The Queen Vic

The British get a lot of grief for their cuisine. While it may not be the pinnacle of avant-garde, gastronomic glory, there is a place in everyone's life for the belly-warming comfort of pub fare. When the temperature drops, my desire for heartier food skyrockets. The Queen Vic on H Street NE filled the need perfectly.

Our friends M and A introduced us to The Queen Vic. They happen to be very adventurous eaters and like the parts of animals that make lots of people (including me) a bit squeamish. Always willing to try something once, I encouraged them to order the appetizers.

To start, we tried the pan seared chicken livers served on toast. Luckily, this dish tasted much more like chicken than like liver and I liked the rich, creamy flavor contrasted with the flaky bread. Looks appetizing, right? Ok, it tasted better than it looks.

To add some ruffage to the party, we tried the beet salad. A nice rendition of the classic beet, goat cheese, nut concoction that graces nearly every menu in town these days.

Back over in the "I'm going to act like a grown-up and try this" department, where we have the white anchovies on toast (left) and the beef heart tartare (right). The anchovies went down easily and I was pleasantly surprised that they weren't overtly fishy. I'd even go as far as saying I enjoyed them. The beef heart tartare is another story. Try as I might, I can't get over the fact that I'm eating raw cow organ. If you're an organ meat person, this is probably really amazing.

In his quest to eat every poor little lamb on the planet, B ordered the lamb three ways. It was a special for the evening and B loved every bite of the mutton majesty.

I ordered the fish 'n' chips which, in addition to being delicious, was HUGE. My sister (that's her hand in the photo...say hello!) and A also ordered the fish 'n' chips and it proved to be much more food than we could handle. Very delicious but probably more suited for sharing.

Not only were we treated to great food in the company of the best of friends, our Irish waiter was absolutely phenomenal. He struck just the right balance of joking revelry and good, attentive service. He also gave us free after-dinner shots of ginger ale and Jameson. Two nights later, as we had a drink at The Pug down the street while waiting for a table at Toki, we were thrilled to see him there tending bar. He remembered us (or at least very kindly pretended he did) and treated us to another round of Jameson.

I really liked the atmosphere at The Queen Vic and the food and drink selection is solid enough that we look forward to our next visit and our next chat with the affable Irishman.

Second Thoughts from B

It doesn't take too long to figure out that DC is a drinking town. Between networking socials, staffer-filled happy hours, and the great public transportation (as LA transplants, we love having the option of using Metro), folks in the district love their booze. But since a bottle of DC Brau tastes the same anywhere, a friendly beer man and quality food can make all the difference.

While I don't crave organ meats, I certainly appreciate them when prepared by a skilled chef. Who would think that a British pub cook would be that person? As for a dish that I do crave, the fish 'n' chips hit the spot. Is there a better plate of food to accompany a foamy pint? I think not. Oh, and the lamb was pretty awesome too.

Pacci's Neapolitan Pizzeria

What do you do when you find yourself in an unknown far away kingdom like, say, Silver Spring, and you need a place to eat in a hurry? You could always go with the safe (if unexciting) bets of Potbelly or Chipotle, or put your fate in the hands of the legion of online reviewers on sites like Yelp or Urbanspoon.

We generally choose the latter option, but this is the sort of situation where my uncanny ability to recall restaurants that I've read about comes in handy. I can't do math, I sometimes forget to pack all of my clothes in my gym bag, but if you need to know the name of that restaurant that Tom Sietsema recommended in Elkridge, Maryland, I'm your gal. B is partly amused by it and partly freaked out. We'll be driving through random towns and he'll ask where we should eat and I'll blurt out the name of some place that I read about in some blog or newspaper 4 years ago.

This rambling back story is provided to convey how we ended up eating at Pacci's Neapolitan Pizzeria in Silver Spring. We needed a place to eat before an Ultimate game, and suddenly I remembered people saying great things about Pacci's.

My sister was visiting from LA and we did not want to waste a single meal of her trip on something average. Luckily, the neopolitan pies at Pacci's enjoyed on their sunny patio were far from a wasted effort.

They weren't the most jump up and down amazing pizzas we've ever had but they were solidly in the upper second tier of DC pizzadom. My sister, always the adventurous one, tried the tronchetti, which is basically a pizza wrap. Very unique and fun to try, but I think the lid fell off the top of the oregano shaker. This baby was completely drowning in the Italian herb, and it sadly overpowered the otherwise very fresh and flavorful ingredients. Swing and a miss for Team Tronchetti.

We're not going to make the trek to Silver Spring just to eat at Pacci's but if you're in the area and want a satisfying lunch, we'd recommend stopping in.

Second Thoughts from B

I married the restaurant Rain Man. "Yeah, Tom liked Pacci. Liked the pizza. Hot oven. 870 degrees. Georgia Ave. 8113." To mix movie references, she is a little scary sometimes. Brilliant... but scary.

Unfortunately, her super power didn't save her sister from the tronchetti. In addition to the oregano explosion, the process of eating it resulted in sauce oozing everywhere and turning an otherwise good idea into a sloppy mess.

However, for those of us that got the pizza, it was similar to many of my favorites. Great dough and quality ingredients. Add a quiet patio and one of the last warm days of the year, and B was a happy boy.

Ren's Ramen

I've been on a serious ramen kick lately. From Toki Underground to People's Noodle Bar, I can't get enough. When Tom Sietsema's Fall Dining Guide was released, I scanned the pages for a new place to fill my noodle needs. Luckily, Tom recommended Ren's Ramen in the far away land of Wheaton.

It just so happens that our Ultimate Frisbee team plays frequently in Wheaton. While B would rather drive straight home after a game to shower, stretch, and watch TV, I appreciate that he went along with my zany post-game noodle plan.

Thank goodness Ren's Ramen is casual because we definitely were not sporting our Sunday best. They didn't bat an eye as we took a seat in the small restaurant in our jerseys and shorts.

If the name sounds familiar, Ren's used to be located in the Daruma Japanese Market in Bethesda, but closed that location and opened the Wheaton location earlier this year.

We started things off with the only appetizer on the menu: a five piece set of juicy pork gyoza (dumplings). They were good but have already run together in my mind with the zillions of other gyoza we've had. Nothing particularly memorable about them.

The special ramen of the day was a spicy miso ramen. I love spicy almost as much as I love noodles, so I was all over it. To kick things up a few notches, I ordered extra ramen and a seasoned boiled egg from the list of "add ons."

From the standard menu, B ordered the Sapporo-style Miso Ramen with extra ramen and the daily special add on... pork belly.

Both bowls of ramen were fantastic. The broth was well-seasoned and the noodles had a distinctly chewy texture, which held up well in the bubbling bath of pork broth. For me, the addition of bean sprouts is a bit of a drawback, but B liked the texture contrast they provided. We thought it a bit odd that the "extra" ramen came out on a plate on the side instead of in the bowl. By the time I got my bowl empty enough to add more ramen, the noodles had stuck together into a tangled mass.

The portions were definitely large enough without the extra noodles. I ended up taking half of my ramen home for lunch the next day.

While I've loved all the ramen we've been eating lately, if you forced me to rank them I would say:

1. Toki Underground


2. Ren's Ramen


3. People's Noodle Bar

Anyone have a suggestion for a fourth place to add to our rotation?

Second Thought from B

Last time we wrote about ramen I equated a bowl of noodles to sex and marriage. I'm going to keep it a little more tame this time but that doesn't mean I'm less enthusiastic about Ren's Ramen.

Two things come to mind when I reflect on our trip to Ren's. First, the texture of the noodles. Everyone's preference is a bit different but in my humble noodle-eating opinion, these noodles found the perfect balance of soft and chewy. The second thing I remember would be the amount of noodles. After bringing out a sizeable bowl of ramen that was not wanting for anything, the extra plate of noodles showed up. This was a comically large amount of food that would make Lady and the Tramp proud.

So if I can play Dr. Frankenstein for a moment, here's my perfect bowl of ramen. Ren's chewy noodles, People's heart-warming broth, and the creative zing of Toki's spices and add ons. But since we don't have to choose one, I'm thrilled to have 3 fantastic options!

Black and Orange

In June 2010, we wrote about a newish burger place called Rogue States. We loved the novel concept of taking the bold flavors and placing them inside the burger patty instead of on top. Rogue States branded itself as the "burger grilling company," and it was that grilling part that got them in a bit of trouble. It seems that their exhaust system was venting burger grilling fumes into the law firm offices of Steptoe & Johnson. The firm did what law firms do best and sued, claiming the fumes were making their employees sick. A judge ordered the grilling to stop, and Rogue States closed their doors in October 2010. We were bummed, but drowned our sorrows in the meaty offerings of the many other burger joints in town.

Happily, Rogue States, now called "Black and Orange," reopened this summer in the same space after installing a $90,000 ventilation system. The place looks the same and the burgers taste just as great.

We welcomed them back by ordering a couple of burgers and some sweet potato fries. My Square One burger with sea salt and black pepper cooked into the patty was a wonderful take on the classic burger. I love that you can order a smaller burger (on the left in the photo) that allows you to save some room for the sweet potato fries. B silently and quickly devoured his "No Burger, No Cry" burger cooked with house jerk blend, red onion, and habanero peppers in the patty. This burger was not as spicy as advertised and had more of a sweet/tangy flavor than a mouth-burning fire.

Welcome back Black and Orange. We certainly didn't need another burger joint but we're happy you're back among the very crowded field.

Second Thoughts from B

One year, one law suit, one expensive vent, and one name change later, I still love the Rogue States/Black and Orange concept. Better yet, I love the execution. It could be said that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same and thank goodness for that.

With Ray's and Good Stuff leading the way, DC has become quite the burger-loving city. Add BBP and Black and Orange, and you've got a nice list of top tier options, not to mention the old standby, Five Guys. That Black and Orange features an interesting and flavorful twist on the typical American staple, will certainly help it stand out... as long as they stay in the kitchen rather than the courtroom.