Sunday for dinner my lovely wife and I went to Mackeys on 23rd Street. Mackeys is not on the block between Eads and Fern, but is on the West side of Jefferson Davis Hwy on 23rd Street. Mackeys is a Public House in the Irish tradition so that is where I wanted to take my wife next. Being a Sunday evening it was not overly crowded (us and a couple of others) so we had the opportunity to relax and enjoy our dinner. We ordered the Shepherd's Pie - my wife had always wanted to try it and I wanted to compare it with the Shepherd's Pie I had eaten in Colonial Williamsburg.
It was a true Shepherd's Pie and the best I have ever had. Shepherd's Pie was designed to be a "refrigerator cleanout" type of dish, and this was it and more. We both enjoyed the dish, served with Irish dark bread and a glass of good wine. This was the type of dish we will eat again in Alaska when the temp is below zero outside and your need something to warm your insides. It was that good.
Seriously, if you are ever by the DC area, you have got to wonder down to Crystal City to enjoy the culinary treats along 23rd Street in Arlington!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday Lunch
For lunch on Sunday I ventured back to 23rd Street between Eads and Fern in Crystal City and had lunch at La Bettola Italiano. This is another small, quaint place which is decorated in the Tuscan style, so I tried the Baked Manocotti with Sausage and the house Chianti. It took a while for the manocotti to come out (considering I was the only customer in the place), but I enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and sipping on my Chianti. Almost immediately I was served a salad (small but tasty) and a loaf of what I call Tuscan Bread. Both were delicious, and I had to convince myself to save some of the bread for the main course.
When the main course came out, I could smell it before I saw it and it smelled fabulous. One taste of the manocotti and cheese filling and I knew I had not had anything this good since Naples. The sausage (unlike the pizza sausage on Saturday) was a mild blend of meats that accented the manocotti perfectly. And the chianti was the best I have had in a long time.
This is another place worth the visit if you are ever in the DC area!
When the main course came out, I could smell it before I saw it and it smelled fabulous. One taste of the manocotti and cheese filling and I knew I had not had anything this good since Naples. The sausage (unlike the pizza sausage on Saturday) was a mild blend of meats that accented the manocotti perfectly. And the chianti was the best I have had in a long time.
This is another place worth the visit if you are ever in the DC area!
Saturday Nied ght Dinner
On Saturday night my lovely wife and I walked back up to 23rd Street (between Eads and Fern) in Crystal City and ate at Cantina Mexicana. We were hailed off the street by the greeter who invited us to come in for "the best food on the block". Being fond fans of Mexican fare (from living in El Paso and Southern Cali) we gladly accepted the offer. We both wish we had not. The atmosphere was good and the place was certainly living up to it's name, until the food was served. The best thing on the plate was the frijoles, after that it was all decidedly bland. I ordered the Durango Plater which was two enchiladas and a tamale. The enchiladas were bland (plenty of meat and sauce, just no spice - at all) and the tamale looked like it was made with a little old lady with arthritic hands. I thought they had left it off the plate, but found it hiding under the beans. I take pills for my heart bigger than the tamale was in size.
Score - one star, and that is for the greeter who is successful in pulling numerous touristas off the street.
Score - one star, and that is for the greeter who is successful in pulling numerous touristas off the street.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Culinary Journey
This week my lovely wife is engaged in a residential colloquim for school at the Hyatt Regency in Alexander, Virginia. I have tagged along as companion, confidant, cohort, consol and comforter, as is appropriate. Since she is engaged most days from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. or later, that leaves me to my own devices for Lunch. Fortunately for me there is 23rd Street, just past Eads headed away from the Jefferson Davis Hwy. For a block, you have, on both sides of the street, a cornucopia of eating establishments that are best described as "Mom and Pop" meaning they are not a part of a chain restaurant. To this street I have dedicated my stomach to travel every day at lunch to sample the various fares, and to report on them here.
Yesterday was the Pizzaiolo. Featured in the June 2008 Washingtonian's "100 Best Bargain Restaurants", the Pizzaiola features stone cooked pizza, among other tantelizingly sounding pasta and sandwich dishes. While there I had the Diavala Pizza which is a New York style pizza featuring sun dried tomatoes and hot Italian sausage. Having eaten my way across more than one continent, I can attest to the variety of "hot Italian sausages" that exist, but was willing to give this one a try.
When the pizza arrived, it was as tantelizing to the eyes and nose as it sounded. A paper-thin, properly cooked crust topped with an aromatic blend of sauce, cheeses and sausage made the waiting worth while. On my first taste of the pizza I thought that I had eaten hotter sausage before, but then my hair folicles started to tingle and I knew I was in for a real taste treat. With my second bite my forehead started to pop out in sweat, and my sinuses achieved a new sensation of clarity. This was no ordinary sausage pizza!
Topped off with a local amber ale and a tall glass of ice water I am hoping that sometime during this week I will go back. If my wife has to come to Alexander again for another such event, I know I will be back. If you find yourself within a 50 mile radius of Alexander, Virginia, head on down to Jefferson Davis Hwy, close to the Ronald Regan Airport, and turn up-hill on 23rd Street. On the corner of 23rd and Eads you will find the Pizzaiolo, and it will be worth the trip!
Yesterday was the Pizzaiolo. Featured in the June 2008 Washingtonian's "100 Best Bargain Restaurants", the Pizzaiola features stone cooked pizza, among other tantelizingly sounding pasta and sandwich dishes. While there I had the Diavala Pizza which is a New York style pizza featuring sun dried tomatoes and hot Italian sausage. Having eaten my way across more than one continent, I can attest to the variety of "hot Italian sausages" that exist, but was willing to give this one a try.
When the pizza arrived, it was as tantelizing to the eyes and nose as it sounded. A paper-thin, properly cooked crust topped with an aromatic blend of sauce, cheeses and sausage made the waiting worth while. On my first taste of the pizza I thought that I had eaten hotter sausage before, but then my hair folicles started to tingle and I knew I was in for a real taste treat. With my second bite my forehead started to pop out in sweat, and my sinuses achieved a new sensation of clarity. This was no ordinary sausage pizza!
Topped off with a local amber ale and a tall glass of ice water I am hoping that sometime during this week I will go back. If my wife has to come to Alexander again for another such event, I know I will be back. If you find yourself within a 50 mile radius of Alexander, Virginia, head on down to Jefferson Davis Hwy, close to the Ronald Regan Airport, and turn up-hill on 23rd Street. On the corner of 23rd and Eads you will find the Pizzaiolo, and it will be worth the trip!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Interesting Angst
Yesterday afternoon my lovely wife and I went to the movies and saw "Julie & Julia". It was a delightful movie which I will certainly buy as soon as it is released on DVD. Watching the movie there is a scene where Julia Child (Meryl Streepe) is frustrated over the amount of time she has spent on her cookbook with no results and she laments about, "spending eight years of my life because I wanted something to do". It is a poignant moment where she wonders if she has been wasting her time over something because she just didn't want to be bored.
As a human being, but I guess most notably a male of that specie, I often wonder if I have been wasting my time doing "things" because I just didn't want to be bored. I believe we all have the need to feel that something beyond ourselves will last beyond ourselves. The innate need to be creative and know that what we create will stand the test of time. Have I done anything worthy of note, or have I just facilitated others to achieve things worthy of note? More importantly, is the facilitation of others worthy of note?
These are questions which I shall never know the answer to, for how can you know the answer to transcendent questions when you are finite in nature?
It poses and interesting angst...
As a human being, but I guess most notably a male of that specie, I often wonder if I have been wasting my time doing "things" because I just didn't want to be bored. I believe we all have the need to feel that something beyond ourselves will last beyond ourselves. The innate need to be creative and know that what we create will stand the test of time. Have I done anything worthy of note, or have I just facilitated others to achieve things worthy of note? More importantly, is the facilitation of others worthy of note?
These are questions which I shall never know the answer to, for how can you know the answer to transcendent questions when you are finite in nature?
It poses and interesting angst...
Saturday, August 15, 2009
New Book
I have been reading a new book lately entitled, "The Innovator's Prescription" - a work by Clayton Christensen, one of my favorite authors. This book looks at the ongoing debate over the reform of health care and makes some really startling and informative statements. I am using the book as a reference work for a research paper I am working on, so the reading has taken on more intent than was original.
The basic problem, according to Christensen, is that we are using a "fee for service" basis for our government paid systems already (Medicare and Medicaid). This type of system means the more service you provide, the more you get paid, so anyone would certainly provide as much service as the law would allow. Additionally, we have hospitals ("solution shops" in Christensen's venacular) that are not only trying to do hospital work, but are also trying to do focused work and rules based medicine. When you have one organization trying to live up to three separate business models, inefficiencies abound.
It is a great book, and puts a whole new twist onto the debate over health care reform. One point is clear, according to Christensen, that government will never be able to reform health care, and it should not even try.
Get the book, read it and start your own little revolution.
The basic problem, according to Christensen, is that we are using a "fee for service" basis for our government paid systems already (Medicare and Medicaid). This type of system means the more service you provide, the more you get paid, so anyone would certainly provide as much service as the law would allow. Additionally, we have hospitals ("solution shops" in Christensen's venacular) that are not only trying to do hospital work, but are also trying to do focused work and rules based medicine. When you have one organization trying to live up to three separate business models, inefficiencies abound.
It is a great book, and puts a whole new twist onto the debate over health care reform. One point is clear, according to Christensen, that government will never be able to reform health care, and it should not even try.
Get the book, read it and start your own little revolution.
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