Tag Archives: Georgetown

Bourbon Steak Lounge: Pulled Pork Pop-Tarts

Posted on by

Pop-tarts

Sure, Bourbon Steak Lounge is synonymous with face-melting, make-you-scream-for-your-momma-they’re-so-good burgers. Put it this way, we’d rather have a Bourbon Steak Lounge burger than stock in Shake Shack. But there’s something even better (and brand new) lurking on the lounge menu – The Best Thing on the Menu: Pulled Pork Pop-Tarts served with Carolina BBQ sauce and gherkins. 

Bourbon Steak Chef Joe Palma takes 20% of the fun out of it by explaining that pop-tarts are really just flat empanadas. He ruined our fantasy that these would would one day be available to purchase from Kellogg’s for daily, in-home consumption. Alas, to Bourbon Steak Lounge we’ll head for round after round of these warm, flaky wonders filled with bright yellow meatsies thanks to the mustard component of the sauce. Order them alongside an expertly crafted cocktail from bar genius Duane Sylvestre.

Burgers

Fortunately (like Kellogg’s) an order of pop-tarts only comes with two pastries, leaving you belly room to tackle one of those epic burgers we mentioned. Feel free to explore all of the options, but don’t overlook the original oak-fired prime steak burger with house pickles, cabot clothbound cheddar and secret sauce. The Korean barbeque burger packs a punch thanks to heat from kimchi and gochujang sauce. Just don’t expect a patty made from minced salmon. You get a whole salmon filet instead, eschewing dryness and creating an adorable juxtaposition of a rectangle tucked between two round buns.

Obviously, you’re also getting the duck fat fries with a trio of dipping sauces.

Bourbon Steak Lounge is located inside the Four Seasons Hotel Washington at 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. 

Pulled Pork Pop-Tarts not your BTM? Share your favorites in the comments section.

1789: Halibut Cheeks

Posted on by

1789 Halibut Cheeks

Smile, the Best Thing on the Menu at 1789 are Halibut Cheeks with Riesling Creamed Leeks, American Sturgeon Caviar and Crispy Leeks. These half-moons might look like fried pirogues, but they’re actually the very best part of the Alaskan fish.

Smile even wider sweet cheeks, because 1789 just announced that this summer (June 2- Sept 12) they will offer a deal every day except Saturdays. Choose ANY appetizer, entree and dessert for $45. We have departing deep-pocket Georgetown students and the Congressional recess to thank for this seemingly impossible price point.

1789 Lamb Shoulder

Chef Anthony Lombardo says he uses more lamb than any other restaurant in the city. One look at the lamb shoulder entree, which has as many wheels of lamb as a tricycle, and this factoid is no surprise. However, if you show up expecting this entree to be on the menu, you could be cruising for a bruising. The restaurant’s whole animal philosophy means a different lamb dish every night. After all, when was the last time you saw any animal with an endless supply of shoulders.

1789 Dessert

Finish the night with something over-the-top decadent from Pastry Chef Ryan Westover. There’s something special about a man covered nearly full-sleeves of Batman tattoos who can put together elegant dessert after elegant dessert like this Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie for Two. Doesn’t it look like some kind of dinosaur nest egg from Jurassic Park?

Halibut Cheeks not your BTM? Share your favorites in the comments section.

Stachowski Market: Pastrami Sandwich

Posted on by

Stachowski's Pastrami Sandwich

Just finished a marathon? Just woke up after a bachelor party? Training to challenge Takeru Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest? We have the perfect meal for you: The Best Thing on the Menu at Stachowski Market in Georgetown. Roll up your sleeves, bring some friends and try the Pastrami Sandwich: Thick slices of pastrami on pumpernickel w/mustard on rye. Taken to go, and all wrapped up, this sandwich has the girth of a regulation NFL football. They even  slip in some extra bread, knowing full well that you’ll be making sandwiches for days. Check out our leftovers?!

Leftovers!

The pastrami is smoky and salty and definitely needs to be paired with mustard. We heard it had been boiled over night and it’s served hotter than well, the Redskins season. Other tasty sandwishes (sandwiches you wish you were eating while you read this) include the 4 Meat Grinder, Turkey Club and Kielbasa.

This charming shop has some of the warmest service we’ve experienced in a while, and you can tell that they take pride in serving their products.  In addition to their 11 sandwiches they also have a charcuterie collection worth ogling, as well as meat ready to take home and cook including some exotics like venison T-bones. It’s an understatement to say that Jamie Stachowski is a master of meat.

Stachowski's Menu

Busy downtowners that don’t have time to cook dinner after a long day lobbying or setting things straight in Congress, can swing by Stachowski’s on their way home from work to pick up prepared meals to take home and enjoy. Recent meals have included Spaghetti Bolognaise: Smoky beef simmered with a merlot red wine sauce served with Caesar salad and Mojo Kabobs: Grilled, marinated chicken served over a bed of seasoned rice. Georgetown too far to schlep to Stachowski’s? You can pick up their products at area farmer’s markets.

Pastrami Sandwich not your BTM? Post your favorites in the comments section.

Bourbon Steak: Big Eye Tuna with Slow Cooked Pork

Posted on by

Bourbon Steak's Surf and Turf

Surf and turf has been a staple on steakhouse menus from London to Paris, Miami to LA ever since the 1960s when it first became a popular combo platter in the then fab “continental cuisine” style.

One of DC’s sexiest steakhouses, Bourbon Steak, has its own take on surf and turf that bends the traditional steak and shrimp or steak and lobster definition into something a lot more fun: seared ahi tuna and the ever-popular pork belly.

The Best Thing on the Menu: Big Eye Tuna with Slow Cooked Pork, Mango Ravioli, Young Coconut and Hijiki may come as a surprise to those expecting sirloin or one of Bourbon Steak’s specialties, beautifully marbled A5 Miyazaki Japanese Wagyu beef, to star as the BTM.

The top dish is a tropical storm to be reckoned with, laden with notes of coconut, lemongrass and mango. A foamy sea of white clouds cover the pork and tuna treasures hiding below. Surrounding the surf and turf proteins are perfect parcels of must-try mango ravioli.

Everything we tried was top notch. However, healthy eaters beware, you may intend to survive dinner at Bourbon Steak without destroying your diet, but out comes an amuse-bouche of three different kinds of fries with accompanying sinful sauces, followed by a skillet of adorable, swirly-knotted black truffle butter rolls. Sins were committed. Rules were broken.

Since we oddly opted for fish dishes (we also savored the rockfish) we’ll have to come back for some steaks, or at least the lobster pot pie.  As one final quick tip, Bourbon Steak is a great pre-theatre pick for those headed to the Kennedy Center to see Book of Mormon or other shows. If you’re going to have the “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” song stuck in your head all night, you might as well have it with a belly full of free fries.

Big Eye Tuna with Slow Cooked Pork not your BTM? Post your favorites in the comments section.