Quick Bites: Tractor Room

For brunch this morning, we walked over to a place called Tractor Room in Hillcrest.  We were fortunate enough to get seated almost immediately, because it was packed!

I feel I need to mention, if you're thinking of going here, that the portions are HUGE.  I mean, like really really big.  I'm not joking, here.

Here's the rundown:

-No No Pimm Pimm's (Pimm's cup with mint, cucumber, and something else I forget) was really tasty and refreshing
-Wild Boar Hash was delicious -- the pancetta really elevated the taste to a higher plane.  I didn't feel the eggs necessarily added much, but man, this was really really good
-Cornbread side was tasty, though perhaps a bit sweet for how I like my cornbread
-Fruit was so good!  Damn you, California, and your good fruit year-round!

I have breakfast for at least tomorrow and potentially Tuesday as well, out of the leftovers from the hash.  Seriously.

Quick Bites: Craft & Commerce

So, I'm in San Diego.

Last night for dinner, we were hoping to go to Stone Brewery, but were told there was a 2 hour wait.  We were already hungry, so headed to Craft & Commerce, in Little Italy.

Here's the rundown:

-Eastern Prospector (orance-spice-tea-infused bourbon, lemon, honey) was reeeally tasty
-Devils on Horseback (bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and bacon-wrapped apple+cheese slices) were deeelicious
-Mini corn dogs supposedly had bacon in them but were merely okay
-Mac and cheese had mushrooms and truffle oil, but wasn't great.  Merely okay
-Farmer's plate (veggies over quinoa) was good
-Fresh pickles were waaaaay too salty

It was super crowded, and pretty loud, so not an ideal atmosphere for catching up with friends.  The cocktails were better than the food.

Church & State, Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I was one of the first people through the door after the 7:30pm opening time of Church & State, the newest offering by Erik Holzherr on H St. NE.  I was expecting a large crowd of people, but was surprised to find only a handful of other patrons.  Perhaps they got confused because you have to go in the door for Fruit Bat and then go up the stairs, but I imagine that soon this bar will be busy every night.

My companion and I were early enough to snag two seats at the bar, and were handed menus by Josh, who was our bartender for the evening.  The menu is the "Bill of Rights", and lists 10 cocktails which are intended to be the core drinks that you always have the "right" to order.  There's also a page that lists all the liquors available, under the heading "Hymns", and Josh told us that he's developing a Seven Deadly Sins portion of the menu as well, which will have rotating specials (perhaps involving the Sriracha bottle we saw up behind the bar!).  Craft cocktails run between $10 and $12, and each item on the menu lists the ingredients in the drink, as well as providing a short description of the drink's history.

I have the unfortunate constraint that I cannot drink vodka, so I asked Josh what he recommended with no vodka, that wasn't super strong, but not too sweet either.  I was steered towards the Chuck Yeager or the Jack Rose, and picked the Yeager to start.  I'll fast-forward for you: over the course of the evening, I had the Chuck Yeager, the Jack Rose, a daquiri, and two off-menu drinks that are still in development, and I enjoyed every single cocktail.  Josh did a great job with my requests, which isn't surprising given his background; he's worked at Restaurant Eve, trained at PX under Todd Thrasher, and most recently tended bar at Wisdom, so he definitely has craft cocktail bona fides.  My friend ordered, among other things, the Old Fashioned (strong for my taste, but he thought it was great), and the Sazerac, which we both enjoyed.