak-frites restaurant twice before I decided to write it up.

Simple concepts can be executed nicely and Medium Rare almost hits the mark. As you might already know, the restaurant’s menu is based around one main dish: steak frites. Unfortunately, it’s nothing to write home about as the steak’s sauce was forgettable. While the concept of Medium Rare is excellent, it’s hard to compete with many other places in DC that do a better steak frites.

I did like the restaurant’s décor–it’s dark, fun and energetic. The restaurant has a great vibe and is a good spot for a variety of occasions, whether you go for a casual date, with a group of friends, or with family. Medium Rare is a nice neighborhood place and always seems crowded.
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The Daily Feed

This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Open!

Two new places opened up on H Street this week, and they’re sure to be favorites for residents and other Washingtonians. For less than $9 you can get a full plate of stir-fry at Khan’s Bar and Grill. It’s not fancy, but it works, and well at that. Just on the next block is the ramen and dumpling house, Toki Underground.  Of course, expect late hours for both.

Medium Rare also opened up this week with its minimalist menu. Pay $19.50 and you’ll get a prix-fixe menu of rustic bread, a mixed greens salad and a Sirloin Steak with fries. The Cleveland Park restaurant comes to us from Mark Bucher of BGR The Burger Joint.

Coming!

Best Bites has some great news for meat lovers out there. To be exact, “a large, USDA-certified commissary for processing locally raised meat that will be sold on-location, to venues in the parent Neighborhood Restaurant Group, and eventually to a string of Red Apron butcheries in Maryland, Virginia, and the District.” What that mouthful means is that you will soon be able to get pastrami short ribs, summer sausage, smoked jowl rillettes, wild-boar salami, and more at a brick and mortar.

Winner

Mike Isabella of the coming up Graffiato took second place in Top Chef, edged out by Richard Blais.  So yet again, a Washingtonian makes it so far and doesn’t grab the title. That’s okay. Congraulations!

This weekend

It’s time for ARTINI 2011. You can read our drinks roundup here, here, and here. This Saturday mixologists from 12 of the city’s top venues will serve up artistic martinis inspired by works from the Corcoran Collection. If you wanted to go, but don’t have a ticket, you’re out of luck because the event is sold out. But I still can’t wait to find out who wins!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

Who We Missed: More Restaurants Opening in 2011

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Photo Courtesy Pound Coffee

Since I first put together Part 1 and Part 2 of restaurants opening in 2011, I’ve been bombarded by emails reminding me of yet even more restaurants coming up. We’re working on a tool that will enable us (and therefore you!) to keep a better running list of the now 50-plus restaurants opening…but for now, here are some more hot-spots for you to look forward to this year in DC.

Station 4

Another reason that as a Navy Yard resident I’m getting more and more jealous of the Southwest Waterfront everyday – not only do they have a Safeway, but now a new restaurant called Station 4. Bullfeathers on Capitol Hill just reopened earlier this month under the same management behind Tunnicliff’s Tavern, Stoney’s, and Ulah Bistro. That same team is now bringing us this 4,000 square foot American bistro-style restaurant. Again, I love patio dining, and I love brunch on the weekends, so I will definitely be at Station 4.

1101 4th St. SW

Expected Arrival: ASAP

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Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, The Features

Eat Like Me: November’s Best Dishes

Photo courtesy of
‘Kushi 9225’
courtesy of ‘yospyn’

After last month’s time as a vegan, I felt this month I owed it to my grease-loving, carb-loading, over-eating side to indulge. And indulge I did. I ate more burgers and subs this month than I do in a normal calendar year, and I seriously think I’m better for it (though my cholesterol probably has something different to say about that). Two trips to Taylor Gourmet, where I learned that though I love an Italian hoagie, I am officially a cutlet hoagie girl, and a road trip full of gravy-loaded dinners made for a happy and not so healthy customer. Maybe next month will be better? Because December is such a great month for eating healthy, working out, and getting lots of sleep…or something…

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Food and Drink, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed

Happy Birthday Stephen Strasburg, I Ate A Burger For Ya!

We Love DC would like to wish Stephen Strasburg a happy birthday today. The Nationals phenom pitcher and San Diego native turns 22. Today he’s probably spending the day preparing for his start against the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow but I think he should relax, have some fun, and perhaps celebrate the way I did- by eating one of the many burgers in his namesake.

After a whole adventure on Twitter my fellow co-worker Laura Murphy and I got BGR: The Burger Joint to bring back their Strasburger: a cheeseburger topped with a hot-dog, cheese, and 14 pickles. Today we achieved the lifelong dream of eating the Strasburger and as Laura tweeted: it’s was exactly what a 2.03 ERA tastes like.

So Happy Birthday Stephen, may your future starts be victorious, strikeouts come a-plenty, and Strasbugers taste delicious.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

Looking For Some Post-Quake Relief? Half-Price Shakes At BGR!

So the big news story/joke today is the DC Quake– or lack there of. To fully understand the magnitude of the event I direct everybody to this Twitpic posted by Brightest Young Things:

Anyways to celebrate the seismic event BGR: The Burger Joint will be selling their milk shakes at half price ($2.50) today between 3-4 PM. When you visit check to see the Strasburger is back, after the weekend I’ll be visiting them to make sure they kept true to the promise they made to me earlier this week.

(h/t @aminatou)