Met up with my friend Stephanie tonight and we went wandering about Old Town Alexandria for dinner.  As we approached the Majestic Cafe, she asked if I’d ever been there.  Nope.  I’ve walked or driven by it countless times, but never been inside.  (And honestly thought it was a diner.)  She said, “It’s pricey, but good.”

Well, when it comes to good food, I am totally OK with pricey, so in we went.

And it kicks ass.  To start off with, the water is awesome.  I know how totally bizarre that sounds, because it sounded a bit strange to me when she said, “Get the still water – it is incredible!”  But it was also a million degrees out and I wanted water – and as much as I love sparkling water, at $4.50 for sparkling vs. $0.00 for still with a very emphatic recommendation – I went with the still water.  I have no idea what filtration/water softening system they use at the restaurant, but it makes water actually TASTY.  And from me, that is actually saying something, because I really am not much of a water drinker at all.  I downed 2 LARGE glasses of this water without even blinking an eye.  In the normal course of a day, I have to *force* myself to down 8 to 16 ounces of water.

As humid and sticky as it was, I wanted an icy cocktail, but wasn’t quite in the mood for one of their many tiki-rum drinks, and the Salty Dog I ordered was top-notch, but the “Missionary’s Downfall” in the awesomely goofy tiki-glass that Steph ordered seemed to perfectly fit the bill for her.  (I have to be in a certain mindset for rum drinks.  I have no idea why.)

For dinner, I got the sauteed soft shell crabs.  Outstanding.  They were smothered in perfectly ripe off-the-vine-this-morning tomatoes, sweet corn and lima beans.  (And I SO love lima beans!  My only argument would be that they need *more* lima beans in it!)  Steph had the Amish chicken, which she definitely seemed to enjoy and took the rest home for tomorrow’s lunch.  (Bonus:  When you get a to-go box, they put the date on it.  However, I can’t imagine anything from this restaurant lasting in the fridge more than 24 hours.)

By the time the dessert menu came around, I was perfectly stuffed and felt I couldn’t really avail myself of their selections (though I was tempted by the chocolate & bourbon beignets, as was Steph!) but I couldn’t resist their Irish Coffee.  I **love** Irish Coffee and if someone is bold enough to include it as a menu item, I have to see how it stacks up to the rest.  And the Majestic indicated that it “looked like a Guinness!”  Well, I love Guinness, too, so I had to check this out.  It’s coffee, Irish Whiskey and brown sugar, topped with their homemade whipped cream.  And it really does look like a Guinness!  And is very, very tasty.

The cherry on the top was chocolate truffles rolled in coconut that came with the check.  Beats a peppermint any day of the week.

Seriously, if you want an un-fussy place to eat with spectacular food – hit the Majestic.

I think this is the first post at AddMoreWine that is actually about wine.

So today I posted a Facebook update of “Woohoo, the kitchen is clean. OK, cleaner than it was.” and off to the market I went for a few items.

As I was browsing the aisles, a reply came on my cell phone of “Have a glass of wine. Your mom would have.” My godfather is a brilliant man.

So, I sauntered over to the wine section and started poking about. I’m not a huge white wine drinker, but I saw the bottles of “Wild Pig Chardonnay” and simply couldn’t resist. I suspect there was some subsconcious mocking of the whole H1N1 pandemic that drew me to it – I can’t be sure, but my brain works in strange ways.

It wasn’t ungodly expensive at $10.99 a bottle, on sale from $12.99 (another victim on H1N1?) so I figured if it was terrible, it wasn’t the end of the world. And if it was good, well, hey, I have wine! And it’s a French wine, and I’ve heard they know a few things about wine.

I popped it in the chiller and after a while I opened it up and shared it with a houseguest. My first thought was, “Not too bad!” And by the time I finished the glass I realized I really liked it.

I’m not up on all the big descriptives of wines, so bear with me. It has good legs, and the bouquet is well…quiet. No alcohol-y sting, maybe a bit of a floral thing going on? As far as the taste goes, it’s very mellow for a chardonnay. (Or at least the chardonnays I have had.) Very buttery, no unexpected bite or anything like that. Just smooth and nice and enjoyable.

This is a wine I do believe would go quite nicely with just about anything, and I’ll definitely get another bottle in the future.

So, if you see a wine bottle with a glass pig embossed on it – give it a whirl. It’s pretty darn good.

There is something incredibly gratifying about being able to recreate something you had in a restaurant. When I was down at the Sanderling Inn I had a pan seared silky snapper with a chardonnay sauce. Tonight I did pan seared scallops and decided to try my hand at the chardonnay sauce – and damned if it didn’t come out just right.

Dredged the scallops in some pan searing flour and seared them in butter (I’ve done it w/oil, too, but I just like them so much better with butter) and set them aside. Added some chardonnay to the pan and some more butter and a couple little shakes of the flour to thicken it up a tad and added a few shakes of Worchestershire sauce and a crank of sea salt and pepper and brought it to a bubble and put the scallops back in for another minute or so and that was that. Not exactly complicated by any means, but just perfect.

No pics, cause I was too hungry. :)

So, how do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby? By going to the land of many beers and having treats from countries having absolutely nothing to do with either event. :) The Brickskeller is celebrating 50 years in business this year, and it’s fun to go to a place that my Dad went to when he was in college.

The claim the world’s largest beer selection, and I don’t doubt it – however, given the vagaries of suppliers, distributors and other such things, any given night there’s a chance you’ll pick something off the beer list that isn’t available. However, with so many to choose from, you’ll definitely be able to find something. Last night I met up with some friends and for once, remembered to actually mark up the menu and bring it home, as I always lose track of what goodies I had over the course of the evening. And here’s what I had…

Xingu – Brazil – This is labeled as a “black beer.” I’ve had it before and really liked it, but the availability is sketchy so I was thrilled to discover that they had it. It’s basically a porter, with a nice crispness to it and very smooth.
San Miguel Dark – Phillipinnes – More of a sentimental choice, as I’ve not had a San Miguel in years, and hadn’t tried the dark before. Not too bad, slightly bitter, but not offputting.
Abita Purple Haze – Louisiana – Another one I’ve had before – a raspberry wheat beer. A little sweet, but not in an overwhelming way, and when I first had it, it took me a while to figure out exactly what the underlying fruit was. A good summer beer.
Baltica #8 Wheat Ale – Russia – This was ordered by someone else in the group – my friend Todd identified the flavors of clove and banana in it. I couldn’t quite decide if I liked it or not, as I’m not a huge banana fan, but it was pretty light and also would be a good summer beer.
North Coast Russian Imperial Stout – California – This was presented as a substitute for Rogue Shakespeare Stout that I was going to split w/Todd. It was terrible. My first thought when I tasted it was “soap!” – overly smokey, bitter and definitely not one I’d have again.
Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody Wholesome Stout – UK – Oh dear lord. This was on tap and ordered by someone in the group and ended up getting passed around. It was labeled as “rare” on the menu – well, there is a good reason for that, cause it was horrid. Incredibly bitter, and another one I’d take a pass on if I was presented with it again.
Urthel Samaranth Quadrium – Belgium – I had a taste of this earlier in the evening and decided this would be my “dessert” beer. It’s got an insanely high alcohol content for beer (I believe the bartender said 11%), but it is really lovely. Incredibly smooth, no alcohol burn (surprising considering how much alcohol is in it) and has a very heavy honey sweetness going on. I really think it would go well with a fruit tart or something along those lines.

The Brick has a full kitchen with standard pub fare and they serve food until 1 hour before closing. Last night I went with the pierogies – cause can you really go wrong with potatoes and cheese? And I took the fried option – I only have these once in a blue moon, so regardless of how bad they are for me, it’s not like I have them every week.

All in all, a great evening with friends and beer.

The Brickskeller is at 1523 22nd St, NW, Washington DC. 202-293-1885. A few easy blocks from the Dupont Circle Metro station.