Gentrification Domination

While gentrification is an ugly word, it is definitely what is going on in my hood.  14th street is a major corridor through the area, connecting the recently revitalized shopping area in Columbia Heights (an urban Target!) and the National Mall.  But the area of 14th through Logan Circle has been going through its own revitalization.  As apartment complexes are popping up, new restaurants are opening weekly.  Last night, I got to try out our neighborhood's latest addition:  Drafting Table.

This architect-themed gastropub boasts "You'd rather eat at a bar than drink in a restaurant", meaning it's a late night hang out with good food.  The menu is not extensive, but I am eager to see if they have seasonal rotations.  The decor fits the theme, with compass lamps and drafting paper menus.  A fairly small table seating area surrounds the seats at the bar.  There was a 30-45 minute wait for a table, but they will call you when your table is ready, so we were able to grab a drink at another local favorite, Pearl Dive. 

Once we got the call and were seated for our first official roommate dinner, we started out with the fried pickles.  I forgot to take a picture, but you can see how much we hated them. 

I don't even LIKE pickles and these were delicious.  They came with a chipotle mayo that was absolutely fantastic. 

For our main courses, Lizzie and I split the burger while Ali opted for fish and chips.  Ali was left a bit disappointed by her choice, stating that another new local favorite, the Brixton, had better.  In all fairness, the Brixton is a British pub, so it makes sense that their fish and chips offering was better. 

But the burger did not disappoint.  I'm no burger neophyte - I probably have at least one a week - and I can say with some certainty that this was the best burger I've ever had.  To begin with, not only is there beef in the burger, but it is mixed with brisket.  The burger comes with bacon, mushrooms, and an apple chutney which, of course, I asked for on the side (and did not touch).  The finishing touch on the burger was "crispy blue cheese" - essentially, they put blue cheese on while its still on the grill, then flip it, cheese side down, to cook it a bit.  Deeeeeelicious.  Seriously. Yum.  I was even a bit sad that I was splitting the meal and wished I had the whole thing to myself! 

Happy with our meals, we decided to try out the desserts - namely, the Snickers Pie.  When it arrived, it was in a mug and more resembled chocolate mousse.  We were confused, but continued to gobble it down anyhow.  Once we had polished it off (again, I forgot to take a picture!), our waitress came over, deeply apologetic that she had ordered us the wrong dessert!  The chocolate pudding we had just consumed was delicious and, even better, free! 

Not ones to turn down free food, the waitress brought us the actual snickers pie. It was equally delicious and I ate so much dessert that I negated any calorie points I had earned by splitting the main course.  It was all worth it. 

The beer selection could be expanded a bit, but they have a wide variety of beers on tap, including my selection - a Colorado favorite from Oskar Blues - Dale's Pale Ale.  Lizzie opted for the in-house cocktail creation "Blueprint", which proved to be a good choice.  Overall, I think they have three new regulars!

Say What?

I am finally settled in, loving life back in Washington, D.C.  Within a few weeks, I had found a great place to live in the Logan Circle section of the District, coincidentally only 2.5 blocks from two of my most favorite people - Paul and Marisa!  I didn't really have roommates until September, but Ali and Lizzie are now moved in (or back from producing the OLYMPICS!) and we have a blast.  Our neighborhood is constantly shifting and new shops and restaurants are opening every week.  I look forward to introducing you to my 'hood.  Look for a new post tomorrow on Drafting Table!

But today's post is not DC-related.  I am the daughter of an English teacher and, as such, have come to find out that my family's vocabulary can sometimes be a bit wonkier than others.  Many times in college, people thought both Allison and I were just making words up.  Granted, sometimes I was (Fellowship Paul, I came to find out growing up, is actually Fellowship Hall.  And Guy Newar on Prairie Home Companion?  Yeah, that's Guy Noir).

As is often the case, I hear words my mom would say and wouldn't necessarily ever see them spelled out.  In today's instance, I was talking about my pretentious eating habits (tongue-in-cheek, of course - my dinner most nights rotates between popcorn and Count Chocula) and called them "High Faluting".  When gchat told me I misspelled it, I went  for "High Falooting".  Perplexed, and offered no help by my gchat recipient, who had absolutely no idea what word I was even going for, I consulting the dictionary.

Did everyone else know it was one word?  And didn't have a 'g' in it?  The proper spelling is 'highfalutin' taken from high-flute, which makes even less sense.  But in my mind, it will always be a verb - to faloot - and when you're being pretentious, you're high falooting.

Now back to my highfalutin life down here in D.C. - restaurant openings await!