The Roost DC

The Roost DC is a new "culinary clubhouse" in a 12,500-square-foot food hall located at Blackbird, a new 167 unit residential building perched on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and 14th on Capitol Hill. Developed and managed by local dining and drinking connoisseurs Neighborhood Restaurant Group in partnership with May Riegler, The Roost brings together a handful of the District’s best chefs along with a lively & diverse collection of the area’s most compelling food, beer, wine and spirits purveyors. Vendors opening now through Thanksgiving 2020. Closest Metro is Potomac Avenue. 

Backshore Brewing Company

Backshore Brewing Company is located right on the Ocean City Boardwalk. We stopped here for some brews and bites before the Fourth of July Fireworks, and it was super crowded with both locals and tourists alike. We sat on the patio at one of the high top tables so we had prime view of the people walking by. 

Bistro Jacob

Bistro Jacob is situated in the heart of Antwerp on the Sint Jacobs market near the large shopping street 'Meir'.  The interior is sleek with inspired baroque elements and where we ended up for dinner one evening.

Pelgrom

Pelgrom is a bar, café and restaurant in one, located in the most unique location in Antwerp at a stone's throw from the beautiful OLV Cathedral. Offering 24 draft beers and over 100 beers in bottles or cans, this place is a must visit for beer lovers of the world with a unique atmosphere that takes you back to the early 1400s.

De Rooden Hoed

De Rooden Hoed is the oldest restaurant in Antwerp and has a very rich history.  Located near the picturesque Handschoenmarkt and with the iconic cathedral, this newly renovated café offers many great seafood options, so we sat outside to enjoy some mussels and beer.

Travels to Oktoberfest in Munich

The 185th Oktoberfest in Munich was held September 22 - October 7, 2018.  Keith and I traveled to Bavaria, Germany for opening day of the world's largest Volksfest. Held annually, beer is not served on opening day until 12pm, after the parade ends and the first kegs are tapped.  Read more below of some of our tips and a photo recap of our time there.  Prost!

The Larder

The Larder offers creative international dishes and craft beers in an unusual brick walled space with framed wallpaper within the Temple Bar area of Dublin, Ireland.  After standing out in the rain to watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and then holding up in a crowded bar fighting to get a pint, we walked down the street to fill our bellies with some warm food.

Beer Dinner with Art & Soul and Ocelot Brewing Company

Craft beer is a passion, an obsession and a journey. Art and Soul, a restaurant in Capitol Hill that provides Southern comfort food with the same passion, recently teamed up with the Ocelot Brewing Company for a beer dinner on Friday, March 11.  Ocelot Brewing Company is located out near Dulles airport in VA and has been open for only 11 months now.  From hoppy, to malty, to sour, we took a trip through all the flavors of Ocelot beer accompanied by Executive Chef Douglas Alexander's comfort cuisine.

DC Brewery Tour

For Keith's birthday this year, I planned a local brewery tour to check out the latest trend of beer homegrown here in DC.  Since some of the locations are not that convenient to a Metro station, I highly suggest taking Lyft so you don't have to worry about drinking and driving.  Check out our photo recap below.

Brookland's Finest Bar & Kitchen

Located at the corner of 12th & Jackson in NE DC, Brookland's Finest Bar & Kitchen features classic American cuisine with a bistro flair. The kitchen features a seasonal menu with a variety of meals which highlight local, seasonal ingredients. Rotating specials and drinks specially crafted by the award-winning staff round out the menu. Closest Metro is Brookland-CUA.

Dacha Beer Garden

Dacha Beer Garden located in the Shaw neighborhood offers an inviting smoke-free garden setting with a carefully curated selection of world-class German, Belgian, and American craft beers along with wines, meads, ciders and other refreshments. The food menu gets its inspiration from traditional Bavarian beer gardens – hardy and tasty, but falls short with execution.  Closest Metro is Dupont Circle.

At Home: Bacon & Beer Bean Dip

People will bring all manner of dips to a party. There will be that unpleasant-looking but tasty spinach and faux-crab dip served in the  a bread bowl; there will be guacamole; there will be a tub of sour-cream-and-onion dip and a bag of potato chips; there will be a version of queso or taco dip.  All of these are perfectly tasty—the only real problem is that they were not original enough for Keith, who recently needed to bring a homemade dip to a work function.  So, he made his 'manly' version of a refried-bean dip called Bacon & Beer Bean Dip and shares it here on What Micky Eats...At Home.

Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine

Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine is a series of sophisticated culinary and beverage experiences hosted at all Park Hyatt locations. Through engaging and interactive events, area residents and visiting gourmands can engage with award-winning chefs, sommeliers, and specialists.  For Keith's birthday, I scored us tickets to the Froth, Fromage, & Fermentation class at Blue Duck Tavern.

American Ice Company

Named and modeled after what was built on the site around the turn of the century, the American Ice Company is a small comfortable bar and restaurant that serves a wide selection of beers and whiskeys ranging from every day easy drinking to craft/artisanal brewers and distillers. The menu highlights meats, vegetables, and ingredients from local purveyors.  Closest Metro is U Street.

Beer Meets Food: Negra Modelo

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Negra Modelo is #theperfectcomplement to good friends and good food.  Built to pair really well with a variety of flavors, the beer’s roasted caramel malts, combined with great local fare, create a fiesta of flavor that few other beers are able to stand up to.

At Home: Negra Modelo Slow-Braised Beef Short Ribs

Bravo’s Top Chef Masters. PBS’ Mexico–One Plate at a Time. James Beard award-winning restaurants. Chef Rick Bayless knows flavor and he recently partnered with Negra Modelo to feature some of his own recipes for their Beer Meets Food campaign.  For the main entree, I made his Negra Modelo Slow-Braised Beef Short Ribs and wanted to share with you...At Home.  This hearty dish is cooked in a crock-pot, so you can prep well before you party starts and let the machine do all the heavy lifting.  This recipe is the perfect way to infuse more beer into your menu, and it paired so well with the beef.

Hops & Pops

On Wednesday, August 20, Hill Center hosted Hops & Pops - a beer and popcorn tasting - which sounded too fun to pass up. Keith and I enjoyed nine unique craft beers from around the world that were paired with popcorn from Capitol Kettle Corn. A team of beer connoisseurs were on site to walk us through the different pairings and explain why these flavors work so well together.

International Beer Day at Piazza Beer Garden

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International Beer Day is celebrated on August 1. Chef Francesco Ricchi and DC Brau’s Brandon Skall invited us to kick off the festivities one day earlier at Piazza Beer Garden on Bethesda Row.  We were treated to complimentary beer and passed hors d’oeuvres while learning the ins and outs of brewing by DC’s beer expert Brandon Skall.

At Home: Belga Café Mussel Pots

Next on Restaurant Recreations...At Home, I tackle one of Belga Café’s most popular dishes - Mussel Pots. Lead by another Top Chef alum, Belgium native Chef Bart Vandaele, the melded rich culinary traditions of Belgium with the comfortable, relaxed attitude of Barracks Row has made this neighborhood gathering place a huge success. During last year's Barracks Row Culinary Education Crawl, Chef Thijs Clinckemaillie (who leads the kitchen at Chef Bart's newest restaurant in Logan Circle, B Too) demonstrated how to make these mussels.

Folk Gospoda

Folk Gospoda (the Folk Inn) is one of the oldest restaurants in Warsaw. Its history goes back to the 17th century, to a time when Grzybów (part of today's district of Warsaw called Wola) was the capital of trade and beer. This district, alone, was home to 28 breweries and local markets, which were a melting pot of cultures and nations.  Restored in 2004, Folk Gospoda is now a lively restaurant, whose atmosphere and hospitality attracts both locals and guests from all over the world looking for real Polish cuisine, natural food and authentic tastes.