Distrito

I wanted to check out this Garces restaurant. While dining with my friend Matt, we went to check out his Mexican tapas venture. The meal is good, but doesn't blow one away. To add to the average dining experience, the decor of the entire place is quite kitschy.

Even though the portions are pretty small, they're also pretty filling. The food doesn't come out as quickly as I'd like; dinner took about 90 minutes and we were often sitting without any food on the table.


Overall, the dishes are hit or miss. For the chips and guacamole, the chips were far too salty and I've had better guac from the grocery store. We ordered two ceviches, and neither were as acidic as they should be. I believe ceviche should have a noticeable citrus base, and the shrimp and octopus didn't really. I still enjoyed the octopus, but the shrimp is a miss.
Long time since I've been out to eat!

The fruit salad with lemon sorbet was pretty solid, and overall, the mains were good. The mahi tacos has great, slightly smokey flavor. The chorizo fundido is a cheesy mess that you place on small tortillas, again, pretty good. Scallops were great too.

The best part of the entire meal was the mushroom flatbread, and it's the only thing I ate that left a lasting impression. Dessert was fine but forgettable.



Beer here is disappointing. They have about five drafts, but two were kicked, and charging $6 for Dos Equis and a dollar less for Corona bottles is is huge stretch.

Bottom Line: The meal was pretty good, and the service was good too. I just can get better food at at better price a few other places. I enjoyed dinner but don't see myself ever visiting again.

Beer and Bacon Dinner with 20 Manning Grill and Dock Street Brewing

Dock street and 20 Manning teamed up for a special dinner featuring Dock Streets beer paired with a variety of pork products. I found this idea really exciting.


I met with my good friend Quinn and we were able to snag a seat outside out a perfect spring day. The menu was set, so our first course came out quickly. Chicarones were served up with three different sauces: apple butter, avocado cream, and chipolte. The first two sauces were okay but forgettable. I thought the chipoltle was excellent, and used ever last drop. This course wasn't amazing, but it was a nice was to stoop our meal. The Bohemian Pils was the pairing of choice.

Next came cinnamon braised pork belly served with watermelon, jalapeños, and Kasseri cheese. This course seems have little forethought; the flavors did not mix well. The pork belly could have been much better prepared, but the cheese saved the entire course. I've never heard of Kasseri, but I enjoyed this thick, almost meaty cheese. Dock street summer session was served alongside, and this great beer was a treat.



At this point in the meal, I wasn't thrilled, by anything, but that was all about to change. The next course was simply fantastic. The main course started with a potato roti served with a poached egg. While this wasn't a common dinner item, i enjoyed it. I came with a salad covered in real bacon bits and drizzled with hot bacon cider dressing. Two large cubes of crispy pork were served with the salad, and these flavors together melded into a delicious pork explosion. Salad has never tasted so good. Dock street rye IPA was served with this course.



I was getting full at this point, but dessert was almost as exciting as the main course. The man full o trouble porter was served, which is a great beer for dessert. A "chip which" was served, which is a true culinary delight. Two perfectly chocolate cookies were held together with brandy cherry ice cream with sweet bacon bits infused. If given an unlimited amount, I probably would have eaten these until explosion.

Overall, I really enjoyed this special menu. I believe it gave a good idea of the overall food at 20 Manning. The service was certainly weird, our server talked with a air about him, almost as if it was beneath him to bring us food. It turned into one of our running jokes for evening. I liked that a Dock Street took over the taps for the evening, but the normal beer list is still pretty decent. About five craft taps at reasonable prices. I saw a few burgers come out of the kitchen and they looked great.

Bottom line: I enjoyed my visit, and I would certainly go again. Still, the food by the same owner over at Audrey Claire seems to have a bit more of a flair and is a byob to boot.

Penguin Drive-In

Almost as quickly as a new edition of Hamburger America was released, I was lucky enough to be out and tasting the newest findings. This time, it was the Penguin Drive-In in Charlotte, North Carolina. We walked in shortly before six on a Friday and didn't have any trouble getting a seat. Our server came over quickly, and she was pleasant during our whole visit. She offered us the house special appetizer, fried pickles, but I'm certainly at a loss for shy see are so popular. My hometown favorite, Memphis taproom, blows them out of the water.

The beer selection offered standard big brews from across the us and world, as well three craft beers on Draft. I drank a beer from Old Meck right in Charlotte and Widmer Pale ale. Fat Tire was also on tap. The temperature on these beers was a bit warm, and the pours were anything but generous. Still, when the bill came out and I saw they were $2 each, my complaints vanished.

I was dining with Mom, Charlie ,and Laura, and everyone went for burgers. I stuck with the name sake, which came with lettuce, onions, friend pickles, and smothered in pimento cheese. The cheese isn't bad, but is still a novelty. American would taste be better. George Motts wrote about huge 1/3 pound patties, but these are nowhere to be found. Instead, small, griddle cooked burgers were served. They had that distinctive char taste, and the only disappointment with the patty was that it didn't cover all of the bread. It was a good burger, but certainly doesn't deserve a write up in a book that chronicles the country's best burger joints.


The best burger was ordered by Mom: southern style. Essentially a chili cheeseburger, it was quite tasty. We also ordered a few sides, onion rings and sweet potato fries. The fires were covered in cinnamon and sugar, making them like a dessert and frankly, ruining them. The onion rings weren't terrible , but lacked any real flavor and crispiness.

The atmosphere here is fun. Seat yourself, and look at pictures from the business over the last sixty years. It's part bar, part family restaurant, but it works. There's even a Rockola jukebox in the corner with an impressively bad playlist offered.


The bottom line: it seems this place recently came under new management, and maybe not for the better. Still, the burger is good, the beer, like everything else, is pretty cheap. Worth a stop, but don't go out of your way.

One Shot Coffee

I've been to one shot a few times, and I have mixed feelings. I really believe that I should be able to order a cup of coffee for less than two dollars. I understand that they offer Stumptown, but the prices for drinks here still seem high. That being said, they do brew some delicious coffee, and I'd rather overpay for something I like then get a good deal on something that barely passes as coffee.

One Shot recently moved to a new location on George Street , and that whole place is beautiful. I met with my good friend Bryana and we sat outside and had coffee and breakfast. Charming 1940s music played inside and out, although Bryana told me this wasn't common. Whether inside or out, the atmosphere is great. Some people send hours in a coffee shop working on papers or other work, and one shot is the kind of place where you will almost enjoy yourself while typing away.

The food menu here is small and hit or miss, but there are a few items that really shine. Bryana ordered the bagel topped with creme cheese, crushed nuts, and drizzled with honey. One look brings on a doling mouth and a bit of envy. I ordered a weird sandwich: bacon egg and mac-n-cheese. This sounds odd, but makes the perfect meal, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sure, you quickly become a cheese gooey mess, but I don't remember the last time I had so much fun doing so. I believe that this sandwhich is their flagship food, and certainly should be enjoyed on the fluffy and buttery brioches roll. One shot also offers house made treats like biscotti, cookies, and such.

Bottom line: I think this is a love it or hate it place. Coffee is a bit pricey, while food is reasonable. Its a pretty place, and is certainly worth at least one visit. The mac-n-cheese sandwich is must try, if not for its taste then simply for the originality.

Slyfox Brewey

Sly Fox makes excellent beer. No doubt about that. Visiting the brewery, however, doesn't add much to their product. I do like the extensive tap list they offer, with some special brews that are rarely or never seen in the city.

Other than that, this place is miss-able. Tucked in a strip mall and with the charm of a Denny's, Slyfox fails to impress on several levels. Food is pretty average, although some specials, like $1 tacos on Sunday, are pretty good.

Bottom Line: Good beer, everything else needs improvement. If you plan ahead you can get a standard, but good brewery tour. It's hardly worth the trip outside of Philadelphia to visit Slyfox in person.
That is a good looking Black and Tan.

WMD Hot sauce

Did you know there's a store at 12th and South that sells almost exclusively hot sauce?

I like this place a lot. I simply like the idea of such a specialized store, and I happen to like hot sauce. To top it all off, Bobby the owner is willing to talk to anyone while offering his expertise and samples.

The prices here aren't discount, but basically all of the sauces here are gourmet. I really like the stuff that is made in house, especially the hot sauce made with carrots, resulting in a great spicy-sweet combination.

In terms of hot sauce selection, this place is great. There are also other related items, like dry rubs and hot peanuts. If you love spicy food and are looking for a new kick to add, you must stop by WMD.

JG Domestic

JG Domestic is one of Jose Garces' newest restaurants. It is in the Circa Center, the time crystal looking building attached to 30th Street Station. Set in the lobby of the building, the decor and absence of walls gives the restaurant the feel of a fancy, open air ranch. It's certainly the nicest and probably "best" place to eat if you are waiting at 30th Street Station. I picked up my wonderful mother at the station and we decided to visit while waiting for my sister to get into town.

As expected, JG Domestic offers good service. The beer list is small, but respectable. I ordered the house beer, a Victory brew that bears Garces' name. The style wasn't listed, but this bitter, amber ale is probably an ESB. Mom ordered a glass of house wine and wasn't impressed. Prices here are a bit above average, but within the normal bounds for this type of restaurant.

The lunch menu has a lot of choices, and I opted for the blue plate special. Wednesday's special, fish and chips, was exactly what I was craving. Sadly, it did not live up to my expectations. The amount of fish on my plate was laughable, close to half the normal serving size of a typical fish dish. The fish was breaded in small pieces, a la fish-sticks. These were set on a large bed of well seasoned fries - but fries should never constitute the main portion of a meal. Alongside my meal was a small ramekin of salad with a delicious green goddess dressing. My favorite part of the fish and chips plate was the condiment, a malt vinegar aoili that had the perfect taste and texture to compliment the fried fish.

Mom ordered the Cobb salad, which was topped with blue cheese, avocado, bacon, and grilled chicken. I was a bit jealous when her plate arrived; it looked fantastic and she really enjoyed her order.

Bottom Line: JG Domestic offers decent lunch specials and a good place to eat in a location that's relatively sparse otherwise. It's on par with Garces' other locations, but honestly, if I find myself stuck while waiting in 30^th Street Station again, I'd much rather check out the surprisingly extensive beer list at Bridgewater's.