Old School Clambake at the Army-Navy Country Club

A couple Fridays ago, we met G's parents at the Army Navy Country Club for one of their themed dinner nights. It's old school. Not luxurious or swanky. But definitely sweet. It's actually one of the best kept DC secrets. Located in Arlington, near Pentagon City, it has great views of downtown DC and the monuments...

On this night the theme was an island-style clambake. We got cute little "beggars purses" filled with clams, mussels, polish sausage, and vegetables. Though not the best quality stuff, it was fun to eat.

There were funny little details including a fire pit for s'mores and a steel drum band!

The dessert bar was nice. It had all the staples of summer, including watermelon, cookies, brownies, and make-your-own sundaes. Again, very basic.
But the best part was the s'mores that we made by roasting marshmallows over the fire pit. I hart campy. Literally, like camp.

Good view, okay eats. Not too bad. And if you squint a little, you'd almost convince yourself you're on a beach somewhere.

Food Advice Fridays: Priorities - Wine or Meal?

In this edition of Food Advice Friday, reader, Cary, asks:


"Cost and availability of ingredients aside, when planning a special meal, is it best to tailor the menu around a particular wine choice, or to choose the wine based on the menu?"

Dear Cary,

When is cost and availabililty of ingredients ever an "aside"? Parameters are always part of the equation. No, life's not fair. But I like parameters, they force me to be imaginative and resourceful. But having said all that, I find that it's more exciting to create a fanciful menu and then find the wine that will go with it than the other way around. I find that - for me anyway - doing the other way around is a bit limiting. Hmm what should I serve with this bold, earthy red? Beef. I get so uninspired by this scenario. But when I'm given an open-ended option to create a menu, that's what I prefer.



Anwho, to answer your quorschun, generally speaking, I plan special meals around the food (not the wine). G is the wine maven in our home, and he selects wine(s) based on the menu. It's secondary. Rarely is it the case that we plan ingredients around the wine. That's too complicated for us lazy amateurs. Even when we have our oenophile friends over bringing with them amazing bottles, we plan the dinner first and then let the chips fall where they may in terms of the drink. There is, I will say, occasionally some tweaking in terms of the cheese/dessert course and the wine. If we know someone is bringing, say a Muscat, we'll serve a blue...something like that. But that's as far as I go with it. We shoot for the most brilliant pairing, but again, the food comes first.

Source

And again having said all that, we're looking for an occasion to drink our most prized bottles. We haven't found it yet. I imagine that we'll drink the Chateau Mouton Rothschild with a Papa John's pizza - because it's that good and it doesn't matter what we eat with it. And we like contrasts.

Source

Food Advice Fridays: Date Night

I'm introducing a new series: Advice Fridays. Ask me anything related to food, where to eat, or what to serve your new boy/girlfriend/spouse/summer fling for dinner.

Email me at roganista@gmail.com to, seriously, ask anything!

The first query comes from a friend about date night with her husband:

hi !

need some help... i told [my husband] that i would plan 'date night' tonight and i haven't a clue where to go. i was hoping for a place w/ outdoor seating but that seems to be hard to find (w/ good food). have you ever been to central michel richard? how about zola? got any new suggestions? even if it's not outside... something bright, cheerful and tasty? thanks so much!

xo,

J

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Dear J,

Well, we've been to Central, and aren't big fans. It's okay, but the downtown location isn't fun times. Do you want something relaxed/fun or elegant?

My favorite place in the neighborhood that DOES have outdoor dining is Hank's Oyster bar. But it's really casual. Like flip flops at the Cap (Cod) casual. They don't take reservations, but the wait may not be that bad, since you can linger at the bar.

Also, I love CASHION'S Eat Place! They have outdoor seating. The food is great and it's very popular, but not over-run (like say, Lauriol Plaza).

I do like Zola a lot. They have a chic dining room, elegant/delicious/accessible menu. And their bar area also has dining, albeit a bit more relaxed. Their signature drinks are really fun (try the White Knight). The food is generally great. This might be your best bet.

There are other options in the Gallery Place neighborhood. Poste is one of our favorites. How about Proof for some nice wine and charcuterie? Good luck, and have fun!

Roganista

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Update:

[Dear Roganista]:

thanks so much for the suggestions... we went to zola and it was simply delicious! we actually thought about taking pictures of the food to send to you. ;) we ate way too much and decided to walk off the yummy dinner. we had the most romantic walk to the white house, washington monument and WWII memorial. it was such a beautiful night! thanks again for your help!

xoxo,

j

*for my previous post about Zola, read here.